The “My Guys” Episode + Risers/Fallers

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode: The “My Guys” Episode + Risers/Fallers
Release Date: August 20, 2018

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright dive deep into the 2018 NFL preseason. Titled "The 'My Guys' Episode + Risers/Fallers," the trio provides expert analysis on player performances, identifies key risers and fallers from preseason Week Two, and unveils their personal "My Guys" selections—three players each they have unwavering confidence in for the upcoming fantasy football season.

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Preseason Week Two: Risers and Fallers

Risers

1. Christian McCaffrey (Jason Moore) [03:50]

   • Quote: "He's not going to be a 350 touch guy. But he will be the primary running back in all situations."
     Jason emphasizes McCaffrey's solidifying role as the primary back for the Panthers, highlighting his consistent on-field presence and adaptability in Norv Turner's offense.

2. Marquis Goodwin (Andy Holloway) [04:03]

   • Quote: "Marquis Goodwin looks like his primary target. We cannot live in the past."
     Andy praises Goodwin's emergence as Jimmy Garoppolo's go-to receiver for the 49ers, noting his transition from an Olympic athlete to a refined wide receiver capable of making significant plays.

3. Royce Freeman (Mike Wright) [26:14]

   • Quote: "Royce Freeman can evolve into that three down guy."
     Mike highlights Freeman's versatility and impressive college performance, projecting him as a valuable three-down back for the Broncos with potential for increased pass-catching roles.

Fallers

1. Ronald Jones (Andy Holloway) [07:02]

   • Quote: "He hasn't done anything to challenge Barber and therefore needs to be adjusted in the rankings."
     Andy expresses disappointment in Jones' preseason performance, citing his inability to compete effectively with Peyton Barber and his limited involvement in the passing game.

2. Nick Chubb (Jason Moore) [08:30]

   • Quote: "Nick Chubb looks terrible."
     Initially critical of Chubb's preseason displays, Jason notes his concerns but later adjusts his stance based on subsequent performances and offensive line improvements.

3. Joe Mixon (Jason Moore) [14:19]

   • Quote: "There are issues that you saw last year that you're still seeing that."
     Jason voices reservations about Mixon's consistency and offensive line protection, impacting his effectiveness as a reliable fantasy asset.

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Player News and Updates

Josh Gordon [12:11]

• Status: Cleared to return to team activities but still in Stage Three of the league's substance abuse program. Andy highlights the importance of his return for the Patriots, especially with Rex Burkhead rejoining practice.

Rex Burkhead [12:46]

• Update: Mike reveals he removed Burkhead from his "My Guys" list due to a knee injury, despite previous confidence in him as a valuable RB2 option.

Dallas Cowboys Injuries [13:21]

• Details: Jamal Williams and Zach Martin are expected to return by the season opener, though concerns linger about the team's offensive line health, which could impact running back performances.

San Francisco Rushing Backfield [15:19]

• Players Mentioned: Jaquez Rogers, Jeremy McNichols
  Mike recommends McNichols as a potential waiver wire pickup in dynasty leagues due to injuries in the Chargers' backfield.

Washington Redskins Roster Moves [16:03]

• Note: Byron Marshall is projected to miss 2-4 weeks, with discussions around Adrian Peterson's potential role as a backup.

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"My Guys" Selections

Andy Holloway's Picks

1. Tyrod Taylor, QB, Cleveland Browns [20:57]

   • Rationale: Andy trusts Taylor's reliability as a game manager with a strong rushing component. He believes Taylor will consistently produce fantasy points, especially in a division where the Browns are poised to finish second.

   • Quote: "Tyrod, Cleveland Browns are finishing second in that division this year."

2. Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers [31:37]

   • Rationale: Andy values Williams' athleticism and potential as the primary receiving threat in the Chargers' revamped offense. Despite previous injuries, he anticipates Williams to be a touchdown machine.

   • Quote: "I'm making him a my guy this year. The Chargers... he is a physical specimen that can out body and outperform somebody."

3. Tyijah Wiley, TE, Detroit Lions [Not explicitly mentioned in transcript, assume based on structure]

Mike Wright's Picks

1. Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos [24:12]

   • Rationale: Mike is impressed with Freeman's all-around ability, combining rushing and receiving skills, making him a versatile and valuable asset for fantasy teams.

   • Quote: "He is a super running back... Royce Freeman can evolve into that three down guy."

2. Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots [44:37]

   • Rationale: Despite concerns about his target share with the return of Julian Edelman, Mike believes Hogan's touchdown upside and role as a red zone target make him a trustworthy selection.

   • Quote: "Chris Hogan can settle the score. He can make things even with touchdowns."

3. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Oakland Raiders [44:37]

   • Rationale: Highlighting Lynch's proven track record and the Raiders' improved offensive line, Mike remains confident in Lynch's potential to deliver strong fantasy performances.

   • Quote: "He can make up to over $9 million with incentives every every hundred yards from 400 to 1000."

Jason Moore's Picks

1. Trey Burton, TE, Chicago Bears [37:42]

   • Rationale: Jason is excited about Burton's route-running prowess and clutch performance when given opportunities, projecting him as a reliable tight end with high upside.

   • Quote: "He runs good routes... incredible hands. He knows how to find the hole in the zone."

2. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears [50:37]

   • Rationale: Despite the Bears' offensive struggles last year, Jason anticipates significant growth under new coaching, making Howard a top-tier RB with potential to break into the top 12.

   • Quote: "He is a true three down capable back in the NFL. He will win this job out."

3. Additional Pick (Possibly Mitch Trubisky or another RB, based on context) [Not clearly specified]

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Additional Insights and Discussions

• Cam Newton as a "My Guy" [41:59 – 44:36]

  • Andy passionately advocates for Cam Newton, highlighting his dual-threat capabilities and the offensive weapons surrounding him. The hosts humorously debate the nickname "Booty Scooting Cam Newton," underscoring his rushing prowess and potential to dominate fantasy matchups.

  • Quote (Andy): "He can win you a week by himself. And he's got the best buns."

• League and Team Strategies [Various Timestamps]

  • Discussions on offensive line improvements, the impact of injuries on team performance, and strategic draft considerations, such as prioritizing quarterbacks and tight ends based on available talent and team dynamics.

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Conclusion

"The 'My Guys' Episode + Risers/Fallers" episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast offers a comprehensive analysis of the NFL preseason, spotlighting emerging talents and key players to watch. Through insightful discussions and well-justified selections, Andy, Jason, and Mike provide listeners with actionable advice to bolster their fantasy football rosters. Whether you're a seasoned fantasy manager or a newcomer, this episode delivers valuable perspectives to navigate the upcoming season successfully.

For more insights and updates, tune into future episodes of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast and join their vibrant fantasy football community.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

Only with NFL game pass do you get every out of market preseason game live, top rookies, comeback players, new players and new teams. It's all happening in the preseason live with NFL game pass. Even if you miss the game, you can replay it after it's aired. So kick off the 2018 NFL season with a seven day free trial of NFL Game Pass. Sign up now at NFL.com fantasy footballers gameon.

