Quarterback Expectations (Hour 4)

Alrighty, fourth and final hour of the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio on this Wednesday.

I don't know about you, Hickey, I've hit a wall during this show. And my father today hits me up and he goes, let me take you out for lunch for your birthday. I say, ah, that's nice. I go, where do you want to go, dad? He goes, I want to go to Katz's Deli.

I got a dad. I can't go to Katz's Deli. As much as I love Katz's Deli, I can't eat an enormous pastrami sandwich and then go talk to 200 affiliates for four hours. I'll just be stuffed. I'll be in a food coma. Then he goes, let's go to Mineta Tavern, which Mineta Tavern has these like huge burgers.

I go, I can't do that. Let's go get brunch somewhere. I'm gonna go get a few eggs, like a few pieces of bacon, some grits, some home fries, stuff like that.

And maybe like an everything bagel with some butter. So we go to this place, Bubby's. So I was feeling good. You know, worked out today. Did my hour on the elliptical. Walked to work.

Walked to the breakfast spot as well, brunch spot. But then Hickey brings me this cactus candy from Arizona. And I had two squares of cactus candy.

They were delicious, but actually pretty filling. Like after two, I go, oh, I can't have any more, especially when how sweet they are. And then somehow Hickey and I start talking about cookies on the air. And we order these enormous chocolate chip cookies and triple chocolate cookies. I don't know about you, Hickey, ever since the cookies. And we only had one total cookie.

Right. We ordered two. But you took half of the triple chocolate chip. I took the other half. Then we split evenly the chocolate chip. Ever since eating those cookies. I feel as if I'm stuffed and I just want to go to sleep and I want to put my head on the pillow.

And start snoring like a like a pig. This is what I was worried about. I tried to pay. Now it's tough. I admit it's very tough because these cookies are very rich. They're filling. To pace yourself because once you have one bite, you want to have another. I've not finished them yet.

In parks, I'm afraid that I will get sick and or hit a wall and just fall asleep for the last hour. But I get it. I do get it. These are very filling. Not as big as I thought, which is a good thing. But nonetheless, very rich and very filling. Yeah. No doubt about that.

So we'll see if we'll be able to power through the rest of the show here on CBS Sports Radio. By the way, I'm just seeing this photo. Of you and Manny. Where Manny has a mustache, but many rocks, a good mustache, your mustache. I will admit it's growing on me a little bit. It is growing on me.

It's not as bad as when I first saw it. Now, if Chris Hansen is is walking around these studios in a few weeks and wants you to take a seat, I would not be surprised whatsoever in terms of the way that you you look a little bit. But underneath this photo where of you and Manny, my old producer or one of my old producers, Ben Horowitz, says, boy, how the standard of what good looking means has fallen at 345 Hudson Street. And you have the motley crew of Ben Horowitz, who's the person that is in the best shape out of the three people in this photo.

Anthony Gallo, who let me tell you, Gallo looks better now than he did a few years ago. And then James Graceffa, who never kept himself in the best of shape. But I love James.

James, one of my favorite people here in the history of the company. I will give you the the edge on looks. You and Manny. And I think it's more so you than Manny compared to this terror trio of Horowitz, Gallo and Graceffa. You know what they actually look like?

Graceffa and Gallo look like they're in a punk rock band. And then Ben Horowitz is the is the manager. Ben kind of looks. Have you ever seen that show Dave with Little Dicky? I know time.

I've not seen it. Now, if Horowitz had red hair, he would look like Little Dicky's manager. But that's what he looks like here. He looks like the chief manager of the punk rock band. And Gallo is the is the scream of a singer.

And Graceffa plays like the guitar. Ben in this picture looks like he's a fanboy and like next to the two punk rock guys in Gallo and James, just like. And they're sitting there like, oh, we got to picture this guy. All right, get out of here, buddy.

And then Ben's like, this is the best day of my life. Smile, guys. We're all friends. Friends on three. This is that Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio.

Five questions, five answers. Let's get to a little onside offside hot take. Zach's taking on the most polarizing issues in sports.

Which side of the line of scrimmage will he end up on? It's onside offside with Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio. And by the way, breaking news, historical news in the MLB world. Philadelphia Phillies newly acquired pitcher right after the right before the deadline, Michael Lorenzen has tossed a no no against the Washington Nationals. Nine innings, no hits, no runs, five K's, four walks on one hundred and twenty four pitches. And according to the athletic, in just a second start with the Phillies since being acquired at the trade deadline, Lorenzen tosses the 14th no hitter in franchise history and the first since 2015 for the Philadelphia Phillies. So there you go. Michael Lorenzen with a no no tonight for the Philadelphia Phillies.

