PodcastFrom Fantasy Football Today
Fantasy Football Q&A: Answering Your Biggest Draft Questions + Latest Camp Updates (08/08 Fantasy Football Podcast)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 6 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 8, 2026
Published
Sat, August 8, 2026
28
Player insights
27
Players mentioned
Topics
Josh AllenAlec PierceChase BrownChris GodwinChris OlaveChristian McCaffreyColston LovelandDeVonta SmithDrake LondonGeorge PickensJavonte WilliamsJayden HigginsJeremiyah LoveJonathan Taylor
Player analysis
Player insights
Alec Pierce
NegativeInjury11:51
John Daigle advises avoiding or pushing down Alec Pierce in redraft rankings due to his ongoing injury status and the necessary ramp-up time. Daigle notes that Pierce has been out since ankle surgery in March and prefers to be cautious with players carrying injury designations into the season.
Insight pageChase Brown
PositiveValue36:27
The source expresses a preference for Chase Brown over other running backs like Saquon Barkley and Ashton Jeanty, placing him in a tier of players they are comfortable drafting.
Insight pageChris Godwin
PositiveProjection25:00
Dave Richard notes that while Chris Godwin should maintain a solid target floor (around seven per game), he is not as explosive as he once was and is unlikely to provide significant touchdown production, making him more of a WR4 in non-PPR formats.
Insight pageChris Olave
PositiveValue53:46
The source recommends keeping Chris Olave in a keeper league format, specifically pairing him with Luther Burden as the preferred keeper duo.
Insight pageChristian McCaffrey
NegativeValue31:05
Christian McCaffrey is described as a binary fantasy asset: he is either a league-winning producer or a lineup-killer. Despite concerns regarding his heavy workload (10th most touches in the 21st century) and age, the source maintains him as a top-10 overall pick, though they personally prefer drafting other players like Justin Jefferson or Amon-Ra St. Brown to avoid the volatility.
Insight pageColston Loveland
PositiveValue50:54
Colston Loveland is viewed as a strong keeper option in a 10-team league, with the potential to be a long-term stud tight end, especially if there are concerns about Malik Nabers' injury recovery.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveValue19:51
The source ranks DeVonta Smith in a tier ahead of Zay Flowers. Smith is highlighted as a strong value because he is currently being drafted based on the team's poor offensive performance last year, despite a coaching change and a healthier offensive line expected for this season. Smith also historically commands a 39% target share when A.J. Brown is off the field.
Insight pageDrake London
PositiveProjection22:21
The source prefers Michael Penix Jr. over Tua Tagovailoa for Drake London's fantasy outlook, noting that Penix's aggressive downfield passing style unlocks a higher ceiling for London. While Tua offers easier targets, he has ranked in the bottom six in air yards per target since 2024, whereas Penix consistently targets deep. London has historically performed well with Penix, including a stretch as the WR3 per game before a knee injury in 2024.
Insight pageGeorge Pickens
NegativeProjection29:15
George Pickens is highlighted as having a wide range of outcomes due to uncertainty regarding the Cowboys' offensive pace and game scripts. The source questions if the offense will remain pass-heavy given the team's improved defensive performance.
Insight pageJavonte Williams
PositiveValue57:46
Javonte Williams is strongly recommended as a keeper over Kyle Pitts, with the source stating they would choose Williams 'every single time' in a 10-team PPR league.
Insight pageJayden Higgins
PositiveSleeper28:17
John Daigle highlights Jaden Higgins as a valuable target in non-PPR leagues, specifically noting his contingency value should Nico Collins miss time.
Insight pageJeremiyah Love
PositiveValue34:00
Jeremiah Love is viewed as a strong value at his current ADP (RB14). The source compares him to Breece Hall as an explosive, high-target-share archetype worth betting on in the third or fourth round. He fits the '110-plus speed score' bucket of successful first-round running backs.
Insight pageJonathan Taylor
NegativeProjection15:12
John Daigle notes that despite the Colts' offensive struggles in the second half of last season, Jonathan Taylor still finished as the RB10 in points per game, bolstered by a massive 49-point, 240-yard, three-touchdown performance.
Insight pageJosh Allen
NegativeValue60:27
The source debates the legitimacy of a manager acquiring Josh Allen for a seventh-round keeper pick after he was dropped and subsequently picked up via waivers, ultimately ruling that the move stands as no rules were broken.
Insight pageNegativeValue63:43
The source discusses a league management dispute where a manager was able to acquire Josh Allen off waivers due to a platform error, allowing them to keep him for a seventh-round pick value.
Insight pageJosh Downs
PositiveDepth Chart12:11
John Daigle explicitly prefers Josh Downs over Alec Pierce for fantasy purposes, citing the injury concerns surrounding Pierce.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
NegativeValue56:16
The source discusses keeping Kenneth Walker in the fourth round, noting that if the manager has the first overall pick, they should not pass on an elite-tier running back if available.
Insight pageKyle Pitts
NegativeValue57:46
While acknowledging that a 17th-round keeper value for Kyle Pitts is excellent, the source ultimately prefers keeping Javonte Williams over him.
Insight pageLadd McConkey
PositiveValue8:36
John Daigle targets Ladd McConkey at the second/third-round turn, viewing him as a discounted WR1 despite his ADP at the 4-5 turn. The reasoning centers on the Chargers' offense and the high rate of motion used by the coaching staff; McConkey has averaged a 23% target share in his career when motion is utilized.
Insight pageLuther Burden
PositiveValue53:46
Luther Burden is highlighted as a preferred keeper option in the 13th round, recommended to be kept alongside Chris Olave.
Insight pageMalik Nabers
NegativeInjury50:54
The source expresses uncertainty regarding Malik Nabers' recovery status, suggesting that if a manager is uncomfortable with his health, they should prioritize keeping Colston Loveland instead.
Insight pageMichael Penix Jr.
PositiveProjection21:46
Michael Penix Jr. is viewed as the superior quarterback for Drake London's fantasy value because he consistently ranks near the top of the league in depth of target. The source highlights that London has been a productive fantasy contributor with Penix, specifically noting his performance as the WR3 per game during their time together in 2024.
Insight pageMike Evans
PositiveValue24:05
John Daigle identifies Mike Evans as a strong target in non-PPR formats due to his high touchdown potential and red-zone usage, which remain valuable even when receptions do not count.
Insight pageRashee Rice
PositiveUsage30:03
The source expresses doubt about Rashee Rice's ceiling, noting that he had the second-lowest depth of target in the league last year. the source questions if he can be a high-ceiling receiver while primarily catching passes near the line of scrimmage.
Insight pageRashod Bateman
PositiveUsage16:57
Rashad Bateman is moving around the formation more in Baltimore's camp, which the source views as a positive development for his fantasy value and an indicator that the Ravens' offense is modernizing.
Insight pageRhamondre Stevenson
NegativeUsage28:15
The source notes a potential usage conflict between Rhamondre Stevenson and Tyjae Spears (referred to as Travion Henderson in transcript), where if both are active, they could split carries (15 for Stevenson, 8 for Spears), potentially capping the fantasy value for both players.
Insight pageTua Tagovailoa
PositiveProjection21:53
The source expresses skepticism regarding Tua Tagovailoa's ability to elevate Drake London, citing his tendency to struggle when not in a perfect situation and his low air yards per target (bottom six since 2024). the source suggests Tua is 'shell-shocked' and prefers shorter, easier targets, which limits the ceiling compared to Penix.
Insight pageZay Flowers
PositiveRole17:13
The source suggests that the Ravens' shift toward moving receivers around the formation, similar to how Kellen Moore utilized Chris Olave, could provide Zay Flowers with the route tree changes needed to reach a higher fantasy ceiling.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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1:50USPS Ground Advantage. We mean business. This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.
1:55What a play! It's time to dominate your fantasy league.
1:58Off to the races! And he stays on his feet!
2:01Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath.
