Bold Predictions & Player Analogies - LIVE in Phoenix

I will say this. The one thing I love about what you said is, you know, and I say this all the time. Just the Ronald Jones. No, this is, and this is the main draft weekend. So it's the most important time to say this, because our goal here is to help the Foot Clan win your championship. And you do not win your championship at the draft. You cannot just assemble a superpower team and then think by the end. Autopilot. Yeah, by the end, you're going to win it. If you.

draft the best team imaginable, and then don't stay committed through the season and pick up rookies that pop in week nine. You have no chance of winning. So how many movies did it take to form the Avengers? It was like 20. You didn't do it in the first one. You got to wait. You got to build up to it. Well, the reverse is true, too. You can take some of those guys at the beginning if you have to wait, right? The Peyton Barbers or even the...

Yeah, the first half plays? Oh! You've been Kristen Michael. Some of the guys, even Ty Montgomery, right? Oh, yes. There are players. I do declare. How is he not a my guy? You know, because here's why he's not a my guy, because I actually believe that Jamal Williams will be the main starting running back, and he'll be in Time Montgomery. You're so close. You move from Time Montgomery to another name, but you moved to the wrong one. Yeah, I know. People love Aaron Jones.

Anybody watched the Browns game last night? Whoa. Do you know how frightened I was? That was intense. Do you know what my Twitter did? I've never seen more gifts of the Reaper in 30 seconds than what happened. But he's okay because even that swing of my sickle missed. And now that he mostly, he dislocated a pinky. That's pretty good when you come up against the Reaper. And since he's healthy.

That's embarrassing for the Reaper. Since he's healthy, Tyrod. Now, I wrote an article, 32 bold predictions on the website. And I said Tyrod Taylor will finish as a top 12 quarterback. And I stand by it even with the dislocated Pinky. In fantasy point? Yes, in fantasy football. Okay, I'm just making sure. Yes, I'm talking about the quarterback who was the number eight in fantasy in 2016. You're right, Mike. That's fair? But I'm going to go a little farther on this show. We're in front of the people, and we did promise ridiculously bold predictions.

Oh, no. And I haven't done this before. Oh, no. Okay. Oh, wow. He's new to the glass. Not only do I love to Rod Taylor, not only will he be your fantasy savior in the last round, if you want to. But the Cleveland Browns are making the playoffs. I can hear our subscriptions dropping. I'm literally about to walk out. So I don't care. Here's what it means. This is a fantasy football show. Mastermind.

Hugh Jackson. Mastermind? I mean Todd Haley. Todd Haley. There you go. We could get behind that name, not baby Huey. Here's the thing. Baby Huey. That's my new nickname for Hugh Jackson. He keeps it together. But here's the thing for fantasy owners. It's not very reliable. Nowhere to go to up. Nowhere to go but up. He wins the division.

No, he doesn't win the division. That's not true. They're a wild car team this year. I think they finish ahead of Baltimore and they finish ahead of Cincinnati, who I think will struggle, and here's what it means for fantasy. I actually believe the Browns will be the team that does what Mike said the Cardinals would do. I think Landry can finish inside the top 12. Stay with me! Tarad Taylor in the top 12, Jarvis Landry in the top 12, and just put it on the board now.

David Injoku's a top 12 tight-in. This has never been done before. What exactly is it? The audience... No, no, no, no, no, hold on. I'm holding on, Mike. I'm feeling a little bit of heat, but the blockers are working. The audience wants a water bet, but a bet of this magnitude cannot simply be a water bet. Lemonade? This is a milkshake bet. Oh! Oh! Oh!

It's going to bring all the boys of the yard. This is a milkshake. You are in on this. Oh, yeah. Oh, my Cardinals, your Browns, higher fantasy finish. There's still my... Oh, fantasy finish? Yes. Yeah. Fantasy finish. Waterbet. Get ready. Get ready. Wow. The Browns are making the playoffs. Okay, so...

Look, I mean, we're coming here with bold things. I don't know if I like these things at all. They make you say weird things out loud. Let me just say this. As, you know, as the hate blocker creator, if you will, I do not stand behind that usage. It was, oh, man, I just think the Browns are such a facade. They're a hard knocks facade. But that's the cool thing about fantasy football. We get to find these things out. I often think that you're going to be wrong, and I am wrong.

And vice versa. So let's go to where I think. Oh, sweet mercy. I'm going to pivot off of you, Andy. And I'm going to go to where I think Mike is wrong. Wait, what? Yeah. Sorry. Here's the thing. My next bold prediction, I remember being asked the season before last. And I think it was. To leave the show. That's every season, every day. I'm kidding. He's my friend. We love you. I was asked.

After the 2016 season by listener, whether or not I believed that the incoming rookie class was going to be, and this was at the end of the season, are we going to overvalue these rookie running backs because of what Ezekiel Elliott did? And I remember my answer then. My answer was 100% yes, but it won't be next year.

Next year, 2017 is one of the most highly touted draft classes in recent memory. Everybody in the Dynasty community, if you played Dynasty for the last several years, you remember you were trying to stockpile 2017 picks. Christopher, Leonard Fernette, Alvin Camara, Graham Hunt, Joe Mixin. I mean, the running backs were unbelievable. Pretty nice. It was a true generational class. And I said then that, yes, we will overestimate them, but it won't be in 2017. It's going to be.

now in 2018. And my bold prediction is that Saquan Barkley will be the only rookie running back in the top 15 at the end of the season. And if you don't remember, last year there were four rookies in the top 12. And that didn't even include Dalvin Cook who got injured. Take that monster year out. And over the previous decade, you averaged two rookie running backs in the top 12.

