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Fantasy Football, Future Stars, and a New Obsession · The 3Ts: Tables, Tailgates, and Toploaders

• TB: All right, it's time for the three Ts random Randy's question out of nowhere. Sid, are you ready? Sydney: I'm ready. TB: All right, so you get two choices. which of these two makes you more stressful? Is it A finding a job or B trying to find a new place to live when you know you have to be in at a very specific time frame? Sydney: definitely finding a place to live. it's been a very rocky process. so hopefully we got everything settled now. TB: Give give some context to the listeners out there. Why did you pick this? Sydney: Well so our lease is ending soon, so we're trying to find, obviously a new place to live. so that has been really fun. But also going back to like my college time, I think I spent the entire entirety of my senior year applying to jobs, trying to find a job right out of college so I didn't have that weird limbo period. And I think I applied to like Maybe 300 jobs. Like I spent my entire senior year solely applying to jobs. So TB: my goodness. Sydney: that was also a very stressful process. But I don't know. This has been stressful too because you if you're don't find anything, you're homeless. So TB: Yeah. Sydney: both equally stressful, but don't know. TB: And we definitely do not want you to be homeless. But you found a place Sydney: Yeah. TB: and you are are ready to go to roll in a few short weeks. Sydney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Actually a month from today, so which is cool. It's exciting, but TB: That seems like that seems like great news and cause to celebrate. So why don't we celebrate by starting the show? Sydney: Let's go. TB: All right, what is up, friends? We are back with another episode of the three Ts, Tables, Tailgates, and Top Loaders. I'm your host, TB, here with Sydney, yet again for another week. And look, we're on the clock because we only have five minutes. It's Jaden Daniels time. I don't want to get sued for number infringement or whatever the hell is going on in Washington. I'm not sure what's happening. Can you shine a little light on this Jaden Daniels? Mrs. Daniels fiasco, what is going on? Sydney: Yeah, this is crazy. I don't know what to say. When I first saw this kind of break, I sent it to Mike, my boyfriend, and he's a huge Commanders fan and a huge JD five fan. So when I saw this, I sent it to him and I was like, What is this? And he's like, I don't know. So I I think from my understanding LSU told Jaden that they were going to retire his number. So he was under the impression that that was gonna happen, and that did not happen. So he's feeling slighted by that and sent them cease and desist, is what I understand. So I think now this has kind of gone over social media and it's kind of becoming a really funny meme at this point, but you never know what's happening behind closed doors. I'll just say that. So you don't know. TB: I mean, the entire weekend was it was like every professional sports team across the country was taking shots at this Jaden Daniels story. And you look, I think it was all done in great taste. It was it was funny. Every social media post I read or saw was absolutely hilarious. One of my favorites involved a mascot, and I can't the the name of the team. escapes me. Maybe you you saw this one, but he's like, in honor of Jaden Daniels, our mascot can no longer give high fives, so now they are high fours. Sydney: Yep. TB: Did you see this? Sydney: Yeah, I've seen so many at this point. The five guys one is now four guys. And I know they posted some on the MLB, like, we didn't get to five runs out of respect for Jaden Daniels. Like it was just TB: So good. Sydney: all this crap. So TB: So good. What what is the deal? Was okay, I never followed him at LSU, but I know a lot of good players came out of LSU. Did he win a national championship there? Sydney: He didn't, but he did win a Heisman. So TB: Okay, so just a Heisman, but no national championship and he wants his number retired. I think Joe Burrow would Sydney: I don't know. TB: like a word with Mr. Daniels to see just how great a college career he had. Sydney: I don't know. I mean, you just if LSU told him that, then LSU told him that. I don't know. TB: Well, you got five seconds left before we our five minutes are up because we're gonna move on. That's it. All right, no more Jade Daniels Sydney: That's it. TB: talk. So the Bills, they had their first preseason game of the of the season. And it was at home, the first real game at high mark against Carolina. How much of this twenty nine to fourteen win did you actually see? Sydney: I actually didn't watch a single second of the preseason game. We had our tour at our apartment at exactly 1 pm, so I have not seen any of this. So sorry. TB: Well, no, it it's all good. I think I watched like actively watched the first two and a half quarters. And then I kinda Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: checked out probably midway through the the third quarter. I didn't really I I had it on the TV, but I was in in and out of the room. So not really, you know, eyes glued to the television for that fourth quarter. But look, Sydney: Yeah. TB: I I saw the first quarter, the the starters came out, Josh I think played the first two I can't remember. Two series. He took some hits, which I wasn't too happy about, but he was six for eight for 111 yards and a tutty. And he looked great. a play, the the one tuty he had to Keon. He he kind of scrambled, bought some time. Keon kind of broke free and and caught it in in the back of the end zone. So, you know, how fitting is it that Keon's the one to catch the first tutty in the new stadium? Now people will say, well, it's not a real one, it's preseason, blah, blah, blah. Look. It's just fun. I I anything, any success Keon has, I'm I'm happy for. Did you happen to see that catch at all or no highlights whatsoever? Sydney: Yeah, I did see it. I saw a couple clips, that being one of them. it's preseason. So, you know, I'm not gonna get too high, I'm not gonna get too low about it, but it's cool to see. Just like you said, just fun. TB: Yeah, and I'm I don't want to spend a ton of time like dissecting this game because there's a lot of guys that didn't play. No Cole Bishop, CJ Gardner Johnson, the other s safety opposite Bishop didn't play. Skylar Bell, one of our first picks in the draft. wide receiver, he didn't play. Now, according to the coach, it's gonna take me a minute because I I'm gonna keep wanting to call him Coach McDermott, but Coach Brady. Said he would have been good to go had it been a r a regular season game, but they they held him out for precautionary reasons. Mac Max Harrison didn't play, center Connor McGovern didn't play. I know he's been banged up at the end of training camp. so some good, some bad. Look, the offense came out and they were rolling right right off. the first play was a 21-yard throw to Shakir. So and it wasn't a screen pass. They actually threw the ball downfield, which was super exciting to see. So, and then the JA to DJ connection. Wow. I mean, look, if if this is what is to be expected in the regular season, I I cannot wait. I cannot wait. And we're gonna have Austin on here soon. But one of the things I I'm I'm gonna ask him, because he's gonna talk to us all about some fantasy football insight. But one of the things I'm gonna I'm gonna ask him eventually is as we circle back to the Bills, is is DJ more underrated for the purposes of of fantasy football this year? Because Look, I you and I talked about it maybe last week or the week before. I think DJ's gonna have a chip on his shoulder and he's gonna come in pissed off and ready to prove the haters and the doubters wrong. I talked about one guy saying he was washed and all this stuff. Look, he was three, he had three catches for 61 yards. I don't know if you saw the one highlight where he catches the ball, he's in open field and he's literally waving on the defender to come get him. I'm like that that that got me fired up. I was ready to run through a wall. but if this is how the offense is gonna come out and just bombs away, hey, let's go. Sign me up because as as we've discussed, the first six to eight weeks of the season, the offense gonna need to carry this team until the defense kind of you know comes in, comes into focus. But the run game looks solid. James Cook had five rushes for 21 yards. They look like mid midseason form. as we already said, Keon had the first touchdown. The defense. The first three possessions that the Panthers had the ball, the defense looked rock solid. They didn't even give up a first down to the Panthers offense. So awesome. and then the guy I'm I'm most looking forward to on the defensive side of the ball, outside of Cole Bishop, Deion Walker. Is this guy like legit superstar in the making or what? He he is just wrecking havoc out there and He he's mean, he plays with energy, plays with passion, and he just wants to like murder somebody out there. And I cannot wait to see what Dion Walker brings in year two. What what do you think? Sydney: Yeah, I'm really excited. I'm just excited as a whole to see, you know, how this year is different from last year. I think we know the the main playmakers that we're gonna have. You know, we're gonna see Shakir, we're gonna see Kincaid again and, you know, Josh Allen's gonna be Josh Allen, but I think those, you know, more minute players that we may not have seen last TB: Mm-hmm. Sydney: year or we didn't have last year, I wanna see what they do. because, you know, we we don't know what to expect out of any of them. So That's what I'm most looking forward to for this next upcoming season. TB: Yeah, absolutely. Now, a couple of lowlights, a couple things I didn't really care for. the defense gave up a lot of stupid penalties. Now, this I think this was after some of the starters had already checked out, but they give a gave up a lot of third down penalties to give the Panthers new life, a lot of first downs. They need to obviously clean that stuff up. And then Spencer Brown, yeah, I'm pointing my finger at you, my friend, because you didn't look like you even showed up. He got trucked at one at one point, got got beat pretty badly and caused the the pressure to get the the Josh. Look, it's preseason. I don't want to see Josh get hit at all. and I was like screaming at the television, get get him the hell out of the game because what what are we doing? but look, all in all, I I don't know if you could have scripted a better first preseason game. Tyler Bass made a bunch of kicks. He missed one from I think like 40-ish, 42 yards. But I think he he had three other field goals and a couple extra points. So he looked pretty solid from not seeing him kick all offseason. And he obviously he didn't play last year. So they're right back at it on Saturday, a few a few short days away, but we shall see. it's tough to stay locked into the T V when half these guys aren't even gonna be on on the team. Did you see any Sydney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. TB: anything anything else or anything else you wanted to talk about from from this