Biggest Fantasy Football Takeaways For EVERY NFC West Team (Ep. 1938)

Summary

FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: Biggest Fantasy Football Takeaways For EVERY NFC West Team (Ep. 1938)

Date: January 16, 2026
Host: Ryan Warmley
Guests: Andrew Erickson, Jake Seeley

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Episode Overview

This episode completes a two-week series covering key fantasy football takeaways for every NFL division, focusing here on the NFC West. Host Ryan Warmley, joined by analysts Andrew Erickson and Jake Seeley, discuss the major lessons learned from the 2025 season for the Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals, with actionable insights for future fantasy drafts, dynasty formats, and weekly management.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

Seattle Seahawks: Decoding the Offensive Paradox

[00:40] Erickson:

• Key Takeaway: Don’t overrate “run-heavy” offense concerns if the target share is exceptional.

• Seahawks had the third lowest passing rate (50%) but JSN (Jackson Smith-Njigba) still led the NFL in receiving yards due to an outsized target share.

• Statistics: JSN posted a league-high 35.8% target share. The gap between him and #2 Amon-Ra St. Brown (31.3%) was larger than the gap between #2 and #8.

  "Anytime an analyst talks about and I've been guilty of this in the past... they're going to be too run heavy. No, just, just stop, take out your earbuds and stop listening because I think that that just doesn't pan out." — Andrew Erickson [00:40]

• Context: Seattle ranked top two in vacated air yard and target share heading into the season, clearing the way for JSN to dominate.

[03:43] Seeley:

• Compared JSN’s breakout to public enthusiasm for Drake London in similar situations but explained he favored JSN due to:

  • Vacancy at WR (DK Metcalf gone, only Lockett left initially)
  • The projection of Sam Darnold as a stable QB (even if “mid-level”)

• Bold Take: Both Walker and Charbonnet can be RB1s, but not together; hopes Walker lands elsewhere to unlock value for both.

  "Dear Lord baby Jesus, I just pray right now can Kenneth Walker not be a Seattle Seahawk next year?... Both being healthy, it's just us banging our head against the wall." — Jake Seeley [05:05]

[06:45] Warmley:

• Universal consensus: “Yes, please just get Walker somewhere else and give us fantasy goodness from, from both of these guys.”

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Los Angeles Rams: Changing Perceptions of Running Back Timelines

[07:22] Erickson:

• Key Takeaway: Don’t write off rookie RBs after a quiet year—second-year surges are real and cheap in dynasty/late best ball.

  • Blake Corum is the poster child. After a quiet rookie year behind Kyren Williams, seized a bigger role in year two and boosted value.

• Corum’s standalone value increased—the offense became more efficient as a result.

  • “It's rookie running backs that usually don't do that much. They enter their second season and it doesn't take a lot necessarily for them to move the needle.” — Andrew Erickson [07:22]

• Price Check: Corum at RB29 “feels pricey,” but if he’s in a 'David Montgomery-esque’ split and offers injury upside, it’s justifiable.

[09:57] Seeley:

• Key Takeaway: Timeshare backfields are not automatically bad—lead roles (60–65%) on good offenses can be valuable.

  • Only seven RBs saw 70%+ snaps this past year; e.g., Travis Etienne (69%), Bijan Robinson (68%), Kyren Williams.
  • “If they're on the right team, if they're the lead options ... it's not a death knell to the lead option.”

• Kyren Williams Value: Being ranked RB17 is “too low”; even in a timeshare, he remains the majority goal-line back and finished RB8 in half-PPR.

  “Now people want to kick him even further down the RB2 ranks... it's just crazy because he's still produced.” — Jake Seeley [12:07]

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San Francisco 49ers: Embracing Upside and Recognizing Offensive Environments

[13:51] Erickson:

• Key Takeaway: Always prioritize league-winning upside, even with injury risk—Christian McCaffrey is the ultimate example.
  • The CMC “injury fade” logic has proven less valuable than betting on his unique ceiling, especially given his heavy receiving work.
  • “I think that more often than not, if you just chase upside ... that's going to lead you to more championships than being overly concerned about, well, what if he gets hurt?” — Andrew Erickson [13:51]
• Process Notes: Erickson acknowledges two competing philosophies (fade dangerous workloads vs. chase upside); will likely still “fade” CMC again next year due to the process but credits his unique role.