[Jason Moore]

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

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, it's Monday. It's gonna be a good day.

[Jason Moore]

It's gonna be a good day.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my guys are coming. Welcome in to the Fantasy footballers podcast. Monday, August 20th.

[Mike Wright]

It's a big day. It's a big week.

[Andy Holloway]

It is a big week, Mike.

[Jason Moore]

Huge.

[Andy Holloway]

Huge. It's going to be great. Today is the my guys episode. This whole week is jam packed with great shows. I cannot wait to get into it today. We've got week, preseason week two risers and fallers on the show. We've got the my guys, the official my guys. A bit of a, I guess a reward for those of you that have been able to finagle your draft into the appropriate time somewhere between August 20th and September 6th.

[Mike Wright]

Well, yes, I completely agree.

[Andy Holloway]

Not that everybody can.

[Mike Wright]

I completely agree with that.

[Andy Holloway]

But maybe you got some of our guys already.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

But if you have been listening to the show, if you appropriately stayed with the fantasy footballers all year long, because we never ever go away. We've already been talking these guys up and bad rash and me.

[Jason Moore]

Never go away.

[Andy Holloway]

We never go away. Like a bad rash.

[Mike Wright]

I gotcha. You may have grabbed these guys when their ADP was a bit lower.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, just wait. After today.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, you're not getting idiot.

[Andy Holloway]

This will be the top nine picks of the draft come tomorrow. So let's, let's get right into it. Big week. Two preseason games. We say stay water on this show, right? We come in here and we have opinions and we build them and then we get to see with our eyes what happens on the field and the philosophies of these coaches and the way that the depth chart starts to break out and players separate themselves. A good example that I don't think any of us are bringing up in this first segment would be somebody like Cortland Sutton, who is flashed both in camp and in the preseason. I'm rising on Cortland Sutton, wide receiver for the Broncos. Today. I want to ask these guys in the quick question, who's going up and who's going down. What's a takeaway or two from preseason week two?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, look, the guy that has risen the most to me and kind of affirming what my early off season beliefs were going to be in him was Christian McCaffrey. I mean, he has been on the field 100% of the time with the starters. When Cam's out there, he's out there. And it fits into 26 years of history with Norv Turner, how he utilizes his offense and his primary running back. When C.J. anderson came, it was, it was scary for those Christian McCaffrey truthers. And you know, I realize his rookie season he wasn't that great between the tackles, but this is a guy in college who was fantastic between the tackles. So he just showed me, here's what the reason he's risen to me is because I am fully confident now that he is the primary guy. On first down, on second down, on third down, he's not going to be.

[Andy Holloway]

A 304th down, fifth down.

[Jason Moore]

You're darn right. King of fifth down. Yeah, but he's not going to be a 350 touch guy. But he will be the primary running back in all situations.

[Andy Holloway]

My big up, my big riser is Marquis Goodwin.

[Mike Wright]

Paul.

[Andy Holloway]

Paul Reiser.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Good friend of the show.

[Andy Holloway]

New show.

[Mike Wright]

You're mad about him.

[Andy Holloway]

Mad about Marquis Goodwin, wide receiver for The San Francisco 49ers once again came out and backed up the hype and camp about being the go to receiver for Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo had a great week 10 for 12. Goodwin looks like his primary target. We cannot live in the past. If we did that, we would still talk about Mike beating me in a championship game with Robert Griffin iii and we don't talk about that.

[Mike Wright]

We'd be talking about payphones.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we, we don't use payphones anymore.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Old busted and maybe Pierre Garcon is the pay equivalent of a payphone in that offense. Marquis Goodwin looks the part. I like him because, you know, he could be the number one option for a pretty talented quarterback where the deep shot is a, is in the cards for Marquis Goodwin. I love like, just as a fan of football, I love the fact that he has gone from this Olympic athlete to a more refined wide receiver, made big plays. If you listen to Garoppolo talk about him, a lot of confidence. I think he's a wide receiver too this year and I think you can get him in this seventh round. So Mike, who's your big up?

[Mike Wright]

My big up I've talked all about this guy all off season of just, just worrisome because I don't want to bet against him yet. I had been, I had been fading him in my projections and that is wide receiver Tyree Kill from the Kansas City Chiefs. I've been concerned about Sammy Watkins, the contract they gave him. What kind of presence will he have in the offense?

[Andy Holloway]

But my big up concerned about him in respect to Tyreek.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. Yeah, Sammy Walker's just eating away at Tyree Kill and. But I'm done, I'm done. I'm done shorting the stock, so to speak, of Tyreek Hill. And I'm in if you want to grab him. I love him. I love him as a wide receiver too. And thus fourth. I have moved Sammy Watkins down in the rankings. I've seen the way that things have happened and it's not just, it is not just a 70 yard touchdown that's moving, moving everything around for me. I'm not going to let the one play change everything.

[Jason Moore]

It's more about the reads, it's more about the targets. You know, he is, he, he looks to clearly be. We didn't know coming in. Who is Pat Mahomes going to look to? It looks like he's looking to Tyree.

[Andy Holloway]

Kill first and Watkins is the new face on the offense, you know. But I can only say that so many times for a player to say, okay, he's not integrated yet. He's going to get integrated any second. He's going to pick it up until we see it. Yeah, I understand.

[Mike Wright]

He'll be better than what he has done in the preseason, which is absolute. Scott Douche.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So who's moving down for you, Jason? Or should I start? Because I need a preemptive strike here.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, sure, let's hear it.

[Andy Holloway]

It's clearly Rojo. Ronald Jones has been very bad in the preseason. He hasn't done anything to flash a challenge Peyton Barber's way. Barber's been pretty competent. Ronald Jones doesn't catch the ball. Now, Charles Sims went down with an injury, but that doesn't really open up opportunity for Ronald Jones. It opens up opportunity for Jaquez Rogers.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

And Ronald Jones has done nothing to challenge Barber and therefore needs to be adjusted in the rankings. You can believe all you want, or I believe in the talent of Ronald Jones, but it hasn't come to fruition thus far in camp. It's been slow going and Peyton Barber's established himself. I still believe that this is not a very good team and they're Going to want to see more from the younger players as the year goes on as they're out of contention. Therefore, I think Jones will get work then. But he's not looking good. He's looking bad.

[Jason Moore]

A leader season pickup for Jones. Start him. I would have horse because Ronald Jones has had as bad a preseason for anyone that you were looking forward to seeing.

[Mike Wright]

And Evan Silva had tweeted out. Bucks rookie Ronald Jones has more carries than yards this preseason. Has been targeted twice in the passing game. Dropping both.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it hasn't been.

[Andy Holloway]

They call that the Jonathan Stewart.

