Cheap Starters

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Time now for Fantasy Football Weekly from iHeartRadio, your weekly source for the nation's best fantasy football advice, speculation, and whatever stupid stuff they decided to drop into the show. Now, here's your host, Paul Chargion.

It's another edition of Fantasy Football Weekly. Welcome back to the show. Very excited to be with you because my co host today is the Haggard Remains of Scott Fish. Oh the grinder you've been in for the last three weeks, my man.

It has It has been a time. I've been traveling constantly. Ye, sitting in a lot of airports you have, but I don't have to travel for only thirteen more days travel right, right?

So how many different and I know you unfortunately because of the global outage, you had to miss the LA that you would have done as a live appearance at the Scott Fish Bowl LA. But how many did you? I know you hit Denver obviously, Minneapolis in your backyard. I know you were in Boston. Which ones? What am I missing?

You're missing Las Vegas?

Right? Yeah? The big circa pool side. Oh, if I'm gonna go to one? Yeah, that isn't in Minneapolis.

Yes, that's the one. I will say that was the one. And I know I'm you know, using up time vamping now for no reason. But if that is the one where I nearly shatted to hear, I probably could have cried. Because there were people from Ohio, Washington, Uh, Minnesota, Canada, a bunch come from Canada. They were like all over they came down to that one, and so we did the drafts. We're having fun. But later that night we go to a piano bar. It's just dark, there's moods

Yeah, and you know, What else will bring a tear to your eye is the if you get the cabana yea at Circus Pool. Yeah yeah, paying that bill, that'll bring a tear to your eye. If you want to have a tier at the in the swim stadium.

Swim a wonderful and if you have enough people, it's it's worth it. It's worth it to get the shade.

It is. It is worth it for the shade. When we were there a couple of it was like about one week after you, My wife and I were there, and uh, it was a one hundred and ten degrees yeah, you know. And yeah we were sharing the cabana with another couple, which which helped a lot. Shout out pat G and yeah, it was uh yeah, the food and beveragement, it's good, pretty significant. That's a that is a it's a it's an epic experience.

Yeah, that's what it is. You're paying for in part for the experience.

Yes, Now, what I need to do. Unfortunately you like me. You know, we're working on Sundays during the NFL season. Whatever. I need to find a way to get an NFL Sunday in the circle parts.

You heard it here, folks. We're gonna need from the circle from the make it like deep in the winter. Yeah, let's do that.

Well, then I can't get NFL. How do I get NFL action? And plus Vegas is cold in the winter, right, so the pool's not even.

Open, I mean cold for Vegas is cold like well, winter in Vegas, Okay, you know the highest you know it gets down to like thirty eight at night, it still gets cold.

I don't know. I think I need to find a way to get this. If I could pick a time, probably be like October when it's cold here in Minneapolis. Yeah, and it's still really nice.

Feels like right, I feel like we should plan the trip.

Maybe we should do that. How do we how do we? How do we finangle that into our schedule? Let mean, right, how much money have you raised to this point? Got fish bowl efforts?

Oh boy, we're closing in on four hundred thousand.

This unbelievable.

Yes, wow, last last I looked is I think it was in the three seventies or something. I could I could be a little off, but it's ballpark.

That's fantastic. Congratulations. I'm sure that's an all time high for Fantasy care. Absolutely, Yeah, that's that's outstanding and well most of the scott Fish Bowl stuff has wrapped. A reminder, the Guillotine League. The scott Fish Bowl Guillotine League is going to be launching coming shortly. I don't have an exact date for anybody quite yet, but it's coming, and so there'll be another opportunity and there are ways to ensure your spot in next year's scott Fish Bowl by

Yeah.

So all right, with all that under our belt, let's dive into the Let's dive into the big content for today. The big topic for today. Cheap starters. Nobody wants except us. You and I. Now we qualified what constitutes a cheap starter?

Did we?

And we did? You might not know that we think we did. So it's got to be a starter on his NFL team or probable starter. Right. So in some cases I'm not even I'm not positive about my own guys. But the guys who I think are all going to be starters for their team at least at the start of the season, we need the ADP to be lower. Right, These are cheap starters. They were cheap is important here, and there were reasons for these players to be that

So that's it.

Now we're each going to give a quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, and a tight end. Yes, I will yield the floor to you, Scott Fish. Who is your cheap starter at quarterback?

