Fantasy Football - Bold Predictions + Spicy Takes, BILL CROSKEY! - Podcast for 8/26

Puka in his rookie year, he did it nine times. Last year. Three of the wide receivers you just listed are Matthew Stafford. That's it. You got it. And last year, he did not play a full season. He played in 10 total games. Five of them, 100-yard games. Two of them, 98 and 97. So he was right there. And I, you know, it doesn't, maybe it needs. repeating because we've been spending like the last month really worried about Matthew Stafford. And so maybe that's made people less and less excited about Puka. But his 17 game pace last year was 173 targets, 128 receptions for 1,623 yards. He is coming into his prime. Every bit of hesitation comes from Matthew Stafford's health. But if you want to make a bold prediction and a bold bet, bet that the Rams managed it the way they needed to manage it.

this off season and that Matthew Stafford wouldn't be playing unless he thought he could play. And if he plays, Puka has every chance at being the number one overall wide receiver. So my bold prediction, 12 times this year he goes over 100 yards in a game. That's not the bold prediction. The bold prediction is the beginning. Is Stafford plays 17? Fair enough. I mean, if Stafford plays 17. then there are other parts easy. Yeah, I know. Based on the fact that those other three players, three of the five that have gotten to nine or more are Stafford receivers, yeah. So there you go. Mike, what you got for us? I know we're all excited about. We're all excited for the seventh round rookie. It's fun. It's a great story. It's inspiring. I want to see what happens. However.

For fantasy football purposes, I am going to go the other direction. And I am going to say, Austin Echler is a top 20 fantasy running back this year. Last year before the injury, Austin Echler was the RB 25 and a half point scoring format. And it's what do we need here for Austin Echler to, you know, hit this bold prediction and go into the top 20. Well, the stickiest stats for running back opportunities, targets, and especially first reads and then first read targets, and then carries inside the five. Andy talked about it on our YouTube special, Just the Tips. Last year, when Brian Robinson was out, 15 opportunities a game. And in those three games, week six, nine and ten, he was running back 16 in one of them, and he was the running back six. Like, he was electric.

The season kind of gets washed out for Austin Echler because we had already, as the fantasy community, we'd already moved on from him last year. And then he ends up missing a bunch of time because he ended up injured or injured. But like, he averaged over three targets per game last year, 1.84 yards per route run. That's the fourth highest among all running backs. You know, that's just behind where Jemir Gibbs was last year. In terms of first read targets, he was right there with Camara, A-chan, Brees Hall. Aaron Jones. Like, he's, he's with the best of the best when it comes to that percentage. So what's the, the bold prediction is that the line of 20? The line that Austin Echler, Austin Echler ends up in the top 20. Want to make it Picey? You could go 18. Why? What's, it's a spicier. Fine. It's higher. Fine. Where do you want me to stop? I don't. I would like you to stop at 15. There's bold predictions and there's Pice ones. Okay.

That's all I'm saying. Fine. It's for me to drop the S and get to... Yeah. How do you drop the S? Right now it's spicy. On this prediction. Oh, that's a little Pisces. There we... Look, we have talked about Washington and the backfield all year long. I have... I had... accepted that Brian Robinson was a potential draft a value because you need to have a piece of this backfield. You don't know for sure who it's going to be, but you know they're going to score so many points and they're a late round. I never loved Brian Robinson as a prospect or a player, but now he's gone. I saw he was a keeper in our league of record. Somebody had Brian Robinson as a keeper who Brian Robinson in the off season. He was a value for us. Yes. Because he was productive in the solvents and we love the offense. And then now that he's gone, he's been.

Mostly deleted. And I get it. The excitement for Bill is it's fun. But I think that Austin Echler still has a lot to give to this team. He will be the pass catcher. How much does he get used near the goal line? That'll be the difference. Last year, Brian Robinson had 13 carries inside the five. And Echler, last year, five carries inside the five turned into three rushing touchdowns compared to four on those 13 carries that Brian Robinson had. Echler has always been very good at being a goal line running back. So I think that if he can sneak some of those out plus the targets, he's going to be a fantasy value. Yeah, he's, there's no one that works harder in the NFL than Austin Echler. And it does seem like when he landed in Washington, it was like, okay, this is where you go to maybe. Yeah, it was over. You go to just be this bit part before you fade into nothingness. And then he's put in the work, was hyperproductive on the touches he got. And now has it right in front of him, even when the world is

