Wow, Wow, everybody, It's Thursday, January thirtieth, twenty twenty five. Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, where we're available to take over as a play caller. It's me and your man named G Marcus Green joyed by Michael I have Florio and Lakwan Jones. So Florio several days removed. Are we feeling any better? How are we feeling about what happened?
You guys saw the text I sent for the hour before we started recording. It's gotten worse. It's gotten worse because I also, like you said the other day, Marcus, I enjoy my job here, but in livetime, I kept feeling like a lot of the spots were questionable, not just on that one play. And I'll just say there's stuff going around the internet that makes me feel a little bit more justified. So yeah, not not great. This is gonna be one that takes a long time to
the past. I've been like, look, the Chiefs have just been the better team. I don't feel that way this time around.
Is this a thing that you're probably not going to watch the super Bowl? Like?
Is it that bad? Well, if I didn't have this job, maybe, But I feel like I'm also like my super Bowl wish though, would be like, let Kendrick play as long as he wants, Like that's my let him play every album start to finish.
I I don't care. So it's funny you say that.
So I've been lucky enough to be on our super Bowl Today show, which runs on digital. It's been me and Patrick Claybon in the last couple of years, and one thing they have. One of the little bits that we do every year is trying to guess the set list for the halftime artist. So like two years ago when it was Rihanna, I think we went over ten. I don't think she played songs that we listed. I think last year we might have gotten a couple of them.
So I'm curious because like I feel like with Kendrick, there's a very narrow amount of songs that you can that he can play for a super Bowl audience. So I feel like I feel like I feel like Patrick gonna have a better chance to get a couple of.
Hits this shear Ron. He's one hundred percent not gonna do the actual verses to not like us.
Right, like, oh what hm man, that's gonna be the big you know what more than who wins the game. That's gonna be the biggest mystery of Super Bowl fifty nine.
He's clearly doing that. But like, is he really gonna say all this stuff, yes, I'm here?
Does he have to?
Does he just does he just cut the music and let the audience just scream it out loud and then that way he is.
Absolved from any responsibility.
I mean, it's literally the song that's playing in his ad for the Super Bowl, so we're getting the chorus and we know that.
Yeah, uh yeah, for sure.
All right, not much news happening, at least, none of any real fantasy relevance, so not much dud to talk about. We are continuing along with our exit interviews that we've got picks twenty one through twenty four and a little bit of Pro Bowl fund since that is coming up this week. The Pro Bowl Games, which I guess I think that's the official name now right, it's the Pro Bowl Games, because you got the skills competition, you've got
the flag football game, so that's what it is. We'll have a little bit of fun with that at the end of the show. But let's get going on our exit interviews. Pick number twenty one in this draft belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They went ten and seven this past year. What went right?
Now?
Gee, Harris question Mark had over one thousand rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, two hundred and eighty three receiving yards. He was the RB twenty two. I don't know, la Quan. I just felt like the Pittsburgh backfield situation in general was just pretty unsatisfying this year.
What did you think?
Yeah, there was a lot of ups and downs. Man, there just wasn't enough fantasy output for me to fill hunptable having Jalen Moore or Najie Harrison the starting lineup, I mean, running back twenty two is kind of higher
than what expected. I would have thought he finished outside the top twenty five, But more so, it's just really unfortunate that we cannot get a Najie Harris of you know, expectations that we had his rookie season, like he was supposed to be one of the top top backs, and you know, it just has not worked out to be that way. So I'm not really excited for him, you know, moving on to whatever journey he goes on after the Steelers or if he stays, but I just feel like, you know, it's just unfortunate.
Man.
I remember taking that rookie season with a huge not just a grain of salt, but like with a whole salt shaker, because he had what one hundred targets in that first season, ninety four targets, seventy four catches. That was with a broken down Ben Roethlisberger, who couldn't move, who couldn't push the ball downfield, who just gave him a ton of panic targets. And I felt like he
was going to struggle to to duplicate that. In fact, it's funny because I'm looking at it now with the seventy four catches, four hundred and sixty seven.
Yards like that was it. Wow.
So that part of it, I felt like he wasn't really gonna be able to duplicate. Ever again, I thought the rushing numbers would be better. He had twelve hundred yards that first season. He hasn't gotten to ten fifty since then. That is the part to me that's a little bit disappointing in this whole thing.
His efficiency has been better, though, he just has less touches, like because Jalen Warren has come in and kind of he is who he is at this point.
But who is he?
He's a thousand yard runner who isn't going to give you much as a pass catcher. And you know what he is. He is a week to week RB three that will finish the year as an RB two. That's what he's been for three years in a row. Now.
It's funny too, because I know, we like saying a thousand yard rusher. It's like a nice round number and a nice benchmark. But as the NFL keeps adding games to the schedule, it becomes less and less impressive. Right Like when they played a twelve game schedule, one thousand yards seemed like, you know, it wasn't bad. Like you have to average eighty three yards a game. Then it's sixteen sixteen games that then you have to average like
sixty something yards a game. At seventeen you're averaging you know, even.
