Loose Mutton

It's officially time for bowel loosening levels of existential dread! Find out which players concern the FFW crew ahead of week two.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Fantasy Football Weekly, a production of iHeartRadio. Time
now for Fantasy Football Weekly from iHeartRadio, your weekly source
for the nation's best fantasy.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Speculation and advice. Now along with the guys from Guillotine
Leagues dot com. Here's your host, Paul Jargian.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Welcome to a week two edition of Fantasy Football Weekly.
I'm Paul Jarchi and co host today Matt Harrison. It's
been a month LUs since you've been on the show.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
You remember Fantasy football training camp?

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Yeah, the last long time ago. It's nice of you
to dust yourself off.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
It's soccer season, baby.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Uh huh.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
And also back to back editions with Thorneistrom.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Great to have you guys here. How you guys doing
very good.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
We come out of a high scoring Thursday night game.
A lot of people already know if they're in the
driver's seat or if they're in big troubles. We head
into the matchups. We'll break the I'm all down Fantasy
Football Weekly style with letter grades on every player who matters.
We'll also give you nine players upon whom you can
take a chance. We'll answer three tough questions and give
you some premature speculation players like we did last week

(01:14):
when we gave you Rashid Shaheed Thor, who did you
give Kua? No, you don't say, where is the peacock?

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Sound?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh it's coming right here, baby. Yeah. Look, when Thor
gives out.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
A guy who breaks his maiden on fifteen targets, eleven
catches in one hundred nineteen yards.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
You get one of these, baby, not a bad first.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
Take a chance on me, Thor, good job.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, he's the Cooper cupp roll. The whole game was wild, fantastic.
We loved it. We loved it.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
And Bran Johnson, by the way, pounding the table for
kyn Williams all preseason. I was like, I don't think so.
He didn't look good est year, Boy did that look
good too. Here Brian's not here, but I'm gonna give
him one of these.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Good night. I'm gonna get most of the peacocking out
of the way. Now.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
We didn't get every right, but we got those things right.
Let's start breaking down matchups. Las Vegas taking on Buffalo
matt The Las Vegas offense looked shockingly competent last.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Week, and the Buffalo defense didn't look that great. Yeah,
what do you think here.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Well, I'm giving Josh Jacobs right off the bat my
fantasy Ardvark the gate right out of the gate. He
got all but one carry for the Raiders last week,
and the Bills allowed a very nice six point nine
yards per carry to the Jets backs on Monday Night.
That makes Jacobs a easy easy a DeVante. Adams sat
out of practice for a lot of the week, but

(02:35):
practicing full on Thursday. Jacoby Myers doubtful with concussion, and
Myers actually had more targets than Adams last week, so
I foresee Adams getting more focused this week with Hunter
Renfro actually seeing a target or two. Adams gets an
A grade in this one, as he'll match up with
Tradavius White, who seems to be a shell of his
former self. He allowed Garrett Wilson to score a touchdown
last week in his coverage. And you can't start Renfro

(02:57):
or any of the tight ends on the Raiders side.
They're just not there yet, even.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
With Jacobe Meyers. I don't Renfro is so invisible. Yes,
Meyer's not going to go in this game.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Jimmy g gets a C grade, though the Jets stopped
passing for the most part as soon as Rogers tendon
snapped in half last week. So there inflated Zach Wilson
numbers deserve a little asterisk. Garoppolo did fine against maybe
a better Broncos defense last week, ended up with two
hundred and two. That sounds like a Jimmy g style
game to me. Over on the bill side, Josh Allen

(03:28):
and Stefan Diggs, they're easy A grades in this one.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, how about Diggs just nuking Sauce Gardner right out
of the gate.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
Well, he also nuked Gabe Davis a little bit, who
actually ran one more route than Diggs last week but
saw only four targets to thirteen for Diggs.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, and then you know, then we saw his own
team talking about they got to get more production out
of their second receiver without naming him by name.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, well, I mean the good thing about Gabe Davis
his targets were downfield. His a dot was eighteen point
seven yards huge. Davis runs a ton of routes out
of the left side of the field, and last year
the Raiders allowed an average of fourteen yards per deep
left attempt. Ooh, that's a pretty saucy little number there.
That hole in the defense is Jacory and Bennett, who

(04:15):
wears double zero on the field, and that was also
his PFF grade last week. Not really, it wasn't that low,
but he was their worst corner.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Does he really wear double zero?

Speaker 3 (04:22):
He does?

Speaker 1 (04:23):
I didn't see that on the during the game. I
didn't know there was anybody wearing double zero.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox, the double DK's basically split
snaps last week. Both had four targets. It's a complete
split right now, and you don't want to deal with
either of the double DKs, so they're both on the
bench for you. And finally, the Bills really want James
Cook to be the guy. He led the snaps forty
one to fifteen for Latavius Murray and only nine for

(04:47):
Damian Harris. He led the opportunities eighteen to four to three.
If he's going to be a bellcow, it should be
a decent week against a Raiders defense who just allowed
one hundred and thirty five combo yards to the split
backfield of samaj p Ryan and Javonte Williams. So I'm
giving Cook a B grade this week.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, I thought we'd see a little more of Damien Harris,
and it never it did not materialize, not at all,
not at all. San Francisco taking on the Rams store
the forty nine Ers had swore they were going to
dial back the usage on Christian McCaffrey, and he probably
had ran the most plays in the NFL, I believe,
or the most of any running back in the NFL
last week.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Sure did.

Speaker 4 (05:26):
Yeah, And obviously he is a must start in this
game with the great A. The Rams run defense struggles
to tackle and they don't make plays behind the line
of scrimmage, so you have to start him. As far
as the passing game there, the Rams are his zone
heavy team. Brandon I destroys man coverage, as we talked
about last week, which is one of the reasons he
had a really good game last week. Well, Deebo Samuel

(05:47):
is the forty nine Ers zone beater, So this week
we're going to give Deebo Samuel a great a because
of that, easily number one on the team in targets
per route run versus man cover I'm sorry, versus zone coverage.
Since Brock Purty took over and the Rams cornerbacks Darien
Kendrick and Akello Withers Witherspoon, if I can talk, are
not very good.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Brandon Ayuk, We're gonna give.

Speaker 4 (06:08):
Him a bee, even though this matchup isn't quite as
good for him because of the coverage tendencies of the Rams.
Brandon Ayuk wide receiver two in Fantasy.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
Last week, great game, yeah.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
And only ranked number four on the team and targets
per route run with Perty under center versus man coverage
last year, though, so we have to downgrade him to
a B. But again, this is a good matchup because
the Rams cornerbacks are terrible. Brock Perdy, We're gonna give
him a B in part for that reason. Fantasy quarterback
ten last week and number eight in adjusted completion rate

(06:39):
the Rams. As I mentioned zone heavy team, Purdy was
number four in yards per attempt last year against zone coverage.
George Kittle, We're gonna give him a bee. I waffle
between A and B on this one. Kittle wasn't healthy
last week, but he still got fed targets on twenty
three percent of his routes.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
That's pretty good.

Speaker 4 (06:58):
Last year against zone coverage with Perty under center, Kittle
got targets on a similar twenty four percent of his
routes with a get this Ludacris sixty seven percent touchdown percentage.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
Rams gave up seventh most touchdowns to opposing tight ends
last year. So we're gonna get what We'll say it
B plus No we won't. No, we we'll say.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
I like this guy. No, this guy's a great new
co host.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
You know I had good thor for one week that
he's already turned on me.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
Fisher was a bad influence for me. Yeah, clearly.

Speaker 4 (07:32):
And moving to the Rams, Matthew Stafford great game last
week three, only forty passing yards that rank number three
in the NFL. But I can only give them a
seat in this game because the matchup isn't quite as good.
Four career games against the forty nine ers for Stafford, Yeah,
five to five touchdown interception ratio and only a six
point zero yards per attempt. Can the Rams offensive line

(07:55):
hold up? Is my other question? The forty nine ers
were number two in pressure rate line last week. Pooka Nakua,
My boy got to give him a greade B here
he has an oblique injury, but reports say he's going
to play last week was ridiculous. I know I gave
him out but I wasn't expected as I'm yeah, he

(08:16):
went nuclear forty two point nine percent of first read
target share last week for Matthew Staffett's was consistently.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Looking at him. Puka was playing that Cooper Cup role.

Speaker 4 (08:26):
Like I mentioned, he was number five in the NFL
in yards per route run in week one. Believe the
hype two two at well will give him a bee.
He was impressive in his own right now.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
It was another one hundred and nineteen yard performance.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
Exactly three point six yards per route run last week
for two to two, and I liked how the rams
were moving him around and then getting him in bunch
formations to guarantee free releases off the line.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
He's obviously a question we had about him coming out, yeah,
because he's a he's a tiny guy, he's a stick. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (08:53):
But if they can get him off the line, he
can do damage there. Tyler Higbee will give him a
CEE this week. The troubling thing about him last week
was he was basically ignored when he was out on
the runs. On the routes only a seven point nine
percent target share last week, and this is a tough
matchup against the forty nine ers defense that allowed the
eighth fewest fantasy points to tight ends last year. Cam

(09:15):
Akers were keeping them on the bench. Speaking of troubling
twenty two carries for twenty nine yards last.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Week, that's not good.

Speaker 4 (09:23):
We could have ran for more yards on twenty two carries.
You could fall forward for more than that.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yes, you can.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
As a matter of fact, yes again, And I saw
this stat combine my Twitter feed, and I think it's correct.
First time in NFL history there have been three different
running backs in the same week, all to have at
least fifteen carries and less than one and a half
yards per carry.

Speaker 4 (09:41):
Wow, gosh, this is not a good batchup for him
against the forty nine Ers defense that allowed the fewest
fantasy points to running backs last year. I will give
Brian's boy Kyrin Johnson a C grade, though he's better
than cam Akers Kyrin Williams says, and he's more versatile too.
By far played sixty five percent of the snaps last week.
He can had fifteen touches for fifty two total yards.

(10:02):
If there's a Rams running back you want in your lineup,
it's Kirian Williams this.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Week, and probably only him. As it turns out only him.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
Baltimore takes on Cincinnati, and we got to go back
to Lamar Jackson. Look, I've I warned you last week
about Jackson's prospects, and I don't love him here either.
Going back to Week four of last year, He's averaging
zero point nine passing touchdowns per game.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (10:23):
And that includes a game against these same Bengals in
which he threw for one hundred and seventy four yards
in one touchdown. But that's not what's most troubling. Here's
what you should really be worried about. New offensive coordinator
Todd Munkin gave Lamar Jackson two designed runs totaling two yards. Yeah,
that's it for fantasy purposes. We do not want to

(10:45):
change out. We don't want to exchange runs for passes.
That is a bad currency exchange right there. So you
didn't draft Jackson for his passing and the Bengals just
put to Shaun Watson on a brutal passing game last week.
I can only muster a C grade for Lamar Jackson.
Caution again, you know who I love though, Zay Flowers.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (11:06):
Oh did he look promising in Week one?

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Great?