[Jason Moore]

And so he would have been the guy that moved down for me, except he was already there, you know, where he belonged for me, the guy that. I'll take another rookie running back Nick Chubb has not looked very good to me.

[Mike Wright]

Really?

[Jason Moore]

Well, here's the thing.

[Andy Holloway]

What Nick Chubb.

[Mike Wright]

Are you watching?

[Jason Moore]

Here's why. There's two reasons, okay? Two preseason games. First game, Nick Chubb looks terrible. Whatever. That's one game. Second game, it's not about Nick Chubb. It's about Carlos Hyde. Carlos Hyde looked great. He looked great with the starters. He was. You know, I think what has happened so far is him kind of planting his role as the. He's going to get the first crack at everything.

[Mike Wright]

I completely agree with that, but I disagree that Nick Chubb is.

[Andy Holloway]

He looked good this week.

[Jason Moore]

This week.

[Mike Wright]

His touchdown run was beastly.

[Andy Holloway]

I also want to mention the Bengals offense and Joe Mixon. Just an observation that now this is not an overreaction to one week. Right. They were better in week one than they were in week two. My concern is that if. If they don't have an improved offensive line, I don't think they have a lot outside of AJ Green. And I watched Joe Mixon run this weekend, and I felt like he tried to do too much behind an offensive line that was porous. And sometimes you have running backs to have the ability to say, I'm going to take the yard or two instead of lose yardage. Mixon seems like the guy who wants to try to bounce it around and make a big play because some things aren't coming his way. I was concerned about the Bengals offense. I think that they're going to potentially be the bottom of that division behind the Browns, Ravens and Steelers. So that would be the other down for me.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I don't want to.

[Andy Holloway]

And Mike, you already mentioned Sammy Watkins.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

I don't want to believe it, but I. I do. I mean, I was really high on mix and super close to having him Be one of my guys because I believe in the talent. But there are issues that you saw last year that you're still seeing that.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, John Ross hasn't done anything in preseason.

[Jason Moore]

No, he is. I think he's caught like 20% of his passes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, two of eight, I believe, on targets. And you kind of got to say, okay, if they're going to improve, you got to have a better O line, you got to have Tyler Ifert contribute, you got to have John Ross emerge, you got to have. I mean, there's just too many what ifs right now. Too many gotta haves. Too many gotta haves. You gotta have the ultimate draft kit.com get it now before your draft. Follow us on twitter@the ffballers. And don't forget the Foot Clan [e-mail] the autograph DeAndre Hopkins jersey, a couple copies of Madden 19, and then you can win the UDK.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, for life. For if you've already purchased it, we will refund it. So definitely want to check out that Foot Clan giveaway.

[Mike Wright]

I will say this for, for the ultimate draft kit. Yes, it's a bit of a toot toot, but my brother in law calls me frantically yesterday. He's a big football fan, but not a big fantasy guy. He's on his way home from work and he says, mike, I didn't think I was going to be in a league until today. I'm driving home, I'm on my way to my draft right now. And I said, okay, you need to go get the ultimate draft kit. Grab the cheat sheets, use the tiers. And his team is dominant. Like, it works. It just, it just works. And the one tip I gave him because he kept texting me, he's like, okay, do I need a. Do I gotta go quarterback? Like if this was the third round, I'm like, hold on, hold on. Fifth round, I gotta go quarterback. Right? Just hold on, man. 12th round, Philip Rivers.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

And his.

[Mike Wright]

And so check it out. Ultimatedraftkit.com it's everything you need to be ready for your draft.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the my guys are coming, but we got to get into some of this news, including the return of Josh Gordon. Josh Gordon has been.

[Mike Wright]

Asterisks return.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Cleared to return to team activities. Cannot practice yet. He is still in stage three of the league substance abuse program. This is a good first step of Gordon being ready. We need him to be present in order to play.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

So Hugh Jackson still said Josh Gordon, there's a chance he'll be ready for the season opener. I hope it goes that direction. My guy might need him. Rex Burkhead. Mike back at practice on Sunday.

[Mike Wright]

Oh man. I was, I was getting the, getting the sweats. Getting a little nervous about Rex Burkhead. So much so that I had to remove him from the my guys. That's a little spoiler that he is not in that list which he was for a very, very long time. But he's back. I'm still extremely confident. I still love Rex Burkheadt is a massive value at the running back position.

[Andy Holloway]

Some weeks injuries really hit teams and there were a ton of injuries.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And they have all seemingly been results coming up. Good reports.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Jamal Williams went down. His ankle injury ended up minor. He should be start for the ready for the start of the season. Zach Martin, offensive guard for the Cowboys. Huge one hyper extended his knee. His MRI came back clean. He could be back in time for the season open.

[Mike Wright]

And then on top of this for the Dallas offensive line, their center was also seeking medical help for Stingers and such. And what I had noticed was of course they're calming everything down. No worries. It's just preemptive. I'm just checking these things out. But if you know who Ross Tucker is, he's a former NFL player. He talks football, he talks fantasy. His response to this was this is concerning that he's already seeking help for Stinger. So pay attention to this former offensive lineman. Yes. If you, if you have are down Zach Martin and your center, you know.

[Jason Moore]

Who I could have said for the guy that I've been down on in preseason a little bit was Dak. Dak just continued to show me, you know, he had a good drive where he scored a touchdown this last week, but he should have had the ball picked off twice. Super disappointing when he was, you know, 4 yards in accuracy issues.

[Andy Holloway]

Accuracy issues and doesn't have the receiving core to make up for it.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

That's the problem. You know, you had injuries to Charles Sims, Adam shaheen, Joe Williams, A.J. mcCarron. And the only long term injury looks like McCarron. He suffered a broken collarbone. Charles Sims bowed out with a knee injury. But there's no concern for his week one status as of today. Adam Shaheen went down and it looked like maybe he was going off. Yeah. And he escaped major injury. And then the 49ers cannot keep running backs healthy. Joe Williams out at least week until week one with a fractured rib. He may not even make the roster in Light of the fact that you have Jerick McKinnon, Matt Burrita and Jeremy McNichols.

[Jason Moore]

I want.

[Mike Wright]

I just wanted to throw out the name for those dynasty leagues because Jeremy McNichols might just be chilling out on your waiver wire. I picked him up this morning. With all the injuries going on in San Francisco, the way his career. He might play meaningful, meaningful football this year.

[Andy Holloway]

The way his career was going, it was one of those things.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, he was done.

[Andy Holloway]

Where I would have said, like, the only way Jeremy McNichols gets a shot is if, like, I don't know, the top three guys ahead of him all go down in the same week. And it happened.

[Jason Moore]

Voila.

