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Dream Team: Season Preview · The Dream Team

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's time to set your lineup with the Dream Team.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Here's Jim Zoki and John Halpin.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: All right, the season debut, the Dream Team podcast. Jim
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and John, Matt. I don't know if Matt will have
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: questions at the end. He'll let us know. Sometimes he does,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: sometimes he doesn't. And John, just to set the table
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: for me, and I'll hear from you and Matt, but
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I'm in three leagues. I've had one draft last weekend.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: I have two more after Labor Day, one It's Monday, actually,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Labor Day night, once Tuesday. And I did everything you
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: told me not to do in my first draft. I
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: had the fourth overall pick. You told me to either
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: take Puka or Jamar Chase. Things fell the way I
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: thought they would. Puka was gone. I was afraid there
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: would be no running backs of note. So I went
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: ahead and went Jonathan Taylor at four. And then I
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: did something you're really going to hate at what would,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: I guess, be number 20. Second round, I went and
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: got Josh Allen.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: He said it before.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Because that helps my running back situation. And now I'm
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: still able to get TMAC as a receiver. I felt
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: like I wanted to get guys that were like, you know,
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the most productive that I could get without maybe worrying
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: about position so much, except for the fact I know
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: in that league, everyone just by nature grabs every running back.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: That by 20, I wouldn't have much to pick from.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: So anyways, I did two things I wasn't supposed to do.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: But is that terrible?
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Well, it's not terrible, depending on how the rest of
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: it went. The good thing is the wide receivers are deep.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: So rounds three, four, five, six, you're good. Who's your
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: second running back? That's where I'm just going to struggle
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: a little.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Well, I've got two to pick from. I have two
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: other running backs I took. I took Jeremiah Love and
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: Quinshawn Judkins.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: Okay. So now your receivers, how many people in this league?
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: 12, but we only went 12 rounds with the draft.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: We'd have a deeper waiver wire. So 12 team league
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: and only 12 roster players.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: So I'm guessing your third receiver is a little, maybe
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: you're struggling a little.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: It's going to be, it's a little by committee. So
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: I got T-Mac, I've got Agbuka, I've got Quinton Johnson
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: and Roma Dunze.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Okay.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: I got some guys.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: The overall is better than I expected based on what
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: you said for the first two rounds, especially if you
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: got Jeremiah Lovin, probably the third, whether you got him
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: or T-Mac third, fourth, um, Pretty good job there.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, I think he saved it.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: I rallied.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I know it was unconventional. I'm kind of funny. I
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: kind of just go, and we only do one minute
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: for picks, so you kind of have to be ready
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: to figure it out. It guys come off the board
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: pretty quickly. But anyways, I was happy with it. I thought,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: you know, with Jonathan Taylor and having Josh Allen, I thought, well, gosh,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: that's not a bad thing if they're healthy. Yeah.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: And our friend Abby Halpin will be happy that he
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: picked Jonathan Taylor. That's right. So, yeah.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll get any inside intel I need for him
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: all season long from her. If he gets dinged up
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: in practice, I expect to get that email from her.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Nice.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: So, anyway, two more drafts to go. And I know
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: in one league I'm nine, and we don't have the
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: order yet in the other one. But anyways, how about you?
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Have you started anything yet or no?
