Bold Forecast: Key Players and Surprises in Fantasy Football

Unlock the mysteries of fantasy football in today's riveting conversation, packed with forward-thinking analysis and bold predictions. We've got Brian on board, all ready to share his surprising insights into the potential of Trevor Lawrence, given the ease of his forthcoming games in the NFC South. We're also putting the spotlight on Aaron Rodgers, a player poised for a big season, discussing his formidable arsenal and examining why you might want to consider him in your top-five quarterback picks. There's also a bit of a debate going on about Calvin Ridley, who's making a comeback after a hiatus - Brian's optimistic, but not everyone shares his confidence.

Who are the quarterbacks to watch this season in fantasy football? If you're curious about Jared Goff's prospects in Detroit or the potential of Tua Tagovailoa if he can stay injury-free, you'll find our second half particularly engaging. We're also zooming in on the understated abilities of Derek Carr, and the impact a new head coach and system could have on Kyler Murray's performance. One of the highlights of our chat today is our take on Josh Allen - his physical style is impressive, but could it be a double-edged sword, affecting his long-term career? So, gear up for a full dose of football banter, expert takes, and heated debates that will fuel your fantasy football decisions this season.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

All right, everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Vegas guys locker room. I'm your host, jesse, and listen, it is draft week guys. I hope you guys drafts have gone Well. A lot of us have been drafting all week. Some of us still have upcoming drafts in the near future, but hopefully we've been able to break some of this stuff down now. We did break down the running backs stated room backs with George and I talking about things that were going on in the running back, kind of world, tough landscape there, tough landscape. We also did bring an RT. He was kind of up to join the show. We give us his possible booms that he likes at the wide receiver position and some of the busts that he believes may happen. That was a really good one. Please check out that episode if you want to hear more about the receivers. Today we're gonna break down five quarterbacks. I Did do some interviews. I was able to talk to my friend Brian, who is in our diet, who is in my dynasty league. He gave me his top five quarterbacks on this season. Now, unfortunately, with that, those interviews, we did do those out and about a little local watering hole and some of it was a little unusable Music where we're at. Well, there was a little too much noise going on so I couldn't use a whole lot of the audio that was there. I was able to get some of it so I will be posting that on there on this. I will be putting that on the show so you'll hear some of that. So I apologize if it's not the greatest sounding, but I wanted to play some of the things that they had to say and get those on the episode. So, starting with his number five quarterback, he did like Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers, he believes that with the weapons there, the experience that he's going to be a top five quarterback in fantasy this year, he really likes the fact that he has a plethora of weapons and the hype he believes is real. We also had another friend that was along with us, floody, who is a big-time fantasy football player. He loves fantasy football. We did get his take on it and this is what he kind of had to say.

Speaker 2: 2:21

That's a good point. That's a good point.

Speaker 1: 2:44

So I mean, you get his take. He doesn't believe that Aaron Rodgers is gonna be that successful Playing in the AFC East with the defense is he gonna face? We've talked about that before how that could be Something that we need to watch. It's just a whole different style of play out there in the AFC East compared to where he's coming from In the NFC north. He believes he's too old. He believes the hype is gonna give everybody a chance to really want to tee off on Aaron Rodgers. Don't think he's wrong. I think they're gonna. I think they're really good. You know, it's almost like that super both and you know everybody's gonna give the the Kansas City Chiefs. They're very best. They're gonna gun for him. I think you're gonna get the same thing when it comes to playing with the Jets. I think every team is gonna mark that on their schedule as something as a. Measuring stick of how close they are and how well can they can can grow to contend for a title. Now number four. He did like Trevor Lawrence. He likes that. He's upcoming. He likes the head coach, loves the fact that it's the easiest schedule pretty much in the league, especially playing in the NFC south. You're not playing a whole lot of tough competition down there. You do have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their defense is pretty solid. I Did get to interview someone, brian. That's what he kind of had to say. He really liked the, the schedule, like the matchups. He likes the weapons down there. He really really enjoys watching Calvin Ridley. He wants to see and believes that Calvin Ridley is gonna be the next big thing down there in Jacksonville. I've always been skeptical on it. I think the guy's been away from football way too long. We'll see who's right in that one. Brian seems to be he's gonna be a big hit. I think he's gonna be a big dud but he could be a second half player. Now, if he does struggle the first half of the year and then turns it on, okay, getting back into that flow of football is gonna be so hard for Calvin Ridley. He has been gone for so long We've talked about it. He's getting closer to 30 and he's still on his rookie rookie deal, so he hasn't played it's on a football, especially over the last two, three years. There was my big question there. So he does like Trevor Lawrence. On number four, number three, he does like Jalen Hertz. We talked a little bit about this. I just yeah, I think they've done a very good job of building around Jalen Hertz. Brian and Flutty also said the same thing about them building around it, the weapons there. They've made sure he has gotten plenty of help. They've done a fantastic job building around him. That team is gonna be solid Defensively. They're gonna be solid Running the ball. The backfield's gotten, I don't know, I wouldn't say better, but I think they've kept it as good as it was last year. I think they picked up plenty of weapons. I think they got some guys that were kind of cast off from other teams. Maybe a change of scenery is gonna be better for him. Like I said, I'm not a big. There's some of the bigger names on there. I'm not believers of De'Andre Swift. I'm not a big believer in. I don't think he's gonna be as effective as everybody believes. I think some of those other guys kind of game will might be intriguing. Rashad Penny, who's proven to be a good running bag, just can never say healthy. Jalen Hurst has plenty of weapons there. Number two was Josh Allen, and we did talk a lot about Josh Allen and this is kind of what had Floody had broken down on what Josh Allen really needs to do to keep his productivity up and that's what he had to say.

