Wow, everybody, It's Thursday, February twenty seventh, twenty twenty five. Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, where we also argue with other podcasters in a coffee shop. It's me and your man, NAMG Marcus Grand joined by Michael F. Florio and Lakwan Jones. Do we have to talk about this? I guess that's I sort of reference it. I guess you kind of have to talk about this.
You got to look.
I'm sure if you've been on social media in the last twenty four hours any part of football, Twitter or blue Sky or whatever, you have seen the story that apparently there are some insiders, including one that is a coworker and I dare say friend, friend of the program, friend who apparently had a bit of a kerfuffle at a hotel Starbucks in uh in Indianapolis.
I don't know what you guys have this.
Florio, you actually are on the Insiders regularly, you are you are an honorary insider. I don't know if you have any insights into you know, this story.
I mean, that's kind of a dead period.
I have no insight, but I will say I am team Insiders all the way. Uh and like I'm not. I'm the dude. Like if this was on a baseball field, Let's say like I'm running out of the dugout for my boy like that. Yes, I don't care. My teammate could be right or wrong, but in the moment, I'm always gonna be the one like running out defending them. So I'm never gonna start it. I'm never going to be involved in something like this myself. But if my boys are, I got there.
Here, we come running out of the bullpen. You know, we'll stand there, will look great.
There's only one person to blame for all this, though, Who's that. It's Matthew Stafford.
Got people want to over the news man. He has to be held accountable.
So yeah, apparently that's what it is.
It was a disagreement in the reporting over Matthew Stafford and whether one meeting he had, whether in a whether it was an official meeting, or whether it was just happened to be. Hey, two people ran into each other and they had a quick chat. That's what we're beefing over right now. This is why I say this, and I will say this here on an NFL sanctioned broadcast medium.
Every now and then it's fine for us to just STFU. It's fine. We can just you know, like every now and then, we just.
Need to take a pause because if this is what we're scrapping over right now.
Please, I know it's a it's a huge thing in the world of insiders and stuff, and I get it, but like I'm never like, wow, that story broken by like you know, breaking news.
It's breaking news, Like I can't believe this, Like I'm on the side of like I just don't want to hear Matthew Stafford no more wine. He's gonna be a ram Like you guys know, I am so done with it, Like just please get it over with.
Yeah, all this reporting is happening, and meanwhile, like Lakwan's in the corner like mom and dad are fighting again, Like.
He doesn't care about the insider beef at all. He's just like.
So that's all he cares about about.
A side notes all this and I didn't need to get by the way, we are going to get into some free agency stuff. We will get into positional breakdown starting next week. But this was kind of a big overview of you know, teams have money to spend where they should go that sort of thing. We also talk to some oscars because that's coming up on Sunday as well. Do want to ask real quick, but since we're talking about insiders and that sort of thing, did you see that WOJ is auctioning off a lot of the.
Phones that he used.
Yes, but I don't understand why at all.
Well, because you know, you know, he's working at Saint Bonaventure.
He's basically I don't know what his title is, general manager or something of the program. And I think this is just a fundraiser. I think he's just using this to raise money.
I get why he's doing it. I do not understand why people are going to pay big money for a phone that he wants tweeted on. Is their contacts and info in the phone?
I doubt it. I'm pretty sure he wiped all these phones, like you know, like you're not gonna get the phone to be able to just like you just get it.
The hardware, Like I don't get it you're.
Gonna be able to call up John Calipari and be like, hey man, so like what's your strategy for this?
Like you just can't do that.
That's like you guys buying a toolbox with no tools in it, Like that makes no sense, specifically us.
Work with cars.
Here's I was sort of with you, Flora, I'm like, I can't believe you do this. Like I put this in a text chain with some friends. I'm like, I feel like, if you do this, you need to have somebody come take care of you and your money or whatever. And my buddy was just like, I oto f of an NBA siko that I really thought about it for a minute.
Okay, it had look if it had texts in it or numbers, sure, but his head's just it's been wiped, right, Like, I'm sure they've taken a Clarox wipe or something and wiped it so you're not getting his fingerprints on it. I it just doesn't make sense to me.
I mean, it could just be any phone. I'm just like, hey, here's here's one of phones.
There is he.
Should sell ten thousand of them and just be like they were my phones.
Yeah, I heard the I heard us up to like fifteen hundred at least that was as of a few days ago.
So for like an iPhone, twelve.
iPhones, I don't know, I don't know, but yeah, apparently there's a market for it. I didn't think there would be, but yep, apparently there there is one. I believe this is the news headlines first, because there are a couple of actual NFL related news stories out there, not just you know, people who slightly dislike each other shouting at
each other in a coffee shop. Reports coming out well out of Indianapolis because that's where the combine is happening, but also out of Indianapolis because that's where the subjects of the story are employed. Anthony Richardson reportedly will have to compete for the Colts number one QB job. This is according to general manager Chris Ballard said, I think it's good for the team, and I think it's good for Anthony. It's got to be the right guy to
create real competition. But we want to create real competition now. Florieal, I know we've talked about Richardson on the show, and well you even talked about the fact that the draft price is going to be down on him because of what happened last year, but that at the right price, you're still wanting to take a swing at him because there's still that rushing upside and maybe he starts to develop as a passer and get a little bit better there.
Now that he's supposedly going to be at a quarterback competition, that feels like the idea of him being a starter is very much in doubt. Are you still in on Anthony Richardson in a quarterback competition because it's.
Only going to make him cheaper? I feel like, And in our mock last week he went I don't think he was a top fifteen quarterback drafted.
He went at the twelve twelve, almost thirteenth round, and that's as a pure QB two.
