Biggest Storylines + Draft Advice, House of Cards - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/31

That's right. All right. We are going to take a quick break and then jump into some voicemails in the mailback. All right. If you have a question for the show, you can go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com. Go ahead and click that submit a question button. Or better yet, dial our voicemail hotline 302-464 TFFB. You can also join us on Spotify live this afternoon for live question and answer. Yes, you can. Let's kick it off with the voicemail. Hey, ballers. This is Nico from Massachusetts. calling about Devante Smith, you don't seem to hear anything about the sophomore bump for Devante Smith this year. I'm wondering why you don't hear it. All right. Love the show. Bye. Because the shadow cast by the enormous A.J. Brown hides the tiny, tiny Devante Smith behind it, but it is something worthy of talking about.

This offense is not going to be what you want it to be with Jalen Hertz and this moving down the field and being a powerhouse without Devante Smith taking a league. Yeah, and he is a great wide receiver. I mean, he had a phenomenal rookie year, which was again in the shadow of a different player of Jamar Chase and Jalen Waddle, where you go, you don't realize how good Devante Smith's rookie season was because he was not the best or the second best. He's very, very, very good. I think that the Philadelphia Eagles are going to take an offensive leap forward, and he's undervalued right now in the eighth round. He doesn't cost much, but you're right. It's because AJ Brown is there. And it coincided with him missing a chunk of, you know, the training camp at preseason time. So AJ Brown got all the love from the beat reporters. The targets were astronomical. He's back. He's healthy right now.

And so I think Devonta Smith is a really good pick in fantasy. Now, before I answer this, this has been an ill, an ineligible mailbag question. Oh, really? I don't know what, I don't know what's going on over there with you fellas. We're not even in the mailbag yet. Whoa. No, I noticed. You knew? I knew. And you still, you powered through it. The silence is embarrassing. I made a big mistake. I mean, look, Andy forgot. And then Jason's just like, well, this is what we do now. You're trying to cut out my part of the show? We did talk about that earlier. But I guess we can go down. Wait, well, you're going to up? Oh, okay. Then Jason's going to do. Oh, no. No. Mailbag. That was not so bad. Wow. You set yourself up to get knocked right down.

Well, this is show 1,278. I think that's the first forgotten. I do, too. You know, we came out of the break. I was so eager to tell him our phone number. And we missed the core part of the show. I'm sorry, Foot Clan. We got it. We made it up. Let's go ahead and grab another voicemail. Hey, Ballard, says Eddie speaking. We do trade in the 19th league, Joe Nixon for Chase Edmonds and a 23 first round pick. Thank you, little show. That's a really interesting one. That is. Okay, Joe Mixen, this is Dynasty Trade Joe Mixen for Chase Edmonds and next year first round rookie pick. So this is all going to come down to one simple question. Confidence level that Chase Edmonds will not be good for the NFL and for the Dolphins. Right. But take a step forward. Is it true fantasy option for your team?

My answer to this question is I do not have the level of confidence in that happening to make this transaction. Mixon is one of the true workhorses in the NFL. And while I have hopes for Chase Edmonds, I do not have certainty about him the way I do with Joe Mixon. So I will unfortunately, for you're my guy, have to go with Joe Mixing. Yeah, no, I completely understand that. I think you laid out the reality of. uh the situation very well it really is a matter of do you believe that you will get a top you know a top 20 running back season from chase edmonds and obviously this is team dependent like are you one of the best teams out there you're running for a championship if you're in a rebuilding team this is an easy yes take the trade um 20 both of these players are 26 years old uh that's when i try to trade running backs you know i i would like to

capitalize on them and then restock through the draft. The 2023 draft class next year is pretty loaded and there are some great running backs. So I think I make this trade because I do think that Chase Edmonds can be a top 15 running back this year. He's nowhere near as good as Joe Mixen, but adding that youth and capitalizing before, you know, the age cliff is hit for Joe Mix. And I is very, very close, but I would take it. So Mike, you're the tiebreaker here. So Joe Mixon, 26, like you said, Jay, 27-ish is kind of an age where you should start worrying about running backs. I'm not saying Joe Mixon can't be one of those players that plays very well past that age. Every once in a while it does happen. But looking at the contract situation, you have probably a guaranteed two years of Joe Mixon being the starter before they reevaluate.

