Fantasy Football Today - 09/07:Start or Sit (NFC); ATL-PHI Recap (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: September 7, 2018

We begin with our thoughts on ATL-PHI at the top of the show. Are we concerned about Matt Ryan or Devonta Freeman going forward? Are Carson Wentz and Calvin Ridley droppable? ... Another Le'Veon Bell Watch (11:40), discussing the stud NYG players in their tough Week 1 matchup (13:04), Jamaal Williams is our Start of the Week (20:00) and we play Beat the Waiver Wire (23:20) to get you ahead of the game ... JAC-NYG (29:30), SF-MIN (33:40), NYJ-DET (39:15), TB-NO (44:46), DAL-CAR (49:21), WAS-ARI (53:40), GB-CHI (59:00) ... Email us at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Here we go! Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Here we go! It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Let's go! Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Welcome to the Friday edition of Fantasy Football Today.

Getting ready for the weekend, week one of the NFL season. And yeah, we're underway with an 18 18 12 was not expecting that final score adam azar dave richard heath cummings and jamie eisenberg here on fft so what you think of the game lots of lots of penalties lots uh 236 yards of penalties, in fact. Lots of really head-scratching play calls from Atlanta and Matt Ryan not looking his best at all. Like nothing's changed from last year. I really loved the do not give the ball to Jay Ajayi one time in the first quarter of the game.

Jay Ajayi would be the best player in fantasy in the game. That combination was just beautiful. Fantasy football is back. He might be the number one running back this week. Oh, no. Somebody might be. 62 yards and two touchdowns. We can do better. There will definitely be a 20-point... And a two-point conversion. Okay.

There will be someone who scores more than 20 fantasy points. Yeah, probably. There will be. Jamie, what was your quick thought on the game? Julio Jones is on pace for 1,600 receiving yards and no touchdowns. More than that. Realistic. 169 times 16. Oh, yeah, that's well over 2,000.

Well over 2,000. You're not even multiplying the 69. And Nick Foles had more receiving yards than Devontae Freeman, Calvin Ridley, Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Mike Wiles combined. Wow, that's actually really good. He had 169 yards times 16. I did the math in my head, 2,704 yards. Whatever it is, there's no touchdowns.

That's the important part. Well, listen, all season long we're going to be helping you with starter set, and CBS Sports is delivering the best fantasy football advice directly through the Google Assistant. You will be able to compare players and get insights into who to start. We'll turn to Jamie, Heath, and Dave today to find out how this works later on in the show. It's going to be fun to use the Google Assistant. All right, so it's start or sit for the NFC home games.

We will once again update you on Le'Veon Bell. We've got pretty big start-sit questions with the Giants facing the Jaguars. I'd say that's going to be on a lot of people's minds. Got some fun stats for you, including one about Christian McCaffrey and the challenge that he has this week. And we'll discuss the start of the week, which we'll reveal a little bit later in case you haven't read it already on the website. Let's spend a few minutes on this game. Atlanta outgained the Eagles 29, 296 to 232. The Eagles did end up with the win.

There were a ton of penalties, 26 penalties for 236 yards. There was the goal line stand. There was questionable play calling, but without question, the biggest disappointment of the night was that I fell asleep with about three minutes left and didn't know who won until I woke up. And I'm very embarrassed

by that um but i believe in my world i blame the weather delay i blame the weather and being a dad right so now i feel like a dad yeah see there we go no excuses watch the game i tried oh you can watch the game you just don't have to watch it live yes you do i ran to the store right before the game started when they had the delay and picked up NBA 2K19 and did not miss any of the game. Yeah, you got lucky. You got lucky. And didn't miss any of the game like when it was terrible to let my son play 2K. What do we got in this game? Carson Wentz is going to miss several more weeks according to Ian Rappaport.

Can we drop him now? We can drop him in a 10-team league. We can. Okay, good. Even though we're going to regret that eventually. But we can. I won't argue with you. Well, I mean, we can just pick him up in a month when he decides to play.

Maybe. When he decides to play, he might come back. Let's say he misses three more games. He comes back for Minnesota. That would be great. By the way, he's not the one deciding. If it's up to him, he's playing. It's up to the doctors. The worst

thing that happened to Carson Wentz was they won. Right, because now they won't rush him. And Alshon said he had two or three more doctor's visits before he could be cleared to play. So, we'll see how long that takes. Yay!

Devontae Freeman left with a knee injury. They don't think it's serious, right? No. No, Mike Garofalo said he spoke to him after the game, and he said he's fine. Okay. And Atlanta safety Keanu Neal left twice with a leg injury. It looked bad, but apparently they think they've dodged a bullet there.

Look, these are two good defenses. It wasn't a shock that it was a low-scoring game. It was 15-10 in the playoffs last year when these two teams played. So is there anyone that you come out of this game concerned about? Well, I'll start with someone you might not expect me to start with, and that's Calvin Ridley. Very few targets, no catches. Two targets.

Very few targets. No, I was giving you them. Two is, yeah. No, I was giving you them. Two is, yeah. Oh, I thank you. I'm wondering how many people are going to cut him, and I'm almost positive there will be no rush at all to add him off the waiver wire. Like a lot of people are going to say, I need to pick up somebody off waivers.

I've got Calvin Ridley. He didn't even have a catch. I'm going to let him go. And everybody else in the league is going to say, oh, somebody let Calvin Ridley go. And they'll file it away into their mind until he has a big game, which is who knows when because he's only getting a couple targets. So that's one. That's one. You want to call it an overreaction.

That might be the only overreaction I have. That's totally worth mentioning. And Julio Jones got 19 targets. Matt Ryan threw 43 passes. Two of them went to Calvin Ridley. So I get that. Anybody else worried about someone? I mean, you look at Devontae Freeman. He only got six carries. And he played pretty late in the game, so he can't

blame it all on the knee injury. And Tevin Coleman got nine carries. No, but this is the second time he's had this knee problem. It started at the end of last season. He played through it in the playoffs. There was some question, would he have surgery? He didn't.

I wonder if this had anything to do with him not playing the preseason at all, if it's still something that's just lingering. It may not be something that he actually hurt himself. He just may have suffered a setback of some sort. Remember all those Tevin Coleman in round five conversations we had? Yeah. It may have been a smart decision. Yeah, I'm slightly more nervous about Devontae Freeman than I was before that game.

Is it because he had all the touches on their first goal-to-go series and couldn't score? No. Because that's going to worry me. It's mostly because of not finishing the game with any problem, even if it's minor, and then getting out-touched by Tevin Coleman. He played more snaps than Coleman. So people might drop Calvin Ridley. What if they dropped Matt Ryan, who is 97% owned

and was, I think, the number 15 quarterback in fantasy last year and six points for passing touchdown leagues. What if they dropped Matt Ryan? Would that be an overreaction? No. He was drafted as a backup in the majority of leagues. So I think if you're just looking at it from 14-team league or larger, you probably don't have many other options.

