Wow, Wow, everybody, It's Tuesday, January twenty first, twenty twenty five. Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, where there are only three games left. It's me and your man named G Marcus Grant, joined by Michael F. Florio and Laqwan Jones. I want to say, I guess it was kind of a mixed bag for you guys this weekend. I mean, Florio, you are feeling great. The LaQuan tough ending.
Not great, not great at all. It's a bad feeling. And you know, like I took the loss as it is, but you know, we went through mad adversity.
Man.
We started off one and four. We were lasting division like a hell of a journey man. So I'm just happy with the you know, the team and what we have for the future.
Florio. Things are things are bright in the mafia right now. Huh. Yeah.
I had to throw on the jersey of the real MVP and oh no, look, I knows to not play great, but the Bills came out and were like, yeah, our number one focal point was stopping Derrick Henry and find me a DC whoever says their number one focal point playing the Bills is stopping James.
Cook and I will I will stop hammering this point.
But all I'm saying is, thank god my mentions are safe and secure this week, because after two months of Ravens flock fighting Bill's mafia and me being involved in that, it would have been a rough, ugly week, especially if they lost the way.
It was starting to look like.
I start, I was nervous, but it ended up being a great day. Yep. So so the mafia moves on. We will get to them a little bit later, a lot to get to on this show. We're going to continue our exit interviews. We've got what picks eight through twelve, nine through twelve. That is what we've got. But the big news that has happened also sort of dovetailed into what I wanted to start the show with anybody was
kind of recapping divisional weekend. So if you have not heard by now where you've been, But the Chicago Bears are hiring Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach, and I wanted to kind of talk about the divisional weekend in terms of the teams who lost and sort of putting their seasons to bed a little bit and we'll talk about them, you know on our exit interview is probably more fully a little bit later.
But so I felt like, obviously, this is a great way to start by talking about the Commanders and the Lions. Jaden Daniels was fantastic, yet again goes into ford Field and the Lions just really had no answer for them. But Florie, I'll start with you, Ben Johnson, now out of Detroit going to Chicago. I just put simply, how much does this impact just right now, blind taste tests, not knowing who else is coming in to coach this team.
What does this do immediately for you in terms of drafting Lions next year?
It makes them riskier for sure, Like I still think I trust like Jamier Gibbs and aman Ras Saint Brown, but anytime you add any sort of unknown variable into it, it makes things a little bit murkier and the range of outcomes a little bit wider. And Ben Johnson has been in oc in this league three years and this blew my mind. In the last two years they have finished top two in rushing touchdowns and top four in passing touchdowns. Like they do it all. So this is
a great hiring for the Bears. It's great for Caleb and everyone depends who comes in. Dan Campbell is still going to lead this team. But everything you hear is like Campbell is the leader. But the coordinators really do build the game plan for each side, so they could they could bring in a great mind, and there's so much talent there to work with that whoever comes in
it should do a fine job. But top four pass touchdowns, top two and rushing touchdowns, I don't know if we're gonna get that again with the change of OC now. So definitely adds a little bit more risk.
I would say to these players, so Leqwan you have I need to sit in and unpack something with you because you seem to have an irrational hatred for the Detroit Lions. I just it was coming through in our text chain that you just I don't really get it. As I mentioned to you, without the Detroit Lions, you don't get your most recent Super Bowl. I know we like to laugh about Jared Doufe, but I need you
to unpack this. Where did this come from? And does this mean you're just like not punting onlines but you're just giving them a severe down. I need to I just need to understand what's going on in your blonde head right now.
Yes, my hair is blonde right now. And I have been told I am the evil version of a monro Saint Brown. So I am leaning into this villain arc now because I gotta say, Dan Campbell, see you in two weeks, like I've already explained on many areas on the social webs, like that was very disrespect that I took that to the heart, because like, how are you going to look over the Rams? We're the most dangerous team in the NFL. And I feel like more so of like you know what, I'm just gonna turn the knife.
I do think there's going to be a drop off for the Lions. I think Dan Campbell's going to be the culture of the Lions. Like you could definitely get a great offensive mine in there that wants to be part of that locker room, Like who doesn't want to run through a wall for Dan Campbell? But me being in the villain, I am looking forward to their downfall. So I am going to be moving back like Jamiir gives in a mom ra and s Brown because Florio hit it. We might not get this high power offense.
We might not get this top five scoring offense because we look at it before Ben Johnson took over that first year Golf and the mon there, you were bottom of the table when it comes to all major categories and being this high power offense they are now. So we look at Dan Campbell like this is going to be all eyes on him. Who is he going to bring in to keep this thing afloat because you might not get the same same the porter that we've seen, you know, wishy wash you this season, but the last
two seasons stand the porter. You know, I really feel as though you can still have him as a variable in there to be involved. But how is he going to be deployed? How is Sonic and Knuckles going to be deployed? Is we're going to see Jamiir Gibbs in these creative offensive schemes. We don't know like it's all going to change, so they definitely get moved back, you know,
being that January. Don't marry my words right now, but myself taking a mon Ros Saint Brown as high as I would have been Johnson were there or Jamiir Gibbs.
If amm Ros Saint Brown Fish, this is THEU wide receiver one would you dye your hair pink.
No, we're done with that.