[16:29] Seeley:

• Key Takeaway: Stop disrespecting Brock Purdy or, more generally, any primary player in a Kyle Shanahan system.
  • Purdy has been a top-10 QB in points per game for three straight years.
  • Shanahan offenses routinely support fantasy production, often making secondary options relevant in injury/inactivity scenarios.
  • “If I miss on quarterback... Brock Purdy is going to be one, if not my only quarterback, one of two. And if maybe just my only quarterback at this point, that's three straight years he's been disrespected...” — Jake Seeley [17:43]

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Arizona Cardinals: Know When to Quit on Bad QB-WR Chemistry

[18:32] Erickson:

• Key Takeaway: Don’t stubbornly hold out hope for misaligned veteran QB–WR combos.
  • Marvin Harrison Jr. and Kyler Murray “bad vibes” were evident early (Kyler: “not my job to get MHJ the ball”). Their skillset mismatch showed from week one.
  • Development is possible with young QBs, but entrenched veterans’ chemistry (or lack thereof) is usually clear early.
  • “I don't think it takes like so much time for an entrenched veteran quarterback to establish rapport with a wide receiver that's... super talented.” — Andrew Erickson [19:20]

[20:30] Seeley:

• Key Takeaway: Quarterback style shapes fantasy outcomes more than most realize.
  • Referenced Brian Thomas and Trevor Lawrence: Lawrence preferred slot options like Parker Washington over Thomas outside.
  • Highlighted how Jacoby Brissett briefly unlocked more in the Cardinals’ passing game than Kyler could.
  • “Quarterbacks matter more than people would think. You people might think. The peasants, you peons. Thank you for supporting the show.” — Jake Seeley (jokingly) [23:12]

[23:14+]

• Value Check for 2026:
  • Marvin Harrison Jr. at WR34 (“too low,” per Seeley—still believe in talent)
  • Michael Wilson at WR36 (too closely ranked; needing major change to trust both)
  • Missing coaching clarity: “I am TBD on my Cardinals receiver takes here. TBD on January 12th.” — Erickson [24:13]

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Selected Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Erickson [00:40]: “Anytime an analyst talks about ... they're going to be too run heavy. No, just ... stop listening.”
• Warmley [03:25]: “The gap between JSN and number two, Amonra St Brown at 31.3%, is larger than the gap between Amon Ra at two and Chris Olave at eight.”
• Seeley [05:05]: “Dear Lord baby Jesus, I just pray right now can Kenneth Walker not be a Seattle Seahawk next year?”
• Erickson [07:22]: “It's rookie running backs that usually don't do that much. They enter their second season and it doesn't take a lot necessarily for them to move the needle.”
• Seeley [12:07]: “Kyron [Williams] just went from being disrespected as, like RB 10, 11 ... now people want to kick him even further down... it's just crazy because he's still produced.”
• Erickson [13:51]: “If you just chase upside ... that's going to lead you to more championships than being overly concerned about, well, what if he gets hurt?”
• Seeley [17:43]: “Brock Purdy is going to be one, if not my only quarterback, one of two. And if maybe just my only quarterback at this point, that's three straight years he's been disrespected...”
• Erickson [19:20]: “I don't think it takes like so much time for an entrenched veteran quarterback to establish rapport with a wide receiver that's... super talented.”
• Seeley [23:12]: "Quarterbacks matter more than people would think. You people might think. The peasants, you peons."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Seattle Seahawks Analysis: 00:40–07:12
• Los Angeles Rams Analysis: 07:22–12:42
• San Francisco 49ers Analysis: 13:47–18:27
• Arizona Cardinals Analysis: 18:32–24:44

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Final Thoughts

This episode provided sharp, practical takeaways for each NFC West team using statistical insight, eye for context, and a blend of actionable dynasty and redraft strategy. Hosts emphasized the importance of opportunity, the hidden value in certain backfields, quarterback impact specificity, and the principle of always prioritizing upside—even when it feels uncomfortable.

