Early 2018 Sleepers, Hype Train

Try to get someone that can make it, and if they don't cut them. It's a make-or-nothing situation. Yeah. There's no breaking. That's fair. That's good analysis. I went with, and we both picked, or we all picked two guys, by the way. So I'll start us off with a wide receiver and his name. Is Mike Williams? You do like this guy. When you hear that name, you need to think upside sleeper.

That's not what I think, generally speaking. He was the number seven pick, obviously, in the draft last year, by the Chargers, six, four, 220 pounds. And we know the story. Last year, he missed the beginning portion of the season with a lingering back perniated disc issue, came back briefly, then had a knee issue. It was basically a lost season for Mike Williams. Now we come into the new season.

I know all three of us are pretty bullish on the Chargers and their offense overall, and Hunter Henry has gone down. There is a need, regardless of who they bring in to replace Henry. And yes, even if it's Antonio Gates or Julius Thomas, there is a significant third down red zone need outside of Keenan Allen on the Chargers, on the Los Angeles Chargers offense.

This is a player who right now, Mike Williams, he's basically undrafted in 10 team leagues. He's not going to be drafted. He's going to go in the 12th round right now in 12 team leagues. And the expectation of the coaching staff is that he fills the number two role. That's what they expect from him. Staff source said he's looking good. He's fast. He's explosive. He's making those great catches in traffic. The kind of catches where if you went back and you watched Deshaun Watson and Clemson,

He was the best player on the field for that national championship game. And so the team expects him to fill that number two role. I still like what Travis Benjamin and Tyro Williams have. They're good players. They're not made to do what Mike Williams can do. Those two players, Benjamin specifically, he's a field stretcher. Tyrell, he gets loose, deep. He's a lot like feeling when the play breaks down, all of a sudden Tyro Williams is open. Mike Williams...

is the player that's going to make his hay in the 10 zone, in the red zone. He's a big body. I like him. I think he's like Jason said. You take no risk in grabbing him late, and he has the potential to be the number two for Philip Rivers. That's a sleeper to me. Do you guys have any thoughts? Any weigh-ins there? Look, I like it. With Hunter Henry going down, I do think the red zone goal line situation, using him as a blocker.

He is a very good blocker for a wide receiver. And losing Hunter Henry means they might just want him on the field more. And he might help kind of misdirect, whether they're running or passing. So I do like it. I almost went one of my sleepers that I thought about going with very close to was John Ross. Don't forget about him. But since you went Mike Williams, which was last year's rookie who got injured, who was high draft pick, I moved away from Ross. My guy that I want to bring up first.

I like it. Do you like it? I got it a Ross. But no, I'm going to bring up a person who is one of Andy's all-time favorites. And by that, by that I am being very sarcastic. Facetious here, right? He is a guy that I believe is a very good wide receiver. He's, you know, look, he's not the most elite guy in the world, but he's been a quality NFL wide receiver. And that is Richard Matthews.

Richard Matthews, before he got hurt in weeks 11 and 12 through the first 10 weeks of the season, was on pace for 1,000 yards and 5 touchdowns, and that was in a putrid, horrible offense led by Terry Ribisky and, you know, old crumaginy, running a ball, slow the game down. It was exotic, Jason. Oh, it was so smash-mouthed. And so I believe. But it did not produce an All-Star. Thank you. I'll be here all week.

I was waiting for it. I'm a big fan of the Titans offense this year. I really am. I've risen on Corey Davis recently. Oh, this is your preempted strike so I don't jump all over this Richard Matthews thing. No, no, no. You've risen on Corey Davis. I've risen on Corey Davis. Corey Davis, Richard Matthews, heads up. I have. Oh. I have right now, Richard Matthews, ahead of Corey Davis. But I, look, either one could happen. But that's my point. Me too. Come on. My point is this.

Corey Davis, because he's got the upside of, you know, maybe he will be a superstar. He's going in the sixth or seventh round. Okay, Richard. Yes. Richard Matthews, he should. Who very well could finish ahead of him is going in the 12th round or undrafted. It's because Richard Matthews could sit up on his shoulder as he walked around. That's why. Is this the Richard Matthews that two seasons ago was the wide receiver 18? 945 and 9. Yeah, I mean, look. Here's what I'm saying.

He is a locked-in guaranteed starter for an offense I expect to be better. I've got Mariotta as my 11th quarterback overall. I think the office will be better, and he's basically undrafted. So, I mean, those are the- The undrafted part I get. You've made a strong case over the course of this off season thus far about how much you believe the ball will be distributed amongst multiple targets, Tewan Taylor, Corey Davis, Richard Matthews, Delaney Walker, Dionne Lewis. And I, you know.

If you believe that, then you are really planting your flag on Richard Matthews over a guy like Corey Davis at this point, obviously. Yes, because I believe the ball is going to spread around, I want the guy that's going to cost me nothing in draft capital over the guy that I'm going to have to give up a six or seventh round. Sure. Other pick. Sure. And what's great about that entire tale of Richard Matthews is that when you let into it about me not liking a player, I thought you were going to bring up your other sleeper.

So I clearly don't like either of your guys. This is why this is why this is why this show is kind of the individual. Yeah. So Mike, your turn. I'm going with, you got a pair of whiteouts. Yeah, I got a pair of whiteouts and a pair of guys who are going currently in the 14th round, according to fantasy football calculator. The Washington situation is nebulous. And it is unknown. It is amorphous. Mm-hmm.

