Brad Evans Interview | Grow Some Huevos, De'Zhaun Stribling, Matthew Golden

So, we have someone that is a contributor for The Athletic, someone that is well-known in the fantasy football community, and I kind of want to get to know you a little bit more. And this is Brad Evans. Brad, how you doing? Thank you so much for the time. >> Hola, amigo. I'm fabulous. I mean, we got a wonderful event here, National Fantasy Football Draft Day, Viva Las Vegas. I've been here 48 hours, and somehow I'm not in a pine box. Like, usually I have a rule, 48 hours only in Vegas, cuz I come here like two, three times a year. I'm in the best shape of my life after a two-day period, and I made dozens of trips to this town. So, I'm winning. >> Dude, let's go. So, if you're in the best shape of your life, did you have a chance to take your shirt off, shirt off the bod at the Stadium Swim last night? That was I don't know if you went to that party. >> Oh, I was there. I was sweating my balls off, cuz it was still like 105° when the sun went down, but yeah, it was off the hook. It was a It was a great event, open bar. I didn't, you know, get down to my skivvies, but, you know, a lot of talent coming out of the woodworks from various places in Vegas. And, you know, it's It was great hamming it up, a lot of people in the industry, complete strangers I don't even know. That's the kind of experience you get in Vegas around fantasy football, cuz we're all of a similar mind, and we just want to win our leagues. >> It's interesting the the idea of The Athletic has always intrigued me, because for so long journalism and media is about, "Oh, how can I get the upper hand?" With The Athletic, it's like, "We're a team of media members that are working together." >> Yeah. >> I mean, I mean, you've been around for a while. Like, have you noticed that cutthroat kind of side of the industry, and then versus The Athletic is a little different? >> Yeah, I mean, they're on my The New York Times, obviously. So, there's a a great deal of journalistic integrity at The Athletic. So, you know, that can work for and against you in a way, because, let's be real. Like, am I really a journalist? No, I'm a columnist. So, I'm somebody who has an opinion, and we have a very different perspective covering fantasy sports. So, there's injections of personality in the pieces. It It's not true journalism. You know, you're getting down, you're you're finding the facts, you're writing information, you're serving the public with the need of traditional sports journalism takes and views. Fantasy operates a little bit differently. So, that's a a bizarre dichotomy a little bit within The Athletic, but they're very supportive of fantasy content because you know, call a spade a spade, it clicks. And if you write compelling pieces, people will seek it out. I cover college basketball as well. Uh and more from like sports betting perspective, and that's the type of genre that draws in eyeballs, especially around March Madness. So, The Athletic very supportive, New York Times shout-out, they do a tremendous job giving us what we need to hopefully succeed. >> You are not afraid to speak your mind, give your opinion, and it kind of reminds me of those fantasy creators that are afraid to give opinions and kind of stand by their wrong takes. Um because they're just they're just afraid of like the backlash that they're going to get. They want to be right all the time. They want to say, "Last year, I told you to draft this guy and that guy, and I was correct." And they never mention anything. They don't want to get called out by fantasy receipts. Um so, fantasy creators having opinions, like being more energetic and having personality, that's something that you're well behind. >> Yeah, look, I'm an open book. Like I know how this business operates. Uh I've been doing fantasy content for over two decades. And you know, it's like the Howard Stern effect. You know, you kind of want to live in the middle. You're You're going to have half your audience that loves you. You're going to have the other half that absolutely hates you. And there's very rarely people that are they're in the middle. So, the haters still come back and feed from the trough. Even when you get [ __ ] wrong, they they just do. And you know, they're going to be like, "Oh man, I hate Brad Evans. I hate the content that he creates. He never gets anything right. So, I'm going to go and read his material because I want to lambaste him. I want to throw those barbs at him. I maybe want to fade some of his picks cuz it it's like guaranteed to be wrong, but I'm still winning because they're still consuming the content." And a lot of the fantasy creators that are out there that don't embrace the haters, they're missing the point. The entire point of this business is to draw audience members, draw eyeballs, get people to, you know, pop in a podcast if you're on it, or watch that piece of video. The good, the bad, the ugly, and always always operate in transparency. If you're not doing that as a fantasy football creator, you're failing your audience massively. >> I love that. That's how you build an audience is like if you have personality and you're willing to stick with like your wrong takes. I think a lot of people, you know, respect that at the end of the day. Cuz I've actually kind of teetered along that line as well. Like I've always wanted to be correct about a lot of things, but >> We all do. >> We want to take our victory laps, but at the same time, I love self-deprecation. It's just part of my personality. So, if I get stuff wrong, I remind people, "Oh my god, Royce Freeman never materialized in Denver back in the day." That was a massive