57th Annual Fantasy Extravaganza!!!

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the fiftieth Annual Around the NFL Fantasy Extravaganza with special guests The Big Fish, Evan Silva, Mike Florio, and Marcus Grant of NFL Fantasy Live. Yeah, Matt Harmon, Greg brick By Brick Rosenthal, Hell Yeah, roto Pat Patrick Garney and also Mark is here since that's predictable. And now your host and two time League up record champion Dan hands Is Thank you me you have braw Carnal Charisma. Welcome, Yes to the fifty one annual Around the NFL Fantasy Extravaganza. Yes, excitement is in the air. It's the final week of August, which means your fantasy football draft is right around the corner, or it should be. We are here to ensure that by the end of this episode, there's only one thing left to do. Just like Jake Taylor said in Major League when the whole thing whoa sitting so I left. He's famously put in the work to make triple G is nickname of record, but to me and for the purposes of today's show, he's tripled b brick By Brick Rosenthal, Greg, Fantasy is a life you left behind. But I know it's still inside well I left behind to come with you, here with you and make a new life. And Daddy's happy second marriages with Greg Rosenthal. But a new generation starting like my sons, started to get into fantasy. And that's that's how you that's how you build a legacy the next generation and sitting to Triple Bees left as a man who risked his life on the fantasy corner for years, but now calls the safe confines of the Chris Westling podcast studio his home. He's on the show today, it's Mark Sessler, Mark butter plus absolutely because I think you know, from a listeners standpoint, this is a signature, perhaps the biggest show of the year for many people because it involves their money if they follow our advice and then we're hooked to their their earnings. So how does it a little weird? Biggest show of the year, and your role is always a little I think Dan uh Like obviously enjoyed writing the intro to the show there and um, I'm not surprised by how I was treated within the intro. He loved writing fantasy. It's like, yes, this is you know, they say, don't mess with other people's money. That's what the show is about for us. We're messing with your money, but we're not messing with it. We're protecting it. We're taking that investment that you know off the books, not anything of issue with Uncle Sam investment in your league. Maybe the investment is just for fun. I don't know what you're doing in your league. If that's the case. Uh, And we're gonna turn that into a profit if you listen to our guests, because we have, as you heard in the intro, with that raw bursting charisma, carnal sexuality from our host narrator, this is going to be what is this going to continue? All show? We have a who's who, and because we have so many great guests, we can't waste any more time. This is the Fantasy this is the fifty second Fantasy Extravaganza. It's time to welcome in our first guest. He's a man who used to be a colleague of ours, but now he's doing his own thing. He's killing it. He's got his own website, reception, perception, he knows all fantasy ball. We're gonna talk wide receivers with him because that makes sense. Bring and Matt Harmon, Welcome me, Harmon, unbelievable, there is there he is. Oh, he's looking swollen, newly married. He always spent a lot of money on his hair, and he's still you can tell it's looking good. It's a it's a challenger to what's going on with Dan. No. I'll say this, boys, this is probably um the first time all over the last two months, I've I've done my hair. The hair. The hair is over. I'm a I'm a hat guy. Now. Oh you're into cat realm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well you've had a two month long hat head. That's concerning. I mean you're married now, yes, how is married life? I know we see each other down by the sea from time to time, and it seems like you're very happy and a lucky man. How are you feeling, I'm the luckiest. Things are great. Uh, she's the best personal playing earth, very supportive of Look at that the absurd amount of time I put into the wide receiver games, so that that was kind of the thing, right, Like if somebody who was gonna marry me, they got to understand or try to understand the whole fantasy thing and the reception perception things. Right, your into receivers we're gonna talk receivers, you have the site reception perception. We're gonna talk more fantasy. But what some people don't know, and maybe even you, guys um forgot about this test us Um, is that Matt Harmon was on our show one time before. But it wasn't in the studio, and it wasn't as a member of NFL media. It was as a call in contestant on one of the very first episodes of When West's Toaster back in two thousand and thirteen. Justin let's let's listen to this. Do we have someone on the line that could take West On? We do? And let me tell you that I screened this person so I wouldn't be so so confident. No, you do your studying, but prepared for now on the phone is a true contender. Matt Harmon. Beware, Hey Matt that Harmon? Are you doing? How you doing? Welcome to the Run League podcast that I am from Virginia. Who's your team? Roll? That's a complicated question. That's out of six after the show from that West. This is a big day for Chris Werestling. Yes, it was your victory speech ahead. Well, you know what the Toaster is mine and keeping it earned it and no one else can have it. Matt, whoa, what is this seduction Wednesday? Like that? Wow? Unbelievable And uh, you know Chris westling round to the applause for you know, always defending that title with honor and even when he lost the toaster, West was a man of integrity. Matt, that is amazing. I had no idea. Yeah, I was a huge fan of the show at the time, and a huge fan of West specifically. Sorry guys, mean you're you're right too, But yeah, that was awesome. I mean I was so geeked about that. So you're being able to hear it now, it's pretty green listening to it was amazing. That was our first season that Wast Your Panthers. I think we're the actual team of a t L. We had a different name as a podcast, and uh, it was a controversial episode because we had on we had on the guy who we thought had beat him, and the judge realized after the fact that the judge had made a mistake. It was back in history. But you you got, you got robbed. Three Hammond Eggers that would come on against zero or one, You get three, three, It's not very good. The goal was to get from when West's toaster to this moment now. So I think I think it's literally nine years ago. Um, and here we are now entering the two season and um, Matt the wide receiver group. Uh. For fantasy heads out there, last year, people that drafted Cooper Cup, and I feel like Cup is where he got a start on some level because what Cup did last year, winning the Triple Crown yard catches touchdowns for a guy that had essentially been like a one thousand yard receiver but not a super duper star. Uh, He's gonna go very high in drafts obviously. Two part question One do you feel comfortable saying that's kind of close to his baseline at this point in his career or will be an outlier? And two? Is there someone else out there who has established themselves as a playmaker but you see can win leagues and be the new Cooper Cup in I think that's like the biggest question in all of fantasy this year is who's going to be that like next version of Cooper Cup. Um. I think when you look back at Cooper Cup, this is probably gonna be an outlier year. Like how many times is somebody really gonna win the Triple Crown twice. Probably not gonna happen. But I love the Cooper Cup example, because he's a guy who had a resume, like you said, and in reception perception, he'd always been one of the best z own beating receivers in the entire NFL. And you know, he's he's got the most hyper unique role too, So I think you can like, he doesn't go out there and do like what Stephan Diggs does or something like that, like lineup on the outside against press coverage, against man coverage and and win on a route by route basis. He's schemed into a lot of favorable situations. And I think you kind of if you want to start with like who's the next Cooper Cup, you kind of look at those other big slot receivers. I think one guy who is is like boring. Now at this point, I think Juju Smith Schuster has kind of gone from one of the most overrated receivers in the NFL. It's one of the most underrated receivers in the NFL. And if you look at just his profile compared to Cooper Cup, big slot receiver zone beater, and now he's gotten probably an even bigger quarterback upgrade than Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford, like the ghost of Ben Roethlisberger to Patrick Mahomes is a pretty huge upgrade. But um, if I want to be like exciting, though, I think the guy who takes the step into Dan to steal your phrase the Superstar Club, I think it's Michael Pittman this year for sure. I mean he's gonna go high. I've got him ranked as a top ten receiver, so like I'm already kind of ranking him if he's made that jump. But I mean, this guy is so good. I think his game reminds me people kind of feel like Michael Pittman is like a jump ball receiver, but I kind of view more of a a like a Keenan Allen um Alan Robinson hybrid, like a slasher. He can definitely do that type of stuff like go down the field and win contested, but he can also separate at all three levels and playing the quarterback like Matt Ryan. That's a much better fit than Carson went to me. To me, Chase would be like the answer to your specific question, just Dan, just because like he's right there with Randy Moss is like the best rookie receiving right, the guy that's like you take him in the second or third round and all of a sudden he's winning league. One thing. I was surprised looking at it, and I guess this is a trend every year in fantasy, but especially now more than ever. It's like Matt was ahead of the game. I feel like this is a receiver league, like you see it with the money that's being paid. Uh, and you just see it year after year. There there's so much depth that receiver. But the top like five guys, especially at wide out, to me, are such incredibly safe bets, justin Jefferson and Chase and I'd throw digs and atoms and they're that like I would rather have them than maybe any receiver you know, and certainly almost any I mean any running back rather and and definitely for me, any running back maybe other than Jonathan Taylor. Maybe I would throw Dalvin Cook and Camara in there, but those guys are going later in drafts, and like man, when when you're drafting early, if you're getting a point for reception, all those guys I'd rather have than these running backs. Yeah, Um, I'd like to think I was ahead of the curve. I maybe just got lucky, like when I was doing the wind west toaster, you know in the background. Yeah, I'm charting routes and all that for for reception perception, So it was it was about