But if you're in a 12-team league or smaller, he's an easy guy to get away from. And they have Carolina next week. That's not going to be an easy matchup for him. No, but it is a tough matchup what he just had and he'll have another one next week he still drove them into the red zone five different times yeah and i he looked really bad on a few of those did they get it oh there's no question they get into play calling they get a new coordinator right and they may in next month. That's the problem. How much credit can you give the Falcons to try and turn this thing around?

They have to involve Julio more when they get down there. You know what? He got two end zone targets, which was a lot. I mean, he had 19 targets. They did involve him. I know people were flipping out because he came off the field on the first drive. But Julio Jones was among the leaders in red zone targets last year. So it just seems like

bad luck. I think he has the yips. The first red zone target to Julio was 14 feet over his head. Don't you think he was trying to throw it away? I don't know why he would. You mean in the last drive? No.

No, I mean when Julio was in double coverage and he went over the middle. That was on the last drive, wasn't it? It wasn't the last throw, but the last drive. It was almost like he was being too careful. No, I think he was actually just trying to put it in a place where only Julio could go get it. He had to see a double coverage

right away. He should have seen the double coverage when he was throwing to Hooper and Julio was wide open on the other side. But that's why you play him in the red zone is because he see a double coverage. Oh, yeah. Right away. He should have seen the double coverage when he was throwing to Hooper and Julio was wide open on the other side. But that's why you play him in the red zone is because he'll draw double coverage and help somebody else get open. I want to think that they'll fix it. It's such a huge problem now. There's a lot of encouraging stuff here. They just couldn't finish the drive.

All right, but because, Jamie, the reason I asked about Matt Ryan is I know you had him as a sleeper. And so do you want to tell people not to give up too quickly on him i still think there's going to be good production from him uh but it's it's just a position that if you need to make a decision on if you if you did draft him as a number two guy he's an easy one to like i dropped him in a 10 team league before the game the game after drafting him because Alfred Morris was available, and I'd rather have that on my bench than a second quarterback. Well, I mean, you can drop even Carson Wentz in a 10-team league. But that's what I'm saying. It's very case-specific.

If he's the only guy you drafted in a 14-team league and you don't have many other options, if you're looking at it and it's Matt Ryan and Sam Bradford's next guy, I'd rather stick with Matt Ryan. If it's Matt Ryan and you want to make the switch if Tyrod Taylor's available, I can understand that. Jay Ajayi was started in 80% of leagues. He looked really good.

They seemed like they were saving him for the second half, and he had 15 carries, no other running back had more than 5 carries, but Clement and Sproles both had 5 carries. It's a lot to be taking away from Ajayi, but he got 15, 62 yards, two touchdowns. So if you started him, you are happy.

All right, moving on. We got Ion Fantasy Football tomorrow night on CBS Sports Radio. We will answer your phone calls, 10 p.m. Eastern to midnight. Ion Fantasy Football. You can listen on Sirius. You can listen on CBSSportsRadio.com. You can listen on the actual radio. We got a mailbag show tomorrow on this podcast.

We're recording it today. It will air tomorrow. We've got fantasy football today, the live video show, noon Eastern, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. Eastern on Sunday right up until kickoff on CBS Sports HQ. And make sure you download the CBS Sports app and watch CBS Sports HQ. It's all free and it's all awesome. And, of course, your local NFL on CBS games are streaming live on CBS All Access across devices.

If you want to watch your local NFL game on CBS, just start your free trial right now, cbs.com slash NFL, cbs.com slash NFL. Adam, for Sunday, just so if people are interested, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., we're going to be going over sleepers for the week and some DFS stuff in the 10 o'clock hour. 11 to 12 o'clock, we'll be simulcast on CBS Sports Radio, and we'll be going over the news, all the inactives, talking to Jason LaConfora about different things that are happening around the NFL. More start-set stuff going through our rankings. And then for the first time ever, 12-1, we're going to be giving some gambling advice and a ton of just DFS stuff.

So the programming Sunday morning is going to be really cool. And you need to be on FanDuel.com slash FFT to join our contest. FanDuel.com slash FFT. Guys our contest, FanDuel.com slash FFT. Guys, let's go to our action news team. On the scene with the Le'Veon Bell Watch, day three. When do you expect Le'Veon Bell to report to the Steelers? Tomorrow. Action news.

Tomorrow, I hope so. There was a report that they were expecting him tomorrow that the agent quickly refuted. So my answer is still, who knows? And then I throw my answer. Good reporting. So you retweeted my Twitter poll last night. I did. Who plays first, Jameis Winston, Carson Wentz, or Le'Veon Bell?

I voted. I think it's a great poll. I voted, and I got a little sticker that said, I voted afterwards. And I voted for Le'Veon. Me too. Go Le'Veon. He'll be there tomorrow. Yeah, he'll play week two.

He will. He should, we hope. Who won the poll? I think Le'Veon did. I know Wentz was in last. It was very close between Jameis and Le'Veon. But it seems like public perception is Jameis Winston's back before Carson Wentz. Team name Tuesday on a Friday from William.

Le'Veon the bench. Le'Veon the bench. I like it. We take a look now. Oh, by the way, that was your action news report on Le'Veon Bell. Thank you guys for your reporting. Okay, the big start question this week has got to be about the Giants. How much confidence do you have in Saquon Barkley?

How much confidence in Odell Beckham? How much in Evan Ingram? I know nobody's going to willingly start Eli Manning except for me and both of my two quarterback leagues. But let's go with the faith-o-meter. Let's get all George Michael on everybody. Zero to ten on the faith-o-meter let's get all george michael on everybody zero to ten on the faith-o-meter zero is i have no faith i'm sitting him everywhere ten is oh yeah he's got a huge game zero to ten on the faith-o-meter for saquon barkley what six ten is

nervous or no ten is ten is a ton of faith, full faith. Seven. What number is there is zero chance that I would bench him, but I feel extremely nervous? That feels like a five to me. Okay. But you're the high guy on him. You have him in your top ten. I think Dave and Jamie have him around 12 or something, maybe 14-ish. Yeah.

Maybe he's just nervous about a lot of running. I have a buddy who I helped him draft his team the other night, and he took Barkley at five. Round two, got McCaffrey. Round three, took Kenyon Drake. So we went running back, running back, running back out of the gate. And then in round – it was on another site. So round like seven or eight, got Jamal Williams.

And I said – So he's sitting Barkley. I said, oh, my God, you're sitting Zaycone Barkley. And he's like, really? Is it non-PPR? It is PPR. Okay, good, because I was going to say, a non-PPR, Christian McCaffrey is going to have, based on last year, a pretty tough time scoring double-digit fantasy points.

We'll get to that in a second. But, all right, so Barkley, it's like he's going to be basically close to 100% started. Like, you drafted him in the first round, you're starting him. But it's nerve-wracking. I mean, the one thing I did notice about the Jaguars, some running backs did do pretty well against them in the passing game, and that should be a strength for him. But, Jamie, you're saying you would start Jamal Williams and who was the other guy?