Speaker 1 (11:08):
He played eighty four percent of the snaps. He accounted
for one fewer target than the rest of the team combined.
He ran half his place from the slot and half outside,
so he'll see all he'll see it really all of
the Bengals cornerbacks. It's a It's a solid secondary, particularly
Chadobi a Woozia. But Flowers can win against Mike Hilton,

(11:28):
Cam Taylor Britt Those can be positive matchups, and he
moves all over the field. So I'm giving a B
grade to say Flowers. Mark Andrews practiced in full on Friday.
That's very encouraging, but I can only get him to
a C grade because I worry about snapcount, possible setback
on the hamstring, and Cincinnati held the Browns tight ends
and check last week. Aside from a random Harrison Bryan Shorty,

(11:50):
that's it. Andrews did crush the Browns in his one
meeting last year, and Isaiah likely did in the meeting
he didn't play in, so maybe there's more to like here,
but I'm only going C grade on Mark Andrews. Obj
Obj's on the bench played most of the snaps, more
snaps than any Baltimore receiver, but only saw three targets,
and maybe it's just him not going to rust off
or whatever. He did make one nice catch on the
left side of the field, but I think I'm gonna

(12:12):
wait until I've got an easier matchup before I dart
throw on Obj and assume that he's ready for a
bigger role, and then we're shot Bateman. I want to
show you some caution here. He ran half his routes
from the slot. That is a massive departure and how
he was used in years past and where Rashod Bateman
was giving us good fantasy games in the earlier parts
of his career, it was on big downfield plays. Those

(12:35):
are much harder to generate from the slot, and that's
now suddenly where he's running. Prehistorically had run about eighteen
percent of his plays from the slot. He ran half
his plays from the slot under tot monkn That is
a big worry for Rashad Bateman. I would chose some
concern there. And then let's go to the runners. Gus
Edwards just as Hill, both getting C grades here. An
almost even split between Edwards and Hill last week. But

(12:58):
history suggests this Hill's not good and Gus I think
should get more work I think he's just a better
back now. That said, Todd Munkin wasn't here for the
bad Justice Hills days, and maybe he's gonna be better
going forward. I maybe Cincinnati middle of the pack run
defense that got gouged by Nick Chubb for six yards
per carry last week. Granted Chubbs like way better than

(13:19):
Gus Edwards and Justice Hill still both startable here. I
know he'll got the goal line carries last week. I
also think.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
That's a weird fluky thing.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
Gus Edwards is better built for it, and Justice Hill
only one point one yards per carry last week also troubling.
All right, let's go to Cincinnati this one take as
long bounce back game coming. Everybody believes it's coming.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
I do too.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
Jamar Chase obvious A. He saw a twenty nine percent
targets share last week. He's gonna be just fine. But
T Higgins, let's talk him through more. Out of the
zero catch game, he saw eight targets and he was
on the field for ninety five percent of the offensive
snaps last week. So it's gonna come together here. We
know he's a good player and Cincinnati. Cincinnati might give
him some extra looks to make up for last week's gooseg.

(14:03):
Baltimore's nineteen receptions allowed to wide receivers were the third
most in Week one, and They're two hundred yards allowed
to wide receivers was fifth most. And Baltimore's now without
their starting safety Marcus Williams, so that could unlock some
deep receptions for T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. B grade
on T Higgins and if I've got A and B
grades on Joe Burrow's two main receivers, obviously I like him.

(14:26):
I've got a B grade here in which should be
a bounce back. Not in the rain, not in the
knock the rust off game from last week. And the
Ravens saw fifty four dropbacks last week against CJ. Stroud
in his NFL debut, So this is going to be
a pass heavy game plan. Joe Mixon claims chimes in
with a B grade, mixing accounted for fifty one percent

(14:48):
of the Bengals total offense last week. He averaged seventy
one total yards and four receptions per four receptions per
game over the final three game last three games against
Baltimore last sear even a season.

Speaker 2 (15:00):
Excuse me, the.

Speaker 1 (15:02):
Ravens allowed the fourth fewest rushing yards opposing backs. Last year,
they just held the Titans Texans backfields to three point
one yards per carry.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
That's a good run defense. I'm a little worried about.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
Mixing, but he's the only game in town, so he
still gets the B grade.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
When we come back.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
Nine players upon whom you can take a chance. If
you're already looking to the waiver wire for some help,
you look into the bench for some help.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
We've got some guys that might be suitable for your team.
Find out who they are.

Speaker 5 (15:29):
When we come back Fantasy Football Weekly.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
Take a chance on me. Nine players not normally in
your starting lineup.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
Guys many cases you're going to be able to pick
up off of the waiver wire and give a start
to this week. Matt Harrison, let's begin at the quarterback position.

Speaker 2 (16:12):
Who you got.

Speaker 3 (16:13):
I've got CJ. Stroud who looked okay last week two
hundred and forty two yards, no touchdowns, but no picks either,
and he was efficient against a good defense. The team
kept it tight with only a six point zero a dot,
and he threw the ball forty four times on that
so kept it short and sweet. This week, he gets
a Colts defense not nearly as good. The Colts allowed
two forty one and two to Trevor Lawrence last week
in a game where Jacksonville ran the ball most of

(16:34):
the second half. I think Stroud's throwing the ball a
lot this week.

Speaker 2 (16:37):
All right, let's go to thor. Who's your take a
chance on me quarterback?

Speaker 4 (16:40):
I'm going with Jared Goff, who was number eighteen in
fantasy points last week but number nine in passing grade
against the Chiefs. The young Seahawks secondary that he's going
to be playing this weekend got Torch last week. The
Seax gave up the third most passing yards and fourth
highest yards per attempt in Week one. I like it,
Jared Goff. I'm going Baker Mayfield againsticgo. They're gonna be

(17:01):
without slot corner Kyler Gordon probably for a while. That
means it is an a plus matchup for Chris Godwin,
who I love here. Mike Evans also a great matchup.
The Bears are trotting out rookie Tyreek Stevenson, who allowed
a touchdown to Romeo Dubson a man coverage last week.
Evans is a better red zone threat, obviously than Romeo Dobbs.
So as a team, the Bears posted the sixth worst

(17:24):
Pro Football Focus coverage grade in Week one.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
So I like Baker Mayfield here to get a couple
of touchdowns, maybe even three. Let's go to the running
back position.

Speaker 3 (17:32):
I got Zach Masson kind of a bonus. Take a
chance on me Dion Jackson as well, either of them.
Can you can start with a C grade this week.
Jackson was sort of the default belcoal for Indie last
week because Moss was inactive and Evan Hull was injured.
After only seven snaps, Jackson was on the field for
seventy one percent of the offensive snaps targeted in the
passing game on twenty two percent of his routes run.
But with Zach Moss returning, I think it's a pretty

(17:54):
even split, with Moss taking the ground game and Jackson
being the pass catching back. The Texans did hold the
Ravens backs only two point six yards per carry last week,
but the Runners scored three touchdowns in this game, and
it was the worst run defense in the league last year,
And maybe it was just a little bit fake because
of Baltimore's runners thor.

Speaker 4 (18:14):
You're taking a chance at me runner I'm gonna go
with Taj Spears against the Chargers. Taja clearly, at minimum
is the team's clear pass catching back, and it might
be more than that. Last week in a neutral game script,
Taj Spears actually outsnapped Derrick Henry. In games where the
Titans are down this season, I think Spears's usage is
going to explode and.

Speaker 1 (18:34):
They could be down a lot of Ryan Tannehill's gonna
keep playing like this.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
They've lost eight straight games the Titans.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
Especially against the Chargers. It's gonna be the case.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
Last week Taj Spears' first game in the NFL six
yards after contact per attempt.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
I'm gonna go with Ezekiel Elliott going up against Miami
leg In his first game with the Patriots. Zeke had
half the snap count of Vermandre Stevenson half, but managed
more rushing yards on fewer carries, and he chipped into
surprising five receptions for Zeke. Miami just got blasted by
two different backs, Austin Eckler and Josh Kelly, so two
different backs could post good stats against Miami again here,

(19:10):
and I still like Rmandre Stevenson do. Through one week,
Miami ranks dead last and rushing yards allowed, dead last
in total yards allowed to running backs and second to
last in rushing touchdowns allowed to runners. Ezekiel Elliott. Let's
go to our receivers. Who's your take a chance on me?

Speaker 2 (19:26):
Receiver?

Speaker 3 (19:27):
Man, I've got a tight end and it's come to this.
Zach Ertz is to take a chance on me? Tight end?

Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah name more active than I expected in Week one?

Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah had ten targets.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
Last week.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
The next closest target share in Arizona was five, so
he doubled up everybody else. Josh Dobbs is not a
downfield thrower. His average depth of target was only five
point eight. That plays right into a tight end getting
a ton of targets, and the Giants haven't done well
against tight ends who are targeted a lot. The last
eight tight ends who've seen at least eight targets against
the Giants have an average line of eight catches eighty

(19:59):
yards and a fifty seven percent chance of a score.

Speaker 2 (20:02):
That's a lot. Let's go to your receiver. So welcome
back to the Rashid Shahed Show.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, loved him last week. We're going right back to
the well again after last week's.

Speaker 4 (20:10):
Hit, going right back to the well eighty nine yards
last week for Shaheed sixteen point two at twenty four
percent air yard share and three point six yards per
route run.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
Derek Carr looks like he has his deep ball groove back,
which is.

Speaker 4 (20:24):
Another important thing here for Shahida, guy who hits dingers,
and this week he gets mediocre Panthers cornerbacks Dante Jackson
and CJ.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
Henderson. He gonna stack again.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
I'm gonna give you a double up bill like it
not bills though. These are Texans Robert Woods and Nico Collins,
both I already told you CJ. Stroud fifty four dropbacks,
forty four pass attempts last week, and volume is all
we need against a very suspect Indianapolis secondary missing both
of its starting cornerbacks from last season last week, and

(20:57):
he got warked by Calvin Ridley and J.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
Jones.

Speaker 1 (21:00):
So why not little Robert Woods and Nico Collins. Granted
they're not as good, but still we're just talking take
a chance with me, guys here. Woods led the Texans
and snaps Collins led the Texans in targets.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
I think they're both good plays here.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
And let's go to the matchups, including that one Yeah,
Indianapolis is taking on Houston. You already gave us C. J. Stroud,
I gave Robert Woods and Nico Collins. We got this
thing already half done.

Speaker 3 (21:23):
Yeah, I got I got a B for Stroud, I
got a bee for Collins, and I gotta see for Woods.
By the way, Nico Collins led the team with a
twenty six point two percent target share last week and
saw one hundred and sixty five air yards. Wow, that's nuts.
They're gonna chuck it downfield and it's gonna be great.
Dalton Schultz he led the Texans with forty three routes
run five more than any player, but he was only

(21:45):
targeted four times for an average depth of zero point
seventy five yards. He's almost going backwards. I'm gonna keep
Dalton Schultz on forward for that. I'm gonna keep Dalton
Schultz on the bench for that reason. Damian Pierce he
only was on the field for forty eight point six
percent of the snaps in Week one, and according to
JJ Zachariison, that's his lowest snap share since Week one

(22:07):
of last year. Oh, by the way, that was his
first game ever. It's very disappointing. Week for him, But
we highlighted on the show last week that the Ravens
run defense is legit, so maybe they were saving him
for this week. Still going to give Pierce the B grade.
The Colts allowed two touchdowns to runners last week and
seventeen last season.

Speaker 1 (22:22):
Pierce is gonna is going to hit him by the
way that that Texans offensive line is not good.

Speaker 3 (22:27):
Yeah, it's going to be.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Pierce is gonna have to make a lot of his
own yards.

