Oh, my goodness, Matt W and good morning.
Happy Monday. You know, you know, by by
the way, you can say hello. How are
you? But I think so sorry. Of things
I'm fine, but I got things on my
mind. No. Like... So, you know, we talk
about the quiet period and we are in
the quiet period. Client periods competitive
significantly. Right? Like, the final mini camp... Or
final Ot mini camp sessions were the first
week after ended into... Into the second week
of June ever everyone had wrapped up. I
looking at the schedule for training camps. The
Ravens report on the thirteenth. Ravens Rookie report
on the thirteenth.
Veterans on the fourteenth.
Like
Next week, next Monday we'll be our... I
mean, they'll... Look, we'll we'll find something to
talk about people relax. But after that the
flood gates start opening, and it will be
an endless stream of of tidbits and nuanced
information that we'll be able to sort it
through So February.
Until February. Right? Like, the roller coaster ride
get, scrap up kids.
Wow. I just feel like I just got
off and the baby had thrown up and
like, you, I you know and and somebody
else somebody's crying and there's a husband and
wife having an argument deserve. I wasn't actually
crying. I wasn't crying. I was never I
was with sniff or something. I don't really
know. I understand. I understood. Just not I'm
gonna be have Okay. You're gonna be okay
2 people go to football guys dot com.
Con content from Matt myself both ongoing. We're
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a 15 fantasy prospects under the 80 radar.
That's fantastic. We're gonna talk about some of.
We may talk about more next week. We'll
see. My fantasy notebook is out,
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Your rank rankings. Everything is available. My rankings
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football guy staffers who's filling in all the
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What what what do we got going at
matt w dot com? But what's going on
with Rs right now this very minute. I
I could read my email that I figured
you to read it better. Yeah. I mean,
I'm I've given you 4, you know, 4
running backs to keep an eye. On for
the college football season and what they need
to
really kind of improve upon and focus on
to elevate their draft status
I am starting the 20... I've already started
watching for the 20 25 season I watched
Ali, Gordon, the running back of oak, Oklahoma
state last night. I'm gonna finish up a
little bit of him today and probably start
with Qui sean J
little miss,
I'm thinking about sharing a debbie draft that
I'm in right now.
You know, down the line here and we
just had a podcast.
With Brandon Angelo 9. We talked a little
bit about what we thought a sleeper is,
how we would define that, and our thoughts
on some sleepers, You know? So we're gonna
continue that today as well.
We certainly are, but we'll start with some
less sleepy things that are of interest. Like,
there's a lot of high end players that
are... You know, there's been a little bit
of chatter about. And, you know, some of
them are contract related, some of them, you
know, coming off injury related, whatever, whatever the
case. The fuck fading uncertainty.
There's contract situations ambiguous use Jeff charts or
roles.
Are you running away from that or are
you running into that? Or is it... Situational
dependence. Like, you know, prime example, what brought
this up in my mind. I was talking
about in the radio show. By the way,
the football Die radio program will Beyond 5
days a week starting next week, football season
has begun sorry baseball,
Not really. Really sorry at all. Football season
begins in earnest on Sirius this week. D
and I are back 5 nights a week
next week. But we were talking a little
bit about, like, you know, Cd lam generally
seen as, you know, after Christmas Mc caf,
number 2, overall,
contract issue for him. I mean, there are
concerns. He's not gonna show up for training
camp at least until he gets his new
deal. There's questions about Dax contract at anyone
thinks he's not going to play. I don't
think Cds is not going to play. But,
you know, Brandon and I. There are others
of how Camaro looking for a new deal.
I think
I wanna say that, like, Levi bell ruined
it for almost us. We used to always
be able to say, nobody holds out the
whole season. Right? Or nobody holds out in
the season, then Le Bell says oh you
ever. Really.
But what are you doing with players like
this? Are you hoping to gain some value?
Are you looking to
not like for basketball purposes. But for, like,
you're, like, say you're in a single lead.
And you're sitting there with pick number 2
as Cd land comes up, or you're considering
drafting your brandon in I if you go
running back heavy early as your wide receiver
1. What how do... How does you get
certain situations
affect your drink app strategy. Not a lot
because even though we remember Levi on bill
and maybe Vincent checks and and and look
at situations like that and think, oh, those
are nightmares and Don't ever want that to
happen to me. At the end of the
day, if you're wearing...
If you're giving that much gravity to your
second overall. Pick,
you you need to stop. Because I think
the first... 1 of the first important lessons
to learn is that you can build a
champion she'll ship in multiple ways, the draft
free agency trades,
and how you do with your lineup decisions.
And you can
you... While it's very helpful to have
hit on your early picks because they're supposedly
your safest picks,
if you're drafting strong everywhere else and building
strong even if you suffer an injury or
have a hold out to a prime time
player, as 1 of your top 2 picks,
you can still win leagues. You can still
build a successful team. So for me, you're
looking at Cd lam, and you end up
getting the discount on him.
Because of all this, I would take it.
I... I would definitely... I... I'm not gonna
shy away from these players at this point.
If if we get into August, and we
start to see more rhetoric that says, he's
prepared to set out the year,
and
there's some credible sources talking about that, and
then, yeah, that's the time that maybe you
abandon that. But right now at this stage,
if you're drafting in in 1... League and
it's right now or in the... Within the
next month,
I'm still gonna I'm still gonna take the
player. Yeah. I think they're... You know, and
there are some new nuance. On on all
these situations. You know, like, you know, they
ambiguous you with dev charts and roles. That's
not happening in round?
Yeah. That's later. And we're gonna talk about
some situations here. It'll maybe be more illustrated
of illustrative of that. But I think, like,
in the case of Cd land. Like it...