All about Bill Kuroski. It's like the the Jaden Daniels effect somehow has not didn't it like when it was going to be Brian Robinson and Echler that didn't transfer over to them even though it should. And now it's all on bill. But I think that Austin Echler is the guy that you want to draft for fantasy. All right. Jason, why don't you give us your second bold prediction for 2025? All right. Y'all not going to like it. And when I'm saying y'all, I'm saying it. Why are you even saying it? Everyone listening. Look, sometimes things happen in fantasy. We do not enjoy. And by sometimes, I mean every single year. The people hate it, Jason. And you haven't even said it. Maybe I haven't seen your second one yet. Will Shipley, Sean Tucker, and Trey Benson all win championships for people in 2025.

They will win championships for people in 2025. Insurance agents? Backup and running backs. Will Shipley back up running back Sean Tucker and backup running back Trey Benson. Well, you're saying all three of them are going to win titles. All three of them are going to win titles. Wait, hold on. Yes. That means what it means. Yeah. Sorry not sorry. Look, last year was an outlier year. for running backs league-wide in terms of health. It was really an outrageously healthy year. Only three running backs in the top 24 ADP missed more than three games to injury. That just doesn't happen. In the last decade, only 2017 had a healthier season in terms of percentage of games played. This was a very healthy year for running backs. And we're not projecting injuries. Yes, you are.

What we're doing is we're playing the odds. No, you're playing specifics. You're literally projecting three. Don't you tell. Don't gas-like-specific injuries. I'm saying. I'm not projecting specifics, but Will Shipley? Will Shipley-Trensen and Sean Tucker specifically will win your leagues? Let me, let me make the case. I didn't hear Tyler Adjeer's name. No, because Bejohn's indestructible this year. um bold prediction uh i didn't hear brian robinson i'll tell you i'll tell you a real spicy uh bold prediction bjean plays all 17 okay i'm never dropping that ass that's not even that's not even like remotely surprising but the the injury prone label is one that we we obviously shy away from but we're playing a game and the odds say that we were very fortunate in 2025 if we're playing the averages

We know that there's going to be injuries to some Premier backs. And if I'm looking at the situations that say, where might those more realistically happen? Yep. How about an aged running back, an elder statesman who's coming off 417 carries with a deep run into the playoffs? Okay, I hope Saquan breaks the all-time record. But if I'm going to try to predict which ones might do it, Okay, Sequan has some red flags that could say he misses some time this year. James Connor, another older running back who has pretty much never played a full season. Okay, he could miss time. And then you've got Sean Tucker who has two different running backs ahead of him. So this isn't like, oh, I see the case, but you got an undersized Bucky.

and you've got a currently hobbled and injured Rashad White. If either one of the, he's got twice as good odds, because if either one go down, he can be relevant. But here's why I picked Will Shipley, Sean Tucker, and Trey Benson. We could see the path of their presumed starters missing time this year. It's not as hard as like Tyler Alger and a young big body back in Bijan. But the reason I picked those three is because they are talented. Not every backup will matter if the starter goes down. So these are three guys I'm targeting in fantasy drafts as my insurance backs. Will Shipley, get out of here with the AJ Dillon stuff. Will Shipley's a good back. He was a premier pass catching back. This offensive line can make D'Andre Swift matter. So, you know, this is a guy who, you know, Will Shipley, he was just under 13% of the reception share at Clemson. That is elite stuff. He was the number one high school recruit going into that year. Sean Tucker.

was supposed to be you might not remember or you know if you're a more remember well i know we know but if you're a casual fan coming in this time of year and you don't know who sean tucker was when he was drafted he was supposed to be well you he was not drafted because of a congenital heart defect right he he on his combine situation they found a congenital heart defect that took him off the NFL team boards he was supposed to be a highly drafted player well you know what he's playing football And so he is a talented running back who has two different paths to relevance. And then Trey Benson, he was my, last year was a down year for running max. He wouldn't have been my favorite in most years. But he was my favorite running back coming out. What kind of heart defect was it? Congenital? Okay. What did I say? I never know what I say. I was really making sure. No, you're good. I'm good. Good. The deucers are being sophomoric in the back. Yeah, they just wanted to make. Ah, they were worried it was congenitals.