Speaker 1 (22:29):
Fortunately, Indies run defense is bad, and fortunately Pierce is
pretty good at that.

Speaker 3 (22:33):
Yes, he is over on the Indie side. There's only
two guys you can really start. One of them's Anthony
Richardson two to twenty three in a score through the
air last week, but a ton of that was on
his wide receivers making plays. His average depth of target
was only five point three, twenty ninth in the league.
He had six designed run plays, which is a little
fewer than I thought he would get, four scrambles, created

(22:53):
ten rushing attempts for forty yards in a score. Only
Daniel Jones had more rushing attempts as a QB in
Week one, though Houston saw Lamar Jackson last week, who
he thought would be a big runner, but Jackson ended
up with only six carries for thirty eight on the ground.
It's probably going to be a low volume passing game
for Richardson, but I bet he finds at least fifty
yards on the ground here. So with that fifty yards,

(23:14):
I think it's a B grade for Richardson just on
the upside alone. Michael Pittman is the only wide receiver
you can start, and it's just to see target shares.
Last week, Pittman got twenty eight percent of them, Josh
Downs eighteen percent, Alec Pierce only eight percent, but Pittman
he was only targeted five yards down the field as well.
That's why he's knocked down to a sea. We're reliant

(23:34):
on him breaking one on a short pass. His touchdown
last week was behind the line of scrimmage and he
broke it for thirty nine yards in a score. We're
reliant on Michael Pittman doing that. So that's why he's
only a C grade.

Speaker 1 (23:45):
Yeah, I thought Pittman looked pretty good, but this is
going to be inconsistent box scores probably.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, all right, let's go to Seattle taking on Detroit.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
Seattle is going to be hamstrung without two tackles. Charles
Cross and Abraham Lucas both not going to play in
this game, and that is for an offensive line that's
already struggling.

Speaker 2 (24:05):
Those are some pretty big losses.

Speaker 4 (24:06):
It sure is because the Lions last year number nine
in pressure rate, number seven in blitz rate. Tino Smith
was under duress all last week and that is going
to be the case again. I'm only giving Gino a
grade A C here last week fourth lowest yards per
attempt in the NFL, like I mentioned, was under duress
the entire game. Last year, Gino was number twenty eight

(24:27):
in the league in passing grade when blitzed, giving him
a C. Tyler Lockett, I'll give him a B because
the Lions are a zone heavy defense. Lockett is the
zone beater who finds the soft spots on this offense.
Number eighteen in the NFL last year in yards per
route run against zone DK metcalf I can only give
him a C grade in this In this game, he

(24:49):
had an identical twenty two percent target rate to Lockett's
last year against zone coverage. But while Lockett averaged two
point three yards per route run against zone DK only
averaged one point eight. I got to keep the rest
of the pass catchers, including Jackson, Smith and Jig, but
on the bench Smith and Jig, but we need to
see him fully healed from that risk injury, and we
need to see how his role clarifies everybody else on

(25:10):
the bench. Kenneth Walker will give him a grade to
be here. Was able to hold off Charbonnet last week.
Sharbonney was barely apparent there. Kenneth Walker had sixteen touches
for sixty seven yards on sixty three percent of the snaps.
Lions had a good week last week against the run
versus the Chiefs did very much so, but the Lions

(25:31):
struggled against zone runs last year and those accounted for
half of Kenneth Walker's attempts last week. Going to the Lions,
Jared Goff was might take a chance on me, quarterback
Amanras Saint Brown. I'm giving him an A for this matchup. Yeah,
he was wide receiver eleven in fantasy scoring.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
It should have been wide receiver like two had had
Jared Goff not completely missed him wide open for a
seventy yard down the scene touchdown.

Speaker 2 (25:57):
A man, oh maw that hurt.

Speaker 4 (26:00):
He same Bratt was also number eleven in yards per
route run versus zone coverage last season, and as you
guys know, the Pete Carroll defense is it's notoriously zone coverage.
Sam Laporta, Sammy ball game. I'm giving them a great
B here. I almost thought about going to an A
on this one, though. Laporta last week eighty three percent
of the snaps and he ranked number four among tight

(26:21):
ends in the NFL in targets per route run.

Speaker 2 (26:24):
That is tight end one usage, folks.

Speaker 4 (26:26):
The Seahawks are also awful against tight ends, allowed the
second most fantasy points to opposing tight ends last year.

Speaker 2 (26:33):
David Montgomery, I'm giving a B in this one.

Speaker 4 (26:36):
Seventy four yards on twenty one carries while playing seventy
nine percent of the snaps against the Chiefs, and he
got most of the red zone work. Seattle profiles is
a middle up the pack run defense this year. I
think Montgomery's gonna.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
Get more work. Gibbs.

Speaker 4 (26:49):
Speaking of more work, Jamior Gibbs, I'm giving them an
ah only played twenty yes, only played twenty seven percent
of snaps against the Chiefs, sixty total yards on nine touches,
but was number one in the NFL in.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
Miss tackles force per attempt.

Speaker 4 (27:02):
This is the week Jamiir Gibbs gets on leish the
Seattle Rink dead last in the NFL in yards per
reception to running backs last year, and Pete Carroll's defenses
are horrible against receiving running backs going back years and
years and years.

Speaker 2 (27:15):
Jamiir Gibbs going nuts this weekend. That is a strong take.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
When we come back Washington, will we see another decent
game from Sammy Oh? Will find out when we come
back Fantasy Football Weekly. Welcome back Fantasy Football Weekly. Hi

(27:48):
am Paul Charchy and co hosts Matt Harrison, Thorne Eystrom.
Thank you for joining us. We're working our way through
all of the Week two matchups. If you're behind because
you played against a bunch of vikings and ego, we're
here to try to help. And if you're ahead, we're helped.
We're hopefully going to help you maintain that lead. If
you started Alexander Madison, you're in a pinch and not

(28:09):
just potentially for this week, maybe long term.

Speaker 3 (28:14):
And if you're not listening, we hope you lose.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
Yes, that's right, mm hmm, Well, I don't know. We
don't wish bad things, well, just on the non listeners
of the show. They don't count non listeners. Let's go
to Washington taking on Denver. You guys know how I
feel about Oh Sammy Howell.

Speaker 5 (28:31):
I was.

Speaker 1 (28:32):
I thought it was a mixed bag for Howell in
his first real start last week.

Speaker 3 (28:37):
I feel like I've been replaced as the howl sound effect. Really,
really really, I was gone for too long. I'm sorry,
that's correct.

Speaker 2 (28:43):
We had to make do.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
I thought he made some key mistakes, but also showed
decent poise, the strong arm that we knew he was
going to get in some mobility that makes him a
very promising fantasy prospect. Denver secondary's got a lot of talent,
but did just get worked by Jimmy Garoppolo, Devanta Adams,
and Jacoby So Howell's receivers Terry McLaurin, DeShawn John Dotson

(29:05):
maybe aren't quite at the Devontae Adams level, but they're
they're not that far off. I'm gonna go grade see
and Howell's first ever road start against a pretty talented secondary.
I want to start him, but I can't give him
more than a see here. Let's talk about his receivers
Terry McLaurin Terry cornerback Patrick Sertain is an absolute nightmare
matchup here. He held Devonte Adams to two catches for

(29:26):
sixteen yards on five targets in Week one, and he's
allowed thirty or fewer yards in his coverage in seven
straight games. And I'm worried that Patrick Surtain's gonna shadow
Terry McLaurin and that would.

Speaker 2 (29:39):
Be game over. Now. I could be wrong.

Speaker 1 (29:42):
It could be that Denver sees John Dotson the way
I see Johan Dotson is a major threat, and they're
gonna put certain on him. But I'm guessing that they're
gonna play it safe and put him on McLaurin. Dotson
paced Washington targets with seven in Week one, and each
of the last six wide receivers to see at least
those seven targets against Denver of top sixty yards. Hopefully
Dotson sees more of Damari Mathis, who was cooked by

(30:06):
Jacoby Myers for two touchdowns and six receptions last week.
He gave up a passer rating of ninety seven last season,
so Dotson could have that advantageous matchup. I'm giving him
a C grade two only because I am worried a
little bit about Patrick sir Ten picking him up as well.
And then Logan Thomas. I liked him last week going
into the game. I love the fact that he was
targeted seven times, but he dropped. He had two ugly

(30:28):
drops in the game, which hurt. Still optimistic that he's
going to be a great fit for Eric b Enemy.
In particular, Denver only allowed one tight end reception last week,
but they were facing the Raiders without Darren Waller, so
maybe that doesn't mean anything. Se grade on Logan Thomas.
And then last week. Lastly, Brian Robinson set a career

(30:48):
high with sixty one percent of the snaps, but it
didn't look great honestly, an NFL next Gen stats had
Robinson was one of the least effective runners in Week one,
with a negative twenty rushing yards over expected, which I
guess would also be the same as saying twenty yards
under expected and a long run of only seven yards
for Brian Robinson. Denver only gave up two and a

(31:10):
half yards per carry to the Raiders running backs, who
frankly are better, and the offseason loss of stud defensive
tackle Draymont Jones offset by the addition of lineman Zach Allen,
who was fifteenth in Pro Football focuses win above replacement
last year, so I can only muster a SE grade
on Brian Robinson.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
Let's go to the Denver side. Let's start with the
running game.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
Jamonte Williams saw the same number of snaps as Samaj
p Ryan last week, but he out touched him seventeen
to twelve, so advantage Williams. He also got the only
goal to go carry, although he got stuffed on that play. Shockingly,
Williams led at broncos and targets last week, which I
did not see coming. The Commanders allowed the tenth fewest
rushing yards to opposing running backs last season, and they

(31:53):
limited James Conner and Conte Ingram to three point one
yards per carry last week. So it's a tricky matchup here.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
I'd like to say strike Keyante Ingram's five carries for
negative four yards on the record.

Speaker 1 (32:04):
Okay, deal, It wouldn't change it a line, but it
would change it up between the time share and a
tougher matchup.

Speaker 2 (32:11):
I can only get to a.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
C grade on Javonte Williams. Let's go to U Samaj
p Rn, who I'm just putting on the bench here.
This is a tougher matchup than last week, and Williams
was more involved, so I can only I can't muster
a letter grade on.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
Samaj p Rin.

Speaker 1 (32:26):
How about Russell Wilson. Week one, we saw a one
to eighty for Russell Wilson in his first game with
Sean Payton. He completed eighty percent of his passes for
two touchdowns. That is something that happened zero times all
of last year for Russell Wilson. I worry about a
good Washington pass rush disrupting him far more than Vegas
has did. But I like Sutton and Trautman. We're gonna

(32:48):
talk about them in a second, So Wilson is startable
for sure. I got a B grade on Russell Wilson.
I think we back to Russell Wilson being kind of
an every week starter here, Okay, Courtland Sutton, as expected,
led all Broncos receivers in snaps target it's receiving yards,
and he scored last week. Washington shut down the Cardinals
receivers last week, but it's the Cardinals receiver, so I.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
Don't know that that really counts for anything.