2:04What's up, everybody? Oh, I just, like, scratched my throat with that one.
2:09Terrible start to the mailman. It is Friday, August 7th.
2:12You might be listening on Saturday, August 8th. Hope everybody's having an awesome day.
2:16We've got two awesome guests for you on this mailbag, and one of them is not Dan Schneier.
2:22One of them is a former St. Jude patient named Nick, who we're going to talk to in about a half an hour.
2:30And the other is fantasy football genius oracle legend, John Daigle of Establish the Run.
2:34John, welcome to the show. What's up? Not an approved title, but I do appreciate the introduction.
2:40Yes, Dave wanted me to introduce him that way.
2:43And Dave Richard is here. Dave, welcome to the mailbag.
2:46It's great to be here. John, you have no idea what you've gotten into.
2:51The mailbag episodes on fantasy football today are usually filled with non-sequiturs, arguments, very, very weird, tedious, rabbit hole-type conversations.
2:57You may not talk fantasy the entire time you're here.
3:00You may regret being here. I already regret being here.
3:04But it's an interesting time nonetheless. Welcome to the show.
3:07And to be fair, I do prefer shows where we disagree at times since a lot of fantasy pods you hear.
3:14They all just nod their heads because everyone's giving the same opinion.
3:18So please, if any of us say something that the other disagrees with, let's hear it.
3:23Speak up. Oh, that's no problem. It's the fighting that goes on after it, and it's never about fantasy.
3:29It's about whether or not you should have a toothpick in your sandwich.
3:33Well, listen, Dave, I was just watching a podcast that John was on recently with J.J.
3:38Zachariasen, and he asked him if you could replace your hand or one of your fingers with a kitchen utensil.
3:45It was a hand or a finger. Sure. He asked if you could replace your hand with a kitchen utensil, if you
3:52had to the rest of your life, what would it be?
3:55And I think I was overcomplicating it, but my eventual answer was a fork because I feel like I could use a
4:03fork as a pseudo hand, but I could be wrong there.
4:06Yeah. Plus, like if you got into a fight, that's a pretty good weapon to have.
4:11My first thought was an extra wide spatula, and you would have so much fun slapping the hell out of people.
4:18You just go around. It would be a great time for you.
4:22And if you ever encountered a grill, I mean, you're flipping burgers, pancakes.
4:26I mean, that's not nothing. All right. Well, John is one of our FFT Open League managers, so if you want a
4:33spot in his league, you can still get in.
4:36And go to tinyurl.com slash FFTdonate2026 or just search for like FFT2026 Draftathon on Google or wherever or Bing, and it'll come up.
4:44But tinyurl.com slash FFTdonate2026. Get in a fantasy league with John.
4:47Win the FFT Open if you want. And all of it goes to St.
4:52Jude. Okay. Let's start the show with John. Give me one player you love this season.
4:57Then we're going to do some emails at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com, and we're going to do your Draftathon questions, which you paid for on that website.
5:05I just gave that URL I just gave you.
5:08You paid to have your question read on the mailbag show, so you're going to get that.
5:13But who's one player you love this year, John?
5:16I'm going back to a lot of offenses this year, but the Chargers are one of them, and that leads me to
5:23draft Ladd McConkie around the second, third round turn, and that tier of wide receivers that I'm sure everyone, even on this show, has been debating all offseason.
5:32I think we forget that Mike McDaniel already elevated a limited player like Tua Tungabaloa to NFL highs in touchdown rate and yards per attempt.
5:40As the ninth overall MVP candidate in 2022, he led the league, Tua did, in passing yards in 2023, and then led
5:47the league again in completion rate in 2024. Now McDaniel gets to work with Justin Herbert, who actually finished already as the
5:55QB2 in points per game behind Josh Allen. He's already showed us he can rival in leading that position in fantasy points.
6:02So now we can just go right back to Ladd Bacanke, who I understand is coming off disappointing, career low, 11.3 points per game.
6:09But the same reason everyone wanted to draft him in the second round last year after failing is kind of the reason
6:17we're chasing him in a much better offense this season.
6:20But Daniel's Dolphins actually led the league in their rate of dropbacks that included motion the last four years when he coached Miami.
6:27And for motion, Ladd McConkie has averaged a 23% target share for his career.
6:32So it's just a player that I think is a discounted wide receiver one, despite being drafted with the wide receiver twos and threes of the world.
6:41Oh, I love it. You know, because we were just talking about this earlier this morning, I want to be there with
6:48Ladd McConkie, who's actually his ADP is going at the 4-5 turn.
6:52But if you're picking at the 3-4 turn, you can't wait.
6:55So you got to take him there. And that was a guy that I'm excited about, and I think Dave is as well.
7:03So love that stat. Love the stat about the motion.
7:06Yeah, they're going to use him creatively, and I think we're on the same page.
7:11Some news and notes. No timetable for Alec Pierce's return, but Dave told you earlier on Friday morning that it sounds like
7:18he's going to be back sooner rather than later.
7:21Right, but the timetable news came out after I heard that information.
7:25So it's probably best that we just assume that it's at least two weeks before Alec Pierce is back.
7:31Jameer Gibb. Oh, John, you like Alec Pierce or Josh Downs better?
7:35Josh Downs. We know there is an unwritten law to practically avoid or at the very least dip, push down the injured
7:42players going into the regular season and redraft, because that also includes a ramp-up time that we can't use them.
7:48And so Alec Pierce is just someone I'm not going to have a lot of going into the season.
7:54Yeah, I mean, it can be – I do like being cautious with those guys.
7:59I think a couple years ago, Jameer Gibb had like two soft tissue injuries before the season, if I'm not mistaken.
8:06There are definitely some examples. Oh, Devon H. And Devon H., we were worried about him being ready for week one.
8:13Yep. So it's just – you're not wrong. I mean, it's definitely like something that I've started to do over the last
8:20few years is being more cautious with these injured guys, and he's been out for a while.
8:25He had ankle surgery in March, I think. So it's a different situation.
8:30It's also a Colts offense I'm somewhat worried about.
8:33Last year, everyone cites when they were at full strength with Daniel Jones in the first half of the season.
8:39They led the league in EPA per play as the most efficient offense in the league in the first half of the year.
8:47But that total, that EPA per play they had, was the best of any offense since Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs in 2018.
8:53And if we zoom out and let's just look at the resume of Daniel Jones' career, it's not Patrick Mahomes.
9:00It's still a Daniel Jones-led offense. And so what do they become?
9:04Are they closer to that offense than they were in the second half of the year where they were 21st in the EPA per play?
9:12And Jonathan Taylor, even with that, I believe it was a 49-point burger, 240 yards, three touchdowns, even with that mixed in
9:19in the second half, he was the RB 10 in points per game.
9:23Like, are they closer to that offense? Because if so, then we're naturally just, like, dragging everyone down in ADP.
9:30Mm-hmm. I'm very impressed with your ability to memorize and recite statistics.
9:33I really struggle with that. You have got it nailed.
9:37Don't bring me to quiz night, though, because when it comes to history and geography, nothing sticks up here.
9:43But if I look at a stat once for whatever reason, that's what the brain operates on.
9:48Good. Well, Jameer Gibbs can look at his contract and probably memorize it.
9:53It's pretty good. Good. He's now just barely the highest-paid running back in football ahead of Bijan Robinson.
9:58But we don't have to worry about Gibbs and Robinson.
10:02They are signed early. They are in camp. Jalen McMillan has a knee injury.
10:06Tristan Wirfs, the left tackle for the Bucs, he has a hamstring injury, but he should be back during the preseason.
10:13And the Bucs have no intention of trading defensive tackle Vita Vea.
10:17Rashad Bateman said he's moving around the formation more, so that's good for a guy who's just basically been an outside receiver.
10:24Maybe he can have a little more fantasy value this year.
10:28Well, we're hearing a lot of stuff out of Baltimore camp about receivers not named Zay Flowers.
