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00:00New York Post Sports here. I'm Eric Richter. I'm here with the talented Mr. Roto himself.
00:04The week of pretty much fantasy football draft week. Matthew Barry in the house. Matthew,
00:08what's going on now? How are you? It's been a while since you talked.
00:11It has been a little while, but I'm good, Eric. Good to see you again. Yes,
00:15as I like to say, it's tax season and I'm an accountant. So I'm here to help, man. I'm here
00:20to help. Well, I think we all need a little bit of help. Before we get into all the nuts
00:25and bolts
00:26of, you know, draft picks and values and et cetera, just, you know, quick, just see how
00:32everything's going with you. I saw, so your content's at Fantasy Life these days, fantasylife.com.
00:36That's news. Yeah, it is. It's really exciting about it. You know, had a great four years at NBC
00:41Sports, nothing bad to say, like awesome, but I just sort of felt like, you know, and if you follow
00:46my career at all, I wrote about this. So I wrote my big love hate article, which is up on
00:51fantasylife.com
00:52now for free. And I wrote it as the intro and I talked about the decision, but if you followed
00:56my career for a decent amount of time, you know that when I left ESPN, the reason I left
01:00was not because I had anything, any reason to dislike ESPN, also really like them, root
01:05for those guys, but I wanted to be entrepreneurial. I wanted to be entrepreneurial and I wanted to
01:10be part of NFL coverage. And at least under the old regime at ESPN, I don't think that
01:16was possible. So I ended up leaving ESPN. I ended up winding up at NBC Sports where I was
01:21on football night in America. I did my show fantasy football happy hour, which I'm coming
01:26to you from the set of right now for Peacock for four years. And, you know, look, I was
01:33able to build up fantasy life while working at NBC, which is part of the deal. Why I went
01:38to NBC again, they were great. And, but you know, I was, I was part of Super Bowl sixties
01:44coverage. I, you know, I did a Super Bowl. I was the first fantasy football guy ever to do
01:48a Super Bowl as part of NBC Sports's pregame coverage of Super Bowl 60. And then once I
01:53did that, Eric, it was just sort of like, well, if you're a fantasy football guy, like
01:58what else is there to do? Right. And so the way the media world is heading in terms of,
02:03you know, there's so many people that I admire that have gone out on their own, you know, starting
02:09with, you know, whether it's Bill Simmons or Dave Portnoy or Clay Travis or Dan Levitard,
02:15you know, I mean, like on and on, on Pat, you think about Pat McAfee or Rich Eisen, just
02:19so many people that have had success in this space doing that, that I wanted to follow in
02:25all their footsteps. And so, and fantasy life had become big and successful enough that I
02:30could do that. And so, yes, all of my content is at fantasylife.com. My show fantasy football
02:36happy hour followed me from NBC to fantasy life. And so we're doing it on, on with Odyssey as
02:42an audio podcast. It's available on my YouTube channel, Matthew Berry YouTube channel. And
02:47you can also watch it on our Amazon fast channel. So fantasy life has a fast channel on Amazon
02:54fire TV and Amazon prime. So you can see it there. And it's also on our LG fast channel.
03:00We have an, I have a fast channel on LG or on every LG television set across the country.
03:03So really exciting in terms of some of the stuff that we're building at fantasy life and
03:09lots to get to with fantasy life. But that's one of the bigger announcements is that we just
03:13announced that in the last week and a half or so is that we launched a fast channel in
03:16partnership with Amazon. So we're thrilled to, we're thrilled to do that.
03:20Yeah. It feels like you, uh, you're like due for big, big time announcements right now that you're,
03:25you know, like you said, you're entrepreneurial, you're doing your own thing and you're out on your
03:28own. It feels like, uh, you're building towards something. And I'm sure that we're all going to be
03:32waiting for that next big, that next big thing that you have coming.
03:36We've got some fun announcements coming down the pike. There's no question, Eric. So, uh, and
03:40you'll be one of the first to know when we have something to talk about. So I appreciate that.
03:44100%. So Facebook balls are so, so fun. I'm, this is the most, this is the most exciting time of
03:47the
03:47year for, for me. Uh, I'm, I'm sure it's busy for you. Like you said, you're an accountant. Um,
03:52but it's, it's exciting as well. Um, but yeah, let, let ready to get into some sleep. I saw
03:58ride or die is Devante Smith. Let's talk about it. Um, you've had some hits, you've had some misses on
04:04the ride or die. Um, so talk to me about Mr. Devante Smith, the wide receiver one in Philadelphia.
04:10Now that AJ Brown has been sent packing. Yeah. I mean, first off, let's talk about the hit or miss
04:14because, um, uh, I think it's been a lot more hit than miss. I've given it out nine years. I've
04:20done
04:20the ride or die. This is my, uh, this is my 10th year giving out the ride or die, but
04:25the previous
04:26nine picks that I have done, one of them, uh, tore his ACL in the preseason, never played a game.