Speaker 1 (33:09):
Court and Sutton's gonna see a lot of rookie cornerback
and Manuel Forbes, who gave up a thirty one yard
catch in his coverage last week. So I like Sudden
to have a good game here in a B grade
on him as well. Jerry Judy could return, but is
he gonna be at full strength? Is he gonna be
at a full snap count. He plays from the slot
a lot when Sutton is available, and that'd be a

(33:29):
positive matchup against cornerback safety hybrid Ben Saint Jews, who
allowed all four of his targets to be completed in
Week one. I'm giving a C grade to Judy. It
would be a B grade if he were fully healthy,
So you could maybe upgrade him if you get positive
news between now and kickoff that he's like totally ready
to go. And lastly, one of my favorite sneaky plays

(33:50):
of the week Adam Trautman ooh, I like him here,
Greg Dulsite out Troutman's gonna get all the tight end work.
Last week, the Cardinals attacked the Commanders with their tight
ends with a whopping twelve targets resulting in eight catches,
second most of all teams in Week one, and Troutman
ranked second among all.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
NFL players in separation last week.

Speaker 1 (34:12):
Troutman caught all five of his targets last week, and
that is a very safe floor from here. I like
Adam troutman sneaky play and a B grade m Adam Troutman.
Let's go to Chicago taking on Tampa Bay. The really
disheartening power about a dismal showing for the Chicago offense.
Matt Justin Fields two designed runs all game.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yeah, and oh bueno.

Speaker 3 (34:38):
His other seven rush attempts were off script. So that's
that's not good from a pass perspective or a run perspective. Really,
you signed up for Justin Fields for the rushing yards.
So how have the Bucks performed against running quarterbacks the
last few years? In the last twenty games, only three
quarterbacks have topped thirty rushing yards and none have scored
against the Buccaneers. You'd have to go back all the

(35:00):
way to twenty twenty one in week fourteen when Josh
Allen scored to find the last quarterback rushing score. Fields
is only top two hundred passing yards three times in
his last sixteen games. It's a c for Fields this week,
and I think it's not going to be as good
as a lot of people hoped for him in most
games this year. DJ Moore only had two targets last week.
We all thought when Field's got a legit wide receiver,

(35:22):
as passing numbers would rise. Not so thus far. I'll
give more the lowest C grade possible, mostly because he'll
be lining up against a banged up Carlton Davis most often,
who missed practice this week with a toe injury. Cole
Comet would be the only other Bears receiver you'd consider.
He was targeted on sixteen percent of his routes run
last week, but only for three point seven air yards,

(35:44):
and that's kind of bad. TJ. Hockinson had similar patterns
last week, lots of short targets and was able to
cobble together a decent PPR line of eight catches for
thirty five yards. That's like a huge upside for Comet.
So you're not looking at touchdowns, you're not looking at yards.
You could see a lot of catches. Though in a
PPR league he'll get a C. If it's not PPR

(36:04):
in your league, he's on the bench. Rochean Johnson, Deonta
Foreman Khalil ground Bear. Yes, yikes, it's coming, but Rochean
Johnson is going to take over this backfield, but for
now it's still a three way split. Rochan led the
Bears in backfield snaps, but all three Bears backs were

(36:26):
within a thirty percent to thirty eight percent snap share
opportunities twelve for Johnson, fourteen for Groundbear, eight for Forman.
The difference was Rochan had more targets receptions, and he
did more with his touches than any other backs, including
a touchdown.

Speaker 1 (36:42):
So when I saw rocheon Johnson getting all the targets,
so I'm like, did I misremember his college career and
everything I've known about him?

Speaker 2 (36:48):
So then I went and looked it up. He got
fourteen passes last year. He had seven targets last week.

Speaker 3 (36:54):
Like what, so I bar what happened? Yeah, Jean Robinson, Oh, okay,
makes a lot of sense. The Bucks were good against
the Vikings Backs last week on the run, but they
did let up six catches thirty five yards and a
score through the air to Minnesota Backs last week. That's
more Roshan than anyone else on this offense. So he
gets the CEE and the others are on the bench.

(37:16):
On the Bucks side, it's ay start everyone kind of party.
Baker Mayfield gets a see he was charges take a
chance on me. Quarterback Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. I'm
giving both B grades to got An a matchup, Yeah,
I think so too. From the slot, Godwin should see
plenty of backup slot corner Josh Blackwell, who's nursing a

(37:36):
hamstring injury. He replaces Kyler Gordon who's now on IR
and he was bad.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
Come let's give Godwin the A.

Speaker 3 (37:41):
Okay, fine, thank you've conned me into it. Evan should
see he's.

Speaker 2 (37:45):
Playing against an injured second string slack.

Speaker 3 (37:50):
So the only issue is is Baker Mayfield still a
quarterback and they might just run the ball all game long.
Evan should see Tyreek Stevenson for the most part. Evans
has five inches and thirty pounds on Stevenson and he
gave up a tight end in his coverage last week.
And on the running side, Rashad White gets a B
grade as well. He played seventy nine point four percent

(38:10):
of Tampa snaps against Minnesota, saw as many targets as
back up Sean Tucker though, which was two, but he
ran twenty one routes to Tucker's five, So the Bears
allowed the most receiving yardage to opposing runners last week
with one oh three. If you need a deep dart throw,
Sean Tucker just on the receiving alone could be that

(38:33):
deep dart throw you need.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, it's Look, there's a great matchup for him to
get a deep pass with four to three speed.

Speaker 3 (38:40):
It's a D grade for dart throw.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
Wait a minute, Yep, there is no D grade, but
we will.

Speaker 3 (38:45):
Give you, you know, I can. We have a D
grade for dart throw like a guy you wouldn't start
unless you're desperate. No D for desperate dart throw.

Speaker 2 (38:53):
Hey, this is what takes a chance on the sport.
Next time if you love him that much.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
I don't love him that much. I feel bad about
starting him, but.

Speaker 2 (39:01):
He's not delicious.

Speaker 1 (39:03):
No Chargers take on Tennessee here, what did we learn
from the first game with new Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen
Moore thor.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
We learned that they're gonna throw more and they're gonna
move faster. Last week, Justin Herbert thirty three attempts and
the Chargers offense as a whole ran at the number
ten adjusted pace in the NFL against this awful Titans
pass defense, Herbert is going to attempt more passes this week,
and you're going to be aiming downfield. Last year, the
Titans allowed the most passing yards in the entire NFL.

(39:34):
And we're worse than the NFL defending deep passes. And
of course they got lit up by Derek Carr last week.

Speaker 2 (39:41):
Yes they did, and Rashid Shah, so.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
Well, we're giving Herbert a grade of A. We're also
giving Keenan Allen and Mike Williams grades of A. Keenan
Allen was Herbert's first lead on one third of his
attempts last week.

Speaker 2 (39:56):
Allen also had two point three yards per route run.

Speaker 4 (40:00):
And in this game, he gets batched up against Titans
nickel cornerback Roger McCreary, who has a career one hundred
and eleven passer rating against.

Speaker 2 (40:09):
He's going to torch roger career.

Speaker 3 (40:11):
That's so bad.

Speaker 4 (40:12):
As for Mike Williams, the Titans outside cornerback number one
Christian Fulton, questionable in this game with a hamstring injury.
If he doesn't go, Williams is going to get Sean
Murphy bunning who we talked about last week, but Sean
Murphy bunning is not good. Williams also got forty four
percent of his snaps in the slot last week, so
he's going to get a few opportunities to torch Roger

(40:33):
McCreary as well. Moving on to Gerald Everett, we're going
to give him a grade of C. He had a
disappointing week last week with only a nine percent target
share and three yards of a dot. But this is
a solid matchup against the Titans defense that allowed the
most receiving yards to tight ends last year, so that
Titans equal opportunity. They'll let anybody have it through the air.

(40:55):
Austin Eckler is obviously doubtful with his ankle injury. He
hasn't practiced this week and he is unlikely to play
in this game, which makes Joshua Kelly the waiverwear darling
of this past week.

Speaker 2 (41:07):
Of volume C grade.

Speaker 4 (41:09):
Kelly had ninety one yards and a touchdown on sixteen
rushing attempts, playing forty eight percent of the snaps last.

Speaker 2 (41:16):
Week against the Dolphins. But this is a tough matchup.
It is a good Titans run defense.

Speaker 4 (41:22):
That's where they give it back right from their pass defense.
The Titans were the number one run defense dv away
in the NFL last year, and last week they were
top twelve in both stuff rate and tackle rate. Moving
on to the Titans now, Ryan Tannehill. I thought about
a bench Gary, but I'll give him a C in
this one. He last week was not good. No, mister

(41:45):
hell worst adjusted completion rate in the NFL last week,
and he was top ten in that last year. But
he was the worst in the NFL last week, and
of course through three interceptions against the Saints.

Speaker 2 (41:55):
But this is an okay matchup for him, which is
why I toggled him up to a SE.

Speaker 4 (42:00):
The Chargers coughed up as you guys recall four hundred
and sixty six passing yards. Yes to mister Tua last week,
you can't trust the Tennessee pass offense, but this is
an advantageous matchup for them. DeAndre Hopkins, I would give
him a grade seat if he plays, but he hasn't
practiced the past couple of days with an ankle injury
and is unlikely to play. He did get peppered with

(42:21):
thirteen targets in Week one, but was locked down by
Marshawn Lattimore, So I would give him a see if
he plays, because the Chargers cornerbacks j C. Jackson and
Michael Davis, they were in charge of the whole two.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
Thing with two of goaduts.

Speaker 4 (42:33):
Those two allowed one hundred and eighty nine receiving yards
and three touchdowns on targets last week. Traylon Burks, speaking
of disappointing weeks, I will give him a grade to see,
even though I'm a little bit troubled by what I
saw out of him last week, mostly getting out targeted
by Nick Westbrook Atquina.

Speaker 2 (42:50):
That's nerve. That is worrying. It's not good, not good.

Speaker 4 (42:53):
But if especially if DeAndre Hopkins is out, you give
him you know, I mean, he's got to be in
a starting lineup and maybe he has a little bit
offside just from the targets if that was the case.
Chicka Konquo, though, I think this is a really good
matchup for him. I'm giving that coming.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
He bounce back coming.

Speaker 4 (43:07):
He only had two targets against the Saints last week,
but that's a bad matchup. The Saints are awesome against
tight ends. Chick had seventy four percent routes per dropback rate.
Last week, Charters copped up the second highest yards per reception.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
To tight ends last year. We're giving chick a B.

Speaker 1 (43:23):
Given chigabe all right, that to be a big, big
upgrade over last week's goose egg for Chiga konkquo. Let's
hope that that is the case. When we come back
three tough questions. See if you can play along, go
three to zero against our panel of experts as we
answer some of the toughest questions in fantasy football.

Speaker 2 (43:41):
Also, it's not too late to join a guillotine league.
Seventeen teams.

Speaker 1 (43:46):
Now that there's one week gone seventeen teams playing, you
get a chance to play in a guillotine league where
all you have to do is not finish last It's
the funnest, freshest way to play fantasy football.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
Guillotine Leagues dot Com Back.

Speaker 1 (43:58):
In moments, welcome back our number two Fantasy football weekly.

(44:24):
Paul Charchie and Matt Harrison Thorne Eystrom with you. All right,
let's see if I can get all these Twitter handles right.
I'm at Paul Charchie and you're gonna have to figure
out how to spell it. Matt Harrison is at explosive output.

Speaker 3 (44:33):
That's easy.