game? Sydney: Yeah, I saw some posts that a lot of players weren't happy with the grass. hopefully that gets adjusted. don't know it in what terms they were talking about the grass in. Like maybe it they thought it was more injury prone. Like I'm not sure what they meant by that, but I know they said they were gonna make adjustments, so I guess we'll see more about that. TB: Yeah, I did see this issue. from what I saw, from what I was reading, I guess clumps of the sod were coming up. and they were having to like patch them back together with their cleats. Look, it's a brand new field. It's gonna take some time for this to for the roots to take hold, if you will. it's the first game. We can't expect this Sydney: Mm. TB: to be lights out. No problems, like turnkey ready to roll, like you're gonna move into a new place. You you're hoping that everything's gonna be amazing and and there's never gonna be a single issue upon taking ownership of that new place. But look, it's life. You have to figure this out. There's gonna be small bumps in the road. The thing I don't like is we're taking all these small little things and we're turning them into monumental catastrophes. And I'm just like, take a take a breath. Go take a walk, relax a little bit. It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be fine. They're they're away this week. And then game three will be at home. I think what's that, the 27th or something, though Pittsburgh's coming to town for the third and final preseason game. So they're they're gonna have a little time to work on it. And then they're gonna have a couple weeks off prior to the, did I say September? No, August 27th. Sydney: Mm. TB: they're gonna have they're gonna have a couple weeks before Detroit comes to town for that. Home opener. So let's pump the Sydney: Right. TB: brakes. Everything's gonna be fine. All right. Everything's gonna be fine. I don't know. But that's kind of really all I had on on that on that game. So are you ready to turn the page and talk some fantasy football? I know this is a segment that you Sydney: Yes. TB: had been asking for that you had wanted to to talk about. So I figured, hey, who better to bring in to talk fantasy than Austin? he is a fantasy extraordinaire. And so let's let's see let's see if he's ready to join us. Austin, are you there? What is up? Welcome to the show. Welcome to the three Ts. Austin: Thank you. Very excited to be here, ready to talk some football. You know. Yep. TB: Sydney Sydney Sydney: Yeah. TB: had the idea that she wanted to to do a segment on fantasy because we're ready to rock and roll here in a few short weeks. So I figured, hey, let's bring Analytics Extraordinaire Austin in and he can give us the the lowdown because I have no idea what the hell is going on. So why don't you introduce yourself? Austin: Yeah, my name's Austin. I am actually studying data analytics at the University of Towson. I about to start my junior year. I'm very invested in fantasy. I play I've played football for probably twelve years now. I do basketball leagues and I also do baseball leagues. And I would say baseball is probably my main fantasy and analytics expertise, but I'm this year I'm really focusing on getting into more Of the football analytics, so I'm very excited to share what I have to say. TB: Awesome. Well, we can't wait. Sydney, take it away. You are leading the charge on this one. Sydney: Yes. Alright, so I think we all know I'm not the biggest fantasy expert. but I have been especially in the baseball side. I think I gave up because we were playing I think like our third year of fantasy baseball as a family, and about four or five weeks in I could not come back. I was in last place, so I just decided to give up. but yeah, no one likes a quitter, but TB: Nobody likes a quitter. Sydney: I told Austin yesterday that I'm out for the foreseeable future for baseball. So putting my soul focus into football and also we will never be doing basketball as well. anyway, that was horrible, but it's just too much for me to manage. There's too many games. Football is the perfect happy medium. I feel like TB: Yeah, that was a disaster, by the way. Yeah. I think we gotta try hockey though. Austin: Yeah. Sydney: I would love to do that. I mean, hey, you never know. There's you know, a few weeks a game, you're not doing it consistently all the time. So whatever. Yeah. TB: Few games a week. Sydney: So anyway, I think it's safe to say that I don't know too much about fantasy, but I am learning. I think this is probably my fourth year doing football. Fourth or fifth. and I would say it's probably my favorite. So I've started to do a little bit of research and prospecting of who I want to take. so just wanted to hear from the expert himself what he thinks on a couple different things regarding fantasy. So I made a list of questions. we'll see how many we can actually get through. So we'll see. We'll see if there's any backlash or anything from these questions. So from the expert, who are three players you think are being overvalued in fantasy this season? So there's a lot of chatter going on in the world of fantasy right now. Three players you think that are just a little bit too overrated. Austin: Yeah, so someone I've really kind of been thinking about the last, I don't know, month, which was someone I actually had on my team last year, which is Jackson Dart. he had a a great fantasy year. He was a guy who was just kind of sitting on the waiver wire. We play in a fourteen man league, so things can get pretty pretty shallow pretty quick. But he was even sitting there for that. And, you know, once he took over that QB one role in New York, he just seemed to just take off for fantasy purposes. and when I was kind of looking back into it, the main thing I noticed and something I realized last year too, which I loved, was that a lot of his fantasy value was coming with his legs. forty two and a half percent of his fantasy value came from the four hundred and eighty seven rushing yards and nine touchdowns that he had last year. And that's just not something I think will continue this year. The circumstances last year when he came in, Balink Neighbors, I think, was on the field with him for three plays. so you take that away. and then Cam Scattaboo got injured as well. So now you took away a you know, a downfield threat and a goal-line red zone threat. And I think a lot of The offensive production had to be through Jackson Dart. and he was running a lot, a lot of designed runs, a lot of scrambling, and he's a great competitor. But he spent a lot of time in the blue tent in concussion protocol, and I think that's a big concern going into this year. So I just don't think he's gonna be able to repeat that rushing production that he put up last year. And a lot of people are pushing him up really high. I've seen him kinda in the top eight. That's not somewhere I don't really w want to take him as someone I would consider as a reliable Q V one. If anything. Yeah. Yeah. TB: They're taking him in the top eight. Holy cow, did they not watch Sydney: That's crazy. TB: him get absolutely trucked in the first week of preseason? Austin: Exactly. Yeah, he's already been in TB: Mm-hmm. Austin: conclusion. He already got checked. So yeah, I just I mean, I would love to take him. And for any of these players I'm gonna mention, I would love to take them, but at the right value. I don't think there's ever a person that is, you know, a do not draft. But for him I just can't there's just other guys I like. I like Brock Purdy. I'd take Brock Purdy over him. I think that offensive scheme's awesome. that's just one name, but but yeah. Sydney: Awesome. Yeah, I think he's a very risky player. and he said multiple times in interviews he doesn't like to slide. he does have a little bit of arrogance in that regard. so I'm interested to see how his season goes this year with him, you know, just not really caring. He's a very free quarterback. So that could be great and that could be not great. So I'm interested to see. TB: Well, did did you hear his comments after the last preseason game? He's already wondering why he had to go to the blue tent. Sydney: Yeah. I mean, come on. You can't put your team at risk like that. Especially when TB: Who's smarter? Sydney: you have TB: Who's smarter, Jackson Dart, or Cam? Austin: Yeah. Sydney: I think I think they have a combined two brain cells. Austin: Yeah. TB: I mean whoa. Could they if you put them in the same room, could they spell C T E? Okay, let's move on. Anyway, take it away. Sydney: Perfect. So yeah, I think that's a great answer. do you have any other picks for overvalued players? Austin: Yeah, there's another one I got and he's coming out of Seattle. he was just drafted with the thirty-second overall pick, I believe. it's Jadarian Price. He seems to really be climbing the draft boards, a lot of hype this preseason and in camp. I mean my big thing with him is that's coming with the thought that Zach Charbonnet, who tore his ACL late in the playoffs last year, wouldn't be around. But it sounds like he's gonna come back in the first four weeks of the season. And my main issue with that is I know Kenneth Walker is now with Kansas City. but last year Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker zapped each other's production. They were constantly, they were kind of just splitting that backfield. And I just don't see Seattle just giving full range to Judarian Bright Jadarian Price. and for the first couple weeks, they also signed. Emmanuel Wilson, who I think is a pretty effective runner as well. So I think while Charbonnet is coming back, he's kinda gonna split there. And the the probably the biggest point I have for Janerian Price is he wasn't a very effective pass catcher in college. And I think that's gonna keep him off the field. he can't really be a three down back. because they they're I don't think they're gonna trust him in passing situation. Sydney: When I was reading my questions to Mike prior to us doing the podcast, a question that we'll get into later, is you know, rookies that you think will have a good impact. And that was one of his rookies. So interesting. I I'm not as familiar with him and what he did in college, so it's good to get insight there. TB: Yeah, where'd he go to school? Austin: Believe he was the backup to Jeremiah Love in Notre Dame. Sydney: Mm. Okay. TB: okay. Okay. Yeah, I don't I don't know any Austin: So he didn't get a lot of show, but TB: of these guys. Yeah. Austin: you know, looking through like the draft reports and the prospect reports, I just I noticed a lot of it was very unsure on what his passing game bump side could be. So TB: Where is he going in drafts right now? Austin: I would say he's kinda going in that R B two range and I don't believe even in our fourteen man league that how they split the backfield last year, either of those guys were very effective R B twos, they're kinda flex guys. So for TB: Okay. Austin: him I definitely want to look at him as like a flex, Sydney: Mm-hmm. Austin: if anything. TB: And and for those that might not know, Flex would be what? What does that mean? Austin: A flex is a spot where you could put in a running back, a wide receiver, or a tight end. So