So like, the same upside applies. I believe that we've been so excited for in the past because we've seen the flashes of it. We know he has this cannon of an arm and he can run with the best of them in the NFL and all of that. There's a lot he needs to work on, But to me, it's twofold one. He's cheaper than ever. Look, it's February twenty seventh. I will change my tune if they sign Russell Wilson or someone like, But right now I look at their roster and I'm like, he's still the best
quarterback on it. Like it was. I was on the side of it was dumb to bention for Joe Flacco last year. So one other thing that I saw this morning Cam Wolf tweeted it out is that Anthony Richardson is going to join Josh Allen and work with his QB trainers and stuff this offseason. And one big thing that Alan did when he was early in his career was changed his throwing motion. He has all his strength of armwise, he just needed to be a little bit
more accurate. If Anthony Richardson can and I know Josh Allen is the exception, not the rule, but if he could become a little even somewhat more accurate, all the tools are there for him to hit the ground running.
This look on feels sort of like last year when everybody was drafting Justin Fields because yeah, look in the off season in the summer, it was trending toward Russell Wilson being the starting quarterback, but we were all like, well, justin Field is gonna play at some point, everybody kept drafting Justin Fields over Russell Wilson. This sort of feels like that again.
Yeah, and like Florial said, this is the cheapest he's gonna be, and like if he's going in the thirteenth round, if he doesn't pan now, or he's benched, or they bring in a big name, they get Aaron Rodgers, you know, they bring in another old guy to be behind him. I mean, hey, it's fine, I'll just drop him to the waiver wire. I mean there's gonna be plenty of rookie quarterbacks that you could take, you know, your shots on that will be living and breathing on the wire.
It's like, it just feels like a situation that they're gonna say this that early to motivate him to get a real off season, because like there's been plenty of examples pointing out of boy Anthony Britchson, like he hadn't really had a full blown healthy offseason, Like this is it right now? You know, and I feel like, you know, rehabbing, your mind is elsewhere. You're focused on getting more healthy.
It's like, now he has the key, but you're gonna have somebody behind you to put that fire under your butt.
This also feels though, like because if they really are using this as a motivational tactic in February, before the combine, before free agency, in the draft, that to me, says you're kind of at the end of your rope, like this is maybe your last chance, and they've already shown that they'll pull the trigger on benching him, so that would make me nervous. But I guess if you're talking about him as a QB two, a thirteenth round pick, there's minimal risk involved of drafting Anthony Richardson.
I do think it's a specific build, Like I don't want to take Anthony Richardson as my QB two if let's say, like I love Drake may if I draft Drake may as my quarterback, I don't want Richardson to be my backup because that's way too much risk. But if I have like Dak Prescott, let's say, or Jared goff Baker Mayfield, I'm like, Okay, I have a safe guy. Now, I'll take the lottery ticket in Anthony Richardson.
Yeah, I guess that makes sense. That makes sense. So well, we'll keep an eye on this.
We'll see what the Colts to do if they bring somebody in, and who that potentially is going to be, and what that means for Anthony Richardson's job.
Other news out of Kansas City.
The Chiefs are expecting that Travis Kelce will be back for his thirteenth NFL season. We talked with Matt Oconta on Tuesday about some of his potential cut candidates, and Travis Kelsey.
Was one of them. He admitted, Look, this is a very long.
Shot, and I feel like I think just after we recorded, I think this news broke about Kelsey particularly coming back for his thirteenth season, because that's what happens when we record podcasts.
LaQuan is he still a top five tight end?
No, if anything, he's right on the outside. And I say that because you have this year's upcoming draft with these young guys, and every year in the past couple of years, we've seen guys just kind of catapult to the top and kind of sit inside that top five or outside the top five. Trey mc brice, Sam Laporter. I mean, this is a great tight end class coming up now, and then you have new emergers of like last season of Zach Ertz as a tight end seven
or John Newsmith as a top five. There's a lot of influx now, you know, with the tight ends and opportunities for guys to be inside or right outside that top five. I think Travis Kelsey would still be a tight end utilize how we've seen him in the past. But like we mentioned before, like he's just been on the constant decline, decline, decline, and I'm like scratching my head, like why are you coming back? Like I don't understand.
Your girlfriend's a billionaire, Like you have a podcast, commercials, you're you're good, run off into the sunset, man, But here we are.
Yeah, I mean, I feel like, you know, at least on the football field, he's pretty much accomplished, I think everything that he can accomplish.
But look, credit to you if that's.
That's what you Yeah, yeah, I look the credits to you. If this is where your heart is and this is what you want to do, then I guess I understand, especially because looking playing pro football, it is a limited window, right, it is a relatively short period of your life. So I guess I sort of understand that. But yeah, I mean I'm kind.
Of with you.
Like I was looking at it because he finished his tight end five last year and then I looked at him like, well, Mark Andrews had a down year and still finished tight in six. Sam Laporta didn't have a great year, he was still in the top ten. TJ Hawkinson didn't come back till midway through the year and
was still working his way back from an injury. And I'm like, those are three names right there that I think in a normal year could finish ahead of Travis Kelce right now, and that automatically pushes him out of the top five.
I'm not drafting him at.
All, No me either, Like call me Bill Belichick.
I'd rather be a year off than a year late, you know, And like I feel like the last two years have been big. Especially last year was a big warning sign because you look at his game logs. Most weeks he was not good. A couple he had like a few spike weeks that really kind of pushed him up the end of the year rankings. But like, I don't know, he could just fall off a cliff and not be Fantasy relevant. It's in the range of outcomes.
What if he's like cheap cheap, But.
I don't think he's gonna be cheap cheap, just because which.
Is still like cheap cheap is like seventh eighth round, Like this is where you're getting the David and the Djoku's And.
To be honest, depending on the Browns quarterback about to say so, I also think it depends on what draft room you're in that too.
I'm looking so in our mock draft, Kelsey went in the eighth round, right. I think if you're in a room with sharps, I think that's where you get him. I think if you are in a home league, that's not gonna happen. He's gonna be gone before then, because because it's gonna be like, oh, it's gonna be like the fourth round.
Somebody is gonna be.
Like, wait, Travis Kelsey is still here, and they're gonna take it like it's just that's what's gonna happen.
I'm half say, my home league listens to the pod, so they're not gonna take him.