I should have said blue. But whatever, you know, this opportunity, I'll buy his jersey.
How about that?
How about that?
That that's something simple that we can accomplish without embarrast me or my wife tempting to leave me.
Oh yeah, I just I'm just shooting my shot, just seeing what I can get out there, that's all. Yeah, there's just such a big question mark. Part of me still believes in the talent. You know that the you know Amana, Saint Brown, Jamiir Gibbs especially, it just feels like those guys are playmakers and no matter what offense, maybe I knocked them back a little bit. Laporter is
a big question mark. What what exactly is the role for Jameson Williams and a new offense is another thing that I think we still have to think about because of what he did, especially late in the season. A lot of variables. But I still believe in Amana, I still believe in Jamiir Gibbs.
I believe that old lawn more than anything.
Yeah, yeah, that's that's probably that's where we go. And again they're going to hire somebody and then we can you know, scrub all of.
This and redo it or not. I keep the night.
This is very this is very much. Oh yeah. I mean if you're gonna be the hater, if you're gonna this is your you know, your evil Amna era, then maybe nothing changes Class two thousand.
A year.
I don't even know you, and I hate your guts.
While on the code, Like do you guys think? I don't know what the answer is, but like, if I'm a Lions fan right now, I'm salty that both of my coordinators were spending last week doing numerous interviews and we lost, and we got throttled on defense and had more turnovers and we had like I don't know what it is, but you're at such a disadvantage if you are a playoff team and and people want to interview your coaches, because that could take a whole day.
Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know way around it. But here's the thing. If if they go out and way now mind the Lions were super shorthanded defensively too. Yeah yeah, on some level that was just hard to overcome. But you know, if Jared Goff doesn't turn the ball over what four times? Why is your smile so big, Lakwan like you were smiling ear to ear. But I said, Jered Goff turned the ball over.
I'm just here to turn the knife.
Man. I'm taking on this villain role.
They were in my mentions the entire weekend, like Florial, your mentions were safe, but minds were not. People are like ha ha, yeah, look how quickly that turned around.
I don't care.
We're all in cantcuon. I knew you guys were going to lose against the Commanders. Man, Jamee Dams is the future. Let's just say that. I don't want to put generational talent because everybody has gotten that and Kyle Pits.
Go oh man. We will will definitely get to them. I mean, there's a lot to unpack with the Commanders. Whenever their season ends, it's been amazing. We will predict. We will predict the championship games. We'll do that on Thursday show. But we'll get to that too. Next up, though, Chiefs Texans Kansas City, a twenty three fourteen winner. I don't know that anybody was really surprised by the outcome, But what do we make of the Texans from this season?
Like there were some really good things. There was some like what the.
Hell sort of things I was looking at this question. I kind of just put it as a wash man. There was a lot of inconsistency with the Texans offense, but deal with injuries that were happening around him. I mean, you start the season off the whole line. Geez, they were not protecting him and they weren't doing a good job for him to even have the time to try to get the ball to Tank Dell, the Stefon Diggs, etc.
Etc.
I mean, look, man, next year, I look at Nico Collins. He's a top priority if I'm going to get a piece of that Texans offense. Honestly, I mean he's earned it. I mean only him and T Higgins in twelve games are less finished as top twenty five wide receivers. I mean, look as a top ten points per game guy. I honestly feel like it's going to stay consistent between him
and C. J. Stroud. So next year I feel safe with Nico, And you know, Tank Dell is such a huge loss man that's probably going to take like two years before we start to really see him back to four, which sucks, and who knows what Diggs I mean it's a short rental there. It's just a lot of question marks where the Texans going to next season.
Oyl is CJ. Stroud. He's not a QB one anymore, right, Like we're not drafting him inside the top twelve quarterback. He I don't know.
I don't count Week eighteen because we don't play then. But it was like Week four was the last time heading into the final week of Fantasy that he had finished as a QB one And like I just pulled up his two seasons just to compare real quick. His yards went down by almost four hundred, touchdowns went down by three interceptions, more than doubled pass A rating dropped.
His EPA as.
A rookie was thirty five. As a sophomore it was negative forty two, Like make sure and I went to Okay, maybe he was under pressure a lot more three percent more. And that was a big concern I had with him coming out of college, was how could he handle pressure? But Stroud is one I don't know if you like, I don't have an answer yet. I'm hoping that, like in the off season, I'm gonna get to dive into their games more and the stats more a little bit and see if I could kind of think.
Of what it was.
But as of right now, there's there's no part of me that well I agree with with LQ. It's Nico Collins or Bus really for me when it comes to this offense. And yeah, we know Stroud could could elevate Collins, but even down the stretch, Collins wasn't living up to the massive expectations because C. J. Stroud was just so inconsistent. So there's still a lot of potential there, but I'm not drafting him. Look, maybe people could Galaxy bring their
way or whatever. One I will not be drafting him as well.
Yeah, Joe Mixon, anyone thoughts.
He's safe, he's old, he's saved. It's not like he's going to have this top five season next year, but I'll take him RB two. Wow, you guys just described the Volvo that was awesome. Man still exists dog.
