Fantasy Fatcast: Return of the Fat Jedis

My former co-worker, Eric Mack, and I are back at it again, with our “Fantasy Fatcast” podcast! We plan to do two podcasts a week going forward, and we kicked things off this week reviewing the rookies, breakouts and busts from the 2015 Fantasy Football season.

But it’s not your boring old season-in-review kind of podcast, as much as it is, what did 2015 teach us that will affect our 2016 Fantasy Football leagues?

It’s like saying, my last relationship went horribly, horribly wrong – but how can I use that information and experience to make my next relationship last for more than 6 days!?!

It’s just like that.

Do Rookie Runners Really Rock?

One thing Emack and I discussed is the never-before-seen love affair Fantasy drafters have with a rookie running back.

Seriously, the accolades being poured on Ezekiel Elliott have pushed him up into the first round of Fantasy Football drafts.
Emack and I discussed how we’ve never seen anything like this before – and what exactly do we think this means?

For one, Todd Gurley’s success in 2015 is partially to blame for the over-inflating of EZ-E’s ADP. Everyone looks at what Gurley did coming off a torn ACL, and they figure the Ohio State product should be nearly as good in his first go with the Cowboys.

There are plenty of other reasons Elliott is getting so much draft love, including a fantastic Cowboys offensive line, and an injured incumbent in Darren McFadden.

But really, no rookie has ever been regularly drafted in Round 1 of standard, yearly Fantasy Football leagues, and it’s a mistake to do that this year. We explain why!

What to Expect From the Fantasy Fatcast

Our goal is to do two podcasts a week, likely on Mondays and Thursdays going forward. That might change when the NFL’s regular season starts, as we hope to do a weekly review episode in the early part of the week, and a weekly preview episode for the latter part.

We’re a couple of goofballs that love to make fun of each other as much as we like Fantasy Football, and we’ve worked together in different forms for the past 13 or so years, dating back to our time as Senior Fantasy Writers at CBSSports.com.

Somehow, we’ve made friends! So we plan to ask many of those guys to come on as our guests over the next few months.

• Will Carroll, FanDuel.com
• Jake Ciely, RotoExperts.com
• Nando Di Fino, FNTSY
• Jamey Eisenberg, CBSSports.com
• Scott Engel, RotoExperts.com
• Michael Fabiano, NFL.com
• Tony Fernandez, MyFantasyLeague.com
• John Halpin, FoxSports.com
• Bob Lung, FFConsistency.com
• Dave Richard, CBSSports.com
• Geoff Stein, MyFantasyLeague.com

We have already listed out the topics we plan to discuss in the coming episodes, so keep your ears open:

• 6/30 – Reviewing 2015 Fantasy Football rookies, breakouts and busts
• 7/5 — Positional Preview: Quarterbacks
• 7/7 – Positional Preview: Running Backs
• 7/11 — Positional Preview: Wide Receivers
• 7/14 – Positional Preview: Tight Ends, Draft lottery ideas
• 7/18 – Positional Preview: Kickers (SWEET!), Defenses/Specials Teams
• 7/21 – Rookie Rankings
• 7/25 – Injuries to Know About as NFL Preseason Begins
• 7/28 – First- and Second-Round Draft Previews
• 8/1 – The Zero-RB Theory: Friend or Foe!?!

Our goal is to keep you informed with our 50 combined years of Fantasy Football playing experience, and keep you entertained, with 85 combined years of cracking wise!

Please subscribe to the “So-Called Fantasy Experts” podcasts, including the Fantasy Fatcast, and leave us some feedback on what you thought of the show – and what you’d like to hear on future episodes!