Hot Takes & Draft Mistakes + UDK Day! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 6/1

show like he looked like he was back you know you were now two years or so removed from his Achilles injury that's about when these these running backs can start coming back the reason we don't normally see it because a team has to wait two years on a running back which in the NFL is not necessarily something you need to do but he survived the draft he's got uh I believe a fifth round, Kyron Williams and a sixth round. Who am I thinking? Zach Evans? Zach Evans behind him is. So it's like the draft capital behind him is not there. If Akers looks anything close to what they thought he was, now multiple years recovered. And like Stafford's going to be back. Cooper Cup is back. The Rams could be better than you think they're going to be. And then if Akers is the starting running back for that team, he should be drafted. We were just here with Seattle last year.

The offseason was spent talking about how bad they're going to be, especially on offense. Right. And the pedigree of Stafford is vastly superior than the surprise we got from Gino. Yes. So from an offensive side, like it doesn't mean they're going to win a bunch of games, but from the offensive side with Cooper Cup and Matthew Stafford and company, they could be a lot better. Sean McVeigh is known for his offensive abilities. And look, I had to be convinced of this. We were going through player profile videos on the UDK. And then we kind of got to the end of it. And it was like, the case for Cam Acres is solid. We always say, well, follow the money. Follow what the team did, not just what they said, which by the way, Sean McVeigh came out. And he said, I expect Cam Acres to build on what he did at the end of the year, which is a bit of an endorsement. And then you're like, ah, but follow the money. Well, they didn't do anything. Yeah, they did nothing. I know Zach Evans was a highly touted high school recruit and someone that a lot of people really liked. He was a five-star recruit. And, you know, I liked his college film.

They passed on him plenty of times. The whole league did as well. When you come in in the sixth round, you're not just coming out there and winning the job unless the starter gets injured. It's the starter's job. And building on that success of what KMakers did at the end of last year, the last six games, he was averaging 16.8 fantasy points per game. He was on pace for 294 carries, 1,450 yards, and 17 touchdowns. He was an... absolute maniac, 4.9 per carry on large volume. He looked great. Don't forget how much we all loved Cam Acres coming into his rookie season. You know, it was like he was supposed to be a star, got an unfortunate, horrible injury. I like the original Achilles that he came into the league with. I think he does too. Yeah. He preferred that one. But two years removed from it, I think he has. And then the nice thing about it.

is he's not being drafted as if you assume any success. It's not a very hefty price to take the shot on him. And when you look at the running backs going around in that range, I was going to ask you, what are some of those names? Yeah, I'll put it to the test. I'll put that up. But I don't think there's a lot of people in that range that you go, hey, this guy could be top 10. Like he could be a bona fide league winning type of back. So you've got James Connor. David Montgomery, A.J. Dillon. Damien Pierce. Yeah, I mean, I think I've got them ahead of those last two names and maybe right equivalent with the other two. I mean, are you taking James Connor? Are you taking Cam Acres? I think I'm going to take Connor because of the past catching. Lean Connor. But that's a debate. That is a good debate. I'm not sure. That's one where I think if I was in two leagues, I'd take two different guys. All right. Let's go ahead and move on here.

Instagram question from the Doc Holiday, higher finish. Pacheco or Ken Walker? Walker. Walker. As will I. Pacheco does not catch passes and his hot streak towards the end of last year was coincided with when Clyde Edwards-Alair was not on the roster or was not active. To me, it's more touchdown upside. Yeah, I mean, my reaction was like, oh, Walker easily, but they're kind of similar. No, they're pretty close, but. While Charbonnet is larger than Walker and maybe he takes over the goal line work, there does exist a world where Clyde Edwards-Alaire is swapped in at the goal line as well. We don't have the information yet of when Pacheco was installed as the true main running back, Clyde was hurt during that time period. Clyde is not the future for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he will factor into their plans. Maybe.

Yeah, I think you will. Yeah, I mean, I'm afraid that Clyde's future significance to the fantasy football world will be as a complete distraction. Now he's hurt you as a player you drafted. Now he may hurt you as a player that you have, that you think about that you shouldn't for the running back room in Kansas City. That's my concern is that is that his name will keep getting brought up and maybe it doesn't matter. All right, who do you prefer at their current ADP this year? This question comes in off of Instagram from Nick Perez. So ADP question, Tua, who I almost took in a best ball recently, and who's a ninth round pick, the quarterback 11 off the board, 908, or Aaron Rogers, the 10th pick and the 10th round at QB16. I'm on Tua's side on this one. I am as well. We...

