Everybody.
It's Thursday, February thirteenth, twenty twenty five. Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. We come up with some of these things on the fly. It's me and your man, NAMG Marcus Grand joined by Michael Florio and Lakwan Jones. All Right, I don't even know where to start the show. Lakwan you you just came back from New Orleans. I hear, tew you are turning right back around and heading back down to the Big easy.
You know.
Yeah, I'll be heading back to New Orleans next week. I leave Tuesday for the HBCU Legsy Bull, which is gonna be fun. Get to hang with Bucky Brooks, Charles Davis, Michael Yaman. Of course, my guy is Steve Weisch.
Yeah, I hear.
Look, if there's a guy that you want to hang out in New Orleans with, it is Steve Weisch.
I hear. He knows all the spots.
It's the mayor.
It's kind of the mayor.
He knows those spots, especially to go eat, which is saying a lot because there's a lot of great restaurants there, so it's like no, especially the spots to go eat.
It's like a superpower, oh superpower for row.
You eat good the entire time with Steve like he knows all the breakfast spots, lunch spots, night night gap.
It's great.
Nice.
I gotta hit hit Steve up. I'm throwing a bachelor party for my friend in New Orleans this summer. I've never been, so yo, let's let's go. I need to get Steve to give me all the all the recommendations.
It is a good town now.
I know you don't like seafood though, Florios that might make it a little difficult.
Still, plenty of places to eat.
I'm gonna send all my friends to places with seafood and I'll just be eating like wings or burgers or something like that. There you go, There you go.
That's cool.
There's plenty of good stuff like that too. So for sure, season's over. I know a lot of folks are turning their attention to next year. You know, I know, mock drafts and those sorts of things are open. In fact, we're gonna do a mock draft, which I do one every month, and we'll recap it on the show.
So we're gonna start doing that really really soon. But we figured it's a good.
Time to kind of start talking about rankings. Right, it's February. I get it, it's way too early. Things that we have now are probably going to shift quite a bit by the time we get to July and August.
But it's a good starting spot, right.
We're gonna talk about some of our similarities, our differences, guys, we think that maybe making the leap and that sort of thing, you know, And then you know, I have some nonsense at the end of the show, because why not. But a little bit of an update on something we talked about earlier in the week, and that is the Jets have officially announced that they've informed Aaron Rodgers that
they're moving in different directions. I guess, Florial it was sort of speculation previously, or not speculation, but it was leaked that the Jets had talked to Aaron Rodgers.
Now the Jets are admitting that they talked.
To Aaron Rodgers and said that's I think we should break up.
It's not me, it's you.
Whatever it is that they said to Aaron Rodgers, go enjoy starting a podcast or hanging out with Pat McAfee. Whatever. What do the Jets do at quarterback now? That Aaron Rodgers has moved on.
I don't think their quarterback of the Jets this season is on the roster yet. Like, I think they're going to be big players in Sam Donald's sweepstakes, because the story kind of writes itself right, like he comes home, Aaron Glenn comes home to fix the Jets. Sam Donald comes home to fix the Jets.
They could.
I know a lot of my Jet fan friends want them to take a quarterback in round two maybe like like if you wears falls or something like that, like whoever is the one that falls? But I think free agency in the draft is where they're going to figure things out. Look, I'm usually the Jets basher. I want to give them kudos here though, because the reports are that, like they told Aaron Rodgers, we will have you back, but you need to be here every day at mini camp.
No more going on Pat McAfee, no more documentaries and causing distractions and stuff. And Aaron Rodgers ain't gonna be there next year. So it tells you which way his priorities were leaning.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know.
The whole thing is just it was a disaster and I remember last year we had Judy Batista on the show, and one of the things I asked her was are the Jets eventually going to regret getting into bed with Aaron Rodgers? And her response was, well, if they win, no, you know, like they brought him in to compete to win, to try to win a super Bowl, and if that happens,
then absolutely not. They got nowhere near it. They didn't make the playoffs, they didn't get anywhere near a super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers, to the point that apparently Woody Johnson wanted to pull the plug midway during the season. His son was lamenting the lack of Madden ratings. I guess across certain positions, I would wonder, now do they
regret the move? And I'll never say, at least not publicly, but you got to wonder whether or not, you know, they regret this because it really has set them back I don't know, three four five years now. Yeah, having gone all in on Aaron Rodgers, I know we're gonna do rankings in a little bit and you know, obviously Breeze Hall, Garrett Wilson, interesting names. Does this situation, Lakwan, does this turmoil? Has that changed the way you feel about Wilson, Hall, et cetera.
Wilson, yes, Reese Hal not so much. He's like kind of unaffected with his role of just being a good player. The lead back does set this franchise back a little bit. And you look at Garrett Wilson, he kind of looked at frustrated last season with you know, obvious you know
situations around him, with Devonte Adams coming in. You know, he's still finished as a top twelve wide receiver, and you look at the situation now, it's like there's not much upside for him to like go out there and give his all to win games and stuff like, I think he might be one of the guys that wants to be moved this offseason.
He could end up somewhere else.
So for that, it's like I don't want a frustrated, you know, wide receiver that could play at a top level. And with all this off season circus stuff going on, it kind of makes me kind of turned off of off the radar of trying to draftgar Wilson this year.
Yeah, I mean so I kind of struggled with him, and like I said, we'll get to the wide receiver rankings a little bit later on.
In the show.
He was a guy that I kind of struggled with and I moved him around a lot in my rankings. You know, I can kind of let you know where he is a little bit later. But yeah, I don't know. Jets are the Jets. We talk about them and sometimes I don't know why, but.
Because they constantly make the news.
Man, I mean, that's really what it is.
But it's just like it's always stuff where we're just like shrugging our shoulders and we're rolling our eyes because none of it, you know, I has had anything to do with me. Hey, the Jets are doing things like watch out for the Jets. Like it's never you know, it's always like, hey man, you see this dumb move the Jets made, or do you see what their quarterbacks say?
It's just it's that and it's exhausting.
