RB Rankings Countdown: 20-11 + Preseason Reactions - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/11

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast
Episode: RB Rankings Countdown: 20-11 + Preseason Reactions
Release Date: August 11, 2025

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Introduction & Preseason Overview

The Fantasy Footballers kick off the episode by diving into the first week of NFL preseason, addressing the cascade of injuries that have already begun to impact teams. The hosts—Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright—set the stage for a comprehensive analysis of how these early injuries could ripple through fantasy football drafts and season strategies.

Injury Reports and Team Impact

A significant portion of the discussion centers on player injuries and their implications for both fantasy managers and NFL teams.

• Jason Moore expressed concern over the frequency and severity of injuries, stating, “Injuries are the worst because they disrupt so much” (01:57).

• Andy Holloway highlighted the unpredictable nature of injury impacts on team success: “The biggest problem with injuries... our analysis can't be proven right or wrong” (02:30).

• Matthew Stafford's Injury Update: The trio discussed the latest on Matthew Stafford, noting that he is “not practicing today” despite initial plans for him to “return to limited drills” (62:32). This abrupt change raises concerns about his availability and the broader implications for his team and fantasy managers.

Team Performances and Strategy Shifts

The hosts analyze how specific teams might evolve based on preseason performances and coaching decisions.

• Giants Defense: Jason Moore speculated that the Giants' defense could be “unstoppable” due to their consistent pressure, even though their offense remains untrusted (04:15). However, Andy Holloway expressed skepticism: “I don't like it already” (04:17).

• Dolphins and Offensive Line Struggles: The Dolphins face setbacks with Alexander Madison undergoing season-ending neck surgery, prompting considerations of signing Jamal Williams to bolster their running game (06:56).

Running Back Rankings: Criteria and Top 20 Overview

Transitioning into the core of the episode, the hosts outline their criteria for ranking running backs and begin a countdown from rankings 20 to 11.

Ranking Criteria:

1. Workload: Historically, 70% of the top 20 running backs average at least 18 opportunities per game.
2. Touchdowns: 75% have at least nine total touchdowns.
3. Team Success: These players are on teams averaging 9.4 wins.

Jason Moore emphasized the importance of these metrics: “We need a lot of workload... and you need touchdowns” (20:24).

Detailed Player Analysis

20. Joe Mixon

• Concerns: Injury risk is a primary factor, positioning him lower this year despite his high workload and team’s potential (23:17).
• Andy Holloway's Take: “If that risk is going to cost me James Conner, who's currently healthy, I'm not going to do that” (24:17).

19. Kenneth Walker

• Prospects: High upside with potential to break tackles and score, though consistency and offensive line quality are concerns.
• Jason Moore: “There’s tremendous upside for Kenneth Walker” (26:22).
• Andy Holloway: Cautious about his injury history affecting his draft position, but optimistic if he stays healthy (28:07).

18. Breece Hall

• Evaluation: Viewed with skepticism due to team dynamics and offensive efficiency.
• Mike Wright: “[Breece Hall] is still going to catch some passes” (34:43).
• Jason Moore: “He is the number one player that I will not draft this year because of the price” (35:28).

17. Chuba Hubbard

• Performance: Solid preseason but shares workload with teammates, raising questions about his fantasy reliability.
• Andy Holloway: “He did not have the same explosive high end speed” (07:51).

16. James Cook

• Analysis: Prominent role in his team’s offense makes him a valuable pick, though injury history remains a concern.
• Jason Moore: Highlights Cook as a consistent performer when healthy (42:48).

15. Amari Hampton

• Potential: Rising as a key player due to injuries on his team’s roster.
• Andy Holloway: Favorably views Hampton as an RB1 with increasing opportunities (50:07).

14. Jonathan Taylor

• Dilemma: High talent juxtaposed with injury concerns creates a challenging draft scenario.
• Andy Holloway: “I don’t have any problem drafting him” despite his injury history (58:07).
• Jason Moore: Torn between his high potential and recurring injuries (59:17).

13. Alvin Kamara

• Value Proposition: Despite some inefficiencies, Kamara remains a reliable pass-catcher in a strong offensive scheme.
• Andy Holloway: Praises Kamara’s pass-catching ability as a significant fantasy asset (56:59).

12. Steichen’s Dilemma

• Matthew Stafford’s Status: The uncertainty around Stafford’s participation continues to puzzle the hosts, adding further complexity to running back valuations (62:54).

Upcoming Rankings and Strategies

The episode concludes with a teaser for the next installment, where the hosts will narrow down their running back rankings to the top 11 and delve deeper into strategic drafting tips. They also announce a Ultimate Draft Kit for Life giveaway, encouraging listeners to participate via their website.

Key Takeaways and Insights

• Injury Monitoring: Early preseason injuries can significantly alter player valuations and team dynamics. Fantasy managers should exercise caution when drafting players with unproven health statuses.

• Workload Over Team Success: Consistent workload and touchdown potential are paramount in determining a running back’s fantasy value, often outweighing team win projections.

• Efficient Use of Players: Players on teams with effective offensive schemes and supportive coaching staff tend to perform better in fantasy metrics.

Notable Quotes

• Jason Moore: “Injuries are the worst because they disrupt so much.” (01:57)

• Andy Holloway: “The biggest problem with injuries... our analysis can't be proven right or wrong.” (02:30)

• Mike Wright: “I remain unsurprised... Tony Pollard still up there where I'm telling people to draft him.” (05:13)

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Disclaimer: This summary is based on a transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key discussions and insights from the podcast episode. For a complete and nuanced understanding, listening to the full episode is recommended.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

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[Jason Moore]

Monday, August 11, the fantasy footballers Podcast. Jason Moore, Mike Wright. I'm Andy Holloway. Thank you for joining us. It's a big week in the world of fantasy football in the NFL. We got the first week of preseason football in the books, not without its own slew of injuries. Yeah, you know, they just, you know, I'm not saying anything. Breaking news here. They just suck. They just. Yeah, injuries are the worst because they disrupt so much. I mean, for the player themselves, thank goodness they get these guaranteed contracts and get the money because their bodies get broken all the time. It's a brutal game, but it really decides.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, not only fantasy football, but it decides the NFL. Like, when you look at the end of the year, it's like, oh, who was lucky and was healthy this year? Well, guess who made a playoff run?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, if you just look at injuries for, like, super bowl teams, teams that get to the super bowl usually have extreme injury luck, historically speaking. So, yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's a real thing. And I think the biggest problem with injuries, obviously players health is one thing, but the biggest thing is our analysis can't be proven right or wrong. You know what I mean?

[Mike Wright]

That's why you just check it up. Is right.

[Jason Moore]

Just broaden that out to everybody, not just ours. Like the, your draft. You can draft the perfect team and be disrupted. Like I. So many things have happened this past week that are. That throw that little bit of fear into your mind about certain situations. You love the running game in Los Angeles with the Chargers, and then Rashawn Slater goes down. And like, I am a big fan of Jordan Love and what he can bring to the fantasy world. And then you hear about Jaden Reed being hurt and didn't look great in week one. So our job here is to help you sift through the under and overreactions. I had a quick laundry list of takeaways from the weekend. I'm going to just blitz these. You guys give me Any feedback or if you have anything else, but I'm.

[Mike Wright]

Going to take a quick nap.

[Jason Moore]

Started with Shador Sanders. Obviously played well enough to hopefully make a roster there. It was nice to see Travion Henderson.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, what?

[Jason Moore]

That's very, very bad for his draft.

[Mike Wright]

What happened?

[Jason Moore]

Price?

[Mike Wright]

Why? What happened?

[Andy Holloway]

He was very good.

[Jason Moore]

His first NFL touch. 100 yard kickoff return.

[Mike Wright]

Weird.

[Jason Moore]

Very, very good.

[Mike Wright]

But he also, I remain unsurprised.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he looked great. He was dishing out pain in that game.

[Jason Moore]

Well, him and Ramondre both looked very good. Yeah. The next takeaway, the Giants defense might be unstoppable. Their front five, I mean, it's pressure on every play. Like, if I had to pick, like a situation that no one sees coming. That team has a horrible schedule, an offense we don't have trust in. And I am not, I will not be surprised that the Giants defense just carries, carries. Jason won't like this takeaway.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't like it already.