Less than that.
When they eventually go to eighteen games, a thousand yards over an eighteen game season is fifty five yards a game. Yeah, that's not great. It's a knee jerk reaction that we all have. At some point, we got to change our mindset, like a thousand yard season is like eh, in.
Eighteen games, like a thousand becomes like twelve hundred yards to me, Like, yeah, that would be the new I also do think, though, that Nase is kind of a victim of the time he played in, Like if naj Harris played ten or fifteen years ago, we're probably viewing him very differently.
Yeah, I think that's fair. I do think that's fair.
You mentioned Jaalen Warren. He was sort of one of the things that went wrong, partially because of injury. I just wasn't on the field a lot of five hundred and eleven rushing yards, three hundred and ten receiving yards. He was the RB thirty seven. The other thing that sort of went wrong was George Pickens. He had moments where he was great at the nine hundred receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, was wide receiver thirty nine. So Flooryal,
I had a thought about George Pickens. I know you watch Severance, o'kwan. I don't know if you watched Severance or not.
I have not.
Okay, it's the best show on TV.
It's great. It's great.
So I had a thought about George Pickens that maybe he's severed and those moments, those moments when he just sort of went nuts, was because somehow his inny got out and was just confused about this situation he was in. Right, We're like those moments when the snap happens and he immediately starts fighting or starts pushing. So it's just like you just were thrown into a situation and you don't know what it is, so you just gotta fight somebody.
That was my only Yeah, Like that's that's what it is. That that was my thought about George Pickens.
Like when the ref blows the whistle pre snap, that's like his elevator beep and he just like yeah, and which, by the way, spoiler alert, Lakwan covered ears there's no beat when Helly gets in the elevator and the less I'm just pointing that out. What Yeah, that I've I've done a lot of severance rabbit holes a couple of days. Wow, I got to get on the show severnth and shrinking my opinion too. Best news shows on and they're both apples,
so it's worth it. Yeah, I think George Pickens, I think it's hard to put him in what went wrong because his numbers don't look as great because he missed some time due to injury. But like, if you give him the additional three games that he missed, we're probably talking about him having close to a career high in yards. The touchdown number was really low, and that's where I
think he disappointed. But like next year, if I think George Pickens goes as probably a wide receiver three, I think it's a fair price to pay for him because the upside is really high. We know what he can do. But but yeah, I love your theory on him being in a severance character because literally when he's out there, he's even gonna make a highlight worthy play or he's gonna fight someone, And you just kind of gotta pick your poison on that.
That's the thing.
It's like you sort of take the good with the bad, at least for now. And I'm curious what happens. You know, in the offseason, they got a lot of free agents they gotta deal with. You mentioned Najee Harris, LaQuan, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Jalen Warren, Mike Williams all set to his free agency. This team really due for a major makeover
at some point. They are they're sort of living I keep talking about this football purgatory that they are living in right where they are good enough to make the playoffs.
You know, we talk a lot about Mike Tomlin and his streak of never having a losing season, but they're not good of Like nobody ever looks at the Steelers and thinks that they are a true contender to win a super Bowl right now, and they're not getting high enough draft picks where they can get some of those game changing prospects, so that they have to be really good at at you know, scouting, at coaching, at all
these things. They have to hit on their free agent picks because they're in a division that's hyper competitive, right when you've got to deal with the Ravens, when you've got to deal with I know, the Bengals weren't great this year, but you know they got to deal with those teams. So they've got to figure out how to get better at this point. And you could argue that.
Mike Tomlin being as good at his job as he is is a negative for the Pittsburgh Steelers because it keeps them in this range where like they can't go out and get a franchise quarterback. So they're playing this game year to year.
I mean, look at the names who name though he makes it, he makes the team competitive in such a nature with scraps like these are all scrap players that we were talking about. I mean Mike Williams, I mean, Russell Wilson justin fields like he's making this work and be competitive. But it's like they're just gonna constantly just sit right there in the middle of the pack and not be able to get the superstars that they won.
And I don't know their cap situation now, but they're not honestly bringing in the big name free agency either. You know, it's all scrap guys. Yeah, and I mean.
That that I think speaks to a front office issue more than anything else. But yeah, I mean, but you're right, But Mike Tomlin has done the most I think with the pieces that he has. They've got a very good defense and a lot of pieces on that side, and they're just sort of getting by offensively. That's the part I think it has to change. They've got to get back to being they're explosive. You know, look when they had Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. They were
truly an explosive offense. Then it's been a while since we've seen that version of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They also hold onto their players, probably a little too long, like they're never selling Like you know, Belichick was always like a year early, then you're gonna fault, like the Steelers are like, we're riding you to the ground.