All right, So our evaluation of Joe Mixon, he's a Volvo, all right? Next time Eagles and Rams, I don't want to make you relive this, Lakwan, but as the resident, our resident Ram expert, our resident Ram Stan we started texted about this earlier, like how much of the future, because immediately after the loss, the questions about, you know, does Matthew Stafford retire? And I know he says he still has a lot of football left in him, but how much of the rams at least in the short
term future. Hayes on Stafford a playing and to being healthy.
I mean, why are we asking Matthew Stafford if he said has football left in him? Like, that's a frustrating question for me to even hear about Matthew Stafford righting off to the sunset. He's not done yet, Like I honestly think us not having the answer at backup right now is showing the cards of like, no, it's Stafford
next season, It's Stafford the next season. Let's reconstruct the contract again, let's extend him, because I honestly think him at thirty seven, which will be next month, doesn't indicate that he is near done football. We've seen guys go up here in the late thirties and surpass the forties and still go out there and accomplish things like it frustrates me because when we talk about Mahomes, we talked about Lamar Jack and Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, all these names.
You better have Matthew Stafford in that conversation when it comes to real life football. The things that he was doing in that game, Oh my god, the no look was just incredible, Like you don't get that from some guy that's at the back end of his career, Like, no, this is still peak Hall of Famer, first ballad Matthew Stafford. He is there, set in stone. All of that sounds wonderful. All of that sounds wonderful.
Said then, look, I'm this is me speaking just as an observer, not as a forty nine er fan. Matthew Stafford is amazing. And I said earlier in this year when they were one and four that he's not getting enough credit for because it could have been way worse, Like it could have looked worse.
Jimmy, g imagine your.
Guy, right if it was If it wasn't Matthew Stafford. I look at the the sort of the body of work, if you will, because this is a guy that has taken a lot of punishment, has taken a lot of sacks over his career, and the thing about quarterbacks is that it's.
Not Yeah, that's great.
I mean we learned that early in his career. Is that the separated shoulder game it was in Detroit when he's like, I'm gonna go, let's go. With quarterbacks, it's not a gentle decline. It is a fall off a cliff like Peyton Manning. You saw it almost happened right in front of your eyes, where he just couldn't throw the football anymore. And I think that's where the question
comes in. And it's as a thirty seven year old quarterback who's taken a lot of punishment, who has gutted out a lot, like at some point it's going to go, And what is your exit strategy? Is it? Stetson Bennett? Is it?
Like?
What is it? What is it? The backups?
Not on the roster. Yeah, I'll be on the roster, next in line if it comes down to that.
Like, no, it's not all right.
They do need a backup plan.
They need a backup plan. That's all I say.
You need an exit strategy this year. But I'm good, I'm good. I'm happy with Stafford for the next two.
Ye No, absolutely, a healthy Matthew Stafford, like is lights out, no argument at all.
You haven't said it yet, Lakwan, but I tweeted this prior to the Bills Ravens game, where the weather kind of help my team. But I was like, snow games are only fun if your team is not playing in one. How much of that game do you blame on the snow?
Oh, I mean a lot. I say that because the one fumble Stafford had he could not grip that ball, and like that is due to a wet ball, that ball hitting the ground many many times, and he.
Should have just flipped it forward instead it's a shovel. Hey, hey, hey, that was a pass. That pass.
But the weather did play a huge factor. Like if it was dry, you know, I still think Saquon would have still had his two hundred yards, but I think we would have had a better momentum. You know, we wouldn't have had those fumbles. And I ripped Kyroen, you know, emotionally after the game, but more so his fumble as well too, Like we needed better ball security. He was known for a guy that you know, had fumbling issues.
He leased the league among all running backs in the last two seasons, and fumbles in the weather, so it definitely played a huge factor in our loss.
Puka was moving like he's never been in snow before outside of that one amazing catch.
I was about to say that catch brought him back. I was standing up in front of the TV.
Yeah, actually, because you know my wife, she she's a RAMS fan, but when things go bad, she's like, turns off the TV. She turns off the TV. So like I was like watching it on my phone. I think she was watching like The Traders or something. And then I was like, these Rams. I said, the Rams have a real shots score touchdown here and take the lead. She's like, she's like, I'm not going to turn it because it's not gonna happen. I'm like, that was that attitude. No, I feel that though.
I feel that though, because I was just like, ah, it's over, man, but it's a good run now, like legitimately, honestly, it was a good run.
Very curiously, just curiously with the future. With the future holds. So finally Bill's Ravens a thriller, likes we expected it to be. The twenty seven to twenty five Buffalo moves on Florio as the man who is the cheerleader for the driving the Josh Allen for MVP bus. Right now, I'm going to ask you to say nice things about Lamar Jackson because obviously the narratives for both of these guys are that, like, you know, they can't get it done, they can't win the big game. Lamar did not have
his best game. But you know, your finally evaluation of Lamar Jackson this season in this MVP race, I think it was a tale of two halves.
I think the first half was the Lamar that we have seen in the past in the playoffs. He's doing four interceptions all year, and three of them have bounced off of receivers hands. That one that he threw in the first half, he himself said it was a BS interception because he put way too much air on it. Even if Bateman goes where he is supposed to go, the safety was there waiting for it, probably breaks it up, doesn't get an interception.
But still and then.
