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AFC West Fantasy Frenzy: Mahomes’ Revenge, Herbert’s Hype, Bo Nix Breakout & Raiders Reload w/ @partialbreakpod
36 Plays25 days ago
The Bush League Huddle is back with a loaded AFC West breakdown! Nacc and Rog welcome special guest Nick from @partialbreakpod to dissect every fantasy football angle—from elite QBs to sleeper picks and everything in between.
🔥 Topics include:
- Is Mahomes being slept on?
- Herbert’s bounce-back potential
- Bo Nix: legit or sophomore slump?
- Chiefs WR chaos & Kelce’s last stand
- Chargers slot logjam (McConkey) & RB committee watch (Hampton/Harris)
- Broncos backfield breakdown (Harvey/Dobbins)
- Raiders reboot with Geno, Bowers, and Jeanty
- Why Jakobi Meyers is the most underrated WR in fantasy
🎉 Plus, we celebrate Nick’s upcoming 100th live episode of the Partial Breakaway Podcast—your go-to for hockey takes and sports banter. Catch them on YouTube at @PartialBreakawayFantasyHockey, and follow them on Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter at @partialbreakpod.
🎯 Draft season is here. Get your edge.
📲 Follow @thebushleaguehuddle for daily fantasy content.
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Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
00:00:11
Nacc
Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to another edition of the bush league huddle fantasy football podcast.
AFC West Division Breakdown
00:00:17
Nacc
that I'm your host snacked and joined as always by Raj and we have a special guest for you this evening. Mr. Nick yeah from the partial breakaway podcast. Welcome Nick. Welcome back.
00:00:31
Nick
Thank you. Thank you. Very happy to be here. Thank you for inviting me.
00:00:34
Nacc
Absolutely. Absolutely. We're going to have some fun today. Um, So we're going to break down again another another division.
Fantasy Draft Excitement and Social Media
00:00:42
Nacc
This week is going to be a full breakdown of the AFC West. So talking about the Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders.
00:00:50
Nacc
ah We've also done previously um completed the AFC East, AFC North, NFC East, NFC North, AFC South, and and NFC South. So be sure to check those out as well. Wow, that was kind of hard rolling off the tongue there.
00:01:05
Roger Emeka
Bring on the season.
Partial Breakaway Podcast Spotlight
00:01:07
Nacc
Yeah, seriously. Seriously. I think what's funny is watching Good Morning Football this morning with Kyle Brandt. i don't know if you caught it, but they were going talking about the Ravens and how you say you turn up the AC or turn down the AC.
00:01:21
Nacc
And when they asked Kyle Brandt the question, he's like, man, we're two weeks away from from Cowboys, Giants. Like, oh we need some football, man, with this AC talk.
00:01:27
Roger Emeka
Yeah. Yes.
00:01:28
Nacc
Like, what's going on here, you know?
00:01:30
Roger Emeka
Yes.
00:01:30
Nacc
Yeah.
00:01:30
Roger Emeka
100%. hundred percent
00:01:32
Nacc
So yeah, we're definitely excited and with fantasy drafts around the corner as well, we're very excited for football, but be sure to follow us guys on, on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
00:01:43
Nacc
Always content going out daily. So be sure to check us out. And if you like hockey, please, please, please make sure to follow the partial breakaway podcast hosted by Nick, who is a Raiders fan. So we're going to get a Raiders perspective in this, in this episode.
Kansas City Chiefs Analysis
00:02:01
Nacc
Um, Also has co-host Junior and producer Vince. So they're on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. They're everywhere. They are very, very good. Very good podcast for anyone who loves hockey. So guys, check them out. You won't be sorry.
00:02:16
Roger Emeka
And they have a live the live show too, right, Nick? I don't know if you want to plug that in.
00:02:20
Nick
Well, 100th episode is coming up this Sunday, and we're going to do an in-person live show ah with ah some of our guests, and maybe we'll see one of you guys there or not, but ah but I'm looking forward to it.
00:02:21
Roger Emeka
Yes.
00:02:31
Roger Emeka
I should be there. 100%.
00:02:34
Nick
I mean, you know, we're we're celebrating really our listeners, ah people that have supported us during the first 100 episodes and kind of giving back to the community a bit.
00:02:43
Roger Emeka
hundred percent
00:02:44
Nacc
That's amazing. And honestly, congrats, guys, on your 100th episode.
00:02:46
Roger Emeka
Congrats, guys.
00:02:47
Nacc
You guys are doing really, really well, so so keep it up.
Patrick Mahomes' Fantasy Value Debate
00:02:50
Nacc
And guys, check these check them out. Seriously, you're you're you're you're in for something. So without further ado, we will dive right in We will start off with the Kansas City Chiefs.
00:03:02
Nacc
So the Chiefs last year finished twelve and five capped off with a Super Bowl blowout at the hands of the Eagles.
00:03:04
Nick
you
00:03:11
Nacc
i was the third straight year they were there. um not sure they're going to be back for fourth year, but never say never as they still do have Patrick Mahomes. So um we will be talking about Patrick Mahomes. We'll be talking about obviously Travis Kelsey. um But noteworthy changes actually for for the Chiefs in the offseason. They drafted offensive tackle Josh Simmons for for LT left tackle will help.
00:03:38
Nacc
That's going to be a big boost to that line. That's one of the positions they were really missing. Drafted Jalen Royals, another speedster. um We know what Patrick Mahomes did with Tyree Kill, so that could be something too to monitor.
00:03:52
Nacc
But they did lose Joe Tooney, so we'll see how that makeshift offensive line does this year.
00:03:58
Roger Emeka
Amen.
00:04:02
Nacc
So we'll start off with with Patrick Mahomes at the QB position. Obviously, he's he's the unquestioned QB one in Kansas City. So a Fantasy Pros has him ranked as the QB sixth, and he's going right now in as a 2QB ADP of 19.5.
00:04:19
Nacc
five So seems about right, I feel. but um And I know he was really upset by from last year, and I feel like there's a think i've said this before in previous pods. He's kind of coming on ah on a revenge tour this year. So, ah Raj, I want to hear your thoughts on Mahomes. Is he undervalued right now at where he's going? Can he be a sneaky, you know, pick this year?
00:04:45
Roger Emeka
It's crazy to think that the best QB in the world can be a sneaky value pick, but it seems like it can be that way.
00:04:50
Nick
yeah
00:04:50
Nacc
Right?
00:04:52
Roger Emeka
and And one of the things that is bothering me about Mahomes and the Chiefs is the way they've been dinking and dunking over the past two or three years. So if you look at the average depth of target for Mahomes over the last, call it six years.
00:05:06
Roger Emeka
So in 2018, was at 9.7 2019 2020, he was at 8.5. But since 2021 2024, it went from twenty nineteen and twenty twenty was at eight point five buts twenty twenty one to twenty twenty four it's went from 7.8, 7.9. years, it's 6.8 and 6.1.
00:05:17
Roger Emeka
in the last two years it's six point eight and six point one
Chiefs' Running Backs Discussion
00:05:20
Nacc
Yeah.
00:05:20
Roger Emeka
Those are crazy, crazy numbers. And obviously, it coincides with the loss of Tyreek Hill. It coincides with maybe adding more pieces that are maybe slower, like DeAndre Hopkins and Juju Smith-Schuster.
00:05:32
Roger Emeka
But I have to think that andy Andy Reid is going to go back to the well and realize that you have Patrick freaking Mahomes. You just drafted Jalen Royals. You have Hollywood Brown, who's a speedster.
00:05:43
Roger Emeka
You have Xavier Worthy as well. So I think people are going to look at drafting Baker Mayfield over Patrick Mahomes and i still and even Bo Nix possibly because of rushing upside. And I think that would be a massive, massive mistake.
00:06:00
Nacc
think I tend to agree is exactly what you said. Like, it's still Patrick Mahomes. Like he didn't, not that he just changed overnight, right? Like he's not, he's still the best QB in the league, right?
00:06:12
Nacc
that you could You could
Chiefs' Wide Receivers Analysis
00:06:13
Nacc
argue that. So, um Nick, I'm curious to hear.
00:06:15
Roger Emeka
he's getting that he's sorry He's getting dad bod shamed this summer.
00:06:17
Nacc
Yeah, it's crazy.
00:06:18
Roger Emeka
can it Can it stop?
00:06:20
Nacc
It's crazy. It's crazy. someone
00:06:22
Roger Emeka
They got him to cut his hair.
00:06:24
Nacc
Well, he actually wanted to cut his hair, to be fair. He knew he was getting too old for that hair. He didn't like it, but because they were going on that streak, he didn't want to lose the hair.
00:06:34
Roger Emeka
yeah
00:06:35
Nacc
And that's got the superstition in them, I guess. But yeah, I don't know. I feel like something special might be coming, but curious to hear your thoughts, Nick.
00:06:46
Nick
Well, I mean, you guys mentioned it to begin with, right? Like there's questions on that offensive line. And because there's questions on that offensive line, you tend to dink and dunk a lot more often because you don't have the time to actually pass for protect and sit in the pocket and throw it deep.
00:07:01
Nick
Now, they haven't really had the weapons recently because obviously you mentioned Hill's not there. ah But there's a few weapons that I'm sure you guys going to get into a little bit later. It's just that Mahomes' depth of target was ranked like forty fourth last year out of all QBs that qualified.
00:07:20
Nick
There's, there's, it was behind backups, you know, like that's, it's, so even if it improves, how much is it really going to improve in one year?
00:07:20
Roger Emeka
He was behind backups then. That's crazy.
00:07:22
Nacc
Yeah, that's wild.
00:07:27
Nick
That's the part that I'm a little bit skeptical of. I think that the ranking makes a little bit of sense. when you when you take that into consideration. But like you said, it's still Mahomes. He still gets it done.
00:07:39
Nick
And you still have Andy Reid there. So if anybody could get out of that funk, I think that Mahomes would be the one to do it.
00:07:48
Nacc
Yeah, look, guys, he still finished QB 11 in 2024, right? So you're still talking you know QB 1 numbers, basically. And we forget, you know, he lost Rishi Rice last year.
00:08:02
Nacc
ah Travis Kelsey showed showed signs of aging, right? You had Hollywood Brown that figured to be a a big part of the offense who missed the whole entire season. So he's not had the weapons at his disposal as well. And I guess it's it it is hampered him. and And as you mentioned, the dinking and dunking comes with not enough time to throw. So um I think he's valued where he should be
Travis Kelsey's Fantasy Ranking Debate
00:08:29
Nacc
valued. But I think to Roger's point, it's going to be tough.