It makes you nervous. There's other really good
guys. They're guys you could argue are wider
Tomorrow Chase. Hi, Hill. I mean, Right. Or
I'm pushing a little harder on Bi john
Robinson in a brief hall. Maybe you take
or what open to open day can make
a run at Christian Mc mckay is running
back 1. Whatever the case. I think Yeah.
But but the other reminder is these...
The public portion
negotiations are always the most contentious portions. Yep.
You will hear howling kicking screaming And I
wanna say I have brought a branded. I
have the 04:49 are famous for this. Right?
Like we spent a whole off season in
what 20 19 or 20 21 or what
when was it with with
with T Samuel. My years are 40 climbing
together. Where he spent an entire off season
saying, look, man. I'm not playing for these
guys. I wanna trade. Let me out of
here and they got the deal done eve
of Trade camp. I believe it was anyone.
That it was July,
July 30 first, They got the deal that
he comes in last year San Francisco took
Nick Bo
all the way out to the first week
of September before they got the deal done.
This seems to be their style, and and
everyone sounds really pissed off because probably they
are, but the people behind the scenes are
working and grinding away the negotiations and all
of a sudden, the deals done and everybody's
happy. The other thing is the, you know,
the ruling is now that fines being charged
players can't be forgiven them, but there's a
loophole there. If you're on your rookie contract,
you can give away with 5. So Yeah.
They can be... They they can go away.
Players have G goes, the the people in
charge who are maybe not. Doing the fine
details of the negotiation have Huge g goes.
And they're gonna say thing... And the players
are are young, and this is their first
time doing... They're gonna proceed
slight and hurts very quickly.
And and I think that you have to
understand that the people who are the adults
in this situation, you've tend to just, like,
they know these things are gonna be said,
and they just smile and they look back
and forth, and it's like, they're like, the
sheep... They're like the sheep dog in the
wolf.
Who in the old warner Brothers cartoon that
clock in,
Exchange present pleasant,
ask about the family, and then the go
to war and then this lunch break and
they have lunch together, and then they go
back to war. This is how this works.
Right. And, also, you know, that... You mentioned
the nature that and it's something I always
think about especially when, like, Cb come up
and it's, like, the Union negotiating and it
gets the league. Like, if you think players
are
especially open to being pushed around. That's not
how their job works. Right? Their job is.
I'm aggressive. I'm gonna come kick your ass,
and and there is no no inches are
given Right? And so maybe that's the public
stance on negotiations as well. So so I'm
with you. I'm not panicking on contract situations
for sure. And I think they tend to
get ironed out. Like, there are players Are
I like equal value. Like, I I feel
like with the 49 in particular brand and
I... We're drafting of it a ceiling anyway.
Right? Like, I mean, what you're doing with
every player in the first round. Don't don't
get me wrong, but he's spoke a little
later than that. Yeah. But he's going as
wide receiver 12.
His best finish is well wide I receiver...
13. Yeah. Right? So maybe he is why
receiver 12. Maybe there are other guys at
the Wide receiver 12, price the rage though
that I'm a little bit kevin taking. Mike
Evans, for example might be more appealing to
me. So,
for sure. So that's all part of the
equation too
yeah, you know, I try to shift out
of my best ball mindset, which I'm in
right now because, you know, that's more as
much about portfolios and and who I'm in
on and who I have heavy shares of
who I'm underweight on. I mean, there's a
lot more goes in it. I tried it
under the... They gotta read on here. Yeah.
You gotta put on, like, your your your
Josh Norris wig,
and, you know, and start drinking 1. Fine
and, like, I do... And eating fine foods
and traveling on jets and Go And, you
know,
screwing up the rams front office and whatever,
You know, whatever he was doing.
You know. But, you know, III would seen
you in a Josh Norris Wig would be
pretty funny. I think was that an Andy
Bo benoit shot there with helping out the
Rams? I think
was that Andy that worked for Shaun Mc
mckay. Oh, he did. But Josh was a
an assistant of
Got the intern... Was an intern with the
Rams for a little bit That's right. That's
back in Saint Louis, I think back in
the.
Yeah. I'm... So best, Rose, I'm with you,
but also, you've got... You know, there there
does come a point in the... And it's
usually for me in August or you have
to switch that mindset. And and for people
out there who are just jumping in and
getting back in, they're thinking what the hell
are they talking about, never mind, Get ready
for your read drafts and get is advice
for you as you get ready for your
red draft is Yeah. Don't over play these
situations, no matter how loud and ugly they
get. And if they do concern you, is
there's probably gonna be another lane. You can
avoid the pothole. If that's what you wanna
do. Who's the the fact that you bring
up, who's at their ceiling of value who's
at their midpoint. Lose at their floor. Right.
That... That's a that's a very important piece,
and we're gonna talk a lot about that.
I think coming up here. Alright. Let's move
on to Google. A lot of chatter in
Los Angeles, Ky Williams
currently going as running back 8. There's a
lot of players I like in that range
and that a that that I've been drafting
way more than Ky williams was the third
round though, and we saw his ceiling last
year was running back to, which he was
over the last 5 games of the season
as he got the 25 periods. And like,
I'm a volume chaser. The concern is Blake
Quorum, who I think is being wildly
drafted right now. Even if I think Ky
Williams is gonna suffer a bit. Blake quorum
is currently going on under underdog.
Running back 35 and around 9.
I feel like that's, you know, like, I
I agree with something that was posted on
the website, the football guy's website, the contingent
value is what everyone talks about if something
happens.
Like quorum is gonna get an 8 percent,
you know, snap share. If something happens with
Ky Williams. The question is, how worried are
you of about him putting into that volume
that was essential to Ky Williams last year?
