Transcript of The Fantasy MVP Episode! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/4

Once, I lost so badly in my fantasy football league that I had to eat an entire can of dog food covered in wasabi. It was unpleasant. But now, I've found the Fantasy Footballers Ultimate Draft Kit. The days of dog food are gone as I dig into their breakouts, values, tiered rankings, and much more. If you want to join me in the winner's circle where you don't have to paint your butt cheeks like an elephant's face, head over to www.elementdraftkit.com and prepare for your fantasy draft.

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright.

Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo.

I realized I had to do a different intro because welcome into the Fantasy Footballers. I'm the backup host for today, but Andy is here.

I'm just here so I don't get fined.

So I couldn't do the normal intro.

It's not a nasty boy show.

So I kind of panicked and I just said the word yo a lot.

Now I know at least one person out there thinks that you're hosting because you want more airtime, Mike. We saw one of those comments.

We did see that in the YouTube. So we did a mock draft yesterday.

YouTube was elite yesterday.

We did a mock draft yesterday and it was very clear from the first, I don't know, 5 seconds of Andy talking that the voice is struggling. The sickness is going around our building.

I'm doing my best.

And so Andy's like, someone help me. And I'm like, I'm the hero. I can do this. And then YouTube was like, well, why did Mike take over? He must be upset that he doesn't get to talk enough on the podcast.

The comment was spectacular. It was like, you know, the vibe is off today. Mike must have complained behind the scenes that he doesn't get enough talking time.

There were quite a few wild comments yesterday's show, but—

Because if you have been around me—

Do we have the— it's just weird that it goes from Andy to Mike leading the mock. Feels like Mike complained he doesn't get to talk as much as the other guys.

Say, if you know anything about me—

I know, that's what's so great.

You know that I complain that I don't get to talk enough. It's my favorite thing.

Yeah, you are a talker, especially like elevators, public spaces.

But for the time being, I will be here as the, like I said, I will be the backup host. Welcome in. It's September 4th. It is Friday. It is MVP Day, a very special episode. We go out to the industry. We get some of our buddies out there because look, we're kind of isolated. We're our own thing. We're not out there. You know, it's not a disrespect to what other people's work. We just, we We want to have our opinions, our projections, and that's what they also do as well.

Yeah, I always enjoy hearing them or when we get them in because we don't know who they're going to pick. And I, I'm always like, is it going to be someone I, I like or someone I hate? Because, you know, it's just a different perspective. It's nice to get other people's fantasy MVP. Obviously our fantasy MVP is on the show as well. That is probably the most important. There's so much going on. Andy wouldn't miss this show because it's like This is a big show. It's a big day. The Megalobowl drafts start today. Oh baby. Drafting today, this whole weekend, all the way through the very beginning of next week. We have Megalobowl drafts. If you want to get in on it, go to megalobowl.com. It's free if you're a Foot Clan member. Just go, go and, and, and pick a spot.

5 days worth of drafts.

5 days worth of drafts. Get in. It's a fun format, a fun league. And if you win, which is difficult. You get in the listener league for next year and you get a free Foot Clan for life ultimate membership.

And the bragging rights of winning the largest fantasy football tournament that I plan to have that I know of at least. Also, if you are, if you just have your regular fantasy football drafts as well and you're like, oh crap, I jumped in late. We have you covered. ultimatedraftkit.com. That is our premium resource to get you ready for the draft, our tiered rankings. Like if you're just, if you're trying to binge and get ready, as I've talked to plenty of people, there's casuals. They realized, uh-oh, we got to get in there. So ultimatedraftkit.com. It is still available. It still will be updated throughout the weekend if there is breaking news.

I just realized this is the last show.

Yes.

That we are recording before our League of Record draft. We won't be on air again before— until we have finished our draft. How exciting.

I've got a funny feeling my draft's going to end up okay. Like my final roster.

Well, you already drafted.

Yeah.

You've already drafted.

You've already got all the guys.

Yeah.

So that's cool.

I'm pretty excited.

Yeah.

I'm very excited for you. Quick.

Do you like my deep voice?

You sound like Adam Lefkoe.

Lefkoe.

Quick question of the day from J Key in Phoenix. Hey, ballers, do you guys have any tips so that I don't overreact after week 1's performance? Trying to avoid another Sammy Watkins. Oh man, the Lizard King.

42 points in week 1, Sammy Watkins in 2019.

It was, it was delightful. And I can tell you Sammy Watkins in 2019 was on my roster. Oh baby. Shout out to the Lizard King.

Was he in your lineup?

No.

For that week 1 matchup?

I don't think so.

Probably the next 4 weeks.

That part I don't remember. Did I trade him? No, because I had done it, guys. I had Patrick Mahomes wide receiver 1. Wow. I did it, guys.

I didn't even remember which team that was for.

Right? That was the Chiefs. Am I remembering this right?

Oh, it was absolutely.

Okay.

Well, he did it twice. He did it 2 different years.

Yeah.

So I don't know which one that was.

Yeah, maybe I'm thinking of the wrong year.

Here's my answer.

Oh yeah.

Chiefs versus the Jaguars in week 1.

Impossible.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

That's, I kept—

That's what I actually think the answer to this question. What are tips so you don't overreact? Don't be a human being.

Yeah.

Otherwise impossible.

If you can convert to robot, you may be able to handle it and take your emotions out because—

Especially if you thought something about the player.

Yeah. If it's confirming what you thought.

Oh my gosh. If Blake Corum, Scores 3 times in week 1.

Just take your lap. Take your lap. You, you are the champion. And you know what? I don't think, I mean, the truth is bringing up a question like this is enough of just making sure. And after week 1, we'll talk about it again and again.

Oh, the 2024 Isaiah Likely, Jason.

Oh yeah. Oh yes. The market of Mark Andrews was dead and gone and it had shifted to Likely.

Yeah.

There's, there's all sorts of examples like that last year. You know, I was high on Justin Herbert and Justin Herbert comes out in week 1 and scores like a bajillion points. It was like, yes.

The only one that you can control is if it is a player that has done nothing ever and they have a crazy week 1 like a Greg Ogletree.

Oh man.

Then you might— I mean, he's still going to be the top waiver pickup.

Yes.

Yeah.

But you might be able to say to yourself, Let me have another week before I start them.

Yeah.

I mean, another week before you start them, but you, but you also have to move on week 1. The data on week 1 is, it is not like guaranteed that that's going to continue happening. But the players that do break out kind of out of the blue, like a Puka Nacua, they, they usually don't get started in week 5. You know, we talk about that in the waiver wire analytics is like the, The hits in week 1 are valuable. So pretty much just don't overreact. Don't make moves and trade based on that. With waiver wire, you have to make transactions. So go after those guys. But yeah, we'll try to keep you grounded. Yeah.