All right. So I guess we'll stop talking about good, lucky men at CBS Sports Radio. We'll talk sports again. And a big competition happening in training camp at two different training camps in the NFL as the first preseason game does approach later this week. And that's in Tampa.

That's in Indy. Both have listed their starting quarterback positions as or Buccaneers have it listed as their starting quarterback Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask. Indy has it as Gardner Minshew or Anthony Richardson. So I ask you this, Zach, onsides or offsides?

No, no, you messed that up. You got to go onsides or offsides. Baker Mayfield for the Bucs, Anthony Richardson for the Colts will start week one for their respective teams. Now, I don't know if it's because he was slouched in a chair, but I saw Baker Mayfield did an interview with Sirius XM NFL radio as they go to all the training campsites. And Sirius XM NFL radio is a great channel.

I used to work there. Baker, you know, sometimes if someone's slouched in a chair, you don't look great. You know, not many people look great when they're kind of like slouched down like a bum in a chair. But Baker looked like he put on a few pounds there, Hickey. I don't know if it's just because the way he's sitting in that chair, because if I was sitting in that chair, I would look disgusting as well. But Baker looked as if he may have put on 10 pounds or so. I'm going to give him the benefit of it out and say that it was just a bad posture. But if I see on Friday, I think it's Friday night when they play and he's kind of looking a little tubby.

Take the next flight down to Tampa. I'm not making myself look bad because this guy had a fun off season of eating and drinking. Clearly, I'm getting down there and I'm getting his ass in shape. So you're going to start training him? Yes. Oh, yeah.

Todd Bowles could not, you know, not not breathing down his next level. And also, he was wearing a sweatshirt in the photo. I know he was indoors, but he's in Tampa. Maybe say out of the sun, you know, shield your skin from the sun. No, they were inside for the interview. Maybe he's wearing the sweatshirt because he's outside before and he's walking from outside. And if you're outside, you want to wear a sweatshirt so your arms are not exposed to the sun.

Or maybe he knows he's fat and he's trying to quickly, you know, basically have a human sauna right in front of him and sweat. To answer your question, Baker Mayfield and Anthony Richardson will start for their respective teams week one. Baker Mayfield, absolutely. I think it's ridiculous that this is a Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask situation. And I know Garda Minshew has a great mustache on La Cate Kiki, but Anthony Richardson has to be starting week one on sides. Do you think Anthony Richardson won't be starting week one for your pathetic football team?

No, I think he will be starting. OK, next one. All right. A day after Ron Rivera admitted that players complained about the coaching style from new offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy, Rivera admitted that he put his foot in his mouth and wish he communicated his message better. Now, we said earlier today players have talked with Bienemy and have come away enlightened with his coaching strategy. So a little bit of an about face there from the head man in Washington, 24 hours apart.

So ask this on sides or off sides. Ron Rivera will not make it through the season as the commander's head coach. A coach like Ron Rivera with where he was with the commanders and then new ownership coming in as well. Well, I think Josh Harris will respect what Ron Rivera has done the last few years with having to deal and be the spokesperson pretty much for Daniel Snyder. I don't believe Rivera is going to get fired in season here with the commanders. I want to say when he's with the Panthers, he got fired in season. Am I wrong on that, Hickey? Maybe we can. I think you're right.

I'm going to double check. I think I remember him doing a press conference with the media. Maybe that could have just been at the end of the season when he already knew that he was getting fired. But I want to say that he was fired in season with the Carolina Panthers. But that was also new ownership coming in then.

With four games left and ironically he lost to Washington. Yeah, that seems like a David Tepper kind of move. I think Josh Harris will wait until after the season if they're going to make a split and they won't do it in season. Also, I don't think they're going to be bad enough where they would fire him in season. So Ron Rivera will not make it through the season as a head coach. I'll go offside. Offside!

With college football conference realignment wiping out the Pac-12 unfortunately after the season, the attention now turns to the College World Playoffs Act and seeing what happens in 2024 with expansions set to happen. By the way, you have like a little thing going on recently. The last three times we've done this segment you've hit the microphone with your hands. Now I don't know if it's because you like to talk with your hands and then you're holding this paper reading to me the questions and you're still moving your hands, but you love hitting that microphone.

That's exactly it. I'm Italian. I talk with my hands. And the way the microphone hangs, it is kind of where my left hand is. It is kind of in range when I'm trying to go up and down, left and right.

It's in a bad spot. Also, can you do me a favor here? Sure. So you train a lot of the producers, people trying to be producers here at CBS Sports right now. I wouldn't say train a lot. I train some people on the show. The people that are filling in for you.

Yes. Can we give them proper, teach them proper etiquette? Like they don't snort into the microphone or cough into the microphone or burp into the microphone. Now you may not be the right person to do it because you once burped on the radio. I don't teach that style, okay?