And are you buying Iron Williams at his
current price. They're both overrated right now, and
I think that really it's because the, you
know,
the the contingent you for Blake corn as
you as you phrase it as very well,
is a as a good point, and it's
1 of those things that we see All
the time with the with the leading Russia
who has a talented backup. Way back when
it was priest homes and Larry Johnson. I
call this the priest holmes, Larry Johnson
situation where you take the town back and
you draft him somewhere between rounds 8 and
10. Even though he may have... No real
value
if the other guy continues to play like
he did in previous years. Now this year
it's a little different because when you look
at Ky Williams,
he's...
I don't think he's gonna get treated like
priest homes. Even though they're similar size, they're
similar speed, You know, there... You could probably
make the comparison. Between those 2 guys on
a, at least on some level,
where athletic, they don't unbelievably stand up, but
they're smart runners. But I think that the
win they drafted
corn,
and the way they're talking about using Williams.
They're gonna use Williams less as a runner
and more as a receiver. He's still gonna
lead... They're this team. But
again, when I look at the fact as
you mentioned the... Some of these players that
are available are in the same range. If
you want running back, their Henry's is getting
drafted after Ky Williams. Like, how do you...
III...
I'm sorry. The the that magical number of
30,
Just scares the Be jesus out of people,
But fuck that. It it really does. Like,
it... Like, I wanted to say too that.
Mean, the the the list of guys.
Henry. It's Travis Junior, who... Even if I'm
not a huge Et stan. I think Kim
getting something set like.
It's Josh Jacobs going after him. Isaiah Pac
check going after him. Like, I'm into Joe
Mix too. I mean, and. You've gotta carry
that price into that factor. Well. You're now
getting into, you know, the what the fifth
sixth round for some of these guys
and so... And I'm talking about mixing Rash
rochelle white.
Another 1 going after him, we're gonna talk
about another 1 of these players. And if
you don't wanna running back in round 1,
then get 1 of those. Other guys. I
mean, Nico Collins is sitting there. Yep. A
lava solid.
You, you know, if you're looking for just
a high floor, Da Adams. He's even with
the quarterback back scenario there. Look at what
they had last year and what Adams did.
Right. You're still looking at strong value. Drake
London if you wanted up in common Da
von H chain who we should probably talk
about down the line here. I think he's
a little drafted, but he has a
ceiling.
Still awesome of. Yeah.
I felt like that all. I felt like
we've been drafting Von chan
incorrectly, but but that's not a... That's only
in reading draft for, you know, discussions. In
best ball discussions.
I want those weeks where he's gonna be
that dominant force us, I want those, and
I'm willing to spend up a little bit
to get them. So I'm with you a
hundred percent on ones. I think 1 of
the things that, you know,
I worry about, especially in red draft is
the you
I call the hand premium. There is a
price for players that are perceived to be
these
big premiums I could tell you, you know,
is somebody who's seen many people pay that
for a let's say an Alexander or Madison
only to come up short. Yeah. You know?
I mean, it's a perception. Right? A lot
of the things we're drafting here are based
on our perceptions, but 1 of the things
about the rams that, you know,
we should be mindful. Sean Bay wants to
lean a I'm 1 guy. I mean, he's
told us this year in year out. I
to talk girly about this. You know? So
I mean, this has been his pathway to
success. But that said, last year, they lose
Williams for a 4 game stretched with an
ankle injury. They lost 3 of those games.
They couldn't run the football. Yeah. When he
was on the field, all the pieces worked,
then Blake Quorum is addressing that absence. If
Quorum
fares well and does better in his better
than, you know, we expect, it'll be a
change from the norm. If he gets heavier
usage
as the change of pace or a backup
than what we've seen? What was it last
year for Royce Freeman. And who may not
be a blank core, but it was, like,
77, you know, turns. Right? I mean... They're
not looking to force these guys in action.
Will... That's true. And I would say, while
Zach Evans is a very talented back in
his own right, he didn't get that off.
Opportunity. So that's an argument supporting what you're
saying. At the same time,
he is a Rookie, Mc doesn't like Rookie
usually,
and he also was known to be somewhat
off field guy. Yeah. Ky Williams. So maybe
Blake Cora, if Blake Ko gets significant plain
time with his draft capital as well, then
you're gonna know that Mc
behind a lot of this. So it's not
just the g pick.
So we'll see. So there's 1 that I
feel like is or 1 are these running
back to is We're gonna talk about it
a couple more here, but we'll start with
this 1 that I feel like totally owns
some certain about. Kenneth Walker in third, I
think is, like, not at a bad value.
He's running back 16 on best right now
on underdog going in around 7. Zach Char
going in round 12 is running back 41
right at the 11:12 range.
We don't know what the hell is gonna
go on here. It's new coaching day staff,
Ryan Gru comes in coming off a run
in Washington is the offensive coordinator with Mike
Mcdonald's a. Coach. Know I'm thinking about the
coordinator your people because Who we're interested in.
A super past heavy attack. I think they
threw the ball had a higher drop back
rate in Washington for the past Husky last
year. And any other team they played at
a much faster pace too or they did
in Washington, Sea hawk have. And the Sea
hawk haven't been,
What you would call Pass half under
under pete Carol, the the who who were
last 4. It was Shane W. And then
before the that we have Brian Sc oppenheimer.
Right? Yeah. Pete Carroll wanted to run the
football? Or we gonna see similar value or
should we expect similar value out of this
back that and are we drafting these 2
players correctly right now in best ball? I
think they're starting to fall a little... They're
they've been slowly sliding, and I think they're
gonna con... Need to slide a little bit
if you ask me,
as camp goes on and they start talking
up the the value of this passing offense
and how much volume they're gonna do as
a pass in offense. But Walker to me
is probably the best value as the receiving
back. I'm in Char is not bad, but
walker in space is a more compelling player.
