Fantasy Football - NFC East Breakdown + Training Camp Begins! - Podcast for 7/22

16:43Jason Moore:Yes, yes. Just so you know, by the end of this episode, I will be the only one picking the Eagles to win the division. You're right.

16:49Mike Wright:The Eagles were 14-3. The Commanders 12-5. You're fiery today. And Dallas was 7-10 last year. The Giants 3-14. there's a 302 point differential from first to fourth and um that's that's a lot yep but things change year over year and we'll start with philadelphia the odds going into last year very tight between philadelphia and dallas philly was plus 100 dallas was plus 150 the commanders way down at plus 800 and the giants at the bottom so you know the eagles 14 and 3 won a super bowl eight and two and one score games their win total going into last year was 10 and a half vegas gave them that they won 14 this year it's at 11 and a half according to our friend warren sharp they have the fourth hardest schedule for 2025 but you know it was their year they're the champs yeah you guys saw the new rings that they got the championship rings those things are absurd like they're are you worried that they're gonna break you know those little wings come out and it did feel you push a button and some wings pop out of the ring the the little wing pop out felt cheap oh yeah like a like a gadget like a gimmick on a something you find in a cereal box yeah i thought they were kind of cool okay i mean i mean the rings are not they're almost they're so close to not rings you know what i mean they're so humongous yeah they're borderline helmets that right they're just gigantic uh but yeah that's enough ammo for the eagles fans to hate us that we kind of talked about the rings negatively but last year 15 points per game eighth in total yards per game but the defense you know the defense was number one in total yards given up in terms of they gave up the least and the gap between what they gave up in the second place team was the largest gap in the last decade so houston was number two in total yards given up but Philly was number one and it it really their defense just they're so good it just solidified it wasn't that way at the very very beginning of the year but it happened really quickly they invested in in young corners and secondary pieces and they just really dictated terms the rest of

19:05Jason Moore:the way all the way to the Super Bowl yeah I mean they got two incredible rookie secondary members that I mean that took them to the Super Bowl so obviously they got better as time went on and And you would think that their defense could even get better this year going into year two for those players. I think the Eagles have the best roster on both sides of the ball of the entire NFL, personally. And I love that they have a hard strength of schedule. Because one of the most frustrating things last year with this great team, especially down the stretch, was that from the passing game, you'd get a half.

19:41Jason Moore:You know, if you had Jalen Hurts, if you had A.J. Brown or Devontae Smith, it was like you get off to a strong start. You feel like, oh, I'm going to crush this week. And then it was just Saquon the whole second half because they're, you know, they had 160 point point differential this last year. So I'm hoping they're in a little bit more difficult games. Other teams that can keep up with them. You know, obviously, Dallas, if Dak is there, that will be helpful to not have to play, you know, Dak-less football twice a year. They play Kansas City this year. So they've got some teams that I think can score on them.

20:17Mike Wright:They were, just to kind of put numbers around that, Jay, they were the number one rushing team in terms of rushing percentage and dead last in passing. And you love their defense. I love their defense. They're number one in the UDK. Their defense is number one for me. And that does, I mean, we've had this conversation with several teams that have good defenses, whether it's Detroit getting injured players back, although they just lost a defensive tackle for the year. The Chiefs. The Chiefs, yeah. Like when you have that situation that you can win on defense and by running the football, which, look, the Chiefs, they can't necessarily win by running the football.

20:56Mike Wright:Sometimes they run through the air. They're running back pieces. It's not Saquon. Right now, going into the season, they just won a Super Bowl with this recipe, and this recipe should be what they're doing in the future yes they replaced their offensive coordinator um but patulo wants to do the exact same thing been with sirianni for years if i'm philadelphia i am certainly not changing what i'm doing on offense unless i'm forced to do it which is what you're saying with some of the schedule stuff but at the same time predictability wise i'm going in expecting a heavy dose of saquon tush push um picking my spots in the passing game when I need them.

21:38Mike Wright:And so that's kind of the gamble with AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and Jalen Hurts in general is the wide receiver utilization. When you pass the least in football, it's not as attractive in drafts. Correct. Devonta Smith's kind of more attractive because the value on him seems to be there. But AJ Brown's the one that's harder for people to move up into the upper echelon and give him his like as a as a talent he belongs in the same conversation with Amon Ra and these guys but as a piece of this offense the volume it does make

22:15Jason Moore:you hesitate at times it does where he's being drafted like I don't I don't blame anyone for where he's going in the draft he is usually like that next best wide receiver off the board but you can see the path for what happened down the stretch where you just have a lot of disappearing

22:30Mike Wright:games and obviously his talent numbers there from rich rebar 2.5 targets per game in the second

22:36Jason Moore:half of seasons dude that's exactly come on other teams be better but five in the first half which

22:42Mike Wright:was like fifth so his first half targets great second half you don't need to 32 total targets in the second half malik neighbors who was trailing in almost every game 98 i will say this

22:54Jason Moore:i would rather have a player who is part of the reason they don't need to pass in the second half Yeah. You know, it's like a lot of times in former years, I should say, we don't do this that much anymore as as an industry. But it used to be like, oh, you want the garbage time or, you know, you think that garbage time players are bad. But it's like if your team is scoring points to get to the point where you're doing this, then, yeah, maybe A.J. Brown had 100 and a touchdown in the first half. And you're disappointed in the second half that you didn't get more. But he you know, he's a great player.

