Hey everybody.
It is Monday, July fifteenth, twent seed twenty four. Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. I didn't bother to write an interro for today show. It's me and your random g Marcus Grant joined by Michael f Florio and LaQuan Jones.
And Okay, I just want to I want to stalk here. I just want to say, like, I'm sorry, Yeah, we let's go. We're I know, I'm being genuine, I'm being sincere.
Like I know we've given you a hard time on this show and generally in the office about being an England football supporter and uh and that sort of thing, but.
Like you guys got close to it, like it's it's hard.
It is legitimately a hard thing to watch your team lose in a championship game. So like, yeah, I mean it's all funny games. We're gonna, you know, give you hell in the text chat like it's just gonna happen.
But like I legitimately feel I'm sorry for you. It was a tough weekend for you, for sure.
It's okay, It's okay. Like a lot of my friends three you know, checking on on me, and I had some like team comps as well, and then I saw one yesterday It was like England's basically the forty nine ers. They can't get what.
Yeah, so I heard some really great.
Comps to teams and I was like, forty nine ers, that's interesting.
I'll take that. You feel punch I got for you because the one I saw, the one I saw was that the England is like the Knicks of international soccer, right, so.
Yeah, the Knicks have just see your mind in their own business.
Forty nine ers. Look, we got the New York Jets.
No shout out to Jack and the recharge department. He was like, they're basically the New York Jets, And I'm like, this is somewhat so the Jets don't even sniff a championship.
The Jets don't.
Get a little bit championships were in the sixties. That was his point.
So I'm like, oh, yeah, right, I get all right, there's so.
Many good comps.
How do you invent the sport and not win it since the sixties.
I don't know.
Ask the Canadians and hockey right like, they're struggling there, they're down bad.
In the NHL.
America started basketball and right now it looks like we're we're sitting pretty for gold in there. So there you go.
I mean, America lost in the gold medal. We're like, you know what, we're sending our best Now We're like, screw it, we're done.
We're done with the college guys out.
Let's send Let's send the greatest collection of basketball talent of all time and show people what what's up with that? Yeah, all right, Well, it's good that all all all of our teams caught strays this weekend.
So that's cool, beautiful as.
Yeah, there's got a stray. Lqr's a direct shot.
Uh, everybody else to feel it.
And and everybody else, yeah sort of got you know, got an elbow in the side because of it.
Uh.
We are starting our division previews. We're gonna go through each of the eight divisions over our next few shows and kind of break down the teams what we expect for them fantasy wise. Today is the a f C West. The figure we start here because it is the division that also is home to the two time defending champions Again't City Chiefs, so it felt like a good place
to start. In the meantime, though, let's start with a couple of I guess news and rumors is sort of the way we're describing because not actually news, it's sort of rumorish.
I don't know. We'll start with James Connor.
And we talked about James Connor on the show last week because the reports were he was still going to get the bulk of the work, which I don't think surprised really anybody, but Connor himself says, one thousand yards is the floor and not the ceiling. This is a guy who had his first one thousand yard rushing season last year in Arizona. He says that that now is the goal. That is the floor and not the ceiling. So I will ask both of you, started with you, Floria,
what about what you project? Let me not have to be exact, but about what do you project for James Connor this year?
I think over a thousand scrimmageyards feels pretty safe. He's done that in three straight years. The thing with Connor, and it's why with players like him, I don't love doing projections because you know he's gonna miss time. It's just a matter of how much time is he going to miss, So projecting him for like a full seventeen games doesn't feel like like genuine like. It feels a
little disingenuous. But I think as long as he is out there for however many games he plays, he is going to give you borderline RB one numbers either being a low end RB one high end RB two in that like RB nine to fifteen ranges where I think he'll settle in in a per game basis. He's done it pretty much every year since he's been in and in Arizona, he's done it every year and pretty much since he stayed When he stays healthy and isn't dealing with injuries and stuff, he pretty much has been in
RB one his whole career. So I still think he's got more left in the tank, and I don't expect that to change.
I mean, Lakwan, this is the guy who's averaged in his career four point three yards per carry, which is not bad at all. I mean, that's a solid yards per carry out. Like Florio mentioned, it has been the injuries. He's never played more than fifteen games in a season, and that was that first year in Arizona. I mean, can he repeat as a thousand yard rush or is it just more of the thousand scrimmage yards you're looking at.
I think he can get a thousand yards on the ground, And I honestly think we could probably see a full season out of James Connor because when we look at who his backup is, he's a capable back to step in as a guy that can kind of give him a breather from getting all these bumps and bruises. Like, if we really think about the last three seasons, who was James Connor getting let off the field for? Like
who is his backups? Eno, Benjamin Chase Edmonds, Like these guys aren't going to be impactful guys to keep him from getting these bumps and bruises.
Mercado's name place the other one.
He had a good two week run. But I feel like there is no guy that they had back there capable of keeping him healthy a full season where he has to take max touches, where he has to take on past and red zone duty and all these other things in multiple hats he has to wear. So they've been committed to him having the full workload these last three seasons. They're openly and publicly saying it's his backfield,
it's his guy. But we might see Tray Benton get sprinkled in, you know here and there, not anything noticeable to kind of take down his production. Because we know that James Connor has been super efficient these last two seasons. Coming off of a great season, a couple career highs. He had over thirty rushes of ten plus yards, which is the career high form two. I think we're getting the best version of James Conner this season that we could possibly see.
I mean, I think he has not hit the age cliff yet, right. He just turned twenty nine in May, which I was for some reason in my head, I had in my head that he was already thirty. But that's not the case. He just turned twenty nine. Coming off a thousand yard season. I think you can get it again. I think you can get another thousand yards. Now the question becomes, you know, in terms of his receiving numbers, He's never been a big time receiver. Just
one hundred and sixty five yards last year. Yeah, I wonder if it sort of stays around that number, especially now you've got Marvin Harrison. Trey McBride has established himself, heep seeing so much Greg Dortsch love.