04:31So eight of my ride or die is have actually played in the NFL played, you know, played that year
04:36in
04:36the NFL and of the eight, four of them, Eric, four of them ended up finishing up top four at
04:44their
04:44position. Jalen hurts cream hunt. His Jalen hurts the year. He finished number one. Jalen hurts his
04:49rookie. I'm sorry. Jalen hurts the year. He finished number one at quarterback when he's being drafted as
04:53QB eight, uh, Kareem hunts rookie year. It's going in the, you know, the twenties wind up finished.
05:00Yeah. Uh, uh, Austin Eckler, the year he was being drafted like into the second round, top of the
05:05third, ended up finishing as a top three fantasy running back. And Armand Ross St. Brown, the year
05:09he was being drafted middle to late second, ended up finishing as a top four fantasy wide receiver.
05:13So four of the eight have finished top four in the position. Um, and then two others have finished
05:19ahead of ADP. I've had two losses, but six out of eight, 75%, um, have, you know, uh, given you
05:27a
05:27profit and four of them have obviously been just, you know, absolute smashes. So, um, uh, uh, this year
05:35it's Devante Smith. And, you know, part of the reason is, is that I don't need Devante Smith to do
05:42anything that he doesn't already do. He's already great separator. He's already great route runner.
05:46He's already somebody who earns targets at a high level. I just need him to do more of it.
05:50And with AJ Brown, who's basically gotten almost a 30% target share the last couple of years in
05:56Philadelphia with him gone. Now Devante Smith becomes the number one wide receiver for, uh,
06:01over the last two years, I'm going to, I'm going to give you some stats here on, uh, on Devante
06:05Smith.
06:06So I want to make sure I get them all right here, but here's the take on Devante Smith. In
06:11addition
06:11to everything I just said. Okay. Um, for Devante Smith, highly thought of draft pick by the way,
06:18and number 14 overall on receivers on fantasy pros right now, uh, number 31, I believe ranked
06:24by fantasy pros. Um, yeah, so they, I mean, like, so I've seen him go 16 as well. Honestly,
06:30since I've announced him as ADP has risen when I announced him, he was going as somewhere between
06:34wide receiver 16 and 20. I'm at wide receiver 10. So I'm still significantly ahead of him on the
06:40market. And so the argument here is like, again, and so, um, in his career, when he's had at least
06:46a 25% target share, Devante Smith has averaged 17.3 fantasy points per game. Just to give you a
06:52benchmark last year, George Pickens wide receiver five in fantasy averaged 17.2. And so you think
07:00about AJ Brown, who all, all four seasons, he was in Philadelphia, 28% target share or more that's out
07:06the window. So now you've got Devante Smith, who is the alpha, and I think easily can get a 25
07:12%
07:12target share, right? So I'm at wide receiver 10. I'm at 24 overall. Um, he's kind of going in the
07:19mid thirties in terms of consensus ADP. Um, and it's also Eric, listen, like, you know, you're somebody
07:25like me that you talk to a lot of sources. And so when I was at the NFL combine, I
07:30talked to a team
07:30source who said to me, and this was at the time that AJ Brown was still on the, on the
07:35team. He
07:36said, you know, um, we think that Devante Smith, as good as he's been has another gear that he is
07:44somebody that can get to the next level that if he ever got, if Devante Smith ever got the kind
07:48of
07:49target share that Jackson Smith and Jigba got last year, Devante Smith would have that kind of season,
07:55a JSN type season, a top five wide receiver in football and fantasy football kind of season. And so
08:01I was just like, Oh, well, AJ Brown, not lasting long there. And of course he ended up getting traded
08:07to the Patriots as well. So, uh, for me, especially in a new, an offense where you've got Sean
08:13Mannion, former NFL quarterback, Sean Mannion, now calling the plays for the Eagles. I think there'll
08:18be more pass heavy than they have been in the past. Sky's the limit for Devante Smith. He is my
08:22ride or die. Uh, I'm all in. I have a ton of them this year. I'm very excited.
08:27People forget man, that Devante Smith, when he was coming out of the draft,
08:31when he was drafted by the Eagles, Eagles traded up for him. And Devante Smith was looked at as
08:36one of the best route runners to come out in the draft in several years. Um, people really liked him
08:41out of Alabama. And then obviously it's a little bit of a lower volume offense in Philly, which is
08:47why I think he is in the, in the mid thirties, as you said. Um, but now that AJ Brown's
08:51gone,
08:51I like the pick. I had Devante, I have a few shares of Devante Smith in my own right. Uh,
08:56so I was definitely music to my ears to hear that one. Um, appreciate it. Thank you. Switch
09:01gears a little bit. This green Bay Packers running back room is in flux to say the very
09:09least. We have no idea what's going to happen with Josh Jacobs. Marshawn Lloyd has barely
09:12played. Although I think everyone, no one would deny that he's talented, but he's barely played
09:16in the league and didn't really play that much in college either. Um, and they just traded
09:20for Caleb Johnson. So what do I make of this Josh Jacobs mess that is going on in green Bay?
