The TRUTH About Fantasy TEs in 2018 + Super Bowl Reaction

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary

Episode: The TRUTH About Fantasy TEs in 2018 + Super Bowl Reaction
Release Date: February 5, 2019

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I. Introduction and Host Banter

The episode kicks off with hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright welcoming listeners from Pristine Auction.com's studios. The trio dives straight into the excitement of the football season's commencement.

• Andy Holloway [00:53]: "The football season is officially beginning."
• Jason Moore [01:15]: Shares his bold prediction: "I think 2019 is gonna be the beginning of the end for the Patriots."

II. Super Bowl Reaction

The hosts transition to discussing their reactions to Super Bowl LIII, analyzing the performance of both teams and key players.

• Andy Holloway [10:15]: Criticizes the game's quality: "Everything was on the line for this one particular game... it was very, very unlikely in either case."
• Jason Moore [11:14]: Praises Bill Belichick's defensive strategy: "They shut down the run... how is that possible?"
• Mike Wright [12:31]: Reflects on the game's entertainment value: "I was okay with the defensive struggle and seeing the meltdown of the Rams O-line."

The Patriots' defensive prowess and strategic decisions, such as minimal use of the heavy box formation, are highlighted as pivotal factors in their victory.

III. News Highlights

Before delving into the main segment, the hosts briefly touch upon recent news, including the Philadelphia Eagles' decision regarding quarterback Nick Foles.

• Jason Moore [14:21]: Discusses the Eagles picking up Foles' option: "This was the move that they were going to make."
• Mike Wright [15:07]: Speculates on Foles' future: "I think he'll end up in Jacksonville."

Additionally, awards from the NFL season are mentioned, celebrating standout performances from players like Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley.

IV. The Truth About Fantasy Tight Ends

The core of the episode centers on evaluating the performance and reliability of tight ends (TEs) in fantasy football for the 2018 season. The hosts introduce their methodology, focusing on consistency scores based on weekly performance.

A. Overview of TE Consistency and Performance

• Jason Moore [20:08]: Explains their consistency scoring: "If you completely bust, you're under seven points... that puts you outside the top 16."
• Andy Holloway [21:01]: Emphasizes the unpredictability: "Seven of the top men tight ends busted... which begs the question."

B. Analysis of Top Tight Ends

1. Travis Kelce

   • Andy Holloway [22:32]: Praises Kelce's consistency: "He had 69% of his games in the good category, 31% in the great category."
   • Jason Moore [30:28]: Advocates for Kelce’s draft value: "Give me them bits... I believe next year I'm going to go into the season trying to get one of those guys specifically."

2. Zach Ertz

   • Andy Holloway [28:23]: Highlights Ertz's performance: "1163 yards, eight touchdowns on 156 targets. That is the most receptions in NFL history by a tight end."
   • Mike Wright [35:23]: Discusses potential regression: "Does he like Kelsey more?... you want consistency, you want more than 100."

3. George Kittle

   • Andy Holloway [31:02]: Commends Kittle's breakout: "He had double the amount of targets... Breakaway touchdowns."
   • Mike Wright [34:30]: Stresses Kittle's role despite team changes: "With quarterback change, wide receiver change... he'll still have breakaway opportunities."

4. Eric Ebron

   • Jason Moore [35:03]: Expresses cautious optimism: "If you drafted him, you were happy. He was among the top 15 players drafted that made it into the playoffs."
   • Andy Holloway [36:06]: Concerns about Ebron's future: "He did so much for fantasy owners... I think he'll probably go higher than he should."

5. Jared Cook

   • Andy Holloway [40:03]: Criticizes Cook's inconsistency: "31-year-old unrestricted free agent Jared Cook."
   • Jason Moore [42:00]: Questions Cook’s future impact: "He's done it so many times... there's not even why even talk that much about Jared Cook."

6. Austin Hooper and Trey Burton

   • Andy Holloway [43:00]: Expresses strong dislike for Hooper: "I'd rather be dead than play Austin Hooper."
   • Jason Moore [44:20]: Notes Burton's underperformance: "He was terrible... He had a two-game sample and then vaporized in the next two games."

7. O.J. Howard and Evan Ingram

   • Jason Moore [53:05]: Prefers Howard over Ingram due to offensive stability: "O.J. howard is an actual talented, in his prime NFL player right now."
   • Andy Holloway [53:34]: Highlights Njoku’s potential: "He’s an absolute freak... but he needs to get into double digits."

V. Conclusion

Wrapping up the episode, the hosts encourage listeners to revisit previous “Truth” episodes for deeper insights into other positions and emphasize the importance of understanding player consistency. They also promote their community platforms and wrap up with light-hearted banter.

• Andy Holloway [57:05]: "Encourage everyone out there... it's important to take a look at next year."
• Jason Moore [58:26]: Jokes about outbidding on Pristine Auction: "Don't outbid me. The footballers have a lot of bids in them."
• Mike Wright [58:40]: Signs off with enthusiasm: "Absolutely. We'll see you on Thursday, Foot Clan. Goodbye."

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Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore [01:15]: "I think 2019 is gonna be the beginning of the end for the Patriots."
• Andy Holloway [22:32]: "He had 69% of his games in the good category, 31% in the great category."
• Jason Moore [30:28]: "I believe next year I'm going to go into the season trying to get one of those guys specifically."
• Andy Holloway [43:08]: "I'd rather be dead than play Austin Hooper."
• Jason Moore [53:05]: "O.J. Howard is an actual talented, in his prime NFL player right now."

This comprehensive summary captures the Fantasy Footballers' in-depth analysis of tight ends, their Super Bowl reflections, and strategic insights aimed at helping listeners dominate their fantasy leagues in the upcoming season.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

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[Jason Moore]

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

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, welcome in. The football season is officially beginning.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, 2019, we're here.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome in Tuesday, February 5th.

[Jason Moore]

Can I. Yeah, I just interject real quick.

[Andy Holloway]

I think you shall.

[Jason Moore]

I think 2019 is gonna be the beginning of the end for the Patriots. Oh, no, no, I don't. I don't really.

[Andy Holloway]

But how'd that go?

[Jason Moore]

That went well. I mean, look, when we had our bold predictions show, which we always do, that.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you just say that went well?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, it went so great. For about three weeks in the middle of the season. No. Yes. I just need to. I need to call a spade a spade. Come out here, jump on the sword.

[Andy Holloway]

Before we get you.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, exactly.

[Andy Holloway]

You knew I had that on. The sword was out.

[Mike Wright]

Jump on it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's how they do.

[Mike Wright]

They. They jump on it.

[Andy Holloway]

I would say the opposite of the beginning of the end is the sword, though. But super bowl championship.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would say so. I would say that bold prediction did not go so well.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe next year.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know that it was our worst bold prediction on the.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, it certainly was on the fire.

[Jason Moore]

Hot predictions, but, you know, you win some, you lose.

[Andy Holloway]

How'd Sam Bradford do?