If you don't remember how the season went last year, he was excellent. And then he went from excellent to on fire. And obviously had the head injuries missed some time. Came back did not look the same. But if he is back to full strength, the weapons that he has, obviously Aaron Rogers has some good weapons too. I am... I think that the higher ceiling outcome here, if both players hit, is actually Tua, not the first ballot hall of famer. But Mike, I know you're pretty high on Aaron Rogers. I do like Rogers, but I have Tua ranked ahead just a couple spots. And at that point in the draft, it doesn't matter. I'd just rather get the guy that I want. And I think that the upside for Tua is a bit higher than Rogers.

All right, this question comes in from Instagram, and it's going to reset us from our quick question earlier because it is not a situation that we have any sort of agreement on. Instagram question from Jacob, GI. Simple. Thoughts on Devon A. Chain is a rookie running back. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. He is joining a backfield that currently has Rahim Moster and Jeff Wilson, Jr. along with the gasman. So Devon A chain, explosive, undersized. What's the weight on A chain? Under 200. Yeah, I think he was 189. 188. I'm sure he's 189 by now. Yeah, it's possible. So we have kind of conflicting views of how we think this background, this backfield is going to be. I'll state mine real quick and get out of the way for Jason. I simply view this backfield as a committee.

one in which Devon A-chain will be a more significant real-life NFL contributor than he will be a fantasy contributor. I think that Mike McDaniel will devise five to ten touches for A-chain in the running game, mostly in the passing game, in the screen game, and use that explosiveness, potentially special teams as well. But I don't see any path personally. for a significant fantasy contribution. I think their commitment to Mostert and Wilson, who are bigger between the tackle runners and have performed well. I think that those guys are going to get snaps. And I think, Mike, you're more on my side of the A-Chane argument. Anything that you want to add to my comments before Jason? No, just like, it's, I thought A-Chane was a little bit overhyped and just in the overall draft period.

I mean, the fact that he was a third-round pick, that's interesting. But, I mean, this team is just, they have so many useful running backs. They're a pass-heavy team, and they are not a pass-heavy to the running back team. They're kind of like right in the middle of the road. But if you're looking, you're like, Mostert had 7% of the targets. Jeff Wilson was at 4% of the targets. I mean, the targets that are actually going to running backs are getting... spread out all over the place. They're not consolidated to one player. And that doesn't say anything about the still floating around rumors that this Dalvin Cook situation of Miami was kind of the most brought up team of a trade partner for Minnesota. That may or may not happen. But that's just, that's another kind of wrinkle for me. But even if they move forward with the depth chart that they have.

I don't see how A-chain is anywhere close to the leader of touches for the three running backs. Yeah, the way that I've got it statted out, he is not the leader in carries from this running back room. However, he is... So this was a player I was excited to be off of coming into the draft because solely of weight. There's just not a lot of history of successful fantasy options at the running back position that are sub 200 pounds, let alone sub 190. That just doesn't usually work in the NFL. Then he was selected on the day two to the perfect landing spot for his skill set. This guy is not a good athlete fast. He's 432.

He is lightning out there on the field. He can catch the ball and he fits this scheme perfect. The fact that they didn't have a first round pick and you go, well, they like Jeff Wilson. They like most. No, they use them and they like. I'm sure they like them. And re-signed him in this off season. And brought them in for cheap money. And also we're wanting to bring in Dalvin Cook and find someone else and then spent, you know, they didn't have a first round pick. They spent a good day two pick on A chain. I think he's going to get enough work in the passing game and in the running game.

My point is his explosiveness, and I think what this coaching staff can do with him, he'll have some fantasy success. So I'm certainly higher on, I'm certainly higher on A chain than you two are. It will be one of the most fascinating backfields to watch because I think we can all agree that if you just look at the core of the dolphins running game, you'd be like, there is value to be mine in them hills. Absolutely. Now, if it splits three ways, It's not going to be good. Best ball? Way better because you don't have to make the right picks. You know, there's going to be games. It was awful last year deciding I had most certain Jeff Wilson in the league. And it was like, which one do I play this week? I have no idea. And they both had awesome weeks. Oh, hugely. You couldn't plan it. So maybe this is more of a best ball strategy than, you know, your redraft strategy. But if I had to say, well, if one player was to emerge as a consistent, like this has just become our dude week in and week out.