They're not learning it from me. Well, I don't know. One time. It was either a sneeze or it was a cough.

I don't know what it was, but Chris Hess, when he was doing on-site off-site last week, made some noise into the microphone, which it was a weird noise. So maybe you should cover that in the manual that you make these people. Usually I just think that they'll do what I show them. And I guess now I got to also do a part in the section of what not to do. Proper etiquette. Yeah, for real.

Holy smokes. All right, so comfortable. I thought you were going to say a different word there.

Conference realignment. Come on. Well, that's another thing.

We got to touch it. Folks, don't curse. Yeah. That's for sure. You violated that rule, too. Well, do as I say, not as I do.

Right? Yesterday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was on the Paul Finebaum show and said with the rapidly changing landscape, college football needs to revisit the playoff format since that format was made with the idea that Power 5 conferences would be around. Obviously, one has been eliminated with the Pac-12. And then still maybe the format change is needed before expansion happens a year from now.

On-sites or off-sites? The college football playoff should reduce the number of teams from 12. Yeah, they should have never gone to 12, which is going to go in next year. I thought four was the perfect number. If you were going to expand, I would say six or eight. For years, I gave that formula of eight where you get the five Power 5 conference champs, the one non-Power 5, and then two wildcards. I'd be okay going to six or going to eight at most.

I think four is the right number. There's never been a year where I'm like, I need to see more teams in the college football playoff. Now, whether you're increasing games up against conference opponents and the conferences are going to get bigger, maybe you want to keep some more spots open. Because I do think they're going to favor the Big Ten and the SEC now. So if you want to go to eight, I'm okay with it.

But for a while, I have been totally against expansion. To go to 12, it just seems like too many teams. Imagine we had a 12-team playoff last year. I think that would be horrible. We could barely find out who wanted to be the fourth team. So you ask me if the college football playoff should reduce the number of teams from 12?

Yeah, on sides. BetMGM has received a ton of bets on who will win NFL MVP this season, but one has risen above all. Jalen Hurts, according to the Sportsbook, has been the most bet-on player to win the award this season. His odds currently sit at plus 1,100, which is fourth best. He's behind Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Justin Herbert.

Good math there. He's fifth in those odds, again, behind those four quarterbacks we just listed. On sides or off sides, Zach, Jalen Hurts is your pick to win NFL MVP this season.

I love Jalen Hurts. I could easily see him winning the NFL MVP this year. But with how many talented quarterbacks there are, and I get it right, he's in the NFC. There's not a lot of talented quarterbacks in the NFC, more so it's the AFC. Do you think the Eagles could be the one or the two seed again? And that gives them a good chance to go win the NFL MVP. When you ask me at this point, with almost anybody, them or the field, I'm going to take the field here, especially when there's like seven or eight just great quarterbacks in the league right now. So I'll go offside.

Offside. And finally, ESPN predicted what the quarterback situation for teams will look like at the start of the 2024 season. That's right, a year from now. An interesting discussion does surround the Arizona Cardinals.

Now ESPN NFL reporter Dan Graziano predicted that the Cardinals will be bad enough this upcoming season that they will get a top pick in the draft and take a quarterback, meaning Kyler Murray won't be on the roster week one of 2024, despite the fact that he would have at that point signed an extension less than two years ago. And the dead cap is pretty big too. Massive. A lot of guaranteed money coming to Kyler just because really that extension is going to kick in.

Yeah, fresh. Oh boy. They could do a 30 for 30 and just the payments to Cliff Kingsbury, Steve Keim, and Kyler Murray. And even a little bit Steve Wilkes, Josh Rosen on a lesser scale, but a lot of people are getting paid by Arizona not to be there.

Not bad. Let's move to Arizona. We'll make an impression for a year. Maybe we'll link up with the Cardinals. They'll pay us. Then we could just be horrible at our job. They'll get rid of us. We'll come back to New York and we'll have all this money.

Let's do that. I'd love to have a job where I'm paid millions of dollars to not be there. To do nothing. To sit on my ass.

To not work. And that could be Kyler Murray. So I'll ask you this. Onsides or offsides, Kyler Murray will be the Cardinals' week one starter in 2024.

No. Offside. Because I really do believe it's going to be Caleb Williams.

Offsides. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We will tell you how to draft in fantasy football next with one of the best in the business from CBS Sports, Jamie Eisenberg.

You're listening to The Zach Gelb Show. The preeminent fantasy football expert does a great job for CBS Sports is Jamie Eisenberg. We're getting ready to draft.

You're inching closer and closer to figure out what your team's going to be and who your players are going to be for this upcoming season. So I thought it'd be a good idea to connect with Jamie for a few moments today. Jamie, always appreciate the time. How you been? Great.