Yes, hes gonna get me excited. I'm smiling ear to ear right now. Yes, let's go.
I mean so much, Greg Dortch love.
So maybe maybe what what we are lacking in receiving potential, we are gaining in rushing potential.
All of those guys should help create space near the line of scrimmage and running lanes. Because think about last year. You weren't afraid of whoever they were thrown out of. I'm throwing a blank on the quarterback before Kyler Murray and and when Kyler came back, all the receivers Clayton tune, Clayton tune, that's who jo Josh Dobbi. Yeah, yeah, you were loading the box against James Connor against those guys still remain efficient though.
That that's the great knock. I mean, that's a great nod to him. So I really feel as though we can get the best version of James Conner this year.
Clayton tune. Yeah, man, that's more.
Legit ex sleeper Clayton tune.
I feel like that was when we got to draft a fantasy hot take silly season.
Right, Yeah, that's when the news was slow.
That's the all right, hurry up and let's just play some games for real, so we don't have to keep trying to find stuff anymore.
They're always fun, always always a good time.
Trevor Lawrence says he is quote really excited for twenty twenty four with quote a dynamic group of past catchers.
I mean, Florida.
You and I talked about Trevor Lawrence a lot last year, and yeah, I was definitely on the like, I can't draft the Jaguars receiver, but I can draft Trevor Lawrence, and it didn't really work out that way.
So this year, I mean they've revamped a few things.
You know, Calvin Ridley is out, they draft Brian Thomas, they bring in Gabe Davis. I mean, they have Christian Kirk there. Evan Ingram is coming off his best career year. So I mean the quant I'll ask you how many pass catchers because there are a lot of options to go with the football, and I'm not even mentioning the fact that traves Et can catch the football when they need him to. How many pass catchers can this offense truly truly support for fantasy?
I'll say three. And I say that because if we look at the first thirteen weeks when this team was fully healthy, this is before Trevor Lawrence Christian Kirk getting injured. You had three pass catchers average seven targets per game. That was Evan Ingram, Calvin Ridley, and Christian Kirk. That's
a decent target share that I would love to have. Now, the three pass catchers going into this next season maybe up in question, but I think we can kind of lock Christian Kirk there as the one, but then it's kind of up in the air with Gabe Davis and Brian Thompson Junior as the two and three, which leads Evan Ingram as a guy, kind of out of this
equation because they're moving towards a more vertical attack. Like even though Evan Ingram put his name in the hat like hey, you know, I wouldn't be used more like that. But then you look at Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Junior. But they both can bring they both can stretch the field.
So having two options to be able to go downfield and stretch the field is better than having two security blankets that he had in Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram, because that doesn't make this offense like scary, it makes it kind of like safe, secure and conservative, you know,
having those two security blankets. So I honestly think man, Trevor Lawrence, Man, he's been getting better and better each season when it comes to passes, the twenty plus yards, his attention, his completion presented, even his passer rating increased tremendously in the last three seasons. So I kind of look at this as a lock is that he can support the three guys, so you definitely want to get a piece of those wide receivers.
I thought LQ said something really interesting in there at Florio. I mean, he's had a lot of interesting things, but one thing that I really caught on was him saying Evaningram put his name in the hat to be a
downfield threat. And I don't know, you know, we talked about this on the show last week, right because we had a good quote from him, and I think, I don't know when you between that quote and sort of Lakwan's suggestion here for Evan Ingram being a downfield threat, is it something we actually see in the offense or is it like Lakwan suggesting, like him raising his hand and saying he wants to be that guy, because that does make a difference in what we expect out of him this year.
Yeah, I think he'll. I think they'll sprinkle it in more. I don't think it's going to become what his role is or anything like that. I just think it's because look, last year there were the three pass catchers, but Calvin Ridley, in my opinion, is so much better than Gabe Davis and what I expect out of year one Brian Thomas
Junior to be So I think those two. I think whoever the third is, we'll see more volume than Zay Jones, but whoever the second is will see less volume than Calvin Ridley did, and they'll kind of I could see it being a week to week thing with those two guys. Gave Davis is very inconsistent, but he is a huge big play threat and he's a really good run blocker, so I don't see him leaving the field for real life purposes, but for fantasy purposes, I think he'll be
up and down. But Brian Thomas Junior can also stretch the field, So because of that, I'm not sure we're going to see Evan Ingram acts to do a whole bunch and the more I dive into Evan Ingram the more I think he's gonna see say volume, I think he's a safe floor type of tight end pick. But last year he averaged fifty yards per game and did not score a touchdown while Christian Kirk was healthy. That's problematic.
So I think, to me, it's like Christian Kirk and then I don't really feel great about any of the secondary pieces here.
I mean, yeah, and again in Bestball drafts, I've taken Brian Thomas because I think where he's kind of falling in drafts, he's a nice later round pick with upside. He is, he feels like a better and best ball sort of guy. Yeah, but this feels like a situation where the ball is going to get spread around, and really, outside of Christian Kirk, I don't know who I can
count on on a regular basis here, you know. I mean, I'm still looking at the Evan Ingram one hundred and fourteen catches for tight end record in sixty three yards.
I literally tight end record. No tight end has ever had that many catches in a season. And despite that, of tight ends who had one hundred catches in a season, Evan Ingram is.
The only one without a thousand yards, gets one hundred and fourteen catches, nine hundred and sixty.
He could do it again if Christian Kirk gets hurt again, though, but we don't want.
That and and four touchdowns, so he's not really a big.
He had zero until Christian Kirk got hurt, which is insane.
That's real nasty. We're like ironing out that we're fading Evan Ingram each and every week, like stacking on.
I just I don't know, man, it just it feels frustrating.
It just feels like, you know what I'm saying, Like that many catches you would expect like he's having a huge year.
Fall in once.
All right, we're gonna dive into speaking of falling in, we're gonna fall into the AFC West and kind of goes through some team of previews, four teams, all with varying degrees.
Of fantasy interest.
