September 11, 2025 • 18 mins
With so many fantasy football issues at tight end, JJ provides a load of tight end options on this week's sleepers show. He also digs into his favorite quarterback streamers, as well as some sneaky running back and wide receiver plays.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Labor Podcast with your host JJ zacheris
j J zacher reson What's up everyone? It's JJ Zacharyeson
in this episode oney seventeen of the Late Round Fantasy
Football podcast sponsored by DraftKings. Thanks for tuning in. There's
(00:22):
no better way to get closer to the action than
with DraftKings Daily Fantasy, the ultimate destination for football fans.
New customers can play free for their share of millions
in prizes with their first deposit of five dollars or more.
Download the DraftKings Daily Fantasy app and enter promo code
Late Round to play free for your share of millions.
The crown is yours. Gambling problem called one hundred gambler
(00:44):
in New York call eight seven to seven eight hope
NY in Connecticut called eight eight eight seven eight nine
seven seven seven seven eighteen plus in most states. Eligible
and restrictions apply ends December thirty first see terms at
DraftKings dot com. Slash Promotions. Week one is always a
hard sleeper show to do because we have such little information,
but we did have some hits from last week. Javonte
(01:07):
Williams was a big w from that opening game, though
he was even better than I expected. Kyle Pitts had
a good outing, Cedric Tillman was really solid, Michael Pennox
was great. I called out both Brown's running backs and
liked Jerome Ford Moore, so that was an l but
I at least had Dylan Sampson as a shout. And
probably the biggest hit was Daniel Jones, who wasn't on
many rosters at all entering week one. But with the
(01:30):
hits that were definitely misses, Tank Bigsby, Josh Downs, Trevor Lawrence,
they all disappointed. Ollie Gordon did nothing, Xavier Leaguett was
a bust, and we didn't get anything from Kate Totten neither.
Definitely not my best week, but with more data comes
more accuracy. So let's hope that we can turn things around. Now.
Before I get going with this week's show, I do
(01:52):
want to make a quick statement, as you know, I
switch up the show this year, and I'm featuring players
who have rostership percentages in the following buckets fifty to
eighty percent, twenty to fifty percent, and then less than
twenty percent. I receive some feedback about this, both good
and bad. The good feedback was that people really liked
that I'm looking at the fifty to eighty percent players.
(02:13):
The bad feedback was that people wanted more deep sleepers,
So I'm gonna do all of the above. We're keeping
the format the same, but I'll do my best to
shout out a few deep sleepers each and every week.
Guys rostered and fewer than ten percent of leagues, often
fewer than five percent of them, so hopefully that's gonna
help everyone. So without further ado, let's get to the
(02:34):
sleepers this week. We'll kick things off with the players
rostered in fifty to eighty percent of Yahoo leagues, and
we'll start at quarterback with Jordan Love. Now, this might
look bad early on because they play on Thursday night,
but that game against Washington is protected to be a
high scoring one with a forty eight and a half
point total, and the Packers team total currently sits as
(02:54):
the fifth highest on the week across the league. Green
Bay was run heavy in Week one because they had
such a positive gamescript, and that might happen again this week.
But what was good to see was that their pass
rate over expected according to NFELO, was pretty neutral at
minus point five percent last week. Last year, that number
was minus eight percent. The Packers defense played great in
(03:15):
Week one, and maybe that does limit this Packers offense,
but we know that Washington has firepower, so it could
result in a back and forth contest. Next up at
quarterback in this tier is JJ McCarthy. He really came
alive in the second half of that game against the
Bears in Week one. This week he's in a dome
environment against the Falcons, and Minnesota has a twenty five
(03:36):
point implied total. One thing to love about McCarthy's Week
one was that he showed off his athleticism. He ended
up with twenty five rushing yards and a rushing score.
Now he may not give you as many scrambles as
someone like even Caleb Williams, but we at least know
it's there against the Falcons. Like I said at home
in Minnesota, you have to like the upside. Now running
(03:57):
back in this tier, I've got Dylan Samson. I think
you have to look his way after what he did
last week against Cincinnati. Cleveland's gonna face the Ravens this week.
It's a much tougher matchup and while Sampson probably won't
be able to maintain that nineteen percent target share that
he saw last week on a thirty one percent route share.