Speaker 3: 6:06

Josh needs to do one thing and stop trying to run over. That guy is outside. Yes, yes, because you know what's gonna happen to Josh. He's gonna go to bull over at the fence of bat. He's you know, 210, 220, 225, maybe a big guy or whatnot and he's gonna go and he's gonna get blindsided by a 350 pound lineman. He's gonna clean his cloth and if he gets hit right, could be here in the injury, but if he gets hit on that shoulder, go sideways. Josh's gonna cannon for an arm, maybe a little too strong sometimes.

Speaker 2: 6:41

Yeah, I agree with that one.

Speaker 3: 6:43

He's gonna take a turn, turn around and take a look at a blind guy that came in the league when this guy was leaving and Brady, which I always go to, is a prime example of this league in the pocket pass league. It's not a running quarterback league and it's been that way now for a while and these guys that wanna come off the charge. I'm a big, strong kid, don't get me wrong, and he has powered over some guys. I guess what guy I'm telling you that 325 pound defensive end that's coming around where he's looking at one guy and don't see him here and gets clocked from the side Watch out, man. And he gets clocked on the wrong side and lands on that right shoulder.

Speaker 2: 7:28

Well, I guess, maybe they call him Jim Kelly man.

Speaker 3: 7:30

Oh man.

Speaker 1: 7:32

So yeah, and that's always been everybody's big concern with Josh Allen, right, he loves to run the ball, he loves to try to run over guys, he likes contact. He's always said that he's a football player first, but yeah, the hits are gonna add up. I mean, look at Cam Newton, he was great. Your body can only take too much. He needs to start learning how to throw the ball from the pocket utilizing his running backs. One big thing that's always been a downfall is everybody goes, listen, I'm gonna grab the starting running back from the Buffalo Bills. Whether who it may be, it never pans out because Josh Allen does not check the ball down. He will take off and run it rather than find his dump off. I believe that's just what Josh Allen needs to do to make his career a little bit longer in this league, rather than trying to run people over. As we can see with Cam Newton. He did it for years. At the end of it, man, his throwing motion didn't even look like a throwing motion. I don't know what that was. It was awful to watch. It didn't look good when he came in the league. His release was smooth, it looked professional. At the end of it it just looked troublesome. It looked very, very bad. It looked like his body had taken a beating and his body couldn't function the way it used to. So, yeah, I agree with that. I think Josh Allen really needs to work on getting his game to a pocket passing, minimizing the hits If he does run, get out of bounds, slide. They've created so many rules to protect the quarterback. Start utilizing that. Make your career a lot longer than a small nine, 10 year career. Make it that 15, 16 year career. Number one on this list was, of course, patrick Holmes. Everybody loves Patrick Holmes. I did talk to him a little bit about that. Because the receiving core you don't know where it's gonna go. Everybody loves Kaderi Sony. We talked a little bit about that. He can't stay healthy. There's some playmakers there. It's just trying to find out who that's going to be before they actually are the man. We talked about how Travis Kelsey has been his guy for years. When is the drop off gonna happen? We've talked about that several times. George has brought it up, I've brought it up. Kelsey eventually is going to fall off the cliff. It's just a matter of when. And do you wanna be holding that bag when it finally does happen? We talked about that and this is kind of what Brian had to say about the whole thing.