Take a quick break, and we'll dive back into that coming up on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. So we start our division previews with the American Football Conference's Western Division.
Four teams. As always, I list them in alphabetical order.
This is not in terms of projected finish or you know, how much I like or dislike a team.
No, do you think the Broncos are winning the division?
Obviously? Yes, I mean mark it down. Sean Payton has taken into the Promised Land for sure.
For sure.
No, So we're gonna start with the Denver Broncos though. Of course last year top Fantasy scores quarterback Russell Wilson, who was QB fourteen, right that I had forgotten that like not. The QB fourteen is great, but it got me better than the dumpster fire. We talk about it as two hundred and fifty six point nine fantasy points QB fourteen. Davonte Williams the top running back in Denver one hundred and seventy nine and change RB twenty nine.
Courtland Sutton was the wide receiver thirty five overall one hundred and ninety point two points for him and the number one that tight end in Denver. It was bleak at that position there Adam Troutman sixty point four points. That was good for tight end thirty nine. Some of the notable losses Russell Wilson gone to Pittsburgh. Jerry Judy also out of Denver. Some of the guys they brought in Josh Reynolds they brought in as a free agent,
went very offensive heavy in the draft. They spend the number twelve overall pick on bow Knicks fourth round pick on Troy Franklin, the wide receiver out of Oregon, so they pair him up with his old quarterback. Adric Estime, the running back from Notre Dame, goes in the fifth round, and Devon Vale wide receiver goes in the seventh round. Right now, first Bronco off the board is Courtland Sutton. But that's it, Like pick ninety ninety point five is
the average pick for Courtland Sutton. So let's get into some key questions for this Broncos team Florida. Which quarterback would serve the offense better to start the season bo Knicks? Where we go with Stardom er Stidham.
I'm going with Boe Nicks here. If Jared Sidam is maybe more NFL ready and ready to like steer the ship early on, he's a career backup and Boon Nicks is the future of this team. So I don't want it to be a weird year where it's like, all right, halfway through the year, we're switching quarterbacks and then we got like. I just feel like, you know, bon Nicks is at least the guy that you're giving the shot for this year and the year after. Let's see what
you have in him. Let's throw him out there. He was also to me, I think like the prototypical Sean Payton style of quarterback. Lots of checkdowns, but he also has a strong arm where he can air it out. Peyton loves to do that, the downfield throw paired with
a lot of short underneath stuff. And then he's a good athlete as well, So I think that could be where he's a little sneaky and fantasy obviously like a QB two nothing more, But I think he's a better athlete than he probably gets credit for it.
All Right, how about you? How would you look on Bonnix or Jared Stidham.
I'm gonna go bo Nicks. Well, I mean, honestly, you look at Jared stim as a guy as the veteran. We see this move a lot where they bring in the veteran guy to kind of coach up the rookie prospect, and I think, you know, just to have Jared Stinham in that building to kind of kind of motivate Bo Nicks and kind of correct them on the small mistakes that he probably will make during camp and stuff like that to get him ready for Week one. So that's
kind of how I look at it. Like Bo Knicks does have some QB two interest in those super flex leagues and redraft or whatever the case may be, because
he's a sneaky, mobile quarterback. And you also have to account for having Troy Franklin in the building, Like the chemistry that he has with him is going to definitely translate to the NFL level with Sean payn and be able to deploy Bo Nicks and Troy Franklin together because you look at Troy Flanklin as a guy that can play the underneath close to the line of scribbage and
a guy that can stretch the field. So having that timing and rhythm and chemistry with somebody already in the building is definitely going to give you a leg up, leg up going into week one.
Yeah, I mean, like I think Bo Knicks wins this job because it just makes the most sense, you know, like why, like you said, why would you ardit with Jared Stidham. You know, he's not the future of this franchise. Just put Nicks out there, let him, you know, sink or swim. I mean, he's gonna take his knock. So I don't think there's any doubt about that. But let's let's let's not even pretend like, let's not even do this charade about about who's gonna be the starting quarterback.
I mean, unless unless Zach Wilson, anyone. Oh, we're not really no, we're not.
We're not for the for the entertainment purposes.
You can if Hard Knox was on, If Hart Knox was on, I definitely want to see the competition.
That would be the worst Hard Knocks ever made. If it is a quarterback competition, Sham and Zach Wilson.
John Peyton screaming at somebody.
So I want to imagine Liev Schreiber trying to narrate that Zach Wilson from the New York Jets whatever. Uh So, you you sort of got into this, liqu but I'll just ask you to kind of dive in further.
I mean, but you mentioned Troy Franklin. Are you are you drafting him?
Are there any other Broncos wide receivers besides Courtland Sutton that you're worth taking a shot.
On uh Man, Like we talked about Troy Franklin, Like, I love the talent, I love the chemistry that they're bringing over. It's I feel a little worried over all this offense as being fantasy relevant outside of something. So I'm kind of like on the wait and see approach. But you know me, I'm a return guy now, I'm just kind.
Of I was wondering. I was like, I had a name, I had a name that.
He has to come to my roster. So like he's one of those guys that you could get lately super late, don't have to invest anything. He probably ended up being a zombie on your betch if Nutting pops off for the return or on offense, if Sean Payton still doesn't know who he is. That's kind of how it's felt last But yeah, like you know, but I think Marvin Mems is like your dart throw in the back end.
I can't see myself investing in Troy Franklin right now or even in drafts, because we already know camp around a corner, and his stock is gonna go up once we start seeing those videos about next downfield. Detroy Franklin, Oh, he's the whys ever one like we see this happen on the time too. I think Troy Franklin's price it's gonna get a little nasty for me.
I mean, Florida. I can I just do a Josh Reynolds, a Tim Patrick Nobody like that?
Uh?
