Get to Know Dave Kluge, RB Draft Strategies, One Player He Loves

All right, guys. We're joined by someone that has over 80,000 followers on Twitter. Uh, SiriusXM fantasy anal an analysis host and also uh creator or host of at football guys. I want to know a little bit more about Football Guys a little bit later on, but Dave Klug, that's how you pronounce your last name, right? >> You got it. Yeah. One of the nice things about being in this industry for a few years, nobody ever got the first or the last name right. And now after, you know, being on YouTube enough, it's uh I feel like I'm bringing honor to my family name by getting people to finally pronounce it correctly. >> I was thinking Cludge. I think that's where everybody leans towards, but then I was like, "No, there's no D." >> Cludge, cludgy, Cluj, basically anything but Kluggy, but people are getting there now. >> Kugi, I love it. Like Chris Cluey. Remember Chris? >> Yeah. Punter for the Minnesota Vikings. I do. >> There you go. Elite ball knowledge. This guy does know ball. And we're going to talk about that here in a little bit. But um yeah, so like I was mentioning, football guys. Let's get into that first real quick. What what exactly is that and how did that come about? >> So, Football Guys is not my company. I am a part of Football Guys, but they started as a magazine company back in the 1990s. I stumbled across Football Guys when I was in high school in 2006. They had this rate my team feature where you can go and you could input all of your players in there and it would tell you how your team was, tools, like, you know, what you should do to get ready for the season, players you should add off the waiver wire and all that. And I was just immediately enthralled with them. And then I started digging into their rankings and I realized it was so different than what other websites were doing. They had different rankers on there. They were giving very different opinions than what I was used to. So I became a subscriber in 2006. And when I got into the industry in 2019, they were the number one company I wanted to work for. So I was thrilled when I got that opportunity with them. I've been with them now since 2021. So this is uh hard to believe. You know, it's been over 5 years that I've been with Football Guys, but uh kind of a jack of all trades over there. I do some of the advertising, some of our partnerships with other companies, and then of course hosting the uh show, the Football Guys fantasy football show and all that stuff. So, just uh really really happy to be a part of that team. >> And you mentioned 2019 being the year that you got into the industry. I want to back up a little bit and just talk about your journey. What kind of prompted you to get into fantasy football content creation? >> So, I just love fantasy football. And I know that's like the most generic uh way to say this, but I started off on Reddit. So, I was just writing like fulllength articles on Reddit and submitting them. And then in 2019, somebody from Fantasy Pros reached out and they said, "Hey, would you be interested in writing for Fantasy Pros?" And in my mind, I'm like, "This is awesome. Like, I'm going to be doing shows with Mike Tager. I'm about to be a celebrity." Not really the way it worked. They put me on their MLB news desk, an NBA news desk where I was doing game recaps. I was getting paid 50 cents per game recap. So, uh, got my foot in the door doing that, but it was a it was a fun way to get started. And then from there, um, guys working at Fantasy Pro said, you know, you should get on Twitter, start sharing some of your takes out there. So, I started up a Twitter and it just kind of snowballed from there. And then obviously 2019 is when I started 2020, we all know what happened in 2020. And there was a huge influx of new content creators that kind of came into the space. And I feel like because I had that little bit of a head start, I was able to kind of just like ride the top of that wave as we saw all of these new content creators flooding the space in 2020. >> Yeah. You mentioned Twitter and that's actually how I discovered you because I I met you last night and I was like your Twitter account is hilarious because it's just so witty and actually you have a tweet that I wanted to read that you uh you posted the other day. >> Uh the quote everyone is drafting running backs early so you need to draft your running backs early end quote narrative is exactly why you shouldn't draft running backs early. >> Yes. >> And there's some truth to that. You know it's like a little bit of wittiness and but it's like okay little bit of truth. And I read a little bit further in the comments, you were like, "You're not saying completely zero RB strategy cuz everybody's saying, oh, running back is uh the way to go early in the first two rounds, first three rounds at least." So, what what's your opinion on that on drafting running backs early? >> So, I think that we have seen historically running backs get hurt at a higher rate than any other position. They get hurt at a higher rate. They miss more games per injury and it's just a very volatile position. Over the last two years, we have seen these outlier seasons where running backs drafted early have stayed healthy and wide receivers drafted early have been hurt at a higher rate. So now we're just willing to throw away decades of data telling us that these guys that are basically getting in car crashes 25 times per game are going to stay healthier. And I'm not buying into that. But now we kind of have this FOMO type mentality where everybody's saying we need to get our running backs early. And I really think that that has opened up