[Jason Moore]

I watched the film. I watched every, every snap, not just every touch twice. Not impressed with Caleb Johnson in Pittsburgh this weekend. I thought, I thought in particular it was like the most solidifying for Jaylen Warren situation in the passing game. He had a brutal drop. He had two more Jordan Howard catches is what I'm going to call him. That did not look natural to me. And then I, I thought he was fine otherwise, but didn't look special. Tajay Spears, the injury.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's a big, That's a big one. A high ankle sprain.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, that's. And this has kind of been Tajie Spears storyline. It's been opportunities about to be there and then you get banged up. But Tony Pollard. How often have we talked about Tony Pollard in the last six months?

[Mike Wright]

He. Not very, not very much. And I just, I kept seeing him like feeling uncomfortably high in the rankings. I'm like, oh, Tony Pollard still, still up there where I'm telling people to draft him.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And then now, maybe now he may be bailed out by that Spears injury.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So Spears. It's a high ankle sprain and we'll, we'll deal with that. Justin Fields. It was a nice debut for Justin Fields. And then of course, ends the way Justin Fields ends drives with a rushing touchdown. So it was a nice start for Fields, for New York. I don't know. Did you guys watch all the RJ Harvey touches?

[Mike Wright]

I have not watched them all yet.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I saw them.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. To me, that was another situation where I was like, I mean, he had some good plays, but From a reading the defense standpoint, this looked like a college player to me. Like he did not ever take what was in front of him and he only bounced it outside.

[Mike Wright]

It takes. When running backs are more special players, it takes time for them to realize they can't get away with certain things. And the, that was the, I think the biggest surprise based off of what boots on the ground and Denver were saying. The biggest surprise of the weekend was the complete inverse of, well, RJ Harvey is taking all these snaps and it's like Dobbins is filling in on third.

[Andy Holloway]

So could it be helmet gate getting the start? You know, maybe Dobbins couldn't find his helmet. Something like that was going around.

[Mike Wright]

I've heard that being tossed around on Twitter. I don't know for sure, but that was the most get.

[Jason Moore]

Wally pipped just by with a helmet. Just with the helmet. Like I forgot my helmet. I never make it back on the field.

[Mike Wright]

But that like, that's a huge deal of Harvey's ADP remains.

[Jason Moore]

And then, and then we got. We have breaking. Ironically, the last thing on my list from the weekend now has breaking news attached to it. But I was going to talk about Ali Gordon, the Dolphins, the running game, the offensive line struggles on the goal line. And then I was going to talk about Madison getting hurt. Yeah, we just got breaking news.

[Mike Wright]

Did they actually.

[Jason Moore]

Alexander Madison underwent season ending. Oh, no, season ending neck surgery.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

He actually had to go to a hospital after injuring his neck during the game against the Bears.

[Mike Wright]

That stinks.

[Jason Moore]

And is done. And he was like the whole storyline with the Dolphins this off season was like, like we took Jalen right away from our sleepers. Yes, A couple. Maybe he goes back, I don't know. But a couple days ago, although he played terribly because Madison was having such a good camp.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, the drumbeat was very steady, very loud. I saw before I heard that Andy, they were working out Jamal Williams.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, they're, they're definitely adding. I thought they'd add it back just with a short term injury to Madison now they definitely will. So that is Jamal Williams, huh?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we'll see.

[Andy Holloway]

And Ollie Gordon, I think is a name that's, that's worth paying attention to. There hasn't been much buzz because it's been Madison. But he, like, I think he's a better player than Jalen Wright.

[Jason Moore]

He looked good.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not really good. He doesn't have the same explosive high end speed, but I think he's a better player. He was a really productive young college running back who Was expected to be like a very big draft pick and then had kind of a disappointing last season. But he's worth paying attention to. The only other notes I would add in Breeze hall seems like his full time share, you know, he was, he was splitting just like we feared and we might have.

[Mike Wright]

It might be three dudes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Oh yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Braylon Allen and Davis. And if that's the case, you guys.

[Jason Moore]

See the Isaiah Davis 5000 IQ play on the touchdown by Fields? No where he, like he was out there running around. He was one of those situations where he knew his quarterback was about to run so he just faked like he was getting a wheel route and the defender just bit and chased him down the field. It was, it was awesome.

[Andy Holloway]

You see Marvin Mims was actually playing a full slot of snaps with an offense not being used as just a slot of snaps.

[Jason Moore]

Like was he in the slot?

[Andy Holloway]

No. Just the point is he wasn't a gadget guy coming in. It was actually every sixth play gotcha.

[Mike Wright]

For, you know, like with that and the Harvey, I guess Sean Payton giving us the joker. He's just tricking everybody probably.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's kind of the worst. But they'll be good. They'll be very good. We have a very big announcement. It's that time of year. It is August 11th. Fantasy Drafts on the horizon and we have a very special giveaway. The premier one of the year, one week only. The Ultimate Draft Kit for life. We're giving away the UDK for life. We've done this every year and if you win it, it's good until you die. So the ultimate Draft Kit for life plus a Jamar Chase signed jersey. We're giving them away on a very special live stream event. The way you enter, if you've already bought the UDK or you're already a Ultimate Foot Clan member, you already entered to win.

[Andy Holloway]

So congratulations, you've done very well.

[Jason Moore]

You're already there. You've got a shot to win. If not, you just need to get the udk, UDK plus or become an ultimate member by next Monday atultimate draft kit.com get the UDK. We'll do a live stream event, we'll answer questions and we'll give away a UDK for life and that Jamar Chase jersey and maybe some other stuff on the live stream event. So very, very excited about that ultimate draft kid.com if you want to take part, if you want to follow the show, we're over on x@the ffballers on instagram.com fantasy footballers and you can watch the show YouTube.com the fantasy footballers believe it or not. We have more news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league presented by Progressive Insurance.

[Jason Moore]

Well I mentioned Tajie Spears. He's going to miss a few weeks with the high ankle sprain and so once again we won't get really a fair dynamic in terms of like who's going to start the year and would this have been a fit. The same thing happened kind of like would it have been a 5050 split? We'll because he's going to have to come back slowly again and he's not as talented or at least wasn't last year.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I don't think he is as good as Pollard and this is one of those offenses where when you've got the new one on one rookie quarterback coming in with Cam Ward you can you can see how the offense changes from one expected to be terrible to one that's like oh maybe it's a top half offense. So I don't mind taking a shot on Tony Pollard in drafts trying to get off to a hotter start. Also it's worth noting Chiga conquo he played more snaps on as like a pass catcher. He wasn't rotating.

[Jason Moore]

He played 100% with Cam Ward.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah exactly. So you know a sleeper tight end someone to pay attention to if he has a decent week one pick him up.

[Jason Moore]

Mike's chuckling.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah just it was a great end of the year. We've been there with okonkwo for like.

[Andy Holloway]

3 straight years but the reason we've been there with Okonkwo is because he is talented. They haven't used him as a full time pass catcher which is stupid. He now they are great. He's had a terrible quarterback now the Joker situation. Yeah. Now they might have a quarterback that could get him the ball. So I do think it's still worth paying attention to.

[Jason Moore]

Rashad White left his first preseason game with a groin injury. Todd bowles said that Mr. Richard White Dick White will undergo further tests day to day.

[Mike Wright]

Dude.

[Jason Moore]

And Sean Tucker, he's got some juice.

[Andy Holloway]

And buggy of course.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah it makes it could make that a little safer. Groin index is popping right now guys.

[Jason Moore]

The groin. The groin injuries are I don't know. People's groins were not warmed up before preseason.

[Andy Holloway]

Pierce Rashad White, Rushy Rice, Jordan Murray.

[Jason Moore]

I didn't hear Rashi Rice back at practice.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Rice goes back.

[Andy Holloway]

Well I don't still on the index.

[Jason Moore]

Right now growing.com and we have a more we know whether it's really hurting 100%, Jaden.

[Mike Wright]

Because we got the quotes from the players.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I thought what was what.

[Mike Wright]

That was one of the quotes. My groin.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, my groin.

