Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow, what is Welcome to another edition of the NFL
Fantasy Football Show. It's me and your man, m G.
Marcus Grants, still fully vaccinated, still dodging variants like Neo
in the matrix. As always, we are joined by producer
(00:22):
Justin and the specialists on the other side of the
glass there say, everybody waves, I mean nobody can see
you because I know you're waving and that counts for
something for me. H cast of dozens that helps put
on this show, and of course joined by Michael left
Florio to my left. Worked week seven already, which seems
like it's kind of flown by so far. Yeah, it
(00:42):
feels fast, right like Week one takes forever to get here.
And then it's just like I think it's like you
always say, like the first ten weeks, like they just
fly by, and it's yeah, like every week I'm like, wow,
I can't believe it's week this already, and like here
we are in week seven. Here we are in week seven,
which I don't know if you've heard, it's the big
season ever, and so that means we still are we're
(01:03):
only just about a third of the way through the
whole NFL regular season. A little bit shorter for the
fantasy regular season, so it's getting big for a lot
of folks. It's it's time to make a move. I
think in some leagues if you are not playing particularly well.
We got a lot to talk about. Of course, we
have our big questions for weeks seven. Will do a
preview of every game on the Thursday and Sunday slates,
(01:26):
And of course we've got some sleepers for you coming
up at the end of the show. But let's get
started with some fantasy headlines, if we will. Big one
that came down just this morning, just before we sat
down for this show, Baker Mayfield is not playing against
the Denver Broncos tonight. Now. Earlier in the week, he
(01:47):
had said that it was going to be his decision
to play as he's dealing with an injured, non throwing shoulder,
But apparently head coach step Kevin Stefanski and maybe somebody
else in the Cleveland buildings said not so fast, my friend.
We still get some saying this. So, uh, no, Baker
case Keenum is making the start. I guess the first
question is we're not starting case Keenum anywhere? Are we? No?
(02:08):
I I had to update the rankings this morning when
this came out that Baker Mayfield was lying to us,
all um and I made Case Keenum the lowest of
all the starting quarterbacks this week. He's ahead of like
Trey Lance, who maybe he'll get some time in there,
who knows, But like that's about it. Yeah, so no
Case Keenum. But I guess the bigger, more important question
(02:29):
is does this change how you feel about any of
the past catchers Jarvis Late or not, Jervis, Odell Beckham Jr.
Uh David and Joku, Donovan People's jones better, worse about
the same thing you did before, a little worse like
the tight ends. I still I have them ranked pretty
low because you just never know which one is going
to get the volume each week. But I had Oldell
(02:50):
Beckham Jr. Ranked as a wide receiver to this week
inside my top twenty four. I have now lowered him
into wide receiver three territory. And I had Donovan People's
jones he was like a top forty wide receiver for me.
He's now just outside of that. I still think he
is a flex option just because of all the injuries
and buys that we're dealing with this week. But Uh,
in the meantime, like is case Keenum? Can we really
(03:12):
trust him to the thing that we liked about People's
Jones was his downfield ability. Can we expect case Keenum
to take advantage of that? I'm not so sure. I
don't really love the idea of any of them right now.
With Case Keenum, you know, suddenly thrown into the starting
role hours before kickoff. Now, look, maybe he had a
clue that this could happen, but still you're talking about
(03:33):
just kind of putting him in against the Broncos defense.
That isn't really bad um, And I know Von Miller
said he's looking forward to getting after the quarterback and
I so good luck Case Keenum. You have fun with that.
But yeah, I get it. And I so let me
just let me just start this show by saying, I
feel like a lot of the things we're going to
say on this show today are gonna be prefaced by
(03:55):
you probably don't have a choice because you have X
number of players on buy. But if you have a choice,
don't know that I love any of the Browns. What
about their running backs? Because I boosted both of them
up with the move because I think they're just gonna
naturally give them all more to those two players. I
think so. I think. I think even with Baker being
there and not being healthy, Um, I think you're gonna
(04:15):
see them lead on their running backs a little bit. Um.
I know that, you know. When I put in waiver
claims last night, I put in a lot of claims
for Dimatrick Felton and Dearnest Johnson. Um, And I think
you're gonna see both those guys get a lot of
work with Hunt and Nick Chubb out. I have a
feeling that's gonna be a very low scoring game though today. Yeah,
it's a lot of a lot of defense in this one.
(04:35):
This is I mean a Broncos defense that has not
allowed a lot of points to quarterbacks or receivers already.
I have Dearness Johnson a little bit higher than Feltson
in my rankings. I think Johnson is like the Nick
Chubb of this offense now, and Felton will be like
the Cream Hunt, the pass patch pass catching specialists. But
if the Browns are trailing, he could easily get like
five plus targets in this game. Right by the way
(04:56):
I said tonight, I mean tomorrow night. Um My head
is I know what you meant, right exactly. My head
sort of all over the place. It's actually over Tevez
Ravine right now. It's kind of where it is at
the bumment alright. Other news, Jimmy Garoppolo is back at
practice for the San Francisco forty Niners. They are off
of their by They've got the Indianapolis Colts this week.
Trey Lance still dealing with a bit of a knee injury,
(05:19):
so not sure how that's gonna play out. It looks
like Garoppolo is going to get the start for the
forty Niners this week. What is your appetite for maybe
starting him, let's say a two QB league against the
Colts this week? In a two QB league, I think
he's a hundred percent in play, just because there's not
a lot of a lot out there. And again we're
(05:40):
gonna keep saying it, but like, who would you be,
you know, you'd have to have two studs. I think
to be sitting Jimmy g this week. I have him
ranks currently as my QB nineteen um, but I'm tinkering
with the idea of raising him a bit, like I
have him just behind Taylor Heineke Carson Wentz, Derek Carr, Jamis. Uh,
so I'm considering moving him up. I definitely will not
(06:01):
be moving him back because the names behind him are
like Fields, Mac Jones, General Smith, Like. I wouldn't start
those players over him, I don't think. But I'm considering
moving him ahead of maybe like Heineke at the very least. Yeah,
I say Heineke. I would definitely think about moving him
ahead up. I think those other names you mentioned I
might start over Garoppolo at this point. Um, we're still
sort of waiting on Trey Lance, and I know his
(06:23):
his start that he had against the Cardinals was not
particularly good. Um, he's still at least he's still a
least worth holding though at this point, right, yeah, especially
if you're in a two quarterback format, like I have
a super Flex league right now, Marcus, where my two
quarterbacks are Josh Allen and Justin Herbert and my backup
option is Lance. I'm still holding onto lands Day right now.
