Whatever Tiggles your Fantasy

FivetoNine Podcast: Welcome into the five to nine podcast. Episode ten, we've made it to to double digits. That's huge. ⁓ Todd's gonna be joining us with ⁓ a couple special guests, some of our other buddies. Very special. We're gonna see this weekend, which is very exciting, ⁓ in Outer Banks. But ⁓ hope we're gonna be able to help to make your nine to five a little bit more maybe afterwards, like five to nine. ⁓ again, episode ten, but ⁓ maybe throw some stuff out here before Todd and Co get in here. ⁓ I feel like there's been breaking news last week. It was talking about the SEC. ⁓ This week, although maybe not you know, breaking it happened earlier today, but ⁓ the Qui Leonard scandal, if you will, I feel like kind of got finally figured out. ⁓ I'm curious as to to your thoughts. The main thing in the office for us was one, it's crazy the Clippers I think we said don't have a first round pick till twenty thirty four. ⁓ two Kawhi still going to Toronto. He's basically getting what, like a fine, and that's it. Yeah. It's something I think it's like seven hundred K. Yeah. Like literally pocket change to one of the best defenders of all time, probably the claw like a game's worth of pay. Something that I think is interesting is the Sixers have a couple pick swaps ⁓ with the Clippers. And they're supposedly gonna be able to keep that, but the first round pick that was traded for Zubotch from the Pacers, that one's just like gone. Like the Pacers don't get that one back. So I don't really know the difference between why the Sixers keep yeah their s pick swaps vr maybe 'cause it's a pick swap versus the Pacers actually like traded their pick so they shouldn't have it. I guess that's probably why, but it's kind of a weird like gray area. I mean, you know, you know how the NBA goes. I think the the Heat are sitting here like what the fuck, man? Like did our file for Terry Rogier get lost? Like are you gonna send us our first back for what we traded for Terry? ⁓ but this thing, you know, it's just your typical NBA s case. It's gotten i it's gotten way too much runtime. This is something that could have easily been handled ⁓ without the politics potentially involved and who the owner is. Like, you know, ⁓ within within a month or two, it seemed like they investigated it. Then the announcement a month ago was like it seemed like no one was gonna get any penalty at all. ⁓ it seemed to me, based on things that I read and heard, that specifically p because Steve Ballmer owns the Clippers and is probably the most powerful in financially successful owner. ⁓ especially in an era where we have owners coming in, like the one who owns the Trailblazers, trying to use it just as a money making asset and cheapen things. They don't want to penalize Balmer too harshly, ⁓ because of what he means to the league and that's typical ownership. So I'm actually I was really surprised when this news came out. I mean, I think as I mentioned, the Kawaii punishment is a is it not even a slap on the wrist, more of a tap. ⁓ you know, 700k is nothing, but I was surprised that they find Balmer a good amount, and I'm surprised that they took away five first round picks. They didn't even ⁓ do that when the Astros ⁓ genuinely cheated in the World Series. So ⁓ I feel like maybe the wrong thing got the harshest punishment. Like in my in my opinion, this was a a scandal kind of between two parties, between well, three if you want to count the bogus companies, but really between Balmer and And the top owners or the top big guys in suits of the Clippers and Kawhi with the organizations. ⁓ I I don't feel like the Clippers specifically had that much to do with it, yet it seems like them and their fan base have to suffer the most. I wish more of the punishment was on Kawhi and Ballmer, but I get they have to set an example and unfortunately that penalty fell on ⁓ I think the least deserving party. What do you think? It it's almost like one of those things where you like mess up in practice or you mess up in like PE and instead of you having to do push ups you have to watch everyone else do push ups. Yeah. And you just sit there feeling like a piece of shit. Now I don't think that the emotional punishment. Yeah, I don't think the emotional piece of shit part's gonna happen to a guy like the Clippers owner and a guy like Kawhi who got, you know, a tap on the wrist, like you said. ⁓ but that analogy still stands where they were the ones that messed up, but now there's fan base, which I'm curious as to if it's gonna like create not hatred, but maybe a bit of like distaste in the fan base. ⁓ not just for Kawhi, 'cause I mean, obviously he did some good things for him, didn't really bring him to the promised land per se. Yeah. But he was a really good player and obviously still is, but maybe for more so the higher ups and the ownership, ⁓ and maybe even like ⁓ leads to some sort of clashing of heads between ⁓ these suits and then the fans just because I mean like you said the clippers have to suffer, their fans have to suffer no first round pick till twenty thirty four. I mean, and it's it's just kind of par for the course for one of the NBA's most cursed in ⁓ franchise that basically just doesn't ever get shit. Like I mean, we had Lob City, ⁓ we had, you know, a nice bubble run in first couple years of Kawhi and PG, ⁓ that ultimately fizzled into nothing because that's what every Clipper season seemed to do. But it's just another un just another step in the direction of Clippers ⁓ sadness. So I don't even know how fans are gonna react to this. Like they could just be so worn down and and depressed and heartbroken where like nothing even matters anymore. ⁓ but it does it does suffer them. I do feel bad, and I think you're right about it maybe creating a disdain for the ownership because this was an owner that prior to this scandal was seemingly one of the best with their fans. He created a whole arena designed to be for the fans, the fan experience, the whole wall thing. He he is at every game in the crowd cheering with the fans, like, you know, and that's what you like to see from the ownership. You'd like to see owners that are involved with the team that care about the team, even if the results aren't necessarily coming through. ⁓ what you don't like to see is circumv ⁓ venting the cap, ⁓ when you're the richest owner and now then hurting that team. So I think, like you said, I think there's gonna be some Some people that sour on him despite all the things maybe he's just been trying to get in their good graces 'cause he know this would eventually fall. Yeah. I don't know. It's such a weird situation, but I mean, like you kind of said to open up an average NBA situation, I guess. ⁓ yeah. It's really like you don't hear much I mean, the best things out of the NBA news wise a couple days ago was Taco Fall signing exhibit ten with the seventy sixers, which is ⁓ Yeah, that'll that'll be fun. ⁓ who knows if we'll actually even get a spot or maybe even a G League spot for that matter. But we signed him, some guy named Saint Thomas, who I think ⁓ played on our Summer League team, and then ⁓ Jameer Nelson's son. And Jameer Nelson's like our executive VP of operations, I think is his title. He's new. Yeah. ⁓ he's been great, obviously former player. But that like just goes to show the NBA kinda remains dormant. I feel like they're most other leagues there's always something. ⁓ whether it's, you know, ⁓ the NHL Kale McCarr a huge contract, the the richest man in NHL history. Like the the MLB obviously in season, but then even out of season and maybe it's more recent news, but the the impending lockout, what's gonna happen with that? Like I feel like there's news year round in every other major sport. Even in like major league soccer if you want to go there. But it it just nothing really from the NBA and that's why we heard so much about LeBron's decision because that was like the only thing that they had to go off of the honest's decision, LeBron's decision. And and obviously that's big news, but there's such a wide variety in the other big three sports. Whereas, you know, you have things you can count on one hand that just constantly circulate in in NBA media. So In NFL the variety is, you know, you have your domestics, you have your DUIs, you have your drugs, those are those are the variety that we see in the NFL. Keenan Allen. ⁓ dude, yeah. ⁓ that dude he was still I mean, I don't know where he went the night before, but he could not get into the car. It's never a good sign when you're getting out of jail. Like, and I get he probably has a driver, he's rich, but it's never a good sign when you're getting out of jail going straight to the passenger seat. If I had a DUI I'd want to set a good example the next day, be if I'm being caught on video, make sure I'm the one driving like I'm good now. And he stumbled into that passenger door. I don't think he was good, honestly. No, I don't think he was either. It's such a I mean, random guy like from everything I know about Keenan Allen, he seems like a nice guy, a fan like that was like one of the most random players I've seen tight like between him and Tony Romo. Like him and Tony Romo getting D UIs was nowhere near even my bingo court. It wasn't Do you see Romo's like explanation though? I think overdependence. I I think I think Romo Romo, I mean, it takes one to know one with how good Romo is at predicting plays pre snap. I mean, I feel like he could have seen this one coming. ⁓ Yeah, Dan. Like Keenan, put the drink down. Like this isn't you. But I would like to see ⁓ I would like to see Romo back. I know