Yes, okay. Something like that. Something like that. Something a little closer there. All right. Well, he had a problem with an organ, you know what I mean? So, uh, anyways, his heart defect is the reason he fell. That's yeah. It started to slip. I was just teasing you really went. on the nose, just like this prediction's on the nose of three guys that you're predicting. So the ball prediction is Sequin, Bucking, and Connor are injured. What I am saying is that those are the three most talented backs that could win championships at the end of the year with pathways in front of them that are easier to see coming. Yes. No, it happens every year. You have players that nobody drafted, nobody thought about. They win you titles. They have opportunities. The teams are run heavy.

It makes sense. I hope these guys, you know, the other guys stay healthy, but it makes sense. Jason doesn't. All right. We're going to take a break. We've got two more bold predictions coming up. Foot Clan draft day is on the way. You got your rankings. You got those sleepers. You got you can't miss picks. But you know what? You need sometimes. a backup because well even the best fantasy football team in the world doesn't go according to plan sometimes those starters they don't show up wouldn't it be great if you could have the same peace of mind everywhere else with progressive you get more than just a policy you get a playbook full of coverage options you can count on for your home and for your auto want to customize your protection no problem you can build your coverage just like your fantasy team making sure that you have the right players in every position and a backup when you need it most

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the quarterback, the offense, the testimony of his teammates. I don't mind this one. Keon Coleman is the number 50 wide receiver off the board. He is the first of the three names. Number two, Deontay Thornton. This one, Jr. He will be the very obvious number one wide receiver for the Raiders immediately. Amari Cooper's there, man. Immediately. He has number 64 off the board. Rookie. Wide receiver, physical freak, 65, 205, 434, and done nothing. I mean, you talk about Isaac Tesla in the preseason? Yeah. Thornton continues to give you the same type of plays on an irregular basis. Nobody's getting behind defenses. Yeah, but is he hitting the worm? I don't know about the worm. It was a good worm. I don't know about the worm. I looked at it up. Good worm. You know, I don't know. And the worm into the landing? Yeah. Where he just ran after doing a worm? How can you do that? It was a pretty powerful worm. Yeah.

It's a strong move. But yeah, you got Bowers and you got Jacoby wants to trade. Tucker's Tucker, right? And Bash is not really making an impact. Cooper is. Cooper is elderly. And so Deontay Thornton, I think within two or three weeks of the season, you'll be like, oh, that's his Metcalf. Wow. That's Gino Smith's Metcalf. And then the third name, that's Pice. Number 54 on the ESPN ADP. Josh Downs of the Indianapolis Colts. I love me, some Tyler Warren. I think Tyler Warren is going to be a dominator. But Josh Downs, it will be very obvious who their number one is going to be. All three of these players, they are going to be difference makers. They're going to be the number one in their wide receiver room. Okay? And you're going to see breakouts from all three of them. So that's my bold prediction. Josh Downs, the usage already suggests he's their number one. 26% target share. That's...

barely below Jamar Chase. Let's not forget about Josh Downs just because we're worried about the quarterbacks and who was going to start. You got the better quarterback starting. Doesn't mean he's a good quarterback. You got the better of the two. Keon Coleman, Deontay Thornton, Jr., Josh Downs, all three of them outside the top 50 and 80P, all three will slip inside the top 25. All right. Are we on to me? Do we need to take a break? Are we good? No, no. We just did that. We just need to take a breath. All right. Maybe drink some milk. Oh, because it's too, yeah. Because it's two. Okay, okay. What do you got? I am going to go with a quarterback who will be the youngest starting quarterback in week one. He has never taken a regular season snap. He will outscore Brock Purdy. He will outscore Caleb Williams. Okay. And he will finish as a top 12 fantasy quarterback. I am talking about J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings who was just 22 and a half years old.

My new card collection will like that. Yeah, well, we're all going to enjoy it. Here's what happens at the Minnesota Vikings with Kevin O'Connell at the helm. In 2022, Kirk Cousins was the QB7. Next year, Weeks 1 through 8, Kirk Cousins was the QB4. He goes down to the Achilles injury. Then what do we have? Oh, Nick Mullins, a player that people listening to this show, a lot of them are probably going, who? Well, in three of four starts, he was a top 12 fantasy quarterback. Josh Dobbs, when he got 80% of the snaps, he was the top 12 in two of those five games. And then, of course, the masterpiece of last year, Sam Darnold, not brought in to be the start. He was brought in to be the backup. Well, I guess he was brought in to be the started. And then they drafted J.J. McCarthy. And then McCarthy goes down to a meniscus injury in the preseason. And Sam Donald is forced to be the guy.