Yeah. Just tune in. We will go over it. The guys who explode in week 1 will give you at least our opinions on it. And it's hard, man. It's really, really hard. difficult to sift through that of what is going to end up being true and what is not.

News and notes from around the league.

The Athletic's Matt Barrows.

I think it's Barrows. Oh, I don't know.

Why are we talking about Barrows at a time like this? Pizza time. Said he is sure 49ers tight end George Kittle, quote, won't be on the field for his usual 95% of the offensive snaps in week 1.

This is—

thank you for that, Matt.

It's obvious that he's not going to be out there for every snap. You don't come back off of the Achilles, barely get to week 1, and then just because it's a game say, okay, do what you can't do. The question is really, if you draft George Kittle, he made the flight. So as of now, I presume he's going to be active.

Yes.

I don't know if you can start him.

The— what the report that I want is Mr. Barrows or Barrows say, I'm hearing George Kittle. As soon as they're in the red zone, George Kittle will be on the field.

Yeah.

Because if that's the case, then you can play him. Then you can still play George Kittle. Like a George Kittle week 1 line of 3 for 17 with 2 touchdowns. If he's playing in the red zone, that's not impossible for George.

There's just a chance for a little Kittle.

Yes.

There's a chance for an itty-bitty little kiddo.

There is, there is some major risk. So hopefully we'll—

This is what I'm bringing to the show today.

Yeah.

Some good work over there. Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers returned to practice Thursday.

That's good news.

Oh, phew.

Yeah.

That was starting to get a little sweaty with the undisclosed injury. Patriots running back Travion Henderson with his ankle injury not spotted at Thursday's practice. He has not practiced since August 24th.

This has been a long time sitting out. Obviously they are game planning for week 1. He's not practicing. So this is a player that honestly, if he is active week 1, I don't know if you put him out here. I love this news because it bails me out of everything. You know what I mean? Like genuinely, there's—

Not from the teams you already drafted him, bro.

Well, no, I know. I still do think, I mean, I do believe that By the second half of the year, Travion Henderson is going to be the primary running back and great for fantasy. That's the shot I'm trying to call. Obviously anyone who is on that side thinking it's going to happen from week 1 is wrong. I mean, this before the injury, everything was Rhamondre is the lead guy. Rhamondre is doing everything better. Travion's still hurting with pass protection. Add in the injury there. You know, I, if I drafted Travion Henderson, obviously depends on my roster. But I would be looking for someone else to start. And there are other, there are other options that, you know, some of these backups. I mean, I don't know if you go to like Roschon Johnson. Oh, but I mean, let's talk about the Bears news.

But it's just a reminder, the Patriots-Seahawks is Wednesday. So there's not even, right, like the extra, oh, Thursday or maybe even the weekend and you're playing the Super Bowl champs. I, even if he's back, Henderson is going to be—

He'll be low in our rankings.

He'll be a terrifying week 1 start opening day when he's struggling with pass protection.

There's no—

and you're against Seattle. There's no need to do it.

Yeah.

Like, I'm probably finding a different option. And then late yesterday, this one popped through.

We do need—

She's really good for my fantasy MVP. Really good for my bold prediction.

We don't have a ton of updates, but here's what happened last night. Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze and running back DeAndre Swift left practice early on Thursday. We did— I saw a report that Rome was expected to be fine.

I was going to say, I think we did get updates that were both very positive.

I didn't see the Swift one.

Swift has a cramp.

Yeah, I didn't see that.

Swift is fine.

I had looked when a little while after the news broke, it was basically the first update we got was that the Rome thing was minor and it wasn't—

And they weren't saying anything about Swift.

It wasn't a concern, but that the Swift one, when he went down in practice, was a lot of pain and it looked bad. And—

But it was always—

But if it's a cramp—

Midsection.

Yeah.

That was the encouraging thing about the Swift news. It was not his leg. It was like he's grabbing his midsection, which—

Well, that's, that's, that's great. I mean, obviously that means Swift should be fine for week 1. My Roschon, I hadn't seen that it was a cramp yet and I hadn't gotten the update, but—

Brother, you got to start hydrating the day before.

I'm pretty sure they stay. I think Swift is hydrating all the time.

Well, then you need the pickle juice.

There it is. That's the solution.

Butterfly stretch and pickle juice. I don't know why this is so hard.

Seriously, why are NFL teams— they're not coming to us. We have the answers.

We know you're listening. We know that.

If you just go to butterflystretch.com, you will understand.

Oh my gosh.

I forgot we did that. And by the way, I got to go check it out.

Currently active groinindex.com.

Oh, it's beautiful. Oh, we're back.

We're back.

Oh, groin index lives.

Well, that is, which is very, you might notice similarities between groinindex.com and butterflystretch.com.

You might. But that is, that's the best news that I have heard all day.

Novelty domains are our expertise. Also, how does nobody own butterflystretch.com?

Well, own, own.

I mean, you can make offers. I am willing to sell.

Before we jump into the fantasy MVP, we're going to take our first quick break.

Who's your fantasy MVP?

Andy has the buttons, but I am the host. That was incredible teamwork.

Yeah, I, I heard it and then, you know, then you thought about it and you were like, that's it.

Oh yeah, that's me. Reminder. So fantasy MVP, we reached out to our friends around the industry and we said basically like, you know, this is, this is up to you. Is it your favorite value pick of the draft? Is it your, just your favorite pick? Is it your, you're calling your shot on a breakout? So we kind of leave it open to the, the, the fantasy expert and they're just their insight, how they want to handle it. So we're going to start off here. Great friend of the show, Rich Rebar at Lord Rebs. from over at Sharp Football Analysis. Absolutely legendary mind in the space. Let's hear what he has to say.

All right, footballers, this year my fantasy MVP is Colston Loveland. He ended the season with at least 15% of the team's targets in each of the final 9 games, was targeted on 24.7% of his routes for just under 2 yards per outrun over that span. And over the final 5 games, he played on 81% of the team dropbacks, receiving a target on 31% of his routes with 2.34 yards per outrun. Even in a split season of as a rookie, he showcased his weekly upside. He had 4 top 3 scoring weeks at the position. Only Trey McBride matched that and had more. And as Loveland came on to close the season, we saw Ben Johnson adopt more of that 12-13 personnel. They were 6th in 12 personnel, 2nd in 13 personnel over that span. Chicago is elevating Luther Burden into DJ Moore's role. This allows Loveland to remain a featured target in the offense, and Cole Kmet's presence lets Loveland move around the formation and arguably the de facto slot receiver. But as a rookie, he played everywhere— 57% snaps in line, 22% from the slot, 17% out wide, and he can win everywhere. Ben Johnson wants to score the most points in NFL history, and Colson Loveland's going to score the most points for any tight end this season.