the same time. But yeah, no, I'm with you, Greg. I think all those guys are just rocks. It's like they're getting taken around the same time that DeAndre Swift and even I'd throw Henry in that mix or like like for Net and Javonte Williams or somehow in the same round as some of these guys. To me see it boggles the mind, like take take the easy like home run, which is these guys early what do you do? You know with the quarterback chain just around the league, Like you've got Jerry Judy, who we've seen the potential and he's trap positions a certain thing. But there's an upgrade in theory because of Russell Wilson and Courtlets Sutton. It sounds like has great chemistry with Russell Wilson. But then the flip side, like a DK Metcalf who is a dominant wide out but stuck in purgatory based on what they're probably gonna get a quarterback to leave. Do you just for your own drafting, would you knock people are gonna want to take DK Metcalf, But what happens to him in that environment? Yeah, it's a great question. And this year you can't really do the old thing of like, well, you know, guy changes teams. You can't really trust fantasy receivers who change teams. Good luck with that if you try to take that strategy right because there's been so much receiver movement and quarterback movement to um over at Yahoo. Like the top forty receivers and a DP, nineteen of them have new quarterbacks. I mean some of these guys, I you can debot passes from Trey Lance, but they're they're not you know, used to starting with him for the full season. So you can't really get away with that with the I mean the Seahawks example specifically, it's so tough because yeah, I mean Metcalf and lock It too. By the way, I don't understand the huge gap between DK Metcalf and Tyra Lockett in terms of an ADP perspective, because if you look at the games that Geno Smith started last year, he actually had a higher target share. Did Tyler Lockett then DK Metcalf and I mean I've been in the bag for for Tyler Lockett from they're both pretty buried. Like I feel like there's a lot of people reacting to the quarterback situation, like you mentioned a J. Brown, Like both the Eagles seem insanely low to me in terms of a J. Brown could be a top six or seven fantasy receiver and DeVante Smith I would expect to do better. But I think people just look at Jalen Hurt, so they look at Trey Lance when it comes to AYUK and they get a little scared. I'm not as scared. I like all those guys. I think it receiver you can bet on talent more than any other position in fantasy, like a running back. Sometimes a guy really can be tanked by a situation. But with receiver, like the best players do tend to rise to the top, and there are certain guys like the San Francisco example is great that I think Trey Lance is skill set. I mean we haven't seen it fully, but his theoretical skill set overlaps so much more with a UK than it does like Jimmy g and Deebo Samuel that was a great connection stylistically, So I think you can look at quarterbacks in that way, not necessarily just even how good they are, but what type of receiver do they fit with? And when you spend a lot of time watching a receiver, you typically tend to find out that, like what type of quarterbacks fit with them the best? And like Sutton seems like he would with wrest of us. Are you high on both of those guys there? I can't shake the feeling that we get to like week six and week seven and we're looking at the Denver Broncos just kind of this is this is it? I think with with I agree, I just think it's spen. It's been like taking that for the AC title game. I don't buy that. I would love to have been able to come in here and say like, oh yeah, Courtland Sutton and Jerry Judy, these guys are coming off great years from an individual perspective, and you know, for your listeners that aren't familiar with reception perception, what I try to do is, I think it's the only tool out there that can truly isolate wide receiver play from the rounding variables. Because we know wide receiver productions so inherent on um those outside variables. You know, to get there, obviously you need to have a good quarterback, all that stuff. But um, I don't think Courtland Sutton played that well in isolation last year. There's a reason that he totally fell off the map once Jerry Judy got back there, and Judy obviously was banged up. I think, guess the things you can make an injury excuse for both these guys, like Courtland Sutton was playing first year after an a c L, Jerry Judy playing on a high ankle sprain. But I just don't think either of those guys. We haven't seen it from Sutton since he towards a c L, even though he was a great player that year. With Judy, we've only kind of seen it in flashes. And I think losing Tim Patrick is a is a big deal. Like now their third receiver, you know, kJ Hammler is not even really doing like team drills, He's like running individual drills. So I've I'm okay ranking these guys where we're like a round where they are in a DP, but they're not some of my prime targets there. I have two players I wanted to talk about here. One is the first round guy that if you're picking in the middle to back end of the first round, I'm wondering where you are on Tyreek Hill because he is that special Hall of Fame level player that I'm sure on reception perception grades off the charts for what he does well. But you are going it's the reverse of the Jujue. You're going from Patrick Mahomes to a lesser entity even though some people are very high obviously on TWA. And then the second part is a guy a little later in drafts that could be seen as a steel but then maybe again, like in November, you're like, I overthought that one. He had been out of the league for two years, and now he's got Jameis Winston, Michael Thomas. Where are you on those two guys? Yeah, Tyreek Hill, I've got him, you know, ranked around like the fringe top ten area. I'm fine taking him there. I don't think you can really justify a top twenty ranking for a guy like Jalen Waddle and Tyreek Hill because I just think this is gonna be a run first offense, questionable quarterbacks, so I think you kind of have to put a flag on one or the other. Like, if you're gonna rank Tyreek Hill top ten, you can't really rank Jalen Waddle top seventeen because the math just doesn't really work out there. But at the same time, they also don't really have any like a relevant third receiver. So I'm fine with where Tyreek kills going, but I'm not super bullish one way or another. UM on Michael Thomas, though I said this going into last year, I think Michael Thomas gets a bad rap is like the slamboy thing. It's a good nickname because it's objectively hilarious and it bothers him. That's how you know it's a good nickname anything sometimes, but podcast yeah, yeah, um. But I think that Michael Thomas actually is like a full field route runner. He has the second highest success rate verse man coverage score since two thousand fourteen in reception perception all time. Like, I think he can do it all. It's just been so long since we've seen him. What type of player is he? At? Is he? At this point? I'm actually kind of excited about Jamie's potentially unleashing him. We took about a quarterback and wide receiver relationship earlier talk to me right, Um, I think that like Deonte Johnson is a guy who gets you know, kind of typecasted. Is he can only run these little pop gun routes because Ben Roethlisberger could really only throw those pop gun routes. And I think you know, West was on this early about Drew Brees that his arm strength was in severe decline. That was kind of right as Michael Thomas was hitting his prime. So I think that's why Thomas has that like slamboy moniker. But you know he goes around like wide receiver thirty thirty two. I'm fine taking him as like your third wide receiver because at that point, man, that's I mean, that's what I love. That's what I love. Me in some fantasy drafts is you take take the swings and again to talk about West, that was take those like there are so many good receivers. I would I would look in the rounds like five through eight. It's crazy. It's just deeper than it's ever been to get a guy like Michael Thomas, DeAndre Hopkins. I'll live with that suspension for him to come back a little later. Like feeling is going in that area in the sixth round. To me, he has like huge upside this year, and then you get deeper and it's like Elijah More, all the second year guys, Man, Elijah More, it seemed crazy to me. He's so clearly to me, gonna probably be the one there in I you can all these guys, I would just keep loading up because all those running backs, you've taken that area of one of your Yeah, I'm so in on Elijah More. I think he's he's gonna be a big time player. He's one of these guys that in their rookie season hit seventy success rate verse. Man, Like those guys are the stars of the NFL. There are very very few guys who have been true failures that have hit that marked in RP. I mean there's guys like you know, Sterling Shepherd who's been fine, like Curtis Samuel who's been fine. But for the most part, these are like the all stars of the NFL. So, yeah, he had kind of blown up and then got hurt and then that stopped his momentum, but had his biggest game last year with Joe Flecco. There you go right and right, and they I would work. I would we be a little wary of Garrett Wilson just because I think it's crowded there and it might take him a little minute. But take be like an NFL team, if you've especially got three wide receivers and reflex like draft five good ones, draft six good ones, you'll end up using them all. And if you've got too many, like great, you'll they'll they will be as easy to trade as an can. I ask you about one guy real quickly. George Pickens is like blown up the summer, and if I think if you're a more casual fantasy person and you're a Steelers fan, I just would take him because it's like I want him to be great. He's so. I mean, rookies, do you just tend to not trust them as much no matter what happens in the preseason, or does someone like Pickens kind of rise up through the ranks for you? Rookies are interesting and fantasy because I'd rather be outside of the guys like last year Jamar Chase and I think Drake London and Chris Olobby this year, I'm I'm fine like drafting from the jump because you can project them to a really big roll right away, just based on the other guys that are there, and also how good those those players are. There are players like I think Alec Pierce fits into this. I think George Pickens, though he's probably gonna start, I would start him in two wide receiver sets over Chase. He's been into wide receiver sets. I think he's I think he's a really really good prospect. So he might be an exception to this. But typically, like a guy like Sky Moore, you want them to be sort of that. I'm on Ross st. Brown last year that when the bye week kits, you see their snaps rising, you see their targets start to ros getn't taken so late. I mean