[Jason Moore]

Number one, I think number one.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome in. We have the truth about the fantasy tight end position on the show today. I know we're going to spend a little bit of time in the quick question talking about Todd Gurley. That's what I think the fantasy storyline is. Agreed. And so we'll talk about that. You can find us as always on YouTube. YouTube.com the fantasy footballers on Twitter @the ffballers. We appreciate your subscriptions on Apple podcasts, wherever you're listening and the reviews and ad free on Stitcher Premium as well. And this was big news. I mean, every Super Bowl Sunday, this is the tradition now. But on Super Bowl Sunday, not only could you get ready for that slugfest, that high scoring affair that you got to witness Non stop action Johnny Hecker. But Super Bowl Sunday is about the pre order for the 2019 Ultimate Draft Kit. And it's up. You can go to ultimate draftkit.com and for the first time ever, we're doing a little special event with the preorders. So if you get in there now before March 1, not only do you get the Ultimate Draft Kit at the lowest possible price, this is our. This is our baby, right? This is our pride and joy, the best resource for dominating your draft. And you'll get the early access to Dynasty rankings and rookie rankings, which you did last year. Right. We put those up around NFL draft time. But if you pre order now before March 1st, you get a $10 free and clear gift card to SeanBallers.com and you get entered to win an ultimate Fantasy Footballers prize pack, which includes two custom jerseys from fantasychamps.com a chance to be the very first person chosen. And this is really the prize for the 2019 Listener League. And look, if you're in the Phoenix area, you also win the chance to come by for a studio tour and a sit in on a recording of the podcast.

[Mike Wright]

Also, Brooks, you're not eligible.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Dang it.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

He was talking to me about that listener league spot.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I see. I thought you meant the tour. Because we keep him back here in the studio. He's never seen the front side of this.

[Jason Moore]

He's chained. He has not yet seen the sun or outside. No stars in the sky.

[Andy Holloway]

See, you say chained up, but if it's a long enough chain, he can free roam for the most part.

[Jason Moore]

You're a kinder man than I. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I think no matter how long the chain. Well, if you are connected to something no longer free, technicality says you're changed to something.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

We shouldn't be mentioning this on. On the podcast.

[Mike Wright]

We've been indicted.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So check it out. Ultimate Draft Kit.com this year it's back. It's better than ever. We'll have an app. We'll have custom scoring. We're going to give you no reason not to get this.

[Jason Moore]

No, our bold, super crazy, outlandish predictions are not in the Ultimate Draft.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they're never in there.

[Jason Moore]

We actually take the Ultimate Draft Kit very serious. Have high quality rankings and keep our nonsense for late August.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Or all of the show. Well, either part. All right, here's the quick question of the day before we get into some other thoughts on the super bowl. And then we'll get into a little bit of news and the tight end truth but here's a quick question. On a scale of 1 to 10, how concerned are you about Todd Gurley's end of the season?

[Jason Moore]

You know, I believe on our previous Running Back Truth episode, that was right when the beginning of the CJ Anderson stuff was coming through and, you know, none of us were worried. Still the number one pick. My meter is worried now. I would say I'm a six. I'm all right. I'm above. Because it's not just Gurley and It's not just C.J. anderson. It's both of those mixed with the possibility of their star left tackle Andrew Whitworth retiring. And I realize he is. He's up there in age. I think he's 37 years old, but he was still great.

[Andy Holloway]

And eighth best run blocking Exactly. In the league.

[Jason Moore]

And so if he goes away and they sign C.J. anderson, they dealt with injuries this year when Todd Gurley was the workhorse. I think you're going to see him involved, and he would not be my number one pick at that point. I would not take him ahead of Ezekiel Elliott or Saquon Barkley like those two guys are. They're already in his tier to me.

[Andy Holloway]

I have very big thoughts about this, so I want to let you two weigh in first.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

How concerned? Scale of one to ten. That's the question.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to go with a four. So back when we did the Truth Truth episode. Yeah. I said you have to at least consider the fact that this is not the normal that C.J. anderson is going to out snap and out touch Todd Gurley. But the. But the possibility that they go into more of a platoon situation where they take turns with drives. Gurley gets two drives, Anderson gets one. Where it. Gurley would still be fantastic because the Rams are going to be one of the best scoring offenses in the league yet again. But it definitely takes a hit. And then the other guys who are close to him in tear, like Saquon and Zeke, maybe you'd prefer to have those guys because they don't have a platoon situation. So I'm at a four. I'm at a four. This whole nonsense about Todd Gurley's not injured, that's the strangest part of this to me.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's. Here's where I'm at. And I would put myself at the 2 level. And I'm not sure if I caught a hedge in Jason's argument when he said if. Because I understand if Andrew Whitworth retires and if they bring back CJ Anderson, there would be more cause for concern because obviously you.

[Mike Wright]

I think both of those things happen.

[Andy Holloway]

I think neither of those things happen. I think it's very, very unlikely in either case. If Whitworth retires, he's leaving $11 million on the table. I think it's very, very likely. He comes back for the last year of his contract, collects $11 million, he's on a team that was, what, 10 points from a Super Bowl. But $11 million is a lot of money to walk away from when you're playing at that level. So I don't think Whitworth goes anywhere. And then C.J. anderson, I don't think they bring him back. I think it's a very low likelihood. Everything I'm reading thinks is low likelihood because of the fact there'll be more demand for him. They. The team likes Malcolm Brown. The team likes what they have and they lost Malcolm Brown this year. So I don't think, obviously I'm coming from the position that I tweeted this morning, I said, if you are in a dynasty league and you can go get Todd Gurley at the price of this confusion, I say go do it. He's the highest paid running back in football, okay. He's the only running back to get MVP votes this past year. And he's just piled up touchdowns year over year. It was strange, it was odd. There's got to be something to this very end of the season beyond, you know, the guy who got you there, the guy who got you to this Incredible record, Sean McVeigh's workhorse, the guy who was active in the screen game. That was the, you know, 18, what, 21 touchdowns last year, 18 this year, something like that. To me, there's more to the story and he's playing the good soldier right now, but that's why I'm saying that's.

[Mike Wright]

The weirdest part of it is the. Them insisting that he is not heard.

[Andy Holloway]

Like Alshon did last year.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, and that's the thing is I just tend to say I don't know if you're six is presumably those 200%.

[Jason Moore]

I was going to say if you're.

[Andy Holloway]

Because you put the if in there.

[Jason Moore]

The if is. Is necessary. If CJ Anderson is not there, they go with Malcolm Brown next year and Whitworth is there. Todd Gurley would be my number one pick.

[Mike Wright]

Malcolm Brown is not under contract next year.

[Andy Holloway]

So him.

[Jason Moore]

And let's say they sign up a fourth, fifth round backup rookie or they get some.

[Mike Wright]

They're not going to. I don't Think it' with a fourth or fifth rounder because they have John Kelly there. But they're going to get a veteran who.

[Jason Moore]

Doesn't it seem like they hate John Kelly?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it certainly does. But. But they're going to. They're going to sign someone like Brown or Anderson who they feel confident can go in there in the event that Todd Gurley can't.

[Andy Holloway]

And maybe you're right. Maybe they bring back C.J. anderson. Maybe nobody else wants him. They liked him in pass protection in the Super Bowl. 7 for 22 for Anderson, 10 for 35 for Gurley. Also, the rest of the Rams sucked as well. I mean, this was just a bad game.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you cannot throw out all the context of two seasons, regardless of just Gurley. Right. The Rams in general. When I see the overrated Sean McVeigh tweets. Come on.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Get out here.

[Andy Holloway]

It was Bill Belichick. He's done this to several coaches in his career. Also six times in the Super Bowl.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

So let's have some. Let's pull back a little bit. Realized that this was a bad game. You're smirking, Jason.

[Jason Moore]

You know, if we're transitioning to the super bowl conversation and how that game went, I mean, it was. It was really amazing what Belichick did. I don't know if it's just like, you know, they. They shut down the run. Right. The Rams could not run against him, but it wasn't like scheme. I mean, they literally, not one time in the whole game had seven men in the box. It was light boxes the whole game, and they shut down the run. How. How is that possible?

