FantasyPros - Week 17 Lineup Advice: Starts, Sits, Player Debates, and TD Calls (Ep. 1919) - The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody, Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football Podcast. I'm
Ryan Warmley, joined by Andrew Erickson and Pat fitz Morris.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Interesting trio.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
This was the three of us who did this Starts
and since show last year. This year, of course, Erickson
was not on the show, but we are bringing him
back for our Holiday Championship episode week seventeen starts and six. Ericson,
how are you doing, buddy? I've done other shows with you,
of course, but not this one this year.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Doing great, celebrating this glorious boxing day the day after
Christmas with you, guys.

Speaker 4 (00:32):
Couldn't think of anything better.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
So Red Rock totally agree. Fits, how are you doing?

Speaker 1 (00:36):
You were telling us a little bit about your Christmas
here before we started recording. Sounded like some football, some wine.
What more could you ask for?

Speaker 5 (00:44):
Exactly? Food, family, dogs, kids. It was great. It was
a really good time. Hopefully everyone out there had a
great Christmas too.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Ericson and I have watched all of Stranger Things. We
will not spoil it for you or the listeners here.
Fits as we move, I had hated Ericson strategically takes
a ship from that mug. We can go ahead and
dive into the show, guys, this is the Fantasy Championship
here of course, just quickly, because I didn't talk to
you guys earlier in the week. How many leagues are
you alive and how many titles are you fighting for?

Speaker 6 (01:13):
Here?

Speaker 5 (01:13):
Fits seven? Actually seven, seven and zero. Semi final week
it was glorious. I'm worried that's going to boomerang back
on me and it's going to be a terrible finals week.
But so far, really not much blood after the three
game Christmas slates, so.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
That is impressive.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
I had eight teams in the semi finals, just two
survived to the championship. Now I would call them my
second and third most important teams. So if I had
to pick two, it's a pretty good two to pick.
It's funny going into this week in one of the
leagues I have Puka in. In one of the leagues, I'm
facing Puka, and so I feel like, well, I'll probably
go one in one here because he's going to go
a long way towards determining this thing.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Ericson, how about you just one?

Speaker 4 (01:53):
And it's the one that I came about the most.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
It's the one that I won last year, the biggest
money league, and that I'm in so hoping to repeat,
not off to like the best start because I had
Jamison Williams that have the Lions defense, so that was solid,
and I did face bon Nicks. So again, the way
that the slate is set up this Christmas Week is
such a slow burn, right because you have a couple

(02:14):
of games on Thursdays and then a couple of games
on Saturday, and then Sunday and then Monday Night, like
the Sunday Night games, the Monday Night games, Falcons, Rams,
forty nine Ers and Bears like a lot of really
impactful fantasy players. So it's going to come down to
the wire. I think in that final Monday Night game
between I mean the Rams and Falcons b John Robinson,
Drake London. The Rams piece is just it's going to

(02:36):
be a great finish for a lot of fantasy leagues.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Obviously it didn't pan out this way due to the
tragic circumstances with Tamar Hamlin. But it's similar going into
the weekend to how I felt to the year where
the Fantasy title game was Monday Night Bill's Bengals, where
going into that weekend it was like, oh, there's just
so many players here that are going to be really
impactful in a lot of these leagues.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Rams Falcons.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Maybe not quite on that level with the quarterback matchup,
but it feels similar in terms of just the number
of really like significant players who are probably still alive
in a lot of these fantasy title games. Coming on
Monday night will be kind of fun to sit back
and wait for that and just kind of see how
it all plays out. I think like half my starting
roster in one of the leagues I'm alive and is
playing in that Monday night game. So definitely won't know

(03:21):
anything until we get to that game. Reminder for everybody,
just one last one going into the championship here. All
of our twenty twenty five consensus rankings and tiers can
be found at fantasypros dot com slash rankings. And at
this point we're not talking rest of the season rankings.
We're not talking looking ahead at anything.

Speaker 5 (03:36):
It is.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
You know, look at those weekly rankings.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
They are being updated here still throughout the week, even
despite the holidays. Guys, we usually have a bit of
a start or see some of these popular waiver ads.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Segment.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
I was sitting down to put this together earlier in
the week. It didn't feel like there were really any
good options here, with one exception that I'll bring up,
but for the most part, like you're gonna be playing
the best players on your team right you're here in
the Fantasy Championship. There also weren't a ton of obvious,
like instant starters here. The one that I was maybe
going to bring up that I won't ask you guys
about is the Browns backfield.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
It does seem like Dylan Sampson, you.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Know, has been back at practice, so maybe we won't
be looking at some of these backup guys. Obviously, keep
an eye on that throughout the weekend. The one name
that I did want to ask you about, though, is
Michael Carter. He has been a starting option at various
times during the season. He was still under fifty percent
rostered here coming into this week. You know, he's got
that starting role for Arizona here in what looks like
a good matchup.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
So ericson, I'll start with you, just Carter.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Is he somebody that they're interested in starting him in
in the Fantasy Championship if you haven't eate a running back, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (04:38):
I think that he's a solid starter.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
He's kind of been solid all year when he's given opportunities.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
I don't love that.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
The Cardinals are kind of still embracing this committee, and
they found their new Bam Night with Corey Kiner, who
was taking snaps at inside the red zone last week
and this week. According to Coach Speak Index, they talked
about how they love Kiner and how physical he is
as a rusher, so basically the carbon copy of why
they like using Bam Knight at the goal line. So still,

(05:06):
you can't beat the matchup against the Bengals, one of
the best four running backs. So even if Carter isn't
seeing seventy eighty percent of the snaps, he should be efficient,
and he was efficient last week, which hasn't always been
the case with him. So I think he's a solid
RB two flex play.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
He's RB twenty six in ECR ericson too high two
lower regis straight.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
I think it's a little low. I've got him at
twenty three. I'm starting him in a championship game, and
I think people are maybe a little lower on him
than they should be because he didn't catch any passes
last week, but the week before that he had four
catches for I think thirty eight yards. Ericson mentioned the matchup.
The Bengals have given up I think nineteen hundred and
twenty four yards to running backs, most in the league,

(05:48):
and he just didn't get a lot of rushing volume
last week because the Cardinals were stuck in a negative
game script against the Falcons. They trailed pretty much for
the entirety of that game, so only eleven carries for Carter,
but he was efficient with them. You'd hope that maybe
the Cardinals can keep it a close fight with the
Bengals and maybe we see something closer to fifteen sixteen

(06:10):
carries for Carter this week. But I think we like
that their shootout potential in this game, so we could
see a lot of points in this one. Maybe it
is Kinder getting those short yardage touchdowns, but I still
think that there's a pretty reasonable chance that you get
thirteen fourteen touches minimum for Michael Carter.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
Let's plant our flags on some players here, just kind
of guys, you're going into Championship week with real conviction
on Ericson, We'll start with you here.

Speaker 4 (06:39):
Tony Pollard.

Speaker 3 (06:40):
Can't believe that this is the guy that you could
have faith starting in Week seventeen, out of your fantas
Football Championships. But that's where we're out with Tony Pardon.
He's been on a heater over the last four games,
averaging over twenty touches per game over the last three weeks.
And look, the Titans are playing to put good tape
out there for cam Ward, their next head coach, and
Tony Pollard is trying to get paid. He is very

(07:03):
very close to several different contract incentives and they're trying
to get him to these numbers.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
Again.

Speaker 3 (07:08):
Last week he had a touchdown wiped off the board.
He only needs two more touchdowns to hit a contract
incentive of seven rushing touchdowns on the year. He's fifty
one yards away from one thousand yards. So some of
these incentives are not just based on contracts, but it's
based on hitting that one thousand mark. There's a lot
of running backs, a lot of different wide receivers that
are trying to get to that number. We actually saw
Quot and sut And hit one thousand yards against the

(07:30):
Chiefs last night on Thursday night, and Tony Pollard he's
within striking distance of getting to one thousand rushing yards.
He's fifty one yards away, so they've been feeding him
a ton. They're playing the Saints at home this week,
and the Saints just put Brian Brazi or then put
him on injured reserve, but he's probably gonna miss this game.
And he leads the Saints in terms of defensive snaps
and run stops across the defensive line this season.