10:33And the thing that is standing out to me, it's not like I'm going to start drafting Rashad Bateman or Jacoby Lane
10:40or Elijah Surratt, but the fact that if they're moving Rashad Bateman all over the place and they're moving everybody all over
10:47the place, and that should be encouraging to people who are expecting a big year from Zay Flowers and from the Ravens'
10:54offense in general, it sounds like their offense is finally moving into the 21st century.
10:59And that's what we need from Zay Flowers for him to truly have a ceiling.
11:04He's just never been a guy that they ever used at the red zone or end zone targets.
11:10True. He's never had more than seven end zone targets in his entire career.
11:15So really all we need is a route tree change, and it sounds like Declan Doyle's giving these players that opportunity, similar
11:22to Kellen Moore, how he gave Chris Olave a career-high slot rate last year, and it turned into a career-high target share in points per game.
11:30And Olave had a lot of end zone targets last year too.
11:34Here's a question sort of on the subject of Zay Flowers from Western Goods.
11:38Are you guys good with James Cook and Chase Brown with your first two picks, and then Devontae Smith or Zay Flowers
11:46as your wide receiver one in a 12-team PPR league?
11:49Yes, but it's more like I want Devontae Smith.
11:52I prefer not for Zay Flowers to be my wide receiver one, but if that's the last best option, then I suppose it's fine.
12:00I agree. Devontae Smith is another tier, probably the bottom of that tier with Nico Collins Olave, but I still believe he's the tier ahead of Zay Flowers.
12:09We've only seen 159 routes the past couple of years with A.J.
12:12Brown off the field, but on them, Devontae Smith had a 39% target share.
12:17That's not to say that Devontae Smith is going to have a 39% target share this year.
12:23Even Jackson Smith-Jigbo was not at that last season, but that shows you his range of outcomes despite where he's being drafted.
12:30Now without A.J. Brown, there's a lot more opportunity to go around.
12:34For offense, I know we're all much higher on under Sean Mannion because in ADP, Saquon Barkley, Devontae Smith, Jalen Hurts, Dallas
12:41Goddard, all these guys are still paying for the sins of Kevin Petulo last year, and he's no longer around calling plays.
12:48And their offensive line should be healthier this year.
12:51I mean, you can't predict that, but it was pretty banged up or straight up injured last year.
12:57Sean Payton said Bo Nix is as mobile as he was before the ankle injury.
13:01Jalen Waddle's got a strain. He's going to be out four to five days.
13:06Pat Bryant having a good camp for the Broncos, and I already mentioned this on the wide receiver preview part too, Jaden Higgins having a good camp.
13:15Before we get into emails and draft-a-thon questions, just a few things real quick.
13:19Let's see. I think there's three people left who paid for an FFT open spot but did not reach out to us.
13:26Please email fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. If you are JNComfort1, Shorty76, or David Kotz, and I think Eric Rison, I think you did reach out,
13:33but I'll throw you in there anyway just in case.
13:37You're one of those people. Thank you for your donation.
13:40Now let's get you in the proper league. And, you know, some people have been asking, Dave, for non-PPR advice, and I'm
13:47guilty of just ignoring that format basically. So, Dave, what would you tell people in a non-PPR league?
13:53I would tell you that what matters most is yardage and touchdowns.
13:57Thank you for giving me the chance to offer that second-level advice.
14:01Certainly, players that are more explosive are going to also be a lot more valuable, but really it's you just, you devalue
14:08anybody who you know to garner points via the forward pass.
14:11This pushes running backs up quite a bit. You're going to see a round one where it's like chock full of running backs.
14:19And it's going to create some interesting values for a wide receiver later, but some of those wide receivers just don't have
14:26the same type of fantasy point appeal because you're not going to get credit for the catches that they have.
14:32And it really dings those receivers that get plenty of targets but aren't efficient with them.
14:38And so players like that, and one of the names that comes to mind, I don't know if this is necessarily the
14:45best example, but I don't know how efficient Mike Evans is going to be yardage-wise.
14:50I do think he's going to get a lot of red zone targets, so it's probably a bad one to suggest that
14:57he could be one that goes down in value.
15:00What about his old teammate, Chris Godwin? Godwin, I think he's going to get a lot of targets.
15:05He can get seven targets per game, but I don't think he's nearly as explosive as he once was.
15:12And I can't sit here and say that he's going to get a ton of touchdowns either.
15:17So his value is still pretty good for a number three receiver in full PPR.
15:22By the time he gets non-PPR, he's probably more of a number four.
15:26Saquon Barkley and DeAndre Swift averaged more points per game than Jamar Chase in non-PPR last year.
15:32Averaged more points per game than Amon Ross St.
15:35Brown. The only two wide receivers that were better than those two guys, Barkley and Swift, who were not even top 12
15:42per game, were Pukunikua and Jackson Smith and Jigba.
15:45So don't discount wide receivers too much. They're still very important.
15:48But obviously be strong at running back. I like to have, especially if it's a six-point-for-passing touchdown league, the quarterbacks are going
15:55to make up a much bigger chunk of your, a bigger percentage of your overall score, right?
16:01Because they are obviously penalized in any PPR league or half-PPR league.
16:05Non-PPR, that quarterback number is super important. So, I don't know.
16:08John, do you play in any non-PPR leagues? And if you did, would you prioritize quarterback more?
16:14The leagues I play in have expanded to different formats over the years, but non-PPR has kind of dwindled and been replaced
16:21by those other types of formats, guillotine, super flex, 2QB with multiple flex included.
16:25So, the way I've typically handled non-PPR is exactly as both of you have said already.
16:31I insulate and hyper-focus on running backs. I know a lot of the time that's the strategy people say for this year.
16:38I disagree with that personally. I think being more pragmatic rather than blanket statements saying to go running back early this season,
16:45maybe we get into the reasons why as we move along this show.
16:49But overall, yes, I actually do want to then push running backs up the board in non-PPR and then take swings for those touchdown guys.
16:57Mike Evans was a terrific example. I think Jaden Higgins is another one.
17:01We know his contingency value if Nico Collins gets injured.
17:05Yeah, I think everything everyone has said here is dead on.
17:08And if you're watching and you're in a non-PPR league and you're mad at us for kind of talking trash about your
17:15format, you could always think about changing it. The reason why people, and this is 10 plus years ago, why people got
17:22away from standard scoring non-PPR leagues is because you score more points if catches count.
17:27And more points is more fun. And what has evolved in fantasy are all the different variations that John talked about.
17:34The guillotine leagues and then obviously long-term formats, dynasty leagues and super flex leagues.
17:39And I could go on for four minutes about all the different types of leagues that are out there.
17:45The point is to make your fantasy league fun, not boring.
17:48And non-PPR leagues to some people are boring. That's why I have become a multi-flex short bench snob.
17:54Because that is maybe the most stressed in season.
17:57Because short benches, everyone's kind of doing their own thing.
18:00And it's subjective on your roster, whether you have to cut stashes or have the room for them.
18:06And so I like that stress because it actually forces you to make decisions in the middle of the year.
18:13The only thing I'll say is that the beauty of non-PPRs that most of the time is because they are brought over
18:20from when dinosaurs were roaming the earth. And that like Roto Pat, like all our friends at Roto World or Ray Flowers,
18:27the old school guys, they're still in non-PPR because those leagues have been going on for 36 years unchanged.
18:33So there is like a nostalgic romance that has to do with non-PPR.
18:37But if you're just starting a league, I assure you, you don't want to go that route.
18:43Agreed. Okay, we're going to take a break. Come back with some of your questions.
18:48We'll have our St. Jude interview shortly. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today.
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20:36Visit yearup.org to learn more. Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break.
20:42Break, but not just any break. This is a refreshing break with Snapple.
20:46We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts, so let's take a minute to go over some of my faves.
20:52Snapple real fact 1-9-8-3. The first player drafted to play pro football never played in the league.