he's almost take. The thing is though a lot of these guys, um like I'll go back to the St. Brown example. Um, who's another player I really liked this year among that second year group. All the folks that had him on their teams that like one championships last year were probably not the ones that drafted him as that late flyer. I mean, you could take him and drop him, but be ready to like pick him back up if you start to see those snaps rising, the playing time rising. That's just one thing that I was nothing worse than that when you have the vibe on a player in August and you think you're smart and then the slow start and you're losing. Then someone else catches in on that lotto ticket. Um, all right, Matt Harmon, Man, we could talk for another hour with you, but we have such a a jam pack show. But you were a perfect leadoff man. Here check out Matt on Twitter at Matt Harmon you of course, Matt, you could find it Yahoo Fantasy. Uh. And of course his reception perceptions that what you, by the way, call RP. Just throwing it out there. That's great i P. Intellectual pro pretty that you created and hopefully you leverage that into multi millionaire steps eventually fingers crossed a branding whiz. Here is all right, Matt Harmon, thank you very much. Appreciate it, guys, Thank you, thank you. All right, there goes. Matt will be right back with more very special guests. The fifties second Annual Fantasy Extravagunz. We are back. The Extravaganza rolls on with some very special guests joining us in studio right here, colleagues from the NFL Fantasy Game Marcus Grant, Mike Florio, Welcome to around the NFL. This music, it sounds like it sounds like something from like an Apple TV space epic produced by Tom Hankton. You know, something gets all like all kind of loan from the critics, but like no one you know and real life I've ever seen it. Absolutely, what is up, Mike Florio? First time long tixt time? Yeah, first time, long time. We're assuming a long time. I'm not sure that, yes, very long time. I'm just happy to be here with you guys. Um. You guys are with the NFL Fantasy Live Gang here at NFL Network, also the podcast and anywhere else you find the content for NFL Fantasy, you will see Marcus and Mike prominently involved with the rest of the gang. And I think because we have you guys together, I think it would be fun to get into a little debate type you know this This Trying cast started as the a t L debate Clube did. How about a little debate between Mike and Mark Trying. That's what the show is mostly about. We like to create artificial conflict. That space is it is it? Actually, it's a good way to Um. I want to start because this one's juicy to me. Let's move We just talked wide receivers with your former colleague Matt Harmon. Let's talk running backs. Let's talk Ezekiel Elliott, who is polarizing bond beyond belief. Once upon a time, a couple of years ago, this guy's a top five pick and fantasy drafts. Now it feels like it swung the other way and many people see him as washes and someone to stay away from. Where do you come down on this one, Marcus? I want to be washed to the tune of being the RB seven last year? Which is which is? Which is what he was? Um? I feel like tales of Ezekiel Elliott's demise are greatly exaggerated. Uh, this is a guy who looks I know the talk that he didn't have the burst, he didn't have the acceleration. He also was playing injured for a good chunk of the year last year. Fantasy Twitter has put Tony Pollard in the Cowboys ring of honor. Um, you know, and I don't. I don't quite see it. I still think I still think Zeke has a lot left. Plus everything the Cowboys have told us this offseason says they still want him to be the workhorse back. Uh, they still want to give him, you know, two D seventy five touches, and I feel like there aren't many running backs that you can draft that's still have that sort of touch share. So I'm still in on Zeke. I will certainly take the gladly take the discount. He's coming off the board in the third round, so I will gladly draft him there. I think it's discount. It's still pretty early. It is still pretty early, but it's a discount compared to you know, in Zeke's past, when you were talking about him as easily you know, a first round guy. Uh, it's it's and I feel like it's gone up. Actually, I feel like it was fourth fifth round earlier this summer. So I will gladly draft him in the third round. You know, if I'm going to wide receivers early, I'll make him my first running back. I'm totally happy with that. Mike, does this sound like madness to you? Uh? So? The one issue with the fact that me and Marcus talk fantasy football all day long is that you know, some of his opinions rub off on me and Marcus a Zeke believer, but third round is too early for me. Uh The thing with Zeke is the last couple of years, like last year he finishes the RB seven, but I believe in an individual week he was a top seven running back one time. So he's kind of like a volume dependent guy who at the end of the year you're gonna be like, oh wow, he greatly exceeded his A D p UM. But I just if I'm taking someone in the third round, I'm a sucker for upside, So I think like E. T N and Breece Hall would be more than running backs that that I go for there, because my my concern with Zeke is if that volume starts to dwindle, whether they start passing more or Tony Pollard does eat into that workload, I think then he'll struggle to return RB one value. But luckily for Marcus and people drafting him, you do not have to take him as an RB one. When I saw that you had a Breefe Hall above him, I mean, the Jets are a projection entirely on offense too. I just I found that spicy that that's that was that you're a bit of an outlier on that front. I I give me all the Breefe all over, Zeek. That's what I guess bad boys do. We have a much cooler Floria. I'll say this that like what Marcus is saying. And I don't know if I'm taking him in the third round, but I see what you're saying because he if he was playing through a partially touring PCL last year in his knee. Okay, the fact that he ended up RB seven, that's kind of impressive and be I totally buy into. Sometimes on the Owner slash GM, like Jerry Jones, even on the only one, Jerry Jones says to the media, Oh, he's still our guy. He's gonna be our bell cow Is like when Jared says it financially, he has reasons for it. So I think he's telling his head coach, the owner, he is our guy. Make it worth gonna say. Is he telling it to us as fans of the media, or is he is he speaking to Mike McCarthy. This is not Georgia Frontier issuing fantasy. Mike Florio, how about the quarterback position? I love you want to talk about spicy takes. Mike Florio hates Patrick partially because I'm a Bills fan. Okay, I understand that. I understand that out of the those twelve seconds, probably why you why do you think that Patrick Mahomes is someone that are you saying people should stay away from Patrick Mahomes. I'm not saying you should stay away from him. I don't think he should be going as a top three quarterback like he is in most fantasy drafts. And my reason is one I I think, of all non quarterbacks, Tyreek Hill is the most influential offensive player in the NFL, Like he opens up so much for everyone else. And I think Patrick Mahomes will be fine with Juju and sky Moore and all those guys they brought in, But I don't think he's gonna have someone that could take a tanyard pass eighty yards or someone that will consistently be opened downfield and just create a lot more room underneath. But also the biggest thing is that the five guys I have ahead of him, Alan Herbert, uh Kyler, Mury, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, they all run a lot more than Patrick Mahomes does. And in fantasy football like that is kind of like a cheat code getting a running back quarterback who can run like that. So I think he will be a QB one I just think the five guys that I have ahead of him have a easier path to being the best quarterback and fantasy than Mahomes does. Why do you hate like Florio as a person just because I mean, how do you how do you how do you spit on Patrick Mahomes like that? I mean it's like it's like putting catch up on a state. Wait, that's not probably not a good analogy as my Homes, right, Um, I still believe in Mahomes. I still have him as a top three quarterback for me, and I sort of looked like for you, uh, for me, I think you're still talking about the fourth round, which is weird, Like I will probably never have Patrick Mahomes because of where you have to draft him. I'm not I'm not ready to draft a quarterback at that spot just yet. Um, but I still believe. I think in a weird way, maybe not having Tyreek Hill helps him out. And I always go back to some of early career Drew Brees right where it was hard to peg a Saint's wide receiver maybe outside of Marcus Colston that you really wanted, but you knew Drew Brees was gonna be a top five guy, because he was spreading the ball around to a whole bunch of players. Mahomes has been amazing pretty much just funneling the ball to Travis Kelsey and Tyreek Hill. Now he's got Kelsey, Now he's got Juju. I think Veldez Scantling makes some plays. I think sky More kind of slides in there. And whether or not he's throwing it, you know, take your running back pick right, if it's Clyde Edwards a layer, if it's Isaiah Pacheco, who has become a fantasy hipster pick. Now, I think there's a lot more places to go with the football. And I know we all love the quarterbacks who can run, and those are the guys we love in the top five. The other way to be a top five quarterback is to be insanely efficient, which is what we've seen out of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. If there's anybody who can slide into that, I think it's Patrick Mahomes. And maybe maybe having a wider selection of targets means he's not playing hero ball as much. Maybe he's not forcing it and some of those those throws we saw last year that ended up his interceptions maybe they turn into completions and touchdowns and we see Patrick Mahomes still finish, you know, the top three guy, Like where where are you? Floria on? And when to take these quarterbacks generally because it is confusing, I think taking a step back and like looking at the drop off at running back for instance, Like at first, there there's all these great players Kamara, I like the sa Quan bounce back idea, you know, uh chub Aaron Jones. Those are like second round type of guys, maybe Joe Mixing. And then it's like Zekiel Elliott and Cam Akers and James Conner and e t n and Josh Jacobs and there like third and fourth round guys, and it's like are they that good at like playing football? Like which is is a factor because you start losing touches and everything. And then you can compare that to guys like Lamar or Jalen Hurts or Kyler and like quarterbacks that to me, our money in the bank will get running back like like that will get running value for you, and like and or the receivers that are