Jamal Williams, Kenyon Drake, and Royce. No, sorry. Jamal Williams, Kenyon Drake, and Christian McCaffrey. I would only do that with McCaffrey and PPR. All right. How much faith in Odell Beckham? Well, Jalen Ramsey showed up on the injury report yesterday, so things could be really interesting for him.

150 and two touchdowns. Wow. Wow. Nice to have a big game. Almost exactly the same way I feel about Saquon Barkley. We've seen Odell dominate tough matches before. And we've seen great wide receivers dominate Jacksonville, Hopkins, Brown, Hilton, Baldwin. They don't travel Ramsey because they don't have to.

And that's good for Beckham. Of course. You're going to try and get him on A.J. Bouye, who's a very good corner, but he's not Ramsey. Yeah. All right. So everybody's going to for Beckham. Of course. You're going to try and get him on A.J. Bouye, who's a very good corner, but he's not Ramsey. Yeah. All right. So everybody's going to start Beckham. And then how much faith do you have in Evan Ingram?

Not much. No. I'm sorry. I need it in meter. Zero. I only speak meter. Two. Four. Okay.

So we're getting away from him. Who would some guys you'd start over Evan Ingram? I would have told you if he's healthy and I still do it, is Austin Savarian Jenkins in the same game. He practiced on Thursday, so he has a chance to play. Colts guys. Ebron, for sure. Eifert.

Eifert. Travis Gelsen. Rob Gronkowski. Rob Gronkowski. Greg Olson. I wasn't sure about... Jordan Reed. What about... Oh, yeah, Jordan Reed's a Jordan Reed. What about O.J. Howard?

No. You love him. I do. He's the best. He is not even the best tight end in that game. I'd rather start Ben Watson. If I thought Evan Ingram would get shut out, then sure, I'd say O.J. Howard. But he'll catch some passes.

Fitzpatrick. Howard had two 50-yard games with Fitzpatrick in four Fitzpatrick games last year. Four games where Fitzpatrick had more than 30 passes. Benjamin Watson. Yeah, Watson over Ingram? Watson over Howard. Oh, Watson over Howard. All right.

Guys, before we get into the rest of Start or Sit, I want to show off the Google Assistant a little bit, show our listeners how they can use it. You can ask us all the time for Start or Sit advice or Add, Drop advice, but we get a lot of that. And obviously sometimes we cannot reply to your emails or your tweets. So why not give the Google Assistant a try? Let's debate quarterbacks right now, guys. And we already had this discussion.

I don't know if this particular one. We talked about these guys yesterday, but tell me real quick. Russell Wilson at Denver or Andy Dalton at Indianapolis this week? Dalton for me. I just look at the matchup. I think it's a much better situation for him. Doug Baldwin we expect to be as best as he will be health-wise because he hasn't been on the injury report.

He's been practicing, but what does that mean for him? So with his number one receiver not 100% and a tough matchup against the Broncos on the road, I think it's easy to get away from Russell Wilson this week if you are able to based on your roster. But if this is the choice between these two guys, especially like Daly, I'll take my chances with Dalton over Russell Wilson. Dalton. It's Dalton.

All right, let's see what the Google Assistant likes. I've got it on my phone, so I will turn on the app, and I will say, hey, Google, talk to CBS Sports. Hi, this is CBS Sports, and we are using our fantasy football computer projections and expert rankings to answer your start, sit, or add drop questions. Ask a question like, should I addin eckler or should i drop philip rivers you can also ask us to choose between two players should i start andy dalton

or russell wilson andy dalton is projected for more fantasy points than russell wilson what else would you like to know hey hey hey google don't suggest dropping philip rivers don't do that to Phil. Google, why doesn't Heath like smoothies? Because Heath likes other drinks. That was my question. Evan and Graham. No, it's good stuff.

Look, and I'm glad to see that the Google Assistant also likes Andy Dalton. So the debate is settled. Give it a shot. If you have some start or sit questions or add drop questions. And make sure you download the Google Assistant app or use Google Assistant on Android all season long by asking, Hey, Google, talk to CBS Sports. And we're also going to tackle a key fantasy question every week. You can submit your questions to fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Or if you want them on HQ, you can tweet at CBS Fantasy on Twitter,

at CBS Fantasy to have your questions answered on CBS Sports HQ. And yeah, I don't know. I mean, everybody likes smoothies. Smoothies are wonderful. I mean, do you like fruit, Heath? I do, yes. You have given one of the worst fruit takes that I've ever heard. You said that tomatoes are your favorite fruit.

Well, it's not something that people like emotionally, but it's just the most factually true correct take. No, it's – they're not. You wouldn't just sit there, oh, I want some fruit. I'm going to go to the fridge and grab a handful of tomatoes. Yeah, think of all the things you wouldn't have in your life if tomatoes didn't exist. They are the most important fruit.

You don't like smoothies. You have no credibility. Our start of the week is Jamal Williams, Jamie. And you give a start of the week every week. And I think this is a little bold because the Bears had a very good run defense last year. What do you like about Jamal Williams, and who would you start him over? I like the circumstance and the situation, the workload. The point total suggests the Packers will win.

I would agree with that. I'm sorry, win the Packers will win. I would agree with that. I'm sorry, win easily. And again, I would agree with that. I think you look at the amount of touches he'll get. Last year against the Bears, without Aaron Rodgers, he had 20 carries, 67 yards. It was his worst game where he had at least 16 touches in the six that he had. But I expect his offense, big big shocker to be a lot better with aaron rogers under center so uh game flow i think will be in his favor workload i think will

be in his favor i don't expect time montgomery to take him off the field for extended stretches uh yes the bears run defense is is good but i think in the fourth quarter if not sooner you'll see jamal williams find the end zone at least once he'll be involved in the passing game to a certain extent um you know probably three catches would be the end zone at least once. He'll be involved in the passing game to a certain extent. Probably three catches would be the ceiling. I think he'll get there, though. So I just expect him to be over 100 total yards and score. Let me ask you about some wide receivers you might want to start him over. Would you start – I'll start with this.

Odell Beckham or Jamal Williams? Williams. Williams. I'd start Williams in non-PPR. I'd start Beckham in PPR. That's right. Yeah. Mike Evans or Jamal Williams?

Williams in both formats. Agreed. All right. I'm not even going to – I mean, if you're starting Williams over those guys, then that's fine. I'm not even going to go further down the list. Obviously, you're going to start him over most wide receivers this week. So Williams, at the very least, him over most wide receivers this week. So Williams, at the very least, is a great flex for

your team. News and notes, Marshawn Lynch was limited with a groin issue, but we expect him to play, right? Yes. Miami tight end Marquise Gray is out for the season, so an even bigger role now for Mike Kosicki. Should we be adding Mike Kosicki? Do we care about him?

Not yet. That's a guy I think you can wait on. Joey Bosa may not play this week due to a foot injury, one of the best defense events in football. Yeah. How much would this change your outlook of that game, Chargers Chiefs? A little. I still don't think they can block Melvin Ingram either.