00:08:33
Nacc
ah Seeing someone take Baker or Bo Nix over Patrick hol Holmes is just something that I can't fathom.
00:08:40
Roger Emeka
And and we you mentioned the loss of Joe Tooney. I think it was almost addition by subtraction. ah During the Super Bowl, the offensive line was decimated right against that Eagles front.
00:08:49
Nick
Yeah.
00:08:50
Roger Emeka
And I think Josh Simmons in a lot of mocks was like considered you know one of the top three two to three left tackles.
00:08:50
Nacc
He did. He did.
00:08:58
Roger Emeka
so i we'll see. I think it's ah Nick said it very well. It's it's going to depend on the offensive line because Mahomes ran for his life a lot of times last year.
00:09:07
Nacc
did
00:09:10
Nacc
If we move along to the running backs, we have Isaiah Pacheco, who last year obviously was hurt. no was I think it was week one or two.
00:09:22
Nacc
Missed a huge chunk of the season. And then when he came back, we you know he definitely wasn't wasn't the same. And as Raj likes to say, he he runs like he's wearing jeans.
Chargers' Season Review and Prospects
00:09:33
Nacc
and
00:09:33
Nick
ah That's a good one.
00:09:37
Roger Emeka
I'm going to wait for my Pacheco thoughts. I...
00:09:39
Nacc
No problem. So Fantasy Pros has him ranked as 26th and current ADP is around 83. Right now, that's about ah running back 26. And then you have Kareem Hunt, who they re re-signed, who was interesting. He had a nice chunk of the offense actually last year and He could be that goal line kind of back that's going to be vulturing touchdowns. So, I don't know, Nick, what do you see with this backfield? Is this something to kind of, you know, are you are you trusting Pacheco with a healthy training camp and and, you know, to bounce back?
00:10:21
Nick
Well, it depends what what you're asking for for me to trust because as an RB1 or RB2, I'm not very confident. Whereas an RB3, sure, absolutely. Flex play, I'd rather go wide receivers, my personal opinion, but you know that could be something that you look at here.
00:10:37
Nick
um I'm just not um not confident in his play. I'm not confident in his speed. I'm not confident in his breakaway ability. like It just doesn't feel...
00:10:49
Nick
like a bell cow that's going to go out there and really break tackles and run for 100 yards a game. ah So umm I'm not very confident in the running game there in KC, and I don't think that's their strength necessarily.
00:11:04
Nacc
Right.
00:11:05
Roger Emeka
I hate watching this guy run. I just, I hate watching this guy, period. Like, I i can't draft him. And there's there's there's a portion of, yes, I don't like him watching him run, but his running style leads to injuries.
00:11:15
Roger Emeka
Like, he he cannot stay healthy. It's six games last year. It's 13 games started started his rookie year. And it's eleven games started in his rookie year and He's a ticking time bomb in terms of running.
00:11:30
Roger Emeka
That style, you know, the way he like it looks like he's he's looks like he's a typewriter, like the way his his his his legs go.
00:11:37
Roger Emeka
um You mentioned Kareem Hunt. Yes. it Just crazy that in the year 2025, Kareem Hunt is still a thing.
00:11:37
Nick
yeah
00:11:44
Nacc
Yeah.
00:11:44
Roger Emeka
more I think I'm more excited for Elijah mitchell Mitchell, who I loved his rookie year when he was at about 900, almost a thousand yards ah in 10 starts.
00:11:56
Nick
Thank you.
00:11:58
Roger Emeka
He looked amazing for the 49ers. And then the year after, I believe it was the year after the, or 2023, they got Christian McCaffrey and that was pretty much it for him. He's been injury prone also his entire season, his entire career.
00:12:09
Nacc
That's, I was gonna say, yeah.
00:12:11
Roger Emeka
But if he can kind of be used in passing down situations, if he can be used kind of as a speed back, I really like him. Kind of like a, could be this year's J.K. Dobbins, actually.
00:12:23
Roger Emeka
You think of a guy who's been consistently injured with talent and finds the right situation.
00:12:29
Nacc
Yeah, now we're just kind of, the the backfield seems really, really crowded when you when you bring in the the third guy. But I guess, like you said, just the problem here is they figure all to be maybe injured because Hunt is getting up there in age, right? so now you're you're easily hurt as well in in in later seasons, right? When you're when you're turning 30 and above. So I don't know. is it Is it kind of a backfield to avoid altogether? Or you know are you okay, like Nick said?
00:12:59
Nacc
You know, if he's your RB3, are you okay putting him in your lineup on a weekly basis as your RB3?
00:13:08
Roger Emeka
like I'd rather have like a Tank Bixby or...
00:13:11
Nacc
Interesting.
00:13:13
Roger Emeka
like I'm looking at ADPs. Tony Pollard goes at like as a ADP. I'd even take Tyrone Tracy.
00:13:24
Roger Emeka
Pichico's hard to trust. I find he's very hard to trust.
00:13:26
Nick
He's also boring. He's a boring running back.
00:13:28
Roger Emeka
Yes.
00:13:30
Nacc
Yeah.
00:13:31
Nick
You don't get excited drafting these guys.
00:13:32
Roger Emeka
Yes. 100%. hundred percent
00:13:35
Nacc
Yeah. Well, if we turn to the wide receivers, this is where it gets a little bit interesting here because you do have Rashid Rice, who's currently ranked wide receiver 31 46 and forty six adp I believe that's going to be falling within a hurry because there is that looming suspension. And i think what we've been hearing is the NFL wants to give him at least eight games.
00:14:05
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:14:05
Nacc
So I don't know. That's something to continue to monitor. We're hoping that it happens before the season, before all of you have to draft, because I don't know how you take Rasheed Rice when he's going to miss, you know, 50 60% of the fantasy season.
00:14:22
Nacc
You also have Xavier Worthy who's going into his sophomore year. Had a pretty solid rookie season. Then you have Marquise Brown as well that that comes back.
00:14:32
Nacc
I'm not sure if he's healthy or quite healthy to start the year, but um I know that Juju Schuster is still there, which is, again, not a much of a sexy name, especially now, but
00:14:36
Roger Emeka
He never is.
00:14:39
Roger Emeka
I am i think and think it has to be worthy.
00:14:46
Nacc
I don't know, Raj, what do you what do you make of this here? this this whole like what are you Who are you trusting? Who are you drafting?
00:14:57
Roger Emeka
ah The one who is most trusted when you're drafting... Knack, if you recall, I'm sure you remember I was very high on worthy last year.
00:15:05
Nacc
Yes.
00:15:05
Roger Emeka
But if you look at the underlying metrics, eighteen ah he had 18 targets that traveled 20 plus air yards and he only caught three of them. So they rendered ah deep threat who came in with four to one speed.
00:15:21
Roger Emeka
They rendered him a screen, as like a screen merchant, like sweeps. That's all he did last year. He wasn't used to his full potential.
00:15:32
Nacc
Yeah.
00:15:33
Roger Emeka
And then the other guys let you guys touch up on Rice and and Brown, who is just he's not trustworthy at all and he's never injured. I think it's Jalen Royals. I think it's interesting. We've talked about him during our pre-draft show.
00:15:46
Roger Emeka
He led the FBS in touchdowns over 50 yards. I think it was either last year or 2023 with seven. So they get back some speed that they – another speed that – you know Maybe he'll hit more than than Worthy has, but they they need they need improvement from Worthy this year if they're going to get back to the deep deepsh shot passing game that they've done in the past.
00:16:07
Nacc
For sure. For sure. And, i mean, Nick, Rasheed Rice, say he gets eight games, where are you touching him at all? Has he just become undraftable?
00:16:17
Nick
ah Yeah, i I mean, I'm a bit risk adverse. And knowing that, I'm probably not going to touch him at all. um And I think he's actually going to go higher because one there's always that one GM in your league that thinks he's smarter than everybody else and grabs him in the seventh round and then stashes him on IR and then doesn't have him for half the season and misses out on other guys that you could possibly have around that ADP.
00:16:40
Nick
So um I think that... ah When Rice was injured last year, they weren't explosive at all in in the KC offense.
00:16:48
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:16:50
Nick
So Worthy has the opportunity to really take command of that. But like Raj said, he's got to catch the the deep ones, you know. I love Royals. I was really hoping that the Raiders were going to draft Royals. Sad that he went to KC.
00:17:04
Nick
ah But again, not really somebody that you could really count on, especially if you're I think drafting this year on a rookie that you haven't really seen much of yet, I'd be questioning ah drafting him this year.
00:17:17
Roger Emeka
Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:19
Nick
More of a watch list guy for me.
00:17:22
Nacc
Yeah, admire I tend to agree. If if he's getting if you're hearing you know eight to ten games, like there's not really a point to have this guy. Then there's there's that. If it starts at the beginning of the year, then you're going to have a two, three-week ramp-up period too. like you don't like The offense is going to be nowhere near what it probably was at the beginning of the year. and
00:17:42
Roger Emeka
I think they only said there's no precedence to it. I think that's what the NFLPA is trying to push towards is that has never really been ah a suspension length that long for a case like Rice.
00:17:48
Nick
you
00:17:53
Roger Emeka
So I think to Nick's point, you know, someone might try to be smart and just hope that, hey, maybe the suspension is two, three games, which is par for the course for kind of any type of issue that doesn't relate either in death or, you know, even worse, like battery or sexual assault.
00:18:09
Roger Emeka
But Don't want to touch that any longer.
00:18:12
Nacc
yeah yeah Yeah, look, I think it's just it's it's just really like a makeshift wide receiver room. It's like there's not that one, like, well, I guess, look, mine is, Rasheed Rice is on his way to stardom, I felt, because he he did bring a lot to the team, but he's not going to be there.
00:18:26
Roger Emeka
yeah
00:18:31
Nacc
um It looks a little bit weird. They just traded Sky Moore as well to the 49ers. They got rid of him. um But a little bit of a mishmash here. I think you do have some some value.
00:18:43
Nacc
x Xavier Worthy at ADP almost 70, so it's at 68.3. I think that could be some return some solid value. And then, again, Marquise Brown, maybe may a late flyer, if you know depending on if you're in you know maybe a 12-team league, late round pick.
00:19:00
Nacc
But nothing that really yeah jumps off the page. And then we have an interesting one here. Obviously, Travis Kelsey is still there. um I know Noah Gray kind of ate into some of him his production last year as well and actually looked pretty well, pretty good doing it.
00:19:18
Nacc
um Travis Kelsey still up so fantasy pro rank as Titan 5. five And his ADP is 75. So obviously a far cry from what it's been in previous years. And I think it's right where it needs to be. He's no longer that that borderline first or second round pick.
