Explain Yourself! Ranking Debates & Dynasty Download - Fantasy Football Podcast for 6/1

Okay. Remember this time last year. Deonte was industry-wide. It wasn't just us. It was a lot of people very into the breakout potential for Deonti Johnson. He was one of the most popular off-season, not really a sleeper, maybe started as a sleeper, but they moved into that breakout area. Everyone was all aboard on this. And somehow it died off.

Like towards draft season, he wasn't getting pushed nearly as hard. Was that Chase Claypool's fault? Maybe. The draft? It may not. I think his buzz was even before the draft. Yes. Yeah, that's why I mean it was very early in the off season. And then it died off. And then he legitimately has a breakout campaign. And now everyone's like, nah, nah. You're like, wait.

We saw it. You prognosticated that he was going to break out. He does, and now people are no longer interested in him. He had the six most targets at the wide receiver position, and yes, he wink, wink, appeared in 15 games. But he essentially missed three and a half. If you remember back at the beginning of the season, he had those two performances where he got into the game, and it looked like things were going to be great, and then he got knocked out. So he missed.

essentially two games for that, missed one from injury, and then he was benched for a half of a game. But in full games, so in games where Deontay Johnson played a full game and games where Big Ben played the full game because Ben didn't play in Week 17, there was only one time that Deontay Johnson did not get 10 or more targets. He was the absolute go-to guy. Which is a silly amount of targets. Yes. And he will still have that.

What have we seen for Ben Rothersberger in the last 10 years that says he won't just hyper target on one guy? He won't have his favorite wide receiver. That's what we've seen with them year after year. And Deontay is the favorite of these three. He's the one who gets the most open. And they were still, when we could knock the running game, the offensive line, Big Ben's wearing down, and he only has to do all these short passes. They still scored.

They were the 12th highest scoring offense last year. They still got it done. It doesn't matter if we like how it's happening. It's not aesthetically pleasing. We like the deep shots. But I don't see a world where Deonté Johnson is not in the top five when it comes to targets, assuming that he plays in 16 or 17 games or even somewhere close to that. So I'm just, I don't see where people are down on Deontay.

moving into 2021. It's interesting to me because you are very pro Najee Harris. Yes. Because he's because he should be because he's excellent. But the transactions that the team has made to me, you got to remember, we got the American up in here now. Matt Canada. Yes, of course. The new offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, so they have replaced the offensive coordinator. They go and they spend a first round.

pick on a running back because I don't think they want the elder statesman Big Ben to throw near 700 times, which was the 17-game pace. I don't think he's going to throw anywhere near that. I really, really don't. So this is why I've got him as my number one target in the offense. But when you combine what I expect a passing volume decrease of the total pie combined with the fact that

While he's an excellent route runner, he is absolutely, he's good at getting open and he will be targeted. They're not the most valuable targets. He's not a supreme athlete, like a Chase Claypool on the same team. You know, he was 10 and a half yards of reception last year. So it's like if the volume comes down a little bit for the team.

I'm going to bet more on the touchdown upside of Claypool. That's why I've got him. We have him as the wider Super 23, right? Which is where he finished last year. I don't see him taking that step forward with another year older Big Ben. That's my take. Yeah, and I end up in the middle and the ranks. I'm actually more sympathetic to Mike's argument though because, and I've pointed this out this offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers ideology and what they want to be as a team, they have wanted to be able to run the football.

for five straight years in which their run blocking has declined and their offensive line has been worse. And so wanting something and getting it, it's not immediate. Balance might be more of a priority this year, but that is still speculation. There's no evidence that they are trending in that direction yet, and Deonte is the most valuable target on the team. So I do think that there's more upside. Well, just to add to that, even if they cannot run the ball.

more because the offensive line does not allow it. Part of the reason they went with Najee is because he will get far more targets than what you saw. The running backs weren't really targeted last year. So if the total passing offense comes down and Najee siphons some of those short game targets off, which is kind of the game of Deontay, I win the argument. Highest target share per snap in the NFL when he's on the field. The volume could go down, but it's still, I mean. What was this touchdown total last year? Do you get seven?

Deontay Johnson had seven. Okay. All right. So that wasn't abnormally low. That was, you have them ahead just for people out there who have maybe gone to the website or you want to check the rankings out. You have him going ahead of Tyler Lockett, Robert Woods, Adam Thiel and C.D. Lane. Mm-hmm. So, and I'm fine with that. I just, what I was saying is, even if the pie shrinks in Pittsburgh, I don't know how much smaller.

that you can make. There is certainly a bit of a mental impact to the drop controversy at the end of the year, the confidence level of the head coach, and what if something goes wrong? That was playoff weeks. People cared about their starting Deonti. He missed time due to being in the doghouse. So I think that those burns probably have knocked his ADP down even more. Yeah, but in which he responded to the, that by them being the wider receiver 13 and wider receiver 14. Yeah. In the semis and championship week.

Now, I know this is your opportunity to explain yourself, Jason, but both of your picks today, I am as opposite on as anybody could be. You are, we have very, very large differences. So let's start with the quarterback that we've selected from your rankings. Because Mike and I both have this guy as a QB1. I have him at 10. Mike has him at 12. He's on the borderline.