Yeah, but it's easier to block him if there's no Bosa on the other side. Don't they have a third guy too that they rotate in? Yeah, probably. I'm sure they do. Somebody good? I'm going to look right now. I'm sorry. I forget who it is.

Don't they have more than two football players? Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse did not practice. Not a huge deal. He may not play. Better news for Robbie Anderson, I guess. Sonny Michel was limited in practice. We still don't expect Sonny Michel to play, right? No.

And there was a report that Rex Burkhead could be eased into action. What kind of workload do you expect for Rex this week? Maximum 15 touches. J.I.J. Maybe more catches and less carries, but Jay Ajayi touches. Are there any other injuries that I'm missing?

Any big things we need to update people on? Okay, good. No. No. Good, good, good. Let's play some, and I'm sorry that we're taking way too long to get into start or sit. I've got to get my timing right. I've got to get my pace back.

Let's play Beat the Waver Wire. All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Well, here's one. I think he could have a big game this week. I'm not sure. I mean, I might be a little afraid to start him because of the tandem. But Bilal Powell, guys, 67% owned, and he's got the Dolphins next week.

I'm pretty much looking at – I'm thinking, who could have a big week this week? Who has a good matchup next week? Who's owned in fewer than, let's say, 70% of leagues? But Law Powell, would you want to beat the waiver wire with Powell right now? Yes, except I already own him in most of my leagues. Absolutely. Not only does he play at Detroit this week, Miami next week, and at Cleveland the week after that. So three matchups that aren't tough, which you'll take at this point,

given the way that NFL defenses are. Will the Jets do the right thing and give him more than half the carries? Will they make him be the lead back? He'll be the lead back. The carries, it's a good question. But if he's getting that number, then Crowell's getting less because they seem to like him better than Crowell. I think this situation will be a lot like the San Francisco situation.

Where it's flow dependent? It's a hot hand, flow dependent thing. And the most likely scenario is either Powell or Crowell is going to get hurt, and then the other guy will be really good. Well, Crowell's never missed a game, so I think it's Powell would be the clubhouse leader there. Who else do you want to beat the waiver wire with? Jeremy Hill. If in fact

Rex Burkhead's not right and Michelle is still going to be a little bit limited, he could be the guy that scores a touchdown this week and if that's the case, as we saw last year with Mike Gilleslie, he'll be very popular. So he's somebody I started taking late in several drafts, mostly deeper leagues toward the end of the draft process. Just

why not to see what happens. But given their running back situation right now, he could be their short yardage guy. And look, he can handle a heavy workload. He may not be successful with it, but he can handle it. Available in 89% of CBS leagues, so you can find him. And that's not a bad call. In deeper leagues, if you want a wide receiver on the same team, Cordell Patterson.

I would take him over Dorsett. Unfortunately, they're at Jacksonville next week. I don't know if that matters to you guys. But this doesn't have to be a week-to-week thing. We're in week one. We could be looking long-term here. I don't think a lot of people will be drafting players that we're going to mention. Maybe Powell is a different story just because his ownership is at a different level.

But you don't have to start these guys. Two deeper receivers. I don't know what John Brown's ownership is, but I don't think it's over 70%. And then Quincy Inunua as well. Either of those guys could be added. Coming around on Quincy. I'm just saying, if we're living in a hypothetical world,

there is a chance that Quincy Anunua has a big game and all of a sudden everybody's adding him next. I would not be surprised if he – I mean, I've said this several times, that he leads the team in receptions for the season. But if he has like a Nelson Aguilar-type game where he's going to be like six, seven catches for like 50 yards. That was so gross. 50 yards.

You're giving him a lot of credit. Well, I don't think a lot of people can replicate what Aguilar did. And John Brown is 46% owned. And we are living in a hypothetical world, Heath, and I am a hypothetical girl. Tyrell Williams is 33% owned, and he might just be the number two wide receiver on that team. He's got the Chiefs this week. He is.

So it's funny, Heath, you'll appreciate this. So I said to Adam yesterday, if we're doing beat the waiver wire, I'm going to say Jeremy Hill. And he says, I'm going to say Tyrell Williams. But I bet Heath's going to say him first. I gave him a chance. He gave you the opportunity. Oh, I saw him in the notes.

I'm trying not to use somebody that Adam wanted to say. No problem. I was being kind. Tyrell Williams is a much better Beat the Waiver Wire candidate than Quincy Inouye. 33% owned. And he could be good this week against the Chiefs. You never know. What about D.D. Westbrook

at the Giants this week and against New England next week and then Tennessee? Seems like some pretty favorable matchups. It's all Keelan Cole, Keelan Cole. What about D.D. Westbrook? It could be him. It could be Dante Moncrief. It could be D.J. Shark. They're going to mix and match all these guys. I think Moncrief is the one

that's going to get the first opportunity at it, though. I'm not saying go get him, but I think you're right. D.D. Westbrook, to me, is the second best guy there. And the Giants are terrible against tight ends, so that should really help him. D.D. Westbrook? No, Dante Moncrief. Oh, okay. And then, okay, this is super deep.

Any interest in Kevin White for the Bears? No. All right. He will be a situational deep threat for them. But they've got a couple of those guys. They've got him. They've got Taylor Gabriel. They have a lot more speed than they've had a receiver maybe ever. All right, guys. Plus Kevin White could be hurt by week two.

So I am going to have to challenge you to be a little quicker than usual on the games. It took you like six seconds to alert that sentence out of your face hole. As always, this is my fault. But first, I've got to tell you about FanDuel. I need you to join that FanDuel League right now, everybody, before it fills up. You've got time. But by Sunday, it's going to be full. FanDuel.com slash FFT.

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Okay, the Jaguars are at the Giants. And stat of the game, the Giants allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends last year. So how many of you would start Safarian Jenkins over Ingram? I know Jamie said it. Anyone else in on that? I will. Okay. And, Jamie, I'm confirming, you would do that?

Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, we haven I'm confirming you would do that? Absolutely. You know, we haven't seen him because this injury that was bothering him happened in the Minnesota game, so that was, what, their second preseason game. So they haven't gotten a chance to really show what his role is going to be. But without Marquise Lee there, that middle of the field is wide open for Blake Bortles. And so I think you'll see Safarian Jenkins be –

I'll put him on the list, too, as somebody people are going to pick up after he torches that Giants defense. Maybe foolishly because – well, people I think will understand how bad the Giants tight end coverage is. Yeah, but if he had – our running joke last year, almost Safarian Jenkins. If he comes down with a few of those touchdowns, his outlook looks a lot different. Now, Bortles, middle of the field. And Olivier Vernon's probably not going to play. So this is going to be a terrible pass rush. If you have a bad, a scary quarterback situation this week,

like a Garoppolo or something, or maybe a Mahomes, how much thought do you give to starting Blake Bortles? Two QB league only. Nobody's starting him in the QB league. I would start him over Patrick Mahomes. I would start him over Garoppolo. I would start him over Garoppolo. I would have started him over Matt Ryan. How come?