Speaker 4 (07:50):
We've talked about this all year long.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
When a defense loses an interior anchor, like a defensive tackle,
you see their run splits drastically. Chant happ point The Browns,
once an elite run defense, they lose Lee Collins and
what happens. They get boat raced by every single runningmick
that they face. So I think at home, this is
a good spot for Tony Park to continue to be
on his hot streak, gonna get volume, so I think
he can be a top twenty running back.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
In Week seventeen, he is back to back with Michael
Carter in ECR. He's one spot ahead. Actually technically both
they're both outside the top twenty four. They're at twenty
five and twenty six. Do you agree with Pollard being
ahead of Carter?

Speaker 5 (08:27):
Absolutely? And I've got Pollard running back eighteen. I mean
three straight hundred yard games, and Erickson mentioned the thousand
yard mark. No, the key number here is the eleven
hundred yard mark, because Tony Pollard gets a cool quarter
of a million dollars in a contract bonus. If he
can get to that's one hundred and fifty one yards
over these last two weeks, he'll get that. I think

(08:48):
we do like the matchup for the reasons ericson outline.
So I think he's gonna have a good game this week.
I'm starting him in a championship game as well.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
We're just going through all your.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
For He's got seventeen, A lot of players to talk about.

Speaker 5 (09:05):
That's true.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
That's remarkable. Seven for seven in the semi files.

Speaker 5 (09:08):
I don't believe that just couldn't have been couldn't have
been more fortunate. I had a lot of opponents collapse
on me last week, which was.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Very fortunate, very very fun to watch. I'm sure, who
are you planting your flag on?

Speaker 5 (09:21):
Here fits Stefan Diggs and his involvement can be sporadic.
Diggs had nine catches for one hundred and five yards
against the Jets in Week eleven. Then he had three
straight games with fewer than thirty receiving yards before erupting
for nine catches in one hundred and thirty eight yards
against the Ravens last week. Now, Stefan Diggs gets a
rematch against the Jets, and their pass defense has been

(09:43):
getting completely flambayed the last few weeks. Tyler Shock had
three hundred and eight passing yards against them last week.
Shuck and Taysom Hill both had touchdown passes in that game.
A week earlier, Trevor Lawrence had three hundred and thirty
passing yards and five touchdown passes against the Jet. This
defense has already checked out like they are. They're they're

(10:05):
on the field playing, but really in their minds, they're
on a beach in Aruba or Kankun somewhere. Drake May
is gonna absolutely fillay the Jets defense this week, and
Diggs is going to be prominently involved.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
So we got we got file At and Flambey, a
couple mixing those up there. He's wide receiver twenty four
in ECR fits just on the back end of a
wide receiver two range.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Sounds like you think that's low.

Speaker 5 (10:33):
I do think that's slow. Just checking to see where
I have him I believe he's top twenty for me
wide receiver eighteen.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
We'll see for you Erickson sixteen because, oh nice Diggs.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
The thing that with Diggs were always frustrated with the
route participation in the snaps. But you look at the
Patriots receivers, they're banged up, Like Keisham Bood's probably gonna
play in this game. He is a concussion. Matt Collins
has not been practicing all week either. He with I
believe an abdomen or oblique injury. So they kind of
have to take Digs out of the bubble rap here.
It's like no, like you have to play seventy eighty
percent of the snaps. The matchup is awesome against the

(11:10):
Jets again chasing these one thousand yard numbers. He is
one hundred and thirty one yards away from one thousand yards,
which he hasn't done since Buffalo. So remember he got
hurt last year, he didn't get to finish the season.
Let's get Drake May his first one thousand yard receiver.
I think Diggs is gonna be super motivating this game.
I believe he also has more contract incentives in terms

(11:33):
of receptions, So look, the only thing holding back digs
this year has been just kind of his usage and
the injury early on the year, but with that all
behind him in this particular spot, yeah, I think he's
locked and load. Another Top twenty guy handholding with Tony Pollard,
Stefon Diggs and your championships, Let's go, Fits Go.

Speaker 1 (11:52):
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Speaker 1 (13:03):
I hit Mike Mayer, our colleague, with a take on
Twitter this weekend that all Christmas movies as a genre
are a bit overrated. So I will I'll sit that
here on for the podcast as well. I don't hate them.
I just think that like we go a little, we
go a little heavy on them.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
In December.

Speaker 5 (13:20):
I don't. I think we can dial it down a
bit except for Diehard.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
If Diehard qualifies, I totally agree. It's both the best
Christmasphy and the best action movie ever made in my opinion,
So I'll I will not fight you there, FITZI, all right,
let's go to our start hit player debates here. We
will start with the running backs as always. How about
a couple Kenneth's. We got Kenneth Walker versus Kenneth Gainwell.
They were closer earlier in the week in ECR, they

(13:45):
have started to spread about a bit. I will pull
it back up here just to make sure where we're
at now. We've got Walker at RB twenty four and
Gainwell has moved up to RB eighteen. So Walker has
moved down and Gainwell has moved up. So a little
bit of a gap here. Do you see it that
way as well? Where game Well is an easy choice.

Speaker 3 (14:02):
For you, Yes, I do, and it clearly people have
been listening to the Rank show where we did talk
about ken Walker kind of being I think a little
bit overvalued by the ECR, just based on hey, it't
a monster game and a primetime spot against the Rams.
But he's still got out snapped by Zach Sharbanak Zach
Charbonnez still came in in the red zone and scored
one of their rushing touchdowns at the two point conversion.

Speaker 4 (14:23):
That really weird play.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
So there's really nothing about Walker's projection that suggests, oh, well,
now this is such a better spot. Again, it's a
good matchup against the Carolina Panthers. It is on the road,
so that you know, sometimes things can go weird in
terms of game script. But I mean in terms of
who has a better role in their respective offense, I
mean it's got to be Kenned Gamewell. He has seven
targets in three straight games. Ken Walker has seven targets

(14:46):
combined in the last three games. They like to use
game ball around the red zone, so I think that
even he has kind of like that edge there over
ken Walker. Both guys can rip off big plays. And
Javin Warren is also on the injuryport this week, So
the Steelers are in a really weird situation because if
the Ravens lose to the Packers and Lamar Jackson's not
playing in that game, then the Steelers have nothing to

(15:07):
play for the next two weeks. So does that mean
that they lay down to the Browns. Do they take
off Week eighteen, I would lean towards the ladder there being, hey,
we're gonna rest everybody Week eight team get ready for
the playoffs. But depending on how that game goes against Cleveland,
if Jalen Warren is kind of nicked up, like okay,
we'll just send down and we'll ride game weell, or
is a scenario where they don't want to play either guy.

(15:27):
So that's kind of the only way that we need
to kind of get You need to stay up to
date with what the Steelers are planning on doing. I
don't think they're going to rest their guys necessarily, just
because they've gone through the whole process of prepping for
the Browns this week and probably Week eight team where
they take off.

Speaker 4 (15:42):
But that is something to keep in mind with a
lot of Steelers players.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
But if they are full go and if the Ravens
beat the Packers, well, Gainwell has just been an absolute monster,
so I would continue to start him. The Browns defense
has been terrible against running backs since they lost some
league Collins, so I think that he is clearly ahead
of Ken Walker.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
Yeah, if it were me, coaching the Steelers, I would like,
you don't want to go two weeks with guy sitting
guys in a row. You'd only want to pick one
of these. I think week eighteen is the clear choice
to two rest guys. I would still kind of want
to keep everybody sharp here in week seventeen, a just
like I think schedule wise, that kind of works out
better for staying as sharp as possible and and be

(16:20):
you know, if I am going to lay down and
let the opponent opponent win, I'd rather the Ravens win
in a meetingless game and get their their draft pick.
Whors like that. They're the bigger threat to you long
term in the division. It feels like so so for
the Steelers, like it would make a lot of logical
sense for them to still try here in week seventeen
and then maybe dial it down a bit in week eighteen.