23:27Jason Moore:And then obviously, with either of these guys, with A.J. Brown, with Devontae Smith, if either one go down to an injury, the other becomes so valuable.

23:38Mike Wright:I mean, they were in the Super Bowl two years ago, and 14-3 that season as well. They had a little bit of a regression into second place in the East, 11-6, lost in the wild card. Teams are going to have that game circled, everyone on their calendar. So in that regard, what they did last year was like a historically low pass rate. Yes. It was like the third lowest in the last 10 years. So at least you could expect it to flip a little bit. Also, that comes part and parcel with – they were very fortunate injury-wise last year. Like Saquon Barkley. Super Bowl winners generally are. I mean, Super Bowl Barkley had 378 carries in the regular season and 104 more in the playoffs.

24:20So I think that's the question now is what are you doing with Saquon Barkley? And no, this is not bypassing Barkley by any means. This is a, let's say you're at the 102 and Jamar Chase goes off. Like, are you actively seeking Saquon Barkley? Or are you just when you're slotted for him? Because he's right now is at the 103. three but some people want Bijan and some people want Barkley if you have the the choice between the two of them do you is it a definitive I'm going Bijan or I'm going Saquon Barkley for me

24:58Jason Moore:it's a definitive Barkley a definitive Bijan well that's because he's yeah right because he's Superman can't get injured this coming season but um yeah I mean I the workload of Saquon is both awesome and awful it's it's what you dream of for fantasy and if he can handle that another year in a row then he should be the first running back picked the the numbers say sorry did you want to I was just gonna say but when you have that level of volume the chances that you're going to play a full season the next year is is you know it goes down especially for an older running back it's not like he's cut you know he's a 24 year old back coming off of you know 350 carries this is You know, he's 28.

25:39Jason Moore:He's 28 and a half.

25:41Mike Wright:So historically speaking, since 2020, 10 running backs have seen 330 or more touches in a season. Saquon saw 378. All saw a decrease of at least 45 or more touches the following year. And only two played a full season. So two of the 10 played a full season. So that's what you have. Look, it's really, this is what makes draft season so difficult. because you always have to come face-to-face with what you should do based on last year and taking a leap on what you expect to happen this year. Bijan is my number one. I would take him. But it's not going to feel cozy. Bypassing Saquon will not feel good.

26:25That's what I mean. Because you are only – Are you just taking him when you're slotted?

26:28Mike Wright:There's just no way that you don't feel like you could be missing out on what he did last year, which you could be. You absolutely could be. so which is what 2000 rushing yards yeah and he could have he could have broken the record is this you petitioning the crowd for your 101 in our league of record draft what's where you have saquon barkley you have to make this decision i do i mean thankfully i have my number one running back already on as one of my keepers which is christian okay okay so i don't have to decide who the number one is, but I have to figure out who the number two is. You get to throw CMC and one of those two guys on your team.

27:05Jason Moore:I will say based on

27:06Mike Wright:you should trade for the 102 and get all three.

27:08Jason Moore:Based on this specific conversation end of drafts personally I am targeting Will Shipley. That appears to be the primary backup like Kenneth Gainwell is gone. You think it'll be Will Shipley over AJ Dillon? Beat reporters right now are saying AJ Dillon's not even a lock to make the roster and if he is on the roster i don't think i think he's going to be more of a specialist so

27:34Mike Wright:um by the way both times mcafree was the number one quarterback he was injured the following year running back yeah running back in his two adventures to the tippy top yeah the will shipley versus aj dillon that one's just that's tough for me i liked will shipley the prospect but 5 11 209 fourth round pick i don't know that i'm not sure how that will actually shake out He had a nice long playoff run. Is that worth something? Nope. All right. So we've talked about the wideouts. We've talked about the running back situation. Laid it out there. I mean, Saquon was unbelievable. The offensive line is still number one in the league.

28:15Mike Wright:So everything's in front of him. If he stays healthy, he should be insanely productive. And it's, you know, I'm not actively trying to avoid him by any means. It's just, I got to take Saquon over Gibbs. Me too. That's happening. So he's just a one-two decision. Jalen Hurts right now going as the QB4 in the fourth round.

28:36Jason Moore:Which I think is decent value. To me, I look at Lamar as the number one quarterback. And then Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and even Jaden Daniels to me are all about the same.

28:51Mike Wright:Dallas Goddard is still on the team. Somehow, someway. And they start the year Dallas at home against Dallas. That's fun. Yeah. Then at Kansas City, then the Rams, then Tampa. That is four brutal.

29:06Jason Moore:Fourth hardest schedule on the entire season. So that makes sense.

29:09Mike Wright:Three division winners and then Dallas. That's what you want.

29:12Jason Moore:That's what you want when you're this good of a team. You need teams that can challenge them.

29:16Mike Wright:So right now they are the favorites to repeat as NFC champions and slightly behind the Bills. and my pick, the Ravens, for the Super Bowl. All right, we'll take a break and talk, Commanders.