Speaker 2: 9:48

Prove it every year and he does not have the receivers he had last year. I know that. That's my biggest question, man he has a whole new receiving, but it seems like they breed another one every year. Are you just believing in the Travis Kelsey thing? I think Kelsey should start the downturn. I think I mean he's 33 years old, yeah, it's gonna. Eventually the bottom's gonna he's still the best tight end in the league, absolutely yeah. But he'll probably be on his downward turn, I think probably this year or next year.

Speaker 1: 10:17

So a lot of questions there. Yeah, he believes it's gonna happen relatively soon. I think you can honestly say Kelsey's the only one you really want in that offense. Besides my homes. Like QB, my homes is going to make everybody better. Thing with him is he doesn't hyper-target anybody. He's not like Aaron Rodgers, who's gonna go to his one go-to guy all the time. Patrick Myhomes is always gonna spread the ball around. He's always gonna make plays for all his teammates. He's not gonna hyper-target one specific guy. Now, travis Kelsey has been that guy inside the 20. But can you blame him? That's a huge body. Travis Kelsey is a stud when it comes down to coming with the ball. Well, listen, time is ticking away here. You gotta be honest with yourself. If you have Travis Kelsey, especially if you're in a dynasty league, you need to start thinking about moving them, getting some young assets, getting some draft picks to rebuild, because Travis Kelsey is eventually going to fall off this cliff and do you wanna be that guy holding the bag when it does? I don't want to. I know if I had him in my dynasty league, I'd be looking to move him. Now, of course, you'd have to move him to somebody who's looking to win this year, you would have to be have somebody that's on the cusp and just believes they need that one key piece and that's who you'd have to trade with. So when you've got your draft picks, you're probably looking at somebody that's you're looking at somebody that's probably gonna have a later first round pick than normal, than you would really like. But if you've got them in later years, that's where you really need to aim towards. Get somebody now that's young and effective. Get some draft picks for the future, not for the next year, but the ongoing future, two, three years down the road. That is where you gotta target your dynasty guys. Now. Thanks to Brian for sharing his top five quarterbacks with us this year. I know there was a lot of extra talk that we had done in that interview but unfortunately I said I couldn't use a whole lot of the audio that I had recorded. We did use a little bit. Hopefully I can get Brian on here again, do something that's outside, maybe over the phone, like me and George do at times. But I will go over some of my top sleeper picks at the quarterback position and starting off, your number five is Jared Goff. Jared Goff was a top 10 quarterback last year. I believe this year the weapons are gonna be just as good, if not better, especially in that second half, if they can get Jameson Williams to come through. Listen, I know there's been a lot of reports about him not being a top guy, especially from his head coach. You know a lot of drops. But listen, the same thing happened with Jamar Chase that first year. They were like he just can't catch the ball. I think he can get there. He just it's been a rough couple of years. He's still a very old, so be young player. He was the best receiver in that draft so hopefully they can come through. But I really like Jared Goff and that weapon core he's got going on there in Detroit. I think that offense is gonna be good. Yes, well, I think they wanna run the ball a little bit more. I do, I really do. I think they do run the ball a lot more than they've done in the past year. But with Jamir Gibbs I think you have a weapon that you could really go out there and utilize in the passing game. So Jared Goff will be another guy I'd watch out for. Next guy on my list is not a big shocker. He's kind of on everyone's list every single season and yet he seems to never really get a whole lot of respect. And it's Kurt Cousins. Kurt Cousins is on this list simply because he's in a contract here and, looking back at every one of his contracts here, he always has a huge year when his contract is up. The man all of a sudden decides to turn it on. He can't turn it on for night games, but he can turn it on for contract years, that's for sure. I look at him as being a guy that's gonna be in your top 10 again. I think he's gonna be huge. I think, with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison there, kj Osborne, I think, is coming on. I think he's gonna be a nice fit. I think he's still a good third option and you still have TJ Hawkinson at the tight end spot. Now listen, you don't have the running game You're probably gonna have. You had last year. You got Alexander Madison. This year, no, dalvin Cook Offensive line seems to be okay if Madison can do 75% of what Dalvin Cook did last year. I think this team does exactly what it did last year and I think you have to rely on Kirk Cousins