Speaker 2 (16:42):
How do you see this fits?

Speaker 5 (16:44):
Uh? In that regard? I see it the same way
as you. Mike Tomlins an old school coach. He's not
going to lay down two weeks in a row. So yeah,
and I I well, first of all, I love that
you came up with the what's the frequency? Kenneth running
back Tobate. That's just outstay pairing here for good, good booking.
And yeah, I mean I would go with Gainwall too,

(17:06):
because we know that the Steelers are going to run
the offense through the running backs and the tight ends.
I mean, that's kind of the Arthur Smith modus operandi anyway.
And look Walker coming off that big game where he
had the two really big plays against the Rams, he
sort of regained his luster, but in the ten games

(17:27):
before that, he averaged seven point nine a half point
PPR points and hit double digit points twice in those
ten games, typically gets pulled at the goal line in
favor of Zach Charbonet. Walker's usage in the passing game
can be kind of sporadic, so we know that Gainwall
is going to get pretty heavy usage in the passing game.
That's been consistent over the last month. And Running Game two,

(17:50):
I mean Erickson was talking about how bad the Browns
run defense has been since losing their their run stuffing
defensive tackle Elite Collins. First game without Collins, Tony Pollard
one hundred sixty one rushing yards and two touchdowns. Second
game without Collins, DeAndre Swift ninety eight rushing yards two touchdowns.
Last week James Cook one hundred and seventeen rushing yards,
two touchdowns. We're seeing a theme here, So maybe it's

(18:14):
Jalen Warren getting a little more of the rushing work.
But Gamell's still going to get probably eight to twelve
carries against this bad run defense and add a lot
of receiving value too. So I think he's a pretty
easy choice and almost a must start this week.

Speaker 1 (18:29):
Ericson, I feel like for our Tuesday show next year,
this is a lesson we should remember we talked a
little bit about this early in the year, like looking
ahead to playoff schedules. A lot of people were very
afraid of the Browns defense, like when talking about Trades
earlier in the year and trying to look at him
through this perspective, And now, of course this does not
look like a scary run defense at all. I think

(18:50):
the lesson for me just thinking in next year is
if a team's really bad early in the year, I
want to target them, because like you know, tight ends
against the Bengals, that's still the case. But if a
team's really good, a defense is really good, and I
don't expect that team.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
To be very good long term.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
I'm not going to be afraid of that, you know,
in terms of trades, and I think it's just kind
of a fool's errand to you know, project that out
ahead because it could be an injury, It could be
just lack of effort late in the season, if if
your seasons over, a whole lot of reasons why the
defense maybe doesn't look quite as scary and you know,
non startable against as it maybe did earlier.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
Also fits.

Speaker 1 (19:27):
Did you think I was going to get this what's
the frequency Kenneth reference? I googled it as soon as
you said it, and it's a song from nineteen ninety four.
There's no chance I was going to know that.

Speaker 5 (19:37):
You've heard of Ram before. You're familiar.

Speaker 2 (19:39):
I've heard of Ram.

Speaker 1 (19:40):
I'm not sure how many Ram songs I could name,
but I am aware of the band Ram all right.
So so Gainwell appears just very quickly because I want
to move on Gainwell or Jalen Warren? Is it Gainwell
for both of you guys? They are very close in
ecr fits.

Speaker 5 (19:56):
It's actually Warren for me because I think he's probably
going to have more of the rushing duties and I
think that's where you can really make hey against the
Browns game.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Well's once spot ahead ericson of Warren.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
I have gamble ahead as well. Warren beg on the
injury report this week does slightly concern me. Just want
to account for it because if they find that they're
in a situation where let's say the Browns are up
steels are we can her really pull back things in
the second half. Let's get Warren out of there. We
know he had a I think is a hip injury,
that is what he's dealing with. So again trying to

(20:28):
read the TV is, if they're ever going to pull
back on any player would be someone that maybe is
a tad bit nicked up.

Speaker 4 (20:34):
If that is Jalen Warren, then you could see them
lean a little bit more on Gainwell.

Speaker 3 (20:37):
And then the thing with Gamewell too is I mean
I feel like he could see like double digit targets
in this game potentially without DK Metcalf, So like that's
another thing where he has been preferred a little bit
more than Jalen Warren in the passing game. And obviously
he can also be really efficient against this Browns run
defense too. So again I have them ranked essentially back
to back twenty gain Well, I had Aaron Jones at

(20:58):
twenty one and then Jalen Warren to twenty two.

Speaker 5 (21:00):
How do you have those guys ranked? Visa VI O'marian
Hampton ericson, I.

Speaker 3 (21:05):
Got Hampton way. He'll depends on what plays. It depends
on if Vydell plays or not. Like he'll he'll be adjusted,
he'll have to move down.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
Hampton is one spot ahead of both of them at
ECR for what it's worth.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
Uh, all right, let's go to another running back.

Speaker 1 (21:20):
Debate here, Breyce Hall or Tyrone, Tracy Junior Erickson.

Speaker 2 (21:25):
I'll start with you here. Who do you like better?

Speaker 3 (21:27):
Yeah, I'm pretty torn on these two guys. I like
both of them in their respective matchups. I just keep
pointing out that the Patriot run evens is not good, Like,
don't look at the season long stats against them, because
they're all banged up all over the place the last
four weeks since Week twelve, running back finishes against the
Patriots RB thirteen, RB eight, RB one, and RB eight.

Speaker 4 (21:48):
Robert Splaine is still on the injury report.

Speaker 3 (21:50):
Milton Williams has been designated to return from IR but
it's still not confirmed whether he's not playing or not.
Maybe that could sway me moving Town Tracy ahead of
Breece Hall, But I just I want to keep attacking
this Patriot's run defense with opposing running backs. And yeah,
I get Breese has been disappointed. He plays on the Jets.
It's not an exciting offense, but he hasn't seen anything

(22:11):
lower than fourteen touches since week ten. He had eighteen
total touches last week, so he's seeing volume. He's explosive
pass catcher, and he's got a good matchup, and he's
playing at home. Like those are enough of reasons where
it's like, okay, like I could see a ceiling spot
here for Brees Hall. But then again I look at
Tylan Tracy and I think, I mean, he's also in
a pretty decent spot here too. Again against the Las

(22:31):
Vegas Raiders, their team that is more of a run
funnel than a pass funnel, especially if we see the
Giants do what they did last week offensively, which was
let's run the ball fifteen straight times and not have
Jackson Dark attempt a pass. So that obviously works in
favor of Tyland. Tracy and Tracy also have been better
than Brees saw Over the last five games, Tracy has
at least seventy one yards from scrimmage, so he's been

(22:52):
really consistent both as a rusher and receiver. I do
get some concerns about the split with Devin Singletary, especially
around the goal line, because they're frequently like to take
him out and put Devin Singletary in full Zach Sharpenay fashion.
And the big thing with the Giants is Andrew Thomas
is probably not gonna play in this game. He is
their best offensive lineman by far, and he kind of

(23:13):
has like a a Trent Williams type of impact where
you take out that guy and the entire offensive line
can crumble and then the offense becomes super dysfunctional. So
not only is Andrew Thomas the best pass blocker, he's
also the best run blocker on the Giants. Max Crosby, Like,
that guy has a motor like no other player in

(23:34):
the NFL. Like it doesn't matter what the score is,
it doesn't matter what his team's record is. He is
coming after the quarterback no matter what, and after the
running back as both a pass rusher and run defender.
So without Andrew Thomas, I think that's Ultimately, what kind
of pushes me just to have resolces slightly ahead because
I've just seen this Giants offense without Thomas before and
it's a disaster. And they're also playing on the road

(23:56):
this week, so leans slightly towards bresee. But I'm not
really opposed to using both guys as low end RB
two flex plays.

Speaker 5 (24:05):
Fitz.