you can kind of put whatever in there. Sydney: Yeah, that's awesome. Well, that's a good answer for someone that might not be as familiar with like the rookie class that's coming in. Do you have another player for overvalued to kind of wrap up this section, the first question? Austin: Yeah, and it's someone I've kind of been looking at in the last week, and I've noticed a lot of experts are kinda on this as well. Trevion Henderson, he is going relatively higher than Ramondre Stevenson. And I was looking through some of the game logs from last year and the snap counts, and it just doesn't seem like they trust that that Frei will trusts him. Like especially in the playoffs, it seems like Travion was a much more reliable blocker for Drake May. so in passing situations, which Trayvon is a very explosive player, you would love to be able to dump it off to him, but I don't think they believe that he can protect Drake May in the backfield. And I think that keeps Ramandre on the field a lot more. And Ramondre was actually relatively productive last year. So I I I don't think that Trevion should be going ahead of Ramondre Stevenson. So that's why I Sydney: Mm-hmm. Austin: kinda have him as kind of overvalued. TB: Yeah, definitely. Sydney: Yeah. TB: If there's one thing we value here on the three T's is protecting Drake May at all costs. Just kidding. Austin: Yeah. Sydney: Yes, we love the Patriots. Woo-hoo. Awesome. Well, perfect. TB: boy. Next question. Austin: Yeah. Sydney: We can kind of switch gears to something that's the complete opposite of that. So do you have any players, three in particular, that you think are flying under the radar, but are, you know, just being a little bit more unrecognized? Austin: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm gonna start off with a guy who might not quite fit under this tier, but I do believe he's still being undervalued. And it's Devante Smith with the Eagles. and let me just pull up my notes real quick on him. TB: That's Sydney's favorite team. O outside the Bills. Sydney: I'm an Eagles hater, I'm sorry. Austin: Yeah. with AJ Brown kind of vacating that wide receiver one role, I think there's a lot of room for Devontae Smith to grow. he's gonna be the clear number one guy. and I know that Eagles are typically a lot more run heavy with their offense. with Saquon. they usually have a very good line. They're just usually a very good team in general. but now they have a new offensive coordinator, Sean Mannion. he used to be a quarterback in the NFL and he's talked a lot about expanding that passing attack. And I think with the the target share that Devontae Smith is gonna see this year with an expanded passing attack, he could be he's someone I would not be mad about having as like a low end wide receiver one. I think there's a TB: Wow. Austin: lot of room for him to grow. I think he's super talented. This guy won the Heisman. He can do everything. He he can go up for fifty-fifty balls. Like he and he's a smaller guy. I just he's a such a good competitor. He's so athletic. I I someone I really like. so yeah. Sydney: Yeah, as much as I don't like the Eagles, I completely agree with you. I think that he's very quick. He he's just, you know, a great all-around player. What's the other wide receiver they have? Is it Makai Lemon? Is that his name? Okay. Austin: Yes. Yep. Sydney: I know he's pretty good as well, so it'll be interesting to see how they kind of split passes. but yeah, I couldn't agree more with that. TB: Now Lemon's coming in as the rookie, right? Austin: Yes. TB: He was pretty high, pretty high draft pick. Austin: Believe he was a first rounder and then they also acquired Ontavian Wicks from Green Bay, who's getting a lot of a lot of noise in camp. So we'll see how that passing attack works out. But I think Jalen Hurts might just be peppering Devontae Smith downfield. I just think I'm not the biggest Jalen Hurts fan. I don't think he's terrible. I think he's, you know, maybe he's good. He's a good passer. He's not great. I think he is this offense and him are enough to see Damontay Smith be a low end wide receiver one. Sydney: Yeah, I agree. And they already have that connection from working together for a couple of years. So hopefully they don't do too well, but we'll see. perfect. What's another pick from you? Austin: My next one, I don't think it's very popular. It's gonna be Mike Evans. He had a very injury-riddled season last year with Tampa Bay. His a thousand-yard streak ended. It was kind of sad. You know, this guy's a future Hall of Famer. But now he goes to San Fran, which is a very potent offense typically under Kyle Shanahan, who love. And I just see With Ricky Pearsall kind of being out for the season now, there's a lot of targets downfield that are gonna go to Mike Evans. And I also see him as like one of the main red zone threats for touchdowns. So when I look at Mike Evans this year, I kind of see like a Devontae Adams sort of red zone threat for this San Fran team. And I believe in Brock Purdy and what Kyle Shanahan can put together. And I think they're gonna score. So yeah, I think Mike Evans is someone who's kinda he's going pretty late. I I would even reach for him in drafts. I th I feel pretty confident he's gonna have a good year. TB: Do you think he can reach like wide receiver two or is this more flex territory? Austin: I think he for sure could reach wide receiver two. I would be happy with him being my wide receiver two. Absolutely. TB: Yeah, Evans was a name that I was hoping the Bills would try to pursue in the offseason. maybe to to kind of push Keon Coleman down a little bit. because big bodied, catches everything. If is if he could stay on the field, he's one of those guys that is just he's he's rock solid. And I I really appreciated what he brought to the table for Tampa Bay. Sydney: Yeah, I agree. I really like Mike Evans. Have you heard about this conspiracy in for the Forty Niners of like they're located near a power plant or something and that's why everyone's getting injured? Austin: Yeah, the substation. I actually I looked into it probably two weeks ago and I w I didn't like look into like the actual like study or anything. I kind of read like the like the overview and it was basically like a few years ago they hired a private investigator and they didn't really find anything. So I think it's just something interesting for everything everyone to talk about, but I'm not sh I'm I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem like it's actually a thing. But I they got something going on over there. I don't I don't know what it is. Sydney: Hey. It got him real quick. He's already hurt. Austin: Yeah. TB: That's crazy. Sydney: but yeah, hopefully he's good. and he's back in for the regular season. I don't know if his injury is too serious, so hopefully he's all good. But perfect. What's your third person for flying under the radar? Austin: My third person is running back for the Chicago Bears. Someone I feel like just flies under the radar every year. And it's DeAndre Swift. he just consistently has been producing. This is a Ben Johnson scheme that's gonna be very potent. I I like Ben Johnson when he when he took over as the head coach for the Bears. Seems like he's got something going on over there, and that offensive line was just really good last year. And DeAndre Swift had a career year and he's e Ben Johnson's been talking about getting him more involved in the passing game. So I think there's a lot more room to grow there for him as well. So he's someone that's kind of going in like the mid twenties, early twenties. I kind of like him as like a high end running back too. I think he's someone who's just TB: Wow. Austin: gonna be able to produce every week. Quietly, he's pretty he's very efficient as well. He's a very athletic, got a lot of burst, he can do everything, so someone I've just think's being a little undervalued. TB: Sydney, did you have anything else on the bears in your questions? 'Cause I kinda wanna dig into Caleb Williams before we move on, unless you think he's gonna Sydney: No, go ahead. TB: be brought up later. Sydney: No, I I mean, unless Austin brings him up, I don't have any questions that are directly targeted at Kayla Williams. But yeah, you can go ahead and take over that. TB: I I kind of feel like he's a very polarizing player. what what are your thoughts overall on on him, on the the Bears passing attack? and we'll get to DJ Moore here at the end of this when we when we circle back to the Bills. But yeah, give me your give me your rundown on Caleb. Austin: When I watch Caleb, I just see a lot of inconsistencies. But I I think he definitely made a lot a big jump last year. He's got the talent. He does. And I think Ben Johnson's gonna be able to harness it. So I think as he grows, he's just gonna become a better player. the one thing is they did lose Luther Burden, who was supposed to be a big part of this offense, but they have Colson Loveland who's projected to be a very efficient, effective player. And then they have Roma Dunsey as well. I think as an offense this could be one of the most more high powered offenses. And possibly one of the more high powered teams. And I think Caleb Williams is kinda gonna feed off of that. And I think he could be a a good guy to have on your team. TB: Now the Burton injury, is it season ending? Austin: I believe he's out for two months. And then there'll TB: wow. Okay. Austin: be a ramp up period from there. So but he I I think he still has enough weapons there that he'll he'll be okay. TB: Yeah, I love Adunze. I I'm excited to see what he can do year two. Year two, right? Or is this year three? year three. Okay. He get Austin: Might be year three. Might be year three. Yeah. TB: he get hurt for one of the years. Austin: Can't remember that first year exactly what he did. But TB: Yeah, but yeah, I think I think he is. Where where do you see him real quick? Austin: Don't know if I dug into him too deep. TB: You see him as a low end one or or two? Austin: I could see I with my kind of early projections I see him as like a middling two right now. Yeah. I'm gonna probably change that a little bit. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. TB: Okay. With potential for maybe a little more. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I think the Bears could kind of be slinging it all over. didn't they already get lose a couple defensive players and there's some thought that they could be down in a lot of their games, so they're just gonna have to be slinging it. So hey, anyway. Sorry to interrupt. I just thought, hey, let's sidetrack real quick with the Caleb because I I think he's a very interesting player. and I'm not really sure how to view him yet, so appreciate the the side quest there. Sydney: Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, I feel like watching last season, just one more thing about Caleb before we move on. There were a couple games where I saw kind of like a wow moment. And honestly, from ones that I recall from last season, a lot of them were from Caleb Williams. He made some unreal throws, especially later in the season. I think I agree with you completely when you say that he's inconsistent. But when he makes plays, he makes wow plays, in my opinion. I'm not the biggest fan of him per se, but I think that he has a lot of talent. and I'm just excited to see what he can do. So anyway, from that, do you think that there's a position in particular that you think is the hardest to draft this year? Austin: Yeah, I and I think it's it's pretty consistent year over year and it's just it's the tight end position. Y it drops off so hard. And like in our league, we d we don't actually play tight ends 'cause we're a pretty deep league and it can just get if you you don't pick one, it can get really scary really fast. So I think QB is like there's a lot of value in there. But tight end, like there's when I make my rankings, I'm looking at tiers and TB: Yeah. Austin: the the gaps in the tiers for tight end are just insane. It's like falling off a cliff multiple times. You know, your your first two guys are Brock Bowers and Craig McBride. Those are your those are your studs. Like for our purposes, like they're going to be drafted even though we don't have a tight end spot because they are just so talented. They're huge parts of that offense. But it's like once you get down to like the twelve t to thirteen range, that's like the end of like where you actually wanna draft a tight end. So if you are in a league, which you probably are, that drafts tight ends, I just wanna you to make sure you're not waiting too long. I would try and get like a Harold fan in. I don't think people are taking him too high. And I know Cleveland's not the greatest team to with fantasy value, but a lot of their plays are gonna scheme up Harold Fannon because he's just such a reliable player, especially if you're playing P PR. TB: Wait, is this for the listening audience, is this a homer pick? Are you picking Harold Fannon from your Cleveland Browns? Austin: I am, I am. I just there's only a few players I get to watch every year that get me excited. And last year was Judkins and it was Harold Fannon. That guy just catches everything, gets open. It's just it's just awesome. TB: Well who will be throwing him the rock there in the dog pound? Austin: I feel like early on it's gonna probably be Deshaun. but yeah, yeah. TB: Deshaun the villain Watson from the last episode? Austin: Yeah, I I personally would rather just see Shador go play 'cause obviously we're probably not gonna win anything this year. We have a lot of things to be excited about. this is probably one of the younger offenses we've had in a very long time, especially our offensive line. It's kind of just overhauled, we've got a ton of new pieces. So but yeah, yeah. TB: And a rumor has it that you will be in Cleveland for Saturday night's Browns Bills game. Is that also true? Austin: I will be. I'm going to see Shador Sanders. I wanna Sydney: Yeah. Austin: go see what he's got. I wanna see these new wide receivers as well. Hearing a lot of great things about Denzel Boston, who's kind of our ex receiver, so I'm excited. TB: I wanna see a detailed breakdown of Shador versus Kyle Allen. Austin: Perfect. I'll be happy to put that together. Sydney: And if you have a nice watch, just make sure you wear it. Cause he's all about them watches, is that right? Austin: Absolutely. Absolutely. TB: Who's this? Shador? Sydney: You never seen this. Austin: Should all right. TB: No, I I guess I don't I don't know that. Is that the Sally? Is that the the Austin: Yeah, yeah. Sydney: Yeah. TB: okay. All right. Okay. hey. Anyway. Sydney: Come on, you gotta get hip, all right? No, that should be a good time. perfect. No, I think that's a great answer. TB: Well, real quick on the the tight ends. So how many well first question, if McBride and Bowers were wide receivers, where would you pick them? Austin: Ooh. Hmm. I would probably probably take them around like round four. TB: Okay. Austin: Round four ish, yeah. TB: Okay. So you're you if position, you know, if they're still holding their their their tight end position, which they they are, how early do you recommend people snag Same same position, right? Right around four, four, five? Austin: I would say if you have a tight end spot in your league you should probably take them earlier because wide receiver's pretty deep. So if you TB: Yeah. Austin: want to pass on a wide receiver there and kinda take a step up on people with the tight end position, maybe like a round two pick. TB: Wow. Austin: round two, end of round two, something like that. TB: Okay. Austin: but yeah. 'Cause I feel like you can definitely make up for it a little bit better later in the draft, especially with someone like Mike Evans. Be perfect. Because he's he's just going so late, I feel like that's a value. TB: Do you think Bowers is gonna be affected if they switch to Mendoza sooner than ra rather than later? Austin: think last year was kind of just like an injury injury riddled kind of season for him and he still had some like really good games so I just think he's kind of the focal point of that offense. TB: Yeah. Austin: So it's just they're just gonna pepper him. TB: Make sense. Sydney: Yeah, that'll be interesting to see. I'm gonna write all these down, by the way, to make sure that I'm drafting effectively. TB: You can't draft all these guys. Although Sydney: Yeah. TB: this is a pretty good team, led by Shador Sanders. Sydney: Yeah, exactly. Austin: No. Sydney: Well, speaking of drafting effectively and taking players too early or too late, do you have any players in mind that you think could potentially disappoint fantasy managers? Austin: I do. And it's a pretty interesting take and I've thought a lot about it. But I've seen a lot of stuff. ESPN's kinda released some articles about it. And the player I decided to go with was Jonathan Taylor. TB: Hm. Austin: he had a great year last year. I believe he was like running back two for our league. but he had s a very extreme workload. and I'm kinda scared that we're gonna see something like we saw with Saquon Barkley, who had a great twenty twenty four season, and then his efficiency was just way worse last year to where I I don't even know what where he finished. It was probably around ten, like he was getting drafted at the top of drafts and he was just did not Bring that value for fantasy managers. And I think we're gonna see something similar with Jonathan Taylor. Sydney: Yeah, that's really interesting. I think you kind of see that a lot. There's a very few amount of players that consistently perform year after year. But I feel like when, like you mentioned with Saquon, when you just have a year that's just so unbelievably amazing, you're bound to not be able to replicate that a second year. so I think that'll be really interesting to see how he performs after coming off such a good year. that's a great pick that honestly I didn't even think about. Austin: Yeah, it's just it's just mainly the just the physical toll. I mean, these people are they're humans, they're not superheroes. TB: Yeah. Sydney: Right. Austin: they're getting tackled over and over again. These workloads are just so big. You know, running back see the careers are not very long. It's because they just Sydney: Mm-hmm. Austin: take a beating year over year. So when you have these guys who just take these massive workloads, except Derek Henry, who just he's just a monster. He just seems to perform every year. and be effective. I just think Jonathan Taylor just might take a step back in efficiency. I think there's a great floor there if you take him. I like I still think he's an RB one, but I don't think he's going to be a top three running back like he was last year. Sydney: Mm-hmm. Dad, do you have any comments? TB: are they getting their their quarterback back and and is that gonna take some of the pressure off them? Austin: They are. He's I feel like he's coming off of the Achilles. TB: Yeah. Austin: I just I just don't know how mobile he's gonna be. And I now without Michael Pittman and it sounds like Alec Pierce is a little banged up. defenses might just be like, Hey, we can't let Jonathan Taylor take us out. Yeah. Yeah. TB: Stack the box, right? Yeah. Yeah. Austin: Un until these Colts wide receivers can prove that like, hey, you gotta respect us. I do like Tyler Warren. But Sydney: Yeah, that's gonna be a really tough division, in my opinion. I think it's gonna be interesting to see who kind of comes out on top of that one. Okay, last question to kind of wrap it up. Do you have any rookies in mind that you think have the best chance to make an immediate impact on people's fantasy teams this season? Austin: Yeah, absolutely. And I think you just gotta look at the NFL draft's first round and it's it's Jeremiah Love. This guy looks unbelievable. He can do it all. He's a big back. I think he's a workhorse guy. And I've noticed people are kinda like fading him because they're afraid of what happened with Genty last year when he was on the Raiders. They think that this Cardinals team is gonna just be Terrible, the line's gonna be terrible. There's no other weapons. And personally, I just don't believe that. I was looking at some of the offensive line metrics last year, and the Arizona Cardinals were middle of the pack in run block win rate win rate. I don't think that is gonna be as bad as with Genty. Genty was getting blown up behind the TB: Yeah. Austin: line. but then also The Arizona Cardinals have Jacoby Brissett, who I think is fine. I don't think he's the best quarterback. I think he's serviceable, but it's mainly they have Trey McBride, they have Marvin Harrison Jr. and they have Michael Wilson, who I I think those are great weapons to have. So I think that will take a lot of the pressure off of Jeremiah Love. He's also a great receiving back. So I just think there's a lot of stuff that Jeremiah can love can do. provide for this offense. TB: I I think Harrison's gonna have a bounce back year. He severely underperformed last year and coming into training camp, people were not high on him whatsoever. he can't be this bad, can he? Am I crazy? Austin: No, I think he's a physical freak. I think he'll f he's gonna f find it at some point. Sydney: Yeah, that was the literal next words out of my mouth is that I think he's gonna come into this season with a chip on his shoulder. I think that he knows that he, you know, to put it bluntly, sucked last year and he let a lot of people down. and I don't think a player like him takes that lightly. So yeah, not to take it away from love. I think that he's gonna be great as well, but I do think what you said about him, he he's he's gonna come in with a major, major chip on his shoulder and he's gonna really perform, in my opinion. TB: How earlier is he being taken in drafts? Austin: Believe he's kinda early third, late second round. TB: Wow. And is that pretty rare for a a rookie? Historically? Austin: I believe Genty Genty was a first round pick. And I think this TB: Wow. Austin: is a reaction to what happened with Genty last year. Even though Genty was, I believe, a top fifteen, maybe twelve running back last year. TB: Yeah. Austin: I think people are just really scared of the situation. And like I said, I just I'm not that scared of it. The only thing I would say is that division's tough. They gotta