(06:43):
I don't have another quarterback. I'm trying to make a trade.
If I don't, Kendall Hinton might be my starting quarterback
this week because there's no other options. I mean, look, man,
it well, it didn't really work out for the Broncos either,
starting Kendall Hinton, but maybe it'll be better for you
who knows. Um. Last bit of news Dawson Knox, who
(07:04):
has brought some joint to our tight end fantasy lines.
He has a broken bone in his hand. Uh. He
suffered it during the game on Monday night against the Titans.
I think he actually threw that two point conversion pass
with a broken hand apparently, so it kind of looked
like it kind of looked like it the way he
threw it got there, like when he threw it. The
announcements were like, oh, well he was a former quarterback
(07:26):
in high school, and I was like, and that's how
he droves. I expected a lot better. So maybe it's
because he had a broken bone in his hands. So
the good news for the Bills is that they are
on a bye this week, so that does give him
a little bit extra time to try and get healthy.
If you are looking for tight ends saying week eight, Um,
do you pivot to Tommy Sweeney? Do you go somewhere else?
(07:48):
I think you go somewhere else. Dawson did have surgery
in his hands, so they're hoping that he doesn't miss
too much time, but I think week eight is in
question for him. But I expected the Bills to run
a lot of four wide receiver sets this year, and
they have. It's them in the Cardinals that are running
the most. But Gabriel Davis isn't hasn't been in thing
one because Emmanuel Sanders never ages and two because Dawson
(08:12):
Knox emerged, and now with him out, if he is
out next week, I think we'll see more Gabriel Davis
involved than we will Tommy Sweeney. Uh Is Sweeney, I
think you'd be hoping for a touchdown and I don't
really love his chances. Yeah, I feel feel sort of
the same way. Emmanuel Sanders has been a nice revelation
this year. When I didn't I didn't know what to expect.
I didn't expect much. But he's been really, really good
(08:32):
for the Bills this year. So if you haven't heard,
Week seven is by mcgeddon. By mcgeddon one, six teams
are on a by that not only is it the
volume of teams, it is the teams themselves. You got
the Bills, Cowboys, Jaguars, Chargers, Vikings, and Steelers. So let's
look at some of the guys who are gonna be missing,
I mean a quarterback, You've got no Josh Allen, Dak Prescott,
(08:54):
Justin Herbert Kirk, Cousins. Your your notable running backs that
are missing, Ezekiel Elliott, James Robinson, Austin Ekeler, Dalvin Cook, Nagy,
Harris Uh. At wide receiver, you got Stefon Diggs one
of the guys missing. I guess I can throw Emanuel
Sanders in there too, Marii Cooper, Seedee Lamb, Keenan Allen,
Mike Williams, Justin Jefferson, Adam Feeling, Beyonce Johnson, there's Emmanuel Sanders.
(09:17):
As I mentioned, Uh, it's just a blood path at
wider sey this week at a tight end, we got
Dawson Knox and Dalton Schultz. Who it is? Um, So
it kind of brought up a question for me, And
I actually got a tweet a couple of days ago
(09:38):
or somebody sent me their lineup, and it just was
a whole lot of like either out because of injury
or on a by uh, to the point that it
looked like it was going to be tough for them
to field a roster. In fact, here it is They've
got Justin Herbert on a bye, Seedee Lamb on a by,
Mike Williams on a by, Austin Or on a bye, Nagy,
Harris Dawson, Knox, James Rob Consent on a buy. They
(10:01):
have Dak Prescott as their other quarterbacks. So literally, the
whole starting lineup is on a bye this week. If
you filed yourself in a situation like that, how would
you handle that? I would take the l this week, like,
because the thing is, you're not playing fantasy football to
win in Week seven. I understand it's gonna suck having
(10:22):
to watch your team give you like fifty points this
week and you're gonna lose and it's not gonna be fun.
But I would rather that and have that line up
the rest of the way. That's also a way you
could look at it, like, not only do you want
to have these good players on your roster from the
end of the year, but you get all your buys
out of the way. It's pretty much a bye week
for you. Go out and enjoy your Sunday. You don't
(10:44):
have to Obviously you're gonna watch football, but you don't
have to be watching your live scoring and your fantasy
team and stuff, and then the rest of the way, well,
everyone else is still dealing with buys. There's buys up
until week fourteen this year, you do not have to
worry about it. So I would just sit tight with
those players that you have. I wouldn't be trying to
make a trade because no one is going to give
you full value, being like, hey, I now have to
(11:05):
sit all of these players this week. To me, the
only way I would change that stance is if I'm
sitting at like two and five or or something like that,
and I'm desperate for a win, then I don't think
you could just take a loss this week. But if
you're like three and three or better, it's okay, it's
just one week. I think you you hold onto those players. Yeah,
I think I think that's the best way to handle it,
because you know, you're talking about if you're if you're
(11:27):
trying to play waivers, then you know, obviously that means
you're you're letting go of somebody really good you don't
want to put back on the waiver wire. Uh, if
you're trading, it really is just sort of a one
week fixed kind of thing. Uh, you know that roster
in particular is just loaded from top to bottom. So
you just sort of sit tight and you take the
l of this week and uh, you don't worry about it.
And I don't know. I heard from people who are like, well,
(11:48):
that just means you drafted poorly. I'm like, I don't know.
I feel like I don't really worry about bye weeks afting.