What do you like about? I don't like anything about him. But you just don't like anything about those other guys? No, I think those situations are much worse. He's not facing a good defense. They are facing very good defenses. He'll run a little bit you know i was going to bring that up i almost wonder if they're going to try and incorporate that more into his

game this year because all they really want to do is just not turn the ball over they don't need him to be a hero they just need him to manage the game and and uh keep possession rolling move those chains as they say. And I wonder if he runs a little bit more this season than he has in the past. Okay. He was their best running back against Buffalo in the playoffs. He's been a top 13 quarterback two years in a row, I think, Bortles. Just, you know, we know he's not that good.

Three years in a row. Three? Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Start Fournette. How about the Jacksonville wide receivers? How about this? How many of the Jacksonville wide receivers would you start over Sterling Shepard, who I imagine is a sit this week?

Just Cole. Yep. Would you start Keelan Cole or Marshawn Lynch? Cole and PPR. What do you expect from Cole? Five catches, 75 yards. Four catches, 50 yards. Five catches, 45 yards.

Do you know who lines up on what side? Do we know that for Jacksonville? I think you're going to see that whoever lines up on the right side of the offense is going to be good against the Giants. That's my guess. Based on what? Based on the fact that Eli Apple stinks and Janoris Jenkins doesn't. Jenkins takes the left side of the offense. He's their right cornerback. They will probably rotate receivers and maybe give a little bit of an extra nudge to those who are fast.

And that would be Westbrook and Chark. I mean, we'll see on Apple. And Cole. Doesn't look good. And Cole, if they want to put him out wide. All right. He will be in there, too, receiver Seth. We're sitting Eli Manning.

We like Bortles better than Eli? I don't. Yes. Yes, much. Oh, maybe I do. Hold on. We don't like either one that much. No, I'm not starting either of these guys.

Yeah, but two quarterback leagues, people don't have a choice. Yeah, that's true. So, like I said, I'm starting Eli in both of my two quarterback leagues. Eli was one of two quarterbacks I had ranked below Nick Foles. Yeah, I have Bortles higher than Eli. I think he will do better than Nick Foles. I would have ranked Nick Foles ahead of him, but now I feel confident that he will do better. I think he will do better than Nick Foles. I would have ranked Nick Foles ahead of him, but now I feel confident that he will do better.

I think he'll do better than Nathan Peterman. 117 yards and interception, Eli will do better than that. Okay, that's it. You're sitting Sterling Shepard, right? I would try to, yes. All right. San Francisco's at Minnesota. Should be a low-scoring affair, I would think.

Okay. Here's your stat of the game. The San Francisco run defense the last six games of last year. No team's running backs averaged more than 3.7 yards per carry. Only one team's running backs averaged more than 3.1 yards per carry. Only one team running back, teams running backs, averaged more than 3.1 yards per carry. And in those six games, only three running backs scored more than five fantasy points. Five in non-PPR. San Francisco's run defense was great down the stretch. They will be without Reuben Foster. But I think you can look at Barkley. You can even look at Leonard Fournette.

He might have a tough matchup. And you can certainly look at Dalvin Cook and say, these guys are going to be started everywhere, but maybe do we hold off in maybe FanDuel, the draft app or something? Are we worried about Cook in this matchup to that degree, like a DFS scenario? There was also the report yesterday that he could be on a pitch count. That's true. And so I think, again, it's almost similar to the Barkley-Beckham conversation. If you drafted him in the spot that you did, which was late first, early second,

unless you have great options, it's difficult to bench him. So, I mean, the leagues where I have Dalvin Cook, I'm playing him. But I don't think this is going to be his best performance because he still has to work out the kinks of coming back from that ACL. He only played, what, five snaps in the preseason? So in DFS, he's not a recommended play by far. Jamie's got him 13th. Dave has him 6th.

Heath has him 9th. So who would start Jamal Williams over Dalvin Cook? Me. No. No. Who would start James Conner over Dalvin Cook? Me. Not me.

No. You want to, though. Oh, I No. You want to, though. Oh, I do. You want to. Yes. And you should. I do. All right.

Also on Minnesota, are we good with the passing game? We're starting Cousins, Diggs, and Thielen? I think the matchup is fantastic for Diggs especially. My boy. Start all the Vikings. Yes. Okay. Kyle Rudolph, are there any streaming tight ends who would start over Rudolph or just start Rudolph?

Start Rudolph. As long as we're not calling Jordan Reed a streaming tight end. No, he's not a streaming tight end. He was drafted as a top ten guy. This team was really good against tight ends. I mean, they gave up touchdowns, but the third fewest yards. Ertz had 34 yards. Ingram had 31.

Graham had 34. Delaney Walker had 37. Olsen had one point in week one. Graham had zero points in week two. He broke his foot. So what? They broke it. That's what they do. I think it's a big break feet. No, no. He played into week two,

I think. I think Greg Olsen. I've got Rudolph behind. I've got Ebron in non-PPR. All right. Look, just because they did it last year, it doesn't mean they'll do it this year. If you draft the Rudolph, you're starting him. This is the show off Kirk Cousins game. Yeah, if you draft the Rudolph, you're starting him.

I won't get too bogged down in the stats. And you're starting the Vikings DST, although Heath, you have the Vikings DST 11th? Yeah. But you don't like any of the 49ers? I don't. I like Marquise Goodwin. I like Matt Breida okay as a flex. We haven't really talked about the 49ers.

Are you starting any of them? I'm starting Goodwin. No. I would try not to. When you say you're starting Goodwin, put that in perspective. I am starting Marquise Goodwin on teams where he is on my roster. He is a top 30 wide receiver for me. In a league where there were two wide receiver starting spots and no flexes,

I might consider binging him. Okay. I kind of feel that way in non-PPR, where he's like a top 30 guy. He's the number one receiver on the team. He's not just a deep threat anymore. He's going to get the most targets. He is, but he's also probably going to see a lot of Xavier Rhodes. Yeah, but I think his route running is good enough to where he can still get open in a lot of cases.

I'm sorry. Brandon Marshall got open against Xavier Rhodes. Doug Baldwin or Marquise Goodwin, if you have that choice. I'll take Goodwin. I will start Baldwin, but I think I have him ranked higher than most. Goodwin or Godwin? Goodwin easily. Goodwin or Godwin? Goodwin, easily. Goodwin.

Goodwin. Goodwin or Marvin Jones? Jones. Jones. Yeah, Marvin Jones. I'll take Kenny Stills over Goodwin. You know what I love about San Francisco and Minnesota? Uh-oh.

No, just kidding. Not this game. But it is time. You can't play the music and then not. It's time. I'm going to give it. I'm going to give it. It's time.

You know what? I need a win in week one. I need a layup. Maybe the only time I do this all year because the Patriots are just not fair. Patriots, Texans, Bonanza. Let's go. Patriots and Texans, there's going to be some points. Look how happy you are.

