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Dream Team: Week 1 · The Dream Team

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's time to set your lineup with the dream team.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Here's Jim Zoki and John Halpin.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: All right, regular season football is here. And, of course,
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: John Halpin, Matt Hogan with us as well. As we
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: are all fantasy drafted and ready to go. I got
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: three leagues, John. You'll love this, John, because of today's
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: world and how busy people are. I did my third
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: and final draft, which is for the radio morning show,
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: at 2.30 in the afternoon yesterday. sitting behind the bunker
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: suites at Panther Stadium waiting for the interviews that we
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: do with the coach and the players after practice yesterday.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: So how about going down to the wire? We literally
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: did our draft about four to five hours before the
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: kickoff of the first game.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: So someone drafted Brock Bowers and then found out an
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: hour later that he got hurt.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Yep, it was one of our producers. I can tell
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: you exactly who it was. We've all experienced this. You
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: have a guy queued up. I was ready to take him,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: and I got to take him one pick before me because,
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: you know, there's like two or three tight ends where
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: you go, all right, that's worth going third round on,
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: maybe something like that. And I did not, as it
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: turned out. But anyways, yeah, I got my three teams drafted,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: and here we go. I know you're ready for regular season.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Got one game of the season underway. Got another one
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: coming up tonight.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was not a good fantasy game last night.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Not a lot, unless you had Jackson, Smith, and Jigba.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: That worked out with that one big play.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: I had the Seattle defense. That did okay for defenses.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: True, that's true. Yeah, and they were really good. I mean,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: thanks to Drake May throwing them three interceptions. It didn't
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: quite hurt. I would say in that game last night,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: so the big stuff from last night was, I mean,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Sam Darnold, not a big fantasy impact for a lot
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of people because he's a backup fantasy quarterback, but hip injuries,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: reportedly no fracture.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: A.J.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Brown's a big one. He left with an ankle injury.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: The rumors this morning are high ankle sprain. That means
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: four weeks, five weeks, something like that. So that's a
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: killer for your second round pick. To the Drake May
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: fantasy owners, as bad as that looked last night, and
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: that fourth quarter was horrendous, that last pick was, I mean,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: so bad, but 47 rushing yards from Drake May. So,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: you know, we're not talking real life here. If you're
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: a Patriots fan, you're bashing your head against the wall
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: this morning. Real life, Drake May, wasn't a great fantasy
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: game for him. But the rushing yards make me think,
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: you know, the numbers are going to be just fine.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Don't try to overlook the three interceptions because it's not
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: like he's going to lose his job. And when he plays,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: he's going to run.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: And anybody who has a reminder, Stevenson probably got him
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: with a late second RB2 designation for your roster. Maybe
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: your third running back is still on the board there.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: So he wasn't ultra productive, but he kind of had
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: the kind of game I kind of expect. He's going
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: to catch a few passes, run for 50 yards. I mean,
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: that's not unusual what he did last night, right?
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, until Travion Henderson comes back. I mean, he's going
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: to be the lead back when Henderson does come back,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: but last night was more so. I read a stat
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: this morning that I'd love to, I need to verify,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: but he had 51 rushing yards and supposedly one was
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: before contact and 50 after. The Seahawks defense, as you said,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: really good. So I think better days are ahead for
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Amadri Stevenson. And the 23 touches is something you have
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: to be excited about.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: And in the news tonight from Australia, it's Rams and
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: 49ers game two. Little drips of football happening one at
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: a time here. And so what do we need to
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: know about this game as far as we know, you know, again,
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: part of a defense, Aaron Donald didn't make the trip.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: What do we know about George Kittle?
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: George Kittle sounds like he's going to play. You know,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: he's been coming back steadily from his Achilles injury. Things
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: have looked good during the during the preseason. And the
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: there was news this morning that he is going to
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: be active officially. So if you have George Kittle, you
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: probably drafted him to start. You should roll with him tonight.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: So he was what? What do you think? Eight to
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: ten as far as tight ends available if you were drafting?
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he was something like that. He was after that,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: you know, the tier of, you know, Kraft and Pitts
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: and guys like that. And he should be pretty solid,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: you know. If he's healthy, assuming he's healthy, maybe he's
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: not what he was before. But the Niners passing game,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, they're going Mike Evans, who's kind of old,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the rookie DeJount Stribling. I mean, Pearsall's out. If Kittle's playing,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: he's probably going to be busy.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: I drafted in my draft yesterday, the Colts tight end Warren.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Do you like him? Do you think he'll be productive
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: this year?