You know, I love pulling salts on the wound. But oh, I know, I actually want to give the Jets a little bit of a pass here because I don't think at the time anyone thought it was like a dumb move to bring in Aaron Rodgers. We were like, look at what this defense did, Look at what Breece holl And Garrett Wilson are like they're a quarterback away from being a super Bowl team, and then it went as
poorly as it could have. But I put a lot, a lot more of the blame on Aaron Rodgers here than on the Jets, because it felt like every chance Aaron Rodgers had to be a distraction he took, so like they kind of struck when the iron was hot, and it went as poorly as it could But I don't I don't really fault them for that.
I know when he came, right when he when he when he first arrived in New York, our conversation was generally, hey, man, as long as he can be better than Zach Wilson, right, Like that was the baseline, Just be better than Zach Wilson.
And it's debatable, right.
I mean, I look, statistically, he was probably better than anything they got out of Zach Wilson. But in terms of like his actual impact on the club, he played his best football after they were eliminated from the playoffs.
Yes, right, which is so toxic of him to go out there and.
Do it when it no longer mattered, when it was not important to the Jets fortunes. Then Aaron Rodgers showed up and started playing his best football. We can debate all day long whether or not he was actually better than Zach Wilson. They won fewer games. They were seven to ten in twenty twenty three. They were five and twelve last season.
So same out come, just lose.
So we'll see if somebody takes a chance on him. I'm sure someone out there, some team will kick the tires. Whether or not it's going to be a situation that he wants the Titans remains to be seen. I mean, why would he they take a shout out? Why why would he want to go to the Titans. I mean, that's just that's just fading into bolivion.
If he just wants to work, he stay home.
There's always podcasting, there's always that public service, right, like h.
Was listening, I'm not listening. I'm sorry.
Somebody will. Somebody absolutely will. So there it is, all right, let's send up of that. Let's get into some of these rankings here. We'll do quarterbacks running backs here in this segment. Well you will do wide receivers tied into the next segment. So let's start with the quarterbacks. I figure we just go through our list of the top ten. We'll sort of figure out, you know, where these similarities are, where the differences are, and then we can kind of
start the conversation from there. So, LaQuan, if you would like to hit us with your your top ten, sir, I am all ears.
Oh quarterbacks who are starting with right?
Yes?
All right, all right, all right?
So the top two we can interchange, and it's obviously going to be Lamar or Josh Allen.
So there.
I really don't care about the debate there. It could be one or two, okay, but Jaden Daniels at three, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurt, Justin Herbert Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Jarrett Golf, and Bo Nix.
That's my top ten right there.
All right, alright, so that's your top ten. Flora, hit me with your your top ten and we can kind of, you know, go through these.
Yeah, we disagree a decent amount. I agree with you the top two and I have it Alan Lamar, but it could go anyway. I think Jayden is the clearcut three. I have Hurts at four, Joe Burrow at five, Patrick Mahomes at six. Then I went Baker Mayfield seven Kyler Murray eight, Jared Goff nine, and like you had bon Nick's at ten. I put Drake May at ten. But the names that you're missing I had, I put like a just missed, and it's like Nick's, Klob Purdy, Dak Herbert.
Those are the other names I was considering in these top ten.
All right, okay, So again the top two are the same. I've got Lamar one, Josh Allen two. Not gonna argue one way or another at this point. I've got Jalen Hurts at three, Joe Burrow at four. I put Jayden Daniels at five. You know, I just I'm a little bit I just want to see how defense is adjusted to him. It's sort of my thing. But he's still in my top five. Baker at six, Dak at seven, bo Nix at eight, Kyler at nine, Jared Goff at ten. So our top two are pretty much the same. I
don't think there's a whole lot of conversation there. You guys have Jaden at three, I've got him at five, so we're both we're all still really high on him. Hurts is still in our top five. So our top fives are all the same, even if the names are a little bit shuffled, right, it's Laar Josh, Jalen, Burrow, Jaden Daniels, a lot of J's mar Jaxson, Josh, Jalen, Joe Jaden.
You don't have Mahomes in your top ten?
I do not.
I do not have Mahomes in my top ten? What about what about Patrick? It's not even hate? Tell me what about Patrick Mahomes makes him a top ten fantasy quarterback aside from the name on the back of his jersey?
Right, well, even this year, I believe he finished tenth overall or he was close. He was close.
I mean through week eighteen he was twelve.
Okay to me, because I went I've spent a lot of time thinking about this one. I think Mahomes is receiving core is gonna be better next year. But outside of like this past year, Joe Burrow being way better, I was like, what is the difference between Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes, Like, they don't run a ton either one of them. They're they're all it's pocket passing. And I know Burrow's coming off the better year, but historically the best seasons by them have been to Mahomes, He's
gonna lose t Higgins like I was going. I was like, yeah, I can't really justify putting Mahomes too much lower, but I love to like this is spicy to me, and I know him the odd man out.
Here because you had him at eight, Lakwan, I got him at eight. And I do believe that the receiver corps gets better. You get Rashid Rice back, you know, hopefully we get Hollywood back. And you've seen what Xavier Worthy has done on that back end of season, including the Super Bowl. So I think more so he's still in that conversation a top ten because he still has that upside as a guy that's going to create those
scoring opportunities. And it's like, yeah, he's not like a mobile quarterback like Jayden Dais or Lamar Jackson, but he still has some twitch and wiggle to him where there might be some games he gets you a couple of yards on the ground, because I think he's going to be scramming in a lot more next season without Travis Kelcey being there. So I feel like more so of that old line is still possibly a question mark because
it was god awful this year. So I think we might see a more like Patrick Mahomes that he has to take over the game himself, because we saw in the Super Bowl, like I don't know if you guys saw that cliff where Travis Kelcey is just standing there like I'm wide over what he done, and Patrick's just zipping around the pocket trying to make magic and get
the first down. And when you've removed tras kelce next season, I think that's why he's in that top ten conversation because the rushing upside might be there, plus better pass catchers. You know, you hope that they don't get scraps again.
I think you guys are really overrating Marquise Brown.
I think everybody I don't know.
I think we still have stars in our eyes about the speed, about what could be koy at the end of it. He has one thousand yard season and it was just barely over one thousand yards after the first couple years of his career. Has never been a huge touchdown guy. I think we like the idea of Hollywood Brown more than the actual reality of Hollywood Brown.
