Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - Pat Mayo from the FNTSY Sports Network, News, Mailbag

I couldn't agree more. We were preaching that exact same thing of, you got to sell while this guy is hot. Jeremy Macklin is a guy that we are quite low on. Me personally, I'm very low on him. And you have him at 19 going to the Chiefs, a team that has averaged 118 catches by the wide receiver core, the entire core, the last three years. And Macklin has four years already under Andy Reed, and he's never had a thousand yards season with him. But you have him as a top 20 guy.

I do. And I think a lot of the numbers, when you look at the Chief's passing game, I mean, part of it's on Alex Smith, not the best arm, but he is a fairly accurate passer. But, I mean, Dwayne Bow has been washed up for like two years now.

Like, they've had no one to throw to, so why bother throwing? Especially with Charles back there, able to break off so many big plays. Now, obviously, he's still there. But I think there's a reason they went out and they got Macklin. I think that Macklin is highly underrated as one of the better receivers in the league. And he actually gives them a presence on the outside. Like, you don't spend all the money on a guy to bring him in and not throw to him. And there's really no one there to contest him outside of Travis Kelsey for a lot of these targets. So target...

I could see him being in the 135-150 range and through attrition alone that he can pile up these points. And the best part about Macklin, I have at number 19, but he's being drafted as the 27th receiver. So it's the one thing that people have to understand between rankings and ADP that just because you're, I mean, I have him indicated that he's a player that I like. I'm going to be targeting Jeremy Macklin. But if I get to a spot, like I have Alan Robinson and Andre Johnson ranked right behind him. I would take those two guys above Jeremy Macklin because I know I can get him two rounds later.

So I think you have to weigh the value a little bit before you just blindly trust rankings. The New York Jets. You have a guy, Eric Decker, who I personally, I love Eric Decker. I think he's a very underrated receiver, and he gets to move back to his natural position as a two. But you actually have him ranked above the superstar elite, maybe aging, but Brandon Marshall. Well...

Here's the thing. I am a big Eric Decker fan, and it's kind of strange. With Jason Morrow, Brennan Marshall, and Eric Decker there now, you have three guys who are legitimate red zone presences. And I think that the extra attention that Brennan Marshall is going to draw is going to leave a whole lot of wide open Eric Decker. Now, if it's Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing in the ball, I probably like that a little bit more. It's probably worse for the Jets in the long run. But even if it's Gino Smith...

We know that Decker can get himself open. We know he can get down the field. And I don't think the Jets are going to be especially great. If they're going to try to run the ball, that's probably not going to work. So they're going to have to be passing a lot. And if...

If all the defense coverage is shifting to Brandon Marshall, I think that Eric Decker is someone that could really benefit from that. I mean, when he was healthy last season, he was exceptionally good. I think that people overlooked that. So he could average around 10 targets a game, even if Brandon Marshall has 12 targets a game in this offense, I just think that his targets are going to be more impactful just because he's going to have fewer guys to beat down the field. And when you get into the red zone, although Marshall has a track record of being a great red zone presence, again, it's almost like they're going to shift coverage to make sure that he doesn't beat them because no one

Beck's Eric Decker. It's really bizarre. And even in ADP, he's the 49th receiver coming out the board. He's like a last round pick, basically. So he's someone that you can wait on. He's a terrific sleeper in drafts. I actually have very high expectations for him. I'm going to draft him probably as my wide receiver five or six on my teams and feel good about using him as my wide receiver three. So we're going to move to running backs. And you, sir, are crazy in love with Justin Forsett. But.

That works for us because we are also madly in love with Justin Forset. You haven't met at number six. So talk up why we are so smart for being high on Justin Forset.

I think it's a just range of factors. I mean, obviously losing Kubiak hurts the running ability. But for fantasy scoring-wise, the influx of Mark Trussman and how much he likes to check down and throw to running backs could tack on an extra 50 or so catches. And even if you don't play in PPR, that's just extra opportunity. I don't believe in Lorenzo Talaferro. I don't think Buck Allen makes an impact. I think that people are overlooking Justin Foreset because he wasn't a name until last year. If, you know, you just sub-

in what he did last season and call him, let's say, Joseph Randall, for example. Everyone would have him at number six, but since he's Justin Fawcett, he's aging, he's been a career backup, no one really believes in him, and I think he's one of the most trustworthy guys on the board. When you look at opportunity, it's all his, and you look at pass catching, he's an excellent pass catcher, he just wasn't utilized that way last year, because Gary Kubiak system doesn't...

really check down to running backs all that much. And when you have a dearth of options outside of Steve Smith and Brashad Perriman, really, and we don't even know how ingrained he's going to be in that offense. We don't know what Max Williams is going to be like. We don't know what's happening with Dennis Pitta.

Fawcett could be second on this team in receptions, and if that's the case, then he's going to pile up fantasy points. So I'm big on him, but again, almost rankings versus ADP, Justin Fawcett is a running back. You can grab at the end of the second round early in the third round in the third round. He might fall to the fourth round, because no one believes in the guy. So while I have him at six, I don't need to take him in the first round, and that's why I prefer going to wide receiver strategy heavy early, because I know I can get some of these guys a little bit later on that I have a lot of confidence in.

Yeah, we always remind our listeners, love stats. Don't worry about names so much all the time. The names can be very misleading. Especially a running back. Yeah, especially a running back. Now, speaking of a name that people recognize, you still like Joick Bell, where Andy on our show, he's also a fan of Joick Bell for this year. I am writing him off almost completely.