Listen for:

• Fresh takes on timeshare RBs
• Nuanced breakdowns of target shares and QB styles
• Dynasty and redraft recommendations for 2026
• Entertaining, candid banter and in-depth fantasy process discussion

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Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human hello everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. I'm Ryan Warmley, joined by Andrew Erickson and by Jake Seeley from the Athletic. We are talking NFC west takeaways. This is the final division takeaways that we are taping here, guys. We have done eight of them across the last two weeks. So if anybody has missed any of them, AFC was last week, NFC was this week. Please go check them out. YouTube audio. Wherever you get your podcasts, go check those out. We'll start with the Seahawks, the 1 seed in the NFC winning this division. Obviously a very, very strong division outside of the last team, Seattle coming out on top. Erickson, what's your takeaway for the Seahawks this year?

[B]

This offense will be run heavy is a terrible process analysis in any way, shape or form, whether it's season long in a week to week basis, it just doesn't work. And JSN is a perfect example of that because the Seattle Seahawks had the third lowest passing play rate this year. They threw the ball on just 50% of their pass plays, which was again bottom three in the NFL. And Jason still led the NFL in receiving yards. So anytime an analyst talks about and I've been guilty of this in the past and it's something that I need to stop myself from doing but like the minute that I go to the crutch of well, they're going to be too run heavy. No, just, just stop, take out your earbuds and stop listening because I think that that just doesn't pan out. And JSN is a perfect example of that. Another thing too about JSN in this special season. I know that Jake was really high on him and I'd love for Jake to share his any tidbits of what kind of keyed him in on jsn this specifically for this year. If you look at last year in terms of vacated air yard share and vacated target share, Seattle ranked top two in both those categories. So we talk a lot about how targets are earned, air yards are earned, and when you get certain situations where teams have a ton of vacated targets and air yards, well, that can lead to seasons like a JSN where he showed last year, early 2024 that he was an elite target earner and he was super talented. And then when he had even more opportunity in offense where he could be the total dominant alpha, that he just took off and ran with it and finished with just such a special season. So those are a couple takeaways I have from Seattle when it comes to JSN and trying to find like what went into this really special season because he was a. I mean he was a major difference maker where he drafted him in the third round. I mean he was a league winner across the board.

[A]

Do you think though, Erickson, that like, like their offense being run heavy would have maybe impacted him more if there was another receiver in the offense? Like this was a unique scenario where it was based. Like when they were throwing, it was basically all jsn. So that was able to mitigate the fact that the rushing rate is high. Do you think that that's like a fair kind of critique of this takeaway?

[B]

Yeah, I think so. I think that it also gives credit to those that kind of go in and dig into the math a little bit more about, well, even if they are run heavy. Well, what type of target you have to have a. Whatever JSN had this year, which was definitely north of 30%, I think he had the NFL's highest target share. I'm not sure if Jake, if you can, if you know it off the top of your head, but I mean north of 30, 33%, which is.

[A]

I, I have it here, 35.8%.

[B]

Like it has to be like a, like a, an insane number. And, and, but Jason's that good. So. Yeah, that's what it would take though in a run heavy offense. You. It can't be, oh, I have a 25% target share. It's like, no, like it has to be 35% of the team's targets, air yards, etc. For you to really thrive in a run heavier offense.

[A]

The gap between JSN and number two, Amonra St Brown at 31.3% is larger than the gap between Amon Ra at two and Chris Olave at eight. So I mean it was an outlier team. Team target share for, for JSN there. Yeah. Jake, what do you think about that?