I just want to get good players, especially if the
bye week is is you know, like weeks seven, it's
two months since you drafted, so much change and that
span those players could get hurt, you could make moves,
who knows. So I'm just like you, Like I I
(12:10):
think in like a super flex league, maybe you could
look at like your second quarterbacks by so it's not
the same as the first. But even so, like I
had I just said, I have Alan and Herbert. I
don't regret having those two at all. It'll stink this week,
but it'll be fine after that. Yeah. So I mean, look,
if if you found yourself in that situation, um, just
just take the other just take a nivist for this week,
(12:31):
uh and and you know, let it ride and you'll
come back strong next week. And like Florio said, you're
done with buys at that point at least for all
your key players, and then you can just roll through
to the rest of the regular season. Alright, time for
three big questions we've got heading in two weeks seven
to help you hopefully not mess up your lineup. Although look,
it's buy Mgeddon, so it's gonna be it's gonna be
(12:52):
a struggle for everybody, just believe that. I want to
start with some wide receivers who have led us down
so far this season. Um of these three guys, who
is more droppable? Allen Robinson, Robbie Anderson or Odell Beckham jr. Uh.
It's funny because you picked three receivers that I just
can't seem to quit. But of the three, I would
(13:16):
say Robbie Anderson, Which is funny because in my Waiver
Wire article this week, I've included Robbie Anderson and said
when people drop him, pick him back up because he's
so He's been averaging like ten targets per game over
the last three But I still think of the three,
he is the most droppable because, for one, I do
not think he's ever gonna be the top target on
his team. I think that role goes to DJ Moore,
(13:37):
where the other two I think will be the top
targets there um Allen Robinson. I know he has been brutal,
like he doesn't have eleven Fantasy points in a game
this year. It has been tough, but I still think
his upside is the highest of the three, especially as
justin fields. He looks better last week than he has
any games so far this year's he starts to get
more comfortable. Hopefully Alan Robinson could rebound on the back
(13:59):
half for the season to make up for the slow start.
And O'Dell he still flashes so much potential at the
time that I just can never seem to quit him.
I do think at this point right now you could
valuele del Moore is like a wide receiver three than
anything else. But I still think the upside that he
possesses it enough for me to hold onto him here.
So I'm leaning with Odell on this one, and I
(14:20):
think for me, this sort of goes back to the
way I felt about him in the preseason, where I
was pretty hands off because I just didn't know what
to expect. I felt like they were gonna be a
lot of highs and lows, and I guess in some
ways you've had that right. He first game was in
week three he got five for seventy seven. Uh. In
week six he had five for seventy nine. In between
(14:41):
that he had a couple of twenty yard games. And
I just for me, it just feels like the the
targets are so inconsistent from week to week on a team,
especially that when healthy they want to run the football,
so much of that offense runs through Kareem Hunt and
Nick Chubb. Um, you've got the inconsistency of Baker Mayfield
when he's healthy at quarterback. Uh. But I think all
(15:04):
three of these guys, like it's all three of them
are super frustrating and and deep down you really feel
like maybe you should let them go. But there's something
about all of them where you I can't. I can't
quite hit the drop button button yet. Yeah, exactly. And
that's why, like, if I have any of them. Like
so last week in in the league, I wanted to
(15:26):
bench Allan Robinson, but I was gonna have to drop
um in order for me to update my line up,
I was gonna have to drop like Jamison Crowder. And
I was like, you know what, I'll give Allen Robinson
one more week before I have to make a move,
and it ended up costing me the week because he
struggled mightily and the guy I was gonna get in
over him played well. But I still like, I'm at
(15:46):
the point now where I'm benching him, And I'm cool
benching any of these three if you have better options.
But I just the upside that they possessed. Maybe it's
me just looking at them with rose colored goggles on them,
but like I just can't seem to quit them for
some reason. I they have too much upside. I don't.
I don't think you're wrong, but it's just like, you know,
like I was going through and looking at right now,
Allen Robinson is the wide receiver fifty four. Uh, Robbie
(16:09):
Anderson is sixty two UM, and where's O'Dell? He's I
think even further down the list, if I'm not mistaken,
he is seventy eight. I mean, that's that's unbelievable. Yeah,
And it's it's funny because they're all struggling in their
own way, Like Anderson is struggling with with dropped, like
the volume has been there in the last three weeks.
He just hasn't done anything with it. O'Dell has gotten
(16:31):
open at times, like downfield for open what could be touchdowns,
and Baker has missed him. And then Allen Robinson. I mean,
it's just going wrong on all So, yeah, they're there.
It's all a little different for each of them, but
I still like these are all three receivers that we
were drafting well inside the top thirty. Absolutely. Um, it's
just it's been awful, yeah, all of them. All right,
(16:52):
let's let's go the other way though, Which underperforming running
back is most likely to step things up for the
back part of the season. Between Josh Jacobs, Clyde Edwards
Laire and Mike Davis. I think Mike Davis is the
easy out. Patterson better. Um. For me, it's still Clyde
Edwards Hilaire, and so much of that is because of
(17:13):
the pieces around him, Like he's on one of the
best offenses in football, with Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelsey. UM.
My biggest concern with Clyde Edwards Laire besides the injury,
is like Darryl Williams stepped up last week. He had
more carries than c h has in a game this year.
And more targets. And that is the concerning part to
(17:34):
me because we always talk up c H as a
great receiving back. Imagine what he could do catching passes there.
He doesn't have more than three targets in a game
this year. Daryl Williams and his first start gets four
and twenty one carries. And my concern with that, Marcus
is like, is it time to have a discussion, like,
is Daryl Williams the better of the two running backs
in Kansas City? He might be at least or at
(17:57):
least we should have the discussion of is cch overrated?
Did we get too excited about him? Because look, last year,
you know, he was okay, and like I keep saying,
he was a victim of our expectations. This year, the
expectations were lowered, uh, and he's still struggling to meet them.
So maybe it's not us, Maybe it's him. He he
(18:18):
did have an ankle injury in the preseason and he's
banged up now, so maybe he just hasn't been healthy.
But yeah, I think a lot of it is on us,
and I also think a lot of it was that,
like we kind of got fooled because he played on
basically the Kansas City Chiefs version of college in college football,
like with with that Joe Burrow l SU team that
had Justin Jefferson and Jamaar Chase and and more around him.
(18:41):
Like so, I think because of all the pieces around
him in college as well, it probably made propped him
up a little bit as well. Probably did. I'm gonna
I'm gonna pick just Josh Jacobs here for this one,
and mostly because just he's still getting so many snaps
and so many touches in that offense, you know, I know,
I earlier in the week on Fantasy Live, I talked
about uh Kenyan Drake and the fact that you know,
(19:03):
he had a couple of touchdowns and looked like they
were using him more. In reality, he only had six
touches in that game, which which was more than he'd
had recently, but still not really a lot. And so
maybe with Greg Olsen calling plays now, maybe we see
more Kenyan Drake. But I still think when it comes
to the running game, it's a lot of Josh Jacobs here. Um,
(19:23):
you know, I wish they would throw him the ball more.
