10 Comments
Aug 22, 2023Liked by Chris Liss

With Lamar you can stack Flowers and Bateman pretty easy but it’s popular.

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Aug 21, 2023·edited Aug 21, 2023

I also cannot understand why people are fine with drafting Calvin Ridley. He is going to a new team, AND missed an entire year last year AND voluntarily missed the majority of 2021 because of mental health issues. I think people forget the 2021 portion, or consider it not PC to mention so it's just avoided, but it did happen.

I was saying the same thing last year about DeShaun Watson when everyone was hyping Watson as a viable Best Ball target. You can't just willy nilly go on vacay for a couple of years and come back at an all-pro level. I think people fail to realize how difficult it is to play pro football after taking considerable time off. Heck, I would suck at MY job for a bit if I took the better part of two years off, and my job doesn't require me to stay in peak physical condition.

It's probably more difficult for a QB than a WR to miss multiple seasons, as was the case with Watson, but you also have to wonder about RIdley's mental makeup for a number of reasons. There's also a very deep pass catching room in Jax (Kirk, Zay Jones, Engram, Etienne). I'll pass. I do however consider some of the other guys at price because it is a nice offense.

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Please don't undersell your job requirements, Tony. No doubt you have to be in NFL shape, or at least golf shape.

I think Ridley's depression or whatever it was should be a mark against his value -- only an NLM cares about being PC when drafting players he hopes to score points for him. And it is a new team and situation.

But Ridley was a top-10 fantasy receiver with a declining Matt Ryan, and now he gets an ascending Trevor Lawrence, and in this case, the preseason matters. I think if he had lingering issues they'd show up as he made his return. But the opposite has happened -- he's been a star in camp this preseason. Seems like the layoff was good for him.

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Aug 21, 2023·edited Aug 21, 2023

Lol

Also, I do believe PC stuff absolutely plays into ADP valuations nowadays, which I seems to be driven by a lot of these touts who tend to be progressive. It's something I've been thinking about the last couple years.

I almost wish an Adrian Peterson with the "switch" incident or some parallel would happen again so I could scoop up the falling ADP value. (I don't actually wish a kid gets hit with a switch, before anyone freaks out) As you said before however long ago that was, you'd draft Saddam Hussein if you thought he could help you win your league, as would I hahah

(except for Watson. I just didn't believe anyone could be good after that layoff)

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Good thing you massaged your Watson ranking last year.

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Aug 21, 2023·edited Aug 21, 2023

Im surprised 1.2 is your last choice and you have reservations about Ja'Maar Chase. I'm big on Chase this year and semi-consider him for 1.1.

1) His playoff schedule projects, at least in August, as being very high total games (Vikings/Steelers/Chiefs), and Burrow figures to be healthy by then for sure. I'm not totally familiar with NFFC Primetime, but it's a very top heavy overall prize pool, so the last 3 weeks should carry significant weight when analyzing players.

2) I don't think it's outlandish to think Chase can put up high end WR1 numbers even with Trevor Siemian early in the season, should Burrow not be ready the first few weeks. Maybe the Bengals might be less likely to win, but playing from behind could bode well and Chase is an amazing talent.

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Those are fair points. I guess I'm thinking where does Chase get drafted if Burrow were out until Week 5? What if Burrow's calf isn't right all year? But not only Chase but also Burrow are being drafted as if he's perfectly healthy which feels like a blind spot to me. The playoffs are huge in NFFC, but you have to make them first.

Trevor Siemian really hasn't evolved as a QB though. More the primate than the man.

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Missed the Simian pun dangit hahaha

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Aug 21, 2023·edited Aug 21, 2023

In Best Balls, If I remember correctly, in May/June Burrow was going mid 3 to early 4 so he has fallen a little bit post-injury. I agree though, it is way too early to take a QB that high who is iffy to start the season and could be hurt all year.

I guess my thinking is that Chase is such an elite talent, he has a great chance to get his numbers even with a backup or if the Bengals disappoint. I might be off, but it just seems like elite WRs can transcend mediocre QB play from a fantasy standpoint. Or maybe I'm just a Lions fan and Calvin Johnson's career is skewing me to think this way haha

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