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Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Travis Kelsey asked. Taylor Swift. Yes. Said yes.
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It's a rich icon. Our number two of the Rich Hodson Show is on the air, 844-204-RICH. Is the number to dial here on this program on the Roku Sports Channel, the Infinity Sports Network? Also, Our Sirius XM channel 375. We say hello to those who are streaming us on Odyssey.
And we implore all of you to check us out however you wish. Uh whenever you want. Uh there's our uh video on demand service part of the Roku Um I guess, offering. And also, there's our podcast. All three listeners, all three, pardon me, all three hours.
Hopefully, there's more than three listeners. All three hours available wherever you get your podcasts. Matthew Berry is going to join us in 20 minutes time, talk fantasy football. We're only conducting three drafts right now while we're on the air.
So stupid. And every single one of them, there's no, like, there's no time limit, right? Or there's an eight-minute time limit on two and no time limit on another. Eight hours? Eight hours?
Eight films is eight minutes. Eight hours. What's great, Chris? What? Think about how many millions of people, right, have to hide the fact that they're doing their fancy.
Yeah, and our boss is openly encouraging us. Thank you, Rich. Actually, John Hamm did reply to your trash talking from last night, finally. Oh, did he? Because it took him two hours to make a choice, right?
And so I said that the new John Hamm movie was two hours to Kyle Pitts, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Two hours for Kyle Pitts. John Hamm has responded: Sorry, Rich, I was busy making prestige television. Fantastic, John Hamp.
I love it. Prestige. Prestige. He doesn't just make any television. No, no, no, no, no.
Should that be my new fantasy team name? Prestige Television? John Hamm's Prestige Television. Not bad. He only knows one speed.
That's got to be, what, it's season two of your friends and neighbors? It took him two years, it felt like, for Kyle Pittsburgh. It took forever. Right. Yeah.
At any rate, we're in the midst of fantasy drafts. Uh in the real world, Rashi Rice is accepted A six-game suspension from the National Football League.
Now then. We all remember this. happened. uh on the um roadways in Dallas. And um It was um Awful.
what happened. Rashi Rice involved. In um An accident. On the roadway. He pled guilty in district court to two third-degree felonies, a multi-car crash in Dallas.
during the twenty twenty four offseason that left multiple people injured. And he, uh, the third-degree felony charges, collision involving serious bodily injury, and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. He received deferred adjudication. The case will be dismissed if he completes the probation. but he is sentenced to thirty days in jail as well, and that five years probation.
for his role in this. And there was A um Yeah. In front of Sue L. Robinson, the former U.S. District Judge who serves as the disciplinary officer that has been jointly Appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
This was supposed to happen, this disciplinary hearing, on September 30th. Which led everyone Or not everyone, I shouldn't say, but a lot of folks saying, well. The fact that this hearing was set for September 30th is because the league wanted at least rashi rice. To play in September, in which the Kansas City Chiefs, as we all know, have a lot of games that are of interest. to a wide viewing audience, not just the Kansas City Chiefs.
They play their first game on YouTube in Brazil. I'll be calling that. Chiefs and chargers in Brazil. And then there is that. Oh, little game called Super Bowl Rematch on Fox Lake Window that has.
Burckhardt and Brady written all over that. Then there's a Sunday night game in New York against the Giants, which serves as the Giants' home opener with Russell Wilson back in the spot where he won his Super Bowl. And then there's a late window on CBS that has Nance and Romo written all over it. Against the Ravens. And then there is a Monday night game.
with Aikman and Buck written all over that. And then a Sunday night game for The Chiefs against the Detroit Lions, who, as we all know, first served notice on everybody in the NFL that they were for real when they ruined a banner-raising night. on the same network. On NBC. A couple of years ago.
And as it turns out, Um Those who might have thought the NFL wanted Rashi Rice and the Chiefs to be as competitive as possible. Thus, the disciplinary hearing was set for September 30th. Turns out to be, it appears, the exact opposite. Because It seems like the NFL wasn't waiting. for that.
Some of the reports you're seeing is they wanted a longer than six game suspension. And rice. Saying I won't Wait for the Sue L. Robinson. Hearing.
By the way, the only other hearing, Sue L. Robinson. has conducted and presided over Was Deshaun Watsons in 2022, and we all see how that wound up for him. And the Browns, to this day, I might add, So Uh it appears. In a settlement negotiated between Union and League and Rice and his representatives.
I'll take the six and I'll take it right now.
So everything I just mentioned. YouTube around the globe. Everyone's going to see that literally around the world. No pressure. I'm yours truly and Kurt.
Um And Then The Super Bowl rematch on Fox and a Sunday nighter against the Giants, and then a whole country on CBS late window against the Ravens, and then a Monday nighter and a Sunday nighter. Rashi Rice will play in none of those. All six of them. Riceless. And I understand again.
the football aspect of it and we'll get in a second, but This kid made a massive mistake, and I hope. the people who he was part in this accident that wound up injured. Are somehow, some way living their best lives themselves right now. And I'm thinking of those people. And I'm hoping Rashi Rice has learned a lesson.
If you will. This is some real live stuff right here. That said. the football aspect of it. These are some tough opponents, would you say?
That they're missing. I would say. Uh-huh. I would say that. And October 19th, the home date against the Raiders, which is the Chiefs' first straight-up.
Noon Central in Arrowhead. Contest. After a global broadcast. Streamed around the world on YouTube. And as I mentioned, Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, like literally.