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31:47Mike Wright:all right back into our nfc east divisional breakdown the washington commanders were the surprise story of the last season eight more games than they had won in 2023 they went into the year projected to win six and a half they won 12 it's the second largest year-to-year jump over the last decade but only one of the 12 regular season wins came against the playoff team and we've kind of talked about the fact that they had a really juicy schedule it was a nice situation for last year yeah last year for for the commanders to you know for for jayden daniels to have his coming out party it was a nice schedule for that in fact if you remember like they beat i think they beat cincinnati and burrow in week three like that was one of their big games when jayden daniels kind of center staged it and they were eight and four and one score games they're middle of the pack and schedule difficulty this year 14th hardest um you know i think this team is really really interesting to talk about in general because you know we all love jayden daniels and i actually think like i think jaden daniels is appropriately priced in fantasy despite the fact he is being drafted higher than any other sophomore quarterback in history but if you look at the names if you want to talk about what's happened with these rookie quarterbacks that have had breakout campaigns and then you go into that sophomore season our most recent history is frustration with cj strout but you go back years before and if you don't you know if you're not looking at like injuries Kyler Murray jumped from number five to number two.

33:31Mike Wright:Herbert from seven to two. Lamar Jackson from 11 to one. Jalen Hurts from 12 to nine. It was a better-than-where-you-drafted-them outcome for the guys that you truly believe to be special difference makers who ran the football. Those guys could run. And so, to me, I don't have any problem with him priced as the QB3 at 305 because he's one of the few that could be number one.

33:56Jason Moore:Yeah, to me, that whole group that I just mentioned with Jalen Hurts, I could take them in any order. So, you know, Burrow is interesting because he's not a mobile rushing quarterback. You know, last year, Jaden Daniels had a very special year on an extremely easy schedule. And so he finished as the quarterback five. So now you're expecting, when you're drafting him as the third, you are expecting him to go north. But I think the best comp there, and this was a comp we talked about going into rookie year, is Kyler Murray. He's playing with the same head coach or the offensive coach that Kyler had in his rookie season and his sophomore season.

34:34Jason Moore:So a jump up, totally not going to be surprising. I will point out that while the regular season schedule was easy, they did win two road playoff games. They beat Tampa, where Jay Daniels was 268-2, 36 yards on the ground. They beat Detroit on the road, 299-2, 51 yards on the ground. Kind of got, I mean, if you remember, the final score of the Philadelphia game that turned into a shellacking. But Jaden was like, I think he really is the truth.

35:05Mike Wright:And I want to point out something I've mentioned probably a couple months ago. From the midpoint of the season, this passing offense, Jaden Daniels' passing numbers, he was on pace for 4 ,000 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns so if you you know and it makes sense that it would have come along a little slower on that front when he has the tools that he has in the running game he's just a very very capable that you know he was the number one overall quarterback on a week they played Philadelphia in that defense that we just talked about that's the

35:39Jason Moore:argument for why you would take him over Jalen Hurts even over Josh Allen like these guys you know what Jalen Hurts is Jalen Hurts gonna be a top five quarterback unless he's injured he's going to be very consistent but he's not going to go out there and absolutely be the one where at the end of the year you go oh I had that was the I had the 2025 Jalen Hurts so obviously I was one of the people that just won the championship like a couple years ago when Christian McCaffrey was in 50 percent of all you know Lamar Jackson can do that and that's what you're hoping here with with Jaden Daniels is that you just haven't even seen his true upside so if you're taking an early quarterback i think that's where you're that's why you're saying you don't have any problem with taking him as the quarterback three because there is a chance that he is a runaway quarterback one yes you know ahead of everyone unless terry mclaurin doesn't play if terry mclaurin is

36:30Mike Wright:removed from the equation which right now look i i expect them to figure that out i really do that they can't afford not to this is not the snyder commanders anymore this is a different organization I can't imagine the momentum that they have that they don't get Terry McLaurin, a leader in the locker room, on the field. But it's not right now, and at some point you will worry about it. I'm not worried about it on July 22nd, but eventually I will be. And that's a variable in place for Jaden Daniels that isn't there for somebody else. But, you know, they added Debo to the offense. I mean, that was the big offseason offensive addition.

37:13Mike Wright:So if you do have McLaurin back and you add Debo and you still brought back Ertz and you have, go ahead, the senator, been Senate at tight end, available if needed, and you've got really talented pass-catching running back in Austin Eckler and capable running back Brian Robinson. I thought you were pointing at me for Eckler. Would you like me to? Well, I just – thank you for pointing. Yes. So it's now my turn to talk. There are certain teams you attack who are not having their running backs drafted in the top 24. These are the real ambiguous. They're often unsexy picks. But this is a team that's going to score so, so many points.

37:55I mean, where were they in? They were sixth in points per game last year. Fifth in yards.

38:01Mike Wright:And they only passed the ball. They did not pass it over the course of the season very much. They were like the fifth lowest. And you have Brian Robinson Jr. going outside of the top 30 running backs, and he had 42 carries inside the 20. You have Austin Eckler, who, again, he's old. He's 30 years old for a running back that is very old. However, among running backs with 100 or more touches, he led all of them in yards per touch. He still had some juice, especially in the receiving game. So if I have multiple leagues, I'm taking multiple chances on this backfield. Some teams I'll take Robinson and the other ones I'll wait on Eckler.