great value for other positions. Brock Bowers should be a guy that I think should be going late first round. you can get him in the late second round. Drake London, Malik Neighbors, Nico Collins, there's some really good wide receivers that are falling into round two. So, I think that everybody kind of has this fear of missing out, but if everybody is drafting that same way, you're settling for lesser running backs when there are better positions available. So, I don't say I'm not saying you have to go zero running back. I'm not saying that you can't take Jamir Gibbs or Bejian Robinson in round one. I mean, I'm very high on Chase Brown. I think Chase Brown is a guy you could take in round one, but I think there are pockets of elite positions available early in drafts that now you can pivot to. And then because everybody's getting their running backs early, we're getting guys like David Montgomery, Quinn Sean Judkins, Cam Scataboo falling into rounds five, six of drafts where you can start wide receiver heavy, you can get yourself an elite tight end and then get some mid-round running backs. So I think that people are just misreading the market as a whole this year. And on that note, what do you feel about drafting team backfields as opposed to just drafting the running back? Because I know a lot of people, for instance, are out on Kairen Williams. Well, with the Rams expected to be so good and them running the ball a lot more and is it kind of like a Jir Gibbs, David Montgomery kind of situation with like drafting team backfields or you just, hey, I like my guys. Let me just try to get the guys that I know are going to get that full volume. So, I do think that if you're drafting team backfields, you're basically playing not to lose. And I'm a believer in playing to win. So, I want to swing for the high-end range of outcomes. And I think that if you can get a position where like if you invest a first- round pick in Jonathan Taylor and you can get Seth McGawan at the very end of your draft to handcuff that, I think it's worth it. Same thing like if you can get a Brian Robinson to handcuff your Bejian Robinson, I think that it's worth it. But when I look at taking two guys like Kiren Williams and Blake Horm, I fear that you're just settling for safe low output and that's not what I'm going for. So, if I do plant one of those flags on Kairen Williams or Blake Horm, I'm basically saying in that draft that I expect the backfield to break in their direction and then rather than trying to team up with another guy in that backfield, I'll add a guy from another team that could be an injury away from huge upside. And whether that guy works in as my RB2 or my flex player or trade bait if I have too many running backs, I think that's the way that I go. I feel like if you're just going after two guys that are going in the middle rounds in the same backfield, you're giving yourself a safe floor. But I want the ceiling more than I want the floor. >> Okay. Well, if you take a Saquon Barkley, you know that Tank Bigby you can get later on in the draft. Like that's a leak winner right there. Um >> and then Josh Jacobs looming suspension. We would hope that Marshon Lloyd, I mean like all the tangibles, and tangibles you want to say. Um >> he would be essentially a league winner. We would hope, right? Um but then like a Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, you know, so it's like I don't know about the injury aspect of it, but I mean I guess you got to swing for the fences. So, and if we're on the topic of handcuffs, there's one right now that people just are not talking about, and that's Ray Davis. And I think people see that Tai Johnson is just like always kind of involved as a pass catcher, so they'd think that there'd be some sort of split. We've seen two games that Ray Davis has been a starter since he's been drafted. James Cook has been mostly healthy. In those two games, Ray Davis has seen 23 opportunities, had 147 and 174 yards in those two games. So, that's one where like, yeah, if you have James Cook, target Ray Davis so you can protect yourself there. But even if you don't draft James Cook, you can get Ray Davis late and then if James Cook goes down, not only is the James Cook drafter kind of going to be hurting there, but then you've got a guy that you can look at as a top 15 running back on a week- toeek basis. So I'm just trying to load up the back end of my bench with as many of those injuryway running backs as possible. >> I love that. I never thought of that. I always assume like, okay, I got to worry about my own team, but the way you put it, yeah, it might make sense to go up that ext. And with Ray Davis as well, I know there's a lot of like depth charts like James Cook. Second on the depth chart might be Tai Johnson. So everybody's like, "Oh, Ty Johnson's the handcuff." No, it's about the player that resembles the starter most likely. If that player were to get hurt, who would go in? And Ray Davis is a uh perfect example of that. Um I want to talk a little bit more about SiriusXM and how you got into that. So you were talking about fantasy pros and you're talking about football guys. Uh did they reach out to you? Did you have to reach out to them? So, we kind of have a uh a warm sort of welcome there for me. Bob Harris is a football guy staffer and he's been on SiriusXM for 15 years. So, I've been a very frequent guest on SiriusXM. But this year, we partnered with NFC. We're doing the Football Guys online championship. It's a tournament with over 6,000 people, $350 entry with $300,000 grand prize up top. Um over a million dollars in guaranteed money. And we are sponsoring that. Uh, one of the hosts on SiriusXM, Tom