Tim Patrick is Look, he's a really good story to root for, and all the injuries he's been through and stuff, I don't think he is gonna be anywhere close to
Fantasy relevant. I think Josh Reynolds will be good enough to ruin someone else's chances, Like we'll all get excited for Marvin Mims or Troy Franklin or something like that, and Josh Reynolds will see enough snaps like look, I mean last year on Fantasy Live, I was like calling out Champayton, being like Marvin Mims leads the NFL by far in the yards per route, ran Like, why what do we have to do to get him on the field. So I agree with lq's point there, But the thing is,
I'd like both of those guys, Mims and Franklin. I like him in Best Ball, not only be because oh Best Ball, just because there's deeper rosters there. When in a regular redraft, we're talking fifteen rounds usually. I think those guys will probably be more waiver wire names to keep an eye on. But yeah, I think Troy Franklin is gonna get a lot of run because of the chemistry he has.
With bone In.
Yeah, I mean, I like Franklin again, he's he's I've taken him late in Best Balls a couple of times. But I don't think in redraft there's anybody besides Courtland Sutton.
That I have any real interest in.
Just yeah, you know.
I keep wanting to be like a value, But then I see the names around ahead of him, and I'm like, yeah, I would take all these guys over Courtland.
Yeah, I mean I think that that's exactly sort of what happens.
If you look at the names around Sutton, You're like, oh, yeah, I think I'd rather have these guys, especially because it's just hard to think he has the same touchdown production this year that he did like last year. What was it take suchdowns last year? And yeah, I don't see that's a big number. And in an offense that I just don't think scores a ton of points this year,
it doesn't seem to happen. We don't have to spend a lot of time on this, but any any Broncos tight ends you guys are interested in at all.
I mean we saw Adam Troutman scored sixty points last year.
I don't know if any tight ends who's never had three hundred yards four years in their career who break out in year five, especially because Russell Wilson is supposed to be like the tight end.
Guy, right, Yeah, I mean yeah, Bayden usually has a fantasy relevant tight end, you know with the sayings, you know, Jared Cook, Jim Graham. But I don't know, man, this ain't feeling like a Greg Dortch. I mean a Greg Dulsage.
Yeah, well he's also I mean he's got the foot injury he's kind of come back from, which I like Greg Dulsage coming out of college, and he was hurt that first year. He came in like midway through the season. But I remember when he first got on the field, and mind you, this was the Nathaniel Hackett offense. They
used him almost immediately. It looked like he was gonna make an immediate but yeah, he struggled to stay healthy and I don't I don't know that that Sean Payton thinks of him the same way.
That the previous coaching staff did. So yeah, I think I think we can punt on on Broncos tight ends.
I think it put one out.
That's it. Yep. On two.
The two time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs their scorers, their top scorers from last year. You'll be surprised to know that Patrick Mahomes was their top scoring quarterback. Really even I know right, came out of nowhere, even in a down year, in a bad year for Patrick Mahomes, he was the QB eight two hundred and ninety four point one fantasy points. Their top scoring running back Isaiah Pacheco RB fifteen to thirteen point nine points for him.
Their number one wide receiver fantasy wise was or she Rice. He was the wide receiver twenty seven overall two hundred and twelve and a half points, and shocking their top tight end, who was a guy named Travis Kelcey.
I hear he's dating somebody famous. I'm not sure. Two hundred nineteen pointso yeah, I think that's it.
Dms are on fire right after you're done. Two hundred nineteen point four points he was the tight end three. Some of the names, at least one of the important names that got out of the building, Mark Wez Valdez Scantling no longer in Kansas City, but they do bring in Marquise Brown, Hollywood Brown. They signed IRV Smith. You
let IRV swerve dream is long since dead. They signed Carson Wentz to be the backup quarterback in case something would happen to their pride signing their quarterback possession there and then in the draft, they spent the number twenty eight overall pick in the first round on wide receiver Xavier Worthy and a fourth round pick on tight end Jared Wiley. First chief off the board, not a surprise. Travis Kelcey right around picked thirty six or thirty seven.
So if you're talking about a twelve team draft, probably somewhere late in round three. All right, So I mentioned Florio that Mahomes any down year he was the QB eight.
We were all like, what's wrong with Patrick Mahomes?
He was still like top ten QB basically QB one overall. Can he bounce back though, to being a top five fantasy quarterback? In other words, will he go back to looking like the Patrick Mahomes that we have come to know so many years.
Yeah, I'll raise you one further. He has a path to be the QB one in fantasy football. Again, look, his odds are lower than like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts. You could throw in like Lamar there because he doesn't run nearly as much as those guys, especially near the goal line. So that is the cheat code for fantasy purposes. But let's not act like Patrick Mahomes doesn't have two five thousand yard seasons under his belt and another one
where he threw for almost forty nine. And let's not act like he doesn't have a fifty touchdown season, a thirty eight, a thirty seven, and at forty one. Like this guy is the best of the best for a reason. The thing that has changed, though we didn't see it as much a year one, but we saw it a lot last year was the loss of Tyreek Hill. They didn't have that downfield threat and the offense became a whole lot of short underneath passes. Two years ago, he
broke the record for short yards touchdown passes. That's hard to sustain, which is why we saw it dipped so much last year, but it doesn't have to sustain this year. They have the deep ball back. Marquis Brown is the best field stretcher they've had since Tyreek Hill. Xavier Worthy has the capability of being a really good field stretcher. He's also a good yat guy. Then you have Rice and Kelsey there who are good yack guys. This is the most complete Chiefs offense I think it has been
since Tyreek Hill left. And again I wouldn't say it's as high as some of the other guys' chances because he doesn't run as much. But yeah, he can easily explode this year with those field stretchers and get back to what he once was where he's thrown for five thousand yards and forty plus touchdowns.
You talk about not running, and we've always said that if you don't run, if you're not gonna get you know, I called the baseline like three four hundred yards on the ground.
That you have to be incredibly efficient throwing the football.
It was what Aaron Rodgers did a few years ago, right when he had like forty touchdowns and like five interceptions, Like you have to have that level of efficiency.
Patrick Mahomes can have that level of efficiency.
Like if there's a guy who can do it right now, he's the guy who can certainly do that now that they have him, now they have those added weapons for him.