Man. Yeah, it kind of is. You know, loyalty can sometimes be a detriment. Again, I get it. You know, we always would love to see it, but we also understand it's a business. And you know, you mentioned Belichick. I know that was a Bill Walsh thing with the forty nine Ers. Would much rather cut a guy a year too early than a year too late. And that's sort of what it is a little bit closer to where we are. The Los Angeles Chargers. They are picked
twenty two, eleven and six. This past year. What went right for sure was Lad McConkie eighty two catches over eleven hundred yards, seven touchdowns, wide receiver twelve.
I had big hopes for Ladd McConkie.
I didn't think it'd be that great, but he turned out to kind of be the only thing consistently in the passing game there. Justin Herbert had a pretty good year as well, thirty eight hundred passing yards, twenty three touchdowns just three interceptions for Herbo, also three hundred and six rushing yards.
He was at QB thirteen and JK.
Dobbins maybe one of the big redemption rebound stories of the season. He did miss four games, but at nine hundred rushing yards, nine touchdowns, one hundred and fifty three receiving yards, he was the RB twenty four. So I'll ask you the kwanity, Let's let's start with JK. Dobbins to sort of work backwards from here. But what we saw from Dobbins was amazing. Do you believe it's sustainable.
You'll always have that injury concern on your mind, but what he did was amazing to come back from the injury that he did to even almost put up a thousand yards, And I feel like, you know, JK. Dobbins feels happy where he's at, and I think they will probably bring him back and bring another you know, running back to back them up, because I mean, I'm pretty sure you see in the rundown what went wrong as his backup.
But I think JK.
Dobbins is like one of those fans see you know, you know dark throw as you throw in the middle of those rounds. Because I think people are still gonna discount him regardless to what he did this last season.
I'm people, so.
You're you're just killing him.
I I probably will never draft JK. Dobbins a day in my life. Like I fantastic story like seeing him come on the Insiders and wearing like LT's jersey as a kid, all awesome moments. I'm rooting for him as a football fan. U given all of the injury history that he's had and all the wear and tear and stuff like, it's to me, it's too risky and like he was he he had a really good season this year.
But I think it's one of those things that like when we jump under the hood a little bit more, we're like this, like his success rate was pretty low. Didn't have a thousand yards even though I know he missed time stuff like that, so not doesn't really catch the ball a ton, Like I don't know, I feel like this past year was best case scenario and I I'm probably not paying up for that.
See that's the thing is that the price is probably gonna go up on JK. Dobbins, and so like it feels like it dovestails nicely into sort of what went wrong and we can kind of get them all together.
Because Gus Edwards was a big disappointment.
He was not healthy for long stretches, and I was a Kamani vadal guy. I thought Kamani vadall was going to work though it was gonna work his way into an actual role in this offense. Couldn't get on the field most of the time. A few times he did, didn't really see a whole lot of action. But you wonder, is this a Jim Harbaugh thing, just not wanting to lean on the rookie a whole lot and going to try and work him in again a little bit next year. I need there are a lot of things sort of
playing against JK. Dobbins having another top twenty five season in twenty twenty five. Lad McConkie, though we were all lad McConkie stands maybe some more than others. Are you willing to pay up for him, Florio, because that's you're gonna have to do that next year?
Yes, one hundred percent, which this was a big win for because in the last couple of years, I've started doing way more NFL draft stuff, and McConkie was the guy that I was kind of like, I had him as my wide receiver four. I liked it more than Brian Thomas Junior. Maybe that was a little bit too high, but like, McConkie was one of my guys. So that's a win for me, it's a win for all of us who believed in him. But yeah, I firmly believe
in what we saw. In fact, I think he could get a lot better because in the beginning of the year it did seem to me like they were trying not to put too much on his plate and they kind of let him run wild in the second half. So we see this sometimes with rookies. It takes them a little bit skeed going or teams just don't want to Xavier Worthy similar thing, like they didn't want to
put too much on his plate right away. But as the year goes on, they builds more trust, earns more trust, and then they suddenly the offense is running through him. So yeah, lad McConkie is going to be their wide receiver one of the future. He's tied to a good offense. He's tied to a good quarterback, and he could win in every secule, win out wide, in the slot, downfield, after catch. He can do literally everything. The only concern with him I think coming out of college was he
missed a lot of time. But we know as a player he can get the job done, So I'm in on him. But I also want to take a second to just point out Quinton Jonathan seven hundred yards, eight touchdowns. I think he also went right for the Chargers this year.
Let's talk about that right, because there were moments when it seemed like it was going right. You know, he was the beneficiary of a lot of busted coverages and turned it into touchdowns. That part was great. Late in the season, though, he kind of reverted back to his rookie year with some of the painful drops that we saw early in his I'm gonna give it incomplete. I don't know. I want to believe, I want to buy in.
This is how I describe him. When he steps out on the field, he spins a wheel and it either lands on like gonna make a like a great touchdown catch, or gonna have the yips and forget to really hell hands work.
I mean, that's probably fair. That's what that's fair for what for what it's worth.