Yeah. I mean, he is or he isn't, right? Yeah, I mean, you can't really be at 12 and a half. So he's inside Mike's top 12. But Jason's got him significantly lower than we both do, which, you know, where Jason has him ranked, you're not thinking about starting him too often. Let's put it that way. So we're talking about Kurt Cousins, Captain Kirk, quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, ends up as our consensus QB 15. He's the QB 19 off the board, which is, you know,

In some ways, maybe you'd say Andy and Mike have to explain themselves. Yeah, after my, after me talking, you guys are going to have to explain yourselves. I got that sentence out. You got it. You got it. Yeah, I did. You and, I'm going to show you. Shut up, Richard. But talk about Kirk Cousins, set career highs and passing touchdowns and touchdown rate last year. Only ended up at quarterback 11. Has a couple of, you know, great weapons, Adam Thielen.

Justin Jefferson's emergence, which really changes his ceiling, at least game to game, and then Dalvin Cook, of course. Yeah, I mean, this is really a take not about Kirk Cousins because he is excellent. This is a take about the Minnesota Vikings, and ironically me believing they're going to be a much better team. So I would say Captain Kirk, set your phasers to stun because you ain't killing it out there. Here's what I believe about the Vikings. You set your phasers to dumb.

Yes, I do, my man. Yes, I do. Guilty-ass charged. Got him. Look, the Vikings have always been a good defensive team with Mike Zimmer, right? I mean, that makes sense. He's a defensive. No, last year they weren't good. Okay, that's my point. So your point is to say they're always good, but they weren't good last year? Redefining always. Had it never ranked worse than 11th in points allowed in the Mike Zimmer era. And then last year, they ranked 29th in points allowed. They weren't.

mediocre. They were the third worst. I mean, they had to throw the ball. They had to score a ton of points. And that's abnormal for what Mike Zimmer led football teams have ever done. And then what do they do in the offseason? Follow the transactions of a team. And not only do you get back Daniel Hunter, Anthony Barr, Michael Pierce, really, really good players who missed time, but they go and they become the defensive, you know, free agent victors.

this year with spending huge money on Dalvin Tomlinson. They added Patrick Peterson, who's not a lockdown superstar corner, but he's a good quarterback in the NFL. This defense is going to be good this year. Mike Clay, you know, his detailed ESPN's Mike Clay, detailed unit projections, which I just think are unbelievably fascinating to look at and so detailed. He has them as the number five ranked defense overall for 2021 based on the current personnel. And he's right. They're going to be a good defense.

I mean, that's my view and also... So you like Mike Clay's projections when they prove your point? When do I not like Mike Clay's projection? I like everybody's projections when they prove my point, though. Here's the thing. Kirk Cousins is coming off a great year. Career high in touchdown, career high and touchdown percentage, yards per completion, and it was his second highest QBR of his career. He had a great year. But you want to know when he had a higher QBR, when he was a better quarterback, it was simply the year before. His highest...

you know, best playing quarterbacking of his career. And in that year, when he had a solid 10-win team, he threw for 3,600 yards and 26 touchdowns and was the quarterback 18. Last year's the outlier here. This is a good quarterback with good weapons and a good defense, a good overall team. And I don't think Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer are going to go out there and try to throw for 4,535. It's just not what they want to do. It's not what they're going to do. It's hard to say that it's the outlier.

I mean, having Justin Jefferson versus not having him, that's a difference. But are you saying that Justin Jefferson is like clear cut far and away better than Stefan Dix? Because I would say that they are the exact same tier of wide receiver. And you could argue that Adam Thielen now a year older is going to be the worst version of Adam Thielen that Kirk Cousin has ever had. I just don't think that what they did last year is some sort of pass-happy excessive scheme. Like maybe they go from being one of the worst defenses in the world to middle of the pack.

I think projecting them above that would be a bridge too far. And last year they only threw, they were on pace for 17 games, 548 passing attempts. We've seen teams around 700. So that's why I'm a little bit more bullish. But I know that you expect the defense to improve and for them not to throw the ball. But, I mean, Justin Jefferson is going to get his. Dalvin Cook's going to get his out of the backfield and Thiel and will too. So Kirk Cousins has now, in two of his three years, as the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings,

thrown for over 4,200 yards and 30 or more touchdowns. So two out of the three. But the one where he did, and that one's the outlier. That was his best season. Or this is the outlier. I'm saying that the outlier of the defense and the team was last year. That's my argument. Right. But I'm saying Kurt Cousins did that. He did it like two years ago or three years ago. What does Kirk got to do? Why? Yeah. What does he got to do to get you? He's got to do it.

I mean, he's got to go throw 35 touchdowns in 2021. And then I'll say I was wrong. That's what he's got to answer your question. That's what he's got to do. So there's no way that I'm taking a guy in Kirk Cousins. Like Kirk Cousins sealing to me is what he did last year. And obviously he's not being drafted at what he did last year. He's being drafted where I have him ranked. But when I'm looking at those late round quarterbacks, why would I want to take someone that?

you know, his career high this last season, 35 touchdowns, that's good. But like, he doesn't add anything in the rushing game, you know? I'm going to swing for the fences with someone with a high-end upside versus hoping he repeats what he did last year. I think that's very fair. And this is an exercise to let you work out all of the thoughts and emotions associated with Kirk Cousins and the things he must have.

done to you well good i'm glad i could work that out but i let me just tell you something when i work that out i look good but i didn't look quite as good as when i wear an indochino suit that's supposed to be a transition that was incredible thank you um man so i just had uh my my kids school we had to like this gala fundraising event you know like this fancy get all you know uh nice and dolled up and i wore my indotino suit

I posted it on Instagram. Oh, you did look good. Who doggie. I was impressed. I was smoking hot. Both, you know, visually and temperature-wise. We're giving you a compliment. You don't go too far. That's, that's true. Look, Indochino suits. They've supported this show for a long time. We have all worn them. I know Mike and I have personally gone down to the Indochino studios and done the showroom where they...