play the Rams and the Seahawks. that's four games right there of a super tough defense. TB: Yeah. Austin: But I think this offense is a lot better than the Raiders last year. I think Gerald my love might actually be a better talent than Genty. So the only TB: Wow. Okay. But if they yeah, if Aaron Donald comes back to the Rams with Miles Garrett, I don't know if you should start anybody against Austin: That's scary. TB: against that line. Austin: Yeah, that's very scary. But the only thing and the last thing I wanted to add about Jeremiah Love is he did suffer a high ankle sprain in the first preseason game. TB: geez. Austin: So I'm not sure I'm not exactly sure if he'll be ready for week one. It sounds like if anything, he'll just miss the first game and be fine after that, but TB: Okay. Austin: that's kind of the only thing to really be worried about there. Sydney: Have been seeing this stuff in social media where it's like, LaFleur said this about love and you're like, Wait, which team are we talking about? Austin: Yeah. Yep. Yeah, I heard that the other day. I was like, wait, hold What are we talking about? Sydney: It's just kind of funny. Austin: Jordan love? TB: okay. Well, who's the Cardinals coach now? Are they brothers? Sydney: LaFlour. Number two. TB: Are they are they brothers? I did not know this. Sydney: I think they are brothers. Austin: Yeah, that's true. Sydney: Or somehow related in some capacity, but it's just funny, like the reporters will put that in social media, and I just thought it was funny when he mentioned love. but yeah, I completely agree. All those picks are are very valid and honestly kind of open my eyes to some players to look out for that I didn't have on my list. but do you guys have any other comments on any of those things? TB: Yeah, can we turn our attention to the fantasy implications of the greatest team on the planet, the Buffalo Bills? Sydney: Ya I was gonna get there. TB: I'm sorry, I'm like just chomping at the bit over here. I can't wait to s the Sydney: You took I had a saying up and everything. I said we were gonna circle the wagons back to the bills and you took it out of my mouth. No, too late now. Go ahead. TB: T that's fantastic. I love it. Go for it. I'm not stealing your thunder. I just thought you were done. So hey, we're still working out Sydney: No, no. TB: this h hosting gig. What you got? Sydney: No, go ahead. Hey, take the floor. TB: All right, hit us. Austin: Yeah, for TB: Hit us. What what do you think of the Bills? First of all, why why do you think they're gonna win the Super Bowl? And then tell us who the greatest fantasy players are on this squad. Austin: Well, it's hard to turn turn away from Josh Allen. I mean that's he's in a tier of his own at at number one there. that's the best quarterback to take. If you if you want to reach for your quarterback, I that's the only guy I would do it for. TB: Yeah. How early are we looking to take Josh Allen? Austin: It depends what your strategy is and it depends on how kind of your draft room breaks down. I I personally want to go I wouldn't go as early as like round two. I think I'd wait till round three. And of course it depends on who you're drafting with. You know, Bill a Bills fan might take him early round two, you're not gonna have a chance. But I think for that scenario it's okay because I think quarterbacks are so deep this year that you can get a running back in that round and kind of offset not having the best quarterback in fantasy. TB: I think one member currently in this room drafted him number one overall two years ago. And that was your boy TV. Austin: Yeah. Sydney: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, I just did a mock draft the other day. I took him round two. I mean, like you said, it has a lot to do with who you're drafting with. So when we have a lot of Bills fans in our in our circle, so he's kind of a hot commodity. So I feel like if you have the chance to take him, you kinda should. TB: Well, plus there's the idea, right, of just getting players that you love on your team because fantasy we're we're not playing in these high stakes leagues for tens of thousands of dollars, you know. And we're we're we're here to have fun. So at the end of the day, like I want players on my team that I actually root for. You'll never find Drake May or any of those turds from the Patriots on my team. It's just never gonna happen. So you know, Patty Mahomes is not riding my bench. Or maybe I draft him and he never plays a game for me. Just because. So fan, Sydney: Yeah. TB: but you know, I but to your point, like you gotta recognize, hey, who am I in this league with? Because Mike, I think took Josh first overall last year. Is that is that right? Or was it pretty early? Maybe he didn't go one last year. No, I don't think he did. Austin: Not not c exactly sure. TB: But he went pretty early last year. But anyway, like we we don't necessarily follow the official ranking structure when it comes to Josh Allen. Who else you who d who else do you like for the Bills? Austin: I I love James Cook. I think it's such a good situation. I I've been you know, coming out of the dra when he got drafted, I wasn't sure how I really felt about him. I didn't see him as like very physically talented. I kind of saw him as kind of a smaller back. and he just continues to just be such an effective runner. And especially he scores a lot of touchdowns. TB: Yeah. Austin: and I think a lot of that is The Bills run blocking is just amazing. I was looking over kind of some of those metrics earlier and they were number one last year by like a good bit in run block win rate. So I think as long as that, you know, run blocking scheme kinda stays together, James Cook can just destroy in that backfield. TB: Sydney, what do you think about that? Sydney: Yeah, I completely agree. I think I saw a lot of really good run blocking out of Knox and Kincaid last year. they're just so big and physical. And I think that that, you know, not just them alone, but they contribute so much to to James Cook's success on the team. And we've brought this up multiple times with with Cook. He's such a patient runner. He is so strategic in the way that he runs and the routes that he takes. And I feel like you don't see that a lot. He is just so shifty in his movements and he really just takes a second to kind of scan everything before he actually makes the move. he's just so effective. I love him as a person. I think that he's so humble and he's just a really cool guy all around. So I love James Cook. If I had the chance to take him, I would. I think I had him last year in one of my leagues. and he was awesome. So TB: The thing I appreciate about Cook is he never seems to take the big hit. He always seems to manage to evade at the very last second and kind of either crumple one way or the other and avoid just getting absolutely plastered. So hopefully that that continues this year. But yeah, to your point, Austin, last year he led the league in rushing. Two years ago, I think he was up there as one of the top touchdown scorers. So I don't see The carries being as high this year, which kind of is gonna lead me to the next topic, DJ Moore, just because they finally made a huge investment in that wide receiver to kind of help strengthen that wide receiver core. And I'm hoping by doing so, it'll take some of the pressure off James Cook. I I do think he's gonna see substantial workload. That's not what I'm saying, but I think it shouldn't be as much as last year. Now that we could kind of throw the ball around. So let's talk DJ Moore. I've heard some fantasy experts say that they think DJ Moore is washed. And when I heard that argument, I was kind of like, where are you even getting this based on you know the numbers in Chicago last year? but I saw that bear situation almost like there's too many cooks in the kitchen here. There's too many mouths to feed, and it just so happened that DJ Moore was a byproduct of that. What How do you see this situation? Austin: I think for football for the Bills, I think it's a great addition. I don't think the Bills have had a wide receiver of this caliber probably since Diggs was there. TB: Right. Yeah. Austin: And now I think when Diggs was there he was a better receiver than DJ Moore is now, but I I still think DJ Moore is a very effective receiver. but when it comes to fantasy, it's just really tough because Josh Allen really likes to just spread the ball. It seems like that offense, he kind of TB: Yeah. Austin: just gets it everywhere. And on top of that, they they just, I believe they were 31st in pass rate last year. Like the Bills just really like to run the ball. Even if they run it less, there's just not a lot of passing that's going around. So it's really tough for DJ Moore to be like a top wide receiver. But I kind of looking at him like a wide receiver too. I think. I think he's can be very effective. I think he will probably be eleven hundred yards maybe. Probably TB: Okay. Austin: I think he'll get to a thousand yards, maybe like not quite like double I don't think he's gonna put up like double digit touchdowns or anything, but maybe to like the six to eight range. TB: You see like ninety or so catches or can he can he cross the hundred hundred catch threshold? Austin: Let me see what I got him here. I don't know if I would go that high. I don't know if he'll get to the 100 catch threshold. I could see probably like 80. I TB: Okay. Austin: just think it's just such a spread the love type of offense up there. I'm TB: Yeah. Austin: not exactly sure if they're trying to make him the focal point of that offense, but just with how much they run the ball, it's just very tough to get a guy who's a wide receiver to be kinda like that stud. And I know Stefan Diggs put up some really good seasons there, but like I said, I just I don't think DJ Moore is that caliber of player. But I think it would be very effective for this team. TB: Yeah, I I agree with you. And what we've seen recently is Josh will throw the ball to people he trusts. And it's gotten harder and harder to get guys on the field that he actually trusts that can consistently catch the ball. So we've seen it already in training camp and preseason. Sydney and I talked about it just from the first preseason game. He caught, let me pull it up. He three catches for 61 yards for DJ Moore already. So that trust is already locked in. and that's kind of what's giving me this, hey, maybe I bump them up a little bit. I don't want to go crazy, obviously, but and Sydney and I have talked about this before. I think with the new defense that the Bills are bringing in with with the whole new scheme and and a a lot of new faces on the defensive side of the ball, I think the offense is gonna have to carry this team and they're gonna have to score points, at least for the first half of that season. So I I'm hoping it's bombs away pedal to the metal. I I've been h hoping to see that, but they just haven't had the firepower to do it. So, but in my opinion, with a three-headed monster of James Cook, DJ Moore, and my one of my favorite players, Dalton Kincaid, and we kind of talked about tight end already. Dalton Kincaid is the wild card on this offense. If he can