09:25Does it upgrade the pass catchers a little bit? Yeah, I think starting with that, I think so. I
09:30do think that ultimately what ends up happening is they let Jordan love cook a little bit. So I'm
09:34really like all the Packers wide receivers in the past, the Packers pass catchers and their
09:39passing game. Like I think Jordan love has a better year than expected, right? I have Tucker
09:43Kraft as a top five fantasy tight end. I think Christian Watson's going to have a monster year.
09:47You know, we just talked about Dwayne McFarlane and his utilization report. Like one of the things
09:51that, you know, came, it came about is it's like people think of Christian Watson and Dwayne just
09:56mentioned this in my show earlier today on fantasy football happy hour. Um, but you know, they think
10:01of Christian Watson as just this deep threat, this guy that's, you know, um, just going over the top.
10:06And like, you know, if you look at what he was doing in the preseason, he's running like
10:08eight yard routes, like they're there. They've expanded his route tree. He's the number one wide
10:13receiver on a very good offense. You know, he's a very talented guy. And then you think about
10:18Romeo Dobbs in new England, and you think about, um, uh, you think about Dontavian Wicks in
10:23Philadelphia. And so like, that was one of the issues with the green Bay pass catchers is that,
10:27well, there's just so many of them, they mix and match. It's hard to get consistency, but now
10:30you've got, uh, you've got Watson, you've got Matthew Gold on the other side. Jane Reed is a
10:35slot guy. So I like just basically all of them, especially at cost, uh, this year, specifically to
10:41the running game, I'll tell you, I ranked Marshawn Lloyd at, at 25 among running backs. Um, and I
10:48ranked, I think I ranked Josh Jacobs at 52, but I think Josh Jacobs is basically undraftable at this
10:53point. The only scenario in which he's draftable is that is in a world where you either have a deep
11:01bench, whether you have a NA spot, meaning that like you could draft him and just throw him in a,
11:06in a slot where, because he's not available. Some leagues only use IR, which is, you know,
11:10they have to legitimately be injured, but some leagues are just say like, if he's suspended,
11:15if he's on the commissioner's exempt list, if he's on IR or whatever, if he's just not available,
11:18you can put him in that slot. So in a league like that, I'm okay with it. Cause you can
11:22just
11:22roster him, um, you know, put him in a slot and not have to waste a roster spot and just
11:26see sort
11:27of how it plays out. Right. But, um, but beyond that, beyond that, Eric, I just, I think there's a
11:34wide range of outcomes for Josh Jacobs and I'm fairly negative on them, right? Which is, um,
11:42like there's a chance he doesn't play this year. There's a chance it's a significant suspension.
11:47There's a chance the Packers cut him. He's on the commissioner's exempt list. And what that means for
11:51people is that he's not on the 53 man roster. He can't play in games. He can't practice. He's
11:58allowed to be, if the Packers will allow him, he's allowed to be at the facility. He's allowed to do
12:03individual, you know, uh, treatment and, and, you know, meetings, but I, it's just, um,
12:10generally speaking, and I want to be very clear here about this, uh, you know, what Josh Jacobs
12:16has been accused of everyone's innocent until proven guilty in this world, uh, at least in America.
12:22Um, but he is, uh, so innocent until proven guilty in America, but, um, uh, but what he has been
12:31accused of is, you know, awful, truly awful. And we are not trying to trivial, trivialize what he's
12:38been accused of by talking about his fantasy football value, right? But we're doing a show
12:42about fantasy football and the starting running back of one of the better offenses in the NFL
12:46being put in the commissioner's exempt list. There is a fantasy football impact. So I just want to be
12:51clear about that. Um, so relating to his fantasy football value, like the police report said there's
12:59videotape there, there's, we haven't seen it, but my guess, and my, it's, this is a hundred percent of
13:05a guess. My guess is that somebody has seen it. Um, that clearly the, I think the police have, and
13:12I
13:12wonder if the NFL or the green Bay Packers have, uh, because generally speaking, the NFL tends to like
13:18to let the legal process play out. And then, and then once, once the evidence has been gathered,
13:25once witnesses have been called, once a judgment and a ruling has been made, then the NFL will act
13:30if it's necessary to do so. So the fact that they preemptively put him on the commissioner's
13:36exempt list makes you feel like, um, it's that it's that, that, uh, the, the likely outcomes for
13:43Josh Jacobs's fantasy value this year is likely more negative than not as for Marshawn Lloyd.
13:49Like, again, I am as a mid tier, uh, running, uh, you know, I have him as a, you know,
13:53running back
13:53three kind of mid tier. I'm below guys that I feel better about like Bayshall Tootin or Jadarian
13:58price. I have actually price over Tootin, but you know, those guys, I feel better about their role
14:03and better about their talent, but I have my head of some of the committee guys ahead of the Ramon
14:07Dre, Travion Henderson guys, you know, those, those guys. And so, um, I have a 25 because we think
14:13Marshawn Lloyd is going to be good. And we like this offense, uh, over the last, since Matt LaFleur
14:18became the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Green Bay is fourth in running back fantasy points.