[Andy Holloway]

It was possible because long ago, like a season ago, Bill Belichick and that. And that team once again made the amazing decision to transition away from Malcolm Butler to bring in Gilmore and to put their secondary in a position where, I mean, this was just one move at a time. The amount of draft picks they have next year. Look, you probably hate the Patriots if you're not a Patriots fan.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think that's a rule.

[Andy Holloway]

That's just so. I get it. So the majority of our audience we're talking to right now doesn't want to give any credit to New England. And it's fine. You don't need to stick your head in the sand. They got six rings. They feel fine about it, but the reality is it's one little move after one little move after one little move. They withstood Josh Gordon going away again in the end of the year. Not really having Rob Gronkowski this season, for all intents and purposes, Julian Edelman. You can't cover him. Apparently not in the playoffs. And it just took one drive. It was one drive from Brady. He's never been the mvp.

[Jason Moore]

That's right.

[Andy Holloway]

But it was one drive that brings you down. So. You know, Mike, you said you weren't disappointed in the game. I think you stand alone, because the majority of people, including myself, found it to be disappointing from an entertainment perspective.

[Mike Wright]

And the only reason Jason went to.

[Andy Holloway]

A baseball game in the third quarter.

[Jason Moore]

I honestly have. I have been to a baseball game that was more interesting, and that's the biggest insult I know how to give.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

The reason for me, why, if this was a regular season game, like, if this was Thursday night and I had to watch this for. For work and come in on Friday and talk about it, that would have sucked. The difference was, this was the stakes. Everything was on the line for this one particular game. So I was okay with the defensive struggle and. And seeing the meltdown of the Rams O line and. And Jared Garf.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Jared Garfed all over.

[Mike Wright]

Garfed everywhere.

[Andy Holloway]

229 passing yards. 19 for 38. That's exactly 50% passing. One pick, no touchdowns. Brady had no touchdowns either.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Brady looked terrible most of the game. If he wasn't targeting Edelman.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

It was just.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, Chris Hogan had exactly no separation from anybody. I mean, it was two good defenses. Like Jason, you kept saying the whole game, how disappointed would you be if you're the Rams?

[Jason Moore]

If I'm Aaron, I'm so pissed. I'm like, I helped the Patriots to 13 points that we lost. How does that.

[Andy Holloway]

Sam Darnold's brother. You just.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Yes, it was.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you say Darnold?

[Jason Moore]

I'm pretty sure I did.

[Andy Holloway]

That's okay. Hey, by the way, congratulations to Brian Noctor, who won the NFL playoff challenge.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

808 points. Pretty impressive. Our editor in chief was right there up until the end, but sorry, Kyle, no dice. All right, a little bit of news before we get into the truth. This was interesting to me. This is from Ian Rapaport. He said that the Eagles are planning on picking up the $20 million option on Nick Foles.

[Mike Wright]

It needs context, though.

[Andy Holloway]

Go ahead.

[Jason Moore]

This one.

[Mike Wright]

This was the move that you knew was going to happen, because now that they have picked up the option, the way that it can work. Afraid no. Is that Nick Foles can now give the team $2 million and buy free agency. So this was the move that they were going to make. And the what's interesting is what comes next if Nick Foles. Does Nick Foles just say, all right, cool, give me $20 million to be your backup. That's kind of hard to say no to. Or does he want to go be the starter somewhere? So we'll give the $2 million, but then if he does that, do the Eagles franchise tag him and then try to trade him?

[Andy Holloway]

I think he'll get traded. That's what I think will happen. I think he's going to end up.

[Mike Wright]

It's very interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he'll end up in Jacksonville. I think he'll be traded in Jacksonville.

[Mike Wright]

Even if he doesn't get traded like he. I guess. What's the trade value?

[Andy Holloway]

Life is good for Nick Foles.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

It depends on what the trade value of the market is for the Eagles. For a franchise tagged quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it'll be a third round.

[Mike Wright]

But if it's a third rounder, you're.

[Andy Holloway]

Saying you're paying him a lot of money.

[Mike Wright]

No. Then you don't play the game at all. You don't play the game of chicken. You. You let him go get signed and you'll get a third round compensatory pick.

[Jason Moore]

That's, that's so you don't even have.

[Mike Wright]

To go through the hoops. If you believe all you'll get is a third, then you just let him buy free agency and let him go.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you get it a year early. I will say this, I mean, you know, we're building the ultimate draft kit 2019 behind the scenes, going through our admin and I'm turning players on and off and I turn Nick Foles on because I expect him to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

[Mike Wright]

I do too. I mean, Jacksonville. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Jacksonville is the one that makes the most sense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Pat Mahomes won the NFL mvp. Saquon won the rookie of the Year. Andrew Luck, the comeback player of the year. Matt Nagy, the coach of the year. No real surprises to me in that bunch.

[Jason Moore]

No real surprise is the only questionable one at all that has debate is should it have been Saquon or should it have been Baker? What was. What would your guess?

[Mike Wright]

It was Baker for me.

[Jason Moore]

It would have been Baker for me as well.

[Andy Holloway]

It would have been Saquon for me.

[Jason Moore]

There you go. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

The partial season for Baker.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

But partial season where he broke the.

[Mike Wright]

Rookie record for passing touchdowns in 14 games. That's pretty impressive.

[Andy Holloway]

It is definitely impressive. I'm not taking anything away from Baker, but we are playing in a different NFL than years Past, so there's only so many players eligible to do that.

[Mike Wright]

Just wanted to mention this because this is amazing. It's a Super bowl recap thing. Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman. Spotrack just tweeted this out. Brandon Cooks, who's going to make 27 and a half million dollars this year. That will be more than Edelman has made in his entire 10 year career with the Patriots.

[Jason Moore]

That's not fair.

[Mike Wright]

That's how you win.

[Andy Holloway]

That's how you win.

[Mike Wright]

You find guys that, you just keep paying them crap.

[Jason Moore]

The Patriots had Brandon Cooks and they.

[Mike Wright]

Didn'T want to pay him.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not paying for this.

[Andy Holloway]

I told you, you got Edelman. Chris Hogan is. He was terrible in the super bowl and mind you, maybe that just means Marcus Peters was great on him. But Chris Hogan's a free agent. I bet you anything that Chris Hogan ends up on a bargain basement deal and makes 10 important catches for the Patriots next year.

[Mike Wright]

He could. I'm going to throw this out. The New England wide receiver field is. Could possibly be very, very different next year because there's only a handful of guys that are actually under contract. Josh Gordon, where there was the news of could he be back for training camp. He's not technically under contract. Chris Hogan is not under contract. If Braxton Barrios is on your Dynasty waiver wire, go pick him up.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. That's a great name for Dynasty players to be aware of. He's, you know, it went from West Welker to Julian Edelman. And some thoughts are that if Brady does indeed play till he's 80, it will eventually shift to Braxton Barrios.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, it's just. Look, Dynasty. That's the game you're playing. You're not saying all these guys are going to pan out. You're saying you put them on the roster because there's a pathway and only a handful of those work out. But if you, you know, it's like Jake Kumaro in Green Bay. You put them on there because who's Tom Brady's favorite? Who becomes Aaron Rodgers favorite later on? So that's it for News Today. Remember, play on a fantasy sports platform that doesn't suck.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

If you're playing Dynasty, you should be playing on Sleeper.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Check out the Sleeper app. Modern Design, Infinite customizations. We'll talk about them a lot as you set up Dynasty Leaks. You guys ready for the truth?