Big smile bouncing in your chair. Let's do it. All right. I'm back. I'm back. Jets at Lions. Do you like what I did to you last night, by the way? Yes. I bonanzaed the game

You know that I bonanzaed With the weather delay The start of the game I tweeted at the start when it was weather delayed I said this game has gotten off to a surprisingly Slow start But I think it was a joke Some people saw it after the game had started

And thought it was a real tweet And then I looked stupid So I learned a Twitter lesson last night. Jets are at the Lions here. Was the lesson don't tweet? Yeah, don't tweet. Well, tweets don't always have a time stamp, you know. Like some people miss the time stamp on it.

Anyway, Jets at Lions. Stat of the game. Five of the last six number one wide receivers to face the Jets last year scored double-digit fantasy points in non-PPR. So big games, 100 yards or a touchdown for five of the last six. They were pretty good, I will say that. Funchess, Tyreek Hill, Demarius, Michael Thomas, Keenan Allen, Brandon Cooks. They had big games except for Michael Thomas.

They got two new cornerbacks, though. Yep. Keenan Allen. I was just looking it up. Dwayne Johnson and Moe Claiborne. Moe Claiborne. I mean, they could actually be a lot better. Their secondary could be among the best in the NFL.

They're going to get tested a lot because they're going to be bad up front. Right. That's exactly right because their pass rush is almost as bad as Detroit's. So talk to me about the Detroit passing game. You know what? This is a tough game in terms of starts and sits, in my opinion. I think it could be a crapola where just no one does anything great on either side. I'm starting Marvin Jones.

I'm starting Golden Tate. Golden Tate's my favorite Lions receiver in this game because he's going to avoid the two outside guys. He's my favorite in PPR for sure. I'd still start Jones in non-PPR. All right. Give me Golden Tate or Jordan Howard. side guys. He's my favorite in PPR for sure. I'd still start Jones in non-PPR. Give me Golden Tate or Jordan Howard. Tate, PPR, Howard.

That's so format dependent. How about Golden Tate or James Conner? Conner. Conner in both. Conner in both. Howard in both. Golden Tate or Marvin Jones or Derrick Henry? Henry in

non-PPR and Jones in PPR. Jones may not catch. Jones is not a big catch guy, but yeah, I get it. I'll go Jones in PPR. Stafford or Cousins? Cousins. Stafford is going to be

a fun one. Stafford or Dalton? Dalton. Dalton. Andrew. Stafford's home numbers last year were ridiculous. I think he averaged like 23 fancy points a game at home. Oh, that's nice. I did not know that.

You all have Dalton and Stafford back-to-back, so that's a tough call, but they're both in the top 12. What about the Detroit running backs? What do we do? What about them? No, no, no. It's week one. Your running backs are mostly healthy.

Now you could be the guy without Le'Veon Bell and James Conner, and now you've got a hole to fill. And if you have to do that and it's a PPR league, then I guess Theo Riddick's the guy. Theo Riddick's the best in PPR. I don't know who the best is in non-PPR. You know, Kerryon Johnson's interesting if the Lions end up blowing out the Jets. That's who they'll use. The safe play is LeGarrette Point if you want non-PPR.

But I agree with Dave. If there's an opportunity for them to try and get Kerryon Johnson's feet wet in a good matchup, this is it. Stafford also, by the way, his last five home openers, he's averaging 27.8 points per game. Wow. Wow. Nice. That's your stat of the game.

Your other stat of the game is that after Holodinata was lost with an injury last year, and he's not on the team anymore, the Lions gave up 5.5 yards per carry to running backs. I don't know if it's just running backs, but maybe 5.5 yards per carry in their backs. I don't know if it's just running backs, but maybe 5.5 yards per carry in their final 11 games. So do this. Rank the running backs in this game. In non-PPR, I will go Powell, Crowell, Blunt, Riddick, carry on.

I've got Powell, carry on, Crowell, Blunt, Riddick, Abdullah, Zach Sanders on IR. Sharkander, West. Barry Sanders. Oh, West got cut, didn't he? Elijah McGuire is also out. Jamie, is there any running back you feel confident in in either format? Confident?

No. If I had to pick one, though, it would be Powell. Okay. And then Jets wide receivers. Are we starting anyone? Try not to. Yeah. I'd flex Robbie Anderson.

Would you start Anderson over Bilal Powell? No. No. Not even in PPR. You know, Anderson has been schemed up by Matt Patricia twice each of the last two years with the Jets. Nice. I like it. And he's done terrible.

Well, he wasn't a good player two years ago. Fine. Well, at the end of the year he was. Yeah, he was at the end of the year. I like it. I like it. I think they're going to scheme very well to take away. And he's going to see a various slate.

Yeah. These two teams are very similar. They've got good secondaries if you run defenses and almost nonexistent pass rushes. The Lions have Zeke Alonso. The Lions have a much better offensive line. It's time for a segment called Adam thinks he knows something about football that he might not. I don't think Darius Slay is that good. All right.

Okay. I don't think he's inay is that good. All right. Okay. I don't think he's in the discussion of like you sit – now, look, I'm not going to say Robbie. I don't care about Robbie Anderson. But you don't sit like a very good receiver because of Darius Slay. No. I don't see – It's also you have a quarterback making his first start on the road.

It's not about this game. I completely agree. No, but the fact is in Slay. It's that he's going to have the opportunity to sit on a bunch of routes because we haven't seen Sam Darnold challenge anybody down the field. I totally agree. In this situation, yeah, I'm not starting Robbie Anderson. Going forward, I'm not going to look at Darius Slay as like,

ooh, I'm not starting this top 15 wide receiver because of Darius Slay. But Robbie Anderson isn't that. But maybe you guys could tell me what Pro Football Focus says about Darius Slay. I'd be very curious to know. Tampa Bay is at New Orleans. Yeah, I'd like to know. Tampa Bay at New Orleans here. Stat of the game. In two games with more than 13

carries, Peyton Barber scored 14 fantasy points and 14 fantasy points. And one of them was against wouldn't you know, the New Orleans Saints. Also, the Saints have not won a season opener since 2013. How about that? Let not won a season opener since 2013. How about that? Let's talk about Peyton Barber because the Saints guys are obvious starts.

We're starting Breeze. We're starting Kamara. We'll get into Gillislee. We're starting Michael Thomas. I don't know if there's anyone else, but Peyton Barber is going to be a fun one. He's better than the Jets and Lions running backs, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't say it with as much enthusiasm as dave did okay yeah um but yeah i think he is he is better than anyone in that game he's a number two fantasy running back top matchup no doubt about it

but he's got an improved offensive line he's gonna get the work there work. There's no one that's going to take touches from him. Maybe a few catches. I think Jock Woods will be the third down back. Yeah, I think so too, but he's there more to block than anything else. Ronald Jones gets a few carries in this game. Define few. Two? As many as Corey Clement had last night? I made it Clement. Four, five.

He won't get as much yardage. I don't know. I may become the Ronald Jones guy. How about it? And is Peyton Barber better than a 49ers running back? Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Would you start Peyton Barber or Adrian Peterson? Barber. Peyton the Beefcake Barber. Yep. All right. Would you start Peyton Barber or Marvin Jones? Barber. Peyton the Beefcake Barber. Yep. Alright. Would you start Peyton Barber or Marvin Jones? Last one.