Bucky Brooks, he just released his mock draft one point zero came out yesterday, and he has the Chargers taking a wide receiver at number twenty two, Matthew Golden out of Texas. Also side note to that, he's got the Steelers taking Luther Burden, a wide receiver from Missouri, at number twenty one.
Bucky's got both those both those teams.
Taking wide outs because you know, both those teams have solid, solid receivers, but guys who need help. You know, George Packins needs help. Lad McConkie needs help, And at least according to Bucky Brooks's mock draft, both those guys expected to get some help in the first round in this upcoming draft. Speaking of free agents, some JK. Dobbins, Josh Palmer, Hayden Hurst all expected to hit the free agent markets this offseason.
So as much as we talked about JK.
Dobbins, there's certainly a world in which he not even in Los Angeles next year. So you know, we'll see what happens to that and how that impacts what the Chargers decided to do take a quick break come back. We got a couple more teams on our exit interviews. We'll dive into some NFC North teams coming up next on the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Up next, that pick number twenty three, the Green Bay Packers. They were eleven and sixth this past year. Josh Jacobs definitely went right
for them. Thirteen hundred and twenty nine rushing yards, fifteen rushing touchdowns, also direction to forty two receiving yards. More importantly, one receiving touchdown. Josh Jacobs finally caught a touchdown pass this year. It took, however, many seasons to do it. What in his sixth season, he finally caught a touchdown? Finally, finally, Look, Jordan Love said before the season, like we're going to we're gonna make it a point to try.
To get him one. So they they did, so congratulations to him for that.
Tucker Kraft fifty catches, seven hundred and seven yards, seven receiving touchdowns. He was a tight end. Nine should mentioned Josh Akos was the RB six. Where to start here, I don't know, let's dive into what went wrong. So it feels like a.
Better side to talk about, not better, but more interesting. I don't know.
Jordan Love thirty three of passing yards he was QB seventeen twenty five touchdowns, just eighty three rushing yards for Jordan Love. The wide receivers because this is I think, the thing that I really want to talk about more than anything. I mean, Florio. I know that Matt Lafleuter's whole thing was that we don't have a number one wide receiver, and I don't want to talk about it, and don't ask me about it.
The whole thing makes me naseous. Blah blah blah blah blah. Dude, the Packers need a number one wide receiver.
I thought they kind of had one in Jaden Reid and I was wrong, but I yes, I don't know. I go back and forth on this because they have a lot of talent in that room. And if you have a quarterback, like look at the you could call a homer. But like what the Bills were able to do minus Steph Diggs this year, and just like spread the ball around made it a lot harder for defenses to kind of pick up and be like, all right, this is the guy we got to stop on this
play and stuff. And when you have that approach like it kind of also takes away elite cornerbacks because who are they gonna like you could put him on anyone and you could just keep going to the other people. But I go back and forth because I think just as much as it's on the wide receivers, I think it's on Jordan Love. Like Jordan Love took a step back this year. No matter how you look at it, he was not the same guy that ended the season
last year. Turnovers were an issue, stuff like that. I think they're good enough to win with the wide receivers that they have. But if you told me like it was too easy to take certain guys away and we think we need a more dominant wide receiver one, I could also get behind that. But I do think they have firmly enough talent currently in that wide receiver room where they should easily be able to win.
Okay, so said Lakwan, where are we Where are you comfortable drafting Jaden Reed next year? Because we all sort of assumed that he was the guy, but late in the season he faded terribly.
I mean just sort of disappeared at the end of the year.
I'm he was the guy that we were getting maybe at the highest price point last season. This year, i mean, where are you comfortable drafting him sixth seventh round?
That too late, too early?
How are you feeling I'm more so comfortable drafting him as my flex like I have to have, you know, my wide receivers like two Alfa was just off the draft or where I'm comfortable with because you're going to be dealing with those ups and downs of trying to figure out where they put him in that and like I feel like, you know, them having so much talent out there, you're never going to be able to pinpoint
guests when to put him in. But more so, just address your expectations when it comes to Packers wide receivers, because there were a ton of moments there where I'm like, this is the game that Jayden Reid can go off because just based on the coverage that the defense was playing, based on how he was performing the week before. But then he falls off a cliff. But that's part of the price of getting him. So it's more so do not go out there draft him in the first four rounds.
Don't go out there draft him in the fifth round, Like he's one of those guys that are will sit back at the six, seven, eight round that you can address your lineup and put him in where he fits in.
Yeah, I mean, I think that's sort of it.
I'm just I'm curious what everybody feels like is going to be the appropriate spot to draft him in. Knowing how I don't know what the word is, how varied the offense is, how much they spread the ball around a little bit. I mean, I think we're all frustrated with Christian Watson. You know, we sort of know what Romeo Dobbs as Dantavian Wicks shows up every once in a while. It's just really hard to pinpoint. So I'll ask them though, Florida, because we're struggling with the Packers
pass catchers. Does this mean Jordan Love takes a hit in drafts then too?