Speaker 1 (24:05):
Tracy is five spots ahead in ECR. He's RB twenty two.
This is in HALFVPR scoring, by the way, He's RB
twenty two. Brice Hall RB twenty seven.

Speaker 5 (24:14):
So I have a gap of let's see, yeah, five
spots also between Tracy and Hall. I like Tracy Moore
and Tracy's had eighteen touches each of the last two weeks.
And I think the Giants prime directive here in their
last couple of games is to not get their franchise
quarterback destroyed in the last couple of weeks, keep him

(24:36):
fresh for twenty twenty six. And a big way to
do that with Andrew Thomas out is just to run
the heck out of the ball against the Raiders, and
I think that's what the Giants are going to do.
Ericson and I talked about Bresall in the ranking show,
and he's kind of interested in Hall because of the matchup.
I almost think the matchup, I don't want to say
it's irrelevant. I think it's less relevant. I think what

(24:59):
sort of super seeds The matchup is just the utter
incompetence of the Jets offense right now with Brady Cook
at quarterback. So in two starts, the two starts Brady
Cook has made for the Jets, bres Hall has averaged
fifty yards from scrimmage and hasn't scored a touchdown. He's
been RB forty seven and RB forty in fantasy scoring
the last two weeks. I just I don't want to

(25:21):
play Breshall on a championship game. Fits.

Speaker 1 (25:24):
Who do you think wins that Giants Raiders game, by
the way, and therefore loses the number one pick?

Speaker 2 (25:29):
Probably?

Speaker 5 (25:30):
I feel like it would be a Raiders thing to
do to win that game and not get the first
pick when they so desperately need a quarterback, and so
I tend to think the Raiders are gonna win.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
Ericson, I want no part of wagering on this particular
game because you don't know what, like what each team
is trying to do, and like, what's their plan if
it's a close game, could you just see like, hey,
g you know, just just gotta throw a pick here,
Like you just gotta do it. Like the play call's
gonna come in that has a zero percent chance of

(26:02):
being completed.

Speaker 4 (26:03):
It's like, no, you gotta do this play. It's gonna work.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
They're gonna run that stupid pick play that got picked
off in the Super Bowl that Pete Carroll called instead
of running the ball to Marshall w so they can
do the same thing. Right, It's gonna be genty he's
he's been eating all game and they're not gonna hand
off him. They're gonna throw it and they're gonna lose
because of some interceptions. So yeah, I don't know who's
going to win this game. I guess the thing with
the Giants is they were in this similar situation last
year and then Drew Locke had like this career game,

(26:28):
so they've been here before. But they also theoretically have
their franchise quarterback with Jackson. I mean, I think that
he can be a franchise quarterback. But the Giants will
have a new coaching staff and also, you know, my
kaf goes still kind of coaching for his job, right,
like whether it's for the Giants next year or for
another team down the line. Now, I don't know, we'll

(26:50):
all find out together, right, who really wanted to win
this game?

Speaker 4 (26:53):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (26:54):
And I obviously you'd rather have the higher pick, but
like I mean the Texans a couple of years ago too,
like they had that meaningless win in the last game
season and then so they got Stroud instead of Bryce Young,
which has largely looked, you know, really good, Like you
maybe there's some karma with winning the game when you
know it seems obviously you should.

Speaker 3 (27:09):
A lot of coaches talk about how you want to
build like a winning yeah, like you don't want to
just lose on purpose, right, And the way that coaches
get around it is you just, well, we're going to
start all of our bad players and then they'll play
their hardest, so they're trying to win, but we're putting
them in a position where the likelihood of them winning
is very very low. And that's probably the case like

(27:29):
with like the Jets for example.

Speaker 1 (27:30):
Right, tank, but players don't like you want the players
to try.

Speaker 5 (27:35):
Right, So it's the moves the coaches in the front
office makes and like we saw brock Bauers try to
play through a PCL injury earlier this year and be
totally ineffective. Lately, he's been playing pretty well and now
all of a sudden that the Raiders are putting him
on IR for like a precautionary measure. Okay, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Yeah, Let's go to some of our receiver debates here.
How about Zay Flowers versus Jalen Waddle. Flowers has been playing.
You know, I have probably been as vocal as Flowers.
I won't say hater, but fader in terms of fantasy

(28:16):
you know, throughout the season as there is last three
weeks wide receiver eight, wide receiver twenty, wide receiver nine,
and it feels like he maybe even has been leaving
a little bit on the field. But of course now
it's Tyler Huntley in all likelihood as of right now,
Lamar's technically so doubtful he's not gonna play. So it's
gonna be Zay Flowers with Tyler Huntley going up against
Jaylen Waddle with his own quarterback question marks here, Fitz,

(28:37):
I'll start with you on this one. Who do you
have ranked higres Jay Flowers or Jalen Wattle.

Speaker 5 (28:41):
Flowers, He's posted his three highest fantasy point totals of
the season in his last three games. He's giving us
a decent weekly floor worm. I know the touchdown output
has been disappointing this year, but Flowers has had at
least five catches in fourteen of his fifteen games this year.
He said at least sixty receiving yards in eleven of

(29:01):
fifteen games, and one of the misses was a fifty
eight yard game. So the floor is pretty sturdy here,
and we've been getting some ceiling out of him lately.
So I don't know if there's a huge drop off
in the quality of the receiving outlook. I guess going
from Jackson.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
To Hotly, let's say careful.

Speaker 5 (29:23):
Yeah, I know, I mean, like the Lamar's great, but
he hasn't been Lamar for most of this season. That's
kind of why I say that. Meanwhile, I do think
there has been a drop off from you know, Tua,
and I know Tua is not everyone's favorite quarterback, but
going from him to Quinn yours like that that hurts Wattle,

(29:43):
And I know yours managed to throw for two hundred
and sixty yards last week, but no touchdowns. I just
I think Flowers is a safer play this week than Wattle.

Speaker 1 (29:53):
Is I just a note of correction, and maybe I
misheard you, so apologizes if I did. It sounded like
you said that he's had his three best games of
the season last three weeks. That's except Week one, where
he had his best game of the story.

Speaker 5 (30:03):
That's right, that's right.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
Yeah, that was his best game of the year. But
except for Week one, his best three of the season.

Speaker 5 (30:09):
Have been the last six Week two.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, yes, yeah, this is one where and by the way,
on the rankings in ECR, Flowers is eight wide receiver eighteen,
Wattle is wide receiver twenty and Justin Jefferson was the
guy in the middle already played, so amongst the players
who haven't played yet, they are back to back in
ECR ericson who do you like better between Flowers? You've
been a Wattle guy for years. Really may see ahead

(30:32):
of Flowers in this case too.

Speaker 3 (30:34):
I do have Wattle ahead of Flowers, and I agree
with all the points that fits made about Flowers definitely
offering the higher floor. But when I'm in my championships,
I'm not trying to think about floor. I'm thinking about Okay,
who could have a bonkers type of game, And I
look at Buccaneers Dolphins and I see this game could
get nuts. Whereas Ravens going on the road to play

(30:57):
at Lambeau, which is one of the heaviest under stadiums
this year. With the Packers defense, now, I know that
their secondary can be had, and that's why Flowers does
have a high floor. But it comes down to the touchdowns. Right,
are his odds of scoring higher because he has Tyler
Hartley as his quarterback?

Speaker 4 (31:13):
I would probably say no.

Speaker 3 (31:14):
Now, not to say that Waddle has like this enormous
touchdown equity at Quetch to attach to quinn Ewers, But
when you're facing the Buccaneers defense, everyone does the exact
same thing. They just throw, throw, throw, and throw. So
it just takes Waddle for one big play, you know,
pass interference defender falls down or something along those lines
where he can break off a big run. And I

(31:35):
just think that, look last week, he was really good
five or seven or shouldn't say really good modest five
or seventy two on nine targets. But that's basically the
very similar stat line that Zay Flowers put up in
Tyler's Huntley's first start this year seven for sixty three
on nine targets, so both guys should see around double
digit targets. I just think from a game script perspective,
which game could really be a shootout? I think it's

(31:57):
probably the Buccaneers and the Dolphins game in Miami versus
this game with potentially backup quarterbacks on both sides at
lambeau Field.