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: I think I'm done. I told you on the other
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: night I'm only in three, and the drafts are– I mean,
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: one draft is a slow one, and it's almost done,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: and the other are done. I'm looking– again– If anyone's
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: got another league, I'm feeling.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: A little bored. I'm only in three fantasy leagues. Well,
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: this is our first podcast. Maybe somebody will hear this
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: and reach out to you.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Definitely. Please, people. I'm looking to play. And I'm not
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: nearly as smart as I pretend to be on this podcast.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Oh, whatever. Now he's just wanting people to not think
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: he's going to come in and win their leagues and
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: take their money. That's a poker face right there. So
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: let's talk about what we prepped for, which is not
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: my fantasy team, but talking about overall. And you kind
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: of alluded to this already that the wide receiver pool
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: is deep. And by that, I guess you mean not
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: a lot of separation. Like you get to a certain
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: point where the, like the guys are all of relative
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: preseason projection wise, not a huge difference, right? Right.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, you can, you can have preferences
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: within tiers, but those tiers are kind of big. Like
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: when you get to, you're in round four, you're at
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: the three, four turn. I mean, You might see Zay
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Flowers and Ted Aroa and Jalen Waddell, who I love
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: this year. Ladd McConkie, Igbuka, assuming his toe is going
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: to get better. So, rounds four, five, six. Like, starting
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: at the 3-4 turn, those rounds go like that. But,
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: like you said, there's not a lot of separation. So,
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: you know, you're going to have a good pick there somewhere. Like,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: if you get to round six, you pick Romadunze, which
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: I like. If that didn't work and Mike Evans is there, okay.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: I think that's worth, you know, that's... They're similar teams.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Christian Watson the same way. Parker Washington on the Jags,
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: who seems like he's going to be their number one receiver.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: You've got lots of middle-round receiver options that let you
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: take the running backs early, to your point.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: I know it's just like 25-whatever years of experience, but
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: I don't like older receivers because they always seem to
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: get some soft tissue injury. I had chances at Devontae Adams,
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: you mentioned, Mike Evans, and there were times I passed
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: them because I could see these guys missing three weeks
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: at a time, whatever, with a hamstring injury or something
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: because I feel like older receivers never make it all
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: the way through the season.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Okay, so I tend to agree with you typically. Do
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: you feel the same way about DJ Moore in round
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: five because he's an older receiver now?
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: No, but he's also kind of like the clear number
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: one there as opposed to like options. So not as much,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: not as much with DJ. I would kind of put
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: him in a different category. Plus I probably didn't realize
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: how old he was, but he's not, he's not like
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: as old as Devontae Adams and Mike Evans, I don't think.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: He's middle, he's middle-aged in football.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, middle-aged, got it. Middle-aged football.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: And Rookie's like, I got kind of burned last year.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I drafted him again. Egbuka started out really good and then,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: It just kind of fizzled after that. So I was
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: leery of the Casey Concepcion and some of the younger
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: receivers because it seems like there's a little bit of
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: a learning curve that maybe goes on, if not early.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: It takes them a while to get going as the
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: season goes on.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's fair. And I think, to be honest, Casey
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Concepcion's issue is probably more his quarterback issue. then it's
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: a learning curve or whoever the quarterback is. But yeah,
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: this year, the rookie last year, I felt like, and
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: I would have to, you know, dig for the names,
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: but I felt like we were sort of rookie heavy
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: in the year before we were rookie heavy. Like there
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: were a lot of, you know, top first five rounds
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: rookies that looked good this year. Not quite the same
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: other than Jeremiah Love. There's not a ton going on.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: I just figured taking him at running back, they spent
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: what a top five pick on getting him. You don't
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: see that a lot with running backs. They don't have
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: a lot to work with this year overall, but Jeremiah
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Love seemed like a guy that's going to be like
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: a workhorse for the Cardinals. I agree.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: You know, in the offseason, when they drafted him, it
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: was weird because they had signed Tyler Algier, and they
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: still had James Conner. You're like, what are they doing? Like,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: why would you give Tyler Algier money if you're going
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: to draft Jeremiah Love third?
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: And I was worried about it for, let's say, July
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: and June, you know, going, I don't know if I
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: want to draft this guy because look at it. And
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: you're getting him in the third round because of that.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: But then you saw him in the first preseason game
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: before he got hurt, and you go, oh, right, he's awesome. Right.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: I agree with you. Like, I can't see the Cardinals,
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: even if they're going to lose 16 games, going, you
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: know what, we really need to give James Conner and
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Tyler Algier the ball more. Like, you know, Jeremiah Love
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: is there to play, and I think they're going to
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: let him play. He's, you know, going to be the
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: face of their franchise pretty quick.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Well, yeah, and again, this whole thing about rookie contracts
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: for running backs, use them up and then go get
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: your next running back if you're an NFL team, right?