stay healthy, when he is healthy, when he is on that field, the Bills offense just hums. There's I don't know. And and if he could stay healthy for a whole season, I could see him being a top six to eight tight end. Am I crazy? Austin: I think he could definitely get into that top ten range. I would just love to see him healthy. I mean he he's an awesome athlete. I liked him when he when the Bills drafted him. I just wish that, you know, he got a little bit more run, a little bit more targets, but like you said, he's just been hurt so much, it's really tough to kind of get him up there. TB: Yeah. Sydney, what you got anything else? Any other bills you think are important? Should we talk kickers? Tyler Bass? What? What? Sydney: I mean, we kinda got into this last week. The only player on the team that really makes me nervous is is Tyler Bass. I didn't watch the preseason game. I know he missed one. I don't know. But I do wanna ask you, we talked about this last week. Would you hang your hat on the Josh Palmer? Austin: Josh Joshua Palmer. Sydney: Yeah. TB: We are going way deep Austin: I kinda TB: in the fantasy rankings here. Is he even on your list? Sydney: I mean you asked me this last week or you brought this up last week so I just wanna see what he has to say about it. Austin: I don't think he's very fan like like I said, it's just it's really tough to get a lot of passing volume in that offense with how much they like to run the ball. so yeah, I don't think Joshua Palmer is very fantasy relevant unless, you know, injuries occur. TB: Well, let's go one one step up, maybe two steps up the the ladder to Khalil Shakir, Sydney's favorite bill outside of Josh. Look, DJ Moore is clearly the number one target now. Shakir was kind of a borderline wide receiver four, maybe real low end three last year. What where do you see him? Is he even draftable anymore? What what do you think? Austin: I think in deeper leagues for sure, but TB: Okay. Austin: in like standard like tenteen leagues, I'd probably stay away from him. TB: Yeah. Austin: but I feel like Josh Allen has liked to throw the ball to him in the past. I still think he's gonna have a part in this offense. It's just it's tough. Like you said, DJ Moore is gonna take a lot of that target share now. TB: Yeah. Sydney: Yeah, I agree with that. I just hope he takes more passes than four to five yards. I'd like to see him go a little bit deeper than that, but we'll see. I have a lot of hopes for him. TB: The the Shakir, Shakir and Prey, I hope is not part of the repertoire this year as far as the pass to the line of scrimmage and then pray he can break eleven tackles to get to the end. So I don't Sydney: Yeah. TB: know. We got anything else on the Bills or what do you think, Sid? Sydney: No, that's all the questions I had. I wasn't sure how long it was gonna take, so I only put five, but hey, we can do this more often and I'll I'll s bring up some more questions. TB: Well, we've almost talked an hour. Yeah, 20 minutes turned into an hour. So yeah, this has been awesome. Thank you very much for for joining the show. half these guys I've never heard of. So clearly I am not the expert to ask about any fantasy questions. So great job. We we really appreciate your your insight and your expertise and can't wait to see what happens. But we did forget one thing. Sydney forgot to ask you the random question out of nowhere. So we're gonna do it before you get out of here. So you Austin: Yeah. TB: are hit with the question out of nowhere Cleveland style. Who is the better all time Cleveland WWE wrestler? Is it Logan Paul or the Miz? Austin: you know, from my perspective on this, I haven't really been back in the day I used to watch a lot of WWE when The Miz was around. So I I haven't really seen much of Logan Paul. So I'm gonna have to go with the Miz, even though he was kind of a heel when I watched him back in the day. Him and John Cena, my favorite. Always going at it, but I did enjoy watching the Miz so and I I see him at games that and stuff when I go up there. my grandparents have season tickets, so I get up there as much as I can with school and and work and stuff, but I'd have to go with the Miz. TB: I think that is the only acceptable answer because he's been in what 20 year career already? He's been a multi-time champion, Grand Slam champion, meaning he's held every one of the belts. So I think that is a perfectly fine, acceptable, correct answer. So way to crush your random question out of nowhere for your debut here on the three Ts. Austin: Thank you, thank you. TB: Well, it's awesome having you. We really appreciate it. And we'll have to have you back on. Maybe you can tell us about the Bills Browns game. Austin: That would be awesome. Thank you for having me. This has been great. TB: All right, we appreciate it. We'll talk soon. All right. See ya. Austin: Sounds good. Bye. TB: All right. Well, that was awesome. I I am way behind on my fantasy research for the year. so yeah, that was extremely helpful. what do you what did you think? Sydney: Yeah. I think that, you know, like I said at the beginning, I have gotten more into fantasy within the past couple of seasons. but it's nice to look at it from an analytical side because I feel like TB: Yeah. Sydney: a lot of the time I'm picking players based on, you know, people that I just like. but it's kind of nice to dig a little bit deeper and see, you know, where these players were in college and, you know, where they're ranking now and maybe some Players, like you said, that you've never heard of before. so just good to get a different perspective and a little bit more of that deeper knowledge. TB: Yeah, that's awesome. And I don't really watch a ton of college football. So the only time I'm hearing of these guys is around draft. And then when we get to fantasy, as far as, you know, great, great question that you had as far as far as implications of some of these rookies coming into the league and what impact they can have on your fantasy season. So yeah, I thought that was great. Great, great job. But are you ready to talk a little wrestling? Because we didn't get to talk much about this last week. Sydney: Yeah. TB: It's time to play everyone's favorite game. What's the gimmick? Are you ready? Sydney: I'm ready. I missed this last week. TB: So if you could remind the audience what your job is here while I get this set up. Sydney: Yeah. So essentially he's gonna show me a photo of a wrestler that most likely wrestled like a while ago, like before my time, and I have to come up with what I think their name would be and what their gimmick would be. TB: So are you ready to play? All right, Sydney: Yes. TB: let's see if this works. Here you go. Sydney: No dear TB: First of all, ex describe for the listening audience what exactly you are seeing. Sydney: So this guy looks like well he's wearing a button up white shirt with a red tie, red TB: Okay. Okay. Sydney: suspenders, and some black pants, and he's wearing some glasses with a nice slick back hairstyle. TB: Okay. Any initial thoughts, feelings, anything stand out before we before we we we move Sydney: He TB: we proceed with this game. Sydney: I mean, I feel like I know what his gimmick is, but I mean he TB: Really? Sydney: I I think I mean I could be wrong, but TB: Well, first question have you ever seen this wrestler before? Sydney: No, but he looks just like the the dad actor on Dog with a Blog. TB: You wanna talk out of nowhere. I have no idea what that is. Dog with Sydney: Yes you do. It was on Disney Channel, Dog with a blog y we watched as kids. TB: a blog. Okay, I don't believe this wrestler starred in that hit television show. So do you wanna take a guess or should I give you hint number one? 'Cause what I've decided is I'm gonna give you some hints. Sydney: Okay, can I guess what his gimmick is? Or do you want me to ask for it? Okay. TB: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, guess what the gimmick is. Sydney: I think that he's some sort of professor. That's my guess. TB: Okay, like a teacher or college okay, not Sydney: Yeah, yeah. TB: not bad, not bad. Would you happen to give a name like I loved the name drop that you you you come up with? So do you have a name for this wrestler first? So you think he's a professor, so what is his wrestling name? Sydney: Professor Pipe Baum. TB: Professor Pipe Baum from the WWF. Okay, all right. Okay, are you ready for hint number one? Sydney: I don't know. Yes. TB: His occupation is basically his gimmick. Sydney: Okay, so yeah, he's a professor or a teacher. TB: Okay. So you're gonna stick with it. Do you wanna you wanna change it? Sydney: What else he could be? TB: All right, are you ready for hint number two? Sydney: Yeah. TB: Most Americans are not excited when someone from this organization contacts them. Sydney: Is he an insurance agent? I know. I don't know. That's like the only thing I can think of. TB: That's not that's not bad. That's not bad. That's not bad. All right, I have one more hint for you. Are you ready? Unless you wanna take another stab at this. Sydney: really confused now after that one. Okay, give me the third hint. TB: Hint number three, April fifteenth is his WrestleMania. Sydney: April fifteenth. my is it tax season? Is that April fifteenth? TB: You you are in the right ballpark. Ding ding ding. Come on, put it all together. Sydney: He's a tax agent? I don't know, I guess. TB: This is none other. Are you ready for the reveal? His wrestling name is Erwin R. Schyster, aka I R S. Sydney: okay, clever. TB: His his gimmick, he's essentially a bad, evil tax collector. Have you ever heard of this guy? Sydney: Never what the heck? TB: So look, we all we always try to bring things back to my favorite wrestler, Bray Wyatt. This is his dad. Can you believe it? This is Mike Rotunda, aka I R S. Mike Rotunda is his real name. and this character, IRS, debuted in 1991 as the world's most obnoxious tax collector. And he this was the gear that he wrestled in. So white dress shirt. tie glasses, red suspenders, and he would always talk about he would lecture the fans about paying their taxes on time and called he called everyone tax cheats. it it it was it was crazy gimmick because he was so hated that it it was it just worked. And he eventually teamed up with the million dollar man Ted Dibiase. They formed a tag team called Money Inc. obviously you've heard of The million dollar man, or should I not have guessed that? So you pair you pair Sydney: Yeah. No, I know that. I know who that is. TB: the million dollar man with IRS, the tax collector, great, great combo. So they became tag team champions a few times. It it was it was good. It was pretty good. So if this gimmick were to debut in 2026, do you think this gimmick would work today? Sydney: Don't think so. I think you would be kind of more of like a jobber situation where maybe he's like not a super well performing wrestler, more of just like kind of a funny gimmick kind of guy. TB: Yeah. Sydney: I don't know. I bet he hated to wrestle in that outfit because I'm sure that was not very comfortable. TB: Well, that's not bad with the the professor pipe bomb, I believe you you guessed. professor. So yeah, yeah, that's not bad. So what did you