FantasyPros - The ONLY Running Backs You Need in Your 2026 Fantasy Football Drafts | Round-By-Round Analysis (Ep. 1984)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The ONLY Running Backs You Need in Your 2026 Fantasy Football Drafts

Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd / FantasyPros
Hosts: Joey P (Joe Pisapia), Jake Seeley (The Athletic), Pat Fitzmaurice
Episode: #1984
Date: March 30, 2026

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Overview

In this in-depth, round-by-round analysis, the FantasyPros crew breaks down the running backs you "have to have" in your 2026 fantasy football drafts. Hosts Joe Pisapia, Jake Seeley, and Pat Fitzmaurice give their top RB picks for each round, evaluate player values, debate risky picks, and offer sharp insights into backfield situations across the NFL. The episode is packed with actionable advice, including the rationale behind each selection, team context, upside swings, and handcuff strategy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Round-By-Round RB Approach (00:29–01:40)

• Emphasis on strategies for drafting running backs in every round.
• Joey P sets the stage: “You can go with early RBs, mid RBs, or late RBs … however you want to do it, we’re going to help you find the path to victory.” (00:38)
• Echoes that even though it’s March, football talk never ends for true fantasy fans.

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2. Round One: Seeking Value Past the Obvious (02:45–05:58)

Jake’s Pick: Jonathan Taylor

• Robinson and Gibbs are seen as untouchable if you don’t pick top three: “If you’re not drafting inside the top three or four, you’re not going to have a play at this one.” (02:49)
• Taylor’s upside highlighted: “Through week 10, Jonathan Taylor was destroying the running back position … 26 fantasy points per game, almost five more than the second closest.” (02:59)
• Despite Daniel Jones’ injury, Taylor’s situational upside and lack of elite competition make him the top of the “next tier.”
• Jake prefers picking Taylor at 9 or 10 for potential first-tier production.

Pat’s Take:

• Given the rookie hype around Jeremiah Love, Pat still prefers Taylor in redraft: “Even if Love went to an optimal spot…I would still rather have Taylor.” (04:32)
• Cautions about overvaluing rookie RBs due to recent letdowns.
• Admits he’d be “dishonorable” and go Bijan Robinson if he had the first pick.

Notable Quotes:

• “If I have a pick, I’d rather be drafting 9 or 10 because I feel like [Taylor] is going to be there.” – Jake Seeley (03:46)
• “Behind that lovely midwestern exterior, there lies a villain.” – Joey P (05:40, on Pat’s draft confessions)

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3. Round Two: The Redemption of Ashton Genti (06:03–09:29)

Pat’s Pick: Ashton Genti

• “He was just put in such a bad situation last year. Raiders offensive line was short on talent … passing game was a mess.” (06:10)
• Despite the environment, Genti posted 1,300 scrimmage yards, 55 catches, and 10 TDs.
• With the Raiders’ offseason improvements, Pat expects “a good chance he gives you first round value with a second round pick.” (07:12)
• Jake: “I’m in Genti land … It’s a real testament to just how bad things went.” (08:16)

Theme:

• Year two breakout is expected after patience is rewarded—excellent value.

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4. Round Three: Rolling the Dice on Derrick Henry (09:29–14:59)

Jake’s Pick: Derrick Henry

• Accepts Henry in round three, not round two, citing age (32), declining floor, and new coaching staff.
• “It almost feels like you’re going to be left holding the bag, … but he’s a freak of nature.” (10:14)
• Cautious optimism as the backfield lacks competition, but no illusions about waning PPR ceiling.

Panel’s Consensus:

• Both Jake and Pat view round three as the “risk zone” for veteran RBs like Henry, Walker, and Jacobs.
• Henry’s value swings from week to week—described as “roller coaster-ish.” (13:27)

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5. Round Four: Kyron Williams – Still Criminally Undervalued (18:00–20:00)

Pat’s Pick: Kyron Williams

• “Kyron has averaged 97 yards from scrimmage per game with 44 touchdowns in 45 regular season games.” (18:00)
• RB2, RB10, RB11 finishes the past three years despite the annual skepticism.
• Sean McVay’s trust and “elite pass blocking” keeps Kyron on the field despite competition: “They still turn to him.” – Jake (19:12)
• Blake Corum, the presumed backup, isn’t seen as a real threat.

Quote:

• “The fact that he's in round four is criminal.” – Jake Seeley (19:51)

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6. Round Five: Fliers, Committees, and RB Insurance (20:45–24:53)

Jake’s Reluctant Pick: R.J. Harvey

• Admits round five is a “dead zone” for RBs; prefers WRs here.
• Chooses Harvey because of his clear path to RB1 upside if J.K. Dobbins gets hurt: “RJ Harvey … if the injury happened to the other running back, they would get to RB1 production.” (22:28)
• Pat prefers TreVeyon Henderson for the same reasons, noting his more obvious upside if called into a lead role.

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7. Round Six: Safe Production with David Montgomery (25:57–27:41)

Pat’s Pick: David Montgomery

• “Not exciting, but he’s going to be the primary early down back and goal line back for the Houston Texans.” (25:58)
• Texans project to play with leads frequently, boosting rushing opportunities.
• Compared to last year’s overlooked goldmine (Javonte Williams in 2025).

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8. Round Seven: Targeting Patriots Committee Value (29:21–31:11)

Jake’s Pick: Rhamondre Stevenson

• Patriots lean run-heavy with a balanced approach: “They’re going to continue to run the ball.” (29:30)
• Even in a timeshare, Stevenson offers week-winning upside for those who waited on RBs: “At my RB2 position, the difference between 8 and 20 helps me win that week.” (31:02)

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9. Round Eight: The Premium Handcuff—Blake Corum (31:56–33:32)

Pat’s Pick: Blake Corum

• Corum’s “ceiling is the Sistine Chapel” if Kyron Williams gets injured. (32:18)
• Even as a backup, has bye-week usability; a higher-upside handcuff than nominal starters like Pollard or Chuba Hubbard.

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10. Round Nine: Arizona’s Volume Play – Tyler Allgeier (34:15–36:37)

Jake’s Pick: Tyler Allgeier

• Signs point to Allgeier “leading this backfield” after the team retains James Conner, downplays Trey Benson.
• “If James Conner isn’t on this team … we’re looking at Tyler Allgeier’s rookie season.” (35:29)
• Pat: Allgeier is “at least RB3 value” and a solid, if unsexy, pick.

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11. Round Ten: Discount Shopping with J.K. Dobbins (37:26–38:22)

Pat’s Pick: J.K. Dobbins

• “When Dobbins was healthy last year, he was the Broncos’ primary early down back and giving solid RB2 production.” (37:29)
• Dobbins’ durability is a worry, but Round 10 is “a suitable discount.”