he's been put on kind of like a a leave where it's not permanent, but like, man, I've been watching so much. I don't know about you, just like just to get me ready, just film highlights. It's always that type of the year to get back into the NFL. And so many of the best ones come from the primetime games called by Nance and Romo, my personal favorite ⁓ broadcast crew. and so I'm really gonna miss Roma's voice for however many games he's not there for. Yeah, I agree. And ⁓ obviously I think we mentioned it before, but we're both in the broadcasting, the sports media field, so ⁓ maybe an extra level of You can tell by his lovely voice in the microphone right now. And then like an absolute stud. see NFL color analysts And honestly, majority of sports color analysts, maybe not baseball, but ⁓ a lot of other ones, ⁓ NBA, hockey, football, a lot of the color analysts are former players and yeah, ⁓ there's an extent Chris Collinsworth. Yeah, those guys maybe aren't good. You know, like they have ball knowledge because they played so many years or whatever, but they can't put together the broadcasting side of things. I think Romo ⁓ almost was like built for it. Like Tom Brady's pretty good too. ⁓ but I think I think Romo is just like the guy, and I agree that Jim Nance and Tony Roma are my favorites and yeah. I'm not necessarily on pins and needles for Tony Romo to see how many games or whatever, but it's certainly something that ⁓ I'm gonna be paying attention to. ⁓ I like Greg Olson too. Like a lot of the I think That's what I was about to say. I like Olson. I like ⁓ whoever Keekly's getting paired with this year. I think he got a hand. Yeah, Keekly got elevated to call with someone else. ⁓ I know JJ Watt, a lot of people like. I feel like he does a decent job between the analysis and providing, you know, some excitement. Mm-hmm. We had a good, honestly, a pretty decent time for commentators, and especially between the color and the play by play guys. Like, I feel like we're in like a color commentator renaissance. Cause I know growing up, there certainly wasn't as many players that I would know and I think as more of these big names have shifted, like I feel like there wasn't like a a J J Watt, a Luke Keekly, two defensive player of the year Hall of Fame caliber players in the booth. It would be like, you know, the second string linebacker or like no like no offense or and I know he's not necessarily a commentator, but like an Emanuel Ocho type type of career where he ends up in the booth where that's kind of their next path. They didn't make enough money in the playing field, so now they're doing it in their past careers. But we're in a pretty good state right now. I I think that's kinda where my take of ⁓ what I was gonna say is that like the color analysts weren't so good maybe a handful of years ago up until the guys literally that we just listed came in. ⁓ and part of it maybe is the amount of playing experience, the the how good you were, I guess, while you were playing. Like obviously we've all seen the video of Luke Keekly calling out every single play that's being ran. Like his football mind's unbelievable. But ⁓ these guys in this generation make it more fun and I think that's obvious to people beyond that just aren't like fully focused on the broadcast, maybe as much as we are at least. Like a you know, a Romo can point out things and the list goes on and on, JJ Wild, Greg Olson, whoever we just said, they're just better at I mean a color analyst assists a play by play guy. They fill the gaps when the play by play guy is not calling a play. Like that is the definition of a color analyst. And it it's C I mean you have to pay attention to stat lines and and stuff like that. Like so these guys being able to to flip that switch while still being excited about the game and and and bringing their knowledge from their playing time is super cool and ushers in, like you said, kind of a new generation of of color analysts. Well and I think that's like an important point too, because I feel like it's kind of been two things going in opposite directions as I feel like some of the color commentary and ability to listen to the people in the booth has gone up in terms of just description and ⁓ level of enjoyment that I get out of it and in terms of learning actual football knowledge, the coverage surrounding the sport through different platforms like ESPN has gone down, whether it's through AI or just trying to generate views. Like I remember like sports and the sports commentary was just it felt like it used to be the place to just get the plays. You know, you're giving me the play, this is happening, this is happening, here's the game. And then you would get the analysis from these other media sources like ESPN to kind of cover the nooks and crannies, the ins and outs of the game and break things down. I feel like that is shifted where now it's almost done a reversal where it's really pleasant to hear and listen to the games, especially when you just put on a single game sometimes. And I like red zone, but sometimes it's nice to listen to a single game because I feel like some of these new guys have brought in so much actual like ball knowledge and football analysis where they're breaking down the coverages. They're saying why this happened on this play, why this guy was open, you know, why the team, you know, did a pick here to send the blitz around the weak side. Like actual stuff that I want to hear that's enjoyable and not just, you know, saying things l like just to either covering the politics of sports or just getting takes off to get, you know, to have it clipped into a one minute thing for social media. So it's it's been actually nice to hear and ⁓ Get some good ball knowledge. So shout out to those guys. Yeah, and I mean their ball knowledge. I was gonna try and hold this off till they showed up, but it's almost fifteen minutes in, so we might as well rip it. ⁓ the ball knowledge we've had to to keep up with here before week one is obviously the the good old fantasy football. ⁓ yeah. So we have a lot of do's and don'ts, and I I think it's time for stink or swim here. How many ⁓ how many drafts have you done, Tommy? ⁓ so I've only had one. we're gonna get a big one coming up though, right? We do. Big one tomorrow. Our our fantasy league. It's huge. ⁓ we randomized the draft order. I got the second pick. What'd you get? Like ten? I'm picking eleven. So yeah. So and then Todd, who hasn't joined yet, is picking number one. So you've got your two picks figured out. There's not much research you need to do between now and tomorrow. Yeah. So in my on my other one ⁓ that I was telling you about in Patel's ⁓ family league. I picked eighth, and I hate being like the middle of the order because it feels like and obviously eight you have a shorter time in a snake draft, but it didn't really feel like it because it's close to the middle. Yeah. ⁓ I will say though, before we get into the real stink and swim and the do's or don'ts, ⁓ I got Jordan Tyson with my very last pick in that draft, which I think is pretty I mean, obviously he's on IR right now, so you have to put him on there. But I mean to get him that late though. Yeah, for the talent level he is. ⁓ I would think that's definitely a a swim pick to to start us off. But you were saying you have some do's and don'ts. ⁓ I'd love to kind of hear your your general picks here. And I'll I'll I'll I'll kinda start it off with the eleventh pick. So, you know, I'm the type I'm the type of guy that I am you know, e everyone has their preferences. I if I had my choice I would either pick, you know, and maybe this is not even that crazy to say and maybe this is just common knowledge, but this goes for most years. This year especially I feel like you either want to pick first, second, or third, or you want to be essentially dead last. Like we we made a joke about like doing pick order something today, whereas like if you don't do this, you're gonna be dead last in the order. I was like, honestly, like wouldn't even mind that. Like because of where specifically the running backs fall this year and the lack of them, ⁓ if you pick towards the end of your round, you can still get a top end running back and then get another top end running back. Cause if you're one of those guys that's doing zero running backs or even I've found in some some of my drafts that are, you know, bigger groups where I've done, you know, fourteen, sixteen people, if you're picking towards the beginning, you get one running back, you're gonna have a really hard time once you're wrapping around your second pick in the third round, especially when there's other positions that, you know, may tease you or appease you. ⁓ so like at the eleventh pick, you know, I'll probably be looking obviously if a guy like like James Cook falls, like James Cook would be a A huge swim for me this year. ⁓ I think that he just has so much consistent production. He's proven ⁓ his ability. You know, you can really never go wrong with the Georgia back that goes for DeAndre Swift in later rounds as well, and ⁓ Chubb before he retired, Gurley before he retired. But ⁓ I just feel like Cook is such a steady force in that offense and he hasn't still, I feel like, really unlocked some of his PPR in like catching potential. I feel like there's still a little bit more meat on that bone. You know that offense is going to be good. Josh Allen's going to be good. ⁓ so Cook is a huge swim guy. If he was to fall to 11, I would take him in a heartbeat. I don't mind even I don't even know how much of a reach it would be considered. ⁓ but a guy like Chase Brown, again, so much PPR consistency. You know that offense is gonna be good. But in that 11 spot for me, if that wraps around to picking at 11, then picking at about like 21 or 22, I'm my strategy's probably ⁓ I don't know what you would do in that situation is try and knock off my two running backs and then figure out the wide receivers and the rest from there. What do you think? Yeah, definitely. ⁓ I would think I took James Cook with my eighth overall pick in the draft I did on Sunday. I would take him as high as like seven, maybe six. Yeah, I I would agree with right around the the sixth pick that like the highest. 