[Jason Moore]

So look, you got to listen to the players. Jaden Reed was seen in a walking boot on his left foot. He's dealing with a foot sprain. Matt LaFleur actually came out and talked about it, said it's something different than what they put him on NFI list to start training camp. Hopefully we get him back before the regular season.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that good or bad? This is a totally new injury. I guess that's good.

[Jason Moore]

When asked if Reed could miss week one, LaFleur said, potentially. So that sounds like. Oh, that turns into a likely for me.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So here's, here's the way that, you know, going into preseason, going into the season, you get a lot less updates and clarity on injuries as you do once you're into the season and practice reports. So I get a little hesitant with all these guys. With Tajie Spears, with Jaden Reed, I will definitely avoid drafting them at their current ADP for sure. And I will expect that they might miss week one.

[Jason Moore]

We did get more positive or some positive news finally about Matthew Stafford, who worked out on Saturday through about 60 passes and is expected to return to limited drills in practice on Monday. So the plan, if the plan was managed, Stafford so he can play going according to plan? Maybe.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think going according to their new plan.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right. Allen Lazard injured his shoulder. He plays for the Jets. In case you were curious, Keaton Mitchell missed Saturday's practice with an undisclosed injury. This was after a preseason burn too bright breakout there. They signed Miles Gaskin.

[Andy Holloway]

Does he run too fast? Is that the issue?

[Mike Wright]

Mitchell?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he is very fast. So fast.

[Jason Moore]

Slow down. You're thinking, yeah, go one leg.

[Andy Holloway]

I would still use both personally.

[Jason Moore]

Miles Gaskin, the gas man, worked out for the team, signed with the Ravens. Anthony Richardson was seen participating in individual drills on Saturday.

[Mike Wright]

That's good.

[Jason Moore]

Is it, though?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I think it's great.

[Jason Moore]

I know, I know. I just.

[Andy Holloway]

He was looking really good.

[Jason Moore]

Drag out the process of Richardson not being the starter, or do you want it just concise and quick and easy?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I want Richardson to be the starter and I want him to be good. So in order for him to be.

[Jason Moore]

Those two things are mutually exclusive.

[Andy Holloway]

He has to. He has to be able to play football. That's it.

[Jason Moore]

I do not want him to be the starter. I want Daniel Jones to be the starter.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, is that because of Warren Dobbs.

[Jason Moore]

I almost said Dobbs Downs. Yeah. James Cook not willing to play in Saturday's preseason game. That was the quote from Sean McDermott. So, like, he was able but unwilling. He dressed, took part in warm ups. Is he just trying to do the most, like, be the biggest nuisance like you get.

[Mike Wright]

It's a strat.

[Jason Moore]

You get dressed, you get ready, and then you go. You like, your first foot goes over the.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not going in. What if he goes out to the huddle and then runs back in.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, my God. Or runs backwards out of the huddle. Just out the back of the stadium.

[Andy Holloway]

My tummy hurts. Just takes a knee, just gets the ball and just goes. Knee.

[Jason Moore]

Just sleeping.

[Andy Holloway]

Pay me.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, just. The problem is I just don't think he has the leverage he thinks he has. But whatever. Maybe. Well, he.

[Mike Wright]

He might have the leverage he thinks he has, which is very little. This is why he's going with playing Operation Nuisance.

[Jason Moore]

Jeff Wilson, Keyshawn Vaughn, both signed by the 49ers, who soon to be injured. Yeah, he's like, Jeff Wilson and Keisha Vaughn are like, should we sign this contract? Because I don't want to go on ir. But Garendo and Jordan James currently out, and I saw that Javante Williams is still getting the most reps with the starters this morning. That was another piece of news. You had Jaden Blue getting hurt. You had Miles Sanders banged up. So right now it's kind of, if it's everybody's job, is nobody's job. Sort of feels.

[Andy Holloway]

I think that's why it's George Pickens and CD Lamb's job.

[Jason Moore]

All right, that was.

[Mike Wright]

Well, no, there's one more. Andy. Someone didn't practice today.

[Jason Moore]

Ramondre.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, you don't.

[Mike Wright]

This is a problem.

[Jason Moore]

You're not gonna be able to get him.

[Mike Wright]

This is a problem.

[Jason Moore]

You're not gonna be able to get Travion Henderson. He won't be available to you.

[Andy Holloway]

He's gonna start.

[Jason Moore]

He's gonna go on the. Oh, man. Go one.

[Mike Wright]

Overall, the early adopters are being punished.

[Jason Moore]

Well, if you already had shares, that's good.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

In your dynasty.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Because the value has gone up.

[Jason Moore]

But we know nothing about why Ramon Dre didn't practice, so we will get you that info when we get it.

[Andy Holloway]

And he played well, looked well.

[Jason Moore]

Which one?

[Andy Holloway]

Ramondre. Ramondre. Both had a good game. It didn't seem like that good.

[Jason Moore]

It was Will Campbell. I mean, goodness gracious.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

That's why you. That's why you draft that way.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

Like, I mean he had two. Two times, I think. Once with Ramondre, once with Henderson where he pulled and demolished the entire left side of the field. It was beautiful. All right, that was News and Notes sponsored by Progressive Insurance quote [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and third party insurers not available in all states or situations. Coverage subject to policy terms, limits and conditions. It is a ranking show, believe it or not. We've been talking so much preseason and news, we'll take a break and we'll jump into our running back rankings.

[Andy Holloway]

Thanks to Yahoo. Fantasy for supporting this episode. It is my favorite time of year. The NFL season is almost here and fantasy football season is in full swing. This season Yahoo. Fantasy is taking it up a notch and giving you a fantasy football experience like never before. That means you can be playing on Yahoo. Fantasy whether you're a first timer or a veteran making your millionth league. To celebrate 28 years of fantasy football greatness, Yahoo Fantasy is dropping 28 big new features over 28 days throughout August. To kick it off, they just dropped Yahoo. Fantasy Guillotine Leagues. A killer new way to play fantasy football on Yahoo. Where the lowest scoring team gets eliminated each week from until there's one team left standing. With the season around the corner, now is the time to get your league together and give this new mode a try. Or if you're into the classics, you could still play head to head private leagues or join a public league. Stay tuned for more killer announcements and start playing Yahoo. Fantasy Football now@yahoo. Fantasy.com footballers that's Yahoo. Fantasy.com footballers we all know preseason is when the real prep work happens. Getting your lineup in shape, picking this year's my guys. It's also the perfect time to get your car ready. If you've been racking up the miles with road trips and summer plans. Swing by Valvoline Instant Oil Change and make sure your ride is game day ready too. It's a trusted name for a reason. At Valvoline Instant Oil Change you get convenience and quality in about 15 minutes. Their expert technicians will will change your oil and do a free 18 point maintenance check such as checking your tire pressure, your wipers, your lights and more, giving you that extra reassurance before hitting the road again. Drive in when it works for you. No appointment needed. They're friendly technicians. They're there to help answer any questions. Papa Josh literally just went there recently and he will not stop talking about it. They are friendly. They are knowledgeable. They visit vioc.com fantasy footballers to get an exclusive discount at Valvoline Instant Oil Change and find a location near you.

[Jason Moore]

All right, it is running back rankings today and tomorrow. Let's get it started.

[Andy Holloway]

Running backs.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we just went through our top 20 wide receivers consensus rankings on our last couple of episodes before the mock draft. When you're looking at running backs before we kick off the rankings, I mean, there are question marks throughout. I'm sure we'll have some good discussions. What makes a top 20 fantasy running back? Historically, over the last four years, 70% of top 20 running backs average at least 18 opportunities a game. So you need a lot. Need workload. Right. 75% of them. So three quarters of the top 20 fantasy running backs needed at least nine total touchdowns. So, you know, get a couple through the air, get at least seven on the ground, you're good. But at least nine total touchdowns, that's what you normally need. So you gotta. There's some luck and some variation there that happens and you need touchdowns. And then the last one, the top 20 running backs were on NFL teams that average 9.4 wins. So those, those in that group at least 9.4 wins. It's one of the things I love to focus on at running back. It's a differentiator between two players. But you want to be on a team that can win.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, there are certain players that are good fantasy assets on bad teams, but they are not usually running backs. It kind of goes hand in hand with 75% of them have at least nine total touchdowns. If you score a lot of, you know, if your team wins games, you score more points.

