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The Dominator - Taking a Stand with Samwise

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.

1 hr 11 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 3, 2026
Published
Fri, July 3, 2026
22
Player insights
22
Players mentioned
Topics
Aaron RodgersAnthony HankersonBrandon AiyukBrian Thomas Jr.Brock BowersCeeDee LambChristian WatsonDavante AdamsDavid MontgomeryDemond ClaiborneJadarian PriceJalen CokerJames CookJeremiyah Love
Player analysis

Player insights

22

Aaron Rodgers

PositiveRole44:24

Samwise notes that once Aaron Rodgers started realizing how much he could rely on Gainwell, the running back became a startable fantasy player every week, illustrating the importance of quarterback-running back chemistry.

Insight page

Anthony Hankerson

NegativeRole47:27

Samwise notes Henderson is fine as a receiver and electric in space, but he was supposed to be a good blocker coming out of college and has failed to deliver on that promise. His blocking deficiency limits his third-down role and fantasy upside compared to Ramondre Stevenson, who is better at both pass protection and receiving.

Insight page

Brandon Aiyuk

PositiveSleeper60:00

Samwise expresses strong belief in Brandon Aiyuk's potential if healthy, noting he came out like a cannon his rookie year once he got on the field and could be a great fantasy piece; he is not expensive right now and Samwise is taking shots on him in drafts.

Insight page

Brian Thomas Jr.

NegativeRole26:48

Brian Thomas Jr. relied heavily on deep X routes in college, similar to Marvin Harrison Jr. With Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, who doesn't excel at deep ball placement and prefers underneath throws, Thomas's college production may not translate. The scheme change and quarterback fit limit his fantasy upside despite his talent.

Insight page

Brock Bowers

PositiveProjection7:18

Brock Bowers is projected to jump significantly up the tight end rankings in tight end premium scoring format, indicating strong tight end value and upside in that scoring variant.

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CeeDee Lamb

PositiveProjection32:39

Samwise expects Lamb to remain the clear WR1 in Dallas as long as he stays healthy; Pickens' 2024 breakout was contingent on Lamb's absence, confirming Lamb as the anchor of the Dallas passing game.

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Christian Watson

PositiveRole23:00

Christian Watson is the exception to Samwise's general avoidance of Green Bay Packers receivers due to unpredictable target distribution. Samwise is willing to target Watson despite laying off most Packers pass catchers.

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Davante Adams

NegativeProjection57:00

Samwise prefers Mike Evans over Devante Adams, citing unsustainable touchdown regression (14 TDs on 114 targets last year), declining offensive efficiency, McVay's preference for tight ends (potentially running 14 personnel with four TEs), and Adams's age as concerns; he does not expect Adams to repeat last year's TD production.

Insight page

David Montgomery

PositiveProjection61:16

Samwise has flipped from out on Montgomery last year to in on him this year; he is buying Montgomery across formats (dynasty, best ball, redraft flex) because Houston's strong offensive line and run-game focus, combined with Montgomery's pass-catching ability and goal-line role, position him for a great season; he notes Montgomery is a starting RB with proven pass-catching prowess.

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Demond Claiborne

NegativeDepth Chart53:46

Samwise expects DeMond Claiborne will take longer to break through the depth chart behind Mason and Jones unless he has an exceptional camp. He is not expected to be a near-term fantasy option.

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Jadarian Price

NegativeRole48:25

Samwise was skeptical of Price going into the draft and was surprised Seattle took him in the back end of the first round. Price didn't catch many balls in college and is horrible at pass protection, making him a liability on third down. His advanced metrics when given opportunities didn't show top-level starting RB production.

Insight page

Jalen Coker

PositiveBreakout36:23

Samwise is bullish on Coker as the WR1 on the Cardinals if he stays healthy, with Ted McMillan functioning as a complementary piece who gets him close to the end zone and Coker cashing in. Coker has demonstrated red zone scoring ability and is undervalued in ADP relative to his upside.

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James Cook

PositiveValue28:48

Samwise strongly recommends holding James Cook in win-now dynasty situations over trading for Jaylen Judkins and Xavier Worthy combined. Cook is described as the picture of consistency both running and receiving, making him an elite anchor for championship windows. Judkins is unproven at top tier and on a bad team, while Worthy is at best a secondary/tertiary target in Kansas City with the Chiefs continually adding more players with his skill set.

Insight page

Jeremiyah Love

PositiveValue23:30

Jeremiah Love offers potential payoff value as the Arizona Cardinals running back at a significantly cheaper ADP than his predecessor Ashton Gentry. Samwise also notes Love is clearly the better option in Seattle's backfield compared to Jadarian Price and is expected to get the ball on most first and second downs unless Seattle trails often, which is unlikely based on last year's performance.

Insight page

Jordan Mason

PositiveProjection53:37

Samwise believes Jordan Mason is being slept on and will enter the year as the Vikings starter. He has a solid floor and does not have a terribly high ceiling, but if the Vikings offense improves (which Samwise expects), longer drives and better QB play will open bigger holes and provide more touchdown equity. Mason is the goal-line back.

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LeQuint Allen

PositiveRole45:27

Samwise identifies Allen as Jacksonville's best pass-catching running back option, noting he can both run between the tackles and catch passes. With Basial Tootin setting records for pass protection inefficiency and Chris Rodriguez having poor hands, Allen is the only viable third-down back and pass-catcher in the backfield.

Insight page

Marvin Harrison Jr.

NegativeRole23:30

Marvin Harrison Jr. was mistrafted because the NFL overvalues pure speed at the X receiver position. Samwise contends Harrison lacks separation at the line, doesn't have elite NFL speed, and can't run past NFL defensive backs—skills that define true WR1s. The issue is not scheme but player limitations in route running and line-of-scrimmage ability. Additionally, Harrison is appropriately priced but will not win leagues due to limited volume in the Arizona Cardinals offense; even if healthy, the presence of Jeremiah Love and overall offensive constraints prevent him from accumulating sufficient targets and production.

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Ryan Flournoy

PositiveSleeper38:48

Samwise highlights Flournoy as an undervalued sleeper in Dallas, noting he was getting looks even when both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were healthy. If either top receiver gets injured, Flournoy becomes a major offensive cog working the short/intermediate area. He is virtually free in drafts (last 2-3 rounds) and has the talent to attract targets.

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Trey McBride

PositiveProjection24:00

Trey McBride's 2024 ceiling year cannot be repeated; he has never been a big touchdown scorer historically, and his TD production last year was a tail outcome aided by Jacoby Brissett feeding tight ends relentlessly. With potential quarterback changes (Carson Beck, Minshew) looming, McBride's target volume and efficiency could decline significantly. At current ADP, Samwise is not targeting him and would need to see him fall further in draft position before becoming willing to select him.

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Tyreek Hill

PositiveValue21:00

Tyreek Hill is not showing as much value at his current ADP this year compared to past seasons because he is the only weapon in Miami's offense, which means defensive coordinators will key on him and limit his production. Per Samwise, this concentration of target share creates a defensive liability rather than an advantage.

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Woody Marks

NegativeRole61:43

Samwise does not see Woody Marks as more than a break-tendency back; David Montgomery is expected to be the goal-line guy, and Marks will only get carries once in a great while.