'Cause I mean you look at Jameer Gibbs, B. John Robinson, yeah. Is he not like the third best available. I mean maybe Saquon to everything for me it's not even a Saquon's have a monster year, but yeah I would say James Cook is third. I would have him above easily above CMC. I've never been a guy like even in the years where I get it, he's had I wa I saw a post today where the three years that he's led fantasy over the past seven years, he's at over four hundred points. When he doesn't get that he's not even getting 150 points. A I I've said this on a ⁓ on I think the last podcast Getting 17 games out of CMC last year is like an 82 game season from Anthony Davis. It's a complete outlier. ⁓ I I would be really surprised if he played more than ten games. And that's not because I don't I want to hate on CMC. It's just would facts wise be a statistical outlier. I think he plays probably nine or eight games and to try and get him at five or six. I would rather take Cook ⁓ at that spot. And I would honestly rather take G ⁓ Cook over Jonathan Taylor. What do you think about what do you think about JT? Yeah, yeah. I've seen and maybe I'm being influenced, but I've seen a lot of things to to avoid him in terms of top twelve running back potential, top eight running back potential. ⁓ I don't know where he went in the draft that I have done, ⁓ again this past Sunday, but he his big season wasn't an outlier per se, 'cause I had him last year. ⁓ but I think he does take a step back, ⁓ probably similar to Saquon From two years ago when he rushed for over two thousand to to this. That's a good comparison. So I I think that's probably more what you're looking at with Jonathan Taylor. ⁓ yeah. But I mean, you know, all we're talking about is running backs, and that's because it feels like it's so thin at the top. I think there's an upper echelon that's very few, and then a middle echelon that is very plentiful. The the round three guys, the round four guys. I got Bishal Tutin in round three. ⁓ I'm a fan of that. He's gonna be the premier back there. Obviously saw what he could do, ⁓ ETN gone in New Orleans. ⁓ he probably is in that mid tier too, but ⁓ I don't know who else you kind of writ down on your your don't drafts before we go to the do drafts, maybe get some negativity out of the way here first. I mean to say to say one more c thing on JT, I don't think he's gonna fall off to where he's like, you know, RB twenty or twenty five on the season, but I think he's gonna go from from one to I think maybe even more of a 15-ish range. I wrote down some stats with JT. ⁓ I'll try and do him from memory. ⁓ so he had over his first eight games, he had three separate three touchdown games. In his last eight games, he had three total touchdowns. In his first games, in his first like nine or ten games before his bye, he had seven different games where he had at least twenty fantasy points. Over his last seven games, he did not have a 20-point fantasy game once. He really cost people as it got into the playoffs, and that's not really his fault. They lost a lot of players due to injury. They lost Daniel Jones, but I'm worried about that aspect of it. Once Daniel Jones was gone, I think that he was severely hurt by it, by the bad QB play from not playing from ahead. He's a player who really needs to play from a ahead and have like a good first half. He's like the opposite of Derrick Henry. Derrick Henry has these monstrous second halves. He could go to Halftime with five yards in with 150 and two tutties. JT, if he's going into halftime with five yards and he's got you about 1.5 points, he's probably gonna get you about three points in the second half. ⁓ and I'm just worried about Daniel Jones, even though he's gonna be back from injury, he's gonna be healthy. I'm not sure if he can keep up that same level of production that we saw the Colts start, seven and one, eight and one, whatever they are. So it just worries me about JT. But ⁓ to what you said about the plentiful mid round guys, I feel like normally once you get past the first six guys, you know, normally it's like six definitive guys, no questions about ⁓ boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Then you get from like six to fifteen. There you can poke holes in every other running back. I feel like this year I can poke holes in four of the top eight guys, but like I don't feel bad about taking anyone from like that six to fifteen range. Like I like Amarian Hampton. I like Chase Brown. I like Devon A. Chain. ⁓ I like ⁓ Kyron Williams. I like some of these safe guys ⁓ that I know are gonna get me points and I are kind of set at forget it guys. Do you have a guy kind of in that eight to twelve range you would put above? I would say probably chase for me. Yeah, ⁓ that's probably a good one. I just think that ⁓ again there can be rankings within the middle echelon, but no one's touching the the Jameer Gibbs, the Bijan Robinsons, the James Cooks. ⁓ Chase Brown's probably the closest you're gonna get. ⁓ we could see Saquon hit that. Obviously a couple years ago, two thousand yards. I'm not willing him to I'm not willing to put him in there, obviously, as my team. I I love the offensive scheme that Sean Manning has shown to this point, but I'm not willing to, especially not fantasy wise in my draft, reach on Saquon like that, knowing what could potentially happen. Yeah. Especially with the offensive line. They were super injured last year, so ⁓ Saquon can go one way or the other, it feels like. I don't think he's gonna be sitting around ⁓ like a fifteen hundred yard season. I think it's two K plus again, or you're looking at twelve to fourteen hundred. So ⁓ not worth a reach on him. But again the the running back situation this year is is a little bit confusing, I think. Yeah, and and you mentioned ⁓ starting to get into some of those not lower tier guys, but kind of that fifteen to twenty five range. ⁓ of running backs, you mentioned ⁓ Bashul Tutin, ⁓ you mentioned ⁓ ETN as well. And you know, some of those guys and that have really started to adjust. I feel like it used to be, you know, ⁓ ATN ⁓ with with what's his name, whatever. But you had some of those guys like ⁓ Bucky Irving, ⁓ David Montgomery, kind of all going in those High 30s, early 40s range with someone like Tootin, someone like Price going in the 60s. And I'm starting to like those guys just as much. I price has continued to grow and grow in what seems like the eyes of the Seahawks into he's just gonna be the RB one even when Charbonnet comes back. ⁓ and Tootin, you know, as much as you know, I think Chris Rodriguez is a threat by the goal line and they could split carries. I really liked Tootin in college. He was one of my favorites. I remember scouting him at. He was electric to watch too. Yeah, he was that dude was electric. I loved his name. He made I did like a top twenty five most exciting guys to watch in college football. He was on my list. I loved watching his film. So I'm really glad to see him get this potential chance to be the go to guy ⁓ in Jacksonville this year. And I do think Chris Rodriguez is gonna get some work, but let's be honest, he had a chance to get some work ⁓ with the commanders, and and that's a with a lesser running back room. Yeah, very much lesser running back room. Yeah. So I I'm a big fan of Tootin, I'm a big fan of of Price. ⁓ and I don't mind getting those guys ⁓ like you know, I I think it's tough to have them as your wide receiver ones, but if you can get them at this point now, I I think it's impossible to y you know, depending on how big the size of your league is. Like for us, we're a sixteen man league. I th I fully expect to have to draft either of those guys in maybe the back end of the third round, maybe the fourth round at best the fifth. I don't think you're getting ⁓ past that. ⁓ but if you can get one of those two guys specifically, Tootin or Price, ⁓ as your RB two, I really like that 'cause there's not too much after them. Yeah. I I think in Tootin's situation and why I drafted him specifically on like the back end of the third round, ⁓ was just because you mentioned Chris Rodriguez and he might get some goal line work, but there's levels to the argument of they're gonna steal touchdowns, right? I think Kyron Williams and Blake Coram, who I actually have Blake Coram on my bench ⁓ is a good example of a negative impact on Kyron Williams. Now I still agree that he's gonna be worth it and he can get you points like you said just a few minutes ago, but Blake Coram is also a guy that can take them down the field and score. Like if Blake Coram has the hot hand, they will continue to feed Blake Coram if Kyron is having a bad game. That I I would be shocked if that is the case in Jacksonville. I I think even if it's a situation where Bashall Tutan gets them all the way to their one and Chris Rodriguez runs it in. Like that that's gonna be what it is, and Basel Tug is gonna do it with receptions. He's gonna get more than a touchdown's worth of points, getting them into