Maybe they do that, Maybe they actually involved in the
passing game more because John Gruden is not calling the plays.
I don't know, but I still think there's a path
for him to uh kind of be something close to
a workhorse and get those opportunities. Um, maybe you can
score a couple of touchdowns. That'd be nice if they
if they stopped giving him all to Kenyan Drake. Right,
and apparently Kenyan Drakes like the touchdown machine. Now do
(19:46):
you think we could trust Kenyan Drake at all? Because
I I still don't feel good about it. I don't
feel good about starting him, But I think what I
saw last week is like, look if I if I
have him, I'm gonna hold him. And if I'm in
a deep league and he's available, maybe I I dash
him just to see if he's starting to get more work. Yeah,
if the new play caller is starting to actually you
know the guy they gave twelve million dollars to, maybe
(20:07):
get him the ball. Maybe get to the ball. I
don't know. It's a crazy idea, all right. Last one,
who is the better bye week quarterback option? Between Matt
Ryan or Carson Wentz? So I said Carson Wentz, I
think if you are solely playing for weeks seven, you
could go with Matt Ryan. I like his matchup a
little bit more. But Carson Wentz has been playing good football,
(20:28):
I think better than he gets credit for. He has
one game this season with less than seventeen Fantasy points.
I think his floor is a little bit safer. Why
I think Matt Ryan has the highest ceiling and the
reason why I like Carson Wentz is this week isn't
the best match up against the Niners, but after that,
the cold schedule really opens up. So I think Carson
Wentz is gonna be one of those guys that, like,
(20:48):
one week, you'll use him as your bye week replacement,
then I'll use him the next week. But like, if
you have your quarterback on buy and like a couple
of weeks, it's a good move to get ahead of
that and grab Carson Wentz right now. I think. I
think I think you kind of nailed it though, where
Carson Wentz I think has the longer term outlook that
you want. Um, he's been the perfect QB two this
year too, if you have him in like a super
(21:09):
flex league or something, because that that very steady seventeen
point floor pretty much most weeks, that's kind of all
you want out of your second quarterback, and I think
this week, uh one, I think the Niners have actually
been a lot softer than I think we anticipated, so
I think there's some moves there. But I do think
if it's for this week, I like Matt Ryan. Um.
Look the last couple of weeks, the last couple of
(21:31):
games from Matt Ryan, He's got you over twenty points. Now,
admittedly they were again some bad defenses. He beat the
Washington football team and he beat the Jets. But the
Dolphins haven't been very good this year defensively, so this
could be another good game for Matt Ryan. He's he's
kind of turned into a matchup based guy, but it
seems like a pretty good matchup. One of my pet
(21:52):
pees though, is when like like people, because like the
other day I was excited about two of playing well
and people are like, oh, well it was a good matchup,
and I'm like, well, would you would you be happy
if he played bad? And that's like, this is what
a quarterback is supposed to do, go out and take
advantage of the bad defenses that they get to play.
So Matt Ryan has shown us he's capable of doing that,
and the Dolphins defense is far from what we expected,
(22:12):
so I I like him a lot. I think this
is the week Calvin Ridley gets going. This is the
big Calvin Ridley week. I think, Hey, look, we had
the big Kyle Pitts week just before the buy, So
now we get Calvin Ridley going and uh and everything's
gonna be good again in Atlanta. Time for a break,
but afterwards, we've got some game previews coming up next
on the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Uh. That gets us
(22:36):
to the starts of our game previews four Week seven.
We'll get it kicked off with Thursday Night Football. We
talked at the top of the show about Baker Mayfield
uh not being available because of the shoulder injury. This
is a game where there's just injuries all over the
place on both sides. So with that in mind, um,
(22:57):
who can we maybe rely on this week? I think
you could start Dearness Johnson. And he's a name that
was on a lot of waiver wires. I got lucky
in the league. I picked him up at a desperation
last week, and now I'm I'm starting him not even
thinking about it, like he's inside my top twenty running backs.
Much of that is because of all the backs that
are hurt or on by this week, but you're gonna
(23:18):
be desperate for a starting running back, and I think
Johnson is someone who could give you like fifteen plus
touches this week. I don't think Felton is built for that.
Because Felton's next carry in the NFL will be his first,
He's been used in the passing at least this season,
He's been used a lot in the passing game former receiver.
That's why I think he is like the Kareem Hunt,
where I think, Uh Johnson is the new Nick Chubb there.
(23:40):
I think Johnson is an RB two and I have
felt in as a flex option, but both are guys
that I think you could grab off the waiver wire
and plug into your starting line up in Week seven.
I don't think it's pretty savvy of the Browns though,
to have sort of a backup tandom, like they're like
they're starting tandem, right. I mean, you've got Felton that
slides into the the Hunt role, You've got Johnson who
slides into the Chubb role. Um. Obviously I wouldn't expect
(24:02):
the same level of production, but you at least have
an idea of what their usage potentially could be. So
I think that's something to keep an eye on. Again,
I don't expect a lot of points in Broncos Browns
on Thursday Night football. Start the defenses. Start the defenses, especially,
I think especially start the Broncos defense. Now that we
know that it's case Keendom getting started that one. So
(24:24):
I've mentioned it before, I wanna mentioned it again. We
are on the TikTok. Come check us out at NFL Fantasy.
We're doing fun and entertaining and hopefully informative stuff there.
You can follow us at NFL Fans. You can follow
me at Marcus Grant if you like. And uh, I
think you are. You're settling, and you're you're circling a
potential name now right, Yeah, I think I'm gonna I'm
gonna make it. I guess I was just gonna say.
(24:45):
I'll say it next week. Don't say it because of
what happened the last time we did that. By the way,
if you guys want to know what happens during the
breaks here, um, we were we were googling a tight
ends and uh, looking through some of the eight I said,
great in air quotes, Great tight ends in Jets history. It's.