What is that? One, two, three, four, five. Five different NFL partners will have a piece of the Chiefs. In the first six weeks, in one must-see game after another, that at some point down the road will serve. Important.
Ramifications For Who plays who where in January? Because I don't think it's going to mean whether somebody plays in January or not. Because let's be honest, last year. The Chiefs played the Chargers, they played the Ravens. Right.
They played A ton of teams. without Rashi Rice. And what did they finish? Last year? 15 and 2.
I mean, obviously, when the kid is practicing with the team and looks good coming back from the knee injury that ended his season last year. Um Significant.
Well, I'm imagining on that Brazil night. The Friday night of the season. There might be a moment where the Chiefs miss him. Does that mean a win or a loss against the Chargers? Perhaps.
But at the end of the day, they did not have Rashi Rice for most of the season last year, and they made it to the Super Bowl. And we're causing everybody to have a ton of fatigue about them and around them. And um So We'll see him on October 19th. You know what I mean? I don't think I have anything other to say than the fact that last year they didn't have him at all.
Mm-hmm. And Went to the Super Bowl with a chance to be the first ever three-pointer.
So why should we think anything? Differently now, especially when they have a better offensive line, and I think they do have a better team around. No homes. That's my opinion of Rashi Rice. Hope he's learned his lesson, and I doubt it's going to mean.
I mean, could it mean a difference between if they lose against the Ravens, could they wind up in Baltimore in an AFC championship game? Maybe. Sure. What happened the last time that happened? It didn't matter.
Could they lick their wounds? By losing another Beat down to the Eagles. This one at home, where the Eagles show up. On that week two game. You know?
And show everybody that last year not only was no fluke, but they're back. And they're dominant. and they're going to win it again after we see what happens. On the first Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys, who may or may not have Micah Parsons. You know what we'll Will that be the case?
Sure. But then... Four games later, they'll get rice back and they'll be better. And by the end of the season, look out.
So that's my two cents on all that. Speaking of the Dallas Cowboys, We have that. Let's do that since I just mentioned the Cowboys. Good. Yeah.
72 hours, we know at least nothing's going down. Come on. 72 hours. I mean, I'm going to go 90. I'll go 114 hours.
168 is a whole week. It's just like I said yesterday, though. The engagement news cycle is clearly not. I mean, the coach is going to be talking and he's going to say stuff like he's saying here about having a plan for his return. And it's just like, okay.
Like, how many snaps is he going to get? Which seems like it's ridiculous because. At this point in time Something's got to break. Right? Pride.
It just Like one it's pride messing with everybody's mind right now. It's like full pulp fiction. Thankfully Zed's, you know. Basement. Maybe Marcellus needs to go handle it.
Maybe we do need to bring out the GIMP. Maybe we need to bring, we got to bring out the GIMP and that shocks everybody in talking to each other. I don't know. GIMP is sleeping. Mike, wake him up.
Yeah, wake up. Get him sleeping.
Well, I mean, again, bless Brian Schottenheimer. I mean, welcome to Dallas Cowboys. You got a very talented team. That would include maybe one of the best defenders in the National Football League. Certainly at age 26 or younger.
Um He was asked about, you know, if Micah comes back, what does that look like? There'll be a ramp-up plan for him. And, you know, when he lines up out there to play, you know, do I think he would play 75 plays in every play? Probably not. You know, I don't think that that's real.
But I do think that he can be very disruptive, like we all know. Of course. I mean, what other answer is he going to give for this sort of thing, right, as we're passing the time? Right? Once upon a time, uh I guess in in their In their coaching search, what the The Knicks had a ramp-up plan for half the coaches they were knocking on the doors of that they couldn't get, right?
They had a Billy Donovan ramp-up plan. They had a Jason Kidd ramp-up plan. What's the point of having? Oh, yeah. I had a ramp-up plan.
You had to get into the goal with Scarlett Johansson, which was awkward when I met Colin Jost at the American Century Championship. I'm not like, hey, Carl, I was just making a point, a metaphor. I'm a very happily married man. As a matter of fact, this is my wife. My wife?
So, you know. Again, it's coming down to next week. I just don't think we're gonna be Watching Texas Ohio State. Maybe. Or Well, I'm just saying we're not going to be watching that game learning about a breakthrough.
is what I'm saying. Oh, okay. We're not going to be watching Belichick's. first start. I mean, first game as a as the HC of North Carolina.
Um And learning about a big Hey, there's been movement. No doubt. I don't think so. I think it's going to come down to Micah. You're going to get on that plane next week to Philadelphia.
or you're not. Oof. He's not. And then the ramp up, like the ramp-up plan, he's not playing next week. I think we really need to start wrapping our minds around that.
If he does not play next week, it's because he has decided he is not. Going to play for the Dallas Cowboys until the contract is done the manner in which he wants it done. And that opens up a massive Worm can. In the Metroplex involving him. And the Joneses?
And Yeah. contract and sitting at home and holding out and the threats. And the fines. What did the Cowboys have in week two? Giants.
Ten holes.
Okay. They're they're losing week one without Micah. And if they lose to the Giants, guess what's happening immediately on Sunday night?
Sort of similar to what happened with Emmett. Exactly. Right. Emmett's like, I ain't going to be there. They're 0-2.
But the best part about that is. They got back together. continue to become an all-time great. And uh you won the Super Bowl that year anyway.
So, if we could have a repeat of that. Why not? Why not? Let's re-repeat the picture. To quote Pulp Fiction again, The Wolf.