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

You want answers?

[Andy Holloway]

I think I'm entitled.

[Jason Moore]

You want answers? I want the truth. You can't handle the truth.

[Andy Holloway]

I just, you know, we Have Michael Keaton back to my right.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

On the set today, he's looking fierce. Stoic, but fierce. Yeah. And possibly hanging around in the shadows.

[Mike Wright]

Possibly losing all temperature to his body because he's looking.

[Jason Moore]

The pink lips.

[Andy Holloway]

The pink lips. Yeah. That's okay.

[Mike Wright]

Get this man a heater.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I just heard Jack Nicholson in the truth drop, and it made me remember the Joker because I may or may not have watched the original Batman. In honor of the bust we have in our.

[Mike Wright]

So that's how I make all my movie decisions.

[Andy Holloway]

Spectacular.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Based on the busts I have around. All right, this is the final truth episode, right, Brooks? Do we have any more. Do we know truth for kickers or.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah, we thought about breaking the full back. The tight end into two episodes, but we didn't want that much crap out there. The truth of the tight ends this year. Okay, this episode's gonna last another 30 seconds. It's that they suck.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, we got great content.

[Jason Moore]

There is actually. There's. There's real important discussion on these guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I thought it would be fun because the way I look at the truth here is we're looking at. Look, we know what we know about Kelsey and Ertz, but let's project these guys forward. Let's see what we got out of them.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So the way that we. The way that we track the tight ends, we. We have our own consistency score, where we look at how many of their performances were. Would put them near the top three, you know, a week, winning. Great. So if we say how many percentage of their great games, that's talking about them finishing near that. That top three mark, over 15 points. If you had a good game, you're over nine points. And if you completely bust, you're under seven points. You're fewer than seven points scored. That puts you outside the top 16 on a position where you only play one guy a week. And here's what's crazy. This is the. The top 12, okay? The top 12 at the end of the year, those are your best. That's your. Those are your best tight ends, Right?

[Andy Holloway]

The top is the best.

[Jason Moore]

The top 12 top men, seven of the top men, seven of the top 12. So the majority of the top men at tight.

[Mike Wright]

I like that you guys are making a reference and you don't even know what you're doing.

[Jason Moore]

We're just repeating you. Top men, seven of the top 12 tight ends busted. Meaning they completely ruined your lineup more than 50% of the time.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And every single owner of. Not Travis, Kelsey, Zach, Ertz, George Kittle felt it all year long. So, you know, it begs the question, Mike, last year you, you realized this, this was not a surprise to Mike, the fantasy hitman, right?

[Mike Wright]

Correct.

[Andy Holloway]

This was not some kind of perplexing reality to Mike. And that's why you put your.

[Mike Wright]

I put my eggs in a basket that had no basket. It was just me dropping eggs onto the ground.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. It was like you, you, you saw the situation where the basket was up over the ground, you realized the danger and you knew you had to put him in a.

[Andy Holloway]

Have a top tight end.

[Jason Moore]

You just didn't realize there was a hole in the bottom of the basket.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

That was Gronk.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So if all of your arguments, I mean they were all right, it's just a different basket.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Could have been this one. Could have been Travis Kelsey, number one tight end, Number one most consistent tight end. Jason. He did not bust more than 50% of the time. He busted one time.

[Jason Moore]

One time. Thank you. Patrick Mahomes. And I believe that was week one. Week one comes out.

[Andy Holloway]

People were afraid.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, people were selling. They're like, oh, Alex Smith, Patrick Mahomes isn't going to use the tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

Hope you didn't sell 103 receptions, 1336 yards, 10 touchdowns, 150 targets. Thank you very much.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he out produced where you drafted him. If you project him as just a receiver, including all tight ends and wide receivers together, and look at his ADP, he outproduced it by more than 50 points of the expected point total of that position. So you were happy to draft him. The only difference, you can't just go apples to apples because you still only need one tight end versus multiple wide receivers or running backs. But if you drafted him, you were happy. He was among the top 15 players drafted that made it into the playoffs. According to ESPN, he's finished as a.

[Andy Holloway]

Top two tight end in each of the last three seasons. One two, one third straight year with 1,000 plus yards.

[Mike Wright]

No, he's only the second tight end to do that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Olson, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yes. The big difference for Travis Kelsey, Jason, is I agree you got to do the apples to apples, the tight end up against other tight ends. But Travis Kelsey would have been the wide receiver, nine on the season, which makes him completely worth the draft value to me that where he's going to be a back of the second early third round guy. And at that point I'm taking a shot on a wide receiver or a running back who I think has top 10 potential. Travis Kelsey has top 10 potential at the wide receiver position, except it solidifies that tight end spot for the entire year. So I.

[Andy Holloway]

How high does he go?

[Mike Wright]

Because if I think he goes in the. Probably the middle of the second, that's.

[Andy Holloway]

Where I think he'll go to. I mean, when you finish first, second, and then first, you know what you get with him. And he's got the best quarterback in the league, fantasy production wise, at a minimum. Look, it just. I was looking at dynasty leagues this morning. How do I put them on my roster, right? I mean, how do I find a way to do that?

[Mike Wright]

Should have traded Gronk for him last year.

[Andy Holloway]

Thanks, Mike.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, you are welcome. Before we get into the roster, take that.

[Andy Holloway]

You think I'll. Maybe I'm going to try it out right now.

[Jason Moore]

You got to at least do it.

[Mike Wright]

Send it through and let us know if it happens.

[Andy Holloway]

All right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we'll see how that goes. Hey, everyone. Foot Glenn. We want to make sure that you remember the right place to get your tickets if you're doing any live events. Longtime supporter, sponsor of the Foot cast, the foot clan. That's seatgeek. Seatgeek is. They take all the difficulty of getting tickets away. They have a very easy to use app that we've loved. All three of us have used it personally. We've used it together. It takes all the complications away. And every purchase on there is fully guaranteed. You can shop for your tickets with SeatGeek with complete confidence. They pool in a bunch of different resources to make sure you're getting an absolutely great price. You think you can't get tickets to that event. You can't find them. Go to seatgeek. You'll get them. It'll be easy. It's a couple of taps and then you just go right in and have a great time. At your live events, you have to make it your go to resource. We do it all the time. Best of all, you're going to get $10 off your first SeatGeek purchase. A little money back for you. Just download the SeatGeek app, enter the promo code ballers today. That's promo code ballers for $10 off your first SeatGeek purchase. SeatGeek Life's an event. We have the tickets.

[Mike Wright]

Want to thank today's sponsor, Hulu. Here's the thing about sitting courtside. There are pros and cons. The pro is, you know, you're at a basketball game. It's awesome. It's the best way to watch the game. The con, you will never want to Watch a game from anywhere else. Again, again, again. Oregon. That's the thing about when things are better. Once you try it, you can't go back. That's what Hulu is doing. They're ruining things for people because they're making it better. They got tons of shows, movies, exclusive originals, plus live TV for sports. That's crucial for all of us. Foot clan. We. We got to have the live sports. Hulu's got you covered. And once you get Hulu, it's going to ruin TV forever. And you can start that free Hulu trial [e-mail]. that's h u l u dot com.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I can relate to that. I feel like I ruin things all the time.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I mean, it's like this podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

I do that.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, thanks.

[Mike Wright]

You ruin our podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

Cool, cool, cool. Why'd you wait 689 shows to tell me I could have been out of here quick?

[Mike Wright]

Look, I don't like conflicts.