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12. Round Eleven: Late Jacksonville Darts – Chris Rodriguez (39:04–41:14)

Jake’s Pick: Chris Rodriguez

• Rodriguez signs with the Jacksonville Jaguars, gets significant guaranteed money: “He actually signed for more guaranteed money than Javonte Williams and Rico Dowdle last year, by the way—combined.” (39:05)
• Projected as an early-down/goal-line threat in a committee, with upside if Bashal Tutin falters or gets injured.
• Advice: “You cut him and move on because he didn’t really cost you anything.” (41:13)

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13. Round Twelve: Deep Sleeper—Dylan Sampson (41:22–43:23)

Pat’s Pick: Dylan Sampson

• Currently the Browns’ #2 RB, offers a PPR role and could climb higher if incumbent Quinchon Judkins is slow to return from injury.
• Jake: “If we knew today Judgins is not starting the season healthy … Sampson would be like a round 7-8 pick.” (42:41)
• Pat: “Rodriguez is the inconvenient truth of [Jacksonville’s] backfield … going to have a role for sure.” (43:38)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “I've never seen a running back more hated that continues to produce than Kyron Williams.” – Jake Seeley (18:54)
• “At worst, you are getting a hyper efficient backup who you can play in a pinch… If Kyron gets hurt, Blake Corum’s ceiling is the Sistine Chapel. It’s glorious.” – Pat Fitzmaurice (32:14)
• “Round three, I’m okay… Round two, I would be off this one. Like if this switched I would have been 100% with Pat on Genti.” – Jake Seeley on Derrick Henry (11:13)

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The Hosts’ Draft Strategy Takeaways

• Both Jake and Pat strongly advocate loading up on early RBs or doubling up at the 1-2 turn, seeing “unappealing dead zones” in rounds 5-7.
• Mid and late-round picks are about maximizing upside (handcuffs, injury fliers, committee-busters) rather than going for safe floor.
• Value is found in teams with clearer roles or those with easily projectable injury upside.

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Important Timestamps

• Introduction & Strategy Set-Up: 00:29–01:40
• Round 1 (Jonathan Taylor): 02:45–05:58
• Round 2 (Ashton Genti): 06:03–09:29
• Round 3 (Derrick Henry): 09:29–14:59
• Round 4 (Kyron Williams): 18:00–20:00
• Round 5 (RJ Harvey): 20:45–24:53
• Round 6 (David Montgomery): 25:57–27:41
• Round 7 (Rhamondre Stevenson): 29:21–31:11
• Round 8 (Blake Corum): 31:56–33:32
• Round 9 (Tyler Allgeier): 34:15–36:37
• Round 10 (JK Dobbins): 37:26–38:22
• Round 11 (Chris Rodriguez): 39:04–41:14
• Round 12 (Dylan Sampson): 41:22–43:23

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Summary Table: Round-by-Round Targets

| Round | RB Target | Rationale | |-------|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------| | 1 | Jonathan Taylor | Tier 1 upside if not picking 1–3 | | 2 | Ashton Genti | Sophomore leap w/ improved situation | | 3 | Derrick Henry | Acceptable risk/reward at this discount | | 4 | Kyron Williams | Consistent producer, little real threat | | 5 | RJ Harvey | Insurable RB1 upside if Dobbins gets hurt | | 6 | David Montgomery | Unsexy but locked-in touches, goal-line work | | 7 | Rhamondre Stevenson | Steady RB2 with spike-week appeal | | 8 | Blake Corum | Elite handcuff/upside-injury stash | | 9 | Tyler Allgeier | Potential for volume if backfield clears | | 10 | JK Dobbins | Discounted primary runner when healthy | | 11 | Chris Rodriguez | Underappreciated committee leader? | | 12 | Dylan Sampson | PPR stash; contingency play in Cleveland |

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Final Thoughts

The hosts’ key advice: Don’t fall for preseason hype or depth chart chatter without careful context. Target cost-efficient RBs in stable roles or with league-winning handcuff profiles, and avoid overpaying for backs locked in ambiguous committees. Early rounds offer safer, higher-upside RBs; late rounds are for fliers and calculated gambles.

For more deep-dive discussion, mock drafts, and updates all offseason, check out FantasyPros’ new “Tailgate NFL” channel and join the Discord to stay ahead of the curve.

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Transcript

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Podcast Announcer]

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[Joey P (Host)]

welcome in everybody to Fantasy Pros. This is the fantasy football podcast. It is me, Joey P. Joe P. Zapia. Today I've got Jake Seeley from the Athletic and my patty cakes, Pat Fitzmaurice hanging out talking a little football. And today we're going to take a deep dive at some running backs and give you the running backs that you need for 2026. We're going to go round by round and what this means is we're going to try to find our favorite target, our best value in every single round to go through. Because you have lots of different approaches to your running back position this season. You can go with the early RBs and you can go with the mid RBs or you can go with some late RBs however you want to do it. We're going to help you find the path to victory. And I know it's early, I know it's March and everyone's talking about college basketball, but I don't care. I want to talk about football. And you do too. And that's why you're listening to the show today. So we're going to get after that in just a moment. Don't forget, subscribe to the channel. Drop your comments below. We love having you here on the show, on the channel with us at Fantasy Pros. We're trying to get to 300,000 this year. And speaking of football, if you love football, hit up the tailgate again. The tailgate, our new YouTube channel, tailgate NFL is here for you. It's mostly right now, myself, Debro and Andrew Erickson just talking ball. We've got some great mock draft episodes on there. We got some great breakdowns of post free agency. We've had Jake Sealey on. I'm sure Pat's going to come on and hang out with us too, but we're getting a lot of guests from the industry as well. Just for the football world. You have folks from NFL Network. Come on. We had folks from Pro Football Focus. Come on. So it's going to be a huge channel for us in 2026 and beyond. And it's not really fantasy. It's not really wagering, it's just football. So if you like football, and I know you do because you're listening to the show, go check out the tailgate right now over on YouTube. Subscribe and of course ring the bell till it goes ding. So we're doing about a show or two a week right now and of course, as we get closer to NFL season and even draft season, we're to going gonna do an even more content over there. So go check out the tailgate. All right, gentlemen, let's start with round one. Jake, you drew first blood here, so go ahead. You get to pick your round one running back and I do a double take. Because if I had Pat taking the round one running back that we love the most, I'm pretty sure he would have taken this guy. So I don't think Pat's gonna have any objections whatsoever. So, Celia, let's talk about your round one pick. Your favorite guy, Jonathan Taylor.