Some could say I think there's untapped potential here because when he was playing with the Ravens. It wasn't like he played with twenty twenty four Lamar. He was playing with early career Lamar. Where's still more of a run first quarterback stuff like that. But it's not even just him it to me, it's the assembly of parts. Like you have him, you have Xavier Worthy who should be much better than he was this year. And you ever see Rice who was looking like a breakout star in
the making before he was taken away from us. So if if and then Pacheco in the backfield, like if all of these pieces stay healthy. To me, I feel like we're gonna look back at this past season. And I could easily be wrong because I said this last year at this time as well. But I feel like we're gonna look back and be like, yeah, that was the worst year statistically of Mahomes's career.
Maybe.
I mean, I just look at it's been It's been a couple of years now, you know. I know, Look, I get it, like this past year you mentioned all the injuries. The year before that, they were sort of breaking in some new pieces, you know. I don't know, I feel like there's so much unknown with this team. Not just that, but the offensive line too, is an issue that we talked about earlier in the week that they're gonna have to kind of solve a little bit.
So I look, I remained skept. I've got for the record, I put I put Mahomes at thirteen.
Not terrible, No, no, no.
I mean I see the arguments, like every the guys that you named, I think do have higher floors. But after the top five, I'm like, there's not a higher ceiling left in my opinion than Mahomes.
Well, that's the other part of it is that after I got through my top five, I'm like, there's a lot of.
Ways I could go.
Yeah, definitely, so many ways I could go. So I was, I mean, I'm looking at I'm just looking at our lists all side by side. The big difference is I don't have Mahomes. I'm the one. I'm the one person without Mahomes in the top ten.
I don't have Baker.
Yeah, Lakwan, you don't have Baker, but you also are the only one with Herbert in your time. Tyler right, no, Kyler either in your top ten. I'm very proud of you for having Jared goff In there.
Proud of I had to push him down, but he's still going to be, you know, a top ten quarterback unfortunately.
All right, all right, but I'm proud of you. I just didn't know if you would give Jared goof his his due.
I coach you. I like the guy. Now you know he's not affecting. He's still a google though.
All right, then, Florida, you are the only one with Drake May in your top ten, which that's spicy. I love that, Like anybody who listens to the show shouldn't be surprised.
Yeah, yeah, this I will admit was a projection because like, I think most people are gonna have bo Nicks ahead of Drake May. I think most people like Dak Caleb were two that I was like, I think people will probably have ahead of them, but this could all change. This is me kind of one.
You guys know.
I love Drake May, but I'm also the Patriots have by far the most cap space and they have all their picks, so I'm anticipating a lot of O linemen and pass catchers being brought in. If not, plus, I think it's just a better situation oc wise, play color wise, all of that. But if not, then my ranking of May will change. Greatly, But all of these guys are so similar that I feel like Drake May has the highest ceiling because I just think he is like more talented than a lot of those other guys.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, look, I understand the arguments for it. And again, I think after the top five, I think you're gonna see a lot of people sort of, you know, basically making bets essentially on guys and sort of placing chips on what they think guys can be for any number of reasons.
So you know, I'm.
Curious to see what the the overall consensus is going to be on Drake May. But I think this is the time of year we can start sort of planting flags on guys and you know, projecting what you think they can be.
And then again, it's February.
We all reserve the right to change our minds by the time we get to the start of the leave.
I mean, this is stone cold in stone that this is what it's going to be in August. It should be the same, right.
Right If you switched, If you switched by week one, then you are weak minded and you don't belong here.
I don't know if you guys had the same takeaway. But my biggest takeaway from this was then what it just kind of reaffirmed what my opinion already was, Like, I think I'm changing to I want a top four quarterback, not top five. But yeah, if we get the top four after that, they're all the same, Like just wait and grab two of them.
Yeah, I mean that's I think that is a fair statement too, Right at some point, if you're not spinning up to get a quarterback, then that means you're taking a second one. You're taking a mid level kind of a mid round quarterback and a late round quarterback.
Yeah, sort of balance things out.
By the way it gets us too.
Google Deliver presented by Uber eats. Who is your quarterback lakwan outside of the top twelve and they could be either outside of the top twelve this year or maybe outside the top twelve of your rankings that you think could make the leave just that dark horse guy that maybe could somehow sneak into the top twelve.
I've been saying his name for the last couple of months, man, Bryce Young. I mean, honestly, when you look at how he played from Week eight into the back end of the season, he was showing flashes of being more confident in the pocket, climbing, being more mobile, finding his guys, and just the offense just looked like it was cohesive now. So I think he can make that leap next season when they bring in even more weapons for him beef
up that old line. Like there's so many pieces around him with Xavier Luguet, Jalen Cocher and Adam thielend Oldman in the club still getting the girls. If he comes back,
he can still be a threat to that offense. So I feel like there's just so much that is going to be, you know, a round brace shown that it's going to be impossible impossible for him to take a step back, because I don't know what that switch was, but he came back balling out, like he came back knowing where his guys were when he was under pressure, coming back knowing how to get xaverery Lee get involved in the offense more than just like a gadget guy.
Like these were just the little things that I saw that I think he could definitely take a leap for fantasy.
All right, Floryd, who's your guy.
That makes the leap this year? I feel like I might be stealing yours, Marcus. But Williams. But you know what, I'm gonna let you talk about Caleb Marcus. I'm going to go even deeper. Okay, give me Anthony Richardson here, because Richardson all the same upside. I would argue that that he that we thought he had last year, except you're not gonna have to take him top five or close to it. You're not gonna have to take him as a QB one. Like we named between the three
of us, probably like sixteen different quarterbacks. Not one of us even mentioned the name Anthony Richardson. So if you could get him, he is the kind of guy that, like say, you wait, like we were saying, you take a mid round guy, you take Baker Mayfield or gired Goff or or one of those safer quarterbacks. You take Anthony Richardson late, and now you're still giving yourself that lottery ticket because of the tools and the legs and everything he has. But like, if he doesn't hit, Okay,
what'd you use thirteenth round pick on him? Like it's not, it's no big deal.
Now, that's the big part of it is that the draft price is a lot friendlier. It's it's easier to take the shot on Anthony Richardson and sort of scrap it if it doesn't work. Last year, the way the spot you had to draft him in, you needed it to hit because you were passing up so many other options if you drafted Anthony Richardson. So for it to fall apart the way it did, yeah, it killed a lot of fantasy teams. So if the draft price is right, which I'm sure it will be, I couldn't make a
bigger case for Anthony Richardson. I also need him to get his completion person I know, proclincial changes, like it's not one of the hip trendy stats, but I need him to get it up.