Speaker 4 (32:07):
So I do think it's close.

Speaker 3 (32:09):
If you want to lean in towards the floor, I
would agree that it probably is a Flowers, But I
think Waddle has a potential ceiling spot, not because of
his quarterback, but because of the matchup against the Buccaneers
defense that we've seen. I mean, Kyle Pitts had a
pretty good game against the Buccaneers a couple weeks ago
with the backup quarterback.

Speaker 4 (32:26):
He was pretty good, so I think Waddle would be.

Speaker 1 (32:29):
I mean, Kirk Cousins and Quinn Yewers are not really
comparable at this current backup quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
That's that's yes, in that sense, they are.

Speaker 1 (32:41):
I don't know, I guess it feels a little weird
for me to think about either of these players in
terms of ceiling because they have this season they have
not really been ceiling players for the most part. Uh,
they have been more about the floor. I mean Flowers
in particular in that regard. But Waddle only has one
hundred yards receiving game this season. Like, It's not like

(33:01):
he's had these huge blow up spots either for the
most part.

Speaker 2 (33:06):
So do you see the.

Speaker 1 (33:07):
Game script similarly to Ericsson fits in terms of like
I mean it just as a Packers fan, like Ravens
Packers not really having a good chance of being this
high octane game.

Speaker 5 (33:17):
I kind of do you know, it seemed like Jordan
Love was on track to start and I don't know
if that changes now that the Lions lost and the
Packers have their spot assured and you know they can't
I don't Maybe technically they could earn a home game
if like the Bears lose out and the Packers went out,
but I don't think that's gonna happen. So maybe they

(33:39):
don't start Love this week. Yeah, I don't know, but
I agree there's probably more of a chance for fireworks
and Buccaneers Dolphins than there isn't Ravens Packers.

Speaker 1 (33:50):
Let's go to our second wide receiver debate here? How
about DJ Moore or Michael Wilson fits. I will start
with you here, who do you like better? And we
seventeen DJ Moore obviously coming off of his you know,
really exciting finish last week, he's wide receiver twenty two
or Michael Wilson, who is wide receiver twenty six in

(34:10):
that great matchup with the Bengals.

Speaker 5 (34:12):
Yeah, real exciting finish last week for DJ Moore. Thanks
for I am leaning Michael Wilson.

Speaker 2 (34:18):
I'm really saying that.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
In my head, I was like, uh craft that was
against the Packers and now as excited.

Speaker 4 (34:23):
To finish as Raven's Patriots was. Worm that was.

Speaker 2 (34:27):
There's a reason we didn't do the Tuesday showed those works.

Speaker 5 (34:31):
So I'm leaning Michael Wilson over Dj Moore. DJ Moore
is on a little bit of a heater, with touchdowns
three in his last two games, five in his last
five games. But even with Romo Dune San Luther Burden
out last week against the Packers, More only had seven targets,
and if that game had not gone to overtime where
he got the long touchdown catch, he would have finished

(34:53):
with four catches for fifty one yards, so Wilson also
on a heater with touchdowns four in his last three games.
I guess the fear is that well, one is that
his target count dropped last week with Marvin Harrison Junior back,
even though it seems to me like Marvin Harrison Junior
is not fully healthy. But I guess maybe the bigger

(35:15):
fear is that the Cardinals tight ends run wild against
the Broncos, mostly Trey McBride but maybe Elijah Higgins two,
and the receivers aren't as involved like the Bengals have
allowed the fourth fewest fantasy points I believe to wide
receivers and far and away the most fantasy points to the
tight ends. And before Week sixteen, Wilson had gotten double

(35:37):
digits in four of his previous five games. But then
Harrison Junior came back last week and Wilson only had
three targets, although he still managed to finish with fifty
two yards in a touchdown. I'm pretty optimistic though, that
Joe Burrow and the Bengals can push the Cardinals into
a shootout where a lot of the pass catchers eat
for both teams. I don't think there's much of a

(35:58):
chance of the Bears getting into a show shootout, because
that's just not how they want to play. Like they
have an excellent running game. They want to run the
ball successfully so that it could be a high scoring game.
But I don't think it'll be a high scoring game
with Caleb Williams throwing forty passes. So I think there's
a little bit of an edge for Wilson here.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
It is crazy how straightforward it's been like in terms
of if Marvin Harrison Juniors in the field or not
for Michael Wilson, Like cause you mentioned like the double
digit targets in four the last five games, it's not
just double digit in three of those four games, it
was fifteen plus targets is eighteen, fifteen, sixteen, and then eleven.
And then as soon as Marvin Harrison Junior's back in
the field, even not fully healthy, even not really having

(36:39):
been producing when he was on the field, Michael Wilson
drops down to three targets. It's just like kind of gobsmacking, honestly.

Speaker 5 (36:46):
Yeah, we didn't get the crazy like Brissette had been
throwing a lot, like he had typically been going over
forty pass attempts, and it was just that the Cardinals
didn't run a lot of plays last week and that
came against the Falcons, so Brisette had I think think
thirty one pass attempts. If he goes over forty, I
think the volume will be fine for Wilson, maybe not

(37:06):
double digits, but I think he'll get seven or eight targets.
If you know Bersett is back up to forty pass attempts.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
Ericson who do you prefer DJ Moore or Michael Wilson, Yeah,
I don't.

Speaker 3 (37:17):
Love either guy, to be totally honest, I think that
I would default the DJ Moore, although it does seem
like Luther Burden's going to play in this game. So
that's something that's concerning about More. And to fit his point,
More has only seen six targets peringume in the last
two weeks, right, he hasn't been this monster target earned
despite the injuries to some of these other Bears pass catchers.

(37:37):
I like his matchup more against the forty nine Ers.
We saw Philip Rivers throw on this forty nine Ers defense, like,
so I like that. And if you do get a
chance where it is negative game script because I don't
know how the Bears defense is going to stop the
death Star that is the forty nine ers offense with
Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purty really operating at I mean,

(37:58):
they're on fire right now. So I kind of like
that for the Bears passing game. Whereas Michael Wilson, I'm
just not trying to overthink this. You start him when
Marvin Harrison Junior is out, and you don't start him
when he's in.

Speaker 4 (38:12):
And last week, I feel.

Speaker 3 (38:13):
Like the fantas manager's kind of got bailed out, where
like he had one long pass, he caught the touchdown
and you feel, Okay, he made it through. But I
feel like you're playing with fire if you go back
to Michael Wilson when you look at all the data
we have when he's on the field with Marvin Harrison Junior,
Michael Wilson doesn't get targets. And it's just so obvious
to see in the games, in the game logs from

(38:35):
this year from last year, like when they're both on
the field, Michael Wilson doesn't get targeted nearly as much
when Marvin Harrison is playing and the matchup, how do
you attack the Bengals so with tight ends and running backs,
So I think even If this game does have a
lot of high scoring, it's not because of Michael Wilson
and Marvin I kind of feel like they just kind

(38:56):
of cannibalize each other where they're going to eat into whatever.
All amount of targets go to the wide receivers, and
it's gonna be I mean, Trey mc bride had a
bad game last week, so that that output from last
week is probably going to at least a double or
even triple against the Cincinnati Bengals because he was held
under five catches for the first time, and I don't
know how long his streak of having at least five

(39:17):
receptions in a game, So I think that's gonna change.
The Bengals are lying the fewest points per game to
wide receivers this season, so I'm trying to find alternatives
to Michael Wilson. I do you guys know what Michael
Wilson's receptions prop this week is. I almost fell out
of my chair when I saw what it was.

Speaker 4 (39:33):
What do you think it is?

Speaker 5 (39:34):
So like four and a half?

Speaker 4 (39:36):
It's five and a half.

Speaker 5 (39:38):
Jeez, that's crazy, and I thought four and a half
would have been too high. Five and a half is crazy.