He also ran for a career high last year. And I don't think this gets enough talking points. Zero rushing touchdowns when the year before he had four, and every year prior to that, besides the year where he played one game he had at least two. Doesn't sound like a lot. But that's twelve to twenty four free fantasy points right there.
Yeah, no, it does. It makes a difference.
It adds up, especially at a position that is so bunched up at the top, right, like the top level guys are all still fairly close to each other. Something like that makes an absolute difference in the overall scoring.
So Floyle talked.
About the the help that they got just changing the offense or upgrading some pieces of the offense. Xavier Worthy, the first round pick that they bring in from the University of Texas, Lakwan, what are your expectations for him in redraft? Right, Like you can draft him in basketball, you don't have to worry about setting in line up for him. But is he a guy that we feel like we can start every week in redraft leagues.
No, and I feel like it will be more so he'll be in that flex category, Like he'll be a guy that you can put in if he has the great matchup to beat the coverage. And honestly, I feel like Xavier Worthy is like fantasy hype right now. It's kind of like a little bit down since post draft, and I kind of like that to where his price
isn't too expensive. So I'm willing to bring him on board as like my wide receiver four or five, you know, in my debt pieces, because I really think he can have some big spike weeks of being able to blow by the defense and make the big plays. Like I think we do get back to Patrick Mahomes that Floria was talking about like this two seasons ago. This dude just threw for five thousand yards when we had the
most questions about his offense losing Tyreek Hill. So it's like, I think this offense is just as good as that offense that they had in twenty twenty two. To where it's in my mind is like if everybody stays healthy, Travis Kelsey, Marquis Brown or Sheid Rice and Xavier Worthy. Isaiah Pacheco is an underrated guy as well, involved in that passing game thanks to Matt Nag he always getting his running backs involved. So it's like this offense looks a lot better, a lot more solid to where like
I think Xavier Worthy could be a worthy roster pick. See, they're you know, in a redraft being that he will be a guy that you can fluctuate, you know, some weeks based on matchups.
So he mentioned, you know, you can't really mention Worthy right now without mentioning Hollywood Brown. Yeah, if if if Worthy, Florio is not a if He's like a you know, a matchup based or week to week kind of starter. Your expectations for for Marquise Brown? I mean is he high end wide receiver too? I mean what what would you expect from him this year?
Yeah?
I think Brown is a big value right now. He's my personal favorite of the Chiefs wide receivers. And I was gonna ask you guys how you like them as well? And my thinking is, we don't know what's gonna happen with Rashid Rice and Worthy. I think we'll have a similar year to what Rachid Rice was last year, different style of playing stuff. But I think the Chiefs are gonna ease him along early on, and really in the second half kind of set him loose because the Chiefs
don't care about September and October. They just want to get through it unscathed, and then they really start to care. So I think mark He's Brown on a one year deal, will be the number one wide receiver to start the year, and if he could stay healthy, I think that should carry out for the full season, and I think a career year could easily be on tap for Marque's Brown. Here low end high like wide receiver two. Like you said, Marcus, I think is kind of as long as he stays healthy.
That feels more like the floor. Like I wouldn't be surprised if this guy flirted with a wide receiver one season. If he stays healthy for seventeen games, that is the big if. With Marquis Brown's help.
I get the sense that they're gonna use him, that his role's going to evolve, And I think you kind of were sort of hinting at that too, Like I wouldn't be surprised if because last year to talk with the Chiefs was Hey, you know, they're just a short kind of a dink and dunk offense or a ball control offense. We're not seeing them air it out partial because they just didn't really have the personnel to do it.
I think you're gonna see them really take shots early in the season, and now I think as they get later in the year, you'll see that offense sort of contract a little bit. And I think it might become because teams aren't just gonna give them the space to.
Let Mahomes go bombs away every single week.
But you've got the guys that, you know, we know what Rashie Rice can do with the ball in his hands, Xavier Worthy can be that guy, Hollywood Brown can be that guy. So I think you're gonna see them really be vertical early in the season, and you know, you know, Andy Reid's gonna have something up his sleeve. He's gonna cook something up. And then midway through the season they're gonna completely switch things up. We're gonna be like, damn,
we should have seen this coming. Yeah, I think I think that's.
Really care about early on, they just don't know there.
They just have to work out the kinks because they know they're gonna be in the playoffs. They know they're gonna make a deep run in the playoffs. Let's just spend the first six weeks sort of ironing out the well with the Patriots too. I feel like the Patriots were like that sort of near the end of Brady's tenure there where.
Yeah, it was a little bit.
Rough sometimes at the start of the year, but by the time you got to like October, certainly by the time you got the Halloween, this thing was a well oiled machine.
Uh.
And you're because you know, we'd always do that.
There's always that thing, like six weeks into the season, like what's wrong with the Patriots? And then you know, they rip off like eight wins in a row, and you're like, nothing's wrong with the Patriots. You gonna win ano the Super Bowls year.
I'm never doubting them again.
Yeah, no, no, you gotta touch on this a little bit laquam.
But I'll ask you, is is Isaah Pacheco going to be the workhorse in the Kansas City backfield?
Uh? The signs are looking good for him to be the workhorse.
Man.
I mean, like to me, is dust Like I'm not really like worried about him as the backup, and they haven't signed back Jared McKinnon. So there's a lot of passing opportunity for Isaiah Pachecko to evolve to be this type of running back to have over two hundred and thirty touches a season, and he's young. This guy runs angry. I mean if the ground could scream. I mean, honestly, this dude has workloadability in him, and you gotta love that. Matt Naggy is realizing, like I can get more out
of this guy. I mean, this dude looks like he can be a RB one this season and not overall, but like an actual RB one because we're drafting him as if he's dressed as a RB two, which is fine, that's great value. Like when I go in the first round, I get a bijon and I can slap of Isaiah Pachecko behind him, and those couple of rounds later, I kind of like that build where I can just focus
on my wide receivers in those early rounds. So it's like, Isaiah Pacheck is definitely a guy people should have on their radars, a workhorse running back.