I do.
I need you to I need you to hit more than fifty percent of your passes consistently.
I just do.
I don't need it to be great, you know what I'm saying, Like, I don't need you don't need to be Matthew Stafford with accuracy or anything, but you have to be competent and he was not that last year. So like there's only so because eventually then you just have a running back, but a running back who's not going to get the same number.
Of carries that you want out of somebody else?
Would you take the shot on Richardson or CJ. Stroud two quarterbacks that are going to be tied together for a while.
Probably Richardson just because you know the rushing upside is there, like there's just never going to be a thing CJ.
Stroud does.
I think it's Anthony rich And hands down unfortunately. Yeah, yeah, you kind of want Stroud to be that guy. But then last year he'd take a step back and it's like that was bad.
Yeah, see Solf very disappointing quarterback wise. I'm just realizing for sure.
Also, I think the thing with CJ. Stroud is that defense is so good. Part of what helped that first year is that they were playing from behind on occasion and he was being forced to throw the ball a ton.
That defense is really good, so it might not be a situation where CJ.
Stroud's going to be throwing the ball thirty five forty times a game consistently.
He had a strong run game too with Joe Mixon as well, so.
That part too. So yeah, I think it's Richardson. I don't love it, but I think it's Richardson for me, all Right, you know that was who would have represented by Uber Eats, where you can get the best deals on game day food all season long, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL.
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Now, all right, let's go over to the running backs here, Florida. Letuld you start this off? Who are your top ten running I have a feeling there's gonna be some major differences in these lists here.
Running back was a weird one for me. I think the top five is pretty for me at least feels pretty set. And you could put these in whatever order you want. But I have them Bijon one, Jamiir Gibbs, t Saquon Barkley three, Devon h Chan four, Derrick Henry five. Then it gets a little weird, like I have Kyrien Williams six. I'm not sure even Laqwan might not even agree with that. Wow, Josh Jacob seven, James Cook eight, Bucky Irving nine, Breize Hall ten. Just miss was Jonathan
Taylor for me. I went back and forth hard between Taylor and some of these other guys.
All right, Lakwan, who's your who's your top ten?
Okay?
Wow?
Kyron Ed six is wow? Alrighty?
Then you broke him, Flor you broke me because now I feel bad Where I got him?
I mean the top three you can enter change.
Like we talked about Bijon, Saquon Gibbs, that maybe like the consensus top three backs. I don't care if you have Saquon at one or Bjeon at two, whatever.
Where do you have them? Right?
Where do you have them?
I got Bjon at one, Squon at two, three, I got Gibbs and then Devon Ah Chan, Breise Hall, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, Joe Mixon, and Kira Williams.
Oh, the the CMC one is interesting. I don't have him in my top ten either, so you're the only one with that. So mine is I got Bjon one, Jamier Gibbs two, eight, Chan three, Saquon four for me, uh, Derrick Henry is at five, Josh Jacobs at six, Breese Hall at seven, James Cook at eight, Jonathan Taylor is at nine, and Kyron Williams is at ten.
So we can agree on the ten.
Just looking at.
This, I am I'm the only one with Jonathan Taylor and that one. I really agonized over that one for a while. I shuffled him around to a few different places. I landed at nine with Taylor Lakwan, you're the only one with CMC and Joe Mixon in your top ten.
I also, so we got we got Kyron in.
Yeah, okay, so that's right. And then Florida, you're the only one with Bucky Irving. He's another one that I moved him around a little bit, like I first I had him in and then I moved him out. Uh, you know, I don't know, man, like running back's going to be I think wild Like, I don't know that we're ever going to come to a real top ten or top twelve consensus. I think amongst analysts, all of.
You guys felt this way. But while and look, you know, I like Lakwan a lot of the time, I'm like, I want a receiver in round one. But while doing this list, I was like, there it might be like I could easily make the case for taking Bjon or Gibbs in the first round and being because to me, I think, and I think it shows by how different are six through tens are, Like after the top five, I feel like it's kind of a crapshoot there, Like
it's it's a preference thing. And to me, when it's a preference thing, it's because there's a drop off in talent.
Yeah, I mean I think it's it's a combination drop off in talent and situation, right because like with Josh Jacobs, Yeah, do the Packers go out and add a big time receiver? And if so, does that impact how many times Josh Jacobs is getting the football? Does an impact how many targets he gets? Because he was used fairly regularly in
the passing game this past year. I mean, Brice Hall is such a wild card for reasons that we just talked about with the Jets, that the talent we know is there, but is the situation going to match up?
I mean, Florida, he didn't even make your top ten list, min Donor.
Taylor, Bree Hall, Oh no, Brisall is ten for me of Bristol.
Okayee Josh Jacobson to make my top ten, he's like right outside for me.
James Cook, you and I Florida or yeah, you and I have him both at eight, but he's not in your list at all.
Lakwan No, I think this year was just like a prove it, Like you guys, drafted a guy. You drafted Ray Davis. Like to me, like going into the season, that was the biggest threat to James Cook. So I think this season was just kind of like pump my chest. I got this, I could be your workhorse running back.
But I feel like, like, I don't know, Like it just doesn't look to me as like he's going to be the workhorse moving on, because if you still have Ty Johnson the thorn in your side, if you stay still have Ray Davis in that backfield, which I think he takes a leap in roles in basically getting more opportunities. I don't know if this stays the same going into next season with Joe Brady, Like I see him more of a guy that's going to spread the workload throughout
the season. Because James Cook was a phenomenal this year. But do I think he's going to have that same exact type of season. No, I just don't see it happening that way.
Well, Ty Johnson is a free agent. I was surprised at Ray Davis kind of getting pushed to third on the depth chart because I thought there was a role for him this year. I drafted him in a few spots especially in some Best Ball leagues, thinking that he was going to have a role, and by the end of the year he was the RB three on that roster. So maybe if Ty Johnson moves on, which seems reasonable to believe, maybe that does mean some more things for Ray Davis.