In the first round.
A little bit things up a lot, man. These guys they're not sharps. They're they're they're dolls, you know, and like, I love you guys, but just don't don't do that.
When they start taking everybody that you mentioned as a sleeper.
If it's and they're gone that thuty, I've known that I'm never going to get a ranch player. So that's fine.
So you'll be able to draft Stafford this year. I almost cursed on this pod words, but we're good.
Oh man, all right, that's enough.
One other thing, one that gets to Nick Schuck, who does amazing work and you can hear him occasionally on NFL Daily. You can find his stuff on NFL dot com. He wrote an article team Fits for twelve notable free agents. I picked out the four offensive guys that he mentioned. Two of them I don't think are much of a surprise, he says. Tee higginshould stay with the Bengals. Chris Godwin should stay with the Bucks.
No, let Godwin go. No, why are you?
How invested are you? And Jayleen McMillan.
That's I think Jayden McMillan could break out in a big way of God. Plus like if Higgins is staying it, since he Godwin, let him go to New Way. I need your mad to have someone i've I've been so high on him. I see, I'd rather God when he's younger.
I knew there was an ulterior motive for getting God went out of Tampa Bay, and he just didn't know. I didn't know if it was McMillan or But Drake May is also a pretty good reason this was interesting. Amari Cooper are the commanders, and I mean Florida. You can sort of speak to this because Amari Cooper was a Bill. I said the question marks because like I had to sort of remind myself of that sometimes. Obviously, you know, we love Jaydon Daniels and Terry mclaur needs
some help. It does feel like Amari Cooper at this point in his career is probably better served as a wide receiver too, though, right.
Yeah, I think his day and last year for the Bills, he was their wide receiver four, Like he was playing behind MATC. Collins Key on Coleman. It was pretty wild. I still think he can be better than that. It was kind of frustrating seeing them not use him as much except for the one game against the Rams. You look at his game log against what the Bills, they barely and that game they threw him the ball fourteen times.
Like it was wild to see that usage. But I think as a number two field stretcher takes some of the pressure away from Terry McLaurin give jayde and Daniels another weapon.
It.
Yeah, I don't he can't be a one anymore, but I think in that situation with the quarterback, a good quarterback and targets up for grabs and someone to clearly take. Because with the Bills, when Cooper was out there, he was still kind of the focal point. Their teams are putting their best corners on him. You're not gonna do that if you have Terry McLaurin. So that could be a way that Amari Cooper could thrive. But it does sadden me to say that he's gonna be thirty one
in June. We are probably getting close to the end of Amari Cooper's rope because he has been so much fun for me to have in fantasy throughout his career that it's it's kind of sad that it's it's soon coming to an end.
Yeah, I mean, he had those peak years.
I think with the Cowboys it was work because he kind of got off to a quick start.
With the Raiders. Then for whatever reason, they.
Just stopped using him, and I don't I can't explain why. Then he goes to Dallas and we're like, oh, yeah, that's right, he's still good, you know. And that went on for a few years until till Cleveland and that that whole thing. The other one that Nick put in there that was interesting. Justin Fields to the Raiders. It's not the first place I've heard or read anything like that. I know, it's a common idea that's floating out there
for you, Lakwan. I mean, look, apparently Matthew Stafford is running into and having chats with Tom Brady at ski Resorts in Montana. If you could make a pitch to TB twelve about taking Justin Fields over Matthew Stafford, what would that pitch.
Be, Pete Carroll, Chif Kelly, run first offense, draft Ashton genty, have Justin Fields, just run the offense and literally run the like it would just be fantasy gold. And I honestly think it would be the upward of the Raiders, like they need this, They need some type of pop, They need somebody that's going to go out there and be electric. I don't know if Matthew Stafford he's the
plug and play piece there. And this is not me being biased being a RAMS fan, not trying to get that going, but I just think you get more excitement, more fire out of that offense with a Justin Fields, and for fantasy, that stock is going to go up. Man I'm not right now confident enough to put a stamp of what round, but I'm confident to stamp him as a QB one. He ends up in Vegas. Wow.
Yeah, When you said Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly run first offense, drash draft Ashton john T, the first thing my brain heard was broke Bauers though.
That was Yeah, that was.
The first thing that popped into my brain.
It was like, oh, but but we have we have, we have tightened one, Like what's happening here?
The fields still.
Throw to cole comeda good amount, right.
He did? That's true, he did.
And you know, hopefully they can work that sort of thing in because look, Bowers obviously was a stud. Jakobe Myers was usable in fantasy. Justin fields, I think takes some of that out of the mix.
So yeah, since since the Bears got rid of him, I felt like he was just born to where silver and black. I don't know, I just think he would look so good in that uniform, And I I agree with everything else Q said.
You know why because because you know what you know it's dancing through your head probably subconsciously is Terrell prior.
Receiver.
It's a tall, tall, mobile Ohio State quarterback.
You're just you're you're looking there.
You're thinking, oh, yeah, Torell Prior Justin Fields, like Justin Fields isn't gonna end.
Up as a wide receiver. But eh, he's not gonna end up as a wide receiver. They tried to turn him to a running back, you know, like a year ago.
We'll see, they're not gonna They're not They're not going to turn into a wide receiver.
So yeah, I don't know.
But it's definitely an idea that has gained a lot of traction, certainly at least in media and on social media.
But we'll see.
But go check out the article Nick Schuk Team fits for twelve notable free agents in twenty twenty five.
It is definitely worth your time. Quick read, but definitely worth your time.
Speaking of free agency, we're gonna dive into some big overarching themes here. Teams with money, teams that maybe don't have a whole lot, and maybe some teams that need to be.
Aggressive when it comes to the free agent market.
That's coming up next on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, We are let.
Me Do the Math.