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: You don't try to save him for his second contract.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: 100% agree. There's no reason because you're going to get
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: to the end of year four or five depending on
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: how you do it. And, you know, maybe he survives
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: to the next contract like, let's say, Saquon Barkley and
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Christian McCaffrey did. A lot of guys don't. So, like
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: you said, you're going to use him. He is, like,
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: to the contract point, he is– He gets drafted. You
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: draft a quarterback, you're in great shape contract-wise. You draft
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: a running back, he's already, I think, the eighth highest
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: paid running back in the league. So there's no reason
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: to save him. All right.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: So as far as your theory goes, we talked about
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: wide receiver depth. You're talking about getting your running backs,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: get two of them in the first three rounds. Obviously,
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: some big names out there. Kind of give us the
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: rounds of where top running backs should be taken. Sure.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: So in round one, your first pick is either Jameer
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Gibbs or B. John Robinson. I'm leaning very strongly Jameer Gibbs.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: without David Montgomery there. The other ones in the first round,
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: you know, as you go down there, Christian McCaffrey's probably...
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor's what you said, fifth or sixth, maybe.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: James Cook's a little below that. Then you get down later,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: and the running backs either go late first or early second,
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: meaning Saquon Barkley. Chase Brown on the Bengals, who's in
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: a great spot and caught like 68 passes last year. A. Chan, Henry,
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: Kenneth Walker, a lot of people love. I don't love
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: as much, to be honest. Ashton Gentry, even if we
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: believe in the injury. Omarion Hampton, a lot of people
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: think that Mike McDaniel's going to turn him into a superstar.
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: So first, second round, I had a draft the other
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: night that I picked. CeeDee Lamb was sitting there at 11,
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: and I took him because I get CeeDee Lamb. He's
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: going to be terrific. And then once I got into
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: the middle rounds, I said I should have took a
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: running back. I went two running backs because of all
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: the depth at wide receiver. So after that, round three
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: gets a little slimmer. Kyron Williams, Jeremiah Love, like you said,
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: I'd like that one. Brees Hall, Javante Williams, maybe late third.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: And then... kind of it goes off the cliff a
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: little bit you know that's yeah that's when you have
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: the all right i need to trust remandre stevenson as
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: my second running back um like in the in the
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: fourth and fifth rounds there's not a lot to work
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: with like i'm not buying david montgomery on the texans
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: he might be fine but there's not a ton to
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: work with like i said i i normally am not
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: a two running backs to start off guy this year
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: might be the year to do it definitely two in
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: the top three if you can.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: What do you think about Josh Allen I mean is
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: he a guy that you would consider I mean I
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: got him late second round I mean is that that's
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: a good landing spot right he'll be gone by the
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: third round for sure because somebody's going to pull the
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: trigger like I did Definitely.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Like, I'm in the, you know, we talk every year,
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: I say wait on quarterbacks. This year, it's very, very deep.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: But Josh Allen is clearly QB1.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Clearly.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: Like, even if things don't go well, let's say Lamar
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: Jackson explodes with his new offensive coordinator.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: Great.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: What's the worst Josh Allen can be? The third best quarterback,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: as long as he stays healthy. He's going to run
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: for a ton of touchdowns. He's going to throw a lot.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: I think the last couple of years, they kind of
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: focused on the run more when they fired Ken Dorsey.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: They basically decided we need to run more. Now that
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Sean McDermott's gone and Joe Brady is the head coach,
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: I think they're going to let it fly more. Like,
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: I think Josh Allen is going to throw a ton.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: I think he's going to run like you could see
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: pinball numbers from him. So, look, you're not going to
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: be disappointed with him and your quarterback. It's just hoping
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: that the rest of you guys in the draft fill
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: in and do as well as Joe.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Yep, that's the price you pay. All right, so speaking
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: of quarterbacks, everyone knows who the top ones are. Who
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: are some of the later round quality running backs if
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: you really want to fill up the roster and push
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: off quarterback to later in the draft?
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: So running backs, Jordan Mason on Minnesota. I think that
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Aaron Jones getting old is going to lead to Jordan
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: Mason getting busier. And I like Jordan Mason. He's a
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: good running back, and that's going to be a good
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: offense again. I like him in the 8th and 9th.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Chris Rodriguez on Jacksonville. I think we talked about on
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: one of the pregames in August how Liam Cohen was
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Chris Rodriguez's offensive coordinator in Kentucky, and he ran for
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: 1,300 yards or something. I know they kind of like
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Basial Tootin, but now this week, Liam Cohen said things like,
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Chris Rodriguez is so good in pass protection. You hear
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: that from a coach, you go, oh, boy. Sorry, Basial Tootin.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: You're going to be off the field in the key spots.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: I think Chris Rodriguez could score a bunch of touchdowns
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: with that offense. Another late one, Jonah Coleman on Denver.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: They seem to like him. We know J.K. Dobbins is
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: going to get hurt at some point. So Jonah Coleman
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: is going to get a shot. Early downs anyway, they
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: probably like him more than R.J. Harvey. Then you've got
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: a bunch of good handcuffs. Malik Davis on the Cowboys
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: now that they cut Jaden Blue. Tank Bigsby on the Eagles.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Ray Davis on Buffalo. Rookie Emma Johnson on the Chiefs.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: There's a lot of good handcuffs to take. I might
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: take one or two of those if I had a
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: deep bench.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: And so you fill your roster up, but you still
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: haven't drafted a quarterback. You're getting into the late rounds.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: Who are some of the guys that might be available
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: based on projections that have not been taken at that point?