That fumble, like there was the biggest negative epa playoff the game. It's it reminded me of old Lamar. It it reminded me of old Josh too. But then in the second half, I think you saw the maturation. You saw the current version of Lamar playing in the playoffs, Like that throw he had to Wallace on that final drive. I was sitting there like, what are they supposed to do? Like there's truly nothing that a defense can do to
stop that. And the one thing I'll say is it felt to me like the Bills were allowing running lanes for Lamar Jackson and he was not looking to run like There was also that play where they got down a first and two on the two yard line, first and goal, and then he took a sack on second down, like you can't there's a lot of stuff that you can't do.
But in the second half.
He played as as well as he possibly could have almost dragged them back. To me, the narrative after reminds me a lot of the narrative after the thirteen second loss for Josh. Even though Josh did not turn ball over in that game and stuff like that, it was like he played well enough to win. He put the ball there to get the job done. And now I pushed back with the Bills would have had a minute and a half and two timeouts against the field goal range.
Who knows what would have happened.
But it wasn't all on Lamar, like it was just as much on everyone else on that Ravens seem the defense struggled in the first half. To me, it just seemed like everyone on the Ravens kind of remembered who they were in the second half. I don't know if that's because Lamar struggled in the first or what it was,
but it was a tale of two halves. I think that if you are a Lamar fan, you should feel good like this guy can perform in the playoffs, although there were some people out there who were like, you did nothing.
Wrong eight and I'm like, that's not the case either. Man.
He had two turnovers, like he had a part in this.
Yeah, I mean it was not his best game by far, but he did show up and as you mentioned, had them in a position to possibly force overtime. Just didn't happen. So I don't know. I at one point, I know Ole Hio text to this, He's like, I don't know who to cheer for between Fourio's happiness and Patrick Clavan's happiness, knowing that Patrick is, uh, you know, our number one, Lamar stand uh here in the building.
So as someone who's had a lot of heartbreak in the playoffs and then have to have your quarterback unfairly bashed for an entire year. I do feel for Lamar fans like it's it's not a fun it's it's the worst part about being a football fan is like.
Only one team wins and everyone else gets bashed. Yep, basically rings culture, Man, what has it done to us? What has it done to it? It didn't always have to be. It wasn't always this way. No one ever looked at Dan Marino. It's just like, yeah, maybe they did. I don't know, maybe that was the start of it.
I don't know.
I'm getting I've done a time, very story less. I'm getting sad. Take a break, come back with do some exit interviews. So start with the Saints. Since coming up on the NFL Fantasy Football podcast. All right, back to our exit interviews. Picks nine through twelve are up next, Starting at number nine with the New Orleans Saints. They were five and twelve. I'm when I went through the
whole what went right? What went wrong? Thing? Like I look and I said, Alvin Kamara, I mean, I guess so he was the RB nine, nearly fifteen hundred scrimmageyards, sixty eight catches, eight total touchdowns.
I don't know.
Flora is just because the Saints offense was bad that it just didn't feel great for Alvin Kamara. Yeah, it was a tale of two halves.
Like the first half of the season was awesome and he was the runaway RB one. I don't know if you remember this, Marcus, me and you were joking about it months ago. It was after the Saints Thursday night game where I went on the Thursday pregame show and was like, you should start Alvin Kamara, who is the universal RB one right now?
And then he.
Didn't play well and people were like, I want me to start him and me and.
You were like making fun of them the next day.
But uh yeah, like the second half, I mean it's not on him, Like you took his starting quarterback away, you took Chris Olave away, you took Rashid Shahid away, you took Taysom Hill away. He was the last man in there, is the only one defense has had a key in on. And even his last play of this season was like an amazing one handed touchdown catch. So yeah, I think he'll get devalued a bit next year because of age concerns and the offense that he plays on
and stuff. But if he's going in like the fourth round like he did this year. I think that's a perfectly safe pick to take, all.
Right, I mean so then that was my next question. Look, well, I mean you mentioned Chris Olave missed nine games of the concussion, Derek Carr got hurt, wasn't playing all that great. Remember the first two weeks the Saints scored like ninety points and We're like, oh my goodness, this is a juggernaut. And then I think it took them like another five weeks to score combined ninety points after that, something really ridiculous.
It was wild. So everything can be considered. Who is the first Saint draft and is it still Alan Kamara? And in what round?
Kamara he's probably living without outside of the top three, it feels right like maybe early forefront, but I just feel like he's the only one I feel safe with. Chrys o'lave. Like I'm done. I'm talking personally here on the mic, like I'm not talking for everybody else. I am done with the chrysal o' lovey experience, Like I'm completely over it. Like it's not what it is. It's not the same comparison situation, like a Garret Wilson or
Drake London that are a quarterback away. He's got the quarterback, but then he's missing games because of concussions and et cetera, and overall the offense is just not good. Like I have no type of like appeal to this offense for the wide receivers, Like I just don't Juwan Johnson, like I was happy for him to like show up as like I'm here too, I can produce, but then they wasn't consistent. So it's like I don't know what to do with this Saints offense. I just look at it
as like I'm gonna get anybody. It's gonna be I'm Kamara, like it's the safest the thirty year old running back almost fifteen hundred scrimming yards, like I'll take that.
Yeah, just.
You ever Seet Shahad, No, that's the best ball thing.
Man.
