AFC West Breakdown, Melvin Gordon, and a Pink Moose

gotten to the age where you could get him at a good value, and his targets are going to be there. You know, he was a player with, what, he have six seasons in a row over a thousand yards, and he's a big-bodied guy so he can, you know, be great in the red zone. And I have worries with Demarius Thomas more and more as the season gets closer. He was the player that was below average on game speed. He has...

lost a step. He's coming into his age 31 season. He had the lowest targets, the lowest receptions, the lowest yards per reception of the last, you know, six, seven years of his career. Now, some of that. Lowest quarterback rating. Absolutely. Throwing to him. His quarterbacks were terrible, but we have seen him before succeed with Simeon, seen him before succeed with Osweiler. I think he has lost a step. So for me,

That's where when I'm on the clock and I'm going, man, Demarius Thomas or Juju, because they're going right around each other. And usually I go with the volume number one wide receiver. I worry that we could see, like put it this way. Demarius Thomas has always to me had a super high floor, always. I think his floor is a big disappointment this year if it's just the beginning of the end, which happens to all players. It's.

Not impossible, and I say that mostly because his target totals were similar to the year prior, but his production... His production is about the same. It's about the same. I don't disagree with the fact that Demarius Thomas is aging, and I think he has lost a step. I think we're all aging. Yeah, every single day I'm older. What I like about Demeris Thomas...

Harmon breaks him down in the reception of the ultimate draft kit. And he mentions this in his write-up of Demarius Thomas of saying, we have seen a shift in the way that Demarius Thomas plays football. However, he is turning into a good possession receiver. The days of High Flying Demarius Thomas are gone, but the days of him still being an incredibly solid wide receiver too are here. He had, of the players that at Harmon charted, he had the second best.

success rate at contested targets. He's still a beast. He still will get the ball away from the defender. He just needed someone who isn't a, what, a 70 points passer rating type of quarterback. I'm going to go ahead and use the worst analogy I've attempted on this show. My daughter at this point in her, like we travel for these live shows from time to time. I always bring her home a stuffed animal at the, from the airport, something from the city. Brought home a moose.

A really pretty pink moose from Minneapolis. It's her absolute favorite. She brings it with her everywhere. She cuddles with it. It's her number one. Demarius is the coziest number two I could possibly have. Demarius Thomas is a pink moose. No, he's not the moose. The pink moose is that number one that you bring with you everywhere. And that's your Antonio Brown or Julio, whoever it is. I'm just saying he is, there's nobody I feel more comfortable with as my wide receiver too.

than Demarius. I don't want him to be. He's not a pink moose is what I'm saying. He won't be a pink moose again. His pink moose days are long gone. They, they went with Peyton Manning and then he's 30 now. So he, so Demarius Thomas is not. He's the backup. What your analogy is? You nailed it, Andy. That was the worst analogy.

I mean, I'm trying. He's your best. He's the second best. So, but we didn't hear a second best in the story. Yeah, what I'm saying? He's just saying, no, he's just saying he's not the pink moose. Right. Okay. He's not, but he's still very cozy. He's the coziest number two stuffed animal you could possibly. Sure. Nailed it. All right. I, I would so. I did preface that properly. Yes, you did. You nailed it. Brooks, agreed? Oh, yeah. Thank you. Yeah, good job.

He's not the pink moose, don't you understand? Yeah, no, no. I totally get it now. Emmanuel Sanders is... Talk about a pink moose. No, he's not a pink moose either. He's the wide receiver that I want from this team. That's fair, because he's cheaper, right? He is three rounds cheaper. Usually he's one round cheaper, but because he was dealing with high ankle sprains last year and all the issues with injury, even though he only missed a couple games, he was...

very injured all last season. We've had, you know, some insider information that usually Emmanuel Sanders is loud and boisterous and he's a character and he's just quiet going about his business, wanting to get paid again, and he's working hard. He, I mean, they could finish. If Emmanuel Sanders finishes ahead of Demarius Thomas this year, I'm not going to be surprised in the slightest. I think they will, in fact, finish near each other. And Emmanuel Sanders, I can get three rounds later and, you know, pair with.

Larry Fitzgerald who's, you know, I can get in the beginning of the fourth. Yeah. No, it's not a bad point. And unlike Thielen and Diggs, you know, this is a group of a couple of veterans. Now, Sefielin's a pink moose to me. That's all I'm saying. Heck yeah. And I think in terms of the Denver Broncos, this, both Thomas and Sanders are playing for new contracts from.

other teams. Yes. And that does not mean, as much as I like Cortland Sutton and Deshawn Hamilton, this is a future play. I don't see a clear path at all for either of those wide receivers to really make a big fantasy impact. So these former pink mooses, they're hoping they don't hit the donate pile. Yeah, I agree. At running back, I truly fully 100% believe.

that Royce Freeman will take over a voluminous job. Volumous. Voluminous. Voluminous. Voluminous. Now I'm confused. Volumous. A word. Well, that's part for the course. I think he will. Volume rific. End up as, you know, a guy who's going to, he's going to be the lead guy there. I don't think Devante Booker is a talented.

running back. We've seen him on the field enough to know what he is. And what he is is a serviceable backup. So you are not, you're not buying into what we alluded to earlier. No, I'm not. I have three main featured running back. Well, here's the thing. I'm not saying that Freeman, I'm not saying that he's going to be a Melvin Gordon.