14:23A lot of that's Aaron Jones and Josh Jacobs. But I mean, again, his offense has produced
14:27good fantasy points for running backs. So we think we really like the role and the opportunity.
14:32We think he's going to be good, but we've never, to your point, Eric, we've never seen him be good
14:36in the NFL. So barely seen him be good in college, right? So there's definitely
14:43risk with Marshawn Lloyd this year. A hundred percent. I, um, and we don't have to spend too
14:47much time on Caleb Johnson, but just immediate thoughts on Caleb Johnson. They traded for him
14:50the day that he went on commissioner exempt. Yeah. That's running back depth. I mean, but like,
14:54you know, Caleb Johnson just has never done it in Pittsburgh, which was a pretty good run
14:58environment as well. So, I mean, I think he's, I think he's depth. I think you won't see him on
15:03the
15:03field unless something happens to Marshawn Lloyd. So we'll see, you know, but like, I don't, I'm not
15:09drafting Caleb Johnson. I'm not drafting Chris Brooks. Who's going to be more of the, you know,
15:13third down, you know, uh, role guy, you know, more blocking or, you know, pass protection, um,
15:20uh, than Marshawn Lloyd. So sticking with running backs, move on to the green, not sorry,
15:25move on to the new England Patriots. Um, we've seen Mike variable do some weird things with running
15:29backs previously. Um, I think we all remember Dion Lewis starting over Derek Henry for a long time.
15:34Um, are we looking at a, do we think that Ramondre Stevenson, Trayvon Henderson is a similar
15:40situation or do we think that this is just isolated where he just trusts Ramondre more
15:44than Trayvon Henderson? What's your view in new England right now? I think somewhere a little
15:48in between, to be honest with you. I think, um, uh, I have Ramondre ranked higher than Trayvon,
15:53although Trayvon is going higher in drafts than Ramondre. Trayvon made my hate list this year.
15:59Did you know, like, um, like, uh, a good percentage of, uh, I'm going to give you a
16:05great stat here. I'll give you just a, like a crazy stat. 26% of Trayvon Henderson's rushing
16:12yards last year came on four carries a quarter of his production was basically four carries again.
16:17He's got that big play, but like, you know, um, I don't know when it, when Stevenson in games
16:24in which Ramondre Stevenson played last year, Trayvon Henderson averaged just 11 touches a game
16:30and under 10 fantasy points per game, nine, nine and a half fantasy points a game, single digit
16:34fantasy points in games in which Ramondre Stevenson played. You think about the, their playoff run.
16:39It was all Ramondre. Oh yeah. Like they, they trust him more. They trust him more in pass pro
16:44Brable's, you know, a veterans coach that kind of, and Josh McDaniels, you know, when you think about
16:51him, you mentioned Dion Lewis. I mean, you think about whether, you know, James White and LeGarrette
16:55Blunt going back, like Josh McDaniels has always preferred multiple running backs. And so I just
17:01think Ramondre has the, the, the safer role, probably the touchdown role. Henderson's going
17:07to make some big plays and there'll be some, you know, weak winter type games, but just, it's,
17:11it's gonna be hard to predict when those are. And so, yeah, I'm down on Trayvon Henderson,
17:17uh, this year. And yes, I prefer Ramondre Stevenson, especially at costs. Cause he's
17:21going around and a half after Trayvon Henderson. I, uh, I was surprised that in love hate, a couple,
17:27uh, a couple of players that I thought that might be, might've been in the running. Um,
17:31if it's cool with you, I'll run through them. What your thoughts and staying with new England,
17:35AJ Brown. Um, I think that there was a little bit of the, uh, people were comparing AJ Brown being
17:41traded to new England to Randy Moss being traded to new England. Um, kind of mirroring it. What
17:47were your thoughts? Uh, AJ Brown trade, obviously he's being drafted really high, uh, in drafts.
17:51I believe he was top 20 on fantasy life's projections by McFarland. Yeah. And I have
17:56mids. I have wide receiver eight. So I'm in on AJ Brown this year. I really am look during his
18:01four
18:01seasons in Philadelphia, AJ Brown, no one in the NFL had more touchdown passes of 15 or more air yards
18:09than AJ Brown. Wow. And the stat just tell you, like, you can throw it, throw it deep and AJ's
18:14coming down with it. All right, fine. Last year, only one quarterback had a higher passer rating
18:20on passes of 15 or more air yards down the field than Drake May. By the way, no one had
18:27more
18:27touchdowns on, no one had, no one had more touchdown throws. He was tied for the lead. No one had
18:32more
18:33touchdown throws on, uh, passes of 15 or more air yards down the field than Drake May last year.
18:39Ergo, ipso facto. Therefore, yes, the Drake May to AJ Brown connection should be fruitful this year.
18:49I also think Eric, and I just, I'll detour here for one second real quickly. I think that too many
18:54people, and you, you obviously consume a lot of fantasy content. You're a writer yourself.