I don't think it's going to be the older Jeff Wilson and the older Rahim Moster. I think, man, this young gun just played his way on. I mean, the reports out of camp. The report's out of camp right now from Jeff Wilson. Yeah. Oh, I'm thinking of Moster. Moster's like 30. I was thinking of Moster being 31 and then relative to most. Yes. Yeah, but you know, Jeff Wilson was already coming out talking about how crazy this kid is on the field. So that's just how I see it. Better and best ball for big play 60 yard touchdown runs. But if one player emerges.

I would put my money on aging. I'll be interested to see how they use them. I think one of the things that has crossed my mind about usage has been Tua. Like Tua is like dealing with concussions and this is a very small man for past protection situations. So do they pre-release him? Do they put him in a situation where he's not past protecting because of design plays? That third down roll will be very interesting. All right, let's get into some basketball. Best Ball Breakdown, presented by Underdog Fantasy. I don't want to talk about this. Why? Okay, so we did say last week, by the way, welcome to Best Ball Breakdown, brought to you by Underdog, a new segment every week leading up into the season. Jason's grumpy because we said on last week's episode that we were going to spin up a draft. And Kyle, thank you.

You spun up an underdog draft for us to all jump in. All riders from the fantasy footballers along with yourself. Is Al or Brooksie in there? No. Papa Josh is in here. Yeah, Papa Josh is in there. And obviously, Mike, myself, Jason. Jason's grumpy because he doesn't like his team. I mean, that's it. That is it. Is that the message for the basketball breakdown? Sometimes you don't like your team. Yeah, sometimes you don't like your team. But sometimes, sometimes you don't like your team because you make a whoopsie doozle. And that's what happened in this league. I don't know how this happened because I'm always on the clock. I'm always checking my app. And for some reason, I go to like see how close I am on the clock. And I look at my roster, which I was liking. And I go, TJ Hawkinson, wait, I didn't draft TJ Hawkinson. I timed out on a pick. And let me just say.

You know, people, maybe T.J. Hawkinson's great. But he is one of the worst picks in my opinion right now in all of Underdog because he's not going to be someone that separates from the field like an Andrews or Kelsey, but he still costs one of those. It feels like a floor pick. Yeah. And he caught. Sorry, go ahead. You made the point of basically saying when you take a tight end early and you take a big name. You're trying to reduce the amount of tight ends you need to take. You could have a build in a basketball team of two tight ends if you rock and Andrews like I did in this draft or Kelsey. Yeah. But if you take Hawkinson, you still feel the pressure to have three tight ends. I feel like I've got to take three tight ends. So now I'm just a position player short in the good rounds. So I'll go through my team. I went real quick, though. Would it have been possible for you to set maybe some players you did desire into your cue?

Yes, and I should have done that. A tip for clams. Here's your best ball tip. Number one, check, don't time out. Yeah. Number two, have a cue of a couple players. Should something come up in life? Because life happens. Life gets in the way. And you go back to your phone and you go, oh, crap, I timed out. But go ahead and share the rest of your roster. Yeah. So we are what, 10 picks in or sorry, eight picks in? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So eight picks in right now. I have Sequin Barclay, Najee Harris, David Montgomery, and this one will surprise the Foot Clan. Damien Pierce, who I have besmirched in badmouthed recently. However, Mike brings us up all the time. There's a point in which players just have value. And I guess I talked badly enough about him that our group of people refuse to draft him. I got him 24 picks after ADP a full two rounds later. That's where.

He should be going. Amundrauss St. Brown, Mike Williams, Marquise Brown, and T.J. Hawkinson. So usually when I'm eight picks in, I want more than three wide receivers personally. Yeah, you've got a high-tie running back build here. I do. So I'm probably done with running backs. I will grab one running back later on, and then I'm going to have to go probably three quarterbacks as I don't have any, and maybe two tight-ins, probably three tight-ins, and then the rest wide receivers. Yeah, I mean, Mike, before you share your team, I know that you stole a player that I was eyeballing and didn't get close to ADP. I ended up with Trevor Lawrence as my quarterback, which was just ahead of his ADP. I got him at pick 56. I felt desperate to take him there because he was a tier or two better than the other quarterbacks on the board. And that is because you took Justin Herbert much earlier than his current ADP, but I know you're a believer as I am.