38:41I think if I only am taking one, I think Eckler's the guy I want to take the chance on just in case the defense is a little bit worse and this offense has to put up points and they're going to get Eckler on the field. But both of them are worthy picks at their ADP.

39:00Jason Moore:With the exception of I would prefer to have the 26-year-old touchdown. I would rather have Brian Robinson over Eckler. That being said, I completely echo everything you're saying. Everybody should be taking one of these. You Eckler. It was popping into my head.

39:18Mike Wright:I just let it go.

39:19Jason Moore:You should be taking one of these guys. They don't cost you much.

39:24Mike Wright:Their price wouldn't be this price if they weren't both on this team either. It's like a combination of feeling a little bit like it's a couple of unsexy players, but they're on a really talented offense.

39:37Jason Moore:I mean, Brian Robinson finished as the running back 29 last year, missed a handful of games. He's being drafted outside of that. Yeah.

39:44Mike Wright:42 carries inside the 20, same as Chuba Hubbard. Seven touchdowns inside the 10, same as Jonathan Taylor.

39:51Jason Moore:And remember, Cliff Kingsbury knows one play. When you get down to that goal, it's like run up the middle. That's not going to be Austin Eckler. That's going to be Brian Robinson. Eckler's game log, it seemed like things were really starting to get moving, and then he missed an entire month there towards the end of the year, which is a danger of him being a 30-year-old running back. But both of those guys are fascinating at ADP.

40:20Mike Wright:7, 4, 5, 5, 4. Those are numbers. Those are the touchdown numbers of Terry McLaurin before last season. 13 was what he put up with jayden daniels do we we need more volume though do we worry i mean we brought it up but this is your team overview mclaurin's one of the most obvious regression candidates when it comes to total touchdowns so if he doesn't get more volume if he's there and he doesn't get more volume 13 is a tough number to match especially just his you know adding devo to the offense and and everything so he mclaurin is one of 10 wide receivers since 2000 with 13 or more receiving touchdowns with fewer than 125 targets that's what we're talking about we need more volume the list of guys that you you have the next season data on they there's one year where mike evans improved in in touchdowns the next year everybody else lost touchdowns and a lot of them like a catastrophic amount of touchdowns if you had to lock debo or eckler into your flex for the season in this offense oh man would you lock in eighth round pick Debo Samuel I I would go with Eckler I Debo is so difficult uh having like watching him last year was difficult so that's where I'm I'm concerned of is Debo are we done like career lows in yards after can he get back to anything that he was because he was he was a special player because of his yards after catch and like he wasn't out there just you know the tactician roasting people making defenders fall over he's just like you can't tackle me because i'm debo but if we if that superpower is gone which the 49ers at least yeah exactly i mean the 49ers were like he's he's not worth it yeah and he kind of got phased out of the offense too when those big

42:17Jason Moore:bodied, you know, hulking wide receivers who are dominant and great when they hit that wall. You know, Andre Johnson was the best wide receiver in football. And then the next year is like, oh, he lost a step and he's not good anymore. Anquan didn't.

42:33Mike Wright:Anquan Bolden forever.

42:34Jason Moore:Oh, Anquan Bolden. I mean, that is the comp for Debo. That's a real man. So, where do you stand on that? Would you rather...

42:43Mike Wright:Debo just doesn't feel like a wide receiver that will be on any of my teams in any situation. I just don't see the upside. They don't pass it enough.

42:50Jason Moore:I was going to say the volume. The volume's not going to be there for him. Honestly, I feel like Terry McLaurin's not going to be on a lot of my teams simply because the touchdown stuff... Good lord, the game log for Debo is so much worse than I remember. Oh! A lot of red? How about this? Okay, so after their bye week, week nine, week ten, ten fantasy points. That's pretty good. That's okay. Four, two and a half, two, four and a half three and a half huge game against miami and these are like he's playing in all of these games it oh man no i'm i'm with you andy i don't you know what i just don't unless you're

43:30Mike Wright:in a league i wouldn't i want to take something with higher upside in the eighth round that's all i'm saying if you're if your league is just like we're we're not really interested in debone he's dropping to one of the into a double digit round okay i'll take a chance but i what's very

43:44Jason Moore:Funny about Terry McLaurin, he was an A in consistency, but he was so freaking lucky last year. The touchdowns, we know that that was a large percentage of his fantasy points, but they just happened to come in the weirdest ways. He would have a game with 125 yards, no touchdowns, so it was a good fantasy game. Then he'd have a game with 19 yards, two touchdowns. All of his touchdowns came in these small yardage games, so he looks really consistent, but actually if you look at like the volume and the yardage just yardage he was he was not very consistent so i i worry about both of these guys where they're being drafted despite liking the

44:22Mike Wright:offense yeah it sucks because it always feels when you're in the draft it feels disrespectful to terry mclaren for what he did yeah but this is this is fantasy realities versus nfl realities like this team is not going to succeed without him but for fantasy purposes but your fantasy team can Yeah, your fancy team can. So Dallas was 7-10. It was a hugely disappointing season overall. They were projected to win 10 games. They won 7. They had the worst point differential by a Cowboys team since 1989.