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I do. I think they're going to throw to
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: him plenty. He was going as the fourth tight end
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: off the board in drafts. That sounds about right. Look,
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: they drafted him eighth overall last year. They did it
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: so they could use him in. Alec Pierce, still steady.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: He's probably going to play Sunday, but still returning from
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: a bad leg injury. Josh Downs, we like. We talked
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: about him in the preseason. I think Tyler Warren's going
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: to be fine. Remember that Colts offense last year, We
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: might have talked about this a week or two ago.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: They weren't just good last year. They were great in
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: the first 10 games. Legitimately a great offense, just blowing
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: the doors off everybody. That's a good offense, and I
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: think Tyler Warren's going to benefit from it.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: All right, let's move ahead to our game, the Bears
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: and the Panthers. We'll start with Chicago first. I love
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: this quote, and I'm glad you brought this into your notes.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Ben Johnson wants to have the highest scoring offense ever.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Not in the league, not now. In the history of mankind,
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: he wants the highest scoring offense. We should be drafting
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: all their players.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: Just imagine how many times he's going to rip his
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: shirt off in the locker room if they get the
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: highest scoring offense ever, right?
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: I don't want to imagine. I don't want to know.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: They were the hot team in fantasy dress. Everybody wanted
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: all their guys. People were drafting Burden High, Loveland High, Swift, Williams,
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Adunze even was going in the sixth round. You know,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Kyle Monunga was going in the first 10 rounds. Everybody
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: wants everyone from the Bears. And Ben Johnson's a good
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: offensive coach. He appears to be as a coordinator with
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: the Lions. He was terrific. Last year, the Bears offense
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: was pretty good. And, you know, there's reason to believe
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: that they can support a bunch of good fantasy players.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: I think highest scoring offense ever is kind of crazy.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: But I will say that their terrible defense can probably
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: help that along because they're going to get some shootouts.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: That's called uncomplimentary football because you talk about complimentary football.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: When the defense lets you down, the offense has to
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: go put six more up on the board. It's uncomplimentary football, right?
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. There's going to be a lot of 38-35s in
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: the Bears' future.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Well, this could be an exciting game at Bank of
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: America Stadium. Full disclosure, as I'm talking to you right now,
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: I'm looking at Bank of America Stadium off here on
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Moorhead Road, where I pulled over with the earbuds to
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: do today's program, believe in work. So let's begin with
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: the quarterback, Caleb Williams, already coming off the most passing
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: yards in the history of Chicago Bears passing. He didn't
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: quite get to 4,000, but his 39, 42, or whatever
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: it was, is the most by any Bears quarterback ever.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: 27 touchdown passes last year. And runs pretty good. So
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: QB what? What number of QB is he off the
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: board in these drafts?
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: He was going as QB 8 off the board. Sorry,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: he was going as QB 7 off the board. Last
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: year he finished at QB 8. So he's going to
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: throw plenty. He's going to run. And last year he was...
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Eighth among, sorry, tied for seventh in rushing yards among quarterbacks.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: He had 383 rushing yards. So he runs enough to
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: kind of raise the floor there. He's got some good receivers.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: His coach, as we said, is going to be aggressive.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Caleb Williams, even if you're in doubt about him as
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a real-life quarterback, he should be a really good fantasy
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: quarterback this season.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: I look at the receivers, and as we all know,
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: because we said DJ Moore in the preseason at Buffalo,
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: he got traded away. Roma Dunzey. Yeah, decent, but has
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: a foot injury right now. We don't know about this
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: week so much. Looks like he'll play probably. Luther Burden,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: they're expecting a lot of in his second year coming up.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: But these are not like, you know, like we got
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Jerry Rice and John Taylor here. So what do you
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: think about the receiving options? Obviously, you got to factor
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: in Loveland, the tight end. But what do you kind
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: of think about the receiving options overall?