the point where Rodriguez takes it into the end zone. I'm still gonna be mad if Chris Rodriguez takes my touchdown. But when when I'm not gonna be a situation, too many time touchdown in week one and it gets vultured by Chris Rodriguez, everyone in that holds clip. Yeah. But i Rodriguez isn't a guy that's like, ⁓ S specifically in this situation, maybe in in Washington with a lesser running back room, but it's not gonna be, ⁓ he's hot, give him the rock. Like, no, Tutin's that guy. Like they even towards the end of last season, I feel like like Etienne was kinda on the outs. Tootin got a lot more touches. I ended up picking him up on my bench, I think, for the end of last season. I think he played my flex spot at one point, but yeah, he was also starting to get momentum and while that momentum maybe physically was at the end of last season, so there's a huge gap. In the coach's mind, in Liam Cohen's mind, in in the front office's mind, Tootin already had that guy potential and and now it's you're putting it to you're giving it to him on a silver platter. It's go be a top ten or a top eight fantasy running back Yeah and we'll lock you down as the future of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the backfield. So it's it it's just a situation where Rodriguez might steal some points here and there, but I I it's Tutans to lose ⁓ you know, knock on my wooden desk here with injury. ⁓ I can't see him losing snap counts. And and ⁓ like if you're in and trust me, like, you know, ⁓ we talked about maybe Rodriguez getting some goal line carries, like whatever it may be, change of pace back. Like if you're not familiar with Tutin's game, go watch either his highlight tape from last year or from college. The dude can still run a bitch over. Like he can absolutely put his head down. It's not like a Bichon situation where, you know, Algiers getting Like, you know, only two less carries on the goal line the entire year. Like he is still very good inside the five. But I I do like you mentioning Quorum as well. ⁓ and that was kind of my strategy. I mentioned Kyron as kind of a safe floor. I do think his ceiling is capped, but I do think it's raised in, for example, a strategy that I did in one of my other drafts ⁓ a couple nights ago, which is getting both of them. ⁓ I think that for the Rams situation, ⁓ Just ha with how good their offense and defense is and how good they are as a team, I think there's gonna be a lot of games where they're up and just running the ball and they're just go they're trying to keep each guy healthy. There's gonna be a lot of games where I feel like Kyron's got eighteen carries, Korum's got fifteen carries, you know, and they both can be successful. So I think if it depending on how big your league is, like I think you have a good chance to, you know, throw Kyron in an R B one or two spot and put Korum in your flex. ⁓ And still have both guys be value for ⁓ valuable for you. I think I saw something specifically ⁓ about how Quorum only had, I think, five total less ⁓ carries last year inside of the twenty yard line. And I think that's telling that it's kind of not a changing of the guards, but just a situation of, you know, having more than you could ever possibly need. They're gonna have leads, they're gonna be running the ball a lot in the second half, and you have two running backs. I mean, Quorum's a starter on, you know, half the teams in the leagues. ⁓ so when you get both those guys, you know, it's just smart football ⁓ to run them both. And I think you can still benefit even if you don't get Kyron. I mean I Koram has the upside if anything. His ceiling is higher than Kyron's and I think he can easily be a flex guy and you know, if anything were to happen to Korum, then he's a top seven eight running back in the league. So I l I like I like your mentioning of him. I I had him as a big swim ⁓ in the later rounds. I think it getting him in about the eighth or ninth round. Something like that would be a great spot for him to go if you could see him as either the first guy off your bench reflex. Yeah. I'm gonna I'm gonna fire a couple of guys off to you that I have on what my starting tight end ⁓ and then a couple guys on my bench. My starting tight end right now is Tucker Kraft. ⁓ my and then on the two guys on the bench that I'm looking at that I'm curious as to ⁓ your opinion on, one kind of fits what we were just talking about in J.K. Dobbins between him and RJ Harvey, and then ⁓ I picked up Don Tavion Wicks ⁓ as my filler spot for Jordan Tyson. ⁓ I'll start on Wicks here and then just because I'm a little bit biased, I'll kind of defend myself. Yeah. ⁓ he has looked unbelievable in camp from like even the guy even the Philly media that shits on the Eagles, they're like, Man, like this guy's fucking good. Like his route running is awesome. And it's just like Smitty's obviously wide receiver one. AJ Brown had a lot of attention. There's no denying that. ⁓ for the Eagles. It's obviously a massive storyline to rev up this season. But yeah, at what point is there gonna be somebody to to pull a little bit of attention away from Devontae Smith, who, if you look at games where he was wide receiver one, his stats are wide receiver one worthy, for lack of a better way to put it. But if he gets to garner that attention, especially once the offense is going, say like week eight, week ten, I might be sitting here laughing that Dontavion Wicks is on my bench. Because if Smitty gets the attention from either a a double team or the top corner, I mean Del Tavion Wicks can go to work. The way the Packers worked last season was that they didn't have a wide receiver one, so there wasn't really a cornerback one sitting on somebody specifically. So Wicks would go one snap against Pat Surtain, who was one of the best in the league, and then one against white boy Riley Moss, who's who's one of the worst in the league, statistically speaking. So I think for him to come into this offense That Sean Manion obviously was a part of for him in Green Bay. That's also a huge thing. ⁓ I think is going to be huge for him. But ⁓ back in Green Bay, Tucker Kraft, ⁓ a healthy season from him, he was going I mean, is nuclear too crazy to say before he got injured? I he was going to I mean, he was playing his way in into top four, top three tight end territory. I think he was tight in two on the season before he got hurt behind Trey McBride. Yeah. So ⁓ maybe a quick touch from JK Dobbins for you, just because it's literally the same thing we've been talking about with him and RJ. ⁓ curious to see your comparisons on that to a Bijan Algier or ⁓ which obviously isn't happening this year, or a a Kyram or a Kyron and Koram and then ⁓ Tucker Kraft I'm I'm very high on and I think I got him in like the fourth or fifth round as my tight end. So I was able to kind of fill out ⁓ my roster a little bit more without grabbing one of those Brock Bowers esque players. So we mentioned we we mentioned the Packers. We me mentioned Packers receivers. So ⁓ you know, the Packers have kind of been a wide receiver Azcaban over the last few years. Whether it's players getting injured left and right, it seems like none of them are ever able to stay on the field. You finally draft a dude in the first round. He puts up stinkers and goose eggs in terms of touchdowns for the entire season. It seems like they don't ever have a wide receiver one. It's impossible to pick who's gonna do well each week in fantasy. One dude has goes amazing. You know, he's the highest picked up off of waiver wires, then the next week he's getting two points. You drop him, then he gets ten again. It's it's been extremely difficult to figure out. So it's interesting that both of our two teams, the Patriots and the ⁓ Eagles, have these major wide receiver one storylines with how's Devontae gonna be without AJ? How's AJ gonna be by himself? You know, and and I feel like getting lost under the radar are these escaped from Azkaban wide receivers that have left Green Bay They've swam to shore, they've swam to the Patriots and the Eagles, and now get this chance. I'm really interested to see, you know, are Dobbs and Wicks just okay receivers, they're wide receiver twos and threes, or is it the system, this like rotating four guys, you know, one for all and not for me type of system that they've we've seen in Green Bay? Because I do think that Dobbs and ⁓ and Wicks respectively are. ⁓ in these types of systems, and not to say that the Packers have a horrible system. They've had a good record, they still have success, but it's just not how most teams play and go about it. It's kind of a very Chiefs like way, I feel like, is what they've done. but ⁓ yeah, I I I I would say Wicks is a guy that I'm I'm high on. ⁓ and he kind of goes off of a player that I was a stink on that people are drafting, you know, I've seen people draft as their main flex. I've seen guys draft as, you know, a a a guy that's has a lot of upside in Mikai Lemon. And I'm interested to hear your thoughts on him, but through different reports I've seen is that Wicks has been the guy that has stepped up and passed Lemon and Lemon maybe hasn't had the best off season training camp coming into the season. Yeah, I mean part of it is his injury. ⁓ he had a hamstring injury but it can't be understated. So but at at that same time obviously that gives Wicks the opportunity as a veteran, as a talented receiver to overtake him and To be completely honest, obviously Mikhail Lemon, Bolitnikoff winner, first round pick. ⁓ I would prefer to see him start as the three. And now, you know, what's the difference between Lemon being two and Wicks