The Best of the Fest: Breakouts, Busts, Rankings & Sleepers From Fantasy Football's Top Analysts (Ep. 1658)

We're joined by Greg Smith (@gregsauce), founder of TwoQBs.com, to complete a mock draft using our Draft Simulator. We begin by discussing two quarterback leagues and why they can be so much fun before diving into our mock draft (1:53). We set our mock drafts up to pick from the eighth slot in a 12-team league with rosters that include two quarterbacks, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one RB/WR/TE flex position and four bench slots (4:41). Our first round discussion involves passing on a quarterback to take a player like Julio Jones (5:47) or if Drew Brees at eighth overall is a worthy pick (7:40). The second round features players Lamar Miller (8:27) and LeVeon Bell (9:03). Greg mulls over his third round quarterback choices before he decides to take another running back in Mark Ingram (9:55). We agree on Demaryius Thomas' value in the fourth round (11:05) before moving on to the fifth round where we discuss players like Kirk Cousins (12:02), Thomas Rawls (12:23), Jonathan Stewart (12:47) and Tyrod Taylor (13:13). Bobby talks about why he likes Jordan Reed (14:10) before Greg satiates our love for Donte Moncrief and takes him in the sixth round (15:25). We have a hard time finding value in the seventh round, and we discuss if Jordan Matthews (17:00), Andy Dalton (17:34), Duke Johnson (17:46) and John Brown (18:26) are worth a pick. Eighth round discussion involves Josh Gordon (19:26) and Robert Griffin III (20:46). Greg tells us why he likes Michael Crabtree's value in the ninth round this year (22:21). In the tenth round Bobby considers quarterbacks before settling on Kevin White (23:20) while Greg decides on a running back and selects Chris Ivory (24:06). Greg takes Jay Cutler as his third quarterback and talks about why it's a high floor pick at this point in the draft (25:37) while Bobby selects Devin Funchess in the 11th round (26:53). In the twelfth round Greg takes another quarterback (27:13), and Bobby debates taking Blaine Gabbert or Teddy Bridgewater (28:21). We finish our drafts by discussing Dwayne Allen (29:16) and Michael Thomas (29:54) and then we compare our draft grades (30:31). Draft Wizard: draftwizard.fantasypros.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Aug 201637min

JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) joins the pod to talk fantasy football sleepers heading into drafts. We begin with a player JJ thinks could possibly be a late round steal like David Johnson was in 2015 (1:41). We continue by looking at rookie wide receivers who have a chance to break out (4:19) and backup running backs who could finish the season as an RB1 if there is an injury ahead of them on the depth chart (6:24). JJ gives us sleepers at each position, starting with quarterbacks Matthew Stafford (10:14) and Jameis Winston (11:29). Bobby and JJ discuss Tyrod Taylor (12:36) and Robert Griffin III (14:19) before moving onto sleeper running backs outside the top 40 ADP. Players include Bilal Powell (15:55), James White (17:06), free agent Karlos Williams (18:20) and Zach Zenner (19:11). Moving onto wide receivers outside the top 40 ADP we discuss Phillip Dorsett (20:27), Mohamed Sanu (21:24), Jermaine Kearse (23:04), Steve Smith (23:40) and Bruce Ellington (24:41). We talk about Charles Clay being a possible deep sleeper at the tight end position (25:28) and then move over to players going between 50 and 100 in ADP that could end up top-5 at their respective positions (26:37). Players include podcast favorite Donte Moncrief (26:57) and Melvin Gordon (28:31). We finish by looking at players we like at the back of the first round (30:33), and backup quarterbacks you should look at drafting if you take Tom Brady (36:21).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Aug 201639min

Christopher Harris (@HarrisFootball) joins us to talk about the players he likes better and worse than the Expert Consensus. We begin with quarterbacks Tom Brady (3:14) and Kirk Cousins (5:31) before moving on to running backs David Johnson (7:52), Jamaal Charles (10:45), Jonathan Stewart (12:59), Demarco Murray (18:54) and Duke Johnson (20:18). We finish by discussing wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald (22:47), Marvin Jones (26:23), FantasyPros podcast favorite Donte Moncrief (27:15), and Kevin White (27:48).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 Aug 201630min

Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL) of Pro Football Focus joins us to talk about the latest NFL news and players to target or avoid in your fantasy drafts. We begin our discussion with a quick chat about Bears wide receivers (4:49) before we get to news of the week where we discuss Dez Brant (9:00) and Duke Johnson (12:50), both of whom have had concussion scares. Injury news continues with our thoughts on Matt Jones (15:50), and Dion Lewis (17:53). Moving on to draft strategy, we talk about players we think are over-hyped. The list includes Tyler Lockett (21:38), Julian Edelman (22:46), Latavius Murray (25:18), and Greg Olsen (27:39). It wouldn't be a FantasyPros podcast if we didn't talk about our love for Donte Moncrief (28:51) before moving on to why Mike is low on Jordan Reed (32:05). We discuss why Mike is high on Coby Fleener (35:54) and talk about whether Odell Beckham Jr. is a definite top 5 pick (37:53). Mike gives us his final over-hyped player, Ben Roethlisberger (43:39), before telling us why he likes taking Jeremy Langford at his ADP (46:36), why he's fading Chris Ivory in drafts (49:44) and why he has Kelvin Benjamin on his do not draft list (53:00).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Aug 201655min

James Koh (@JamesDKoh) of NFL.com joins us to answer listener mailbag questions. We discuss questions that deal with common draft mistakes (2:28), money management and nomination strategies in auction drafts (5:54), trading early round draft picks (11:15), waiting on quarterbacks (12:56), how experts use their bench picks (17:24), draft strategy in 14 team leagues (19:06), reaching on players you like in drafts (21:02), Josh Gordon vs. Tyler Lockett as dynasty keepers (24:58), keeper strategy in leagues with complicated keeper rules (27:12), and we finish with looking at who we have been moving up our draft boards since the beginning of training camp (32:26).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Aug 201640min

On today's episode, host Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro) is joined by Jamey Eisenberg (@JameyEisenberg) of CBS Sports to discuss a wide range of topics. We begin with a quick discussion of IDP leagues (1:47), Spencer Ware's status as the handcuff for Jamaal Charles (3:36), and Malcom Mitchell's preseason hype (5:08). We move on to the players Jamey likes better and worse than the Expert Consensus. The group includes Tom Brady (7:58), Ben Roethlisberger (10:19), Eddie Lacy (12:06), Thomas Rawls (13:57), Devonta Freeman (17:35), Rashad Jennings (19:17), Matt Forte (21:08), Donte Moncrief (22:42), Sterling Shepard (25:04), Sammie Coates (26:24), and Jordan Matthews (28:41).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Aug 201632min

Host Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro) is joined by Mike Castiglione (@castiglione_nfl) of Pro Football Focus to complete a PPR mock draft using the Draft Wizard simulator. Mike and Bobby go back and forth discussing their picks in a 10-team draft where they each have the fifth overall pick. They talk about drafting David Johnson (4:37), Brandon Marshall (5:50), Mark Ingram (7:30), Sammy Watkins (8:14), Randall Cobb (9:15), Cam Newton (10:05), Doug Baldwin (11:38), Donte Moncrief (13:04), Duke Johnson (14:00), Danny Woodhead (14:49), Giovani Bernard (16:13), John Brown (16:31), Gary Barnidge (17:38), Zach Ertz (18:44), Charles Sims (19:42), Kevin White (21:18), Eli Manning (22:44), Tyrod Taylor (23:11), Josh Gordon (23:40), and Stefon Diggs (23:38). They wrap up by comparing rosters and draft grades (25:05). Draft Wizard - draftwizard.fantasypros.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Aug 201632min

Marcas Grant of NFL.com joins us to help with our listener mailbag and to chat about boom or bust players for this upcoming fantasy season. We answer questions about drafting players with consideration about their fantasy playoff matchups (3:15), our ideal draft positions (4:44), and defensive streaming targets (6:24). We move on to discuss draft strategy and we cover the idea of drafting an "all suspension team" (8:46), the "zero RB" strategy (10:32), and waiting on wide receivers (14:32). Our boom or bust discussion includes players like Jameis Winston (17:47), Tyrod Taylor (19:42), Devonta Freeman (21:45), Dion Lewis (23:42), Matt Jones (25:36), Ameer Abdullah (27:38), Donte Moncrief (29:42), Kevin White (31:46), Dorial Green-Beckham (33:40), and Coby Fleener (37:30).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Aug 201644min