I do think we're gonna see his route participation increase
here in week two because he looked good and last
(04:19):
week he already saw over half of Cleveland's running back rushes,
even if he wasn't that efficient. Now, one thing I
will say about this play, and this was kind of
the thesis for Jerome Ford last week, but Ford did
play eighty six percent of the Browns long down and
distance snaps. That's according to Fantasy Life data. He played
one hundred percent of the team's two minute snaps. They
(04:41):
kept things relatively close against Cincinnati, but I don't think
we're gonna feel that confident that they can keep things
close against Baltimore. So do be aware that this play
of Dylan Sampson could go south. And at this moment,
I'm not overly concerned about Quinn Shawn Judkins here in
week two. Longer term, definitely concerned. Now, another player from
this tier to call out is my guy bay Shall Tuton.
(05:03):
There's no Tank Bigsby for Jacksonville, which means they're going
to be trotting out Travis Etn bay Shall Tuton and
LeQuinn Allen against the Bengals. Etn's gonna get the most work,
but he's coming off a game where he saw sixty
four percent of Jacksonville's running back rushes. Would it be
that surprising if Touton gets around a thirty percent running
back rush, heare in this game with maybe a few
targets and there's obviously room for more there if Jacksonville
(05:26):
wants to get touton the ball more. No, I don't
think it's a smash play at all, but the Jags
get the Bengals and what could end up being a
shootout this week. It's got the highest total on this
week slate, So Tuton might be able to find the
flex in some of your deeper lineups, and Austin Eckler
might be able to find the flex too. Green Bay
is a tough matchup, but we did see last week
(05:47):
Jamiir Gibs hit the second highest target share of his career,
and we know that pass catching and that role that's
Austin Eckler's. In Week one, Eckler ran around on fifty
one percent of Washington's dropbacks. Bill Krosky, Merritt and Gerry
McNichols were under the twenty percent mark, and with the
Packers being home favorites, there's always a possibility that Washington
(06:07):
is not playing with a favorable game script that would
help out. Eckler, Jackson, Smith, and Jigba had a monster
game in Week one on the usage front, and I
talked about that on yesterday's ten Trends episode. Cooper Cup, though,
did run more routes, so it's not like he was
completely forgotten about. Though his fourteen percent target share wasn't
something that we love to see. With that being said,
(06:30):
Cup ran fifty percent of his routes out of the
slot for Seattle, and the Seahawks get Pittsburgh this week.
That's a team that notoriously has been awful against slot
receivers during the Mike Tomlin era. Now I won't be
bold and rank him as a top thirty six wide receiver,
but don't be surprised if Cooper Cup is more involved
this week and then Hollywood Brown is still under that
(06:52):
eighty percent mark. This one's pretty straightforward. Yes, it may
not be the best matchup in the world, and I'm
actually a little bit worried about how many points this
Chiefs Eagles game sees, but Xavier Worthies, Iffy Rashi Rice
is already out, and Brown is coming off a game
where he had a forty two percent target chair. He's
a wide receiver three for me in my early rankings.
(07:12):
This week, Let's not look at some guys who are
rostered in twenty to fifty percent of Yahoo leagues. Starting
with a familiar face, and that's Trevor Lawrence. Now, Ti
law did not look sharp in Week one, There's no
doubt about it. But Cincinnati has been bad defensively for
over a year now, like really bad. And this game,
like I said earlier, has the highest total on this
(07:33):
week slate Jacksonville. They actually have a pretty favorable twenty
three point total, and they should be more in a
pass heavy script than they were last week. So I
think you could go back to Lawrence this week, though
I understand if you'd rather see it first. I like
Michael Pennocks again this week. I like him enough. He
came out with a big twenty four point performance last
week against the Bucks, and what we can't expect a
(07:55):
rushing touchdown each game from him, He did see six
carries for twenty one yards. He had four scrambles in
that game. We saw more rushing output from him in
week one than what we saw from him in his
limited time last year. Now, Atlanta gainst Minnesota. There's some
fear there because the Vikings are at home and that's
a tough defense to play against. But as long as
(08:15):
Drake London ends up going, Pennix should be in mid
QB two conversations. Another quarterback to look at this week
is Geno Smith. He gets the Chargers. Now, I don't
necessarily love this matchup, but I loved what we saw
at the Raiders offense last week. They finished the week
with the third highest pass rate over expected. They played
at a top half pace too. This game's in Vegas.
(08:37):
It's indoors as a reasonable forty six and a half
point total. Now, if Brock Bauers doesn't go at the
time of this recording, I have no idea if he
is or not that I wouldn't be playing Geno Smith.