think of of IRS? Sydney: Yeah, very clever name. I honestly would not have thought of that. But no, I didn't even think that he was a a tax collector. I immediately thought teacher. TB: Yeah, it it was definitely an interesting character, but yeah, I thought I thought you did great. So we're kind of gonna change the generation here and and move to the current day. And I wanted to try to play you. I thought I thought this would be cool because you are not really familiar with the current product. So I want to play you a entrance to someone, and I want you to watch the entrance. And kind of give me your thoughts. What do you what do think? All right. So Sydney: Yeah, that sounds good. TB: I'm gonna play you. The entrance from WrestleMania that I was at. Can you see this? Sydney: Yeah. TB: So just here we go. So describe what you are seeing. Sydney: I mean this guy is a freaking unit. He's huge. TB: All right, so now what do you see him doing? Sydney: He's doing like this little dance and everyone's doing it. TB: First of all, do you know who this is? Sydney: Well, I saw the there's George Kittle. TB: There's George Kittle, there's Halliburton. These guys are everywhere. Sydney: It's over over farming. TB: Oba Femi, right. So I'm gonna fast forward a little bit. Cause he sh he does the oba strut for a while to get to the ring. Sydney: Were you doing it in the crowd? TB: absolutely. I was absolutely doing this. All right, now check this part out. It's a little cooler when the lights are completely off, but check this part out. All right, so What'd you think? Sydney: It was pretty sick. I've never seen him before. I know you've talked about him before and I'm I've never seen what he actually looks like or what he does. So that was pretty sick. I mean TB: So never Sydney: you TB: never having seen that entrance before, right? You never saw that. So obviously you saw him do the we called it the obest. I don't I don't know what it's specifically called, but the whole audience was joining in. So just seeing the entrance for the first time and the whole deal, do you feel like this guy is a big deal? Sydney: for sure. Yeah, you can tell by just the crowd's reaction. I mean, when you get a whole crowd of people to do something, I mean it kind of is similar in my mind to like Daniel Bryan. Like when everyone was doing the the yes. Like that's when you TB: The yes chant. Sydney: know that it's like infectious. and that you're polarizing. So I mean, from that, yeah, it looks like he's a pretty big deal. TB: So you think he feels he he has the feeling of a star. Did anything Sydney: Mm-hmm, for sure. TB: specifically stand out to you in that entrance? Sydney: I mean, his presence just like fills the arena. TB: Yeah. Sydney: And you don't really get that with everyone. Not everyone has it. And I know we talked about this a few episodes ago, but when someone can take the crowd and just have everyone locked in on what you're doing, there's people that are will come down the ramp and people don't really care. People don't pay attention. TB: Yeah, exactly. Sydney: so when, you know, everybody is so locked in on you and and when you're coming to the ring and it's your match, you know, that's that's when it's like, okay, this is this guy's a big deal. TB: So do you think and and put him kinda to the side for just a second, but do you think the entrance matters that much for a wrestler? Sydney: Absolutely. TB: Okay. Sydney: When you're and I can think of multiple people right off the bat, when there's a moment in wrestling where it's kind of silent and you don't know what's about to happen next, kind of like Royal Rumble. Like you TB: Yeah. Sydney: you have no idea who's about to walk down. And when you hear their music hit, like that's when you know all about the person. Their music sucks. If you don't even recognize their music. It's kinda like, like you don't really care. But like when TB: Ha ha ha. Sydney: when you hear John Cena or The Rock or The Undertaker, my gosh, when you heard The Undertaker's music, it's like everyone was so locked in on what was about to happen. And his entrance is just so TB: Okay. Sydney: polarizing. That's like one of the most iconic ones that I can even think of. He is just his entrance was absolutely iconic. TB: Yeah, no, I I totally agree. I I don't think you can undersell how important an entrance is. I'm not saying it's like a hundred percent of the of the person, but it can make or break the wrestler. I mean, but on the flip side, there's guys with great entrances that just couldn't wrestle once they got to the ring. So I think it plays a huge part. You don't want to have a trash entrance and then expect everyone to to be cheering for you by the time you get to the ring. It it doesn't really work that way. But so now that you've seen his entrance, if you knew nothing else about Oba Femi up to this point, would you expect him to be a future world champion? Sydney: Yeah, I think so. Just like his presence alone. TB: So yeah. So what makes what do you think makes someone look and let's just talk looks look like a main event star. You you had mentioned it before the word presence. What what do you think? Is it more than that or is it just kind of what what Sydney: Honestly, I feel like you just either have it or you don't. TB: Yeah. Sydney: And sometimes it has nothing to do with how you look. It has nothing to do with your physique or your entrance. Like you said, like you can have a good entrance and just not be a star. I think it just has so much to do with the it factor, your presence, like who you are. And not everyone has that and that's fine. But he definitely does. TB: Yeah, I agree. do you think the WWE can manufacture a superstar as far as like create a champion? Or do you think it's ultimately the audience that has a bigger say, if you will, and ultimately what happens to these people? Sydney: Yeah, I mean there's a lot of different elements to the WWE. I think you have to be good at so many different things. And part of that is, you know, can be manufactured by the WWE. They can kind of put people on pedestals, and, you know, for lack of a better term, it just kind of shove people down your throat to TB: Yeah. Sydney: get them to try and like you. But I think that only goes so far. if you continuously try to do that and the audience just doesn't like you, it's it's not gonna work. So I think it has a lot to do with, you know, all those different elements. The the STARP, you know, the it factor that you have, if people don't like you, then they they don't like you. And that can change really fast, but TB: Yeah. Well, I thought it was absolutely. I I agree with you 100%. So I wanted to play that entrance for you because obviously that was his big WrestleMania match versus Brock Lesnar. That was the match that started night two. So when Jamie and I were there for WrestleMania night two, this was the entrance that started the show. So you want to talk Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: getting people invested. And then he had his match with Brock, he beat Brock there. Brock kind of did this retirement thing. Everyone thought he was going to be done. And then lo and behold, the WWE kind of, I think, convinced him to come back for a few more matches. They had match number two, which Brock won, and then match number three they just had at SummerSlam a few weeks back. And this was the hell in a cell match, which Obafemi won. Now, immediately following that match, Brock Lesnar took the microphone. And he basically held Oba's hand in the air and said, This is the future. I am the past. This is the future of the company. So Brock is verbally endorsing this guy in front of the entire world. And I just thought, hey, let's let's play this entrance alone and get your take on do we think that that could be could could you see that happening? Just getting your perspective as someone that's really not completely glued into the the pr current product. But I just thought that would be an interesting exercise. Sydney: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I know you've talked about him before and just seeing him kinda in the flush. It's like it's really crazy. TB: Yeah, dude is and and not only that, but you know how some of these guys can't even talk once they get a mic, they can't cut a promo. This dude is like silky smooth, he can talk with anybody. I think I think he is absolutely the future of the company. He's very young. he came from like a track and field background. He was a shot putter in college. Dude was and then they they found him. I I don't know. They you know how they kinda just tour and like go after certain athletes. Well they they handpicked Sydney: Yeah. TB: this guy to be to to have an audition and he's been fast tracked ever since. So I I think the the sky's the limit for for Oba Femia. So it's it's pretty s pretty exciting. So I I love seeing Sydney: Yeah. TB: some of these guys and girls come from different backgrounds into the into the the WWE. But Let's let's close this out real quick with some some cardboard talk, some, some card, some card discussion. We we had done the one of one Mickey guess the price a few weeks back. Do you remember this? Sydney: Yeah. TB: And ended up selling in 2023, I believe, for like 500,000. Well, this same card is up for auction. Have you seen this? Sydney: No. TB: It is currently up for auction for guess the price now. Sydney: One point five mil. TB: 20 million dollars. It is up for auction. Now I'm not saying it's gonna sell for twenty million dollars, but that same car that three years ago sold for half a mil is now on the block for five twenty twenty million dollars. That's that's insane, right? Sydney: That's I like I said, I don't understand this market, but it's crazy. TB: And then if you recall, I did the other one with the Macklin Celebrini one of one card we showed. I was it two weeks ago? Yeah, two weeks back. It was the one of one and it went to auction. And we were thinking at the time, I think currently the auction was at like 200,000 right around there, two, two twenty or something. And we thought, well, maybe Sydney: Right. TB: it, maybe it'll hit half a million. Well, that card sold for one point two eight million. So not bad. Not bad for hockey, not bad for Sydney: Wow. TB: for good old Macklin. So Sydney: Yeah. TB: I was pretty pretty happy to see that. That was kind of cool. but the final topic that I wanted to hit on, have you heard of the product Disney Lorcana? Sydney: Loricon? No. I've never heard of that. TB: Yeah, Lorcana. It's L-O-R-C-A-N-A. Have you heard of this? Sydney: No. TB: First of all, do you know what a TCG is? It's Sydney: No. TB: it's a it's called a trading card game. Do you know I'm sure you've heard of Pokemon before? So Sydney: Right. TB: Pokemon is like the biggest T C product in the world. In fact, it's almost more popular than most. most I don't I don't have the total numbers, but I think it's probably the most popular trading card on the planet. The amount of Pokemon that's that's sold. Well, Disney created their own trading card game back in 2023 and it uses all the characters from all the movies and shows and all that stuff. Well I accidentally went down a crazy