Um it's pretty bleak. Yeah, I told you. I pulled
(25:09):
up a site that had the ten best all time
and Austin Sefari and Jenkins were in there, and I
was like, that's where I have to close it. Yeah, yeah,
it's it's pretty In fact, if you want to know
what started it, Ian Harditt's our friend and friend of
the show was a tweeting about the fact that Chris Herndon,
former Jet tight end, has one touchdown catch this year.
All Jets tight end combined have zero. I really thought
(25:31):
once he left the Jets, he was gonna be back
to being the fantasy relevant. It hasn't happened, but he's
still outperforming the Jets guys, the Jets. The Jets have
consistently punted on the tight end position pretty much my
entire life. Um, so that you would think it like,
at least at one point they would do what every
New York team does and like sign a star whale
(25:53):
well past their prime. But like they haven't even done that.
I mean you would think just by accident, you would
just fell into a guy who's protective, But nope, No,
even the Cardinals now have Zach because the Cardinals have
been the other team they don't really ever have a
tight end. Yeah, you know, Max Williams is playing well
and now they have Zach Ertz, Like even the Cardinals
have fallen into it. Like the Jets are just signed
like Jimmy Graham after this year or something and be like, look,
(26:13):
we have a good tight end. Oh Jimmy Graham. Man.
All right, let's get back into our game previews. Though
a team were they very good tight end? The Kansas
City Chiefs. They are on the road taking on the
Tennessee Titans. Titans fresh off that big, big win at
home against the Buffalo Bills. But with all that being said,
(26:33):
and even though they're playing the Chiefs, I'm gonna tell
you might want to not play Ryan Tannehill this week.
And and for me, it's not even about Tannehill, and
it's definitely not about the Chiefs defense. It's more about
how the offense has sort of worked around him this year.
I mean, I still don't believe he has a game
with multiple touchdown passes. Uh. It just it just has
not been a great part of it. Uh is that
(26:57):
you know, I actually take that he has one game
he threw three touchdown passes against the Colts UH in
Week three. Every other game there was just one or
fewer touchdown passes for him, which is a surprise. Right,
they have a J. Brown, they go get Julio Jones.
Then the problem is neither one of those guys can
stay healthy. Julio still has a hamstring injury, so we'll
see what his availability is UH for this week's game.
(27:19):
It just has not been great. Fortunately for the Titans,
they have a dude named Derrick Henry who is helping
keep them afloat right now. Um, he's pretty good, he's
pretty good. But Ryan Tannehill has just been super I
don't even say man. I feel he's been like less
than man. He's not even quite rising to the level
of Oatmeal this year, the way he's played and and
the thing is like coming into this season and he
(27:42):
made twenty six starts for the Titans and through multiple
passing touchdowns and twenty of them, so like we I
thought for sure he was a very safe floor quarterback.
Then you bring in Julio Jones. Now, like, come on,
it's been a disappointment for that entire past game. I
know A J. Brown had the big second half the
other day, but still that whole passing game. And it's
because Derrick Henry, like Derrick Henry, like you said, he's
(28:04):
on pace to break the carries record, the yards record,
like you pick a record, he's probably on pace to
beat it. And I was talking with producer Justin before
the show, like throughout that Monday night game, there was
multiple players in the bill secondary that would just like,
come on, I don't want to tackle this guy in
an open field. And I understand why the Titans just
keep feeding him the ball. Like I don't love it
(28:25):
for fantasy, but for real life purposes, I completely get it. Absolutely. Um.
I mean, look the the crazy idea of getting Derrick
Henry out in space where he can like run over smaller,
smaller tacklers. It's wild. I mean, like Micah Hyde, poor
Micah hide Man. There was one play where he was
just like it has to be me, and like he
went for the legs, and I was just like, imagine
if that was like your job, like you're standing there
(28:47):
and Derrick Henry is running full speedy, I would run
off the field. I'd rather try to tackle a Volkswagen. Um.
And it's funny because I think someone tweeted it. Nobody
wanted to be the next h Josh Norman. Nobody wanted
to get stiff armed into eternity. Uh. They showed that
highlight like twelve times. Like even the announcers were like,
we're We're sorry, Joshure watching alright, Bears at Buccaneers. Um,
(29:12):
you're still waiting for something from the Bears offense. The
Bucks are just rolling along the Bears offense not so much.
Where where are we going here? This game felt a
little like tough to pick one because it's like you're
probably sitting on your Bears and I know, you know
to start all of your Bucks. But one that I
wanted to highlight was Antonio Brown because I think he
is a mustard option. Not this week, just moving forward,
(29:35):
Like I think the rumors of Antonio Brown's demise were
very exaggerated, Like he is still a top NFL wide
receiver and in fact, he's outperforming Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
He has two less Fantasy points than Mike Evans, but
that's only because he missed the game this year. He's
averaging more targets per game than those two. He's averaging
(29:55):
well more Fantasy points. Per game than those guys. And
I think the percep shi is still that he's the
third wide receiver option here, but I have him ranked
the highest of all three. I have Godwin actually as
the third option now rank in my rankings. But I
think Antonio Brown is a must start play. I think
he is the wide receiver one now. And I say
that as somebody who really kept trying to beat the
(30:16):
drum for Chris Godwin. Um, and Godwin's been fine, Like
I don't I don't want to make it out that
he's been bad or anything like that, but it is
apparent that Tom Brady loves going to Antonio Brown. Uh,
he's making play. He looks he looks kind of like
the dude we saw in Pittsburgh. Yeah, and it's scary
because like, defenses are not gonna double him ever, I mean,
(30:37):
how can you because then you're who do you who
do you take away from you? Do you not cover
Mike Evans? Do you not cover Chris Godwin? Like? And
once I get ground back, like, good luck, Ron's gonna
come back. Leonard for nets playing, there's just it's unfair
when it's just not fair at all. Eagles at Raiders
which much upon a time was actually a Super Bowl matchup.
Probably not this year. It's just gonna go out on
(30:58):
them and say that. Um but he imagine that's the
super end in the Super Bowl, right Eagles? That would
be a story if Eagles Raiders ended up Super Bowl
this year. I'm gonna say this week though, a sleeper
is Henry Ruggs. Henry Ruggs the third I guess if
we're being specific here, but um again, we saw the
Raider offense sort of catch fire a little bit last week.