Barber or non-PPR? It's really close in PPR. I would start Jones for sure in PPR. It's really close for me in non-PPR. But I would start Barber. Mike Evans did not have a great season against the Saints last year.

He had combined six fantasy points in two games with six catches. And you guys have him around 15th. So most people are going to be starting him, but you don't project a huge game from Mike Evans. No. Okay. Is there anyone non-obvious in this game that you want to start, whether it's Chris Godwin or a tight end or Cam Meredith or Mike Gillisley or something like that? Is there anyone that's not obvious?

Or Ryan Fitzpatrick? I'm going to have a lot of Benjamin Watson in DFS. I think he is, like, can you get to that point at tight end where you're like, man, I hope he scores a touchdown, and I'll take the guy that's playing on the team that's projected to score the most touchdowns. You could talk me into Benjamin Watson because of the issues the Bucs still have at safety, but I think their linebackers can run with Watson.

Well, Watson doesn't run. He's just going to waddle over into the end zone from the four-yard line, turn around, and Drew Brees will put the ball in a good spot, and he'll grab it. Right, but in daily, if that happens twice, that's good. If it happens once, it's still not that good. He's a streamer. I don't love him in daily. I don't see the upside.

Is it me or is it like the Bucs have the makings of a good defense if they could just somehow generate some pass rush? Well, and that's what they did this offseason. Yeah, I don't think Pierre Paul is the answer. I really don't. Well, no, but they also have Bo Allen, Vinny Curry. They drafted B offseason. Yeah, I don't think Pierre Paul is the answer. I really don't. Well, no, but they also have Bo Allen, Vinny Curry. They drafted Bedeve. He's not going to play, but eventually he will, and that will help.

They still have Gerald McCoy. They still have Noah Spence. They've got talent. It's just a matter of coordinating it, and Mike Smith is one of the best defensive coordinators around. All right, so, yeah, we'll see what happens there. Does this mean anything to you? Only three quarterbacks scored more than 22 fantasy points against the Bucs in six points for passing touchdown leagues last year.

None of them after week six. No. That's crazy. That is a crazy stat. If it was a quarterback that I wasn't sure how good they were. And they allowed the most passing guards in the NFL, but they just kept their teams out of the end zone. They only allowed

22 touchdowns. Passing touchdowns. Four passing touchdowns in the last six games combined. Alright, is Mike Gillis-Lee better than say, LeGarrette Blount? No. Yes.

Aren't they the same guy where one is behind Alvin Kamara and the other one's the starter? I have LeGarrette Blount at 40 and Gillisley at 41, back-to-back. They're touchdown-dependent. So, yeah, if you're desperate. And start the Saints DST. Let's go to Dallas at Carolina. So I did a Twitter poll.

I actually haven't seen the results. Well, ask it before you see the results. That way we can chime in. Okay, here's what it said. I just have to find it. Here's what it said. Sean Lee played 10 games for Dallas last year, not counting the Atlanta game when he played eight snaps.

In those 10 games, only one running back scored double-digit fantasy points in non-PPR. One in 10 double digits in non-PPR. Do you think Christian McCaffrey will score 10 or more points in non-PPR this week? Yes, he will, or no, he won't? I would vote yes, he will, and I would say that that side won by a large margin. I would vote yes, he will. Yes, he will.

Okay. I will tell you what the people say so obviously we're starting mcafree and the people say 67 say yes he will there it is yes he will something just kind of a fun stat to keep in mind um here's another fun stat cam newton has played 31 games in his last two seasons in six point per touchdown leagues, he has scored 20 or more points in 12 of 31 games. Yeah. I do not like this stat. He is the boomer bust quarterback of our time.

What do you mean, Heath? It's a great stat. No, you're using an arbitrary cutoff. How many times did he have 19 points? Not that many. Not that many. It wasn't like that. How many times? Maybe have 19 points? Not that many. Not that many. It wasn't like that. How many times?

Maybe three times. I don't know. But this is a boomer bust guy. Is he going to boom or bust? Boom. Dallas stinks. I don't know how bad they stink, but I think eventually they will crack. I think he can run for one and throw one.

You're starting him. Yeah. Yeah, you're starting him. They're going to dominate time of possession. Cousins or Cam? Cam. Cousins. Cam. Cousins and six point per pass touchdown, Cam in four. You guys have Dak outside your top 20.

Are there any fears with Ezekiel Elliott? Continuing a trend of elite running backs with tough schedules, tough matchups this week. No. One time in his career he's gotten under double-digit and fancy points in non-PPR. Yeah, but he's never played without Travis Frederick, has he? True.

Yeah. I mean, when I ask a question like that, I think I'm really asking from a DFS standpoint. Not worth the DFS. Yeah, not worth the price tag? No. Okay. Dallas passing game Starting anyone No

Gallup number three receiver Book it Funchess or Gallup Gallup Funchess Can Funchess have a big game here He could Sure

Do you think he will? No. No. Not particularly. How come? Christian McCaffrey is healthy and Greg Olson is healthy. And DJ Moore is there too. They've got a bunch of guys now.

He's not the only show in town in the passing game. We have a Darius Slay update. We'll get to that in just a moment. Would you start Devin Funchess or let me think of a running back here. Funchess or Peyton Barber? Barber. Barber in both formats. What's that?

That's Brutus the Barber beefcakes thing. Oh, okay. But I didn't get to the real good part yet. Devin Funchess or Matt Breida? I think Breida. Breida in both formats. All right, Jamie, what do you got on Darius Slay? According to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted 106 times a year ago,

the third most in the NFL, but he allowed just a 55.6 quarterback rating on those throws. Which was six best among all quarterbacks. Yes. Cornerbacks. So he's just a 55.6 quarterback rating on those throws. Which was six best among all quarterbacks. Yes. Cornerbacks. So he's not top five. All right. We'll see.

You know, maybe it's just like – If he was really that good, quarterbacks wouldn't be throwing at him. Right. I look at the Lions games, and I haven't noticed a trend of, like, number one receivers getting shut down. Maybe that has less to do with Darius Slay. He's in that second tier of corners. He's not in the top tier of corners.

Washington. Oh, start Greg Olson. And you can start the Carolina DST, but the highest we have them is Jamie has them 12th, Dave 18th, Heath 16th. Washington's at Arizona. Stat of the game. Six running backs had 15 or more carries against Arizona last year.

Do we think Adrian Peterson will get 15 or more carries? I have him for 14. 58 carries. Excuse me. Wow. Wait a second. Heath, you have him for 14? Yes.

All I heard was teams that have Adrian Peterson, give him the ball. What do you mean 14? I thought you'd have him for like 20. I don't have anybody outside of the top five projected for 20 carries. That's a lot. Well, that's what Peterson does. He gets a bunch of carries. He's going to have at least 18 carries. All right.