Thirteen days away from the official start of free agency. We are a little bit less than that away from the start of what do they call it the negotiating
period or something legal tampering, legal tamperings happening. Yeah, I feel like the last couple of years, it's like we find out pretty much about all the major deals, like the day before free agency hits, and then the clock turns over to the start of the new league year, and you're like, all right, well, okay, like everything, all the big things have happened, and then like, you know, we're getting a few you know, off ball linebackers or wide receiver threes signing.
Last year, every running back was signed within like an hour.
Yeah that was awesome though.
Yeah that happened real fast, real real fast.
So I love when the skill player a good time.
Anyway, next week we'll start getting into our positional breakdowns or do you know quarterback type, you know what the positions are, but we'll start getting into that next week. Wanted to kind of do a big overview sort of today about who's gotten money to spend and where we, in our humble opinions, think they should be spending it. So I went to overthecap dot com to dig out some numbers the teams with the most money to spend.
Patriots have one hundred and twenty point three million, the Raiders ninety two point eight million, and the Commanders seventy five and a half million, which has got them sitting pretty right.
I mean, they were in the.
NFC Championship game and they have a bunch of money to go out and spend and continue to improve that roster. Lots of reasons for optimism if you are a Commander's fan.
On the other side, I called them the broke boys.
Broke boys.
These Saints are fifty two point six million dollars over the cap.
Not great when you have an aging quarterback and aging running back, an injury prone wide receiver, and you've lost your jack of all trades. Fantasy frustration of a tight end. The weird spot to be in. The Browns thirty two point three million dollars over the cap and they need a quarterback. The Bills are thirteen point two million over. But you guys just resign Khalil Shakir.
A lot of restructures are coming.
A lot of restructures are coming. But also, I mean, you guys are still in a good place. The windows still open. For the bills. They're still very competitive, so yeah, they're over the cap, but they also don't really have any immediate pressing like gotta have it this year that sort of needs.
So the Saints are the team that people always point to and say, oh, look, see the cap isn't real in the NFL, and you can kick it down the road as long as you want, but the bill does come due, and the Saints have been paying trying to avoid paying this bill for a decade and it has cost them a decade. Yeah.
I mean that's the thing.
They've been kicking it down the road and they've they've got nothing to show for it.
They have cool Taysom Hill highlights.
Yeah, so there's that part. So I went to figure out which teams need to be the most aggressive in free agency. I put a few down here on this list.
We don't have to go through these one by one necessarily, but uh, I mean, lakwan, when you looked at this list, you know, Browns, Giants, Titans, Pats, Cowboys, Vikings, Texans among them, were there one or two that really stood out to you that like, hey, look, I really want to see this team go out and actually do something or you know, like, how did you, like, how did you view this list when you looked at it?
Well, I got two teams. One of them might be Florials, but the Patriots need wide receivers like Drake may is on the up and up, and I don't want this young man's development to get delayed because they still have a roster of wide receiver sixes, you know. Like, but the other one was the Cowboys, like get back to
the run. Like, if they're gonna be serious about getting back to the run, you go out there, you draft one of these running back prospects, and then you just run the rock because you still have Dak Prescott still playing great football, you still have CD Lamb among the elites of when we're talking about the top wide receivers.
So it's like, go out there and be aggressive and get some of this stuff done so you can get back to being fantasy relevant because like, even drafting CD this year, I'm kind of still cautious, like we're seeing him drop to like the fifth sixth pick, when honestly, Cede Lamb is really freaking good.
He should be in the.
Conversation right after Justin Jefferson among the first three picks, but you know it's the situation that they got to go over there Dallas.
I look, I know, think he still is in that conversation, I mean, I still with a healthy CD Lamb and a healthy Dak Prescott. I think CD is still good enough to be wide receiver three necessarily. I also wonder, and we didn't put it on this list with the Cowboys when we mentioned running back, I feel like they could stand to go get a second wide receiver. They need a number two, They need somebody else besides CD Lamb.
I mean, he's phenomenal, right, and he can be a game changer, but also we saw him break down last year. There's only so much he can do on his own. And you know, Jalen Tobert isn't him. Brandon Cooks. We talked about Amari Cooper being at the end of his career. Brandon Cooks definitely at the end of his career. Devonte Turpin really more of a special team's stud but not
necessarily a wide receiver like Floya. I just feel like, if anything, I mean, running back is definitely a big piece, but they got to get CD and Dak by extension and some help out there.
Yeah, they desperately need that because, like you said, Brandon Cooks, at the end of the rope last year, they were using a lot turping on, like a lot of design touches and stuff, and like that's something that you do. You either do it for as out of necessity, which is what the Cowboys were doing, or you use that as like a luxury when you have other playmakers and
they did not have that. So yeah, see, it might cause CD a couple of targets, but I'd argue, like, if you sacrifice a few targets for less defensive coverage and a higher percentage chances of target of coming down with those throws, I think it could be a good thing for CD LAMB fantasy wise, even though volume is always what we're chasing.
I mean beyond that, I mean Lakwan mentioned the Patriots going after wide receivers.
I would think I.
Would think that was maybe the one that was top of your list, But is there somebody else there that was sort of like, Okay, I would like to see this team go heavy on this position.
Yeah, Patriots won. For my heart as much as I love Drake may But for fantasy, I think the Vikings signing a running back because Aaron Jones is a free agent. It could be Aaron Jones that they bring back. They've already kind of said they want him back. But I believe whoever the starting running back is for the Vikings is in a great fantasy spot because all the playmakers around him is going to help take defensive attention away. I trust Koc. But then also the Texans like they
desperately need another wide receiver. Tank Dell is coming off of his second severe injury. Who knows how much he's going to be able to give them this season. Steph Diggs a free agent who's also at the end of his rope career wise, tours ACL not going to be ready to start the year, I would imagine, so they need someone opposite of Nico Collins. And not only will that help Nico and take some defensive attention away, it
gives CJ. Stroud another option. And the reason we were so excited for Stroud last year was like three great wide receivers. We really never got to see that come together because Nico Collins got hurt. After a month, step Diggs towards a cl while Nico Collins was out, and then Tank Dell was working his way back early on
and then got hurt. So like, yes, add to the O line as well, Houston, but give C just shot another playmaker, and I think that person could be very fantasy relevant as the number two target there.
