Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - 15 Gems for the 2015 Fantasy Season, News & Notes, Mailbag

to Alex Smith being underdrafted than it does, to Jeremy Maclin doing anything special in Kansas City. Because he was also the top play action past quarterback last year, Alex Smith was, in terms of accuracy. And you're going to run the play action with Jamal Charles all day long. They kept acting like they were going to give Jamal Charles the ball. I was a Jamal Charles owner. That's why he's crazy. No, it's always play action. Give him the ball. And little extra tidbit. So Alex Smith, I think, is being underdrafted. He's going to move up my ranks a little bit because he has the ability to play a

He can have the same success that Tom Brady has in that type of an offense. And I think, people think Alex Smith at the very bottom of the league in terms of like average yards per pass. But Kansas City, they were actually 22. So there were 10 teams that had a lower... Near the bottom. Yeah, he's in the bottom third, but just barely. And what I'm saying is he didn't have guys that were catching the ball down the field, despite his accuracy. They were dropping the ball. So I think...

Getting a guy like Kelsey coming in and do his second year and getting Macklin is going to see a marked change for Alex Smith. So dropping some knowledge about Smith, I think people should keep him in that streamer talk. Yeah, absolutely. I like Alex Smith to stream. When he's a good matchup, he can produce some numbers. My number 10 is when volume doesn't equal production, of the top 12 running backs in terms of total carries, only two had a sub 4.0.

yard per carry average. Matt Forte and Joyke Bell. Both of those teams, the respective teams, the Bears and the Lions, spent a fourth or higher round pick on a running back. Now clearly we know that's Jeremy Langford for the Bears. Was he a fourth? He was a fourth round pick. And my man, Amir Abdullah, my fro yo bro. Yep. Not only that, but they got Jaquiz Rogers. Then they went out and signed Daniel Thomas. So.

I don't know, Matt Forte. I just think it's pretty interesting stat because realizing that both those teams recognized the need to draft a running back early, it just, you just need to remember it. Exactly. And again, I'll stress, I don't dislike Amir Abdul at all. I just think Drake Bell will have a roll. Yeah. All right, well, coming in at a roll, like he's going to eat, like, well, he always has a few. Speaking of a role, coming in at number nine.

It's called Roll with the Blunt. And that is... Three-game suspension for Jason Moore. Legerrett Blunt. Legeritt Blunt. Go ahead and roll him out in your lineup. He actually has a one-game suspension for the irony there. But take a look at this. Over the last 15 games with the Patriots, keep in mind he was with the Patriots, you know, back in the day before he went to the Steelers, got cut, re-signed. Over the last 15 with the Pats, he has averaged...

More than 14 touches a game, 73 yards, and a whole touchdown a game. He's averaged one touchdown every single game. That's solid RB1 numbers. That's mid-tier RB1 in a standard league.

low RB1 in a PPR league. So you have the Patriots who this year have a much worse defense. They lost a lot of key players on their defense. And think about what happened to Dallas last year, right? When you lost so many people on defense, what do you do to make up for that? You run.

The ball. You run the ball and keep the clock going. Legerat Blunt has been used like this, and for where he's being drafted, I mean, like the back of the fifth round right now, he's going as the 26th running back. I think he is going to be one of the more workhorse guys. You're definitely going to get a game or two that are frustrating because he doesn't get the ball. But he is going to find the end zone, going to be used, and is a talented guy. I like it. Number eight.

The tightest of ends. Oh, so tight. So tight. This tight end is 33 years old. He had the third lowest drop rate in the NFL last season. He had the highest catch rate while lining up from the slot by a wide margin, 75% plus. He has caught 70 plus passes for seven straight seasons before the streak stopped last year with 64. The tightest of ends is Jason Witten. Oh. I love Jason Witton. Actually,

I can't even say. Do you know where he has him ranked? How high? Let me look. I have him at, oh, he has him at three. He went down to four for standard. That's still great. Listen to this. The Cowboys threw the ball 100 times less in 2014 than 2013, and 200 times less than 2012. Witten is one year removed from an eight-year touchdown, or an eight-touchdown campaign. He's still the stalwart that he's always been. He's being drafted way too late. And if they can't get it down on the ground.

No. He's going to, the touchdown numbers are going to go up. His catches are going to go up. And I think he has a real shot at a top five. It's kind of where I'm ending up. So the thing about Witten, like Greg Olson last year, he's always on the field. Always. Every single snap, pretty much the entire year. And so if his goal line numbers increase a little bit, if Romo has to pass 25, 30 times more, you're talking about another five to 10 catches for Jason Witten. And I just, I mean, he's as solid as they come. I stand corrected by Jason who knows my rankings better.

Because Jason Witton, in PPR is my number three tight end. There you go. Because I love him very much. I love him to bounce back. And you can get him so late. Yes, you can. It's fantastic. So if I miss on Kelsey Witten's one of my top targets. Number seven, good as golden. Is that another Ron Burgundy? Everything's a question mark? Yeah, I like to have questions. I like it. I like it. In the 13 games, Golden Tate played with Calvin Johnson.

Golden Tate averaged 75 and a half yards per game. In the three that Calvin did not play, he averaged over 116 yards per game. As we know, Maddie Snapback, like Jay Cutler, his buddy, his good locker under the bleachers buddy, they lock onto two receivers. So when Calvin Johnson is not around, you fire up Golden Tate. He was still very, very solid when Calvin was there.

But in the games that Calvin misses, if you believe in that Calvin Johnson's old, he's going to be injured because he has more tread on the tires, you need to have Golden Tate on your team because he was putting monstrous numbers. Yeah, it was interesting because in standard leagues, he went from a wide receiver one to a wide receiver three when Calvin was gone. So I'm so curious to see what happens because they should throw the ball enough. And yeah, that's interesting information. Golden Tate surprised me last year.