And so for me to say that all of these guys, look, I love Rashad Penny. I love Kerry on Johnson, but I've got him ranked 19. My biggest fear is definitely right now the Royce Freeman. Yeah, my guy. But I don't. I was going to ask you how this feels with Royce Freeman. Yes, I don't trust. Another touchdown in the game tonight, by the time. Oh, he, look, this is not just a talent-based thing. This is, this is talent and opportunity and other running backs. Keep in mind, if you want to be in the top 12.

You can have the greatest season ever that's ever been done to that point. And if 12 other guys have better seasons than that that year, you're 13th. And all the great running backs from last year that were top 12, they're going to repeat. The top 12 is established, I feel like, from veteran people, Sequin'll enter. But I believe at the end of the season that we're going to have miss.

judged the rookie running backs based on how incredibly valuable they were last year. Even my lovely Carryon Johnson, he'll be a very serviceable guy. Oh, you're doing a disservice. And I do agree with you, Mike, that a lot of these players are going to have much better second halves than first half. But this is draft season. This is where you need a whole season. If you're taking them now, by the end of the year, maybe their second half pace, they were in the top 12.

But it won't be at the end of the season. It'll only be Sequin up there. That's my take. What does that mean? Okay, let's say you're drafting, I don't know, this weekend. So what do you do with all those guys? Well, look, there's still value to be had there. Carry on Johnson, if he drops to the sixth, seventh round, you're grabbing what I believe is. You've ruined him. I know, he's in the fifth. Six-seventh round. Look, I just, we had our listener league draft. Yes. It was a 14-leager.

14 leaguer? Yeah, 14 leagues inside of one. It's huge. I stand by it. It took a while. I drafted Kerryon Johnson in the fifth round. Just because you don't finish as a top 12 running back does not mean you're not going to be serviceable. These rookies will be serviceable. But what I'm saying is don't overvalue them. Don't think that they're just going to be great because rookie running backs have been great. We saw this happen a couple of years ago with wide receivers. Yeah, the 24. The break out wide receivers. And then everybody's like, oh, I want every single one of them.

Hasn't been so pretty lately. Right. And so that's what I'm predicting. We're going to be disappointed with the rookies at the end of this year. Okay. All right. Well, we also want to thank Christine Oxen, by the way. This signed Kurt Warner helmet. We're giving it away tonight. Under duress. How many years have to go by before people don't remember Kurt Warner? Before they don't remember Kurt Warner? In Arizona? Well, in Arizona, they better.

Yeah, it's really sad how old we are. I remember hearing from our chief of staff editor Kyle. He works with youth and he was asking them about Scotty Pippen and no one in the room knew who that was. And it was like, oh no.

Are we that old? We're really, really old. The fact that you're talking about Scotty Pippen, while we're trying to talk about Kurt Warner on a football podcast. I apologize, Kurt. You shame your family. Dates you a little bit. I apologize, family. So here we go. Bold predictions. Mike, you've got the Cardinals as an offensive surprise. Four? Four. Sammy. Sammy Biscuits, David Johnson, Larry Fitz, and calm yourself. Oh, oh, oh.

Ricky Seals Jones, now you go! Oh, oh, oh, oh. It's still terrible. You've got the rookie running backs, second half warriors, the four horsemen. Penny, Michelle, Chubb, Ronald Jones. So you believe Royce is just great all through the year. Of course. All right. I'm saying Derek Carr, draft him late. He's back as a QB1. Like a car in Sun City. And Browns against the world.

That was a local joke. It's a local joke. He's 27, Mike. He's 27. His whole career did not go by in two years. I'm having some troubles. Who'd you point at? She knows. Your grandmother here. The wife. And Jason went with the beginning of the end for the defending Super Bowl. Super Bowl losers. Get bodied.

And then Sequin is the only top 15 running back. You guys ready? You guys ready for a live mailbag? There will be other top 15 running back. Is everybody warmed up? Can you warm them up, Mike? If you have a mailbag question, by the way, start lining up right here. And we're going to get into a live mailbag. Answer some questions. But first, prepare yourselves because it's happening right now. You know what to do. Mailbag. Very, very, very nice.

hometown crowd love it all right who's our first mailbag question come up here tell us your name step up to the mic sir my name is who is this guy hey brian nice to meet you Brian nice to meet you guys I'm joining a league and this league congratulations are they okay with that I'm joining a league I am born I am joining a league and they have a transaction restriction

Boo. Don't join. The late 40s is when his league was 10. 10 transitions per year. And that includes trades. So you said 10 transactions per year. Okay. First. Hold, hold on, hold on, let the man speak. First, how do I convince them? They are dumb. Okay. Second, how does this change my draft strategy?

No, that's a good question. If you do stay in the league first. Tell him Reagan's not president anymore. Okay. That's a good one. So that would be step one. Let them know that the systems actually do the transactions for you. You don't have to do it by hand. It's not mail in anymore. Point them to draft.com slash ballers. If they want to do a bestball league where you don't have transactions, you can do that. Why? This?

Anyways, but let's say you're in the league. Yeah, what's the strategy if you're in a league that has limited? Because that happens. Maybe he likes these people. And he wants to stay there. Six bench spots. Six bench pots. Okay. So if I'm in a league, I can only make 10 transactions, including trades. How does that change? How does that change late round quarterback strategy? It doesn't change. I'm still going late round, but I'm going to have a platoon. I'm going to have... You're going to draft two of them. I'm going to have at least two.