I'm not saying that he's going to be used in a way where he is a true three-down workhorse and the backups are irrelevant. But I think when it comes time for this committee, it's going to be heavily in the favor of Freeman sooner rather than later. We are going to talk about or talk to Melvin Gordon momentarily. I want to remind you, if you want to take your knowledge that you've acquired over this offseason and give it a run, see what we think of it.

Go to draft.com. You can mock draft there. You can simulate a draft from any position, and then we'll grade you. We'll give you a grade based on our current rankings. Individual grades. I grade it. Andy grades, Mike grades it. It's a lot of fun. It's pretty fun. It's free. It's just something you can check out at draft.com. There's a link on the fantasy footballers.com. We'll give you a draft grade. It's great. Let's talk.

to Melvin Gordon. You talking to me? All right, Melvin. What I love to hear from players is the draft day story, right? I mean, this is a moment you've worked your entire life for take me a couple days back, just leading up to it. Who were you with the experience and how it all felt? I was just with my family. I was just excited to...

I mean, I went to school in Wisconsin, born in Wisconsin, went to college in Wisconsin, and, you know, the Green Bay actually sat me down.

and told me that, you know, they would have loved to have me, but they don't think I'll fall that far. So I knew, you know, my odds of playing in Wisconsin was low. So I knew I'd be at a different home from the first time of my life. So I was just excited to know where I was going to be at, you know, a change, you know, everything, a change of scenery, change everything. So I was just excited to know and anxious and, you know.

Just with my family. And then when the day came, I was actually debating, because, you know, it was in Chicago. So I was actually debating of not going to the draft and staying home. So everybody could be a part of it. But I was just like, you know, you only get drafted once. And, you know, you only be able to walk the stage once. So you don't want to regret it. So I went there. And, you know, it was, you know, the thrill actually got took away from me. Somebody called me. You know, and I was pissed. Oh, they spoiled the moment for me. Like the moment where you get the nerves. As soon as the.

You know, as soon as the draft started, I got a call from a Florida number. You know, obviously, you know, Tampa was the first, you know, the number and then you had Jacksonville like three or something. So I seen a Florida number. I was like, oh, snap. Like, soon as the draft started, they were like, the draft opened, the Florida number called. Like, right. So I'm like, I can't be going first pick. I was like, I know James is going, but like my nerves is just like. And then someone was like, yeah, you have a nice suit. I'm watching you on TV. I was pissed.

I was pissed. I was pissed. It stole my whole moment from me. So, you know, but I still was excited when I got the call. But, you know, as far as the nerves and the, you know, the slow motion going on, they kind of stole that from me. It's a great story. So speaking for an unpersonal goal level, we were able to talk to David Johnson, and he is quick to say, $1,000,000. That's my goal. So this offseason.

We know guys want to walk the team line, but we also know we're all human. We're all setting those personal goals for ourselves. Do you have one that you're going after this year? Yeah, I want to be the best running back. That's it. You know, I obviously got my team goals and, you know.

You know, obviously, Super Bowl, and, you know, just getting to the playoffs. You know, I'm not even worried about the Super Bowl right now. Right now I want to get to playoffs. That's just my goal. I haven't been there yet. You know, I know we got the team. We got the guys to where, you know, we're getting the playoffs. We just got that type of team. I know we're going to make something happen. So right now I'm not even worried about the Super Bowl. As a goal, I just want to get to playoffs and then go from there. But at the end of the day, I want to be the best running back. I want that rushing title. You know, I want to start getting some respect. I don't feel like.

You know, I got none, and quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about guys, you know, guys keeping me out of the top 10, like, just getting overlooked. You know, I don't really appreciate it because I know I'm better than most of the guys they're talking about. So, you know, it is what it is. I haven't been really able to prove that, you know, just being hurt and things like that. But I know what type of back I am. So I just want to be the, you know, I just want to be the best because obviously we got a lot of great back. So if you come out, number one, ain't too much that people can say.

I would say you get a lot of respect in the fantasy football community. Yeah. Y'all show me love, man. I do get love from y'all, man. So, you know, that's what's up. I have to do what I need to do. My first year, I left some people down, you know, so I got a lot of making up to do. It was a great year last year, and are you doing anything different this off-season? Because what fantasy football players love from Melvin Gordon?

That three-down skill set, man. We love running backs that catch the ball, guys who are on the field all the time. Has the coaching staff given you any inclination of that changing? Do they intend?

Gordon, you're the guy. We'll spell you every once in a while. Do you know what the game plan is? No, I mean, I'm pretty sure that, you know, we got Austin. You know, he could do, you know, he's really good in the passing game as well. But, you know, I've shown that I could do, I can do it. And if I'm hot, I think that's what Coach Lent goes with. He goes with the high hand. And, you know, I don't, it's not like it's.

Like, I need to be taken out because I can't do it. I can do it. And I actually hate being taken out the game, to be honest, unless I'm tired or something like that. So, you know, I've always been like that. I've been like that at Wisconsin. You know, they just kept me in there. You like you like in every down situation because I feel like I'm a every down back. So, you know, I don't think they're changing anything. If anything, they're trying to, you know, get us more, you know, involved in the passing game. So that's a good thing for y'all. I'll get you out of here on this one.