Breakout Picks + Austin Ekeler Joins the Show! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/24

target share here. He's going to be a 25% target share for this offense. He just has to be. And if you're that level with his athleticism going into a year three, he breaks out. So I am confident. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean, you know, the reason I didn't make him on my guy is because when I'm in that fifth round where he's going and I see Deontay Johnson, I see Tyler Lockett. A lot of times with how I'm building my roster, I bypass him for the for the wide receivers at the more important position. But if those guys aren't there,

I am very confident that T.J. Hawkinson will be a plug-and-play tied in this year. We've talked about the value. I really genuinely think he's going to break out. And I don't think you're going to go wrong drafting him this year. That's my view on Hawkinson. Sorry, I don't disagree with that at all. Those are very different things. You're not going to go. Which one is it, Holloway? You're not going to go wrong with drafting T.J. Hawkinson.

My only hesitation is about break. I don't think he'll break out. I think he broke out and will do the same thing. So if you liked it, draft him. Because most of the top ten tight ends, if you go, like last year and you go back a couple of years, you generally have a connection with a solid great quarterback. Now last year, Mike Gassicki was at six.

with a tough quarterback situation. You normally have one or two in the top 10, but the big guys are generally connected with more competence than Jared Gough. I mean, Jimmy Garapolo and Derek Carr are in the tier of Jared Goss. You consider them in the tier of Jared Gough? Yeah, I definitely do. I don't think, I mean, obviously Kelsey has Mahomes. I guess the fantasy. Yeah, okay. Gropolo is a fair comparison. All those teams, those teams are also trying to get rid of their quarterback. Right. Yeah, they're like.

This is mediocre. The Rams were just very successful in getting rid of God. And he had 100 and, I think 101 targets, something like that. I believe he has, I think he has a at least 135 targets. That's what I was going to ask you is like kind of what is the, for him to break out from last year, what do you have him statted at? Because last year he ended up with 67 for 723 and 6, which is a pretty good. I mean, that is a great year. I have him. Four at the position.

Yeah, I have him significantly higher than that. I have them with 135 targets, 95 receptions, 1,000 30 yards. Holy moly. And seven touchdowns. I think you can do it. That is a huge breakout from last season. That is a potential top three finish. Yes. I think that that is in the cards for Hawkinson. Okay. Moving on to Mr. Mike, the fantasy hitman. Who's your breakout pick? I'm going to be talking about Michael.

Pittman Jr. Now, you may have, I tweeted out yesterday with the positive news of Carson Wentz. You know, it's like Michael Pittman was on track to be a my guy for me. I love him in the late rounds, but with the... You traded for him in a dynasty league. Put your money where your mouth was. I overpaid to get Michael Pittman in a dynasty league. And then, of course, right after that, it was the Carson Wentz news of the injury. He's going to be out.

five to 12 weeks. So it was, well, I can't make Michael Pittman of my guy based off of that information. But now it looks like Carson Wentz is either going to be good to go week one or far sooner than later. So we will have his starting quarterback. Michael Pittman last year in games played was seeing 14% of the targets. That's not elite.

But that's also not nothing. So he would not be breaking out out of absolutely nowhere. His yards after catch ability was already on display. And you liked to poke fun at him. He runs the same route every play. It seemed like he ran the same route every play. But just like on when you're playing someone in Madden and one play works over and over and over, why would you stop doing that play if it's very successful? The draft pedigree doesn't go away. He was a second round pick, a very high.

second round pick in that year, 2020, of the crazy, you know, these wide receivers that really restocked the NFL. And he was the Colts first pick. He was a second round pick, but the Colts first guy. He's 6'4. He's 220 plus pounds. He is the prototypical build of a wide receiver one. And we've seen...

second year wide receivers, not just the ones that we've been talking about breakout, but guys were, you saw a little bit in the first year, but so you weren't very confident that they were going to have that true breakout as a second year player, but it happened. And they were drafted later in ADP guys. Randall Cop, Alshon Jeffrey, Devante Adams, remember Devante Adams? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We, not just us, but he was crushed universally. And someone, you're like, this guy. I don't remember that at all.

I definitely don't remember pointing out that he has never had a thousand yards season when he had a 9-97. The narrative was that Devante Adams stinks. And now Devante Adams is one of the best. You already hear first. Michael Pittman equal sign Devante Adder. No, that's, that's Brian Edwards, who Derek Carr has come to Devon. Michael Pittman equals Brian Edwards. But Cortland Sutton broke out. DJ Chark second year breakout when you weren't fully expecting this to happen.

But the opportunity is there. T.Y. Hilton, the past two years who's been, T.Y. Hilton's been the superstar. He's had a big touchdown in practice today. He did. But on the field the last two years, T.Y. Hilton's averaging 50 yards a game, which is, that's fine. But that means that there is room for someone to come in and be the number one guy, be the true alpha of this offense. He's being selected in the 10th round. So your ADP, your opportunity cost here is absolutely nothing.

for a player that I think can skyrocket and easily be a top 36 wide receiver. You were very into Pittman from the start of the off season. And I know your boy Paris Campbell's coming back again. But I will say this. We just adjusted, you know, the Winston stats. He wasn't as high as we thought. But Wince, not Winston, he is. Carson. Carson Wins does profile with Frank Reich and that offensive line to be.

Interesting. And he has to distribute that ball to somebody. And I think I think you're right in the fact that Pittman profiles physically as the player with the best ability to or the best potential to level up as a second year guy. And I know, you know, Frank Reich went up and got him. You know, really, really was excited about the possibility of him developing. So I hope they get more routes this year. And you get to see him down the field a little bit more because that's the higher value, you know.