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Xavier Worthy

PositiveRole29:16

Samwise argues Worthy is at best a secondary or tertiary target in Kansas City, with the Chiefs continually adding more players with his skill set every year, creating a crowded situation. He is not worth paying for in dynasty trades.

Insight page
Full transcript

Episode Transcript

701
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1:02Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same.
1:07Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that?
1:13No. Just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside?
1:19No. Just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different.
1:23And Messi only trusts Duracell. Welcome to the Dominator.
1:27I'm your fantasy conciliary, Dan Williamson, the overhyped sleeper.
1:30You can find me on x at overhyped sleeper.
1:33Just drop that final e from sleeper. And then joining me today is our very own Sam Schneider of Player Profiler.
1:41He was majorly involved in putting together the Player Profiler Draft Guide.
1:45He's been playing the fantasy game for many years.
1:49He's got some really fun player takes and theories, and I want to dive into those.
1:55So let's get into it. Before we say any more, it's time to dominate.
2:00All right. Here he is. How are you doing, Sam?
2:03Man, if I was any better, there'd be two of me.
2:07Excellent. Well, I've been looking forward to getting the chance to talk to you ever since I got to know you a little bit as my editor.
2:17And so thanks for agreeing to join me today.
2:21And before we get too deep into it, let the people know where can they find your work and what's your handle on the socials?
2:30Absolutely. You can find me on Twitter at buy and sell you.
2:34It's all one word. I go by that pretty much on everything, Instagram, all that stuff.
2:40And most of my work is on Player Profiler.
2:43I do a lot of editing, as Dan said.
2:47I also have a show during redraft season during the season on PlayerProfiler now called Fantasy Whiplash.
2:53And and then I also do a lot of work with Yards for Fantasy and Alex Johnson over there.
3:00So usually on the air, probably about four times a week during the season.
3:05So right now we're just we're counting down the days and getting through the dynasty.
3:11And I'm already starting to get into the best ball, too.
3:15Yeah, definitely. Never too early to get into best ball without a doubt.
3:19Your show that's during the season, the Fantasy Whiplash, is that a tell people what that's about?
3:26Fantasy Whiplash is what it sounds like. It's a little bit of everything.
3:30And we don't you know, we take the turns fast.
3:34You know what I mean? So, you know, we'll do our takes and we'll talk about whatever's going on.
3:41We go through the news. We go through the result of some of the games.
3:47We go through injuries and who should be picked up.
3:50So we're touching on waivers and that sort of stuff.
3:54And I've got a couple of different hosts over there that are kind of a revolving door.
4:00Joe Frick from FSA in as well as Roxanne Cassie.
4:04And I mean, the list goes on and Alex from the Arts for Fantasy as well.
4:10So we it's real relaxed. You know, it's not too buttoned up.
4:14We like to have a good time and joke around while still, you know, providing you with actionable content that you can
4:22put into use the very week we give it.
4:25Sounds great. And that's I'm guessing early in the week as well.
4:30Yeah, we usually do Tuesdays at at 9 p.m.
4:33Eastern. And I would imagine because we always want to get it in before everybody's putting in the last minute waivers.
4:41And I imagine that's probably the schedule will stick to for 2026, 27.
4:46All right. Awesome. Sounds good. And Sam, before we start talking players, I just want to take our viewers on a little
4:54tour of the player profile or draft guide. And I can't think of a better person to help me with that than you.
5:02So I'm going to put it up here on the screen just so people can see what it's all about.
5:10I know a lot of work went into this.
5:13I mean, it's amazing tool. There's just all kinds of features that will go through here.
5:19But let me add this on here and there we go.
5:23All right. So to start with, the player profiler draft kit has player write ups.
5:28And, you know, we're it's pretty extensive. Just tell me a little bit about what you're going to see for each player on these write ups.
5:38You know, well, we go through, you know, some of what they're what their past is has been.
5:44And then particularly if they switch teams where they're going to fit in to each team scheme, you know, if they're walking
5:53right into a wide receiver to position or or even one.
5:57And and and a lot of times we'll go we'll backtrack to college.
6:01The fun thing about this is so many writers got involved in this, not just on player profiler, but you'll see a
6:09bunch of of guests who, you know, from the industry who also, you know, sent in their takes on certain guys.
6:17So, you know, that we're not just sticking to, you know, the player pilot profiler view of one particular player.
6:24You know, we're bringing in other other opinions and everything.
6:28And if we don't like them, we just won't publish them.
6:32There you go. Well, what? Yeah, go ahead. Yeah.
6:35One feature I like is just the way that you can, you know, when you when you want to click on any
6:44individual player, it doesn't take you away from the player.
6:47You know, it's a great way from the basic cheat sheet where you're starting.
6:52I like how it starts with the cheat sheet, you know, so we're looking at, you know, the the basic.
7:00This is a PPR cheat sheet, no super flex, no tight end premium, but we can add those in if we want
7:08with just a simple, you know, boom, we add in super flex and Josh Allen becomes our first player.
7:15We had in tight end premium and I'm sure that Brock Bowers is going to jump way up here.
7:22Right. You know, and it's taking a minute to think on tight end premium.
7:27So I won't I won't push that right now.
7:30But but anyway, we've got the you know, so we've got Josh Allen here as the first player on super flex.
7:38We go back to no super flex Jameer Gribbs.
7:41So you're working right off of your cheat sheet and any player you want to find out more about you just expand
7:49the detail and we can get into Ja'Marr Chase and we can find out height weight age.
7:56All the projections, how many targets, how many touchdowns, receptions, how many fantasy points and whatever whatever, you know, scoring system you're using.
8:04What's our ADP? What should you pay for them if you're in an auction?
8:09You know, just everything you need. And then most of them also are many of them, I should say, also have a little video as well.
8:19Speaking of Alex. There you go. Very nice. Yeah.
8:22And so, you know, Alex Johnson did this one on on Jamar Chase.
8:27And, you know, so you've got all the information that you need, you know, right there at your fingertips as you're going through the cheat sheet.
8:36And then you can also you can download this as well.
8:40So, you know, if you want to have it in different format, you can.
8:45It's got a little toggle up here for between traditional and best ball.
8:50So lots of different ways to look at that cheat sheet.
8:54Really, really like how that works. And then what I think is, you know, one of the the really nice features of this is the team insights.
9:04Yeah, we can go in here and I'll I'll just click on.
9:09So tell us a little bit about that. What what goes on with that?
9:14Yeah, the team insights is is it's mostly all written by player player profiler stat staff and man, it's a lot of fun.
9:22Basically, we break it up into three sections. First, you have what happened last year.
9:28I mean, it goes over the team as a whole, but also touches on how each player, you know, contributed to fantasy in in 2025.
9:37In the middle, we have a signature trend section that often, you know, is once again a mix between real life, what
9:45they should be trying to do or what's you know what really they're depending on.
9:50And again, for fantasy, who's going to contribute to that?
9:54You know, in this case, you know, you're talking about CJ Stroud, and there's quite a bit about about him because he's,
10:02you know, he's kind of in a tough spot right now.
10:06You know what I mean? He's got the the the hot he's running hot and cold with with the community.