Whoa. That ended with a fire take.

I love it. Lord Reeves, Lord of the Nerds. Reeves and his data, man. He always brings incredible information.

Obviously you agree with this, Mike, since that is—

Yeah, no notes.

That's one of your My Guys. So there is a lot of unanimous opinion on Loveland here. We are kind of all in on Loveland.

Yeah, that one I have, I have no notes. All right. Ian Harditz of RotoWire, absolute domination on Twitter at Ian Harditz. You can find him and he, I mean, he's always cracking me up over there, giving you good insights and good jokes. Let's see who his fantasy MVP is.

What's up, fantasy footballers? Ian Harditz here from Team RotoWire with my 2026 fantasy football MVP. Give me Dolphins wide receiver Chris Bell.

Whoa.

Yeah, yeah.

Get your laughing out.

No, no, no.

No laughing.

Parker Washington or a Chase Brown like these other alleged fantasy football experts. A man of the people's got to give the people a true sleeper they can get in the last round of your home league draft. And that is Mr. Chris Bell. I dare you, watch that game against Miami last season and tell me this dude doesn't look like the second coming of Mr. AJ Brown. Without the knee injury, we were looking at a legit round 1 talent who's now recovered. We got out there in the preseason. We're off the PUP list. We are ready to go for week 1 in an offense with nobody else to throw the football to. Look at this depth chart. Malik Washington, Caleb Douglas, De'Jon Love, Jalen Tolbert. You're telling me Chris Bell is not going to rise to the top of that immediately? I know, Ian, it's the Dolphins. They're going to run the ball.

Are they going to run the ball?

That's a great thing to say in August, not when you're down 28 at halftime in every single game like we're expecting. What about Malik Willis? Could he be good or okay? You look at him over the last 2 years, small sample be damned, he ranks first in, oh, um, everything we can possibly measure about a quarterback. Chris Bell is a young baller with a path to breeze past triple-digit targets with a quarterback who might not suck.

That's my pitch.

Love you guys.

He snuck De'Jon Love under there.

Yeah, he did. He's a jokester. Andy is applauding. Andy loves this.

You, Andy, Andy's like all— do you have any bets on Dolphins to win the Super Bowl?

Not yet.

Because you're going to get some great numbers.

This would have been a perfect time to go to Deuces Alley for a Dolphin, but the Dolphin's not there. So we'll have to go. Papa Josh, your best Dolphin?

Oh, no, your best Dolphin.

No.

Okay.

It's not bad for a guy who You literally used to be a dolphin trainer.

That's, that's a dolphin being killed.

Yeah. I think someone with a machine gun. We have a, we had a deucer who was like, oh, Monday's Labor Day.

I know. He's, what do you call it?

Yeah.

You think we don't know what you're—

I called it vacation maxing.

Yeah. He knows he's got Monday off for Labor Day. So he's wrapping up.

Yeah.

It's not a busy time of year. I think it's just the biggest draft weekend.

I think the calendar is going to include some extras, extra no-no days.

Oh my gosh.

You ruined it for everyone, Matt. Hope you're happy.

One half decent dolphin impersonation and you can get out of town.

Chucks up the deuces. I'm out of here. So Chris Bell, we know Andy's in on it. I'm concerned about the early season here of missing so much training camp and really being able to go.

But that's my— is my voice good enough to make a small compelling argument here?

Yeah, sure.

You're going to have to do it for your MVP anyways.

I know.

So let's see.

Yeah. Do you want to save it or do you want to just ruin it on Chris Bell?

The point, the funny thing is to me, and I'm just, I'm going to try not to be like dogmatic about this because it's certainly not a guarantee the Dolphins are any good whatsoever. The thing that I think is so funny is it's like they were a terrible football team with Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa. Okay. I know you can go back 2 years and say their offense was humming and functioning. They were not last year.

And well, I would just remind you, they were 7-10 last year. So they like to call it to say they're an awful team.

Let me put it in the category of whatever gets you fired.

Yes.

Okay.

That's fine.

Sub .500 and the offense struggled. Mike McDaniel's fired. We bring in not Mike McDaniel. And we bring in not Tua Tagovailoa and the default place for all fantasy analysts is worse and worse. I just want the, I want the possibility here. When you have a head coaching change, when you have a regime change, when you have a quarterback change, it can get worse. It can get better. Some teams we have high expectations for and they don't show up and they're not the guy that we think they're going to be. It's like the Chargers every year. Or sometimes we're surprised and maybe bringing in a bunch of new coaches and a bunch of new training staff and a bunch of new systems and the numbers that Hardit said about Malik Willis. Maybe, maybe Malik Willis isn't the best at every single thing because of the small sample size. But what if he's pretty darn good because he was drafted with draft capital that was, I mean, we've done this now 10 times with the Sam Darnolds, right? With the Geno Smiths. Baker Mayfield's development is underappreciated at the level and we discount and throw players away.

Malik Willis was not a good quarterback in Tennessee. That was a long time ago. I love Matt LaFleur and Green Bay and their system. I just want to leave the door cracked open for a middle-tier offense and that will change the landscape for Bell, for Willis, for Achane and the team.

I think it's in reverse. I think it's... They need, they need Bell or Douglas, their 2 rookies, to step up to become a middle-tier offense. Like, so it's, it's one and the same. If they are middle-tier, then, then one of those 2 guys really, really hit. For me in the draft, draft day this weekend, I'm taking my shot on Caleb Douglas, the rookie they drafted ahead of him, who's been great at camp because my assumption is week 1, week 2, the first month of the season, I think Caleb Douglas is going to be playing more than 75% of snaps. And I think Chris Bell is going to be worked in slowly. So the first opportunity to hit, if I'm— I don't want to hold on to Chris Bell for a month if he's playing 50% snaps while he's still working back from the injury. I would be shocked if week 1 he's out there for 75+% of the snaps after missing all of training camp. I know he got into a preseason game.

I think you're right about the snaps, but I think that there's a chance that after week 1 you have a couple of massive plays. It's not all going to be snap count. It's going to be who makes the plays. And I think Chris Bell could surprise people. But I mean, I'm obviously with Harditz on this.

Yeah. I like the pick because it is, this is a sleeper that, that even in really intense leagues, you can get Chris Bell late.

And he was projected to be a first round pick before the injury.

And funny enough, Jason, your, your case that you laid out, that's why I prefer Malik Washington.

Sure.

I want the vet. who will be a starter. And like while the other guy, while the rookies are working their way in, I think that Malik could be a serviceable PPR guy catching, you know, 5 or 6 passes.