Speaker 3 (39:44):
I was like, I mean, like again, there's there's never
a lock of all locks.

Speaker 4 (39:51):
But I mean, come on.

Speaker 5 (39:52):
If there was one, is it like minus two to
bet the under on that? Or no?

Speaker 3 (39:58):
It's actually so you can get at four and a half.
It's plus money at under four and a half. Wow,
And thinks I mean it's juicy. I think it's minus
one fifty, so it is a juicier one. But I mean,
hey it is. Can't go broke, make it a profit?

Speaker 5 (40:12):
Right right?

Speaker 1 (40:14):
All right, let's get to our more rapid fire starts
at decisions here. We'll do another running back one. We're
just talking about the Bears. How about Kyle Mcanungai or
Blake Koram? Fits Who do you like better? Manunga or Koram.

Speaker 5 (40:26):
I've quorum ranked one spot higher. Pretty similar outlooks. Two
backup running backs who typically get around a dozen touches
a game and playing strong running games behind very good
offensive lines. I just think the Rams have a better
offense than the Bears, and they have a higher employ
implied vegas point total than the Bears. I think the
Rams implied total it's like twenty eight and a half

(40:47):
and Bears are around twenty four and a half, just
better touchdown odds with Koram, but this one's close.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
The other thing I wanted to point out just on
that game because we talked about it as kind of
this big, exciting, you know, finish to the title game
front of the show. Scott Pinowski was tweeting about this
the other day. There's a chance that the Rams are
not able to win the division going into that game,
depending on what happens with Seattle and San Francisco. And
if that's the case, we know McVeigh has been aggressive

(41:15):
about resting guys in the past. Again kind of similar
to talking about the Steelers. We're still two weeks away,
so you would think that's maybe not a total issue,
but it is something kind of in the back of
your mind that I saw Scott point out on Twitter.
And you know, if that is the case and McVeigh
decides to be, you know, on the kind of extreme
end of rest, then you would think Blake Korum could

(41:37):
maybe get even more carries. And they kind of sit
Kien Williams just as a possibility and Blake Korum in
this offense, although if other people are sitting who knows,
But in what is typically a very good offense if
he's getting even more carries because they're trying to dial
it down for Kien in that scenario, just something to
keep in mind, it could be even better for Korum
there by the way, they are two spots apart in

(41:58):
ECR Korum are we thirty one? Manung Guy RB twenty
nine Ericson.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
I was kind of torn on this, but Fitz convinced
me that it should be Blake. Korm and had similar roles.
But if you look at projected game flow, I would
probably bet on the Rams playing with a lead more
likely than Manung Guy and the Bears playing with the
lead against the forty nine ers, and.

Speaker 4 (42:18):
So I would also go with Korm. I don't think
it's close though.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
All right, let's go to a receiver one here, Christian
Watson or Chris Godwin Erickson.

Speaker 2 (42:25):
I'll start with you here.

Speaker 3 (42:26):
Both guys are on the injury report, so TVD on
who's actually playing.

Speaker 4 (42:31):
So I think I just leaned with Watson.

Speaker 3 (42:34):
I think that he's just showing he is a higher
ceiling on a week to week basis. We'll see what
who his quarterback is. Hopefully it's short of Love that's
who I would prefer so. I don't feeling like super
great about either guy right now.

Speaker 1 (42:46):
Watson popped up with an illness, right fits I believe,
so yeah, yeah, this is yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 5 (42:54):
Well I was I was just gonna say. I mean,
the Lions loss to the Viking was good for Packers fans,
but it's not good for anyone I think who's invested
in the Green Bay passing game. Because they were sort
of expecting to have Jordan Love back despite the concussion
last week. I think that if this were sort of

(43:17):
a game they needed to win, we would be assured
of seeing Christian Watson. Now I don't know, so I
think if if Watson is active and Jordan Love starts,
I would play Christian Watson here. I mean, he scored
five touchdowns in his last six games, a pair of
two touchdown games. Big play receiver and wormier Ravens do

(43:39):
give up big plays in the passing game fifty five
pass completions of twenty or more yards. That's tied for
third most in the league, just two behind the Bengals,
who've given up the most. Like I don't hate Godwin
as an option, but the Buccaneers are using a four
receiver rotation these days with Godwin, Mike Evans, a Mecca
Abuka and Jalen McMillan. So Evans is the alpha. And

(44:02):
you know, there's also the fact that Baker Mayfield hasn't
played all that well over the last two months, whereas
Jordan Love has been dealing. So if Love plays, I
want Watson here over Godwin.

Speaker 1 (44:12):
Let's do some flexes here. We mentioned to maryon Hampton earlier.
How about Hampton or Juwan Jennings fits Hampton.

Speaker 5 (44:20):
I know it's a tough matchup against the Texans, although
the Texans let Ashton Genty run wild on them last week.
And I think with the Chargers injury plagued offensive line
having these protection issues where they just are not keeping
the pressure off justin Herbert, Chargers really need to run
the ball heavily and effectively in this game. So I

(44:42):
like Jennings too. I've got him a wide receiver fifteen
for the week, but his value has been pretty touchdown dependent.
He's got seven touchdowns in his last seven games. But
Jennings hasn't given us more than seventy one receiving yards
in a game since Week two, And it's possible Ricky
Pierce all comes back, although George Kittle's status is kind
of up in the air, so maybe that could funnel

(45:03):
a few extra targets. Jennings Way, but I would still
rather have a.

Speaker 3 (45:06):
Hampton ericson Hampton for me, and even more so if
Camane Videl doesn't play in this game. I think the
Chargers know, hey, we got to run the football to
keep the Texans pass rush off of destroying our quarterback
Justin Hurburt. And of course this game is you play
on Saturday. The window where Saturday, late December early January,

(45:27):
there's always a Texans game on at four thirty Eastern.
It's just I don't know why it always seems like this.
It's usually them playing in the Wildcard round, hosting a
wildcard game, but just all the memories of like it's
like after Christmas, like New Year's just coming up.

Speaker 4 (45:40):
I'm like, oh, yeah, the Texans are on Saturday four thirty.

Speaker 5 (45:43):
Here we go, it's the Matt Shaw Memorial time slot.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yes, they have taken residence in that Saturday Wildcard weekend
game every single year that they're in the playoffs. All right,
next flex here Jalen Warren, who we also already talked about,
or Teteroa mcmill in ericson.

Speaker 3 (46:01):
Jalen Warren for me, assuming that we get reports of
Steelers are gona play their guys, Jalen Warren's fine, He's
not dealing with his hip injury.

Speaker 4 (46:08):
So that's roy Lean. Just because the Browns matchup is
really really good.

Speaker 5 (46:12):
Fits agreed, Just Steeler running backs both really good players
this week against the Browns with their issues against the
running game lately. I like, I don't hate McMillan. I'm
not terrified by the Seattle matchup, but we do know
that Dave Kanellis has kind of tried to hide Bryce
Young for a lot of this year, so I think

(46:35):
he doesn't want to open it up and have Bryce
Young throw thirty or more passes unless he absolutely has to.
Maybe he'll have to this week, but I don't know.
It's just it seems like there's way more upside with
the running back on a team that has no wide receivers.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
Michael Carter or Jacobi Myers fits.

Speaker 5 (46:56):
I'm going with Carter. You know, he is the Cardinals'
running back, and no team has given up more rushing
yards to running backs than the Bengals. So Myers more
of an ensemble cast of pass catchers for the Jaguars
these days, so could have a big game, could kind
of fall by the wayside. I think Carter's going to

(47:17):
be I think he offers the safer floor Erickson.