00:19:41
Nacc
But Nick, what do you think of Travis Kelsey? as he Does he have another year in him where he could you know put up some some solid numbers in the tight end position?
00:19:50
Nick
Depends how desperate I am, because I'll be very honest with you. So in, he played 16 games last year and in seven of those 16 games, he had less than 40 yards total receiving.
00:20:04
Nick
That doesn't cry to me. Consistency doesn't cry to me. Somebody that I'm willing to draft. It's more of a, okay, well, I, all the better tight ends have gone already and I need a tight end. This is where I'm going.
00:20:15
Nick
um You know, tight end six, I actually think that tight end six is is too high. I see him lower on the the, there's so many good young tight ends that have come in that I'd rather take a risk on than Kelsey.
00:20:28
Nick
And his age plays a factor in that. And i'm I'm thinking that it's below 700 yards total this year. I'm going to take the under on that.
00:20:37
Roger Emeka
Interesting.
00:20:37
Nacc
Oh, Raj?
00:20:38
Roger Emeka
That's really interesting.
00:20:38
Nacc
raj
00:20:40
Roger Emeka
I like, this is probably the first time I like Travis Kelsey at current cost ever. um i'm I'm very ah weary of drafting tight ends and, you know, the top two runs. and I'm sure we'll talk about that when we get to Brock Bauer, your boy Brock Bowers.
00:20:54
Roger Emeka
But I like this at cost. He's nestled after, just before Njoku, know, Ingram, Mark Andrews, Tucker Craft. he still finished with like almost a thousand yards.
00:21:07
Roger Emeka
Right. And To your point, Nick, yes, maybe the he won't have the high-variance games, the 11 for 100 consistently, but he still always can break out, and he's still playing at Patrick Mahomes, and they're probably the two most in-sync players between quarterback and pass catcher that exist in the NFL right now, and I would still bet on that over you know taking like ah a Tucker Craft or like a Jake Ferguson or...
00:21:37
Roger Emeka
trying to see if dalcon Dalton Kincaid can be a thing for the you know the third consecutive year, which never happens.
00:21:46
Nacc
ah Honestly, I think I almost agree with both of your points because it was actually, it made sense both ways. feel... i feel is his head all in on football or is he, is he looking at, you know, the retirement part of it trying, like, yeah, I know he's, he's, he's doing good things with his podcast and they're, you know, having Taylor Swift on it and making it, you know, explode and, you know, exploring other avenues for post football. So I'm just kind of wondering if his head is still, you know, hundred percent in it to give that again, 900 yard season or, or, or something, or is this kind of like,
00:22:23
Nacc
okay, and you know I have a contract, I'm making money here, ah might as well go one last year and kind of see what happens.
00:22:31
Roger Emeka
Well, he lost weight. He lost like a good 20, 30 pounds. And I think I listened or there was a quote about him where he literally said that, yes, last season, lot of the the noise caught up to him. And it seems like that he has a renewed focus in the in the season. I think the Super Bowl loss got to him too. I'm sure it got to a lot of the guys in the Chiefs.
00:22:49
Nacc
Yeah, especially when you're used to winning them every year, right?
00:22:52
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:22:53
Nick
I'm going to ask you guys a question if that's all right.
00:22:55
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:22:55
Nacc
Yeah, of course.
00:22:56
Nick
Age 36. Does that not make you scared a little bit when it comes to his position?
00:23:04
Nacc
Yes. And he does.
00:23:06
Roger Emeka
No.
00:23:07
Nacc
like he if Correct me if I'm wrong. He played 16 games last year, but I believe he's missed time with injuries each of the oh past few seasons, if I'm not mistaken.
00:23:19
Roger Emeka
He had injuries, but I think he still played.
00:23:22
Nacc
Okay.
00:23:23
Roger Emeka
ah But like I look at Tony Gonzalez's age season, catches, yards. that was his his sixteenth year in the league
00:23:35
Nacc
All
00:23:36
Roger Emeka
So there's there's been there's been proof of concept of of guys, especially at that position, being able to prolong their careers. Maybe he's going to block less, but no, I would say doesn't bother me that much the fact that he's going to be 36.
00:23:50
Nick
good
00:23:51
Roger Emeka
That's a good point, though.
00:23:51
Nacc
right.
00:23:51
Roger Emeka
Good question.
00:23:52
Nacc
we'll so We'll see what happens.
00:23:53
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:23:54
Nacc
So that'll do it for the Kansas City Chiefs. We're going to keep it rolling and dive into the Los Angeles Chargers. um So 2024 was had pretty solid season.
00:24:08
Nacc
I know there was some injuries that he had to deal with and that awful playoff performance. ah ah was I feel like I've never seen him play ah game like that before, like where it was really like meltdown central.
00:24:22
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:24:23
Nacc
Um, lad McConkie came in, broke some team records. He looked really, really good, especially as a kind of PPR monster in, in fantasy football and some, some noteworthy changes to, to kind of talk about. They drafted Omarion Hampton this year to to pair him with a signing of Najee Harris.
00:24:42
Nacc
They also added, Rondae Gaston. The second that I, did I say that right?
00:24:49
Roger Emeka
Gats, yeah. Yes, dad, his dad. I actually remember his dad from the the Dolphins around the early 2000s. The wide receiver at the Dolphins.
00:24:58
Nacc
Interesting. Interesting. They did lose. A huge loss is Rashawn Slater, who's going to miss the season.
00:25:03
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:25:06
Nacc
That offensive line was going to look really, really good. And this one kind of now puts a hole into it. They're going to be switching. um Who's the other one that they had drafted last year?
00:25:15
Nick
Joe Otto.
00:25:16
Nacc
Joe Alt. He's going to be moving to the right side, I believe, they're they're they're saying. So um that's going to be something to monitor. And they did draft Trey Harris, speedster, in the second round.
00:25:30
Nacc
So he looked pretty good in in some preseason action and some training camps that I've seen.
00:25:33
Roger Emeka
Yeah. Yes.
00:25:35
Nacc
So I'm actually kind of excited to see what he does in game. And actually they re-added...
00:25:45
Nacc
Keenan Allen back to the team after they signed Mike Williams, but he decided that ah he no longer is good at football and decided to retire.
00:25:46
Roger Emeka
yes
00:25:58
Nacc
He finally figured it out himself, so kudos to Mike Williams. But we'll start at the QB position and Justin Herbert, so ah Fantasy Pro's rank of QB 13 and two cub ADP of
00:26:09
Nick
you
00:26:13
Nacc
forty two point four So they did draft a running back. They did sign another running back.
00:26:24
Nacc
I know Harbaugh is known for running the ball. Raj, I know you're a big, big, big, you're really high on Justin Herbert, but what do you see for this upcoming season?
00:26:36
Roger Emeka
so it's it's interesting So it's interesting.
00:26:36
Nacc
QB 13, too high, too low?
00:26:41
Roger Emeka
there's There's always a misnomer about Justin Herbert and and Harbaugh, especially Harbaugh that you know they're a run first team. But look, I get that they're running quarterbacks, but Herbert had more pass attempts than Josh Allen, Jaden Daniels, and Lamar Jackson last year.
00:26:57
Roger Emeka
And he dealt with a lot of injuries. There was a plantar fasciitis. There was the thumb injury. I think it basically a broken thumb. And he still was able to be basically post qb fourteen numbers.
00:27:10
Roger Emeka
He's two years shy of basically a QB three year where he was pretty much at 5,000 passing yards, 37 TDs.
00:27:18
Nick
Thank you.
00:27:18
Roger Emeka
Ladn McConkie is ascending. They added some weapons to him, to to that. And i think as long as he just doesn't, I felt he played too safe last year. Three INTs, except for the playoff game, but three INTs, they weren't pushing the ball downfield enough.
00:27:33
Roger Emeka
Didn't feel like they he used legs enough either because he's a very athletic guy. So I think where he's at now, I think a lot of people, similar to Mahomes, all people are going to overlook Herbert and go for Baker Mayfield and Bo Nix.
00:27:37
Nacc
Interesting.
00:27:47
Roger Emeka
And and i'm I would rather much rather have Justin Herbert because i I know there's proof of him being a top three QB. And from a talent-wise, he's pretty much already there. So I like him and I'm i'm not ah necessarily afraid of the quote-unquote run-first offense.
00:28:04
Nacc
interesting like
00:28:05
Nick
I think he could really stretch the ball. He could stretch the field. He he throws it deep. you You have more weapons now with Trey Harris there. um Lad McConkie is the only real receiving star that I could really see. But, you know, ah Herbert, the offensive line again, like you mentioned, it's a little bit scary that they lost later.
00:28:29
Nick
ah They also have Becton that's injured right now. So there's going to be some question marks on that offensive line. if he could If they could keep that offensive line together and and kind of make it work somehow, then he definitely has the opportunity to stretch the field a lot more. And then if that's the case, I see a more of a QB 10 than a QB 13. Um, like I would take him, uh, over guys like, uh, Justin Fields, for example, uh, even though there's a running upside to Justin Fields.
00:29:01
Nick
Um, so.
00:29:02
Roger Emeka
Agreed.
00:29:03
Nick
that's i really like, again, this like this whole division has such good QB play, and he's going to get his opportunities for sure to to put up some numbers this year if he stays healthy.
00:29:16
Nacc
Yeah, I agree. I think that last like late year collapse probably has some people like you know left a sour taste in some people's mouths. And, oh, Herbert, Herbert, he's on a downhill trajectory. But I think, Rod, you said it right, similar to Mahomes. people are just gonna This is one of the guys that people are going to overlook that can easily or that can...
00:29:39
Nacc
not surprisingly pop into that top 10 in in fantasy um and fantasy points by the end of the season. So um I definitely, definitely agree. Now it gets a little bit more challenging as well. you have the running back situation. So they did sign Najee Harris coming off four straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh.
00:30:02
Nacc
um Mainly operated as the as the main back there, but they did they did switch out every once in a while. So he's kind of known to these kind of committee backfields a little bit.
00:30:16
Nacc
And they they they really they drafted Omarion Hampton, who looks as advertised.
00:30:22
Nick
Thank you.
00:30:23
Nacc
ah right now so basically Hampton is fantasy pros rank 17 and going as pick 39 right now in 2qb adp drafts so Now, obviously, we all know that Najee Harris had that, what was it, firework accident. So there's something to his eyes. Still hasn't practiced, hasn't seen any reps. So most likely going to start the season maybe on the pup list, maybe just a few games out. But how do you see this working out?