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: I love Jared Goff. If you look at his stats,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: look at your league settings, everyone's different, but look at
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: the last two or three years of where the quarterbacks
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: finished in your league. You're going to find Jared Goff
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: in the top 10, top seven, six of your league
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: into the last two years. And this year, their defense
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: seems like it's going to struggle. They're going to throw
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: a lot. Their receivers are really good. I think he's
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: a great— I saw him in round 10 of a draft
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: the other night, and that wasn't some sort of expert draft.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: It was a normal draft. Otherwise, Brock Purdy's slipping. Kyler Murray,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you believe in Kevin O'Connell and what
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: he did to Sam Darnold a couple years ago, he
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: can do the same to Kyler Murray. That ability's there.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Kyler Murray could be as good as Sam Darnold. Bo
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Nix led the league in pass attempts last year. Add
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: a Jalen Waddell. They throw a ton. You know, they
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: want to play faster. There's, there's so many down there.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: Jordan Love even. Now that the Packers lost Josh Jacobs,
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: maybe they throw more, right? So I just think there's
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: tons of options late. I was in a draft Monday night, 11th,
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: 12th round. I got Jackson Dart and Matthew Stafford. Like, okay. And,
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: and look, if, if you miss Josh Allen, let's say,
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: and maybe you miss Lamar. Well, Then do you want
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: to pick the sixth quarterback? I like Joe Burrow a lot.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Do I like him that much more than Jared Goff? No,
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: not this year. In real football, maybe. Not in fantasy football.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: Yep, got a money ball with your draft picks. I
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: feel like some years, as far as the tight end
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: position goes, there was like this drought. There would be
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: like two drafts. And after that, it didn't matter. It's
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: like kickers. Just pick one. It doesn't matter. He's going
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: to go for 400 yards or whatever. But now I
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: feel like it's kind of a new era, right, where
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: a little bit more quality, where that receiving tight end
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: is making a comeback. Some guys coming back off an injury,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: and we'll see how they do health-wise this year. But overall,
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: it seems like a little bit deeper class at the
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: tight end position.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: It does. And there's definite tiers here, too. I mean,
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: Brock Bowers is the best. I know Trey McBride led
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: the league receptions last year with tight ends. But Brock
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Bowers might. Be fantastic this year. If you drafted Brock
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Bowers in the mid-second, I would not argue with you
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: because he could catch 120, 125 balls. Trey McBride's going
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: around three. Colston Loveland, lots of people love him. If
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: you think about Ben Johnson as the coach, remember when
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Sam Laporta blew up a couple years ago? That could
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: be Colston Loveland this year. Tyler Warren in round five.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: Colts drafted him in the top ten. And Alec Pierce
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: is not maybe. He's probably going to play in week one.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: We don't know how effective he's going to be right
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: off the bat. So Tyler Warren could be a good one.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: Then you get into round 6-7. Tucker Kraft. Sounds like
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: he's going to play. Last year, he was great before.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: He got hurt. He was killing it for me last year. Right.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: He was great before he got hurt. He was awesome.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: Harold Fannin on the Browns, who caught a ton of
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: balls last year with bad quarterback play. Our boy Kyle Pitts,
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: who we love talking about. He was really good last year.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: I mean, he caught 80-something passes. And I know he's
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: never going to live up to the number four overall pick,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: but he's not bad. And then you get late. I
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: think with the Bills throwing more, Dalton Kincaid could be
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: a good one. And he's going at like tight end 11.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: He could catch more. The nerd underlying metrics suggest that
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: he gets open a lot and catches the ball a
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: lot when he gets targeted. I think Joe Brady's going
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: to use him more this year.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: I know it's a different team for Isaiah Likely, but
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: I had this innate ability to pick him the weeks
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: he did nothing and missed on the weeks when he
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: would have the occasional blow-up game. and just get two
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: touchdowns at 100 yards. So do you think he might
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: be consistent this year?