Speaker 2 (44:34):
That is easy. Thorn Estrom is at Thor k Hey
you or Kay, you got it for you because it's
Thor for you, I think. But you'd have to turn
your back on your a'm a motern. We know you
don't want to do that. Never could. This is a
game we call three tough questions. You can play along.
I question number one.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
What's the appropriate level of concern for Bijon Robinson?

Speaker 2 (44:59):
Is is it none?

Speaker 3 (45:01):
Is it some?

Speaker 1 (45:02):
Or is it a bowel loosening level of existential dread?

Speaker 2 (45:07):
We start with Matt Harrison.

Speaker 3 (45:09):
Yeah, let's all panic about this Falcons player. He was
on the field for more snaps than al Jier and
the opportunities were nearly even plus concerning. In a concerning week,
he was the number nine running back in PPR, so
Desmond Ritter's average depth of target was a league worst
three point two yards. That plays into a pass catching

(45:32):
running back strength. So no concern for Bijon, but it
makes the appropriate level of concern for Kyle Pitts and
Drake London worse than blowed like that plane that just
got turned around last week because some dude had diarrhea.
All up and down the aisle. How do we set
the plane down level of concern for pits in London?

Speaker 2 (45:51):
Thank you for rerouting the entire question.

Speaker 3 (45:54):
You're welcome. I'm going to get a bonus point on
that one. I'm pretty sure.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
Isn't it nice so we don't have a blowed sounder
thor what's the appropriate level of concern for Bjon Robinson?

Speaker 2 (46:07):
Is it none? Is it some? Or is it a
bowel loosening level of existential dread? That's a tough act
to follow. There is none, zero Zilich. In fact, I
would be looking.

Speaker 4 (46:17):
I would be you know, kicking the tires on his
owners to see if anyone is slightly panicking and try
to buy on Bijon.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
Bijon gonna get a lot of usage this year.

Speaker 1 (46:26):
The correct answer is some, and not just because of
the draft actuity mid first round.

Speaker 2 (46:30):
I know that is not the issue.

Speaker 1 (46:33):
Arthur Smith has used a rotation throughout his entire tenure
in Atlanta, and you know what, several of us talked
about exactly this happening in the preseason. We were like,
you go, we don't know that Bijon's going to make
good on everybody's assumption that he's going to be the
man Tyler is Algiers not going anywhere, and that includes
the goal line and touchdowns count. And that's why they
answer he's a good running back. He is a good

(46:54):
running back deserving of the touches he gets. That's why
the answer can't be none when you're talking about a
fer who's gonna give up the ball at the goal
line and lose a lot of carries. Now, fortunately, Robinson's
value as a receiver is apparently so evident that even
the thick skulled Arthur Smith realizes that Robinson's got game

(47:15):
breaking receiving chops and it's got to continue using him
that way.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
Tough Question number two.

Speaker 1 (47:22):
The appropriate level of concern for Christian Kirk is that none,
some or a bowel loosening level of existential dread thor.

Speaker 2 (47:31):
I'm going to go some on that one.

Speaker 4 (47:34):
They got some mouse to feed there and Tila has
been a little bit inconsistent.

Speaker 2 (47:39):
I'll put it the mid range on this one.

Speaker 1 (47:41):
You can't say zero, Matt appriate level of concern for
Christian Kirk, None, some or blow.

Speaker 3 (47:48):
I'm with thor definitely some here. I don't think we
saw Zay Jones taking snaps and targets from Kirk. But
that's what happened last week. It was worth noting that
Kenny Moore is probably Indy's best corner and he plays
the slot, which is where Christian Kirk is. So Jacksonville
picked on the outsides a lot last week. It could
have just been game script, but there is some concern
since there's a new number one receiver there in Calvin Ridley,
and it's clear that not Kirk is not that guy anymore.

Speaker 1 (48:12):
The correct answer is, hey, bowel loosening, Oh, existential dread.
We're talking about a two target, one catch game for Kirk.
And so you try and you try not to overreact
to just week one, right, and the sample size is
obviously just one game, that's small.

Speaker 2 (48:24):
But here's the big concern.

Speaker 1 (48:27):
Usage. He was on the field for only twenty three
passing downs. That was lower than any game from last year,
and a fifty percent decrease from his average number of
games last year, average number of snaps from last year. Undoubtedly,
Christian Kirk's gonna have some good games smattering in. But
here's the problem. You're not gonna know when they're coming.
It's gonna be very tricky to identify in advance, particularly

(48:51):
if Zay Jones continues to get twenty plus snaps from
the slot. Evan Ingram got twenty snaps from the slot,
so you know, sometimes we can id good slot matchups.
It's gonna be hard to know if they're gonna keep
putting Jay Jones in there and we're gonna have Christian
Kirk on the bench. I'm very, very concerned. Christian Kirk

(49:11):
was roughly the tenth highest scoring wide receiver last year.
Everything every fear you had about Calvin Ridley taking that work,
We're all realized in Week one. I don't think it's
a mirage tough question Number three, are you selling high
on Tua Tongo via Looa Matt?

Speaker 3 (49:31):
I think everyone has the same knowledge surrounding to us,
so I'm not even sure this is a cell high moment.
I think it's too transparent. Granted, if someone's willing to
offer you, like a top six quarterback for two US
straight up, I'd probably do it, but we.

Speaker 2 (49:43):
All know it.

Speaker 3 (49:44):
It's about the injury with to Us, so he has
that big red flag on his value, and I think
that's drowning that value quite a bit. I think he's
gonna need to play a good two thirds of the
season before he starts to shed that injury tag. And
if he's healthy right now, I'd rather just hold thor
are you selling high on two?

Speaker 4 (50:00):
Not only am I not selling high, I would buy
high on Tua if people out there don't understand how
good Tua is. Last year, you look at the passing metrics,
he was top twelve in every efficiency metric that exists.
He has the most dangerous receiving weapons in the NFL.
On a pass happy offense that does not have good
running backs, They're going to keep airing it out every
single week. As long as he stays healthy, you're going

(50:21):
to keep putting up huge numbers every week.

Speaker 1 (50:25):
I am not selling high on tool, but here's what
I am doing. I am going to reinforce my quarterback
position by finding a relatively safe backup quarterback, like maybe
even Baker Mayfield, who we've just we highlighted as a
play last week and this week. You still I feel
like the upside is league winning upside with Tua. So

(50:45):
I can't take him off my roster, but I still
want to have somebody else that just in case that
could step in and it's probably not Mike White.

Speaker 3 (50:53):
You want to have quarterback number thirteen on your roster, twelf,
It's a.

Speaker 1 (50:56):
Great way to put it. That's even better way to
put it. I'll go trade for quarterback thirteen, who's sitting
on somebody's as somebody's second quarterback, and he won't cost
me a lot. I like that as an even better answer.
Well done, thanks, you should really co host your own
fantasy show. Maybe let's go to the matchups. Oh, hey
to me, great Bay taking taking out Atlanta.

Speaker 2 (51:18):
I'm next?

Speaker 3 (51:19):
How about that?

Speaker 5 (51:20):
Wow?

Speaker 2 (51:20):
Yeah, speaking of Atlanta, let's just pick up right where
we left off.

Speaker 1 (51:24):
Stupid Arthur Smith, Jhon Robinson and Tyler L's year both
get B grades here. This is reason number one thousand
to do the opposite in the first round. Here, tenth
tenth rounder Tyler El's year got more snaps, more carries,
and more rushing yards than first rounder Brian Bijehon Robinson.
Let's talk about this matchup though in more detail. Algier

(51:45):
got the money carries, netted all three carries from inside
the five yard line. He scored twice. Robinson helped his
cause with the six catches on six targets. Robinson also
ran routes on ninety percent of his passing snaps, which
I love. The Packers, though, allowed the second most running
back for the second most running back yards in Week one,
So that's a nice opportunity for Jon Robinson here. And

(52:06):
if you're in a PPR league, we'll upgrade him to
an A. If you're not, we'll go with a B
grade in Robinson. Alzier probably continues to get a high
level of work against a suspect run defense for the Packers.
He's a safe be play here and I wouldn't be
surprised if he scored, which would put him into a
range as well. The passing game, though obviously, is a
total disaster here. I would love to say something good

(52:28):
about Drake London in a what should be rebound game
from the Goose Egg in Week one, but.

Speaker 2 (52:36):
It's Arthur Smith.

Speaker 1 (52:36):
There's no guarantee there's a rebound coming whatsoever. And the
Packers secondary really good.

Speaker 2 (52:42):
Here's the problem. If JayR Alexander's gonna shadow anybody, it's
gonna be Drake London. Who else would you bother.

Speaker 1 (52:49):
To shadow on that defense or that offense. I can
advocate for London, Jay R Alexander last week, gave up
one catch for four yards in his coverage. DJ Moore
silenced by the Packer last week, and frankly, Drake London
is not as good as Dj Moore. Bench grade for
Drake London coming off the gooseg and for Kyle Pitts troublingly.

(53:11):
Pits only on the field for thirty one snaps in
the opener and he only got three targets. Fortunately, one
of the three targets was a thirty yard reception in
double coverage on an underthrown pass from Desmond Ritter. Desmond
Ridder may not pan out by the way.

Speaker 3 (53:25):
Jem Taylor. Heineke is the backup there. I think that
that's coming sooner than later.

Speaker 2 (53:32):
Desmond Mitter Desmond Minner.

Speaker 1 (53:35):
Last week, the Packers covered Cole Comet with seven different dbs,
a strategy that's still allowed Comet five catches for forty
four yards. So I'm giving a C grade to Kyle
Pitts because I don't think the Packers have really got
a sound defensive strategy against mobile athletic tight ends like
Kyle Pitts, like Cole commit last week, So we'll give

(53:56):
him the SE grade. Let's go to the Green Bay side.
Aaron Jones very unlikely to play after missing all week.
That puts AJ Dillon into a range. No, I mean,
here's the now. There's been four different instances where Aaron
Jones hasn't played, and AJ Dillon, presumably sitting on big
games right, hasn't panned out that way. In those four games,

(54:18):
he's totaled only one hundred and forty eight rushing yards
and has failed to score in any of them. So
he's by no means an automatic here. But this feels
like a smash spot. Atlanta just got rocked by the
opposing runners from the one dimensional Panthers offense, who totaled
one hundred thirty two yards and five yards per carry.
If Dylan's gonna get most of one hundred and thirty

(54:39):
two yards and five yards per carry and presumably goal
line work, gotta give him an A grade. Come on,
AJ Dillon's step up on this opportunity. I don't like
hopeful A grades like fingers crossed. A grade that's terrible.
I'm given the A grade. I gotta I gotta stand
for something here. We're gonna I'm not We're gonna give

(55:00):
the grade. Okay, let's go to the passing game here.
I'm gonna start with Christian Watson, so he got limited
practice on Friday, But I hate rolling into a game
with a hamstrung wide receiver literally at full strength. Christian
Watson would probably draw the Falcons. One really good corner, Ajterrell,
coming off a game in which he allowed just nineteen

(55:21):
coverage yards. Terrell has allowed just two receptions for eighteen
yards per game over his last eight games. Those are
amazing coverage numbers for Ajterrell. But is a gimpy Christian
Watson going to get AJ Terrell or did they decide
to put him on a full strength Romeo Dobbs. I
don't know, So I can only give the C grade

(55:42):
to Watson with the hamstring, with the prospect of him
maybe drawing AJ Terrell.