That's in said,
I think that he's the type of player
whose
upside is limited by Char a.
And limited by his offense. So
looking at the players around him that I'm
seeing around him,
guys like maybe Tank del, Alvin,
Dalton Kin.
Somebody named Anthony Richard, richardson,
you know, George Pick, Keen and Allen.
Those are guys that all sound as or
Mo appealing,
and have maybe higher ceilings in their respective
offenses,
re of to their position, then maybe what
can walker offers with Char a and this
new offensive change. I think Walt gonna be
an okay running back to with some strong
weeks,
but I don't think that he has... I
don't think his ceiling is running back 1
territory whereas. All those other guys I mentioned
have top 12, maybe even top 5 ceilings,
because with
what they could what could happen in their
office offense and their ability.
So
you bring up out in Camaro who's is
a player. I'm increasingly
intrigued by. He... There's contractor discussions with him.
Clint K comes over from San Francisco everywhere
that's San Francisco, Mc all those offense, you
know, move out through they end up with
get really good results We're expecting the same
in Atlanta with Zach Robinson moving from the
rams to the Falcon. Clint Qb from the
49
and and in Alvin Cabrera, I think the
thing overlooked last year. He missed... He was
sped 3 games. After to a little slow
start with working behind a ragged ass offensive
wine. Yeah. That has been upgraded. But if
we're expecting kind of a semi, you know,
working C ish treatment or usage, Rob Ka
camaro, the weeks he played he was still,
I wanna say in the top 10 and
point per game,
A. So, I'm not giving up on him.
He's a player that we'll be talking about
More. As we get closer to the season
the do I wanna talk about that hasn't
had hasn't been discussed widely that I think
were not necessarily drafting correctly. James Connor are
running back 20. Going into the seventh round
Trade Benson running back 31 going in round
8.
I think that gap is closer than it's
going to be in real life
health for Connor. Right? Like... And we all
know. I hear you out there. He all
these mister Todd. By.
Okay. Yes. He a lot of players miss
time. James Connor coming off a career best
sea and however, and all the talk is
this week,
people talking Johnny Van, I think in in
speaking in Arizona covers dean club closely. Says
James Connor is the locked in starter. Don't
think that's changing. Trey Benson is the is
the heir Apparent. He's the guy in waiting.
I think that's totally true. There's things about
Trey Benson Find very appealing. You know what
they are is the... It's the cleavage that
I love. Yep. That works get away from
that. Yep.
But What, keep Eyes up. Bob, Dick keep
eyes off the feet my, man. Yeah. That
said, that said, I I think James Connor
ridiculously
well priced. Yeah. Without a doubt. I mean,
if you play at least 13 games,
you're doing pretty good as a running back
in the Nfl, I know everybody wants 17,
but come on. He's played at least 13
games since his last year in Pittsburgh.
And He's averaged
at this 0.1010
touchdown even though he's... 1 of them was
an an inflated 15 touch down season. He's
had no worse than 7 in the past
3 years, and he's giving you
quality receiving stats most of the time. Now
that's gonna a chain. He's been really... Since
he's been in Arizona, he's been no worse
than a than a mid range running back
to. Yep. And a And so you're getting
James Connor
right now
as a low end running back too. So
you're getting them middle of value. Now you
could... At some of the other players around
him, but I look at... You're... When you
talk about good value. I mean, I look
at this list, There's Kyle Murray, There's a
lot of players after him that are compelling.
Look The Andre Hopkins who I think will
continue to fall a little bit when the
Calvin Ridley Noise comes up in camp and
they talk about how... Fast he is and
and how explosive he is and then Hopkins
ends up being the main guy. He might
be the only other contender on this list.
Because Amir fight to me. Right. They're gonna
take him out and pass situations. Jordan Addison,
who's throwing them the football, you know, good,
but how much... How high is the fight
feeling gonna be same with Johnson, and then
you have Ferguson and Then and Tony Poll.
Really? I'll take I'll take Connor. The real
question that we should be asking, I think
in this isn't whether James Connor
and Trey Benson should be equal value. It's
whether Michael Carter has more value than Trey
Benson.
Because
Michael Carter is an excellent receiving bag Yes
who can block and is better between the
tata and you'd expect. And they like him.
And I think that they just know he's
not in every down back,
and Benson sends his week because points are
running routes
and past protection, and then you've got the
decision making acumen that goes with it.
Michael Carter is probably relative to these guys
as free money that I would be taking
as kind of a late hedge if I
want to or off the waiver or why?
Very early once he started charles. Look at
what happens when
look at Trey Benson, and he didn't get
any touches or barely any snaps and Michael
carter not snapping them. Right. Michael car that
guy that comes in, you know, with a
history of shared back fields
super productive
teammate with Monte Williams. Think they both had
a thousand yards their final season and and
a big play making threat too. So we're
noting that Wall well placed, sir. He's
wave. I quality, you know?
I, like, I I do like Trade benson
and a lot, but I I think also
that this is... He's more of a down
the road play. Isaiah likely.
I think, like, I look at his prices
tied in 23 right now. Right? And like,
I don't know that that's wrong, but I
look at a lot of the guys going
ahead of them, and I feel like, man,
If Todd monkey actually takes and, you know,
uses more of the 12 person, we've seen
him do, like, a charge of, he led
the nation in 2 tied in sets. If
we see more of that with Isaiah likely
working alongside Mark Andrews, you're gonna get better
than tie 23 value. Is there any standalone
value ties a like.
There could be. There could be 20 it
might be a good play, but when you
think about the players around him, Tyler Con,
Yeah
Better. Is... Yeah. I like him better too.