available there. It just feels to me and and and tell me if I'm wrong, like these mediocre running backs are really getting pushed up the board. Yeah. That, and we like to call it like the RB dead zone, which is where like people start just pulling up running backs because they're like, oh my god, all the good running backs are gone, now I need one, So they're just gonna leave other positions like good talent on the board. But I do agree with Marcus, like Mahomes fourth round is about is about right. But just because quarterback is so deep, I'd rather take a receiver or I'd probably avoid those running backs, he said. But I'll take like a receiver there or something, and I'll just get a quarterback a little bit later. I do say, though, by the way I think, and I say this every summer, I think we are in line for kind of a rethinking of quarterback scoring because if we all believe that Josh Allen is great or Patrick Mahomes is great, I don't believe it should be a strategic disadvantage to draft those guys. And that's sort of where we are right now, and I think we need to figure out something. Unless you do a QB two QB league, I don't even that's how you play the spart in modern time. But I don't think I don't think that does it either. I think what that does is create scarcity. I don't think I don't think it separates the elites from the mediocres. I think it just creates scarcity. Like we need to be in a world where we live in a world right now where Jameis Winston can throw and end up as a top five quarterback and that's just not that's just not kosher to me. So uh, you know, whether it's turn into league winners though that they do all the time, like Lamar is a league. I think Jalen Hurts will be a league winner this year if you like, just take him in the fourth round instead of these six times you've got Aaron Rodgers Mike down at I find that intriguing too. I trust him to produce. I joked that this is the first time ever that his Fantasy ranking is higher than his number. The thing is, he lost Avante Adams and he doesn't run at all, and he's been a quarterback who's been relying on like being uber efficient the last couple of years, and with his receiving room, I know he's great. He's Aaron Rodgers. He's been on a spiritual journey and all that. I don't know if he's gonna be able to do that. Also know, I would say is very intricate, not unlike his his his nice he his artist gets paid a lot of money. I'm sure he's also like the back to back reigning m VPS thirty eight, is he just gonna just win m v P every year at this point? Maybe he would be a guy I would stay away from. I want to throw I want to throw this name out here, and I like, I am not an expert like you guys, but I play the game I have. In my League of rec hear the second overall pick, you said you were a two time record, not in that league. Like as you said, it almost sounded like you won the around the NFL league. There's no such thing. Yeah, this is the League of Record, going back to it with some chums from the late nineties. But I'm saying, in my League of Record of the second overall pick, I'm gonna say three words, Christian McCaffrey. Help. I mean, I'm fine with it there, And I understand what Christian McAffrey last year. No, I get it. I understand if Christian McCaffrey is there at too. I'm taking McCaffrey um just because, look, one running back is especially fragile. Any guy can get hurt pretty much at any time. But when healthy, there aren't many guys who play the same number of snaps and get the same number of touches that Christian McCaffrey is going to get. And you have to think that Floria and I talked about is you know what happens if they decide to maybe ease off and give him a few more touches. And my responses, Matt Rule has announced a self present vation. He's going to ride Christian McCaffrey because he is the best player on that team. So you know, I would say they would rest him if this was a team that was locked in to make the playoffs and they just wanted to keep him healthy until January. Matt Rule wants to make sure he has a job this time next year, and so as long as McCaffrey is healthy, he's going to get twenty five to thirty touches a game, and there just aren't many guys out there who can do what he does when he gets those number of touch I'm a little surprised. I'm going off Fantasy football calculator. Here he's going number two, so you know two point four overall is where he's at a DP. I'm surprised more people aren't scared off by two straight lost seasons. The only thing to say is like he didn't have a catastrophic injury, uh to a lower body. And he also when he did play the last two years, he was still McCaffrey, so you you can imagine maybe maybe there's some aggression. There's literally historical precedent from in NFL history. Football outsiders did kind of a look at it someone that that was that productive that early and then missed two seasons like this, like it's literally never happened. So it's it's tough to protect. Bell is like the type of guy, like he was a superstar stud at running back. He was gone for a long time and then he was just out of the line. Looks way better. He he had to do this behind some bad offensive lines. They drafted. The thing with him, though, is not only does he give you RB one numbers every week, he gives you wide receiver one numbers every week because he's the only running back that's gonna get you like ten catches for a hundred yards and receiving makes me draft this overall. Take justin Jeffer, Yeah, I like that, or cup or Chase go wide receiver. Wide receivers stressful, but if you get a point for reception, it's just like you're just you know, you're gonna be happy with those guys and like and I kind of like the running backs at the end. This is one thing that that annoys me about fantasy football because it's just like everything else with the NFL trying to have a softer it. But you spent four months, Uh it's mid February and everyone's drafting and drafting and drafting. You get ten days into the regular season and everyone's rosters are shattered. I mean, I think if you're a newer player, shouldn't there be more uh off season strategy and teaching the people to how what happens when everything goes off the train tracks and it's like September nine and your rosters going I think, but that some people don't know how to scour the wire. It's like you have the upper two in the morning doing it. No. I think I think that's fair. I think that's how I did. It was like I'm gonna beat these guys and get this guy first off. Like you know, there's there's the the generates like us who are drafting like right after the Super Bowl. And I will tell you this from past experience, having drafted like best ball teams, like in February or March, I get to August, I'm like, what was I doing? But yeah, I mean I think I always tell people, you know, who do a lot of drafts and do a lot of analysis, I always tell them get in a draft with just casual fans. Get in a draft with like especially if you're like one of us that works for the NFL, and then you just start throwing, punching, you know, because it's it's fun, you know, when it's May and it's it's it's July. Like we're talking about Isaiah Spiller, Isaiah Pacheco and like, hey man, Damian Pearce is gonna be something. But like being a draft with like your friends from high school who don't follow this and suddenly like three quarterbacks are gone in the first round, like that will teach you sort of how to deal with that chaos. And and yeah, I mean, I think part of our gig is to explain that to people like how do you how do you draft when things go sideways? How do you how do you keep your roster afloat when you know suddenly that the running back you draft in the second round, you know, suffers an unfortunate injury is gonna be gone for eight weeks or more. Um, you know, that's that's all part of the thing, because you know you can't you can't win. You don't win or lose your draft, your your league on draft day. It really is a progression of what happens in the season. It's it's waiver wires, it's making trades, it's kind of staying up on that. So we're like, you know, I feel like that's part of our responsibilities to kind of teach folks, how dan so are you? Is that? How you the title twice like NFL employee taking out hamm and eggers and like laundring. Now tell you there's a lot to it. My last title I had out and Kamara playing on Christmas Day and scoring six touchdowns. Four fantasy analysis from Marcus Grant and Mike Florio. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast wherever you get your podcasts and stream the NFL Fantasy Football Show on NFL dot Com, YouTube, the NFL App and the NFL Fantasy App. Boys, you've said it all. We will be following you throughout the season, and uh keep baking up. Bro, you know you can't stop, Mike. You're gonna take it down to the risk in time if I'm allowed to here. That's my only thing for Paul's But if they let me, I will gladly do it. You have to shave your forearms to have the extensive work. I don't put the artist, don't. Alright, NFL Fantasy guys, thank you very much, appreciate it all Right there they go. Thank you to Mike and Marcus in the train keeps rolling. On Our next guest, you may know him as Rhodo Pat friends Patty. We'll go with the formal name Patrick Daherty. Welcome Act two around the NFL our Friend. Yeah, you go with my Brazilian soccer moniker. My one my one word name of Rhodo Pat. Like you said, my friends just called me Pat, so we try to get it down to one syllable and uh so that's why you just called me Pat. How many friends do you have? Uh? You know, I've got several several and several who live in the same town I live. Anyhow, I'd like to call you a friend, Rhodo Pat. I mean, we've barely ever met each other in real life, but we we did work together. He he laid some of those bricks Dan type of friendship with Chris Wrestling. That's good. You're a brick layer, though. That's how you do it. You build it online, you cement it with one or two real life meetings, then you never meet in person again and you text about tennis. All right, So, Rhoto Pat, you are a man that we turned to for the purposes of this exercise. Uh, you know, we could we call it cranky Take. Cranky Takes with Rhodo Pat. And I don't know if that's is that set you up in the nicest light. I don't know. And you can this is Greg's idea, So you can take it out with your close friend Greg Rosenthal. But we want to see some things where you're bucking against conventional wisdom in the fantasy realm, as people get ready to draft things that people are hot on, and you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Stop the clocks. Let's figure this out and let's talk about it. Rhodopad, give us some cranky tags, bro. First off, stop the clocks is an amazing phrase. I don't know ever anyone else to use it. Um, I stole it from the Oasis. Best of There you go. Now you've found a way into my heart. There you go. The first of that is how Greg basically