[C]

Yeah, Joe brought this up too when I did the show with him. And like, look, I miss things as much as it's fun to be like, hey, yeah, I can victory lap this. I mean there's also things that went wrong, like Brian Thomas Jr. I hide my football signed by him. But it really comes down to. There was a couple factors and my biggest argument for JSN comes down to everybody was arguing for Drake London and I was like, why aren't we doing this for jsn? And the difference is JSN as a rookie goes back to the conversation we had on the Bears show. We were talking to the AFC north drafted as the third option. We we got rid of Tyler Lockett and it was him and DK Metcalf. DK Metcalf is gone and it's like this is the target share. I went in my projections and I was giving JSN this kind of target share. The Drake London type of target share is because the number two was the washed corpse of Cooper cup and who knows at this point it wasn't even Shahid. At that point we were just kind of like oh Torrey Horton might be a thing and it was just looking at the opportunity there. And then the part where I went further with it and why I went into the argument of Jackson Smith and Jibra vs Drake London is it was because we're projecting Pennx to do whatever when we had the proof of Sam Darnold and we know that Sam Darnold's a mid level quarterback, he's not that good. But we just saw what Sam Darnold did with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and everything in that offense and it's like, okay, I'm taking Sam Darnold, even 90% Sam Darnold from the Vikings. I'm going to put him on the Seahawks.

[A]

Like why are we on like.

[C]

And that was my whole point. It's like why aren't we looking at all the options here? If it was just one of those three but it was multiple foul staring us in the face saying this is a clear telltale sign of a potential breakout and that's why I was in on JSN as much as I was. Because you have to look at those factors. If it was just one of the three and be like okay, maybe that's a tie break but there was just a lot of things and that's what we have to look at going forward is for these kind of opportunities when you have a clearing out of the target share presenting 30 plus or even better even on a run heavy team. As Andrew said, don't ignore a run heavy look, the Falcons run heavy. Drake, London Drake London's still okay when healthy with that whole situation. So I will say for mine though on this run heavy team is dear Lord baby Jesus, I just pray right now can Kenneth Walker not be a Seattle Seahawk next year? Can we just do this for not just his own sake but Sharmini too. We've seen both of them be RB1s independent of each other but good Lord when there's two of them on this team together, both being healthy, it's just us banging our head against the wall and Kenneth Walker time and again, top 10 and evaded tackles, top 10 and breakaways. Like get him on his own away from this dang team because if he's back with the Seahawks, we're going right back down this rabbit hole. And I do think that Charbonnet, you know, can lead this backfield and they'll probably add somebody else. But you know what? That's now Charbonnet's problem. Get Kenneth Walker somewhere else so I can draft him as an RB one. As everybody is probably screaming in the comments. Jake, you told us he was going to be a bell cow and it's like I'm just giving the report we heard at the end of August and I did say at the end of August that was changed. But all that being said, even so, he was still too, still too high in my rankings. But I want him on a new team next year, please.

[A]

Yeah, this is what I don't even really have like much of a follow up for, for either of you on this one because I just think everybody's going to be in total agreement like, yes, please just get Walker somewhere else and give us fantasy goodness from, from both of these guys. Because I really do. I mean, depending on the situation where Walker would go, I think we'd all be really excited about seeing each of them with the opportunity to be kind of the true lead backs in their offenses.

[C]

Know what's going to happen? It's going to be Bree hall leaves and it's going to be Kenneth Walker jet.

[A]

And we're going to be like, yeah, hopefully not. Let's go to the Rams here. Erickson, what's your takeaway by second year.

[B]

Running backs even if they have bad rookie seasons? This goes to Blake Corum. Goes into a lot of studies I've done with dynasty running backs and what you see in terms of dynasty value and who grows the most. It's rookie running backs that usually don't do that much. They enter their second season and it doesn't take a lot necessarily for them to move the needle. Now it's not 100% hit rate. Look at you. Marshawn Lloyd still hasn't panned out, but Hank Bigsby had a monster leap in terms of his fantasy value after his rookie year was a disaster. Blake Corum, a lot of people were low on Blake Corum and it was really hard to find a lot of good. Now I thought that he looked good and as a rookie, but he didn't really eat into Kyron's workload at all. Kyron had signed the extension I believe. So everyone was kind of like pouring on Blake Corm. He's never going to have a role in this offense and then what do we see this year he carves out a big role in the Rams offense despite Kyron Williams staying healthy. And in fact him playing a role has kept Kyron Williams healthier and kept Kyron Williams playing at a really efficient level. So Kyron Williams, it was crazy to see his season play out where Blake Corum actually does take on a bigger role in and Kyron Williams is top five in the NFL in rushing success rate, which is what he was Nowhere near in 2024. So that's just kind of like a dynasty take I guess for me is with the Rams is hey you want to buy some of the or just an overarching take in the Rams as an example where yeah just because a rookie running back doesn't do much doesn't mean that they can't change things up in year two. So I like taking shots on second year running backs, especially because they're usually really cheap.