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: Likely, yeah. I think he'll probably be the number two
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: target for the Giants. And if you're trying to talk
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: yourself into a late-around tight end, not talk yourself into it.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: You say, okay, I'm going to pass early. I'm going
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: to get the tight end late. What's the kind of
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: guy I want? You want the guy who can be
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: the second target in the offense because right now their
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: second wide receiver is a rookie. from from Notre Dame
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: Malachi Fields who's sort of like a contested catch big
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: dude I really do think that you know past Malik
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: neighbors likely he's going to get a ton of looks
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: from Jackson Dart and that's sort of the you know
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: the mindset you should look after tight and someone you
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: know is going to get the ball thrown to him a.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: Bunch all right let's look at kind of what's going
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: on in the news this week Ashton Gentile you mentioned
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: him earlier dealing with an ankle injury uh how do
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: we feel about him for the beginning of the season,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: and as a pick overall, I had him in one
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: of my leagues last year. He was not great. He
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: never did really live up to the, again, I talk
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: about a rookie being drafted early. I thought it would
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: be a workhorse. It did not work out that way
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: on a bad football team.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought he was going to be a workhorse
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: coming into the year. Then he had the injury a
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: couple weeks ago, and that put the spotlight more on
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: the rookie that they drafted, Mike Washington, in the fifth round,
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: and now you hear the stories about how you know,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: Clint Kubiak pounded the table for Mike Washington, you know, and,
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: and you think about Clint Kubiak who came from Seattle
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: where they did sort of a tandem running back thing. Um,
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: so I worry a little about Ashton Gentry getting all
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: the work he can handle. I would have thought that
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: two or three months ago. I don't know that I
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: think it now, it sounds like he's going to be
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: healthy for the most part, even if he doesn't play
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: week one. I also think Mike Washington's probably going to
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: get six to eight carries a game and, And that
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: would make me shy away from Ashton Genting in round one,
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: maybe get him in round two.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs, is he toxic at this point? Just stay away?
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you should stay away. He's on the commissioner's exempt list,
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: which normally they say, we're going to go through the
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: legal process. And they put him on the exempt list,
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: which is like, okay, so they have a video and
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: it's really bad. And he could come off the exempt list,
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: but if they have a video and it's really bad,
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: which is what we're assuming, then why would he eventually...
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: get exonerated somehow. Like I think I've been reading things
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: last couple of days. Well, Josh Jacobs could come back
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: in November. Yeah, he could. If you have a really
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: deep bench and you want to stash him at the
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: end of it.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: Maybe I'm, I'm assuming he's not going to play this season.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: All right. And again, running backs, there's plenty to be found.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: When you start talking about that level of running back,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Puka Nakua, talk about a guy who's had an interesting
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: off season, but he's still going to be a top
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: five pick overall in anybody's draft. I mentioned the one
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: I've done so far. He went at number three, dealing
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: with some off the field stuff mentally. I mean, just
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: all of it is we, again, in the window, in
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: the lens of fantasy football, is there a concern level
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: about him, you know, being that top guy and the
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: ridiculous numbers he put up last year?
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: Funny you should say window because he walked into a
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: play class window at a party. That was one of
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: his off-season incidents.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Maybe that was in the back of my head. I
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: don't know.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: So, okay. So a lot of this is allegations, right? Puginakua,
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: he's in the midst of a civil lawsuit for biting
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: a woman on New Year's Eve. He has another recent–
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: his ex-girlfriend came out– the mother of his child, I think,
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: came out with allegations– recently about, you know, unspecified abuse, right? Terrible,
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: whatever it might be. Again, allegations for sure. But there's
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: kind of a lot of stuff going on. And when people,
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: even people like Schefter the other day, when Jacobs went
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: on the exempt list, he said, there's no more announcements today.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: So Puka Nakua has not been put on the exempt list, right? Okay.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: So that's a possibility, I guess. And it doesn't make
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: me say, oh no, Puka Nakua is not going to
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: play and he's undraftable. If I'm picking between him and
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Jamar Chase at three, I'm picking Jamar Chase. And then
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: if I pick at four, I'm probably flinching and maybe
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: picking Jonathan Taylor, like you said, or Christian McCaffrey. Like
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: I said, I wouldn't bury the guy, but I just
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: wonder if we're going to hear the phrase four-game suspension
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: at some point. And maybe not.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: He rolled the dice.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: Seems to be a lot going on around him. He
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: went to rehab too, right?