described in the segments, like basically, come on, Andy, I mean, this is this is who you are. We like to flatten out people's personalities. We do not like nuance. We want you to be a cartoon character, a two dimensional show, right and you are. You do have, um some bite to your Twitter takes, and you are kind of in the a system, but you also buck against the system. So yeah, like, what what is like a fantasy sort of conventional take right now? That's not flying U flying pass Rhodopad, Well, no one has ever described me in such hip terms before. You are wearing a blaze, which also hearing to go on the fancy James Dean, just bucking up against the system. And Greg, I'm gonna steal one from you because I've been like a whistle stop tour all summer truthing Leonard four Net. Yeah, it's like a running back one and some people listening to the show, I've literally it's like my stump speech. I've already said this, Like I was in Topeka, I said, I was in Council Bluffs. I said it was in Joaukegan, Illinois. I said it. So sorry if you've already heard me say this, But like I feel like it's been memory hold that Leonard four Nett was a healthy scratch, like literally three or four weeks before he was the mrighty Lenny, Like he totally his back the end of the job, and then you know, did a decent job with it. I guess I can't deny that, but you know, he's been living off these receptions in fantasy and he's just not a good pass catcher. He's not an efficient pass catcher at all. It's just like the definition of empty volume. And he's not the most efficient runner. He's a little more efficient than you would maybe assume, just like looking at his raw counting stats, but he's not terribly explosive after first contact anymore. And when you look at the Bucks breaking in three new starters along their interior line, yeah again, he kind of like bumbled into this job. And but the Bucks see the same things I see where they've taken another day two shot on a pass catching back and Rashad White, and I think people sometimes it's kind of assumed that since Keishawn Vaughan didn't work out, like the rookie has no chance to just work out in the Tom Brady led offense. But it's been like a pretty solid summer for Rashad White. I was gonna say his ADP is in the second round. You would, I mean, you would kill me before I would take Leonard Fournette in the second round of a draft, because it plenty is that because the running back and like you know seen in general, falls off a cliff after a certain number of them. It does, it does. And but he's got like the two like magic things in fantasy where he has goal line carries and receptions, but he doesn't score as many touchdowns as you expect. I think partly because Tom Brady is so wildly efficient in the red zone, and I just don't believe in those receptions remaining there, you know, not to mention all the other stuff where he's starting to have durability woes. He's having some conditioning woes. I mean, not the past, judge. I have quite literally eaten cake four days in a row with my birthday last week. There's like the red flags are piling up for Leonard Frett, a guy who I just feel like he's been living on borrowed time. And like the sharpest drafters out there, like the best ball drafters, the people who drafted the underdog, and they've got him, They seriously got him as an RB one, and I just for the life of me cannot figure it out. It feels like hitting on like seventeen, you know, it's just like taking It's like the classic, you know, like in a team ends a free agent and they get like ten sacks and like, and instead of just letting them go and trying to find the next version of that player, the team resigns them to like a three year, thirty six million dollar deal, Like they go back to being a bust. Yes, that's exactly what I feel like it's happening. I think they send your black Jack analogy. Like in black Jack, if the old lady at the end of the table, Mildred, hits on seventeen, you get up off the table and you walk. But when you have if you're in a fantasy league with someone taking Leonard for Net in the first round, Oh, get comfortable, buddy, because it's good to have chum in your league. Right, West and I would West and I would talk about this one of like they're there's they're almost seems to be hesitance and fantasy now because it's very analytical and that you know, people are making a lot of money and there's a hesitance to ever even evaluate if they're good at football or not, like because that has been proven over time to be very difficult to do. But I think you can look at a guy like for Net or some of these other running backs. I keep hitting this at that point, like like a James Conner and Acres or I would even throw Javonti Williams in there, Like Leonard Fournett hasn't been that effective for the team that hired him to be effective in the vast majority of seasons in which he played football, So that's data too. Like I think you can make the the assessment that that big of an up and down player is such a risk at that point in the draft, when you've got basically money receivers and money quarterbacks or other positions that you can take. Whose mean investing in situation over the players. But it's just like I think with Leonard Fournett, there are enough red flags at this point where I just like don't believe in the situation strongly enough to overlook the fact that, like you said, he's just never been a good NFL. He's never been horrible, but at best he's a league average. All right, So who else you cranky about? I mentioned James Connor and he's really in like the exact same boat as Leonard Fournett, and he's going in like the exact same a DP range. And it's just again something I'm just surprised to see from the Shark drafting community because they get it. Seems like running it back with last year's bargain. I mean, James Conner was like, quite literally like a league winner for a lot of people last year because there were zero expectations for him. There was so much Chase Edmonds height. But he was so so, so so touchdown reliant, fifteen touchdowns. He's someone who's appeared in more than fourteen games one time in his career, and that was last year with fifteen. Like he is like the definition of a league average runner. He's in a little more all over the map as a pass catcher or he said, some pretty effective pass catching seasons. But he's another guy were like, even if he stays healthy, like I think the ceiling is probably like ten to eleven touchdowns. He's mean someone you wish you had taken in the fourth or fifth round, but to get him, you have to take him in the second or third round. And it's just the class I'm not instead of taking James Conner. I'm just trying to find who this year's James Conner? Who? Who are some guys that you're almost cranky that like people aren't giving them enough love? Like why don't they? Why don't they see what? Rhodo pat S's Tyler Lockett, who is a guy I usually don't want to draft because he's kind of got like the nonsensical narrative. Like Tyler Lockett is like almost a player you have to believe in superstition because like every year he has the numbers no matter what, but it always seems like he only does it in four games. He's always very very super frustrating. He's also likened real it's no it's a poly math. He's like a straight line from Thomas Jefferson to Tyler Lockett. He's a man of many arts and principles, but he's going is quite literally the wide receiver forty eight on Underdogs because the yeah, he's going as the wide receiver thirty six one lock effect a little bit his, but also like there's there is a baseline to any people are drafting the Seahawks wide receivers as if they're going to attempt fifteen to twenty passes a game, and like that might be like Pete Carroll's like wildest dream, Like they're still gonna attempt to passes per game, like every NFL team essentially has to. And it's an extremely narrow target tree. Both Tyler and fantasy term like that narrow target tree ere gonna command massive target shares like Tyler Lockett. He might not be top twenty four like he's gonna. Tyler is probably gonna have another fact. I like that he's very post Like those are great players to take that have established as great players that for some reason have no fod Here the five wide receivers that are going just ahead of Tyler Lockett and drafts right now, Alan Lazard totally unproven, with Aaron Rodgers new new Copkins who's not even playing football until the end of October, Robert Woods coming off an a C l on a new team, Christian Kirk again a projection on a new team. Uh in Jacksonville that was a wipeout last year. Could Darius Tony with the Giants? Need I say more? And then Tyler Locket, All right, I like him too, but it's like he's Daniel Jones is a quarterback and that's that's a big projection. Locket, Yes, I understand. Russell Wilson has gone I'm with you. I hear you on that. Give us another one. Get cranky? Well you mentioned some of the guys. What first? DeAndre Hopkins, Like we talked about injury optimism and fantasy, like you know, I know this guy's not gonna play for a while, but I'm gonna stash him and when I make the playoffs to lie back and so sorry, it's not injury optimism, of course, it's suspension optimism with DeAndre Hopkins. And sure in theory he could be like like a second wide receiver one or two for you in the playoffs, but in order for that to happen, you have to make the playoffs, and you are severely hurting your odds of making the playoffs. If you're carrying a dead roster spot for literally fifty of the fantasy seasons. He suspended for six games, then they have their buy in week thirteen. So you know, by definition, Dean, your Hopkins will not be playing for at least So I shouldn't stat like Antonio Brown for that November signing. That happens every season, maybe even a Dynasty League. Then you know it doesn't matter. They're like, that's just like free the rosters. It doesn't used roster anyone. And if you're watching us on YouTube, you can see Rhodo. Pat's got a nice bookshelf behind him, wearing a nice blazer, classing up. But there seems to be a bust of, like, uh, an historical figure. I'm just curious, who is that? Who is that? This is Mr this is Mr Marcus Twain. Okay, Mark Twain, very great. I mean it's you're trying to make it clear to us that you're very literary with the background, which I don't disapprove of. That's a Missouri thing. Yeah, So I've read a book. Don't get me wrong. I've read a book and if I opened you know, I would be able to If I open any one of these books to any one page, I'd probably know at least five to ten of the world. Do you have any cranky takes, because we haven't talked about tight ends yet and kind of punky positional group in fantasy right now, do you have any cranky takes at the tight end position? Well, I have a cranky take about someone who's essentially a tight end. Al Lazard. Am I right, folks, not really a receiver. He's a six ft five, very low, but so Alazar. I