00:30:58
Nacc
And, you know are are you are you okay drafting Omarian Hampton with, you know, a top 40 pick this year, Nick?
00:31:07
Nick
I'm scared. I'm scared not because of the talent, because Hampton has the talent, absolutely. But if Nagy comes in and they're sharing the backfield, how many goal line touches does Nagy get over Hampton and vice versa?
00:31:22
Nick
It's very hard to predict how that's going to play out on the backfield. And when there's so much... variation that could happen, very difficult to drop a top 40 pick, like you mentioned, on one of these two guys.
00:31:37
Nick
Well, ah definitely not Najee, but you know Hampton, I'm very questioning the fact that with Najee there, it lowers the the the whole um appeal to Hampton in my books.
00:31:52
Nacc
So Raj, I'll just ask you a quick question then because I know you were kind of nodding in sync there in agreement. So Najee is going as the ADP ah adp pick 131.
00:32:06
Nacc
So are you would you then more likely take a flyer on him at 131 rather than Hampton at 40? forty
00:32:14
Roger Emeka
no
00:32:17
Roger Emeka
No.
00:32:18
Nacc
And end.
00:32:18
Roger Emeka
You know how I feel about Najee Harris.
00:32:19
Nacc
End scene. You hate Najee Harris.
00:32:22
Roger Emeka
i i i It's not that I hate him. He's just not my cup of tea as a running back. But I fully agree with Nick. Yeah. For me, Hampton's going to be He's to have a great career.
00:32:33
Nick
Yeah.
00:32:33
Roger Emeka
You know, if anyone who's not familiar with him, think of like a Joe Mixon in terms of size and and type of game. I just go back to, again, as someone who owned a almost league winner in J.K. Dobbins last year.
00:32:46
Roger Emeka
I just couldn't... I couldn't... Harbaugh just couldn't quit because Gus Johnson. Gus Johnson? No.
00:32:54
Nacc
guess Edward's.
00:32:54
Roger Emeka
Gus Edwards, sorry. He just couldn't quit Gus Edwards despite the fact that Dobbins was... At one point, he an RB19. He got close to RB17 in points per game.
00:33:05
Roger Emeka
So I see a similar fate in Hampton. And... Harbaugh really likes veterans and he really likes Najee Harris. He liked him so much that he wanted to recruit him at Michigan.
00:33:15
Roger Emeka
There was like a video about him, how he really was pissed that he ended up going to Alabama. So I really think that Harbaugh is going to be attached to Najee Harris. And it's going to, as Nick said, kind of going to lower the appeal of of Hampton. you You said great.
00:33:15
Nick
you
00:33:33
Nacc
Yeah, i think when Najee is fully healthy, this becomes a full-blown committee backfield. I don't think there's going to be one that's going to get more than the other. And if it is, it's going to look more of like 60-40 split type of split.
00:33:49
Roger Emeka
And Nak, I mean, you're you're very familiar with Harris. Like, he was pretty good in pass protection. He was fantastic as a pass catcher, which is when Herbert was at his best, he had Eckler catching like almost 100 balls.
00:33:59
Nick
you
00:34:00
Roger Emeka
And I i think Najee had like an 80-catch season, no? Yeah.
00:34:03
Nacc
So his rookie season is where he caught the most, and then it drastically went downhill.
00:34:07
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:34:08
Nacc
They used him more as ah as a runner, and they weren't really passing him the ball. ah But yeah, I think that's that was the appeal when Harbaugh did sign him, is the appeal of how he could catch out of the backfield. And that's where kind of where my head goes is, you know, maybe that's where I'll take a shot at him at pick 131 just because of that PPR upside, especially in PPR leagues.
00:34:34
Nacc
But definitely something to something to monitor. Now we move ahead to the wide receiver group. So we've mentioned McConkie's name a few times already. Wide receiver 11 and ADP of 26.8.
00:34:47
Nacc
A massive, massive rookie season. um And he finished as wide receiver, I believe, wide receiver 13 last year. So already a superstar bona fide like wide receiver one.
00:35:03
Nacc
type numbers. um Then they did draft, like we said, Trey Harris, and they have, well, they still have Quinton Johnson, who I don't think is going to be playing much with now with the re-signing Keenan Allen again.
00:35:19
Nacc
He's going as wide receiver 67. And, you know, Trey Harris at wide receiver 65. So Nick, besides obviously Ladd McConkie, is there anyone else are you taking a shot on? Would you rather grab Keenan Allen at the wide receiver 67 or do we we try to grab Trey Harris?
00:35:39
Nick
Well, so I'm taking a look at at these rankings, right? And i think ah maybe I'm one off, but Quinton Johnson, Trey Harris, Keenan Allen, I think they're all back-to-back-to-back 67, 68, 69 in the ah Fantasy Pros ranking.
00:35:56
Nick
Basically, they don't even know what's going to happen, right? Yeah. Um, but if you really, if I have to, if you put a gun to my head and you said to me, okay, who would you actually take here? It would be Trey Harris.
00:36:07
Nick
And the reason is because of the upside, I would bet on upside around that range much more than I would bet on the grizzled vet, like Keenan Allen, even though we know who Keenan Allen was and he's been great for such a long time.
00:36:19
Nick
i would rather have the Trey Harris upside rather than that. But that's, that's a personal preference in the end. You're, you're really rolling dice here.
00:36:27
Nacc
Does the familiarity with Herbert kind of scare you off, right? Because Herbert is probably going to you know gravitate towards him over maybe someone else because of that.
00:36:39
Nacc
Raj, what do you think?
00:36:39
Nick
Could be at the beginning.
00:36:41
Nacc
Yeah.
00:36:42
Roger Emeka
Yeah, Keenan Allen's last season in l LA, he was on a 13 game because he was injured a bit, as he has he often is. 108 catches, 1,200 yards, yards per game.
00:36:57
Roger Emeka
fantastic last season with with illy so i'm i'm happy he's back there i just i feel like he's like he's a chart just think of him him as as a charger um but i i'm actually very wary of lad mcconkey personally because of the slot factor mccon mcconkey is a pretty much 70 slot guy we all know that keenan allen most notably operates in the slot
00:37:10
Nacc
Ooh.
00:37:15
Nick
Thank you.
00:37:20
Roger Emeka
And I think right now McConkie's kind of looked at like the the next Amon Ross St. Brown. I think that has to be on hold while they bring back Keenan Allen and he's going to be in the slot a ton.
00:37:31
Roger Emeka
I'll be really, I'm very wary of drafting McConkie at wide receiver 11 personally.
00:37:37
Nacc
Yeah, it it is a touch high, especially, like you said, after they they brought back Keenan Allen. And I was, like, I guess, look, the familiarity aspect makes makes it make sense. But on the other hand, like you said, McConkie is 70% in the slot, and youre drop you brought back Keenan Allen, who's probably going to play the majority of his snaps in the slot.
00:37:55
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:37:57
Nacc
So are they going to be interchanging? Are they, you know, um i see him, like McConkie is obviously not going to get off the field. He's the younger guy.
00:38:04
Roger Emeka
yeah
00:38:04
Nacc
But, yeah. And like I said, the familiarity aspect with Keenan Allen, Herbert knows him. He knows how he runs his routes. He knows where he's going to be. And I don't know. I think that could definitely eat into it.
00:38:17
Nacc
And that's where you see like that trade Harris, also a rookie, might not have like those those crazier numbers. So definitely going to be interesting to see what like starting the season um ah with these guys and how Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkie go to exist on the same field.
00:38:38
Nacc
And then we move we move into the tight end. as I mentioned, Orunday Gadzin, the second. Currently going right now is tight end 41. So that's way down the list.
00:38:53
Nacc
And ADP pick of 260. Raji, sleeper weapon, sleeper red zone weapon, someone to maybe stash as your second tight end to see what happens.
00:39:06
Roger Emeka
Yeah, he was blowing up all around Twitter, like during training camp and just before, and even like rookie meeting camp and OTAs. ah I think he's he's a must draft. And if you look at his his his college career, he had lot of injuries, but two seasons, not back-to-back, but two seasons of almost 1,000 yards and ah six, seven touchdowns in each season.
00:39:06
Nick
you
00:39:15
Nacc
Thank
00:39:26
Roger Emeka
So like a big athlete. Again, dad dad played in the NFL. Yeah. Chargers have been a wasteland in terms of tight ends since Antonio Gates retired. So this is a guy that everyone should at least on their watch list or if you can have space instead of drafting a kicker, pick this guy up.
00:39:45
Nacc
but So we know what you're doing at the at the end of at the end of the draft.
00:39:47
Nick
Love it.
00:39:50
Roger Emeka
All my mock drafts, some of my mock drafts, I'm even skipping defense. I'm just like drafting, like I'm skipping, I'm definitely skipping kicker and even just skipping defense. So yeah.
00:39:58
Nacc
Wow. Interesting. Anything to add, ad Nick?
00:40:00
Roger Emeka
Don't tell Stamati.
00:40:03
Nick
No, I mean, it's, it's pretty much a wasteland of tight end room. Um, Godson, like, like you mentioned, this is a guy that you're taking a flyer on late in your draft. But other than that, there's nobody here that I would, I would draft as a starter.
00:40:18
Nacc
Yeah, tough have to start him. There's got to be a reason why he's going 260th, right, than tight end 41. forty one So we'll see. We'll see if that number changes as we get closer to draft time. But with only a couple weeks left, I don't foresee that happening.
00:40:37
Nacc
um That'll do it with for the Chargers, guys. We'll so we'll ah keep going and dive into the Denver Broncos. Finished 9-8 last year, sneaked into the playoffs.
00:40:49
Nacc
Bo Nix quietly finished QB7 as a rookie and and for a while I think was going toe-to-toe with Jaden Daniels for that Rookie of the Year honors.
00:40:56
Roger Emeka
Thank you.
00:41:01
Nacc
um Dominant first-ranked defense and Cortland Sutton, career-high 135 targets. I know, Rog, you like you like you um some Cortland Sutton.
00:41:13
Nacc
And so note noteworthy changes. They drafted rj Harvey, um who Sean Payton is really, really high on, loves RJ Harvey. ah He went above a few other running backs that we thought were going to be drafted before.
00:41:28
Nacc
or They added Evan Ingram in the Joker role. Still don't know what that's going to mean for him. And they also added J.K. Dobbins, who figures to be the obviously lead back, at least to start the season.
00:41:46
Nacc
But by position, again, we'll start at the QB. So Bo Nix, like I just mentioned, finished QB 7 last year. So right now, Football Pros has him ranked as the QB 8 and going...
00:41:55
Nick
Thank you.