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah. That was part of it. He kind of disappeared
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: for like six weeks, so. Hopefully, again, for all involved,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: including him, you want him mentally healthy and all that
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: kind of stuff. But you just wonder, sometimes guys have
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: to take a break from their sport, as I said,
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: for personal health reasons. And he would seem like anyways, again,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: we're talking through the lens of fantasy football here, that
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: you roll the dice and you risk it a little bit,
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: that there could be, for various reasons, some things going
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: on that he could miss football. And it could be
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: him even just taking a mental health break or something
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: like that. You don't know.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: You're right. And it's something it's like, like I said earlier,
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: it seems like a possibility. I don't know how strong
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: a possibility it is. But if I'm investing the third
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: pick overall, I don't think I'm doing it with him.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Gotcha. All right. We have not talked about the Panthers
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: in particular. Of course, it looks like pretty much a
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: job share. Chuba Hubbard, the starter, Jonathan Brooks, the backup.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: It feels like it's going to be pretty 50-50, kind
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: of like what they did with a healthy Rico Dottal,
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: healthy Chuba Hubbard. It doesn't seem like there's going to
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: be one, like a three-to-one attempts average. Things could change
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: once we get into it. But right now, that looks
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: like a true job share, right, which drops both of
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: them in the fantasy rankings.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: I agree with you. And I know you're closer to
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: the team than me, but it seems like Dave Canales.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: And we talked about this last year with Dowdle and Hubbard.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: And I know part of why Dowdle emerged and had
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: those huge games was that Chuba was kind of hurt.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: And even, you know, coming back from injury at certain
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: points and not maybe totally healthy when he was active.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: But they want to run the ball a lot still.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: And they probably want two guys to do it. And
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: that's okay. For the price you're getting these guys at,
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: they're both going in about round eight right now because
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: of the uncertainty. You would think that if there's one
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: that has more upside, it's Brooks. Because we know what
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: Chuba is, and Chuba's a good back. Brooks, you look
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: and you see the talent. You go, I know about
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: the ACLs, but boy, oh boy, there could be a
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: lot there. Do you think Brooks will play more on
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: third downs if he's healthy? Is that a fair assessment
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: based on what we're seeing in the earrings?
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: I think, you know, again, they're both capable pass catchers,
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: but there's an explosiveness about Brooks that he can take
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: a shorter pass and make it into a longer play.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So, yeah, I do think committee is the most
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: likely outcome. I would probably lean Brooks over Chuba. But again,
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: they're both going right around in round eight. People seem
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: to be thinking like you're not drafting him as a starter.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: You're drafting them as either backups or someone with upside,
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: which that would lean Brooks. But at that price, they're
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: fine with me.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Wide receiver, you said T-Mac, target him around round four.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: That's where I got him, was round four. Is there
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: a concern about the possibility, if Darren Waller works out
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: the way they want, that you could be giving up
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: some touchdowns in the red zone because of the addition
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: of Waller that T-Mac might have gotten?
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: I'm not that worried about that. I don't know how
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: much you're going to get out of Darren Waller. I
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: know he had that, you know, what, the one huge game?
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: Was it one or two huge games last year for
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: the Dolphins?
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah. A lot of his numbers came in like two games,
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: you're right.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: So I think it's okay. I mean, yeah, it could
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: steal a touchdown, but again, you're not, you're getting Teterow
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: in round three or four. You're not investing the same
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: price as let's say Jamar Chase. You're also, what you
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: also saw in the preseason was Teterow McMillan in the
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: slot more. You know, they're trying, seem to be making
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: a concerted effort to get him in there more. And
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: what that means is easier targets, more volume, which we
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: love to chase in fantasy football. So I think Teterow
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: McMillan will have a better year than he did last year. Um, yeah,
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: maybe he'll lose some touchdowns, but he's still, I mean,
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: eight to 10 touchdowns. I think I'd be looking at
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: because he's going to be clearly their primary receiver, uh,
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: in round four. I think he's a really nice pick.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: Great chemistry there. Uh, Jalen Coker, someone's going to grab
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: him late, right. In a draft. So, I mean, he's
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: the number two guy, clearly.