Well, that's about starting. But again, I just like Mike is just like, you know what? That training table looks pretty inviting for the next few seconds. Let me do that. Uh-oh, now it's a still camera shot that everyone's going to use as a metaphor for this silliness, as well as my professionalism.
And then, you know what? Where the head coach is going to be asked questions about this, and he's going to be like, and Dak is saying, I believe in the process, it's going to happen, happen for me. May we're all, you know. We're all doing this. But Jack was practicing still when all that was happening.
That's true. This guy's doing nothing. This guy's doing nothing. Talking about it is back, the MRI is coming back clean. And he's supposed to just sign on Thursday morning and then walk out in the field and go chase Jalen Hurts.
No way. Midnight has not struck yet. And midnight is when that plane pulls up to whatever gate. And and or the bus to take you to the plane pulls up and is he on it? Is he on it?
Ramp up. It's the ramp. Is he going to go up the ramp? If you're playing, like that's the ramp that I want to see if he's going up. He's he's taking the ramp to the plane.
That's the ramp. All right, we'll take a break. Matthew Berry's going to join us next, everybody. Let's go. We're involved not one, not two, but three Fantasy League drafts as we're on the air right now.
Let's see who's on the clock. I mean, we're on the clock, and Matthew Berry's about to join us right here on the Rich Osen show. Don't you dare move us. One of the best in the business joins us next. Hey folks, let me tell you that drinking and driving is a decision that will change your whole world.
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That's O'ReillyAuto.com/slash Eisen. Back here on the Rich Isaac show, Matthew Berry about to join us. And in advance of that, let's take Tanner in Iowa's phone call. What's up, Tanner? Hey, how you guys doing?
What's going on? How can we help, Tanner? What up, man?
So I They just did uh over the weekend uh eighteen man league. And I had the second pick, so I got Saquon Barkley. And then later on, I was going to get Caleb Johnson. from Iowa, uh but uh he was picked right before me.
So the best Available running back with Tyrone Tracy.
So I'll just Yeah. What your uh like opinion is on trace. and if I uh potentially should like look for another running back. And um I also Since you're a Michigan man, I drafted uh Colson Loveland.
So I was just wondering what your opinion of Uh his outlook on the season.
Okay. And uh before you answer, I also wanted to agree with your uh your shrug with the Vikings. I I have uh Are you late? That I Um McCarthy's gonna Have a really good year. Hooked on a feeling.
I will answer your questions, but I've got Matthew Berry right here. Matthew, you want to pop in a little earlier? You there, Matthew? Did you hear what Tanner and Iowa's conundrum is? Or question?
I did. He's got a lot going on. He's got a lot going on. So let's start backwards here. Coming to you live, by the way, from an NBC dressing room.
Not creepy at all. Not creepy at all. We're good.
Okay. Yeah, not exactly. Really good lighting, obviously, not a lot of decoration. It's not my specific dressing room at the moment. At any rate, so let's start backwards here.
I think Colson Loveland has a great year. I really do. I mean, listen, you know, the easy comparisons where Ben Johnson, it says, reminds him of Sam Laporta. We all know what Sam Laporta did his rookie year.
Now, there's a lot more target competition for Loveland, obviously. Romadunze, DJ Moore. You still got Cole Komet there. But I do think that no team in the NFL improved their offensive line this offseason more than the Chicago Bears. And Caleb Williams, when you give him time to throw, I think, expect a big leap from him this year.
Caleb Williams on my love list.
So I like Colston Loveland as a top 12-ish type. Tight end this year. I think the guy in front of you in your draft did you a favor by taking Caleb Johnson. I think ultimately Caleb Johnson is going to be really good, and this will be his backfield, but it seems like it's a little bit of a slow start. Arthur Smith likes to use multiple running backs.
They've been using Kenneth Gainwell a lot in the preseason with the ones. Obviously, Jalen Warren has his role there.
So I actually think you dodged a little bit of a bullet there with Caleb Johnson. I think he's going to be very good in this league, but I think not till the second half of the year. Remember, the year that Arthur Smith drafted Bajon Robinson with a top five overall pick. Tyler Algier still got over a thousand yards. And Cordero Patterson still got five touches a game.
Like going to use Bajan Robinson, one of the elite prospects of the last 20 years. I anyway, so. Arthur Smith likes to use multiple running backs. I think he dodged a bolt there with Caleb Johnson. I have very few shares of him.
The answer about Tyron Tracy is: I think he did well with Tyron Tracy. I'd rather have Tracy in a vacuum than him. Like, again, we'll see. Eventually, Cam Scatterboy will get up to speed as well. But, you know, he was a guy that was, you know, used a lot of power in the college game.
And, like, It's different in the pros. Tyron Tracy is an elite runner, a lot of speed, very good at the backfield. He's been the starter. He's somebody who last year had games where he was getting 17, 18, 20 touches a game, proved he could be an every down back. I think it will be a committee, but I think Tyrone Tracy is going to be on the right side of that.
And it'll be a while before Scataboo gets up to speed. And so I think I'm bullish on the Giants' offense. Like, do I think it's gonna be great, Rich? No, but do I think it's gonna be competent? For sure.
Like, whatever you think of Russell Wilson and Jackson Dart, they're a mile better than. Drew Locke and Tommy DeVito from last year. Malik Neighbors is a legit superstar. Theo Johnson, I think, is a nice sleeper at tight end. And so I think they'll be in scoring position more often.