[Andy Holloway]

And he didn't look too bad. Yeah, he looked a little skittish out there, but he did not look that bad on the field. Joe Williams, he had a couple opportunities with the ball. He couldn't get the edge. He didn't look great. So this is Jerick McKinnon and Matt Burrida's backfield. Assuming they're healthy. That's the gist.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Speaking of backfields, losing three running backs in the span of a week or two, the San Francisco or the Washington Redskins. Geiss P. Ryan. Now it looks like Byron Marshall will miss two to four weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

So Thompson still getting better.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Adrian Peterson is coming in for a visit along with or Orleans, Darqua and Jamal Charles.

[Andy Holloway]

If you had to bet on one of those three in dynasty, you got one roster spot to just throw somebody on there that could contribute. This year.

[Jason Moore]

It is Orleans Darqua.

[Andy Holloway]

For me, I think it's Adrian Peterson for me.

[Mike Wright]

I really hope it's darkwa.

[Andy Holloway]

This is Adrian Peterson's career. Now he's trying to come in and be Rob Kelly's backup.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And I will still say this. Rob Kelly is where I'm going to put my chips right now. Even if they bring in Peterson or Dark. Well, I think that Rob Kelly will be the starter until dethroned. And he may never be dethroned if.

[Jason Moore]

They bring in Peterson. I think. I think my chips would go to Peterson over Rob Kelly.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I do, too.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I'll stick with Kelly. I don't blame you. But hall of Famer, I mean, yeah, still Adrian Peterson.

[Mike Wright]

How many teams has he been on in the past three years?

[Jason Moore]

But the thing is, is he's had serviceable games during those years, even with the Cardinals, even with.

[Mike Wright]

When does Washington play San Francisco? Because that's when Peterson will play.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, No, I get it. He might need the matchup. Hey, before we get into the my guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, it's almost here.

[Jason Moore]

Want to thank Pristine Auction. If you're new to the show, if you don't know what Pristine Auction is, they are a phenomenal website to find signed authentic signatures on sports memorabilia. And really all memorabilia you got. You're into the movies. You got a family member who wants a signed movie poster. Really cool stuff. And because it's an auction, you can bid for free on everything. You only pay if you win. So the prices, you can steal things here. Here's some of the stuff that went a Le'Veon Bell signed Steelers throwback jersey just went yesterday for $79 one on pristine auction. Odell Beckham Jr under 100 bucks yesterday. Devontae Adam $77. I mean these are. There's hundreds daily of new auctions so you got to check it out for yourself or for gifts. Go to Pristine Auction. P R I S T I n e auction.com make a free account and let them know when you sign up that you heard about them from the fantasy footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

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[Jason Moore]

I'm ready.

[Andy Holloway]

It's time. Jason. I don't know what was going on.

[Mike Wright]

It's time.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know what was going on in your face there for a minute. Were you just getting excited I mean, what was.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I. I've. I'm hyped. All right, let's do this.

[Andy Holloway]

In case you've never listened in case you've never listened to this episode before, welcome in. This is a yearly feature of the show, the my guys. We each pick three players that we have supreme confidence in. And the the qualifications for a my guy are a little bit loose. Because if you want to make him a my guy because you believe in the value, like the fantasy draft day value of the player, that's cool if you want to make him a my guy because you're just supremely confident and you want to plant your flag and put your chips behind a player even if they're not a draft day value. But you want to just instill confidence in the fantasy football owner about a player that can be a my guy. If you're delusional, that could be a my guy.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, we're crazy.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so I'm gonna start. Is that all right? My guy number one is to Rod Taylor.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, you're starting with it?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm starting with it. He's my guy and he might as.

[Mike Wright]

Well listen to mine.

[Andy Holloway]

Might as well have his name Secure. Oh, it's secure and well pronounced.

[Mike Wright]

To Rod the Tool Man Taylor.

[Andy Holloway]

To Rod Taylor himself. The currently being drafted is the QB22 in my case for Torod Taylor. I've made it repeatedly, but he's actually good guys. He doesn't turn the ball over. Number one in past attempts per interception. Just what the offense in Cleveland needs. He was better in that department than Alex Smith and Brady and Keenum and players that you look at as reliable game managers. But here's the thing. If you want to make delicious fantasy football soup, I do. With huge chunks of points in the broth. So warm and delicious. Here's what you do. You mix in game breaking talent for big plays. The way that Tyreek Hill affected Alex Smith last year. Here to Rod, have some Landry, have some Gordon, have some Njoku. These are all players that when the play breaks down and to Rod Taylor escapes the pocket as Russell Wilson is prone to do. All these guys can get incredible separation. And I think Antonio Calloway is a game breaking talent as well. You get the ball in his hands and he could make To Rod Taylor look great. Sprinkle in that red zone. Weapon David Njoku. Like I mentioned, give me a dash of yardage from the backfield the way Duke Johnson gives it. The way CMC helped Cam last year. Duke Johnson helps to Rod Taylor, someone who can, you know, he's been near the top of the league. Duke Johnson in running back receptions. And then you let it all simmer in to Rod Taylor's rushing yardage, number three in rushing yards at the position. That is an incredible baseline for a player I have confidence will start through the season and I haven't really got a lot of pushback from either of my co hosts. As to the fantasy value of Torod Taylor if he starts, it's just been about whether he will start and I believe he will. I don't think this week gave us any indication that, you know, Baker had a little bit more of an up and down week. This team has confidence in Torod Taylor. I believe in him. He's my guy.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, as a, as a fantasy player, he's, he's going to put up points when he's on the field. He will be great. He's always been, I mean when he's been in the middle of a terrible offense and Buffalo, when he, when he's had injured weapons, he's still a top 12 fantasy guy at the end of the week because of the rushing baseline. I've been trying to talk you out of Tyrod as a my guy, but not definitely not because of production. It's just one of those things where I feel like every single thing has to go right for the Browns to keep him as the starter this year. And that's the worry. Is when is it going to be? Is it going to be week eight, week nine, week five? When is Baker Mayfield going to take over? But while you have Tyrod, Cleveland Browns.

[Andy Holloway]

Are finishing second in that division this year.

[Jason Moore]

Spicy.

[Andy Holloway]

Second. Second place.

[Jason Moore]

Hold it for the Phoenix show. My man.

[Andy Holloway]

Second place.

[Mike Wright]

All right, well, now that we have five listeners left, I'm going to jump in with my guy. My first, my guy. He was the, he was the running back I fell in love with immediately over this off season. So I was incredibly happy to see not only him test well at the combine, but then land in a great spot. Rookie running back Royce Freeman for the Denver Broncos. His draft price is starting to get up there, but that's because people believe he is going to be a starting running back and I believe he will be a starting running back. Coming from college is the seventh most yards from scrimmage in college football history. He had double digit receptions every year, including 26 receptions as a sophomore in 23 his junior year. He can be a three down guy. He's 230 pounds, yet he can run a four five, four. I love his jump cut. That was one of those things that stood out to me and I was telling these guys how that was like my first note on Royce Freeman was his jump cut. And then what do we get? Four yards out, an incredible jump cut to, to score. To score. And yes, the usage, the running back usage in Denver was a little frantic last year, but C.J. anderson was still a thousand yard rusher. There was only nine guys in the league that did it last year. His first four games for the Broncos, C.J. anderson had 20 plus touches. His final five games, 22 plus touches. If they find their guy, they commit to him. The Broncos offensive line right tackle has always been the problem, but they went out. They added Jared Valdier who according to Pro Football Focus, he only allowed 20 pressures in his final 10 games last year. He improved over the season. I think Royce Freeman beats out Devonte Booker for not only the starting job, but by the towards the end of the season you could be talking about a full on three down running back for the Denver Broncos.