Kessanik, does the high stakes advantage, which is a show all about high stakes fantasy football, which is my bread and butter. Like, don't get me wrong, I love home leagues and all that, but I do like the high stakes stuff. So, I got on this show with Tom Cassinic. He asked if I'd be willing to step in. So, did a couple guest spots over the last couple years and then, uh, just about two months ago, stepped in as a full-time host there. So, you can catch us every Wednesday night in the preseason and then starting in season, we'll be doing right after Thursday Night Football. So, um, the opportunity just kind of came out of nowhere and I was thrilled to take it. It's a it's a really fun opportunity and, you know, I grew up listening to sports radio, so like now being able to be in that position where I get to do it myself is just a a a dream come true. >> That's amazing. I mean, that seems like for your career, for how you got into it in 2019, it seems like probably the pinnacle thus far. Maybe there's more on the horizon. So, I want to talk about that. your goals. I think the the pinnacle for me so far was getting invited to NBC Chicago where I got to be on TV and break down the Chicago Bears. I do that every preseason. NBC Chicago unfortunately no longer exists. They were bought out by Comcast, but that was probably the coolest experience being Chicago born and raised. Every time I'd go on NBC Chicago, I'd get off and then immediately my phone would start blowing up with like family members and like old friends from high school and old co-workers and like people sending me pictures sitting at the bar with my face on TV. That was that. I mean, Sirius XM is cool, don't get me wrong, but being on TV in my hometown there, it didn't get much cooler than that. >> So, in your mindset, you're always trying to I mean, the job, the business is okay, you got to make content, make an income, just keep on advancing in your career, but what are your goals? Like, where do you want to reach probably in like the next few years or eventually at the pinnacle of your career? >> So, this might sound like a disappointment to you, but I am so happy at football guys. I love football guys. Like I said, when I got into the industry, they were the number one company that I wanted to work for just because I'm a big believer in their mission. And, you know, there's there's so many companies out there that are trying to take shortcuts and hot takes and doing whatever they can. Uh, Football Guys is a sustainable business in my opinion. They've been around for over 20 years, which a lot of companies or over 30 years now or almost 30 years at this point, which a lot of companies can't say. Um, and I want to be there 20 years from now. So, I've had opportunities to work in studios and um you know, do other things, but football guys uh they treat me well. It's a company that I really believe in and I get the benefit of working from my own home. You know, I get to travel to events and stuff like this, but 90% of what I do I get to do from the comfort of my home office. So, uh I I I know a lot of people always have big dreams and admirations and want to work for NFL Network, ESPN, something like that, but I feel like I found my forever home at football guys. This is where I want to be 20 years from now. >> That's beautiful. No, I I agree. like I uh do this, but obviously I want to scale it to a bigger audience. Uh so I would love to just especially if you have a family, right? So you just want to have that balance to be at home and um you know it's cool to like >> once in a while have that NBC Chicago moment or like call in into NFL Network or ESPN or whatever. But to, you know, make your own schedule kind of like just be content with like balancing that work life and that personal life, I think is just a beautiful thing. >> And those goals have changed over time. You know, when I first started doing this in 2019, like I said, when I got that message from Fantasy Pros, immediately my mind just like voom, [snorts] like I'm going to be Scott Hansen one day, like I'm going to be hosting, right? Like all of these like lofty expectations. But as I've learned more and more about the industry, um I have just really, you know, Football Guys is a a company that I've been been a subscriber to for a long time. And now that I've gotten to see the inner workings and how the company operates, Joe Bryant is amazing at what he does. Sigman Bloom, you know, one of the co-owners there is awesome at what he does. Bob Harris and then I've been lucky enough in my position where I've got to hire some of my good friends as well, Jeff Bell, Joey Wright. So now I get to work with some of my best friends with a company that I believe in. I have a lot of creativ uh creative freedom to do what I want there. So loving what we're doing over at Football Guys. >> Freaking love it. Um just a couple things to wrap it up. One, uh I guess [snorts] hot takes. You mentioned it where it's like, okay, you know, give your hot take whatever. >> I got some hot takes if you want. >> You got Hey, I want to hear your hottest takes. uh you can just name off one, two, maybe three uh that people aren't really thinking about and don't like do the whole thing where it's like people I feel like people steal consensus rankings and they're like I'm going to shift Jamar Chase over Puka Nakua and like you know they call it St. Brown over Jackson Smith and Jig. >> Exactly. Like no like >> which you should you should draft Domino St. Brown over Jackson Smith. >> You should cuz the Lions are going to be in a lot of deficits with that secondary. But, uh, what's like the guy that you're like, "Oh, yeah. Four, three, four, five