He's a he's a very good man to
man route specialist with a top quarterback who
who knows how to target tie ends like
this. Then he got... Thinking of a Rookie
like German Burton who can really have a
high ceiling.
So I I look at players. I I
mean there's not
likely on the list,
but I think that even like Tyson Hill
just a little bit earlier. You know Ty
Ends gonna be featured in that that New
Orleans office offense with Clint K,
and Hills playing more of that then that
Garrett Graham, Owen Daniels,
aging myself, role of, like, the guy out
of the back who's like
a use check maybe, but you know that's
gonna get play in the red zone. Right.
He's gonna get more usage. I think know
is the, you know, probably some plays under
set. Like, I feel like there is a
range of tied end twos that I'm drafting
that I have a hard time and
leagues where he is available as a tied
end. It's not every platform that he is.
But in platforms where he is tight and
eligible,
I could make a really strong argument for
taste some hill over a hell of a
lot of guys at to tied in 2
spot just because he's gonna get those meaty
opportunities. Some of those, you know,
you know, shotgun court max situation in the
red zone where he's just there to run
it in. I mean, it's there's a lot
to like about. I got feel it or
fuck it for you. What do you think?
Are you feeling the idea that maybe all
this talk about ice... Isaiah likely so that
they can trade him.
Because Charlie Ko is no likely, but he's
more of a... He's more of them Mark
Andrews who can block a little bit better
and is good in zone. And maybe they
feel like, maybe we can get something for
likely or maybe they trademark they trade Andrews
and keep coal in that in that capacity.
The younger guys. Yeah. I don't know. But
I mean,
I I don't know if I'm feeling that
but I'm just wondering... You know, I thought
I'd throw that up there to see what
you thought.
I'm gonna... You know, I like I looked
at it number likely caught, was targeting 40.
Time get 5 touchdown on 40 targets. That's
pretty good. I think the key for me
is how much they actually follow through with
the whole idea And by the way, time
He has talked about learning all the receiving
positions, not just tied end, but working in
various places in the slot out of the
back
etcetera,
splitting out out wide. So he's been working
all that.
But I wonder if at some point, Ravens
used 12 personnel 11 percent of the time
last year, and. Right. And that was, like,
really low.
That's not what Monk did in his previous
stops. Right? That's... I mean, like, if you
go back to Georgia, that's about all they
did. Right? They lu nation. But let's but
let's ask you this? Who do they have
it running back last year
and And how often were they running Well
12 before Jk k Do got hurt in
the first half. That would be interesting to
see if they were going 12 heavy against
t in that first game. And then when
that didn't work out and he got hurt,
they just were like, let's do more 11
because we gotta get our purse...
Our best personnel on the field or more
10 and 11 personnel. And maybe this year,
maybe they do go to more of our
hybrid attack because with Derek Henry having that
extra gap with him
is it could be devastating for run defenses.
Okay. I have we're all fucking on. No,
Isaiah likely having any standalone value. And never
the nonsensical question almost, But I do think
metallic. Oh, I like this. I I don't...
I don't... You know, like, I think it,
I do think, like, it's... To me, he's
priced right to be a handcuffs for Mark.
Like, if that's you're not paying a hank
of premium here. Right? You're not paying
any extra because he's the guy and we've
seen what he can do with, Andrews. Who's
still
Who's the third receiver in Baltimore?
Right now is it not
And that's my point. Nelson Ag. Yeah. That's
my point. Nelson Ag or Likely. Right now,
I would say, I pretty even. I'd go
a little more towards likely. And so that's
possible.
Since you brought that up, we're shot M
Wipes over 74. That seems insanely cheap for
a a guy who's likely starting receiver on
an Nfl team even if you think derek
Henry's is gonna run the ball. Every 3
single snap. They're gonna throw some Z flowers
there. I realized that as Abatement of free
square player they're just, like, not enough upside
there for you to have any so fucking
no. I'm totally into getting rash abatement at
the current value. I probably take them little
everybody. We mentioned other than maybe German burton.
And I problem... Even consider him over burton
in a lot of my drafts just because
he's so good after the catch. He's a
good route runner. He he just had some
injury and they had some system issues. I
think that they've made a sec... They've made
an investment in him this year. It's to
kind of reinvest in the idea that this
kind I can be a thing. And I
and I I think we've seen moments where
that's happened.
So I'm I'm buying into that Id. And
I know that I'm not alone. I know
there's a certain guy who's who looks like
he's trying to train to become a defensive
in Matt Harmon.
I've seen certain recent pictures of an I'm
going, Matt Harmon. And what are you doing,
Man? Like you're... I thought you were a
wide receiver. You're woken up to be a
defense in. I mean, it's he's getting muscular
over there.
You know not a damn protein. You all
that damn protein, but he likes a he
likes rash shot bat too. I don't think
he got any...
I don't think he's lost faith in the
guy. I think he's still open to the
idea, especially with the price. I mean, are
you really gonna take their car over Rash
rochelle Bat. You know, maybe you take Tyler
Con in a 1 point. It depends on
my Sa at best small, Bob. Yeah. That's
right. There we go. But I... I would
definitely consider I think it's a good deal
I'm feeling it. Alright. Let's talk about some
of the guys that I mentioned at the
top of this podcast, the 15 fantasy prospects
under the Adp radar, the drop.
It's a kids say on the football guys
dot com website. And we're not gonna go
through all them, but I didn't wanna touch
on some Out interesting Bra Allen first and
foremost. He's currently running back 58,
tell us what you think about his prospects.
Yeah. I mean, I'm not in love with
Bra Allen as a stand. Own prospect, I
think that he's kind of a player who
has a lot of positives, but they're kind
of fragmented in his game and he hasn't
completely integrated them yet. But if he can,
he could become, you know, probably 1 of
the more dominant producers at his position, and
in any given year. And the offensive line
on paper looks good for the jets if
it can stay healthy. That's a big if.