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: So I think that Adunze, before he got hurt last year,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: and like you said, he's hurt now. So that matters.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Before he got hurt last year, he was really good.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: He was looking like a number one receiver. Remember that
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: they drafted him two years ago in the top, I think,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: ninth overall. He's a good receiver, but he is going
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: to be sort of the outside boundary receiver, right? Luther Burden,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: the way I look at this and the way I
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: looked at the Bears last year is we were trying
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: to translate the Lions offense to the Bears, the way
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Ben Johnson ran that. Burden gets sort of the Amon
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Ross St. Brown role. He gets the easy targets. He
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: plays in the slot. They're going to find him short.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: And as a yards after catch guy, Burden's really good.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: I think Burden, like you said, we're not John Taylor,
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Jerry Rice here, but they are in roles and in
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: a situation where the fantasy production could be really good.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: I think the path to production because of the role
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: is much easier for Burden. And he was going in
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: the fourth or fifth round by the end of draft season.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: People were going crazy about him. Um, I think he's
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: ranked number 25 this week, partially because he didn't play
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: in the preseason due to injury. I think there, there's
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: an argument here that Luther burden could be a top,
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: you know, 15 fantasy wide receiver when all said and done.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: So John, that brings us to running backs. And I'm
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: just referring to my one, again, I have three leagues,
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: my draft yesterday, I was able to get the Andre
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Swift as my third running back. So basically a flex option.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: And then, uh, like my second to last pick, I
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: got common on guy because, uh, People talk about having
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: the handcuffed running back. I've never been a big, like,
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: you have to have the second running back from the
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: same team. Because to me, the premise works. If I
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: grab someone I think might get injured from your team
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: and I'll have the backup then, like, does it matter
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: to you that it's like you've got the backup on
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: your same roster versus me projecting that somebody else might
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: get hurt that my fifth running back could be anybody's backup?
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: I kind of like the path of getting the backup
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: from the different team because that gives you more options.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: You could wind up with two good running backs out
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: of that rather than just guaranteeing yourself one. So I
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: tend to go more in that direction. In this case,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: it's interesting because the snap split last year was about
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: 60-40 when both of those guys played, Swift and Mnangai.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: So even if they're both healthy, Mnangai still has value.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: This is not a handcuff like Tank Bigsby in Philly,
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: who you're not playing unless Saquon gets hurt. Kyle Mnangai
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: might be playable in a lot of weeks, even when
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Swift plays. So Swift was running back 14 last season.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: His rank this week is running back 14. He was
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: going in about the fourth round of drafts. Ben Johnson's
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: turning him into a good running back.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: All right, let's talk about our Panthers on the other
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: side of the field from the Bears matchup, of course.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: Just give me what you think Ted Aron McMillan's numbers
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: will be. I've got him in two of my three
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: fantasy leagues. What do you think a healthy Ted Aron
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: McMillan puts up as far as yardage and touchdowns this year?
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: For the year, I think 1,200 yards and 8 to
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: 10 touchdowns. He was going in the fourth round or so.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: He's ranked as wide receiver 16 this week. That's about
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: where he'll be ranked for most of the season if
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: things go well. But he's what he put on some
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: weight and some strength, some muscle, right? I hope they
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: throw a little more. I think they still want to
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: be a run-centric team, but they'll throw a little more.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: They're moving him into– we talked about Burden being in
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: the slot. And in the preseason, McMillan moved into the
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: slot a little more, where last year he didn't really
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: do that. That hopefully means higher volume, more easy targets,
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: let's say. So I really like I like him to
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: improve this season. And looking at last year's numbers, I'll
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: find those really quick. He was 70 catches for a
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: thousand fourteen yards. Let's let's bump him up to twelve
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: hundred and nine or ten touchdowns.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: And then Jalen Coker missed a big chunk of last season.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: So he finished like below 400, like upper 300 yards,
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: made the big playoff game against the Rams. Same question.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Jalen Coker catches yards, touchdowns. What's a reasonable expectation for
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: the season?
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: I think he's pretty clearly the number two target here.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: There's not a lot of competition for that for him.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Let's go 60 catches, 800 yards for Coker. I think
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: he's going to be solid. He's not going to be
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: a guy that you're saying, oh man, I really want
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: to start him every week. But he's a good player.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Like you said, he's underrated a bit because he missed
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: time last year. With that said, people– that playoff game
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: was eye-popping. He was a really good player. You looked
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: at him and went, wow, that's another real guy here.
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: And I think he might be a real guy. He's
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: a really good receiver, and I know the Panthers really
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: like him. I just wonder if they're going to run enough.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: If you're the number two target on a team that
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: wants to be run-centric, I wonder how much yardage could
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: be there. But 60 for 800 would be nothing to
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: sneeze at.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: No, not at all. It's, again, like if you're picking
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: your third or fourth receiver, especially fourth receiver– And then
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: running backs, and again, they're going to kind of cancel
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: each other out as far as how high they go.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Last year, we spent so much of last season when
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: they were healthy. Talk about Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, the
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: job share. Do you envision a similar, again, overall job share?