18:58I believe too many times in the world of sports and specifically the world of fantasy sports analysis
19:05that too many people are obsessed with the X's and O's. Too many people are obsessed with the numbers.
19:10And no one ever talks about the fact that these are not statistical pieces of meat. These are human
19:16beings and human beings, just like me and you have egos and they're petty and they're jealous and they're
19:22filled with love and they, you know, and they laugh and they're like, they're human beings with a wide
19:27range of emotions. And so I'm just saying that AJ Brown, who has this bad falling out with Philadelphia
19:34and he's on the bench reading a book and, you know, he's him and Jalen hurts. They're going back
19:39and forth on each other in the press and all these, you know, subdued things. And the Eagles are moving
19:43on from him. AJ Brown has a massive chip on his shoulder. Oh yeah. AJ Brown absolutely wants to be
19:49like, Oh yeah, Philadelphia watch this. And, um, and so I think he's just going to have an absolutely
19:57huge year. You also think about Drake may again, he's only been in the NFL for a couple of years.
20:01So it's small sample size, but like AJ Brown is the best wide receiver. Drake may's ever had
20:06land close. I mean like not even close. Like he had, you know, late stage career Stefan digs last year
20:11was the best, you know, best guy prior to AJ Brown. And I was getting peak AJ Brown. Yeah.
20:17All in on AJ Brown this year. Yep. Yep. Yeah. I'm with you on that. Um, and then, you know,
20:23somebody that I really liked out of college, Bayshall Tootin got a couple of shares of him
20:27late in drafts. Chris Rodriguez is over there. Was Bayshall Tootin in the running for, uh, for,
20:32uh, ride or die? I mean, he's a little bit low. He's, you know, I think he's running back like
20:3522
20:37on a fantasy life ranking. So where were you at on, uh, on Bayshall Tootin Jacksonville's,
20:42uh, very high volume offense, but there's Chris Rodriguez, uh, LaQuinn Allen seems
20:47to be getting some pass gets, you know, one of the best pass protecting backs in the league.
20:51So Tootin's not a shoe in there in the, in the passing game. So where are you at on Bayshall
20:55Tootin?
20:56Yeah, I like him. I mean, he made my others receiving boats on my love, hate, like, you know,
21:01he's had, he's had three games, literally only three games in his career where he's gotten at
21:05least 10 touches and he's posted at least 13 fantasy points in two of those. Right. And you mentioned
21:12the passing game. Well, the fact of the matter is Chris Rodriguez, Chris Rodriguez, the other
21:17competition there has played 35 career games. He's got six receptions in 35 career games. He's
21:23got six receptions. Chris Rodriguez is not going to be a factor in the passing down. And this is
21:27going to be one of the more passer heavy teams in the NFL. It's going to be a really good
21:30passing
21:31offense. Trevor Lawrence took, you know, turn the corner last year. And so, yeah, I'm in on Bayshall
21:36Tootin. I, I get that there's a trust factor with Chris Rodriguez, you know, Liam Cohen and Chris
21:41Rodriguez going back to their days together at Kentucky. I get that there's a trust factor there.
21:45And Rodriguez is a solid player, but like, he doesn't have the explosiveness. He doesn't have
21:50the upside or the juice of a Bayshall Tootin. So I'm in on Tootin. And you would know as good
21:54as
21:55anybody. Cause you're a Washington guy. I am. I am. I mean, listen, I'm a Washington guy and I was,
22:01I was not upset that we lost Chris Rodriguez. Again, nice player. He's fine, but like,
22:06it's not like, Oh yeah. Can't believe we lost that guy. Yeah. Yeah. I'd be the last time. I
22:11remember, I remember this time last year, we were talking pretty highly of Ja'Cory Krosky
22:15Merritt in Washington. Um, you know, where, where are we looking at him? I there's Katron Allen.
22:22There's, um, who's the other player that they shot white, Rashad white. And then it's Ja'Cory
22:26Krosky Merritt. Seems like it's going to be a full on committee. And then what Krosky Merritt's
22:30going to be the running guy and then white and passing downs. I think Krosky Merritt is the guy
22:34you're going to want. I think Bill has a chance to be the, to, you know, get 65, you know,
22:4170% of
22:41the snaps at running back. And you know what I think will be an above average offense. So I know
22:45they really like him and the buzz is heated up in the preseason. No, it also heated up last year
22:50in
22:50the preseason. Katron Allen's really interesting. They wanted a thumper. I know that. And so he's
22:55somebody that's productive and there's an easy path to see him getting significant carry. So I,
23:01I do like Katron Allen as a late run sleeper. He's been one of the guys that I've drafted, but
23:05I have a lot of Bill, George Krosky Merritt, you know, everyone calls him Bill. I have a lot of
23:10Bill
23:10this year as well, because, you know, that uncertainty is baked into the price. He's going
23:14in the, you know, seventh, eighth round. Um, and I think, you know, he's got a better than average
23:19shot to be, you know, the lead running back, or at least the, you know, uh, getting the majority of
23:24the
23:24work, if not all of the work for what should be a better than average offense. Remember David Blau,
23:31um, is the new offensive coordinator in Washington, former NFL quarterback, David Blau, you know, was
23:36on, was in Detroit. Basically Blau is going to run Ben Johnson's system. It's the, it's the same
23:42kind of offense. And that's an offense that's predicated on running the ball. Um, so, uh, yeah,
23:48I'm, I'm cautiously optimistic on Jicori Krosky Merritt. Well, all right, fair enough. And then,
23:53so let's move on to the New York teams, big blue and the Jets. So we'll start with Giants.