Speaker 3 (47:22):
I will go to Jacobe Myers because the Colts defense
is terrible. Their secondary is a mess. I don't know
if Sas Carter is playing in this game or not.
Even if he does, I would not expect him to
shadow Jacobe Myers. And although it is kind of everybody
eats type of mantra in this Jack's passing game, this
passing game has also become a wagon right. Trevor Lawrence

(47:45):
is tied with Josh Allen as the QB one in
points per games since Week five, So I feel like
I want to put my stock more into the Jaguars
offense rather than the Cardinals offense. I had to talk
about Carter earlier, where it's not all him in that
back field. They are using other guys. I know Fitz
mentioned the lack of receptions last week. I think part
of that too is Amaro de Mercado played more snaps

(48:07):
on third downs, kind of taking away some of the
receptions for Michael Carter. So my only concern with Carter
is he gets a lot of rushing yards but doesn't
catch passes and maybe doesn't score. So that's where I
get concerned with him, especially in like the full PPR.
Where's Jacoby Myers? I mean, he's the target leader basically
every single week for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's a good
matchup for him, So I like the Jaguars wide receiver fitz.

Speaker 2 (48:29):
Where's Myers ranked to you amongst two receivers?

Speaker 5 (48:32):
I have got him ranked wide receiver twenty twenty seven.

Speaker 1 (48:40):
Okay, so you're well below consensus. Jacoby Myers is wide
receiver sixteen in ECR.

Speaker 5 (48:46):
I don't understand why. I just like, there are a
lot of pass catchers now for the Jaguars, and I
don't know we'll see Ken Philip Rivers force Trevor Lawrence
into a shoot out. Trevor Lawrence just I know he's
been on fire, but like, are we booking him for

(49:06):
four touchdown passes every week? I just I can't get
there with him if.

Speaker 4 (49:11):
He faces colts every week.

Speaker 3 (49:12):
I mean, I Rock Perney made it look pretty easy.

Speaker 2 (49:16):
Myers.

Speaker 1 (49:17):
Not only is he up there, he's gone up like
he has risen six spots in ECR in the last
two days. He was at twenty two, but since Wednesday
has gone up to wide receiver sixteen here, all right,
let's go to another flex here, ericson ad and I
Mitchell or Zach Sharbone.

Speaker 4 (49:34):
I will go with Zach Sharbone.

Speaker 3 (49:36):
I just think he probably has better odds of scoring
a touchdown.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
Fitz.

Speaker 5 (49:42):
Yeah, it's as simple as that. I just don't want
to have to rely on a wide receiver tied to
Brady Cook. I would rather just cross my fingers and
hope to get a touchdown from Zach Sharboney.

Speaker 1 (49:53):
All right, let's go to a quarterback here. How about
Jacobe Brussette or the aforementioned Trevor Lawrence. Fitz, I'll start
with you on this.

Speaker 5 (50:00):
Oh man, this is a close call. And speaking of Lawrence,
with the touchdown outburst the last couple of weeks where
he's given us, I think, you know, four or five
touchdown passes a touchdown run every week. Where was this
earlier in the year when I needed it in the
Fantasy pros in house league, where I had Trevor Lawrence
like I was thrilled when I won Joe Flacco on

(50:22):
waivers so I wouldn't have to start Trevor Lawrence anymore
at one point this season. And now like Trevor Lawrence
is carrying people to Fantasy Championship. So it's been quite
the turnaround after I was already eliminated in that league.
I HaVeset ranked one spot higher. It's a really close call,
but before last week, Brissett had been averaging three hundred

(50:42):
passing yards and two touchdown passes in his starts for
the Cardinals this year, and you know, he kind of
flopped last week against the Falcons. But I think we
could get a shootout between the Cardinals and the Bengals,
and we know Trey McBride is going to absolutely destroy
a Cincinnati defense that simply cannot stop tight ends. So
Lawrence also a top ten quarterback option too. I just

(51:04):
like Perset a little more.

Speaker 1 (51:06):
They're both ranked very highly in ECR. Of course, ericson
who do you prefer Lawrence or Pressette?

Speaker 4 (51:12):
I prefer Trevor Lawrence.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
And I'm kicking myself because in my championship league I
had to actually drop Trevor Lawrence earlier because he was
facing the Broncos last week, and I was like, well,
I have Jacoby, I'm gonna roll with him next week.
And now I'm like, I just make the worst decision
in my entire life. So I hope fits is right,
and I hope that Jacobe outscores Trevor Lawrence, but I
would go. I was panic. I was like, maybe I

(51:33):
could pick him back up. Of course I have zero
FAB left, so I had no chance of getting Trevor Laurance.
Luckily my opponent was not able to get him. Someone
in the Constellation bracket picked up Trevor Lawrence instead, So
wasn't the.

Speaker 4 (51:42):
Worst maneuver to fits this point.

Speaker 3 (51:44):
Both guys are really good options, very strongly ranked both
an ECR.

Speaker 4 (51:48):
But I would go with Trevor.

Speaker 3 (51:49):
I mean, like I said before, QB one tie with
Josh Allen since week five and he's facing the Colts
indoors in a dome, I think the Jaguars.

Speaker 4 (51:57):
Could you just pouring on offensively?

Speaker 1 (52:00):
Let me ask you this, Lawrence is one spot ahead
of Matthew Stafford ericson, would you start Lawrence ahead of Stafford?

Speaker 3 (52:05):
Well, now you're making me second guests. A lot of
my RAMS rankings because of what you just mentioned about
if they don't have anything to play for it, I
would not I would not be strum. He's like, no Staffords,
I'm playing like we're gonna take him out and I'll
play Garoppolo because he knows that so much of what
makes the Rams so effective and their upside is having
a healthy Matthew Stafford. And I don't think anyone in

(52:27):
the I don't think Anon of the locker room's gonna
be like, oh, like, why'd you bentch Stafford's like, if
we have nothing to play for, He's not touched in
the field, So that would concern me. And I think
that we could see a guy like Jimmy Garoppolo if
that scenario plays itself out, because we know that the
Rams don't ever risk their guys in meaningless games in
the preseason.

Speaker 5 (52:44):
So I think it.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
Depends on how they define meaningless because they are they
can still fight for a better seed.

Speaker 4 (52:52):
He doesn't. He doesn't care about seed, but.

Speaker 1 (52:54):
Yes, he's nothing for historically he has not cared about
the better seed when and it's like the difference between
the three and the four seed, or like the five
and the six seed. Sean McVay is historically not really
really minded that. Again, two weeks away from the playoffs,
it feels like pretty early, but it's just something to
keep in mind. It would be crushing to me in
my in my championship league. It's a super flex, and

(53:16):
I lost my homes and Gardner Minshew and I have
no available starting quarterbacks, so Stafford is my only QB.

Speaker 2 (53:21):
That would be really rough to.

Speaker 4 (53:22):
Yeah, I would pick up right now.

Speaker 2 (53:25):
I cannot pick him up.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
It's a league where you have to have a minimum
one dollar to make any kind of waiver pickup. I
spent everything on Minshew because I was like, the last
spot I need is I just lost my home, so
let me make sure I get his his backup.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
What's the worst that could happen?

Speaker 1 (53:40):
He immediately Dari's ACL and now Stafford might not play.
So that would be a very, very devastating finish to
that season.

Speaker 2 (53:48):
But it's somebody to keep in mind. Obviously.

Speaker 1 (53:50):
I think we're all hoping that we still get the
Rams in that game. You know, give given it.

Speaker 5 (53:55):
They're all I've been agonizing over a Brock Party versus
Matthew Stafford start decision, and I had sort of independently
decided to go, and I've got them ranked ad Jason
to each other in the rankings. I decided to go
with Party. Now I feel like it's kind of a
nope brainer now that you raise that scenario with the
Pianowski scenario here, because yeah, that's got to terrify anyone

(54:17):
who's depending on the Rams passing game in this final week.

Speaker 1 (54:20):
Any other coach, and that would be pretty optimistic that
they'd still play.

Speaker 2 (54:23):
But McVeigh is the one, like given his history.

Speaker 1 (54:26):
By the way, those four names we talked about, Lauren Stafford,
Party Brissett are all back to back to back to
back in ECR. So that's kind of the range that
we are well discussed also too, for if.

Speaker 3 (54:36):
You are a Stafford manager, just make sure you have
Kirk Cousins just like just in case, like they pulled
the plug on, so you have a backup. I mean,
the Rams can give up yardage with their secondary, so
just to be sure because Chubckay probably won't tell usuntil it's.