Thanks for having me. How are you? I'm doing fantastic. So heading into this fantasy football season, I think it's an interesting question on who people consider is the best player for fantasy football. I go Austin Eckler heading into this season.

How about yourself? I go Justin Jefferson, but I mean, Eckler's certainly up there. You know, there's a pretty, I think, solid consensus of about four guys once you get past the top four of Jefferson, Chase, McCaffrey and Eckler.

Kind of, you know, that's where it skews depending on what position you're looking at. You know, quarterback starts coming to play there. Travis Kelce comes into play there. You know, Bison Robinson, Saquon Barkley, those guys coming to play. But I think, you know, Jefferson, Chase, Eckler, McCaffrey, you know, whatever, where you're going to put them in.

And obviously your scoring format matters. Those are the four that I think we'll see for the first four overall picks. So let's say if you're in a PPR league, just for argument's sake here, and you know, a lot of times still running backs, right? Go with the first overall pick. If you had the first overall pick, you would go Jefferson?

I would. You know, I think what we're seeing, you know, especially at the top, you know, McCaffrey and Eckler in particular, and certainly when you start to look at Eckler, you know, this is the age for those running backs. You know, I think McCaffrey's still a year away.

But, you know, 27 is typically the year we start to see these guys fall off. So, you know, Jefferson and an offense that he's playing in in Minnesota, everything, you know, we heard about Kevin O'Connell's system coming in last year where they were going to throw the ball out. They did.

They did three and pass them. And that Jefferson would be the Cooper cup in this offense. And we saw what cup was in 2021 when O'Connell was on that staff in Los Angeles that he was going to dominate targets and just, you know, be the superstar that we've already seen through the first two years. He was that in year three and now in year four when he's playing for contract, I just think he's going to be, you know, one of the best generational wide receivers and continue to have another big season in 2023. Jamie Eisenberg here with us. What do you do with Josh Jacobson and Jonathan Taylor right now?

Well, you get them hopefully at a great price. You know, they're going to continue to fall and, you know, hopefully they're there in week one and everybody's healthy and ready to go. You don't have any, you know, concerns about an injury or setback or, you know, just, you know, being a malcontent because they're not happy with their contract situation. You know, so what we're seeing mostly so far with Taylor a little bit more than Jacobs, which is surprising, but I'm sure that has to do with what happened last year where he, you know, struggled with injuries. Taylor's starting to fall to the third round. Jacobs, for the most part, is still living in round two. I think if those guys were to show up tomorrow, you can make cases that their first round pick, you know, Taylor was the consensus number one overall pick a year ago and still has the potential to be that type of player.

And Jacobs obviously led the NFL in rushing yards last year, so he's, you know, coming off a tremendous season and they're both still, for whatever that's worth, playing for a contract. So I still like the setups for them, but, you know, I think you're just looking at there's a lot of risk right now. I don't think they're going to sit out games because we saw what happened with Le'Veon Bell and just how that all played out and clearly they're not going to change. I think the future of what their big-time deals that they're looking for, I don't think that's going to happen.

So I do expect them to play week one and so the later that they fall, the better off you probably are if you get them at, again, a reduced price. Talking to Jamie Eisenberg right now, fantasy football expert for CBS Sports. I know people sometimes get afraid to put some significant capital with rookies, but sometimes rookies can win leagues, especially if they have breakout years in year number one. Bijan Robinson is definitely a popular name. When is it, like, when do you consider maybe taking Bijan Robinson?

I consider it as five overall. You know, he's in that conversation right now. You know, I think it's between him and Saquon Barkley and Tyreek Hill. He's in the, I don't want to say the perfect scenario because there's still some flaws with the Atlanta offense, but, you know, he was drafted as a top ten pick. You know, we've seen Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott, you know, you mentioned some rookies, you know, Todd Gurley, you know, these guys, just the recent names that have had success just based on pedigree. And then you factor in where he went, so he goes to an Atlanta team that was first in rush attempts last year, and Tyler Algier, who's, you know, a good player but nowhere on the level of Bijan Robinson, goes for 1,000 yards. So he's going to get every opportunity to carry the ball, and we know that he has the chance to be, you know, a good receiving talent, if not a great receiving talent out of the backfield. But is Desmond Ritter going to be good enough to support not just Bijan Robinson but Kyle Pitts and Drake London? It's a little bit of a question mark, but it's a good offensive line, it's a good system.

You know, Arthur Smith was on that staff in Tennessee when Derrick Henry had a 2,000-yard season. So Bijan Robinson's going to be, you know, I think as long as he's healthy and amazing talent, I think he's worth taking, again, as early as five overall. Out of the three first-round quarterbacks, and Bryce Young, you also have C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson, do any of those guys jump out to you? Love Anthony Richardson. You know, I'm a little biased because I'm a University of Florida guy, but, you know, I think the falters and the failures that he had in college I think will sort of get, you know, overlooked by what he does in the pros because he'll have a little bit more freedom and hopefully some better coaching.