10:14And then it wraps with what to look for this season.
10:18And then in that outlook section, it goes through, again, some of what you what you just saw in the player write ups.
10:26But it also details, you know, why people are going to do what they do.
10:32Oh, they've got a new coach. So they're going to switch to this style of offense or they're running much more 12 personnel and so on, so forth.
10:42And then for quite a few of them, not not all of them, because we didn't have set parameters for every writer.
10:50But for quite a bit, there's a lot of a lot of people dropped in some tidbits about their schedules, individual schedules.
10:58And for instance, the ones that I wrote, I even went so far as to get instead of the strength of schedule on something like NFL.
11:08You know, I went straight to Vegas because Vegas is the only one that changes that as as the draft happens, as free agency happens.
11:17So they're right on the cutting edge because they have to be and put those in there and then also feature who,
11:25you know, certain players are going to be playing during the fantasy playoffs.
11:30And that's great knowledge to have, you know, in the back of your mind.
11:35You never want to draft based on that. But it's always something to know when you're coming down between two guys.
11:42You're like, well, this guy is facing, you know, three really terrible defenses at the end of the year.
11:49So between the two of them, I'll take him.
11:53Yep. Totally makes sense. Yeah. So I like it's got all the teams projections, you know, so total plays, total pass attempts, rush attempts, all of that.
12:03And then the player projections are based off of these.
12:06So everything fits together very nicely. Yeah. And you've got to got the schedule for the for the year coming up.
12:14And it marks, you know, easy games, hard games, medium games, strength of schedule overall, quick notes on players added or lost, the draft choices, everything like that.
12:24And then what I really like here, the vacated targets, vacated carries, vacated air yards.
12:30That's really handy information to have as well. So it kind of gives you the the entire team, you know, all all
12:38in one rip there, which I really like. And, you know, and and how much Sam is the the player profiler draft kit?
12:46Forty five dollars. Is that right? It is forty five dollars or also it is included in our all in package, which
12:54includes like the dynasty dominator and and such like that.
12:58So, you know, there's there's multiple ways you can get it.
13:02But even just getting it so low for forty five bucks is, you know, I'm not just saying this.
13:09It's a heck of a value. You know, Matt Kelly, most of you know him as the podfather went out of his
13:17way to say this is by far the best one we've done.
13:22And he's very, very proud of it. And I you know, I tend to agree.
13:27It's just so, so in depth. And what's lost on a lot of people is there are still some sites out there
13:35that will publish a draft guide and stick with their takes and stuff like that.
13:41The problem is so many things can change between now and the time, let's say you do a redraft and this is constantly updated.
13:49You know, as far as the rankings, as far as, you know, projections, depending on, you know, if they bring in another free agent, it's constantly updated.
13:59So if you go there and you see a big change in the projections, you then, of course, can go to player
14:07profile or look at our the news team who is always covering, you know, anything noteworthy that's happening in fantasy.
14:15And you'd be like, oh, that's why they bumped him up five spots.
14:20So, you know, it's it's not just a cheat sheet to take to a draft.
14:25It's a it's a phenomenal reference tool just for for football as a whole, but especially fantasy.
14:31Yep, totally makes sense. And I love the value on the the all in subscription.
14:37Hundred and thirty five dollars get you to Dynasty Deluxe, DFS Dominator, all the player projections.
14:43And it's got a massive player database that goes with everything.
14:47It's got every stat you can need or want.
14:50It's a great place to, you know, if you if you want to dig in yourself on the stats, it's a very easy place to do that.
15:00What I really love is the Dynasty Deluxe. I'm a Dynasty player.
15:04I spend a lot of time, you know, working on my Dynasty teams.
15:09And, you know, the the trade analyzer is fantastic.
15:12You know, the overall Dynasty values. And I find, you know, that they they align pretty closely with where I think they ought to be.
15:22Some places, you know, you go and I don't know if that's really a good value for a player.
15:29But, you know, I find that the player profiler ones are pretty good.
15:33So really like that. And I do have a link in the YouTube show description.
15:39So if you're interested in getting either the draft kit by itself for forty five bucks or the the all in for one hundred thirty five.
15:48The easy way to do that, just click on that link and that'll take you there.
15:54But this this has been a lot of fun.
15:58Anything else to say about the the draft kit?
16:01No, just that, you know, as much as you can customize it pretty much any way you want to.
16:08So if you have multiple different leagues and multiple different styles, whether it's Dynasty, basketball, redraft, so on and so forth on different platforms, different scoring settings.
16:18I mean, there's just no end to how many different ways you can customize it.
16:23And, you know, whereas a lot of places will.
16:27You know, they'll they'll write up individual player blurbs, especially on some of the fantasy platforms up to a certain point.
16:34We have, I think, two hundred and fifty players in here and there's a write up for every single one of them.
16:42So even guys you've never heard of and you first hear his name, you can go there and find out something.
16:50Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. Love it. All right. We're going to be we're going to take time for a quick word here and we'll be right back.
17:00What does player profiler do best? Dynasty. We have the best Dynasty rankings there are.
17:05Oh, they have Titan Premium. Oh, Superflex. Oh, but also win now mode versus rebuild mode.
17:11The most sophisticated best rankings using player profiler data that exists in the world are available on playerprofiler.com.
17:18Big surprise. That's right. There's a trade analyzer to know, should I make this trade or not?
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19:13How pros get more done. All right. And I had to, you know, I was supposed to run the draft kit promo,
19:21but since we just spent, you know, like, 12 months promoing the draft kit.
19:26I think we did the promo, yeah. I decided, you know what, I was just talking about that Dynasty Deluxe.
19:34Let's get that in there. So, definitely one of my favorite tools.
19:38All right. But let's get off the promo and let's get into some teams and players and stuff, Sam.
19:45I'm wondering, are there any teams in the NFL that you're really all in on this year?
19:51You know, you can't, obviously you can't argue against the teams that are historically, and by historically, I mean in the last several years.
20:00But I think that's a good one of the players, just the high octane offenses.
20:06You cannot go wrong drafting players from the Bengals.
20:09You really can't go wrong drafting players from Dallas.
20:12And, you know, that's assuming that injuries don't befall them.
20:16But, you know, you saw Pickens breakout when CD went down last year.
20:21So, you know, I like those a lot. And then I'm turning around and I'm fading.
20:26You know, I mean, it seems like an obvious thing.
20:30There's a lot to be said for taking the big fish in a little pond or, in this case, a mammal.
20:38I think Miami you just have to shy away from because we just don't know how much target distribution they're going to be.
20:46We don't know how often they're going to throw the ball.
20:50Consequently, if they're always behind, we don't know how much they're going to run the ball.
20:56I think, you know, for his ADP, I don't think a chain this year actually is showing as much value as he did in the past.
21:06Because when you're the only weapon, then everybody's keying on you.
21:10So I'm real scared of him. And but, you know, I think just if you see an offense, it's just loaded.