You have him at 19, so talk a little bit while you still believe in Joyick Bell, who will be 29 recovering from knee and Achilles surgery and his average 3.9 yards the last two years. Detroit gets into this weird rut of just doing the same thing over and over and over again.

And whether Joyc Bell is the most impressive back they have, he's probably not. He's probably actually third behind Amir Abdul and Joe Theoretic. But I think those guys kind of cancel each other around. I was big on Theoretic before the draft. I thought he was going to be a PPR monster. And then they go draft Abdullah, who's a very good pass catcher in his own right. But Joach Bell is a very good blocker. He had, I mean.

His durability is sort of an issue, but he's there between the tackles runner when they need him. And I just think that the volume is still going to be there for him. And again, he's another running back that's being drafted as a running back three that I'd be very comfortable with. I mean, if he doesn't pan out, then I'm drafting like Lagerid Blunt. I am also very high on. Just if I can get a combination of these wider running back threes at that price, I'm going to hit on one of them. And I think that Joyc Bell is one of those guys that I feel very comfortable with going into the season to see how.

his role is. I mean, we're not going to know concrete for sure what it's like, but if he ends up with 18 to 22 touches a game, I'm not going to be stunned. And if that's the case, he's going to have terrific value. Another aging running back who you seem to be okay with as a running back to is Rashad Jennings. Now, Rashad Jennings has never played a full 16 games season. He was spectacular through, I believe, the first three weeks last year, but a lot of his value came from receptions. And the Giants have added Shane Vareen

to the backfield, and we all know Shane Vereen's expertise is in pass catching, but you still like Rashad Jennings. Yeah, I haven't number 24. That's one spot ahead of Melvin Gordon, who I despise this year. Yeah, me too. Thank you for that.

It's just the opportunity. Like, you see, if he's going to be the lead, the quote-unquote leadback, obviously he's going to be spelled by Shane Verene. And they obviously brought Shane Verene into play a very specific role. I think he'll actually see an uptick and carries. But the defenses are going to be so geared to stopping Beckham and the returning crews and that passing offense in general that I think there's going to be a lot of soft defensive fronts for the Giants' backs to run against. And if Rashad Jennings is the guy that's going to be seen the, at least plurality of the touches.

and carries at least that I think that there is a good gamble on him. Like number 24 says I'm not super high on him, but he's someone that I will consider as my running back too. Again, with the bells and the blunts of the world, just pile up these guys that are going very late and just really hope to hit on one of them. And that's really my entire running back strategy. Grab one good guy at the top, if I need to. If not, wait on...

Fawcett to fall to me or Alfred Morris to follow to me, then start grabbing some of these guys at a later cost and load up on those safe receivers early. So moving to quarterbacks, one of the reasons why I personally love Pat is he is a master, master of the nicknames, which I consider myself pretty good at it, but I don't know if I can match up with Pat Mayo and a quarterback that he loves this year coming into his second year, Teddy Throsevelt.

I don't know how many people have heard this, but Teddy Throesville Bridgewater, you have him at eight. I actually moved him down to nine. Oh, okay. You coward. I moved the Tanna Hill ahead of him. I just, I was sleeping on Ryan Tanna Hill for a little bit, but I like Bridgewater, too. I think the return of AP actually helps him a lot, especially with Norv Turner there, that I think that Peterson probably gets more involved in the passing game that a lot of people think. Like when you look back to 2014, I mean, Matt Azata.

caught a lot of passes, and he's not going to be on the field anymore, thank God. Until AP goes down again, he scores like five touchdowns in one game. But I see a clear path. They upgrade with Mike Wallace. I like Charles Johnson as a stretch receiver. I mean, there's always talk every year about how this is Kyle Rudolph here. I don't really buy into that, but he'll have enough of an impact that when they get in the red zone, if teams gear up against Adrian Peterson, there's one of two options they can have, that...

Teddy can run it himself. He's not a runner per se, but he's a runner like Aaron Rogers is a runner. If it's there, he can take it, no problem. He's not Cam Newton. He's not Russell Wilson, but he will have some value with his legs. And if they're trying to shut down AP, there's going to be a lot of opportunity for him to throw touchdown. So I think in a burgeoning offense and a guy who looked to be by far the best rookie, you think that he only gets...

better in year two, great pocket presence. Like, when I watch him drop back in the way that he maneuvers in the pocket, his vision downfield, it just reminds me of Tom Brady.

So if they have time to throw, I think that he can pick apart defenses, especially with Peterson keeping the defenses honest for him, that he's going to have ample opportunity to strike down field. So I think there's significant upside with Teddy Bridgewater. Unfortunately, I'm not the only person who likes him at this point. So he's flying up the ADP. So he's actually probably a player I won't end up with a whole lot of shares in, unfortunately. And moving to the guy, Matt Ryan.

as we call him Manila Ice because... I hate Matt Ryan. Yeah, I know you hate Matt Ryan. You have them at 15. At 15. And so every year, except for 2013 when Julio Jones was gone, he's been a top eight or better quarterback. But you have them all the way down at 15. I like to stream quarterbacks. If I don't have one of the elite guys, which based on my draft strategy, I don't really end up with. And people talk about this, I mean,

Matt Ryan's the Frank Gore of quarterbacks. Like, he's never going to be the number one quarterback. Like, he had the one really good season. And you say he's been a top eight quarterback, but he's usually six, seven, or eight. Now, he never misses a game. And he puts up, you know, around the same amount of points every week. He never really hits large. And that's the problem that I have. And while I do have Julio Jones ranked at number four receiver, I do like Roddy White, like those are the two receiving options. Between those two guys, if there's really no one else to throw to, I mean, I don't know how involved Devin Hester's going to be again this year.