You know what this sounds like? It sounds like 3 different names that, that you guys that we're going with. Malik gets to throw to all of these superstars, all of these superstars. That's what I heard.

Take your shots.

All right. Next on the list. He's here every single year because he is truly one of our favorite people. One of our, just a good man, good human, and a spectacular fantasy analyst.

What?

This isn't, I thought this is JJ. Wait, who is this?

Me.

Yeah.

I'm talking about me.

Oh yeah. You are a great man, a spectacular analyst.

No, it's JJ.

But you said nice things.

I know.

Because I'm all about—

guys, I'm, I'm thrown off here. I'm hosting a 3-person show. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with my hands.

I mean, I don't think you just love to talk. Look, JJ's a good guy. Sure. And a good analyst. Okay.

I've seen his pick, but it is great.

His hair.

Oh yeah.

I don't know if you can really listen to that.

We'll leave that up to the YouTube.

youtube.com/thefantasyfootballers.

All right, JJ, take it away.

When I think about a fantasy football MVP, I think about outliers. I think about a player who just ends up being special and doing something special. And sometimes you have to take a chance on those players. And one guy I'm willing to take a chance on this year is Luther Burden. There's a real chance that Rome Odunze is just a better traditional wide receiver than Burden. But I'm a believer that Burden fits exactly what Ben Johnson wants to do. Scheme his guys open, give them a lot of space to work with. And let them do their thing with the ball in their hands. Burden excels at that. Back in college, among all wide receivers in my wide receiver ZAP model, Burden had a 98th percentile avoided tackles per reception rate and an 84th percentile YAC per reception. And when he got his opportunity last year, he thrived. He finished with the 3rd best rookie season yards per route run of any wideout since 2011 with 100 or more routes. And he ran a route on more than half of Chicago's dropbacks in each game, from week 11 through the end of the fantasy season last year.

In those contests, he was 10th in targets per route run, 2nd in yards per route run, and 5th in PPR points per route run. I actually think Burden's floor is actually okay given the environment in Chicago, but the ceiling case is definitely there. That's why I'm making him my fantasy MVP this year. And by the way, even though I know you guys are going to use that picture of me with a bowl cut in your video for this, I still love you.

All right.

We changed the picture.

Yeah, we didn't use the picture.

We didn't use the picture.

The boy grew up to be a man.

Yeah. That was the haircut he had as a boy placed on him as a man.

I assume that's what he still has.

We might've given him some work on the teeth.

No notes. I love Luther Burden.

The—

Man, what if the Bears disappoint? So you know how I do on the Bold Prediction Show. I always pick some hot, new hot offense that I think is going to disappoint. They were like on the shortlist. I couldn't do it. Of course you can't. I couldn't do it because I literally think Ben Johnson's going to get it done. But everyone is in, you know, obviously we got a Caleb, my guy. We've got a Loveland, my guy. We have a Bears big bold prediction. Now we've got a Burden and Loveland MVP. Come on. Don't let us down, Caleb.

Historically, Bears bets are bad bets.

Yes.

This, this is really genuinely what's funny is like we're betting on all these people. We're betting on the talent. We're betting on Ben Johnson. Burden and Loveland, none of it comes true if Caleb doesn't level up.

So good thing he's my guy.

Yeah, no, I know. Come on, Caleb.

The thing is, so Luther Burden, if you hadn't heard, he is back at practice. His groin injury is kind of like a—

he's not on groinindex.com.

He's—

it's a bit of a blessing because Luther Burden's ADP had reached a point where it was just What are we doing? What are we doing here? I love Luther Burton. I love the potential, the upside, but we're drafting him around wide receivers where I'm confident in who they are as players. Where Luther is, we still don't know. But now I'm seeing a sleeper ADP of wide receiver 26 going in at the 6.01.

That is great.

That's so fine. That's so amazing. I mean, I got to draft him in our mock draft for like the first time of this offseason.

He was being drafted inside the top 20 in the 4th round just like a month ago. So yeah, I think the groin actually did make him a viable option this year.

All right.

My groin makes me a viable option as well. This is my contribution to the show.

No, I love it.

Go on.

Going to keep this train moving. Good friend of the show. Former NFL running back, former NFL fantasy superstar.

I think he wants to— I mean, I think former is presumptive. I think there, there's a chance he's trying to— he could become current soon.

Could be.

I was, I was a little hesitant, but I went with it anyways.

Injuries happen. I think you see this guy on a roster.

It is Austin Ekeler, champion of workouts. A, like I said, an absolute fantasy superstar for a while. The fantasy community loves and adores Ekeler. And he's just, he's in it.

He's been on this show quite a few times.

He is a fantasy guy. So let's see who his MVP is.

Austin Ekeler here and my fantasy MVP this year is Christian McCaffrey. No one gets the volume that Christian McCaffrey does. No one is dependent on a running back like the 49ers are. The upside for Christian to have another massive year like he did last year is right there in his hands. Yes, he has to stay healthy 100%. But guess what? In the years that he stayed somewhat healthy in the last 4 years, 3 out of those years he's been a top 3 back.

Come on.

Yes, there's some other great options out there, but I think for the most potential point output, Christian McCaffrey is the go-to. Also, I am running a free-to-play contest this year. It's a fantasy league. If you want to join my fantasy league this year, check it out at Fantasy Royale Sports. If you think I don't know what I'm talking about with my pick. Come try and beat me. I'll see you over there. Appreciate you guys. Have a good one.

Austin Ekeler doing his— oh no, he's going again. I was like, whoa, he really psyched me out.

It was tough because I was in the chat and I was telling Al, I go, really nice presentation on this one, you know, throwing it on the back wall, the picture.

And then, and then he does it.

And then, you know, the loop, the loop was in there and kept him humble.

So Ekeler, but really nice, doing his best Fantasy Hitman impression, going all in on Christian McCaffrey. I mean, there's, we don't really need to say much about McCaffrey. If he's healthy, he's healthy, he's good. If he's healthy, he will be a league-winning running back.

You know what's really tough is what, okay. So there are guys like Ken Walker, Mike, you like Ken Walker.

Yeah.

Almarion Hampton, Jason.

Okay.

If you had those guys, Walker and Hampton, you'd rather have CMC. Is that the answer?

Yes.

Because yeah, in your voice is exactly what I'm getting at because I don't know what the compensation should be in a trade for that situation. Like if you have those guys, there's part of me that's like, I definitely want CMC more. Of course it could be number one. And then there's part of me that goes, would I really give up that much more? Than Hampton or then Walker or then, you know, name another James Cook. I mean, I find myself in a weird place with CMC where it's like, I know how good it can be, but I don't like the San Francisco vibes. And I just, I think part of it is in the back of my head, CMC lost the, like the volume's been there and that's what's going to get him through and it'll probably be there again. But he did lose some of the explosiveness. I don't know.