00:41:59
Nacc
has pick number 30 in 2QB ADP. So is this a candidate for a regression or can he repeat these top 10 numbers going forward?
00:42:14
Nacc
Raj.
00:42:16
Roger Emeka
Yeah, anyone who's listened this far knows probably knows that I'm not the biggest Bo Nix fan. um I think it's more the reliance on passes behind lines behind or at the line of scrimmage.
00:42:27
Roger Emeka
He led the league with 134 of those.
00:42:28
Nick
you
00:42:29
Roger Emeka
He completed 117. So it's a very high percentage. Very similar to the Russell Wilson season where he's a big boomer bus guy. It's either at the line of scrimmage or it's deep to Cortland Sutton. Yeah.
00:42:43
Roger Emeka
A lot of reliance, too, on touchdowns. Not a bad thing, but 29 touchdowns. He went on a bit of a heater at the end of the season. He was 20 points per game, weeks 5 to 17.
00:42:58
Roger Emeka
I'm just wary if he could do that again with the reliance on passes at the line of scrimmage. I have to see it to believe it again.
00:43:08
Nacc
Yeah.
00:43:11
Nacc
There's always that second year slump that comes, right? We saw it from from Stroud last year. um And, you know, and a lot of QBs had good years. a lot of rookie QBs had good years last year. I'm i'm curious to see what they but they look like in year two.
00:43:25
Nacc
ah But, Nick, are we high on Bo Nix?
00:43:28
Nick
and So I would say lukewarm. um I love the offensive line. I think the Broncos have a really well-built offensive line, and that really helped Bo Nix in his rookie year. um But like Raj said, ah i need to see something different from him.
00:43:42
Nick
And the Dicken Dunks is not really going to do it on the second year because there's film out on you now.
00:43:48
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:43:48
Nick
So other teams will focus that down. And that's why I see a little bit of – he's going a little bit too high in my books. I would rather go for a Kyler Murray. I would rather go for ah maybe a Dak over Bo Nix at this point because I am expecting there to be a little bit of a regression when it comes to Bo.
00:44:11
Nacc
Yeah, I agree. And like we said, we mentioned it before. It's just, it's crazy to think these guys are being drafted before like a Patrick Mahomes.
00:44:22
Nacc
Like, like how in their in their second year after, like you said, i I'm always the advocate of that, of now they have tape on you.
00:44:28
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:44:31
Nacc
So it's going to be easier to scheme you. They know your traits. They know your, so
00:44:36
Roger Emeka
And Nak, you were high on Bo. You liked Bo a lot.
00:44:38
Nacc
I was, and but I,
00:44:38
Roger Emeka
You liked him way more than me.
00:44:40
Nacc
I was high on him last year, and he and he played great. But again, how many times have we seen QB be a stud in his rookie season?
00:44:46
Nick
Yeah.
00:44:51
Nacc
yeah dr And then the following season, he kind of you know kind of goes back down to earth a little bit. And this is not to say that Bo Nix won't be a good quarterback in this league, but it's always that second season tough to trust, especially going this high. like We're talking 8.
00:45:09
Nick
yeah
00:45:11
Nacc
and I'd be weary to go to go that high. and And to your point, Nick, um I do like Dak Prescott this year as well if he can stay healthy.
00:45:17
Nick
I agree.
00:45:21
Nacc
And i yeah, i don't know. It'd be one of those guys where it's like, okay, well, it's coming to me. I'm i'm not going to take Bo Nix. I'll take a positional player and try to get another QB after that, you know?
00:45:29
Roger Emeka
than Jared Goff. eight
00:45:31
Nick
i agree
00:45:32
Roger Emeka
eight ranks higher than jared gough like almost 10 ranks higher than CJ Stroud. Like those are good values who, yes, like Stroud had an off year, but I think he's a candidate for a positive ah bounce back for sure.
00:45:38
Nacc
But that's what I'm saying.
00:45:45
Nacc
Yes.
00:45:45
Roger Emeka
Like it's QB eight is, is wild to me.
00:45:49
Nacc
Yeah, especially in your sophomore year, man.
00:45:49
Nick
Yeah. Yeah.
00:45:50
Nacc
It's great. Well, look, and Jaden Daniels, we spoke about him too, going as a top two or three QB in his second year.
00:45:50
Nick
yeah
00:45:57
Nacc
so um We'll move on to the running backs. So we mentioned they did sign JK Dobbins who had a great year last year with um
00:46:12
Nacc
the Chargers. I'm sorry, I blanked for a second there. I apologize to everybody. ah With the Chargers. And they did draft, as I mentioned, RJ Harvey, who Sean Payton likes.
00:46:25
Nacc
He's going as running back 21 right now. um ADP of 67, whereas JK Dobbins is actually going later. 37 at pick 138.
00:46:35
Nacc
thirty seven atd pick ah one thirty eight
00:46:39
Nick
Thank you.
00:46:40
Nacc
ah
00:46:44
Nacc
Is this like kind of a trick here is is what we're we're looking at? Like, are we because I know I'm pretty sure they they mentioned that J.K. Dobbins was going to be the starter. So am I missing something here, Nick? Is it really like are we just going to go with Harvey that high or should we, you know, sneak a late, you know, pick 138 for Dobbins?
00:47:06
Nick
Well, I think this is one of those like hype things. You know when ah in the offseason you're starting to see a lot of hype going around and people are posting, oh, he didn't get tackled and look how fast he is and look at all this.
00:47:18
Nick
like I like RJ Harvey, don't get me wrong, guys, but 22 is freaking high. RB22 is very, very high, especially when you have an almost league winner like last year, J.K.
00:47:31
Nacc
Roger's league winner.
00:47:31
Nick
Dobbins. Right. ah He's there. So so this this brings me back to the same thing as we talked about of the Chargers, where now you have a committee going on.
00:47:34
Roger Emeka
Yes.
00:47:41
Nick
And if who's going to be the one that at the goal line, who's going to be the one that that brings, I guess, the majority of snaps is going to be 50 50. Like, I think that there's there's question marks here. And when you're drafting your RBs and like RB 22, it's it's a bit um it's a bit risky.
00:48:00
Nacc
ah
00:48:01
Roger Emeka
Trivia time. Who was the last Broncos 1,000-yard rusher?
00:48:08
Nacc
Did Javonte Williams do it in his rookie year?
00:48:10
Roger Emeka
No.
00:48:10
Nick
I was about to see Gervonta.
00:48:11
Roger Emeka
No, not even. No, it was Phillip Lindsay in 2019. It's
00:48:15
Nacc
Wow.
00:48:16
Nick
Wow.
00:48:16
Nacc
Phillip Lindsay.
00:48:18
Roger Emeka
I think Melvin Gordon came after that experience didn't work. Obviously, the Javante Williams experience didn't work at all. The Audrick Estame experience is already finished. So it it doesn't give me amazing amount of confidence in Harvey.
00:48:30
Roger Emeka
and Look, even Dobbins, to be quite frank, as much as I like both of them, especially Harvey, think he's going to have a good career.
00:48:36
Nick
Yeah.
00:48:37
Roger Emeka
But if we recall, Sean Payton is the coach of the Broncos. And what has Sean Payton typically done with his backfield? It's been committee backs, whether it's Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, Pierre Thomas and Alvin Kamara, Kamara and Ingram.
00:48:53
Roger Emeka
He did it last year He's going to do it again. i like Dobbins to get the first crack at it. But afterwards, it's who knows whose whose job it is.
00:49:05
Nacc
Yeah, look, i I definitely tend to agree with but both of you. if i'm having to If I have to go after one, i'm I'd much rather go and grab J.K. Dobbins as a late flyer rather than, you know,
00:49:19
Nacc
top 20 running back and in AJ Harvey, RJ Harvey, you're you're talking RB2 on your on your and your team every week. Like that seems like a stretch for a rookie, like you said, especially playing for a coach that loves committee backfields and that's not changing anytime soon.
00:49:27
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:49:37
Nacc
So yeah, I would say buyer beware on the RJ Harvey train, at least for this season.
00:49:48
Nacc
and we move into the wide receivers. So Cortland Sutton obviously comes back as the WR1 signed a contract in the offseason. ah Fantasy Pros ranked him as wide receiver 22 and a 2QB ADP of pick 71.
00:50:06
Nacc
So we did mention 135 targets last year. Nix really loved him as a go-to receiver. Then you also have Franklin, who they had drafted ah last year. I know Vele just got traded as well.
00:50:23
Nacc
don't know if it was to the Saints, if I um i saw that correctly earlier today. ah They had drafted two guys last year, but he went to the Saints. So a little bit more room now for or Franklin.
00:50:34
Nacc
But... um Raj, what do we what do we see here? Are we seeing Cortland Sutton again? are we are we looking at that 135 kind target season again? Or the ball maybe going to be spread out a little bit more? I know that Franklin looked a bit good. It looked really good in campus this summer.
00:50:56
Roger Emeka
Yeah, I think Cortland Sutton is maybe 120 targets, but I think he's in line for another WR2 season. but he's He's such a meat and potatoes guy, very solid player. He's going to get the 10 touchdowns. I i find his his floor is high.
00:51:12
Roger Emeka
He's very low risk. um I think it'll be to they need to build ancillary weapons. They haven't really built a w ah valid valuable or valid WR2 in a very long time. Like,
00:51:24
Roger Emeka
think Cortland Sutton was the WR2 back in the day before rest in peace Demarius Thomas.
00:51:30
Nacc
Spanish college.
00:51:31
Roger Emeka
um But Bryant and Franklin... Franklin is interesting because he played with Bo Nix at Oregon. hes They're both speedsters. ah Both had really solid college careers. So I think one of them has to come out of it. And there's still Marvin Mims who...
00:51:46
Roger Emeka
And he had a really good game. i think it was a game against Cincinnati. He had that crazy catch. He looked really good there. So I think this core is... they're They're understated a bit. They're bit underrated. But i'm in a lot of mocks, I'm picking Quillen Sutton in you know as my WR3. And he's like the best type of WR3 because he's the clear WR1 on the team.
00:52:09
Roger Emeka
Unquestioned.
00:52:10
Nacc
And I feel like he goes a little bit under the radar, right? Like it's not really, like you said, meat and potatoes guy.
00:52:13
Roger Emeka
Always.
00:52:15
Nacc
So it's not like the sexiest name out there, but he gets it done.
00:52:18
Roger Emeka
You got to scroll down. Like literally, like you you have to, his his ADP and his ranking, he's a guy you keep scrolling down in your wide receiver list when you're drafting, you're going to find them because there's always like the Devante Smith, Jalen Waddell.