Yeah, and my first thought when I saw Texans wide receiver was like wait what the guy?
And I was like, no, no, they really don't you know.
Yeah, my knee jerk was like they don't need invite and then like, yeah, no, they actually they actually do. I just want to see the Giants go get a quarterback. And it doesn't it doesn't have to be it doesn't have to be Matthew Stafford, but they they need to go get a quarterback because here it is. We got Molikue Neighbors, who this year finished as a top six receiver with yeah, not great quarterback play?
Is that being too gentle?
Yeah? It ranged from awful to not great. It's a wide range there. It was. It was the Veto Jones block and Tim Boyle.
Tim Boyle.
Tim Boyle.
Oh, because it is part of the NFL bylaws that Tim Boyle must play at least one game every season.
I know it sounds like a beat up on this guy, but every time he starts him like, I don't even understand how he was entered into the NFL, let alone. Still here, Yeah, college.
More more interceptions than touchdowns in college.
It was like.
Tim Boyle, No, the answer is no, there's.
No way that Peterman's college stats are are what.
So I'm looking at Tim. I'm looking at Tim Boyle's numbers. Three seasons at Yukon. One touchdown pass, thirteen interceptions.
Yeah, wow, he needs to be investigated. His freshman year he threw one hundred and thirty three times, zero touchdowns, eight interceptions. Like, where's the application? Can I know you left Yukon he went to another school and he put up some good numbers.
Yeah, he went to Eastern Kentucky. But like I don't. Yeah, that's that's un good. That is straight up I'm good.
So but anyway, back back to my point that you know, we love we love the Milakue neighbors, We love what he can do, and we love what he did despite the fact that you know, we we just ripped off the list of quarterbacks that h that he played with when he was there because I think I think they have a lot of other pieces there. I'm intrigued by Tyrone Tracy. I want to see, like I want to see what THEO Johnson can do at tight end. I just we just need, we just need the guy who
can get them the football. That's all we need. That's what's missing.
I wanted to be warder Sanders personally, let them grow together, and like that's what I want. I think Sanders especially could elevate year one. I think he's ready to do so.
I kind of don't want either of them to go there because, like I feel like it will be there to save, you know, the coaching staff's job. So there's a lot of pressure on them. Like I want them to go into a smooth, easy situation without that attention, that spotlight on them to save these guys jobs who already shown they can't make right decisions be in that aka super Bowl winning Saquon Barkley. So that's a terrible situation for any prospect to be walking into with that pressure.
The top three's picks are all not great in that sense.
Send me to Tennessee, baby, I'll get my cowboy hat.
The problem is all the places that they could potentially go are all sort of like that. I mean, I guess the Titans. You know, maybe there's a little less pressure there in Tennessee, but it's not a great situation, right, Like Brian Callahan's not going anywhere in theory anytime soon. But you know that's not great Cleveland. I mean, we kind of know what's going on in Cleveland. That's gis the Giants you just mentioned, you know, I mean.
Like the coaching staff is. The coaching staff is gone though. If they win four games, like, they're gone, they're cut. So you're onto your next offensive game, You're onto your next head Like I think that's a terrible way to enter the NFL. Like, I honestly hate that.
I agree with that. The only pushback I'll have is, like I still think Brian Dable is a good offensive mining coach, So like, if you give him a competent quarterback, I with Belik Neighbors and Tyrone Tracy, I think they could be a They're not going to be like one of the best offenses in football, but I think they can be like reliable. I agree, Brian, the.
Bullet is good in New York.
Just in the Bills, Brady I'm good.
I like and like notice seriously, like I I feel like he's kind of lost his way with all the stuff going on, you know in New Jersey. You know, so it's it's weird.
We wouldn't have to have this conversation about your situations and being under extra added pressure if we just abolished the draft and had rookie free agency.
Wow, all right, we never had that?
Have We never had that conversation on this show.
We definitely have.
I've had this conversation with other people and other formats. I've had it on social media. I don't think we've ever had it on this show.
I agree with your take, but it will never happen.
No, I know it'll never happen. That's why.
That's why I can sit here and say it idly on this show, because I know that in ever in a million years will it happen.
These are still kids. You can influence them very easily.
They have the transfer portal, we have ni l like we have it already, Like they're already.
Getting a taste of free agency. And on top of it, like I didn't put this in here, and I know we're veering all copic, but now I'm on I'm kind of on one at the mom of this because we you know, we just had the the nfl PA put out its report card of team like what players think of their respective franchises, right, and you know, the three of us we were in a tech Shane and you know, we had some fun with it, laughing about this team and that team.
Whatever.
Part of what the draft does is that, you know, on top of you know, whatever trying to build rosters, is it hides bad franchises or weakfront offices because guys get drafted and you kind of just have to go there. Right, So if there's you get drafted by a team that has an f like, you don't get to choose, right, think about this in any other respect, any other occupation
of life. If you were the number one medical student in the country, right, imagine if you come out of college, out of medical school and you get sent to the worst hospital in America. Not only do you get sent to the worst hospital in America, you gotta hold up your scrubs and be like, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work for at this hospital.
It never happens. It never happens.
So instead I googled worst hospital.
Usually worst hospital in America.
He says, the Mississippi's comes up.
Nikes, yikes, right, So instead give these guys. We have free agency already, we have a salary cap. So and I know everybody's like, well, everybody's gonna want to go to Kansas City.
No they won't. If I'm Kimo, I don't want to go to Kansas City.
I'm never gonna play exactly.
Oh my god, I love this idea. Man, it could be a slow draft. Started to game and just have a slow draft.
We could do whatever.
Remember we have Remember when we have National Signing Day and you have like a top prospect and he sits at a table with three hats and he just picks a hat, Like why not we just have Shador Sanders sit at a table and he's got like Raiders and Browns and Titans or whatever, and then he just puts on the hat he wants. Like we could do it could still be on TV, he could still be a whole thing, Like we can still do this.