No shot there, my alma mater. But I think with what we've seen, you go back to 2010, there have been 16 times where a quarterback has run for just 700 yards, and in a six-point-per-passing touchdown league, the worst a guy has done, a quarterback has done, was 19.9 fantasy points per game, which usually around 20 points push you in the conversation to be a number one quarterback. And I think by all accounts, if he plays the majority of the season, he could challenge to run for 1,000 yards. So I think he's got the chance to, you know, be a special talent with his running ability. If he can become, you know, an average to above-average passer, he's going to be what maybe Lamar Jackson early in his career, I don't think he's going to win an MVP, but Lamar Jackson early in his career, what we saw from Justin Fields last year as a fantasy quarterback, you know, Jalen Hurts, and there's a tie-in, you know, because of Shane Stikin, and he was able to get out of Jalen Hurts. So there's a lot to like about Anthony Richardson's fantasy stock. The other two guys I think have a little bit of room to grow as fantasy quarterbacks, but I do think that if you're in a two-quarterback league, you'll be happy with C.J.

Strout or Bryce Young as late-round guys. I prefer them as third-quarterbacks, but they're definitely worth taking a chance on as a second-quarterback with a late-round guy. Just because Jamie Eisenberg Mahomes is the best quarterback in football, does that mean he's the best fantasy football quarterback?

He is, and it's such a tough argument to say that, and I'm saying that obviously a little bit facetiously, but, you know, he doesn't have the weapons that some of these other guys around him have. You know, Josh Allen, you have Stephon Diggs, you know, Gabe Davis, they draft Dalton C.C.D. Jones, Jalen Hurts, you know, the wide receiver duo that he has there, Donald Scott, Joe Burrow, and their CB4 there. He only has Travis Kelce who's 34 years old, but we know that he's just been able to have so much success, and last year's the perfect example of it, without a standout wide receiver.

You know, again, Kelce's a different anchor, but Mahomes, and that's just, you know, just what he does. He gives you enough with the legs as well, some rushing yards on top of it, but he's a threat for 5,000 yards, he's a threat for 50 touchdowns, they lose Tyreek Hill, he gets better, they win a Super Bowl. You know, so I'm excited about guys like Sky Moore, and Raisey Rice, and, you know, Justin Ross, and hopefully a healthy Kadarius Toney, so he'll make those guys better, and he'll continue to just put up great numbers. So yeah, he's the first quarterback in fantasy, so. So Jamie Eisenberg, last year Garrett Wilson had 1,100 yards with no quarterback, now he gets Aaron Rodgers.

When do you kind of look to draft Garrett Wilson this year? You know, it's funny, it's like a fun stat to talk about, but I think it speaks more just to Zach Wilson and the trust that they had in him. So when Zach Wilson was playing, Garrett Wilson was not as good, was the other quarterbacks, Joe Flacco and Mike White, he was averaging over 17 fantasy points per game, PPR points per game. If he had done that over a full season, he'd be a top 7 wide receiver, so now you put the trust in Aaron Rodgers, and you know, we get a chance to see it a little bit up close with Hard Knocks. Those guys, I think you're going to have a great connection, and obviously, say Adams is a superstar, but a lot of his numbers came with Aaron Rodgers as well, so I think that's the next wide receiver, quarterback wide receiver combo that we're going to see, and Garrett Wilson's got the chance to be a top 10, if not top 5 wide receiver, so a guy that you should be taking in round two. Jamie Eisenberg, fantasy football expert for CBS Sports, give me some breakout players this year. Tony Pollard's got a great opportunity in front of him without Ezekiel Elliott on the field, so I think it's going to be fun to see how he goes. Not just Garrett Wilson as a second year wide receiver, but Crystal Lavey's got a chance to break out in New Orleans, we'll see what happens with Michael Thomas, but I do like the setup there for him with their car. Kristin Watson, another second year wide receiver that I like a lot in Green Bay, we saw some good moments from him. I think even though Jordan Love is a step down from Aaron Rodgers, it'll still be a big season for him.