Speaker 2 (55:45):
I can only go C grade on Christian Watson. Romeo Dubbs,
I got a B grade on him right now.

Speaker 1 (55:51):
But again, if Ajterrell they decide to deploy Terrell on Dubbs,
I think it's game over for him. So there's some
caution here. Only one wide receiver is top seven seventy
yards against Atlanta in their last eight games, and only
three of top sixty yards. It's not much, so you'll
have to You'll have to do your own bath on
this if aj Troll doesn't go on Romeo Dobbs, and

(56:12):
he's got way more favorable matchups with d Alford and
Tree Trey Flowers, who combined to give up ten of
twelve pass attempts in their coverage last week. So I'm
still sitting out a B grade for Romeo Dobbs. I
think I'd still start him, but just know there's some
danger here. How about loose Luke musk Rave loose mutton,
loose mutton. I have a sheep on all the animals,

(56:32):
not the half I have no shock on.

Speaker 2 (56:35):
Thank you for loose Mutt.

Speaker 3 (56:37):
That's his new nickname.

Speaker 2 (56:39):
Very active.

Speaker 1 (56:39):
In the first game, he was on the field for
seventy five percent of the Packers snaps, ran a healthy
twenty four routes. Last week, the Panthers Titan Hayden Hurst
led the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

Speaker 2 (56:52):
B grade of Luke musk Ray for loose mutton, loose
mutton chop and where does that leave us?

Speaker 5 (56:59):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (57:00):
Reed, I'm putting him on the bench, although I'll give
him a C grade if Christian Watson is not able
to go here. I liked that he was targeted five
times in his NFL debut last week. But if Christian
Watson plays, I don't know that he's on the field enough,
so we'll move him to the bench. That wraps up
that matchup. Let's go to the final matchup with a
segment New York Giants taking on Arizona matt It all

(57:21):
went wrong for the Giants and the opener. Now they
get what appears to be on paper to be the
worst team in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals. Is this
the bounce back most people expect?

Speaker 2 (57:31):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (57:31):
Absolutely. You have to throw out last week since the
Dallas game script got wonky right away. Saquon still went
for six yards per carry last week against a much
tougher Cowboys defense. Don't panic. He's in a grade Daniel
Jones and Darren Waller. I'm willing to give a pass
to as well. Dallas's defense might be the best in
the league, and they were just teeing off against Jones
and the negative game scripts Sunday night. Jones was sacked

(57:53):
seven times, which is two more times than Darren Waller
was targeted. Arizona is not that defense. The thing to
watch out four. Darren Waller's hamstring is flaring up. He
was limited in Thursday's practice, although Brian Dable said he
was moving around good and they.

Speaker 1 (58:08):
Took him off the injury port entirely on Friday, So
I'm optimistic that we're going to get the real Darren
Waller here.

Speaker 3 (58:13):
Yep, we really didn't learn much about the Giants wide
receivers last week. Slayton and Campbell led snap counts at
about sixty seven percent apiece. Isaiah Hodgins was in there,
Jalen Hyatt, Sterling Shepherd still in play, Wandale Robinson's looming.
You're benching all of your Giants wide receivers. Let's go
to the Cardinals and we'll talk about the passing game
as a whole. Three players tied for the most routes

(58:34):
run for the Cardinals in Week one, Zach Ertz, Marquis Brown,
and Michael Wilson. Now Ertz had ten targets, which is
one of the reasons why he might take a chance
on my receiver and gets the B grade here. Brown
only had five. Wilson had four dobbs through thirty total
passes for only one hundred and thirty two yards. It's
going to be an ultra shallow passing game. You can't

(58:54):
start anyone in the passing game until Zach Ertz until
further notice, and then James. He gets a B grade.
He got nineteen touches to Keyante Ingram's five, and I
mentioned earlier Ingram had five rushing attempts for negative four
yards and zero targets. That's not how you get on
the field. More No, U Connor did catch all five

(59:15):
of his targets. Game script might always phase out Connor somewhat,
but it should still be fifteen to twenty touches per game,
simply because he's the only back in town. The Giants
gave up one hundred and two yards and two rushing
scores to the Dallas Backs last week, both bottom eight
numbers in the league, so it's a fine matchup. Connor
has been also limited in practice with a calf injury,

(59:37):
although all signs point to him playing this week with
little issue.

Speaker 1 (59:41):
Zach Wilson takes over at quarterback when we come back.
We'll tell you what to expect from the Jets is
they take on a ferocious Dallas pass rush feels like
a mismatch. What does it mean for Garrett Wilson in particular?
Four We'll tell you what to expect when we come back.
I see Football Weekly, Welcome back, Fantasy Football Weekly. Another

(01:00:34):
block oh matchups for you, beginning with the Jets taking
on Dallas and Thor. I think the Vikings knew what
they were doing when they got out of Dalvin cooked.
To my eyes, Dalvin cooked, he's done.

Speaker 4 (01:00:47):
I agree with you, great bench here, He's gonna have
to show quite a bit more than he did last
week to get back into a starting lineup. They gave
him fifty percent of the snaps and on sixteen touches,
Dalvin only a crewed nine yards.

Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
But it gets a little bit worse than that.

Speaker 4 (01:01:02):
Thirty fourth out of fifty five qualifying running backs in
yards after contact per attempt.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
Not good.

Speaker 4 (01:01:08):
Breese Hall sort of the other way, the total other way.
I'm gonna give him a grade B in this matchup.
Hall only played thirty one percent of snaps last week,
but he was hitting home runs. He was hitting dingers
every time they gave him the ball, A super ridiculous
ten point six yards after contact for Breesehall last week
in ten attempts against the Bills en route to one

(01:01:30):
hundred and forty seven total yards. The Cowboys were middle
of the pack an explosive run rate allowed last year,
So an okay matchup for Breese Hall will give him
a bee Garrett, moving on to the Jets passing attack,
I'm sorry New York fans, Garrett Wilson will give him
a C grade in this. I think this is going
to be a repeat of the Giants game where he
got his day saved by a touchdown. That's what he's

(01:01:52):
gonna need to get bailed out at this one. Trevion
Diggs and Stefan Gilmore are problems. The bigger problem for
him is Zach Wilson. Zach Wills said, you got to
have him on the bench, and I got all the
other Jets pass catchers on the bench with him because
of him. But Zach Wilson last week fifth worst passing
grade in the NFL Cup and speaking to the matchup,

(01:02:13):
Cowboys held Giants to three point six yards per attempt
last week and Daniel Jones was under duress all game.
Zach Wilson going to be seeing ghosts in this one.
Moving to Dallas Dak Prescott. I have a bench grade
on him fourteenth in adjusted completion rate last week. The Jets,
on the other hand, last week held Josh Allen to
the fifth lowest passer rating and obviously picked him off

(01:02:35):
three times. The Jets cornerbacks are awesome. Their pass defense
is really good. Ceedee Lamb, who I know banged the
table for last week. He came through last week against
the Giants fifty three point eight percent of Dallas's receiving
yards and three point nine yards per route run. Seventy
six percent of lamb snaps the last week came from
the slot, So this is very good news because he's

(01:02:57):
gonna avoid Sauce Gardner in this matchup, at least on
you know, projected three quarters of his snaps or so.
Jet slot cornerback Michael Carter two, not Michael Carter one.
Michael Carter two not nearly as good as their outside guys.
Carter allowed a seventy point nine percent catch rate last year,
but the game script could you know, could end up
flipping on Lamb this week. I give him a B

(01:03:19):
in this one, assuming it's gonna be a little bit
more run heavy. Brandon Cooks didn't practice on Wednesday or
Thursday with his MCLs brain. We're gonna give him a
bench grade in this game. Very if he to play,
I'm benching the rest of the pass catchers on that team.
Michael Gallup, I guess you could say low end option
potentially in this one, but a bad matchup for him
only at Brandon Cooks does not play. Jake Ferguson, you're

(01:03:42):
keeping on the bench. As for Dallas, his running game
better match up there. I'm giving Tony Pollard a grade
of a running back five in Fantasy last week. Eighty
two total yards on sixteen touches. He got every Dallas
rushing attempt inside the opponent's five yard line last week.
I think that's really good news for him. You know,
people have been nippicking his strength and the short yarded stuff.

(01:04:06):
Dallas obviously trust him with that. This year, the Jets
have a middle of the pack run defense. They were
number twenty in explosive run rate allowed last year, so
Pollard might hit some dingers in this game.

Speaker 2 (01:04:16):
Yeah. I like Pollard a lot.

Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Here.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
I'm with you on that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
Jacksonville takes on Kansas City on the Kansas City side obviously,
Patrick Mahomes is an A. Travis kelce Everything indication is
he's going to play, which is great. Only one missed
game would be a win given what we thought might
be the case. Jaguars just gave up fifty nine tight
end receiving yards to Indianapolis's anonymous tight ends last week,
So I'm going right back to the A grade on
Travis Kelcey. All the wide outs are on the bench

(01:04:42):
at this until further now, yeah, exactly until at this point,
Like last year, you're not going to trust any of them.
Last week, mvs and sky Moore ran the most routes,
but it was still less than half of the routes.
There's just nobody on the field enough and no consistent performers,
and you're never going to guess, right.

Speaker 2 (01:04:57):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:04:58):
If you think about chasing Rashi touchdown from week one,
he was on the field for twelve plass plays.

Speaker 2 (01:05:05):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:05):
I mean, it's just you just you can't do it all.
They're on the bench, even though somebody's gonna have a
good game. Good luck guessing. Isaiah Pachecko just the C
grade here. I thought it was a mixed bag for
Pacheco in the opener with just eight Mundane rushes and
Clyde Edwards Hilaire frustratingly involved.

Speaker 2 (01:05:22):
The good news was for targets, which I liked.

Speaker 1 (01:05:25):
That was his second biggest target game and by the way,
caught them all, second biggest target game of his career.
Jaguars were a good run defense last year, and they
dominated the opener, hammering the Colts runners, including Dion Jackson,
who averaged one point one yards per carry in the opener.
So I don't love Pacheco here this past This game
is going to go through Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Let's go to the Jaguars side.

Speaker 1 (01:05:48):
Let's start with Travis etn look good against the Colts
last week, but this is a much tougher matchup, and
our worries about Tank Bigsby's role at the goal line
and as a receiver were realized.

Speaker 2 (01:06:01):
This in the opening game. There was a lot I
it's a concern. Through one week.

Speaker 1 (01:06:07):
The Chiefs run defense ranks thirtieth by Pro Football Focus,
but they get back Chris Jones and that should make
them more formidable here. I've got a B grade on
Travis et On, but we need to keep an eye
on Tank Bigsby. Box scored did not well anybody any
other of fumble. So there's that Tanks for nothing.

Speaker 2 (01:06:25):
Oh yeah, here's the crazy stat.

Speaker 1 (01:06:30):
He finished with nineteen rushing yards and fourteen yards after contact.
I don't know quite how you do thirteen rushing yards
and fourteen yards after contact. That tells me you're getting
met in the backfield on every carry. Yeah, so I
think that's a lot of what happened with Tank Bigsby.
But I like that he caught four passes. This is
gonna he's gonna be an aerial contributor and you know,

(01:06:51):
only on the field fifteen snaps in week one. So
I'm keeping Tank on the bench, but optimistic that it'll
his role will grow across the season.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
Uh, let's go to the passing game. Already talked about
Christian Kirk.