[Jason Moore]

That's taken pacifism to a new level, Mike.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a four year plan of getting rid of him. You had too much fun last week when I missed the show.

[Mike Wright]

That was a good show.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm out sick. You're making. You're popping jokes about crab biscuits that make no sense. I went back and watched that.

[Mike Wright]

Not my finest moment.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason, thank you so much for giving him such silence and not playing along.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, how. How can you play along?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't even know what you did.

[Jason Moore]

Something that doesn't exist. I was. I was out in space trying to swim back to earth.

[Andy Holloway]

The best part was just Mike, his soul was so disappointed in you for not getting right. I was so disappointed in you. And you must, let's be honest.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

You must have wondered, what were you missing?

[Jason Moore]

100%. I knew that I was at fault. I didn't get. I didn't get the joke. I didn't get the reference. I'm an idiot. Men.

[Andy Holloway]

Top men. I don't see. That's one I don't get.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Zach Ertz, number two. We'll look at the truth of Zach Ertz, which is pretty nice. Consistency. Rank of number three. He sustained multiple quarterback, you know, throwing him the ball. Multiple quarterbacks throwing on the ball. 116 catches. That's the number one guy right there.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

1163 yards, eight touchdowns on 156 targets. That is the most receptions in NFL history by a tight end.

[Jason Moore]

That's pretty good.

[Andy Holloway]

That's pretty darn good. And still busted 25% of the time. But good 69% of the time.

[Jason Moore]

Well, and really, the bus, if you. If you look at when he fell off, it was towards the end of the year three of his last four weeks when Carson Wentz was gone. And, you know, there was some changeover. He had a great week. It wasn't like he couldn't put up great numbers with Foals. He had an unbelievable championship week in week 16. But that gives you even more confidence going forward knowing that it's. Look, the rapport between Wince and Ertz is. And he, even further out, produced his expected point value over what Kelsey was. So you want to talk better pick. Maybe the best pick at tight end outside of George Kittle was Zach Ertz. And this is, again, just like you said, this is years in a row. Now, the big difference here is the target volume. If you look back the last couple of years, he's been over 100 targets, but not by much. This year, 156 targets. Is. Is that going to be something that repeats or do you think that regresses back to the 100, 610 that he was kind of living at?

[Mike Wright]

That's a great question.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, one thing, you know, is that in depending on what you believe or don't believe about the Carson Wentz reports about being a bad teammate or being, you know, resistant to change and running the offense the way that Nick Foles does, Ertz is a best friend with Carson Wentz. So you have that connection there. My question to you guys is, look, Kelsey and Ertz have swapped spots the last two years. So do you. Do you favor one of those guys? Do you like Kelsey more? You know, because that's a lot of receptions for Zach Ertz. 116 receptions.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to guess this is projecting. You know, we don't know where these guys are going to go in the draft because tight ends, I mean, every year there's different strategies.

[Mike Wright]

Kelsey will go before Ertz.

[Jason Moore]

I agree. I think Kelsey will be a second, Ertz will be a third. And if that's the.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I was going to say. Would you take Ertz then?

[Jason Moore]

I would take Ertz in the third over Kelsey in the second. You want to talk the potential for regression on Earth's targets? Sure. But the touchdowns, I don't think Pat Mahomes is going to continue throwing 50 touchdowns. So that's going to take.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, be up in the 60, 70 range.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, sure. Take that.

[Andy Holloway]

Year three leap right from MVP to super MVP. All right. Kelsey in the second, Ertz in the third or Kittle in the fourth.

[Jason Moore]

Give me them bits.

[Andy Holloway]

George Kittle, number three on the list. Mike, what do you think about it? Number two, most consistent tight end, 88 for 13, 77 and 5 on 136 targets. He did not cap out on some high touchdown total. That makes it look like that's a regression possibility. He did play under a couple of different quarterbacks than the one he'll have next year in Jimmy Garoppolo. But you said give me those bits. I think you meant Kittle and bits.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely.

[Andy Holloway]

I thought you said give me those hips because those hips got down.

[Jason Moore]

Feel quick, Shakira. I mean those hips don't lie.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

You know, and so look there's a. There. There are far more questions with George Kittle which is why he'll go in the fourth, maybe the, maybe the fifth round next year. Because there's quarterback change, there's going to be wide receiver change.

[Mike Wright]

That's the biggest question.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. I mean Antonio Brown could be there. For all we know who is the number one target and who because of the quarterback shift, you know, is he going to stay that way? And my trust is in the player and in and in Shanahan. I think the offense is going to be good with better with Garoppolo and Kittle just is, you know, he's better than the defenders that have to guard him at the tight end position. He'll have breakaway touchdowns. He'll be wide open as he torches linebackers. And I believe in George kittle.

[Andy Holloway]

He had 69% of his games in the good category, 31% in the great category and just a dominating season for George Kittle. Somebody that Mike loved early in the season. Somebody that I. I paid 44 fab. I paid a kiddo.

[Jason Moore]

You paid penance.

[Andy Holloway]

I paid that much at that time. Which I think was heading into week four because I look what you got out of Kelsey Ortz compared to the rest of this crop was worth the risk of spending that money. With what we had seen so far on the season, it was worth looking at him and saying is this the next Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham type of breakout tight end turned out he was. He's a great player. And the breakaway tight ends, the week winning type of weeks. Look, there were five weeks that I'd be hard pressed to find a person that lost with George Kittle.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean he was there five weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

He was the cheat code.

[Jason Moore]

He was dominating, setting NFL records for yardage and just crazy stuff that he was doing this year. There are only three tight ends, and we just talked about all three of them that busted fewer than a third of their, you know, less than 30% of their games were a bust. So I, you know, I think George Kittle will be the cheapest of the big three, but I believe next year I'm going to go into the season trying to get one of those guys specifically. Otherwise, I mean, there's a. There are a handful of others we'll talk about later in the show, maybe O.J. howard type that are intriguing, that are intriguing. But I would really like to nail down the position and not have to play vomit roulette with tight ends in 2019.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, is that the trademark Vomit roulette? That can be your app. You can build that out, get the domain.

[Mike Wright]

I believe in George Kittle just like you do Jason. But what I was talking about with the wide receivers is George Kittle. I don't even know if you guys realize this. He had double the amount of targets than the player on San Francisco that had the second most.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, that's. That makes sense in this because they.

[Mike Wright]

Shifted, and that was in Kendrick Bourne.

[Jason Moore]

I was going to say they shifted in different parts of the year. You know, you thought going into the season it was going to be Garcon and then it was going to be Goodwin and then it was going to be Pettis. So.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I don't, I don't read too much into the statistic because of the injuries.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not so much that there was one guy there that was there all year long and then got half the targets. It's just. You're right. They may add a Antonio Brown. They could add a Tyrell Williams. I mean, they could add a smaller piece. When a player puts up a. He broke the record.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

For yardage, right?

[Jason Moore]

Yes, yes.

[Andy Holloway]

So when you break the record for yardage, you're probably going to be used the next year. And I don't want to over.

[Mike Wright]

That's why I believe in him.

[Andy Holloway]

Five touchdowns, that could go up, too. Even if the targets went down 136 targets, you're still talking about what, 20 targets fewer than Zach Ertz. The sky's the limit for George Kittle.

[Jason Moore]

If next year George Kittle has 110 targets. So he loses 25 or so targets. I'm. I'm going to say that where he's drafted, he will return on that value.