I mean, he's RB fifteen last year Floya. Could he get in the top ten this year or is fifteen about his ceiling?
I he is my favorite value in the first four or five rounds right now. I have him as the RB eight, I believe. But I think top is easily in his range of outcomes because for everything LQ said I agree with and I would even take it aside. I think we saw it happen last season, Like late in the year, they were playing him a lot of snaps and he was going off. He was giving you close to twenty fantasy points per game, and then the passing game died, like his target rate doubled in year
two from his rookie year. But as the year went on, especially in the playoffs, they just started throwing him the ball more and more and more. So I again, it could easily be one of those situations where, like eight weeks into the year, you're like, man, this guy is who he always is. He's an RB two because the
Chiefs they want him healthy late in the year. They're probably not gonna give him the like a CMC workload early on, but the second half of the year and in the fantasy playoffs when things are weather's getting cold, and stuff like that. I think Pacheco's going to be a league winner, and he has quickly become my most early round drafted running back.
Yeah, I I need to kind of get out of my because I think the the point that, you know, all they really did was was re signed Clyde Edwards Laire to a one year deal. I think that really signals that we are all in on Isaiah Pacheco, and I think I need to sort of wrap my head around next.
I look at him and I'm like.
Yeah, he's fine.
Like I don't.
I don't dislike him, I don't love him, but I think I have to realize that the Chiefs really like him and that that means more than anything.
I think at this point, well, get the best offense in football that I think is critical critical. We're halfway through the AFC West.
Uh, We're gonna find out will we be doing to DeVante Adams in drafts with Avante Adams wanted to do to Jimmy Garoppolo.
Wait uh.
Stick around for more of the NFL Fantasy Football podcast. Up next to the Las Vegas Raiders. Your top fantasy quarterback in Vegas last year was Aidan O'Connell and his mustache. One hundred and thirty two point eight Fantasy points. QB twenty eight Josh Jacobs. It was not a great year for Josh Jacobs fantasy wise, just RB twenty eight hundred and eighty one point one fantasy points. Devonte Adam is
still a top ten wide receiver. Last year he fell at number ten two hundred and sixty five point four fantasy points. Michael Mayer was your top tight end out of Vegas te thirty five seventy one point four points. In the offseason, they lost Josh Jacobs, They said goodbye to Jimmy Garoppolo, second by the hunter Renfro, who was kind of surprised, is still a free agent right now, and DeAndre Carter also gone. They brought in Gardner Minshew as a free agent. They also signed Alexander Madison in
the draft. Lay smean the number thirteen overall pick on brock Bowers, the tight end out of Georgia, and they drafted running back Dylan Lobby in.
The sixth round first off the board.
No surprise, it is Devonte Adams right around pick eighteen. So you know, ask these questions out of order, as they are written because we mentioned DeVante Adams as the number one pick off the board. Uh lakwan, he's going second round? Should we trust him in the second round based on the quarterback situation, the offense in general, the fact that you know age is starting to come for Devonte Adams.
Uh.
Yes, Now that Jimmy G is clearly away from the building and faculty from Devonte Adams, I think more so a lot of people remember those first nine weeks of playing with Jimmy G and Davonte Adams. I trust him because the target share is going to be there for that young quarterback where I think Aiden O'Connell will take on the league to be the starting quarterback, So the target share is going to be well over thirty percent.
Like we kind of understand that because with Jimmy G, there was weeks where Jacoby Myers was looking like the number one And when you look at the first two months of football, I mean Jacoby Myers was like a top twelve wide receiver while Davante the Adams was just breaking top fifteen. And then after the benching, we kind
of seen Davonte Adams take back that alpha role. He started scoring more touchdowns starting getting more consistent targets versus Jacoby Myers that was utilized more as a wide receiver.
Two.
So with Ato and o'conna as a starter coming out of Week one, I trust Devonte Adams as a solid wide receiver two, just based on we have the targets there, the target Viyeuen is going to be there for him, So why not?
So?
I mean, but to that point, right, because you're right after they moved on from Garoppolo and like AOC basically took over as the quarterback. He was looking for Davante Adams on the regular he in Florida.
We've heard a lot of.
Stuff out of Vegas that this is a legitimate quarterback competition. They brought in Gardner Minshew, but it doesn't seem like they're just going to hand him the job, Like he's going to have to really compete for this. If we're drafting Davante Adams and chances are he's the one guy that that is going to be drafted consistently across Fantasy. Do we want it to stay with O'Connell or are we okay Minshew maybe getting that gig No.
I think you want it to be Minshew, because I compared their two numbers from last year and they are almost the pointing Spider Man gift of like of Mah, I'm mid, but Gardner Minshew had a better deep ball of the two, which matters a lot for Devonte Adams. But the thing, DeVante is one of those players that I think, like in best Ball right now, he's going late round two and you could get him as a wide receiver too, become redrafts. I mean, I look at
every redraft rankings outside of my own. He's in the top ten, and I think that's where he's gonna go come August. And I'm firmly out on that price. You look at what he did last season. He did so on insane volume, second most targets of his career, the highest target share since twenty nineteen, the third most air yards in the NFL. He had the second most red zone targets. Like he was led the NFL in first rethrows.
Like everything went right for Devonte Adams, and he still finished as in points per game as a wide receiver two, and his metrics were really starting to show signs of declining. Less separation, worse rating when targeted. Wor's EPA and the thing is the downfields part of his game, and I think this is more in the quarterbacks it was non existent. And I had Davante in Fantasy last year and he his numbers were propelled by like two or three really huge games where he had like twenty five, he had
like thirty eight and one. But then on Christmas Day in the Fantasy semifinals, he gave you less than two points. And I think that might be the case this year, where when games are closed, the Raiders aren't gonna throw a bunch, They're gonna let rely on the run game in the defense, and yet when and then when they're trailing or whatever, they'll throw a bunch. So my thinking is, Davante, you're paying for what around where he finished last year. I don't think he still has the same seal that
he did with Aaron Rodgers. So I think last year is probably the median projection. But you're not getting any of the risk baked in. And at someone in his age who showed signs of decline last year, I think that should be baked in a little bit more than it is.