But with Aaron Rogers and tow you're gonna
be able to dictate to defense a little
bit more and that helps the run game.
So if priest hall gets hurt, Bra Allen
probably has the best chance to come in
and the jets do things that fit what
Alan does well. He's a good gap runner,
and he... And I think that there's enough
there that he could give you,
you know, 8 to 10 touchdown as a
rookie if the... 3 to hall happens early,
and he plays out a whole year. He
could be a thousand 1112 hundred yard back
from the jump and people go nuts about
them and then find out, okay. Maybe he's
not that great in subsequent years, but he's
good enough to be. He's fantasy good He
may not be reality great, but he can
be fantasy good. Yeah. I should qualify this.
And currently best boss. Everyone worry about it
talk about our free squared players. You can
get them especially with we'll last 2 rounds,
some of them after round 20 years And
he's a bus grab at that... Situation. I
and I feel like even in red draft
if you're investing in brief calls. I plan
to be doing, and I will be investing
early.
He looks like the the Clear cut hey
company to. I don't think is israel Ob
robotic condos the seems to be that guy
or or Else Sp allen might not be
there. So
moving on, you said something a little earlier
and I think set this next 1 up,
Dylan M
currently being drafted is running back 68. You
you feel like maybe Amir White is not
going to be a
through full time a true feature back end
that he'll remain on the feel for asking
situations is lobby me the guy that's gonna
be on when that happens. It could very
well happen. A amir abdul of, you know,
a journey and veteran who can do that
job. What called upon. But lobby is probably
equally compelling as an open field runner and
maybe even more compelling as between the Tackle
player who has maybe you add another 5
to 7 pounds of muscle and could challenge
a guy
like Z amir White for a lead role
in a year or 2.
As early as next year, I would bet.
I think that there's potential there for his
game, And he's 1 of those players that
teams get
teams get excited about and they're trying to
cool their jets because they've always been once
bitten twice shy about small school players at
running back and not sure what they really
have. But this is a guy that when
you... If you know what to watch on
film, I think this is 1 of those
guys that will validate
that he can make the transit. Mission and
that he is a legitimate
between the tackle running back in the style
of maybe not like Tai Spears, But, like,
on a level where if you look at
Tai spears and he's gonna split duties
down the middle with Tony Poll this year,
that it's not even, like they're getting the
find different duties. They're just splitting in half,
which tells you that they feel like just
workload may be a little bit of a
concern, but the talent is there to do
the do a lead job. I think Lobby
will someday
show that.
And they're are already excited on Cadillac Williams
knew a thing or 2 about running the
football. And he's the running back coach, the
And I think he... He's already liked what
he's seen from lobby,
and there are a lot of Nfl players
who've trained with him. Pre draft who are,
like, wait till they wait till the team
sees this kid. Because Let let the Fc
mcs in all purpose yards in each of
the past. 2 seasons and set a school
record for receiving yards in a game with
295,
and reno know central Michigan in 20 23.
White has to prove that he can do
that he can be
a guy in space as a as a
receiver.
And even as a blocker he has to
prove a little bit more. I think the
doors hope open for lobby to to really
take this... To get this job as a
rep. I think so too. I would just
wonder how much bandwidth there is there If
we look at the way in Antonio... Nurses
run, the raiders Luke Gets he comes in
as the offensive coordinator coming from 1 of
the run heaviest teams in league last year,
whether that was by Nurses
for by design or just due to circumstances,
the same could be said in Las Vegas
where you have issues a quarterback, whether it's
8 Mcconnell, or Gardner. We're gonna have a
competition there. I think, you know, a lot
of people feel like,
it's gonna be gardner dementia. I'm not so
sure I agree,
And I'm not... Because I don't think Antonio
Pierce agrees that I think this is this
is 1 situation where you gotta watch what
Pierce is done, and think Josh Jenkins was
on track to get, 80 plus percent of
the snaps
last year when he got hurt, and then
he got hurt and then Z White came
in and took all of those snap. Averaged
a hundred and 14 yards from sc per
game down the stretch including a huge game
gets achieved So I think he's... I think
me,
white is a little bit under priced right
now, Sure, based on that, But based on
anticipated volume, but I do think if there's
somebody gonna have a receiving role. I don't
know if gonna be a a Amir abdul,
and I think that that La someone would
look at or for all the reasons you
outlined. And do they?
I would joke that look of their quarterback
situation, do they really care that if their
quarterback gets hit a lot? No. I'm they're
gonna be drafted for another 1. I think
Carson beck might be high on their list.
You know,
in the future here. We'll see. Isaac G
in San Francisco. Portia Pic. Correct? Yes.
So... We've got elijah Mitchell who has had
trouble saying healthy. We have Jordan Mason.
Also has had trouble saying, hell, healthy. I
mean, I think that's the peck order right
now. Still. It's gonna be Mitchell after Christian
Mc caf. I know he's there people.
C. And I know also you could read
this about in my fantasy notebook.
Kyle Shana talking. We need to lighten his
load a little bit. We wanna preserve them.
Believe that when you see it kids. But
they do have pieces there. Tell us what
can deliver. I think Cor
is
1 of those guys that you look at
size speed
Work, power,
and
he's got a build that's similar to Todd
Girly.
Does that make him Todd Girly and ability
know, but does he have Todd Gu level
of speed and acceleration. It's not that far
away.
And he has gotten better every year. He
was on unloaded depth chart in Wisconsin
with Jonathan Taylor being 1 of those backs,
Bran Allen bean another.