[Mike Wright]

Wow. I would say he will not at 110.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm in Jason's camp. But let's talk about Jason's Boy, he finally did it. Number four. Number four at the tight end position. C.J. anderson. Sorry. No, it's Eric Ebron. 66 for 750 and the big one. 13 touchdowns on 110 targets. A consistency rank of number five. And look, take a little Ebron mix in a little Luck.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

You end up in the end zone 13 times. Still had weeks of four points.014. Those weeks, they stung. But you probably spent too long not playing him in the beginning of the year. Right when he was on absolute fire. And look, we played this game all year long. I remember it every single week. Doyle and Ebron and what's Doyle going to do and what's the balance are low.

[Jason Moore]

And when Doyle's playing, he's the guy running routes.

[Andy Holloway]

I tend to think Ebron's overdrafted next year.

[Jason Moore]

You think Ebron is overdrafted next year?

[Andy Holloway]

I tend to as much as like.

[Jason Moore]

Even considering he had the quintessential fifth.

[Andy Holloway]

Year breakout as the quintessential 13 touchdown fifth year breakout. Yeah, look, I think he'll be overdrafted. I do. Because I think he did so much for fantasy owners in the top half of the year that when it, you know, when everyone was playing those first 10 weeks, he was absolutely dominant. 110 targets. I mean being overdrafted and still performing, those are different things. I just think, I think he'll probably go higher than he should. What do you think?

[Mike Wright]

It's. Doyle is still absolutely a factor. You had six games last year where Doyle was on the field with Eric Ebron. And Ebron, even though he was averaging over a touchdown a game, you're talking three and a half targets a game. I mean he was putting up unsustainable numbers. He was only playing on about 45% of the snaps. So I'm with you, Andy, that. Could Ebron do this again? I guess he could because they still play a lot of two tight end sets in Indianapolis. But I'm not banking on Eric Ebron being in top five again with Jack Doyle back.

[Jason Moore]

Eric Ebron, I mean, you say he might be overdrafted. The whole issue with him is going to be draft price. Because I'm willing to take Eric Ebron next year as my tight end if I miss out on the big guys and I've got to pick one later. Andrew Luck has a long history of having top 12 tight ends. I mean, Kobe Fleener, yeah, but it was.

[Mike Wright]

But Kobe Fleena was never usable unless Dwayne Allen was out. And Dwayne Allen was only usable when. When, When Kobe Fleena was out.

[Jason Moore]

No, there was a year where I believe both Kobe Fleener and Dwayne Allen were top 12. Now, it doesn't take much to be top 12 of the position, but they were.

[Mike Wright]

They would take turns when they would miss games.

[Jason Moore]

Right. I think with Frank Reich and Eric E. Brown, even though it feels like Eric Ebron is, like limping out there and all. He's 25 years old right now. He'll be 26 next year.

[Andy Holloway]

He's just primed for inevitable, you know, teen touchdown totals.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, no, that's.

[Andy Holloway]

He's just. He just looks to me like. I'm not saying he can't do it. And Mike, you said he kept putting up, he sustained unsustainable for a whole season. So you got to give him credit for that. It's just a matter of.

[Mike Wright]

You want Tyler Lockett.

[Jason Moore]

No. If he. Look, if he's a fifth round option, no way would I take.

[Andy Holloway]

He won't be. He won't be fifth round.

[Jason Moore]

Right. But if he's a ninth round option.

[Mike Wright]

He won't be. He'll be. He'll be somewhere between seven and eight.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, that will.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he'll go lighter than that.

[Mike Wright]

He's the number four tight end on the year.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he'll go. But he won't go higher than.

[Jason Moore]

He's not going to be the number four.

[Andy Holloway]

Let me ask you this. He'll go behind Evan Ingram?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

He'll go behind O.J.

[Jason Moore]

Howard.

[Andy Holloway]

He'll go behind Jared Cook.

[Mike Wright]

No, he won't go behind Cook.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he probably won't go behind Cook. People will.

[Andy Holloway]

Hunter, Henry, David Njoku and Joku will not.

[Mike Wright]

Njoko will go after him.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yes. I don't believe it. I do not.

[Jason Moore]

There's only one way to settle this. It's a fight.

[Mike Wright]

Go to the future.

[Jason Moore]

Water bat. I think I just made you guys to have a water bat. One of you agreed to. I was just gonna want.

[Andy Holloway]

Just write it down because it's gonna be a hundred years before we get to talk about it. All right. Number five, Jared Cook. Hooray.

[Jason Moore]

Yay.

[Mike Wright]

Here's where everything falls apart.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, did you like 27 points in week four, Jason, or did you like six points or two points in week six?

[Jason Moore]

I preferred three points in week nine. Thank you.

[Andy Holloway]

What about the 15 in week eight?

[Jason Moore]

That was okay. But I'm going to take the three.

[Andy Holloway]

Points in week 16 and week 15 and week 17.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, look, he busted half of his games 50% of the time. But like I said, seven of the top 12 did. You had to play the right matchup. Jared Cook was a guy that in.

[Mike Wright]

You played him at home.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. You played him at home, played him against, you know, the. The right match. Unfortunately for him, his contract situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, I will find out when he.

[Jason Moore]

Played against the top. At the top 16. Passing defense.

[Mike Wright]

Top.

[Jason Moore]

He actually. Goodness gracious. He actually performed better. So he didn't always get the right start.

[Mike Wright]

Unrestricted free agent Jared Cook.

[Andy Holloway]

See, that's what I. That's what I thought. So.

[Mike Wright]

31 year old unrestricted free agent Jared Cook.

[Jason Moore]

Unfortunately not that old for career highs.

[Andy Holloway]

Across the board for him. He did everything he could to get himself a deal somewhere, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Oh, no, he'll probably get a job.

[Jason Moore]

I think he'll be back with. He's an unrestricted Raiders.

[Andy Holloway]

How does he say the Raiders new home. You said he's great at home. His home is changing.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

They'll be in San Francisco this year. So they're not changing their name though, right?

[Jason Moore]

No, no, they're not. I mean, they will next year or the two years from now. What? Yeah, yeah. You think they're going to say the Oakland Raiders instead of the Las Vegas Mike?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no, I thought you were saying they were going to be. I thought you were implying that they were changing the match.

[Jason Moore]

Actually, it is. It is interesting. Will they be the Oakland Raiders? They'll be playing in San Francisco while Oakland sues them.

[Mike Wright]

Wow, what a mess.

[Andy Holloway]

What if they just. What if as a protest to the lawsuit in the city, they just threw an asterisk on the Oakland.

[Jason Moore]

Jared Cook. Oakland Raiders Jared Cook. Look, we had a show early last season where I had to defend my ranking.

[Mike Wright]

Are you too tuting Jared Cook now? No, no, no.

[Jason Moore]

My point is I was high on him because of the options. No matter where he goes next year, he's not going to be a very relevant tight end. He's not. If he stays around in Oakland, he's. He's a guy where he'll get off. He'll do the Jared Cook thing.

[Andy Holloway]

85% chance he's back in Oakland.

[Jason Moore]

Week one. He'll have a decent week. So if you want to draft him and then trade him or whatever. He's done it so many times where his first week is like, whoa, Jared Cook. And then usually disappears. He actually had some future games as the year went on that were good. But no, I mean, there's not even. Why even talk that much about Jared Cook? Would you draft him ahead of any of those other guys you mentioned when discussing where.

[Andy Holloway]

896 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, 101 targets. Not ahead of the guys they just brought up.

[Mike Wright]

No, no.

[Andy Holloway]

But would I draft him? Yeah, I would draft him.