I'm for this. But if if Malik Neighbors would have signed with the Chiefs last year, I would have been like, bring back the draft.
I mean, like, we can do this, we can make it happen.
But I know that you know, it doesn't sell enough advertising and it doesn't give stephen A. Smith the chance to talk to the number five overall pick when between let's move on. There are teams out there that you know, maybe aren't necessarily hurting, that are that are that are really close to something, Teams that are maybe one or two pieces away from truly being fantasy relevant, right.
Teams that we look at.
And were like, oh, man, like I kind of like this team or I kind of like this player, but they need a little bit of help. I put a few of them down here, Steelers, jetson, Colts need a quarterback, Broncos with a running back, Patriots a wide receiver, Bears old Line, Panthers wide receiver Lakwan Is there one of these that you're like, I gotta see this happen. I'm guessing it's the Panthers because you were maybe leading the charge on Bryce Young or is there somebody else there?
It could be the Panthers, but I feel like they're going to handle business this year, so I'm not going to pound the table much longer until we get into draft season. But it has to be Kayla Williams line.
But it has to be Kayla Williams.
Man, it has to be that Bear's O line because it's like we hear all the talks of how how good Caleb is. I mean, Marcus, you've been sitting in front row and seeing Caleb go out there and kill it at USC. So it's like I want to see the magic, Like I want to go out there and believe that I can draft him. And he has that QB one ceiling and they're literally only one piece away. You have DJ Moore, you have the running back, and you have great draft capital as well. Get this O line,
beefy and let Caleb go. Let him fly.
I mean I thought he did.
There were there were definitely times last year where it's like, bro, You're you're holding onto the ball too long, you know, like some some of the issues were on him, but also you want to stretch of was at one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine games in a row without an interception, right, either one interception in his first eleven games, just one? Uh? You finished with six picks twenty touchdowns, like and as the season went on, I just I guess I'm reading
this backwards. But one one interception in his last eleven games as the season went on, you started to see more of that. You started to see him get comfortable and see the game slow down for him a little bit. So I would like to kind of see what happens when he.
Actually gets to the magic Man.
Yeah, I was derived of it.
I think, you know, when if he can get some protection, he can get some time to throw. The thing about Caleb that everybody talks about it, or the off schedule plays or the things where he had things break down, he makes those plays, and those were spectacular that they were great, But even Caleb on schedule, like getting the ball out quickly, being accurate, putting his receivers in places to make plays once they.
Have the ball in their hands.
I thought that was an underrated strength of his that we didn't necessarily see a lot because he missed, he missthrows. He just there were times he just straight up airmail throws.
I think that's partly because I agree this is my answer as well. I want to see the Bears add to that old line because I think a lot of it is and you hear quarterbacks talk about that, that clock just starts going in your head, and like he led the league in unblocked QB pressures and unblocked sex which like if you're on block, you were getting there in less than two seconds usually, So like that he had to have alarm bells going off in his head. And at on top of that, his OC got fired
midway through the year. His head coach was on the chopping block the entire Like it was just such kind of a lost season for Caleb and the Bears, one that started off pretty encouraging. But to your point, Mark's about the no interceptions, Like he was very vocal that, like taking care of the ball was his top priority last season, and he did well at that. I trust the weapons they have there with more and at donsday
and cool comet. He now has one of the best play callers in football if you give him some time. Because like the holding onto the ball thing, one hundred percent agree. But I think Ben Johnson is going to be able to coach that out of him, like good coaches could kind of get rid of these bad habits. And if you get rid of that bad habit, we know all the physical skills are there. So I'm still very very excited for Caleb, and I don't know if
he'll be cheaper this year because of Ben Johnson. But he's certainly not going to be more expensive, So I.
Like that, right, Yeah, no, that's true.
The one that jumps out to me is I just want the Broncos to find a running back, good luck.
I just want only care I think here which one it could be?
Somebody on the roster, like it just just Sean Payton, for the love of all this holy just pick one.
Just pick a guy.
Are you drafting one?
I guess it depends who it is and and how many other guys potentially that player might be rotating with.
I just remember the weeks of Aldric Estimate hype and then he had like fifteen carries in the next week. He didn't play.
Like it was just I'm not trusting it. Nope.
I mean, look, if you combined Javonte Williams and Julia McLoughlin and Oudric Estimate into one running back, they ran for thirteen hundred yards, right, they were for thirteen hundred yards and they had seven touchdowns. Like that's not bad, ad. Pick a guy. Bo Knicks has shown that he can be something. Uh, you know, Cortland Sutton had a fantastic year last year. We saw some flashes from Devon Valle. Uh, you know Marvin Memes we all still think is really talented,
and I guess his name. I think I think Sean Payton's any believes in Marvin Mims, but his auty doesn't, or vice versa. I'm not sure, but like it's like because Sean Payton talks about Marvin Mems like like he is severed right, like like one part of him talking about Marvin Mims, like we got to get this guy involved, and then like when they go to the games, like we don't see Marvin Mems anymore. Like I don't understand how that works.
Why is she just stating facts that line?
I do feel like he knows what he looks like with his helmet off, but when he's on the sideline in his hell name, he's like who are you?
He's like he walst into the stadium and he just forgets, like the whole week he's like Aldrick estimate Marvin Mimes like can't wait.
And then he walks in and he's like, where's where's Memes?
Where's Like there's a guy next to wearing nineteen Like I'm right here, coach, Like you know, yeah, I don't know I can't figure that out, so.
That that was a ride, this whole little segue here. I did not intend for it to be that way, but it was a little bit of a ride.