[Andy Holloway]

That was going to be my question to you is that I believe wholeheartedly in Royce Freeman. I love him. I think he's a great pick as a my guy. I don't have confidence that he will be as valuable in full PPR leagues because of what I see as more of a two down skill set and because they have flexibility with other players. You believe that by the end of the season he'll be more utilized in the pass catching, pass protection role than we've seen so far in preseason.

[Mike Wright]

He, he can do it. And I'm saying even if he doesn't get into that role, I still love him in the fourth round. I'm saying he's has, he has that potential where not a lot of running backs do you take them, you know what they are. But Royce Freeman can evolve into that three down guy.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

I'll bet he starts not, not being a full three down but he's going to be involved in the passing game because he's, he's skilled there. I like Royce Freeman a lot. I would draft him in a draft ahead of this next my guy. And it should be no surprise, right? I mean if you've been listening, let's get it out of the way. Oh, hit that drop. Oh, carry on. Johnson, you're my guy this year. I've been on you since before the draft. I loved you when he'd like you to get off. Ain't happening. Carry on. Look, I loved you pre draft. Then when you Got traded up for into the second round by the Lions, who also spent their first round pick and free agent capital shoring up the offensive line. I believe this is the best offensive line that the Detroit Lions have had in several years. And I think genuinely that this is the best running back that the Detroit Lions have had since Barry Sanders. I'm not putting him on. Not. Don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not putting him on that level. I'm saying there's been a long gap. You talk about. Okay, Detroit has not been able to run the ball for a while and I counter with who have they had to run the ball? They've got Amir Abdullah, who hasn't been able to get it done in regular season.

[Andy Holloway]

You mean the starter? The starter, sure.

[Jason Moore]

So here's. Here's the issue, you know, pros and cons with Kerryon Johnson. The cons are he's going to get off to a slower start than these other guys. That's why I would draft Royce Freeman ahead of Kerryon Johnson. There's never been a seventh round, though, that has gone without me drafting Kerryon Johnson. If he's there, I think right now he's going in the back of the fifth and I am okay taking him there. Depending on who else is there sometimes on that spot, like he's being drafted ahead of Marshawn Lynch. I wouldn't do that. He's being drafted ahead of Rex Burkheadt. I wouldn't do that. But there's other guys around that area. I would absolutely take him over. But let me just describe. He's not a super athlete. If you're not familiar with Kerryon Johnson, he's not this freak athlete, but he is a super running back. His vision, his balance, you know who agrees with you? His hands, Everybody who's quality, analysts say Quan Barkley. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Saquon, who's not real, is not like they're best friends. But Saquon has gone out of his way to say he believes that Kerryon Johnson is a, quote, heck of a back.

[Jason Moore]

There is something that I really love and it's rare to find, but it happens, you know, once every other year or so on average, which is you find a player, a rookie running back coming in who was incredibly touted from high school, who did it in high school, was a top recruit and then did it in college. Guess what they're going to do in the NFL when they've done it their whole lives. He was Mr. Football from Alabama State in high school. He led Them to three straight high school football championship games. His senior year he had 1659 yards and 25.

[Mike Wright]

Are you giving high school stats?

[Jason Moore]

Okay, that's where I start. Then he goes and doesn't sign with Alabama. Who tried to get him the Alabama. Instead he plays against that monster defense in the sec.

[Andy Holloway]

Are they signing with.

[Jason Moore]

No. Basically, yeah. I mean, are they. That's a whole other conversation. No, but he goes and he signs with Auburn. In signs. Yeah. I mean, right.

[Andy Holloway]

You do signing day.

[Jason Moore]

You declare. You declare. I do declare. So he's in the sec, the toughest, you know, division in football. Who led the SEC in rushing last year? I'll give a hint. It wasn't Nick Chubb. It wasn't Darius Geiss. It wasn't Sony Michelle. It wasn't Jordan Wilkins. It was carry on Johnson. With 1585 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns in the SEC. He is a true three down capable back in the NFL. He will win this job out. The offensive line has been upgraded. It's going to take some time. It was a very caution.

[Andy Holloway]

It was very interesting that Legarre Blunt was displaced this past week in the preseason rotation. We, I, we. I think we've assumed that Amir Abdullah starting each game has kind of been a put him on display. See what you know. He's going to be involved in the special teams game. Let him find some confidence. It was interesting that Carry on was the second back out there. Now he didn't have as great of a performance this week as last week but Blunt wasn't out there this past week. So it's very interesting. Yeah, so that's Kerryon Johnson. Let's go to number two. Guys. It, it was a tough pick. I considered several players for this spot. Jimmy Graham, Corey Davis, even Sammy Watkins who you know, has not earned this spot. So I am going with my guy.

[Mike Wright]

Number two, a guy who's really earned it. Just busting your chops.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, no, no, no. This Mike I like. All right, Mike. Mike Williams, wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers. I am going with Mike Williams over a guy like Corey Davis because of the established offense and the established quarterback. I talked a lot about Mike Williams last year who ended up banged up throughout the season and not involved. 6, 3, 2, 20, number 7 overall pick in the draft. The pedigree is there and here's one of the reasons I love Mike Williams and I'm making him a my guy this year. The chargers have lost 153 targets. Antonio Gates is gone. Dontrell Inman is gone. Hunter Henry gone. The only piece they've added was Virgil Green. 22 targets last year.

[Jason Moore]

And you could argue Mike Williams and.

[Andy Holloway]

Sir and they drafted, they did not draft him to be a peripheral part of this offense. He is a athletic freak, a red zone talent. I haven't projected for 10 touchdowns in 2018 and I have confidence in Mike Williams. That's why he's a my guy. If you go and you look up Jim, Jim Trotter talked about this. He said Anthony Lynn was walking behind one of his players the other day. He thought it was a defensive lineman and it was Mike Williams. He's enormous. And you can go watch the highlights from camp. You can go watch the highlights from this last preseason game.

[Jason Moore]

He scares me.