[Jason Moore]

And you know what? It is too, it's in those of us that have played fantasy for a long time and watched the games. It's those darn first downs, man. Those are just the demoralizing drive killing like the bad teams. It's like, oh, awesome. You're going to be the three down back for this team. Cool. You get like one third down for one drive and then you're off the field. That's what the most frustrating thing is. When I, when I watch these games and I look at running backs, it's like, move the chains. Oh, great, now you got another first and second down to hand it off. You just need teams that are effective at moving the football. It's not that there aren't outliers on bad teams and situations that works out, but that's a big deal. So we're going to be looking at workload. We're going to be looking at team potential. We're going to be looking at the ceiling and floor outcomes for players. And let's kick it off right now, just hanging on by a thread. Last year's number one running back for the first 14 weeks or whatever it was, it's Joe Mixon. Joe Mixon comes in at 20 on the dot. Right now it's 20, 23 and 21. That's where the three of us have him ranked. Finished at 11 last year, 15.9 fantasy points per game. He's at 20. Because we need to hedge against injury right now where Joe Mixon has an injury that, you know, it sort of seems like the Jaden Reed thing. It's like potentially he could miss time. Potentially he could be back. So how are you looking at him in your drafts today? Because it feels like a nerve wracking pick.

[Andy Holloway]

It really comes down to where he's going to fall in my draft. I am definitely happy to have Joe Mixon on my roster. He fits everything we just talked about, right? A 9.4 win team. Okay. The Texans seem right there. A huge workload. You know, he's going to have that. Touchdowns. He was on pace for 13.4 rushing touchdowns last year. He fits the bill for everything you want in fantasy football other than currently injured as an elder statesman. So there's risk when you draft him. And if that risk is going to cost me James Conner, who's currently healthy, I'm not going to do that. If that risk is going to, you know, go down to the sixth round where I'm going, between him and Isaiah Pacheco, who might not even, you know, really get the volume and the work, he might be losing opportunities. Goal line passing work to Cream Hunt. Okay, then I'm definitely willing to take the risk on someone who, like you said, Andy, the first half of last year, he was the number one running back in fantasy football.

[Jason Moore]

I think the biggest mistake, I think you pay attention to the injuries, you look at the team, you look at the depth chart. The biggest mistake I think would be to like retire him too early when, you know, Saquon's 28. We have confidence in him. Henry's 31. We have confidence in him. CMC is 29. Mike has tremendous confidence in him. So I'm not worried about the age because we saw what he could do on the field last year. I'm worried about injury. The injury he's coming into the season with.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's not off our board like some guys. I think we've talked about Chris Godwin who you're not sure if he's going to be there week one or not. And this is kind of a somewhat similar situation where Joe Mixon, you're not sure if he's going to be there week one. Godwin's off my board. I don't, I don't think I want to struggle with him getting back. This wasn't a season ending injury. He's coming back from that. He's been rehabbing.

[Mike Wright]

This is an off season ending injury.

[Andy Holloway]

Off season ending injury. The first ever off season ending injury. Does that mean he. But that would mean he plays now.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

We're in the off territory.

[Jason Moore]

I think that this is one of those situations that you know what it will be like if he was healthy and on the field and you have a lot of good stuff around him. The offensive line is still a huge issue. I think their defense will be tremendous. Like, like one of the best in football. So you could have a lot of situations where you are leaning on the running game. But will the offensive line hold up? They tried to rebuild it. It's not projected to be good, but maybe they can come together. At 19, it's Kenneth Walker. He is just 24 years old, almost 25. We have a pretty big disparity in ranking on Kenneth Walker. He comes in at 19 by consensus. I've got him at 25, Mike at 16, 24. Jason has him at 20. So yeah, I, Mike, I guess is disgusted by my ranking.

[Mike Wright]

I am. I'm personally offended by it.

[Jason Moore]

Well, it's a, it's really just. I'm just projecting him to be Kenneth Walker.

[Andy Holloway]

He finished running back 28 last year in 11 games.

[Jason Moore]

Correct. I'm predicting him to be Kenneth Walker.

[Mike Wright]

That is identical. That's just. But that's Silly. He was 15 games in his first two years and he was averaging almost 14 and a half points a game.

[Jason Moore]

There's tremendous, tremendous upside for Kenneth Walker. Everybody's got players every year that they're like, I'd rather lose with somebody else or win with somebody else. Kenneth Walker has the potential to be a breakout top 12 running back. He is a very weird, enigmatic running back. Not only dealing with injuries, but dealing with inefficiency and yet tremendous tackle breaking and capability. I don't really know why a number one force tackle rate mixes with, you know, the inefficiencies.

[Andy Holloway]

That's bad. Offensive line, I mean, you're getting. He is breaking tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Yeah, the scheme has been bad.

[Mike Wright]

Like see Those numbers and then see who did not retain their job. For a winning football team like the OC was, was fired like that. When that happens, it's pretty wild. They were, what were they? Nine wins? What am I, nine wins.

[Jason Moore]

Last year they tied 10. Yeah, they tied with a 10 win.

[Mike Wright]

Team, fired their offensive coordinator.

[Jason Moore]

Well, and look there, the Seattle's a perfect example of bringing in a new offensive coordinator. Doesn't always make it better. Right? Literally last year it was a brand new offense coordinator. We had the same storyline in the off season.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's.

[Jason Moore]

This guy's going to take advantage of the skill set of Kenneth Walker. They still have a 30th ranked offensive line. That's still a question mark. And he has not. He has missed time in every season he's played. So 15, sure. I want more than that and I definitely want more than 11. You know, if I tell you that Kenneth Walker's missing, let's just be conservative. Let's say he misses the minimum. He's ever missed two. Does that change anything for you?

[Andy Holloway]

If I Knew he plays 15 games, I would draft Kenneth Walker. Where he is. I think he is.

[Jason Moore]

Where, where he's going.

[Andy Holloway]

Where he's going right now. Yeah, I mean this is, this is a player who I do think that the scheme. We have insights. Right. Changing coordinator doesn't always help everybody. And I don't think it helps necessarily the passing game here, but I do think the running game with baby cubes coming in, the fact that they are bringing in a fullback, we've seen that implemented in preseason and in their draft. They want to establish it and help the running game get going. And I think they've got a proven track record offensive coordinator to get that done. So if he's healthy, I do believe he scores quite a lot of fantasy points. The issue is, you know, we talk about, oh, Kenneth Walker's being Kenneth Walker. He's going to miss a bunch of games. He's always injured, hard to deal with. Right now currently dealing with, you know, resting or whatever. But he's missing practices all the time. It's just not a good sign. It makes me very hesitant to take him. Like right now he's going ahead of Chuba, ahead of James Conner and ahead of Joe Mixon. The upside case of all three guys hit their ceiling.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know if Kenneth Walker.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would say Mixon, then Walker. So I guess right now the issue is do you like him more than those guys with the risk baked in that. That he has with his history and the fact that when you get hit a lot behind the line of scrimmage, that might be harder to stay healthy. You know what I mean?

[Mike Wright]

That's fair.

[Jason Moore]

I think what was frustrating about the injuries is it wasn't just like one injury and a little stretch too. It was kind of the storyline of the season. He missed two games, comes back.

[Mike Wright]

When you get hurt right away after an injury, like when you're on your return and then you just get hurt, that is. That leaves a mark in your memory.

[Jason Moore]

No, you're right. I mean, that was kind of. That was kind of like Joe Mixon at the end of the year too. Both these guys were not part of a fantasy title team because he had an oblique injury. The first. His first injury last year, missed two weeks with that. Then it was a calf ankle injury, then it was IR with calf injury. So, look, stay healthy. I don't think we've had any conversations about who would benefit if this scheme is amazing, but he gets hurt. I mean, it's like, I don't think we've mentioned Zach Charbonnet's name at all. Damian Martinez.

[Andy Holloway]

Charbonnet finally learned how to kind of step up for fantasy purposes in Walker's absence. I do believe he's a worthwhile pick later in your drafts.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're worried about Kenneth Walker, would.