I think Tyrone Tracy is a very solid. You know, uh, RB3 flex play or an RB2 if you're in a deeper league and you went early at, you know, some of the other positions. For the radio audience that just uh joined us, Matthew Berry giving Tanner in Iowa, whose call we took during the Roku only segment, uh, the fantasy answers that he asked for. Tanner, did we do uh did we hook you up? Can we hook you up there?
Yeah, it's definitely. Yeah. I think that's a good idea. How much I love listening to The Rich Island Show. Thank you, sir.
And During the offseason, going up to the draft, uh my favorite guy to listen to is uh has always been Matthew Berry, so it was really nice to hear his opinion and your opinion too. Tanner and Iowa not only smart, but likes handsome. Smart bald men as well. Good to have Tenner and Ira here on the Rich Eisen Show and Matthew Berry, the creator of fantasylife.com and the fantasy football happy hour that can be seen live on YouTube at noon every day and then on Peacock at 5 p.m. Eastern every day.
here on the Rich Isa Joe. It is great to see you, Matthew Berry. Just real quick, just starting off a macro here. When do you choose a quarterback? Wh will you do it?
Obviously, it depends on your league settings. You're doing it earlier if you're in a super flex league versus a one-quarterback league. I think third or fourth round this year, if one of four players is available, I want one of the elite guys. I want whether Lamar or Josh Allen or Jaden Daniels or Jalen Hurst, those four guys. If I don't get one of those four guys, like I'm in on either.
Basically, Rich, this year I want to be one of the first guys in my league to draft a quarterback, one of those four guys. I want to be one of the last guys in my league to drop to quarterback. Again, this is assuming you're in a one-quarterback league, not a two-QB or super flex league. I like, I love, you know, those guys in the middle ranges, you know. I love, love Joe Burrow, proud fantasy life investor, Joe Burrow.
I do think he has a big year. But I just think those pocket passers that don't get your yards with their legs as well as their arms, there's just a lot of them. And so I just think the value that you can get later in drafts I mentioned Caleb Williams in the last segment there about how bullish I am on him. I think Justin Fields has a big year fantasy-wise. this year.
So I think there are guys you can get like I think Dak Prescott has a monster year this year, again, as you talk about pocket passers going outside the top 10. I'm big on Trevor Lawrence. I think the Jaguars offense is going to be really as a late-round flyer. Sure, him and Drake May. I think those are guys that are really interesting late.
Basically, I want to be one of the first guys in my league to get a quarterback or one of the last, because I don't think there's a huge differentiation once you get past the top four from between five and like. Quarterback 11. You think you could win a championship with Caleb, Drake May, Dak Prescott? Because that's whenever I hold. you know, uh uh a braveheart style, and I start screaming in my head, Got to take somebody, quarterback, early because I don't want to be struggling in my fantasy league week nine, week 10, with those, you know, 14, 15, 16.
point efforts and somebody else's going all bonanza on me with their quarterback. You know, I start thinking to myself, can I hold ninth, tenth round? For one of those guys, you think you can win a championship with some of those folks that you mentioned? Obviously, some of the argument there is that by waiting on a quarterback, you're winning. Positions at other spots, right?
So you have an advantage on a weekly basis at running back, at tight end, at wide receiver, because you have waited on quarterback, Rich. That's part of the calculation and waiting on a quarterback there. And that, do we think Dak Prescott's gonna be better than Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen? We don't. But this is a guy that was a top five fantasy quarterback two years ago.
This is somebody that they're going to throw. I don't think they're going to be able to run. right and i i think um and i heard you guys before i came on you're talking about mica Like that defense is going to be worse this year regardless. but especially if Micah holds out.
So, they're not going to be able to run and they're not going to play nearly as elite defense. And so, they're going to have to throw a ton. The addition of George Pickens, who is as good a jump ball, 50-50 ball wide receiver in the NFL, and obviously runs a ton of deep routes. Dak Prescott, one of the best, most accurate deep ball throwers in the NFL. Yeah, yes, on Dak.
I think Dak has a big fantasy year if he can stay healthy. You know, you mentioned Caleb Williams. Look, I think there's a reason why Caleb Williams was. Drafted as high as he was. And part of why Ben Johnson was brought in was like, I hate to fix Ben Johnson.
I did this. I wrote a column on nbcsports.com, rotorworld.com, called My Hundred Facts. You need to know before you draft. Yes, sir. And one of the facts that I gave.
Is that last year When uh when he was not pressured Caleb Wombs had the third best touchdown interception rate in the NFL. among qualified quarterbacks. In essence, basically, when you gave Caleb Williams time to throw. He was actually pretty good. And we know how good he is off schedule when he has to create something.
The issue with Caleb Williams is he held the ball too long. The offense was a mess last year. We get all that. But You think about what Ben Johnson did with Jared Goff in Detroit. Built up the offensive line, gave him time to throw, gave him time to throw in rhythm.
And obviously, Caleb is a very different quarterback than Jared Gawk, but like. There Like I said, I don't think a team improved their offensive line more than the Bears this offseason. Caleb, Very quietly gives you rushing production. Averaged over 30 rushing yards a game last year. And so, yeah, I'm in on Caleb Williams this year as a fantasy force.
I think they've got a lot of weapons, they're gonna give them time. They're another team that I don't think is going to be able to run that effectively.
So, and I'm a believer in Ben Johnson's offense. I'm going to go a little granular here, Matthew, because in the drafts that I've already been part of and the. mock drafts that I'm actually spending a few minutes doing. Um you you see the same grouping of players right around the same you know uh area Of a draft, and it just seems like Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne. Show up right there, and it's like a coin flip.