I really love Romandre Stevenson in New England, I think it's going to be a big year for him. He only had five rushing touchdowns last year, they ran for 10 touchdowns from their running back group, but the year before it was 24 rushing touchdowns, and now Bill O'Brien's there, so he'll find the end zone a lot more without. Jamie Harris there, you go to Buffalo, another running back that I like, James Cook, he's going to have an opportunity in that offense to step up without Devin Singletary there. Tight end, I hope it's going to be a good year for Kyle Pitts, I really just think that if Desmond Ritter can get his act together, they didn't play together last year because the four games that Ritter started, Kyle Pitts wasn't there, but at some point that talent's going to shine through and hopefully this is the year so you get that break out tight end. Yeah, I also feel like Dallas Goddard's going to have a monster season, he only played in 12 games last year and had 702 yards and three touchdowns. He does have that opportunity, the only problem is the two guys that he shares the field with, so if they're not going to have as much success running the ball, which you could say might be the case because they lose Miles Sanders, and they do allow Jalen Hurts to throw the ball a little bit more if not a lot more, you saw the performance in the Super Bowl, that was a guy they leaned on quite a bit, so Goddard is one of those safe top five caliber tight ends, I just don't know if he can get to the top three, but you'll love having Dallas Goddard on your team. Let me go to my best friend, Deebo Samuel, two years ago, wonderful season, last year he was horrible, Deebo Samuel going into this year, when do you take him, what round?

Yeah, am I supposed to hang up on you now, is that how that works? Deebo is a very polarizing fantasy option because we all fell in love with that 2021 season, and like you said, last year was frustrating. It's just a lot of mouth to feed in San Francisco and I think that's the problem, is you're asking Brock Purdy to support all of these guys, McCaffrey, Kittle, Ayuk, and Deebo, and he's not going to run as much because of McCaffrey being there, so I don't necessarily look to target Deebo Samuel, I kind of settle for Deebo Samuel, so he's still a very good fantasy wide receiver, more of a number two guy for me, but I'm looking for him usually in round four, and right now his average job position is round three, so I'm not going to draft a lot of Deebo Samuels.

When you look at guys that you also wouldn't draft, who are the guys that also come off the tip of the tongue for you? Yeah, a lot of it is obviously at cost, so where they're going is how much you have to pay for them, but the two guys that really scare me a lot are the two running backs coming off of the ACL tear, so Brie Saul and Javonte Williams, and this is separate from maybe Dalvin Cook signing with the Jets, history tells us that that injury, we all sort of romanticized about Adrian Peterson the year that he came back from his ACL tear and how great he was, for the most part those guys struggle, and the easy one to point to is a couple years ago Saquon Barkley, last year JK Dobbins, they just struggled coming back year one, year two, they're great, so Brie Saul I think we're starting to see him fall again a lot of that is probably with the anticipation of maybe another guy going there with Dalvin Cook signing with the Jets, and even though Javonte Williams is back with the Broncos, not on the public, great story, I just don't think you're going to get great production from him, so his price is a little bit better, but those are two guys I avoid, like I said, I avoid Deebo Samuel, and one guy that really makes me nervous is Javonte Adams, I think the quarterback change from Derek Carr to Jimmy Garoppolo is a downgrade, he's now 30, again that's where wide receivers start to fall off a little bit, so he'll still give you great production because he's a superstar, but the elite level production, I just don't know if he's going to get back to that level like we saw last season. So what with McCaffrey, I think Christian McCaffrey, Jamie Eisenberg, who won the offensive player of the year this season, especially with the quarterback situation in San Francisco, but is that a guy that you try to stay away from just because of the health concerns?

I don't, but you know I get it, I would just hope that people that feel that way look at what happened last year, you know, so he finally stays healthy after the two years of struggling through injuries, and is back to being that guy again. I do think you have probably another year of him being at this level of one of the best running backs and a generational talent, but 27 I think is where you start to worry about maybe injuries, taking hold, I think for this year though, behind that offensive line with that coach, like you said, with Brock Purdy who's not going to necessarily challenge down the field, he'll help him still in the passing game to a tremendous level, so I think McCaffrey again for me is the number one running back in a top three overall pick. In two quarterback leagues, we all know who you should consider for your first quarterback, but if you're looking for a second quarterback, how would you kind of approach some good value? It's such a great group, you know, so Dino Smith I think is going to have another strong season with Jackson Smith and the Jigba joining that, not becoming the trio of wide receivers there with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Jared Goff was great last year, I think he's going to have another good season especially once Jamison Williams comes back after the six game suspension. Daniel Jones, he was the quarterback that I referenced that was only 19.9 fantasy points per game because he did run for 700 yards with one of nine quarterback performances ever where a guy went for 3,700, so to put his name in the category of Randall Cunningham and Cam Newton and some of the guys that accomplished that feat, that's pretty impressive, and now he gets Darren Waller. Aaron Rodgers I think is going to fall to a spot that you'll feel comfortable drafting him again, especially with Garrett Wilson being rejuvenated with the Jets, but there's a lot of good number two quarterbacks, so when you take that first guy, probably in round one or round two, you can probably wait until round four and still get a pretty good number two quarterback and be happy about that type of performance that you'll be getting. Jared Goff You mentioned that answer, the trio of wide receivers in Seattle, you look at Seattle and the Chargers, already have established guys like Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, Mike Williams and Keaton Allen, they both had Jackson Smith and Jigba and Quentin Johnston, do you get concerned about taking any of those wide receivers just because of how many mouths there are to feed?