44:55Mike Wright:And, yeah, their DAC was gone. Oh, no DAC.

45:00Jason Moore:Oh, boy. That's going to hurt. I mean, Boston. Two years ago when we were doing this show last year, I mean, you talked about it with the Eagles at the top of this segment, but it was anybody's division. The Eagles and the Cowboys were seen as just a coin flip. And I feel like we are not giving the Cowboys enough credit simply because we saw how bad they were without their quarterback last year.

45:28Mike Wright:Without looking, do you know their win totals? I do not. Because I'd love to know if you could just guess them. I would guess. For 2025 Dallas win total.

45:35Jason Moore:9.5 would be my guess. I'll go 8.5.

45:38Mike Wright:Yeah, you're both wrong. Ooh, are we too low? Too high? You're too high. What? Ooh. Unless this has been changed, it's 7.5 is what I have.

45:45Jason Moore:Kyle, is that right? 7.5? 7.5. They won seven games last year. As a starter, a full-time starter, Dak was 3-4 last year.

45:56Mike Wright:And this is a team that, I mean, look, you look at the offseason additions, they don't impress you. george pickens yeah okay cool when i like you added george needed him then you added javante williams and miles sanders okay all right well neat but that makes for fantasy that makes me love these wide receivers if i'm vegas and i'm looking at this and i want to justify seven and a half and why i got there it's you got a new head coach brian schottenheimer never been a head coach you've got dac who is frequently injured right it's happened you've got a defense that regressed massively. I mean, just they were terrible.

46:28Mike Wright:They were one of the worst in the league. You lost Zach Martin. And you lost Zach Martin. And now you have a division that suddenly hello, Jaden Daniels, future, what, perennial MVP candidate potentially? Washington that won 12 games? Like, you got to face Philly twice and Washington twice in this division? Like, it's just I can see it. I understand it. We got Jerry Jones taking pot shots at Micah Parsons. Wow, Derrick Jones is very old, Mike. I know. Very, very. But I have to bring it up because it was so incredible. They're talking about re-signing him, and he's like, well, even if we sign him, I don't know if we're going to have him.

47:10Because of the injury? Yeah, because he got hurt. And then we got, hold on, then we got a J.J. Watt tweet. Oh, yeah. Who said, J.J. Watt, anytime you can publicly take a dig at your star quarterback and your star pass rusher simultaneously right before the season begins you gotta take it nothing makes guys want to fight for you more than hearing how upset you

47:31Mike Wright:are that they got hurt while fighting for you okay that got retweeted by somebody yeah that's that was the story that got retweeted by Micah Parsons oh man it's oh there I think Parsons will get his contract but it's just it's every single year every year we do this with with jerry jones and timing i do not like dallas with dak better than washington i do not like dallas with dak better than philadelphia and then you're like what is the third place team in this division finish with and it's not that dallas can't bounce back but sometimes things sometimes ships have sailed with the the situation that you're in they're not going to compete with a defense that is 31st and points per game allowed in 28th in total yards nor should they have that same defense

48:11Jason Moore:I would agree completely from an NFL standpoint. But from a fantasy football standpoint, this is awesome. This is what you want. You want a bad defense. I'm so glad that the Cowboys defense isn't this juggernaut it used to be. And I love that we could have enjoyed the fantasy goodness of the running game. I still bypass. bypass like every ADP time I'm looking at Javante Williams I'm like nah and you really we we should be taking shots on him yes because right now the other guys there the backups the rookies they're not getting any mention so I think Javante is going to do what he did last year which is get a ton of work as the lead for his team but probably not be that great but the nice thing is that means that Dak is going to have to throw the ball a ton.

49:06Jason Moore:CeeDee Lamb should be back to being in the running for wide receiver one this year. And George, I think there's a chance George is one of the best picks in fantasy this year. I do too.

49:16Mike Wright:I just feel like the Dallas Cowboys, compared to other teams, are much more of a house of cards. We've had times, we've talked about Matthew Stafford with the Rams, how much hinges on his health. You have an offensive line that's 23rd going into the season, ranked 23. By the way, that's up from where they finished, which is 25. And no running game. So no running game, no offensive line, and Dak's supposed to be your savior. I'm not sure the team doesn't want to move on from Dak. Like, this could fall apart quick is what I'm saying. You got a potential, like, one-and-done head coach. Like, Dallas, this could be one of the most disappointing situations in fantasy from an amount of resources that you actually have to lean on.

50:01Mike Wright:For fantasy? Yes, for fantasy. Yeah, because if you – look, it's great to think – like Dak's success came on the back of a good offensive line and a good defense, like being able to compete. Like I know that – like is Dak going to be the Matt Ryan? Like how is the offense going to give the ball to the running game if they're trailing? And how is he going to have success without an offensive line on a consistent basis?