20:58Snapple real fact 1-1-1-9. The Grand Canyon could hold about 900 trillion footballs.
21:02Snapple real fact 2-0-6-4. The first college football game broadcast on TV was on September 30th, 1939.
21:07Snapple real fact 1-8-9-6. The tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving originated with college football in 1876.
21:13So grab a Snapple, take a second, and enjoy the moment because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day.
21:21Snapple, make your break more interesting. All right, now let's get back to the show.
21:26All right, first one is from Matthew. He says, what's up, Agon, Eamond, and Darren?
21:31Anybody? No? House of the Dragon? Okay. The Dragon, whatever.
21:34I'm usually one for pop culture. I'm not caught up, though.
21:38Yeah, I haven't started the new season. Pretty good show.
21:41I hear this season's great. Which quarterback, Tua or Penix, excites you the most for Drake London?
21:46Do his rankings change? Penix. It's Penix, yes. It is Penix big time, but is it that big of a difference, Dave?
21:53I think it is. I kind of feel like Tua has been shell-shocked quite a bit over the course of his career,
22:01and he needs the situation to be really perfect for him to stay in the pocket and throw further than 10 yards downfield.
22:08Whereas Penix, I think he relishes that. And not that Drake London gets a ton of 15-plus air yard throws, but I
22:15think we've seen enough from him with Penix to know that he can be a pretty damn good fantasy contributor.
22:22Tua offers the easier targets. And to add context to everything, since 2024, so the last couple years, he's been bottom six in air yards per target.
22:30Whereas we all know Penix is depth of target.
22:33He always rivals the top of the league and goes downfield.
22:37So he does provide a better ceiling. But easy points are important also to mix in those kind of targets in fantasy football.
22:44So it's really like, what are we really debating?
22:47Tua or Penix? I don't know, neither. But yeah, Penix unlocks the ceiling at least.
22:52Well, Frank in the chat saying that this answer of Penix being the guy we prefer for London shocks me.
22:58Have you seen Tua run? We've seen Tua run a top offense before.
23:03Penix hasn't. But we've seen in Drake London's last two seasons that he's been great with Penix.
23:08And again, before his knee injury last year, it was all with Penix.
23:12It was number three wide receiver per game. And the last three games of the 2024 season, great with Penix.
23:19So at least we know Penix will throw the ball to London over and over and over again.
23:25It's a little bit of an unknown with Tua.
23:28Well, I would be shocked if Tua did not do that.
23:31Same. Same. But it's about, I think it's really just everything that we've said.
23:36And then on top of that, yes, we've seen Tua put up huge numbers.
23:40Look at who he's thrown to. Yeah, that's true.
23:43And I love Drake London, but the reason why I love him for fantasy more than anything else is because of the target volume that he's gotten.
23:52And the reason why he gets it is because he's talented, but he's not a burner in the same way that Tyreek
23:59Hill, Jalen Waddell, Devon Achan were when they were with Tua in Miami.
24:03So I have to ask this. This is a mailbag, and we've talked way too much football here.
24:09If you don't watch House of the Dragon, John, what are you watching these days?
24:14Not much nowadays, honestly. I put on sports in the background, especially when we have golf and baseball and right to that.
24:21TV show-wise, what's been a recent one that's even been good?
24:25I need to catch up on Ted Lasso, which just released 48 hours ago.
24:29I finished up The Bear. I kind of, just like music, I'm very stubborn and perhaps ignorant is the word to use,
24:36and that I really don't go out of my way to find something different.
24:41And so I just end up listening and watching the same things over again.
24:45So I'll just always re-watch The Mission Impossibles or go back to The Wire, Breaking Bad, Sopranos.
24:51I just re-watch the classics every year. Interesting. Okay, so you can go to a concert with any three bands in rock history, living or dead.
24:59What are the three bands? And give me the billing.
25:02Who's the opening? I'm a hip-hop guy, so I'm not the person to talk to at all.
25:08I know the accent gives country, but no. No, no, no.
25:12I want to hear this. I want to know who you'd want to see.
25:16I am a UGK guy, because I grew up with a Houston rap scene.
25:21And then also, Clips is one of my favorite groups.
25:24Now they came back with a new album, but Pusha T and Malice.
25:28Anyone who actually likes rap, well, they already know who Clips is.
25:32But go back and listen to Hell, Half, No Fury, one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time.
25:38And then, who else haven't I seen that I would like to see?
25:42I'm thinking of a rock group as well. You know what?
25:46I'll change it up. I'll mix it up entirely.
25:49Maybe also, after I said everything, it only then makes sense to add Bob Dylan and his prime.
25:55Because I don't want to see Bob Dylan now.
25:58I've seen videos. I've heard the voice. Not the same thing at all.
26:02But Bob Dylan and his prime seems like it would be incredible to view.
26:06Well, I'm glad you said one artist that I know.
26:10So, thank you for that. You brought me on the show.
26:13How about that? Someone said, how many of those does Adam know?
26:17Over under half. Yeah, just Bob Dylan. Just Bob Dylan.
26:20All right. And I've gotten older, Adam. I'm also no longer, like, big show guy.
26:25So, I've admitted self-defeat, and I'll never see some of the artists I like anymore.
26:30I now go to a lot of shows, but it's a lot of smaller venues around Chicago, like Empty Bottle, Vic Theater.
26:37The list goes on, of just, like, local bands.
26:40That's kind of my scene now. I've gone way too hipster.
26:44No, but that's the cool thing to do, for sure.
26:47And especially to, like, see these artists before they become big.
26:50Yes. And that way you can say, and yes, this is hipster.
26:54Yeah, I saw clips way back in the day before they really, really blew up.
26:59Did you really? No. This is what you're going to say.
27:03Oh, I thought it was cute. I was like, I didn't paint you like that.
27:07But again, probably no one also put that on me, so it's okay.
27:12There you go. I do like the salt shed, too.
27:15Shout out the chat. Next question here is from Something Football.
27:18Does Dijon Stribling have the widest range of outcomes of any player right now?
27:23So, you can answer that. I'm going to say no.
27:26And if you're going to say no, who does have the widest range of outcomes of any player right now?
27:33Dave Richard. On the spot, asking me who's got the widest range of outcomes.
27:37Okay. First name that came to my mind is Ted Arroa McNally.
27:41Yes, me too. Yeah. Just somebody who, and I got another one after that.
27:46But Ted Arroa could be a top five fantasy receiver, hyper-targeted, becomes an end zone monster.
27:51Carolina's offense is way better than we gave Dave Canales and Brad Idzig for.
27:55And McMillan is just a superstar. The floor is Jalen Coker's better than him.
28:00Jalen Coker out-targets Ted Arroa McMillan. Maybe they run a lot more.
28:04Jonathan Brooks is a thing. And Ted Arroa McMillan becomes second fiddle in that offense.
28:09Here's another name. And this goes right into the guy who you have a trademark slogan for, Adam.
28:15Travion Henderson. Could be a top five receiver. Or running back, excuse me.
28:19But we know, we saw the skill set, not just at Ohio State, but when he had those three games last year
28:26when he was the main guy getting all the work in New England.
28:30We saw what he's capable of doing on plays where it looks like he's bottled up at first.
28:36And then he goes to the other edge and he improvises his way to a 60-plus yard touchdown.
28:42Or he could get eight carries a game and Ramondre Stevenson gets 15 carries a game.
28:47And both of them are just not great for fantasy.
28:50I'm going to go with Jackson Dart. I think we saw how great he can be.
28:55I don't think we've seen how bad he can be.
28:59Training camp is not going off to a great start for them.
29:02I could see him being dropped by like the sixth week of the season.
29:07Or I could see him being a league winner.
29:10In terms of consequential ADP, the first names that come to mind are George Pickens.
29:15Is just because we've also seen George Pickens' history.
29:18Not to mention everyone's painting the Cowboys with the same brush of last year as trailing, lots of throwing.