In season, we will dive more into free agency a little bit next week. We will start with quarterbacks on Tuesday and kind of going through some of the free agent quarterbacks and where we think they should go to one and so forth. We already know that Lawan is putting Matthew Stafford back in Los Angeles, so we'll skip that one, but for the rest of them, we'll try and work some things out. In the meantime, it is Oscar weekend. I've seen none of the movies. Maybe one,
I think done two. That's about it. But we're gonna talk some about Oscars in terms of sports movies, and we're gonna, I don't know, be silly for another ten or fifteen minutes. So I'll stick around for more of the NFL Fantasy Football Show coming up on Sunday. It is the latest presentation of the Oscars, the ninety seventh Motion Picture Academy Awards coming up this weekend, and if you've seen multiple of the nominated films.
I don't even know which ones are.
I'm not good about seeing the movies.
Usually what happens is I watched the Oscars and I use that to determine what movies I should be watching, like in the next few months. I'm like, Oh, this movie want a whole bunch of awards. I literally go check it out.
My mom did Deavi with Life of Pie.
I read the book, which was fantastic. Yeah, it was okay that the book was really great.
Never seen.
I think the the.
One that I have seen, at least, of the Best Picture nominees. The only one I've seen for the Best Picture nominees is Doune two.
That's it.
I haven't seen that yet.
I haven't been either. Maybe it's a Rial Film Festival thing.
It was.
It was good to see on a big, big screen. Uh, you know, I don't know the rest of these. I'll kind of figure out after Sunday what or not what which ones I want to be watching. But I did think about this in terms of sports movies because seventeen movies seventeen sports movies have been nominated for Best Picture,
three of them have won. Rocky in nineteen seventy seven won the Best Picture Jerriot's a Fire in nineteen eighty two, which is a movie about running or something, and Million Dollar Baby in two thousand and five, which I guess is about boxing. I saw that movie and didn't really know what was gonna happen, and so when the big moment of the movie happened, I was like.
Oh, same. Oh there's two movies. I'm not afraid to admit that. I was completely like, I was like, why am I so emotional right now? It's that and Click, Like those two movies call me completely off guard.
Wait Click with Adam Sandler, Yeah.
You go into thinking it's gonna be an Adam Sandler funny movie and like his whole life is going and he's crying, and like it's a sad movie.
What. I will admit that I've never seen it, but I did not anticipate that being the one.
Yeah, dealing with like the loss of family members and stuff, and like we gotta watch Click. Come on, Marcus, you don't think it's a sad movie, lakwan No, it's it's.
Definitely sad in the sense like now that I'm remembering, there is moments as like, oh dang, this guy's life is missed.
Like I don't know what I would do in that situation, like wow, I mean shout out to him.
Getting to the end of that movie, I saw a million Dollar Baby in theaters and I was.
Not ready for that. Yeah.
I thought I thought you were gonna say Hardball, because that's the one.
That made me cry with g baby.
Oh Hardball is another one, but I was warned ahead of time, like the something happens in this movie. Oh, so I was a little on.
Prepared for that one was off guard man that that hit the soul that still hurts man.
Baby.
So then that begs the question like is there a sports movie that deserved an Oscar?
And I'm guessing, lakwan, You're gonna say Hardball.
Yes, absolutely, that deserves it. Yes, because I cried, like I was, like why am I crying? And like it feels like it's my little brother, Like geez, no.
Okay again, I'm sort of derailed by this whole thing.
Have you never seen hardall, Marcus, I've never.
Seen Hardball either film festival. I mean.
Because Hardball, I think Hardball came out at it because it was like aimed at an audience where like I think I was just slightly older than the intended target audience and so like I just never got around to see her. Yeah, I mean I know, I know the I know the premise, and I know the sad part that everybody talks about. Ah, but yeah, I never I never got around to it. Like I think I was just I was just too old. I was slightly older than the the intended audience for it.
We robbed you. We should never told you what happened. I'm sorry.
The Internet told me a long time ago, Like it wasn't just you guys, like don't fly to yourself.
Super emotional.
Yeah, I don't know. I'm just trying to give a movie like that.
I that I like sports movie that I loved, Like I don't know the ones I have I reckon not serious ones, right like White Men Can't Jump the original one, not the one with a great not the one with the one with the Jack Harlowe, not that one.
Oh I forgot that happened. Woody Harrison, all day.
Woody Harrelson.
All the funny part about that is that Woody, of the two of them, Woody and Westley, apparently Woody is actually the real baller like Wesley's. Okay, Woody Harrelson. Apparently can Ball is everything I heard.
I believe it.
Yeah, Dodgeball, like Dodgeball should get an oscar.
Dodgeball's great just because Moneyball. I love Moneyball, even though I know it's mostly fiction.
Yeah, I think that's my problem.
That's my problem with Moneyball is that when when the book hit, I think when the movie came out, I was actually working in the A's minor league, and so it's kind of like this is sort of true but not really.
Yeah.
I always felt like, don't watch it for factual stuff, but just as a baseball movie, it's really Uh. And also, my favorite movie as a kid was like Mike, So I'm going with that. Wow, movie has ever been better than like Mike?
Wow?
Shad Moss Shad Moss getting oscars here according to uh.
Let's go bow wows right.
I did want to ask you, guys, I put this on the list here because obviously there have been plenty of football players who have turned into actors and that so I put the list of who is the best former football player turned actor. I kept it to guys that you know are more recent, right that that you know chances are you have seen their stuff, like I could have gone back in history and you know, like guys from the fifties and sixties, but like chances are
you haven't seen their stuff. The Rock, Terry Crews, Carl Weathers, John David Washington, Marshawn Lynch. Although Florio you hounded me because you said there was a glaring omission from my list. Here.
We talked about this guy enough, like a week or two ago.
Yeah, o Rental James Simpson did not make my list. That was a big might have been just a little bit of an oversight by me looking out a long look.
Shout out to Apple that they had a gift of him as an actor like on the Red Carpet, because.
Yeah, I mean it could have just been like mug shots or something like that. So like, shout out of the five that I have here, you know, Dwayne Johnson, Terry Crews, Carl Weather's, John David Washington, Marshawn Lynch, LaQuan do you have a favorite?