There is panic in the streets. How can Sam Darnold, the Ghostbuster, possibly be good for fantasy, be good for the Minnesota Vikings? And he was. The QB8. In totality, the quarterback position over the last three years from the Minnesota Vikings have the eighth most total fantasy points because through three seasons, Kevin O'Connell in pass rate over expectation, sixth, sixth, and third. Kevin O'Connell likes to chuck the ball. And J.J. McCarthy, per my projection to scouting, is going to be a great quarterback. They improved the offensive line, got a lineman in round one, made some big free agent acquisitions. And on top of that, J.J. McCarthy runs just a little bit more than you actually realize. His last two years as a starter in Michigan, 300 yards on the ground and five touchdowns, 200 yards in the ground, and three touchdowns. We're not talking, he's going to go out and he's going to be rushing for five, 600 yards.

But he can give you two to 300. Like this is part of his game. So I think that JJ McCarthy is going to surprise and he is being, look, he's never played a snap. So people are a little bit concerned and they're not drafting him. But I think he is going to shine and surprise and outscore a lot of quarterbacks drafted in front of him. I heard Aaron Rogers level intelligence this week about JJ McCarthy. Oh, no. Does that change your opinion, Mike? Not exactly the angle I was going. Can we go? If we keep it in football? Mahomes level. You want to do that, Jason? Oh, that sounds pretty good. No, I mean, tactician, mentally ready to be a quarterback. We'll probably have some growing pains. Yes. But he's got a head coach that it puts you in the best position to avoid your weaknesses. And that is a bold and spicy take because it means that he should be played in fantasy often.

That's what that means. Because we want to translate these into something relevant for what you're doing out there. With Echler, it's obvious for McCarthy. If you're a top 12 quarterback, if you're outscoring Brock Purdy, Caleb Williams, I mean, that means that there are probably a bunch of other names on that list. Yeah. Probably Justin Herbert on your list. You know, Tua, a bunch of other players. That means you're starting him. That means he's showing up on our stream of the week episodes. That means that you're getting to the point where like last year. you finally believed in Darnold after a certain point, and then Darnold became a streamer. Yeah, I mean, if Mike's right here, McCarthy will not be showing up on the streaming show in the second half of the year because it'll be like... Correct. Oh, yeah, you can't stream him. He's rostered. So what I'm saying about McCarthy is when you see it, if you, look, it's a bold prediction, but if you see it early and you need quarterback help, go get him. You're saying pay up. Yeah. He comes out week one.

puts on, you know, scores 22 fantasy points. Are you saying, like, if you've got a quarterback, you're going to add him to your roster? Most likely, yeah. So, so you think that this is very positive for the, you know, the Hawkinson, the Jefferson, the Addison, sure, all the sons. All the sons. Yeah. All right. There you go. There's our bold predictions episode. Did you guys, do you want to jump in to a couple of mailbag? Let's go. Mailbag. Spicy. If you've got a question, you go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com, click the submit a question button or dial our voicemail hotline 302464 TFFB. This question comes from Jackson in Atlanta, Georgia. Just making sure Jackson wasn't the location. Yeah, I hear you. Hey, ballers, big fan of the show. Post draft, I realized I drafted JSN and Ken Walker. JSN is my wide receiver two.

I hope you realized it during the draft, if I'm honest with you. I did stand up. After the draft. I got to the end. I got to miss you. And two of my first four picks were. He said, considering I have Jayden Daniels as my quarterback, is it worth trading J.S.N. for McClorin straight up? No. To complete that stack and then separate, obviously, the running back wide receiver stack. I would not do it. No, I think that you don't want to overdue getting out of it. Like. Would I have drafted those two guys together? Probably not. But then if you ship one off for 75 cents on the dollar, you're only compounding your mistakes. Two mistakes, you know, don't fix the problem. So if there is a worthy, I mean, honestly, Ken Walker is who you probably want to trade. Get the value, wait a couple games into the season when he's been on the field. And it's like, oh, wow, look how good he is. Yeah. And then trade him and then just live with your regrets as you lose the league. But that's okay.