will just say really quick, Alazar. Aaron Rodgers says he's the number one receiver. Aaron Rodgers also says a lot of things. Alan's already seems like a player without a second gear. I just do not see it happening a tight end. What's your strategy at tight end? It seems like a strange time in the fantasy tight end world. It is the top six or seven. There's like a huge drop off after, like the Dalton Schultz Dallas Goddard zone, and Schultz is like the tight end six. And that's frankly kind of like the cut off of like safely projectable targets and production, Like even Dallas Goddard, t J. Hockenson gets a little shaky because we don't quite understand the nature of the Eagles offense. T J. Hockenson has like really robust target competition for the first time in his career. And then where I kind of get cranky is Dawson Knox where I feel I feel bad because I like big play players and he's an explosive play threat, but I think it was not eying touchdowns and like seventy three targets last year that's just totally unsustainable, like classic textbook touchdown regression waiting to happen and the way you offset touchdown regression by increasing your targets. But I just don't see how he can increase targets like the rise of Gabriel Davis that they're like improving their slot situation by swapping out Cole Beasley for Isaiah Mackenzie and Jamison Crowder, and it just seems like it's gonna be like a classic touchdown aggression season for Dawson. Now, this could be he might just be like truly best friends with Josh Allen, which is actually is the buzz and maybe he'll be the preferred guy in the red zone. That's our friend, Adam Levitan. Sohour narrative there, they're friends. If they're taking the showers together in the locker room, than then that could mean a lot of things that many many many are you are you buying into the Kyle Pitts becomes God this year? Yes, I am. But also Marcus Mariotta, what was like his defining characteristic as a passer and to not make an under any circumstances. He's not a guy that would like put you in position to make big plays like he did not attempt dangerous throws. Was like that Monday night football game was a perfect example. Kyle Pitts destroys the Jets cornerback on the outside plane wide out and picks up a forty yard game from Mariota. But it would have been a seventy yard touchdown if if someone else was throwing that when I'm seeing Kyle Pitts as the overall player, but they're suggesting that Antonio Gibson, who has been operating with the third team and returning kicks, iss like I'm the only one that could be cranky on this show. Shut Down. I'm just I'm backing your point. I mean, you're telling you to take They're telling you to take JK. Dobbins over George Kittle. So yeah, this whole like that, we've been talking about how that round looks weird for running backs, right that that round, that area is weird. So I'm gonna I'm gonna stand on the table here. I'm gonna have a cranky take. I mean, Pitts and Kittle. If you could get a guy like Kittle who is going in the first round like a year ago or two years ago, and it's still in the middle of his prime, it is going in the fourth round, take that guy now at the time, Like that is an area where I don't like the players being taken that much. The running backs and even some of the receivers definitely pits Kittle fourth round to it. It's time. There's a fantasy, Greg hijacking your segment. There's a fantasy truism about tight ends. Is that the the the kiss of death and fantasy is you do not want to tie it. End to be a good blocker, you just do not want to tie it. You want them to be horrible. You want them to be like Mike Jasecki out there like feigning a block and then just like running around his guy and like catching a twelve yard pass. George Kittles is too good at blocking and you know it gets him hurt a lot too. He's like such a ferocious blocker, like the Kittle negative case. He was seventy one last year, you know, serious negative Kittle case is like how much is this offense really gonna pass? As we like transition to the trail liet But I've been drunk man who have two hundred yard games every season, and George does. He does that, but to the durability point. That's the thing, is like he's gonna miss two games or he's gonna miss eight games. And you know it's only one, only one, Only one time did he miss significant games. So it doesn't feel like he's always hurt. But at those two guys especially, I was getting flashbacks because we were in London for the Pitts Falcons Jets game and then it was on Monday night football. I feel like player and take me in to London with you one of these years, by the way, just come, I mean we won't love to pay for you, but if you come, we will take hours with you. Will you bring you if you bring this cranky energy, we're going. We will have you as an unpaid guest on our live show, but we will have free beers from all the listeners who are there. I'll be cranky. I'll stow away in the wheel well of your charter ship when I get there. Pat Darty, how about a plug before we say goodbye? I mean, just everything, keep it locked to NBC Sports Edge Rodal World. It's the final weekend of the preseason, which doesn't mean what it used to. I mean, most of these guys, but the word, the name, Rhodo World is back. I'm actually on a show with you, Rhodo Pat, where they drafted alumni or mock draft. People should check that out. We were actually asking you to plug us. But that's okay. Whatever it is you're saying, that's on, that's on Peacock or that's world is back. Rhodo World is back. To talk about the past. Word back. Matthew Berry said he was integral in bringing it back. He like that was part of his negotiation. That was my theory. You're what happened to the marketing executive that came up with the NBC Sports Edge. He got that person's operating in a different industry. At this point, I'd imagine, um Mark, I'm not here talking about yea, yeah, there are no reverse gears in the tank of Rhodo path. Thank you, our friend, and we will catch up to you down the road. I hope you think there, he goes Patrick Arty. That was good. We did him there last time because we had all these technical practice detectives. It's nice to just have a nice and clean and smooth like your your face. These days day you're shaving. You're shaving daily. You're not just shaving, but it's day. I am not a hairy guy, so I don't have to shave everything above your lip. Though there is some you can notice some hair growing and slowly. I'm not saying it's whiskers, but you could tell where it would be growing. Right. That's kind of like the old man thing when you start to get older, all a sudden you shave and it's still like right under there. Like running out, stay in house, Stay in your house. All right. We have three guests down, four guests down, One very special fish to go after the break welcome back. Oh yeah, where's that song been on show? You know? That, of course is the theme song for our next guest, co founder of a Established the Run brick by brick by brick layer over at rodal World once upon a time and now making yet another appearance on the Fantasy Extravaganza, Evan Silva. What's up, Big Fish? A lot? I mean, this is my busiest time of year, and it's also the second podcast in the same day that I've done with Greg Rosenthal, So get definitely getting my my full, my full of Greg Rosenthal today. Yeah, welcome, Yeah, it's a lot. That was. Yeah, that was the the aforemant and alumni draft. People should check out over at over at Rhodo World when you where you did the damn thing, Evan, and then you left them high and dry, and now you're really out competing them, I think in the marketplace Established the Run. We just had rhodopad on from that company just saying that they listen, there's a lot of high and everybody's taking a slice and and eating up. How about that? Does that be a winner and a loser at all times? Greig? Always the big fish is gobbling it all up fish, listen, it's so great to have you on again. We hold you, as you know, in such high esteem. Um So, And there's a reason why you're bating clean up here with our guests, because I think it's time to get to where Evan Silva, man that that obviously thrives in this world for a living. We want to get your insight as we enter two season. I think a good place to start, um is that wide receiver here. There are a couple of players to you that are jumping off the paper for you, good and bad. Let's start with a player that everyone absolutely loves. He's head into Canton based on his Green Bay trajectory, but he ate in Green Band anymore. Let's talk about the Adams. Yeah, I mean this is a player that I'm down on relative to ADP This year, average draft position for the rookies out there, um, Devanta Adams consistently goes in the top eight, top ten of fantasy drafts. And I think that people just kind of assuming that he's gonna be able to roll over his production that he got with Aaron Rodgers. He's downgrading quarterbacks from Aaron Rodgers to Derek Carr. He is he just got paid one of the biggest contracts in NFL history for a wide receiver. He's about to turn thirty. And if you look at the target competition that Davante Adams gonna have to deal with with the Raiders, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfro in particular, he never had to deal with that much target competition when he was in Green Bay, and that's part of what led to his greatness. I mean, consistently averaging ten twelve targets per game, and I think that his targets per gaming to come down a little bit. His efficiency, his efficiency per target is going to come down a little bit with the Raiders. I think I still think he's gonna have a good season. I mean I have him as the number seventeen overall player right now, but that is well below his a DP because he consistently goes in the top ten. I want to just take him. Come in here, Evan um on the screen behind us, I'm assuming you can see it. Can we put up what this graphic? Pleasevaganda. Mark rarely goes into the you know, having a setup like this. I'm excited to see what happened. So look at that and this is Um. If you know, one of the best Twitter accounts um on on Twitter is yours and you it's it is just um chock full of football information. But I noticed at some stage that the profile pick changed to this, and uh, I would like to just ask you about the approach. Um. I see some real sort of Zadi energy vibing off of this McCarthy energy. Sure, what is your what? What? What was your strategy here? It just was a funny picture that was saying, that's in Cape cod that's right in Provincetown, right on the strip in Provincetown. I was hanging out with Pat Thorman, fellow e t R writer UM formerly of UP Pro Football Focus, and we were on the back of a rickshaw okay, riding through the center of Provincetown. And I don't know if someone took that picture, and I was just like and and then someone put it on Twitter, and then I was just like, screw it. I'll just make it my profile