[Jake Seeley]

Oh, it's favorite guy for value. Because if you have the 1, 2, 3 pick, I mean Robinson or Gibbs feels obvious and there's only going, basically if you're not drafting inside the top three or four, you're not going to have a play at this one. So I was looking at the next tier and of the next tier of James Cook A chan if you want to throw CMC in there, whatever it might be. I think people forgot that through week 10, Jonathan Taylor was destroying the running back position. Then it was about 26 fantasy points per game, almost five more than the second closest. And yeah, Daniel Jones did play a few games after that before missing the rest of the season. But I think just Jonathan Taylor's upside, if we have a healthy Daniel Jones for most of the year, so the touchdown equity is going to be there, the touches are going to be there, Everything's going to be there. Where if people are worried about the volume, I get that that's going to be an argument for if you want to chase these running backs or not. But if I'm looking at this next group for somebody who could get into tier one, which is what we care about when you're drafting at the back end, middle round of the first and you're saying what running back can get into that group with Bijan and Gibbs? I think the obvious and only answer in this group is Jonathan Taylor. And that's why if I have a pick, I'd rather be drafting like nine or 10, because I feel like he's going to be there and a lot of people are going to Go back to cmc. A of people are going to still chase a Chan in a. You know, the more touches now that he has nobody left on that team, I'd rather just take Taylor. I'd rather hopefully get him as the last of that second tier.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right. I know, Pat, you're probably not going to argue against Taylor, but I want to throw out a curveball to you because we are on the precipice of opening day for baseball as well. Fantasy pros, mlb. By the way, go check that out. Anyway, Pat, if Jeremiah Love should be around at the turn, is he a better investment potentially than Jonathan Taylor due to the fact of age difference, or would you rather have Taylor knowing the situation and what we've seen from a little bit of us all in the fantasy community getting a little too excited too early about rookie running backs regardless of landing spot.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, in redraft, I'd rather have Taylor. And that's even as someone who's maybe more willing than most to invest in rookie running backs in the early rounds. So even if Love went to an optimal spot, I think like maybe Washington would be a good place pair him with Jaden Daniels. I would still rather have Taylor. And I know maybe some people are going to be a little scared off that Taylor's production waned a little bit after the Daniel Jones injury. Daniel Jones was hurt in week 14, and from week 14 on, Taylor averaged 3.1 yards per carry. But then again, I think that might have been more. More due to the defenses that he played. Taylor, like faced a murderous row of run defenses late in the season. It was Seattle, Houston and Jacksonville twice during that end of season stretch. So I'm not sure that had as much to do with Jones as the caliber of defenses he was facing. I'm. I'm totally cool with it. I know Jake is an honorable man and I didn't want to cop out by, you know. Or he didn't want to cop out by taking the guy who's 101 or 102 in ECR. But I probably would have chosen the dishonorable path and gone with Bijan Robinson.

[Joey P (Host)]

Well, it's good to know who you are deep down, Pat. You know, behind that lovely midwestern exterior, there lacks. There lies a villain there. Very, very angry. Matt, go ahead, Cely.

[Jake Seeley]

I was gonna say, don't forget he faced the Chiefs in Houston before that stretch run too, Pat. And those are two deep. I mean, it was like you said, it was a murders a road to finish that season last year.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right, Pat. Let's take a look at round two. Who is your favorite value at the RB position?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

It's ashton Genty. His ECR right now is 15 overall. He was just put in such a bad situation last year. The Raiders offensive line was short on talent. So to begin with they lost Colton Miller to a season ending knee injury or I'm not sure if it was knee, season ending injury really early in the season. So Genti averaged 1.6 yards before contact per attempt. The only running backs who had a hundred or more carries and averaged fewer yards before contact per attempt were Quin, Sean Judkins and Chris Rodriguez. The Raiders passing game was a mess, so the offensive environment for Genty just, it was Putrid. They averaged 14.2 points a game. No other team averaged fewer than 16.4 points per game. Raiders ran the fewest offensive plays of any team in the league. So things are going to be better for Genti this season. Colton Miller is going to be back. The Raiders signed one of the best centers in the league and Tyler Linderbaum, Fernando Mendoza. I think he's got to be an upgrade over Geno Smith even though he's a rookie. So it's just, even with the fierce headwinds he was facing last year, Genty scored 10 touchdowns and managed to churn out 1300 yards from scrimmage and he had 55 catches. Like there's a lot more meat left on the bone for Genti this year and I think there's a good chance he gives you first round value with a second round pick.

[Joey P (Host)]

Well, it's funny, Jake, because we were just talking about Jeremiah Love, right, And talking about, you know, these rookies we get excited about and we go from liking them to all of a sudden they go way too high in adp. And now we're getting a situation where Ash and Genti in year two, you're kind of getting a pass, but you're getting a second opportunity to reinvest in him at a pretty decent cost. Better than last year in some drafts too, which I think is interesting because as Pat's pointing out, it seems like Genti is going to be in a much better position to succeed this year, especially with a new offensive coordinator too. I mean, God, what a, what a train wreck the offensive coordinator situation was last year there with Brian Kelly. So what are your thoughts on Genti?

[Jake Seeley]

Yeah, I'm positive on the. Excuse me. The entire Raiders. And Pat knows this because we had a big fun argument with Scott Bogman and we're talking about Dynasty. If I needed a one off QB3 for Dynasty. I'd buy Geno Smith for free because I look at the opportunity like everybody hated. I know it's new team, but to be clear of why everything went wrong with the Raiders last year from the offensive line, from the play calling, from the offense as a whole. So I hate to be like 100% on consensus right now, but like Bijan through, I'm looking at Barkley at nine. I'm right there. And that means that Genti's at seven for me. Which I think that if you would have said this this time last year after how much the disappointment was, you're like, wow, that might feel a little bit lofty, but 12.9 in what everything went wrong. Like let's be clear about what Genti was to go to Pat's point through the first five weeks, the dude had over 100%. It was like 105% of his yards after contact because he had negative yards before contact through week five. So it's just a real testament to how bad things went wrong last. So I'm, I'm in. I'm in Genti land. This is what I would actually prefer. You're going to find this out later. Pat and I were talking in Slack too, is we're going to get into like the theme of drafting running backs this year. I'd rather almost double up at the end of first and get another early in the second because of how this is going to fall. I hated the odd rounds. You gave me the odd rounds. It's like you get to go first and I got to three and five and I'm like, man, this just sucks. I don't want any of these running backs.