Like the algorithm is telling you your choice. And I see that and I think to myself, Liam Cohen's a guy. That had Bucky Irving in his midst last year.
So somebody. Is potentially going to be anointed in a significant fantasy way. Do you have an opinion on this? Matt.
So um I prefer ETN to Bigsby, but I agree with you. Like it's a little bit of a coin flip. Like we don't know Bigsby was running with the ones in practice, then ETN gets the run with the ones in the pregame, I'm sorry, in the preseason games. We like Bayshell Tutin as well, the rookie there who showed a lot of explosiveness in college.
So somebody from the Jaguars is going to emerge. as an elite fantasy option. And we're just, so I want one piece of that backfield.
So I've been taking ETN, or sometimes I have Tuton, I don't have a lot of Bigsby this year. But I do think that somebody in that backfield is going to be fantasy productive. And I'm with you, Rich, on the overall premise here. Is that this is going to be a very fantasy-friendly offense? I think the defense is going to be bad.
Liam Cohen last year, you think about what he did with Baker Mayfield, how good that offense was in terms of fantasy points that they produced across the board. I Brian Thomas Jr., we know he's a superstar. I think Travis Hunter has a monster year. I think he has a monster year. As deep sleepers, I like Brenton Strange, their tight end.
I like Parker Washington in deep leagues and deep PPR leagues. And like I said, Trevor Lawrence. I think Trevor Lawrence is going to have a very good fantasy year. Again, that's a guy that gets you 20 to 30 rushing yards. You don't really believe it.
Um, you know, he's going this like QB18. And I think he's got top 12-ish potential this year. Because he's been throwing so much. Matthew Berry here on the Rich Eisenchewing and fantasylife.com, fantasy football happy hour on Peacock and YouTube. And so much more here on The Rich Eisen Show.
The rookie I've got to get. Who's the rookie I've got to get? I know you just mentioned Hunter, I guess. Is he that guy? And if not him, who?
Yeah, I mean, obviously, we love Amari. I love Travis Hunter. I mean, my ride or die this year is Amarian Hampton, the running back for the Chargers, right? He is my ride or die. I was a top.
When I announced him as my ride or die, he was barely going around in the top 50. I'm as a top 30 overall player. I'm as a top 13 running back. I think he's a borderline RB1. We know Harbaugh likes to run the ball, but he also likes to run when he gets in close.
Last year, Chargers, top five in the NFL in terms of most rushing attempts inside the five-yard line. Najee Harris. Just activated, I guess. We'll see what we get out of Najee, but he's on a one-year prove-it deal versus Hampton, who has used, you know, they used first-round draft capital on Hampton, who is a he's already passed, he's already pro-ready in terms of pass protection. He's a great pass catcher.
If you listen to any of the Post-draft press conferences from the Chargers coaching staff and general managers. They talked about what a complete running back he is.
So I think you'll see them use Hampton in the running, in the passing game, a lot more than Greg Roman offenses have previously. And the prevailing wisdom that appears to be getting stronger and stronger with every draft that I'm in right now, Matthew, is that Tyler Warren's this year is Brock Bowers. Yes, no? What do you got? Oh, for sure.
I mean, look. I mean, Brock Bowers had a magical year last year, so that's a really high bar to say Tyler Warren should get to that level. But I am as tight in nine. The last three tight end, rookie tight ends. That were drafted inside the top 15, that were drafted inside the first round, all saw at least 90 targets their first year.
And you think about this Colts offense with Daniel Jones now under center, like he doesn't have a big arm. It's kind of a noodle arm. He's going to be a dink and dunker. And so Tyler Warren, just in the middle of the field, is just going to get a ton of targets. He's a great blocker.
He's not coming off the field. He's going to play every snap. I mean, you just sort of look at the utilization. This is something, if you go to fantasylife.com, we have a thing called the utilization report, where we have a guy, Dwayne McFarlane, who's unbelievable, watches every single snap of every single game and shows you what the utilization. And so his route participation, his snaps that he played, it's all available for free on fantasylife.com, just tells you that this guy is never coming off the field.
He's also rich, really athletic. And so. Because they're going with Jones and not Richardson, don't be surprised that Tyler Warren. Gets a handful of tush-push type touchdowns when the Colt's getting close.
Okay. Okay. Wow.
Now that's a breadcrumb. That's a loaf. Breaking. Really? He's going to have a, I think Tyler Warren has a monster year.
So, Tyler Warren vulturing Jonathan Taylor is in the ether. Right. Yes, sir. Oh, my gosh. Can you imagine?
Dang.
Something like that happens. Oh, my word. Rookie wide receiver. Where are you in Tech Macmillan? Or any of the second rounders, third rounders.
Matthew Golden is somebody that gets thrown around because. The Packers, man, like that not to mix sports, remember? The Tampa Bay Rays of the Evan Longoria years, like there was Longoria, you knew to play him. But everyone else is just like, why would I have a Tampa Bay Ray in my fantasy? Rotisserie, if you will, lineup because you never know.
The Packers wide receivers, you have no earthly idea whose weak it could be, right? But uh, yeah, it's it's a it's a little bit, although I do think Jordan Love being healthy this year is a help, and I think the fact that they use a first-round pick on Golden because some of their guys are, you know, obviously Christian Watson, but like Jaden Reid's already banged up as well, and so I do think. Golden is a special player. I like him a lot. We've talked about Travis Hunter.