00:52:31
Roger Emeka
Somehow those guys are going before before him and I think that's a mistake.
00:52:35
Nacc
Yeah, I definitely agree. Nick, what do you what do you think about this wide receiver room?
00:52:40
Nick
ah That's exactly what, what Raj said. Like, I really don't have much to add. Sutton is the number one guy there. He's the only person that I would really go after in my drafts. And I would probably be comfortable having him as my WR2, um, for the whole season.
00:52:53
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:52:55
Nick
if I get him as my flex or my WR3, even better, but, um, like I would, out would overdraft him. I would draft him higher than WR22 at this point. Uh, the other guys, um you know Mims maybe as as a little bit later on, ah but nothing really to add on on those guys.
00:53:14
Nacc
Yeah. Tough to trust the other, the other cast right now. I think, I think we need to see some more, more tape, uh, more, more time together before we start, you know, investing fantasy stock.
00:53:23
Nick
Yeah.
00:53:25
Nacc
But, uh, yeah, definitely agree on the Cortland Sutton train. Definitely a guy and me too, doing mock drafts and seeing like you're, you're drafting guys and you're just, you start scrolling you're like, wait a second, what's he still doing here?
00:53:37
Roger Emeka
Always scroll.
00:53:37
Nacc
Like, it makes no sense. Right.
00:53:39
Roger Emeka
Always scroll.
00:53:40
Nacc
And there's always these guys every year, but, uh, And then we have at tight end, of the Joker, Evan Ingram, going currently as ah tight end 8 and ADP of 96. So pretty steady PPR guy.
00:53:58
Nacc
um Obviously, he carries the baggage of of injuries with him everywhere he goes. It's just it's an unfortunate big body guy. But ah Nick, any anythingny you know are are you comfortable going top 10 for Ingram or is...
00:54:13
Nacc
the Joker role kind of maybe setting you off.
00:54:18
Nick
No, I'm comfortable. Um, I'm looking at Ingram as somebody that I would definitely be happy with as my tight end one, if I not targeting tight end early, right. If I'm not going for my Bowers boy, but, um,
00:54:33
Nick
But I would be comfortable leaving a draft with Ingram there and still feel that he has a lot to give. um I kind of feel like Bo Nix could really use him.
00:54:43
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:54:43
Nick
and And especially with Sutton being the only other guy that you're really comfortable with ah in that wide receiver room, they needed a good tight end. And I feel like they got one here. So um I'm very happy with him at tight end eight.
00:54:58
Nick
I think he's properly ranked.
00:55:00
Roger Emeka
So I fully agree with Nick. And i if you go back to Evan Ingram's 2023 season, he finished as tight end six, 114 catches, only 963 yards and four touchdowns.
00:55:11
Roger Emeka
So the Joker role, basically what it means is he'll line up at wide receiver, at inline tight end, at slot, fullback, H-back.
00:55:16
Nacc
Thank you.
00:55:19
Roger Emeka
It's perfect for what Ingram does because he can't block for... for
00:55:23
Nick
Ha ha ha.
00:55:23
Roger Emeka
for B-A-L-L-S, for lack a better term. So if if actually I were to have a devil's argument devil's advocate argument on Sutton is the fact that Ingram is so perfect for Bo Nix's short passing game that he may actually eat into that aspect.
00:55:39
Roger Emeka
So I think Ingram is a perfect fit for Bo Nix and obviously Sean Payton.
00:55:43
Nacc
Yeah, for Sean Payton, he loves those those types. was he Was he around New Orleans with Taysom Hill?
00:55:50
Roger Emeka
Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:55:51
Nacc
was He was for a bit, right?
00:55:51
Roger Emeka
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Jimmy Graham, obviously, that was the initial Joker role.
00:55:53
Nacc
I mean, so, and Jimmy Graham, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Jimmy Graham was the for sure the OG on that.
00:56:00
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
00:56:01
Nacc
Yeah, no, I think I agree with both of you. I like Evan Ingram. It's just, let's hope he can stay healthy for all 17 games.
00:56:07
Roger Emeka
Hmm.
00:56:10
Nick
Yeah.
00:56:11
Nacc
That wraps up the Broncos. So we will dive into now Knicks Las Vegas Raiders. So 2024 recap quickly, they were, uh, seven and 10. So another losing season, uh, Max Crosby again, very, very dominant.
00:56:29
Nacc
Could have been, uh, one of the defensive players of the year. um Some of the worst QB play in the NFL, i we must say, and I think we said it at the beginning of last year, that team was literally a QB away from competing.
00:56:40
Roger Emeka
AOC,
00:56:44
Nacc
And then they, what was it? was Gardner Minshew and ah who's the other one?
00:56:48
Nick
Aidan O'Connell.
00:56:49
Nacc
Aidan O'Connell. Yeah, you can't even remember the names. That's how bad it was. Yeah.
00:56:53
Roger Emeka
AOC.
00:56:53
Nacc
but But the only...
00:56:54
Nick
Oh, remember them.
00:56:55
Nacc
Yeah, yeah for sure. For sure. ah But the one lone bright spot was a rookie of the name of Brock Bowers, who really, really jumped off the page in his in his rookie season.
00:57:10
Nacc
And Raj was vindicated Zamir White. Wow, he was going high last year in drafts, man.
00:57:23
Nacc
That was horrible. But no longer there, so you no longer have to worry about that. Some noteworthy changes. ah some noteworthy changes Pete Carroll era begins. So that's going to be very, very interesting.
00:57:37
Nacc
Probably figure to run a lot more. ah Chip Kelly has OC from OSU. That is going to be very interesting. I'm really excited to see see that. They signed Geno Smith. So finally, some kind of capable quarterback out there. Definitely the best one they've had in many, many years. So excited to see that.
00:57:58
Nacc
They also drafted Ashton jeff a on Ashton. Why do I always mispronounce Ashton Gentry for? It's just the easiest name, and I always mispronounce it for some reason.
00:58:10
Nacc
But they drafted Gentry in the first round, so Bauer's obviously won Rookie of the Year, so I don't remember if ever has a team won back-to-back Rookie of the Year's.
00:58:21
Nick
Actually, he came in second place to Jane and Daniels for Rookie of the Years.
00:58:24
Roger Emeka
Yeah, it's true.
00:58:24
Nacc
Oh, it's true. Dana Daniels. It's true.
00:58:26
Roger Emeka
That's true.
00:58:26
Nacc
Daniels won.
00:58:26
Roger Emeka
I assumed, actually, actually assumed too that just borrow was one.
00:58:26
Nacc
Oh, my God. my God. Yeah, you're right.
00:58:29
Nick
Yeah.
00:58:30
Roger Emeka
So, so good.
00:58:30
Nacc
If he came in second. Okay. So, well, then Gentry has a, has a chance to to pay me maybe win. And then they drafted also ah Jack Beck, who I really like, really, really like in the second round.
00:58:44
Nacc
And the wide receiver room looks kind of, kind of okay this year. It looks a little bit better with with Beck added to the fold. So we'll dive right into the QB, as we mentioned.
00:58:59
Nacc
Geno Smith, fantasy pros ranked 25, 2QB ADP of 112. So he's kind of your steady Eddie QB 2.
00:59:10
Nacc
um Now goes into a new offense. hi I'll give you the first word on this, Nick, since it's your Raiders. How you feeling about Geno Smith?
00:59:21
Nick
How much time do we have?
00:59:25
Nacc
We're going wrap it up.
00:59:26
Nick
Got wrap it up. All right. So, um, best QB that we've had since 2012, Derek um, twelve derek car ah
00:59:33
Nacc
Holy smokes.
00:59:34
Nick
Probably one of the best deep passers in the league, at least in the last three years. ah His ability to command an offense with a creative play caller, like you just mentioned, um whose name escapes me.
00:59:53
Roger Emeka
Chip Kelly.
00:59:53
Nick
I don't know why. Chip Kelly, thank you.
00:59:54
Nacc
Yeah, my God.
00:59:55
Nick
I keep forgetting his name. So Chip Kelly, oh, he was so bad as a head coach, but thank God he's an offensive coordinator now, so we don't have to worry about head coaching stuff.
00:59:57
Roger Emeka
Because he was so bad in the NFL.
00:59:59
Nacc
oh my god
01:00:04
Nick
Um, Chip Kelly, uh, Geno Smith, like this is probably the best offensive line that Geno Smith has played behind, which is not saying much because the Seattle had the worst, the Seattle Seahawks had the worst offensive line last year.
01:00:18
Nick
And, the Raiders would be maybe mediocre at best, maybe a little bit below average even, but that's still a huge improvement from what Geno Smith has ever had. So ah I actually see Geno having a very good year, and I'd be comfortable with him as a low-end QB2.
01:00:36
Nick
When it comes to fantasy, because I know this is a fantasy podcast, so where I'll leave all the other stuff on the side, um um I'm comfortable with him as a QB2, low-end QB2 for this year.
01:00:43
Nacc
Roger?
01:00:50
Nacc
right
01:00:51
Roger Emeka
I'm a big Gino fan. own Gino all of last year and I was quite disappointed. i think he's a fantastic real life QB. I think he's going to be very solid for the Raiders in terms of turning that franchise around.
01:01:06
Roger Emeka
But if you look at from the 2022 season when he had three touchdowns and he went down to 20 touchdowns and he went down to 21 touchdowns, The issue has been red zone passing. And in fantasy, red zone play is key.
01:01:22
Roger Emeka
So his red zone touchdown percentage, it was down to 18% 2024. eighteen percent and twenty twenty four It was at in and his breakout season was thirty five percent So he's been turning the ball over a lot.
01:01:36
Roger Emeka
He doesn't get it done in the red zone. Maybe that has to do with the offensive line. Maybe that has to do with, you know, he had he yeah actually had a really good supporting cast. um He's very good under pressure.
01:01:47
Roger Emeka
He's very good at tight window throws. So I, again, real life, I think he's going to be fantastic.
01:01:50
Nick
Thank you.
01:01:53
Roger Emeka
I really don't want him this this year. Again, I just worry about that aspect. too Left too much, too many touchdowns on the bone.
01:02:04
Nacc
Yeah, I think you hit it right. i think I do like him as a quarterback, and I think he's going to do great. i think he's going to do great um in that offense, I think with Chip Kelly, it just, the lack of, like you said, productions and the the red zone, the red zone production does scare you for sure.
01:02:23
Nacc
um So I probably look at Gino more as like a high-end QB three, like low, he he's going to have his weeks where he's going to nestle in that QB two and he's going he's going to play solid. But again, it's just, I'm not,
01:02:42
Nacc
Completely, completely sold on Geno's.
