Last-Minute Fantasy Advice You MUST Know Before Drafting

Dave Kluge (0:11)

If you're drafting a fantasy football team this weekend, stop what you're doing and watch this video. I'm joined with Bob Harris, and we are going through all of the major storylines that can get you up to speed so you have all of the information necessary to avoid looking like a fool in your draft. And Bob, we're going to go through position by position. Let's start with the running backs, because this is where we have a ton of news, absolutely. And let's start with Josh Jacobs, landing on the commissioners' exemplists. So this is one of those where I think people that aren't really like knowing all about NFL, like they see that he avoided a suspension, but this could potentially be even worse news. So talk us through what this means a little bit for Josh Jacobs.

Bob Harris (0:50)

We have seen players, most notably Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice as well, miss entire seasons on the commissioners' exemplists. There is video involved, people say it's very bad. The hackers say they have not seen it. I suspect they know a lot about it. The NFL has retired FBI, retired law enforcement. They're in contact with the people. We know the video exists and we know it confirms what the alleged victim said, because the prosecutors have told us that, the police report tells us that.

So this is probably as much a PR thing as anything for the NFL's perspective. I realize not trying to diminish what's going on with Josh Jacobs and his victim. We're setting all that aside for the purpose of this conversation.

I think this is not a great issue. This is not a great spot for Josh Jacobs. It is a huge opportunity for Marshawn Lloyd, who in his one game as a pro, he's flashed more this preseason, I think, than he has the entirety of his career. But he went to the Meyers Sports Institute and spent time there studying what the issues were and working on. We saw that with Christian Watson, before going to a sports science institute, working on his hamstring issues, which didn't save his ACL. But...

Dave Kluge (2:06)

It did help him recover quickly and have a career year though. Yes.

Bob Harris (2:09)

I agree. And Marshawn Lloyd, we've got to acknowledge some of this is bad luck. I know people say, he's always hurt. He had appendicitis at one point. He was about back from the ankle injury as a rookie. I got appendicitis. So there's bad luck. And you know my stance on all these things, Dave, everyone gets hurt. This is the NFL and these running backs are having 20 car collisions every single week. It's, you know, you should be prepared for this. But Lloyd is in a great spot and he, you know, it's an opportunity for fantasy investors as well.

Dave Kluge (2:39)

So I want to ask a little bit, because I think this is the conversation that, like, we need to let breathe probably more than anything else today. Caleb Johnson has also been getting reps with the Ones, and there has been some pretty solid buzz since they made that trade for him. So I know right now, like, people are going crazy for Marshawn Lloyd. I've seen him go in as early as round five of fantasy drafts. Do you think that's about where he should be going, or would you temper expectations a little bit and maybe expect Caleb Johnson? Because what I remember is Matt LaFleur, prior to having Josh Jacobs, always split the backfield. Like, I am old enough to remember the free Aaron Jones. Aaron Jones needs more touches. Do you think that they lean on Marshawn Lloyd, giving him 20-25 touches per game like they did Josh Jacobs, or do we see a bit of a split here with some Caleb Johnson and maybe some Chris Brooks?

Bob Harris (3:23)

Talking to people on the ground, including most recently this week, Paul Brettel of the Wisconsin State Journal.

I mean, they think this is Lloyd's job to hold. But we know how this is a running back. I mean, it's your job until it's not, right? And they did bring Caleb Johnson in. It was a little late in the proceeding, so there may be a bit of a process. But if there's a position where somebody can come in and contribute immediately, it is running back. And I'll say, just based on what we've seen with our own eyes over the course of time, LeFleur likes that kind of running back.

The Caleb Johnson fits the mold. So we'll see if Fresh Start can do great things. Chris Brooks is going to be in the mix too. A great pass protector, so he'll probably have a roll on third downs and maybe cut into it a little bit. But basically, I've talked to at least three different people who cover the team on a daily basis, and they think this is Lloyd's opportunity to shine, and he's going to get that. But he has to shine. What we saw this summer, I mean, there were moments, the touchdown catch, we all saw the highlights of. I mean, he does have a little something to his game, so he'll need to cash in on that and stay on the field.