21:17The whole adage about there's too many mouths to feed is nonsense.
21:22If you make a big enough pie, then everybody gets a piece.
21:26And and and I think there are a lot of teams have proven that in the past.
21:33So, you know, just find a team that is just stacked from the bottom up and and and get somebody from there.
21:41You know, they're usually the most reliable that you can count on every weekend.
21:46And then you get a couple of booms out of the deal.
21:50Yeah, yeah, definitely makes sense. You know, and I found, you know, one team that I kind of got into this year
21:58that I didn't think I was going to be getting into initially was Green Bay Packers.
22:04You know, last year it was, you know, you never know.
22:08There was so many wide receivers, you know, a tight end.
22:12You know, you just never knew in the passing game where the ball was going to end up going.
22:19It was basically, you know, if you had Josh Jacobs, you were doing just fine.
22:25But other than that, it was it was a little bit hard to to suss out the passing game from week to week.
22:33You know, a little bit better of a team for best ball.
22:38You know, in a best ball, we don't we don't care exactly when those scores happen just as long as they happen.
22:46Right. So that that was a team I didn't really expect to be in on.
22:51You know, I tend to agree with you there because I have been laying off of Packers with the exception of perhaps Kraft.
23:00I have been laying off the Packers pretty hard the last couple of years just because they they insist on teaching every
23:08wide receiver how to do everything, whether it's run reverses, short routes, long routes.
23:13You just can't tell who any you know, who is who's who.
23:17And when they're calling their wide receiver one, somebody that just had like 650 yards, you're like, I doesn't I don't know about that.
23:26Yep. Yep. Definitely. And what one team I've been out on really is the the Arizona Cardinals, you know, at least in their passing game.
23:35I think Jeremiah Love can probably pay off since he's going a good bit cheaper than what Ashton Gentry was going last year.
23:44But in the passing game, I just don't think they're going to have that same volume.
23:49And even if they do, I think with a healthy Marvin Harrison, now they've got, you know, Jeremiah Love in there, who's an excellent receiver.
23:59I think it's just going to be hard for, you know, like I, you know, I'm not necessarily shying away from Trey
24:07McBride, but I'm also not really targeting neither. He needs to fall a little bit for me to take him.
24:14Marvin Harrison Jr. and, you know, is he's probably appropriately priced, but I don't see that he's going to win me any leagues.
24:23You know, there are other players right around there that like Mike Wilson.
24:27You know, if Marvin Harrison Jr. is healthy, I just don't see how he gets the volume.
24:34So there are just a lot of problems with that offense.
24:38And I think there's going to be, you know, just a lack of volume there overall, just because they're not a great
24:46team, you know, and probably Love can make it through that.
24:50I don't know if anybody else can. Yeah, I think that I think you're right.
24:55And, you know, the only thing that worries me a little bit is that, you know, if they're playing from behind a
25:03lot for garbage time, whether they're successful or not.
25:07And usually that just puts more heat on the quarterback.
25:10I'm a little worried about how many carries Love's actually going to get this year, depending on how quickly they fall behind.
25:18And you're right. He can. He's a great receiver.
25:22He can catch balls as well. But, you know, at some point they're going to have to push the ball down the field.
25:30But, you know, I don't think McBride set records.
25:33We've seen the ceiling. There's no way he can do that again.
25:38If I'm speaking honestly, he can he can maintain something around that level.
25:43It's possible. It's possible. But he can't be far and away the best of the position like that over and over when
25:51you've got some other studs out there. So and I just think Marvin Harrison Jr.
25:56was mistrafted. And, you know, the NFL has fallen in love with taking somebody, you know, the the the go X receiver
26:04and thinking he would be a great wide receiver one.
26:08But the great wide receiver one is somebody that can get separation off the line and run different routes, not just go fast that way.
26:17Yeah. Yeah. Totally makes sense. And that's something I want to circle back around to.
26:23But one other thought that you had was, you know, Trey McBride did come off of a ceiling year last year.
26:30And one of the things I find is as fantasy gamers, we tend to anchor to those ceiling outcomes a lot.
26:38You know, we say, well, you know, now now he's shown he can do that.
26:44And instead of saying, OK, well, that might be the upper range of what I should expect.
26:50We turn it into that should be what I expect.
26:53You know, I expect this every season now. And, you know, it's just not realistic.
26:59So, you know, I think it's I think it's important that, you know, we take a look and say, you know, well,
27:07how did this guy come about this season? Is it likely that he can repeat that?
27:13And even if you say, you know what, all the factors are still in place, if it was, you know, like a,
27:21you know, a tail outcome, you know, that that wouldn't happen often, even if all those factors fall together, just like they did last year.
27:30You know, and this was still at the outer range of what was possible with that.
27:36And I think that was the case with McBride because he has never been a big touchdown scorer.
27:43And, you know, I do think touch scoring touchdowns is a bit of a skill.
27:48Some players have it. Some players don't. Some players look into it from time to time.
27:54I kind of think McBride looked into it a little bit more.
27:58And also Brissett was just feeding him. Now, the one thing he does have going for him is if Jacoby Brissett stays
28:07his quarterback all year, Brissett just feeds tight ends relentlessly.
28:10And I love that. But I don't think Brissett is going to be the quarterback all year.
28:16I think that probably they're going to see what they have with Carson Beck.
28:22They may even look at Minshew, even though I don't think he's really an answer either.
28:27So, you know, a lot of things going on there.
28:31But I want to take a quick second before we circle back to your thought on Marvin Harrison.
28:38And we've got a question for the show. Dynasty, when now, would you move Cook for Judkins and Worthy or just hold Cook?
28:46For a win now, I would absolutely hold Cook.
28:49You know, Judkins sure is probably going to be pretty good.
28:54I don't know that he's going to be absolute top tier.
28:58Worthy, you just don't. The situation has to work out perfectly for Worthy consistently enough.
29:03And Cook has been the very picture of consistency, both running the ball and receiving out of the backfield.
29:10So, yeah, I'm not moving Cook in that situation if I'm trying to win a championship.
29:16Yeah, I'm with you there. No way I want to move Cook.
29:20If you're in the championship window, James Cook is the type of player that you want to try to acquire.
29:28Yeah, he's an anchor. Yep, exactly. You know, and Judkins might get to Cook's level someday, but he's on a bad team right now.
29:36Worthy, you know, he's at best a secondary, maybe a tertiary target in Kansas City.
29:42And you just don't want to pay for guys like that.
29:46So, you know, you're better off hanging on to that one elite access.
29:51Yeah, I mean, not to mention the fact that they keep adding more guys with Worthy's skill set.
29:57You know, just over and over again, it seems like every year.
30:02When you're like, you already have one of those, same as Xavier Worthy.
30:07Exactly, exactly. But yeah, let's circle back around, Sam, to that.
30:11You were talking about Marvin Harrison on the deep routes and kind of go back into that topic a little bit.
30:18Yeah, you know, it's just funny because obviously we have the benefit of being on the sideline and breaking down the stats and looking at it.
30:28But this is something that is really rampant in the NFL, that, you know, a guy dominates in college.
30:35He's dominating college players on these long, deep X goes.
30:39And and then they wonder why he can't be a wide receiver one at the next level or if he is lower end.