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I, you know, I wish we could count on
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: the Panthers to throw more, but, uh, Jim Coker is
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: a really nice player. They love them.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: And, uh, he, when he was healthy last year, especially
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: in that playoff game, he was terrific. And I think
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: he put up solid numbers. He's probably not going to
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: be some sort of breakout 1,000-yard receiver. But if you're
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: getting him in round 12, which is probably where you
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: can as your fifth receiver, yeah, really nice. And there's
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: some upside there, too.
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: And then finally, Bryce Young. Most leagues are 12 teams.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: He's somebody's backup quarterback, right? If he gets drafted, even
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: for that.
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, even for that. I think that Bryce is undraftable
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: for me in leagues with... let's say if you go
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: 24 quarterbacks deep, he's kind of on the border. Again,
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: this is not a real-life judgment. They're not going to
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: throw a ton if they have their way, and he
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: doesn't run that much. So when you get down to
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: the 22nd quarterback, I would roll the dice on, let's say,
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: Malik Willis, who could run for 800 yards or rather
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: than draft Bryce Young in fantasy football. Now, based on
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: what we saw at the end of last year, I'm
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: really intrigued to see what progression Bryce Young makes in
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: real life football. But in fantasy football, I feel like
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: what we know now, the numbers are not going to
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: be big. Yep.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: It's business of fantasy football. Like we say, it's all
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: through the lens. It's not personal. It's not Panther fandom
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: or anything else. Just trying to figure out fantasy football rosters.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Producer Matt is back there somewhere. Matt, did you have
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: any questions for week one for John?
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so usually after week one, there's always a guy,
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: or maybe not even week one, but week two, three,
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: there's a guy that was completely off everyone's radar. He's 99%
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: available in waivers. I know it's a shot in the dark,
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: and I didn't prep you for this, but who's somebody
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: that you could see being a big waiver wire ad
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: in the month of September that ends up being maybe
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: a weekly starter?
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: I think the guy I just mentioned, Malik Willis. We
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: talked about him on one of the pregame radio segments
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: in August. I think one of the stats I saw
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: this summer was there were, in the last I don't
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: know how many years, there were 34 quarterbacks with more
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: than 100 rushing attempts and 31 of them were top
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: 12 fantasy quarterbacks. I could be misstating that because I
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: don't have it off the top of my head, but
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Malik Willis is going to run. That's why he's there.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: Maybe he'll throw okay. but they're going to be a
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: bad team. And I think he's going to run a bunch.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: And if he runs as much as I think he will,
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: there's a higher floor, you know? And you could, based
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: on the quarterbacks, after you get past that elite tier,
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: it's like, well, maybe it's Jackson Dart. Maybe it's Matthew Stafford.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: But if Malik Willis runs for 60 yards a game
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: or something, maybe that's overstated. He could be a guy
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: that people want to grab after game one and say,
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: holy cow, that guy ran for 79 yards and a touchdown.
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: I need to pick him up to be my backup
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: quarterback right now and then wind up starting him later.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: That's all I got for you today. Welcome back, guys.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: Good to talk to you all. Thanks.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: Great to be back. Sometimes the benefit of losing week
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: one is you usually do it in reverse of the
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: performance of the teams. You could have a shot at
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: the best waiver wire guy for week two. You want
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: to win, but on the other hand, if you lose,
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: it's not the worst time to lose because rosters are
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: still being figured out and guys get hurt week one,
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: so it gives you a chance if you have a
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: top two, three pick that first week in the waiver
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: wire to maybe make your roster right.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: Agreed. And week one is typically, if you're going to
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: find the upside guy, be aggressive. Don't save your waiver
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: thing for week five, because by then everybody's on to everybody.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: Week one is the time to get someone with the most,
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: you know, getting the most bang for your buck out
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: of it.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: All right. Well, good luck, everybody. Of course, an off
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: week this week. We'll get ready for the opener against
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: Chicago coming up next week. But John, Matt, we'll talk
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: with you guys again next week.