I just was surprised at how little they used him. I think the touchdowns come back for Cook, but this year felt like a floor year for him yardage wise, like he needed to play Week eighteen just to get to a thousand rushing yards. He didn't have nearly as many targets as the year before. So like, I think the truth is somewhere in the he'll get less touchdowns more yards, was my thinking.
All Right, yeah, this was gonna be I think this is going to be an interesting one too. CMC is going to be a really interesting test case. Also, I thought people in there though, Yeah, I mean I could look, I can make the case for both for having him in there and not having him in there. You know, I got him at at eleven right now, but it could go either way. It really could.
Yeah, you guys know, I love Jonathan Taylor, but the lack of targets is what scared Like to push Bucky Irving ahead of him for me, like he'll be in my top twelve Taylor, but his last three games he ran for five hundred and twenty yards and six touchdowns. Like prior to that three game stretch, it was kind of a disappointing year for Jonathan Taylor.
Yeah, yeah, well that's also I think the Anthony Richardson factor too.
I have to say, just that factor of him out him out and then you don't really have a consistent offense that you can He's not.
Helping that ball off though, I'll tell you that. Yeah.
Also, you know, is he going to start taking is he going to take goal line carries away?
Right?
I mean does he end up eating into the upside.
Which I think is ridiculous.
Like when you have a back like Johnathan Taylor, you don't, like I understand the Anthony rich and he can get the ball in on the goal line as well, but you have a running back like Jonathan Taylor just to be there.
I just don't get why.
Barkley right, And like I say this with Saquan having thirteen rushing touchdowns but Jalen Hurts having was it fourteen rushing touchdowns this year?
Is unstoppable. It's almost automatic at this point. So I get that in a sense, they have a they have a special move we would like to call a motal Kombat. That's just it's right.
Yeah, I think running back, I think there's going to be a really shifting position. Uh you know, and we'll do these several times throughout the offseason.
My way, see is I'm the Kiren guy.
You are the Kiren guy. You're the Kiren guy.
Le He's explained that one man. That's exciting to me. He was the RB seven this year despite missing a game. He was the RB two in points per game last season. Uh, Sean, Like, we were all worried about Blake Korum, but Sean McVay was basically like, no, it's it's the Kien Williams Show. And to me, anytime Sean McVay has had a running back like this he could trust. It's really Kyraene and Todd Gurley. He doesn't really use a second running back as much. He tends to feed Kyen's gonna get it
in the passing game. He's gonna get it on the ground. There's no concern about him his quarterbacks stealing those those goal line touches or anything like that. So I just feel like he's super after the Top five. To me, he felt like the best bet of upside and safety combined into one.
All right, all right, yeah, I look, it's hard to argue again.
So I still think Blake Koram's gonna get a role in this offense. But I was wrong last I was wrong last year. We'll see how it happens.
We sawid pick up after you know, the Saints game, Like we saw a little bit involvement, and then you know, things slowed down and then obviously he gets hurt before the playoffs. Like, I honestly think he had a role in the playoffs to be utilized a lot more than
he was in the beginning of the season. Like it was more so of like taking the load off of Kirn, which needed to happen, and it was just more so of like McVeigh realizing like, oh wow, well I can run a one two punch, but it was cut short due to him getting hurt.
Yeah, those sirens you heard in the background with the fire department coming for Florido's hot take on how it.
Was that was actually mine in here. Top ten Hottest Joe mixed in top ten.
Yeah, he played phenomenal if he didn't get hurt, and then obviously they're going to have to address that old line. I think Joe Mixon be able to produce behind bad old lines his entire career. Puts that RB two standbor on him with RB one upside, like you look at him week to week.
I feel like, if.
They address the issues that they have in Houston on that line, why can't Joe Mixon be a bigger threat for fantasy you know, for running backs? He's I feel like I have him too low.
Wow, you got nine and that's too low. I won that is.
That's what the fire department's coming after for sure. For sure.
All right, Befy Beefy Beefy first block can take a quick break, come back. We'll dive into the wide receivers and the tight ends. That's next on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, diving into our way too early rankings here in mid February, we've done quarterbacks and running backs. Time to get into wide receivers and tight ends. Wide receiver I think's gonna be interesting. I think we're gonna have a lot of the same names. Maybe when you get
down to the bottom of the top ten. It shuffles a little bit, but I'll start with my list here. I feel like Jamar Chase is going to be the undisputed number one. I'm going to that. I'm going Justin Jefferson at two. CD Lamb is my number three wide receiver, followed by Puka Nakua at four, Amonra Saint Brown, Arsba gets the number five spot. I'm going Scary Terry at number six. Malik Neighbors is my number seven wide receiver, followed by Nico Collins, Drake London at nine, and Jackson
Smith and Jigba. Actually Ryan's rounds out my top ten. So yeah, I feel like, you know, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. I'm curious to see what you guys have. Lakwan, what is your your top ten?
There?
So I think we consent to say Jamar Chase at one like that, that that's that's that's a given. But at Pooka, Justin Jefferson, Malik Neighbors and Monron Taint Brown, Drake London, Cede Lamb, Brian Thomas Junior, aj Brown and then Nico Collins at ten.
Floria, what is your top ten?
Agreed? With Lakwan and you Marcus Jamar Chase at one. I actually agree with LaQuan. I have Pooka Nakua at two, Justin Jefferson at three, Ced Lamb at four, Oursba at five, Nico Collins six, Malik Neighbors seven, AJ Brown eight, Terry McLaurin nine, Brian Thomas Junior ten. But it's really a top twelve for me because Drake London and Lad McConkie I really wanted to fit into his top twelve.
So yeah, I was sort of toying with where to put Ladd McConkie in this whole thing. So I guess I'm the low man on Pooka here on this one because I've got him at four. I'm also the high man on CD Lamb once CD at seven seven.
Yeah, And that's just me assuming that they bring in help and then the running game be a little bit more efficient, and I don't think it will be that high of a one hundred and fifty, you know, targets going his way. I think we're gonna get more of a balanced Cowboys offense. So it's not that you know he's going to take a down year like I could easily put him in front of Drake London or even the mom round Saint Brown being basically with their change
is going on. You have Michael Pennix, He's still somewhat you know, fresh behind the ears. I mean, you can have your concerns there, but he looked amazing with his opportunities a very small sample. But Drake London was still a strong fantasy option. And then you look at my mom right to say Brown. Obviously, Ben Johnson not there. You got to depend on Jared Gooth to keep and retain the information that he had from Ben Johnson to
play at a high level. But you know, those three, I can I was messing around with those three Amon Rod, Drake London and CD Lamb because I feel like they all have somewhat situations going on for them. So I'm not mad at putting CD at five, you know, like, but I just feel like with those three guys, it's just interchangeable for me.
