Senior fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano is breaking down why Justin Jefferson should be selected number one overall, while Jen Piacenti has different thoughts on why they should be looking at a certain player in the backfield.
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00:00 Fantasy football draft season is here, Fab, so we gotta talk about who should be taken
00:04 at the 1.01.
00:06 Who's number one overall?
00:08 I'm going with Justin Jefferson, which is crazy because I'm a running backs truther.
00:11 I love running backs.
00:12 And this is the first time a consensus number one pick has not been a running back since
00:16 2016 when Antonio Brown was the consensus pick.
00:20 And oh by the way, he finished first in fantasy points among wide receivers that year.
00:24 Listen, I love running backs.
00:25 I love Christian McCaffrey and Austin Eckler and the studs at the position.
00:29 But this year, you're going to be able to get better running backs later in your draft.
00:33 And Justin Jefferson has been absolutely fantastic.
00:36 Nearly 400 fantasy points last year in some leagues.
00:40 And he is a kid who is on the rise.
00:41 His fantasy points have increased in each of his three years in the National Football
00:44 League.
00:45 He is more durable than a lot of the running back wide receivers.
00:48 Don't get hurt nearly as much.
00:50 You're also going to be in an offense that's going to throw the ball a lot with Kirk Cousins
00:53 under center.
00:54 And their defense in Minnesota is not very good.
00:55 So they're going to have to throw the football to stay in games.
00:58 Justin Jefferson is my guy and I can't believe I'm saying it because he's not a running back.
01:02 Yeah, but there was a running back last year who had more points in half-point PPR and
01:06 standard leagues.
01:07 And that was one Mr. Christian McCaffrey who you mentioned.
01:10 And I don't know why you're mad at him because this guy was phenomenal last year.
01:14 Especially after he went to the Niners.
01:16 He had 13 touchdowns last season.
01:18 10 of those came between week 7 and week 17.
01:22 He's a threat on the ground.
01:23 He's a receiving threat.
01:24 And oh, by the way, he can also throw a touchdown pass.
01:26 I mean, he might be fourth on the quarterback death chart for San Francisco.
01:30 You know Kyle Shanahan loves his shiny toys.
01:33 This offense is going to be built around Christian McCaffrey.
01:37 Why am I not taking Christian McCaffrey number one overall?
01:40 Oh yeah, I am.
01:42 And there are going to be people who do that.
01:44 Maybe some people will take Jamar Chase.
01:46 But a lot of people are going to take Justin Jefferson because of the durability factor.
01:50 Christian McCaffrey, two of the last three years, has had injuries that have cost him
01:54 a lot of playing time.
01:55 Elijah Mitchell's in the mix there too for the Niners.
01:58 And I'm not saying McCaffrey's not great because he is great and he's the number one running
02:01 back on my board.
02:03 But this year especially with wide receivers really starting to put up massive numbers.
02:09 I'm going wide out.
02:10 I'm going JJ.
02:11 And again, Jen, this is from a running back's truth.
02:13 I feel kind of dirty going with a wide receiver, but that's where we're at right now.
02:18 Arguably Christian McCaffrey is a wide receiver too.
02:21 I mean, you don't know how Kyle Shanahan's going to use him.
02:23 I'm sticking with my running back.
02:24 I'm sticking with what's worked for me to win plenty of fantasy leagues over the years.
02:28 But you guys can make your own decisions.
02:30 Be sure to check out our fantasy football draft kit at SI.com.
02:33 [MUSIC]
02:34 [END]
02:34 (upbeat music)
02:37 (whooshing)