But if brock Bowers is good to go, I think
Geno Smith makes sense as a streamer. Now, I only
have one running back in this tier this week, and
it's Trey Benson. The Cardinals are six and a half
point home favores, against the Panthers this week, and Caroline
(09:00):
has been torched by running backs dating back to last year.
No team allowed more Fantasy points to the position in
twenty twenty four, and no team in twenty twenty five
has allowed more rushing yards to running backs. Last week,
we saw James Connor understandably deployed as their RB one.
He had a sixty percent running back rush share, but
that still allowed Benson to see eight touches on the ground,
(09:21):
and Benson had a twenty six percent route share and
saw a target through the air. So in a game
script that could be similar, if not better, it wouldn't
be surprising to see Benson with ten touches this week,
and against this defense, that might be enough to be productive.
I've also only got one wide receiver to talk about here,
and it's Cedric Tillman. Look to me, I may still
(09:42):
prefer Jerry Judy to Cedric Tillman, but like I said
in the fifteen Transactions episode, there are reasons for it
to be very very close, mainly that Tilman has outscored
Judy and four of their last five games together, and
those are games since the Amari Cooper trade. The Browns
are huge underdogs this week against the raven So a
passing script is very likely from this Cleveland offense. If
(10:04):
Tilman can see another twenty to twenty five percent target share,
then you're likely looking at eight to ten targets, So
that warrants a call out. And now to tight end.
There are a lot of tight ends in this tier,
and I know there are a lot of fantasy managers
out there who need tight end help. Harold Fannin's an
obvious one to go to now. He didn't see the
same number of routes as David and Joku last week,
(10:26):
but Fannin did see a sixty four percent route participation rate.
He lined up in the slot on forty two percent
of his routes run. David and Joku was at twenty
four percent, and Fannin looked great ended up seeing a
ridiculous nine targets on his good but not great route participation.
And I don't think the Browns can just put that
away after what we saw in week one, So again
(10:48):
negative game script operated often as a slot player for
the Browns. I think there's a lot to like about
Fannin this week and moving forward. Juwan Johnson's another one.
I said in the fifteen Transactions episode. Johnson basically saw
Trey McBride peripherals in week one. A twenty seven percent
target chair, He ran a route on ninety six percent
(11:09):
in New Orleans dropbacks. He had a sixty two percent
slot rate too. That was a top five number for
tight ends this week. This kind of usage is just
way too hard to ignore. He's a legit option until
we see that usage change, and that's very possible because
it's only been one week. But tight end is brutal
at the moment, as it usually is. You had to
(11:31):
feel pretty good about the Brentons Strange usages past week two.
A seventy percent route participation rate, that's pretty good. A
fourteen percent target chair is fine. Four catches fifty nine
yards and a forty four percent slot usage rate. Using
a tight end against Cincinnati probably not a bad idea
look at what we saw last week with Harold Fannin.
Though it's not like Harold Fannin is the most traditional
(11:52):
tight end in the world. But this game could see
a lot of scoring and there could be more passing
from this Jags offense this week. So I like Strange
and then don't count out chigacon Quo just yet. I
know he didn't come through last week, but the secondary numbers,
they actually didn't look bad at all. He saw sixteen
percent target share, there's nothing wrong with that. He had
(12:12):
over an eighty two percent route participation rate. That's very,
very strong, and he ran fifty two percent of his
routes out of the slot. That's all according to PFF.
The Titans don't have the best matchup in the world
against the Rams, but la that's a better matchup than
the one that he faced last week against Denver, and
this one's being played in Tennessee, so as a more
(12:33):
desperate play compared to the other guys. For those who
are maybe kittle lists this week, I don't think Chig
is a terrible, terrible option. Okay, with his final tier,
we're looking at players roster and in fewer than twenty
percent of Yahoo leaks, and I've got one running back
in this tier, and it's a deep sleeper, la Quinn Allen. Yes,
(12:53):
I love bashall Tutan, Yes I'm very excited about Tuton,
but la Quinn Allen was a really good and prospect too.