failure, but I also got this right as well. So, there's always that give and take. You want to create a level of affability, likeability. Just be human because, you know, at the end of the day, nobody's batting a thousand. We're all just hoping to hit like 54.2% and make a profit in betting. >> Royce Freeman, man, what a callback. Is that one that haunts you to this day? >> Uh yeah, the the wound is never healed. I can tell you that right now. And I get friendly reminders from from readers, "Oh, you remember Royce Freeman? You remember Montee Ball?" It It's some like weird affinity with Denver running backs that it materialized for me, but yeah, got those swings and misses, got some other stuff right, but it's all in jest and good fun and the fact that they're clicking and and engaging with the content and creating conversation. Again, that's that's exactly what I'm seeking every piece that I put out there. >> Well, here in 2026, you're probably swinging for the fences or maybe not because for the last couple of preseason games, maybe we're on to something, but De'Shawn Shrubling. Oh, I got him started. Let's go. >> Yeah, making my heart go pitter-patter. >> I I I knew you were very vocal about him, so please. >> Yeah, so look, there's always these shining stars that kind of come out of the woodwork. Some guys never transition into the regular season with meaningful numbers and it's just kind of a flash in the pan and it's kind of like, you know, a sucker job. But, Shrubling, look, I put my money where my my my mouth is. I'm I'm a host, a co-host with my buddy Pat Boyle on BetMGM tonight. So, I'm a gambler. Uh admittedly and and a fantasy football player as well. And you you start hearing that drum beat in camp and you're you're reading the beat writer reports and you're like and then you're comparing the college film, familiar with his game, it'll miss. Pretty, you know, a second round draft pick, excellent skill set, fits the Shanahan system. You look at some of the other affiliated players around him, Mike Evans, Mike Cousins, uh age 33, long in the tooth. Deebo Samuel, wrong side of 30. George Kittle, coming off the Achilles injury. There's an opportunity. You can see the path if he flourishes in camp, if he shows out in the preseason, he builds that chemistry and trust with Brock Purdy and the trust with Kyle Shanahan, he's going to get fed and he's getting fed and I saw that coming about 2 and 1/2 3 weeks ago. He was 30 to 1 at BetMGM to win offensive rookie of the year and I'm like, yeah, that's worth a shot. Now, that number has come down to like, I think it's 10 to 1 as of literally yesterday. >> Wow. >> So, it it it's stuff like that, you know, I could look like a an incredible [ __ ] And people are like, "Oh, man, you're just glazing, you know, the the trendy player right now." And I'm like, "Well, man, see the eye test, you compare it with the measurables, compare with the advanced data that he accumulated, you know, and straight from the horse's mouth, the guy who's calling the plays, the guy who's throwing him the football, you can see the potential that is there. It's getting crazy. It's sizzling hot in the marketplace, but I was right here in one of these drafts yesterday, 12-team best ball, took him around eight. >> Wow. >> Like I'm Let's go. >> Yeah, let's let's do it. Why not? I mean, if you like your guy, you like your guy. And like you got to get ahead of the curve. You got to get ahead of the curve. And and Evans, I mean, the way the contract was same thing with Kirk Cousins, it's like a 5-year contract, but for veterans, they can it's pretty much a 1-year contract at that point. I wanted to just hear a little bit more about those players that you're like really high on compared to uh where other people may be. So, I'm not just talking about like the ADP being just 10 picks higher. I'm talking about like 30 to 50 picks higher. Like someone that you're really high on that a lot of people might not be. >> Uh I hate to say this as a Bears fan, and I might have to shower after this interview, uh but Matthew Golden of the Green Bay Packers. Um I mean, this may sound like a sizzling hot take to a lot of people that are out there, especially the Christian Watson fan boys and fan girls that may be in attendance, but let's, you know, let's call it like it is. Christian Watson, his hamstrings, I think are held together by duct tape and bubble licious, right? Like he's got a long and storied career of just injury failures. He was amazing when healthy, and he got back last year. And again, that clear path is apparent for target share, but Matthew Golden, you know, ran a sub-43 40-yard dash. He was all the buzz at Packers training camp last year. That didn't materialize in the regular season. Hell, he didn't score until the postseason, and he played like 12-13 games in the regular season. But, the average yards of separation per target to go and numerous near Donya, I was top 10 in the NFL last year. He was just not on the same page with Jordan Love. Love and possibly kept overthrowing him, which I could not explain given that, you know, the guy is a speed demon. And he's like, "Yeah, well, I'll Yeah, I'll throw over three by five yards on a consistent basis." I I think Golden is he's had a really strong camp. He is in 12 personnel packages, so two tight ends on the field. He's the second wide receiver opposite of Watson. It's not Jayden Reed. And he he he's got a clear path to target share. I think he's going to lead the team in receptions, yards, maybe not touchdowns. But, and you're getting him in like round nine, 10, or 11 of 12-team exercises, a lot of profit potential for Matthew Golden. So, go Willy Wonka on