Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Rookie Preview w/Matthew Freedman, News, Mailbag

So if he goes to a team that looks like it has some sort of opening, I will be very enthusiastic about him. And then a really deep sleeper is Joaquin Grant from Texas Tech University, a very underrated guy.

versatile sort of like a discounted Tavon Austin. And of course he had that fantastic pro day performance where he ran anywhere from a 4-1 flat to a 4-3-4, right? Like that 4-1 flat time just seems crazy and it is. But even a 4-3-4 is sufficiently fast for a guy who's just a burner, right? And he's 165 pounds. He's probably not going to be the type of guy who makes a big impact. But I think he will stick on a team as a return man. He was an all-pro return.

Turnman in Texas Tech. He has sort of like J.J. Nelson potential. I could see him being the type of guy who one game randomly scores two touchdowns and wins someone, a million dollars. Winning a million dollars sounds pretty good. So before we switch gears to the running backs, I actually have a question based on kind of my feelings, if you will. This is not good. No, no, we're not.

You know, two years ago, it seemed like going into the draft, before the NFL draft happened, we knew, man, that was a wide receiver. There were so many, that was the wide receiver draft from a fantasy perspective of guys that are going to make an impact. And then going into last year, it seemed like running backs were really deep, deeper than they had been in that class for a couple of years. This year...

I feel like I'm very disappointed. I'm not sure if it's because of these last two years or if this class, this crop of rookies is from the offensive side of the ball, is a little bit less talented than the year-to-year crop. So how do you feel about, you know, in a dynasty league type of setting? This incoming group of rookies, are they a little bit of cut below the last couple of years?

Yeah, you nailed it. Absolutely right. We've gotten spoiled the last two years, two years ago because of the wide receivers and last year because of the running backs. This year, there's nothing wrong with the guys, especially at the top. So if you have a first round pick,

you have a very good chance of getting someone who could contribute to your team. But after that, this class just doesn't have the depth of those previous two classes. So, yeah, I mean, you're absolutely right. It's not that there's anything really wrong with this class. It's just that in comparison to the previous two years, there isn't the depth there. You don't want to be comfortable with a second round pick thinking that you can get a wide receiver who can contribute because it's not likely to happen this year. Right.

All right, so let's move it over to the running backs. I think we'll just get this out of the way. Ezekiel Elliott is your number one, I assume, or is that a bad assumption? No, he is, but it's just, it's by a hair. I really like Derek Henry a lot. Interesting. Okay, so let's move it over to Derek Henry. What do you foresee about him? Because he's kind of like Treadwell is polarizing Henry.

There's a lot of people who think there's just no way he can translate to the pros. So what do you like about him? Oh, man. It's just, I like to, I guess, gamble on players that we've never seen anything like before. And that's sort of what Henry is. But, I mean, we've seen like glimpses of something similar to him. I mean, the fact is that...

Big guys who are athletically talented, who are productive, who are coming from Power 5 conferences, right? Like, those guys tend not to fail in the NFL. You know, so he's a guy that I feel very comfortable with. And any other class, right, he would be my number one. Of course, Ezekiel Elliott is also a big guy who's very productive.

and very athletic. So I love both of those guys. I would be comfortable getting either one of them if I had a top two pick. And there's been a lot of talk about Henry. It's kind of funny coming out of Alabama could end up in Cleveland again. Cleveland has no depth at the wide receiver position. Oh, the groans. And maybe we'll see a repeat of this, you know, Trent Richardson. I mean.

It's hard to bring his name up now without kind of making a weird face. He had a good work of year. Yeah, his first year he had, what, double-digit touchdowns? You know, high volume is kind of what I'm looking at there, where you get a chance to hand the ball to Henry and just see what happens. I mean, I wouldn't be extremely excited about the destination, but I would be about the carry total he would get in Cleveland.

Yeah, absolutely. So the thing with the running back position is, like, no matter how we want to evaluate it, so much just comes down to the number of times per game a team is willing to give the ball to that guy. And Derek Henry is built to get the ball a lot. And I think the team that drafts him will draft him with that in mind. They will want to give him the ball. So I think he has an exceptional opportunity in the NFL. Cleveland would be.

a very sad destination but I mean really I think no matter where he goes he will have that opportunity right away to establish himself as a workhorse

Yeah, I feel like you kind of have to give him that role if you invest the pick in him. So last year, Mike and myself before the NFL draft, we fell in love with David Johnson just from his Combined Drills videos, from his college tape. We were really loving David Johnson. And if you don't know, we actually live in Arizona. So this was a great day when the draft came around. It's fantastic. And we grabbed them. This year, I'm wanting to know.