He had an amazing pass catching profile coming out of
Syracuse and the Jags already this season. In Week one,
they've deployed him in that kind of role. According to
Fantasy Life data, Allen played eighty percent of the team's
(13:14):
long down and distance snaps this past week and twenty
percent of their two minute snaps. There's at least some
chance that the Jags trail against the Bengals, and if
that happens, le Quinn Allen could find the field and
it's a high scoring matchup, So I do think he
has some PPR appeal in deep deep leaks. Now, I
went with Jordan Love earlier, and I don't mind one
(13:35):
of his wideouts here in Romeo Dobbs. Dobbs was the
only Packers wide out in Week one to run a
route on over sixty percent of Green Bay's dropbacks, and
he was at seventy four percent. That resulted in an
eighteen percent target share. Now he gets a Commander secondary
that wasn't very highly rated entering the season, and the
game itself has shootout potential, so he makes plenty of
(13:55):
sense as a sleeper this week. And Kaishan Boudi too.
How do you not love of Kaishan Booty against this
Dolphins secondary Miami's defense was Booty in Week one. That's
the second time I used that joke in one week.
I won't do it anymore, I promise, But we knew
that they would have issues in their secondary entering the season.
Booty had the best average at the target, target share,
(14:16):
and rout participation on the Patriots in Week one. Now,
Stefan Diggs will surely see more and more usage as
the season goes on and he gets healthier, But for now,
I think Booty is a legit option. Now I'm going
to buy into the Elk i Amner peripherals just like
I did Chickaconquos. If the Titans can move the ball
a little bit better against the Rams, then I'd expect
(14:38):
both of those players to come through with better stat lines.
As I mentioned in the fifteen Transactions episode, I am
in Er ended Week one with an eighty two percent
route chair that was second best at wide out on
the team, behind only Calvin Ridley. He had a twenty
eight percent target share. Those are both amazingly good numbers
for a rookie. His average at the target was also
(14:58):
a ridiculous nineteen yard. Eventually, those peripherals will match good production.
It was just tough last week against arguably the league's
best defense. And then I've got a deep sleeper for
you at wide receiver, and that's Jalen Naylor. The Vikings
have a really solid twenty five point imply team total
against the Falcons this week it's an indoor game, and
(15:19):
in Week one, Naylor was Minnesota's wide receiver two because
Jordan Addison suspended, and Addison obviously he's gonna be out
in week two as well, but Naylor had a fifteen
percent target share and a ninety six percent route participation rate.
Maybe we do see more Adam Thielen this week because
he's probably still getting acclimated to this offense. But this environment,
(15:41):
this game environment's really good, and Naylor's peripherals in week
one were not bad at all, so he makes sense
as a deep sleeper. And then I have two super
deep sleepers at tight end. The first one is Dalton Schultz.
You know, Cad Stover was actually getting some run for
Houston in week one, but he's now out definitely with
a broken foot. Schultz is the lone tight end who's
(16:04):
left for them who's relevant, and he had an eighteen
and a half percent target share in week one. Houston
faces the Bucks this week. It's an indoor game, and
Tampa Bay was just beat up by Kyle Pitts. Maybe
beat up is too strong of a phrase, but he
did well against them. There are worse options than Schultz
out there. And then a really weird one that I
want to call out is Mason Taylor. He did nothing
(16:26):
in Week one, I know nothing, He saw one target,
but Taylor ran a route on eighty four percent of
New York's dropbacks that was seventh across the league at
tight end in route participation rate. The Jets are very
likely going to see a negative game script against the Bills,
and if that hits, they're gonna be forced to throw
the ball a lot more than they want to, and
that could benefit Mason Taylor again, just a very very
(16:50):
deep sleeper. Now, as for the defensive streamers this week,
I've got the Seahawks against the Steelers, like I said
in the fifteen Transaction Show, and remember Seattle gets New
Orleans next week. They could be a good play there too.
I also like the Rams that they're still out there
against the Titans. The Waivers definitely change their percent roster number.
The forty nine Ers, same exact deal against New Orleans,
(17:10):
though I wouldn't be as optimistic about San Francisco if
brock Purty doesn't go. And then New England against Miami.
Look at what Miami did last week offensively, it's hard
to not feel good about the New England Patriots defense.
So overall it's the Rams, forty nine Ers, Seahawks, and Patriots.
That's it for today's show, though, Thanks Solvy for listening.
If you had subscribed to the Late Round Fantasy Football podcast,
(17:33):
make sure you are by starting for it pretty much
anywhere podcasts can be found. It to follow me on
Twitter and on blue Sky at Late Round QB. Thanks
for listening everyone. Tomorrow, I have two episodes dropping. There's
a Mailbag one in the morning and then a Perspective's
one that'll drop at noon Eastern, And if you want to,
you can check out the Late Round Fantasy Football show
that's gonna stream live at one pm Eastern over on YouTube.