29:24Like they know what their offense is. They operate through elite passing game.
29:28But their defense is going to be much more sound.
29:31And so I do question the pace in the game scripts that everyone is projecting them for.
29:37I don't think it's going to be the same offense necessarily.
29:40Given that they did become one of the best run defense in the league.
29:45Whenever they acquired Quentin Williams and he played. Not to mention Caleb Downs was rumored as one of the best defensive players.
29:52If not the best in the entire draft. They added some important pieces there.
29:57So I think they're an entirely different team honestly.
29:59And I don't know what that does to the offense.
30:03Rasheed Rice is another one. The fact that we were studying the video of him running away out of jail.
30:09Questioning whether he should be drafted in the second round.
30:12That kind of tells you everything about who the player is.
30:16Only Khalil Shakir had a lower depth of target last year.
30:20So can he still be a ceiling wide receiver when all he's doing is getting the ball near the line of scrimmage?
30:27I don't know. That's why I don't draft much of him.
30:30And then because of the Colts offense. What we saw in regression last year.
30:35At ADP. I still don't know who Tyler Warren is.
30:38And I think he's a very good player. I don't think I'm paying for it though.
30:43Around Emeka, Buka. That tier of receivers. Elite quarterbacks.
30:46Lamar Jackson, Jane Daniels, Jalen Hurts are still there.
30:49I don't think I'm getting Tyler Warren getting his range of outcomes.
30:53Around players I think can rival to lead their positions in scoring.
30:57Adam, we forgot about one player. There's a guy in the universe who every year has either averaged 20 plus PPR points per game.
31:05Or has blown a giant hole in your fantasy lineup and cost you.
31:09Can I guess? A fair minimum has made it an uphill battle for you to even make the playoffs.
31:15Yes, you can guess. Christian McCaffrey. Exactly. There is nobody who has a...
31:19It's not necessarily a range of outcomes. It's two outcomes.
31:22He's either going to be your hero or he's going to be the reason why you don't make the playoffs.
31:29Yeah. Coming off the 10th most touches of the 21st century.
31:32What can go wrong? Yeah, right. Yeah. We have done all the digging on this and 450 plus touches, age 30, his own history.
31:40And yet, I don't know where you rank him, John.
31:43And yet, I still can't get him out of my top 10 overall.
31:48Oh, yeah. It's not about ranking him. The middle of the board.
31:51Like, so last year, first year on ADP was correct and tight.
31:55And so that naturally led me to not draft Saquon Barkley.
31:59I shouldn't say not. I was drafting Christian McCaffrey.
32:02I built my entire personality around. Like, this offseason, my entire personality is built around gardening.
32:07I've just become that guy now. Last year, it was all about Christian McCaffrey.
32:12So, B. John Robinson, Christian McCaffrey. I drafted literally 100% of the time over Saquon Barkley, nitpicking the 482 touches that then
32:19led him to drop 7.7 points per game and be the RB14 last year in weekly points.
32:24Having said that, ADP this season is more wide open.
32:27I think it's a tier of five players you unquestionably draft in Gibbs, Bijon, Chase, Puka, and JSN, whatever order you want.
32:35Don't care, even though I think Gibbs is the very clear 101.
32:38After that, though, much more wide open, including the middle of the board, where there is a chance the next tier of
32:46running backs, like Chase Brown or Amari and Hampton, come back.
32:49And you can still start with a hero RB build if you skip on Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor.
32:55Thus, that has led me to take more Justin Jefferson and Monroe St.
32:59Brown at 106 and 107, understanding the volatility that comes with Christian McCaffrey.
33:04So, it just depends on how you draft. So, it's not really about me pushing McCaffrey outside of the top 10.
33:10It's just based on my analysis and how I draft.
33:14That's great. Yeah, I mean, that's great analysis there.
33:17All right, let's get one more email and then we'll get into our draft-a-thon questions before our interview starts.
33:23And this one's from Charles. And he's saying that looking back over the last 10 to 15 years and NFL running backs
33:30who went in the top 10 of the NFL draft, McCaffrey, Zeke, Saquon Barkley, Bijon, Gentee, Fournette.
33:35I think, wasn't McCaffrey top 10 too? He was.
33:38Yeah, so he left him out. I think he was eighth overall.
33:42He didn't leave him out. It's literally the first name on the list.
33:46Oh, my God. And I read it. My bad.
33:49It's early. Some were mega hits. I believe Gentee was the worst of them all in PPR at RB15 per game.
33:56I think you're right about that, Charles. Jeremiah Love is RB14.
34:00Is he being drafted ahead of his floor? I feel like the worst case scenario is 2025 Gentee.
34:06Pretty good call. It's an interesting call. John, you got a feeling on this one?
34:10Not necessarily feeling, but I do think his ADP is completely fair.
34:14And I have him in the same tier as Brees Hall because they're at least the archetypes of players that we don't
34:21mind swinging for the fences with whenever they fall.
34:24Guys with high target shares who are explosive players who do everything.
34:28So, if you're telling me now, whereas Bijon and Gibbs were first-round rookies and Ashton Gentee going at the first, second-round turn,
34:35and Jeremiah Love is not even close to that.
34:38He's going around a round and a half later.
34:41Just the kind of player I bet on. Ryan Heath at Fantasy Points has been doing amazing work with what matters for fantasy or not all offseason.
34:50And one of the things he mentioned was that the first-round running backs to have a 110-plus speed score at their sizes
34:57were Jameer Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, Travis Etienne, Leonard Fournette, and Ezekiel Elliott.
35:01And that's a bucket that Jeremiah Love also fits into.
35:04So, I'd just like to zoom out and say I can take that bucket of players, bet on historical outcomes in the third, you know, mid-third, fourth round.
35:13I'm just going to do that and cross my fingers.
35:16Yeah, what a great point that is. And then also, I just think the email from Charles.
35:22He is going as RB14, roughly there. Is he going to be basically the worst rookie running back that was drafted in
35:29the top 10 in the last decade or more?
35:32Or is he going to be Ashton Gentee? Ashton Gentee currently is the worst there.
35:37But Gentee was still probably worth a third-round pick.
35:40I mean, he could have done a little better.
35:43He certainly could have done a lot worse. So, it's good context.
35:47Gentee gets such a bad rep, too, for that offensive line.
35:50The play calling was horrible. The offensive line was literally the worst in the league by every metric you look at.
35:57That's why we talked about structures of drafting. The end is so much better than the end last year because you can double-tap confidently running back this year.
36:06That includes, like, James Cook perhaps falling. But if he doesn't, there is still Ashton Gentee and Saquon Barkley who are probably
36:13going to be there 100% of the time because everyone still has the disgust left on their rosters from last year.
36:20But those are two terrific bets to make this season.
36:23Yeah. We like Chase Brown, I think, better than both those guys.
36:27Right, Dave? Chase Brown's the same tier. That's totally fine.
36:30Yeah, yeah. Well, we like John Diggle quite a bit, too.
36:34It was great having you on. John, thank you very much.
36:37Tell everybody how we can find you, hear you, all these wonderful things.
36:42Long-time listener, first-time caller, so I appreciate the invite to come on.
36:45And you can find me at NotJDiggle on Twitter, which remains my worst career decision of the last 11 years since I got Twitter.
36:53NotJDiggle, even though my name is John Diggle. And then, of course, at Establish the Run where the Establish the Run podcast and YouTube channel are free.
37:02Just make sure to watch the FFToday videos at different times separately from the ETR videos.
37:07You want to stream both at the same time?
37:10We don't care. They're clicks. They still count. Record it.
37:13Record it if you stream both at the same time because I'm just interested in seeing that.
37:19Well, we have, if you can believe it, an even more special guest coming up in just a moment.
37:25Thanks to John Diggle. We're going to take a break here, come back and talk with one of our St.
37:31Jude patients after this. You know, as I've gotten older and gotten married and had kids, I've started to realize what's really important in life.