[Joey P (Host)]

Well, let's stick with the theme because the guy you picked in the third round is another player who has a new coach, new offensive coordinator, but. But a little bit more track record than Ash and Gente. It's Derrick Henry is the guy in round three, which I agree with a couple of fumbles and some weird spots last year, which we're not used to seeing from Derrick Henry. And also some weird reactions by Harbaugh to those fumbles. Like, that's Derek Henry. I don't care if he fumbles four times. You put him back out there in the game. It's Derek Henry. You know, you have him signed here to, you know, extension a couple years ago too. So talk to me about Henry and this value at the third spot because as somebody who likes to draft early wide receivers, this is typically where I'm starting to look at the running back rooms in my drafts.

[Jake Seeley]

Yeah, at round three I'll be in on Derek Henry. I think that's really what it comes down to if he gets back into round two. I feel kind of iffy just because we are getting to the point where it almost feels like you're going to be left holding the bag. It's going to be like, oh my God, it finally is the end of Derrick Henry. Although he's a freakin nature. So we've been saying that about other players like Mike Evans, wide receiver. We were waiting for Mike Evans to finally fall off the cliff and he won't. And Derrick Henry is just a beast. You bring up all the things we've been talking about as fantasy and NFL watchers for the longest time. Why don't you throw out two or three screens a game. You see what happens on like 10% of the 20% of them and he's gone because nobody can take him down when he gets into space because he's a freak. All that will be said. This is a new coaching staff, mentors coming in. I know there's been rave reviews about Declan Doyle, but he didn't really call the plays with the Bears. I know Comet Cole Comet, the tight end was talking him up but again he hasn't called the plays and we haven't seen. I don't really think they're going to do much in the draft because they have other needs. But what if they do? Like right now I would actually feel better about Derrick Henry if this is the roster when they open day one because there's basically nobody behind them that worried about like keep Mitchell I thought was their biggest threat if they brought him back and you know, Rashaun Ali and all the rest, like no, it's still Derek Henry's job. So round three, I'm okay, but we know his ceiling in PPR isn't, you know, the best because just the fact that they won't use him in the passing game. But all that being said, round three, I'm okay. Round two, I would be off this one. Like if this switched I would have been 100% with Pat on Genti. I wouldn't even look too twice at Derrick Henry if he was in the second round.

[Joey P (Host)]

Pat. I feel like also the Derrick Henry equation doesn't factor in enough that the amount of time that Lamar Jackson missed last year too where that offense was just became, you know, extremely predictable. And you know you're in a spot there where you don't have Lamar you're really taking away what sort of offense you can run, really, and how dynamic you can be on the field. So I know Derrick Henry's another year older. Do you think round three is still a safe territory for him?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I don't envy Jake and I know Jake wasn't thrilled to be dealt the odd numbered rounds in this little exercise.

[Joey P (Host)]

If only I'm. If I had known, I still would have given Jake the odd rounds.

[Jake Seeley]

Oh, you had actually done it on purpose.

[Joey P (Host)]

That I know.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

If only Jake had known how easy it was to bribe you. Joe. Three cannolis and I got my choice of even numbered rounds. It was perfect all day. Dessert for the family. And I was all good. Best money I ever spent. Yeah. So I. I felt like Jake was in kind of a bad spot with Kenneth Walker, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs being 28, 29 and 30 overall in ECR. And Breece hall was the only other option in round three at 36 overall. I just, I think all those guys are a little bit overpriced at those things. So. Yeah, Lamar Jackson was hurts and Henry still had a really good season. I actually had Derrick Henry in a redraft league for the first time ever last year because I had always just. I like running backs generally who catch passes. That's kind of taken Henry out of my wheelhouse and drafts for years finally took him. Last year wasn't his best season, but he still took me to a championship game. And I got Bryce Purdied or Brock Purdied in the championship game against the Bears.

[Joey P (Host)]

Championship game. Shouldn't you have been Derrick Henrying somebody?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I did Derek Henry someone and then they Brock Purdied me back and I lost a tight one. Oh my God.

[Joey P (Host)]

I got in Jake's flex league. I got Derek Henry and Bijon in the same week by the same team in the finals. So at least I knew I had no chance. Like no matter what I did, I was like, well, this is not going my way.

[Jake Seeley]

I think the biggest problem with Henry is that he became roller coaster ish last year.

[Joey P (Host)]

Like, yeah, but I think that's also because of the health of Lamar. He became roller coasters last year.

[Jake Seeley]

He was even before Lamar got hurt the first time. He was because I had Derek Henry. And one of the. Because you were. We were all like Derek Henry. Why is nobody want Derrick Henry in the second round last year? And I had him in a lot of spots in the beginning of the year was a little bit up and down where it's like, oh my gosh, I Don't remember last time Derek Henry got single digits in a game and it happened like two or three times. He was still scoring eight or nine. But it used to be the year before the floor was like 14, 15. And last year it was just that. And yes, Lamar did come into play but at the end of the year that that 40 point game that, that had kind of helped things. If you're able to enjoy that, well,

[Joey P (Host)]

it's a reminder too that like, hey, Derek Henry's still good at football and no matter if you're in PPR or half or four whatever yards of yards, touchdowns or touchdowns at the end of the day.

[Jake Seeley]

And by the way, I just wanted his fourth rounder. That's what it was. I just really wanted this. I wanted his fourth and his sixth rounder. I tried to steal both. I just want to make that clear.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

The age 32 thing doesn't bother you guys with Henry? I mean I know he's like a different species of human being but like 32 is the age limit. That's kind of the age where some guys who had very like productive hall of fame type careers sort of went over the cliff. Guys like I think Emmett Smith and Eddie George like this is kind of around the time they like their mojo.

[Joey P (Host)]

We're definitely close to it.

[Jake Seeley]

I mean if he wasn't 65250, then yes. But I feel like even if he loses a little bit of his speed, that's not the, that's not the area I was ever concerned with when it came to Derek Henry.

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[Joey P (Host)]

by the way, quiz for everybody. What. What makes cannoli elite? Do you know this is not a joke. This is not serious stuff.

[Jake Seeley]

Nothing.

[Joey P (Host)]

No, no. What makes a cannoli?

[Jake Seeley]

I like the ricotta. I don't like it.

[Joey P (Host)]

Well, look, there's different kinds and people, you know, the different fillings. But see, when they.

[Jake Seeley]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry for Italians out there. I don't like the Regatta.

[Joey P (Host)]

No, no, it's ricotta. That's what it is. It's not regard. You know, I'm from Brooklyn. That's just Italian American nonsense there, you know. But what makes a cannoli truly elite is when you get a place that puts the chocolate chips all the way through. You see, when you see a lot,

[Jake Seeley]

instead of just sprinkling them on the

[Joey P (Host)]

end, you see, they pipe it and then they dip the ends. No, no, no, no, no. What you do is mix the chocolate chips inside of the filling and then you pipe the entire filling through and then you do the chocolate chips on the end. That's what makes a cannoli truly elite.