23:58Um, John Harbaugh is in the building. Now we got Jackson Dart, who seemingly can't avoid getting
24:02hit. Cam Scadaboo loves getting contact, maybe to a fault. Um, what are we doing with this Giants
24:08offense? Are we bullish on them? Are we, are we down on them just in general, fantasy football,
24:14not fancy football. And where are we at with the Giants in terms of their offense? Cause I don't,
24:18I have no idea. Yeah. I'm cautiously optimistic. I mean,
24:21I have Jackson Dart as a top 12 quarterback in fantasy, obviously needs to stay healthy,
24:25but you know, um, when you think about the production he had last year without Malik
24:29neighbors and without some of the weapons that have been added this year, I think it, I think,
24:33uh, and the rushing kind of, it becomes really interesting. So I have Dart as a top 12 play this,
24:38uh, this year, a lot of the offense is going to depend on Malik neighbor's health. Um, but
24:42assuming he's healthy, it seems like he's made a ton of progress, but assuming he's healthy. I mean,
24:47I, I have Malik neighbors as a, you know, as a wide receiver one, as a, you know, uh, top
24:5112 fantasy
24:52wide receiver this year. And, um, you know, who I love, I've been drafting a lot of, like, if you
24:58wait on tight end, Isaiah likely, like I've one of my attitudes toward the tight end position this
25:04year is I want to be either one of the first guys in my league to get a tight end
25:07or one of the last,
25:08like I, I like Bowers McBride, Colston Loveland. I have a ton of Colston Loveland. I love Loveland in
25:15the fourth all day, every day. Um, and then, you know, and then after, uh, Loveland, it's Tyler
25:21Warren and, uh, Tucker craft at five. Uh, but if I don't get one of those guys, you know,
25:29Isaiah likely is going like a tight end 12 and I, I'm at, I'm higher than that. I'm tight in
25:3310,
25:33but the fact is, is I just, I think he's going to be the number two pass catcher for what's
25:38going
25:38to be in a, you know, a solid passing offense. I'm not really, I don't know that there's another,
25:44you know, we've heard a little bit of buzz about Malachi Fields, but you know, you've got Darius
25:48Slayton there and Becca, like, it just, it just feels like, I feel like the passing offense is
25:53going to run through neighbors and then likely. So I think both guys are really interesting here as
25:58well. The thing on camp Scadaboo is that, you know, some, one of the rumors is that Najee Harris,
26:03who the Giants just signed is going to have a decent role here and not a role that where you
26:08would feel like good about starting Najee Harris, but a role where enough that it would make you
26:12feel like, ah, I don't know if I want to invest an early round pick on Scadaboo just because,
26:16you know, he's going to, uh, Harris is going to take away some high, uh, high value touches.
26:24And Scadaboo's also got an injury history, of course. I don't know. So it's just, um,
26:28um, that's where I'm at. I think from an NFL perspective, I think if I was a New York Giants
26:33fan, I would be cautiously optimistic. I don't think this is your year. I think it's going to
26:37be the Eagles, Cowboys, maybe the commanders that are in the mix for the title. But, but I will say,
26:42I do think there'll be significantly improved from last year. I think they're just going to be a pain
26:45in the butt to play. I think they're going to lose a lot of games this year, like by like
26:49three,
26:49four points. The other team is just like, ah, thank God. I know. But like, you know what I mean?
26:54But like, I feel like with it, with, with, you know, you know, question marks about the offense
27:00coordinator. I don't know that I'm the biggest fan there, but, um, you know, Harbaugh brings
27:05stability to the franchise, which I think it needed. Um, so, uh, you know, and somebody that can look the
27:12owners in the eye and say like, nah, we're doing it this way or whatever, the front office, you know,
27:16cause he's got that kind of gravitas. And so, um, uh, I, I'd be cautiously optimistic as a Giants
27:22fan, because, you know, I think they're heading in the right direction. There's clearly a plan in
27:25place and they're following it. You mentioned Najee Harris. It feels like you, if you waited a week to
27:30sign that contract, he'd be the Packers starting running back right now. Right. Oh my goodness. I'm sure
27:35he's kicking himself right now. Now, you know, although, you know, Giants, not the worst situation
27:38either, uh, Jets, we got Gino, we got Brees Hall, Greer Wilson, should be good offensive line.
27:47They should have time to throw at least. Yeah. You have that. Um, and you know, maybe they'll
27:52be down a lot. So we bullish on the Jets. Bullish is a little strong of a word there, Eric.