I think it's going to really depend on the flow of the game. So here's the stat. Six running backs had 15 or more carries against Arizona last year. Not that many. Four of them scored double-digit fantasy points at non-PPR. But only two of the six scored double digits without receiving totals. And we don't expect Peterson to do that. So, Peterson, start or sit?

You're probably starting him at non-PPR if you have a flex. And I think that it's funny that the numbers were 15 more and more carries and 10 fantasy points. Because I haven't projected for 14 carries and 9.77. In non-PPR. So if he gets that 15th carry, he's going over 10 fantasy points. So it's clearly not a must start, especially in PPR, right? We don't expect him to catch passes. When I was previewing this game, I completely forgot to consider Chris Thompson.

How do you feel about Chris Thompson this week? Decent flex in PPR. Is he better than Peterson? I feel like we can just put that on a loop. I'd rather have Peterson in PPR than Thompson. I'd go the other way. I'd rather have Thompson than Peterson in PPR. How do you feel about Jameson Crowder?

I like him as a third receiver. I think there's an opportunity here. He scored against them last year. He's going to avoid Peterson by far because of where he'll line up the most. And I think, you know, look, we have not seen how this Washington offense can operate because we have yet to see Reed, Crowder, Thompson on the field together. And that's the three best pass catchers for Alex Smith. So I think there's an opportunity here for Crowder to do what I was expecting for him to do all season, which is lead them in targets, and that'll probably happen this week.

I almost think he's a must-start in PPR, because I think he's got the best, best, best matchup of any Redskins pass catcher in this game. I'd take Reed over them. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not going to take Reid. I'm nervous about him for many reasons. Why? Well, Steve Wilks has a pretty good track record of taking tight ends away.

He's done it to Jordan Reid twice in his career and to Alex Smith the last time he played him. He had some better linebackers the last time he played him. No, I disagree. I think this is a good defense, and I think they're going to scheme him up. Is this Keeley and Thomas Davis? Oh, no. But those guys aren't the ones that are assigned to the tight ends. But they cover tight ends. Sometimes they mix and match.

I'm telling you that Jordan Reed, we haven't seen him. We don't know how explosive he is. We don't know how dominant he's going to be. I have him ranked as a top 12 tight end. I like Crowder better, especially in PPR. I think Crowder's matchup is the best on the board. We'll see a lot of Buda Baker. I think he can beat that.

I like this stuff because if you're listening to what Dave just said, and Jordan Reed has a bad game, 50 yards, something like that, then maybe you don't panic. Maybe you just say, hey, the Cardinals could be very good against tight ends. They were very good against tight ends late in the year. They struggled with them early in the year last season.

The frustrating thing about tight ends is like 50 yards is either a great game or a terrible game, depending on whether you got in the end zone. Yeah, that's true. Like if he catches five catches for 50 yards, you can both be encouraged and discouraged, depending on whether or not he's – That hurts. Yeah. Yeah, and depending on your league scoring system.

Yeah. I mean, fine. Even if it's 30 yards, you know. Like, you don't have to panic on Jordan Reed necessarily. I feel like if you get 11 PPR points from your tight end, that's a good game. David Johnson should be in line for a big game. Which quarterback do you like better in this game? Bradford.

I like Alex Smith the same, but I essentially like the same. Yes. Because I've got him 15 and 16. They are projected for almost the exact same number of points. I think there is maybe a little more upside for Bradford. I'll definitely take Bradford. Here's another season opening stat line for you. So his last four season openers for Bradford,

I think that's over like a 12-year span, but his last four season opener. He's averaging 317 passing yards, eight touchdowns, three interceptions. It's hard to see him get over 300 yards given the state of the Arizona offense, but Larry Fitzgerald does his thing. David Johnson does his thing. Somebody else steps up a little bit. Chad Williams should probably have been in the beat the waiver wire.

Is he the guy? He's the number two on the depth chart right now. That doesn't matter. It means a lot more now than it did week two of the preseason. But they can still play Christian Kirk in three receiver sets, and he's the better of the two of them. It's possible. I cut him in the Scott Fish Bowl.

I would expect Chad Williams is going to run the most routes, besides Larry Fitzgerald. All right. We don't really like the Arizona DST except Dave has him seventh, but Jamie and Heath have him 15th and 19th. That's Cardinals DST. And Bradford, you know, I'm starting to think

maybe I want a FanDuel lineup with Bradford in it. His last three games that he started and finished, 31, 28, and 31 fantasy points. Of course, two of them were in 2016, but I'm starting to think maybe it's not a bad idea against the Redskins. Yeah, I put together the guys that I was planning on playing this weekend in FanDuel. He is definitely one of the six or seven quarterbacks.

Chicago is at Green Bay. Stat of the game, there were 17 wide receivers with seven or more targets against Green Bay last year. Seven or more targets. 17 wide receivers. They averaged 11.5 fantasy points in non-PPR. That is huge. I brought this up, I think, yesterday. But I said it at the time.

I feel like Allen Robinson is tough to gauge. And I'm going to ask you, do you feel comfortable starting anyone other than Trey Burton in this game? Yes. For the Bears. For the Bears? Jordan Howard, for sure. Jordan Howard. And I'm okay with Allen Robinson as a number two receiver.

Yeah, I think that's fair given where you drafted him and what the matchup should be. It's going to be interesting to see how these Packers' corners play because they're all brand new. Yeah, they're optimistic. One is old but new, right? And it's a new defensive coordinator. There's a lot of youth back there. I think they'll be much better than they were last year. I don't know if they will be in week one.

Correct. That's like the best way to put it, Heath. Thank you very much. Thank you, Dave. You're welcome. We've got to wrap it up. Start Rodgers, Citrubisky, Star Burton. Okay, Adams, yes. What about Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison?

No, thank you. Hard to trust them. Let's see what they do. It is like Aaron Rodgers' Sunday night at home. He could throw five touchdowns. Yeah, three to Devontae Adams and two to Jimmy Green. Okay. Give one to Williams out of the backfield at least.

One to Williams out of the backfield. All right, so I think this is a bit of a wait-and-see game. And Tariq Cohen, any interest there? Actually, Green Bay was terrible against pass-catching running backs last year. There were seven running backs who had either 50 yards or a touchdown against the Packers receiving. I wouldn't be surprised if he maxed out at six touches in the game. Okay. But he's flexing PPR.

Sorry, last question. Do you have concerns that Jordan Howard has a bad game because they're getting blown out? A little bit, but not enough to sit him. Yeah, the nice thing about that is if they get behind by two or three scores, we'll get to see if Nagy was being honest when he said that Jordan Reed's not coming off the field and passing the plays. Yeah, that's a good call. Also, the inside linebackers for the Packers are not so hot right now.

A couple of injuries that they're dealing with. And that will help. And the interior of the Bears' line is good. Okay, so just sorry for the correction. Said Jordan Reed. Meant Jordan Howard. Not coming off the field. And Heath and I will be doing a mailbag in just a few hours.

You'll hear it on Saturday. Thank you for listening to the NFC Home Games podcast. I love lamp. All right, we're out of here. Bye, Dave.