[A]

Corum going into your 3 is RB 29. How does that sound when I say that Erickson is your immediate reaction that that is wrong? Is that right range for him?

[B]

It feels pricey but if he ends up kind of being Dave Montgomery esque then it kind of feels like it would be the right range for him because you also have the contingent upside of well if Kyren does go down, if he does get hurt. Well now you have a I feel like we're feel confident that Corum would be a strong RB1 play. So yeah, I think at that point in the range you are searching for upside and Corum has shown this year that even if Kyren is healthy I have standalone value. We'll see what the Rams do at pass catcher outside Pukinakua, you know Devonte Adams getting a bit older. They have some of those tight ends. Terrace Ferguson I think is a really talented guy but how much of a role is he going to play? So yeah, he's one of the talented playmakers that the rams like Sean McVeigh consistently calls him a stud. So I think that's probably a fair price. But I'd have to shake out my exact running back rankings to see where I align on him as RB29.

[A]

Jake, your takeaway for the Rams is also in the backfield.

[C]

Yeah and it comes down to a similar kind of buried in their point by what Andrew is saying is that timeshare running backs when you're the lead and it's a 65%. 60% time share is not a bad thing, especially if you're on the right team. I brought this up earlier. I think I tweeted it out or whatever it is. The amount of the number of running backs with 70% or more of their touches for the running backs this year, seven. Seven guys, you know, people sitting in the 60 to 65% range. Oh, Breece hall, which before all that went sideways was a fringe RB one. James Cook was just over 70%, 70.1%, by the way, one of the best in the business. But let's go further down. How about Travis Etienne 69%. Bijan freaking Robinson at 68%. Kyron Williams is in here. Javante Williams isn't here. Devon a chain at 65%. Jameer Gibbs is 63%. DeAndre Swift as an RB2, a high end RB2 was at 56. So I'm bringing all that to say is like timeshares are frustrating when we're talking about more of those 50 50s because a lot of times it's a 50 with a 40 and then some random 10%. Other ones like the Panthers ended up being after the injury and Chuba Hubbard came back, that was a headache. The Giants were a headache after that because those are more like like, honestly, those are probably more of like 40, 40 fives with that other sprinkled third option in there. But the leads, when they're in that 60, 65%, it's not a death kn to the lead option. So if they're on the right team, if they're the lead options, and you can argue the other way, by the way, Tony Pollard at 68% was barely an RB2 again this year. So the workload means and timeshare can mean things, but it's not necessarily a curse and it's not necessarily a super benefit to what Andrew's saying is that's why Blake Corum is not. He can be. It's not mutually exclusive to say that Blake Corum is a nice value at that spot to say like, okay, d' Angelo Williams back in the day, like, he can be a flex if I'm desperate and if anything were to happen to Kyron, I got a top 10 running back on my hands. But also saying like, he's not necessarily a bad news situation for Kyron Williams.

[A]

So I asked Erickson this for Corum, I'll ask you Jake For Kyron, RB17, how does that sound?

[C]

Too low. Just like it was last year. He Was too low last year. He's too. I. It's weird. Kyron just went from being disrespected as, like RB 10, 11 in drafts. Finished right around there. Like, I think it was RB9 or whatever it was, but he finishes right around, like, where he was and with this timeshare. And now people want to kick him even further down the RB2 ranks, which is just crazy because he's still produced. The biggest thing about him, he's still the goal line option. 9 out of 10 times. Corum gets some, but it's majority of the time, it's kyron.