Yeah, I think that was brought like probably going to be the case either way. Like Jordan Love this past year didn't even throw for thirty four hundred yards. I know he missed two games due to injury, that the touchdown rate was similar, but like, I don't know. To me, I don't think Jordan Love at the end of the twenty twenty three season, there started to be cases like this guy could break out, he could be a high
end QB one. To me, I think he belongs in that low end QB one tier, like we talk about it a lot. After the top five. There's a big group of guys who are all similar. He belongs in that big group of guys. Like some people might like him more than me and push him up, somebody can like him less than me and push him down that group a little bit. But to me, he firmly belongs in that group somewhere like QB like seven to thirteen
something in that range. I haven't sat down and done actual rankings yet, but like in my head that that's where I think he kind of settles in. And on the wide receivers, this stood out to me. D'antavian Wicks led them with seventy six targets. There was four different packers that had between seventy and seventy six targets, so like it was spread out evenly, and like you guys were saying on a week to week basis, it was like, good luck figuring out which one the ball's going to this week.
I want to jump in with D'ontavian Wicks, like I hate how quick people are moving off of him, but yet we're still hearing Christian wattson name every single summer being a hype train, Like when you look at him play a lot of the miscues and like having his head nod around looking for the ball for Jordan Love.
All can be taught. And if he goes into this offseason as a starter and not a behind guy playing with the twos, I really think that he could break out, Like this could be a breakout season, because when you look at his numbers, like he's among one of the wide receivers that has that elite separation, like he is three yards off of the defender, which is again in that tier of wide receivers that can create separation. So he's earning the target. So that's why he led the
team in targets. It's just that he can't catch the ball.
That's the important part.
He led them in targets, but he was fifth in yards, like Christian Watson had over two hundred more yards on twenty three less targets.
But him being tied eleventh in the NFL with Terry mclaurn not saying that his disconnect with his quarterback with unrealized air yards. So it's like that tells more of the story of what's going on, Like he's being targeted. He can make the big plays, it's just a matter of him knowing the plays, knowing where to be, the miscues, the mistiming. The chemistry is huge to be built there. And I think Deontay being Wicks this next season, it could be a breakout season. Man, just give him a chance.
I had him on so many fantasy teams and it was it was at no point fun.
I'm just saying, like it feels like it feels like for me, the Packers wide receivers next year are gonna have to be somebody else's problem. Like they just you know, like and yeah, yeah there are And I feel maybe this is a whole show, right, it's the guys that like we're willing to miss out on. It was just you know, if it, if it goes well, then we just talk it up like that. I don't know, I'll come up with a better name because that's just too wordy.
But you know, those guys is just like, hey man, I can't do it and I wish you well and if it works out, then I'll just tip my cap and move on.
Packers. Wide receivers are very much in that group for me.
That's kind of how my attitude with Dobbins was from the last segment. Like, if he hits cool, I'm cool. I'm totally okay with that being on someone else's team in not mine.
Yeah, that's fine.
It's fun to watch him, though. It's fun to watch Jaydon Reed. I mean, he's the only one that has design plays. He's literally the only one on the offense that has design plays, and he's going to get the target. So I'm just going to keep drafting him just based on his availability and his role in the offense.
Darry Landebo, although I'll say this, let's not overrate his rushing totals, right because last year eleven carries for one hundred and nineteen yards. This year twenty carries for one to sixty three, a grand total of three rushing touchdowns in two seasons.
So like, let's not I.
Know, we all like toy factor that in, it's not enough of a difference maker that it should be changing how we feel about Jayden.
Reid discount debo. That's all it is. Discount D.
So he's discount dary Land deebo eh three D yeah, Claron, He's like three D there it is for sure. Our last team in this edition is the Minnesota Vikings at pick number twenty four. They were fourteen and three, maybe one of the I don't say weirdest fourteen and three seasons, but like you know, for a fourteen win team, they ended up as a wild card. They had to go on the road to play. Then they're getting stomped out.
But in season it was a fun run, right. Sam Darnold was amazing forty three hundred yards, thirty five touchdowns QB eight, Aaron Jones, the Packers moved on from them. He showed that he still had something left. Eleven hundred rushing yards, four hundred receiving yards RB fourteen. Justin Jefferson was Justin Jefferson fifteen hundred yards, ten touchdowns, wide receiver two, you know, a gazillion points somehow, still behind Jamar Chase
because Jamar Chase was just that otherworldly this year. And Jordan Addison, who had a maybe a true breakout season sixty three catches, eight hundred and seventy five yards, nine touchdowns, twenty rushing yards and a rushing touchdown wide receiver twenty this year. I'm Sam Donald's an interesting case because he was hot all year long. He defied expectations. I mean, let's let's not forget that. A lot of people I know, Florida,
you and I were sort of among them. We were sort of downgrading a lot of Vikings because we're like, ooh, Sam Donald's the quarterback, Like I know how this goes, you know. So we were like, I don't know if I can take Justin Jefferson at number one. I don't know if I want you know, Jordan Addison at all. I don't know if I want TJ Hawkinson when he comes back. And a lot of us ended up looking kind of silly behind that. I don't think Sam Darnold's
going to be back next year. I think the way the season ended that Week eighteen game against the Lions and then the playoff game against the Rams went about as badly as you can anticipate. They've got JJ McCarthy waiting in the wings. So I mean, florio are we what do we do if the Vikings really do make the move to McCarthy. Are we drafting JJ? McCarthy. Are we still in on Justin Jefferson, like you know, early flag plan, Like, how are we treating the Vikings offense if they do make the change?