[Jason Moore]

You actively pursue him if you're the Kenneth Walker manager, if you could get him with your last pick? Like, I know we don't often do that, but like, are there a couple situations, whether it was grindo with CMC or, you know, this one in particular.

[Mike Wright]

Possibly, if it's a deep enough roster.

[Jason Moore]

Because if you like the running, like strategies of this team, maybe that makes sense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, I know. And we obviously could be wrong, but we did all currently pick the Seahawks to finish last in this division. So while they were a 10 win team last year with Geno, whether or not they fit that bill of maybe.

[Jason Moore]

I'll go with Cardinals in last place after watching Kyler's pass.

[Andy Holloway]

That's fair. That's fair.

[Jason Moore]

Can I change my projection?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. Absolutely.

[Mike Wright]

You didn't like the no look, honestly.

[Jason Moore]

I was thrilled to find out it was no look. Thrilled. I'm thrilled because I, I thought it was. I just thought it was a pass, not a no look pass.

[Andy Holloway]

I thought it was to the defense.

[Jason Moore]

It was the kind of pass that made me want somebody to go out there and just say like, you're done. You're done with football.

[Mike Wright]

He's beta testing some stuff, man.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like a baseball. Like, we're going to bring in the reliever. Like, you know, you just call me like, you're done today.

[Jason Moore]

The manager should come out and pull the quarterback in that fashion. Baseball game.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I mean.

[Jason Moore]

And they make them give you the football and then they walk off. Well, the crowd boost, it's.

[Mike Wright]

Look, no look. Passes are not as easy as homes and staffer make him look.

[Andy Holloway]

I watched that play like six times on replay not knowing that it was a no look. And I was like, I could not figure out what his attempt was. Like, what were you trying. You can always see, like, oh, he overthrew a guy or he thought the receiver was going to go one way.

[Mike Wright]

Got a little messed up.

[Andy Holloway]

What were you trying to do? Where were you? Where were you trying to throw this foot down?

[Jason Moore]

To be fair, I mean, this was something we didn't talk about in the preseason. But Kyler, like, he completed every other pass in the entire game. But when that play happened, like 50%. No, no, he was like eight for nine.

[Andy Holloway]

Boom. Switch.

[Jason Moore]

No, I don't get it.

[Mike Wright]

He completed every other pass he went with. It was a dad joke.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, every other pass. Okay. No, that took me.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we got.

[Jason Moore]

Man, I'm glad I'm younger than you, but literally, when that play happened, I was like, I hate you. I was like, I hate you. I hate that I'm stuck with you.

[Mike Wright]

It was a heat check, man.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. You what?

[Mike Wright]

Did you ever seen him jack up from the. From the logo? That was his. That was his logo shot.

[Jason Moore]

Stop.

[Mike Wright]

He's like, oh, I guess I'm not on fire.

[Jason Moore]

You don't need to. Yeah, you're not on fire. Did you see the other comments this morning from. Because the Cardinals lost the offensive line coach and then Schottenheimer came out and was talking about the Cardinals o. Line coach when he's the OC In Dallas. And he's just like, Kyler, Some. Some weeks would. I mean, he, like, was so candid about it. He's like, yeah, you just told me that Kyler doesn't want to run sometimes. Yeah. And then he's just like, some weeks he's like, I don't feel running today.

[Mike Wright]

That is not surprising. Watching him play. It's what it looks like, having a superpower. And you're just like, because, nah, not today.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to give him a nickname. It's Moody Murray. He's Moody. He's like, sometimes he's in a good mood and he runs and looks great and he's an MVP the next week. He's like Moody Murray, man.

[Mike Wright]

Moody Murray.

[Andy Holloway]

That is perfect. I'm not going to run. That is perfect. Because you know who's moody? Little babies. They are so moody.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, his picture.

[Jason Moore]

He's got his jersey on our back wall today.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, take it down.

[Jason Moore]

We have a My Guy reliever in here. We got a my guys show on Friday.

[Mike Wright]

It should relieve the jersey.

[Jason Moore]

What name was on the board for me as a My guy for the entire off season. That's not on there anymore.

[Andy Holloway]

Marvin Harrison.

[Jason Moore]

That's why. Yeah, that is. Why not. Because Marvin shouldn't be great and Kyler shouldn't be great because sometimes he's just awful. I'm just so frustrated.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you think he knows? Do you think he's walking like to the game? He's like, I'm in a bad mood today. I'm just not going to play well.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Yeah. He's like, oh, I lost like three matches in a row. All right. Number 18 is Breece Hall. This one is wild because he's going at 13. So we're. We're already way below ADP. I'm at 22. I would love to have not talked about him today, but you two have forced me to.

[Mike Wright]

He's still going to catch some passes.

[Andy Holloway]

He should catch a lot of passes. And you know, I know Mike's brought this up before, but there's a lot of data to show. So. Usually mobile rushing quarterbacks are very, very bad for the pass catching running backs. Justin Fields is kind of an outlier there. He has a history of targeting his running backs in the receiving game. That's where Breece hall thrives. Breeze hall is playing for a contract here. He's playing to audition for free agency. He wants to do everything in his power to have the workload now. I don't think he's going to get it.

[Jason Moore]

I was going to say don't show the other teams for your contract pursuit the clips of you on the bench because that's going to happen for some of this year too. He's going so high. He's almost RB1.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I do not like the draft price but the case for Breece hall for it going well is he is, you know, designated as we got a pass so we got to have the best player for that type of a play. And if you think that the jets are just going to be stinky, I mean they can want to have their Detroit Lions more defined running back scheme, but in the second quarter when you're Already down. Second half, second quarter.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, oh, we're good.

[Mike Wright]

I mean we're talking, we're talking the jets, man.

[Andy Holloway]

That's fine.

[Mike Wright]

Like when it's the second quarter and you're down by 10 already, then you know what the second half is going to be. So like that's what could go. Right. I still don't like the RB13.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not drafted. He's always going to be drafted high because he's 24 years old. Two years ago he was the running back for, you know, he is an explosive athlete that can go out there and have near 100 targets like he had two years ago. There's a lot of ways to see how it goes. Right. The issue is we do not believe he's going to have a massive workload and he's not on a winning team. So you look at the top 20 running backs, how we started the segment. You average a bunch of touchdowns. Can Breeze do that on this Jets? I don't know. You average a bunch of wins. Can the jets do that? Probably not. And you get a massive workload. Should the jets give it to Breece? Maybe. Will they? Probably not. It's like three strikes.

[Jason Moore]

He is the, he's the number one player that I will not draft this year because of the price. We can have a whole discussion about Breeze Hall's potential upside. That's fine. Kyron Chase Brown, James Cook, Amari and Hampton Calvin, Alvin Camara. Those are the five players. Some before, some after Breeze Hall. I want all of them over Breeze Hall. Yeah. It just feels like the positive case. Yeah, maybe it's there, but I don't think it's top 12. And the negative case seems really scary.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just trying to say something nice about the.

[Andy Holloway]

I can't wait for next year. Breece Hall, I do think he goes out and gets a contract as a, as a high workload player.

[Jason Moore]

It seems harder though to like have that be a certifiable guarantee if this year doesn't go well and the jobs are just. Because then you're forced far between. There's four straight years then if he doesn't like four straight years of decline in terms of production.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but I mean general managers really value their pre NFL scouting and I think if someone else looks at Breece hall as like I, this was my favorite running back in that draft class and we can go get him now on the free agent market and they weren't using him. Right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean it would be. We call that the DeAndre Swift case.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And I know things, look, things can change rapidly but it's like the amount of teams that are going to have that spot open, it's not many.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Last year was 209 for 876 on the ground, five rushing touchdowns, but then 57 receptions. So look, he can still give you production. I just don't like what people are paying for him right now. 17 is Chuba Hubbard who we got to see a little bit of in the preseason. Bryce Young looked good as as well.

[Andy Holloway]

The least sexy player in fantasy football.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he think I agree with that.