And, you know, I've seen my share loaded
this step charts where guides like Ed and
James or T Davis,
don't always get maybe
the
opportunities, depth you know,
priest holmes, you know, don't always get the
opportunities that the star gets, you know, that
the the coach favored. And so Gu,
you, you know, played well at Louisville,
and I think that they had a system
in place where they didn't want overt tax
him, so Jaw jo Jordan certainly got some
love and as a... Was a nice college
player. But Is that type of guy that...
You know, if he can pick up past
protection, the reasonably well.
This summer, and that's what you're gonna keep
an eye out for. If he can do
that, you hear, you know, that he's doing
okay in that department, he could wind up
the backup on this team. And even if
by injury that they have to do it,
he could perform well, just
if injuries, you know, decimate the depth chart
where Mc
and 1 of Mason or Mitchell get hurt
as well. So you're... You know, he's a
dark throw at this stage. He's better dynasty
play than he is a red draft play,
but he's a guy you're gonna want a
mono or en camp because
the Shana hands
exe exemplified this better than anyone is that
they look at the running back position is
interchange
that they can find a lot of talent.
And unless they I have the superstar, the
guys behind that, the the depth charts are
never settled. And I think that Gu is
that type of guy that could give you
that Mike Anderson,
you know, way back in the day are.
Where did he come from? You know? Yeah.
Brock P is, like an example of that
whole mindset you're talking about. Right? Like? Right?
Like, shit. Was telling his team's owner that,
hey. Like, as early as the first rating
game. This guy might end up being our
sa. Right? Like, his mind is working in
that way. For sure. Let's talk about 3
wide receivers here.
Jamal Baker, I think that for the patriots
is interesting, not the guy they picked first
and that's dale polk. But Baker seems like
more of a big play threat, tell us
what we should like about him as wide
receiver 83 in offense by the way, that
scored tied for the lowest scoring in the
Nfl last year. Well, if you're gonna pick
a patriot, go ahead and pick 1 of
the cheapest ones. Yep. At wide receiver because
you don't know what you're gonna get it
quarter. Back really for sure. But 1 thing
that you wanna know with all these quarterback
is, you want a player that's a good
route runner and I would argue that of
the Rookie that they picked while polk will
has really some nice developmental
upside, and he will be able to contribute
immediately with certain sets because he's good at
winning the ball in the air and playing
the boundary and he's got some skill after
the catch. J siobhan Baker is the better
run runner of the 2. I think that
he's the more refined rot runner.
He has some... He has some issues with
attacking the ball sometimes that lead to some
unfortunate drops, but they're not,
a, a high amount on his
plate, and he is a big play tight
window pass against man. And kenneth offer some
skill as a runner. So looking at him,
I think he's a real deal. The problem
it the reason he's a lower draft than
polk was not necessarily as a ability, but
apparently, character concerns. And the character concerns really
center her around his father,
and that may be that they feel like
the father,
maybe interferes a lot or creates a lot
of drama, and there have been issues in
the past in the Nfl where there are
players whose parents feel or family members have
come up to the facility and created drama
for employees who are just trying to... You
know, keep the lights on and pay the
bills and do things. And these people are
coming up there over things that nobody has
anything to do kind of, like, think about,
like, if you worked at, let's see. Walmart
and your parent came up to Walmart and
started, like, going off on the customer serve
with and the management.
There about something about that had nothing that
had something to do with you, but it
would had nothing to do with miss what
their
their role was.
You know, it at the at the store.
I think that that's kinda what happens with
some of these... What football parents, and they're...
I think a lot of people are afraid
that Baker has 1 of those, but we
don't... A lot of this can also be,
speculation and editorial commercialization of issues that maybe
the guy's just different.
Maybe he's a little bit more direct a
communicator, maybe he has certain differences
that they look at and it scares them,
and he's hard,
you know, we'll find out. As Yeah. In
in the vast majority of leagues I play
in, there will be no interest in any
patriot not named Mon Stevenson
except maybe Hunter Henry and
after that, probably numb, but in leagues where
both Matt and I play in, and he
knows what I'm talking about where there might
be every single person wrapped. I'm I met
her a in Baker in a super deep
lake. Yeah. Let's just put it that way.
16 teams, you know, 16 teams with, like,
50 man Wrapped roster. Yes. If you're and
a trick man, and a lot of people
who listen to this show certainly are about
that life. Right. And and, you know, Baker
will have some value they're done 1. And
what is... I like a medical?
Grows fast. If he grows fast, Siobhan Baker
could be an integral part of this team.
And if alex van Pellet figures out off
coordinating all these 6. Who like, a confluence
influence of great event. If if if if...
Yeah.
So I wanna revisit a question. I was
asked on the floor and the fantasy football
expo. I will be back there in August.
This this year, I won't have to be
asked in this question though. I'm going to
pose it to you again. And I know
our listeners out there and 1 in particular,
had this very question for me at the
expo.
Calvin... Calvin asked the third Can fuck? I'm
feeling it. At at his price, he's a
better version of Wand Robinson in a more
versatile
receiver who can win more mandarin to man
at the boundary. He's a little quicker and
faster than him, better rot runner.
And I think the steelers have been intrigued
with them, but injuries have been an and
then they did they had crap fantastic quarterback
play and there's a lot of revolving parts
and coaches going in and out and all
that kind of thing. And you look at
them now, do And I think he...
It just depends on whether Arthur Smith is
gonna,
motion his receivers more often. He doesn't didn't
do that in Atlanta very often, but he
didn't have a quarterback who was very good
at reading the field. So maybe didn't wanna
complicate things. If they feel like with Russell
Wilson, they can complicate things a little bit
more. Calvin Os and might be a low
key wannabe be Doug Baldwin type for
for Russell Wilson. There's that some buzz this
here. And obviously, you know, the you look
at the pieces around him and it's totally
unresolved too the even the Live receiver two's
is going to be there whether you think
some pretty Van Jefferson for right now.