[A]

He was RB8 in half. PPR.

[C]

Yeah, there's like, I undersold him. Look, I even disrespected him at the end of the day.

[B]

And he was better, too. Like, on an efficiency basis. His tackles force his efficiency rushing success rate that were. They were all better. It was the perfect, you know, matching up with McVeigh, he's like, yeah, we gave less touches to Kyron so he would be better. And that's exactly what happened. And it worked.

[A]

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[D]

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[A]

Let's go to the 49ers here. Erickson, what's your takeaway?

[B]

Upside wins championships. Keeping it short. Sweet. I think when it comes to Christian McCaffrey, that was always the argument for being pro. McCaffrey is when this guy is healthy, he could score more fantasy points than anyone else that takes the football field that season. So understandably, I get why people were concerned about CMC coming off the season where he didn't play basically at all because he was injured. But I think that more often than not, if you just chase upside and just focus on, well, what's the best case scenario? I think that's going to lead you to more championships than being overly concerned about, well, what if he gets hurt? What if he missed his games? Well, then you pick someone off off the waiver wire and you, and you deal and you manage your fantasy football team. So this is coming from like I wasn't nearly as much as fading CMC this year as I was two years ago when he was coming off that monster season. And as I'm going to be doing this year, fading CMC because he's coming off again, the monster workload. But I just think having that type of mindset is on a week to week basis, I did much better in the rankings competition this year and that's because I tried to focus more on, well, who is going to actually have a big week this week? Who are you going to remember starting your lineup like, oh, this guy won me my week. I think if you try to focus more on those types of things, you're going to have more success than failure in fantasy football.

[A]

So I wanted to ask though, because you, because you did talk about in the NFC east How like fading McCaffrey is something you're going to do based on this touches. This was like as part of your Eagles takeaway with Saquon. But could wouldn't you argue that like if he is healthy, CFC's upside is still high enough to win you a championship. So how do you, how do you square those two kind of competing philosophies?

[B]

It sounds like they are definitely complete competing philosophies, but it's one of these things where I run into in the betting street sometimes where there are these two conflicting trends and you then have to kind of pick a side. Right. Where am I going to chase the upside? Wins championships with cmc or am I going to chase this trend that I have done for three years in a row? Faded Josh Jacobs, faded Christian McCaffrey, faded Saquon Barkley, hit, hit, hit. That's where I've had more success. So in this particular instance, but probably not. And to give credit to cmc, the way that he does it as a receiver does kind of make him stand out a little bit more than some of these other running backs because even this year, right, his rushing wasn't good. Like he was not as efficient, especially in the first half of the season. But the guy almost had a thousand receiving yards as a running back. So in full ppr, we'll see where I end up ranking him. Maybe I'll be closer into just like consensus with him. But I just think that the trend of what I've been following in my process again I want to have a process that works and fading. The guy that has 450 touches the next year has been successful. So that's probably what I'm going to more follow in this particular situation.

[A]

Jake, what's your Niners takeaway?

[C]

I'm just still laughing in my head at Andrew in the betting streets. I'm just trying to picture what that picture we're in the betting streets. Really what it comes down to is it's interesting so the George Kittle kind of throws a little bit a small wrench in this but it really doesn't change my take of like stop disrespecting Brock Purdy and fantasy. This is three straight years he's been a top 10 points per game quarterback. He's been 8, 6 and 10 in his three seasons since full time outside of the rookie year where he only played essentially half the year. And maybe the bigger thing is I should change this in the fact of like stop underrating anybody in the Shanahan offense. Like anybody like we always sit here and like oh my Gosh, if Christian McCaffrey gets hurt we're going to be super excited about Blank because it's Shanahan's offense and yet we overlook Juwan Jennings. Ricky Pearson when he's healthy got a lot of steam this year but then people cooled off on him and but other people produced in the in the time in between there. But Brock Purdy weather asked to run more like he did last year, throw more to his tight end whatever it is. Brock Purdy fits Shanahan's offense and Brock Purdy for everybody that waits on quarterback especially in super flex. We did it this past year. We saw what Brock Purdy just came off of and everybody nobody was drafted as a QB one last year.