01:02:45
Roger Emeka
and Well, if like if you look at where he's going, he's right after Michael Penix Jr.
01:02:48
Nick
you
01:02:50
Roger Emeka
in, as you said, an Act 24 spot. you know I'd take him before Matthew Stafford with whatever's happening right now. I don't think I'd take him before Cam Ward because there could be some upside there.
01:03:03
Roger Emeka
then there's like Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers. Like you said, Knack, you're getting into QB3 territory, I find.
01:03:11
Nacc
I think he's but he's he's ranked properly, I think.
01:03:13
Roger Emeka
Yeah, he is. He really is.
01:03:14
Nacc
25 is pretty where he should be going, so I don't i don't have a problem of where he's being drafted.
01:03:18
Roger Emeka
like Like, I feel he'll get, i could see him getting to 4,000 yards. I could see him getting to 22 touchdowns. And, you know, he he'll throw picks because he likes to fit it in there, like 12, 13 picks.
01:03:31
Roger Emeka
And the Raiders can make the playoffs.
01:03:33
Nacc
Yeah.
01:03:34
Roger Emeka
And that'll be a successful season for him. And I'm sure Nick would be very happy.
01:03:37
Nacc
Nick will have the parade.
01:03:38
Nick
Yeah, i don't I don't have them making the playoffs, but I do have them doubling their win total. i think they I think they only had four wins last year, if I'm not mistaken.
01:03:46
Nacc
There were seven and 10, but yeah, it's that good.
01:03:47
Nick
They were 7-10, really? That that good? Jeez.
01:03:51
Nacc
Yeah.
01:03:52
Roger Emeka
Nick, do you want us to get you a jersey when we're there?
01:03:53
Nick
Impressive. Absolutely. I will pay for that. right
01:03:56
Nacc
Um,
01:03:58
Nick
But it has to be deuces. We'll talk about deuces later.
01:04:04
Nacc
um Then we move into the running backs. Obviously, like we mentioned, they drafted Gentry. He's right now going Fantasy Pros RB6. six And current ADP is 13.8.
01:04:15
Nacc
thirteen point eight potentially has a workhorse kind of season coming. I know that they went to, um, went to get the Rehim Mostert, uh, as a backup. And honestly, I'm looking at it and Zemir White is still on this roster. I thought he was not no longer on the roster, but he's, uh, he's still there, but, uh, at RB three.
01:04:36
Nacc
And then I know we had, ah sincere McCormick came in.
01:04:40
Roger Emeka
Oh yeah, pretty well.
01:04:40
Nacc
Um, that was pretty, that did pretty, pretty chill actually when, uh, when he did have an opportunity.
01:04:44
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
01:04:45
Nacc
So, um, Raj, I know you're you've been skeptical of this, especially rookies going that high. ah What do you think about, what about Gentile? Is he worth the price
01:05:00
Roger Emeka
Not for me. ah There's no chance where I'm drafting, let's say if we reference a Bush League, that he's back at the turn. I think he's going to go out in the first round.
01:05:11
Roger Emeka
The thing is, it's just personal preference. But like if you look at past history, guys like Zeke Elliott, Saquon Barkley, they had ADPs of 6th, 7th in the in the the the first round.
01:05:22
Nick
Thank you.
01:05:24
Nacc
Clyde Edwards-Hilaire.
01:05:24
Roger Emeka
And they finished... Clyde, thank you. Yeah, Clyde was a really, well, so Barkley and Elliott, they were first round ah ADPs and they finished RB2 and RB3 respectively. But then you have the flip side, exactly, NAC, of Edwards Hilaire, who was RB9 and finished as RB22, right? Like Najee Harris actually a flip side where he was had a lower ADP and actually finished high. So generally, I think for running backs who fit the bill and are very talented like Gentee, I think it's,
01:05:53
Roger Emeka
there's a good chance he can make up for that ADP. But I worry about the the running O-line, the run-blocking O-line aspect. Ken you know was a rough go at it last year, Nick, and i you know I'm curious to hear hear your thoughts.
01:06:07
Roger Emeka
And I also think that to to to match that ADP, you have to be able to catch a lot of passes. And then with targets like Myers, Bowers, Beck, Mayer, those are guys who like it in the short intermediate.
01:06:24
Roger Emeka
Will Gino favor them or will they check it down to Gentry? So he might lose opportunities in the pass catching game, which would would would boost up his value typically.
01:06:34
Nacc
Right. I'm curious to hear your thoughts, Nick.
01:06:37
Nick
Yeah, I'm not, I'm not happy at RB five or six, uh, that he's, uh, projected at right now.
01:06:43
Roger Emeka
You want higher.
01:06:44
Nick
Uh, no, um, no, look, ah fandom aside, fandom aside. Um, I'm, I'm risk adverse. Like I mentioned before, I think it's too risky. You could lose your fantasy league.
01:06:56
Nick
If you misdraft in the first round, you, If you misdraft later on, you could kind of recover, but that first round pick is so important for a fantasy league that I wouldn't risk it necessarily on a rookie.
01:07:05
Roger Emeka
Thank
01:07:09
Nick
Um, even though I think Gentry is uber talented and he will end up eventually becoming an RB one in fantasy as well. I'm not so sure it's going to be in the first year. um So if he's going to be an RB2, if I could take him late first round, sure. But I'm pretty sure somebody else is going to end up but getting him before me.
01:07:28
Nick
When it comes to, Raj, you mentioned the O-line last year. i think you could pretty much take that that whole O-line experience and throw it out the window. Because if you're looking at those numbers, don't forget Minshew was throwing the ball.
01:07:43
Nick
Nobody was scared of Minshew. They would stack the box against us. um AOC is throwing the ball. if This guy can't move. He literally has two cement legs. he's a pocket He's in the pocket. He has no pocket presence, and he can't get out of the pocket if his life depended on it.
01:07:59
Nick
So the O-line was stuck. Your O-line's performance is so tied in with who your QB is. that I think it makes a very big difference having Gino there now, as opposed to what they had last year. So, um, I think Chip Kelly is really going to bring the most out of Gentry, but I'm still not taking him as RB five.
01:08:22
Roger Emeka
I'm curious, would you guys take Gentie or Derrick Henry PPR?
01:08:29
Nacc
Derrick Henry.
01:08:30
Nick
Derek Henry.
01:08:31
Roger Emeka
Gentie or CMC?
01:08:34
Nacc
CMC.
01:08:35
Nick
Same.
01:08:36
Roger Emeka
Okay. I agree. I agree on both fronts.
01:08:38
Nacc
Again, it's it's it's it's just tough to trust a rookie, man. like I know there's been rumors of like he's not going to be the workhorse and he's going to split time. and they're go you know they They don't want to just throw him out there. I know he had a couple of you know i had a rough showing his first preseason game. Second preseason game was better.
01:08:56
Nacc
ah Look, we'll see, but I'm just, I'm not the guy who's going to be taking the risk that high, because as you mentioned, Nick, in fantasy football, you have to hit on your first and second round picks. You have no choice, and if you miss on on one of those two picks, you're you're you starting behind the eight ball. So um definitely going to be a good player. Definitely excited to watch him, and we will be watching him live as well. So ah Very excited for that.
01:09:23
Nacc
And I'm hoping he has a good season, but it's definitely not going to be the risk I want to take at RB6.
01:09:23
Nick
Thank you.
01:09:30
Nacc
I will move along to the wide receivers. So Jacoby Myers, one of my favorite players, um the guy who's the least talked about, probably wide receiver in the league. So underrated, but I find such a good wide receiver.
01:09:45
Nacc
ah Right now you have fantasy pros ranking him as wide receiver 39 and going as a ADP Still don't understand. 40? Something doesn't make sense there.
01:09:57
Nacc
ah Career highs last year. 1,000 yards, 129 targets, 87 catches, and finished as WR19. Why is he going double that? and
01:10:06
Roger Emeka
With Minshew and AOC.
01:10:06
Nacc
like yeah With Michoud and AOC, like we just said this, right?
01:10:08
Nick
With Minch.
01:10:10
Nacc
like why has he This is going to be another wide receiver, guys, where you're gonna be scrolling down your list, going like, why is the WR1 on this team not taken yet? ah They did draft Jack Beck.
01:10:23
Nacc
um he's going as wide receiver 63. Trey Tucker's still there. Dante Thornton kind of both flashing at camp and content you know can have kind of potential ah roles on the team as well. But, Raj, is this a wide receiver group to you know jump on?
01:10:42
Nacc
Especially Jacoby Myers at wide receiver 39. Yeah.
01:10:46
Roger Emeka
and Myers is great. He's fantastic. and still can't believe the Patriots let him go.
01:10:48
Nick
Thank you.
01:10:50
Roger Emeka
I think the the only issue maybe people have with him is just the lack of touchdowns. ah Not like a huge touchdown. I mean, he had eight in 2023, but only four last year. um There's not much more that could be said about him. I think he's going to be very, very good again with Gino.
01:11:08
Roger Emeka
um And... I'm curious, Nick, your thoughts about Tucker. I feel like he flashed a, he flashes a little bit here and there. um And then how, and then Beck, Beck or Besh?
01:11:22
Roger Emeka
Is it Beck? Is Beck?
01:11:24
Nacc
I think it's Beck.
01:11:25
Nick
i I could...
01:11:26
Roger Emeka
it's called Let's call him Beck.
01:11:27
Nick
Sure.
01:11:29
Roger Emeka
He has a similar type of game as Myers, so and they did take him in, I believe it was the second round.
01:11:35
Nacc
Snicking around.
01:11:35
Nick
Second row.
01:11:36
Nacc
Snicking around.
01:11:36
Roger Emeka
Yeah. Look, I'm not the biggest fan of saying, oh just because you're drafted at a certain draft class, that it automatically means that we're we're just handing you reps, right?
01:11:45
Nacc
Yeah.
01:11:46
Roger Emeka
like I think for some players, like a Matthew Golden, it's the case, but not necessarily Beck, but... I'm curious to make your thoughts on like the ancillary pieces after Myers, actually.
01:11:58
Nick
So Myers and Beck are are pretty much the same player, like you mentioned. ah Beck is a little bit more physical. Myers is a little bit more faster.
01:12:03
Roger Emeka
Yep.
01:12:05
Nick
Both of them had zero drops. Like they do not drop the ball whatsoever. um The only thing that scares me a little bit with Myers is his contract situation right now.
01:12:16
Nick
ah Myers has no guarantees on his contract this year, and he's not very happy with that. He wants a new contract from the team. um It's something to keep an eye out. It doesn't mean necessarily that he's not going to have a good year.