Yeah? So mine is not as cheap because I feel past about twenty where like eighteen nineteen twenty range is Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, et cetera. Types After that, it's a whole lot of you're not sure who's gonna win the job, or it's someone like Will Levis that you're like, he's just actually not good, right, and stuff like that. So I went with the QB nineteen, which is again higher than yours. Yep, that's fine, but I have a ton of faith in Kirk Cousins and that offense.

I'm with you on this. Yeah, No, you know you're spreaching to the quiet right now.

Round ten, He's got Bijon who's a dual threat running back. You got Drake London. You got Kyle Pitts, who, when Arthur Smith isn't throttling him, has high potential. You got Darnell Mooney coming over. You got Ron del Moore coming over, who are absolutely capable number three and four wide receivers. In fact, they they played the two two okay degrees at other spots as a three or four with those other threats around, I love them in that spot. They

Look at look at what Kevin O'Connell did as somebody who has had a similar career path through the RAMS organization with Sean McVay.

Even to the point of not calling plays sounds right yep.

Yeah, and passing game coordinators, quarterback coaches. And then they get to the NFL and Kevin O'Connell's been a top five play passing play percentage coach. Interesting, so you get the heavy, heavy passing play side of it. Yep. You bring in Kirk Cousins, who's keeps every year Kirk Cousins finishes as like QB nine, QB eleven.

In nineteen and he's going off the board of QB nineteen and one last one, last point on why I like Kirk Cousins. Atlanta is the going into the season the thirty first ranked defense with last year's worst pass rush, which means maybe they have some shootouts, maybe maybe kirks to keep them in games.

Yep, I like the sound of that. Staying with a Minnesota theme, my cheap starting quarterback is Sam Donald. A lot of people don't realize there's still people out there that think Sam Donald might not start the season.

I have been pushing this on every show during my SFB runs, that it's Sam Donald at least till Week six, if not the whole season.

That's right.

I don't understand and okay.

So I mean two parts I think are really important for people to understand it. First, Sam Donald starts the season the first time, as you mentioned, the first time he might bow out would be their bye week at six because the team the Vikings have got Week one is against the Giants, that's a pick them, and then after that it's a slew of difficult games of the Vikings and then in a trip to London and then

It's insane.

That is insane. Let's go to the running backs.

Yes, uh, and we're doing two running back seats.

Right, yeah, you can do one. I'll do one, then you and the.

Meat Okay, okay, I'm going to start out with Brian Robinson Junior, going to RB thirty three off the board, ninety ninth overall, round eight or nine, right in that range. He's going to be the main guy. They've already reported Eckler's looking at ten touches a game which Eckler can

Did you consider Eckler for this?

I did. I did, because he's going late to but I feel Robinson is a shoe in for that short distance and that goal line stuff. They're not going to hammer Jayden Daniels. And he is not Josh Allen. He's not Jalen. No, he's much more slightly build than that. No, he's He's got my eleven year old's body shape. So I'm just kidding. That's extreme. But yeah, they're not gonna hammer him him, and so Robinson's gonna get the goal line work. He scored nine times last year. Oh my gosh,

I'm gonna I'm in a similar spot a Zamir White, sure running back twenty four, round seven, he's the He's the Vegas starter. Alexander Madison's going to be the back. But I don't even think it's close here. You'll remember White was the starter for the last month of last season and we got long looks at him. He had a seventeen attempt game, a twenty two attempt game, a twenty attempt game, and a twenty five attempt game for

I am shocked Madison had that many.

I know I am too, having watched him all year. White only scored one touchdown in those four starts. But he will get the goal line work because it's not going to be Madison, who scored zero rushing touchdowns last year as the season long starter for the Vikings.

I cannot wait for your side the five stat you know talking about that.

Yeah, let's go to your second cheap starting running back.

So my second cheap starting running back is more of a flyers. It's a flyer on a talent that once was and still was before he got injured last year in Nick Chubb going off the board at RB thirty five.

We've seen like it.

We've seen the videos recently. He's only got guys like Jerome Ford behind him and Deonta Foreman and stuff. We've seen the videos of his workouts looking great. His his weightlifting look.

Weightlifting was insane. It was five hundred pounds.

Yeah, we need to see more lateral movement on that. But in late twenty two he started catching more passes. He caught four in the opener last year. Obviously he got injured early the second week. But we're talking about a team with the number three ranked offensive line, a top three ranked defense, So maybe they get ahead and just run and just run.