If there could be something there as like you know, like he could be the flex of the week, you know, like I don't feel like there's somebody that can be consistently in your starting lineups as a start and forget.
Yeah, that's probably fair. I don't know any any other additions take away from that.
Florio I agree, like I was out on a lave this past season, and obviously injuries played a big thing, but I just don't trust Derek Carr.
I don't trust this offense.
All of that that being said, the fantasy community loves Crystal Lava. I would not be surprised if he goes at the first things off the board.
Asked him why. I was like, is that a rhetorical question? I thought you had an answer for that away a silent okay, Yeah, I don't. You're right. I like the idea of Chrystal Lave and the first two years he was giving you kind of wide receiver TWOI ish numbers, but we.
Keep drafting him as a wide receiver one. This is what I'm talking about, Like why.
Because this is supposed to be the third year leap, right, I mean remember back in the day, there used to be it used to be the third year leap. Like now guys come in as rookies at wide receivers and just ball out. But we used to believe in the third year leap and now like apparently now if you don't do it with the first two, like we're out. Is that what that's what it is?
Now?
But it's Derek Dallas Carr to that quarterback likes no.
Two years ago he led the league I think in dump offs in a clean pocket like he's.
That's why Alvin Tabara eight.
Yeah, he's just not a QB to elevate someone with a lave skill set in my opinion.
And only one season over thirty touchdowns, so the touchdowns are not even there. And that was what like twenty fourteen, I want to guess, like twenty fifteen. Yeah, you're closed.
Ah, that was not Refree Cooper year, I believe. Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. All right, let's get to the Chicago Bears because there's a lot to unpack here. Five and twelve went right, DeAndre Swift, I think for sure we're had a very good season by his standards. Thirteen hundred and forty five scrimmage yards, forty two catches, six total touchdowns. The RB nineteen Dj Moore, as we all expected, was the wide receiver one there ninety eight for a nine
to sixty six and six touchdowns. Wide receiver sixteen. Maddy Ruflus fired, Shane Waldron sacked. Yes, I got it. Yeah, your team lost. I either throw you a bone, come on. Some of the pending free agents, Keenan Allen, who signed on a one year deal. It was okay, Travis Homer, Marcedes Lewis, who I just feel like he should play forever and every year he should go to London and catch a touchdown. That's why I think that's what he should. Don be forty one in May, please come back. I
say this all the time. Marcedes Lewis and Maurice Jones drew against each other in high school. They were teammates at UCLA. They were drafted the same year. I love HIMJD. He's been our co worker for a while now, and Mercedes Lewis is still playing pro football insane. So there you go. So let's start with just just what we saw from the Bears this year. Soria, your final evaluation of Caleb Williams rookie season incomplete.
I think I think Caleb showed a lot of flashes.
And and just like I say with Drake May, don't just look at like his stats and his box score, go watch him play football. We saw a lot of the times that the stuff that Marcus you saw for years at USC just him extending plays with his legs, him making throws that like him. Lamar Mahomes and Alan Ka make and that's it. Like he's got that skill set, that playmaking gene that we all were so excited for coming out of college. He does need to work on
getting the ball out of his hands quicker. He definitely held on to it too long at times and that was a problem and even in college. But when he was in college, he could just easily outrun and out maneuver and out athletic everyone hard to do in the NFL, but he was constantly under pressure. He was leading the league all year in unblocked sacks, unblocked pressure, all of that.
So needs to get the Bears priority this offseason. Like last year was putting weapons around him, this year needs to be just just get an O line in place, because we know that was so much of the success that Ben Johnson had in Detroit. But I think if you improve that offensive line, you are cooking with fire with Caleb Williams right now.
Like I think you.
Should feel really good, Marcus.
You watched him closer than any of us in college, so I'm really curious to hear what you think of him. But I came away feeling good, more good than bad with Caleb Williams.
Yeah, I mean I think I think part of the Yeah, the playmaking ability is what you love, but there were times in college, as you mentioned, it got him in trouble, and I think I think what we saw in the first half of the season was a guy that the game was still a little bit too fast forward. Every rookie will tell you that at some point it starts to slow down, and I think you saw that a little more in the second half of the season. So your point, though, he still has to get rid of
the ball. There are times where you can hold it and extend to play and make something happen. There are times you just have to eat it, you know, throw it out of bounds, run for a few yards and slide whatever. The home runs not always going to be there, so I think that's sort of the thing. It's going to be interesting now that they have a new head coach who is also in offensive mind, so means it's
time to see who will deliver. Presented by Uber Eats, I mean, Lukwan for you, what does Ben Johnson's hiring mean for the Bears, Because obviously I know you want to twist the knife for the Lions, So this is your chance to get in there and talk about how he's going to rise Chicago up from the depths.
Well, I look at the skill players like they get a boost. I mean, look, I'm going to start the hype train now. We can start getting all aboard of the Cole commit because I think it's going to be a breakout season for him, because honestly, looking at Cole Comtt, he's one of the guys that can hang with the best of them when it comes to route runners and being you know, produced, but he just never was deployed and utilized that way for him to really show up.