37:40And I think we all know what that is.
37:42And I want to add that life insurance is also very important.
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39:20Vehicle's projected resale value is specific to the 2026 model year.
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39:29Toyota, let's go places. I want to thank everybody who has donated so far.
39:34We have raised $86,476 for St. Jude. Our goal was $200,000.
39:37We've got about three weeks left to make it happen.
39:40Join the FFT Open or just donate. You can pay $50 to have your mailbag question read on the show.
39:47And we do have a bunch of those, which we will get to shortly.
39:51But right now, we've got to bring in Nick London.
39:55Nick, welcome to Fantasy Football Today. How are you, man?
39:58I'm good. Glad to be here. It's always – I just love talking to you to the former St.
40:04Jude patient so you can tell us about the organization and what it meant for you and your family.
40:10But tell us about yourself before that. A little about me, Nick London.
40:14Getting ready to graduate from the University of Memphis in December.
40:18Grew up playing ball. My dad played ball here in the city, Paris, London, in the city of Memphis.
40:24Come from a family of seven. So, yeah, big family.
40:27Yeah. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation. That's awesome. Appreciate it.
40:31Tell us about how you got – how St.
40:33Jude came into your life and helped you out.
40:36Well, my story begins back in 2014. I was playing basketball, doing my thing.
40:41I got invited to CP3 camp, all that good stuff.
40:44Everything was looking up. But as I got into my ninth grade year, I started getting knots in my stomach, dark circles
40:51around my eyes, just not feeling like myself. Lack of energy.
40:55Lack of motivation to really do anything. And my mom was like, okay, enough is enough.
41:00Let's go ahead and take him to the doctor and see what's wrong.
41:04And this was around my third week of school, high school, ninth grade.
41:08We get to the doctor's office. My mom thinks I'm anemic.
41:12They take my blood. And from there, our doctor immediately sent us over to St.
41:17Jude. So that's kind of how I was introduced to St.
41:20Jude. I used to see the commercials and stuff like that all the time.
41:25But I never really had a real relationship or a real understanding of what St.
41:30Jude did. But that was my awakening. And one of the things I guess I didn't realize before we started doing this
41:37draft-a-thon, I think we're in our ninth year now, is that St.
41:41Jude doesn't just help the patient. It's for the entire family, right?
41:45So can you talk about what the services they provide for the families and why it's so important to give to St.
41:52Jude for people like you and also your families who are going through such a difficult time?
41:57Oh, well, the first thing is they don't charge us at all.
42:01And we know how if you've dealt with anybody that's been sick or been in the hospital, we know how those bills can rack up.
42:09And it's something that deters people sometimes from seeking help because of the financial loss.
42:14So that's the first thing. The second thing is not only do they help people from the city.
42:20I was fortunate enough to be from Memphis. They bring people in.
42:24They fly you in. They let you stay at the Ronald McDonald House all for free.
42:29And then when you get to St. Jude, the one in Memphis, the one I'm familiar with, there's plenty of amenities, not
42:36just for the patients, but the kids as well.
42:39They have play areas. They have the cafe, which is open to all.
42:43They have Starbucks and everything else is inside. Like they truly try to make you take your mind off the fact that you're dealing with something life-threatening.
42:52They try their best to make themselves, you know, an extension of your family.
42:57So, yeah. Dave, I've had all the questions. Go ahead, sir.
43:00Well, did you say your father's name is Paris London?
43:03It is. And he played football. Was he a lineman?
43:07He played basketball. He played basketball. Okay. There was a long time ago when I was starting out that there was a
43:14lineman who I remember evaluating in Paris London. So I heard that name and I went, oh, I wonder if that's, and
43:21I think he went to Memphis too. So I wondered if that was your dad, but your dad played basketball.
43:27Okay, fine. How long have you been playing fantasy football, Nick?
43:31I haven't been playing fantasy football very long. Me and my friends have done it, what, two years now?
43:37Okay. So not long. How'd you do? How'd you do?
43:40Right. That's obviously the next question. Oh, I lost.
43:43Yeah, I lost. I'm not, like, I try my best to, you know, get my star a lot, pick my reads and,
43:50you know, people get hurt and it's just like, ah, you know.
43:54There's so many uncontrollables with it where it's like, you know, I try not to get to it.
44:00Because, you know, we, I don't know if I can say it on here, but, you know, we like to have like a little pot, you know.
44:09Sure, sure. Yeah, so, you know, it always sucks when you don't get it.
44:13It sure does. But you know what? There's so much that's not.
44:17I had employees in a league where his family puts M&Ms in.
44:21The buy-in is like five M&Ms and the winner gets stale M&Ms six months later.
44:26Maybe that's what we need to do. Yeah, I'd prefer the type of league that you've got going in.
44:32That sounds a lot more interesting to me. The best thing is you've been only playing for two years.
44:38I hope and I think you're going to be playing for the next 30 years.
44:43You're going to keep it going. Okay. For sure.
44:46Yeah. The best way is. Can't give up on fantasy after two years if you haven't won yet.
44:52It's really, you rarely hear stories about people who play fantasy for the first time and then win the league in the first year.
45:00Even me, way back in the day, took me a few years to finally figure things out.
45:05And after 20 years of playing, I finally won a league.
45:09No, it wasn't. Okay. What's the advice? I need to win.
45:12Well, the first thing that I tell people is you have to pay attention all year.
45:17You can't just draft a team and then not show up again until Sunday and then don't show up again until the Sunday after.
45:25You have to make a little bit of a commitment to going over your lineup a couple times a week, picking players off the waiver wire.
45:34I think it's just as important as drafting well is finding the right guys off the waiver wire.
45:39And you don't want to be the fantasy manager who accidentally starts a guy who's on by or is hurt or you've
45:47got somebody on your bench that's going to get you two points and you know they're only going to get you two points.
45:54When you go to check your lineup at 1230 and you go, oh, Malik Nabors got hurt last week.
46:00My best wide receiver is Christian Kirk and that's the only guy I really have on my bench.
46:06So I might as well just start him without even thinking about going to the waiver wire or trying to make a trade or do anything else.
46:15It's just like anything else in life, Nick. The effort that you put into something, the more you're going to get out of it.
46:23And fantasy football is no different. So as long as you make the effort and I'm not talking about three hours a
46:30day, although there are some people who I know who put in that much effort.
46:35But 20 minutes every other day will probably get the job done and you'll be a better fantasy manager for it.
46:41Okay. Well, I'm going to apply that today. They love the aspects of my life.
46:46Reap what you sell. I got it. There you go.
46:49Absolutely. Well, thank you for coming on. You know, you're an inspiration for a lot of people and I hope you can
46:57inspire anyone in the audience who's sitting there and you haven't given yet.
47:01We'd love for you to contribute to this. Again, tinyurl.com slash FFTdonate2026.
47:05Tinyurl.com slash FFTdonate2026 or just Google Fantasy Football Today Draftathon or FFT Draftathon or something like that and you'll get the Tiltify page.
47:12You can donate right there. Nick, good luck to you this season.
47:16Congratulations again on graduating and we hope to hear from you soon.
47:20All right. Thank you. See you, Ax. All right.
47:23Later, Nick. Now, Dave, for the people, by the way, Dave, with the even I took me even a few years to win a fantasy league.
47:31The great Dave Richard. Well, I mean, it was like the late 90s.
47:35Yeah. But I used to be that guy. I used to be the guy that was like, oh, I'll just draft a
47:43team and then I'll look at my lineup on Sunday.
47:46Sure. Or even worse, not look at my lineup on Sunday.
47:49I was a college kid. So just imagine, you know, there's college kids now who I know very well who forget to
47:56set their lineup and are panicking and it's 1250 and they're texting their dads saying, hey, who do I start?
48:03And I'm on a live stream, kid. Get off my phone.
48:06And then they lose for the week and blame it on me.
48:10But I'm used to that. I'm used to people blaming their fantasy losses on me or you.