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: I'm not talking about alternating series in a game, but
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: as far as time spent snaps on the field, do
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: you think it might be a similar thing when both
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: are healthy with Chuba and Jonathan Brooks?
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: I do think that. I think that's what the Panthers want.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: There might be. We know that Brooks probably has more upside.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: If Brooks is fully healthy and becomes what we thought,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: then maybe he could take over. That's possible. I don't
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: know that it's likely. I think they're going to want
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: to manage them both. I think having two fresh running backs,
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: like we've talked about before in real life, it's great.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: Not so awesome for fantasy. I would probably not start
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: either one of them this week if I could avoid
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: it because I'm not, well, I might start Chuma because
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: I think this is going to be a high scoring game.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah. It's one of those games where we know the
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: Bears defense, at least last year was forced. They made
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: changes last But no one seems to know if that
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: improved them or not. Let's move on to more of
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: what's going on around the league this week. Injuries of
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: notes for week one for those games still coming up
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: this weekend. Let's begin with Vegas. They've got a couple
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: of big names on the injury possibility board. One for
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: sure will not play this week.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Brock Bowers. Come on, Raiders. Literally an hour before
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: that news broke yesterday. I think that news broke Wednesday
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: at about, what, 5 o'clock Eastern, let's estimate. About an
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: hour or two before that, their head coach, Clint Kubiak,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: had a press conference and they said, is everybody going
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: to be healthy this week? He said, yeah, that's what
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: we're planning on. We're planning on having everybody out there.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: And then they said, oh, he's just going to have
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: a little meniscus trim. That's going to sideline fraud. What
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: are you talking about? Where did this come from? So
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: it kind of, you know, thanks for nothing, Raiders. But
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Brock Bowers, he's probably going to be out a few
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: weeks now. If you picked him in the second round,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: you have to be just completely unhappy because when he
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: comes back, There's something wrong with the guy's knee. It's
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: been wrong since last year. So this is just, this
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: is not good news. He'll probably be back late September,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: early October as to what he's going to be when
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: he's back. I'm not sure. I'm not saying he's going
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: to be bad, but this was a guy who people
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: thought was going to maybe break fantasy football as a
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: tight end this year. And that just looks kind of
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: out the window.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: So again, whenever you're, you have to look at the
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: big picture. You mentioned defense affecting offense as an example,
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: to catch the ball, somebody has to throw it. What's
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: your confidence level in the combination of Kirk Cousins and
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: rookie Mendoza? You know, as not even a starter right
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: now through the course of the season, feeding Bauer is
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: enough accurately to put up those kinds of whopper numbers.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: So Cousins did put up some good numbers with pits
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: last year. I'll say that. And look, I don't have
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: huge levels of confidence in those guys, but I also
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: have no confidence at all in their receivers. You're looking
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: at what Trey Tucker and Jay, they signed Jalen Naylor
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: to a big contract. Brock Bauer's, seems to be pretty
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: clearly the number one option. Like I was going into
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: this thinking, if those quarterbacks are going to complete balls
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: to anybody, it's going to be Brock Bowers and they're
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: going to feed him all the time just because the
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: wide receivers are not that good. So, and, you know,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: shorter targets over the middle, that kind of stuff. It
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: just seemed to make sense. And now, yeah, this is
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: just a disaster. I will say, if you're looking for
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: a tight end, when Brock Bowers has been hurt, Michael Mayer,
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: the former Notre Dame player, who they picked in the
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: second round the year before they picked Bowers, is pretty good.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: He should be available in most leagues. He's been volatile
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: when Bowers has been out, but I think you could
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: get a good number of targets from him. Like I said,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: it's not like the wide receivers are that good for
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: the Raiders.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: No, and there's not like a million tight ends anywhere
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: in the NFL to pick from. Sticking with the Raiders,
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: Ashton Jinty. I had him last year and it was
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: kind of pretty disappointing. He's not fully healthy right now.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Thoughts on this week health-wise and also project his season.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's got to be better than last year, right?