Speaker 4 (54:49):
Too late because that's because that's how they roll.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
So all right, we got a tight end one here,
Dallas Goddard or Tyler Warren, these guys are back to
back back end tight end ones in ecr ericson who
do you like better, Goddard or Warren?

Speaker 4 (55:06):
So I like Tyler Warren better.

Speaker 3 (55:08):
He has been the target leader with Philip Rivers under
center the last two games. It's a good matchup for
him against the Jacksonville Jaguars defense.

Speaker 5 (55:15):
And I know.

Speaker 4 (55:16):
Warren's been disappointing.

Speaker 3 (55:17):
The box scores have been pretty pretty preutred, but the
volume has been there for him the last couple of games,
and the matchup is good for him. He's a talented player.
You can make plays after the catch, So I actually
prefer Warren here. I hate the matchup for Dallas Goddard
against the Bills. Bills have been brutal against Titans, especially
guys that are more in line Titans than more of
these hybrid types of players. However, I would probably have

(55:39):
to move Goddard up if this aj Brown thing, Like, dude,
get your wisdom teeth out before you, like what are
we doing?

Speaker 5 (55:46):
Like what are we doing here?

Speaker 4 (55:48):
Dude? Like how do you schedule this in this season.

Speaker 3 (55:53):
Before you have to play this like huge game on
the road against the Buffalo Bills. And you're like, yeah, I'm
gonna get my wizard teeth out this week?

Speaker 4 (55:59):
Like what?

Speaker 1 (56:01):
Uh yeah, I've had my wisdom teeth remove before.

Speaker 2 (56:05):
It's not fun. I say, it sucks terrible.

Speaker 1 (56:10):
On the Erics, And I do recall I think it
was earlier this summer that you fought through you had
like some kind of dental procedure and we recorded the
next morning and you were powering through.

Speaker 2 (56:20):
Am I remembering that correctly?

Speaker 4 (56:21):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (56:21):
But then all the YouTube comments that I looked really
depressed and look, I didn't want to be there.

Speaker 4 (56:25):
So maybe we're gonna get the A. J.

Speaker 3 (56:28):
Brown book game because he's gonna be out there grabbing
his mouth be like, oh man, my mouth hurts.

Speaker 4 (56:34):
Just who signed off on this? But oh yeah, just
get your wisdom teeth out Christmas week. I mean you
got on Christmas Eve? Like, what's going on?

Speaker 5 (56:42):
Dude? That is just same.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
AJ Brown looks depressed every game he plays with Jalen hurts.
So I don't know how we'll be able to tell
the difference here, all right, fancy to be like better
Tyler Warren or Dallas Goddard.

Speaker 5 (56:55):
Dallas Goddard. I know the volume was there. My son
had Tyler Warren in a semi final game last week,
and he needed I think like four and a half
PPR points out of Tyler Warren to win, and he
sweated that one out until like garbage time. Like Tyler
Warren didn't get across the finish line format four and

(57:15):
a half PPR points until late And Warren has had
thirty or fewer receiving yards in four straight games, and
he's only scored one touchdown in his last eight games,
like Dallas Goddard has ten touchdowns. And I know the
Bills smother tight ends, but the tush pushes now pass
a and the Eagles favorite play near the goal line

(57:35):
is that little shovel pass to Dallas Goddard. So I'm
hoping we get one of those, and I'll take that
over Tyler Warren, who's just kind of fizzled down the stretch. Here.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
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(58:07):
the Fantasy Pros app and make winning decisions in no time.
We're about to get to our touchdown calls for the week,
but first to join our free Touchdown Calls contest in
the Fantasy Pros Discord. Each week, pick four players you
think will score with a bonus flex Worth double. Weekly
winners get a twenty five dollars Fantasy Pros gift card,
and the season champ takes home a signed b Jon
Robinson Jersey. Play now by going to Fantasypros dot Com

(58:28):
slash chat and heading to the Touchdown Calls channel. Guys,
we are doing a running back, receiver, and tight end
as always ericson who do you have at running back?

Speaker 3 (58:37):
Ashton Genty's gonna score this week against the New York
Giants in pursuit of one thousand rushing yards. He's actually
closing it out one thousand rushing yards after that big
games to Houston Texans. Two games left, so hopefully you
can get over the one k mark for his rookie season.

Speaker 2 (58:51):
Ashton Genty for ericson fits, who.

Speaker 5 (58:53):
Do you have at receiver Drake London against the Rams
on Monday nights. And yes, I'm trying to speak this
in new existence because I'm starting Drake London in two
championship games.

Speaker 4 (59:04):
How many Drake London teams are you facing? Though? You
gotta check that.

Speaker 5 (59:08):
Yeah, I don't think I'm going against him in any
league this week.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
That is a nice part about only having two teams
left is a Lave and Puka are the only players
that like have in one facing in the other. Because
when you have you know, fourteen leagues or whatever you
know it's been for most of the season, you get
a lot of that. It is nice to simplify from
that perspective. I'm sure it's more difficult for you Fits,
but that's very much a first world problem with seven

(59:34):
teams in the Championship. So jant for ericson Drake London
for Fits, I'm at tight end.

Speaker 2 (59:41):
We are not overthinking it.

Speaker 1 (59:42):
This is the final time I have to pick a
tight end for this year in this touchdown calls contest.
I don't think I've gotten a single tight end right.
Hopefully I'm not putting that bad juju on Trey McBride.
Just the no brainer of all no brainers. McBride facing
this Bengals defense, so we're going with him. Jent, London
and McBride are our three touchdown calls for the week.

(01:00:02):
You could dominate your fantasy football league with Fantasy Pros Premium,
now available free for six months when you deposit and
place your first wager on one of our partner sportsbooks.
This is the easiest way to get full access to
our top fantasy tools all season long. Go to fantasypros
dot com slash Premium to get started. Ericson before we
get out of here, any kind of like hype up
for anybody. I mean, this is the Fantasy Championship, right,

(01:00:24):
like any kind of pep talk you want to give
to our listeners here before the rest of the late kicksoff.

Speaker 3 (01:00:29):
Trust the process you got here, grinding sixteen weeks of
the season, not letting your emotions get in the way,
because as we all know, this isn't a very emotional
game that we play, and sixteen weeks of tilting. Hey,
it all pays off if you come on with that championship.
So yeah, let's go, baby.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
If it's any final words of wisdom here, yeah, that's it.

Speaker 5 (01:00:51):
I mean, there can be a lot of variants in
a single week of fantasy football, and the best teams
are not always going to win this week. But every year,
all you can you do is just you know, maximize
your probability and you know, just keep keep getting to
the doorstep and if you're playing this week, you are
on the doorstep, just keep knocking. Eventually that doors can open.

Speaker 1 (01:01:15):
All tics is winning one week. I have a team
that's not very good, clear underdog. But you never any
individual week, anything can happen. So dare I say any
given Sunday any some some would or any given Thursday
slash Saturday slash Sunday.

Speaker 4 (01:01:28):
Slash or whatever the NFL plays every single day.

Speaker 1 (01:01:32):
Yeah, best of luck to everybody. We will have programming
next week. It'll obviously look different because we're eighteen, you know,
people don't have championships. Typically, we'll have some version versions
of shows going into next week and beyond. This is
the last edition of this particular show for the season,
So thanks everybody for tuning into this show all year long.

Speaker 2 (01:01:48):
Again, There'll be more programming next.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
Week, you know, We'll we'll have shows for you, just
looking a little bit different for Ericson and Jake who's
been on the show all year and fits I'm Ron
warmly thanks for tuning in.

Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
We'll see you next time.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football podcast.
If you love the show, the best freeway to support
us is by leaving a positive review on Apple podcasts
at Fantasypros dot com, slash review, or on Spotify. Follow
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Fantasy Pros.

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FantasyPros - Week 17 Lineup Advice: Starts, Sits, Player Debates, and TD Calls (Ep. 1919)

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