48:16Who was the first? Who was the best player on your first championship team?
48:20Do you remember? Clinton Portis. Oh, my God. Me too.
48:24He won a lot of people, a lot of fantasy leagues.
48:27But you were out of college at that point.
48:30You're saying you started in college. It took me a little while to win a fantasy league.
48:36I wasn't. Started in college. Lying. Yeah. I started in college.
48:39Yeah. And then as it goes, the story was after I sucked in 2000.
48:44So we're talking four years of sucking in fantasy football.
48:47And I told myself, all right, I'm going to spend the entire offseason tracking every single move in the NFL.
48:53And I'm working at Sportsline at this point. So in the building at CBS Sports every day.
48:59So I had no excuses. I was obviously seeing news come in every single day during the offseason.
49:05And I said, I'm going to follow the news all offseason long.
49:09And if I can't win a fantasy league the year after that, I'm done.
49:13And I won a league. I was in two leagues.
49:16I won one league. And then I won the other league the year after that.
49:21And now I've been rolling and made a whole career out of it.
49:25And it's been fun. I don't think you would have been done because it was so fun.
49:31You wouldn't have been. No, I would have been done.
49:34I would have been. You say that. I was so frustrated.
49:38The frustration that I had was right up there with how I felt about golfing.
49:43And you know how I hate golf. I can't golf.
49:46So I had to give up. I got so angry over it.
49:50And I used to get so angry about fantasy.
49:53And then I figured out what I needed to do.
49:56And it's the same advice I tell everybody in December and in January when people stop listening to our show.
50:02It's stay with the show. Stay dialed into the league.
50:06You'll be a better fantasy manager for it. So was it Portis' rookie season?
50:10Yeah. Okay. You and I won our first fantasy leagues in the same year behind Clinton Portis.
50:16Yeah. That's cool. That's awesome. He was great. Got him in a keeper league and won the year after that, too.
50:22Thanks, Clint. Let's read some questions here from you very generous people who pay to have your question answered.
50:29Joe Capalbo. Joe. Long time listener. 10-team PPR league.
50:32One QB. Three receivers and two flexes. Woo. All right.
50:35We need a keeper. Rasheed Rice in the seventh.
50:38Malik Neighbors in the tenth. Or Colson Loveland in the tenth.
50:41Oh, my gosh. And you can only keep one of them.
50:45It's either Neighbors or Loveland for me. You can make the case for both.
50:49I think if you're uncomfortable with where Neighbors is in his recovery at this point, you can keep Loveland.
50:56And then you've got him locked in. I mean, I'm assuming you can keep these guys long term.
51:01You can have Loveland as your stud tight end in a ten-team league for a long time.
51:07I think I'm... If I know that Neighbors is back to his old self, this is an easy one for me.
51:14It's Neighbors. If I don't know it, it's Loveland.
51:17If the consensus top five overall players are already gone at pick four, what is your preferred...
51:22That's tough to do. Well, it's Keeper League. Keeper League.
51:25Oh, I see. He has the fourth pick. What is your preferred roster-building strategy through the first four to five rounds?
51:32I mean, if it's a ten-team league and ten players are being kept, I don't think there's going to be too much
51:39of a difference about who will be available. Maybe not in round one, but certainly once you get to round three or
51:46round four, it'll be about the same. I really liked the conversation we had on Friday about that round four group of wide receivers.
51:54And trying to build out a strategy that you'll write in pencil because you should always adjust to how your draft is unfolding.
52:02As Heath likes to say, seriously, no intentional positional strategy when you go into a draft, otherwise known as SNPs.
52:08I think if we go with two running backs with the first three picks, I think that's going to be my favorite way to go about it.
52:17One wide receiver mixed in and then hope for a tight end value to fall somewhere between rounds four through six.
52:24If there's no tight end there in round four, the receiver seems like a really good spot to go to.
52:30Andy G says, hey, Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, and Mike.
52:33Ronnie, Dolphins running backs? Ronnie is, Ricky is. I'd have to think on the Bobby and the...
52:38Probably not Bobby and Mike. There would be like a Larry in there.
52:43Also could be Bell Biv DeVoe, according to Google.
52:46Okay. Okay. Oh, it's members of the OG new edition.
52:49He says it right there in the question. Why didn't I see that?
52:53I don't know. You could have answered it that way and then you could have been like, yeah, no new edition for years.
53:01Entering my 11th fantasy football season, been listening for several years.
53:04Oh, this is just a thank you. This is just a donation.
53:08So thank you for your donation. And, you know, I think new edition is one of those musical acts where we can't
53:15name a bunch of songs they sing. But if we heard them and then we're told, oh, it's new edition, we'd be like, oh, yeah, yeah, of course.
53:24Yeah. That's Bobby Brown, right? New edition? I think so.
53:27Yeah. Yes. Bobby Brown, who sings the song from Ghostbusters 2, which is the better Ghostbusters.
53:33Yeah. Okay. It was a new edition. Yes. Two questions from Fish in Los Angeles.
53:37Okay. Once a keeper question. Half PPR, two running backs, two receivers.
53:41I can keep two players this year and next year with the round.
53:46They're in the round. They're drafted and it goes up one round a year.
53:50Got it. Chris Olave in the seventh. Javante Williams in the ninth.
53:54Pretty good. Nabuca in the fifth. Pitts in the 10th or the winner Luther Burden in the 13th.
54:00Ooh, mama. So there's three. It's Olave, it's Javante, and it's Burden.
54:04I think I would lean toward the receivers that are Olave and Burden.
54:08And then his name is Fish. And he says, this is my third year participating in the FFT Open.
54:14Last year, I signed up for Scott Fish's league.
54:17We both share the last name. I go by Fish to everyone, friends, coworkers, and I put my team name as The Other Fish.
54:25Unfortunately, come draft day, our draft was paused for a bit as Scott thought he was auto-drafting when he saw a name
54:32with Fish in it taking CeeDee Lamb. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
54:40I'm cracking up because that is exactly something Scott Fish would do.
54:43That is good. That is 100% Scott Fish. For this season, I thought I'd have a less confusing name, so please help me make my team name.
54:52Quick facts about me. I am a former Olympic-trained swimmer.
54:55I'm an avid Lego builder. I am a video game voiceover director and actor.
55:00This guy sounds amazing. Yeah. And he's a cancer survivor.
55:03Wow. He relied on Jameer Gibbs, Michael Wilson, and the Texans DST to win two leagues last year.
55:09So we need a name for this swimmer, Lego builder, video game voiceover director and actor, cancer survivor.
55:15The other Scott Fish. Let's see. I mean, the Legos.
55:18How about Lego Fish? Lego Scott Fish. You know, they have like Lego Batman and all that.
55:24I think he should call his team Scott Fish and really confuse the hell out of the real Scott Fish.
55:30This is really tough. I think Lego Scott Fish is my final answer.
55:34I'm sorry it's not that good. Of all the things that stood out to you about what this man has accomplished, it's
55:41the Lego building that has stood out that's wowed you?
55:45Well, I'm... He's killed cancer. He works on video games, and he's an Olympic-trained swimmer.
55:50Ooh, the... But the dude can build Legos, man.
55:52Wow! The Renaissance Fish from Frank. I like that one.
55:56That's pretty good. The real fish. Real big fish.
55:59Real big fish is not bad. Yeah, real big fish.
56:02I would just continue to mess with Scott Fish as much as possible.
56:06Scott Fish 2.0 we're getting here. All right, you have some choices.
56:10This is a keeper question from... Carrie, maybe? I'm going to keep Ken Walker in the fourth round and Quinn...
56:16How about Lou Arkari? Yeah. Yeah, Lou Arkari. I'm going to keep Ken...
56:21A little dabble, do you? Kenneth Walker in the fourth round and Judkins in the eighth.
56:26And I have the first overall pick. So, should I start with the star running back and then two receivers in the...