01:12:27
Nick
but it is something to keep an eye on. ah But Beck and Myers are pretty much playing the same role. So I don't see Beck having much of a season this year.
01:12:38
Nick
I think this is a building year for him ah where Myers is going to be playing that that slot role pretty much. Trey Tucker has a 4.31 speed. This guy is uber fast. He's only I think.
01:12:52
Nick
He's a tiny wide receiver, but... Knowing that Gino is the type of person that likes to air it out, very good at deep throws, Tucker definitely has an opportunity here to be one of those deep threats.
01:13:04
Nick
I just don't know how consistently he'll be able to do that. Deontay Thornton Jr. is literally a one-trick pony. He's ah gigantic man who runs a 4-3.
01:13:17
Nick
And he basically is going to be the other deep threat on this team.
01:13:17
Nacc
routes.
01:13:20
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
01:13:21
Nick
so um But he can only run in a straight line.
Jakobi Myers' Season Expectations
01:13:24
Roger Emeka
So he'll be the X, basically.
01:13:24
Nick
he
01:13:26
Roger Emeka
He'll just play X receiver.
01:13:26
Nick
Basically.
01:13:27
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
01:13:27
Nacc
go route
01:13:28
Nick
And he's big enough that he could win those contested catches.
01:13:28
Roger Emeka
Yeah.
01:13:31
Nick
um Whereas Trey Tucker is really going to beat people on route running and speed. So just a little bit different to look at. I'm expecting Myers to eat a lot this year. And I'm expecting those touchdown numbers to go up.
01:13:44
Nick
Especially with so many other weapons around.
Brock Bowers' Draft Value Debate
01:13:47
Nick
um There's going to be a little bit less focus on him. um Last year, there was really only him and Bowers. Nobody else, nobody was scared of the run. Nobody was scared of Minshew. Nobody was scared of AOC.
01:13:59
Nick
This time, there's a little bit more juice to the offense. So I'm expecting similar yards maybe for Myers, but those touchdowns will go up.
01:14:11
Nacc
I like it. like it. and Look, this team looks a lot and more interesting than it has in in a few years. So there's definitely <unk> definitely stuff to be excited about.
01:14:23
Nacc
And last but not least, at the tight end position, you have obviously the unquestioned tight end number one overall, Mr.
01:14:26
Nick
Thank you.
01:14:33
Nacc
Brock Bowers, who had an incredible, incredible what rookie season. um Now,
01:14:43
Nacc
I think we all agree that he's the number one tight end in fantasy football, but this comes at an ADP of 12.8. I
01:14:54
Nacc
i know Raj's answer already. He's definitely not comfortable going that high on a tight end, so I'll turn it over to Nick. Are you spending high of a pick on a Brock Bowers, and is it worth it considering you might lose out on you know, either an RB1 or a wide receiver one in a draft.
01:15:17
Nick
Yeah, so I mean, um I'm not comfortable with taking Bowers on the turn. um I'd rather wait a little bit for my tight end, not because of it's it's a little bit personal preference, but especially in a 2QB league, it's it's just a little bit too early a tight end.
01:15:34
Nick
ah Having said that, I do think that we're talking about a generational talent here. ah This is a guy that was breaking records as a rookie. um And he... I mean, i don't know if you saw that contested catch and in the the preseason.
01:15:47
Nick
He basically...
01:15:48
Nacc
I did.
01:15:49
Nick
He mossed that cornerback, right?
01:15:50
Roger Emeka
Yeah. Yep.
01:15:51
Nick
um Like, this guy is absolutely uber-talented. And I wouldn't be surprised if even... you see him getting long balls thrown at him, not just the short intermediate routes.
Tight Ends Drafting Risks Discussion
01:16:04
Nick
ah He could beat people with his speed. So um I think that, I think Brock Bowers is going to eat again this year. And yes, if you're comfortable, if you're ah a big fan of tight ends, maybe in a one QB league, okay, sure.
01:16:19
Nick
In a two QB league, I wouldn't do it ah at that high ADP.
01:16:20
Roger Emeka
Pause.
01:16:24
Nacc
I agree. Raj? roger
01:16:26
Roger Emeka
I was curious, Nax, so I went back. I did a little rewind into our Bush League huddle draft in 2023 when an unnamed friend took Travis Kelsey, the last great quote-unquote tight end a year for Travis Kelsey. So he went high second round.
01:16:43
Roger Emeka
He went just ahead of Jamar Chase and Tyreek Hill. So Kelsey finished with 221 PPR points for tight end three. That would have been WR19. Chase ended up as the WR11 with 263 points, but right after Chase, Tyreek was WR2 at 378.
01:17:05
Roger Emeka
So there was a 149 point gap between Tyreek and the person who chose Kelsey, the next wide receiver they took, which was Devontae Smith.
01:17:05
Nick
Thank you.
01:17:18
Roger Emeka
and And if you look at Kelsey and kind of like a replacement level tight end in Jake Ferguson, as an example, there was 50 point gap. That is why it is very dangerous to take tight ends early. Unless the only way is unless you get a Gronk type season.
01:17:37
Nacc
Oh, yeah. Well, exactly. Your tight end has got to hit and hit well. But again, imagine in a 2QB league, you take in the first round, you take a quarterback. And then in the second round, you take Brock Bowers.
01:17:49
Nacc
Now you've got wait for your turn again. Who's left that wide receiver and at running at that running back, right, that you have that prowess for? So to your point, you know, there's a Jefferson or a CeeDee Lamb that might go through, and you're going to miss out on these guys for the tight end that,
01:18:03
Roger Emeka
Thank
01:18:05
Nacc
Yeah, 100%. He's going to finish as the tight end one, but what are you going to do at wide
Raiders' Offense and Geno Smith
01:18:11
Nacc
receiver? your Both your wide receivers might not finish with the same amount of points as Brock Bowers had, right?
01:18:12
Roger Emeka
yeah
01:18:16
Nacc
So, and yeah, very, very tricky, and I agree on all fronts. I'm not – I'd love to have him. It'd be really fun to watch Brock Bowers put up fantasy points in the tight end slot, but I'm definitely not going to miss out on ah and a neighbors, on a Brian Thomas Jr.
01:18:23
Nick
Yeah.
01:18:32
Nacc
for, you know, um for Brock Bowers. So I think we're all in and sync on this one.
01:18:40
Nick
I should mention as well, um Michael Mayer is still going to be involved in this ah offense.
01:18:45
Roger Emeka
No.
01:18:46
Nacc
Yeah.
01:18:47
Nick
And he was ah he was a second round, I think, tight end a few years back.
01:18:50
Roger Emeka
yeah
01:18:52
Nick
So um he he kind of stepped away from football last season after the shit show that was the the Raiders. And this year, he looks like he's coming back with a vengeance. So I do see, we were talking before a little bit about Geno Smith's um numbers in the red zone.
01:19:15
Nick
With Bowers and Mayer there, throw a little bit of Mayers on the side, you might actually have a little bit better numbers with Geno in the red zone simply because of these huge targets that you have underneath that could really help him the in the end zone.
01:19:33
Nick
In Seattle, they didn't really have... I mean, they had the wide receivers, don't get me wrong, but they didn't have the tight end group inside to really help out. And with that offensive line in Seattle...
01:19:44
Nick
They couldn't even run the ball through. So I think it's going to be a ah different season for Gino. I think we're going to see a ah very different Gino this year.
01:19:54
Nacc
I like it. I like it. Yeah, don't sleep on definitely don't sleep on Mayer as well. I think, look, it looked good. i think I think it looks, like i said, it looks better than it has in and a little ah really long time. So there's I definitely understand the optimism coming out of coming out of Raiders Nation.
01:20:14
Nick
i'll just I'll just give a little final thing, final thought that I had written down here, and I completely forgot to mention it.
01:20:20
Nacc
Do it.
01:20:20
Nick
ah We're probably going to have the fifth worst defense in the league, and we're going to be throwing a lot to catch up in games. So ah it's's this ah offense looks like it could possibly be a top 10, top 15 offense.
01:20:37
Nick
And if you do hit on that top 10, top 15 offense with a horrible defense like we have, I mean, this is fantasy gold. This is exactly what fantasy people want.
01:20:45
Nacc
lot of garbage time.
01:20:46
Nick
Lots of garbage time. It's going to be great.
Episode Wrap-up and Preview
01:20:49
Roger Emeka
Nick, gino Gino Smith already signed his deal, man. He doesn't need another agent.
01:20:53
Nick
All
01:20:55
Roger Emeka
He got his deal already. No, I agree with you.
01:20:57
Nick
right.
01:20:58
Roger Emeka
No, I agree with you. I might be back on Gino Smith Island, actually. might have convinced me.
01:21:05
Nick
We'll see. there's There's supposedly talks with Trey Hendrickson to try to get him in as well now, so.
01:21:11
Nacc
That would be insane.
01:21:12
Nick
yeah
01:21:12
Nacc
That would be insane. Well, that'll do it for the Raiders and that will do it for this week's
Listener Appreciation and Social Media Promotion
01:21:19
Nacc
episode. Nick, thank you so much for joining. Guys, please, please follow him at the Partial Breakaway Podcast. I'm telling you, you are ah missing out if you're not tuning into that.
01:21:31
Nacc
and As I mentioned, you can follow him on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, and um Twitter. You can also follow the Bush League Huddle on all those same platforms. So please follow us before you follow him.
01:21:44
Nacc
And i dont that's that's a wrap for us.
01:21:47
Nick
It's fair. It's fair.
01:21:49
Nacc
Next week we take on, I believe it's the final division. Which one do we have left here?
01:21:55
Roger Emeka
The AFC West with your co-host.
01:21:57
Nacc
AFC West. Yeah.
01:21:58
Nick
Co-host Junior.
01:21:59
Roger Emeka
Co-host Junior.
01:21:59
Nacc
Junior. Junior from the partial breakaway will be joining us.
01:22:00
Nick
He's not as good as I am, but whatever. Yeah.
01:22:06
Roger Emeka
We'll leave that in there.
01:22:07
Nacc
Thanks for listening, everyone. We'll catch you next week. Roger, hear the music.
01:22:14
Roger Emeka
Well done. and
01:22:15
Nacc
That was nice.
01:22:15
Roger Emeka
That's a very good one.
01:22:17
Nick
You guys have awesome music, by the way.
01:22:17
Nacc
like that.
01:22:19
Nick
Awesome music.
01:22:19
Nacc
That was the best.
01:22:23
Roger Emeka
Have a good night, everyone.
01:22:25
Nacc
Goodbye.