30:47But Marvin Harrison, he has no separation. He gets pushed off of his line at the line of scrimmage.
30:54He doesn't have amazing speed. He's not running past any of these NFL defensive backs.
30:59So, you know, and they're like, well, what happened?
31:03I don't know. But but the same thing goes for Brian Thomas Jr.
31:08It was the same deal, even though Michigan didn't exactly, you know, or what's called didn't exactly whip the ball around to him.
31:16He he's another one that just kept running that long X.
31:20And then and that worked really well when you had Mac Jones, who has not as strong of an arm as Trevor
31:28Lawrence, but has a much nicer touch. And Trevor Lawrence just doesn't excel in that sort of thing.
31:35That's one of the reasons he always likes eating up the underneath.
31:39It doesn't mean that that, you know, Jacksonville isn't using Thomas the right way because it means the guys underneath are probably going to eat.
31:48But it needs to change the way that fantasy managers are drafting those type of players.
31:54Even George Pickens, who had a great season last year.
31:58I was just talking about this the other day.
32:01George Pickens really didn't do a whole lot except for the occasional boom until last season when CD left the field.
32:09He was pretty much stuck at a wide receiver two spot.
32:13And he could win the line of scrimmage, but he was always a boundary receiver.
32:18And that's why he comes down with all those circus catches, because he's always being kept being covered.
32:25He either doesn't get an opportunity to run, you know, exotic routes or he doesn't do them very well and lets a
32:33DB recover from getting off the line. And, you know, but at the same time, I don't want to bad mouth Pickens
32:41because, I mean, he comes down with balls people have no business coming down with.
32:47And that's, you know, sort of his claim to fame.
32:50But you can't there's at some point you can't rely on that.
32:55Yeah, yeah, totally. And, you know, and Pickens also, once he gets that ball in his hands, I mean, he's a he's a bully for sure.
33:04Yeah. You know, and, you know, if you want to have some fun, just go back and look at some tape of Pickens blocking in college, too.
33:14He was. Yeah, he would get after guys. Yes.
33:18Speaking of which, you know, I said I said he's he's good off the line.
33:23There's a there's a clip somewhere. I can't remember who they were playing against.
33:28But when the ball was snapped, he literally ran.
33:32He was in press coverage. He ran right at the defensive back, shoved him.
33:37And the guy fell square on his butt. And Pickens just took off, man.
33:42Just took off. And it was so funny to me.
33:45Yeah, definitely. He's a he's a fun player to watch.
33:49But I think it's an interesting theory that I'm I'm definitely in on as far as, you know, the that X receiver,
33:57you know, running a lot of deep routes and everything.
34:01And as a matter of fact, I was reading an article just the other day.
34:06I don't know if you know who Zane Danani is or Danani.
34:11He does a lot. You know, he's been doing a lot on Twitter, you know, just kind of going through and, you
34:19know, with news updates and so forth like that.
34:22He also wrote an article where he basically is showing how the wide receivers who run the shallow routes and medium routes
34:30more so than the deep routes actually end up being the better fantasy performers and even having more spike weeks.
34:38So I'm going to have Zane on next week and we're going to we're going to talk a little bit about that.
34:46But I think that that dovetails nicely in with what you were saying.
34:50And I find it kind of funny that, you know, there are so many people out there who are so into Pickens this year.
34:59And I think as long as C.D. Lamb is healthy, I mean, that's going to you know, I know Pickens is out
35:07looking for a contract for next year. I think he's a great player.
35:12I think he's going to be an excellent second receiver.
35:16But people who are saying that Pickens is going to outplay Lamb or, you know, outplay him in fantasy, I think you're
35:24you'd almost have to have a Lamb injury. Yeah, you know, it was I posted a long thread on on on Twitter about it.
35:33And, you know, I pretty much finished up by saying it was a great season.
35:38But if he does it again, I'll eat my hat.
35:42And I guess some some Dallas fans got their hands on that because because I was really hearing it.
35:49Yeah, they got big hats in Texas, too. So you got to be.
35:54Yeah, that's true. I better come hungry. All right.
35:57So have you as as you've been drafting? Have there been any players have really surprised you with like how cheap they are?
36:05that you're just like, you know, I got to keep snapping this guy up?
36:11You know what? There's there's been. I think there's more that that actually I'm surprised are going as high as they are.
36:19You know, I was one of the forefronts for for Jalen Coker.
36:23And my I further on the front line than I think most people, my gut feeling is that Jalen Coker is actually
36:31the wide receiver one on that team if he stays healthy.
36:35And that McMillan is the guy that gets him close to the end zone and then Coker cashes in.
36:42So whatever you want to call that one and one or one A and one B.
36:48Yeah. Fantasy wise anyway. Yeah. Yeah. He's getting the touchdowns.
36:52Yeah. Yeah. But he's got to stay healthy first.
36:55You know, I think there's always there. There are always some surprises, but nothing really surprises me on ADP anymore.
37:02And it's you know, it's something I caution against.
37:06There are still a lot of veterans to this industry that that really draft, you know, based on the ADP list like
37:14it's a rankings instead of just using that knowledge to know where you can expect them to go.
37:20So if you want them, you're going to have to go a little earlier or a little later.
37:27They're not they're not rankings. It's the same people that would say, I don't trust keep trade cut.
37:33It's crowdsourcing. And I'm like, well, that's ADP. ADP is crowdsourcing.
37:38And there's a lot of idiots out there playing fantasy football.
37:42So, you know, they're a present company excluded. Of course, anybody that's watching this.
37:47Obviously, I've made plenty of idiot moves. I think we all have.
37:51I think we all have. My claim to fame is I finally dropped Trelon Burks last year and he caught a touchdown.
37:59Nice. Yeah. Now he could be the wide receiver, too, in Washington, the wide out.
38:05But yeah, I am also big on Coker. I think, you know, basically, I think what what happens a lot is that
38:13Ted McMillan is running interference for him. The defense is focused on Ted.
38:18And then you've got Coker just kind of sailing free a little bit.
38:22And as you pointed out, he's a really good weapon in the red zone, the end zone.
38:29So, you know, he's a he's done a good job of scoring.
38:33You know, we talked about scoring touchdowns is, you know, it's a skill.
38:38And I think he's got that skill. And I think a player that kind of reminds me of Coker in some ways is Ryan Flournoy in Dallas.
38:48You know, obviously, he's got two really good wide receivers ahead of him.
38:52So it's not quite the same situation. But I'll tell you what, if either one of those wide receivers gets hurt, I'd
39:01rather have Flournoy, I think, almost than, you know, Jake Ferguson or something like that.
39:06Just because Flournoy has, even when both Lamb and Pickens were healthy, Flournoy was still getting some looks.
39:13And if either one of those two goes down, he becomes a major cog in the offense.
39:19And he's working, again, that short and intermediate area of the field while Pockettins is working the deep area.
39:26And that makes him, you know, I think a really, really interesting pick.
39:31And he's virtually free in drafts. I mean, he can still get them in the last couple, three rounds.
39:38Yeah. And I think it's key when you're, you know, when you're doing your homework is not just to say this is
39:46the guy that's going to step into the starting role.
39:49It's what you're doing, which is saying not only would he be the guy to step in, but he's a good enough
39:57player that I will want him when he steps in.
40:01Because there's a lot of guys that just kind of end up in the starting lineup just because they're a body.
40:09And that doesn't mean you should roster them. Right.
