You might remember Daniel Kelley and John Daigle from our Weekly Rankings and the War Room. Well, just when it seemed like football was nearly over and they could both take a break until the preseason, they decided to start exchanging e-mails in what was really an attempt to ignore the Pro Bowl. Now they’re back, and what would’ve been easier to produce as a podcast quickly morphed into a conversation that lasted over the course of a few days. Here is that conversation.
A 2015 fantasy football preview, of sorts
The fantasy stock of Ryan Tannehill and the future of Odell Beckham highlight the first-ever e-mail exchange between our own Daniel Kelley and John Daigle.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Assuming Peyton is back, where does he go among quarterbacks?
KELLEY: Definitely behind Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck, probably behind Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Tony Romo, and Tom Brady. Maybe a few others for me, as well. I'm selling that stock.
DAIGLE: I’m doubting he’s back, but since we’re playing this game: Somewhere between 8-12. I’ll most likely have Brady either one spot higher or lower (don’t look at me like that), and I can guarantee there will be a major debate between the Ryan Tannehill/Matthew Stafford/Peyton tier. Also, I hate that I typed that.
KELLEY: Go back a year or two and tell someone you’re putting “Tannehill/Stafford/Peyton” into one group. The reactions will NOT be good. Anyway, I was expecting disagreement here. I think there’s a very good chance Peyton is back to being Peyton next year, that the December quad injury really was the reason for his struggles. But I don’t feel comfortable enough in that thought to have him as a roster anchor. If I have Peyton next year, it’ll be because he fell to me, not because I reached.
DAIGLE: Trust me, I only have to go back a day or two to thinking about that very statement to realize my own reactions are NOT good. Think about it for a second. In this new NFL where “Draws PI” is listed under the Skills category of nearly every quarterback’s resume, Tannehill just threw for 4,000 yards. I repeat: RYAN TANNEHILL THREW FOR 4,000 YARDS. Forget about the new rules and how they benefit him (or everyone, for that matter). For better or worse, he finished the year as the No. 9 QB (!!!). But sprinkle in the small amount of rushing he randomly discovered during the final seven weeks of the season, and really that second tier of QB could legitimately be led by (gulp) Ryan Tannehill.
I don’t believe Peyton has fallen off that much, and I would bet that injury was even worse than we were initially led to believe. However, to immediately nix the thought of Manning sinking that far seems silly.
How does Odell Beckham Jr. rank among WRs?
DAIGLE: First off, the court motions to waive all uses of “ODB” when mentioning Beckham henceforth. I’m too old to be googling acronyms in the middle of the season.
KELLEY: Motion granted, if only because I never know whether to call him “ODB” or “OBJ.” I’m not nearly hip enough for this game. Anyway, much as I love the kid, I will have him 8-10 at the position at best.
DAIGLE: Whoa!! We might need get PFT Commenter on the phone in order to properly hashtag that hot take. Why the angst? The guy only finished the year as No. 5 receiver despite not playing a single snap prior to Week 5. Typically, I would back you in these types of scenarios, especially since I’m one to go against the grain. But Beckham is clearly a stud that showed no signs of slowing down.
Is he a first-rounder? Eh, maybe. I would listen to both sides of that argument. I can’t, however, keep him out of my preseason top five. In fact, remind me to configure some type of Out of Office note during our preseason War Rooms next year as to automatically respond to those asking questions, “Sorry, I had to go see about a receiver.”
KELLEY: I love him. He carried me to the two titles I won this year, and got me to the finals in another league. But there’s the Return Of Victor Cruz to worry about, plus there’s just the factor of teams figuring something out. Depending on how rosters shake out, I’ll have some large number of Dez, Jordy, Brown, Demaryius, Calvin, Green, Julio, Cobb, maybe Hilton ahead of him. I just prefer the track records.
Of course, this basically guarantees that I won’t have Beckham in … any leagues? Someone, maybe most people, will agree with your take, and I’ll be without him all year. I’m fine with that, as I do think he’s unlikely to be quite as good as he was last year, but if he is … I’ll miss out.
What upcoming free agent makes the most impact in the fantasy market?
DAIGLE: UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT: I don’t think the Green Bay Packers re-sign Randall Cobb. I think he’ll ask for too much money and, having just drafted the lot of Davante Adams, Jeff Janis, and Jared Abbrederis, as well as the continued presence of Jarrett Boykin on the roster, it might not be worth handing him a potential $50-60 million dollar deal. Lest we forget, the Packers have become a machine at drafting wideouts, anyways. Adams, (formerly) Charles Johnson, Cobb, and Nelson. That makes four of the last eight receivers drafted by Green Bay that developed into NFL-caliber players. It would certainly be a frantic splash if the dominoes were to fall in that way, but I think that’s our biggest free agent of the year.
KELLEY: I don't see it. Adams was good this year, and sure, Jarrett Boykin's still there to do ... something, but I think they bring Cobb back. I think the running-back carousel is the most interesting fantasy storyline in free agency. DeMarco Murray? Adrian Peterson? Marshawn Lynch? Heck, C.J. Spiller. Moreno, Bradshaw, Vereen, Ingram, Gore, Mathews. We could see CRAZY movement at RB this offseason.
DAIGLE: Even if the running-back carousel were to win Most Interesting, I don’t think the proper names move all that much. I still have Murray re-signing with the Dallas Cowboys and Ryan Mathews going back to San Diego. Lynch makes for an interesting commodity, but Gore? Spiller? Ingram? If either of those three are the most sought-after names in the market, I grant you the permission to be the Jessie to my Gale.
KELLEY: Sure, I don’t think Spiller is a first-rounder next year, no matter where he ends up. But take a look at the free agents this offseason. No one really thinks Demaryius Thomas is going anywhere. Jeremy Maclin either. There’s nothing interesting at quarterback unless that whole Tom Brady thing becomes reality. Julius Thomas is the only interesting tight end. Meanwhile, there are so many running backs who could move. Someone we don’t think of now will be the primary ball carrier in, I don’t know, Tampa Bay or Tennessee. Arizona will add someone to ease the load on Andre Ellington. Maybe Seattle changes, maybe San Diego. Buffalo isn’t likely to have even a competent quarterback, so whoever is the running back there — Fred Jackson or otherwise — will have every chance to capitalize. I’m not saying I’m interested in all the free agent RBs, but I am definitely interested in some of them. Even if I don’t know which ones yet.