Aaron Rodgers No, I think if there is a concern, it might be that JSN is getting pushed up a little bit just because of some of the training camp highlights that you've seen, but I do think that they're going to be okay if you get them at the right price. The thing that you get encouraged by though is, especially in the charter situation, because we did see Mike Williams and Keaton Allen miss 11 games last year, if there's an injury to one of those guys in front of them, they could be a league winner. So Jordan Addison, Jackson Smith and Jigba, Quentin Johnston and Zay Flowers, the first round rookie wide receivers in the NFL draft, they have the chance to really be special. And again, if one of those guys get an opportunity for increased targets because of an injury, it's not going to really happen in Baltimore because Flowers could be the number one guy right away, but the other three guys, if an injury happens, and obviously the one in Minnesota would be Justin Jefferson going down, but if there is an injury in front of them, you're going to be pretty thrilled about getting them on your team.

So you could draft them right now as number three wide receivers, in some cases number four wide receivers, those are the perfect guys to put on your bench, and then as they start to get going, typically the second half of the season for rookie wide receivers, they'll be potentially league winners for you by the end of the season. Jamie, through all your years of doing this, who's the one draft pick all these years later that you go, that was the draft pick I was the most proud about? Oh, it could be Arian Foster, the year that he broke out. That was a guy I think you saw had a chance to maybe do some things, especially with no draft capital in the NFL draft, and getting the chance with the Texans. So he was a guy that wasn't very popular going into his breakout season, and then we know coming out of it, he was continually a top five pick. So he was one of my favorite ones, and then I'm lucky enough to work with a great group of NFL reporters. Pete Prisco is one of my favorite guys, and constantly on his training camp tours always gives me great tips, and the year that David Johnson came on, nobody really had a lot of high expectations for him as a rookie, and then he breaks out, has that fantastic end of season performance, and then really takes off his second year. So David Johnson was a fun one, and then same thing, James Robinson was another one recently where you got some buzz that he was going to be the guy for Jacksonville, and then had that, again, similar to Arian Foster, not drafted, and just comes out of nowhere and has a big year.

Last one for Jamie Eisenberg, great stuff with CBS Sports, one of the preeminent voices in the country covering fantasy football. Calvary Ridley barely played in 2021, was suspended for 2022, now a Jaguar. At one point was a very popular pick, Calvin Ridley, where would you take him this year? Yeah, he's in that round three range for me, and just to kind of tie in your favorite player, I would take him over to Deebo Samuel as well.

I just, again, the setup is great. Trevor Lawrence, you saw in the second half of the season, it looked like things clicked for him. Doug Peterson's coaching, obviously, big upgrade over Urban Meyer, and so Christian Kirk is a great player. He proved that last year, but I don't know if he's an alpha. I think Calvin Ridley's an alpha, so now you put him at the top of that receiving core with Evan Ingram, with Kirk, with Day Jones, you know, it's hard to defend that team, and now they'll just be at a different wrinkle, so as long as he could stay healthy and, you know, sort of not have to any concern, a little scared that he had a, I guess, a toe problem, you know, so you never really, I think, fully buy in when a guy's taking this much time off, but it wasn't injury related, so, you know, as long as he's ready to go, and so far looks like all systems go, you know, to me, he's got top 10 upside, so I'm drafting him as a top 15 wide receiver.

I love the setup, though, if I can go, A, running back in the first two rounds and then two wide receivers with him being that second guy, I love that for my fantasy start, you know, because I do think Ridley has a breakout season. Jamie Eisenberg, make sure you check him out, does a great job covering fantasy football for CBS Sports. Jamie, appreciate it. You got it, Zach. Thanks.

Good to talk to you. You're listening to the Zach Gelb Show. All right, let's do some rapid fire here on the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll give you some quarterbacks and how I'll be talking about them at the end of the year. By the way, will Aaron Rodgers be playing in the AFC Championship game this season is the poll question, the final calculations, 14.1% say yes, 36.7% say that he won't make the playoffs this year, and then 49.2% say that Aaron Rodgers will lose in the wild card round or divisional round, and that is my answer.

I'm going with the majority tonight. All right, Hickey, give me some quarterbacks and I'll give you my quick thoughts on how I think we'll be talking about them at the end of the year. Under unlimited Russell Wilson. He will improve this season.