Yeah, I mean I think so, But I think I think this is a case where I always talk about muscle memory, right, I think muscle memory sort of keeps DeVante Adams where he.
Is because some of the things you talked about.
We know the target share is going to be huge, one hundred and seventy five targets last year. It's hard to think he sort of duplicates that because that's just a lot of targets. But he's still gonna far and away be the target leader in this offense. And I think that, combined with what we remember of DeVante Adams at his peak, I think is sort of keeping him
where he is. I will say that I have not drafted a lot of him just because there are a lot of things about this offense that worry me, including a change of offensive coordinator and the quant I mean, we remember Luke Getzi from his time in Chicago where it wasn't always great.
You know.
Some of that was on a developing justin fields. Some of it was though on the offensive coordinator. How do you feel about this offense with Getsy in charge?
Uh, I'm a little meh. I mean, I'm not expecting the stars and the moon from this offense, being that there's so many questions, the running back room, the quarterback situation. Can he just keep this offense afloat? Can he just get DeVante Adams the ball at maximum opportunities? It's kind of you go into this offense understanding this is the building face. You don't have a quarterback yet the running back you're still trying to figure out if he could
take over as the starting running back. So therefore, just keep everything simple. I will trust him to that extent to keeping everything simple and trying not to go out there and wear multiple hats and trying to get this offense and look like an offense that we know it cannot be without those tools. So that is as much as I can give my trust and insight on him. About lug Getzi being an offensive coordinator, Yeah.
I mean, I just think, you know, we know where the ball is going to go most of the time. Right, Most of the targets are going to go to Davante Adams, most of the rushing opportunities are going to go to the mere White.
But we also have to tied it situation. Right, they spend an early round pick. They spent what a first round pick on Michael Mayer. Last year, they spent a first round pick on Brock Bowers this year. I know we all had a sad when we saw where brock Bauers landed. I mean, florial your expectations because now I've seen a lot more hype and I've seen Bowers sort
of rising up draft boards a little bit. Your expectations for a guy who you know, he got the generational talent label slapped on him at the tight end position, but he's in a situation where opportunity might not be as plentiful as we want.
It to be.
Yeah, because of the opportunity and the quarterback and the coordinator who in two years in Chicago thirty first and twenty seventh in past attempts they ranked. So I don't love I think Titan like high end tight end two is I think like the median outcome in the most likely outcome. But I do think there is a situation where maybe DeVante gets hurt or Bowers just is at every bit as talented as we think he is, and he surprises us where he finishes top ten, maybe even
higher at the tight end position. So when you start to get past the top ten tight ends, and there's names like Dallas Goddard and Pat Fryermuth and TJ. Hockinson. Brock Bauers is my favorite.
Of that group to draft.
Yeah, I mean, I will take the shot on the talent, but he really is a tight end two for me, just because I don't know, you know, I just don't know how they're gonna work this out. If we're gonna put both those guys on the field at the same time, are they going to eat into each other's talent? It's each other's targets and the fact that the quarterback situation, you know, where do they rank in the pecking order?
When Adams is going to get so many targets, Jacobe Myers is going to get so many targets, Are there going to be enough.
For either of those guys Mayor or Bauers to survive afterwards?
I don't know the real nasty work there. I'm actually fading, to be honest, I don't want any parts.
Yeah, I get it, I get it. I just you know, I'm just sad. I wanted something.
Yeah, and we want him to go somewhere notable, but we did.
I wanted him to you know, I wanted him to have a Sam Laporta like season, a Sam Laporta like opportunity, hey Han, maybe he can could have been the Rams.
But maybe it's just it's just hard to it's hard to see it. It's hard to see it.
UH. Last team, the Los Angeles Chargers, their top fantasy score at quarterback Justin Herbert no shock there at QB seventeen two hundred and forty one point two points. Austin Eckler, even despite being banged up most of the season one hundred and eighty five point four points, he was RB twenty six, Keenan Allen the wide receiver eight UH just shy at two hundred and seventy nine points, and Gerald Everett was their top tight end tight end twenty three.
Overall one hundred and eleven point one points. One one one point one was Gerald Everett last year.
Losing a lot of guys off this offense though, Keenan Allen gone, Mike Williams gone, Jalen Geiton gone, Austin Eckler out, Josh Kelly out, Gerald Everett all gone. UH. They went to Baltimore and went shopping for unning backs. They bring in Gus Edwards and JK. Dobbins. They signed Will Disley and Hayden Hurst at tight end. They draft Ladd McConkie in the second round, Kamini Vidal in the sixth round, and a couple of wide receivers in the seventh round
Brendan Rice and Cornelius Johnson. Right now, the number one charger off the board is Ladd mcconkeye right around pick number sixty.
Nine or so.
I know we have all professed our love and admiration for Ladd McConkie in this Chargers offense. But a simple question for you, Michael f Florio, what will a Jim Harbaugh Greg Roman offense look like?
Especially with this personnel.
Run run run. When Jim Harbor was in San France, they were one of the most run heavy offenses in the NFL for his tenure. They were one of the more run heavy offenses in Michigan during his tenure. Greg Roman has been in oc ten years in this league. Every time he's finished top ten in rushing attempts. I believe it's seven times he's finished in the top three. So yeah, they're going to run the ball plenty, and I know that's not a good thing for Justin Herbert.
But the one thing I've been thinking is, like these these two have had a history of using their quarterback as a runner, and obviously the quarterback dictates that a little bit. But like Colin Kaepernick, Lamar Jackson, Tarad Taylor, those are our quarterbacks that these guys have had success with in the NFL. So I'm not saying that Justin Herbert is gonna be Lamar Jackson. But I do think it's possible that we get career highs rushing yards and
touchdowns out of Herbert this year. I mean, so, I know we've all said, like, they're gonna run the ball, They're gonna run that hell out of the ball.