And I think we might be surprised at Cole Comett, you know, showing up a show now. I mean, Roman Dunde is going to be way more fun under the watch, you know, honestly with Caleb. And we talked about Caleb pulling to the ball real quick. He yelled them to the ball for two point nine to two seconds and leave average was two point eight one. So he was
just holding on to the ball way too long. So hopefully Ben Johnson gets out there, gets him more creative out there, get the ball quick out you have the weapons around you, and honestly, that's what makes this job attractive.
You have a veteran Keenan Allen, you have DJ Moore who's going to be crazy explosive, like he gets a boost obviously in rounds, and I definitely think, you know, Kayleb Williams is going to be able to get the ball out quick and have this offense just look similar to the Lions offense and hopefully we can get a year one impact like Ben Johnson did with Jarrek Goff in that line.
All right, So side unseen Florio, you are looking at Caleb Williams in your draft ranks? Is he a top twelve? Top ten? How high you having him up? Come on?
I think I could see top twelve, so like it. Obviously the top five is set. We've already said it's Lamar, Josh, h Burrow, Jaden and Herts in any order you want to put them in. After that, I think the second tier of quarterbacks is going to be very big because.
Bo Nicks at the top of it.
Like bow Knicks is in that group.
I would put Caleb in that group, Jared Goff maybe depending on who the OC is now, Kyler Murray like Mahomes Rock Party, all of those names are kind of similar in some regard.
By the Wild Wild that you got to that part before you said Mahomes. Just let's yeah, right, let's take a moment to recognize.
That Mahomes is going to be in that second tier for sure. I think Caleb will as well. I think top twelve makes sense with Ben Johnson.
To me, he's very.
Much the more I think about it, it depends on where he goes in drafts. Like if people are pulling him up and he's going like QB eight, I'm probably not gonna take him there. But if he's going closer to QB twelve, I'll probably have a whole bunch of Caleb on my teams this year because we know he can run and stuff. I just I hope Keenan his back or that they go out and get suck because the slot receiver was such a big part of the Lions offense that you need someone you trust in.
That role in Chicago. I got a question, though, would you would you do Dak or Caleb next year?
See that's and we're gonna talk about the Cowboys little layer two, But who's gonna be the coach?
That's doesn't matter. I mean the circus is circus, but we'll get to them later. How about Herbert.
Or Kleb I think I want Caleb.
Yeah, there's more ups running more though he has been running more.
I want to see what they do. I'd want to see what they do in the draft of free agency about adding a wide receiver. They need more than lad Yeah.
And the Bears need to add to the old lines. So so, but right now, Caleb taking him over over two over? Yeah, I think like Gino him or Jordan love Stroud, like, I feel like Caleb brings more upside than those guys.
Yeah, I think that's what it is. I think we've seen the potential. Now let's let's actually see what it's like with a with a good offensive head coach and.
Where he's going to go in rounds. It's not like you're paying premium price for it either, So not yet. How about this one, Caleb Williams or Anthony Richardson. Oh, you got to be kidding me.
I mean, I don't know, man, I need to I need to get my mind right before I start talking about Anthony, because it's all upside, that's all it is.
Because you kind of want to say aar but like I could see my taking both of them.
I need to be in a safe space right now. I don't. I don't know if I'm in a good mental place to talk about Anthony Richardson right now enough And just tapping out that was Who Will Deliver, presented by Uber Eat, where you can get the best deals on game day food all season long, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now still got two more teams to talk about in our exit interviews. And once upon a time this was the rivalry in
the NFC, Now not so much. Take a break, come back before the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast picking in the number eleven spot this year the San Francisco forty nine ers six and eleven. What went right? Pretty much? George Kittle, he was a tight end. Three seventy eight catches, one hundred and well eleven hundred and six yards, the eight touchdowns there. What went wrong? Well, pretty much everything else. I think me and LQ should just sit back right now and give you.
The floor to let you vent of ex sickly went wrong with the season.
Well, I mean, look, we probably all should have been a little bit hip and then look, there are some people out there. Who when when the McCaffrey calf stuff started up, people immediately like, I'm out. Some of us, you know, decided we could take the forty nine ers coaching in front office at their word that he was just a little bit away, when honestly, some of that
is on me. I sit next to Cynthia Freeland at least once a week on NFL Fantasy Live, as she often refers to Kyle Shanahan as a lying liar who lies. That should have been my first clue that Christian McCaffrey was probably not going to play this year. And beyond that, you have the Brandon Nyuk stuff that he was holding out to the very last minute, gets paid and then
gets hurt almost immediately. They were one running back away from, you know, emailing one of us to take some snaps in that backfield at some point declined they were just they were a team that was really really beat up. And while I like Rock Party, it sort of showed some of the limitations. And look, I think we all knew that, Yes, he's definitely a benefit of he benefits from having talent around him. I think he's a good quarterback. They you know, they've shown that he can get them
to a Super Bowl. So I think that's that part was fine, whether they pay him or not. You know, I think you have to because because who else what are you gonna do? Are you? Are you guaranteed to find somebody better than Brock Party? And the answer is not right now, not at not the eleventh spot, not with who's out there in the free agent market. So Rock Purty will get paid. I don't know, just the year where everybody was beat up, even on the defensive side.
Drake green Law didn't come back to halfway through the year. We found out at some point, uh Brett Warner was playing on a broken ankle, you know, like telling no, Hufanga can't seem to stay healthy. Just it just was. It was like domino effect where everybody was just injured at some point. So I kind of look at it as a speed bump. Yes, everybody will be a year older. McCaffrey will allegedly be healthy. I you will allegedly be healthy.