and no doubt, and just to prove that I'm on the show for one for a reason beyond this kind of nonsense you talked about. Davante Adams is someone that you're down on compared with this is there a wide out out there that you could suggest to drafters, maybe this guy is not being looked at the way he should be. He was better than we think. And people are gonna hate this, and people are gonna absolutely hate this, but you know, I don't care. I wanted to come strong, you know. I wanted to kind of kind of dog down on on a big time producer and prop up a guy that disappoints everyone every year, and that's Sammy Watkins. You're Sammy Watkins is actually younger than you're doing it. I am doing it, oh my god. But you can get him. You can get him in the last round in your draft almost every time because no one wants to take him. I mean I draft him in the eighteenth round every time. Um, he has already earned a starting job in Green Bay if you look at the receivers that I mean, Aaron Rodgers, a teammate elevator. Now, everybody remembers the year that James Jones. Everybody thought that James Jones was washed, and he came in and scored a bunch of touchdowns. I think Sammy Watkins can be that guy this year. People want to make Alan Lazar to be that guy, and he probably is higher probability to be that guy, but you have to draft him in the sixth round. With Sammy Watkins. You can take him the eighteenth round, you know, I and I think he's gonna have a number of good weeks, will probably get hurt at some point. He's already been hurt early in training camp. He had a hamstring. But but for a guy that you can get that late, who's going to be a starter with Aaron Rodgers in three receiver sets, I think that that's the kind of guy that you want to pull the trigger on late in your draft. I love that because he because it. To me, he seems like a guy who will spike up five weeks and be absolutely worth starting in fantasy leagues. And that's one thing I like about you, Silva. You you swing for the fences. You you were crushing these people in uh in this draft that I was watching, I just liked what he did in each round. It was just like he was wiping the floor with them. Who are some late round we haven't talked kind of like deep running backs. I've been honking a lot about guys who are overvalued. But if if you're going to avoid those types of guys. Who are some running backs in the round seven maybe onward that that you like. I think the guy that pops out to me most right now is Damian Pierce, because it's so rare that you see a fourth round player sat in the second preseason game treated like a starter, and that's what we're seeing right now from Damian Damien Pierce. The Texans absolutely love him. Actually, Aaron Wilson, you know who's covers the Texans, actually was DM and me, uh yesterday about how much the Texans love him, how how much he believes in him as a player. And his competition in Houston right now is Rex Burkehead, who look, we we all love Rex Burkhead, right, but he's like thirty three years old. You you love him more than most we we used to have. Okay, that's true. Rex Burkhead, and your love for him has been around so long that I think we'd like debated about it seven years ago. Yeah exactly. But now he's thirty three years old. He is still playing on passing downs, but he's like a designated pass protector. He's not a guy they're trying to feed the ball to. And Marlon Mack is one of these Achilles victims. No running back has ever successfully come back from an achilles tear, at least not within the first couple of years of that recovery time period. That's an absolute killer at the running back position. So and Damian Pierce has looked so good. In the first preseason game, he was outstanding. Josh Norris has really beaten that he was beating a drum for Damian Pierce even before all of this, even before the draft, talking about him as a sleeper was heavily underutilized at Florida by Dan Mullen. Is really good in the passing game, the cuts, the vision that he has shown so far. I mean, he's just in a really impressive talent and I think the Texans gotta steal And I mean, I think this guy could win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Like I think he's legit, really and that's a run heavy a team as there is in the league, even last year when they were terrible offensively. And I'm glad he keeps coming up because he's always on her mind. And you think fantasy, you think wes Um and West used to say a lot like this. This evaluation period through the summer into preseason. Look out for the young running backs, the guys that maybe aren't at the top of a draft board, but are flashing and showing themselves to be explosive because they can hit the ground running. Now, I want to say, I wanna see this up. Last year on the Fantasy ex Dravaganza Big Fish, Um, you were very bold about fading another big animal. Let's listen in Derrick Henry has averaged a hundred six total one yard a hundred six total yards and over one touchdown per game in wins, only fifty yards and zero point three t v s in losses. You're not gonna get he He hasn't had a twenty catch season in college or the pros. That's almost a decade worth of sample size. So I think that this is gonna be the year that we see the big dog fall. And indeed, the big Dog did fall. It was injuries and uh, you know, you could say workload that contributed or just bad luck. Whatever. It was. The big Dog, Derrick Henry, after after a monster a few seasons winning fantasy leagues, did fall off. Are you out on the Big Dog forever or are you now on the big dog train after a relatively down to your end. Uh. You know, on the plus side, yes, lower body injuries, but a lessoned workload significantly entering two. Yeah. I mean, he's just he's really a major injury risk because we know how the Titans are gonna use him. He's gonna but you know that also gives him a ton of upside. We actually just talked about him on the Rhoda World Show with Matthew Barry. We had the same exact conversation, and it's like, you can build a really good boat case for him, and you can build a really good bearcase against him. It's just are you willing to take the risk on Derrick Henry? I think the Titans are going to be much worse than they were last year. You heard those statistics on him in wins versus in losses. He's not gonna catch a ton of passes. Um, So he's He's just I think he's a classic boom or bust player and so therefore it's a personal preference deal as to whether you want to invest in a player like that a question for you because the other thing where you can track, I think during this preseason time in these games offensive line play, which is I think obviously about his core and critical as it gets for any offensive unit. And I look at a team like the Steelers, this quite a spicy group of skill position players and it starts with like their whiteouts Naja Harris. I mean, George Pickens when you're watching Mitch Trobiski and it could be Kenny Pickens playing picket, playing quarterback and they're running for their life. Does it for you? Does it affect um in a in a major way or in any way where you would put their skill position players? Do you downgrade them because of that? Yeah? Yeah, I would say so. We have I think the best offensive line analysts in in media working for us in Brandon Thorne, and he does his offensive line rankings and he has the Steelers very near to the bottom. Um. It's a bit concern. I think when Naja Harris he can kind of overcome that because he projects for so much volume that sometimes it doesn't matter. But I mean the complexion of the offense. How many points are they going to score? You know? What is Naja Harris touchdown upside um? You know? So it's uh yeah, I mean it's it's absolutely something that that we factor in. It's also you know, and it goes the other way to like with Philadelphia, it makes me want to like Miles Sanders more because we we have the Eagles is like the number one offensive line in the league. It makes me want to like Miles Sanders more than his adp. No one wants a draft Miles Sanders. He follows the eighth, ninth round all the time. And if they were to get a Kareem Hunt, which has been heavily rumored, I mean that would be a fantastic fit in Philadelphia, Cream Hunt behind that old line. I mean, they have a punishing offensive line, right I like, I think you look at this time a year and we you mentioned Pierce is a guy that flashed. Brian Robinson is another I'm just gonna throw out some late later round pick. Brian Robinson is one that seems like he's still going late. Romandre Stevenson, I'm surprised actually doesn't have more buzz because he's a Patriots runner who you mentioned playing all three downs. He's he's a power goal line back that can play third downs and I think that's been overlook. Ken Walker, who's he's gonna get dinged because he's not gonna be ready for weeks one or two, who knows if he even misses a month, but he might be a guy worth stashing. James Cook. I'm just throwing a bunch of names out. Tell me who you like or you don't like out of out of that group, Darryl Henderson I'll throw in there too, as Yeah. You know, I like pretty much all those guys except for Kenneth Walker, and that's because I think that he's going to get a very much a late start behind Shot Penny. Do you remember how good rare Shot Penny was down the stretch last year, I mean, over the over the final five games. Yeah, we were there. We were there in person, uh big fist, the three of us for the Tuesday Afternoon Spectacular. You might not remember it, like NFL fans might not remember it, but at twenty to ten Classic where the Seahawks went down, but Penny at a monster games, I think about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I mean Rasha Penny was like the best running back in the NFL for the final couple of months of last year. Like, and they want to run the ball in Seattle. Um, so I'm going the other way on Kenneth Walker around pivoting to Penny Penny. Things popped up on this show as well because he was so dominant for that small stretch. But I mean he was an afterthought in the league and in Seattle's backfield for so long. Lease couldn't stay healthy. We're banking on now they health put it together for a getting drafted. I mean, he's not getting drafted until like the thirtie running back. It all depends where And this is sort of where I think we're all in the same boat fantasy wise of tape tape big swings. That's what we said that before with West Like that's a guy who, to me show Derrick Henry like ability. But you can take them late in the draft and if he gets hurt, you know, you'll live live. Hey, guy was a first round pick in the NFL. I mean, and you go back and look at his speed score is uh you know is which is like the combination of the size and the weight plus the speed. I mean, he was a speed score freak according to football outsiders coming out of college. Just he could not stay healthy his first few years in the NFL. Um He's gonna get the