I think I talked myself out of Brian Thomas Junior. You know, remember at the end of the regular season, I was like, Brian Thomas, he was the first round pick, and then like two weeks later, I'm like, nah, yeah, yeah, that's all these drinkings, and I think I sucked myself out of him in the top ten. I'm not sure where I would slot him just yet. I mean, I
think he's in my top fifteen for sure. I just worry about now, you know what happens when everybody's healthy, right when Christian Kirk is back, whenever Ingram is back. I'm surprised Lakuan that you've got him in your top ten, knowing how you feel about Trevor Lawrence.
Yeah.
I mean, honestly, I do feel like this was a little bit of a spicy for me because instead of you know, having Brian Thomas Junior a A, I had Terry mclauren. But then you talked about earlier in the pod about defenses adsin the Jayden Daniels and also I think they bring in some help, you know, maybe a T. Higgins slides and who knows. But I just definitely think, you know, Terry mclaarnin in my top ten.
He just didn't make it, but he was right outside of it, all right.
We all have Nico Collins sort of in the back half of our top tens or Florida. You're the highest on him. At six. I've got him at eight, You've got him at ten. Lakwan, I'm the only one with JSN in my top ten. Maybe I'm a little too gassed up. I don't know, you know, I don't.
Think it is the wide receiver one.
He's the wide receiver and literally outside my top ten, like I missed on Lad and then JSN. Those are the two that I was like fumbling, like if I'm going to do a top fifteen, top twenty list, like they're obviously a top fifteen locks.
Yeah, so it sounds like the back half of the top ten is gonna be a little bit scattered.
So that's like what early second round where you can really play around with some of these guys late first like yeah, yeah.
And obviously free agency in the draft are gonna have a big impact, huge.
For where some of these guys go. It's why again, I came away from this being like I might take a running back in the first round and then like last year, was going wide receiver running back in like two or three, and then a bunch of receivers, like just get your running back early because we don't love
anyone after the top like four or five. But I loved a lot of these back end Like if I could get a Lad McConkie in round two, or Drake London or Brian Thomas, Terry McLaurin, like, I feel much better about those players in round two than I do the running backs that are in round two.
I think I'm just forfeiting my first round pick. I just seriously, I'll just start in round two because it's just like, yeah, I do like some of these guys, but they all even you know, even the Bijon's and the Jamiir Gibbs's and the a chance, they make me still a little bit nervous, right, And I'm you know, look, if I'm at the top, if I'm at the top of the draft order, sure I'll take Jamar or Justin Jefferson for sure.
Mid to late part of the first round.
Like, I just the the draft capital you're spending for some of these guys that come with uncertainty, And mind you, it's uncertainty in February, right that we're yeah, you know, we're sure it's gonna work out by the time we get to August, but for now it makes me kind of scared.
And with the draft coming up.
There's some wide receivers that could shake some of this up man, and especially at running back as well. I mean there's some guys that could get into some roles of being a wide receiver one or even a running back one that can knock up and mess up this back into the top ten, top twelve guys that we got right now.
Just saying you actually bout you by the way mentioning the draft. I'm because when we talked about doing this show just between us, you asked about rookies Lakwan and you mentioned Ashton Johnty. I did you did you give him serious consideration to your top ten?
I did?
But then you look at the draft, like what the order is now? And you know these teams they tend to trade as soon as they get closer to April. I don't know where to put him, honestly, because like I want to put him in Jacksonville, but then that would mean Travis etn Tank Bixby need to move. But then there's a scenario where you know, I have I have this list of running backs and you know Prospect and genty. It kind of fits in between those picks
of like five and ten. What the set order is like I could see him end up somewhere in like New Orleans at nine.
Nine.
I could see him end up with the Raiders maybe because that's just how talented he is, and like these are teams that need young guys like that, And then he would shoot up into my rankings. Like you guys got Bucky Irvin at nine like Floorio, Like I kind of would move Bucky back and put Gent there at nine, you know, ahead.
Of your Briest Hall.
I don't know, because like he's one of those talents that you look at that he could shake things up in year one.
Yeah, I mean, he really is that good.
And I think, you know, again, we always say this landing spot is obviously going to mean a lot, but I think I think a guy that talented, who was that productive in college, regardless of where he lands, they are.
Going to create a role for him.
Absolutely. I don't think that's that.
Might be a second round pick. He might be a second round pick going first if he goes through I mean spot, which we just talked about not having a first round pick for running back. I mean where would you put him? Would you put him like at It depends on so like I could see him going second round because everyone loves rookies, especially.
Nowadays the community.
But you're like an automatic first round pick when we come to like top prospects.
It kind of reminds me like when Zeke fell to the Cowboys. It was like, all right, he's a top five pick now because of where he fell. Like it. So landing spot is going to greatly determine where. But if he there's a couple of spots that if he falls to I I could easily see the fantasy community hyping him up to be a first round pick.
Well, the early tea leaves suggest he could fall to the Dallas Cowboys. And does that does that excite anybody?
Yes? Yes, every single touch up for grabs in Dallas.
All right, all right, p Rico daubtell that happened?
All right?
There it is.
I didn't mean to get back on the running backs, but you've mentioning rookies. Lakwan kind of brought that back in my head after a conversation.
There's some rookie wide receivers that we could dive into later later on, but there's just some guys that they could definitely shake up some of these rakings.
Oh trust, I mean maybe not on this show, for sure, but we will dive into rookies certainly in depth as we get closer to the draft, for sure. All right, let's get the tight ends. This is gonna be wild.
About to say these are going to be so different.
This is gonna be absolutely wild.
It's all gonna be different, and we're all gonna be like, yeah, sure find that. So Laquon, I will, I will give you the honors to go first with your top ten. All right, there's only two guys.
Brock Bowers at one, Trey McBride interchangeable, don't care about the order, George Kittle, John new Smith makes a return.