Yeah, it's tough. I mean, you can take him anywhere from the 3rd pick to the, you know, you could pass on him to the end of the 1st round. And I think that that's all reasonable. Obviously Austin Ekeler, he's saying, I'm buying in. I'm not afraid of the injury. And, you know, as a former slash current potentially NFL running back, he should know a thing or two.

Which I did forget about this. We got a blurb, an Ekeler blurb the other day of him talking potential. I mean, like he lives in Vegas now and he's, he's putting the bat signal up. I was like, hey Raiders.

Well, he's, he's talking about some Ekels.

That was probably during the prayer circle injury. Oh, for Gente.

Yeah.

He's talked on his socials quite a bit about like waiting for the right situation and also at this stage of his career, just being a great 3rd down back.

Yeah.

And a pass catching quarterback.

I'll bet he could still be great at that one.

Oh, for sure.

Yeah.

All right. We're going to take our second quick break and come back with the rest of our fantasy MVPs. Next on the list, it's our guy Matthew Betz at the Fantasy PT. He is our injury expert, a certified PT. He helps host on the Dynasty pod and our Fantasy Footballers DFS and Betting Show, one of our head writers. Let's see who Betz has got as his MVP.

All right, Foot Clan, it is time for my fantasy MVP. And like most people out there, I love the Lions offense this year. Unfortunately, if you don't have the first pick, you're not getting Jahmyr Gibbs. If you don't have a pick somewhere in the middle part of the first round, you're probably not getting Amon-Ra St. Brown. So if that's you and you can't get those guys, I think Jameson Williams is an awesome, awesome pick in the middle rounds of your draft, getting him as your wide receiver 2 or wide receiver 3. I just want pieces of this offense. On paper, they project to be one of the best in football. They are 3rd in average implied team total, favored in 14 of 17 games. And that's all with the Lions defense, specifically the secondary, projected to struggle this year, especially early on as they deal with so many injuries in the secondary. They could be one of these shootout teams similar to the Cowboys, to the Bengals over the last couple of years. And if that happens, I think all pieces of the offense are going to eat this year. So give me Jameson Williams, who transformed into a completely different player in the back half of the year last year when Dan Campbell took over.

Basically with John Morton, he was just a deep ball type guy, high variance, low usage type of receiver. Guns Mahoney said, no, no, no, we need Jameson Williams for this offense to work. I think that this self-scouting from Dan Campbell and the staff, they just know how important he is. To the offense. So I am buying a player who, in my opinion, is still on the ascension as far as a talent in the NFL. Look, you know, Jamo has been a guy we've kind of heard about off and on for various reasons early in his career, usually not the best reasons. It's been radio silent out of Detroit for Jameson Williams, which is actually, in my opinion, a good thing. Like he's learning to become a pro, learning how to be an NFL wide receiver. And the arrow is still pointing up for a guy that has averaged 2+ yards per route run. in back-to-back seasons over 11 yards per target 2 years in a row. So give me Jameson Williams in the middle round of your draft. Take him as your wide receiver 2 or your wide receiver 3 and let's go win some Foot Clan titles.

I had no idea this was his pick.

I didn't either. I'm a little sad it wasn't Christian Watson.

Well, I mean, look, I can't go back to the well and my guy Jamo another year. I would never—

But you want to.

I would never double up on a Lion back to back.

Right. The lessons learned.

But I mean, I think we all acknowledge the drumbeat around Jameson, the end of the season, the comments from Goff, Dan Campbell being, you know, somebody that switched to the play calling. I don't know, like Jamo, Amon-Ra, both top 10, not impossible.

Yep.

I mean, Jamo was, was Jamo top 10 last year?

I mean, he was close, right?

Yeah.

I thought 10 or 11.

Let me look that up. Yeah.

I mean, it wasn't consistent, but is that— that's the big question.

I mean, it's probably 10, right?

The question is, will we get consistent? 9.

Can I get an 8?

Will we get consistent Jameson Williams this year for the Detroit Lions going in the middle rounds?

He's 58th pick off the board. I mean, he's the wide receiver 25 on the Lions after finishing as the wide receiver 9. No one wants— I love this pick. Completely turned around like early offseason. I don't like the style of player, but when you can have a real high variance player, that's that. I mean, this is the 5th round, back of the 5th. This is like your wide receiver 3.

Let me make some notes here. Where's he going?

That's how you win a league.

Wide receiver 25 at the back of the 5th on Sleeper.

Okay. Back of 5th. All right. Jameson Williams.

Okay.

What are you doing, sir? Like that in the back of the 5th. Just making some notes for later.

Okay. Well, we go from wide receiver 25 to currently the running back 25. We switch over to KBorg, Kyle Borgagnoni, host of the Dynasty Pod, the DFS embedding show. He is on there as well. And he is the king of unnecessary statistics. Let's see what he has to say.

Foot Clan for 2026 fantasy MVP. I'm going with Jadarion Price, rookie running back for the Seattle Seahawks. I looked at every single first-round running back taken over the last decade, and the only ones who went later than Price's 69th overall draft price— nice— were Sony Michel and Rashad Penny in redraft. He is being discarded and disrespected in drafts based on simply being behind Jeremiah Love in college and a lack of true pass-catching opportunities. But much like Ken Bone Walker coming out of college, The issue is not, can he be a difference maker in the receiving game, but his opportunities. Head coach Mike McDonald raved this offseason about the fact that no one on his championship-winning defense has been able to cover him yet in practice, and beats have consistently talked about his receiving abilities and wheel routes out of camp. I felt like I was on an island on the Dynasty podcast, but I came away super impressed from his film. The contact balance, his initial burst, and his vision in the open field, especially as a kick returner. The George Halani hive, though a small but mighty bunch, can kindly shut the hell up.

Zach Charbonnet is on IR.

Kyle!

And he will be slow played when he returns. Are we really going to overthink a talented first-round rookie running back on a top-tier offense going in the late 6th round on ESPN? Give me that value. And a player who can be a fantasy MVP in 2026.

Oh man.

Kyle.

Kyle's— he does not stand for those Halani Bros.

You are—

he's a feisty man.

Those Halani Bros can shove it.

Sorry to the audience. I guess—

Why is Horse Boy on the screen? There's a red alarm and a Horse Boy are falling apart.

That's on me. That's on me.

I don't—

we have a process here in the show where if something goes wrong, The horse boy comes up on the screen as sort of—

it's like the technical difficulties.

It's the blue screen of death for our studio. That's fine.

Give me a horse boy. Okay. Now let's come back to Jaderian Price.