Kevin Stefanski loves to run. He doesn't need a reason.

Yep, they got, they got, They added Judy, so they got Cooper, Judy and Djoku out there running routes to keep you know, defenses a little bit honest out there. And Nick Chubb on a contract year, I know you don't think he has something to prove coming off an injury on a contract year, wanting to get maybe another contract.

It all adds up.

I will say guys like Jamal Charles Adrian Peterson, like they have come back from ACLTA, we'd normally say it's an extra year. But we've seen it before. We saw just last year with Breese Hall. And I know all those guys were young, like Charles was twenty six, Peterson twenty seven, Price Prize twenty three. You know, I know that he's job is twenty nine. But for an eighth round, maybe ninth round flyer on a guy that could be a Bellco starter. I'll take it.

In my Boston Scott Fish Bowl League, Okay, I drafted Nick Chubb? Yeah at round eight Yeah, four person, that's right, And so you're preaching to the choir that seems like tremendous value on a guy. I am. I gonna be starting Nick Chubb in week one? Probably will probably why and just you know, seeing what it you know how long it takes him to get back to having a full workload. But am I starting him in December?

Yeah?

Nick Chubb's going to be there, and he's gonna be He's gonna be back and running hard again. I'm confident. Yeah, my cheap starting running back. And I'll be honest, I don't I don't love this player, but he fits all he checks enough boxes. Devin Singletary new Start the Giants Motor. Yeah, I'm a little nervous about super sleeper Tyrone Tracy Thor nice from favorite.

Yes, but and a Scott Fish favorite Thor Yes?

Who stole from who on that? Like, Oh, I'm sure that was arrived at simultaneously organically.

He I'm sure he knew of Tyrone batt quicker than earlier.

There. Yeah, at this time last year, I didn't know who he was Singletary. You know, as you know Scott good at a lot of things, not elite at really anything, not and not a receiver. You know. He when I went through all of his metrics looking for some eye popping stats, like you know, Singletary, he ranks like his running back fifteen twenty twenty five almost every metric he's he's good, but he's still low mileage because he got the light workload in Buffalo.

In Buffalo his first two years he had very high explosive run rates, but not so much.

Less not so much lately. Right, you know, he's been in that one hundred and twenty to two hundred and fifteen carry range for his career and never missed a game in five years. I love that about Devin Singletary. Offensive line for the Giants was a disaster last year, but comes back healthier this year, presumably, and you get a second season under for center John Michael Schmidts, who

I'm gonna give it honorable mention of Chase Brown running back twenty I had.

He was on my list originally.

Yeah, yeah, round eleven. It's just the camp reports are great. I don't know how much I believe in Zach Moss for that role. And just Chase Brown annoyed me last year because you would watch him like we watched him and we're like, wow, is he pops? He saw something? Then you look at the stat sheet four for twenty you're like, wait, I saw a good run right in there. Yes, I swear you're better than this. Yeah, so we'll see it. Honorable mention.

I I'm really intrigued by the idea of going Chase Brown and round what'd you say he's going in eleven?

Eleven?

And then Jack Masson twelve? Sure, and just know, okay, I got I've spent almost meaningless draft capital, and I've got the Bengals starting running back one way or another, and I do like that. That interests me.

That's interesting.

Let's go to the wide receiver. Position, and let's go, Uh, who's your who's your cheap starting wide receiver, your first or two.

I'm going to start with the one that's at the end of a tier. He's he's probably not as cheap as you'd want for this this exercise, but it's going to be Chris Godwin at wide receiver thirty three.

Okay, I'm listening.

Yeah, and one of your your your next year first guy is wide receiver thirty eight, So they're kind of in the same range, but they are actually two rounds of part art because there is a tear drop after you take Chris Godwin, Chris Godwin and key now and there's a nice tear drop there. So, uh, he's moving back to the slot, which is its natural.

Position, where he did not like that move last year.

He averages more catches, more targets, more yards. It's not a per game on a per game basis more and he's also weirdly scored more weirdly because a slot.

Guy usually don't get that from don't expect that.

Uh. But after after him, there's there's a whole lot of who wins the Denver wide receiver two jobs? Who wins the Green Bay jobs? The Buffalo Jobs, the Indie number two, the Chargers guy, like everything is such a battle after him, except for possibly the three we're gonna mention in a second, but also on for that team,

There's a guy named Tyler Canoe.