Honestly, I don't have a guy that I look at that's a little bit deeper that's like, man, he's just got the tools. Yeah, the jumps off the page. I don't have a guy I'm really excited about at running back position. But is there somebody that I should have? Do you see someone that you're like, man, if the cards fell right and the opportunity came that he's got the talent to explode in the NFL?

Yeah, and I have to say I love David Johnson. There was a lot of displeasure about him before the draft because, you know, converted wide receiver, a guy who kind of runs upright and can't, you know, run like a big guy, doesn't run between the tackles, all of that stuff. And there's another guy who is actually very similar in that CJ Pro Size. Yeah. You know, and he's big like... Mike likes CJ Pro Size. I do.

Yeah, he's big like David Johnson. He's fast like David Johnson. He's a receiver. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He doesn't have the collegiate production that David Johnson had. But the thing that's really cool about pro size is that he converted from wide receiver just this last year. And in his first year, not even first year, his first months.

of playing the running back position, he became the starter and was very productive at Notre Dame. So he has like the big things that you look for when identifying guys who could explode in the NFL. So I think if there is a David Johnson type of player in this draft, it's ProzEyes. And ProzEyes will probably go in that same draft range, you know, like end of the third round, beginning of the fourth round, that general range.

My only concern with ProSise is the team that drafts him and what they're expecting out of him. I mean, I guess in David Johnson's case, you had the same thing where complimentary back that, you know, like you said, exploded and became something when, you know, Chris Johnson got hurt. I'm worried that Pro Seize will get drafted and then thrown into a role similar to, you know, Duke Johnson in terms of a complimentary back. Is that something that you foresee as well?

No, because the difference is that Duke Johnson is a smaller guy. And that's why I like to take my shots on bigger guys. I think one way or another, they tend to get their opportunities, either because they're bigger and they can get more yards or because they're just healthier and they outlast the smaller guy in a committee. And so before we jump over to the tight ends, what's the sleeper? Who's your guy from the running back crop?

Oh, man. I mean, it's a really weird year where I think there isn't anyone who really entices me at the running back position as like a deep, deep sleeper. I mean, I guess you could say Marshaun Koprick from Southern Illinois.

highly productive at a small school, was invited to the combine, and that's actually a really significant thing. The guys who are invited to the combines from small schools, they have just a better chance of NFL success. You know, he's not a big guy. He's kind of MJD-sized, you know, like around, you know, 208 pounds, but like 5-7. But he ran under a 4-5-40 time. So he has potential because of his production and because he's big enough and fast enough.

but I just don't think he's going to get the opportunity. That's fair. So talking about tight ends, we know most fantasy players are, they understand, you know, a tight end is not really going to give you anything year one. And I honestly haven't really heard much, much strong buzz around any one particular guy. But are there any tight ends that you have a, you have at least a level of excitement for this year?

Oh, man. It's a bad year. It's a bad year for tight ends. I mean, just, and you look at quarterback, too, I'd say it's like it's not a great year. But one guy who is kind of flying under the radar is Tyler Higbee from Western Kentucky. He was basically putting up wide receiver type of numbers last year before he got injured. But he's, you know, got good size, you know, 6, 5, 6, 6,000, 250, 260 pounds.

I could see him being the type of guy who maybe gets drafted in the third or fourth round sticks around a roster for a couple of years and then gets a shot because he's sort of like an all-purpose type of player who's a better receiver than anyone thinks. At the same time, that's not really very exciting. You know what I mean? So like this is just the type of year where I would avoid tight end in general.

Yeah, I agree. When you don't hear anything about tight ends, it's usually because there's just not an impact player. So let me ask you the most common and easiest question that you'll get. Jared Goff or Carson wins. I would do neither. Isn't that the worst part about the NFL draft? I mean, it's like even if it's not.

A strong crop of guys. You have to take one. And whoever's at the top of that list just becomes, you know, on the same level as guys in years past. I think what Matthew Friedman is really saying here is he's saying that I made a great move to trade down in this year's draft and get a first round pick in my dynasty. In your rookie? Yes. Oh, man. Yeah. So you have to make a choice. Gopher wins. We're putting you on the spot.

I would go with golf. But, I mean, here's the thing about Wince. You know, he's coming from a smaller school. And granted, it was a school that was, you know, a powerhouse. But Wince wasn't the starter for a sustained...

length of time. He was the starter really for only like a little more than a season and a half. If there's a guy coming from a small school, you have to see like more than two seasons worth of outstanding production to feel confident that he can be a decent quarterback in the NFL.