Do we need to get a new person in? Do we need to extend him? I lean keeping Joe Mixon here and going throughout the season. Because I think there's a chance you can get a better offer mid-season should you really want to trade Joe Mixon. I think that someone who's making a championship run might offer more than that flex type of running back option and a first. I think you can get more, and Mixing will do more for your team right now. The Arizona Cardinals were one of the best offenses in football. And while Chase Edmonds had games that he did pop off and is super valuable on the field, you know, there's still big question marks about Miami and what they'll have. Sure. And we don't have those questions about Cincinnati. So that's another influencing factor for me that, you know, you could be right and you could hit with Chase, but you generally got to get.

getting to the end zone to be a difference maker in the top 12 range. You have to hit either on Chase or smash that first round. Right. Yeah, that is part of it. And we like the class that's coming in for 2023. But for every class you like, like the wide receivers from a couple years ago where it was just the Jefferson class where it seems like hit after hit after hit. Mixed in there was Jalen Rager who. got drafted everywhere. Nikiel Harry. Yeah. They don't. Sonny Michelle. They don't always hit. I would piggyback on that thought of just saying not every first round pick is the same either. So look at the team you're trading with. Are they a great team that's going to be better with Joe Mixing? You're going to get the last pick or one of the last picks in the first. Or are they a dumpster fire who's looking to try to scratch a claw their way back in?

you know, project to be a top three first round pick. That can help sway your decision. All right. We have a question from Kalin in Zeeland, Michigan. Hello. Hello. This year I decided to start an all-female fantasy league. Fantastic. Over half of the league is brand new to fantasy. What are the top tips or pieces of advice that you would tell them about playing fantasy? Love it. Love the new league. You know. My piece of advice for anybody brand new to fantasy, if you're forming a league that has a majority of new players, is trying to – there's a lot to learn, right? If you're not familiar with all of the offensive players, and this is going to be your year getting used to that, try to keep things as simple as possible. I mean, that's step one for any brand new league to me is, you know, I did this in our family league where we were introducing newer players. It was like, well –

Is this the right time to be a Fab League in year one where there's this whole auction dynamic and you don't know how to player evaluate right off the bat? So we went standard waivers for year one because you're learning all these players. You're learning what's important. And we do try to make it easier in the draft kit to, you know, you show up at your draft and you feel a little bit equipped with some resources that you can just print out. Yeah, I was going to say my answer is extremely self-serving, but it's actually a... really good answer for for the purposes of this question tell them about the podcast tell them you know because there's when we first started one of the most common things that i remember from new listeners or people that were newer to fantasy was it seems like so much work if you don't know the stuff getting in just as like how do i research all of this and our goal

is we do all of the research and we crunch the numbers and we follow the news and we've done this for years, but we want it to be entertaining and digestible. So people that are both super avid professional fantasy players can listen to the show, but new people can listen and just get the information as, you know, as fun as possible. Like it's not a chore to... stay up to date. Yeah, exactly. So I think it would help them a lot. Yeah, my sister and her boyfriend, both in their first time fantasy leagues. You know, it was like I was bringing it up. Like, there's going to be things like waiver wire and setting your lineup every week. And they're like, I didn't know that, right, after their draft. So we try to make that waiver wire thing. I think this year we're coming out with some more resources for the waiver wire to try to make the week to week a little bit easier. Mike, do you have anything to add? Yeah, just when you, uh,

Before the draft, just do a full like 101 and make sure that you answer as many questions as you possibly can. And then also trying to build the camaraderie of the league and making it as fun as possible. But this first one, these people aren't going to be, they're not going to be full dug into like the game theory of fantasy football. This is the optimal probability. Like, Don't worry about that. Like when you first get into fantasy football, you're just, you're picking the players you know, you're picking the players that you like, and you're just, you're having fun. And the part where you start getting the minute details of the game, that will come later. Just make sure that everyone's having a good time. And incredibly, Mike, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, whether you were a brand new league with brand new players or you are a seasoned pro with all of the experience.

Only one of the 12 teams is going to win the championship in that league. I've heard that. The journey, the entire season of enjoying the league is the most important part. Here's a question from Instagram. Dak Prescott or Joe Burrow, where do you go between those two? The majority of people are going burrow. I am with the majority. I will take the upside of him being allowed to throw the ball more. He is one of. the biggest other narrative storyline there for you yeah he's one of the biggest uh narratives that i worry about because i have been very anti zach taylor as as an offense of fantasy football obviously they got to the super bowl but for what i want in an offense i worry that they're not going to unleash joe burrow they're going to still run the ball you know too much be a little bit inefficient in that way and try to win games

you know, the old-fashioned way instead of the fun fantasy way. But if they allow him the opportunity to just sling the ball around, Joe Burroughs fantastic. The offensive line is way better and his weapons are awesome. The vibes are great there, whereas in Dallas, you know, we talked about Michael Gallup. Oh, he's going to be ready, but it'll be a couple months until he is at that nine-month mark where you return to optimal performance. They've lost the offensive line pieces. you know, they lost Amari Cooper. So I don't feel like the vibes are quite as good. Yeah, I mean, is there any reason why Joe Burrow couldn't be what Justin Herbert is? If things go from an offensive standpoint, if the defense isn't as strong as they think or they, you know, he's got elite weapons, better weapons you could argue than even or similar to better than Justin Herbert. They could be in the same tier, right? They absolutely could. It's just Zach Taylor.