rabbit hole and I am I I I'm hooked because The artwork on some of this stuff is awesome. I'm gonna show you some of these cards. these are See if you could see that. Sydney: Hm. Yeah, that's really cool. TB: This is an Aladdin and Genie card from the latest set that was released. Now they they come out with a new a new series every three months. So for a year. This is called Attack of the Vine. And this is one of the highlighted cards in that. This is this is a so, like in baseball and things like that, they have different rarities of sports cards. They also have the same thing in Lorcana. This is called the Enchanted Rarity. So here's Rapunzel, a Rapunzel Enchanted. Let me try to bring up one that I really think is awesome. This is one of my favorite ones. Tell me if you could see that. Sydney: Yeah, Sully. TB: So Sully and Boo on this card together from obviously Monsters Inc., this is a rare enchanted card. Some of these cards, now these are selling for like right around 100 bucks. That one is currently being listed for 260. Here's another hot one with Buzz and Woody on it. Can you see that one? What do you what Sydney: Yeah, that one's cool. TB: do you think of the artwork on these? Now, before you answer, seeing it on the screen like this doesn't give it justice because these cards almost have a 3D effect when you can actually see them in person. It's it's insane. What what are your thoughts on the artwork, first of all? Sydney: Yeah, I mean it's very vibrant, very colorful. and especially if they are three D, I mean I think that makes it even cooler. Like, you kind of see some of the characters like come to life, which is just so neat. Yeah, that's a really cool one. TB: Yeah, absolutely. Like, look at the artwork on this. This is Bell and the Beast. This is currently Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: selling for $2,000 for this card. This is an even rarer card. It's called an iconic. I mean, some of these are just awesome. Now, Lilo and Stitch, Sydney: Yeah. TB: $16.80 current list price for this card. Anyway. I yeah, I went down the rabbit hole with this. boy. I I might I might be in trouble because I just I love this stuff. It it's awesome. So like I said, it's a trading car game. Have you heard of the game manufacturer Ravensburger? So if you've ever gone in like the game section of a supermarket, not a supermarket, like a a store, like a Target or a Walmart, or you go Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: into like those game. specific game stores and you see those really shiny, glossy like Disney puzzles and stuff. This is the Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: company that makes all those. They make a whole bunch of other games. They came out with a Disney game called Villainous, which is extremely popular amongst the gaming community. Anyway, think Pokemon, think Magic the Gathering, if you've ever heard of that. But this is this is a trading card game that's built around care Disney characters, Disney movies, Disney artwork. So your job is to assemble these decks, usually around like 60 cards. And so there's a collector side to it, but there's also the game that you can actually play. And these characters are throughout all of Disney history: Mic Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Cinderella, modern modern movies, modern, modern stuff. So basically it mixes Disney nostalgia. With the trading card aspect, with the pack ripping gambler side of it that people love to chase after with the sports card thing. And it's combined into something that now I'm like, boy, do I have to like really dive into this? Because I think it's awesome. First of all, would you ever consider collecting any of these cards? And how big of a Disney fan are you? Sydney: There I like Disney. I there are a few Disney movies that I really like. but I wouldn't say I'm like a Disney fanatic. TB: Okay. Sydney: yet again, I don't know if I would collect these. Maybe if it was a specific movie that I really like and I could kind of pick and choose, but those prices were a little hefty. TB: Well, I don't want to discourage you because those are like the rarest of the rare. You could put a basic set together for under $15 and and and Sydney: Okay. Well, that's good then. TB: like out of the box be ready to play. And so the Sydney: Mm-hmm. TB: great thing about this is I think they're on series like 12 or 13 and you can kind of mix and match. So the whole premise of the game, you play your role is that of an alumineer. And your job is to break basically bring these Disney characters to life using a currency called ink. And what you're doing then Sydney: Okay. TB: on each turn is you're building up your bank of ink or your currency, if you will, and then playing these characters by drawing them into life and you play them on the table. And then once the proverbial ink dries, right, these characters then you send out to collect what's called lore. And the job of the game is to collect twenty lore, which basically twenty points. And it's the first person you play against one other person, and it's the first person to collect twenty points or lore, using these characters and different items and different actions from all the movies. The first person to 20 wins the game. So the game can be as short as like fifteen, twenty minutes. I've watched some videos of people playing and it it's crazy. It's just crazy. But I I just I think it's so fascinating because there's a super basic fundamental gameplay that like you could teach a five or six year old, but the complexity of this game can be taken to infinity and beyond to tie it back, right? Like Sydney: Right. TB: there's all sorts of ways to play this, and you can combine the characters to have more power or more defense and It's just it's crazy and I don't know. It's one of these things that I could find myself getting lost in. and if you want, I'm if you say say you're just a fan of like Disney princesses, you could literally build your playable deck just working with Disney princesses. So it's really kind of cool the diversity of this game, and it can be kind of catered. to the fan, the specific fan. And I just think, hey, that that's pretty, pretty cool. And I kinda wish I had seen this three years ago and I would have loved to have jumped in at the beginning. But hey, it's never too late. So Sydney: Yes, never too late. Isn't the the gist of the game kinda like that Disney video game where Mickey has the paintbrush and he kinda paints Do you know what I'm talking about? I TB: That's right. What what was the name of that game? Sydney: never we used to play it on the computer and I don't I don't know what it was called, but I'm pretty sure that was the the mission of the game is that you collect your characters based on like collecting paintbrushes and stuff. TB: That's a great point. Was it on the Wii? Sydney: I don't know. I don't remember. TB: Yeah, I want to say that there was another. Yeah, it's it's crazy. I think I think you're absolutely right. But yeah, the premise is is very similar. And I just like the idea that you're you're bringing these characters into different realms. So if you're a Marvel fan, right, we talk about the Marvel universe and how sometimes characters go into other realms and stuff. It's the same with this. You you're you're bringing say Toy Story characters out of their story and then placing them in into other Disney properties. I just think it's really, really cool. And you'll see some of the the cross movie genre, you know, cross cross movie. I don't even know how how to describe it, but characters Sydney: Yeah. TB: from other movies are joining forces. And I just think it's really, it's really, really fun. Anyway. Sydney: No, that's really neat. And now that you explained it a little bit more, like how you can kind of cater it to the person, that's really, really neat 'cause you don't see that a lot. TB: No, and for something that is relatively low price to as an entry point, something that you could learn relatively quickly. I mean, I watched a couple of videos and I feel like I could I could at least play a game with minimal to no like screw ups and still have fun. But yet I'm telling Sydney: Right. TB: you, there's tournaments, there's Lorcana tournaments all over the world for big, big money and people are just Po the I know Pokemon is is the king of the castle, but this product is like on fire and it's only getting it's only building momentum. So I think I'm I think I'm jumping aboard. Sydney: Hey, like you said, summer too late. TB: Are you a gamer? Could you ever see yourself playing anything like this? Sydney: Yeah, I definitely could. I think it's more fun to play games when you're with a group of people. So yeah, I think I have a couple friends that are really, really into Disney, so kind of like the other end of the spectrum than I am. So I'm sure she knows all about this. So I'm gonna bring it up. TB: Well, you absolutely need to ask about Lorcana, see where the local Lorcana game nights are, because this is sweeping the nation. I I'm finding that people get together to play this all across the the the globe. So yeah. And I'm thinking we send you out on location, three Ts go out on location, and Sydney learns to play Lorcana. I think that's a great segment that we could Sydney: Yeah, absolutely. I'd get my butt kicked in all these games. TB: But that's okay because you gotta start somewhere. I was actually in a comic book store yesterday and talked to the owner and he chatted me up for about 10 15 minutes just talking about this product. And I was like, it's crazy. I and and when people are like happy and enthusiastic about a product and look, I know I already know I'm a nerd with certain things in my life. I have you know, we're on a podcast that talks about collecting and Football and wrestling. So whatever, people already look at me sideways. So I don't care. I'm gonna add Disney Lorcana to the mix. Why not? Right. Sydney: Yeah, exactly. It's all fun. TB: So any it it it's all fun and YOLO, do what you love anyway, right? So anyway, I thought I would bring that up, bring it to your attention and yeah, because you never know. You now when you see it, when someone asks you to to play, you're you're ready to go. Sydney: Exactly. And I'm gonna know all about it. TB: Well, we have far exceeded the Jaden Daniels five minutes that we started out with. do you have anything else before we wrap this sucker up? Sydney: I don't think so. We got into a lot today, so I'm feeling good about it. TB: Yeah, this is a great episode. Every time I think it's going to be a short episode, it ends up being way longer than the last. So this'll be a beast to edit, but we shall have fun with it, nevertheless. But I think that's gonna do it. That's gonna wrap up this episode of the three T's. If you've enjoyed this show, I'm gonna simplify it because I always get tongue-tied at this section. Just pass it on to someone else who likes one of these awesome hobbies. Leave us a rating, give us a follow. We would love to have you all along. For this awesome ride. So for Sydney, I'm TB. Keep doing what you love. And as always, go Bills. Sydney: Go bells. TB: We will see you later. Sydney: Later.