40:12Exactly. I mean, you know, one of my core tenets is basically, you know, that talent is a magnet for targets.
40:20And, you know, so if a player is talented, he's going to attract targets sooner or later.
40:26Sometimes it takes a while for him to fight his way to the top.
40:31But also, you know, a lack of talent is like, you know, kind of that anti, you know, it repels targets eventually.
40:39So, I'm always looking for that talent. I think Flournoy's got it.
40:44I mean, you know, he took kind of the long route into the NFL and, you know, he was undrafted.
40:51You know, he barely got an in, he barely got a combine invite.
40:56He just kind of showed out at the Senior Bowl and everybody was like, who's this guy?
41:02And, you know, he's proven, you know, his ability to rise up the ranks.
41:07So, really like that right now. Yeah, I think also in, I'm sorry.
41:12I think also in best ball, one of the big mistakes people are making is they're still heavily relying on the workhorse running back.
41:21And, you know, a lot of times the workhorse can get you 10 rushes for 80 yards and that looks pretty okay.
41:29But if he can't catch the ball, then I'm not really that interested.
41:34You know, I'd rather almost, you know, take last year.
41:37I would have rather had kind of game well over some of the starters in the league just because he's getting that.
41:45Most leagues are PPR now or at least half.
41:49And you really need to, you know, I'm not saying go to zero running back.
41:54But I am saying keep an eye out for the ones that catch the passes because they're not necessarily the starter that jumps out at you.
42:04But they're liable to put up more consistent points.
42:07And obviously, consistency is the name of the game in best ball.
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43:16For free entry, entry deadlines, prizes, and details. Yep, yep, without a doubt.
43:20And, you know, also, you know, the research has been done on targets versus rushes.
43:26And, you know, a target is worth two and a half times as much as rush and fantasy.
43:33Oh, yeah. You know, so that's, you know, that right there says, you know, that we want those running backs to at
43:41least be able to, you know, have a level of competency catching the ball, if not be outright good at it, you know.
43:49And that's at the top of the draft. Then when you start getting deeper into the draft, being able to find those
43:57players who might end up in that role with a third down back, you know, two-minute offense, things like that.
44:05If they can take those roles and then work in a change of pace as well, you know, all of a sudden
44:13you've got a player that's fantasy viable. And in best ball, we don't have to worry about when to start him either, you know.
44:21Because part of the problem with, you know, a gain well until he really kind of found his footing last year with
44:30Aaron Rodgers was that it was hard to know when to start him.
44:34But once he found that footing, you know, and Rodgers started realizing how much he could rely on him, boom.
44:42You know, now we've got a startable fantasy player every week.
44:46So, yeah. And I think this year it's particularly important because there are a lot of backfields that are still up for grabs.
44:54You know, when you look at Jacksonville, I'll even throw Seattle out there that's going to make some people mad and so on and so forth.
45:04But, you know, if you don't know who the starter is going to be, instead of going for who you think the
45:12starter is going to be, just go for the best pass catcher of all of them.
45:18Because that guy is going to, I mean, he's definitely going to get the third down roll, you know, if the other guys suck in.
45:27Take Jacksonville, for instance. But you've got Basial Tootin, who, like, set records for inefficiency in pass protection.
45:33I mean, just atrocious. So good. So bad. And Chris Rodriguez has cinder blocks for hands.
45:39So what does that leave you with? Leaves you with LeQuint Allen, who can do both, can still run between the tackles.
45:47Now, I'm not saying he's going to be a three-down workhorse.
45:51But I'm saying, if you can't decide who the starter is going to be, it's pretty clear that he's the only one that's going to catch passes.
46:01You know, and the same thing goes in Seattle.
46:05You know, I made the case for a long time that Jadarian Price just didn't catch hardly any balls in college.
46:12And people were like, well, he didn't really have that many opportunities to.
46:17That might be so. But he also is horrible at pass protection.
46:22Just has no clue what he's doing out there.
46:25That's a liability. No coach in their right mind is going to put somebody out there on third down that will not protect the quarterback.
46:34So, you know, that's the kind of homework you should do.
46:38You know, if you're deciding between three guys on one team, find out which guy blocks and which guy catches balls.
46:46They're probably the same dude. And take him instead of guessing who's the starter.
46:51Right. And then New England, we've got, you know, Ramondre Stevenson.
46:55Yeah. Who ends up being the better one of the two at both, you know, pass protection and as a receiver.
47:03I mean, you know, Henderson's fine as a receiver.
47:06Don't get me wrong, you know, and he's electric in space.
47:10But he was, when he came out of college, he was supposed to be, you know, a good blocker.
47:17That was his selling point. They were like, this guy can block anybody.
47:22And then they're like, did they say nobody or did they say anybody?
47:27They said anybody, right? Yep. It turns out it's nobody.
47:30Yep. As it turns out. So, you know, and here's the thing.
47:35I mean, you know, players can get better, you know, so the, you know, the door isn't shut on Henderson.
47:42I don't think the door is shut on Basial Tootin.
47:46I don't, you know, those players can get better.
47:49I like electric players like that. I'm going to draft some of them.
47:54But you've also got to, you know, think about, you know, how, think about it like the coaches are thinking about it.
48:02You know, a lot of times we don't understand why a particular player is getting so much more playing time.
48:09And we say, can't you see this other guy is so much more electric?
48:14And, you know, the coaches are going, can't you see this guy that I'm playing does all the little things well that I need him to do well?
48:25The things that don't necessarily score fantasy points. He's doing those well too.
48:29I mean, you know, if we got points for, you know, stoning a rusher or something like that, you know, in fantasy
48:37football, it might really change out how we draft running backs.
48:41So, you know, I think you got, you got to be able to look at all facets of the game and try
48:49to not look at it just through, you know, the fantasy gamers eyes, but also look at it through the coaches eyes.
48:58And I'm right there with you on Jadarian Price.
49:01He was a player I was kind of out on going into the draft.
49:06I was a little bit surprised that Seattle ended up taking him at the back end of the first round.
49:13I mean, we heard that they might, so it wasn't a total shock.
49:18But I was like, you know, I kind of thought that might be a smokescreen rather than what really happened.
49:25Right. And, you know, but, you know, I just looked at him and I'm like, this is a guy who has been
49:34a backup, you know, for his entire time in college.
49:37And, you know, maybe he's good. I don't know, because Jeremiah Love certainly is.
49:42Well, sure. Yeah. It's not like he was going to take the starting job away.
49:48Right. But on the other hand, you know, if you looked at some of the advanced metrics when he did get his
49:56chances, he just wasn't showing what we really expect to see out of a top level starting running back in the NFL,
50:04you know, and part of that is a pass protection.
50:08Yeah. I mean, he's still going to get is I don't think anybody that drafts him is going to be like, well, I really wasted that pick.
50:18He's going to they didn't draft him there to not give him the ball.
50:23So he's going to get the ball on most first and second downs, I think, unless Seattle finds themselves trailing often, which
50:31if last year was any indications, probably not. But, you know, then, you know, I think he's probably safe on those first two downs.
50:40And all the what is a smokescreen, I think, is all the talk of Helani coming out of the camp right now.