[Jason Moore]

Who would you? Okay, how about this? Jared Cook who busted half his games but had 31%. Great.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. 400 yard games or Austin Hooper with.

[Jason Moore]

A better offense, a better quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't want to overstate this, but I would rather be dead than play Austin Hooper. I'd rather be dead than have him as my tight end.

[Jason Moore]

So you would rather have Jared Cook?

[Andy Holloway]

I would rather have a bag of Doritos.

[Jason Moore]

Okay?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, the flaming hot ones.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't care what kind. Look, Austin Hooper stepped on. I do not want to start Austin Hooper as my tight end.

[Jason Moore]

Austin Hooper finished this season as the number six tight end in Stacey. The top.

[Andy Holloway]

We have to talk about him now.

[Jason Moore]

The top. We do. Top half of the top 12 tight ends. And I could not agree with you anymore, Andy.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd rather be dead.

[Jason Moore]

I don't want to. If he's my like drafted tight end after the draft, I quit that league.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that because he's the consistency rank of 14 despite the number six ranking?

[Jason Moore]

Yes, that is part, part of why he never had great games.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he had, he had the two week span where they were dealing with some injuries.

[Andy Holloway]

Week five and six in Atlanta.

[Mike Wright]

Weeks five and six, double digit targets, nine receptions. Both of those games. Over 70 yards in both those games. And that was just the, that was the litmus test. It was okay. Austin Hooper was a third round pick. He's been touted for a long time. We got a two game sample going on and then he vaporized in the next two games.

[Jason Moore]

He was terrible.

[Mike Wright]

So I'm with you guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Two Austin Hoopers equal one Travis Kelsey. If you want context for the number six overall tight end, Kelsey scored twice as many points as the number six overall tight end. That's where you're at. I do feel like what I said may he may not be as inclined to come on the show at some point.

[Mike Wright]

That's a problem.

[Andy Holloway]

But here's the thing. You got to string three games together. Oh, you got to get in the Flames. Austin, Trey Burton and Kyle Rudolph at 7 and 8. Trey Burton look unequivocally a disappointment to me. 54 for 569 and 6. His consistency, his consistency rank was 11. I feel like the argument for Trey Burton is simply this finish. You just go, well, he was a number seven. But this is not what you wanted. This is not what they paid him to be.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, he had 13 games of 40 yards or less. Case closed. Wasn't the Trey Burton you wanted. Shows you maybe how difficult it can be to be a free agent tight end, get paid this money and deliver for fantasy owners. It's difficult to do all the hype. I mean, look, Matt Nagy got coach of the year, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

They were a playoff team. Right. Mitchell Trubisky took a step forward. Right. Trey Burton got paid a ton of money. Right. He's supposed to fill the Travis kelce roll.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

54 for 569 and 6.

[Jason Moore]

That's not good. But here's what's even worse. Let's look at how he finished the year after week 10. If you look at the, you know, last third of the season, from week 11 on, he would. He would have been on pace for a solid 48, 361 and 2. His usage was so good. It was terrible. And yes, he finished as the number seven and you drafted him as the number four. So you feel like that should be well.

[Andy Holloway]

And Adam, huge loss. But there's a. I'm not in on Trey Burton next year, that's for sure.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yeah. So the question really becomes okay. Two years into the system, maybe Mitchell Trubisky gets a little bit more accurate. Say what you want about his big game stretches, he was also very bad at times through the year. Can Trey Burton be valuable next year? Because unlike Jared Cook, Jared Cook to me. Austin Hooper to me, those guys, they're not going to have a good next year. But Trey Burton still could to me.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I'm leaving the door open for Trey Burton.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. He's not going to move up to the elite category though.

[Jason Moore]

No. No, he's not.

[Andy Holloway]

That's the door I'm closing.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, the. Just you're closing the. So there's like you got the half door, the kid door on the bottom. You're leaving that one open.

[Andy Holloway]

What do they call those? Brooks, do you remember the door with the top and the bottom?

[Mike Wright]

It's the pie door.

[Andy Holloway]

You call it a pie what?

[Mike Wright]

Cuz you put the pie on the.

[Andy Holloway]

Top, you've set the pie on top of the door.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just trying to make a name for it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. No, there is a name for it. The half door. The we pulled door.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not going anywhere good.

[Mike Wright]

Kid door. This is just as good as the pie door.

[Andy Holloway]

What do you call. It's a Dutch door.

[Jason Moore]

There.

[Andy Holloway]

Now what were we talking about?

[Jason Moore]

Again, we're saying we'll leave the bottom of the Dutch door open to be a serviceable, more consistent tight end. But he doesn't get to walk through like a grown man.

[Mike Wright]

You gotta. You got a duck.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. He's not a limbo.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not going to be in the elite category, but he could take a step forward. That I agree with. That he could. He could walk himself into the Jared Cook category of production. I could see him putting up 70 for 850 and 5, 6. So. But they. Look, Matt Nagy's not dumb. He's not going to focus on one guy. They've got weapons there. They have other players. And when you, when you have a pass catching weapon out of the backfield, that also diminishes the need to lean on a guy. Even you know, he's a field stretching tight end. So. Yeah, I mean, I think he's disappointing. Very Kyle Rudolph at number eight.

[Mike Wright]

So disappointing, in fact, that I don't know that anyone's ever lost their nickname on this show.

[Andy Holloway]

But like Trey Boo Boo.

[Mike Wright]

If you've noticed, Trey Boo Boo did not make the shirt.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh my goodness. He lost his spot on the shirt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. That's how little we thought of him.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow. Well, I mean, he's.

[Mike Wright]

I hope you feel disrespected.

[Andy Holloway]

Trey Burton look when Terrell Pryor didn't get it done.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, well, because what are we gonna put? Dumpster fire.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I'm saying. That he turned into Trey Boohoo or Trey Poo Poo.

[Mike Wright]

That's the one.

[Jason Moore]

That's it.

[Andy Holloway]

That's it. Nail it.

[Mike Wright]

The one Kyle Rudolph.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

He'S just like a middle of the rack T shirt. That fits fine.

[Jason Moore]

Nope, that is the. That is way too kind for what he did this year.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, what did he do this year?

[Jason Moore]

He is the shirt that used to be a little tight and now is it shrunk?

[Mike Wright]

He was 100% cotton.

[Jason Moore]

You were feeling great. I've been eating poor and I'm. I got to wear this out. It's not dark. The nips are showing.

[Andy Holloway]

There's something about.

[Jason Moore]

Is showing.

[Andy Holloway]

There's something about you talking like this about Kyle Rudolph. It gives you joy because me a lot of joy.

[Jason Moore]

Look, he finished number nine on the season.

[Mike Wright]

His Rudolph's a little tight.

[Jason Moore]

The reason he finished number nine on the season was week 16. So if you happen to play him.

[Mike Wright]

In your championship game, that game was awesome.

[Jason Moore]

What were you doing there?

[Andy Holloway]

63% of the time.

[Jason Moore]

But I mean, he, you Know, he averaged fewer than seven points, which we categorize as a bust. He averaged fewer than seven points all the way up through till that week 16 game. So he wasn't, he wasn't a shirt that was like, meh, okay. This was a shirt that I was trying to be nice. I appreciate that.

[Mike Wright]

Because here's the problem. Like, if you really remember what happened with Kyle Rudolph, he was actually serviceable for the first month of the season. And it felt like, okay, Kyle Rudolph's not going to wreck my team. I can throw him out there. I know I'm not going to get Travis Kelsey numbers, but I'll. I'll be all right in that tight end one.