that ass. Buy a golden ticket. >> Oh my gosh. What Yeah, I like it. I like it. But, you know, everybody else It's the same thing with the Jaguars wide receiver room. Everybody's like, "Oh, Parker Washington." But, then they're like, "Oh, it's so so crowded." So, I mean, that's the fun of fantasy football. It's like there's a lot of doubt, you know. So, you just have to take a risk, but you got to look at ADP and be like, "Okay, if it's just a 10th round, swing for the fences. Why not?" >> Yeah, I mean, that that's the whole point. Like, once you get past really like round six, seven, and you you you got your core um you know, base of of a roster that's built in the construction, yeah, you are. You're trying to hit the home run now. You're you're trying to find those late-round values that I mean, I hate to say this phrase cuz it's just tired and played out, league winner. But, you know, it's part of the equation to get there. And if if those guys do break out, and you know, your team stays healthy and stiff-arms the injury imp, like you could be on a path to win your league, earn bragging rights, and talk [ __ ] to all your league mates. >> Yeah, absolutely. Which is like the best feeling ever, but >> It really is. >> Um, what what are your future goals? Where do you want to send to? Like what are your career goals? >> Well, I've done a little bit everything in my career. I've been an executive at Bally Sports when that was a short existence for a couple of years. I've created television shows, I've starred on the shows, I've EP'd shows, three of them that, you know, were distributed nationally through syndication on regional sports networks. I've been a writer, I've been an editor, um, now I'm a radio host, uh, you know, podcast. I've done everything in the business. But, I still think fantasy and to, you know, a certain extent, just gaming audience, so if you rope in betters as well, they're somewhat underserved. And, you know, there's still this kind of blockade by decision-makers at major media companies, uh, to really fully invest in interesting and compelling and engaging shows. So, you know, I'm still trying to knock down those doors. I'm never satisfied. You know, I'm a tireless worker. I I just want to try to take the genre the next step. What is that next step? Always trying to figure it out. The goal posts are shifting and moving, but you got to aim high and, you know, getting a fantasy analyst on a a major broadcast for Amazon or Netflix or ESPN or whatever it may be, having that voice in the room, I think is uh a next evolutionary step. Matthew Berry got it, you know, last couple of years on Football Night in America. That was a good step, but, you know, you got to have something with staying power to serve those audiences instead of just rudimentary analysis from guys that played the game. They have value, but, I mean, it's like 10,000-ft view perspectives and we got to drill down to the 60, 70, 80 million people that are betting, that are playing fantasy. And I again, I think they're underserved. >> Love it. Well, this Draft Nation event's going on. People are drafting. Seems like somebody made a good pick. Maybe it's Deebo Samuel Shrubling in the eighth. Who knows? >> Hope that was Deebo. >> a fire pick. I mean, he's worthy of a sixth pick, you know? Be honest, I mean. Sixth overall. That's a Wow. I didn't mean sixth round. I I I don't know what I said. >> It's Team Weebos. >> Yeah, noisy Weebos, man. Let's go. I love it. Well, one more thing we got. So, everything are what we've been doing for everyone that's been sitting down and chatting with us. We've been doing a mock draft. 12-team half PPR. >> Yep. >> Every person picks one player and we are trying to build the best team possible. I mean, we might be a little thin on running back right now. I'll go ahead and show you the roster, but we are moving along. We are down to the 8-12 right now. >> Okay. >> Uh so, yeah, we started with the number one overall pick. Austin Ekeler kicked us off and he he gave us a little bit of a surprise. >> Is he coming back? >> I I would That would actually >> he took CMC. That's >> Yeah, himself would have been less of a shocker, but Christian McCaffrey and then three straight wide receivers, then tight end, and then Dobbins and Stevenson. >> you know where we're at? We're in round eight. >> We are in round eight. >> And so, we got three running backs, got got our tight end in Tyler Boyd. We have the three wide receivers. I mean, you could go quarterback here. Um let's see who's left in the quarterback ranks. Ooh. You know, honestly, we can wait. I think we're going to wait around, but this is the time to go with the strip club. The Distribulator. It's round eight. I took him in round eight yesterday. This is the time to get Shrubling as your WR4. Immense upside. I'm telling you, folks, he's going to lead the Niners in receptions and receiving yards. Maybe not touchdowns, but if he checks those two boxes and becomes the player that he is capable of becoming and lives up to the hype that we're seeing right now, that's going to look like a steal. >> Well, so I want you to physically hit draft for him, but this is interesting because DeShawn Shrubling, I'm pretty sure you have to scroll pretty far. >> We got to We got to search. >> to search him at this point, yeah. >> Yeah, because a lot of these these drafts the data's not quite updated. Boom. >> Well, hey, I love it. I'm going to give no insight to the next person. That's the way it works. So, uh whether they're going to take a quarterback or not. But, Brad Evans, thank you so much for the time. >> Best of luck with everything, man. >> Yeah. >> This was awesome. >> Definitely.