[B]

Nobody.

[C]

He was in the mid teens. He's like 16, 17, 18 because like there's more ceiling, there's more upside, there's more whatever and then people go right back to Dak Prescott which he's almost locked. Step in with Dak Prescott and because of the production and how efficient this offense is with the touchdowns and I know it's risky and I don't like trying to predict touchdown success and any you go back to Matt Ryan with the Falcons we saw what the ebbs and flows could be like there but it's a little bit different when you're in the Shanahan offense. Oh by the way Kyle Shanahan and the Falcons like when you're in that offense. Like, I'm just going to say, you know, what if I miss on quarterback and I'm, you know, or early quarterback and I'm waiting till the end of the game? Brock Purdy is going to be one, if not my only quarterback, one of two. And if maybe just my only quarterback at this point, that's three straight years he's been disrespected it let's wrap up.

[A]

The NFC west with the Cardinals. Ericson, what's your takeaway?

[B]

Don't be afraid to bail on a quarterback wide receiver combination. We had one year of Marvin Harrison and Kyler Murray, and from the very first game, the vibes were bad between these two players when Kyler comes out and says, it's not my job to get Marvin Harrison the junior, the ball. So I think that's something that I want to try to do a better job of. And it's not as much with younger quarterbacks because you can see younger quarterbacks develop chemistry, but you also see certain pairings just work instantly. Jacoby Myers to Trevor Lawrence. How long did it take for those guys to show that they had chemistry? Like two games. And last year, again, I was trying to give more credit to Marvin Harrison Jr. The player, the talent of, okay, not going to totally write this guy off again. Still had a pretty good counting stats rookie season. Maybe he can develop more with Kyler. I just don't think that's the right way to look at it. I don't think it takes like so much time for an entrenched veteran quarterback to establish rapport with a wide receiver that's. That's super talented. So this isn't an exact science. Again, this requires a lot of nuance because there's a lot of different quarterback. And we talked about quarterbacks a lot on these takeaway shows, right? Quarterback play matters significantly and the style of quarterback matters so much when it comes to will they have success with their wide receiver or tight end. It's not just, well, are they good or not. It really goes down to the style. And I should have taken more of Kyler Murray's playing style with Marvin Harrison Jr. From year one and thought, man, why is this going to work in year two? It's the same off the coordinator, it's the same quarterback wide receiver pairing, and it's the same disappointment. And it's just too bad we didn't get to see Marvin Harrison Jr. With Jacoby Brissette when he was healthy where we could have seen him really break out in his second season. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see it. We saw Michael Wilson break out instead. So that's one of my takeaways is especially when it's a veteran quarterback who's kind of entrenched already, don't wait too long to kind of jump off because we've seen perfect examples of veterans hit immediately with wide receivers that they fit their play style.

[A]

Jake, does this kind of fit into your takeaway here?

[C]