being two? Maybe a couple reads on the field. Like that's not gonna be you're not practice squad versus fifty three man roster. But Wicks should be the guy you look to while Lemon gets his footing in real time action. I I'm like get Lemon running the routes that you want him to when he's gonna be a feature of the offense. But maybe don't look his way as much because you w you shouldn't expect him to bring the level of separation he was getting in college at SoCal to the NFL. ⁓ I will say, ⁓ coming off of that thought, something just popped in my head. ⁓ huh. ⁓ I if if Lemon's ready to go, Lemon's healthy, Lemon knows the playbook. I love all the Eagles receivers in week one. I I mean Dallas Goddard. I'm talking Saquon Barkley out of the backfield. Props, fantasy, I mean the commander's corner room, i I think they have maybe one extra guy. And so obviously Goddard might be more on linebackers, but ⁓ even then, like Sonny Styles, I think he's looked okay in camp from what I've heard. this Washington team has been predicted to be the bottom of the NFC East, if not third place. ⁓ by majority of people that have brain cells. I saw something that had the Giants winning the division. ⁓ we're good off that. That's not happening. ⁓ so The commanders ⁓ week one, I'm pretty sure it's in Philly. I think it is too. Which weird things happen when y'all play the commanders, but I don't it's normally in like a yes. It's not like week one. Week one is like the Eagles have probably been getting shit on all off season. I've probably done my fair share. Then they come out, they spank the commanders, they win by fourteen to seventeen points, something like that. Yeah. That that's exactly what happened the year that we won the Super Bowl as well. ⁓ There was a a fumble return for a touchdown off of Kirk Cousins by Fletcher Cox to to end it and then season ended with a super bowl. So not that those correlate, but that's the last time I'm pretty sure that the Eagles played the commanders week one. ⁓ then it was in DC. Obviously, this time again in Philadelphia. But yeah, all those guys are gonna be good. ⁓ I actually have Bonex on my bench as well. So rather than just maybe ask you about J. K. Dobbins, ⁓ RJ Harvey, ⁓ maybe ask you about what the hell the Broncos are gonna do. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ because I feel like they really took a a good step last year. Yeah. But, you know, what stops them from taking that next step and be at the top of the AFC, whether, you know, maybe injuries aside, I know Nick's was that he's got a bit of a an injury bug here and there. Yeah. One th just to wrap up the last conversation and and say one thing about Tucker Kraft and then I'll talk about the Broncos. ⁓ I feel like Tucker Kraft and a lot of those types of guys ⁓ and s him specifically is like a train where I made it to the train in time. Like I'm at the tracks. I'm seeing the train. I have an opportunity to get on, but I ultimately like just am deciding to just stay and wait for the next one. Like it's a little too crowded. Like in in in that sense, I'm just I get it. He could totally be awesome. He could totally go back to what he was doing, top five tight end form, and and you can get him at a discount this year. And I'm just I'm just personally choosing to pass. I get I'm a guy that gets really worried. by those injuries. ⁓ and that would be my major worry for the Broncos to kind of transition that way. So, like, look, I see it with craft, I completely get it, and it's probably gonna be one of those guys that I'm not taking and I'm gonna be really mad I didn't. But ⁓ big injuries and coming off of them really scare me in terms of trying to replace production. And that would be, like I said, the one worry I have for the Broncos because on paper, you know, i if Bo Knicks is healthy, this team you know, could be the best and ⁓ and could be right back up to the number one seed again in the AFC. I I really, really like what they did with Waddle. I feel like that is ⁓ kind of their missing piece on offense. ⁓ I've been watching down specifically, I mentioned to you before this started, ⁓ some videos breaking down film specifically and, you know, how teams are just trying to do some real nerdy shit to get me into the season, get my juices flowing. ⁓ and one of the videos was specifically on the Broncos. ⁓ and what Waddle means to their offense. And and what they've been doing in the past is they've had these speedy guys. They have Troy Franklin, they have Marvin Mims, but they don't have a guy that's as much of a consistent speed threat and route runner as Jalen Waddle. He can do what Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin can do, but a shit ton better. And just the gravity and the you know comparison that you have between Sutlin, ⁓ Sutton, who's 6'4, like 215, and can go over the top of anyone as some of the best highlight reel touchdown catches. over the past two or three years with Waddle who can, you know, on one play fake you inside and pick up fifteen yards just with a a a slight jab, or on the next play he's beating you on the outside by pure speed alone and he's got you beat by five yards downfield easy t I mean he made he's a guy that made Tua look like he's a top five deep ball thrower in the league at points. ⁓ I and I feel like the gravity between him and Sutton play off of each other extremely well between the size on one side and the speed of the other. ⁓ and not to say that Mims was bad, but just Waddle does it better. So when you combine that with the fact that they have an excellent defense, they have a top five or six offensive line, they have this, you know, pretty steady group of running backs, whether you favor Dobbins, whether you favor favor Harvey. I'm a Harvey guy just kind of because of the upside and some of the injury questions that always seem to pop up with Dobbins. ⁓ but there's no questions that when they're together, that's a very scary duo. Harvey's got a major receiving threat, ⁓ is extremely quick. And Dobbins is a is a good Bell Call and really impressed me last year in the first several weeks of the season when he was healthy. Like the defense was so good, they were so good in close games last year, ⁓ and just are a a really well coached team in general. And the one thing that scares me is just i how healthy is Bo Nicks gonna be. If if we're getting the Bo Nicks from last year, there's no reason this team is not better on paper than the team that won whatever they did fourteen, fifteen games last year. Definitely. ⁓ so I in in You know, it affects his running ability with it being the ankle. ⁓ you know, it affects it him in late game situations. They were so good in the fourth quarter last year when, you know, the pressure gets up, he's outside the pocket, he's making these reads on third and seven, no one's open. I gotta tuck it and run myself. I am running in for the touchdown myself. So as much as I really don't like the Broncos, Patriots, Broncos, plenty of history. ⁓ going back and forth, I'm not a major fan of their team. It's hard for me. To not sit back as a fan of football and think they're gonna have a really good year if Knicks can stay healthy. I'm really high on him. Yeah. I have Dart sitting as my fantasy quarterback, but Nick's on the bench that ⁓ I wouldn't be shocked at all if I'm yeah switching that very soon. ⁓ but and from a fantasy perspective, a hundred percent, yeah. Yeah. So I I think that'll be and Dart's gonna be interesting. Obviously the Giants are gonna be interesting as well, but we already touched on the NFC, ⁓ since we're talking about the Broncos that stay in the AFC West. Yeah. ⁓ kind of same preview. Maybe not win totals, but just thoughts here. ⁓ the AFC West is always such a confusing division. Really interesting. For me, you have ⁓ the Chiefs, obviously ⁓ a perennial contender year in, year out. ⁓ they're always in not only for the division lead, but the one seed or top two seed. ⁓ the Broncos, I'm with you as well. I think they're gonna be ⁓ a really good team here as long as Knicks can stay healthy as well as ⁓ Dobbins and more so focus on Knicks because of RJ Harvey. So that's a good pick. ⁓ UCF guy. I'm from Orlando, so he he was a lot of fun to watch kinda like Tootin ⁓ in college ⁓ and maybe just a little bit more of a affection towards him just because Central Florida guy but ⁓ they're gonna be up there and I'm the Chargers are so confused because it's like every year this is their year and then they never do anything. And I guess part of it is injuries. ⁓ but I I just can't be I'm high on Amarian Hampton like you mentioned. Not high on anyone else. Ladd McConkey, sure. Justin Herbert always has a good season. But as a whole, ⁓ I think one A, one B ⁓ is Broncos Chiefs. Honestly, I could say the Broncos can win the division and put the Chiefs at a close two. ⁓ and then Chargers three and obviously Raiders have a lot to figure out. ⁓ it's just a matter this season at least ⁓ of hey, when when's Mendoza gonna start playing? ⁓ are we gonna have a shot maybe to somehow sneak into a wild card which a strong stink on that. So Yeah. I I think, like you said, I think it is one of the more interesting divisions in football where again, you know, I think there's several divisions that could have ⁓ mul ⁓ multiple teams win ten plus games. I there's not too many where you have three teams that are pretty decently, you know, could win ten games in the Chiefs, Chargers and ⁓ the Broncos. I I would make the Broncos the favorite just because I think they're such a complete team on both sides of the ball. I really like the Chargers going into last