I also want to apologize to our listening audience. I set a precedent, an effective one a few weeks ago, and apparently it just opened the floodgates for Kyle's loose lips. Now I will say I love everything he said. It is always nice to get when you're alone on a player. to get another validating opinion. I love Price. I love the opportunity.

The—

I still am not 100% sure how they are going to handle Price. Look, they should. Rational coaching says Ja'Darian Price should come in immediately as a first-round pick and be a bell cow running back. To, in my opinion, to spend that draft capital and not use that player like that immediately is just, it's malpractice and you should be removed from all decision-making ability. I don't know what exactly they're going to do. And look, right now, right now the competition is Holani. It seems like he should, that should be an easy, no problem. Charbonnet will be back at some point. And I think that you will have an interesting There could be an interesting change. Like at that point, has Price been so good that they, they hold off and their love for Charbonnet, they have to, you know, they have to just eat it and let Jaderian Price keep out there cooking. I think there's, there's a lot of things that could go wrong for Jaderian Price. But the, the ADP price point is at a point where like he's in the dead zone, but he's the type of dead zone running back that is still worth a bet with your, with your draft pick.

I will say this. His current average draft position, I am very, very in on Ja'Darian Price there. That is not where he is going. Like, you can't look at his ADP and think I'm getting him later in every league now that real drafts are happening. He is going much higher. When we did our mock draft yesterday, He went in the middle of the 4th round. His ADP is like almost 6th round.

Our mock draft was crazy running back heavy.

Yeah. And I think that's going to happen because when I look at the, when I look at the ADP and I see where Price is, it's just delightful. I mean, he's behind Trevo. He's behind, you know, guys that just, you know, Judkins and Bucky and David Montgomery. And I think he's going to be going ahead of a lot of them.

Well, I certainly was the one that took him yesterday that high. So you guys know how I feel about him. I think in a lot of leagues, he'll still sneak further. If you're drafting on a platform with the ADP printed, he's going to sneak through. If you're in a sharper league where people are looking for a starter, running backs go soon. You want to guarantee, I mean, you want to take Rhamondre or you want to take Jadarrius Price?

Rhamondre is a tough one because I think that Rhamondre is going to have just disgusting but really great production. Those other guys though, it's like Judkins, Bucky. I don't mind taking the bet.

David Montgomery.

Yeah.

Oh, Montgomery for sure. Come on, man.

And you're, you're saying Price over those guys?

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely.

All right.

One more of our friends before we get into our own. The 3 of us are fantasy MVPs. Friend of the show, Mina Kimes. We were lucky enough to jump on her show and she was kind enough to reciprocate that with her fantasy MVP, Mina Kimes from ESPN.

All right. The MVP show marches on as we welcome in an award-winning journalist and NFL analyst and the host of the Mina Kimes Show appropriately. It is Mina Kimes joining us today. And Mina, we are excited to have you with us and fantasy managers out there are Trying to find the diamond in the rough, trying to find the player that's going to take them over the top. And who better to ask than the one, the only Mina Kimes? Who do you have as your fantasy football MVP for 2026?

Yeah. So the way I interpreted this, and I just want to make sure I understand, is kind of obviously it's not Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs.

That is correct.

Okay.

You got it. Yeah.

I was thinking back to my first year. ESPN has this thing called the War Room League where it's like all the ESPN talent are in it. And my very first year, that I got the invitation, which was quite an honor. I won because I had Amon-Ra St. Brown, and it was, I believe, the 2022 season where in the second half he just went crazy.

The rookie year when he became the playoff king.

Right before he was Amon-Ra St. Brown. And I think I got him in the third round or something. I really liked him. But I don't want to be too hipster and pick a crazy sleeper. So trying to thread the needle here of a guy Okay, good. I understand it. That I think is going to be on a lot of winning teams. A guy that I desperately want on my own teams. Hopefully no one in ESPN War Room League's listening to this. I want every piece of Amariyan Hampton this year.

Oh, okay. Yeah. You and Jason both.

That is one of my 3 My Guys this year. So we are in sync. Tell me your reasons why.

Oh man. First of all, the fantasy name Hampton Inn. I want it for a few weeks. Hampton Inn. You get it when he scores Hampton Inn. Well, aside from that lovely free breakfast hotel chain, there's a lot I like about him. So first of all, I think he's really good. Just purely from a film-watching tape head, last year, horrible circumstances, hit behind the line of scrimmage constantly. But when he was healthy, he was not only shockingly productive, I think he was really good in a way that's going to really translate in the Mike McDaniel offense. So we know from Miami, Mike McDaniel can basically gin up a run game out of nothing, right?

Right.

The Dolphins were extremely good at it, despite the fact that nobody respected the passing game at the end. That run game is all about running outside the tackles. McDaniel uses all kinds of big bodies, some of which he brought with him. I call Alec Ingold his emotional support fullback to Los Angeles. But we know that he wants to get his backs outside the tackles in space, uses a lot of creative shenanigans to create those opportunities. Omarion Hampton, even though last year He wasn't, you know, he was obviously injured, but it was in terrible circumstance. When he ran outside the tackles, I just pulled this up, 5.5 yards per carry. He actually tied DeAndre Swift first in the NFL league-wide EPA per carry outside the tackle. So I just feel it's like a dream match between the running back and the play caller. And like, I, even if he's not De'Von Achane, I still think he's going to be amazing.

Yeah. I mean, big fan of Hampton over here and Jason. We all have him pretty high in our ranks. And the other thing standing out right now is like, how healthy is Keaton Mitchell going into the season where you're going to see the pass catching downs and things like that?

Right.

Yeah.

You won't get any argument from me on that. I mean, it was basically the exact same argument, the matchup of the offensive coordinator and then the offensive line getting better. I'm all in on the Chargers, but that always feels like a, well, fool me again this year.

Yeah. The Chargers are the ultimate. Oh, what was your excuse this year? Why? Like they just keep—

There's no excuses this year. It's going to work.

I mean, they've, well, they already lost alignment for the year.

Yeah. We say that everywhere. Like, this is it. Justin Herbert, no more Mr.

If.

And then they lose the center. And then like the guard is some guy you've never heard of. And Trey Pipkins is suddenly back in the conversation. Yeah. I think McDaniel's really good at covering up for that though. And the other thing you mentioned, Keaton Minshew, I have him in dynasty. God rest my soul. Which was amazing. I felt really smart, like brilliant, honestly, his rookie season. I know people are a little bit freaked out about that, but I'm sure you guys have talked about this in depth. Mike Godino is kind of a liar, right? Like, I know—

Oh yeah.

Yes.

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah.

Okay.