[Jake Seeley]

Last question before we move on, Joe. Full size or the minis?

[Joey P (Host)]

You know, the minis, because I like the ratio better. The full size is too much cream. The. The shell creaminess.

[Jake Seeley]

I don't love them because I don't live like. No, no. But I will eat the minis. I actually do like the minis.

[Joey P (Host)]

There you go. Put that on a T shirt. All right, let's get to round four. And the guy that Jake likes so much. So, Pat, I assume that's the guy that you chose?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Kyron Williams. Over the last three seasons, Kyron has averaged 97 yards from scrimmage per game with 44 touchdowns in 45 regular season games. He's finished RB2, RB10 and RB11 in PPR points per game those years. He plays in one of the best offenses in the league with the Rams designed by one of the best offensive minds in the game, Sean McVay. I have been guilty of underranking Kyron Williams in recent years. He had kind of a kind of an inefficient season in 2024. Hasn't always been a metric Starling, but man, if I can get a guy in the fourth round who's averaged about 100 yards and a touchdown per game the last three years and he's going to have the exact same role in a top offense. Yes, please Kyron Williams.

[Joey P (Host)]

Jake, I feel like, you know, every year people making excuses of why not Kyron Williams, but it seems like those excuses have been wrong every single year.

[Jake Seeley]

It's I don't know what it is about the Rams, but I joke about this all the time is I have never seen a running back more hated that continues to produce than Kyron Williams. Like everybody wants to do what Sean McVeigh does every single year. Take a new running back, talk them up and then not really do anything with it. For everybody that's concerned about Blake Corm, guess what? Kyron Williams once again inside the top 10 in percentage, not number. Because this is what the part matters when it comes to everybody worried about Blake Corum, percentage of his team's rushes from goal to go. He is still top 10. They still turn to him. I know we talk about pass blocking when it comes to rookies, but one of the reasons the Rams trust him so much is because he's one of the elite pass blockers in the NFL and the Rams trust him. Sean McVay has been doing this for eight years, talking up Zach Evans and all the other Jabronis that he continues to draft. Yes, Blake Corum is a good running back, is a pretty actually above average good running back, but he's not a threat to the workload and the fact that it's not going to be anything more than 6040 for Blake Corum. And I will continue to draft Kyron Williams. I wanted him in round three. The fact that he's in round four is criminal.

[Joey P (Host)]

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And look, you always take Corum later too. If you want to make sure you have all the backfield because we know unlike a lot of other circumstances, the guy who's the backup is actually really good so he can handle the work club. Then. So often we get into a situation, we're talking about handcuffing running backs and all this stuff where you're not pivoting from Derrick Henry as you're talking about to the next guy. The next guy's not going to do it. But if Kyron Williams should go down, Blake Corum is going to get the workload and is going to be pretty damn good doing it. So that's one thing to keep in mind. There's certain circumstances where it does matter. Let's go to number five on our list here, Round five. Who was that guy for you? Jake Seeley. Because it looks like he chose a guy where the backfield we thought might change a little bit year over year, but as of right now, before the NFL draft, it looks exactly the same situation.

[Jake Seeley]

So I looked at round five and to go back to my point earlier, I'm not drafting running backs around five. Let me make that clear because I'm looking at round five and I don't want any of them for their value. I'm drafting wide receiver because I've got at least one running back at this point, maybe two. But the point being is I'm kind of sitting out this area. We did this last year, Joe, you and I talked a lot in pre draft time talking about rounds five and six looking better for wide receivers or even chasing a quarterback or a tight end because we get to these committees, we get to these timeshares because questionable situations. And this is what this round is. And I'm looking at him like, you know what? Cam Scatterbill coming off an injury and quinch on Judkins. We love the fact that he could be a bell cow, but he's on the Browns. I don't know what they're doing with their offensive line. I know they kind of plug the holes, but they kind of plug them with. You could argue I'm not an offensive line guy, but I've seen people report that. You could argue it's worse than it was last year for the plugged holes and maybe it's better, who knows? But I'm looking at it like I just take the last one and the last one is RJ Harvey and only because when we talked about this on the previous show is that he's properly pressed at this point, like RJ Harvey with J.K. thomas coming back. J.K. thomas is a threat. J.K. thomas was better. It was best of his career before he got hurt. But J.K. thomas hasn't played a full season in what forever. I don't think his career. So at some point we could get back to RJ Harvey who was an RB1 at the end of the season when it was all him. It's just to start the year. That's probably not going to be the case because Sean Payton brought everybody back and he makes four running backs active on game day. But at this point when we're talking about these running backs, at least I know that, you know, if something happens to, you know, one of I don't want to give well Dylan Sampson, we're talking about him later. But if something happened to Dylan Sampson, it's not like Quinch and Judge is going to rock it into RB1 level. If something happens to Tyrone Tracy, Scatter Boo just by that injury isn't going to rocket to RB1 level. He might get it on his own. RJ Harvey of this group is the one where the injury next to him along with Treveon Henderson are the only two that if the injury happened to the other running back they would get to RB1 production.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right, so there you have it. Pat, what's your thoughts on the Bronco situation too? They brought back Dobbins, but obviously I think we know Dobbins limitations and typically the limitations, I mean the second half of the season typically is a limitation for him. So how do you rank or value RJ Harvey going into this season considering what you saw out of him towards the latter part of 2025?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

This is maybe end of the fifth round is maybe a little earlier than I would be willing to go for him. And yet J.K. dobbins not durable, we know that. But when Dobbins was in there, he averaged 15.3 carries in the 10 games he played last year and RJ Harvey was averaging five carries a game while Dobbins was healthy. So I just, I don't know if Harvey showed enough to change Sean Payton's backfield deployment. I think it's going to be a lot like that again and that makes Harvey unusable. He and we kind of didn't get RB1 production from him after Dobbins got hurt. Like I I just didn't think Harvey was very good. He certainly wasn't very efficient like in this round. I I know he goes eight spots earlier in ecr, but I would rather take my chances with Treveon Henderson. He has a usage obstacle too. And maybe Ramon Ray Stevenson is a more worrisome obstacle than Dobbins just because Stevenson is more durable. But unlike Harvey, Henderson actually showed out when he got a chance. Like he made four starts and he averaged 103 yards from scrimmage and scored five touchdowns in those four games. So like he proved that he can do it if he gets the chance to be a lead guy, whereas I. I don't think R.J. harvey really did.

[Joey P (Host)]

It's good points. Good points all around there too.

[Jake Seeley]

The Patriots also, Harvey was pretty committed

[Joey P (Host)]

to running the football too. Jake. I'd say our Harvey was RB seven

[Jake Seeley]

weeks 13 through 17.

[Joey P (Host)]

That's.