year. I know it's easy to get wrapped up in the analytics. ⁓ but you know I think Harbaugh gives them a certain floor. I knew he would elevate them a little bit. ⁓ and one thing I'll get into later, I I I'm higher on them offense this year. I think just injury wise, Hampton missed so much of it. ⁓ Ladd had a down year. The offensive line was injured before it even started, and I know they had their center get injured going into this year, but they have some of their main guys, they have Slater, they should have Alt. ⁓ they should have some more of the outside guys. ⁓ I like the signing of Njoku to pair with Gadston. They're probably gonna run a lot of heavy personnel. That's what Harbaugh has kind of always been into. ⁓ get two tight ends in there, run heavy downhill, do some play action, make Herbert only have to throw it twenty to twenty five times, not thirty-five or forty, like some quarterbacks will. So I'm higher on their offense, but one point I want to get to later is I am going to be a little bit lower on their defense after Jesse Mentor left to go coach Baltimore. I think there was a reason he was such a hot commodity and what he was able to do with that Chargers team that was for several years lost ⁓ defensively. ⁓ you know, i there were several guys in the prime ⁓ you know, several years ago, five, six years ago, they were a good defense, but I felt like their defense and how much they played together and their identity has been so strong under Minter and I do think that they're gonna lose a little bit of that. ⁓ because they were I believe a top seven defense last year and it's like they have some guys, they have old Khalil Mack, they have Derwin James, but like it's not the biggest star driven defense ever. ⁓ I think a lot of it is coaching and scheming. So I I think while their offense may improve their defense may go down a bit. Yeah, no I agree. Minter was the glue that kind of kept these maybe non all pro guys together. ⁓ and that's why they're such an interesting team for me. And you know mathematically speaking, ⁓ if the offense goes up and the defense goes down, it's going to go here and we're going to have the same result, which is I think they made the playoffs, didn't they? But like barely. Yeah. And then they lost in the first round. They did the usual Herbert special. Granted they did have to play, you know, Drake May and the Patriots, but they were balanced first round. Herbert's never won a playoff game. Yeah. So AFC West ⁓ or AFC yeah, AFC West probably one of the weirder divisions, not just in the AFC but in the whole ⁓ NFL. We'll leave the the AFC for last. Obviously you have the the hometown ball knowledge or not hometown, but ⁓ your team, I guess, for lack of a better way to put it. Yeah. ⁓ I wanna talk about the Houston Texans and the AFC South. ⁓ We kinda touched on the Jags, so we can kind of just breeze over them. ⁓ excited for their offense. I think they're gonna be Brian Thomas Jr.'s they're gonna have a back ⁓ I think BTJ specifically is gonna have a bit of a bounce back year. ⁓ excited for Tootin. I think he's gonna get a lot of touches. Travis Hunter, I I I think he's Parker Washington hypes has we has reached new levels. Yep. Yeah, he he's gonna be a fun guy. ⁓ but they're they're gonna be relatively similar. ⁓ the Colts ⁓ relatively similar in t in terms of JT's gonna have a little bit of a down year. ⁓ Patel's really high on Josh Downs. I I can't agree with that. That's the most Patel thing ever. I I know. But but Alan Pierce and Downs, obviously Tyler Warren's gonna be fun. Penn State guy. I'm a Penn State fan. Love Tyler Warren. He's awesome. ⁓ basically like a bigger Taysom Hill in terms of he can throw the ball too. Yeah. But not to breeze over the Colts, but it's just a team that's easy to breeze over. You know, I feel like there's a little bit of hype, but like it's just this. Like I just kinda go like Colt like, you know, Colts. Okay, cool. Next. Like I would say they're vanilla ice cream, but not even with like chocolate syrup. They're like vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. Like it's just they're so ⁓ and it's like excited about it. feel like the the only team that you talk about in terms of like really having a shot in the AFC South is the Texans and only because the Jags have kind of been there They're like right on that border, so you're not you're kind of just saying, ⁓ same old, same old. The Jags will be somewhat in the conversation. The Texans have rocketed themselves and I always laugh when people say this about the Texans because it's it's like very obvious, but it's very true. It it's all on CJ Stroud. Like this defense can hold almost any team to ten to twenty points a game. Maybe fifteen to twenty. It's hard to keep someone at ten points in the NFL. But can C J Stroud scored twenty one to twenty five. You know? And he has the weapons, but can he be the guy that wants well, he is the guy that wants sixty million. Can he perform like a guy that deserves sixty million? A guy that turned down fifty million. Can he play like a guy that deserves an extra ten mil a year? So, I mean, I've definitely got some takes that I feel like maybe zag a bit, and it wasn't where I started at because, you know, I was ⁓ I watched firsthand as, you know, he looked like the Sam Darnold game, like the Sam Darnold seeing Ghost game against my team in the playoffs, against the Patriots. I watched him have one of the single worst quarterback games I have watched since that Sam Darnold game, and long before him, ⁓ Mark Sanchez butt fumble before him. You know, like it was it it was one of the worst games I've seen, and even before that the game was not that great against ⁓ the Chargers when they won that one. And so for many of this offseason, like the you know. 80 million other people ⁓ throughout America that watch football. I have been pretty low on CJ Stroud. But over the past month or even the last two or three three weeks, I've started to do a little bit of a shift. Maybe I just love to swim upstream. I love to go against what the general public is. I usually like that in betting. I usually like that in takes. I like to fade the public. But I do think in this situation, I think there is some reason to think that. Stroud could be better than what people think. And what people think about him this year is so low that that won't even be that hard to do. And what it like to your point, he needs to do in order to get the Texans to a good record, to get them into the playoffs and, you know, be back where they were last year is also not that much. Again, you mentioned 21 to 25 points. Let the defense do the rest. And I I I think it's gonna be I it's gonna be I mean, it's obviously gonna be very telling about him this year, but like With the riches around him, especially if they can get just any ounce out of the the wet rag that is Tank Dell holding together, if they can just wring a tiny bit out of him, I mean, it's gonna be hard for him to fuck up. Like, especially after the booty trade. Like, you have Nico Collins, you have Booty, you have all these wide receivers and Noel and Higgins that you've drafted in on in the first two days, ⁓ over the past several years. You have to Higgins towards A C L, but ⁓ yeah, yeah, I forgot Higgins at Jersey CL. ⁓ but the core guys with Booty. Marks and Demon if you want to look at the backfield too. Yeah. I don't like either of them fantasy wise, 'cause it was gonna be fifty fifty, but as a unit, that's a pretty good unit. Yeah, and it and it's unfortunate what happened to Mixon because he was really good ⁓ until his injury that first year with the Texans, and I saw, you know, the reports are now that he may basically have to pull a Chris Carson and retire. ⁓ kind of very similar careers, I feel like, in that respect. But ⁓ no, to your point, I mean Montgomery is certainly an upgrade over what they had and and I like Woody Marks too. I've I've snagged him in the back end of, you know, trying to maybe get a little upside running back. ⁓ Montgomery's used to working in a committee. He's certainly gonna be RB one, but I feel like Woody has a similar style. He showed some good pass catching better than I thought ⁓ last year for ⁓ a guy that I kind of viewed more as a bruiser. ⁓ they're gonna use both of them and ⁓ kind of they just need to dink and dunk their way down the field. But I I think And I saw the reports today about Stroud being offered something in the fifty millions and he's holding up for sixty millions. He he's betting on himself. And again, this is a guy, and maybe the Texans are, you know, the side of it is they get they get the rookie year out of their quarterback is phenomenal. Deshaun Watson, rookie year, phenomenal. One of the best rookie years we've seen. CJ Stroud, rookie year, like 28 touchdowns to three interceptions. Phenomenal. And then, you know, they either get massages, they fall off a cliff, or whatever happens. But CJ Stroud has just been ass. And but I do think that there is still some good in there. Whether I don't know if he's the type of guy to take criticism and turn it into fuel, but I mean he's gotten more, you know, ⁓ if he's trying to put his, you know, trying to put his coal into the train furnace to get it moving, he's got an abundance of coal and booze and negative output from the entire offseason. He's maybe been the most hated player of anyone this offseason, but I think he has the weapons around him ⁓ to actually have a pretty good year. I've I've drafted him not as a QB one. But as like my backup quarterback guy with upside in a lot of drafts, because I do think, you know, I think we could see more of the year one. I'm not saying he's gonna go twenty eight touchdowns, three picks. Right. But I think there is a world where we see him have twenty five to thirty touchdowns or even twenty to twenty five and you know, limits the picks or the turnovers to, you know, about ten or eleven. Like in and that's a good year. Yeah. I I definitely agree, and ⁓ they're a team that Again, it is hinged on him, but he has everything around him to and I honestly like like obviously I don't think he's worth sixty million as it stands. No but putting down or denying a contract to kind of play as like a prove it, like almost a prove it deal, i I think is gonna be good for him on top of all these other weapons. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ so Titans snore. They could be fun to watch, but they're not gonna win a lot of games. Yeah. ⁓ I wanna root for Cam Ward, but yeah, the Around him is just so bad. I had I have Tate on my do not draft list as a as a stink guy. Like I don't understand why he's going in the range of like a Romo Dunze ⁓ like he's going pretty high. Like I've seen him go five ⁓ round five or six. Like I I don't know. Like Calvin Ridley was supposed to be this really good guy. He was going in a similar round maybe a little bit later last year, and you know, maybe it's just Calvin Ridley, and I like Carnell Tate, but that offense is just so dysfunctional. I don't think there's too much to talk about there. Yeah, I agree. So from from the south to the north, ⁓ before we wrap it up with the East, obviously. Yeah, ⁓ probably the biggest news fest in the NFL, the AFC North, yeah, feels like year after year, maybe not in terms of media or or politics, thank you Deshaun Watson, ⁓ among many other things. But the the division is just you know, the the Steelers go one game above above five hundred, it may be different now that Tomlin's not there, Mike McCarthy comes in. But I I just I don't look at any of these teams and I'm like, yeah, like these guys are gonna be good. AFC West, you have arguably the top three. Maybe you kick the Chargers out just for this conversation's purpose. The Jags and the Texans, the Bills and the Patriots. And and you look up north and it's like if the Bengals don't do something, Joe Burrow's gone. Arod's retiring after this, so is he even gonna get a good retirement tour? I don't know. Yeah. What the hell are the Browns doing? And and the Ravens feel like every year ⁓ this is the Ravens division to win and then they win it and then they don't do anything with the win. So it's like it just feels like someone needs to break the curse. And I don't know if you have a team that maybe you're high on that someone's not that could break this curse, but ⁓ maybe it's a casual take for me. But I just see this happening in this division, this happening in this division. ⁓ you go over and look at the AFC North and it's just like crickets, like it's the same shit over again. Yeah. So And I I do I definitely do see that side of things. ⁓ and I have se I've seen some Bengals hype, ⁓ but I feel like the Bengals are just very popular to look a lot of hype. ⁓ I I mean, I feel like no matter what, it's just because it's Joe Sheisty and, you know, you have Jamar Chase. But I am really high going back to what we talked about when we were talking about the AFC West, ⁓ and the Chargers and Jesse mentors moving over to the Ravens. I think that's a really good hire. ⁓ like it seemed like Even the Ravens fans at one point weren't sure how good Harbaugh was at this point. It seemed like, you know, for such a coach that's been a part of their team and really the last many, many years of me watching football, watching Ravens football. It's been Harbaugh standing on the sideline. It seemed like you would have much more of an emotional detachment from Ravens fans for this major coach leaving, but a lot. I've seen happiness and positivity. And then like I said, I really liked what I saw from mentors. I feel like The Ravens kind of lost their identity last year. Their defense really slipped despite having a lot of stars. You go out and you get some big names, some guys coming back from injury. Now you have Max Crosby. Hamilton should hopefully be healthier and be a star on that offense, but or on that defense. But I I really like their defense to bounce back this year. If you're they have Trey Hendrickson. Yeah, Trey Hendrickson as well. A hundred percent. Yeah. ⁓ but if if you know, if you're looking for ⁓ a defense to draft, if you if you're League does defenses and you're not trying to spend like a fucking eighth round pick on the Rams or go with the Texans or, you know, the Seahawks or the Broncos, something like that. I think the Ravens have some value, but regardless, I I think the Ravens got away from their identity last year. I think it was kind of just the end of this kind of souring relationship. Maybe we'll get the the tell all book in five years on how it actually wasn't that great organizational wise between Harbaugh and the Ravens. ⁓ and and I just saw, you know, just from the laws of football and and bounce backness. I I saw Lamar have basically the worst year I've seen him have. The Ravens looked lost on defense on a side of the ball that you could normally pencil in for top ten every single year. And I just think that they're this was a great hire for them. I think that they're gonna get back to some of their ways defensively. I can see Lamar bouncing back. I wish he had better receivers. I've seen good things about ⁓ about Lane, their rookie wide receiver. Yeah. ⁓ and I know, you know, flowers. I'm stinking on flowers, man. The flower the the contract was awful, absolutely horrible. Yeah. ⁓ you know, I I do think that on I think he's kind of waddlish where, you know, if you have him as a wide receiver two, he's one of the best in the league. ⁓ I as a wide receiver one, not my favorite, but he did put up a thousand yards. He did put up a pro bowl season, you know, and you can talk about what that means. But, you know, I I would like to get a little bit more play out of their wide receivers, and this feels like one of the last I mean, we've been saying it for Four or five years now, it feels like the Bron LeBron. ⁓ this feels like one of the last years where it's like you gotta get Henry going. But I I don't know. Just even if I can't put it to analytics, I just I see their defense jumping up with the new hire. I see the energy being but better, and I just can't see Lamar playing that bad. ⁓ so I I definitely have the Ravens as a favorite, but I do feel kind of the rest of the way about the league. I don't really see the Bengals hype. I see a team that's practically the same as always, maybe Burrow stays healthy and that's the difference that finally gets him into the playoffs, but they're not going to do anything once they get there. And the Steelers, I like Pittman for them. I actually, you know, I have Pittman as a do draft guy as a as a swim and I have Metcalf as a stink. Yeah. I agree. I'm just not seeing it for ⁓ really for either of those teams aside from getting fantasy value. If you want to talk about fantasy value for the Steelers or for the ⁓ the Bengals, there's some guys that I like, but ⁓ from a team standpoint, no. But I do see the Ravens having a pretty good year. I could see them Bouncing back to a a three seed, maybe even a a two seed, but probably that that three range ⁓ behind the win of the AFC West. And the AFC East, yeah. Okay. So AFC East, there's really only two teams to talk about. Yeah. ⁓ Jets, absolute dumpster fire. Yep. Dolphins, ⁓ I love that Kevin Patulo is sucking so much ass down there. Chris Sims tweeted if you think it was all Kevin Patulo last season, ⁓ you're not watching something Shut up. You sucked in the NFL. No one. You suck as an analyst. He's one of those guys that we were not talking about at the beginning of the episode. That guy stinks. Bad takes. I promise you, nobody cares about Kevin Petula. Like I'm not falling asleep thinking about Kevin Patula before I'm ⁓ my God, the Eagles are gonna stink with that. Like they the Miami offense literally had to call a meeting mid practice and then it didn't do anything. Like that team isn't competitive. That's one of the best reports from the offseason. That was hilarious. Yeah, it literally was like What did it say? It was like Malik called a players only meeting mid practice. It didn't do anything. Or like it did not do anything. Thank you. It's like it's like when you catch when you when you have a Pokemon that's doing like their their major move or whatever it's called. I'm too far out of the game. I don't know what it's called, but it it was not effective, is kind of what I'm thinking for it. Missed. It just did nothing. So those two teams are dumpster fires. No, no, no. You got juggernauts. I think is the best way to watch a division go down. ⁓ personally am I calling the Cowboys a juggernaut on the NFC East? Not yet. I could see it. I know you and Todd are high on ⁓ I'm not saying it yet, just because of the you know, it it's kinda like the boy who cried wolf. But very well could be the Eagles and the Cowboys butting heads. Definitely the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots butting heads. ⁓ obviously a Patriots fan here in Jackson. Looking at the Bills, do you see them as a real threat? Do you see the Patriots regressing? What's your thoughts on the top of the AFC East before we wrap it up? Yeah, I mean, and over the over the past few years, I mean, you've seen it's kind of been nice to see before in in the Brady era, you know, it there was really, you know, there was a lot of