We don't know who's going to be the guy. Jameson Crowder is still there. Had some hype about Crowder today. Was there? Yeah, just talking about him and Alex Smith being on the same page all through OTAs. Yeah. We were a year late, maybe. Or a year early on Crowder. We'll see. Jordan Reed, the shell of Jordan Reed is still there. I love Josh Doxon, but at this, for all.

purposes. This is really Josh Dawson's second year. He, like John Ross and Mike Williams, lost his entire rookie season. So last year was really his first year. I'm not writing him off. But I want to talk about Paul Richardson. Because the past three years, Alex Smith, despite, last year was great. But before that, Alex Smith was not known as a fantasy stud who's going to put up massive numbers.

But the last three years, he has supported at least one wide receiver two or better. Now, the past couple of years, it has been Tyreek Hill. That's why I'm talking about Paul Richards. And he is the most like Tyreek Hill of this wide receiver core. They gave him a five-year deal for $40 million. So the team is very interested in him. He runs a 4-4-40. And I believe that Tyreek is like a 4-34.

could be faster on the field. He's a four flat in pads. Pads give him speed. Yes. But 4-4, that's not much behind. He's a big play guy last year, 16 yards per reception, three touchdowns from outside of 20 yards or more. Plus, he had three touchdowns inside the 10 zone. He was able to get it done in both areas, which I like where you had Tyree Kill last year, who, if memory serves, did not score a single red zone touchdown.

So big plays can get it done in short yardage areas as well. Plus the contract, someone in Washington is going to hit. Yeah. And so what Jason's talking about where he... You're taking the best value of the players that could hit. He believes in the passing offense of Tennessee. So why not just grab some chips that have fallen through the cracks? They're a little bit cheaper because there's... Whereas Crowder is a 10th round pit.

Yeah, and Josh Stockson will go, I think, before Richardson. They're all going to be late. But I think that there will be value there, not think. I know there will be value there somewhere. So why not go with the type, the archetype that Alex Smith has had great success with the past?

two years yeah you don't you don't want to pay up i mean you want you know it's it's a similar to you make the chips analogy and this is when i go to vegas i crawl around my hand potato chips hands and knees just looking for chips that have fallen and i scoop those up it's a pro tip and also uh run did you get the email jason do you mean potato chips yeah what no you said not potato oh that's just you're not allowed back in the casinos yeah no we've told you this yeah um by the way

Here's the potato chip guy. I understand that argument and as it pertains to Richard Matthews. But the reason that you draft Corey Davis and not Richard Matthews isn't because you're just taking the best value at the position. It's because of what you said. He was the wide receiver 18 in a great season two years ago. Right. If you're shooting. The ceiling. Yeah. If you're shooting for ceiling, you're probably not getting better than that, right?

That would be best case scenario. I would say, yeah, ceilings like Water Zero 15. Okay. And I would agree with that. But I mean, that's what you can, that's really what you're usually looking for when you're talking about 12th, 13th round. Yeah. And to Mike's point about Richardson, I would take, I would put my chips on Crowder in the 10th. That's not too expensive of a price for me. No, but I understand the money. If you follow the money, Paul Richardson has an opportunity with a quarterback who's performed lately. I'm going to go next.

I got to break up these wide receivers. That's fine. Before we get back into some wide receivers. My second early sleeper is Corey Clement running back. This is one we all, I believe we all love this. I think we're all on board with. And here's what we know in Philadelphia. We know this is the defending Super Bowl champ, and we know that Garrett Blunt led the way with attempts last year, 173 attempts on the ground.

for the Eagles. He's gone. He's out the door. He's, I guess, just taking up space before Carrion takes his job in Detroit. Corey Clement, to me, if he's going to produce on what I view as a sleeper opportunity for him, it's going to come on the ground taking up, because that's what he wants to do. He wants to be more involved on the ground. Again, this is one of those like Kevin Coleman. I want to be more involved in through the passing game. Corey Clement says, hey, he spent his offseason working on lower body extremity exercises.

becoming stronger so you can get more balls on the ground. Because last year, he was a 4.2 rush per game guy after J. Ajai arrived. Now, Ligarra Blunt was there. After Ajai arrived, Ajai had 104, first and second down rushing attempts. Blunt had 93. Clement had just 39 of those. But what I know about Corey Clement is the team likes him. He's fought his way and beat every odd to get there, despite the fact that he was a...

3,100 yard, 36 touchdown guy at the University of Wisconsin. But had everything go right, right? Like Smallwood didn't perform. Pumphrey got heard. Sproles went down. I do have a minor amount of concern that that third down roll and Sproles will be an issue for Corey Clement. But the thing that I really lean on here is with the opportunities on the ground, with what I've seen with my eyes of Corey Clement and his talent level, and then their ability and willingness to use him as the goal line type of.

running back, even if Ajay is getting it between the 20s, it seems like they trust Corey Clement in the Red Zone. Yes, they do. What was interesting was, and read into this how you want, but the carries really did go away once, once Jai showed up from the first half of the season when it was really Clements and Legerat Blunt. I mean, he had three games of double-digit carries, but that all vanished. However, his targets.

Those started to go up in the second half. The final third of the season, averaging about two, three targets, but then he was the Super Bowl hero. Five targets, four receptions. Two out of three playoff games, he had five targets. That is extremely interesting to me. Talk about the hype train, the reports of Corey Clements.

working with the first string offense inside the red zone. And we saw it last year. They did not go to JHAI when they got inside the 10 zone. They went to Clement because they like how versatile he is. So I love it that he is going. 100 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Yeah, Super Bowl here. All three of us love that. Very versatile. Whenever you have a young guy who's undrafted, who then becomes.