50:48He doesn't have a capital. I understand he can be an explosive back.
50:53I would still take Emmanuel Wilson over him and Emmanuel Wilson can't block either.
50:58So, you know, but I mean, maybe that's maybe that's Helani's ticket.
51:02Maybe I shouldn't be making the case for him the same way I'm making it for Quentin Allen.
51:09Yeah, I mean, I get that Helani is still relatively cheap in draft.
51:13So, you know, why not take a shot? But yeah, on the other hand, you know, those are those are the kind
51:22of guys that over the years, you know, we've seen sort of disappear into a puff of smoke, you know, if not
51:30in August, at least in September, you know, it's like, what happened to that guy that, you know, we were all so
51:38high on, you know, Jaden Unblew last year for Dallas.
51:41Right. You know, there were people who were drafting him over Javante Williams.
51:46And, you know, everybody was trying to show that they were the smartest guy in the room by how high they'd push up Jaden Unblew.
51:55And it just didn't work out so well. So, yeah, I don't I'm not even sure he's going to be the RB2 this year.
52:04We'll see. Yeah. I mean, the coaching staff is there.
52:08They're painting a different picture this year. They said he came to play.
52:13But last year, I mean, they're you know, they kept saying, you know, he's he just doesn't really seem to be, you
52:21know, putting all of his effort into becoming our, you know, our starting running back.
52:26When you got a fifth round draft pick who thinks that they've already got it made.
52:32That's generally not a good recipe for success. Yeah.
52:35So I'm curious. How about the Vikings running backs?
52:39Are you are you in on Jordan Mason, Aaron Jones, DeMond Claiborne?
52:43Yeah, that's it's kind of a mess, isn't it?
52:46You know, Aaron Jones is still a really viable pass catcher.
52:50He's a viable runner in general. The problem is the injuries are really starting to catch up as he gets older.
52:58So I don't know how long he can continue to be a large chunk of that backfield.
53:04My sense is that Mason is going to come into the year probably as a starter.
53:10They'll probably put Jones in for a few carries and maybe to catch the ball out of the backfield.
53:17I think it's going to take DeMond a little longer to bust through that wall of those two, unless he just has an unbelievable camp.
53:26And, you know, it'd be great to see. It would be great to see them have that, you know, that good of a problem there.
53:36But, you know, they they didn't go out and get Mason from San Francisco for no reason.
53:42And and, you know, maybe even though he didn't fit into Shanahan's scheme, we all know that Shanahan's a little a little
53:50testy on on what he likes and what he doesn't like.
53:54I mean, he'd probably bring Love and Jeremiah Love into camp and be like, nah.
53:59Yeah, you never know. Shanahan has to, you know, he's got to spend that third round draft pick on him before he throws him away, though.
54:09So that's right. That's right. That's right. I think, you know, I think that Jordan Mason's being a little bit slept on.
54:17And, you know, I don't think he I don't think he has a terribly high ceiling, but I think he's got a super solid floor.
54:26And I think the Vikings offense, if it is better and I expect it to be better this year.
54:33You know, part of the reason that Mason wasn't doing as well is because they could really focus on when he was
54:41in the game, they could just focus on shutting him down because, you know, J.J.
54:47McCarthy was not doing well passing. Yeah. Also, you know, Because they knew J.J.
54:52would shut J.J. down. Right. Exactly. And also a lot of their drives got short circuited because, you know, they just couldn't
55:00get those, you know, continue to convert and get first downs.
55:04And when you have short drives, then a running back like Mason gets hurt more so by that.
55:11So I think if the Vikings can go back to having, you know, longer drives and, you know, having a, you know,
55:19a quarterback that can stress the defense, that's going to open up bigger holes for Mason.
55:25And I think that he can probably provide a lot more touchdown equity because I think he's certainly the guy on the goal line for the most part.
55:35So, yeah, I don't, he's, he's not going to lose any goal line carries.
55:40I don't think because he's, he's built for that.
55:43I agree with you. And I have got just an embarrassing number of shares of, of Jordan Mason.
55:50And I've, I've had him since he was in San Francisco and I've just had him the whole, when he ended up
55:58in Minnesota, I was like, well, all right. Yeah.
56:01Yeah. No question. Yeah. I got, I managed to make a couple of cheap trades for him in dynasty down the stretch
56:09last year when it, you know, it looked like, Hey, Minnesota is not going anywhere.
56:15And, you know, so if I had teams that were kind of, you know, they, they weren't contending.
56:22Um, you know, one of the things I tried to do is put Jordan Mason on that team.
56:28Cause I thought he'd be a lot better this year than he was last year.
56:34So, um, you know, things, things like that can definitely help you out.
56:38Um, curious, uh, you know, we got a couple of really old wide receivers that are going pretty close to each other.
56:46Um, in, in ADP Devante Adams and Mike Evans, um, you have a favorite between those two, or are you off of both?
56:55Uh, do you think they're both great? Where, where are you at with these guys?
57:00That's a good question. Um, and it's a tough one for me because I just generally like Devante Adams in general.
57:08Like, I mean, sometimes I have to go like that every time I'm reaching for the button.
57:14Um, I, I think, you know, my inkling given the situation is that I would prefer Mike Evans at this point.
57:22Um, I don't think Devante can score as many touchdowns as he did last year.
57:28Um, I, I just don't think that offense is going to be as efficient as last year either.
57:34And you've got McVay just, I mean, if there's a tight end, he wants him.
57:40You know what I mean? Um, uh, cause he could roll with four right now.
57:45Um, but, um, but Mike Evans, you always know what you're going to get, which is, um, you know, somebody that can
57:53come down with a contested catch and oftentimes gets targeted deep in the end zone.
57:59Um, you know, I always used to make the joke that, um, Mike Evans yards after catches zero because he just catches
58:07the ball and falls down wherever he is. Um, but it works out pretty well when he's in the chalk area.
58:15Yeah. Yeah. Without a doubt. So I would prefer, I don't know the, the, the fan in me would prefer Devante.
58:22Uh, but the fantasy player in me using his head would lean towards Evans and the, the fact that there's really not
58:30a whole lot of sure things in San Francisco right now.
58:34Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And for me, Devante, it just kind of comes back to what we were talking about with, uh, McBride,
58:43you know, uh, we're anchoring to, uh, what happened last year, which was 14 touchdowns off of 114 targets, which is a very unsustainable.
58:51So, you know, and, uh, you know, and Stafford threw for 46 touchdowns, which is also, also impossible.
58:58Yeah. You know, a very unlikely to be repeated for sure.
59:02So yeah, those two things in, you know, and then, uh, Devante's age.
59:07And then the fact that, you know, as you were talking about, um, you know, I've never heard of 14 personnel, but
59:15if there's going to be anybody who, who runs it, it's probably going to be McVay.
59:21Oh yeah. So he can get all four tight ends on the field at once and, uh, you know, and, and his
59:29running back and, uh, you know, just. You know what?
59:32I, I would be, I would not be surprised at all.
59:36And then of all of them, Max Clare will be the one that makes the catch.
59:42There you go. Exactly. Um, yeah. And I, I, I, I do like Evans.
59:48I'll, I'll be interested to see because you, you know, you've got the, uh, you've sort of got the, uh, irresistible force
59:56and movable object thing here because Evans has always been this catch and fall down guy, but Shanahan, his whole offense is designed for run after the catch.
60:06You know? So one of these two is not going to survive impact here.
60:11It's fascinated to see which it is. Yeah, I, I agree.