50:24Jason Moore:I don't think necessarily that the Cowboys are going to have success from a wins and loss standpoint. Well, no, but the offensive line matters to Dak staying healthy. obviously okay if if Dak goes down CeeDee Lamb's not gonna be the wide receiver one but Dak went down last year and CeeDee Lamb was I don't have in front of me what was he like the wide receiver eight he was still a very good he was still fantastic so I'm just not worried about a guy who's gonna get 170 targets um and and let's just say that I was worried about CeeDee

50:52Mike Wright:Lamb I was saying that I think you're gonna be disappointed you could be disappointed with everybody else on the entire team. Dak, George, running game, defense. I'm very in on Dak and the two wideouts. Andy, just to bring it up, because you know how Jerry Jones, so good at doing contracts. They're not getting rid of Dak anytime soon unless they want to carry a$130 million dead cap, a 56 million dollar dead cap if you if you go to 2028 don't worry we're down to 32 like this they're they're stuck here because of how they treated his contract obviously an injury means

51:39Jason Moore:they move on um but right now he's you know he's not injured so i i i like for fantasy the receiving game i i really do and i'm personally i i like dak because i do think that the other teams in this division are going to score a lot of points what's the opening schedule i mean philly's week

51:55Mike Wright:one and then who do we in philly then the giants then at chicago then green bay oh i mean that's it's i mean it's okay i i i do not think dallas is going to have a good year whatever that means for fantasy is is up for interpretation but i don't think that dac's success is going to translate to them having a lot of success on the field because they don't have the pieces ferguson was somebody people were looking forward to the the tight end situation is a a question mark he He was number one in red zone targets. Dak got hurt. Maybe he can bounce back. I think Ferguson should bounce back. He's going in the 10th, not even a top 12 drafted tight end.

52:30Last year was pretty disastrous. But, I mean, over the first month, you had a – Ferguson got hurt week one, and then he came back. He was tight end three, nine, ten, and then the team kind of exploded.

52:47Jason Moore:He's as mad as it gets. And I think the fact that there's a legit wide receiver two now will take some away from.

52:53Mike Wright:It could. We did see a lot of Dak last year. Right?

52:58Jason Moore:Yeah, we saw seven full games.

53:00Mike Wright:So we saw seven games. He was good for fantasy in three. Was that fair? Yep. And then Seedy in that stretch was okay, but not amazing. I mean. I really think the holdout for ZD Lamb affected stuff. tough and and for him being his top yeah look i'm i'm just trying to illuminate the other side i don't sure everything that has uh let me be clear when dac has been healthy and cd's been healthy those two have combined for great fantasy numbers that should still happen because cd gets it done

53:33Jason Moore:with every quarterback yeah and and remember two years ago in the first seven games for dac he only had two good games and then finishes the quarterback three on the season because he was magma you mean

53:45Mike Wright:when I won the title in the league of record with him.

53:47Jason Moore:And now you're just – now you hate him. It just feels like – No loyalty. Yeah, it turned your back on Dak. It feels a little bit like the Cowboys are trying to – An honorless man.

53:55Mike Wright:They're trying to run the same thing out there and hope it works this time. But while not paying certain people.

54:02Jason Moore:Oh, yeah. Yeah, their team has not gotten – Let their 1 ,000-yard rusher go. Their team has not gotten better over the last three seasons.

54:09Mike Wright:The win total was surprising to me. All right, we talked about how they start the season.

54:18Mike Wright:What do you think they start the season at? I think 1-3. Oh, record-wise? 1-3. Give me the games against you. I'm going to go 2-2. In Philly? Yeah. Home against the Giants. Okay. In Chicago, and then against Green Bay at home.

54:31Jason Moore:I'll go 2-2. They start 0-1, go 2-2.

54:34Mike Wright:All right, here we go. One more break, and we're talking about the amazing New York football Giants. All right, Foot Clan, whether you are on the go or at home, T-Mobile, well, they're built to keep you connected wherever you're scouting your fantasy team. And that on-the-go part, that is important. With America's Best Network, you'll be connected to the latest news and player projections. So when you're on the clock, you can draft a winning team. I can think of so many situations where that element of being connected while you're on the go is fundamental to fantasy football success. I'm in the midst of multiple leagues right now where I am responding to trade offers.

55:10Mike Wright:We are massaging the trade offer. We want to make sure that I'm the one that gets the player, not another player manager in our league. So trade offers, when you're on the go, all the news that's breaking so you don't make a mistake. And my favorite thing, maybe I'll mention it. Look, you're sitting and you have a quiet moment somewhere out and about. You want to jump in the UDK. We got the player profiles. You can watch all of those in there with T-Mobile. You can jump in on the player projections and our stat projections and all the 130 ,000 words of content. Again, T-Mobile making that easy to do.

55:42Mike Wright:Every bit of news. Things are changing all the time. New player contracts, all that good stuff. So from off-season to game day, every play is better with T-Mobile. What you got to do is visit T-Mobile.com slash network. Fastest is based on analysis by UKLA of speed test intelligence data of national speed score results for the second half of 2025. The best mobile network in the U.S. is based on analysis by Ookla of speed test intelligence data, second half of 2025. What does it feel like to have a better laptop like the Dell XPS powered by Intel Core? With a premium design that's thin and light, it feels smooth, very smooth.

