Fantasy Football 2017 - Commish Tips + NFC West Breakdown

All right, we're in the NFC West. This is the last of our divisional breakdown shows. We're kind of hitting the highlights, the fantasy notes, the fantasy news for each of these franchises. And we'll start with the Seattle Seahawks, 10-5-1 last year, that epic tie they had it with the Arizona Cardinals. Oh. I want to talk about Russell Wilson, or as we call him. Russell? Russell. Russell. All right, Russell Wilson. I'm so confused. Because every single season he's played.

So all five, he's ended up a top 12 QB at the end of the year. Over the last three years, I took a look at how often he's a top 12 QB week to week. And it's gone down each of the last three years. He was 62% of the time in 2014, only 56% of the time the year after, and then last year, 43% of the time. So it's not been the uptrend that you'd hope for a consistent quarterback one. Obviously, it's hard to produce those kind of numbers each and every week.

But he ended the year with six of nine weeks in the top 12. The narrative is obviously, look, he was hurt, he couldn't get out of the pocket, he couldn't do what he does. Right now he's being drafted in the seventh round, late seventh round behind guys like Derek Carr. So what do you think about Russell Wilson and his opportunity this year in Seattle? Well, that narrative you're talking about, that's in the nonfiction. Right. I mean, because that's what happened. The guy, his ankle got absolutely destroyed right away.

And then he was dealing with another one. By the end of it, he looked like a mummy with his feet. And that's what Russell Wilson's game is all about. Being a mummy. Being a mummy returning from the dead. No, he's just mobility. That spin move when he lets baits the defender to come in and then he just spins and someone breaks wide open like Doug Baldwin. And that's where his production comes from. And if he cannot move.

and his offensive line who was just trashed last year. But they've been bad for a while. I was going to say what has always made up.

for their poor offensive line is Russell Wilson's mobility in the pocket. And so, yeah, you're exactly right. It's not just some kind of story. You know, two years ago, you had a bad first half for Russell Wilson and a great second half. That was a narrative where it was like, oh, he got better, or something changed, or when Marshaun Lynch went down, maybe that's why.

he was, you know, more productive. But last year he was. Doug Baldwin wanted to get paid is what happened. Yeah. Last year it was absolutely 100%. He was injured in the beginning of the year. And if you look, if you, you know, if you go to the UDK and you look at last year's week by week consistency chart ranking, you know, you said he was 43% of the time, something like that. Yeah, he was 43% of the time at top 12 last year. Yeah. All but one of those came after week eight.

I mean, so you look and it's like, oh, it was really bad in the beginning, and then it was just on fire once he could move. But isn't that, I mean, don't we have to acknowledge his fantasy owners? Look, he, because of the mobility, because of what he does, his potential to be injured, to be hurt, bad offensive line got him hurt, right? It's not a point in his favor for him to be injured and struggle and have a bad offensive line.

But then he came back and was Russell Wilson. Isn't there an injury risk that maybe places him in this late 7th appropriately versus saying he deserves to be ahead of that? Because not every player is in that kind of a situation exposed to injury. It wasn't just one injury either. It wasn't just one thing that happened. He got hurt. I believe one was a knee, one was an ankle. It's just that they all lead to each other when he can't move. But I wouldn't consider Russell Wilson injury prone by any stretch. We haven't seen it in previous years.

You know, it's not like the years before he's been getting injured constantly. So, I mean, I think it's a valid point in the sense that he has, he takes a lot of sacks. He does. Yes, he does. He's up near the leaders in the league if he's not the leader himself. And so injury risk is there for anybody. But I think we've got a big enough body of work with his mobility and his, you know. So are you taking in there? Do you want him at 708?

Yeah, genuinely he is one of the first guys where I start considering him. Not at seven, but when he drops past where his normal value is, if he's, you know, if you're in a league where people draft quarterbacks later.

You can get Russell Wilson in the ninth, and I'll pull the trigger on that. What's his ceiling? It's top five. Yeah, I would say top three. I mean, you've got a guy who now has weapons with Jimmy Graham. If Tyler Lockett gets back, there's, you know, I think Darbo, the rookie has potential. Paul Richardson has potential. We've never had this large of a core of quality receivers there. You've always been relying on Jermaine Curse as your number two wide receiver, and that's hard to.

It's interesting, though, because I know the injury is there, but you do have that decreasing stat, 62%, 56%, 43%, and as rushing yards have gone down three straight years as well. I mean, it's really easy to have 62% as a QB1 when you have 800 plus yards on the ground. Those baselines change if you're no longer running the ball as much. So do you expect them to have 500 yards on the ground? Because last year was about 250 with the injury. So...

Yeah, I mean, four to 500, I think is fair. And what do you do? Jason, you've been, you have been the man at the front. You are the conductor of Doug Baldwin's hype train. I want to talk about this. How are you feeling about Doug Baldwin moving into this season? Last year was, you know, that it was a bad year. Well, he was still fine.

By the end, but getting the journey was a rocky road. Yeah, he doesn't get enough. I'll say the word credit, but it's really flack. Too much credit now. He doesn't get enough flack for being a boom bust the way, you know, you always hear that with, you know, Brandon Cooks and Amari Cooper and those guys. Doug Baldwin for some reason, you know, probably because he's up near the 90 reception total.

You think of him as a consistent guy, but he really is not for fantasy. He has been a boom bust, a touchdown reliant player for those big games. Seven games out of the top 50 at the wide receiver position. Seven games. 31% of the time he was a wide receiver one, which is lower than Brandon LaFelle. So the sum of all parts equaled this.