John Lynch says they want to run it back. They want to figure out how to pay Rock Party and keep Deebo Samuel around and healthy. So they want to try to run it back. So I'm willing to kind of take this as a speed bump, but I'm going to ask the number one forty nine er hater here, are you willing at all to buy back in on this offense and fantasy next.
Year at a discount? Yeah? I mean everybody but CMC, Like I know Brandon at Yuk is going to be at a discount, and he still seems to be the functionality of this offense in rock Party. I mean, I really don't have much interest in debo because I'm not sure where he is in vibe check and mood, and I don't know if he wants to be there anymore.
So I don't know like George Kittle quietly a top three tight end like I honestly, you know I faded him just based on his history with injuries are coming in and now snip snap, are you healthy or not? But yeah, I'll take the shot on Ricky Bert Piers, I'll take it, no shot on Juwan Jennings knows later round, because I do want a piece of this forty nine
ers offense. If you guys are all healthy, everything is back together, I think you're better than the Cardinals, to be honest, So I think you know, with you guys finishing last in the division, you guys get an easier schedule, So you guys will definitely benefit from that. You guys, you know, take a step back from high competition football within a division. You know what teams like the Rams. So yeah, you know, I definitely think you know, that discount would be nice on those guys.
Wow, the little little elbow on the way out, that was you know, I gotta get you all right. I mean, so I'll ask you the McCaffrey question. Where are you comfortable taking him next year?
Done?
Done? Done? Uh?
Definitely not the first round. I would ideally want to say the third round, but I feel like he's going to go in the second, and I don't know if I'm going to be that person taking it. I agree with what LQ said, like, I'm really excited to get some of these forty nine at a discount.
Is cem cmc is gonna go one of two ways?
I think like he's gonna be early second round pick or no one's gonna want to draft him to like the fifth round, And I'm guessing it's it's gonna be him going in the second round.
So I generally won't like general public draft and he's gone.
When when when? Yeah, later in the summer, people like Christian McCaffrey.
We were talking about Bryce Hall versus a whole bunch of different running backs last week, and all of those are running backs that I think go on the second or third round. So I'd much rather take those guys who I don't have to worry about the injury concern and stuff. I get the upside with CMC, So yeah, I would be back in on some of the Niners
weapons and Marcus, I agree with you. I think they're gonna pay Brock Party, but I think this is where like the NFL needs to make adjustments, Like you don't need to give Brock Purty sixty million just because like Lamar Jackson is getting that kind of money, like treat it like other sports.
Dude, Like, look, Derek Cole got paid. You're not Cole.
You're gonna get pit your money for what you're.
Deserved, you know, Like that's what the NFL needs. He would just who pulls the trigger first, Sam Donald or Brock Party. Party's getting paid? Ptty pretty o you paid?
Yees? Donald. Donald may hang around for a while after the last couple of weeks.
On the tag. Yeah, you're right.
Actually you may hang around for a couple of weeks, so we'll see what how that goes. Oh, by the way, some of the free agents include Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Patrick Taylor. Are we spinning the wheel of forty nine or backups again this year?
We almost have to, right, Yes, it's becoming automatic now, right, Like I mean, honestly, you just want to be safety ready, so you don't have to get ready.
I guess Isaac Grindal is still going to be there, so get that.
Jordan Mason. I honestly rather Jordan Mason because I am the Jordan Mason stand. But I am okay with taking them both. That's how deep I'm willing to go, Like I want forty nine ers running back. I'm not convinced that CMC is going to be back to form. I'm not even convinced he's going to come back to play a full sixteen seventeen games. Like I mean, we've seen this story play out before, Like I mentioned this before in the Pond over the summer, Like we've seen him
lead the league in touches. He played ten games those following two seasons.
I'm calling it now.
Saturday, April twenty sixth, the forty nine ers will draft a running back and the internet will go crazy for him.
Yes, that's the end of CMC. Like that's going to be there, Like that's gonna be some AI clickbaity things CMC done. Like that's exactly gonna happen. Wow. Last one, the number twelve pick, goes to the Dallas Cowboys. They were seven and ten. Well, wait right, ceede Lamb, We'll see thee Lamb again. One hundred and one catches, almost twelve hundred yards, six touchdowns, wide receiver eight, and that was because miss the final two games, was shut down
with the shoulder injury. Rico Daudo eventually became a good thing when they realized that, hey man, it's not twenty nineteen and Ezekee Elliott didn't have it like that anymore. Rego down finish with thirteen hundred scrimmag yards thirty nine catches, five total touchdowns was the running back twenty three. Uh what went wrong? Well, basically, their defense was terrible for a good chunk of the season, and Dak Prescott missed
nine games with a hamstring injury. But we talked a lot about quarterbacks, Siliquan, A healthy Dak Prescott is quarterback.