Speaker 1 (01:07:01):
Earlier in this show, very worried that he didn't get
much time, only on the field for half of the
plays and then running from the slot. He goes up
against a very good cornerback, Trent McDuffie, a first rounder
from last year who gave up thirty eight yards in
his coverage in the opener, not an impossible assignment. But
I'm leaving Christian Kirk on the bench until I see
him on the field more often.

Speaker 2 (01:07:22):
How about Calvin Ridley?

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
Everything you could have hoped for, and all the people
that drafted him early, congratulations because you got paid. He
enjoyed a massive thirty four percent target share in the opener.
He ran over his half of his routes from the
left side of the field, where he's going to match
up with cornerback Lagerius Snead. Sneid played hurt in the
opener and gave up one hundred percent of his throws
in his coverage while missing four tackles. Sneid got worked

(01:07:47):
in that opening game, but he's had ten days to
get healthier, and Sneid played pretty well last year. Still
a grade for Calvin Ridley.

Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
If you're going to take Chase Zay Jones, I don't
know that I did like that he was on the
field as often as he was.

Speaker 1 (01:08:02):
They moved him all across the field. He's gonna line
up against all the different cornerbacks. They might be able
to manufacture some opportunities for Zay Jones in this one
C grade if you need to use him, and that
leaves us at the quarterback position, and let's go to
Trevor Lawrence, who I do like in this game. Chiefs
allowed the most passing touchdowns last season. Now they did
play each other. Lawrence only mustered two hundred and seventeen

(01:08:24):
yards in one touchdown against Kansas City in that playoff game.
But the addition of Calvin Ridley makes a big difference here,
and we're going to go with a B grade on
Trevor Lawrence. Final matchup of this segment Matt Miami taking
on New England Tua with a league leading four hundred
and sixty six yards. But this is a much tougher

(01:08:46):
matchup against the New England defense that corralled the Eagles
in Week one.

Speaker 3 (01:08:50):
Yeah, it is a much tougher defense. But even without
starting tackle Tarren Armstead, the Chargers did not sack Tua
and it looks like Armstea might be back this week.
Two only had to scramble one time too, Lots of
time in the pocket for Tua last week. The Pats
allowed sixteen receptions to wide receivers last week. That was
seventh most in the league. That's exactly Twoa's bread and butter.

(01:09:14):
He gets an A grade here, Tyreek Hill gets an
A grade as well. Jalen Wattle gets a B because
the delta in targets between him and Hill is so
large fifteen targets to Wattle six. For context, Braxton Barrios
had five targets. So is Wattle closer to Barrios than Hill? No,
of course, no, he's not.

Speaker 5 (01:09:32):
No.

Speaker 3 (01:09:33):
Wattle actually has scored in three of his four games
against New England as well, and with the Belichick way
of taking out the top option, Wattle should see a
lot of single coverage this week. When that coverage is
against Christian Gonzales, expect Tua to target Wattle copiously. Gonzalez
was picked on last week by the Eagles. They targeted
him ten times. He allowed seven catches for seventy one yards.

(01:09:56):
The other New England corners were only thrown at it
combined four times. So Christian Gonzalez is the weak link.
Raheem Mostert out snapped Salvin Akhmed last week forty seven
to nineteen. Devin ah Chane was a healthy scratch last week.
Mostard only carried the ball ten times, though he did score.
That's salvaged his day. I'd like to leave Mostard on

(01:10:17):
the bench if I could this week, though, as the
Pats are just killers against the run. They've only allowed
five total scores running backs last year, and they held
the Eagles trio of runners to sixty yards on sixteen
attempts last week. On the Patriots side, Romandre Stevenson gets
an A grade here, even though the numbers looked rough
in Week one, the Eagles were one of the better

(01:10:37):
run defense he'd faces all year. The Dolphins are not that.
They just allowed Austin Eckler to go for one hundred
and sixty four total yards last week and Joshua Kelly
went for ninety one yards on the ground on his own.
Both of them scored. The Finns seem to have a
massive hole in stopping the run, which is why Stevenson
gets an A and Zeke was charged to take a
chance on me running back. I give him a solid

(01:10:59):
Sea grad. Mac Jones looked good last week. That's what
happens when you give him an actual offensive coordinator. It's
weird when Matt Patricia is not your offensive coordinator. And
even better for mac Jones, let's give some credit here. Yeah,
opening Drive throws a pick six on a bad pass
and I'm saying to myself, oh man, it's over for

(01:11:20):
Mac Jones.

Speaker 2 (01:11:20):
Like he's gonna just unravel right here on the field,
And it was the exact opposite, exactly rally.

Speaker 3 (01:11:26):
It was literally the best career game for Mac Jones
by Fantasy points in his entire career, three hundred and
sixteen yards and three touchdowns. Justin Airbear had a similar
a dot last week against the Dolphins as Mac Jones
did against the Eagles. Airbear found moderate success with two
hundred and twenty eight yards in a score. I think
I'd put that as the floor for Jones this week,

(01:11:48):
so I'll throw a C grade on him. I think
he's very startable in a super flex league. And as
far as the wide receiver goes, let's talk about Kendrick Bourne.
He's the only one I'm paying attention to. Yeah, score
twice last week, led the team in targets, receptions, and yards,
had a respectable twelve and a half average depth of target,
and one hundred and thirty eight total air yards. He'll

(01:12:09):
play against Eli Apple most often this week, who was
targeted deep exclusively by the Chargers last week. On targets
toward Apple, the average depth was nineteen point five yards downfield.
They're throwing deep against him, and it's probably not worth
starting a Patriots tight end, but it's worth noting the
revenge game for Mike Kasiki this week. Yeah, and if
you think that he gets an end zone targeter two,

(01:12:31):
he gets the desperation D.

Speaker 2 (01:12:32):
Dart throw grade. When we come back, we're gonna jump
in the time machine. Three mature speculation.

Speaker 3 (01:12:41):
Time machine sounds like yars revenge.

Speaker 2 (01:12:44):
It does sound like yards revenge.

Speaker 1 (01:12:46):
We'll tell you who to pick up this week that
everybody else will be trying to pick up next week
on Fantasy Football Leekly final segment of Fantasy Football Weekly.

(01:13:14):
That means it's time to jump into the time machine.

Speaker 3 (01:13:21):
I think that's.

Speaker 2 (01:13:22):
Defender, by the way, if anybody's wondering, that's the that
is defended.

Speaker 3 (01:13:25):
That's the weirdest flux capacitor noise ever that is it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:28):
Maybe that could be the case.

Speaker 1 (01:13:29):
We're gonna give you three guys to pick up this
week that everyone's going to be trying to pick up
next week. Frankly, we hammered this segment last last week.
I don't know if we could have possibly done any better.
We'll try now, Matt who you got?

Speaker 3 (01:13:43):
I just mentioned him? Actually Kendrick Bourne highlighted in the matchup.
But if Bourne scores again this week, his price will
go get up way high. He's only rostered in forty
six percent of sleeper leagues right now, and that's up
forty four percent from last week. Imagine if he scores again,
it's going to be through the roof and everybody's going
to be in their waiver wear bucks on him in.

Speaker 1 (01:14:01):
A positive matchup. That could be the use thor Who
is your premature speculation player.

Speaker 2 (01:14:06):
Packers wide receiver Jayden Reid.

Speaker 4 (01:14:08):
I think this is your last shot to get Jayden
Reid ten percent owned in Yahoo, nineteen percent owned in
sleeper Church. You were sort of mentioning this when you
were going through the matchup of this game Reid last week,
so he only was sent out on sixteen routes, but
on five of those he was targeted a stellar three
yards per route run for Reid last week, sixty percent
of his snaps came from the slot last week. This weekend,

(01:14:31):
he gets Falcons nickel cornerback de Alford, who has given
up one hundred and five passer rating during his career
on targets. Go out and get Jayden ree He gonna
be owned everywhere next week. I think you're right about that.
I like I like Jayden Reid.

Speaker 1 (01:14:43):
Let's do it my take premature speculation, player, and listen,
I don't doubt anybody for being skeptical when I say
to back Zach Moss. I've earned every bit of skepticism
anybody might have on my Zach Moss takes totally deserve.
But can Zack Moss be better than Dean Jackson?

Speaker 2 (01:15:05):
Maybe? Yes, he can?

Speaker 1 (01:15:08):
Can he Are we sure Heavin Hull probably will not
play again this year, or if he does come back,
it's gonna be like December tragically.

Speaker 3 (01:15:16):
And then there's this Jonathan Taylor.

Speaker 2 (01:15:18):
Then Jonathan Taylor, so we don't.

Speaker 1 (01:15:20):
Nobody knows right now what's gonna be happening in Jonathan
Taylor week five forward. Now, Zach Moss could be startable
this week. You gave him a he was here, take
a chance at me, player, Yeah, let's be running back
twins C grades for the Colts back C grade. He
could be startable as early as this week. So you're
gonna get like three games a run with him, and
then who knows what happens with Jonathan Taylor. Let's pick
up Zach Moss and see what happens. Final two matchups

(01:15:44):
of this show, New Orleans taking on Carolina. You loved
the deep ball for New Orleans last week thor and
it all came in big. What about this week in
a different matchup with Carolina is still a very good one.
Derek carr last week was my take chance on me guy.

Speaker 2 (01:16:01):
He at quarterback.

Speaker 4 (01:16:02):
He rewarded my faith three hundred plus passing yards for
him number two in yards per attempt in the NFL
last week. As I mentioned, great matchup this week. Panthers
gave up the ninth highest passer rating last year and J. C.

Speaker 2 (01:16:15):
Horn is out. I'm giving Derek Carr an a grade
all right.

Speaker 4 (01:16:21):
Of course, I love Rashid chi Heet. He was might
take a chance on me wide receiver. I'm also given
an A grade to Chris o'lave. It's Chris Olave season
this year. He shredded the Titans for a thirty percent
target share last week on three point seven yards per
route run. This is another strong matchup for Olave. You're
going up against Dante Jackson and CJ. Henderson out there

(01:16:43):
with j C. Horn out, he is gonna smash Michael Thomas.
I was wrong about Michael Thomas last week. I told
you to keep him on your bench. Hopefully you didn't
listen to me. This week, I'm giving him a B.
He's fully healthy again. He proved that twenty four percent
target share last weekend, one point nine yards route run.
We're gonna give him a B grade. Juwan Johnson, I'm

(01:17:03):
gonna give him a C grade in this game. He's
the clear tight end one and clear number four receiving
option in this offense. That's the good news and bad
news sort of is He's been limited in practice with
a calf injury, but he is expected to play this weekend.

Speaker 2 (01:17:19):
Not a great matchup here.

Speaker 4 (01:17:20):
Carolina gave up the ninth fewest receiving yards to tight
ends last year, so give him a CE. Jamal Williams,
I'm gonna give him a grade of B. He is
the clear belcow here until Elvin Kamara returns. Ken Dray
Miller is dinged up. Last week, Jamal Williams seventy five
percent of the snaps played, but he only had fifty
two total yards on twenty touches. However, this is a

(01:17:43):
good matchup for him against Carolina's rotten run defense. The
Panthers allowed the fourth highest yards after contact last week.
I'm giving Jamal Williams a B. Moving to the Panthers,
I got a lot of bench grades on I bet
you do. Yeah, Bryce Young, you gotta keep him on
your bench.