Top five, Sam mc.
Evan Ingram, Mark Andrews, Cole Komet, David Nijoku, and t J.
Hockinson at ten.
Okay, interesting, all right, Florio, who you got?
It's definitely different. Bron Bowers is one for me, Trey McBride to Kittle three, Sam Laporta four, Mark Andrews five, Hockinson six, and Joku seven. This one obviously changes if he retires, but I still put Travis Kelce at eight, just on the off chance that he does play. Evan Ingram nine, Donkin k ten, I had John new Smith at eleven because I have a hard time buying into a late late career breakout. So I'm sure we'll talk about that one.
Oh, we'll talking about that also, Donkin Kate.
I mean you were ready to shoot him out of a cannon into the middle of the Pacific Ocean a few weeks ago.
But you know, he's still tied to a great quarterback, a good offense, and one that as of now does not have any ball dominant receivers, so he's going to be even when he returned after injury. Last year, it was him and Shaki were the top two targets. So I'm willing to at a cheaper than ever cost. I'm willing to roll the dice again, all right.
I mean, because you're you're gonna put him on a sinking ship in the middle of Lake Erie.
After the playoffs, so uh, you know things have improved. I guess a little bit.
For me, I'm gonna go because I said a few weeks ago that trade McBride, he was my early flag plan for the tight end once on making him the tight end one here, followed by brock Bauers. Because it's either one of those two guys, I'll go Kittle three, Sam Laporta at four. I'm going t J. Hawkinson at at five. Wow, I'm putting Kelsey at six, obviously subject to change if he decides he's not playing anymore. Mark Andrews at seven. I got John hu at eight, Evan
Ingram at nine. I can't go Pat Fryarmouth at ten. I don't know, you know, at that point, it was just kind of like, I don't know. I just I gotta find a name to slide in there. Lakwan, are you assuming that Travis Kelsey's retired or are.
You just out Oh? Yeah, that super Bowl performance was bad? Like I honestly think, you know, it's time to hang it up. Like, I mean, you got the girl, you got many rings, It's like you got the podcast, you're doing TV shows, you're in movies, like you already like played your hand of Like, yeah, it's time to hang it up. Like I don't see Travis Kelsey performing at a high level next season because it's just the way the back end of this season looked. It just looked
like he just wasn't that guy anymore. So Yeah, he's gone, all.
Right, Try to see any other differences. I mean, our top threes are all the same, even if the names are maybe a little bit flip flopped.
Yea, we got Laporter.
We all have Laport in the top five, so I think we're all sort of confident in some sort of rebound for laporta. Evan Ingram makes all of our lists. Mark Andrews makes all of our lists. It's late though, right, it's you know, for you Lakwan's it's Comet and Joku. I mean, I know how you feel about t J. Hawkinson, So I'm actually glad he major top ten barely it was gonna be him or Dalton Kinkaid.
Yeah, I'll flag plan on t J. Hawkinson. I think I'm gonna have a lot of him this year.
He he just wasn't making a huge impact for me to be like I have start him this week.
He just came back for like major knee.
Injury exactly that. Yeah, torn acl is always the year you get back in your question mark the question mark at quarterback next season, we still don't know. It's February. It could change.
It's gonna be JJ McCarthy.
I will be floored. I will give you all of the change in my pocket right now. If it's not McCarthy, seriously, I have no change in my pocket. So that's all you would get is win. But I would I would be absolutely stunned if it's not JJ McCarthy next.
Year, nine hundred yards each of his three seasons prior to last year, this past twenty twenty four, We're you only play ten games.
Cole Commit's an interesting one. I don't know.
I still just I still think there are too many miles. Look, I mean again, I feel like all these names you can make a change four against. I just think there's still too many miles to feed in Chicago.
Yeah, I just don't think we've seen him utilize properly. Like there's still unlocked potential there for him to be a fantasy asset. I just I just feel like he should be mentioned somewhat in that top ten.
Yeah.
I'm also still a little bit man, And it's not Cole Comet's fault, but I'm still upset from a couple of seasons ago, when you know I kept touting him. Yeah, it's like all the metrics are great, he's running a ton of routes, he's getting targeted a certain amount, and like I would say all these things and then Jimmy Grahm would show up and catch a touchdown, and it's just made it hard for me to keep them in the case.
You know, it's not his fault.
He did everything that you would want from him, and then Jimmy Grahm would show up and catch the touchdown.
He could block, he could run round, so he could be a red zone threat. We've seen it.
All that he can do is just being deployed at the right times that they didn't really have, you know, a structured.
Staff that know how to just make him a focal point. But it is what it is.
Yeah, now now we have Ben Johnson there hopefully to save the day, so we'll sort of see how that goes.
My one tightand request is get any quarterback besides Deshaun Watson throwing the ball to day it in Joku and he yes, like he's amazing. I think he is one of the best titands in football. You just can't play with Deshaun Watson.
Well, and I think you're your fears won't be so fearful this year because.
I look, I.
Don't expect to see Deshaun Watson quarterbacking the Cleveland Browns this.
Year two Achilles Stairs, He's he's not.
Yeah, don't I do not. I do not expect to see that happen. Yeah, Titan is gonna be interesting. I feel like for a lot of people, your top four or five are going to be kind of set after that. Just throw a whole bunch of names up in the air and see where they land. And also we'll see if number eighty seven in Kansas City decides to come back for at least one more, if he decides to hang him up and hang in a full time podcaster
slash lover boy. So we'll see, take a quick break, come back, talk about some other nonsense.
There's a new music video that just dropped. We'll talk about that some more things.
No, no, but maybe perhaps on park quality wise, we'll see. I'll come up with that and some more on the NFL Fantasy Football Show. All right, So just a little bit of you know, our cheat sheet type stuff here at the end of the show.
I had I think some stuff thrown in there.
The new Captain America movie comes out on Friday, which nothing says romance like Anthony Mackie beating up on a giant angry Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford's in everything. He is in everything, which is wild. The dude's like eighty. I guess he's just trying to you know.
Him and Robert de Niro are trying to see who can make more movies in their eighties.
Yues so.
Apata. Yeah, they have to have a text group where like they have an internal contest or something like that. Just movies, how about you.