(17:56):
Otherwise you can hear that audio on Saturday morning within
the podcast feed. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow
This is the Labor Podcast with your host JJ zacheris
j J zacher reson What's up everyone? It's JJ Zacharyeson
in this episode oney seventeen of the Late Round Fantasy
Football podcast sponsored by DraftKings. Thanks for tuning in. There's
(00:22):
no better way to get closer to the action than
with DraftKings Daily Fantasy, the ultimate destination for football fans.
New customers can play free for their share of millions
in prizes with their first deposit of five dollars or more.
Download the DraftKings Daily Fantasy app and enter promo code
Late Round to play free for your share of millions.
The crown is yours. Gambling problem called one hundred gambler
(00:44):
in New York call eight seven to seven eight hope
NY in Connecticut called eight eight eight seven eight nine
seven seven seven seven eighteen plus in most states. Eligible
and restrictions apply ends December thirty first see terms at
DraftKings dot com. Slash Promotions. Week one is always a
hard sleeper show to do because we have such little information,
but we did have some hits from last week. Javonte
(01:07):
Williams was a big w from that opening game, though
he was even better than I expected. Kyle Pitts had
a good outing, Cedric Tillman was really solid, Michael Pennox
was great. I called out both Brown's running backs and
liked Jerome Ford Moore, so that was an l but
I at least had Dylan Sampson as a shout. And
probably the biggest hit was Daniel Jones, who wasn't on
many rosters at all entering week one. But with the
(01:30):
hits that were definitely misses, Tank Bigsby, Josh Downs, Trevor Lawrence,
they all disappointed. Ollie Gordon did nothing, Xavier Leaguett was
a bust, and we didn't get anything from Kate Totten neither.
Definitely not my best week, but with more data comes
more accuracy. So let's hope that we can turn things around. Now.
Before I get going with this week's show, I do
(01:52):
want to make a quick statement, as you know, I
switch up the show this year, and I'm featuring players
who have rostership percentages in the following buckets fifty to
eighty percent, twenty to fifty percent, and then less than
twenty percent. I receive some feedback about this, both good
and bad. The good feedback was that people really liked
that I'm looking at the fifty to eighty percent players.
(02:13):
The bad feedback was that people wanted more deep sleepers,
So I'm gonna do all of the above. We're keeping
the format the same, but I'll do my best to
shout out a few deep sleepers each and every week.
Guys rostered and fewer than ten percent of leagues, often
fewer than five percent of them, so hopefully that's gonna
help everyone. So without further ado, let's get to the
(02:34):
sleepers this week. We'll kick things off with the players
rostered in fifty to eighty percent of Yahoo leagues, and
we'll start at quarterback with Jordan Love. Now, this might
look bad early on because they play on Thursday night,
but that game against Washington is protected to be a
high scoring one with a forty eight and a half
point total, and the Packers team total currently sits as
(02:54):
the fifth highest on the week across the league. Green
Bay was run heavy in Week one because they had
such a positive gamescript, and that might happen again this week.
But what was good to see was that their pass
rate over expected according to NFELO, was pretty neutral at
minus point five percent last week. Last year, that number
was minus eight percent. The Packers defense played great in
(03:15):
Week one, and maybe that does limit this Packers offense,
but we know that Washington has firepower, so it could
result in a back and forth contest. Next up at
quarterback in this tier is JJ McCarthy. He really came
alive in the second half of that game against the
Bears in Week one. This week he's in a dome
environment against the Falcons, and Minnesota has a twenty five
(03:36):
point implied total. One thing to love about McCarthy's Week
one was that he showed off his athleticism. He ended
up with twenty five rushing yards and a rushing score.
Now he may not give you as many scrambles as
someone like even Caleb Williams, but we at least know
it's there against the Falcons. Like I said at home
in Minnesota, you have to like the upside. Now running
(03:57):
back in this tier, I've got Dylan Samson. I think
you have to look his way after what he did
last week against Cincinnati. Cleveland's gonna face the Ravens this week.
It's a much tougher matchup and while Sampson probably won't
be able to maintain that nineteen percent target share that
he saw last week on a thirty one percent route share.