This sounds crazy. I might approach it how I approached it last year, And I know, like you said, we all wore egg on our face. But like and koc is a very underrated coach. He's my pick to be Coach of the Year. I think we need to start talking about him in the same regards that we do like McVeigh and Shanahan and the other offensive geniuses in this league, because he continues to get production regardless of
who he has at his disposure. But it's a rookie who has Like I know, you could say, like, oh, he missed his rookie year, he was still with the team, he's learning the offense, all of that. I get it. We've still yet to see him play at the NFL level. I liked JJ as a prospect, but like there's questions there and so to me, it all depends on cost. Like I think we could look back at last season and be like, yeah, we were definitely pushing Jordan Addison
down too far. And if he goes in a similar range. I'll be cool drafting him, but like, am I gonna do the thing where I start pushing other wide receivers ahead of JJ? Again, maybe what I think worst case scenario is is the Vikings franchise Sam Darnold, because then you have to worry about a quarterback change happening midway in the season or late in the season, and I
hate that for fantasy purposes. But yeah, the Vikings to me are very much so a team that it's gonna depend on the cost of their players, because if suddenly I have to take Jordan Addison in the sixth round, I'm not interested in that. So yeah, maybe it's the same mistake as last year. But I don't know. Teams with question marks at quarterback, you guys know, like the whole offense could come crumbling down with them, So it's it's very risky.
All right. Are you willing to take that risk?
Lakwan? Are you willing to buy in at you know, potential higher prices for I guess say, for JJ, he's always going to be kind of highly priced.
But Jordan Addison, TJ. Hawkinson, are you willing to buy in.
A I'm good off at TJ?
Hawk.
To be honest, I think that's run its course. But Jordan Addison, I'm kind of interested if like Floria was saying, the price is right, Like the price has to be right based on how I'm building my roster. I think JJ obviously is Justin Jefferson is going to be a
top three pick. But I think we go with the same approach to be safe, because honestly, last year I went Jamar Chase in one league instead of Justin Jefferson, and that kind of worked out, you know, Like it's not like I went Christian McCaffrey and then you know, got bailed out. You know, I was going to aj over him all year, all summer, but that like I still had him in the top five picks. I still
have him in the top three picks. But if you ask me if certain things change, you know, right now my mock, I got you know, Pooku Nakula where JJ will go. So it's like, I feel like, if Cooper cups on the leave, why can't we see a wide receiver wearing a Rams jersey see one hundred and forty five targets and if you get pooka one hundred and fifty targets one hundred and forty five targets. This is going to be elevated to maybe he be the next,
you know, top three picks in drafts. But once we get closer to the season, I think we'll have all our answers, you know, answered, and feel a little bit more comfortable drafting Justin Jefferson at the right price in those early in that early round.
So one thing that I took out of that, you mentioned tjh So you're just out on TJ. Hawkinson.
Now, yeah, I'm out.
I have other tight ends that are on my radar that I think will outperform him, and right now, a couple guys like Tucker Craft, I think we get an upgraded on him. I mean, I'm backing on John new Smith if he's going to be performing and waiting, I just think there's other options now when we're getting guys like Brock Bauers and Trade McBride, younger guys. So it's like he's he's falling more down on my radar. Like I'm pretty much good off of that situation.
I love that because it's gonna make hacketson go cheaper and and he's gonna be coming a year removed, He's not coming back mid season off the ACL. He could be the old Hawkinson again. So he's in that JK.
Dobbins bag that we just had the last year. If he goes off, man, I'm good, I'm okay, I get it.
I'm more. I think I'm definitely more in on him than than you are.
L Q. I'm in on him, totaling more than Tucker Craft. We just had a whole long conversation about how like the Packers pass catchers are sort of such a such a mess. I probably said Tucker Craft more than a ton of other names on Fantasy Live this past year, right, Like, I was big on Tucker Craft. But even then, like in a in a world where they have like five guys that can go to it's gonna be hard to pick him out from week to week.
I just think that Christian Watson project is over, Like I think gets honestly over with that and that whole experience, I think there are a lot more things open up. So there's other tight ends that you know that might fall to similar situations of a bigger role. I mean, look, John Smith just was a top five you know, like situational matters and coaching matters as well, and just I just feel as though, you know, there's other guys that I'd rather have than a TJ.
Hockinson.