Seems to be the guy. So, you know,
maybe it's pat prior you is that guy.
I don't know, but, yeah. So my answer
this year is not not as different
from Calvin than it was, the last time
I was asked this specific question. I don't
know if I'm totally feeling them, but definitely
not totally leaf fucking him either. That's... This
is this is 1 to watch especially, given
the changing circumstances. That's think about the nfl,
switches around. Things change. Yeah. And you gotta
understand women with... You, you know, Pick is
your main guy, for, your rise is probably
the number 2 guy, but who's gonna be,
you know, Roman Wilson can block. Fan Jefferson
is
kind of like his dad, which is, as
I often talk about and kinda pick on
good rot runner, not great hands.
Not very dynamic
as a as a weapon. Austin can give
you more at the boundary as a deep
threat and more over the the middle
with his speed after the catch and skill.
And I think Russell Wilson gonna find ways
to get him the ball. I think that
I think we're gonna see that a little
bit more than we're gonna see from gods
like Jefferson
or you know anybody else And I think
that will offset help f booth too because
when you got 1 side of the field
occupied with Jump
austin inside, that's gonna open things up for
a guy like Fire booth.
So if you're playing best ball and you
get to that final pick Your twentieth pick
underdog. There is a wide range of players
available to you. And I think, you know,
1 of the goals there is I wanna
find a guy who might give me 1
or 2 big weeks.
And 1 of the guys who says, hey,
me, I can do that is noah Brown.
I think he's being widely overlooked with the
arrive little of dig I get it, but
that whole receiving core last year had trouble
staying in 1 piece over the course time,
including though Brown. He's a wide receiver 01:03
right now. Total free square play How do
you feel about here? Is is
do you think there's a chance we're gonna
get a couple games like we saw last
year? Yeah. At a rate that injuries happened
in the Nfl?
I'm taking a guy like that. Like, if
you're gonna take a a cuff or a
backup who doesn't give you any
value other than contingent value.
Get 1 that you know who is just
basically gonna blow the doors down show happy
he's proven it the... For 2 years.
I'm taking no brown easily at that range
because you've got a hyper lens up tank
cell. You've got a big body guy in
Nico collins and an aging stuff on digs.
There are 3 paths
right there, the that are there are, you
know,
valid paths to playing time.
So the rapport that he's got with Cj
j Str. Yeah. That... That's 1 of those
that I go If I'm gonna play it
safe
and pick a guy who doesn't have, you
know, who doesn't have weekly order value, but
has tremendous upside when when he does get
a new game, there's 3
opportunities for him to get into a game
and and be a,
rotational contributor of high level.
Alright. Fair enough. There you have it. That's
it for this week again. You can find
our work at football guys dot com. The
that article,
map put out, just the end of the
week fantasy prospects out the Adp rate. Our
50, 18 of them, we may talk about
some more next week. I think they're all
super interesting, and that's why we brought them
up. You can catch my fantasy notebook also
every Monday there as well as my 5.
Top 5 fantasy headlines
on the audible channel on Youtube every Friday
afternoon.
I kinda dig into 5 stories.
You know, where they the top stories. They
are for me. And and generally for fantasy
they on for you. They they should be
for everybody else. Correct. I just kinda have
a good eye for this stuff. I tried
to dig into things that are a great
interest to fantasy managers whether they're are the
top stories on
the daily
Nfl net... Oh wait, nfl network doesn't do
that anymore. Well, whatever the main headlines are
on Espn,
or whatever. So dig into that, catch the
audible channel great shows there as well from
Ce and Sig and also, the the the
fantasy channel there. We got 3 channels. 3
huge in. Look look back on your life
when you were in high school? Did you
wanna... Did you wanna go to the lunch
table crowd or did you wanna go out
to the smoking deck area,
You know, where the good music was,
where people were telling you about all the
fun things that you can do Or I
was playing all the corners that could be
cut,
you know, all of the little cheat codes
in life, some of them maybe might cheat
you at the end of the day if
it's a little too dangerous. But what was
more fun? You know? I would say, yeah.
Yeah. I would... Bob Bob's gonna lead you
to the to the to the back wall
School where where all the kids are smoking
and devi devi visits experiments that that that
might play prank on the teachers. But you're
gonna be winning.
That's it. That's the plan. So do all
that, check out our rankings also available. On
football guys, go to matt w dot com.
Check out all the latest rs p if
you have got in on the. On the
the ongoing portions of that, the newsletter, the
rankings, all that stuff, check it all out.
Once again, Matt, give them price got and
things they need to know on that? Sure.
If you want the pre draft post draft,
which is probably the most long term value
thing, you're gonna get that for 21 95
at night. W dot com. If you want
the projections that are a good companion piece
with it, that just give you the answers
of how I rate every player
in in at a build now win now
or long term dynasty environment with complete projections
for everybody that I think that's gonna be
on a Foster. You can get that for
24 95, and I give you updates twice.
Once in June,
twice in
August foster times 3 times in August, and
then a couple of times during the during
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probably, like in, like, December or January. And
then in another 1 in June just as
a reminder. So you get a lot of...
You get a lot of info there at
mount w dot com for 46
90, I think is the total price,
you get, you know, you're basically getting,
you know, 2 really in dev
analysis
that's be updated along with newsletters and things
like that. So,
you know, matt w dot com, and and
we definitely appreciate you 19 to years and
going strong heading in the year 20.
It seems like just yesterday. Alright. Kids, that's
it'll it'll be just yesterday when we come
back next Monday and think wow. It was
just like they were just here. But no.
Will have been a week, and we'll see
you that love you matt by. Love you
Bye.