[Jason Moore]

He deserves so much more. I got him at 16, Jason at 14, Mike at 20, comes in at 17, looked great in the preseason snaps that I saw again, he's 14.7 points per game last year. Finished at RB13 on a trash team. You talk about he had the workload check mark. He had the touchdown check mark. He did not have the winning team check mark. Do you believe Carolina could become one this year?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they certainly could. I don't project them to be a 10 win team by any means. But if you look at the things that turn around a team, first of all, their defense was historically bad last year and it was bad on purpose two years ago. They sold their defensive pieces and did the rebuild the right way. Now they've, you know, they're still young. They should have a slightly better defense. But Bryce Young is really the heart and soul of this team. Will he step up and be, you know, if he takes a step forward from the step forward we saw the second half of last year, he could go out there and be a franchise quarterback. If that's the case, they'll win more games. Chuba should be good. He was the running back 13 last year in only 15 games played. So that was, you know, 14.7 fantasy points per game. My issue with him is how ineffective he was in the receiving game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

But he was still utilized in the receiving. So I just hope that doesn't go away like that.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I was going to bring up for Andy is the we're back. Rico Dowdle played a lot with the starters. I know we're talking it's preseason week one, but we're just trying to glean whatever we possibly can. And Rico had seven snaps, Chuba had six. You know, that's four routes for Rico Dowdle and it looks like it's not everything but it's like Rico will probably be the third down guy and then probably the two minute guy. So it becomes down to is it for sure. Chuba on the goal line. I would project it to be. But is it for sure?

[Jason Moore]

I feel very confident about it. Yeah. On the goal line, the third down. You know, we talked about it the other day. Is that as valuable as you think it is? I mean, Chuba would catch the ball and fall down practically. He's not a. He's not a big yardage guy, but he's still going to be out there on first and second down. So last year he finished at 13. We're all back behind that number, so I don't think we're being. You know, in a lot of ways, Dowdle's safer to me than the situation you were in with Jonathan Brooks. Right. Jonathan Brooks was this young, up and coming, potential takeover guy. Dowdle is very, very. Like, they just paid Chuba. They paid Dowdle a backup contract. It is very defined, but Brooks got injured.

[Andy Holloway]

If Dowdle plays the whole season, he should eat into a little bit of the workload. I'll grant that, but you brought it up. And the contract that they just paid Chuba says, you're our dude. They just signed him to what, like a $33 million contract?

[Mike Wright]

So my question for him is just like, you know, the season opens, obviously, the Panthers are trying to figure out who they are, but it's like chuba is in 54% of snaps. 58%. 58%. And then the numbers start going, going up, and he's catching, like, while it's inefficient in the receiving game, you know, he's getting, like five targets in a ton of these games, catching four of them for no yardage. But that's still, you know, you give me four for 20 yards, that makes a difference to your bottom line of fantasy. And if that gets cut because Rico Dowdle is the one out there.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Kept taking those types of checkdowns.

[Jason Moore]

That's why he is being drafted at RB18. I wanted to look at that. Do you feel like that's the right price point?

[Andy Holloway]

That's right around where he's.

[Mike Wright]

I'm a little bit lower in my projection.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Because he just.

[Jason Moore]

You have some doubt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Nice. He just. He is a player that. I can see it, even with the contract going wrong for a fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

And they did draft fourth round brother of. Yeah. The other etn, they got Trevor etn.

[Jason Moore]

Did you see his first touch?

[Andy Holloway]

I did not.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. It was a kickoff return. He fumbled it. Fumble for loss. James Cook at 16. Mike's my guy for last year. Who finished at RB8. Who was tremendous and is currently pouting.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Should we have our analysis be like his preseason?

[Jason Moore]

Like, we say we're going to give it, but then we're like, I don't.

[Mike Wright]

Want to do this.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I don't want to be here anymore.

[Jason Moore]

I had some stuff to say, but yeah. Yeah. I don't really want to say it.

[Andy Holloway]

Is he going to play week one?

[Jason Moore]

I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

I really doubt he is going to sacrifice game checks since his goal here is money and his outlook in the future.

[Mike Wright]

What does it look like then? Are the coaches like, oh, boy, James, we're. We know it was a little bit rough there.

[Jason Moore]

And James Cook's team. Josh Allen.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. The coaches know exactly how to utilize James Cook. You're going to see exactly what happened last year. I know he's. If he's missing a lot of camp and he's not playing.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. That's 16 touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm saying utilization wise. Obviously the correlation between touchdowns, that's not very sticky. But the utilization is important on a really, really good offense. You want to say, okay, good offense, yes. Touchdowns, yes. Are they going to win? Yeah. Is he going to have the workload? Probably not. I mean, he didn't really have a great workload last year.

[Jason Moore]

207 carries, thousand yards. What. I want to know what you put in your projections for the UDK in terms of rushing touchdowns for James Cook. Because I have my number that I have in there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I have nine.

[Andy Holloway]

I have eight.

[Jason Moore]

Do you have a number, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

I'm trying to pull it up.

[Andy Holloway]

It's hard to have someone. But that was a real outlier for.

[Mike Wright]

A guy who, you know, total touchdowns. I have him at like eight and a half total. I have.

[Andy Holloway]

I have 10 total.

[Jason Moore]

I have him at 11 total. I was talking just rushing 16 on the ground.

[Mike Wright]

I got. I got 6.8 for him.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right. So, I mean, look, it's. He's a big play guy. He had a lot of those last year. Four plus, four touchdowns of 40 plus yards. That was only. It looks like him and Saquon. But they also are willing to utilize other guys. Like there's definitely. I want to be clear because we've talked about all this regression stuff. Like it's super possible for James Cook to just go out there and have a. An upper echelon fantasy season inside the top 10. And especially maybe even more so. Like, we never talk about that. What if he gets paid? What if he comes to an agreement and the money says.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

The money really says more about him being the one and everyone else being the two, A and B than anything else. I mean, that is A, that's an outcome.

[Andy Holloway]

What if he doesn't get paid and they're like, let's just use them up? I mean.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, I. It's true.

[Andy Holloway]

Back to back years, he's been a top 12 fantasy running back. So I don't have any problem drafting him. Where he's going. At the beginning of the off season, when we, when we left last year and started drafts early for 2025, he was so high. I was like, this is. This is going to be my breeze Hall. This is the guy that, like, the touchdown regression is obvious. The three way timeshare is obvious. I'm not going to be in on James Cook now. He's kind of fallen to a place in drafts where I'm. I'm okay taking him there because he's not being drafted at his ceiling, which he obviously has. You know, the last two years, running back eight, running back 11. But it will take hyper efficiency, which I don't love banking on.

[Jason Moore]

Makes sense.

[Mike Wright]

He's good. Like, that's the thing that can overcome the other check marks which you ran through him, Jay. He's got all of those. Where he doesn't have the workload is. He's good. He's the best running back on the team, I think, by a lot. So if you want to bet on that efficiency, it's at the back of the third.

[Jason Moore]

He can't record field goals like Ray Davis, though.

[Andy Holloway]

Did Ray Davis kick a field? Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

That's awesome.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we'll take a break and we'll get our 15 down to 11. This is an ad by BetterHelp. These days, it feels like there's advice for everything. We talk about this all the time. You look at the reels and all the social media, you got the cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes. But the problem is you don't know it actually works. And the Internet is full of information overload about mental health, about wellness. And it's hard to know what will actually make a difference, what's true. And so you gotta take action, but you don't know how. You want to use trusted resources. And BetterHelp has live therapists that can get you personalized recommendations and help you break through all of that noise. With over 30,000 therapists worldwide, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it's very convenient. You can join a session with a Therapist at the click of a button and you can switch therapists at any time. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com footballers. That's better. H E L p.com footballers Today's show.

[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

At 15, Omarion Hampton comes in.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah, yeah. No, Matt, you're bringing up a good point. We didn't have this at the top of the show because this is a pretty anti kicker show.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

But when a boom. Boom goes out there and pulls out.

[Andy Holloway]

Boom.

[Mike Wright]

The bazooka boots. Boom. And you kick a 70 yarder. That, I mean, from my estimation, you probably had a couple yards on there. Yeah, like Cam Little.

[Jason Moore]

I knew he'd get here at some point.

[Mike Wright]

Dude, that's awesome.

[Jason Moore]

But oh my gosh. I mean, he's definitely getting that shot during the year. At least once.

[Mike Wright]

That is.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Right before halftime.