27:57I will say
27:58that, um, uh, I will say, I think there's value to be had with the Jets. You know, I think
28:03I like
28:04Brees Hall. I like, I like, you know, I like where Brees Hall goes, right? Brees Hall is, you know,
28:10kind of, uh, um, you know, around three guy, um, late round three. So I like him since I'm seeing
28:16slip to the fourth. So I like Brees Hall who I think, you know, um, he's going to touch the
28:21ball
28:21a lot. Uh, Garrett Wilson, I think top 20 wide receiver. Okay. Great. Um, I also, by the way,
28:27I'm hearing a ton of buzz about Adonai Mitchell, 80 Mitchell for the number two wide receiver spot
28:33on the Jets. This is a guy that, you know, was a highly thought of draft pick great in college,
28:39went to Indianapolis, had the bad play where he fumbled at the goal line, right. Just before he
28:43walked in, you know, got, went very viral. And so I just think a fresh start for him was very
28:49helpful.
28:51And again, I just keep hearing from my people that have been to Jets camp and saying, just saying like,
28:56dude, this guy is, um, he's awesome. So I think he's interesting. I think he, I have a lot of
29:03Adonai Mitchell this year as a kind of a late round flyer. So I think that's about it. I don't
29:09know that, uh, Geno Smith is going to be a fantasy relevant quarterback. He just needs to be competent
29:14enough to get the ball to the guys we do care about. And I do think that, you know, Kenya
29:19Sadiq banged
29:19up, but so he's missed a bunch of, uh, camp. And so, you know, and Mason Taylor is solid. So
29:25I think they'll cancel each other out. I don't know either that either of them have, uh, fantasy
29:30value this year, unless you knew one was getting all the, uh, work run me through, uh, some sleepers,
29:36uh, before we, uh, before we wrap, we give me your top three favorite sleepers. I'm sure you got a
29:42list of 15, 20, maybe pick three, um, who you like, maybe running back wide receiver, a tight end
29:50quarterback, throw one of each in there. Even let's do that. Let's do, I'll throw one of each.
29:54Yeah. Um, in terms of sleeper quarterbacks, um, I already mentioned Tyler Shuck, who I'm excited
30:00about this year. Um, I mean, I think Malik Willis is the obvious answer there in terms of,
30:06you know, the fact that we know there's a floor there because the rushing, right. You know,
30:10he's averaging over 40 rushing yards a game per his career. But like, as long as I was using this
30:15the other day on the show, on my show, but as long as he's like just normal, bad and not
30:21like
30:22excessively bad, not like historically bad, but as long as he's just, as long as the dolphins are
30:26just like normal, bad be fine. He's going to, there'll be throwing a lot. He'll be running a
30:31lot. Um, yeah. So I like Malik Willis as a late round quarterback sleeper in terms of running back
30:37sleeper. It's Jonah Coleman for me. I have a lot of Keith Mitchell. Those are my two most drafted
30:42late round quarterbacks or running backs. I should say, but Jonah Coleman really talented player,
30:47loved his college tape. And then you think about Sean Payton and this offense, Davis web,
30:53Davis web going to call the plays for the giants. But, um, uh, you know, JK Dobbins,
31:01much as we like JK Dobbins, he's never played all 17 games in an NFL career. He never has
31:06seven years. He's never been able to stay healthy. They don't believe in RJ Harvey as a lead running
31:10back. You know, he didn't profile that coming out of college. And then, you know, when Dobbins got hurt
31:15last year and they had to use Harvey on the way to the Superbowl, um, or the, on the way
31:20to the AFC
31:20championship, I should say, like he wasn't good. He wasn't efficient. He scored a lot of touchdowns
31:25because they gave him some gimmies, but like he wasn't the underlying metrics are ugly. And so I
31:29think there's a pretty clear path to Jonah Coleman, finding his way on the field, especially in a
31:34Peyton offense, which uses multiple running backs. So really like, I think Joe, I've said this many times
31:39on my show. I think Jonah Coleman is the starting running back of the Denver Broncos over the second
31:43half of the year. Oh, wow. I really think skyrocket his ADP. Right. I do think, um, I also think
31:50Keaton Mitchell is kind of interesting. Um, just, I think they're going to be really creative with him.
31:55Mike McDaniel, I think is such a good run game designer that I do think, uh, keep Mitchell could
32:00be interesting, especially in PPR leagues in terms of what, in terms of wide receiver, I don't know how
32:07deep you want to go. Um, but you know, somebody that's, uh, let's see. Um, how about, I mean,
32:19like we mentioned, you know, the, the Miami mentioned Adnay Mitchell as a late round sleeper.
32:24Um, I like him, I would say, uh, you know, I like Casey Concepcion. I like, but, um, how about,
32:31you know, yeah. I mean, by the way, I mean, Josh Downs goes way too late. Um, I really like
32:36Casey Concepcion, uh, Jacoby lane, having a good camp as well. But if you want one guy from me,
32:41how about Wondell Robinson? Ooh, got a lot of people that would be happy to hear that.