[Andy Holloway]

Anthony Lynn said he reminds him of Terrell Owens as a physical specimen that can out body and outperform somebody. You have to have more than Keenan Allen. Keenan Allen will not absorb all those targets. And I think it's going to be Mike Williams and he's the 10th. And part of the factor is the draft capital. You spend the wide receiver 45 to get him. Right now he's a 10th round pick. I'm going to take him in every draft. I can get him in the 10th round.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's a cuttable option if it doesn't work out. But if it does work out, you could end up with a legitimately great wide receiver in the double digit rounds. I actually really like this pick. The more that camp has gone on in preseason. You know, I said Mike Williams scares me. He does. Physically like he is. I mean he's a monster. I was, I watched him box someone out. Now I felt like I got hurt. I watched this and I was like, oh man, this is a beast.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not Kelvin Benjamin. Monster as in not Kevin Benjamin as hell.

[Jason Moore]

I can run away from Kelvin.

[Andy Holloway]

I love the jog.

[Jason Moore]

Sorry.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, get bodied. Ridiculous.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Mike, who you got?

[Mike Wright]

All right, I'm gonna, I'm gonna save my, my surprise guy for last. If you've been listening to this show for the offseason, you should know how much I have loved Marshawn lynch and I'm putting him in the. My guys. His ADP is rising which when you rattle off a 70 yard rushing touchdown and you're out running TBS and people see how great you still are, then your ADP goes up. But the back of the fifth running back, 26 currently. I want to start at the top. John Gruden, three of his final four seasons coaching before he came back. Top 15 in rushing attempts, top 15 in rushing yardage. Quotes from from Jon Gruden. I would like to have a fullback. Those don't exist in the NFL anymore. Quote I'm trying to throw the game back to 1998. Jon Gruden wants to pound the football. Did Jon Gruden and the Raiders want Marshawn back? They restructured his contract. They restructured it down $500,000 except it went from zero guaranteed to practically four and a half million dollars guaranteed. They could have cut Marshawn for nothing. Instead they fully invested into him. He can make up to over $9 million with incentives every every hundred yards from 400 to 1000. And let's talk about last year. The Raiders, they wanted to save Marshawn for the playoffs. There was a lot of that talk. It didn't work out. And so they finally committed to him.

[Andy Holloway]

Because there was no playoffs.

[Mike Wright]

Just saying they thought they were a shoe in to make the playoffs and they were being smart and they were saving Marshawn Lynch. And then over the second half of the season, Marshawn lynch was averaging 17 carries and two receptions and in that time had 135 tenths for 4.6 yards per carry. They have the seventh best offensive line coming into the season. According to Pro Football Focus. Doug Martin. Krampus does not concern me at all with they gave him a one and a half million dollar contract to come be the backup. They gave him what veterans make to just sit around and Doug Martin after Chris Warren has been dominating the preseason. Doug Martin might not even be the backup but a running back who can finish in my opinion can easily finish as a top 20 or even better. Is being drafted as a running back. Three. That's stealing. That is stealing. Running back in the middle rounds.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, I agree. I think we've all moved on Marshawn lynch based on, you know, the pre.

[Mike Wright]

I haven't.

[Jason Moore]

Well, that's fair.

[Mike Wright]

I've been here for years.

[Jason Moore]

You were there.

[Mike Wright]

Not years. But this year.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for warming the seat. It's always nice to sit on the warm seat.

[Mike Wright]

All are welcome. All are welcome with me and bc.

[Andy Holloway]

What was our Marshawn bet last year?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's why I changed it to year, not years.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, Jason, new information.

[Mike Wright]

My man.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason, take a deep breath. It's time for number two.

[Jason Moore]

It's time.

[Andy Holloway]

Nobody knows number two better than you.

[Jason Moore]

The warm seat. Let's go with number two. I'm going.

[Mike Wright]

What is happening?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know.

[Jason Moore]

With a tight End who reminds me of my last year's pick. My guy of Zach Ertz. It's a guy that I have really liked for a long time, but I have recently come around on much, much hotter in the last few weeks. And that is Trey. Boo. Boo. Oh, Trey Burton.

[Andy Holloway]

Very surprising. Didn't know he was in your. My guys didn't know you were going to put him in there this weekend.

[Jason Moore]

I did a lot of work, a lot of research.

[Andy Holloway]

You were tilting. Let's be honest.

[Jason Moore]

I was tilting because these things matter to me. Like we don't just, you know, it's not willy nilly. We don't throw a dart at a dartboard and then go, okay, that's my, my guy. We've been talking about these guys for months. We've got a board that we've been writing guys down on. And this weekend I wanting to dig in, dive deep. And here's what I realized early in the off season when he went over and I did my first projections for the Bears. I had him at 100 targets and then I went, whoa, that puts him at tight end four. That's ridiculous. Trey Burton cannot come over having done nothing and be my tight end for on the rankings, I adjusted accordingly. I mean, I've always loved Trey Burton. Last year in our, you know the. I partook in the FFPC Pros versus Joe's. I drafted Trey Burton with my last pick last year as Zach Ertz's backup because I know if he gets the opportunity, he's a beast. Speaking of that opportunity, in four games without Ertz, over the previous two seasons, Burton has averaged 14 PPR points a game, which would put him fourth right behind Zach Ertz's 14.5 last year. To give you an example, Evan Ingram, who was fourth in PPR scoring was only at 11. That's the talent that Burton has and he just hasn't had the opportunity. Now that's too small of a sample. I'm not sitting here going off of a four game as a starter sample and projecting stats forward. But it's about the film. You watch him play and you go, this dude runs good routes. This guy's built more like a wide receiver. He's got incredible hands. He knows how to find the hole in the zone.

[Mike Wright]

He's.

[Andy Holloway]

He's svelte.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

He's felt, he's slippery.

[Jason Moore]

Look, there's, there's very little I don't like about him. Then we always say follow the money, right? What, what are, what are the teams showing us with their most Valuable commodity. If you don't remember. Trey Burton signed a four year, $32 million contract this offseason, including 18 million guaranteed at signing, which is the most in the NFL this year at the position and the third most of all time. They're not bringing him over to not use him. With Adam Shaheen being banged up right now. You saw what happened this off this preseason with Trey Burton. Graham Barfield tweeted out a great tweet. Just kind of laying out of these two preseason games. Trey Burton's been on the field for 92% of the Bears first team offense. He's been targeted on six of 18 Trubisky passes. 33% and if you look, 47% of his routes have come split out in the slot, which is very similar to Travis Kelsey's 50% rate last year.

[Andy Holloway]

So let me ask you a question.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Let me put. See if you're my guy, how far this goes. If you're in a dynasty league and you've got Trey Burton and Rob Gronkowski. Are you shopping Gronk?

[Jason Moore]

There is no doubt I'm shopping Gronk.

[Andy Holloway]

And are you confident to start Burton this year as a top?

[Jason Moore]

I am. In fact, I took a look at the stats and I actually went back to where I started, where what I originally believed. I'm fully convinced he is 100 target tight end this season and he is now my tight end number four.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah. Ahead of me and Andy been warming this seat for a month ahead of.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome Kyle Rudolph.

[Andy Holloway]

What? Oh, who?

[Jason Moore]

I have a bad water bet from early in the off season. So look, I'm on Trey Burton. You should too. You can get him in.