and the upside of Herbert this year. The rest of my team is teammate, Austin Eccler, Jamir Gibbs, James Cook at running back, and then Devante Adams, Mike Evans. And I got Jordan Addison, 14 picks after his ADP. Nice. And, but my team is, I'm feeling the impact of Mark Andrews Irving. Because I would love to have. Imagine having Hawkinson. It's the worst. Um, yes. So, I mean, I had to pick. Andrews at Pick 32, I don't know how many of your pile of underdog builds, Jason, have Mark Andrews on. A lot of them. Okay. And do you end up in this position traditionally feeling the way I did that you're maybe, or do you not take a quarterback? Usually on those teams, I don't take a quarterback. If I take a quarterback, it's for the stack. I go Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews and then let the chips. Yeah, that makes more sense. I think I would have been happier using Pick 56 on another whiteout.

a wide out, I don't know, like Tyler Lockett, that I would have drafted instead of T.J. Hawkinson, Mike, why don't you tell us who you have at wide receiver? So I'm drafting from the edge. I was at the 12 spot. I opened up the draft with Stefan Diggs and Garrett Wilson. I wanted to get some top tier wide receiver talents. You know, the Diggs is known. The projection for Garrett Wilson. And then by the time the draft rolls around back to me again. It was, I was looking at, you know, Keenan Allen is there, Mike Williams is there, and Herbert was still there, which it's way ahead of ADP, but it was because I'm on the edge, you don't have a choice. Yeah, I don't have it. If I want someone like Justin Herbert here, I got to make it happen. And it was, oh, well, I can take this, I can build a stack right here on the edge. So that felt pretty good. So I opened the draft with three wide receivers and a quarterback. Then Jason made his error and, uh,

Oh, wait, and so I had to take Tyler Lockett there. And then at that point, you're like, oh, man, the running back start getting a mighty thin while I'm really powered up at my wide receiver position. But James Connor was there, who were kind of an agreement, should have himself a very solid year. Draft finally comes back to me. Damian Pierce was there, and I still don't know how I feel about this guy. We did our, we did the, the, the, video profile on Rashad White, and it was kind of like, man, I just don't know because it's hard to see the path to true difference making. The path to volume is very, very easy, but you know that the past attempts are going to come way down. He was incredibly inefficient on the ground, but also Leonard Fournett was incredibly inefficient on the ground. So perhaps that was just a Buccaneers thing.

And maybe they get it figured out. But I took Rashad White as my RB2. And then I'm still in on the upside of Rashad Bateman. So I took him there. So I'm sitting on two running backs, four wide receivers and a quarterback, meaning that I will be drafting a lot of running backs. And I kind of specifically went with Bateman right there. Here's my basketball. Could have safe flowers, obviously. Sure. Here's kind of my basketball tip. This build is very hungry for running backs. But the next chunk of ADP running backs are guys that I just don't care for. I don't see an upside with them. And yet they're going to sit at the top of the ADP and they're going to entice people in the next 20 plus picks to take them because the next section of running backs, I like a bunch of those guys. What are some names in that next section? Is it like Gibson?

Yeah, yeah, Gibson's in there, you know, Rashad Penny. There's just, there's players who I think that there is a better path. Dylan, Giovante. Well, Dylan's the ones that you want people to take. The ones that I don't want a part of right now is Jvante Williams. It's Alvin Kamara, A.J. Dylan, Brian Robinson. I'm not really interested in those players. And then right after them, there's this like four or five pack of running backs who I really like. And I think that their ADP is great. And playing the game, they should. Some should make it back to me. And I felt that going with the upside pick of Rashad Bateman instead of just saying, I got to get a running back. So I'm going to take Giovante Williams, who may not be ready to play. That was the, that was what I thought was best for my team at that point. And Jason has T.J. Hawkinson. And Jason has T.J. Hawkinson. The hawkstrap. Feeling good. All right. That was best ball breakdown presented by Underdog Fantasy. Get your first deposit matched up to $100 using the code ballers.

That is going to do it for today's episode of The Show. Go out there. Spread your wings. Enjoy your UDK. And if you don't have it, it's ultimatedraftKit.com. Let us know what you think. 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 the FF Ballers.