I love that John new Smith has colored your whole way of thinking. Pun definitely intended. Yes, I think it's funny some of the free agents that the Vikings have, Sam Donald, Aaron Jones, Cam Akers again Donald, who knows, maybe franchise tag is what happens there. I would like to think they bring back Aaron Jones after what he did.
This past year. Cam Akers, who knows.
He's been something of a football vagabond the last couple of years. So we'll see what happens with him there. So next week we'll get back into it. It picks number twenty five through twenty eight. In fact that next week we'll finish it out twenty five through twenty eight, and then we'll have twenty nine through thirty two. Coming up next Thursday, we will be through our our fantasy exit interviews, even before the Super Bowl actually happens. We're coming up
this week, We've got the Pro Bowl games. Take a quick break, come back and don into some fun things about that. That's next on the NFL Fantasy football show. So this weekend is the Pro Bowl.
You know.
Look, it has evolved over the years now has turned into the Pro Bowl games where they have the skills competition, which is a lot of fun. I would say that I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't know what to think about the skills competition in the first year I watch it. I'm like, oh, this is actually pretty cool. And now they play the flag football game, which people had accused it of becoming a flag football game over the past
few years. So I would say this, I mean, how do we feel this is year three of this new format, right as opposed to them just showing up doing the media interviews and then playing a game where, let's be honest, guys are half assing it most of the time. I mean, just start with you with Florio, how do you feel about the new format?
I think it's so much better. I am someone who goes on record as saying and not just in the NFL, an NBA, MLB, I'm not an all Star game kind of person. I was when I was a kid, especially in like baseball, where like you really wouldn't get to see these guys compete against one another, but we see it all the time now and even more so, like like in football, I get it. These guys don't want to go give it. They're all and get hurt, Like
there's seasons over for some of these guys. They haven't played actual football in a month, like I get it. So this new format is way better and the best part, in my opinion of all All Star games are the skills challenges. Like I love the three point contest. The dunk contest is what it is nowadays, but as a
kid I loved it growing up. The skills challenge there home run derby is always the best part of the MLB All Star weekend, and for me with the NFL Pro Bowl, the best part is watching these super athletes get to do super athletic things that we don't normally get to. Like I seventeen times a year I could watch Jamar Chase do amazing things on the football field. There's only one day a year I get to watch and play dodgeball, you know, like I get excited for that.
Uh yeah, I mean I'm guessing you are thumbs up on this new format.
Yeah.
Absolutely, It's way better and it's more entertaining. It's engaging as well. And like you get to see your favorite players have fun, you know, joke with each other, interact with each other. Like that's always been the cool part for me. And like like four years in, like dodgeball is my favorite thing to play, and like, I was really surprised that I found out today actually that it's banded in most public schools. Like that was where I go too, man, Like when did that happen?
Like what are we doing? So? I mean the reason is because we got to wait for you know, bigger kids to bully smaller kids. And really that's really what it was. I mean, just like the bigger kids would take the ball and just beat up on the smaller kids with it, and it's like, baby.
That's always so fun. But it's one of those events that you know, the Pro Bowl has become one of those things that we're just like all right, we're but this revamp is definitely better. I'm definitely gonna be watching it, and I'm looking for the trivia, the big spike, like all the little obstacle games that they have, you know, and see some of these players just you know, go out and just be athletic.
To your point, Florio, I have increasingly become of the opinion that All Star Games are of a past era. It was from a time where you couldn't see all the guys. Like now, between the Internet and streaming services and all these different ways to watch all the games, you can watch every single one of these athletes in pretty much every sport play on any given night.
Right, It's not like, you.
Know, certainly when I was a kid, probably when you guys were kids, where it's like, hey, man, bulls are coming to town, Like this is my only chance to see Michael Jordan besides the All Star Game, you know, or whatever baseball player, whatever, you know, football player coming to town, Like this is the only chance to really see them. Now we can watch them anytime, and so I think that takes a lot of the thrill out
of the All Star Game. Also because book free agency is great for players and I'm all for it, but because now we see guys play together now, right, Like in an All Star Game, it would have been amazing to watch Steph Curry and Kevin Durance and Klay Thompson play on the same team, but like now we've seen
it for real. Well yeah, you know, because because that sort of thing happens now, so like all Star games just have lost I think their appeal because all the things that made All Star games great we now just get every day.
So it's just not special.
The last it wasn't an All Star game, but it was an exhibition game. You could say. The last time I think the whole world kind of paused or like we need to see these two athletes face off was when Otani faced Trout in the World Baseball Classes.
Yeah, yeah, it really was.
I think outside of that, we've kind of, like I said, we've seen it all.
Yeah, I mean even even the Olympics.
Like it's cool, like we watched the Olympics, especially for basketball because you know, we have patriotic pride, we want the US to win, and yeah, it was cool watch seeing Lebron and Steph and Katie and all these guys win a gold medal. But it's not because we're like, oh my goodness, we'll never see something like this again.