I think T-Mac, Teteroa, Macmillan, Carolina, it's kind of a big year as well. But if you want a rookie wide receiver that you didn't mention, Ameka Abuka in Tampa Bay. Yes. One of if not the most pro-ready wide receiver to come out. Unbelievable player.
And then you think about this is a team under Liam Cohen last year, but it's the same offensive coaching philosophy, same basic playbook here. They were like top three in the NFL in wide receiver fantasy points last year. Right. We know Chris Godwin is going to miss at least a handful of games. Jalen McMillan is going to miss most of at least half the season, if not more.
And so. Ameka Abuka. There's a scenario where he's the number one wide receiver. For Baker Mayfield, because we love Mike Evans here, and I think he's a value this year in drafts. But Mike Evans missed a month last year with hamstring injuries.
Hamstrings are something that seemed to come up with Evans a decent amount. There's a scenario where there'll be some points this year where Abuka is the number one wide receiver for Baker, but right now he's the number two. And I think that's quietly one of the best offenses in football. It doesn't get talked about as an elite offense, but it truly is. And closer to home for you, the Washington running back room.
What do we do here? Yeah. What do we do here? Jakore, Krosky, Merritt, Bill. Bill.
You know, obviously. You know, the buzziest name out there. I gotta give a shout out to Connor Rogers. Connor Rogers is my co-host on Fantasy People Happy Hour, which we do. It's also available as a podcast, but we do it, as you mentioned, live at noon on YouTube every day.
And it's available on demand there and Peacock at five o'clock and on demand on Peacock.
So Connor Rogers is a draft expert. Grinds the tape like nobody's business. And at the NFL draft. Like we were doing our recap of the NFL draft. Um Connor mentioned the fact that in the pre-draft process, he was ranking all the players before they got drafted to the NFL.
players and you can look this up on nbc sports.com. He had Jakore, Krosky, Merrick ranked higher. than RJ Harvey. Mm. But And so, when the commanders got him in the seventh round, he was like, Man, oh man, did Washington just get a steal?
And everyone's like, Who the hell is Jakore Krosky Merritt? And so, I got to give a shout out to my guy, Con Rogers, who Basically it's like It was a weird eligibility issue, which is why he didn't play his last year in college, basically. But, like, if people had seen this kid play, they would have seen the intangibles that obviously Adam Peters identified. And so, look, Austin Eckler is still there, and I think you'll see a little bit of Chris Rodriguez, but I think he's a borderline top 30 running back on what should be one of the better offenses in the NFL. Mark, what have I not asked you about?
I'll give you the floor, brother, before I let you go on your day.
Well, you haven't uh You haven't asked me sort of at the, if you want to talk about the top of the draft, you want to talk about some late-round sleepers. How about both? I mean, you know, ask me anything. I've been talking about this stuff for three months straight.
So there's literally no question you can ask me. I know about you. I don't want to keep on asking you something that. That's why I want to give you the floor. You know what I mean?
Like, what do you...
Well, it's your fantasy world. We're just rent paying right now, Matthew, so go for it. I'll say this. Uh You know, we're talking about sort of Um Uh you know uh You know, my ride or die, right? I do my ride or die every single year.
Yes, sir. And so. One of the guys that was the finalist for my writer diet, Marianne Hampton, of course, ended up doing it, was Nico Collins. Over the past two seasons, Nico Collins is third in fantasy points per target. And so Nico Collins is somebody, he made my love list.
I have him at wide receiver six. I'm sorry, wide receiver five.
So I'm significantly higher Nico Collins than sort of consensus out here. Same sort of argument. I don't think the Texans are going to be able to run the ball. I don't think they want to run the ball. It's one of the reasons they made the change at the offensive coordinator position is because they actually ran too much last year and they weren't super effective at it.
And so I think they're going to be more pass-happy. I think Stroud will be better this year as well. And so, no Tank Dell, no Stefan Diggs. They got the two rookies and they added Christian Kirk, but really, Nico Collins is the alpha. And my argument on Nico Collins is that.
He is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, just on pure talent. He is an alpha wide receiver one, the same way that CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase. I'm not saying he's as good as Jamar Chase, but like he's right there with Malik neighbors as well, but he's not talked about in the same breath. as some of those guys, as some of those elite guys, and he really is. And so just he's he's dealt with injuries the last two years, but the Texans scheme ways to get him the ball.
And so I think Nico Collins, there's within the range of outcomes. At the end of this year, we're talking about number one wide receiver in fantasy, Nico Collins. That is within the range of outcomes if he can stay healthy, because he is that kind of guy. And then top of the draft it is Jamar Chase. 100%.
I have Bajan up there, Justin Jefferson as well. Um I know there are people that are concerned about J.J. McCarthy and My argument here Rich, very simply, is two words. Nick Mullens. Justin Jefferson had four games with Nick Mullins as his starting quarterback and averaged over 22 fantasy points per game.
When you can produce with Nick Mullins, you can produce with anyone. All due respect to Mr. Mullins. I'm just saying, like, J.J. McCarthy is going to be just fine.
I know you're a Michigan guy, Rich, so I know you're Team McCarthy here. But it's outrageous that people are like, once again, every year they sleep on their Justin Jefferson bad quarterback. We had the same argument last year where people thought I was crazy for having Jefferson as a top four overall player. And they're like, Sam Darnold, what are you going to do with it? I'm like, He's he produced with Nick Mullins.