[Jake Seeley]

That's what I was referencing there. So there's definitely the RB one upside. I say it was more floor because he was very consistent in the mid teens. But that's the point I was referencing with Harvey once we had the J.K. dobbins out and at the end of the year usage. That's the usage, but that's a huge question. I don't disagree that much with Pat. Basically the tie break between Henderson and Harvey for me was Henderson's the beginning of the round, Harvey's the end of the round, and I just, I don't want to take anybody in this round anyway.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

So Harvey actually was. I was mistaken. I didn't think he produced like an RB1 post Dobbins injury.

[Jake Seeley]

I mean, it's only five weeks, but it was like 20, 20, 11, 12, 2016, something like that. In that range.

[Joey P (Host)]

Yeah, I, I think with RJ Harvey, part of it is also format that you want him into, you know, like I, you know, in standard formats or even half. I think, you know, sort of look at it the other way a little bit, maybe more negatively, but in the full point ppr, I think there's a universe there and it's another year older for J.K. dobbins too. So I mean, this put that on the tab as well for him as a guy who's had trouble staying healthy and every year into the NFL career is not make that typically a better situation. I think we've all learned that the hard way over the years of doing this. Round six. Let's talk about a guy here, Pat, who has a new location, new address, but could actually improve his fantasy value. Let's talk about David Montgomery. This is your selection here. So talk to me about Montgomery in this new situation with the Texans and what it means for his fantasy value.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, I think Montgomery's a solid round six value. Like, I don't think anyone's pulses are going to quicken over drafting David Montgomery, but he's going to be the primary early down back and primary goal line back for the Houston Texans, who one of the best defenses in the league and are therefore going to provide the offense with a lot of run friendly game scripts. Yeah, Monty's role slightly reduced in Detroit last year, but that was mostly about the Lions wanting to give Jameer Gibbs more work, which is completely understandable. Not so much about Montgomery being ineffective or inefficient. Like he averaged 4.5 yards per carry, 3.17 yards after contact per carry. He was just fine. He was the same. David Montgomery turns 29 this summer. Getting kind of close to the age Cliff, but I'm not going to worry about it until he turns 30. I just think he's really a solid sixth round option. The other guys in this round with ECR were Jalen Warren and Bashal Tutin. I don't hate the value on those guys, but I think Monty is a better value.

[Joey P (Host)]

Pat, does this give you kind of the same vibes that we had last year? And I got to give you credit because you were the one who was definitely on him more than anyone I knew and took a ton of shares of him and all the mock drafts, at least that we did. Remember Javante Williams last year where it's like, well, it's not really exciting, but he's kind of the guy. And that turned out to be a really good situation for fantasy managers. Are we in kind of a repeat potentially there with Montgomery?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I think Montgomery is going to be slightly more expensive.

[Joey P (Host)]

Okay.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

All right. People were just not trusting the Javante Williams thing last year. And I think people are going to regard Monty as the clear lead back in Houston. So I think he's going to be. What? What was Javante like? I was getting Javante in round nine or 10. Sometimes he was just like so cheap, just kind of on the discard pile. And no one believed that he might be the Cowboys lead back.

[Joey P (Host)]

Yeah, it turned out to be a pretty good return on that investment, that's for sure. In 2025. All right, let's get to the rest of this list. Before we do, shout out to our sponsor, and that is Hard Rock bet. Today's show is brought to you by Hard Rock BET Florida Sportsbook. And we talk a lot of football in the show, but of course, it's Pat's favorite time of year. He loves the March Madness, so he's been watching the college basketball like a crazy man, staying up till all hours of the night for everything going on. And if you're like pat and you've probably had your bracket busted already, there's one way to maybe make up some of that lost time, and that's with Hard Rock Bet. All tournament long. Hard Rock Bet is rolling out daily dance and boosts featuring live profit boosts and parlay profit boosts every single day. And of course, if you don't want to miss a minute of action here with the big tournament going on, Hard Rock Bet is giving you a 25 bonus bet. Throughout the tournament, the team you bet to win or cover hits a buzzer beater. That sounds pretty damn good to me. Plus, right now, new signups can double their winnings for their first 10 bets, max of $50. That means if you would have won a hundred bucks in your bet, now it's 200. So don't sit on the bench. Download the Hard Rock Bet app today and let's get the party started at Hard Rock Bet payable and bonus bets Not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in Florida offered by a Seminole hard Rock Digital LLC in other states must be 21 plus in physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia. Play terms and conditions apply. Concern about gambling in Florida, call 1833 play wise in Indiana, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. Next up, Jake Seeley with Round seven. We spoke a little bit about a Patriots running back, but not the one that you're going to talk about. Jake, who is it?

[Jake Seeley]

No, no, just the other one. Yeah, Andre Stevenson. Just because it is Round seven and I'm looking at the second half mostly late in the year, especially the playoffs, the Stevenson Henderson combination. And I looked at the Patriots all season. We talked about this on the free agency show that you and I did with Andrew and I was like, you know what they did? They added Reggie Gilliam and oh, by the way, they're going to continue to run the ball. They're going to continue to lean on this backfield. I know they added Romeo Dobbs and I know Drake May, you could pick a metric out of a hat. And he's top five in the league in downfield throwing, which is why great Romeo Dobbs is a very interesting addition, but they're not going to get away from what also works and that's balancing it with the run game. And for everybody that might think and I'm not saying that people are saying this. I'm saying just some people might assume they're going to see Stevenson's production and be like, oh well, they probably were giving him all this work. Actually the worst game he had late in the season was his biggest carry total. That was his worst game. It actually worked better with this timeshare in the backfield. And that's why, because if I only have one running back by this point, I went wide receiver, 0 RB, whatever it might be. Ron J. Stevenson you can plug in as your RB2. There's going to be single digit games, but we're talking about round seven and we're talking about somebody who week in and week out because the Patriots are who they thought we thought they were. Who they are is they're going to continue to split this backfield against Stevenson touches. I will take Henderson over Stevenson every single time. I'm not saying that I wouldn't, but if I can get Stevenson as my RB2 and I went wide receiver heavy or zero RB with that weekly 20 points per game or 20 points upside any given week, I'm going to take that as my RB2 position because if I go that strategy with my roster, I'm not looking for a running back who averages eight points per game. I want the one who could potentially win me a week because the difference between 8 and 4 is nothing. At my RB2 positions, the difference between 8 and 20 that helps me win that week where maybe I needed some help.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right, no more Patriots running backs to talk about now because we talked about both of them there. And look right now too, with the way the wide receivers are structured, I think it's going to be a pretty run heavy team. So Ramandre is a good one. Pat, going back here, we had a little discussion earlier about Kyron Williams and look who showed up in round eight. It's Blake Corum. And so if you have Kyron Williams, certainly Corum is an interesting addition to your team and I would say an advisable one. But if you don't have Kyron Williams, I would also say he's kind of an advisable pickup here because something should happen to Kyron. We saw some flashes of Corum and we saw him have a nose for the end zone last year too. That really panned out for us in fantasy in some limited opportunities that he did get where he was getting that weird timeshare at certain points.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, I'm not a big handcuff guy in drafts. I don't generally like dedicating two roster spots to a single position on a single team, especially when they're both single digit round picks. This is less about that, it's just about the ceiling. Joe and I know some people would have an issue with taking Blake Corm over Chuba Hubbard who might be the lead guy in Carolina, or Tony Pollard who might be the lead guy in Tennessee. Those two backs are also round eight picks in ecr. The appeal with Corum is the potential upside if if Kyron Williams were to go down, we would be ranking Blake Corum as a top 10 if not top five running back every week that Kyron was out in our weekly rankings. And I know Maybe there's like a 2% chance that Corum actually outperforms Kyren and takes over the lead running back role. On the merits, I doubt it. I think there's a minuscule non zero chance of that happening. But at worst you are getting a hyper efficient backup who you can play in a pinch in bye weeks even if Kyron is healthy. But again, if Kyron gets hurt, Blake Corum ceiling is the Sistine Chapel. It's glorious. And like I had Tony Pollard in leagues last year, it was terrible. Like he was. He was RB32 for the first three week other than the last couple season.