rounds. I'm I'm not going to draft him that high. Obviously, I'm going to play into ADP." >> Yeah. >> But on your list, on your rankings that you're like, "Oh, yeah. This guy's going to just absolutely tear it up." This one's probably going to piss some people off if I'm being honest. I know Bashalt Tutin is like the bell of the ball. Everybody loves Bealt Tutin. I'm a big believer in Chris Rodriguez. And I know Bashalt Tutin, he's got the size adjusted speed score. He's got the great combine. People get really excited about that and I understand why, but the reality is that size and speed didn't translate to breakaway runs last year. He still struggles with vision and footwork. And then on the flip side, I see Chris Rodriguez get brought in. Chris Rodriguez probably isn't even a household name. There might be somebody watching this right now that has no idea who Chris Rodriguez is, but this dude is just a workhorse. He was Liam Cohen's running back when he was a coach at Kentucky and they made him a priority signing in free agency. Quietly had one of the most efficient running back seasons last year. who was top five in breakaway run rate, top five in yards after contact per attempt and top five in success rate. And that just perfectly encapsulates the type of runner that he is. He stays like he can keep an offense on schedule. He breaks tackles. He moves piles. And there's just been so much positivity coming out of Jacksonville about him. We got a a beat reporter called him a slobber knocker. Uh Liam Cohen called him a glass eater. I mean like there's just been so much positivity here. So I am just fading Bashalt Tutin where he's going in round five getting Chris Rodriguez who's going almost five rounds after that. That's a guy I'm willing to draft two three rounds ahead of ADP. I think at worst he's going to lock down the goal line position. But if Bashaw Tutin continues to struggle with his vision and with his footwork I think Chris Rodriguez could be in a much bigger role in Jacksonville than people anticipate. >> I love it. No, I I love the boldness of that. All right. Well then the last thing I have for you is what I've been doing and Austin Eckler kicked this off in an earlier interview. >> Big shoes to fill. Uh yeah I well you do right here because the choice that he made was interesting. So I am doing a 12 team half PPPR mock draft. >> All right >> and I am drafting from the 101. >> All right. >> Okay. So he had the first pick and >> easy choice there. Right. Did he go with Gibbs? Who did he take? >> Van Genty. So that first pick. >> Hey man, if he stays healthy, I get it. Like I realize the upside for Christian McAffrey is so high. The only thing we're scared about is this mysterious tightness that he's dealing with. You know, the curse of 400 touches last year, but Chris McAffrey, I don't know if there's a bigger boom bust player you can take in round one. If he stays healthy, he's going to be the top scoring running back like he is every other year. It's just you know what you're getting. It's a coin flip. Are you getting a healthy Christian McAffrey that's going to win you your league or are you getting a Christian McAffrey that's going to be hurt and give you a zero? >> Well, I mean, if Austin Eckler drafts Christian McAffrey, then me as his opponent, I should draft Kalin Black, Jordan James. Uh, [laughter] exactly. I'll have five backup running backs. Uh, so with the 212, >> you get to choose who you want to pair with Christian McCaffrey. >> Was hoping to see Brock Bowers there, but it looks like he's already off the board. When I look at these available wide receivers, man, we are going to build a very fragile team here, but I think Malik Neighbors is the way to go. >> Oh my gosh, he's coming off of the ACL, but when I look at these other guys available, I have Malik Neighbors and Nico Collins very tight in my rankings. And I think Nico Collins now, especially following the Jaden Higgins injury, you could make a strong argument to put him ahead of Malik Neighbors. But all indications are the Malik Neighbors is going to be ready week one. We saw this guy pull a league high target share his rookie season. Not just among rookies. Led the entire league in target share his rookie season. Just a supreme talent. Seems like he's ahead of schedule. I know it's a little risky, but I think you got to go with Malik Neighbors here at this choice. >> We'll go ahead and hit draft. Let's lock it in. All right. >> And then we'll get whoever else to do the third. Hopefully Nico Collins because a Christian McCaffrey, Malik Neighbors, Nico Collins start would be pretty tough to beat. >> Well, I'm not going to give Vion context so I'm just gonna let them choose for themselves, but I mean, hey, if the injuries aren't a concern, then it seems like we're going to crush it. If it is, well, >> and I think what you'll realize with a lot of the analysts is that they don't shy away from risk. So, I think with a lot of people and you know, kind of talked about like looking at like the the Kairen Williams and Blake Corum people playing not to lose. And I think when you start talking with a lot of the analysts that are here doing this, a lot of people are going to play to win. And you got to take those uh JJ Zachary, I think, says it best. You don't want to lay down a bun. You don't want to hit a single. You want to swing for the fences with every [music] single pick. And you're going to miss every now and then, but if you hit on a few of those home runs, that's how you win your league. >> Definitely worth it. Yeah. Play for win. Uh play to win. Well, Dave, I appreciate the time. Thank you so much. Best of luck. Thank you.