In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter:
Mock drafts are fun, but there’s one tiny problem: we don’t know what we don’t know. I mean, we’ve gotten a lot more right than wrong here — thus, the job titles and accompanying celebrity lifestyles — but “being an actual running back” and “making assumptions about an actual running back based on history, data, gut, and several other factors” are still two different things. They can work together beautifully… but they’re still different.
So we asked Austin Ekeler — Commanders running back, PPR darling, forever-loved league-winner for many of us — to go over our most recent mock draft and let us know what he thought.
As was our hope, we learned some stuff.
First and foremost, great guy. We got the opportunity to do this because we’re partnering with Austin on his charity leagues. Call it a plug or whatever, but the concept is cool and we’re glad to help out for a good cause!
Second, he likes Omarion Hampton. A lot. A reading from the Book of Austin:
I think Hampton is going to be a star in the league. I really do. I think he's gonna be a dynamic player. He's going into a great offense, he's going to get the ball thrown to him and he's going to be a pivotal part in that in that offense, especially down in the in the red zone. And we know Harbaugh likes to to run the ball so I think it's just an opportunity for him to become one of these emerging stars that we've seen with so many other running backs.
Third, Kyle Pitts remains a quagmire for everyone, even Austin Ekeler.
Fourth and fifth, he sees big things for Drake London and Alvin Kamara.
Fifth through 30th or so? Go have a look! 👇
SEE ALL OF AUSTIN’S ANALYSIS HERE
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We Made This Pretty Graphic, Too
I am now personally convinced on moving Hampton up my draft boards (to be fair, I was part of the interview and there was very real excitement there). But here’s a quick snapshot of where some of the highlighted players stand in the current fantasy universe.
CHECK OUT ALL OF THE FANTASY LIFE RANKINGS HERE
Is Murray-McBride The New Mahomes-Kelce?
Trey McBride took a little break from Tight End U activities when he was asked about the potential he had with quarterback Kyler Murray. He didn’t hesitate when looking for a comp. That happens coming off a season when the duo connected on 111 of 147 targets for 1,146 yards and only 2 TDs. Was this just the beginning?
Kendall Valenzuela studied the week of NFL news and pulled out the fantasy-relevant content that YOU NEED TO KNOW. There is potential for a big target earner in Pittsburgh and a possible favorite for the QB job in Cleveland. Check it out.⤵️
CMC Ready To Run It Back?
Fantasy managers, even after injury news permeated from San Francisco that Christian McCaffrey was banged up at the beginning of 2024 training camp, still had the intestinal fortitude to take the artist known as Run CMC with the 1.01 in fantasy drafts. Disaster struck when he played just four games, and those same fantasy managers coughed up that intestinal fortitude. Now, CMC appears to be healthy. Ready to try again? He won’t go 1.01, but it won’t take long to hear his name.
Ian Hartitz went mining for gold with the 49ers, looking to see if some good fortune from the injury gods could lead them back to the juggernaut offense they were in 2023. It’s not just CMC. Brock Purdy needs to be in the top-10 QB conversation. George Kittle is a top-three TE. Brandon Aiyuk is looking at a healthy return from a season-ending knee injury. Other WRs could step forward, too. This could strike gold … health permitting. 👇🏼
Around the Watercooler
Note: Austin Ekeler had no role in picking these links.
📺 All this Omarion Hampton talk — here’s Thor’s scouting report on him.
🤔 What will new OCs do for fantasy values? WE HAVE ANSWERS
🐬 ICYMI: We talked to a neuroscientist about fantasy biases and dynasty drafts.
👀 A pair of RB sleepers to consider: Jordan Mason’s contingent upside is elite.
😬 Scared of going RB-heavy? Don’t be.
🚀 Three rookie WR sleepers. All with WR1 upside on their teams.