Number 10 finish in half point leagues. But Jason's right. You look at him. And for some reason, the credit, he's getting the opposite of what he's always had. He had disrespect, disrespect. Now he's basically at the end of the second round. In some leagues, I haven't at 302 right now. So top of the third round, I don't want that. I don't want that from a guy who has to have that boom, boom game. I just would rather take.

other players around there. I mean, Troll Pryor's around there. I will take him for Jason. Brandon Cooks or Doug Baldwin? I would take Brandon Cooks for sure. Hopkins or Baldwin? Baldwin. Torell Pryor. Baldwin. And the last one, Sammy Watkins. Sammy Watkins. All right. So it sounds like he's in the right spot for you. It sounds like his prices is fair.

for ADP for Jason. You just need to be aware of what you're getting and not have the wrong because more important than rankings is roster construction. When you go and you draft Doug Baldwin, you need to know you're getting more of a boom bust guy. You're getting a guy who can have, you know, the three touchdown game that he had last year, but also keep in mind, he only scored a touchdown in five games. That's not good for, you know, a wide receiver in that range. Now, I credit.

some of his struggles to the Russell Wilson injury. That's why I don't, you know, I don't think he's going to be as busty will call him. That's not. Let's not call him that. He won't bust the same rate in 2017. I don't believe. I can see a new shirt. Okay. Key additions to the Seahawks team, Eddie Lacey. The offensive line is completely fixed now with Luke Jockel in the mix. Blair Walsh joins the squad. Let's talk about best. Look.

Who's the guy that you say ends up with the most fantasy points at the wide receiver position other than Doug Baldwin? Just give me a name. At the wide receiver position? That is correct. Who's the highest scoring wide receiver outside of Doug Baldwin at the end of the season? Who do you bet on that being? Tyler Lockett. Tyler Lockett. I'm going to say Paul Richardson. He was very, very impressive at the end of the year. I totally get it. And Tyler Lockett had that really nasty, broken was the...

ankle. I mean, it was a foot injury. I think it was his heart. It was a broken heart. But he, Tyler Lockett is a very impressive player and I think he was. I was really surprised on the footcast yesterday over to join the foot.com. I was surprised to hear how bullish both of you are on Lockett. Bullish is the wrong word. I'm not bullish. Optimistic. And I wouldn't even say, I mean, maybe I'm optimistic. But what I was saying is that.

He still has the potential to break free. His reception has, you know, shown that he's a quality receiver. You know, he last year, towards the end of the year, I think he had two top three wide receiver. On the beginning of the year, he was hurt. Right. Remember he had a knee injury, and that's when Jimmy Graham was doing all that damage. Yeah, so it's not a calling for or a projecting him to be there. But it is absolutely, I acknowledge that he has the potential.

to be a relevant guy. I haven't, I don't think I've drafted him in a single league yet this year. Supposed to come off the pup in the next couple of days. We'll be practicing again with the team. Last guy I want to mention Jimmy Graham. Where do you guys have Jimmy Graham this season? Does he have top three tight-in potential? A year removed from, you know, his first campaign after the Patelot Tendon. Very impressive year. Looks like right now we have Jimmy Graham six, four, and six. So Mike and I have him at six, Jason, you haven't at four.

So touch on Jimmy Graham before we move on. Yeah, I really like Jimmy Graham this year quite a bit. Now, he's one of those guys where come draft day, I don't like drafting a middle of the pack, you know, high potential tight end. But by years in, I think he will be a top five tight in for sure. You have last year.

You saw him struggle a little bit as the season got on, which is completely understandable for a guy who was coming off the injury he had. He shouldn't have even been able to play last year by, you know, science, but he has proven that he is an elite tight end in the NFL. Defenders cannot stop him. And for him to come through in his first year with Seattle and produce as he did last year,

There's no reason to doubt Jimmy Graham being in Seattle, none whatsoever. Are you guys taking the 10th round shot on Thomas Rawls? No. Definitely. Happy to do it. There's a very strong split. At the running back position, we've talked about Lacey a lot on the show. I guess we can dive in real quick before we move on to the Cardinals. But yeah, I'm taking the shot on it. I mean, this guy was dynamic.

And he had a very good end of the year. He had a 150-plus-yard game towards the end of the season. They obviously know they can't rely on him to stay healthy. But there's no reason Thomas Rawls couldn't be heavily involved in this roster. Would you rather have? And by the way, Eddie Lacey News, the last two times he's had his way-ins, they've come out and said he met it. This way-in that he had two days ago, they will not tell anybody what happened. Oh, I'm moving him down. It looks pretty much, it looks like he didn't make it, is what I'm saying. So, I mean.

One Eddie Lacey injury. Let's say Eddie Lacey isn't in the picture. I mean, Thomas Rawls shoots up the board. Okay, so in the 10th round, these are running backs. I mean, these are free running backs. So, I mean, you're just taking a lot of ticket here. But you have to pick one of these scratchers. You're on Thomas Rawls, Jamal Williams, Jeremy Hill.

I'm going, assuming this is a normal redraft league. Yeah, it's redraft. I'm definitely going Jamal Williams. I'm going Jamal Williams. Okay. Yeah. All right. Arizona Cardinals last year were seven, eight and one. Disappointing. They were one of the early season favorites to potentially head to the Super Bowl or at least getting that NFC title game. Didn't happen last year. Lots of reasons why. Chandler Katanzaro is the reason why. You know, you say it in jest.