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: You would think so. He practiced fully on Wednesday. So
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: it looks like the prayer circle worked that day that
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: he got hurt in practice. So I think that if healthy,
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: if this makes sense, they're going to work him. The
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: problem that came up was in the preseason, they drafted
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: Mike Washington and he looked great in the preseason and
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: supposedly Kubiak liked him before the draft. So there's going
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: to be a bit, not a tandem, but It's not
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: like Jenty's going to get 85% of the snaps, I
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: don't think. I think Mike Washington's going to have a
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: bit of a role. Jenty got picked probably late second
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: round before the end of drafts. That sounds about right.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: I think 1,500 yards from scrimmage sounds pretty good. Not great,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: but good. Eight touchdowns or so. I think he's going
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: to live up to his second round draft status. Let's
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: put it that way.
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: Jeremiah Love looked really good in the one preseason game
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: he played in. They kind of shut him down with
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: an ankle. What are you hearing about his current health?
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: And I know what the depth chart says, Tyler Algier,
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: but I drafted him in two of my three leagues,
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: not my first running back, but RB2 in two of
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: my leagues. I feel like if you go, what was he,
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: third overall pick? You don't do that to play him
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: behind Tyler Algier. I just feel like whether it takes
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: a week or two is fine. I can live with that.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: But don't you think he's going to be like the
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: featured guy?
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Yes. And they paid Tyler Algier, which I mean, why
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: they paid Tyler Algier and then drafted Jeremiah Love, I
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: have no idea. But they're the Cardinals. I agree. They're
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: the Cardinals. That's right. I agree with you. And I think–
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: I do worry that Jeremiah Love is going to get
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: touchdowns vultured away from him by Algier when they get
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: inside the five. Because Algier is a good short yardage runner.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: He did that to B. John Robinson a little bit
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: when he was in Atlanta. I also think that Jeremiah
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Love might be Adrian Peterson. So– and when you watch him–
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: I think we might have talked about this a couple
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: weeks ago. Yeah. Like, why did they pick him third?
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: And then you watch the first, you know, game of
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: the preseason before he got hurt. And you went, oh, right.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: He's awesome. That's what it was. So, yeah, I think
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: he's going to be really good. I think if you
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: drafted him in the third round, you're going to be
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: just fine. Don't get freaked out by the depth chart,
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: even though I think, come on, Cardinals, do better than that.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. It just doesn't. Well, I guess maybe respect
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: to the elderly. I don't know what that depth chart is.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: It's one of some of these receivers. I had him
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: last year. It was heartbreaking when Malik Nabors went down.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: I know you're a big Giants fan. With the knee.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Looks like he'll play this week, but do we have
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: an expectation of, do we get like, you know, vintage,
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: young vintage Malik neighbors, or is it going to take
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: a few weeks for him to get up to speed?
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: I don't, I wish I had a better answer than
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I hope so. People picked him in
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: the third round of drafts by the end because he
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: was playing in K. He was making these plays in camp, like,
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: look at him, look how fast he looks and look
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: how he caught that ball. It's like, yeah, nobody was
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: hitting him or covering him or anything, but hopefully he's okay.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: He seems like he is. he's full practice going to play.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: If he's healthy, he's an elite wide receiver. He's a
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: top five kind of guy. I just don't know. Healthy
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: is relative. He might be healthy enough to play. If
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: he's 85% of what he was before, at least for
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: this year, you have to take that into account somehow.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: If fully healthy, the guy might get 1,500 yards. And
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure we're quite there. I bet on that
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: in this case. But if you drafted him, you're starting
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: him and not looking back.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Well, if you start getting that type of production one
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: third of the way into the season, you'll take that
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: the rest of the way out. So, again, a little
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: grace period at the beginning. If you have a better option,
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: maybe for a week or two or three, maybe you'll
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: get to see the best version of him after that.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you're right. And hopefully things get steadily
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: improved for his fantasy managers.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Emeka Egbuka was the exact opposite last year. He started
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: out like his hair was on fire and then got
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: dinged up and just never recollected the rest of the way.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Dealing with a toe injury right now, looks like he'll play.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: But what are your expectations early on and for this season?