ball a ton to open the season. Do you walk when you're out on the town, I mean, you're you're you're all over the place. Um, everyone plays Fantasy. Mom's, dad's kids, uh, niece's nephews. Do you get recognized at like nightclubs in and eateries and cafes? No, man, no, no, it's no. One time at the Bulls game when I was with my daughter at a Bulls game, some guy like cold inside and my daughter thought it was like the coolest thing. I was like, all embarrassed. The motor, though, You're like, you're, what sixteen seventeen years into the game now eighteen something like that, and famous motor, you know, big time talent, famous motor. That's how you become like a Fantasy Hall of Famer, you know. Are you like in the Tom Brady phase though, where you need to like go hang out with the daughter for a couple of weeks and and make you know, it feels like a lot right. Absolutely, it was the motor. Okay, absolutely, the motor is still pretty strong. It's not what it was you know in the in the very very early days. I mean, I wouldn't want it to me that was unhealthy. It was greg. I would wake up at seven am. He was get some coffee and work until I went to bed. Every single day I remember, and I just want to say on your purpose, I just want to remember. And at one point you were you were you were questioning, questioning whether we should even keep Adam Levitan in the football stay need to do and now he's your partner. He's creating division talk like, no, we gotta keep Levitan going. And now with Greg's instincts always impeccable, how about this you gotta say to to Silva class act to even talk to Greg after their feud over Sam Donald last year. I don't know if you guys want as do we have something here? At one more clip, I'm gonna go like with with some deeper sleepers here, and I'm gonna start off with a guy who's you know, has been near and dear to your heart game. Maybe no longer, but he's a guy by the name of Sam Donald. Yes, so we we know that the post, well that's what most people are gonna say. So you know, I know you hear that puke noise That was Greg that was stuck with me. Now I get a lot of heat from listeners for you know, being loyal on some level to Donald's ability. But I guess I have to go and I don't know if you're with me. Just take the l on Sam at this point. Well, if you go back and play the full clip, I explained that he was a good early season uh bridge to like Trey lance Er justin fields. That's where I really got that analysis wrong. I mean, those guys were never factors, you know, but Sam Donald actually was good early in the fantasy. He's taking the w on Greg. I like it. I mean he's a he's a collapsing bridge like every all the cars just fell into the water and they died. And really the only reason that he was good in face because he was getting rushing touch. That was weird. That was a funky three weeks in the NFL universe or four weeks. Uh Evan, thank you so much. And again you have your own theme, so that curated specifically for you. It's called the Fatal Fantasy from the Rights Free Library. So that just shows the respect we have for you. Thanks so much for having me guys, Goodbye to Heaven. Thanks established the rore the best to check out that website. It's elite, just like Solver his Matchups column during the incredible read you gotta you gotta pay for it now and it's worth paying for turn up my headphones. So that's like a an epic college I'm like, can't you like picture Settler and like the West Hollywood Club tonight? Sweating heavily. He doesn't even have to change, like usually you'd have to change out of your word clothes. But he's ready, He's there. Mark your new shirt today. I've waited a long time and outs the end of the show, unbelievable, bringing in this beautiful just a new shirt and you didn't even roll up the sleeves dad style. You got your I think it's because you're showing respect for the extravaganza. I wanted. I wanted to let you know because I think you were questioning my um on the last show. There seemed to be some question whether or not because I did my hand motion thing. And uh, I'm trying to show you that I did care about this episode very much. Well, you know you are like you're you're a multitalented guy. You can do fantasy, you can do reality, you can do football, you can do basketball. I can do basketball if needed. I mean, I don't. I think you'd have to go pretty deep down the roster for for that. Need yourself here. Whoops, let's go again, Graver. You can do football. You can do basketball, all right. Football is completely different than basketball. I like, I support you, Mark, Um, thank you, Um. I love you. Also, I I sometimes don't wear like new clothing to wear on the show, just because I just don't want to deal with Dan's comments you're gonna go through the wash. I feel like you guys are so self conscious about your clothing. It's weird. Like I don't even like, I don't say anything negative or critical back the truck up just just and then the waterfall of self doubt, and I'm like, what did I know? Actually, like I wasn't even thinking about it, but you came in and it wasn't just hey, nice new shirt. It was like you stood there for four or five minutes purring at me. Okay, well that's not what your narrative or your description is not accurate. I said, whoa, Mark, I liked that, and I was not upset with your reaction. But then it was like, I think that sometimes you to the listener, try to aim your suggest that your intentions are one thing, and when you're in the room, you can feel that might be tilted away. You know what if you guys are not because you don't me to notice and comment positively on your new shirts, like that's a weird thing that's on you guys? That is I mean, we get out this show works. Uh there's I mean, there's no point in arguing that. It just adds minutes to the runs. You know, you too are unbelievably un annoying to hang out with most of the time. Why did the quality of the mark drops just go through the roof lately? We get some bangers, um all right before we say goodbye. I think one of the traditions of the show that we've done in past years had been sharing a bit of um fantasy advice before you go into your drafts. You don't need to hear anything more from us, but I did ask a Grave Digger and the gang to um go through the archives and share a little Chris Westling fantasy advice, and I think it will enrich all of us. Let's hear it. You absolutely do not have to be unemotional and fantasy football. This is a hobby meant to be enjoying. Emotional that's true that I love that. I love that. Don't worry about the a d P if you want to and West talked about this a lot. If you want to root for a player on Sundays, go get them. It will make it even more enriching, especially if the guy you believe in in Like, definitely, don't pick players that you don't like or that you totally distaste, because it's a it's a conflicting energy, and I mean, I get that some people are in this to make a lot of money and you want to be as logical and strategic as possible, but there's a big chunk of people that just would like to have fun and it helps a lot of people learn about football, and like, pick the players you enjoy, right, don't take the don't worry about the average draft position, because here's the thing. If you just pick the players that you do like or even you know, sometimes from your team, or the one that probably has almost exactly the same accuracy rate as if you just picked the conventional wisdom stuff, it's you know, the biggest thing here is chance. And yes, oh were time. You can gain certain strategic advantages, but in a one given league, in one given season, it's mostly gonna come down to luck, and you know luck is a thing. But we are fifty seven for fifty seven in these fantasy extravaganza as we've knocked it out of the park. Thank you to all of our guests today who did such great work. Hit hit me with the music as we say goodbye here, Big Fish, Evan Silva, Mike Florio, Marcus Grant, Matt Harmon, Floto, Pat Patrick, Cardy, all awesome guests. Best of luck to all of you in your fantasy drafts. Kill it, have fun, be merry, and don't drink. Drink after the draft till Thursday. He'd the call. And now an update on free agent ticket sales Rep. Rhonda Fontaine. Our last look at this individual came during our fantasy breakout in Shortly after the heavy drinking, Fontaine was cut loose by the Packers sales department following a public meltdown triggered by her breakup with on again, off again boyfriend William Franks. As you'll recall, Fontane took a Greyhound bus to Chicago to live with her sister, Patsy Bumbles. Fontaine told Bumbles that she had a bead on a well paid roll with the Bears ticket office, but that was a fib. Instead, Fontaine spent long hours day drinking in her sister's basement and mounting off to Patsy's husband five ft four Gordon Bumbles, who eventually kicked Rhonda out of the house after she threw a corrig coffee maker through a kitchen window during a Christmas Eve. Drunk out of moves, Fontaine scanned bulletin boards at the University of Chicago for shared rides and wound up catching a car to blooming in Indiana in January, where she quickly shacked up with a bartender named Big Boy. Life seemed to be on the up and up, with Fontaine lowering her drinking and tapping the brakes on her heavy marijuana usage. Fontaine and Big Boys seemed to thrive during Corona. Fontaine gifted the three hundred and sixty five pound Big Boy with a Peloton bicycle, which they both used to lower their body fat percentages. Rondi even penned a four page handwritten letter to Patsy and Gordon Bumbles, taking full accountability for her misdeeds and ten she began to research the concept of moving to Indianapolis with Big Boy to take a thirty five thousand dollar a year job with the Colt Season Ticket Department. However, it was then discovered by the Monroe County Sheriff's Department that Fontaine had hired a pair of Husky teen boys to steal the Peloton bike from the garage of a neighbor up the street. Said neighbor, Mindy Charlemagne, chose to press charges, which sent Fontaine on the run. Ronda's last known moves were one using Big Boys US Bank Corps debit card to withdraw two eighty dollars to catching a Peter Pan bus line to fort Worth, Texas. Three using said debit card to pay for a three hundred and ninety dollar tab at Tumbleweeds Sports Bar in Fort Worth, four employing the same debit card to purchase two cases of Carlo Rossi brand Merlot, five reportedly getting into a fist fight with a local librarian named Tina Mits outside the Fort Worth Public Library, and then six completely going off grid. My advice to fantasy owners, Ronde Fontaine is a high risk, high reward prospect who will not last beyond beyond round eleven. In twelve team drafts. My advice to fantasy owners. Ronde Fontaine is a high risk, high reward prospect who will not last beyond round eleven in twelve team drafts. Dynasty participants should consider her as soon as round nine. You heard it here first