I do think we're gonna see his route participation increase
here in week two because he looked good and last
(04:19):
week he already saw over half of Cleveland's running back rushes,
even if he wasn't that efficient. Now, one thing I
will say about this play, and this was kind of
the thesis for Jerome Ford last week, but Ford did
play eighty six percent of the Browns long down and
distance snaps. That's according to Fantasy Life data. He played
one hundred percent of the team's two minute snaps. They
(04:41):
kept things relatively close against Cincinnati, but I don't think
we're gonna feel that confident that they can keep things
close against Baltimore. So do be aware that this play
of Dylan Sampson could go south. And at this moment,
I'm not overly concerned about Quinn Shawn Judkins here in
week two. Longer term, definitely concerned. Now, another player from
this tier to call out is my guy bay Shall Tuton.
(05:03):
There's no Tank Bigsby for Jacksonville, which means they're going
to be trotting out Travis Etn bay Shall Tuton and
LeQuinn Allen against the Bengals. Etn's gonna get the most work,
but he's coming off a game where he saw sixty
four percent of Jacksonville's running back rushes. Would it be
that surprising if Touton gets around a thirty percent running
back rush, heare in this game with maybe a few
targets and there's obviously room for more there if Jacksonville
(05:26):
wants to get touton the ball more. No, I don't
think it's a smash play at all, but the Jags
get the Bengals and what could end up being a
shootout this week. It's got the highest total on this
week slate, So Tuton might be able to find the
flex in some of your deeper lineups, and Austin Eckler
might be able to find the flex too. Green Bay
is a tough matchup, but we did see last week
(05:47):
Jamiir Gibs hit the second highest target share of his career,
and we know that pass catching and that role that's
Austin Eckler's. In Week one, Eckler ran around on fifty
one percent of Washington's dropbacks. Bill Krosky, Merritt and Gerry
McNichols were under the twenty percent mark, and with the
Packers being home favorites, there's always a possibility that Washington
(06:07):
is not playing with a favorable game script that would
help out. Eckler, Jackson, Smith, and Jigba had a monster
game in Week one on the usage front, and I
talked about that on yesterday's ten Trends episode. Cooper Cup, though,
did run more routes, so it's not like he was
completely forgotten about. Though his fourteen percent target share wasn't
something that we love to see. With that being said,
(06:30):
Cup ran fifty percent of his routes out of the
slot for Seattle, and the Seahawks get Pittsburgh this week.
That's a team that notoriously has been awful against slot
receivers during the Mike Tomlin era. Now I won't be
bold and rank him as a top thirty six wide receiver,
but don't be surprised if Cooper Cup is more involved
this week and then Hollywood Brown is still under that
(06:52):
eighty percent mark. This one's pretty straightforward. Yes, it may
not be the best matchup in the world, and I'm
actually a little bit worried about how many points this
Chiefs Eagles game sees, but Xavier Worthies, Iffy Rashi Rice
is already out, and Brown is coming off a game
where he had a forty two percent target chair. He's
a wide receiver three for me in my early rankings.
(07:12):
This week, Let's not look at some guys who are
rostered in twenty to fifty percent of Yahoo leagues. Starting
with a familiar face, and that's Trevor Lawrence. Now, Ti
law did not look sharp in Week one, There's no
doubt about it. But Cincinnati has been bad defensively for
over a year now, like really bad. And this game,
like I said earlier, has the highest total on this
(07:33):
week slate Jacksonville. They actually have a pretty favorable twenty
three point total, and they should be more in a
pass heavy script than they were last week. So I
think you could go back to Lawrence this week, though
I understand if you'd rather see it first. I like
Michael Pennocks again this week. I like him enough. He
came out with a big twenty four point performance last
week against the Bucks, and what we can't expect a
(07:55):
rushing touchdown each game from him, He did see six
carries for twenty one yards. He had four scrambles in
that game. We saw more rushing output from him in
week one than what we saw from him in his
limited time last year. Now, Atlanta gainst Minnesota. There's some
fear there because the Vikings are at home and that's
a tough defense to play against. But as long as
(08:15):
Drake London ends up going, Pennix should be in mid
QB two conversations. Another quarterback to look at this week
is Geno Smith. He gets the Chargers. Now, I don't
necessarily love this matchup, but I loved what we saw
at the Raiders offense last week. They finished the week
with the third highest pass rate over expected. They played
at a top half pace too. This game's in Vegas.
(08:37):
It's indoors as a reasonable forty six and a half
point total. Now, if Brock Bauers doesn't go at the
time of this recording, I have no idea if he
is or not that I wouldn't be playing Geno Smith.