(31:19):
I don't know if it was you know, them just
sort of rallying around everything that happened, if it was
the change in play caller, if they were just due
for a big game. Um. But Ruggs is putting together
a nice second season two after being just kind of
a disappointment in year one. Starting to get more more looks,
more opportunities and Derek Cars looking for him down field.
He's become kind of a big play guy in this offense.
(31:42):
He's sort of sliding into that role we thought he
was going to take last year that ended up going
to Nelson Agalore. He's doing a really good job of it.
And unlike Brian Edwards Himmy Ruggs shows up before the
fourth quarter. I like Brian every pot, but like he
really doesn't show up until they need him late in
the game. Henry Ruggs is kind of there for you know,
quarters one through four. That seems like a little bit
of a better option. So if you are down at
(32:03):
wide receiver this week, or you're looking for a flex option, uh,
Hrry Ruggs could be the ticket for you. I love
that call. I mean, since Week two on his floor
has been eight, but he's top twenty Fantasy points in
the game. Uh. And the thing that I love about
Henry Ruggs like even in two down games where he
scored nine and twelve and a half Fantasy points, he
was doing his job, like he was getting open downfield
(32:24):
him and car just missed him on too long throws
in each of those games. It's like, if he connects
on one of those, We're viewing Henry Ruggs a lot
differently right now. Absolutely absolutely, But he's like I said,
he's he's turned it around this year. Yeah. Uh. The
Washington football team goes to Green Bay to take on
the Packers. We know you're starting, you know, Aaron Rodgers
Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, what have you uh? Anybody on
(32:45):
the football team side worth taking a look at. Yeah,
and Terry McLaurin obviously isn't play there as well. I
I say Ricky Seals Jones can be started this week.
Ricky Seals Jones played a hundred percent of the snaps
last week and had six targets including a touchdown. The
week before that the snaps and eight targets. He is
a big part of this passing game as long as
(33:06):
Logan Thomas's sideline and tight end is gross this week,
So he's a tight end one. He's a tighten one
from me last week he is once again this week
for me. I have picked him up in a couple
of leagues, actually played him last week. You got a
decent game out of him, So I'm definitely willing to
go back to that well again. Uh. During by Mgeddon,
Obviously we're giving you starts and sits here, but if
(33:27):
you want more in depth starts and sits, you can
check out the Stardom Sit hom Show. It's got out
of Rank, it's got Timmy Checks, it's got Michael left Florio,
it's got money guns. I love you with the Heineke Jones.
Christie made me that gift. I'm trying to figure out
how to get the gift to work on Twitter, but
hen just a picture of me like holding the money works.
It works, dude. It's it's what's money? Definitely. I didn't
(33:51):
even know it, but go check it out. It is
live four pm Eastern on Thursdays. You know where to
find in the NFL App, NFL Fantasy App, NFL dot com,
and on YouTube as well. And in case you have
a life or a job or just uh, you know
you've got something else to do with four pm Eastern
on Thursday. It is on demands. You can check it
out whenever you have time. That will get us to
(34:11):
another break when we come back. Should we be worried
about Marquise Brown? I know everything's been great, but is
there maybe something that is gonna hinder him a little bit?
We'll dive into that next on the NFL Fantasy Football Show.
Let's talk about the Bengals at the Ravens. Specifically, let's
(34:32):
dive into Marquise Brown. He's back to being Hollywood again.
I know it's supposed to be Hollywood, Florida, but I
don't know really any cities. Uh, I guess what like
Ocala and Cassimmi and whatever. But by the way, he's
Hollywood again. He's playing well. That's the good news. The
I don't know news is that Rashad Bateman is back
and he saw a good number of targets last week
(34:52):
for the Ravens. Should we be worried about Brown's target
share now that Bateman is back, I'm not worried. And
Bateman tie Mark Andrews with a team highs six targets
last week. But it was a game where Baltimore was
leading throughout and uh Lamar only through for like a
hundred and it was less than a hundred and seventy yards,
so it was a it wasn't good game script for
(35:13):
the receivers. But I think that these two receivers can
really compliment each other because, yes, Rashad Bateman is a
better deep threat than anyone else they had besides Marky's Brown,
but he is more of a contested catch type of receiver.
I think he'll be utilized in the red zone, which
is an area where markets Brown already doesn't do a
whole lot um. I think just more defensive attention now
(35:34):
could go Bateman's way opening up, because if you have
markets Brown one on one on the outside, good luck,
Like he is just gonna burn by you. And I
think with the Ravens passing one due to their running backs,
they are throwing more this year, and to Lamar Jackson
is a good passer. I know that's a hot take
to say, but he can throw the ball. I think
it is possible where there's three fantasy relevant options in Baltimore. Now.
(35:58):
I not super worried about it. I think you're right.
I think what we've seen from Brown going back to
the end of last year is that they're finding more
ways to get him the football. He's making more plays.
I know he had a couple of games early in
the season where he had some really awful looking drops
and people were sort of worried. But I feel like
for the most part, he's kind of cleaned that up,
um and they're starting to trust him more and and
(36:19):
I still think, um, he's gonna be one of their
top options. I do think because of the game script
last week, as you mentioned, it was a lot easier
to get Bateman targets, like, hey, you know we're up
big let's let's work the rookie in. Let's get him
the back, let's see what he can do. But I
think when they get into tighter games, um, you know,
until there is that trust level between Bateman and Lamar Jackson,
(36:41):
I still think they're gonna go heavy to Marques Brown.
So I'm not super worried about it, but it does.
That does make this offense a little bit more dynamic,
having one other guy that can catch the football. Plus
at some point Sammy Watkins is going to be back too,
So I kind of hope as someone who is excited
for a Bateman and I think if he's out there,
if your waivers haven't ran yet, or if he just
grab him, I think he has a pretty high upside um.
(37:04):
Maybe not as a rookie in this offense, but I
still think he's worth grabbing. He's better than Sammy Watkins.
I mean, yes, but you know, Sammy's still gonna. Yes,
Sammy's still gonna He's gonna do what he does, and
that's gonna have a random big game every now exactly exactly.