And of course, Sam Darnold was great, and Jefferson had another monster year. Like, he's Justin Jefferson. People are overthinking this. Probably so. I think guillotine leagues are everywhere right now.
We're in Vinny Pasquatino's right now, Matthew. Yeah, 100%.
So guillotineleagues.com, it's a brand that I bought. Go check it out. It is the most fun way.
So it's a weekly elimination format and I absolutely love it. We think we have the best version of it, guillotineleagues.com. Very simply, you draft a team, you have a league, you draft a team like normal. End of the week, the team with the lowest score, you start your lineup right like normal. End of the week, the team with the lowest score in the league gets cut.
Killed. Their season's over. They're done. And then you keep repeating that until only one team remains.
So it is a sweat like you've never had before because you know, one guy disappoints, you got another guy in by, somebody leaves the game early with injury, and you're sitting there going into Monday football going like, If Josh Jacobs doesn't score a touchdown tonight, I'm dead.
So It is the most intense sweat. And here's the other twist, Rich. That I'll tell you about, which is that when that team gets cut, and eliminated. All the players on that team. go into the free agent pool.
So now, you know, every team has a first-round pick, they have a second-round pick, they have a start quarterback.
So it's like week six, and Saquon Barkley and CeeDee Lamb are on the waiver wire. Like it gets crazy. That's amazing. It's awesome. It's amazing.
And you have $1,000 of fab budget of fake money to bid throughout the year. And as the teams get smaller, again, you can start with however many you start. And then, when you get down to, you'll get down to like a five-team league, a four-team league at one point. And so everyone's got these superstar teams, and it becomes really crazy because they're sitting there like. Oh, should I pick up Mahomes off the waiver wire or roll with Josh Allen?
Isn't that crazy? That's awesome, Matthew. What a great, fun way to go about your fantasy year. It is so fun. The Rich Eisen show, you guys should do a league.
Um, I saw TJ this summer at the, you know, and I was telling uh TJ about him. Yeah, Fanatics Fest. I was talking with TJ and O'Shea, right? And you guys were like, I want in.
So. Guys, to do this. I'll do it. If the Rich Eisen Show does a guillotine league, I will join the league.
Okay. But now we've got to do it.
Now we're going to do another sub. That's a new post-show meeting. Wow.
A sixth fantasy. Matthew Fanktron. The one thing I'll say here, Rich, before you go, is the best thing about. uh guillotine leagues.com is that you don't have to start at the season. As long as you have one more team in the league than weeks left in the season, you can start, you can have a draft whenever you want.
With five weeks left in the season, you can do a six team. Draft. Right, you just need one more team than we flipped in the season, so so we can start it in week three or whatever. Let's we'll have a post-show meeting, we'll figure it out, and we'll reach out to you. Fantasylife.com, Fantasy Football, Happy Hour on Peacock and YouTube.
Uh, Matthew, give Jack Collinsworth his uh dressing room back. This is getting awkward. I will. He's standing outside awkwardly. Yeah, in his skivvies.
It's really awkward. Thanks for the time, Matthew. All right, man. Listen, the way you sleep is unique to you, and that's why having a sleep number smart bed is so crucial. Because you can adapt to your changing needs for just right.
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State Farm with the Assist. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state. I believe you are a fantasy football player.
Is that a true story, Jodi Foster? I am. I did not play last year because of the president administration. I had to be on the top of that. And you can't get all those alerts all at once.
It's just too much for me. Too many badges on your phone, too many alerts on your phone. I had to choose. No, no, I think next year, I think this year I'm going to choose fantasy for sure.
Well, I mean, it's an escape, though, right? I mean, when you say- Well, we're not calling an escape. I would call it a. you know, a hyper-focused Art form. Interesting.
Yeah. Fantasy football is a hyper-focused. If you're going to do it, you want to win.
Okay. Have you been so fortunate to win a fantasy league? Who are you in a fantasy? League with a bunch of 16-year-olds. No.
You know, who else? Like a random lady? Yeah. And I have to say, I do enjoy, none of them will trash talk with me. Because you know, you can do that thing where you sort of type in, like, you're going down, or, and nobody will do that, they're just very polite.
16 year olds being polite in a fantasy that now that so what's your team name? What was your fantasy team name? I can't tell you! I'd have to kill you if I told you. And plus I don't even remember.
Okay, 'cause I would love to know. I mean, 'cause that's most of the fun. That we thought that's most of the fun? It kind of is.
Okay. Yeah. So, but you finished in second? I did come in second. Do you recall who was on your...
Well, I got seriously burned by Todd Gurley. It was his first. you know, seasoned with the rounds. I he he just Disappointed me pretty severely. That was a bad year to be holding Todd Gurley the entire time.
Do you have a real football team that you love? Yes. Okay. I love the Riemann Bay Packers. How'd that come about, Jody?
Somebody gave me a cheese head and it was all over. That's it? Yeah, that's all it took. Who was it? Was it De Niro?
Was it De Niro? Did De Niro give you a cheese head? Who gave you the cheese? No, I have a friend of mine who has like an inn with them.
So it was not just a cheese head, but it was a cheese head everything.
So there was like a cheese mug, and there was a cheese ring, and there was a cheese headband.
Okay, so you got into that. But cheese, like dog outfits. Have you ever been to Lambeau Field? Have you ever been here? I never have.
It's unbelievable. That's what I've heard. Because you're just in there, it's a Midwest town, and you're driving down a road, and there's a gas station, there's a Kmart. There is the there is the there is the cathedral.