Yeah, my entire argument... That's at Jason FFFEL. My entire argument for Joe Burrow is just ADP. And the fact that if they don't make a big change to the offense and the tempo and going pass heavy, then Joe Burrow has to play out of his mind yet again to come back and pay out on that ADP. But in terms of just of what could happen, of what could happen for Dak versus Joe Burrow, this is just... In the vacuum, it's easily Joe Burrow. Yeah, and to color in those lines, right now Burroughs in the fifth round and DAC is in the eighth round, so if we're actually factoring in where we're drafting them, I'm on the DAC side. I would much rather have DAC in the eighth and a fifth round wide receiver because I love the fifth round wide receivers than using that pick on Burrough. Can I just share a sad little story from my drafting life this year? Sure. I have no Justin Herbert.

Oh, man. And I have piles of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. So that stack would be so exciting and fun. You're still getting some of it. But the Joe, or sorry, the Justin Herbert stack is not possible for where Justin Herbert is going. I am always hoping in these drafts that somehow, some way one of these leagues is going to let him slip to the point where I am comfortable to grab him. And I never get him. Can I share a story with you? You may. Well, I don't know. In my most recent mock draft for our upcoming League of Record, Justin Herbert went to your team, Andy. So there is still a chance. Not if I have anything to say about it. I know what that means. That would mean I take him at the 10th overall pick in our Keeper League draft, and I am afraid that I can't afford to do that. That is exactly correct. But the temptation will be there. Don't worry. All right, let's jump into another voicemail.

Hey, ballers. Haven't missed an episode yet. Love the show. I just wanted to check in and see in a Super Flex League, would you star Daniel Jones or Antonio Gibson? Thanks, guys. Okay. Interesting. To me, it's Daniel Jones. Yeah, it's Daniel Jones going away for me. The upside of quarterbacks, the downside of both players. I think the floor is higher and the ceiling is higher for Daniel Jones. They're both great running backs. We have no idea what Gibson is going to be for this team with everything that is going on. And Daniel Jones will touch the ball every single time that the Giants take an offensive stand. And you have a whole team of people that have been focused on Gibson for years. And none of those people know what's going to happen, right? That whole life focus group? Yes. Yeah, no, we cannot get the information out. You cannot get it. Yeah, that's generally in Superreflects you're going with the quarterback. You've got so much more upside.

And so just think about touchdowns. Like Antonio Gibson will he get a touchdown? He might get a touchdown. That's possible, you know, put it at a 50% chance he gets a touchdown week one. Will Daniel Jones rush or throw for a touchdown? It's almost higher odds. Yeah, it's like for sure he probably will. Multiple touchdowns, much higher odds with the quarterback than with the running back. I feel a little sad that that caller, you know, on the. First Forgotten Mailbag after listening to every episode that we've ever come out with. YouTube question from Trevor. How's your day today? Well, thanks for asking Trevor. That's very nice. It's early. It's early. It's early. Yeah. I mean, it's always a good time to get the show done. But let me be a little bit sleepy. Yeah. A little bit sleepy. I'm super tired. But I've still got pep in my step. So it's a real weird situation I'm living in right now. Yeah. How did?

How'd you man? Is that? I don't know. Caffeine. Yeah, caffeine is a hell of a drug. All right. Last question here, Instagram from Danimal. Multiple leagues, same players or no? So it's kind of that question of, you know, conviction levels. Are you willing to go to the, plant the flag so firmly in the ground that you want the same shares of the same players everywhere? Are you? You're skittish and hedging. When you say multiple leagues, if you're in three or four leagues, you're going to end up mostly with the same players, depending on where you're drafting from. If you're drafting from around the same spot, and at least that's how it is for me because the players I tend to like at certain spots of each round, I'm going to take them every normal league I'm in. Now, on Underdog, when I'm in a hundred leagues, I am. That's your daily entry amount, right? I am definitely.

conscious of not overdrafting players having, you know, diversified portfolio of fantasy football assets. Mike, he's in so many leagues that he's actually moved from underdog to the favorite. He's got so many leagues. He's got so many shares. He can't lose. I have to win one of them. That's the best part is no. No, you don't. All right. One last reminder for those drafts this weekend. Check out Ultimate DraftKit.com. We'll be back with another episode of the podcast tomorrow. And a quick reminder, Spotify Live, 6 p.m. Eastern. Head over to the Spotify app. Listen in. It'll be a good time. We'll see you there. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on join thefoot.com. And follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.