Blank, quarterback blank. Now we could put him in that range of QB twelve through fifteen because we know we're gonna get thirty touchdowns forty five hundred passing yards from a healthy deck. Like, I don't think there would be any type of alterar, you know, with the coaching there, Like, I think the connection between him and CD Lamb remained the same. So I would be willing if I was a buyer into the circus, if I wanted to get a ticket to go there, But I personally wouldn't be
drafting him this year. And I definitely feel as though if you go out there, you have to have in mind, like the expectations like, hey, guys are going to hurt. Hey, it's the circus. Hey guys are unhappy even paid, Like these are all the psychological expectations you're getting with this player on your roster, and like that's how I approach the draft. I don't want to be part of the circus. I'm not going to purchase a ticket to the circus. So yeah, so that makes a question then Florida.
I mean, you know, the rumor is that Jerry Jones has interest in bringing in Beyond Sanders to be the head coach. I mean, I know you don't watch a ton of college football, but even not watching college football, you could not miss the phenomenon that was coach Prime when he got to Boulder, Colorado. You know, there's a there's a dot you series that about a thing that's
happening right now. Like if he does become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, knowing that the show is coming with him, does that impact how you feel about drafting those players, like the circus part of it.
Yeah, No, What I'm more concerned about is like what style of offense is he gonna run? Is he gonna be conservative? Is he gonna pass a lot? Is he How different is it going to look from past years? And that, to me is something that I have tried to mitigate in my draft, is as little variance as like, especially in my early round picks, Like quarterback changes is a huge red flag for me. Play calling changes is
a big red flag for me. And there are times where they bring in a new play caller and it could be a positive, like I was really excited for like Kellen Moore with the Eagles this year and Dave Canalis with the Panthers and stuff like that. But at the same time, I was not excited at all about like Greg Roman with the Chargers, So.
It goes both ways.
I would have to dive deeper into what his offenses looked like at Colorado because, like you said, all I know is the spectacle of what Dion was. But yeah, to me, Dak is in that big tier after the top five, like he could easily finish QB six or he could finish q BE fourteen, and I wouldn't be all that surprised either way.
So I will who knows if he gets hired and who he brings with him. Currently, I will tell you that his offensive coordinator is Pat Shermer at the University of Colorado, so you can go back and find some more Pat Shermer offenses.
Do you think he's just the Dan Campbell just the culture of the team, Like he's just going to bring in the energy and just have the offensive coordinator run his offense like I could kind of see that happening.
Oh yeah, no, I think that's that's exactly like I think whoever his coordinators are would would run the you know, rat that side of the ball.
He would just be the mouthpiece, he'd be the master.
Yeah, I mean, it just it just feels like even more of a circus. And I know the Cowboys are a circus in and of themselves, like they are a show like no other.
They love the circuits.
But at the same time they love it. But I mean, I sent you guys that meme. Right, the last time the Cowboys won an NFC championship game, the Baltimore Ravens didn't exist. Oh, like out look, it's bringing in revenue. Who I'm bad at capitalism, so like it's making money. So I guess nothing's really gonna change there. But man, if I'm a fan, I'm frustrated, like I don't want At some point, I don't want the circus anymore. I just I just I want to go to Super Bowl. Well.
I have a buddy who's a Cowboys fan and the Knicks fan, and he he texted me his misery all the time. Sorry, I know you're a Knicks fan too.
Times are better there. He's got the bills in the Mets. He's fine.
Yeah, you're good.
The Knicks are top seed in the East right now.
Look, he's happy somewhat, but his Cowboys have not been great since he's been like five years old.
You know, Marcus, your point about the Ravens Jayden Daniels was not was negative four years old.
The last time the Cowboys played in the Super Bowl negative four years yikes.
Well even thought of wasn't born Anthony Rich like the numerous starting quarterbacks were not even alive. The last time was the iPod out?
No? No, no, absolutely not. The I pod was like the late two thousands.
Were we even on AOL Messenger? Like, were we on aim?
I don't think, Yeah, I don't think. I don't think AOL was around because it really wasn't a big deal at that point. Wow, we were getting disc melt. Oh man, Oh.
Wow, Cowboys fans hate the pod.
By the way, speaking of the Cowboys for people who also love cowboy misery, you know, the the NFC Championship Game is a matchup of former Dallas Cowboy coordinators. Oh it's just last season, yeah yeah.
Wow, But I guess Kellen Moore was two years ago because last she was with the chart.
But still still the point wow of recent Cowboy coordinators there it is all right.
That was today was fun.
You know, Cowboys fans thought like if he said NFC East, two teams from it are in the NFC Championship game, They're thinking it's them in Philly all the way, all year long.
Yeah, life comes at your fast, very fast. Go ahead say the saying say it.
Cowboy fans, this is right here, man, Cowboys, Lions, your mentions are gonna be rough to.
I just got to deal with the Ravens fans. You got, you got the whole NFC coming for you.
I don't care. Bring them, bring them Lions fans have fun in Cowbo, Dan Campbell, you learned his lesson humble pie has been served.
My favorite part about it that was they made it just as far as you guys did.
They lost first.
You know what, when a team plays on Saturday and my team like, I'm like, all right, we made it further than you, even though technically give you.
Yeah, that's hilarious, that's funny. All right. Obviously, we'll be back with you on Thursday. We'll have some more exit interviews and will also preview the n f C and a f C Championship game, So stick around for that. The meantime that'll do it for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football podcast, The Happy, Safe and LV do good and Live Well. We'll talk to you in a couple of days.