shit but it w between the two fan bases, but it was really buried deep because the Bills were like thirty three and three or ⁓ three and thirty three all time against the Patriots under Brady. Whatever. I have enjoyed that now both teams have been good and the shit talking has really returned. So there's a lot of Patriots fans That will try and sit there and be like, Josh Allen sucks, no Super Bowls, Bills suck, blah, blah, blah, blah. We're better than you. I feel like I'm smart enough not to say that. I actually have a pretty b decent respect towards Allen. they're essentially the Buffalo Allen's and Cooks. ⁓ is kind of is kind of what their team is. DJ Moore, man. And and and DJ Moore now too. Another that's a guy. I mean, DJ Moore's going about the same range as Carnell Tate in fantasy. Right. Like DJ Moore Could easily I mean, he was a dude who had a thousand yards every single year for Carolina, then had a couple down years in a system that maybe wasn't tailored or quarterback, wide receiver. Whatever. DJ Moore, I think, is gonna have a good year. ⁓ look, the Bills are the Bills. Allen is Allen. If he's healthy, they're gonna win at least eleven games, nothing less than that. ⁓ and probably split against the Patriots. I I and then it's just about when you get to the postseason. ⁓ I think that Allen is good enough. It's the same story as every year. Allen is good enough if they can find a way to bottle You know, it I mean it's it's their defense, whatever, like it it's hard to keep talking about the Bills 'cause it feels like the different story just refresh whatever wide receiver is leading for them. Yeah, I think they're gonna be good. They're gonna win eleven, twelve games, they're gonna be a top you know, i unless the Patriots win the division again, they're gonna be a top four seed in the AFC. ⁓ so it just comes down to what the Patriots wanna do. I I do think that defensively they've improved. ⁓ I I like the moves that they made on offense. I think that You know, this was a team that I would have been happy with eight or nine wins last year and went to a Super Bowl. So there's obviously gonna be a little bit of letdown. I don't think that the Patriots are gonna run right back. They had an easy schedule last year. But I do think that ⁓ despite the easy schedule, they still have a high enough floor with Drake, ⁓ with Rabel, ⁓ Diana Russini aside, ⁓ to still be I I to I think they're in that same Bills category. I just I don't see necessarily a Super Bowl. I'm not going go out there and say that, but I I I have a hard time seeing either team winning less than eleven games. It's going to come down to either they're tied or a game between them for who wins the division. and, you know, I I think maybe we'll have a we'll have another episode next week where we get into more of the season and some of the week one matchups and I could give a little bit more Patriot spiel than I could, you know, easily spend another hour talking about them, but I know we're getting a little bit long. ⁓ but I I just, you know, it just it's it's hurt me all off season. It's hurt me right in my heart to hear Drake the Schedule May, you know, and the Roussini stuff. ⁓ but I'm glad that other stories have propped their way up where it seems like they've kind of been a little bit not forgotten about, but a little bit pushed kind of from the a top three story to more of a top seven or eight story. ⁓ but look, I I think I think it's it's about the playoffs for both of those teams. I think I I have a really impossible time. There's some people think the Patriots fall off a complete cliff. I think that's ridiculous. I think that's just pure hatred. Both teams should win ten, eleven games. They'll be in the playoffs. We'll see from there. That would be my my short take on it. Drake May, you know, I have no problem running him back and fantasy drafted him last night. I love him. Yeah. I mean it rightfully so. He's a talented player. And so one more one more thing that I just thought of here and and I can go first if you need a second. ⁓ I want to know tooth it pick one division for each, one You the most fun to watch. ⁓ it just and and then the most talented. So my most fun to watch in terms of division weight wa race, excuse me, is gonna be the NFC South. Those guys are all just like a bunch of little kids running around button heads playing go karts. Like the the nine and seven, the nine and eights are gonna win the division. Like yeah. There's some bright spots for a lot of those teams and maybe the Bucks walk away with ten wins, eleven wins and win the division. But I think it's anybody's game down there. And I'm excited to watch that. I know we touched on ⁓ last week. And then my team for talent and there's so many team or division NFC division, sorry. ⁓ that I there's so many that I want to say the NFC East, but the bottom two are not great. The AFC East, but the bottom two are not great. I I gotta go AFC West. I mean, you could seriously see the one seed or one or two, and then both wild cards come out of the AFC West. Yeah, it's it's so that's not even crazy to say that's probably what, a forty, fifty percent chance of happening. Maybe that's a little too high. But I'm curious if you thought of maybe other divisions or if something came up for you. I'll I'll I'll go right off of ⁓ talented. I thought ⁓ the first team the first divisions that came in my head were either of the ⁓ either of the West. Either the NFC or the AFC West, I would say in terms of talent. I mean, we don't need to talk about the Rams, they've been the superstars, they've been the you know Lake Lakers with LeBron or Kobe or Shaq and Kobe of the offseason. They've been the darlings. They're plus five hundred to win the fucking Super Bowl. ⁓ talents loaded there. You have the Super Bowl champs running back. You know, we can see if they survive the, you know, power converters or whatever the hell's going on near the practice fields, but there's a lot of talent on that San Francisco team. Cardinals, McBride, whatever. But you can say the same thing about the Raiders. They don't have anything either. It's a it's a three team race. The tight end. The their team is ass, but man, they got a good tight end. Yeah, that's almost the same. They are very similar. Yeah. It's wild. Yeah, very both divisions are very similar. Where again, I could see I'm not even that high on the Niners, but like I won't argue ⁓ against the fact that you could easily see three playoff teams from the NFC West. So, you know, I'll say I'll honestly, I'm gonna go NFC West, but I I would put the AFC West as a close second in terms of talent. ⁓ in terms of fun, I would probably say I would probably say the NFC North. ⁓ That's a good one too. That was my other one. Yeah, I think that that's gonna be a really competitive division. I don't know how much I like the Vikings. We talked about win totals for them. I think the eight and a half's ridiculous, ⁓ as a as a win total for them. But I'm even excited just to watch Kyler Murray on a new team as bad as it could go. You know, I'm excited to watch Jettis like, you know, whatever. But then the other three teams, I'm really excited to watch the Packers. Excited to watch the Bears. Especially, I mean, if you want to get hyped up for the NFL season, if you've been kind of out of it and are looking to get back in, go watch the playoff game between the Bears and the Packers. I rewatched it the other day. It was like, holy shit, I need football. We're a week away now. and then you know, you have the Lions too, who are a lot of they have the highest win total in the division, a lot of people expecting a bounce back. You can never go wrong with their electric offense. ⁓ so I I would say that's probably the most fun division for me. Yeah. Good picks. All right, man. Episode ten is Is there a lot of good shit coming up? ⁓ so excited about sports. Excited to see you this weekend, man. Outer Banks is gonna be a blast. All the fun. Outer Banks Unk Reunion. First ⁓ first college major reunion. Labor Day weekend straight into ⁓ football next week's gonna be a fun one. Can't can't beat it. College football will be on the TV at all times. ⁓ yeah. Gonna be gonna be a lot of fun. But obviously ⁓ any college football game But any major college football game you're looking forward to? We didn't really get to touch on them that much. No crazy. ⁓ I ⁓ don't know. I mean, it's something that maybe we can touch on post week one. Next week we'll do straight football for an hour. But ⁓ there's there's gonna be some good ones this weekend and you know, LSU Clemson obviously you can't talk enough about them, so we could do a whole other hour on whatever the hell's going down in Baton Rouge. It said it was like six hundred plus celebrities in attendance. Who are they counting as a celebrity for that? I don't know, man. Yeah. Libby. I guess so, dude. I get it. Maybe maybe for LSU Ole Miss. LSU Clemson. Dabo Sweeney's got that kind of celebrity pool in twenty twenty six. Yeah. Kate Klubnik's one of the celebrities. It's finally time, boys. The moment we've been waiting for it, time to sit back, enjoy, talk some ball, talk some football. It's been a long off season, but ⁓ hopefully a lot of more fun conversations like this one to come. If you were waiting for Todd and the special guest to come, sorry about that. Who knows? They may be kicked ⁓ kicked back, had a few ⁓ a few extra drinks, getting in the football spirit. ⁓ but they'll they'll be back. At least Todd will ⁓ in some capacity next week. Yep. All right, man. See you this weekend, episode two this weekend. Have a good one, everyone. Yes, sir.