60:15And, uh, you know, speaking of the Niners, I'll just say as an aside, I'm really hoping, uh, uh, Pierce all comes
60:23back to, I think what we know he's capable of, um, if he's healthy.
60:28And, um, because I, I have a lot of belief in that guy, you know, he came out like he was shot
60:36out of a cannon his rookie year once he finally got on the field and, um, he could end up being, you
60:44know, uh, a really, a really great fantasy piece.
60:48And he's, and he's not going, you know, he's not very expensive right now.
60:53Um, so I'm, you know, I'm taking a couple of shots on him and drafts for sure.
60:59Yep. In all formats. I am as well. Uh, a couple of quick ones to get you out of here.
61:06Uh, first off, uh, David Montgomery, is he a classic dead zone running back or is he going to be aging like fine wine in Houston?
61:16You know, he, it's been so long since he was alone in a backfield.
61:21Um, and I don't mean completely, you know, I guess you could say Woody Marks is there, but Montgomery catches the ball.
61:29Well, um, I think that Houston has prided themselves on their offensive line blocking for the run game.
61:36Um, they reinvigorated mixing. Um, and I, I think the same thing could go for, I think the, what they did with
61:44mixing is one of the reasons they were willing to go after Montgomery.
61:49Um, was because they said, look, as long as we don't let him get touched, he'll be fine.
61:55Um, so I'm, uh, I'm, I'm buying up Montgomery.
61:59I'm, I'm, you know, obviously if I'm a win now team in dynasty, I'm taking Montgomery.
62:04Uh, I'm definitely taking him out of that dead zone in best ball.
62:09And I would not far be it for me to say that he would not be in my flex rotation in redraft.
62:17You know what I mean? This is a starting running back who has shown the prowess of catching balls out of the backfield.
62:26And, uh, if he gets that opportunity over Marks, then I, I think he could have a great season.
62:33Yeah, I, I agree. I, you know, last year I could not have been more out on David Montgomery and this year
62:41I couldn't be more in on him. Uh, and primarily it's because of, you know, last year it was very clear that
62:49Jameer Gibbs was, you know, gaining ascendancy and he was the future there.
62:54Yeah, he was taking over. Yep, exactly. And, you know, so I wanted no part of, uh, Montgomery, but then this year,
63:02you know, I love having running backs who can run the ball well, who have a good success rate on teams that
63:10have good defense that are probably going to be trying to salt away a win.
63:15You know, in the third and fourth quarter, you know, they're going to get up, get their, you know, their couple field
63:23goals lead or whatever, and then just be pounding the rock, pounding the rock, pounding the rock.
63:30And, you know, I don't, you know, I think David Montgomery is going to be the goal line guy.
63:37Uh, I do not see Woody Marks as, as being anything more than just a, you know, once in a great while,
63:45uh, well, let's do something different just to break tendency.
63:48Right. Right. Yeah. I, I, I agree with that.
63:52And, uh, I don't suspect the bringing back Nick Chubb anytime soon.
63:56Um, so I'm going to weigh it on, on that limb.
64:00Um, but yeah, you know, I, Montgomery fascinates me too.
64:04I like him as a player because if you really think about it, going all the way back to his days with
64:12the bears, um, he is one of the few running backs in this league who has lasted as long as he, as
64:20he has playing at a very, uh, very good level.
64:24Um, you know, other than that, you talk about guys like Derek Henry.
64:28Sure. Um, but even Saquon went through injuries and, you know, down year and, um, you know, Frank Gore was a journeyman
64:36and did the job everywhere he went. But Montgomery has been, every team that's ever had him has been ecstatic that they had him.
64:45Yep. Yep. Absolutely. All right. Last one before we get you out of here.
64:50Uh, commander's backfield. Do you, do you have a horse that you like there?
64:56Absolutely. Absolutely. And it goes back to what I said before, uh, uh, uh, do, uh, do Corey cross key merit, AKA
65:04bill, um, is a very willing blocker. That does not mean he's a good blocker.
65:09Um, and, and in fact, he's, he's not, um, and that's, that's going to cost him some carries.
65:16Um, even if they start as a committee, I don't think they're going to, um, finish as one.
65:22I, a K Tron Allen, um, still has some growing to do.
65:27Um, but he's a very fascinating player cause he's kind of a battering ram.
65:32Um, but, um, doesn't catch a whole lot of balls, isn't inept at it, but, uh, doesn't catch a whole lot.
65:40I think this is a, uh, return to Providence for Rashad White.
65:44And I think anybody with a half a brain should probably bank on that.
65:49Um, because Washington has never shied away from playing, um, guys until the wheels fall off or taking in guys who other
65:57people think the wheels have fallen off of. I mean, they just gave McLaurin a huge contract.
66:04They held onto Ertz when Arizona said, Ertz is done.
66:07Um, which was after Philadelphia said, Ertz is done.
66:11Um, and, um, I, I, I really think this is, uh, Rashad's job to lose.
66:16I think Jerome Ford is strictly special teams at this point, barring any injuries.
66:21Um, so I, I just, every day that I think about it, I, I lean more and more.
66:28I was like, well, maybe it'd be a committee.
66:31And then I look at the numbers a little more and I'm like, you know, Rashad White didn't lose that job in Tampa Bay.
66:40It's just that Bucky was so electric. Yep. Um, that they decided to go with Bucky, which right now is, uh, um,
66:48and I, I think Rashad White still got some serious, uh, I mean, he's one of the best pass catching backs we've
66:56seen in a decade, to be honest. Um, so I, uh, yeah, I, I think it's his job to lose at this
67:04point, provided he has a decent camp. Yeah. Yeah.
67:07I, I, I think, uh, I know there's a lot of, uh, high stakes drafters who agree with you.
67:14Uh, when you look at the, the ADP and some of the high stakes leagues, he's, he's continuing to rise.
67:22Uh, you know, so they're, they're pushing them up and up and up.
67:27And also you got that shower narrative, uh, with, uh, with Jaden Daniels on, uh, you know, from Arizona state.
67:34So, uh, you know, there's, there are definitely a lot of reasons to like him.
67:39Yeah. And there's there, I mean, there's also just the, you know, the simple fact of, of what we said to start
67:47the show, which is when you're drafting a best ball, you don't have to have the starter from the team.
67:55You have to have the one that's going to catch passes and that's going to be him, whether he's running between the tackles or not.
68:04He's probably the only one that I'm really interested in mostering out of that backfield.
68:09Yep. Totally makes sense. All right. Well, Sam, thanks for joining me today.
68:14Uh, definitely. Thanks for having me on, Jen. I appreciate it.
68:18Yeah, absolutely. I enjoyed chopping it up with you.
68:22Um, and remind people once again, uh, where to find you out on the socials.
68:27Absolutely. You can find me at buy and sell you on Twitter and pretty much every social.
68:33And during the season, you'll see a lot more of me either on profile or now on Tuesday nights or on the
68:41arts per fantasy network at three, at least three times a week.
68:46Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And, uh, for my audience, thank you for watching or listening.
68:51Be sure you're hitting the like button. It's free.
68:54It's easy. And if you can leave a review wherever you're consuming the show, uh, keep tuning in.
69:01If you happen to, uh, you know, want to leave us a shout out on X too, that's always appreciated.
69:08And next week I've got, uh, two great shows on tap.
69:12On Monday, I'm going to be talking with Jim Coventry, uh, from RotoWire.
69:17And then next Thursday afternoon, I've got, uh, Zane Danani, who I, I kind of teased earlier, who's been killing it with the news updates on X.
69:27And, uh, also put out a very interesting article on fantasy points that I want to dive into a little further.
69:35So make sure you're subscribed to the player profiler network on YouTube and on your podcast provider.
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69:45That's it for today. So until next week, get out there and dominate your drafts.
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