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56:42Mike Wright:well they went three and 14 things are going really backwards for brian table in new york nine and seven in his first year then six and eleven now three and fourteen can they get to a winless season i'm not sure they lost their last 10 games. Can they get to a winless? Yeah. That's the... Well, you go from nine to six to three. Oh, okay. That's fair. I see what you're doing. I mean, they could do it. If these trends continue. Technically, maybe they go 0-16 and 1. Maybe they could get a tie in there. Right. Right. They lost their last ten games. They traded Daniel Jones away. Drew Locke started five games for them.

57:18Mike Wright:Tommy DeVito started two. Tim Boyle started or appeared in three different games. Oh, man. Those DeVito games. Electric. They were pretty much the worst offensive team in football. 15 total passing touchdowns on the year. There was one worse, man. There was one worse team? Yeah. In points per game anyways. By the way, that was 15 passing touchdowns on the year for the second year in a row. It's okay. They fixed it. It's a Russell Wilson led eventually Jackson Dart led offense going into this season. Unlimited diarrhea. Unlimited. With an incredibly difficult schedule, by the way. The worst. That's what?

58:05Mike Wright:The hardest schedule in football. That's just mean. That is, man, the NFL. Including six games against the division mates we just talked about. Yeah, that's fair. So nobody's probably on the hot seat more than Brian Dable. Now if they win the game of Jackson Dart, that draft pick, they'll have a future. They are currently favored in one game. One game. Against who? New Orleans in New Orleans by one and a half. How does that feel? In week five. How does that feel, New Orleans?

58:37Jason Moore:Saints fans are like, oh, at least they're not going to hate on my team this episode. Just catching some strings. Oh, man. I'm so sorry.

58:46Mike Wright:Yeah, they don't have their bye week until week 14 either. So it could be. It's tough because we all love Malik Nabors. the talent, the ability, the fact that he made so much out of so little last year. But man, it looks rough. It really does. It looks rough in New York. Their defense was bottom third. Their offense was one of the worst in the league. I do like Brian Dable. I do think he's a good coach, but I think I've thought that about a handful of Giants coaches over the years that just, it wears on you. You know how the president looks different from when they start the, Yeah, they age rapidly.

59:23Mike Wright:Presidency, then you see Obama after his presidency, and he looks about 30 years older. That's about Brian Dable, man. He's putting the weight back on. Oh, is he getting crazy? He was doing so good. I think, I mean, he won more games with more weight.

59:37Jason Moore:Yeah, but I think he wasn't on a diet. That was pure stress. He's been shaving wins right off the scale. Yeah, I mean, really from a fantasy standpoint, we're all excited about Malik Nabors. you know he's going to get the ball you know 30 percent of every pass is going to go to Malik neighbors that's outstanding when you get the ball in the hands of a player as talented as him great things happen breakaway touchdowns fantasy wise he's going to be great everyone else like I love Cam Scadaboo I know Mike you do too I believe he can succeed in the NFL but can he succeed in the NFL in a committee on a team that is going to maybe be the worst team in the NFL?

1:00:24Jason Moore:Probably not. The odds are very against him. That's not a good situation. And he also, I mean, Tyrone Tracy had, I mean, he was another day three running back, but he had himself a decent year, a decent enough year that I would think Scadaboo has to overtake him. If you look back at the teams with the worst record and what their running back fantasy points rank was among the rest of the league. Last year, there were three teams tied with the worst record. They were 32nd, 29th, and 25th in total fantasy points to the running back. The year before, 30th. The year before, 31st. 31st. 25th. 29th. 29th.

1:01:01Jason Moore:Math doesn't math for a good player. No, you're not going to have a lot of fantasy value in this backfield this season. I guess then ask the question of is there – you have – there is hope. There is at least – I don't know if it's real hope or just manufactured. You have a first-round quarterback that will take over sooner than later. Is there any chance that Jackson Dart comes in and this team is not 32nd in scoring? All of a sudden you're like, hey, they're low 20s of scoring. Andy? Is there any chance? No.

1:01:41Mike Wright:Okay. No, honestly, if I was New York, I would not put him on the field this year. I agree completely. I would not put him on the field. Brian Dable is going to have no choice. He might not be the coach. Well, that's what I'm saying. He's going to be interim. But week five or six. He's going to have to hail Mary, put the guy in. Are they going to win at Washington in week one? No. Are they going to win at Dallas in week two? I don't think so. Are they going to win against Kansas City and L.A., the Chargers? Certainly not. I mean, their first four games of the season are like, That's rude. They're honestly scary enough to be like, like right now Malik Neighbors is ninth pick of the draft, wide receiver six.

1:02:17Mike Wright:I like Malik Neighbors. I really do. Does that go bad? I do worry about, like if I'm having to decide between two guys they have really close there, I want some upside. Jackson Dart does not represent some sort of special upside.

1:02:32Jason Moore:Oh, but you know who does? Jameis Winston, baby. I agree with you. You do not put Jackson Dart out there this year. Why don't you play the long game, Giants, have a couple stupid games with Russell Wilson and be like, oh, this doesn't work. You'll figure that out soon. And then protect Jackson Dart and give fantasy goodness and put in Jameis Winston, and then lo and behold, I will be throwing Darius Slayton into every single lineup I have.