Speaker 2 (01:18:00):
Love Bryce Young.

Speaker 4 (01:18:00):
Everybody loved Bryce Young, but last week it didn't look
good worse in the NFL in passing gray that's tough,
and the Saints have an awesome pass defense. You have
to bench Young. And for this reason, you have to
bench all the Panthers receivers. You have to bench their
tight end Hayden Hurst as well, especially with Hearst, because
the Saints defense shuts down tight ends going back several

(01:18:21):
years now. The only guy on this offense that you
can start with any sort of confidence is Miles Sanders.
I'm giving Miles Sanders a B in this matchup. Last
week twenty two touches for ninety eight total yards while
playing fifty seven percent of the offensive snaps, but he
only ranked number forty one out of fifty five qualifying

(01:18:42):
running backs last week in elusive rating. Was a little
too easy to hit Miles Sanders last week. However, this
is a decent matchup. Whereas New Orleans has the really
good pass defense, run defense not so good. The Saints
run defense was bottom eight last week both in yards
after contact per attempt and yards before contact per attempt.

Speaker 2 (01:19:02):
Not good, not good. Some people think Cuba Hubbard looked better. Yeah,
you know, home run hitter.

Speaker 1 (01:19:08):
Yeah, yeah, I didn't like what I've seen from Cuba
to this point of his career. But nevertheless, there's you know,
there's there may be some opportunity there, maybe more than
we thought could be. Yeah, we'll find out. Final matchup
is Cleveland taking on Pittsburgh. Nick job obvious A. And
we should note that Pittsburgh is gonna be without their
defensive tackle Cam Hayward. That is a sizeable loss literally

(01:19:29):
and figuratively. So nick JOBB feels like a very good play.
I'm want to go to the passing game and spend
most of our time on the Cleveland side talking about that.
I can't stress enough how bad Deshaun Watson's passing looked.
It's being masked in the fantasy world by that rushing
touchdown that he had, but it was ugly. Now granted
it was in the rain, and it was against a

(01:19:51):
good Bengal secondary. But if Watson's passing flops this week
against the Steelers, it is not too early to start
worrying about Deshaun Watson's long term prospects here. Steelers earned
Pro Football focuses number one pass rush rating last week.
He'd of course by TJ. Watt, who had get this
a hurry, two hits and three sacks in the game.

(01:20:13):
I don't I don't like. I don't like the Amari
Cooper matchup that much. I don't have a ton of
faith in the receiving of the rest of the receivers
who did nothing last week, and when I balanced that
in with Deshaun Watson looking bad as a passer, I
don't see a lot to like here. Also, you don't
get the design runs that you think you're getting out
of Deshaun Watson. That did not materialize either either with

(01:20:34):
even with.

Speaker 2 (01:20:34):
The rushing touchdown. So yeah, I can't. I can't.

Speaker 1 (01:20:38):
I can't support him here, and I've only got the
C grade on him. Let's talk about David and Joku
disappointing start to the season, and Pittsburgh contained George Kittle
in the Opener, holding him to three catches for nineteen yards.
But Najoku has scored in three straight games against the Steelers,
and in last year's two games, he totaled thirteen catches
for one hundred and thirty one yards and two touchdowns,

(01:21:00):
good numbers historically against the Steelers for David and Joku.
So that keeps him quasi viable and will keep a
C grade on him. I alluded to a Marii Cooper earlier,
tough game last week. You had the rain, you had
bad quarterback play, you had a difficult secondary. Easier matchup
this week against the Steelers cornerbacks. You've got Patrick Peterson,

(01:21:20):
You've got Levi Wallace. Both of them gave up more
than forty yards in their coverage last week. Patrick Peterson,
at age seventy three, got tagged for two touchdowns last week.

Speaker 2 (01:21:32):
So I think Cooper.

Speaker 1 (01:21:33):
I think Cooper has a nice little bounce back game
potentially with him. I got a B grade on Amari Cooper.
I can't go to any of the rest of the
receivers who didn't do much, including Elijah Moore and David Donovan,
Peoples Jones excuse me, who both clock in with bench
grades here. Let's go to Pittsburgh side boy Najie Harris first.
The good news he's scored in all four games against

(01:21:55):
the Browns in his career, and he's average one hundred
and seventeen total yards.

Speaker 2 (01:21:58):
That's good news.

Speaker 1 (01:22:00):
The bad news is everything else that's going to come
after that. Harris only saw fifty two percent of the
snaps last week. That is the second lowest since the
start of last season, and Jalen Warren had the same
number of touches as Naji Harris. This looks like the
running back by committee nobody asked for. Definitely, the Browns

(01:22:20):
defense looked run defense looked improved over last year's awful unit,
thanks in parts of several key off season editions, and
they held the Bengals runners to seventy five rushing yards
four and a half yards per Carrie. You know mac numbers.
I can put a se grade on Najie Harris, but
I can't do more than that. Now for Jalen Warren,
you know this is.

Speaker 2 (01:22:38):
A developing situation.

Speaker 1 (01:22:39):
I don't think you can start him yet, but you know, look,
if Naji Harris is going to continue to struggle and
Jalen Warren's going to keep getting half of the touches
in week one?

Speaker 2 (01:22:47):
What if that turns into fifty percent of the touches,
sixty percent of the touches. So maybe maybe this thing
flips over. At some point.

Speaker 1 (01:22:53):
You might want to invest in Jalen Warren, but we
can't start him here. All right, Let's go to the
Let's go to the passing game. I'm not even gonna
talk about Kenny Pickett in a miserable outing. Let's go
to George Pickens. Now, they lost Deontae Johnson. That probably
means a few more looks for George Pickens, but also
means better coverage. Pickens saw far too many short passes
last week. That is not really his skill set, effectively

(01:23:15):
half in his yards per reception from last year. In
the opener, the Bengals picked on cornerback Martin Emerson deep,
averaging twenty yards per pass in his coverage. That's where
George Pickens can can kill you. Yes, right, those deep
contested balls. Let's do that against Steelers. Now it did
ended up working, but maybe the Steelers will have more

(01:23:37):
success in a dry game here and hopefully they find
George Pickens. I'm putting the C grade on him. I
want to believe it's going to happen. Let's tuck Pat
Fryermuth for a minute. Returned to full practice on Friday
last week. Three of his four receptions came in the
red zone. He's proven to be a goal line threat
throughout his career. Scored last week. The Browns gave up
just seventeen yards to Irv Smith last week, and they

(01:23:58):
held Friarmuth to zero yards and forty one yards in
the two games last year. Last season, the Browns allowed
the fifth fewest tight end receptions and the third fewest
tight end touchdowns. I can only get to a C
grade on Pat Fryarmouth is healthy, though, so that is
that's good news there. Alan Robinson's gonna get more action
with Deontay Johnson out, He'll be on the field a
lot more, mostly runs from the slot. Cleveland's nickel cornerback

(01:24:21):
Greg Newsom is awesome. This is a bad matchup. He's
allowed one touchdown in his coverage in his last seventeen games.
Can't go to Alan Robinson here for better or worse.
I think that pretty much wrapped nobody. Starting Kenny Picking
now wraps up that matchup, and that leaves us some
stuff to talk about from the Thursday night game. So

(01:24:42):
DeAndre Swift looked awesome. Get a load of this stat
before contact on Thursday night, DeAndre Swift racked up one
hundred and thirty three yards before contact.

Speaker 3 (01:24:57):
So does that make DeAndre Swift awesome? Or the Eagles
offensive line awesome, or the Vikings defensive seven.

Speaker 1 (01:25:04):
Or all three? Could certainly be the case. So let's
just fast forward to next week's game. Let's assume Gainwell's available.
What is the breakdown you see coming for Swift versus
Gainwell when they're both available?

Speaker 4 (01:25:19):
I go seventy five percent for Swift, twenty five for Gainwell,
and Rashad Penny is on mill curtains.

Speaker 1 (01:25:24):
Yeah, Penny's not even as a non factory. By the way,
when did Rashod Penny turn into a kick returner? How
do you kick return with Rashad drop the piano?

Speaker 2 (01:25:33):
Penny? I don't understand how that's the thing they want
to get them on the field, I guess.

Speaker 1 (01:25:37):
So, Matt, what do you think Swift versus Gainwell both healthy?

Speaker 3 (01:25:42):
I hate the Eagles running back situation. That's why I've
avoided it all year. I think it's going to be
a guessing game all year, and we're not going to
be able to forecast it. Probably fifty to fifty.

Speaker 1 (01:25:53):
I think it's going to frustrate people and be closer
to fifty to fifty, even though Swift looks.

Speaker 2 (01:25:57):
Way way more dangerous, does it? Yes? But you know,
but the Eagles don't always make sense with their rotation.

Speaker 1 (01:26:03):
They never so I bet there's more gainwell in here
than we want to think there's gonna be, and that
could water down the efficacy for Swift. Also from that game,
while we're talking running backs, Alexander brutal, brutal, you know
the bad fumble. He's now averaged I think three yards
of carry and three and a half yards of carry
in his two games, has looked has looked like an

(01:26:26):
utterly mundane NFL runner, if I'm just being honest. So
let's project forward a little bit. I know, my whole
theory on drafting Ty Chandler in the preseason was basically
exactly this. They can only go so long with Alexander
Madison looking ordinary before they have to give Chandler some looks. Right,
He's got to get on the field more, I don't,
I think, right, just to see. You know, Madison's blocking

(01:26:50):
has been bad, and I don't know that he's left
a lot of yards on the field because he's had
doesn't had a lot of places to go.

Speaker 2 (01:26:55):
But at some point, don't we tried the little tight chack.

Speaker 3 (01:26:58):
Well, And if you're blocking as bad as running back
in what is a pass first offense, you don't stay
on the field much longer. You lose out. You have
to have skills in the NFL to stay on the field.
He doesn't have the ability to run great and he
doesn't have the ability to block all that well. So
I think he's in trouble.

Speaker 1 (01:27:16):
And the other thing that really hurts Madison is Kevin
O'Connell's just a pass first guy. I mean, last year
the Vikings are fifth in pass play percentage, and that's
bearing itself out through a couple of games.

Speaker 3 (01:27:26):
Here and then the Vikings have Kareem Hunt come in
for a visit in the middle of in the middle
of training camp. They could kick the tires there. Again,
it would not surprise any datum.

Speaker 2 (01:27:36):
Ty Chandler's better than Kareem mont.

Speaker 1 (01:27:38):
Right now, probably opinion, sure, And let's go see what
ty Chandler might bring to your fantasy team, get him
on the field. Hey, we're still making new Guillotine leagues.
It's super exciting. You can play season long football with
new drafts being held. Now you know how Gullantine leagues work.
Every week, the low screening team gets chopped. All the
players go to the waiver wire, where the rest of
us build superstar rosters to do battle the rest of

(01:27:59):
the season. It's super fun. This is the only way
that you're gonna pick up t Higgins off of the
waiver wire.

Speaker 2 (01:28:05):
So much fun.

Speaker 1 (01:28:06):
Guillotine leagues dot Com drafts happening now. Good lucky week
to everybody. We'll talk to you next week.

Speaker 2 (01:28:11):
Bye bye.

Speaker 1 (01:28:19):
Fantasy Football Weekly is a production of iHeartRadio. For more
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Speaker 2 (01:28:27):
You listen to your favorite shows.