I'm right now Justin Herbert going at QB seventeen because everybody has freaked out about this.
I mean, have gone have we gone too far with this Lakwi?
Because he's still a franchise quarterback at least they are paying him like a franchise quarterback. You would think that they're going to use his arm at some point. Have we freaked out too much?
Yeah?
I think we look at the offense on paper, I'm like, oh, this is a bad offense, but it's more of the unknowns. But a lot of those situations that we talk about that are bad teams, they have a bad or mid tier quarterback, and this isn't that situation. You still have a top tier quarterback and Justin Herbert to where I feel like he's able to execute this offense to be efficient with the wide receiver pass catchers that he has.
I mean, you bring in Lamb mc conkley. We know that he could separate as well, bringing Josh Palmer who showed them, well, you didn't bring them in, you kept them, but bring you have that on the table to where he's shown flashes at least where he can take on at times as an alpha wide receiver, and then everybody else will have to fall in place in the pecking order to keep this offense alive and keep the offense driving downfield. But you are happy that you have Justin
Herbert at the captain. So when it comes to fantasy and I look at Justin Herbert at QB seventeen, I'm grabbing that up every single time if I punt on the other quarterbacks that I missed out on, the Josh Allens to Joe Burrows and the Dak Prescotts and the Colin Murray's. Like like Florio said, I mean, Justin Herbert has some little bit to him. He doesn't do it often,
but he can bring it out at times. And I feel like when you look back at Justin Herbert's time, you know, with Oregon, I feel like he was a little bit Mobien shown flashes of being out there to kind of get out of danger. So I have good expectation for him this season.
I'm look, I'm at the point where he's fallen so far that I'm definitely willing to take him. And why not say Justin Herbert is a second QB when he's a guy that we know could be a QB one if everything shakes out right, you know. So I do think we have sort of freaked out a little bit too much and forgotten the fact that, you know, Jim Harball and Greg Roman have had quarterbacks who have been efficient and effective passers. And you are correct, he can
run just enough to sort of make things interesting. I keep that thing going.
Herbert is a great quarterback to pair with, like Anthony Richardson or Jaden Daniels or someone like that who isn't a rock solid QB one, but you're taking for the upside coppairing with Herbert, who's more of a safe floor him and golf are who I can he taking his QB twos?
And then yeah, Florio.
Quentin Johnston was not great last year, but the talk has been look, this coaching staff looks around it like, well, we're gonna use him in a different way completely, I mean, are can we can we hope for better things for Quentin Johnston this year?
Yes? Because he he is a yat guy who needs to learn how to stretch the field. And last year they tried to use him as a field stretcher, like like in a Mike Williams type role, and I know everyone likes to clown him. Oh he dropped that game winning would have been like a sixty yard game winning touchdown, And the next week he dropped like a fifty yard touchdown, and it's like, Okay, he's he's getting open downfield. Though, if if he holds onto those We're looking at Quentin
Johnson in a very different light. So I'm not telling you like I'm I'm super bullish on him and I'm leaving every draft with him and stuff. But he's completely free in drafts right now. So I've taken a couple of shots.
I mean, That's the thing is that the risk is so low with Quinton Johnston that it's maybe worth taking a couple of swings on him. For sure.
No, that is true because him and James and Williams are in the same box for me, and like Jamison, Williams is going way further ahead of Quentin Johnson to like j Moore. But but if I do want to take a shot on that tier of a guy, then it will be Quentin Johnson because he's basically free. He's dirt cheap.
Yeah, I mean, I get it. And you mentioned, you know, him getting open downfield and having the drops. I mean, you know a lot of storms have told me drops don't matter until they do. As long as he's still getting opportunities, the drops don't matter. And so we'll see if he continues to get those opportunities. Last question, Uh, any interest on in JK. Dobbins either of.
You new dust? He's in the dust collection.
I just the other two. I'm all about drafting though.
Yeah, I haven't drafted a lot. I haven't drafted a lot of JK.
Dobbins, But I will admit when I saw the quotes from Daniel Wheremiah about you want JK. Dobbins on your fantasy team like I I was. I was that Russell Westbrook gift of him, like eating snacks in the corner, Like that was mebbs.
I don't think DJ has faced the pain and burned from JK. Dobbins as a fantasy player.
I like I said, I'm not I'm not taking a lot of I'm not taking a lot of of JK. Dobbins. But like, yeah, I have. You know, I clicked a couple of times after I saw that quote.
So you're replacing your Javante Williams love for JK.
Dobbins this year, and it's not the same, you know. I mean, it's just it's more, it's more of my it's more of my faith in DJ.
Call it that. It's my Daniel the person to put your faith in.
Yeah, it's my belief in Daniel Jeremiah as a talient, talent evaluator and a scout.
That's that's what I put this out on Twitter yesterday.
Though I could see look not to anywhere close to the extent that the Dolphins were last year, but a veteran running back who gets by on volume in a high touchdown rate, and then a backup who gets by on a very high efficiency. Look, they're not gonna be rb ones, these two. But like I could see this that the Gus Edwards Kamani Videll backfields looking similar to like a poor man's Miami last year.
Okay, I could see that. I think that's fair for sure. All right, Well there we go.
That's our look at the a f C West. Were back with you on Wednesday, where we will look at the NFC West. So it means Lakwana and I get to go head to head and battle our squads. Interesting love it for what it's worth. I like, I don't hate the Rams.
I like the Rams.
They got a lot of especially have a lot of fun fantasy pieces. So we say, I respect that we can we can start there as a basis. See, we're already bringing nations together. We're just trying to heal this country.
It's all we want to here.
Now, I still hate.
At least at least he's honest. All right, anyway, that'll do it for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. They happy, safe and healthy, You good and live well, Uh stay cool. If you are out there in the heat somewhere in the meantime, we will talk to you on Wednesday,