1:03:03Mike Wright:No one's going to want to hear this, so that's why I'm talking because you guys can be mad at me. Yes. 170 targets, okay, from League Neighbors.

1:03:12Jason Moore:Last year.

1:03:13Mike Wright:Last year. And he had a stretch of games that he played all the snaps in where his weekly finishes were 43, 38, 29, 30. 26, 29, 26, 12, 32.

1:03:24Jason Moore:Yeah, but they were really fine. I mean, I know those fantasy finishes aren't the number five, number six, but that's 10 points.

1:03:34Mike Wright:If I get 10 points a game from my first-round pick.

1:03:39Jason Moore:Yeah, I mean, 10.4 fantasy points, 9.4, 11.3, 12.4, not full PPR, half PPR. You're not super excited, but, I mean, he missed two games and he was the wide receiver seven on the season.

1:03:50Mike Wright:I know. I know. The targets are there. But it's a frightening weekly start.

1:03:57Jason Moore:Let's say Russell Wilson plays the first half of the season. Is that an upgrade or a downgrade from Daniel Jones?

1:04:03Mike Wright:Neutral.

1:04:04Jason Moore:For a fantasy standpoint. Neutral. Maybe worse. I think it's worse.

1:04:09Mike Wright:Yeah, it might be worse. Yeah. I don't know if Russ will hyper-target. I don't know if they throw it as much either. Exactly.

1:04:16Jason Moore:I think they will not throw it as much. Garrett Wilson's time in the New York Jets has been maligned by fantasy players. And those of us who still support Garrett Wilson, it's tough. You're like, I'm telling you. I promise you. The guy is just good. it but we keep drafting him and we keep failing now i mean obviously neighbors finishes at the wide receiver seven a a 32 point game which is like that's part of the malik neighbors experience is you can get a bunch of 12s and then you're going to get some 25 some 32 point games which

1:04:51Mike Wright:not every wide receiver can do that he's amazing he's an amazing player we have him at six and seven yeah but i don't think that that's and he's being drafted at what six uh right when you look at him yeah let me ask it this way because the only thing we're talking about on this team right now is malik neighbors when you look at him brian thomas jr and you see both sides of the coin for each player how do you make that decision yeah yeah it's it's really tough malik neighbors was obviously drafted that it was hard he did not answer no because i don't yeah i know i got my My mama told me if I don't have something to say, don't say it.

1:05:29Jason Moore:I feel like if these two gentlemen did exactly what they did their rookie year and were in the exact same position that they are in, everything is 100%. What is real right now, if only one thing changed, which is in the NFL draft, Brian Thomas Jr. was drafted ahead of Malik Nabors. I think if fantasy drafts, Brian Thomas Jr. would be easily the guy that's being drafted ahead.

1:05:56Mike Wright:It's weird because it's like, is it unfair to Brian Thomas Jr. that I still believe Malik Nabors is more talented? Because I think he is. I think Malik Nabors brings more to the table. I don't think that's unfair. Like if you were doing the Madden toggles on all the different stats, there's more on Nabors' side. I would agree with that. I mean, Brian Thomas played every game and ended with 1 ,282 yards. Malik missed two and ended up with 1 ,204 yards. Yep. Yeah, it's going to be rough. But if I were Brian Thomas, I would be calling my friend Malik Neighbors daily to remind him that I had a better year.

1:06:39Yep.

1:06:39Mike Wright:You would. You would. You really would. And Jason will call you tonight and remind you you have the toilet trophy. I will. who wins the division give me your order the giant we've got the nfc nfc east we're wrapping up the divisional breakdown who's gonna do it i will do it you'll do it yeah okay philadelphia eagles washington commanders dallas cowboys new york giants yeah that wasn't what i was saying i was

1:07:05Jason Moore:saying who's gonna do it and not do the obvious i mean that's well you didn't use those words you just said who's gonna do it so i jumped in all right i got i got my picks in first put your dac where your mouth is who's oh oh and rank the cowboys a little higher okay yeah uh who's gonna copy me common expression yeah i'm copying you i have your exact i'm not gonna copy you i'm

1:07:27Mike Wright:gonna copy andy oh so all that talk and get dallas is still third it's a copy of a copy i guess all that talk was backing up their fantasy not their reality in a multiplicity situation uh i want i wanted to put the giants above dallas but man they got the worst schedule in football i can't do that I can't do that. I think Dallas will be just okay. And I think the Giants will be bad. All right, right now the odds are Philly minus 130, Washington plus 205, Dallas plus 550. And the Giants, you could win a lot of money if they win the division. One more division left. The NFC West on Thursday, the Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals.

1:08:03Mike Wright:We got mailbag shows coming up. We got another mock draft episode. We've got unsolved mysteries. and we got a few other secret projects we're working on here at Footballers Headquarters as well. Top secret. Top secret, yeah. Not bottom secret. No, everyone, those are just out there. All right, that'll do it. UltimateDraftKit.com. Go check that out right now. Make sure you can win on draft day. The community is JoinTheFoot.com. Shout out to the Foot Clan. Thank you for your support. We'll talk to you next time. Goodbye.

1:08:42Jason Moore:Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.

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