Reception. Yeah, it's one of those things where he fell outside of the scope of that round four through eight study that we found where everybody breaks out. But I don't believe that he would be in the 10th round if it wasn't for the Carson Wentz injury. I think that if Carson Wentz was just playing. I think he would have snuck into the eight and been totally a piece of that really, you know, very promising analytical argument. So I do apply that to Pittman. And the great news is it doesn't even cost you any.

So we want to move into our interview with Austin Echler. He had a lot to say, and we're excited to share that with you. But I just, you know, I want a little, like I want a bonus breakout pick from each of us because. One more thing? Well, yeah, there's a, there's a restaurant out here in Phoenix. Shout out to Bobby Cues. Oh, yeah. And you eat a delicious meal. And then, like, as you're leaving, they hand you a brown bag full of donuts. That's great. Which really, like, the first, it's like, what's happening?

But then you're like, yeah, I like a little more at the end, specifically donuts. So who's your bonus? My bonus donuts is Jerry Judy. Jerry Judy, second year wide receiver, I think can definitely break up. Give them to me. I mean, I will stock my whole team with them. I'm going to go Kyle Pitts. I'm going to echo the, you know, the loud cries of Kyle Pitts. I think he has.

a guaranteed target sharing this offense. They're going to move them around, not use him like a tight end. In fact, you may see Hayden Hurst and Kyle Pitts on the field together a lot. I don't mind it. The silence, though, on news of Kyle Pitts out of Atlanta is making noise. I'm not seeing any beat reporters hyping him up. That is a little bit concerning for me. Do you have concern?

With that or you just think that they're inept down there and they're not seeing it. Well, I just, I think it's more neutral. Like there hasn't been, you know, puff pieces, but there hasn't been negative press. And I've watched practices and seen him make plays. And you're losing Julio from this offense. So his athleticism will be pretty chill. And, you know, this is not, you know.

There's not a hype man. No Bruce Ariens down there. My bonus donut pick is Damien Harris running back for the New England Patriots. And I get all of the arguments of not wanting to go in on a New England Patriots running back. If that's how you want to play fantasy football, I do not blame you. But this is a, you don't have to spend a very high pick for Damien Harris. He's looked good. The drumbeat has continued for him.

throughout training camp. And to me, the biggest argument that can hold Damien Harris back, that I don't argue against it, it's Cam Newton. At the goal line, if Cam Newton decides I'm scoring the touchdown, Cam Newton is going to score the touchdown. We have far too much evidence of him being awesome at that play. But Mack Jones has looked incredible.

during preseason. Bill Belichick is still not named a starting quarterback for week one. It's feeling more and more like Mack Jones will also be a starting rookie quarterback sooner than later. And then if Mack Jones is the guy, that concern of the goal line, that instantly vanishes and becomes Damien Harris territory. They are starting the season since we were monitoring that with these quarterback battles. They're starting the season against Miami. So just.

Putting it out there. Not sure what they're going to do. I think they should start Mac Jones, but we shall see. Without further ado, let's jump into our interview with Awesome. Excellent. You talking to me? The fantasy footballers thrilled to once again welcome in Austin Eccler running back for the Los Angeles Chargers. Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you doing, man? I'm doing great, man. Good to be back. First, Andy, before you jump into the question, I would like you to address.

Mr. Eckler appropriately from his name on this show. I don't know if he's aware of his name. Sorry, awesome excellent is with us today. We don't settle from changing just one of your names. Awesome excellence, huh? You upgraded over time. You started as Awesome Echler and then you just did better. And so it's like, well, where do we go from Awesome Echler? We go to Awesome Excellent. Hey, I'll tell you. I appreciate it. I appreciate the love.

We have been just enthralled with all of the preseason hype and fantasy football rankings and stats. You know the game. But, well, let me start there, actually. How much do you, because you're getting into the fantasy football world. We know that. How much do you look at the stats and the stat lines yourself? I mean, I know that the party line is.

You know, nothing matters. We get the W. But like, are you paying attention to that stuff closer than your teammates might be? I don't know if I'm paying attention to it closer, but I acknowledge it and recognize it and know the power and the value of it. Probably more than my teammates do. And actually, that's why I'm on this podcast, you know, things like this. That's why I'm immersing myself into this kind of place, right, as far as fans football. Because for me,

You know, I didn't realize fantasy football was as big as it was, probably until, like, after my second year in the league. And then some people kept reaching out, like, hey, thanks for scored me this many fancy points. And then it got to the point where only people recognize me, hey, man, you're on my fantasy team. You know, like, let me look into this thing. Like, what the heck? You know, it's led me to just, you know, be appreciative of, you know, fancy football in a different way than I used to when I was playing it back in high school.

Yeah, there's not just Charger fans. There are Austin Echler fans, you know, from other cities for sure. Do you set, like, goals for yourself from the statistical standpoint in terms of what you'd love to see, either, you know, workload or hitting a certain... Thousand,000, Echler. We want a thousand and a thousand. Yes, I do set goals. As much as possible every single year, every single game, every single year. Yeah, I'm trying to score them all.

I even tell people that, like, look, I'm trying to score you guys as many fantasy points as I can't. Yeah. Well, hey, here's a follow-up question. You want to score us fantasy points. We've all watched Hard Knocks last year. We saw you high jumping those pile drills. Have you yet gone in and demanded the goal line work, or is that on tomorrow's agenda? When are you getting to be the goal line guy?