As long as Harrison Ford is not flying himself to whatever destination he's going to, that's all today. But the thing that I really talking about, because it actually dropped just before we started recording this show, at least I saw it just before we started recording this show, Shudeur Sanders has put out a music video.
Wow, he's got a rap video.
It's a lot of you know, shots of him walking through crowds on football fields.
The music.
I will say, it's cool. I'm kind of feeling it should do or do not quit your day job to.
Become a rap.
Stay focused.
Man has worked for any football player dropping a music video during draft time or even when you're an NFL player, It has never ever worked out for them.
I don't I don't see the need to do this.
I don't know.
I mean it sort of seems to fit with the the trajectory. I mean, look, obviously Shu was very good at Jackson State. They all make the move to Colorado, Dion comes to Colorado, Shauduur, Travis Hunter come with him from Jackson State. Uh, and it really has been on top of what he's done on the field, it has been very much about branding and marketing, right from the rolexes to the commercials. So dropping a music video just seems to fit it kind of tracks.
I guess I never care when Like, to me, all of these players who make music and music videos and stuff, all it is to me is entertainment and stuff for us to talk about in the off season on the pod. Like I don't ever actually care. But and I personally do not care at all that he did this. But my one thinking to la Quwan's point is kind of like you're about to go through the most grueling interview
process of your life. I just don't think you want to give fuel to these teams to question your dedication or why you're doing this or anything. Like if he did this after he got drafted and it was like a celebration I'd be like cool, like this guy's going to be a face of a franchise, But right now, I just don't want to This is something I don't want to hear about for two months leading into the draft. You know exactly it is.
It is definitely fuel for anonymous scout, Like anonymous scout is going to have a field day with something like this, because I'm I'm sort of with you, Floria, like I'm of the opinion that like these guys don't they don't spend all day every day studying the playbook or working like then just you well you can't, right, it's just
not it's not healthy. It's not physically possible. So like whatever you found some time and just watching this thing, it seems like there are clips that have been shot throughout the year, right, this doesn't seem like he just randomly took two weeks to do a music video. Like this seems like stuff that he's probably been shooting this video for like six months.
It's like you've been doing this for the last couple of months. Like no, so you're not jello ball, Like no, that's a hit, Like this not a hit?
It so that that was My next question is like, Okay, who out there is actually like if they stop playing ball, like you'd be like I would buy this album or I would stream this album because nobody actually buys albums any way, right Like now I'm a hard copye guy?
Are you okay? Good for you? No, I'm done with that.
But I mean, like so jello ball right like yeah, because we were trying to figureut before the show, like who were at because athletes being rappers is not a new thing, Like who's an athlete that's an actually legitimately good rapper?
And like Dame Lillard was the first one that came to.
Mind, nashwall players do it better?
Hmmm, I always say saying for my guy, I I I himmed In had because I remember there was an album that came out. This is like back in the late nineteen hundreds when I was still a college student, an album called b Ball's Best Kept Secret, And like we used to mostly you had a fun Like I had a radio show in college where we played music. We would just play a track from this album every so often. Because it was a bunch of current NBA players. They did a rap album.
Oh it's bad, I remember this now.
Yeah, there were some that were really bad. Jason Kidd was on the album. His song was awful. His song was awful. It's I've released in November of ninety four. It's called B Ball's the Best Kept Secret. Cedric Sabalos, who I think was a Phoenix, played for the Lakers. He might have been with the Phoenix Suns at the time. He had a couple songs because he actually tried to.
Have a rap career. They were okay.
Malik Seely, who was like a good role player, his was I mean, there's none of them were great. Shaq had a song on there that was okay. It was just like but it was just sort of like a novelty at the time, like all these guys and you listen to you're like, oh no, no, please keep playing Basketball Athlete Rapper.
I would have broke my CD player if that even entered it.
The best Athlete.
Rapper, It's a one hit wonder. But g Regg from the Seventh Floor the Greatest Ever played out.
The journey of Greg Olsen from being g Rag on the Seventh Floor Crew to being a Walter Payton Man of the Year should be studied.
Incredible. We need a documentary and with his verse, we need.
We need a thirty for thirty on the journey from the seventh floor to the w P M O Y.
That's what we need on g.
I've ever heard an athlete have but when that we cannot, We cannot repeat on this show because it is family.
You want to check it out. Make sure you're like alone, you're not at work, like it's.
Yeah, yeah, it's uh it's love.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm looking to see if be Ball's best kept secret is on.
I'm looking at Jason Kidd and the first song that comes up, what the Kid Dido?
And Yeah, I'm not going to listen to this this list.
I mean you should just because.
What the kid did? No? Why?
Yeah, it's it's a thing. I'm sure it's probably like floating around on.
YouTube if you want to really truly listen to it, I'm sure there it is.
Uh so yeah, so you want to check out Shore Sanders music video, which is where this whole conversation started. It's it's floating around the interwebs. You could take a look and decide for yourself. It's if it's good or not. And we'll see what anonymous scout has to.
Say about it. As he goes through the draft process. Anonymous Scout hates everything. Anonymous Scout really does hate everything.
I'm waiting to see, Like who Anonymous Scout says has like skinny knees or skinny knees that was That was the knock on Teddy Bridgewater that he has skinny knees.
I feel like the Colorado guys are going to be the target of an like last year was Caleb. It's going to be the Colorado everyone loves to tear down the hype guys, you know.
Yeah, yeah, I think I think, well, I think after that first year, we got oversaturated with with Colorado, with Coach Prime and she and all this stuff was just and so I think America kind of got annoyed with them, and so I think I'm wondering if that comes back again this off season.
A couple of years ago, people were saying that he's not an NFL quarterback, and now he's in the running to go first overall. So I don't really care what Anonymous Scout has to say.
Yeah, no, he's definitely an NFL quarterback.
I mean, we can debate what his ceiling is, but he's definitely good enough to be an NFL quarterback, don't. I don't doubt that at all for sure. So I'm sure this is not the last we will talk about Shudeur Sanders.
In the next couple of home I hope. Yeah.
I don't know if we're gonna talk about his rap career anymore, but we will certainly talk about him on the field for sure over the next couple of months. But in the meantime, that's for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. They happy, say Lfie, do good and live well. Enjoy the weekend, everybody. We will talk to you again next week. Wo I'll count help, Bob, I'll count help Yah.