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: with a happy Baker Mayfield with his new contract.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: I was worried with what I heard about Ibuka in
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: the preseason with the toe head. Like they were, most
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: people were calling it turf toe, which is never good.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: And that takes a long time to get back to
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: full strength from. It's just a really super annoying for
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: these guys. If he's really healthy, he's going to, he's
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: going to blow up. They're going to throw a ton.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: It's not like they have a great running game. They're
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: going to throw the ball a lot. Baker seems healthy.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: And he's clearly the number one receiver now. Mike Evans
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: is gone. The other guys are, you know, Jalen McMillan
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: and who's the other guy? Hurst? Nick Hurst? You look
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: at that team, Ibuka's the guy on a team with
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: a pretty good quarterback who's going to throw the ball
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: a ton. Like I said, if healthy, you're going to
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: love that you drafted him. I know I flinched at
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: drafting him because of the turf toe, but things are
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: looking more promising and I think you could have a
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: big season ahead if that toe's okay.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: All right, again, I selfishly use this show sometimes, and
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: here I go. Just two more before we move on
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: to your MVPs for the season. I drafted as bench
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: guys Jalen Waddell, wide receiver, of course, staying with the
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: wide receiver theme, and then also Lloyd, the running back
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: with Green Bay with the Josh Jacob news. Again, not
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: starters right now. They're on my bench. What do you
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: think about their season moving forward?
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: You drafted Jalen Waddell as a bench guy? In what
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: league is this that I can do that?
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: I got Puka Nakua and George Pickens.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Wow. You got a flex?
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: I can put him in as a flex. Oh, yeah.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: That's why I have DeAndre Swift right now. Should I
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: move him in where Swift is?
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: So I would, and you might, if that's a high-scoring
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: game again, you might kill me if Swift gets two
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: touchdowns at 100 yards. But, man, Jalen Waddell, that team,
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: Bo Nix threw more passes than anybody last year. And
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: they traded first-round picks to get Jalen Waddell. And he's, again,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: back to that analogy you used earlier, he's probably going
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: to get the easy targets. Like, I think this is
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: a big season waiting to happen for Jalen Waddell. I
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: tried to get him at the 3-4 turn in a
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: draft and got sniped on him last week and was
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: pretty mad about it because I think he's going to
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: have a big season. So, yeah, really good there for you.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: As far as Marshawn Lloyd, the Josh Jacobs thing is
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: weird because now it seems like they moved up his
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: court hearing to see if they can get him back earlier. So, Lloyd,
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: if you got him, I think you're probably starting him. Well,
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: you're in a tough spot. You've got a bunch of
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: other guys. You might be able to start him now.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: If you have him, now's the time to start him.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: And let's see how things go as far as when
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Jacobs comes back or if he comes back.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, on that note, I've got Jonathan Taylor and Derek Henry.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: So I think I'm playing. Oh, yeah.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: Wow. Look at that.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: That's a great. Damn. I know. I know. I was
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: shocked at some of the value I got later in
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: these drafts.
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: Before we get to it. Matt Hogan to close it out.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: Let's get a couple of predictions, good and bad. Who
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: do you think will be your fantasy MVP when it's
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: all said and done this year?
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: I'm going to go Justin Jefferson. I think people, he
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: was going at about the one, two turn in draft.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: So it's not like people ignored him or think he stinks.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: But last year, the quarterbacking there was so, so bad.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: If you think about the previous seasons, it wasn't great,
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: which like it'll be this year, Kyler Murray, not great,
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: but competent. And when he had competent quarterbacks, he was
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: maybe the best receiver in the league. And now people
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: are going, oh, maybe he's like fifth or sixth. He's
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: not fifth or sixth. He's awesome. So I am all
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: in on Justin Jefferson this year. I think 1,800 yards,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: 12 touchdowns, that kind of thing. At the end of
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the season, I think we're going to be going, oh, right,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: he's fantastic. We kind of forgot about that a little bit.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt about that. And who's the guy that
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: people are counting on, but he's going to let them
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: down this season?
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: I feel like The fantasy analyst community fell in love
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: with Kenneth Walker and his role with the Chiefs. And
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: I don't totally get it. The Seahawks, over the last
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: four years, look, fantasy analysts, people watching would go, why
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: are you putting Zach Charbonnet on the field? Kenneth Walker
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: is explosive. He's more talented. And maybe that's true. The Seahawks,
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: over four years and three offensive coordinators, kept finding ways
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: to keep that guy off the field. You know, they're, oh,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: now we're going to put Zach Charbonnet in. We need
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: to sit him out on third down. And they kept
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: finding reasons. And it's like, I don't know what the
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: reasons were, but they all seem to think he wasn't
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: a workhorse. And people now go, oh, he's obviously going
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: to be a workhorse with the Chiefs because Andy Reid
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: said he can catch the ball. And he can a bit.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: But we'll see. I'm not buying– in the beginning of
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: the second round, I felt like everybody was all in
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: on him, and I kept going, nope.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: All right. Last thing. It's a real football, not a
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: fantasy football question. And I already know the answer because
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: you sent it to me. Your Super Bowl, if this happens–
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: The city of L.A. is going to lose their everlasting
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: minds if this actually occurs.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: Right? Chargers-Rams at SoFi? How about ESPN is going to
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: love that. Love it.