32:47Huh? This is Brian Dayball gave him 140 targets each of the last two years. And then he went to
32:51Tennessee and he said, Hey, Wondell, here's $17 million to come join me on the Titans.
32:56What do you think is getting targets in Tennessee again? And also, you know, I know they drafted
33:01Carnell Tate, um, and they got Shamari DK there. I like Gunnar Helm, their rookie tight,
33:06their second year tight end. I like him a lot too, but I just think in terms of this offense,
33:10in terms of professionalism, in terms of like Cam Ward has not been great deep in the preseason.
33:15So, I mean, Wondell Robinson, I think once again, it's going to be a PPR scam artist.
33:19You know, there's no question. And, um, and then finally at tight end, I just mentioned,
33:23I just mentioned Gunnar Helm, but, um, you know, and I mentioned Isaiah Likely,
33:27but somewhere between that, look, I think Dalton Kincaid has a big year. Uh, you know,
33:32I think he's fully healthy. I think he has a big year and give me some Juwan Johnson.
33:36Again, no Jordan Tyson, Tyler Shuck, Tyler Shuck was top 10 in the NFL in passing yards per game.
33:42Once he took over as the starter in the second half of the year, top 10 in passing yards per
33:46game.
33:47They've got Chris Olave and not much else until Jordan Tyson gets back. All due respect to Devon
33:52Vele. Um, so yeah, give me some Juwan Johnson here. Um, I also think Chigakonkwo is interesting
33:59in Washington, not to Homer out a little bit, but I was always interested in him in Tennessee.
34:03I think that there's the athleticism there that could kind of, that kind of carries him a little
34:07bit. And if he just refines the route running a little bit, I think that he is a good, a
34:11good
34:11get, uh, for Washington. Yeah, I agree. Um, but that's it, Mr. Barry, you're very nice with your
34:17time. As always, I really appreciate you. Fantasylife.com, all of his, uh, written
34:22work, his podcast, obviously the fantasy football happy hour. Yeah, go ahead.
34:26Can I, I want to pro one, two things, two other things real quickly, which, um, so we
34:30talked about fantasy life plus up at the top, Alex cups, uh, Zane Dhani, by the way, also
34:35former, former Dana scientists, scientists work with professional teams. He's with us now
34:40as well. Great analysts. Um, uh, uh, but one of the, we just announced this today. So Eric,
34:48Eric, and you're eligible for this, would you like to win $25,000 just for playing fantasy
34:54football? Is that something I could interest you in? Uh, yes, absolutely. In the words of
34:59an entourage way. Yes. Is that something I'd be interested in? Yes, exactly. I always love
35:04that reference. Um, so, uh, so here's what you do. You're going to go to mikeshard.com slash
35:11sweepstakes slash fantasy football because Mike's harder. They're the official, um, uh, presenting
35:16sponsor of guillotine leagues.com guillotine league for people that don't know unbelievable
35:21way to play fantasy for super fun, have a league like normal, drop the team like normal,
35:25start a lineup like normal, two twists at the end of the first week, the team with the
35:29lowest score in the league gets cut, chopped dead, their season's over. And then you just
35:34keep repeating that until only a guillotine, right? That's cuts you off. You keep repeating
35:39that until only one team remains. Okay. The other big twist is all the, once the team that
35:45gets cut each week, all the players on their team go back into the free agent pool. So
35:49now you're, you have a thousand dollars of fake money that you're bidding on them. You
35:52got to hold it on for the entire year, but, um, and you know, you don't get any more, but,
35:57uh, you know, you can, it's week six and like Jamar chase and, you know, Josh Allen on the
36:03waiver wire. It's, it's makes waivers really fun every single week. Yeah. Okay. So if you
36:08go to Mike's hard.com slash sweepstakes slash fantasy football, you can sign up for a Mike's
36:15harder guillotine league. And, uh, if you survive the chop, if you are the winner of that league
36:23at the end of the year, all the winners of all the leagues are going to be put into a
36:27drawing and somebody is getting $25,000. So you get to play for free. You get to compete
36:33for $25,000 and oh, by the way, there'd be a lot of weekly prizes as well. And now you
36:38need to be 21 years or older, all, you know, rules apply, blah, blah, blah. Check it out
36:42on Mike's hard, uh, Mike's hard.com. But, um, it's a, that's a big initiative for us that
36:48we're very excited about that. And the, as I mentioned, the, the launching of the Amazon
36:53fast channel. So you can check out all of our fantasy life content, including my show on
36:56Amazon fire TV. And I believe Amazon prime is coming in the next week or two. So we're excited
37:02about that. Yeah. Almost up. We'll make sure you get the link in there, uh, for the Mike's
37:06harder, uh, fancy football contest, but, uh, yeah, we'll talk again, I'm sure, but I appreciate
37:11you and, uh, yeah, best of luck this season and, uh, best of luck to everybody out there.
37:15Let's, let's have a fun year and good luck in draft this time. Hopefully this helped you
37:18out. Thanks. Fantastic. Thanks, Eric.