[Joey P (Host)]

When he smelled those incentives at the end of his deal all of a sudden things started to wake up a little bit. Silly Pollard too.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I had Pollard in our in house fantasy pros league and I was getting trucked at the RB2 position every week. Like getting outscored by double digits consistently. It was terrible.

[Joey P (Host)]

Yeah, I made the finals in that league too and I lost a bogman who Puka Naku'd me because that was the week before the regular finals. We ended a week early. I could not catch a break last year, man. Just. Just one embarrassment after another in finals. But at least I got to the final so I guess that's. I guess that's a good thing. Whatever. Losing sucks Anyway. Jake Seeley, I like the next guy you're going to talk about here in your round nine selection because you complain that the odd rounds aren't great, but I think this is actually a better one than people realize. I think the value of this player is going to be suppressed quite a bit because there are some other names in this backfield but I really don't think any of them are real competition at this point for the guy that came in this offseason to the Cardinals and that's Tyler Algier.

[Jake Seeley]

Yeah, and I have A lot of great names to choose from. One in this group, Zach Charmonay might not play 2026. So I thought about Aaron Jones briefly. But that's the timeshare where, you know, I was surprised a lot of people were that they brought him back and restructured. But if you look at that Jordan Mason split, you know, I could see that skewing more towards him. So yeah, it comes down to Algier who I think can lead this backfield and they restructured James Conner to keep him around. That surprised a lot of people. But I think the signing of Algier and the restructuring to keep Connor around tells us that they have very low confidence in what Trey Benson can do at this point. We're not quite to the Marshawn Lloyd territory where his career might be over before it starts because of the injuries, but we're close. Like if they drafted somebody in day three and Benson, Benson doesn't even make this team at this point. It wouldn't be a shock and that really sucks because I know a lot of us, including myself, like that talent. But they signed Algier to be the lead. Now the downside is the passing game, but I think that's why they kept James Conner around. I think they transitioned James Conner at this point of his career into the pass catching option alongside Tyler Algier to lead this backfield. If it's only 220 touches and most of them on the ground, sure that lacks a little bit of appeal on half a full point ppr. But we are talking about round nine and if James Conner isn't on this team himself and all of a sudden we're looking at Tyler Algiera's rookie season before Bijan got to Atlanta and he was a top 20 running back. He can do it. It's not the most impressive but as a volume play there's upside where Algier can easily just if everybody stays healthy, he should outperform this value and then if something happens to Connor, Benson never comes back. You know, we can see him being a top 24 running back as a probably mid low on RB2.

[Joey P (Host)]

What are your thoughts about the Cardinals backfield Pat, right now the way it's currently structured with the names that are there. Are you high on Algier and do you think he's a value here at 9?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I do think he is a value at 9, solid value. I don't know if he's going to leave James Conner in the dust. I agree with Jake that this, the, the Algiers signing does not bode well for Trey Benson's future, plus the restructuring of James Conner's contract. So I think Algier is going to get a majority or at least a plurality of the running back touches in Arizona. And I I do think he's going to give you at least like RB3 value for fantasy, so this is a good spot for him, I think.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right, Pat, let's take a look at round 10 before we get there. Reminder too. Pat's doing shows on our Discord. If you haven't been on the Discord in a while or you've never joined, there's a great opportunity to do that and keep that conversation going with NFL all year round. The NFL draft is around the corner. If you go to fantasypros.com chat, it's free to join. It's fun. And Pat and Worm and Pat and Poggs are doing shows. There's 5pm Eastern, the first and third Tuesday of every month. So you can be on the shows, get your questions answered. Of course there's AMA channels. There's so many things. And when you're a premium member of Fantasy Pros, you get even more access to more channels on our Discord. But it's growing every single day. So go ahead and check out our Discord community of fantasy pros.com chat pat number 10 it's another guy from our backfield we already discussed. So why is JK Dobbins an intriguing selection here in the 10th round in terms of value?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Because I think he might be more valuable than RJ Harvey this coming year and he's going much later. You know, just going back to when Dobbins was healthy last year he was the Broncos primary early down back and he was giving his investors solid RB2 production. Dobbins got hurt in week 10. Through the first nine weeks he was RB18 and that was in PPR fantasy scoring, which isn't a great format for Dobbins since he doesn't catch a lot of passes. He was RB 16 and a half point PPR fantasy points per game. I just, I don't think Harvey showed enough after the Dobbins injury for Sean Payton to alter his running back usage that much. And Dobbins is good when healthy. Obviously he is an injury risk if you're drafting him. Like you can't keep your head in the sand with regard to his durability or lack thereof. So yeah, you have to insist on a discount. I think around 10 is a suitable discount.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right, Jake, you got one more round to be miserable about, but I Think it's an intriguing selection that you have here because this guy is now a Jacksonville Jaguar. Travis Hn is now somewhere else. So a lot of people love Facial Tootin, but Chris Rodriguez did sign there, has a history with Liam Cohn and he didn't necessarily sign for the veteran minimum kind of situation. Right. There's a little bit more in terms of the incentive. So it's a little bit more complicated of a contract which maybe points out that this backfield isn't completely settled and it doesn't all belong to BAAL Tutin. I like to think that it does, but I also want to live in the real world. So let's talk about Chris Rodriguez and see if we can find some sort of common ground here about how we should approach this backfield in Jacksonville.