[Jason Moore]

You know, just.

[Andy Holloway]

Or here. Let's just try it, sir.

[Mike Wright]

It would be an 85 yard kick. Boot him in. Yeah, I want to see it.

[Andy Holloway]

You're on your one yard line.

[Jason Moore]

It just doesn't seem fair that that doesn't count as the NFL record. It's the same. It's a preseason game. I get it. I know, I know. But 15. Amarian Hampton, I got him at 10. Jason at 18. Mike at 19. I don't believe he played in yesterday's preseason game at all. Just further cementing the RB1 status. Yeah, the status of Mario play.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think Najee can play.

[Mike Wright]

I just say by if we're going with this as the analysis, he definitely. Najee hasn't played any preseason.

[Jason Moore]

Najee, you got that video, the clip of him, the photo. He definitely can't open his left eye. Like that's obvious. Obvious in the. At least if he had chosen to take a picture, I imagine he would have opened it if he could have. But we don't know if Najee will be out there for week one or not. I think that's very up in the air. But Hampton comes in at 15. He's being drafted as the RB15. He was the RB18 off the board a few months ago. So it has definitely moved in the direction you'd expect it to move with an Aji Harris fireworks injury and with the fact that the, you know, all the vibes, the comments, the camp, it's all positive around Amari and Hampton.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we are. We're rapidly closing in on the point where you just. Andy's already done. Andy, you pushed all your chips on Hampton. I made myself a note. I got to move him up because if Najee is not there in week one, then the chances of Omari and Hampton just taking the job and being like this is mine now. Najee, thank you for enjoy your money. I guess the guarantee part of the contract that you got because the issue with with Najee was okay if he's in training camp and Harbaugh, it'll start out, it'll be the veteran and we'll have to have some time for Hampton to work his way up. But for a first round running back to now be on a team that checks a lot of those boxes we've been talking about for these fantasy running backs.

[Jason Moore]

We are still a very good offensive line even without Slater.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. We are rapidly closing in on. You just have to embrace what is what is going to happen. And what's the latest on Najee of oh, there's a chance he's ready for a week one. Yeah, you got a. I think it's chips all in on Hampton time.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. You have what in the last eight years or so you've had. Well, I guess it goes back a little bit further with Trent Richardson, but you had so many rookie running backs finish inside the top 10. They're very good bets for fantasy. You talked about the team. There's just a lot to like here if, if J.K. dobbins can come out last year and give you RB4, RB4 for the first two weeks of the year. Five finishes in the top eight on a weekly basis and it's J.K. dobbins at this stage of his career. A 22 year old, versatile kind of do it all. Running back seems like a good bet.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And this is a player who I know pre draft wise like Andy and I were madly in love with. Just look like a bona fide NFL three down workhorse back. He is good at every part of the game. He can catch the ball great. And you know we've seen with Austin Eckler that this is a quarterback who knows how to get the ball into the hands of the running back in the passing game. The offense looks so good. I think Keenan Allen being there just helps move the chains, get him closer to scoring. I've got him right now as my running back. 14. I'm happy to pull the trigger on him early. We expected him to take over by the end of the year.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, eventually.

[Andy Holloway]

But now he gets to start with the takeover. He's not going to let go of it.

[Jason Moore]

James Conner at 14 James Connor's 30 years old. Any you know he's being drafted as RB20. So if you look at the value scout tool in our, in our draft kit, you'll see that Connor is one of those higher value players compared to adp. He is the engine to the Cardinals offense. I do think the Cardinals offense will be predicated on a great running game. There was, you know, some impressive play by Trey Benson this preseason so far there's a lot of comments around Trey Benson. Do you have any concern of Trey Benson taking too much work from Connor to make this a mistake?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think he could take too much to make this a mistake because Connor I still believe will be the goal line back and he is really the heart and soul, the leader of this team. However, I believe he, Trey Benson will take more work than last year. We can't just look at last year's utilization and you know, put that out for 20, 25. I believe it will be not a 1A 1B but it will be a 1 2. And last year was kind of just A. This is James Conner's team, his offense and then we give him breathers. You hope that maybe that helps James Conner's efficiency, you know, as the season goes on it keeps him active and healthy. I think James Conner is still a very good pick but you need to, need to be aware of Trey Benson. I think Trey Benson, given James Conner's injury history, is in his own right. One of the few targets to have at the end of drafts where you go, okay, this guy could be more involved without injury and then an injury could actually make him really valuable.

[Jason Moore]

At 13, it's Alvin Camara. We saw Tyler Schuck have the most yo yo debut performance possible, pick six followed by a 54 yard touchdown throw. Very up and down. We, I should have mentioned maybe Jackson Dart too. Like some of the rookie quarterback play that we've got to see in the preseason has been fun to watch but. And Jackson Dart had some impressive throws as well. Alvin Camara though, Tyler Schuck, Spencer Rattler quarterback situation. He has been a machine Camara since 2017. Just a year in and year out, automatic start. He had his highest fantasy points per game since 2020 last year. But he missed time at the end. He was one of those players that you didn't win a title with. You might have got there, might have got to the playoffs with him. But Mike, how do you feel about Camara right now? I feel like we haven't talked about him in a while.

[Mike Wright]

So Jay, you called Chuba like the unsexiest pick. Like I think it might be Camara because it just feels gross even looking at our rankings. It all makes intellectual sense of the depth chart here. Like Camara still is still good at football even though you're just kind of waiting for the shoe to drop. But the backfield of like the hopes and dreams of Kendra Miller, I don't even know if he makes a team of Clyde. Like, yeah, someone is not.

[Jason Moore]

Miller was 2.5 a carry in preseason yesterday and that was.

[Mike Wright]

Someone is not making the roster. But the point is like he's, he's old, but he's just so much better than everybody there. And this is. If you, if you're going to have a team that is not good to have your fantasy running back, have them be so bad that they have to throw to their running back six times a week. And just, you know that we always recommend don't watch it because it's going to feel bad and it's going to be frustrating that they're not scoring more touchdowns. But he will be so involved. And the as of what I've seen, it's, it's not over yet for Alvin Camara.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the Camara is a great value pick. Where he's going, nobody. You don't see his upside case. Right? You don't look at the Saints and Go, oh, they're going to be great. They're going to have so many. Touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

30 year old running back.

[Andy Holloway]

He's 30, so there's nothing we could do to steam him up. However, he is the best pass catching guarantee out there in the league. I mean, he had a 20% target share at the running back position. Nearly 16% of the Saints first read targets. That's like, that's like a number that some wide receivers have. And then you look at Kellen Moore coming in and at the very least you know that they're going to play fast, neutral pace. Ranks of Kellen Moore offenses recently? First, first, second, fourth, fourth, eighth. So if you get a lot of plays and you're down and you don't have anyone to throw the ball to, it's super.

[Jason Moore]

Camario forgot about that. Can he still be super?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the star runs out quicker, but if he finds one, he'll, he'll have a few.

[Mike Wright]

We got some diminishing returns. We've used it too many times.

[Jason Moore]

Jonathan Taylor comes in at 12. Jonathan Taylor had the silliest end of the year possible.

[Andy Holloway]

How dare you.

[Jason Moore]

I looked at those, I looked at those three games. You know what is, you know what is attempt pace. Not, not opportunity. His attempt pace in those three games would put him on pace for a, he would have needed. It would have been 530. Oh, 530 carries a year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Mind you, the preceding Jonathan Taylor had.

[Mike Wright]

Never been seen again.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So he finished 1:1 and 4 the last three weeks of the year. They just basically said, we're tired of this season. This season's done. Let's give the ball to Jonathan Taylor.

[Andy Holloway]

And it worked.

[Jason Moore]

The preceding 11 games played, it was more, it was still a heavy workload. It was 320, but he only scored five times in those games. He missed three games due to injury, which has been a little bit of the Jonathan Taylor issue. So where are you guys with Taylor? I feel like I'm, I can talk myself in and out of Taylor. He's had three straight years where he hasn't played a full season. I don't like a lot of the other pieces there. It's like, I look at him and I'm like, crap, he's not going to catch the ball. He's always got explosive potential. But I can talk myself in, I can talk myself out.