That gets us to the Lions at the Rams. Whole
lot of revenge going on. But right now, let's talk
about DeAndre Swift as we sit and record this, he
(37:26):
is actually the running back seven uh in Fantasy football,
which is definitely more than I would have anticipated for
him at this point in the season. So that begs
the question, can he be a top ten running back
for the rest of the year. I think so, Like
he is doing this with Jamal Williams taking a good
amount of work away and it doesn't matter. The reason
it doesn't matter is because he's averaging only eleven carries
(37:48):
per game, but seven targets per game, and that is huge.
I talked about it a lot, how a target in
PPR leagues is worth two and a half carries on average.
And you look at his game log, he doesn't have
a game this year with less than five targets, and
five of his love is his low. He is six
or more in every other game, and that raises his
floor so much. Uh. The volume is there. It doesn't
(38:10):
like he's not a traditional running back in the sense
where he's gonna give you like fifteen plus carries a week,
But it doesn't matter as long as he's getting fifteen
plus touches and catching these amount of passes, which I
think he will because I don't expect the lines to
start winning games and not having to be playing catch
up late. So I do think down your Swift could
be a top ten running back. And it was a
swing in a miss by me coming into the year.
(38:31):
I was high on Swift, and I let the echo
chamber that could be fantasy Twitter all summer long just
uh kind of talk me out of it and be like, yeah,
the offense is going to hold him back, but the
offense is actually propelling him. I think yeah, and that
I mean I was with you that I felt the
exact same way, and like, you know, this offense is
gonna be playing from behind a lot. Jamal Williams is
gonna take so many opportunities. Like I was really worried
(38:52):
about him, but I look, I did see some sort
of posing opinions saying that because they're gonna be playing
from behind, he's gonna be involved more. I didn't buy it,
but it turned out to really be the case. Uh.
And I think his target share, I mean, he's got
forty two targets right now. He's got more catches than
guys like Kenny Golladay, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley. Yes, I know,
I know injuries have been a part of it. I
(39:13):
get it, um, but I still would never have expected
that at this point in the season someone is sitting
out there with Calvin Ridley right now and just getting
just fumid, just punching the air right now because they're
so upset. All right. Back to our game previews Panthers
at Giants. Look, let's just let's just put it out there.
(39:34):
There are not a lot of really compelling games on
the schedule this week. So not only do you have
six teams on a buy uh, they're just a lot
of like me games. This is one of them. I
would say for this week, if you have the option,
if you can do it. Um. I know people went
and picked up Devontae Booker because of the se Kwon
Barkley injury. I can't play Devontae Booker this week against
(39:55):
the Panthers. Their defense has been pretty good for the
most part. They've been really good against running acts so
far this year. Um. And I know it was the
Rams last week, but what the Giants put on tape
was miserable, bad, bad bad, and I I don't really
want any part of that. Um. You know, maybe Booker
gets more opportunity because the game script is not so bad.
(40:15):
I just don't think the matchup is particularly good. So
if I have other options, um, I'm staying away from
Devonte book That's where I'm at with him. If I
have the options, I'm gonna go into the direction. If
because it buys your injuries, you're in a pinch, then
he could be used. But other than that, I think
you try to get away from him this week. So
I've seen something on Twitter this morning. I don't know
if this was real or just one of those fantasy
(40:37):
Twitter you know, memes and jokes, but like people are
talking about dropping se Kwan Barkley, Like is this a
real thing? It shouldn't be, Like I have se Kwan
in a couple of leagues, and I thought of dropping him.
Never even crossed my mind, Like I would understand maybe
if it was like a more severe injury and it
was like all related to the knee, but like he
stepped on a dude's foot, like it can happen to anyone.
(40:58):
It was just bad luck bad He might be back
as soon as he's still not ruled out for this week,
and I think after this week we get Saque back,
Like no. I just when I saw it this morning,
I immediately went to do a search, like, did I
did I miss something that happened overnight? I I couldn't
find anything. Um, I don't understand it. You know what
it is? Uh, I forget who it is. Someone put
(41:20):
out a tweet over the summer that was like, oh,
it's strong Man argument time. Like and I was told
Christian McCaffrey isn't good at football. And it's like, no
one is actually saying things like maybe one random person
said it, but like, no, it's not a thing. It's
not a thing. It's not a thing. All right. We
got the Houston Sexans who are very bad visiting the
(41:41):
Arizona Cardinals who are very good. Um, where are you
going in this one? I think it's time that we
start giving a J. Green love. I have a J.
Green ranked in my top twenty four wide receivers this week. Uh,
He's gotten six targets in all but one game this year.
He has scored over sixteen fantasy points in three of
his last four. Like he he has just been a good,
(42:02):
contributing fantasy piece. And I think the reason why so
many of us were reluctant to buy into a J.
Green is it's like similar to C but the opposite.
Like we expected a J. Green to just be washed
and to be done, and when he was still putting
up numbers, we were like, all right, but this isn't
gonna last. Well it has, and it's time to give
him his due. He is the most consistent of their
(42:23):
receivers outside of d Hop. I think that he needs
to be trusted. Now, I I completely agree with you.
In fact, I had a league where I found him
on the waiver wire last night and I'm like, yep,
we're putting in a claim for that because he's been
really really good. Um, and we we talked about this
on Monday. I mean, legitimately, all four of their wide
receivers should be rostered at point because they've just been
(42:44):
been that good so far this year. Let's finish off
our game previews for the week. We'll start with Jets
at the Patriots. Let's let's let's go as a sleeper
D for the Patriots. I think that's an option to here.
And this is the Patriots offense has been okay, it's
been good enough this year. This is more about the
Jets offense just being miserable. Um, you know, Zack Wilson
(43:06):
making mistakes, being pressured, throwing interceptions, giving up sacks. Uh,
this really has less It's less about the Patriots, more
about the Jets. But if you were looking to stream
of defense, I think this is a good option for you. Yeah. Definitely. Uh.
I mean, not a lot of fantasy players to love
on either side of the ball, and the Patriots defense
I think are definitely in play this week. Absolutely. Falcons
(43:27):
at the Dolphins. Um, this this feels like a game
that should have been played in London. It's not gonna
played in Miami. I don't know. They could have just
stayed out there were there. They were there just gonna
like hung around, you know, take pictures and Piccia circus whatever.