Okay. So we are on the same page here. He got to run the hell out of Hampton. Like, De'Von Achane had 238 carries last year, right? Like, so I just don't think— also Hampton himself is a very underrated pass catcher. I feel like that's another thing where he could produce a lot. But yeah, I'm not too scared. I'm not planning on starting Keaton Mitchell in my dynasty league. And I think that is influencing my Hampton love.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

The, the lying Mike McDaniel, we've seen the, he'll get between 0 and 30 carries or whatever comment he had last year for some of his players. You heard it here first.

Yep.

Fantasy football MVP for Mina Kimes is A'Mariyan Hampton. And Jason's a happy man.

There you have it. Mina Kimes is going with—

What a voice that host had on that little clip.

Yeah. That third voice. I don't even, I barely even recognize it. Jason, do you have any notes?

No notes. Great job. I am in on Hampton and I love the pairing with McDaniel.

All right.

It's time for hour 3. Jason, we are going to start with you. Who is your fantasy MVP?

My fantasy MVP this year is AJ Brown. I am, you know, I truly believe the difference between, you know, a my guy and a fantasy MVP to me And I think it might be different to all of us, is someone that is a true, just absolute league winner. Just could be, man, I think in the range of outcomes, AJ Brown could be the number 1 wide receiver in fantasy football. But also where he's going, I find, I just, I love it because in the beginning of drafts, when you get, if you are near the end of the first round, that is where usually over the course of this offseason, you're drafting either Justin Jefferson Or Drake London if you go wide receiver. But I really like the running backs that are available there. Personally, I've got AJ Brown ahead of those 2 wide receivers and I can get him in the 2nd round. So I feel like it's this really nice combination of where he's going is totally acceptable. And here's the case for why I think he's actually like a good player this year. The whole, the whole thing against AJ Brown is just that Does he lose it?

You know, if it's gone, it's gone. He's an older player. You know, his numbers weren't quite as great last year. So maybe we saw the beginning of the end. And if so, then he's going to be a terrible pick. But I don't think that that's the case at all. We saw through camp he dominated. He dominated the total targets through training camp in targets and receptions. There were certain matchups when they were playing against the Seahawks in practices, those inter-team practices where the beat reporters are just saying he just dominated like he's— they've never seen someone dominate, especially around the red zone. He was the wide receiver 10 last year and he missed 2 games. And also he was on a team that threw for 3,400 yards. Now he goes to a team that last year threw for 4,400 yards. Add another 1,000 yards in there. You also get a much better passing quarterback. I love Jalen Hurts. I think he's a good quarterback. He is not the same passing quarterback that Drake May is. Drake May and Brown is an elite stack. May threw 10-plus yards down the field at the 5th highest rate.

And on those throws, he led the quarterbacks in completion rate, success rate, and passer rating. You lose Stefon Diggs. AJ Brown comes in, he's going to get all the targets for a great quarterback. And, and if you go, okay, well, he's old and he's switching teams. And so I'm, I'm out. There are a tier of wide receivers, a real special, like these guys aren't just a good wide receiver. These guys are one of the best in the league, which AJ Brown over the last, you know, 7 years has been one of the best wide receivers in the league. You've got enough examples like Randy Moss when he went to the Patriots. Obviously he's first ballot Hall of Famer.

Yeah, that worked out.

But I mean, he set the NFL touchdown record with 23 touchdowns, 1,500 yards. Davante Adams when he went to the Raiders at 29, 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns. Brandon Marshall at age 31, 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns. Terrell Owens at 30, 1,214 in only 14 games.

Did you mention that Moss was 30 as well?

I don't know if I gave his age.

He was 30 when he went to New England.

Exactly. AJ Brown is 29. You know, he's going to a perfect environment with a quarterback that fits him so well. This was like the argument for, for George Pickens and Dak Prescott last year. What Drake Maye does great, AJ Brown does great. They need him. They've got vacated targets. He's going to be loud. It all lines up to me where it's Either he's lost it and he's not good anymore and he's a terrible pick, or if he's still AJ freaking Brown, he's going to go out there and have 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. That's very much in his range of outcomes. So he's my fantasy MVP. I'm in on him. I am, I am bullish on him not having lost it.

I mean, I like AJ Brown.

Yeah, I'm all in. I get it.

I've been there. I know that there is I think the offense altogether has some regression coming potentially efficiency-wise. But, you know, the biggest argument of that extra 1,000 yards passing offense, it's hard to— I think it just does come down to, is he the same guy? Right. That's it. And you want me to go next, Mike?

Sure.

So we talked about Jameson Williams earlier, who I think is a discount in drafts. Wide receiver 25 in the back of the 5th round. The way I view the fantasy MVP pick is somebody that you can always draft that is going to be a complete game changer for your team over the back half of the year. This guy is the highest paid free agent receiver in the history of the National Football League when he signed. He is going in the 8th and 9th round.

Both of them?

Yeah. 8. Wow. I mean, yes.

Twice.

The answer is yes based on the league. Sleeper and ESPN. It is Alec Pierce of the Indianapolis Colts. I have been in the Alec Pierce camp. I don't really— I have a hard time understanding why people are not on board with Alec Pierce. This is a team that like he went out last year, his games with basically he had a concussion in the beginning of the year. When he came back from the concussion, this was like 1,250-yard pace despite the fact he lost Daniel Jones for part of the year. Then the team lets Michael Pittman depart. Then the team pays him $114 million. This is not a 9, even though he's led the league in yards per reception. You go look at his routes last year, 55% of them. I mean, I watched so much Alec Pierce last year during the season. He was on my teams. He ran 55% digs, ins, crossings, go routes. I mean, he does more than people understand that he can do. And then you get rid of the intermediate guy and you say, well, Josh Downs is just going to step in and fix that. Keenan Allen is going to step in and fix that.

No, their number one wide receiver is Alec Pierce. If you look at Detroit, Detroit has Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game, and Sam LaPorta to go compete. with Jameson Williams for those targets. That's why you get more variability there. I think Alec Pierce is going to wake people up to the type of player he is in a fantasy environment. We looked at every 1,000-yard receiver and where they went the next year in drafts historically. Over the last 5 years, the only 1,000-yard receiver drafted later than Pierce, we saw a 34-year-old Adam Thielen and a 32-year-old DeAndre Hopkins.

Oh, Adam, I've been gone for so long.

33-year-old Stefon Diggs.

Thank you for remembering me.

And a traded Wandale Robinson because Wandale had 1,000 last year and he's not going high this year. Otherwise, Pierce is literally statistically the cheapest 1,000-yard receiver and he's not 33, 32, 34 years old. He's going into the prime of his career. And so I don't think, I mean, this was the wide receiver 23 being drafted in the 9th round right now who is practicing and going to play in week 1. Does he have a fast start? I don't know. Is Daniel Jones an MVP? He was for the first 7 weeks last year and then he was injured. So there are questions, but there's margin for all error for this pick to still be a home run for your fantasy team. I think Alec Pierce belongs in the Jameson Williams category area of drafts, but he's being drafted in the 8th or 9th round. And let me give you a little Spoiler alert. That's where he'll go this weekend. Guaranteed.