[Andy Holloway]

I can't be talked out of him. I'm sure I'm the most bullish of the three of us here because I believe his talent is so elite as A running back as a prospect in the NFL that I'm willing to forgive. The lack of pass catching, the potential for goal line vultures. This is a player who, before that crazy last three weeks, he was already on pace for 1400 yards in the 11 games to start. You know, he's getting the workload. That box is checked. He should be able to get the touchdowns so he could get to that. That checkbox. Now, are the Colts a really good team? Probably not, but I do think that they're, you know, look, bringing Daniel Jones in gives them the ability to win more games. Either should Anthony Richardson not pan out or should he get injured again. Tyler Warren looks like the dude. I think he's going to help their offense tremendously. So this could be a better team. They're in a winnable division. And if Jonathan Taylor plays the whole season, I just don't. I don't see.

[Jason Moore]

Don't say that part.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't see how his floor is lower than like the running back. 14. I mean, this is a guy who's just getting too much volume and is too talented. And if you go, well, what's his ceiling? My personal belief is that his ceiling is still a top four running back in fantasy. If he goes out there and ends up with a dozen touchdowns, maybe gets.

[Jason Moore]

A few more top four.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I can't get there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So I mean it there with Taylor, but you are the. You are the tailor man.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Taylor made.

[Jason Moore]

Taylor made.

[Mike Wright]

What week does Steichen get fired?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, gosh.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's look at their schedule and figure it out.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, like, does. That's.

[Jason Moore]

So to Jason's point, I wanted to look at this a little bit just to. Because I hadn't seen it. So he had missed the time the year before. But points per game wise, he was still RB8. Okay. Because he finished at 33 or something. But you got to throw that out. He missed it.

[Mike Wright]

Which year?

[Jason Moore]

23.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. The 14.7.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So that was RB8 numbers. And then the year before that, I think was more of a down year. He was RB18 in points per game. That was kind of the, like, what's going on? Like, people were expecting Jonathan Taylor to be this perennial RB one, and then it kind of disappeared.

[Andy Holloway]

That was when he was dealing with the ankle all year.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So he just, you know, last year, where did he finish in points per game?

[Mike Wright]

Points per game? I don't have. He was at 17 points per game.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, that's got to be very, very high in points.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he Was so he was five.

[Jason Moore]

So the last three years in points per game. If you want to just toss the injury, you know, unpredictable injury stuff out, that would be RB5, RB8 and RB18.

[Mike Wright]

Sure. Given Jonathan Taylor a big pass on his injuries.

[Jason Moore]

No, I did not.

[Mike Wright]

Destroying Kenneth Walker.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, you're not listening. When Jason said if he plays a full season, my next words. My next words was like, no, he won't. Oh, you're talking to him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, that makes more sense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, sure.

[Jason Moore]

Well, he's on his. He's also on his team.

[Andy Holloway]

He's way more talented than Kenneth Walker.

[Jason Moore]

Kenneth Walker's on your team in Dynasty and Jonathan Taylor's on Jason's team in league of record.

[Mike Wright]

So we believe in who we believe you believe.

[Jason Moore]

You want those guys stay healthy for your team. Kyren at 11 will wrap up today's running back rankings. Kyron comes in 11. I've got him at 13, Jason at 10, Mike at 10. He's been the RB6 two straight years. He is a red zone dominator. I am excited to see what this offense can look like with Adams and Puka and Kyren and everybody healthy.

[Mike Wright]

We do have an update that Matthew Stafford in street close. Not practicing today. Don't worry. It's part of the plan now is that resting.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, you are the resting authority.

[Mike Wright]

So let's see. McVeigh previously said. Oh, previously said the plan was for Stafford to participate in individual drills. So we are not according to plan.

[Jason Moore]

So we're on. He's not throwing it in the street.

[Mike Wright]

We're on plan F right now for Matthew Stafford.

[Jason Moore]

It will be bad for everybody if he's out.

[Andy Holloway]

It would be really bad.

[Jason Moore]

It'll be bad for everybody.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. That's. That's terrible. It's. It's really the biggest hesitation I have in drafting any Rams. To get back to a different question, though, because I. We had talked about when Shane Steichen gets fired and I wanted to look at their schedule, their first eight games. They start the season with the Dolphins.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, should be able to do that.

[Andy Holloway]

They play the Titans twice. Oh, they play the Cardinals. They play the Raiders and then the Rams. So, like, they could actually.

[Jason Moore]

It's a good start.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, that's.

[Jason Moore]

They're not favored for the Cleveland Brown skills, the underdogs. The three of the first four, though.

[Mike Wright]

Well, because they are stinky.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, they might be underdogs against, I mean, the Dolphins, but no, they're.

[Jason Moore]

They're favorite against the Dolphins.

[Andy Holloway]

What about the. I don't have it in front of.

[Jason Moore]

Their underdogs against Denver. They're underdogs against Tennessee. They're underdogs against Los Angeles.

[Andy Holloway]

They're underdogs against the Titans.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. On the road. Yeah. Those teams are not that far apart.

[Andy Holloway]

They are.

[Jason Moore]

Cam Ward looked great, by the way. Cam Ward looked great. But yeah, no, overall, the names that.

[Andy Holloway]

You threw out, those are teams that Jonathan Taylor winnable games, but can definitely very much so.

[Jason Moore]

That's really good. Kyren, insight you have.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you're welcome. Okay, here's the, here's the insight on Kyron. Kyron Williams is a workhorse volume back who so check mark. He touches the ball around the goal line and successfully nonstop. He is a touchdown machine. Check mark. This team should win a lot of games. Sean McVeigh is a great coach. So he's got all three check marks. He's also been the running back six the last two years. Two years ago he was very efficient. He, you know, a lot's made that. Last year he wasn't that efficient on a per touch basis.

[Mike Wright]

Pretty brutal.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. He was pretty brutal. Two years ago the Rams had a very easy schedule against the running game. Last year they had a very difficult schedule against the running game. This year they have a very easy schedule against the running game. So it's kind of like I expect his efficiency to go up a little bit this year. But it all comes down to Safford and I hate that. I hate that with all of these players.

[Jason Moore]

You're taking Jonathan Taylor ahead of Kyron.

[Andy Holloway]

Am I?

[Jason Moore]

Because that's what I mean. It looks like those are back to back in your rankings with Taylor ahead. I feel safer with Kyron. Yeah, it's that for the three checkbox argument.

[Andy Holloway]

I really like both of those players right now. Stafford scares me so much. But yeah, I, I think Stafford will be all right. Yeah, he usually is.

[Mike Wright]

He's.

[Andy Holloway]

He's, he's a tough son of a gun.

[Jason Moore]

I really do. I think he'll be. I mean this is. We've had some off seasons. Maybe not.

[Andy Holloway]

But I will say the one thing that I don't worry about as much as a lot of people out there is the Jarquez Hunter draft pick, the Blake Corum. Like these are, these are people that can spell him.

[Jason Moore]

These are Corum's head of Hunter, by the way.

[Mike Wright]

I think I brought that up somewhere of that draft Twitter of just obsessed with Hunter. It's like you just did this with Corum last year who was a third.

[Andy Holloway]

Round pick and now Corum's dead.

[Mike Wright]

And look, but look who's ahead of the death chart.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, Corum is the backup, not Jarquez. So I do think Kyron's going to, he got paid. He's going to be a great asset this year. And he's not expensive. You know where he's going in the third round. I think his is, you know, he's been the running back six. The running back six. He's drafted as the running back 11.

[Jason Moore]

All right, that does it for today's rankings episode. We'll count down the top 10 running backs tomorrow. We have 10 tips and tricks episode coming up this week, the My Guys episode coming up this week. And a reminder, the UDK for Life giveaway going on right now. Make sure you pick up the UDK by next Monday when we do an exclusive live stream event on YouTube and we'll give away a UDK for life along with a signed Jamar Chase jersey. And you can learn more about the UDK. Become a part of that giveaway@ultimate draft kit.com that'll do it for today. I'll go. Michael, put the binoculars on and go watch for some Kenneth Walker practice reports.

[Mike Wright]

He's probably resting, guys.

[Andy Holloway]

He's very sleepy.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you for listening. Listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.