56:33And then two wide receivers in the next round or vice versa?
56:37I don't know what the question is here. You have to start three receivers.
56:41But he's keeping two running backs and he has the first overall pick.
56:46Are we sure that... I mean, we don't know who's going to be left with that first overall pick.
56:52So, if it's one of the stud running backs, I don't see how you can pass them.
56:57Especially if it's not one of the top four wide receivers.
57:01Like, isn't it possible that Chase, JSN... This isn't in order.
57:04I'll do it in order. Chase, Puka, JSN, Amonra are kept.
57:08And if they're kept, I'm not going to take CeeDee Lamb over one of the elite tier running backs.
57:14I'm not going to take anyone over the... Well, I like Chase better than Bijan, but I'm not taking anyone over Gibbs.
57:21I don't care how many running backs I'm keeping.
57:24Right, but Gibbs could be kept too. Yeah, he could be.
57:28And then look at this sentence. Second pick on turn, my second pick at the turn 3X.
57:33Oh, no, at the third. Second pick on turn, my second pick at the turn 3X.
57:38All your base are belong to us. And then we have one from...
57:43Wispas House. 10-team PPR league, three receivers... I'm glad you can read.
57:46Not really. Three receivers, two running backs, two flexes.
57:49Keep Javante Williams in the 12th or Kyle Pitts in the 17th?
57:53Okay, you know how I feel about Pitts. 17th round on Kyle Pitts is really good.
57:58You know, 12th round on Javante is really good too.
58:02I think I'm trying to come around on Kyle Pitts a little bit.
58:06I can't even do it here. I'm going to take Javante.
58:09Honestly, at that point in the draft, the value doesn't really matter that much.
58:14I mean, such... Right, so who do you take first between those two?
58:18It's going to be Javante Williams every single time and twice on Sundays.
58:22And the 3X times on holidays. Dave, I have a message for The Rat.
58:27Okay? Oh. The Rat is a beloved commissioner of a longstanding league.
58:31And he quit the league. He doesn't want to be in it anymore.
58:35He doesn't want to be the commissioner. And his friends have tried really hard to get him to come back.
58:41They're badgering him on the group text. And it's not working.
58:45So he listens to the show. And they wanted us to try to convince him.
58:50So The Rat, don't quit on your league. Your friends want you back in the league.
58:55I think you should do it. You are lucky to have friends that value you as a league member as much as they do.
59:03Get back to work, you bum. Get back in the league.
59:06And be the commissioner, Rat. Well, you forgot the other part of that, which is everybody in the league is going to
59:14pay you 50 bucks each if you come back.
59:16Is that right? No. No. No. You're right. It's 100 bucks each.
59:20No, it's not. Rat, please come back. There's money on top of it.
59:25You can cut your friend Dave a little bit of it.
59:28Dave, you were right. Sort of. Everyone in the league, because we read this on the air, and we got the Rat
59:35back in the league, everyone in the league is going to make a $50 donation to St.
59:41Jude at tinyurl.com slash FFTdonate2026. On your behalf. So congratulations.
59:44You just raised $550 for St. Jude. Right. And $100 from each person in the league on top of it.
59:50That goes right to Rat's pocket. He can spend it on anything he wants.
59:55That's how much his friends love him. Man, I wish I had friends like that that would do that.
60:01Adam, you've never given me $100 in your life.
60:04And I never will. It's time for the Fantasy Cops.
60:07Dear Axel, Popeye, Harry, and John. What? What is this?
60:11I think I'm going to know. Axel Popeye. Yeah, I don't know.
60:14All right, I'm going to have to Google it.
60:17I just did. It didn't work. I got a tricky issue that my 10-plus year running Keeper League is in a bit of a spot.
60:25A day or two before the championship game, the Josh Allen manager drops...
60:30Oh. What? Is it like, is it 80s action heroes?
60:33You got it. It's actually film detectives. Can you name each one?
60:37I can name Axel and John. Okay. Harry. No, who's Harry?
60:40Oh, like Dirty Harry? Dirty Harry. Great job. Who's Harry Callahan?
60:44Who's Popeye? Yeah, I wouldn't get that one. Popeye Doyle from The French Connection.
60:48Oh, no. No idea. And we know, of course, Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop.
60:53Hawkewell. And John McClane. Of course. From Die Hard.
60:56A Christmas movie. Yes. Continue with the reading, please.
60:59Okay, a day or two before... You know what?
61:02A day or two before the championship game, the Josh Allen manager drops him for a weekly ad because he was ineligible to be kept per our rules.
61:11And since the standard waiver clearing period would run after the championship, the manager assumed there wouldn't be any chance to add
61:18Josh Allen because the season would be over and we don't have off-season ad drops.
61:23But our site ran the waiver claim. And per our default rules, now Josh Allen can be kept by the new manager for a seventh-round pick.
61:31The dropping manager isn't mad about it and willing to let it slide.
61:36And we've had way crazier, legit keeper values than Allen for a seventh.
61:40But more than a handful of managers want it reversed.
61:43What say you, fantasy adjudicators? The new manager gets Josh Allen for the seventh-round keeper.
61:48Yep. Sorry, bud. You're the one that cut him.
61:51You know what the ramifications are when you cut somebody in fantasy.
61:55That's the whole point. And if he really wanted to, hold on, if he really wanted to wait, he could have cut
62:02Josh Allen at the very last possible second, like Sunday morning, picked up who he wanted, and then no one would have gotten their hands on Josh Allen.
62:11No. The manager who saw Josh Allen get dropped made the effort to add him with the idea being that he could keep him next year.
62:19That's taking advantage of the situation, and that's not breaking the rules.
62:23I think- No rules were broken. No. Nothing happened.
62:26There was no, it doesn't sound like there's any type of compromising problem here.
62:31Certainly. I think it's fine. You got to let it stand.
62:34You don't like it? Of course you don't like it.
62:38No, no, no. You misinterpreted. I think you misinterpreted what happened.
62:41I think he dropped him. He dropped him two days before the championship.
62:45Yeah. And the rules say there are no off-season ad drops.
62:49The waiver claim was processed after the championship. Yeah.
62:52Hold on. The waiver claim was processed after the championship.
62:55In my opinion, it never should have gone through.
62:58It did. It was a mistake. It shouldn't have happened.
63:01And you may not care that much about this one because whatever, Josh Allen in the seventh round, but there could be
63:08a much more egregious one in a different year.
63:11So I think it should be reversed. This waiver claim never should have gone through, and I say absolutely not.
63:18Have I convinced you? No, not at all. There's no collusion here.
63:22There's no funny business here. The guy dropped a player before the end of the season deadline, let's call it.
63:28And the platform processed the waiver claim as it would anybody else.
63:32If he had dropped a second kicker, the platform would have processed it the exact same way.
63:37You've got a problem with how fast the platform went about putting through the waiver claim.
63:43And the end result was a smart manager who picked up Josh Allen, didn't break any rules, and neither did the guy that dropped Josh Allen.
63:51There's nothing nefarious about it. The manager that picked up Josh Allen gets to keep him for a seven.
63:57I have spoken. I may have been wrong. I don't know if the waiver claim processed after the championship, but I know
64:04it was supposed to have processed after the championship.
64:07I think that's what happened. But it didn't. It did not.
64:11That's the platform messing up. The platform messed up.
64:14He dropped Josh Allen in a way where Josh Allen never should have been available.
64:19Never should have been available. And this manager benefits from it.
64:22Poppycock. There's no way he gets Josh Allen. What do you mean you're with Dave?
64:27Husky Huskies. You should not be with Dave on this.
64:30Thank you, Husky. Should be like bad guy, rye rye.
64:33You should be with Adam. Good for you. All right.
64:37Well, that was not helpful. Thank you very much for watching and listening to Fantasy Football today.
64:42Have a wonderful weekend. We will talk to you Monday.
64:45Jamie will be back. We've got sleepers, breakouts, and busts next week.
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