But anyway, they're gonna play in Miami. Who should we
be playing or not playing in this one? I think
you should be playing Jalen Waddle, Like, I know, he's
(43:50):
been up and down, but he's two games this year
now with thirteen targets, one of which came last week
where he caught ten of them for seventy yards and
two touchdowns. His ceiling is very high. I know Will
Fuller and DeVante Parker, we're out. Will Fuller is still out.
Parker could be back this week, but it was great
to see Wadd'll get that sort of volume from to
after his last big game came from Jacoby Brissette. So
(44:12):
I think he's in play as a wide receiver two
this week. I definitely think. So. It's nice to see
him getting more and more involved on a team that's
looking for consistency at their past catchers, and I think
he's one of those guys. Uh. Sunday Night Football, the
Colts at the forty Niners. We talked about Jimmy Garoppolo
being back and possibly starting. Uh, you'll enjoy this by
must starts. It's Jonathan Taylor. Uh, and this is more
(44:33):
about Maybe this is me talking to Frank Reich. I
don't know, but it's like they rediscovered him in the
second half last week. You know, I don't know what
took so long, but they figured it out. He ended
up with a hundred and forty five rushing yards a
couple of touchdowns on the ground. The Niners have been
sort of middle of the road against running backs. UM.
I just think if the Colts realize, like, hey, we've
got this really good running back, we should probably lean
(44:54):
on him a little bit, uh, you know so, And
not that you were worried about it, not that you
weren't starting Nathan Taylor, especially this week. But that's just
my my seal of endorsement that I think of big
games coming from him. He's been getting more usage in
the passing game as well as and Hem Hanes kind
of fades away a little bit in this offense, and
I think if he if that continues, I was already
excited for him. I think he could be a top
(45:15):
three fantasy back if that continues. And people stopped telling
me my mentions, Oh, he had a good game. Three
touches in the first half is inexcusable. Stopping the stop
stop doing that. Stop doing that people, all right, So
that gets us through all of our game previews, and
that means it's time for m v P Picks, presented
(45:36):
by Visa Network, giving small businesses tools to grow. That
gives us two hours sleepers. We each have a pair
who was first on your list? To a tongue of
I looa, I said earlier, I liked the matchup for
him this week against the Falcons, and he took advantage
of a good matchup last week against the Jaguars, throwing
for three nine yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for
(45:58):
twenty two. And what I like Moe is he played
the whole game. The ribs didn't limit him at all
because the thing was like it's a pain management thing
and a hit could knock him out. And he looked great.
He played fine. I thought he would break out upside
coming into the year. I continue to think he does,
and I think this is just a great spot for him.
I I do think so, and like he's the guy
that I sort of liked as a QB two and
(46:18):
I'm hoping this is starting to turn for him a
little bit right now. We talked about Matt Ryan earlier.
I said I liked him in Week seven. I think
he's a sleeper in Week seven, in part because that
Dolphins defense has not been particularly good, in part because
I do think the Falcons are starting to slowly figure
some things out on offense. With the combination of those
two things means that if you are down a quarterback,
(46:40):
so you have Josh Allen justin Herbert Dak Prescott would
have you, I think if that is a nice place
to turn to at least help you get through the
bye weeks this week, where else are you going with
a sleeper? Ramondre Stevenson. He was someone I was talking
of last week as a deep sleeper because I thought
Damien Harris wasn't a percent and he wasn't. When Stevens
and got that goal on touch for the touchdown, Harris
(47:02):
was in the blue tent. But what I didn't anticipate
was Stevenson is the new Brandon Bolden who was playing
the role of the new James White. Like since James
White went out for the year, Bolden has been the
past catching specialists for the Pats. That was not the
case last week. It was Stevenson. He had three catches
um and the announcers in that game we're talking up
like how he has a lot of juice and he
(47:24):
provides explosiveness that the Pats are just lacking on offense.
I agree. I think he is their most explosive running
back and if they're starting to get him the ball
now in the passing game, I think that he has
flex upside, if not higher each week, because he could
just break one and go to distance. You know, all
this talk at the beginning of the season is that
he was the Garrett Blunt two point out earlier in
the season. The only the only similarities they had with
(47:44):
that neither one of them was giving the Patriots very
much one But along those lines, I'm gonna go with
a J. Dillon as my other sleeper, another backup running
back who is huge and can you know, get some
goal line work there. And we've seen it the last
few weeks. Uh, Dylan has sort of taken over that
Jamal Williams role now that Williams is in Detroit. He
(48:06):
had a four or five targets I think a couple
of weeks ago. He's gotten in the end zone. He's
had a game with eighty yards. So they're starting to
use him more and against a defense in Washington that
just has not been very good. Um, I think I
think there's an opportunity, especially if you're playing in a
deeper league you need a flex option. I think a J.
Dillon could could provide some value for you right there.
(48:26):
Um there, you know, So those are some sleepers there.
If you want more, you can check out my weekly
column at NFL dot com slash Sleepers. I got a
whole bunch of names there for you. Some of them
even that are on this list that we put out
just now. Plus you check us out on NFL Fantasy
Game Day on Sundays. I'll be there. He will be there,
keep me checks is there. Adam Ranks shows up every
(48:48):
once in a while. Matt Okadah is answering your questions
on YouTube. Um, that's always a fun show. Yeah, it's
a good time. I mean it takes we we go
right and some kickoff, telling you who to start sit,
giving you all the injury updates, and we just have fun.
So have fun with us exactly. And by the way,
if you are ever like tweeting at one of us
on Sunday mornings and wondering why we're not getting back
to you right away, that's it. We're a little busy.
(49:10):
We're making TV Internet, TV Internet something like that. Anyway,
we're doing all that. But come check us out. He
make the Internet. We make the Internet. It is us,
just the four of us that are doing that. But
you can check that out obviously noon Eastern on Sundays.
You know all the places you can find it across
the various NFL media platforms. So there you go. That
is it. We are done. We appreciate you hanging out
(49:32):
with the NFL Fantasy Football Show, but you know the drill.
Tell two friends to tell two friends rate review, and
remember part time band leaders should be called semiconductors. Be safe,
to take care of yourselves, get vaccinated, and we will
see you next week. Surfy buy me agetting everybody I
(50:05):
don't go at all. Come