Uh, Terry Crews only because of the Fridays Friday after Next and he was in the long the longest yard, so yeah, he was both of those.
That is that is not the answer I thought you were gonna give me.
No, No, yeah, I enjoyed those, both of those movies.
So yeah, I I honestly thought you were gonna say John David Washington strictly because you know he was a RAMS practice squad guy.
Yeah.
Yeah, And I just figured that.
Your homerism would make I'm not a homer.
Homer you guys like you guys know me.
I'm a realist.
I mean, I just don't know his work or even you know, put him up.
But he looks like, well he's Dentel Washington son. Let's start with that.
Oh wow, that that's that's definitely notable. I mean, I'm sure many other people know that, but I did not know that. Yes, he's Denzel Washington's son. He was in Tenant, he was in Black Klansman.
There's been a lot of the.
Only pieces of that.
He made it to the NFL. He's in He's a movie star, and we all know him as Denzel Washington's son.
Yeah, well, I mean I know him as him.
But I was explaining for the Kwan, who seems on an issue.
With who he was.
Equalizer was good. I mean, he didn't make any appearances in there.
No, that was just his dad. Sorry, do you have a pick from this list.
Floria Terry Creuz is the funniest by far. I'll go with the Rock though, to be different, Like, there's only one of these five dudes that are able to flex out of a cast fresh off of Broken Arm, and that is Dwayne the Rock Johnson. Actually, one of my favorite parts about all the Rock movies is at some point in time he becomes the wrestler rock again. You just don't know when it's going to happen.
Out of nowhere.
Legitimately hit the rock bottom in the Fast of the Furious movie, Yes no, and then the Rundown he hit the rock bottom walking tall he had walking till in The Rundown came out in the same summer. I believe they're the same movie. You can't convince me they're both on train tracks.
I think, like, yeah, which one did he go in the club and like beat up the ball players? I literally forget that right now he walked in.
That's real.
Then it's the same movie.
Yeah, I can't tell you. He's a Scorpion King. I mean, man, the.
Scorpion King was that was fun. That was a fun movie.
Rank's favorite movie is San Andreas.
Like skyscraper. Skyscraper is cinema. I'm just like, uh, I need the was that the one with the rock where he's a yeah skyscraper where.
He's a you know in a Okay, yes, you know I really forgot. Yeah.
So so my answer was going to be Carl Weathers, because I mean it was Apollo Creed.
He was Chubbs.
Peterson in Yeah, in Happy Gilmore, he was Grief Carga and the Mandalorian.
Shout out to Carl Weathers.
He has a lot of iconic characters.
Now that you men, I'm about to say, that's a healthy resume right there, just off of those three movies.
Yeah, man, that's a it's a solid.
Apollo Creek deserved better, man.
Yeah man, he didn't have to. They should have just injured him.
You talk about movies where I like, you get emotional, like I saw that movie in the theater with my dad and I knew what was going to happen, and it's still it's still hurt. Like it's still hurt.
Rocky for is the best propaganda ever made.
Oh it's absolutely the best propaganda. If I could change, and you just could change, we all could change.
Imagine like the other country cheering for the event like that would never happen. But it makes me laugh every.
Time I watch it. It is absolutely American propaganda.
It is. It is hilarious for sure.
Is anybody out there now, anybody playing in the league now you think could break through as an actor? I mean Travis Kelsey seems like the number one.
Yeah, that's the obvious one.
Answer, Aaron Donald. He's mentioned it many times. I mean, he could play a serious guy.
I mean, I'm surprised they just haven't cast him as the Hulk yet. You know, he's still fit. He is huge, I mean like he's I mean, I get it. I get it.
He's not the tallest guy, but he's got the physique for it.
Yeah, fantastic four. You on need no cgi. He just shows up.
He just takes a shirt, you know, he just does his thing.
I don't know how good his acting skills are, but Jalen Hurts one hundred percent has the look of it like he does. He could be a lead in any any movie right now.
Yeah, he absolutely does have the look of it for sure.
Yeah.
It just it feels like this is a very much a a Travis Kelce runaway.
James Minton.
I'm a homer. But since because of the Hailey Steinfeld connection, I've seen people say Josh Allen, but I'm like, no, no, no, let's let's not think about that for another twenty years.
Yeah, I mean right now, like I can see him doing like a cameo, like a walk on cameo, like, you know.
No, open the door, don't do that. No, I don't want that.
Likett Farv's Wooden cameo and something about Mary or whatever or something like that, which.
Is supposed to be like three other quarterbacks apparently.
Yeah, Joe Burrow has like he could be an actor right now.
Burrow could be there, although I think he's trying to you know, that won't help him beat the Macaulay Culchan allegations. Baker Mayfield I think has the personality to do something like that.
He's definitely the best actor in the NFL that Like, his commercials were legit good.
They were they were actually funny. Yeah, they were very funny for sure.
Yeah.
So that's just a little something fun to to kind of kick around and head of the oscars. So I watch it because it's like it's like the only award show that I actually care about the rest of them. I sort of like they're on the background, like the oscars I actually care about.
Like I said, even though I haven't seen the movies.
That's NFL Honors for me.
That's what it's the most fun.
I think you such a good company guy I care about.
After I tried to get rid of the draft earlier in the show.
Get the draft, the awards.
The awards, that's it, you know, leave the guns, take the canolis. Anyway. I'll be back with you next week.
We're gonna talk some free agent quarterbacks and whatever other nonsense we can get into. I'm sure we have a recap of the combine too as well, since we will have testing and scouting results for most of the guys that we're in.
The reaction absolutely.
Because by now, you know, by by Monday, someone will have dropped out of the first round altogether. Somebody you've never heard of is suddenly going to be a kindidit for the one one? It's gonna be a whole thing by the time we get to Monday. So there you go. In the meantime that for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, they happy, save unhealthy, do good, and live well.
Enjoy the weekend everybody, and we'll.
Talk to you again on Tuesday. Conte, and hold but the task, and hold at