Not me. No. Yeah, you love Golden Tate. Do you love... But so what's your take on Golden Tate? What is he to you? I still like him. I actually bumped him up a little bit. But you love him if Calvin Johnson is banged up. Yeah, we're talking DFS. I think he was number one yards after the catch. I believe that is correct. Yeah. Number six. Do you guys like monster movies? Yeah. Monster mash? Do you guys like sequels?

To Monster movies? Oh, they're the best. Yeah. Sometimes. Well, there's going to be a sequel. This one coming in at number six is the monster sequel. The Target Monster returns. And this is the Target Monster. Who's that? Who's the Target Monster, Mike? Alan Hearns. I can't believe that this is... I didn't know this was in the show. Yeah. Mr. Allen Robinson. This is fantastic. Ra! Alan Robinson...

This is a year to target him and get him. The more that I look, first of all, he is as a human being incredible. If you go to like playerprofiler.com or look at who he compares to, he compares to Des Bryant, to Josh Gordon. To Desbron. Look, my spelling has not been on point today. I'm glad that we have to bring the writing in. I won't see. All right. I won't do that again. Well, you will if I spell the wrong again. Anyways.

He is a really freak athlete. He came in his rookie year, and on his rookie year played only 10 games and was on a pace for 130 targets. That is awesome. Then Cecil Shorts, their leading receiver, their highest target, he had 110 targets.

left. So now you're going from a rookie year that was pretty darn good to a sophomore year where lately in the NFL we've been seeing the biggest jump be in year two, not in year three for wide receivers. So he has a big opportunity to jump up and Cecil Schwartz not only took his 110 targets, but he also took his team leading 16 red zone targets away.

So all of that, you've got a great athlete who is a great wide receiver who is going from his rookie year to his sophomore year and will be the team leader in targets. That's all you can ask for is opportunity and talent. And honestly, myself and the eight people that own Blake Bortle's jersey all believe he has the ability to actually elevate his game a little bit in the second year because he has the physical tools. I don't hate him. He runs the ball a little bit. I think Alan Robinson's good. I could weep.

Right now. I can't believe... I can't believe I've turned everyone around. Well, let's talk about your team now in number five. Let me... Oh, you have another... No, this is for you. Dumbada, dum. Teddy's got a gun. Bada, do, bad, do... Yes, Teddy's got a gun, my friends. Let's talk Minnesota Vikings. As I unraveled these stats, it was like a purple onion. One...

Layer at a time, I was more and more impressed. And I began weeping as well. Teddy Bridgewater. Nice. Teddy Bridgewater was the 10th, listen to this, 10th most accurate deep ball thrower in the game last year. But in the second half of the season, he was the second most accurate deep ball thrower. As he learned, as he proceeded, and as he acquired Charles Johnson. He improved. He was a 202 guy from week 12 on when Charles Johnson caught his first touchdown. And now he gets Adrian Peterson. Not bad. Mike Wallace.

Pretty good at the long ball. Norv Turner running that offense. You still have Rudolph. You still have Johnson. You still have Patterson. And here's the thing. Vegas has the Vikings out of 7.5 wins this year. And I haven't met about 9 or 10. So I think this is a good team. And so the potential for Teddy Bridgewater to actually become a wide receiver 1 candidate is there. Whoa. I can't believe he's going to switch positions. Teddy Bridgewater is going to be a wide receiver 1?

That's what I'm saying. Man, I was really confused, too. I thought you were calling Charles Johnson a wide receiver one. I was saying, I'm sorry, I was saying Teddy Bridge Rodder. Got you back, bro. Yeah, you did. Still spelled it, right? Quarterback won potential. Absolutely. That team is, that team, I love that team. We're moving into another season of absolute happy news coming out from every camp. Yes, we are. But there was another note of how Charles Johnson has just, he has bulked up.

They called him Michael Irvian body type. The physical traits are there. Charles Johnson is primed. How many people do you have to put in the box to stop Matt Aziata? Is it more or less than Adrian Peterson? Yeah, Adrian Peterson is about 10. And so I'm just excited to see what I think Bridgewater was in the tops in the league with accuracy with throws under pressure.

Yes. And he's going to have the opportunity to run play action with AP, to dump the ball to AP and get yards after the carry, or I mean after the catch. So keep an eye on him. I guess two of mine are sleeper quarterbacks.

But it doesn't just affect the quarterbacks because Mike Wallace. I'll stream Bridgewater and Smith all year long. Mike Wallace does not get enough respect right now in fantasy. You pair him with the deep throw accuracy of Teddy Bridgewater. And Mike Wallace is, he went to the perfect team for him. And I actually, I've got Mike Wallace ahead of Charles Johnson, but they're neck and neck about the same. All right. We're up to you. Number four, Mike. Number four, I call this, something's got to give. No question mark needed. Done, done.

So Russell Wilson has never helped a single pass catcher go over 900 yards. He has never had a pass catcher catch more than seven touchdowns. He has never had a pass catcher catch more than 66 receptions. Yikes. We're bringing in a huge target though, Jimmy Graham. Since 2011, Graham has averaged, 89 catches, 1,100 yards.

And 11 and a half touchdowns. That is more than every number you gave about Russell Wilson. By a lot. Something's got to give. Exactly. And to me, the something's got to give is Graham's numbers going down. The offense is not going to completely switch courses. The 11.5 is the number I give him the highest chance of duplicating. I will agree. If any of those numbers, yes, is the touchdowns. But to me, if Jimmy Graham, he's going.