[Jason Moore]

He was tight in six over the first four weeks. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And then it.

[Andy Holloway]

The wheels fell off and my argument on Kyle Rudolph has gone. In the Dragon, it's always been the same argument. We've had enough years of Kyle Rudolph to know where you're at.

[Jason Moore]

And he's a decent blocker. And because of the offensive coordinator switch and then wanting to get into a run first mentality, Kyle Rudolph won't, you know, he won't be on my radar either. And you have to keep this in mind, like when we, when we stat these guys out on the year and we look at the projection, he is involved. He's one of Those near a 100% snap count type of players. He will get enough receptions, yardage, and touchdowns to be at or near the top 12 in our rankings at the end of the year. That doesn't mean that's a guy you want for fantasy. That's the point of the truth episode.

[Andy Holloway]

That is why we do it 20th in the consistency rank.

[Jason Moore]

He could very well finish as a tight end one next year and be 100% worthless to your roster.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you adding him to your vomit roulette app?

[Jason Moore]

Sure. Yeah. I mean, he's got to be there. Except I don't know that you're gonna come up. I mean, that's a low percentage of not vomit. You always want to hit not vomit.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And he's got the littlest, very, very.

[Mike Wright]

Confused about this app.

[Jason Moore]

It's like the bankruptcy.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So you spin the wheel and then you throw up.

[Jason Moore]

Well, no, you. You spin the wheel and then you either get vomit or not vomit.

[Andy Holloway]

But you, most of the time, you get.

[Jason Moore]

Most of the time you get vomit.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

With Kyle Rudolph.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't want to play this game.

[Jason Moore]

No. Is it hope you got Evan Ingram?

[Andy Holloway]

You charge him for the app? Because I don't think he's gonna be a hit.

[Jason Moore]

399.

[Andy Holloway]

399. All right, let me read some more for you, David. And Joku was the number nine tight end with a consistency rank of 17. Vance McDonald was number 10 with a consistency rank of 19. Gronk, number 11 with a consistency rank of 12. Number 75. In our hearts, Evan Ingram.

[Jason Moore]

There we go.

[Andy Holloway]

Number 12 with a consistency rank of 6. Now explain this. Because he missed so much of the season, maybe people, they say, what?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, he's lower in the. In the actual rankings because of the games he missed, but when he was playing, he wasn't that bad. He busted 36% of the time. One of the few guys that busted fewer than 50% of the time. And he had good games at a perfect 55% of the time. Yeah. Now there's some hesitation there because you do have to factor in. A lot of his good games came when Odell Beckham was out. Eli's going to be another year older. But I would draft Evan Ingram ahead of almost everybody we just mentioned.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, let me ask you this, because we need to talk about him in the same breath. I think O.J. howard was the number 13, so right behind Evan Ingram and finish. But consistency rank of number four. Right. 70% of the games he played were good. Similar bust percentage, similar great percentage. Very similar. Years filled with injuries. Would you rather have. Right now you're a dynasty owner, Would you rather have Evan Ingram on the roster or O.J. howard? Both have question marks at the quarterback position. Both have immense talent.

[Jason Moore]

The question marks at the quarterback position are not near the same. One has three question marks, one has one question mark. And I would much rather have Jameis Winston hitch my wagon to the offense that was able to collectively between Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick be top three in total team passing stats for fantasy. I. I think O.J. howard is a beast of a human who's come into his own. And if I have to pick between one of those two, I'm going to go with O.J. howard.

[Andy Holloway]

You like both those guys more than Chris McDonald. Here's the real Rudolph, David and Joku.

[Jason Moore]

The real question is Gronk. If he's back now, I don't think. I think Grog retires.

[Andy Holloway]

He said he'll take a week or two to figure it out, which also tells me he'll retire. But my dynasty team is sending in letters and beckoning him back. I don't even know why I'd want him back.

[Jason Moore]

Right. That's my point. Back.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm Just going to play him and if I play him, I want to play him over Chris Herndon. And Chris Herndon had a higher consistency rating than Gronk, which you'd love to give all the credit to Herndon on that, but that really speaks to Gronk.

[Mike Wright]

Gronk was never Gronk. Never Gronk again.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, you know, we're going to find out something about Jason because I'm with.

[Mike Wright]

You that I lean OJ Howard slightly over Evan Ingram. But the, but Bruce Arians systems, it's.

[Jason Moore]

I don't buy into that. I know that there's a lot of look, if you look at Bruce Arians and his tight ends, there's, there's nothing there. But if you actually go and look at who he had like you know, back in the day with, I remember.

[Mike Wright]

Playing this game with, with Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Graham.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to continue to play this game because Jimmy Graham as a man on the field, film wise was bad. He looked. O.J. howard's not going to be bad. O.J. howard is an actual talented, in his prime NFL player right now. Jimmy Graham used to be.

[Andy Holloway]

We do have the limit. I mean there wasn't a lot of work between Winston and Howard on this over the course of this season due to Fitzpatrick taking over for a portion of the year. Look high upside guys in Joku, Howard Ingram, talented young field stretching type of guys. It'll be interesting. You know, I think a lot of people getting behind Baker, all the hype that Cleveland will have next year. I think Njoku has that possibility of being a breakout guy too. I mean he's just too good. But for Njoku to do it, four touchdowns isn't going to do it. He's going to need to get into double digit range. He's going to need to be a go to red zone guy. Could happen though. I mean, I think it's a possibility.

[Jason Moore]

Now or in Joku.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I do.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean I think he's a freak.

[Andy Holloway]

He's an absolute freak. He just.

[Jason Moore]

More consistency and that's the thing with tight ends. If you're going to spend capital on a tight end, you want the consistency, you want more than 100, that's what you're buying. And I think that Baker's going to spread it around and Njoka will never be his number one target the way that a Kelsey or an Ertz or you know, those, those truly elite guys that you're hoping he becomes. And maybe you could say the same thing with, you know, O.J. howard because of Mike Evans. But I, you know, I think that Jameis has a tendency to hyper target. Baker strikes me as someone that's going to, he's going to spread it wherever it needs to go based on what the coverage is doing and the consistency is what I worry about within Joku, the talents there.

[Andy Holloway]

I encourage everyone out there, all the listeners, the Foot Clan, go back. If you didn't listen to the last couple weeks of shows, we talked about the truth of every position, all the fantasy finishes. We broke down all the players that at the wide receiver, the quarterback position, the running back position. So go back and listen to those. These are important to take a look at, you know, next year, by the time you're drafting or halfway through the year when you're mock drafting, it might be easy to look at where these guys finished, not realize what you really had in these players. Kyle Rudolph, a perfect example of a player who was completely disproportionate to what he actually gave you because of one game at the end of the season. So go back, check those out. Encourage you to do that. Also, a signed Alvin Camara Saints mini helmet just went on pristine auction for $81.08 every single day. Hundreds of daily auctions on Pristine Auction. It's free to sign up. Let them know the fantasy footballer sent you. Find your favorite player. You can always find some deals, some steals on there. All the autographs are 100% authentic. Check it out at Pristine Auction.

[Mike Wright]

Just don't outbid me. The footballers have a lot of bids in them.

[Andy Holloway]

That is one of our rules. We will tell you about these deals, but don't outbid Mike. He gets very angry.

[Jason Moore]

He's vicious.

[Mike Wright]

I don't lose.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And you know what? We're broke. So that's it for today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, supporting the show. Very excited to get into this extended bye week and look towards 2019, guys.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely. We'll see you on Thursday, Foot Clan. Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

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.