But if brock Bowers is good to go, I think
Geno Smith makes sense as a streamer. Now, I only
have one running back in this tier this week, and
it's Trey Benson. The Cardinals are six and a half
point home favores, against the Panthers this week, and Caroline
(09:00):
has been torched by running backs dating back to last year.
No team allowed more Fantasy points to the position in
twenty twenty four, and no team in twenty twenty five
has allowed more rushing yards to running backs. Last week,
we saw James Connor understandably deployed as their RB one.
He had a sixty percent running back rush share, but
that still allowed Benson to see eight touches on the ground,
(09:21):
and Benson had a twenty six percent route share and
saw a target through the air. So in a game
script that could be similar, if not better, it wouldn't
be surprising to see Benson with ten touches this week,
and against this defense, that might be enough to be productive.
I've also only got one wide receiver to talk about here,
and it's Cedric Tillman. Look to me, I may still
(09:42):
prefer Jerry Judy to Cedric Tillman, but like I said
in the fifteen Transactions episode, there are reasons for it
to be very very close, mainly that Tilman has outscored
Judy and four of their last five games together, and
those are games since the Amari Cooper trade. The Browns
are huge underdogs this week against the raven So a
passing script is very likely from this Cleveland offense. If
(10:04):
Tilman can see another twenty to twenty five percent target share,
then you're likely looking at eight to ten targets, So
that warrants a call out. And now to tight end.
There are a lot of tight ends in this tier,
and I know there are a lot of fantasy managers
out there who need tight end help. Harold Fannin's an
obvious one to go to now. He didn't see the
same number of routes as David and Joku last week,
(10:26):
but Fannin did see a sixty four percent route participation rate.
He lined up in the slot on forty two percent
of his routes run. David and Joku was at twenty
four percent, and Fannin looked great ended up seeing a
ridiculous nine targets on his good but not great route participation.
And I don't think the Browns can just put that
away after what we saw in week one, So again
(10:48):
negative game script operated often as a slot player for
the Browns. I think there's a lot to like about
Fannin this week and moving forward. Juwan Johnson's another one.
I said in the fifteen Transactions episode. Johnson basically saw
Trey McBride peripherals in week one. A twenty seven percent
target chair, He ran a route on ninety six percent
(11:09):
in New Orleans dropbacks. He had a sixty two percent
slot rate too. That was a top five number for
tight ends this week. This kind of usage is just
way too hard to ignore. He's a legit option until
we see that usage change, and that's very possible because
it's only been one week. But tight end is brutal
at the moment, as it usually is. You had to
(11:31):
feel pretty good about the Brentons Strange usages past week two.
A seventy percent route participation rate, that's pretty good. A
fourteen percent target chair is fine. Four catches fifty nine
yards and a forty four percent slot usage rate. Using
a tight end against Cincinnati probably not a bad idea
look at what we saw last week with Harold Fannin.
Though it's not like Harold Fannin is the most traditional
(11:52):
tight end in the world. But this game could see
a lot of scoring and there could be more passing
from this Jags offense this week. So I like Strange
and then don't count out chigacon Quo just yet. I
know he didn't come through last week, but the secondary numbers,
they actually didn't look bad at all. He saw sixteen
percent target share, there's nothing wrong with that. He had
(12:12):
over an eighty two percent route participation rate. That's very,
very strong, and he ran fifty two percent of his
routes out of the slot. That's all according to PFF.
The Titans don't have the best matchup in the world
against the Rams, but la that's a better matchup than
the one that he faced last week against Denver, and
this one's being played in Tennessee, so as a more
(12:33):
desperate play compared to the other guys. For those who
are maybe kittle lists this week, I don't think Chig
is a terrible, terrible option. Okay, with his final tier,
we're looking at players roster and in fewer than twenty
percent of Yahoo leaks, and I've got one running back
in this tier, and it's a deep sleeper, la Quinn Allen. Yes,
(12:53):
I love bashall Tutan, Yes I'm very excited about Tuton,
but la Quinn Allen was a really good and prospect too.
He had an amazing pass catching profile coming out of
Syracuse and the Jags already this season. In Week one,
they've deployed him in that kind of role. According to
Fantasy Life data, Allen played eighty percent of the team's
(13:14):
long down and distance snaps this past week and twenty
percent of their two minute snaps. There's at least some
chance that the Jags trail against the Bengals, and if
that happens, le Quinn Allen could find the field and
it's a high scoring matchup, So I do think he
has some PPR appeal in deep deep leaks. Now, I
went with Jordan Love earlier, and I don't mind one
(13:35):
of his wideouts here in Romeo Dobbs. Dobbs was the
only Packers wide out in Week one to run a
route on over sixty percent of Green Bay's dropbacks, and
he was at seventy four percent. That resulted in an
eighteen percent target share. Now he gets a Commander secondary
that wasn't very highly rated entering the season, and the
game itself has shootout potential, so he makes plenty of
(13:55):
sense as a sleeper this week. And Kaishan Boudi too.