Well, of football where Lombardi used to play. I can dream. I can dream. If I do well, you know, if I do pretty well in fantasy, maybe I'll have to do it. Maybe you can.
You can dream. I had, you know, I decided I discovered Devontae Adams.
So, because I had him the whole year.
So he's my guy. They call him my man, Devontae. Does he know that? He doesn't know that. Maybe he'll know it now.
Okay. Jody Foster talking fantasy football. That's what this show is all about, everybody. Because she became a Packers fan because somebody gave her a cheesehead and she loved Jordi Nelson. And then she created Devontae Adams, pretty much.
Okay. How about that? I love it. Got a buzz? What's happening on that?
Yeah, it's that. We got to fix TJ's computer problem. I normally charge my computer during the break, and then I unplug it when we come back because it makes sense. We'll just figure this out.
So he plugs his, he charges his computer and that messes with his microphone. With the line, yes, and the cable. And if you know anybody who could help you, I don't know any audio guys. We got it project because everything's. Like wiretied, it's not an easy thing as long as I'm not charging when we're on, but we got to fix it.
It's a pain in the ass for me as an audio guy. I'm not going to lie. I said, look, it's a span for me. People are like, what's that buzz? And I'll get like emails, be on Reddit again.
I'm sick of that crap. Such a classic jersey freak. I usually unplug it. Just that time, Joe Foster had me distracted. That was interesting.
Tyler Warren getting tush-push situations. That one. Holy. Dude, if that guy starts getting rushing touchdowns, I've. Bro, remember this moment.
You heard it here first, or I'm sure on his other show, especially. Sure, but still, I mean, that's the first I've ever heard that. Dude. Jonathan Taylor, you just basically put a fullback in and run him in the end. That's why people choose him first round in fantasy.
If he's going to get vultured by a tight end. By the way, not a bad idea. I love that. Right? Well, the Ravens do it sometimes with Mark Andrews and.
So we've seen it before with a tight end. Guess what? It's not crazy about this. Who was the offensive coordinator when the Tush push first started? in Philadelphia.
Steichen. The head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Yeah. Guy knows how to do it and install it. And all what you need is some interior offensive linemen.
Now, they swapped a lot of them out. Yeah. Interesting right there. And Jonathan Taylor fantasy players right now are like, oh, just went, whoa, what? Get into the Hyundai Getaway Sales event right now, get away with a deal so red it almost feels wrong because right now you can get huge savings on their most popular models, including the adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe hybrid models, or go all-electric and choose from America's most awarded EV lineup like the Breakthrough Ionic 5 or Ionic 6 sedans.
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Move. Still here on the Roku. Turnover under for the game one for the Patushbush. What does that mean? Like how many times they run it with the in the middle.
Interesting. Let me look. By the way, Rich, you kind of laughed. You last when I drafted Jalen Hurts yesterday, but the reason being, I think the Eagles are going to be even more particularly petty about this play. Pushing of tush because trying to get stopped.
And you would think that they would kind of overdo it now just to kind of prove a point. At least that's what I'm looking for. I laughed because who was your quarterback in fantasy last year? Who was it in our league? I don't know.
No, TJ had Saquon last year. Gotcha. Saquon. That's right.
So two years in a row. And you've gone Eagles. You've gone Eagles for your big importance. The first wasn't my first dose. No, Saquon was last year.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, sometimes you have to separate church and state if you want to do well at fantasy. That's the good thing you got to do, right?
So Jalen Hurts, rushing touchdown line is minus 135. What does that mean? I don't know what does that mean. That means basically you have to pay a little bit of a juice. Oh, Sunday's going to score one?
He's likely to score touchdowns. Can you bet how many? Tush, push, four men. I understand. You can't see on opening night.
That's not really a thing.
Well, someone's got to make up that line. Can't we make up the line? Can we make up our own lines here? Since random, nameless, faceless people in the desert do it. Why can't we make up a line?
Go ahead. You got the floor. What do you got? Over-under on tush pushes. Mike, since it was you, just throw a number out.
I say. Two, there it is. You gotta go half. No, I know, I know. You don't want to push on a tush push.
One and a half.
Okay. I'd go over on that. Same. Right. But if you put it at two and a half, then I'm like, well, what were you going to do there?
I'll put it over on that, too. Would you reel it? Of course. I'm hoping we can watch. Yeah, I'm thinking they're going to be pretty petty about it, too.
Of course, by the way, that's. That's why Spike Squad, guys. Nothing is more petty. Hold on a minute. Let me see here.
Well, there was the dude who picked the score, right? Right. I had it right here. Idon and Phoenix in a win-loss game for the Eagles had them beating the Packers, and he had them beating him 22-10 because that was the vote in the competition committee or the ownership meeting. Uh To try and ban the tush push, and they were two votes shy.
I love that. That's petty right there. It was 22 to ban it and 10 to say no. And so 22 to 10 would be the final score against the Packers. That's Petty Guerrero.
Yeah. That's to the King. Oh, that's your final score. That's to do with anything. Because that should be the avatar for your fantasy team.
Is it with TJ's spite squad? Are you going to stay with that one? Because last year...
Well, I was spite because of you. Why is it you always mess with me every draft? It kind of. I mess with everyone in drafts. Because I'll sit around and wait 18 picks.
Oh, my God. Delete this picture. Delete this. You got through this whole show without me choosing. Hey folks, let me tell you that drinking and driving is a decision that will change your whole world.
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