Where to draft players returning from injury | 'NFL Fantasy Live'

Intro the middle under pressure and he will be sacked. He's coming out of the game. Zach Wilson is into the game for Robertson. Lob left for Garrett Wilson one handed catch. That's a jet touchdown. This game is over. Rodgers is targeting an improbable playoff return. It's a speed bridge. We have Aaron in the house. He's back to support his team. Wilson throwing end zone. Touchdown Allen Lazard. Zach Wilson looking to run for the two. Tie game. New York Jets are thinking what could have been for him to be walking already. I wouldn't put anything past him. The Jets are gonna win it and come from behind to beat the Eagles. How likely are we to see Aaron Rodgers again this season? He's fueled by doubt. A lot of people can doubt him. I'm not doubting him. Turns out doubt did not supersede modern medicine or science. Aaron Rodgers did not finish the 2024 season. Not alone though. Look at the Pro Bowls as well as all the accomplishment on this list went from rookies to perennial Pro bowlers like Robinson, like Rodgers, big Mike Williams went down rough injury for tank Dell. So how do we approach things when players are coming back Aaron Rodgers from injury? So let's start with just the draft in general because these guys are on the board. Sometimes they're falling. Where do you start Marcus, when it comes to let's say, a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers? Well Aaron Rodgers I would probably wait until the double digit rounds, maybe round 12 or so. I think, you know, it's worth kind of taking a pause on Aaron Rodgers. It is partially the injury right. Coming off an Achilles injury something that Michael Florio you pointed out that really in the last 30 years or so, 40 years, the only guy who's really come back from an injury like that has been Dan Marino, who was about 7 or 8 years younger than Aaron Rodgers is right now. So you're talking about a quarterback that really the best days of him as a runner are well behind him. Now. He's going to be even less mobile. That's going to place even more emphasis on him being super efficient, throwing the footbal. I'm just not sure that Aaron Rodgers can be that guy to do anything more than be maybe a Anthony Richardson top 15 at best quarterback. So if I can wait till the double digit rounds, I feel better there. And Marcus mentioned the age difference of course with with Aaron Rodgers. Now we've got a situation where Anthony Richardson, he was young coming into the league still young now. How do you approach him coming back from the shoulder injury I mean we're all in on Anthony Richardson on this show. I think he's a fifth round pick right now and that's right after the Elite Four quarterbacks are off the board. And I'm comfortable taking him there because of the upside that he brings. He averaged 25 fantasy points per game in just the two full games that we saw him play last year, but he is a unicorn. We know that he could run like Cam Newton. He could run for double digit touchdowns. But unlike the other quarterbacks and Allen and Hertz, who could do that, he could also run for a thousand yards. Plus, I trust Shane Steichen there. He always gets the most out of his passing attack. The Colts have added Nick Chubb some fun young wide receivers. I'm all in on Richardson, as I know you both are as well. Yeah, so much value in a guy with that much upside. And there was a lot of upside from the year he came into the league. All the way until the injury. Nick Chubb has been like lock solid, as dependable as the tides. But then he has that massive knee injury and the extensive recovery. Marcus how are you approaching it I think I'm lower on Nick Chubb than a lot of people are right now. I would prefer to wait until round ten or later. I've seen him coming off the board in round 8 or 9. Our pal Laquan Jones likes to remind us that he can lift the Volkswagen. I mean, we've seen the videos of him squatting. And look, I hope for the best. I like watching the Chubb play. I think he's an incredible football player. A lot of fun to watch as a running back. But you mentioned Patrick, the devastating knee injury. This is not the first major knee injury he's had in his career. The Browns, for their part, have been very quiet about when they think he's going to be available. In the meantime, Jerome Ford, Deontay Foreman they're sort of to hold things down. I don't think they have an incentive to really rush him back, and when he does, chances Tank Dell are he's going to be part of a committee. I just would rather take the chance on other running backs going around him. Yeah, one of the more brutal and deflating injuries of the past season. Hopefully Nick Chubb is able to make a full recovery. Also brutal and deflating because Tank Dell was spectacular in his rookie year. How are you approaching drafting him now Mike look he certainly can't lift a Volkswagen. But I have no concerns about injury. I mean, it's not even the most recent physical ailment that he's had to come back from, but he is back. He is out there on the field with the Houston Texans. I like him in the sixth round. I know a lot of people pull him up to the fifth, but my concerns are nothing injury related. It's exactly what Marcus was saying earlier. There is now a lot of mouths to feed in this offense, and Dell, while he is the cheapest in preseason, he's also been the third wide receiver, playing mostly in three wide receiver sets, a lot of upside, just a little bit of a risky floor. So I love getting Jonathan Brooks him more in the sixth round than the fifth. Yeah, it feels like the circumstance more of an issue than any doubt of Tank. Dell coming back from his injury time. A big factor in these things. It was November 11th last year when Jonathan Brooks tore his ACL. Now the rookie coming in starting his career. How do you feel Marcus I feel okay about Jonathan Brooks. Mostly because the age concern is a little bit lessened. There And Florio has pointed out in the past that you mentioned the date of when he tore his ACL at Texas. Well, Todd Gurley coming out of college tore his ACL right about the same point. And we saw him a little bit of a slow start. But once he hit the field as a rookie he was all business there. And I think you're going to see similar situation for Brooks once he's fully healthy and is ready to go for the Carolina Panthers. Florio also mentioned Dave Canales and the things he's done with quarterbacks, wide receivers, etc. let's not forget that Canales had a big hand in Rashad White being a high level fantasy running back last season. I think when Brooks is ready to go, he surpasses Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders as the RB one, and because he catches the football, that means we don't have to worry so much about game scripts or the Mike Williams Panthers offense maybe struggling a little bit at the end of the year. Yeah, an offense didn't get a chance to be on the field a whole lot last year. Hopefully things on the way up, let's go. A guy who's no longer across the street from us, we were celebrating every time Mike and Keenan were on the field. Chargers stuff happened. Everybody got hurt. How do you feel about Mike Williams this year? I loved Mike Williams in the past. I'm kind of shying away from him in drafts right now. It's not just the fact that he is coming off the torn ACL. Like Marcus was saying earlier, his quarterback is 40 years old, coming off of an injury that not many quarterbacks have really had to come back from. So there's a double injury risk there. Plus, I think with Rodgers situation there might just be a lot of short, quick throws and that is not Mike Williams strength. He needs a little bit of time to get open downfield. I think there will be some big games. I just think they'll be inconsistent and you won't really know when