Or alternatively, and you're happy. Get value for an awesome looking running back who then doesn't play football as he doesn't. Oh, okay. Teddy writes in on X, full PPR, Malik or Nico? How is Charbonnet not in your bold predictions? You're going to throw Sequin Barclay under the bus. Charbonnet is not bold. It's not bold to say that Ken Walker's going to be out. Right. Yeah, that's fair. Mike said, yeah, it's dead on. It's bold to say that he's going to be good. Yeah, you're bold, Mike. You're bold. Malik or Nico, Teddy wants to know, which one would you go with in a full PPR? All right. Wait, what were the? Malik or Nico? Maliko or Nico? Maliko. Yeah, I'll go Maliko. Um, you know, it's, uh, it's tough in the full PPR.

Neighbors is going to have so many targets, so many receptions. It leans me a little bit towards that direction. But the fact that Malik has been banged up so much this offseason with separate different injuries, I know Nico's missed games. But right now, when I've been push comes to shove and I've been in drafts, I am taking Nico ahead of Malik because of the current issues Malik's dealing with. I would take Nico. Okay. Where are you, Andy? I'd take Nico. That'd be on the Nico side. X question from Norbert. Norby. Wasn't there some video game called Norbert or something like that? There was an Eddie Murphy movie. Oh, maybe that's what I'm thinking of. Norbit? No. No, there was a, oh, Cubit. Oh, that is the video. That's Qbert. Norbit is the Eddie Murphy movie. All right. We got there. Good. That's what's in the brack of our mind. You see, your swine everywhere. Your mind.

He remembers the old thing. Because that's all that's in there, man. It's just useless garbage pop culture. Ours has slight whispers of those memories. Like, there's something there. I knew there was a Kubert somewhere. But you had Norman. You had it. Yeah, you're right. Okay. Now I've got to find this question again. What's your opinion on Kate Otten this year? If Godwin's out, which it seems like he will be for a bit. Egbuka will get work, but that still leaves a lot of open targets for. Otten, which is, proved itself true last year when God went out. And, you know, if you kind of substitute McMillan and Egg Bucca, right, if you don't take the, egg Bucca's the next, the second coming, and you just put them into a category of, hey, producers like McMillan did, obviously that means Otton would have production. The, I think you would have to have Evans or Abuka missing time for Kada. Like, Kada, good player, very capable when they call upon him. But they just.

We've seen, at least I believe, long enough of his career that they want to use him in other ways. I've got the perfect example for you. Chris Godwin goes down in week seven. Week eight, Otten comes out, 10 targets, nine receptions, 81 yards, two touchdowns. Unbelievable. The next week, hot second week after. Swish, don't look at me. Okay. The next week when Godwin was also missing, obviously he was missing the rest, 11 targets. eight receptions a touchdown awesome awesome but then he pretty much how to feel then it was jalen mcmillan that they got more involved they got the rookie more involved and and other wide receiver options and that was really oughtn didn't keep doing that the rest of the season right after mcmillan stepped up right exactly and so then it was like five receptions four one three two the rest of the way he wasn't that special so i agree if an injury happens one more but if egbuka is stepping up into that role otton will be involved but i don't think he'll be

a sensational you know every week start i do think he's somebody that you can you can plug and play though while one of those receivers is missing and get it you definitely have an opportunity at a touchdown with a quarterback that threw as many as he did i mean it to me there's still an opportunity there consistency might not be there but i he he showed that he was capable of upper echelon production which i didn't know he was until last year all right uh coming up also capable of getting exploded like what kate otton hits yeah they're just like all he would be hit really hard yeah yeah all the time man he has a lot of tape on his hands yeah because he knows what's about to happen yeah they've all been broken many times fantasy time machine episodes coming up fantasy MVP show this week

our final mock draft episode, which would be a lot of fun coming up as well. So get in the megalobole, megaloball.com as we close things out today. If you need the draft kit, it's ultimate draft kit.com. We'd love to have you along for the ride this year. Head over to YouTube. You can watch the show. Subscribe over there. Just released a new clips channel as well. You can check that out. YouTube.com slash the fantasy footballers. 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 theFF ballers.