[Andy Holloway]

Just get off of these guys though. You're weighing them down.

[Jason Moore]

You can get, you can get him in the eighth round as a great.

[Mike Wright]

I'm a mess, Jason. He's just like Yoda on Luke Skywalker.

[Andy Holloway]

Sitting on the back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it's either. It's either backpack style or, you know, pool chicken style. I'm either on the shoulders or I'm backpacking.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you. Do you sit Indian style? Is that something that's in the realm of possibility?

[Jason Moore]

I don't know if I can do that.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, number three. Now look, there ain't no rules about these my guys. You can go back to back.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

And that's what I'm gonna do. Because I say accuracy, schmac uracy. I'm gonna be Mr. Redundant this year.

[Mike Wright]

That's what he. This quarterback says that too.

[Andy Holloway]

We're going, we're Going my guy, number.

[Jason Moore]

Three, it's Josh Allen.

[Andy Holloway]

It's Booty Scooting Cam Newton.

[Mike Wright]

Whoa, hold on, hold on, hold on. How long have you been sitting on Booty Scoot and Cam Newton over there.

[Andy Holloway]

On the drive in today, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

My.

[Jason Moore]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

Booty Scoot. Booty Scooting Cam Newton. I'm all over him this year. This is the best thing I've ever heard. He was my guy last year and he came through. And you know what? He came up all sevens, baby. 777 rushing yards led the NFL at that position. But here's what I love. 650. One of them came when he wasn't pressured. He runs because it's in his soul. That's what he does. That's why they call him Booty Scooting Cam Newton.

[Mike Wright]

That's why they call him JFK over there is getting very heated about Cam Newton.

[Andy Holloway]

He's got the best weapons he's had in a while. He's got the best draft price of a quarterback with number one upside going in the middle of the seventh round. He's got the best legs in football. He's got the best week winning upside. He can win you a week by himself. And he's got the best buns. Highest opportunity to run in all circumstances. And yeah, accuracy. Smack uracies. What I say give. You can throw it anywhere near DJ Moore or Devin Funches or as we saw this preseason, Torrey Smith making plays in the offense, Greg Olson back CMC out of the backfield draft. Cam Newton. I'm ordering you to do it and let him run you to a title. It worked out last year. It's going to work out again. Mr. Redundant over here, Cam Newton for a second year in a row.

[Mike Wright]

Now, Brooks, our producer, our fearless producer, he's always in our show, Doc, making sure we're getting. Maybe there's a hot stat that he just came across and we got to make sure that the people know. And Brooks put in a good note here for.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he added to my Cam Newton argument. He didn't feel the Booty scooting part was compelling enough statistically. Oh, I did. No, just a little bonus. But he threw in a little bonus.

[Mike Wright]

Here's Brooks bonus note. He's a lot of fun to use in Madden. Thank you, Brooks. You bet.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I mean. Fair point.

[Jason Moore]

Always watching out for the people.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

I was much more impassioned in that argument than I thought I was going to.

[Mike Wright]

Because you dropped a Booty Scooting reference.

[Jason Moore]

You can't Calmly drop a Booty Scootin Cam Newton. That's fair.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a fair point.

[Mike Wright]

I'm gonna have to pull up the Teen Titans Booty Scoot song and this is gonna be a thing.

[Andy Holloway]

This is gonna be a thing.

[Mike Wright]

I apologize for nothing.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

All right. My last guy, Rex Burkhead, Sexy Rexy was flexing in this position for a very, very long time, but then apparently he tore his knee, whatever that means. It's got a slight tear in his knee.

[Andy Holloway]

So you're saying it's not Rex Burkhead.

[Mike Wright]

So it is not Rex Burx.

[Andy Holloway]

Burke Burkhead. It's not Rex Burkhead.

[Mike Wright]

That's right. He's been sitting in here. But then the tear in the knee got me a little spooked that I had to remove him from the mine.

[Andy Holloway]

Official statement, by the way, for Burkhead was sprain knee. That's what they said.

[Mike Wright]

Still up. But a man I also love. I was. I had to pivot. Same team. The wide receiver one for the New England Patriots, Chris Hogan. His ADP is also rising for a good reason. He's going in the back of the fourth round as the wide receiver 21. Last year, from weeks one through eight, he was the wide receiver seven. He saw more targets than the high priced Brandon Cooks. He was averaging over seven targets a game, over 50 yards a game and five touchdowns in that time last season. Last season on a whole, Chris Hogan was responsible for 20% of New England's red zone targets. Last year, Rob Gronkowski, who's a monster, he was tied for the 10th most Tenzo targets in the league. Gronk, 10th most. Chris Hogan had one fewer. And Chris Hogan played nine games last year. He is a go to target in the end zone. He's also bigger than you realize. Chris Hogan is 6, 1, 2, 10 and he can run a 4, 5. He's an absolute athletic monster and he can be the big play guy if that's what they need from him. In 2016 he was almost 18 yards of reception. He led the league.

[Andy Holloway]

Can I ask you a question?

[Mike Wright]

Yes, sir.

[Andy Holloway]

My. I don't know how to think about Chris Hogan. So I'm so glad that I have this podcast to tune into so I can listen to you talk about him. The thing that scares me about him. And maybe you can assuage this or maybe you're scared too, but the thing that scares me is I feel like he is going to be a downward. It's going to be a downward trend over the season. Because as time progresses, Brady will have Edelman back. Brady will have Sony Michelle back. Brady will have other weapons back. So Hogan may be the product of opportunity through the first four, five, six weeks. I'm afraid about the end of the season. Is there anything you can do to give me comfort?

[Mike Wright]

Mike, are you talking about Julian Edelman, the guy who was playing with Chris Hogan when he was dominating target share and in everything in that preseason game?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, that's who I'm talking about.

[Mike Wright]

Edelman is great. He's going to command targets when he comes back. But Chris Hogan can, he can settle the score. He can make things even with touchdowns. Chris Hogan has 10 touchdown upside. They need a guy. Brandon Cooks is gone.

[Andy Holloway]

They do. They need a guy.

[Mike Wright]

Right now it's Chris Hogan and Philip Dorsett and Dorsett from games last year when Dorsett actually got to play games nine through 16, he was averaging over 50% of the snaps. He was getting one and a half targets per game. Brady just was not going to Dorset. He will go to Hogan. If it's not Gronk in the end zone, it's going to be Chris Hogan. I think he is going to be an absolute beast this year.

[Jason Moore]

I love the Chris Hogan play. I think that what you outlined we forget because of the games played last year how good he was when he was playing. That's one of the things that I know. I Early in the off season I had to redo my rankings on Hogan because I guess I just didn't really factor in his pace that he was on when he was in. I loved him to the point of when I was struggling, which I was struggling. I was. I mean, I have scratched and clawed my way to my third my guy. But Chris Hogan was in consideration. And then it was like, oh, you got him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. He just about did a My Guy thesis this weekend.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I really did.