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: Do you really believe it? I get the Rams part.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: In case you haven't heard, ESPN is going to have
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: the Super Bowl next year. In case you haven't seen
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: the 90,000 commercials.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: Is Pat McAfee involved in some way?
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Maybe. I think they'll find a way to get him
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: on the air somehow. Yeah. I do buy into this.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: I think that the Rams are the favorite. And I
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: was trying to find another team, actually. I was thinking,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: you know, the Rams are chalky, right? That's the easier
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: one to pick. The Chargers, I think Jim Harbaugh always
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: finds a way for his teams to win. I am
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: a very big fan of Justin Herbert. I know that
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: they lost their center, but they got their two all,
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: you know, Pro Bowl level tackles back. And they've got
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Mike McDaniel as their offense coordinator, who I really like,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: even though things kind of blew up. Remember two years
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: ago with the Dolphins, you know, they were scoring 50
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: points a game on people for a little while. I
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: just think there's a lot of things there to like that,
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: you know, if I was going to go away, there's
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: some good teams, you know, that I think the Texans
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: are really good, but I don't trust CJ Stroud. I
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: think the Bills are really good, but maybe the offense,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: maybe the defense is not that great.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: Something always happens with the Bills, yeah.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there's, I like the Broncos too. But,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: you know, when picking a game, look at the Chargers. Like,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: I can tell myself a story where the Chargers are
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: a really good team this year.
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: If it happens, the fix is in. I'm just saying
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: that right now. All right, so that's John's predictions. Before
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: we leave, Matt Hogan, of course, has got his teams
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: as well. Any questions for you, Matt?
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: Well, first of all, I think John may have stolen
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: my prediction because he asked us before who we thought
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: would be in the Super Bowl. I said, in my mind,
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: it was going to be the Chargers versus the NFC West,
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: the team, one of the three.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: Teams in the NFC West. So, I agree with John.
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: I think the Chargers are going to be really good
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: this year. But my question is, am I dumb for
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: rolling out Casey Concepcion in week one? Somebody's got to
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: catch the ball in Cleveland, right?
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, boy.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: Maybe.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Depends on if it gets thrown at their feet. What
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: are your alternatives?
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: I got Jonathan Brooks, who is still questionable, and then
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Marvin Harrison Jr., who I mean, I don't know how
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: that's going to go. And then Keyshawn Booty, Xavier Worthy.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: So just a lot of dart throws.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: I would go with Marv over Concepcion. I'm not going
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: to yell at you for that one because I think
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: you're right. I do think that someone needs sketchball there.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: And I think Concepcion's a really good player. And I
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: know that someone needs sketchball. I've definitely used that argument
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: before in some of the times it makes sense. I'd
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: probably pick Marv over him, but I'm not going to
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: yell at you about it. All right.
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: And then, so same roster. My RB2 spot's either going
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: to be Jeremiah Love or Jonathan Brooks, they're both questionable.
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: If they both go into that game questionable, or I
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: guess they're activated at 1130, who would you roll with?
• 27:44
  Speaker 3: I assume Love, but maybe get ready to get sniped
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: at the goal line.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would assume Love. And like you say, I
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: don't know how many carries he's going to get. I
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: think if he's healthy, he's going to get a good
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: share of work. And he's just... we don't know what
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: Jonathan Brooks is right now. I think we know more
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: about what Jeremiah Love is. And I think he's probably
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: talent-wise an elite running back at the moment. Cool.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: That's all I got.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Thanks, John. Sure.
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: All right. Good questions, Matt. Good advice, John. And we're
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: already into it by a game, but another one tonight.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: Panthers coming up on Sunday. Looking forward to talking to
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: you for the pregame show, John. And here we go.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Week one, NFL regular season. It is here.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: Happy football season, everybody.