arm a little bit more this year than you did last year, so I think he gets a slight bump in numbers. I think he ends up back in the top 10 and being contract here. He always does well next on my list is Tua. Now too, but despite the injuries, that's the biggest concern. If he's gotten over that and he can go into this year and be healthy this entire year, that offensive setup he has, utilizing all the speed that they've got on that team and specifically on the offense, he doesn't need to hold the ball. Hold on no very long. You make short intermediate passes. I think that's where he's the most effective. Get it in there, playmakers hands and let those guys spin. I think that's where it goes. I think he has a huge year if he can stay healthy. That's the big, if the huge question mark on Tua Can he stay healthy? If he does, I believe he can go as high as a top five quarterback. I Really do. I know I've grabbed him in my dynasty league Hoping that he can be that guy that stays healthy. Use those weapons he has on the outside Jalen waddle, tyree kill. He's got the Von A chain now that he can utilize in the backfield Most hurt and Jeff Wilson are still there. They still have good weapons and a good offensive minded head coach that I believe Tua can be a top five quarterback in this league for fantasy If again, he can stay healthy. The next guy on my list is Derek Carr. I think Derek Carr has been just overlooked. I think he had some rough years there at the end of his stint with the Raiders. I think now he's got a big chip on the shoulder. He has a great offensive weapon in Chris Olavi and we know what Derek Carr likes to do he likes to throw the ball down the field. Derek Carr and Chris Olavi are a perfect mashup because Chris Olavi runs a very good is a very good route runner. He's very good at air yardage. He can make plays going down the field. I think this is a good fit for Derek Carr. This offense was a perfect fit for him. If Michael Thomas can come back and be that second option form and he can stay healthy, I Think that's gonna be a good good deal for Derek Carr in Making his push for a top 10 fantasy relevancy. I really like him. This year I haven't had a chance to pick him up. Somebody else seems to have the good ideas and they give him a little sooner and I think he's gonna go. But Derek Carr, I think is a very good option. I think he's had he's got potentially top 10 fantasy value going so late in drafts, especially if you're in a 1 QB lead. A lot of times he's not even being drafted in 1 QB leads in a 10 team lead. I think that's Completely wrong. I think he needs to be drafted. I think he needs to be sitting there. So those guys right there might are my five guys that I think could make a push to being in the top 10, to a being the guy I think could make the push to be even higher just because of the weapons he has. But yes, that was my top five. I'm gonna give you a little bonus one here. The bonus one I like, and this is kind of gonna be like a second half guy. It's Kyler Murray. This is where you're gonna see what Kyler Murray is made of coming off this injury Cardinals coming off a very, very bad year new head coach, new system. If he puts his mind to it, rehabs and gets back in this second half of the year, he's gonna show you what he's made of. Listen, the guy was a top three quarterback not that long ago. Everybody was drafted on top three. Listen, he's got the talent. He runs. He's hard to catch. He's got the talent. The question with is he still has Marquis Hollywood Brown there. Marquis Hollywood Brown is not that far removed from being a very good receiver. He's going late in rounds. So is Kyler Murray. He's not even being drafted, I think, a guy that could listen. If you have some trouble quarterback that first portion of the year, grab Kyler Murray, keep him on your bench because that second half of the year, if you can weather the storm in that second half and he does what he could do and he lives up to that potential, listen, kyler Murray could be a huge pickup for you going in there that second half of the year and he could be the second half darling to the NFL season. So just a couple insights, just some sleeper picks. Listen, guys, it's been really fun this offseason. We're getting into the nitty gritty of everything. We have about a week to go, but it's gonna be fun, guys. So listen all you guys out there finishing up your drafts, putting your teams together, making your roster moves for your dynasty leagues, your best ball leagues Good luck this year, guys. Thanks for joining us on this journey so far. We'll be back every week for episodes, breaking everything down, looking at matchups, what we like, who we should start, who we should sit. We're gonna be doing it every week, guys. So please Follow us, leave us comment, rate us, be huge to help us out with the show. Thanks again for for Brian Floody joining the show this week. Wish I could have got more of that interview on there. It was a really good interview. Unfortunately, like I said, the audio just wasn't great. Well, guys, thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time on a big guys locker room.