Tanner Tanner Suner Canoe, I think by Braid just to I did not know yet there was a Canoe in this league. Yeah, Kate, well it's k and you e somebody to do. But I'm not, of course. The last guy, Rally Webb, who was an old timey baseball player.

I appreciated, no kidding with that name, Raley Webb.

So like he's got nothing behind him. They're like, they're just a ton of targets. Should be available for Evans and Godwin this year.

I can't. I need this canoe guy, Tannered Canoe to make the league and be meaningful so we can start getting Canoe Sounders. You know we can have I want the nickname. Possibilities are going through me right now. Jacoby Myers going off the board is wide receiver fifty two, round eleven. Do you know where Jacoby Myers finished last year among wide receivers.

It feels like he felt like he was scoring every week for a little bit wide receiver twenty four.

Not surprised he's going as fifty two this year. And I know what you people are like, oh, quarterback, but christ the situation stunk last year.

Of course it's not different.

It's no, it's better, if anything, because Gardner Minshew was probably better than Brian Hoyer for Pete's sake. Remember last year, Jacoby Myers, they moved him to the slot and he ended Hunter Renfro's career. That always it for Hunter reprol And you know he is a Meyer's a good player, twenty seven years old, right in his prime. Not a lot of special traits, but he just does. He just looks like the effort is just solid. He's always trying hard. It's like a little bit of the Chase Brown cynerme.

Let's drop six spots down to Rashid Shahit at wide receiver fifty eight. How is he so late? Round eleven takes over the more clear cut wide receiver two role in New Orleans. He's probably gonna take a lot of that Michael Thomas volume that they shouldn't have even given Michael Thomas last year. To be honest, but last year he paid. He only played like fifty seven percent of the snaps, which is a pretty limited role. I didn't

And that's the specialty for Shihi.

Yeah, yep, so sixteen yards per catch. Everything on him looks good and efficient, but the volume is what's kept him down, which he should finally get.

Now.

The other thing that could keep him down in his Derek Car's arm. But besides that, more volume should have every one of those you know, creep up he should. He should easily finish above wide receiver fifty eight. I mean, that's that sane.

We just I just some guys just give you a spark of talent that make you go man. I want to hitch my wagonto that that guy, and she's one of them.

A guy like that. Marvin Mims is like that too, And I know they drafted Troy Franklin, but that's like he looks like there's sparks when he's out there. I don't know.

Yeah, I'm with Sean Payton, so I'm gonna give you a guy my next, my next cheap starter, does not have a lot of those sparks. To be honest, He's just a plug and play good receiver. Deontay Johnson wide receiver, thirty eight, round seven Panthers offense is a candidate to be the most improved. Now. Granted they were terrible last year, so they always have to be improved, but I think

Now, just think about Deontay Johnson in the earliest last season, Adam thielen Roll with all those targets and catch ups, yes, only not getting tired, right, which.

Is unfortunately happened with Theland He started out really hot and then fell off. So you know, I don't think Thelan's really a factor that way. Xavier Leguette is just a bombs away rookie who's I don't think going to be much of a factor for this year outside of a handful of big plays. And then Jonathan Mingo and Tarras Marshall look like they've they might already be done

I think it's very likely.

Actually for sure, still drops so many balls, but that's okay, This is uh, this is still a nice opportunity for him. He's coming off of career highs Deontay Johnson in yards per route run a dot yards per reception and the best passer rating on balls thrown his way since Ben retired. So there's you know, it's not like the game's passed him by. Deontay Johnson's still young. Still can be a nice kind of contributor for your team. All Right, thet'll

I have a cheap one, and I gotta I gotta throw in honorable mention again on this. Oh, I'm gonna start with a guy that you may have heard of named John U. Smith.

Yes, my guy twenty, thank you.

Round fifteen. I still believe in the athleticism and talent. And if there's any what, any coach in the NFL, and there's a lot of good ones that do this, but in extracting, like extracting some really good stuff from people from players that just have athleticism and talent, it might be Mike McDaniel. He's one of the best out there.

I think, yes, And you know, they a lot of weapons there. So they're gonna be games where John who just doesn't get his way because there's so many mouths to feed. Absolutely, but then there's gonna be games where they do feed him, and he's going to have explosive games if you can identify it.

Absolutely works both ways because Hill is there, because Wattle is there, because a Chan is there, because they can run it with a Chan and moster, but a Chan out of the backfield too. He's who is double covering Smith and if you cannot, if you're not covering double covering him at all, he's gonna have potential mismatches here in a decent amount. To let the NFL in passing last year, I expected a very similar situation this year.