Yeah.

He's not going anywhere else.

No.

I've been wanting, you know, the injury slowed up my ability to, to really get behind him because we just didn't know how available he'd be. To me, this is just crazy. Last year with Michael Pittman, he was a B in consistency. So this whole talk of like, he only does one thing. No, he wasn't doing one thing. He exceeded 10.5 fantasy points 53% of the time. That beat DeVonta Smith. That beat Jefferson. That beat Jaylen Waddle last year. There's a reason they paid him $114 million. And if the Colts didn't do it, he was getting it somewhere else. He was going to be the best free agent on the market. So to me, this was a commitment to him. And I look at that depth chart and I say, well, who else is catching the ball in high-value, important plays? I mean, he's proven he can score touchdowns. Last year, he's paced 1,200 yards and 9 touchdowns with Michael Pittman.

I don't know.

I'm all in.

I think the cost is wonderful. The ankle injury that's kept him off. I mean, this is buying the injury dip, which I don't usually like, but statistically, when we talk about that, we're talking about the higher drafted players that drop a round or 2. When you're this low and you're in the 8th or 9th round, I'm looking at ADP and some of the guys he's going around. Courtland Sutton. No, like what is the upside case? Right. Because when you're drafting this late, that's the only thing you need to worry about. If it doesn't work out for, for Courtland Sutton or Alec Pierce or anyone in that range, it doesn't matter. It didn't cost you that much. You're just drafting like, what if it does work out? And obviously the best case scenario for Alec Pierce would be that he, you know, really does become the possession guy, the number one for a good offense. And that's in his range of outcomes. You know, I was not having a lot of love for Alec Pierce most of the offseason. I assumed he would be back healthier earlier, be higher in ADP. You're right, Andy. This weekend he's going to stay right where he's at behind tons of other players.

This episode isn't going to move him quick enough. And yeah, he's definitely worth taking a shot there.

Looking at mine and Andy's fantasy MVP, I think What we did was we took my guys that we just were like, ah, yeah, there's just, there's just a little bit too much going on for me to go full my guy with this player. But I love them because we think they are difference makers. I'm going with the running back from Jacksonville, Baezhal Tooten, going as the running back 26. And I've been the, I've been the, the bull case for Baezhal Tooten on the show. And yet Even if you guys, you aren't where I am, we're still above market with where we are with Breece Hall too. And I'm seeing a running back 26 ADP on Sleeper. Our consensus has him as the running back 21. I love Liam Cohen. I love the Jaguars offense. I took them in there, our top 12 offenses draft. I think they're going to be extremely high powered. I will start it with the, I am accepting the risk. When I'm— when you draft Tuton, you— it's, it's an ambiguous backfield for, for a reason. You don't 100% know how things are going to shake out. What I do know is that we have, you know, essentially 2, 2 strong years of Liam Cohen data when he was the OC for Tampa Bay, where Bucky Irving had over 200 carries and 52 targets.

And I can say, You know what else happened on that team? Rashad White had 144 carries and 57 targets. Now the Jags are not— it's a different offense than the Bucs. The Jags are, are just dripping with, with wide receiver depth. But my point is there's a lot to go around in a Liam Cohen offense. Like while Bucky, we looked at him, he was the clear leader. Rashad White was still getting plenty of opportunity. And I'm bringing that up of the The Bayshal Tuten versus Krod, who is going to be the guy? I don't know 100%, but I'm putting my bet on Tuten, the guy who was there last—

You're betting on the talent of the player.

Absolutely. And the guy who was last there last year. And I bring that up because like Bucky Irving, that, you know, 2 years ago, that's workhorse numbers. Travis Achane Jr. was a true workhorse for Jacksonville last year. So if Tuten can get that, he's going to be incredible. Like the, the early down role, I think that's easy. That's for Tuten. It comes down to the goal line and the pass catching opportunities, which we have LaQuint Allen reportedly going to work in on some 3rd downs, but he has been banged up. In Beshal Tuten's profile and Virginia Tech, 12% of Virginia Tech's receptions and the threshold we want from our RB1s from college to pro is 11%. We saw that from Tuten. His athletic measuring is, is truly off the charts. And if he gets goal line, which you're like, that makes sense to think, okay, well, it's going to be Krod. Beshal Tooten was awesome at it last, last year. 25% of Tooten's carries were short yardage where you needed 3 or fewer yards for a first down or you're trying to get a touchdown. That led to destroying his yards per carry down at 3.7. But I've brought this up before.

He was 5th among all running backs in rush success rate, meaning whatever the yards that they need on that down, he was coming through. He was getting them. Even if it's not, you know, over 4 a carry, he's getting exactly what the team needs. Last year, 7 5-zone carries turned into 5 zone touchdowns, 5 of them. Like he was extremely good at it.

Him and Crod were both good at it, weren't they?

Yes. Where H.N. Jr. last year was, he was not. good at the, at the goal line. Tuten was high-powered offense. It's ambiguous. I don't, I really don't mind people taking shots at Krod. I took him in the mock draft yesterday of just sometimes you got to hedge, but I really, really do think that it's going to end up being Baezaltuten as the main guy. And, and the speed that I mentioned, like this is a player who can, you can rip off 60-yard touchdowns when you are Baezaltuten. fast. So I love him. I love Jacksonville. I love this offense. And I want to, I want to take some gambles on ending up with their starting running back. So what are we doing for the rest of the show, guys? Are we wrapping things up? All right. That is going to do it.

That was, that was a very open discussion about the progress of the show there.

Well, I, well, I looked, we had, we had another segment.

I was hoping Jason, because I sound like this, I was hoping Jason was going to jump in for a second and talk about Breece Hall.

As was I.

But then he just left you.

Well, look, my bold prediction is that the Jaguar picks are going to—

That's true.

So you didn't want to poop on it.

Yeah, I don't. Look, I get the upside case. Everything you laid out, right? It's there. If he hits, he could be in that league winner type of category. A lot of mouths to feed in Jacksonville. So hopefully Liam Cohen can consolidate and maybe make it just Parker, Washington, and Tuten. Do that for us.

So that's going to do it for today's episode. Hey, if you're in the comments, go ahead and leave your fantasy MVP. Try and claim some glory for yourself. No show on Monday. It is Labor Day. But then next week, ladies and gentlemen, it's go time. We will see you then. Goodbye.

To the Megalobowl.

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter @TheFFBallers.