[Jake Seeley]

Yeah, he actually signed for more guaranteed money than Javante Williams and Rico Dowdle signed for last year, by the way, combined. Just again and give you an idea. So if you look at the fact of what Rodriguez was given, like, no, I don't think he's going to run away with this backfield and in this range around 11, I'm pretty much the choices I had, like, I don't want any of them. I'm going to start taking flyers. There's one other I was interested to see if Pat took it. He's actually going directly behind Rodriguez. They're down at 166 and 167. Undrafted right now is Jonathan Brooks because we saw Chuba Hubbard, who by the way, Hubbard might go the Peyton Hillis route. It's going to be one season and they're all like, oh, that was really cool. They know like what happened. That was the only season that made sense because if you look at Peyton Hillis and Chuba Hubbard's careers right now, almost identical. But anyway, I'm saying that to say is like maybe Jonathan Brooks is finally healthy, but Rodriguez and Brooks are some of my favorite free ones because yeah, you brought it up, is that Rodriguez was given the contract. He was given the contract to be the lead. And maybe it's me confirmation biasing myself here is the fact that I just think Bayshell Tootin is a timeshare piece and that's not a bad thing. He is more explosive, he's more exciting than Chris Rodriguez. I'm not saying he's not, but I don't think Bashal Tutin is equipped to ever be somebody in the NFL who's handling 15, 16, 20 touches a game. I think he's better as a complimentary piece and that's where you get the best out of him. So I think Tutin is an interesting play, but for the fact that he's free and Chris Rodriguez, you could take him around 11, 12, 13. As of right now, he's the lead option, which a team that's going to have plenty of goal line opportunities as this offense has finally turned around under Liam Cohen. And yes, Tutank got a handful of them last year. So it's not saying that Tootin can't handle him, but you don't bring in Chris Rodriguez and talk about him the way you do to not kind of give him that role. Could it? Only this is going to go back to the other conversation we had earlier. Could it only be 200 touchdowns and somewhat touchdown Reliant? Sure. But what if, what if Bashal Tutank got hurt in like week three and all of a sudden Rodriguez is looking at 16 touches every single week. It's a free play. And the best part about this is when you take these shots this late, waivers come around week one, two, three and Rodriguez is a full blown committee and only getting 11 touches. You cut him and move on because he didn't really cost you anything.

[Joey P (Host)]

All right, Pat, let's wrap things up here with round 12. Who is a guy that you think is an intriguing value at the running back position?

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I think Dylan Sampson might be a worthwhile flyer in round 12. I know we don't like the offensive environment in Cleveland, but as of now, Dylan Sampson is the Browns number two running back behind quinch on Judkins, who's coming back from a dislocated ankle and fractured fibula. And at a minimum, Sampson is going to be the primary passing down back for a team that's likely to be playing from behind all season.

[Joey P (Host)]

Jake, what are your thoughts on Sampson? Just out of curiosity, do you have a take on him?

[Jake Seeley]

I think it's very interesting for what Pat just said. You're talking about the fact that we don't. We are assuming Judkins should be okay, but that's a lot to come back from. And if he's not, I mean, at worst we think this would probably be like in my opinion, a 65, 35, maybe 60, 40 split where Sampson is going to be a pass catching option. Going to see some work. You have Switzer coming in to run the offense who comes for the Ravens. So like I know people are arguing. Well that means more judges, Judkins for Henry, just people work with the talent they have. It's just somebody who's proven. I say that for Schweitzer is that can lead a run game and lead a run game well. So they get the best out of Sampson and Judkins. So at a timeshare that's cool. Brown 12. Sign me up. If something is where Judkins isn't 100%, then we're going to be talking about, like, if we knew today Judgins is not starting the season healthy, not even out the field until like the end of September. What Samson would be like around 7, 8 pick. Because people have been taking the chance that we might never see Judkins back on the field 100% this year.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Maybe Andrew Barry, the Browns GM, is a running back hoarder. Because I think there. There were some people who really liked Sampson as a prospect last year. And then he gets drafted by the team that already drafted Quinte Sean Judkins. And that obviously was a big, you know, splash of cold water on the

[Jake Seeley]

Samson stage and Price round two.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know if they're doing that, but if someone they like maybe slides to round four, I could see them going running back again. And then all of a sudden Sampson becomes a lot less appealing.

[Jake Seeley]

Oh, yeah, Then we're just throwing this all out the window.

[Joey P (Host)]

Pat, what do you think about the Jacksonville backfield, too? I didn't get your take on there. So is Chris Rodriguez somebody that you want to target late or is it just really, hey, we're familiar with this guy. We believe in this guy. And if Tutin doesn't just run away with the job, at least we feel we have some insurance.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

I get why the prices are what they are. I think Tutin offers the greater upside. And like, if I had to cast my lot with one or the other, I'd go with Tutin. But it should be acknowledged for the Tutin advocates that Rodriguez is the inconvenient truth of that backfield. Like, he's going to have a role for sure. He's probably going to be the goal line guy. But I know in ppr, I'm just like, Rodriguez is a guy. I'm just scratching off my board. I'm not drafting a guy in PPR who averages like one target a month. So, like standard. And I'm. I'm an old fogey, so I still play in a couple of standard leagues. Like, I might be interested in Rodriguez.

[Jake Seeley]

Don't call it standard.

[Pat Fitzmaurice]

Yeah, non ppr. Well, that was a. That was a whole marketing stuff ploy by the PPR advocates to refer to standard as Non ppr. Like shifting ppr. But hey, I'm all for it.

[Joey P (Host)]

I'm all for it. It's time. It's time to evolve. You know, I remember when I was like 10 years ago pushing the envelope for super flex leagues and people looked at me like I had three heads. I'm like, why? Why do we have the. The guys who score the most are the most important part of the NFL. Just floating around the waiver wire. It's dumb. What are we doing? Should be super flex leagues. That should be the new standard, to be honest. But, you know, one thing at a time. We have to, we have to slowly drag everybody along with us. But while we're doing that, you might as well hang around for the YouTube conversations here. Subscribe to the channel, subscribe to the podcast feed and go to YouTube right now. Hit up Tailgate NFL. You're gonna see a very cool logo with lots of retro gaming feel to it. That's the new channel where we're talking football 365 days a year. It's fun and it's free. We want you to be hanging out with us over at the tailgate as well. That'll do it for us, but the story of the game goes on. For Jake Seeley from the Athletic and our own Pat Fitzmores, I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time, kids.

[Podcast Announcer]

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 channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.

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[Jake Seeley]

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[Jake Seeley]

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[Joey P (Host)]

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