You can't get any worse. Big ball take there by yours truly, but we will head into next year where Russell Wilson will be playing for his hall of fame spot where I think there is a chance when you build up two years where you don't see great play, even with some improvement this year where now we start to wonder, can you get to an area where you can get back to some consistent, really good play to continue what was your hall of fame trajectory? Kirk Cousins, but before I get your answer, what if we hear someone who's in power, the owner of the Vikings, Mark Wolf was asked this exact question, will you give Kirk Cousins an extension after the season, he said, we'll leave that to Quasi and coach to work through those discussions. There's always conversations that, but our real focus is a hundred percent on 2023 and getting where we need to be.

And where I know we can be. Here's what I'll say about the Minnesota Vikings and Kirk Cousins. I think they will regress this year and they won 13 games last year, but I do believe a lot of people are overlooking them where they think it's going to be regression and they're going to hit the basement and they're going to hit the floor. This should still be bare minimum, a nine or a 10 win football team, even after losing Dalvin Cook. And I don't think the Vikings intend for Kirk Cousins to be their quarterback next year, but I do believe he will be their quarterback next year because Kirk Cousins is going to play at a good enough level where the Vikings are going to say, okay, we're going to have to get a short term extension done because I don't believe there's going to be an alternative out there where the Vikings are saying, okay, we have to go get that guy.

So I do believe Kirk Cousins will be on the Vikings next year. How will we be talking about Daniel Jones after the season? I think it's going to be a year where you're going to say Daniel Jones did some good things again, but the Giants missed the playoffs. And then it's the next year after that, it's can you get it back to the post season? Because if then you're talking two years after that, there's an easy out in that contract.

It's really a two year deal when you look at the way that they did structure the contract. So I think there'll be some good, there'll be some bad. I don't think anyone will look at Daniel Jones like he's an elite quarterback. I think it will be similar to the way just in the reverse, I don't know, actually similar to like Mac Jones where that rookie year he makes the playoffs be like, oh yeah, yes, you know, solid. I don't know if he's going to be great, but you know, maybe it could be good. And then he takes a step back and then it's going to be a prove it year for Daniel Jones a year from now. How about to a tongue of ILO? I think two is staying healthy this year. I think two is making the playoffs this year and I believe the Miami dolphins are winning the AFC East this year. So people are going to be talking positively about to a tongue of ILO. Here's a big one, Aaron Rogers.

Hmm. Very good year for the jets as a team. Great individual year for Aaron Rogers. Excited to see what would happen a year from now in terms of you laid a good foundation. Now can you go get the job done in winning a Superbowl? At the end of the season, how will we be talking about Kenny Pickett?

Solid year. I think they're a fringe playoff team. And I believe Kenny Pickett grows this year from the sample size that we saw last season where once again, he's kind of in that Mac Jones, Daniel Jones kind of territory where it's, you know, both those quarterbacks can be good, but can you be great?

Can you be elite? That will still be determined. How about Deshaun Watson? A step in the right direction where I thought a few years ago, Deshaun Watson was one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

And a lot did happen off the field, all his fault, and he was also annoyed with the Houston Texans organization before that. I think that at the end of the year, Deshaun Watson won't be viewed as the top five quarterback, but we'll say he's on the road to getting back into that elite status. How the hell will we be talking about Dak Prescott at the end of this year? Great regular season, but in the postseason, the reason why they lose, they'll probably find a way to still get that extension done, whether it's before the year or after the year, he'll still be their quarterback, but a guy that is not a Super Bowl winning quarterback.

Two more. How about Brock Purdy? Not as good as what 49ers fans think he is right now. Or as Bill Romanowski said, he saw some Joe Montana in him. That system, you know, he could be solid, but I think they believe they have their long term answer.

I'm not sold on that. And finally, how will we be talking about Kyler Murray after this season? Get your trade offers ready because that team's going to be putrid. Kyler Murray, who even knows how many games he's going to play with how late he did have the ACL tear up against my Patriots late in the season. And people are going to be saying Caleb Williams, Drake May, you're going to be the quarterback for the foreseeable future with the Arizona Cardinals and get your trade offers ready for one Kyler Murray. Alrighty.

Good stuff right there. I'll be on the Maggie and Pearl off show on CBS Sports Radio tomorrow and Friday. I'll be in for Andrew Pearl off of many of the same CBS Sports Radio affiliate Sirius XM Channel 158.

The Free Odyssey app. You can also see my mug on YouTube tomorrow as I'll be on the Maggie and Pearl off show with Maggie filling in for Andrew. And then all of next week, I'm out Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be filling in a Maggie and Pearl off solo. So that's 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern noon to 3 p.m. Pacific Wednesday, I'm off to Springsteen Friday.

I'm off to the Jersey Shore. So the next time I'll talk to you in this time slot is the 21st. Always thank you for listening. Always thank you for your support. Big thank you all the guests out there as well. We out. Bye bye.