It does, because the quarterback styles determine a lot in fantasy. More than what the average person or that sounded. So what the average fan. I don't know how to recover from that one. But the more than people. Yeah, you. You morons listening like I just. Quarterback styles matter. No, because part of it is coming for myself on this one. And I made the joke about Brian Thomas's signed football bomb because I'm a huge Brian Thomas fan. But Trevor Lawrence is an example of this too, about quarterback styles, determining what's going to happen with the wide receivers. Because it wasn't Brian Thomas when they're all healthy in the trade of Jacoby Myers, it was Parker Washington because Trevor Lawrence is comfortable hitting his slot option wide receiver. And as soon as that mix happened, Brian Thomas ended up spending most of his time outside, but not just most of his time outside because that's where he plays, but outside going 20 yards downfield. And Trevor Lawrence was just making his decision long before Brian Thomas is even halfway through his route. And this is what happened with the Cardinals is Jacoby Brissette. Jacoby Brissett mattered a lot going from Kyler Murray to Brissette because we saw the takeoff of Trey McBride. It came down to the fact of, oh, by the way, maybe I target one of my best options in the red zone and in the end zone. More so than Kyler Murray did before that. Kyler Murray actually did target McBride quite a bit in the end zone. It was more so the red zone is more so the consistency that Jacoby Brissette brought. And I know you said that, Andrew, but we did see one game when Marvin Harrison was. And Marvin Harrison was targeted more than Michael Wilson. In that game, Brissette actually treated him as the one alongside Trey McBride. But the difference in styles going from Murray to Brissette and of course Erickson brought up a really good point. Part of it might just be the fact that you echoed it. Worm is the fact that he just went out there and he's like, I don't care if I play good or bad, I just got to go out there and fill in Nobody's giving me a contract based on the rest of the season. I'm Jacoby Brissette and he just kind of played with no cares. But those no cares. Also had more downfield opportunities, more throws inside the red zone. Kyler Murray has a play style completely different. Trevor Lawrence, I go back to it. Mac Jones was actually better for Brian Thomas than Trevor Lawrence is. And so some of these going forward, as we see all these coaching changes, offensive coordinator changes. But watch the quarterbacks and their tendencies to look at certain player that go back to the Sam Darnold coming for Jackson, Smith and Jigba, how much he targets. His number one is look at these quarterback styles and who they're matched up with. Because sometimes these quarterbacks changing teams or even rookies or whatever don't necessarily mean success for everybody across the board. I mean, we can go to Cam Ward, when we talked about it on the Titans show, is that Cam Ward, just because he was a rookie and couldn't be any worse than what they had, didn't actually do much for Calvin Ridley before he got hurt. Quarterbacks matter more than people would think. You people might think. The peasants, you peons. Thank you for supporting the show.

[A]

Yeah. Let's wrap up. I just want to Hear Marvin Harrison, Jr. Wide receiver, 34 in early consensus rankings. I'll ask both of you. Jake, I'll start with you. Is that too high, too low or just right?

[C]

I've been too high on him for years. This is now where I feel like that's too low because this is one of those ones where, like, it can't get worse than what it just was. I still believe in the talent. I don't think he was a wide receiver one talent, but I do think he's at least a wide receiver, too.

[B]

Erickson, is he following the Chris Olave career arc where we draft Ohio State year three, It's a new quarterback.

[C]

Maybe Tyler Shuck in the car shows you.

[B]

Yeah. Where's Michael Wilson?

[A]

He's two spots behind. He's wide receiver 36.

[B]

Yeah. The rankings are hedging hard.

[C]

I was gonna say that really, like you need a completely different quarterback situation to trust both of them. With McBride, somebody has to fall off.

[A]

It's another one that's going to have a new coach too. Right. Like we talked about in Atlanta, not just a quarterback question mark, but a coach question mark to it right now.

[B]

So I am. I'm TBD on my Cardinals receiver takes here. TBD on January 12th.

[C]

Coward.

[A]

Coward.

[C]

I was no, as of January 12th here. I'll put it out there. The given where he's at for the ceiling, Jacoby Myers two spots in front of him. I would take Harrison. I would take Harrison over Brian Thomas. God, that hurts so much. But the fact that they gave Jacoby Myers that contract, Brian Thomas, I just talked about, his usage is completely out the window. I can see him at least 5, 6 spots higher. For the people that are going in.

[A]

Front of them, at least somebody on the show has the courage to give some Marvin Harrison Jr. Takes here on this show on January 12th. Thank you for.

[C]

I feel like I have to sell my Brian Thomas Jr. Football now. I don't deserve. I don't deserve to have it.

[A]

All right, I'll go ahead and wrap things up there. Thanks, everybody for checking this out. Not just our NFC west division takeaways, but all the division takeaways we did throughout the last couple of weeks. Hope you enjoyed those. For Erickson and Jake, I'm Ryan Wormley. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple [e-mail] review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok at fantasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasy pros. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.