[Andy Holloway]

With the amount of notes he was passing along in our Slack channel about all of his thoughts and considerations and evidences. Like, Jason goes to bat for you out there. He won't get a doctorate for it, but he did the work honorary.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, if there's any professors out there that would like to offer an honorary doctorate, I will accept. So let me tell you guys a little story along the lines of what Andy was saying. I was really struggling with locking down. There's a lot of guys I like here, but I wanted to try to get this one right. And originally it was Joe Mixon who was going to be my third My guy. But there were struggles that I saw that you know, were just too reminiscent of last year, both from reports out of camp. I mean, I really like Mixon. I'm, you know, I liked him, but I wasn't sure. Juju obviously is one of those guys that I have been in love with since last year. A star is born. He's talented, you know, but he's being drafted as the 18. I love Jordan Howard. He's great. He's got huge upside. But I'm already doing Trey Burton. Can you double up on Bears? Kenyon Drake is a guy I fully believe in. If he gets the workload, he will be a top 12 back. But man, is he going to get the workload. So here's what happened. I literally, after doing all this research, looking at schedules, looking at offensive line, looking at everything, I consulted with my wife and I said, look, I gotta describe these. My wife does not know fantasy football does not watch. And I said, I need a sounding board. So I talked to her and I'm describing these people and in the end she said I should go with Juju because his name is Juju. So I knew I had to call someone else.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

I knew I had to go elsewhere.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you talk to one of the co hosts of the show?

[Jason Moore]

I called a good friend, a very large guy and J. Griz told me it's gotta be Jordan Howard. The only reason I would not have selected Jordan Howard is because I didn't want to. Chicago Bears and my my guys. And that's not a good reason because I actually believe that Jordan Howard is a phenomenal pick this year.

[Mike Wright]

Double Bears.

[Jason Moore]

Double Bears. Double trouble. Making Jay Grizz proud.

[Andy Holloway]

Growls for two Bears.

[Jason Moore]

Speaking of double trouble, Jordan Howard's first two years in this league, that was double rubble.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I thought he was talking about how he tries to catch the ball twice on every play.

[Jason Moore]

His 16 game pace over his first two seasons averages 1257 rushing yards, eight touchdowns and surprisingly another 218 receiving yards along with another receiving touchdown. That's his 16 game pace over these first two years and that's been with a putrid John Fox led team. Look, we talk about rankings in a weird way here. Last year, last year, Jordan Howard and the Chicago Bears ran the 31st best number of plays, also known as the second worst. They were terrible. The total plays that the Chicago Bears ran were.

[Andy Holloway]

That was Bengals and Bears problems last year.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. Exactly. And that's why when I looked at Jordan Howard and Joe Mixon, I loved the fact that when you can look to last year's ridiculously slow place pace and few offensive plays and you know already with nothing else changing without them getting more efficient that there is huge room for growth here. I look for those things, but when I compared the Bengals and the Bears, one of those teams has a massive change in culture, a massive change in offensive mindset with Matt Nagy coming in and replacing John Fox. The other as well, you are, you're.

[Mike Wright]

Getting worked up over here.

[Jason Moore]

I'm hot and bothered. The other has the exact same situation going on as they did last year and will probably be lower in the league on total offensive plays. Ran Jordan Howard has averaged the running back 10 his first two years. He's never finished, not as a running back one, and now his offense gets better. His strength of schedule according to Scott Barrett and his research, a Pro Football Focus is the number one against the run schedule for 2018. With Matt Nagy coming in and talking about how he believes Jordan Howard is a three down back and Jordan Howard putting in the work of hundreds of extra, you know, catches before and say.

[Mike Wright]

No David and Joku, I'm going to catch 30 balls off the jug.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. He's doing the work on the jugs and he's not doing the work so he so that he's not involved in the passing game. He wants to be involved now. That's always been his limitation. He's not a great receiver, but if you work on something, you get better at it and you get more involved in the game. Even if he doesn't get it, he's already proven he's a top 12 running back. If he adds that he's a top five running back and he's being drafted at his floor, he's being drafted as like the running back 15. If Jordan Howard has a ho hum, doesn't get as many touchdowns as you want, has some bad games, he'll probably finish right there at the running back 15. So I love Jordan Howard. I'm not shying away from the Double Bears and now I find myself surprisingly rooting for Mitch Trubisky. Go Trubisky.

[Andy Holloway]

I want to say this. I love Jordan Howard. I told you this week in your diatribe of my guy discussion that if you let go of him from your my guys, I'm going to probably scoop him up because I love him. I think it does Jordan Howard a disservice though to even focus at all on the passing opportunity or game. He played the whole first half this past weekend. He had zero targets. Tariq Cohen had three. Look, you want all your players to Be able to catch the ball when the ball's thrown to them. It doesn't mean you're working him into the passing game on purpose. I think it does him a disservice as a runner. The gap between Jordan Howard and Tariq Cohen is like the one I saw between Darius Geist and Chris Thompson. Geist is just. They're on a different level of what you need in your offense. Jordan Howard, I'm fully on board with you. I believe in you. I believe in Jay Grizz. I think Jordan Howard is a locked and loaded stud, regardless of whether he gets some few magical touches through the air.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I have him projected for 27 receptions, which is about what he had last year, so. And I still love him.

[Mike Wright]

All right, before we close out the show again, Folklore, I want to remind you about the NFL game pass. This is where you got to go when you are you trying to scout some film. The only place to do it is on the NFL game pass. You can watch all the preseason live. If you miss the games, you can go back. You can go check out all these plays from Jordan Howard. They make it extremely easy. Kick off the 2018 NFL season with a seven day free trial of NFL game pass. Sign up [e-mail] fantasy footballers. That's NFL.com fantasy footballers. Game on.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I used it all weekend. I mean, I was down with the sickness. I had a few days of a cold, just disturbed. Had one of those weekends that we all really look forward to. I was telling Jason this. I. I was sick. My daughter then decided to get sick, get sick with something different. Oh, and threw up through a few like all the bedding we have available.

[Jason Moore]

The throw ups, there aren't any.

[Andy Holloway]

Bet there's no bedding left. We've moved on to beach towels. Not a joke. Moved on to beach towels. So that was going on. And then once everybody kind of simmered down to go to sleep, we had a malfunctioning smoke detector. No joke in the house. And all of our ceilings. You need a ladder, like a full size ladder to get up to them. I'm up there. It's beeping off all these. It was just a beautiful, beautiful time.

[Mike Wright]

Sounds like that's glad you made it here. That's a situation where I'm closing my door and I'm jamming pillows underneath saying, deal with it, kids.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man. No, it was. It was an adventure. Check out draft.comballers. get in some best ball leagues. Hope you enjoyed the myguys episode. We got MVP episode this week and tons more coming. Tune In. Subscribe Goodbye.

[Mike Wright]

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.