Like we'll see it again, we'll see it in the NBA at some point.
It was because we might not see those guys play together again.
True, that was, but I mean, we will see super teams come together in the NBA. We will see you know super team, you know, like the Dodgers are building a death star out here in Los Angeles. The NFL has sort of prevented it a little bit, but you know, even then, Hey, look, man, are I guarantee you that like eighty percent of our pitching staff will be on the injured list by August?
Right, so like we we have to keep stockpiling.
It's the rest of Baseball's fault for not spending money. It's not as fault, but it's equally as annoying.
Like blame.
Like I know Steve Cohen's trying to spend for the Mets, but all.
The rest of you teams that are complaining, like, hey man, you're owned by billionaires too.
You could do this if you wanted to.
The Pirates are offering more to an eleven year old for a bit. They have a single free agent all year long, so.
They offered that kid nothing of monetary value. By the way, they're like, hey, you canna have some tickets to our terrible team for the next thirty years.
He lives on the West coast.
Right, you can sit next to Little Done in the press box, like nothing of monetary value. And then they were shocked when he turned them down. Wow, didn't he for this to go this way? Let's get back on track as we wrap this thing up. If you guys had to compete in one of these skills challenges, the fact that you guys both mentioned dodgeball, I assume that's the one you would prefer to be in.
Yeah, yes, yes, like a stack dodgeball, Like, I'm down to bring dodgeball back, man, Like, come on, there's no way you can abandon in schools Like I want my kids to go out there and compete too.
Yeah.
Man, it's all fun and games until it's Josh Allen firing that ball at Yeah, I'll be honored to get blasted in the face dodge Josh Allen.
Again.
It's all great until like they asked you how I felt, and you're like.
Oh, I think to come on my own with any normal person. But yeah, you start putting quarterbacks out there, and that's that's what it gets.
Yeah, they're probably gonna beaming it.
Oh man. So anyway, that should be a lot of fun coming up this weekend.
We can check that out.
Well it's yours, Marcus, you know what, So.
I'm looking I'm looking through all the things I would say the relay race, but I would get smoked in that. But it would be fun just to like to see like how fast these guys are.
To be fair, we would all get smoked in that.
Marcus, you look like you're fast. Used to be fast back in the day now used.
To be like that was a long time ago. Like my fears. I would like, you know, tear an achilles or something like that, trying to run the race and they have to they have to just roll me off
the course or something like that. But it would be fun to like see how fast these guys are in real life, you know, like when they're all running against each other, they all look fast, but like when they're running against I want to see them run against a normal person, right, and like like, oh, you know, Jamark Chase is really fast, right, that sort of thing.
That's what I think we need once a year just to remind all of these like people who watch it home and say, like I could do that because I play well in the rec league. Like no, no, no, need to show these guys against regular people so you realize how much better of an athlete they are.
Do either of you remember the show pros Versus Joe's.
Yes, and it needs to come back immediately.
Just just so that some of these people can be used as a warning to others. That's it. Just like, hey, man, so we have that internet debate about could you gain five yards in an NFL game, that more people will be like, na, man, I can't be done with it.
So so there.
I think I can get one yard. I can get a first down. I can get a first down. I know I can because I would literally just sprint as fast as I jump. You get a first down, I can get it first down. If it's four from one, I will sprint as fast as I can just jump in the air.
You know, Josh Allen couldn't get one or quote unquote couldn't get one the other day. He's six ' five and a world class athlete.
I'm gonna I'm going to because every time this conversation comes up. I blought a clip from the old novel paper Lion. It was a book written a long time ago, back in the sixties about a reporter who got to go to camp with the Lions and they let him take snaps and everything as a quarterback. And he writes about the experience. And I was like every time this conversation comes up, I'm like, not enough people have read
Paper Lion and it shows. And I always put a clip of him taking a snap and basically how like he feels the ball in his hands, he hears some noise and next thing he knows, he's on the ground. Like, that's what happened. So I'm going to send you that clip so you can think about what you just said and we can we can revisit this at a later time. There you go. That'll do it. We're gonna make mquan think about what he said and then we'll talk about it next week. That'll do it.
Send me to rams Scamp. Send me to Rams Camp and we'll see.
Oh my, I would pay money, but you'd have they go out there with the blonde.
Hair, with the pads, and I pay so much money for that.
Jared versusn't letting you run by him?
Man, you got health insurance, right, yeah.
Make sure you tell your kids you love them and stuff that day because their dad is not going to be the same man coming back.
I bear no responsibility for what happens then. So I got the heart that I always had, the heart I'm not questioning that. Yeah, it's not that. It's just the strength and stamina and physical ability. Heart's one thing a lot of folks got heart.
Heart doesn't get first downs.
A right.
There you go. That's that's enough of that.
So anyway, we'll wrap it up. We'll come back to you next week. That'll do it for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. They happy, save and healthy, do good and live well, enjoy the Pro Bowl games, everybody. I will talk to you again next week. Don't Bob, don't know