You draft no, right, he's your he's your backup, and you pick your spots, and here in Fantasy Football Weekly will help you identify those. When we drop our shows every Friday. By the way, the.

Over under four take a chance on me of the week for uh.

John Smith, He's gonna spurred me battling him constantly. But even if it's only you and I, yeah, we're gonna be picking our spots for John Ujohnu beloved John Johnna before you do your your your your your backup honorable mention. Yes, uh, let me let me get my guy in absolutely and I'll save my honorable mention as well. Zach Ertz. Yeah, twenty nine, round eighteen.

He's fighting a rookie. That's it.

He's fighting a rookie. Bensonit. And we all know that rookie tight ends usually not always. Sam Laporta was awesome last year. Usually as rookies, they don't do very much. Ertz walks in is your probable starter, which was one

And once again, these are players that they're not even your starting tight end. They are the guys you're drafting as your backup tight end that I could easily make.

Make hay talk to me about your honorable mention.

Yeah, my honorable mention is tight end thirty four twenty all right, even deeper than Zach Kertz, and that is Haydenhurst starting tight end for the wide receiver room depleted Los Angeles Chargers. Early reports out of the first couple of days of camp are he is getting targeted a ton, which was confirmed by Haydenhurst himself at s fbl A when he said, Herbert is just throwing me on every play.

What do you mean, he said himself. He was in attendance.

Yeah, Haydenhurst was at s FBLA.

I didn't know that.

Oh yeah, yeah, Haydenhurst came out to s FBLA, hung out with all of our drafts together. He has a mental health foundation that we have supported, Fantasy Hurst has supported. Yeah, there's actually like decent connections with a couple companies in the fantasy space. Yeah yeah, he's yeah, like like Austin Eckler has some of that similar stuff. Haydenhurst also does and he showed up at s fbl A and he's

So at this time last year, the fantasy experts, it was Gerald Everett, Gerald Evert, Gerald Evertt, Gerald Everett. You just yeah constantly, and that never really panned out.

There was Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Now there's Lad McConkie and Quentin Johnson tackle so Johnston excuse me, Josh mixed in again preface twentieth.

Round, twentieth round. I'm look, I still have two rounds to go on my Scott Fish Boulder. Okay.

I took Hayden with my the twenty two dot twelve in mind.

Wow, So all right, I love it.

Yeah, Jolohnnie Woods, Johnny Wait.

Can't listeners like kode do we can we go one episode? You mentioning Johnny Woods, Janie, I've already made my case for him all the time. Yes, just one of these times it's gonna pan. Look, this is my this is my moss.

What you need to do is I believe his wingspan is like seventy four or something. But every time you bet beted, the week sped, but increased it so by week sixt Woodlin out there, man Wood, Listen.

It took me four years to be right about Zach Moss. I'm gonna I'm telling you, I'm gonna be right about Jillanny Woods one of these years.

I hope this becomes a new thing with at least with running backs, like year five were like take Bigsby's.

A start out. Holy see, here's the thing.

You had a little bit of success at the beginning with Peers.

Though Damian Pierce, we just this watch this is gonna be the year because Joe Mixon's cooked. But I feel like I burned all of my ability to stump for Damien Pierce last year. So I can't talk about it now, but some of you know us that the opportunity is there if you're with me and you think that it's effectively the end of the run for Joe Mixon Damian Pierce. By away, I was checking out secretly some of the me in Pierce's metrics. Okay, last year, even last year

It, and he might be doing returns too, so.

Yeah, that's possible. He's got better hands than people know or that they have your seem to use. Thank you for listening to Fantasy Football Weekly. Appreciate that we've got guillotine leagues on the horizon. I promise we're getting closed many of you. Of you, many of you are being I know you're being patient. Thank you, Thank you. Lots going on behind the scenes on the other side of the curtain, under the hood, whatever the that's not.

There are really big things.

We're really excited. Man. Can't wait to tell you about that soon. And we'll be back with more Fantasy Football Weekly next week and we're only two weeks away from the full long, two hourly season long show. Is a training camp quick, yeah, feel free. We should so. For those of you in the greater Twin Cities area, or if you're looking for an excuse to come to Minnesota, the Fantasy Football Weekly Live training Camp show is August sixteenth at Treasure Island Resort and Casino just outside of