How do you not love of Kaishan Booty against this
Dolphins secondary Miami's defense was Booty in Week one. That's
the second time I used that joke in one week.
I won't do it anymore, I promise, But we knew
that they would have issues in their secondary entering the season.
Booty had the best average at the target, target share,
(14:16):
and rout participation on the Patriots in Week one. Now,
Stefan Diggs will surely see more and more usage as
the season goes on and he gets healthier, But for now,
I think Booty is a legit option. Now I'm going
to buy into the Elk i Amner peripherals just like
I did Chickaconquos. If the Titans can move the ball
a little bit better against the Rams, then I'd expect
(14:38):
both of those players to come through with better stat lines.
As I mentioned in the fifteen Transactions episode, I am
in Er ended Week one with an eighty two percent
route chair that was second best at wide out on
the team, behind only Calvin Ridley. He had a twenty
eight percent target share. Those are both amazingly good numbers
for a rookie. His average at the target was also
(14:58):
a ridiculous nineteen yard. Eventually, those peripherals will match good production.
It was just tough last week against arguably the league's
best defense. And then I've got a deep sleeper for
you at wide receiver, and that's Jalen Naylor. The Vikings
have a really solid twenty five point imply team total
against the Falcons this week it's an indoor game, and
(15:19):
in Week one, Naylor was Minnesota's wide receiver two because
Jordan Addison suspended, and Addison obviously he's gonna be out
in week two as well, but Naylor had a fifteen
percent target share and a ninety six percent route participation rate.
Maybe we do see more Adam Thielen this week because
he's probably still getting acclimated to this offense. But this environment,
(15:41):
this game environment's really good, and Naylor's peripherals in week
one were not bad at all, so he makes sense
as a deep sleeper. And then I have two super
deep sleepers at tight end. The first one is Dalton Schultz.
You know, Cad Stover was actually getting some run for
Houston in week one, but he's now out definitely with
a broken foot. Schultz is the lone tight end who's
(16:04):
left for them who's relevant, and he had an eighteen
and a half percent target share in week one. Houston
faces the Bucks this week. It's an indoor game, and
Tampa Bay was just beat up by Kyle Pitts. Maybe
beat up is too strong of a phrase, but he
did well against them. There are worse options than Schultz
out there. And then a really weird one that I
want to call out is Mason Taylor. He did nothing
(16:26):
in Week one, I know nothing, He saw one target,
but Taylor ran a route on eighty four percent of
New York's dropbacks that was seventh across the league at
tight end in route participation rate. The Jets are very
likely going to see a negative game script against the Bills,
and if that hits, they're gonna be forced to throw
the ball a lot more than they want to, and
that could benefit Mason Taylor again, just a very very
(16:50):
deep sleeper. Now, as for the defensive streamers this week,
I've got the Seahawks against the Steelers, like I said
in the fifteen Transaction Show, and remember Seattle gets New
Orleans next week. They could be a good play there too.
I also like the Rams that they're still out there
against the Titans. The Waivers definitely change their percent roster number.
The forty nine Ers, same exact deal against New Orleans,
(17:10):
though I wouldn't be as optimistic about San Francisco if
brock Purty doesn't go. And then New England against Miami.
Look at what Miami did last week offensively, it's hard
to not feel good about the New England Patriots defense.
So overall it's the Rams, forty nine Ers, Seahawks, and Patriots.
That's it for today's show, though, Thanks Solvy for listening.
If you had subscribed to the Late Round Fantasy Football podcast,
(17:33):
make sure you are by starting for it pretty much
anywhere podcasts can be found. It to follow me on
Twitter and on blue Sky at Late Round QB. Thanks
for listening everyone. Tomorrow, I have two episodes dropping. There's
a Mailbag one in the morning and then a Perspective's
one that'll drop at noon Eastern, And if you want to,
you can check out the Late Round Fantasy Football show
that's gonna stream live at one pm Eastern over on YouTube.
(17:56):
Otherwise you can hear that audio on Saturday morning within
the podcast feed. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow
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