Fantasy Football Today - 12/13: Start or Sit (AFC); Updating the LAC-KC Running Backs (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: December 13, 2018

We know you have plenty of questions about Justin Jackson and Damian Williams so we'll spend the first 5 minutes or so discussing tonight's RBs as we track the latest information. Then we've got plenty of important news items (9:03) and rankings disputes (13:13) for Deshaun Watson, Jarvis Landry and Robby Anderson ... Where we rank Jaylen Samuels at TE (23:00), discussing Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in 4-point vs. 6-point passing TD leagues (24:00) and a great edition of Team Name Tuesday on a Thursday (25:10) ... NE-PIT (26:24), DAL-IND (36:25), CLE-DEN (42:40), OAK-CIN (46:35), TB-BAL (50:10), HOU-NYJ (56:50), DET-BUF (1:02:00), WAS-JAC (1:05:40) ... 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! Get your lineup set. It's time for Start or Sit. Let's go! Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Are you ready to put your season in the hands of Damian Williams?

56% owned in CBS Sports Leagues and could be getting a ton of work tonight. Welcome to the Thursday show. It is December 13th and we've got eight AFC home games to talk about. Plus, we'll go back and talk about a ninth AFC home game tonight. The Chargers-Chiefs game. We'll start with that. Good morning, Heath, Dave, Jamie. Are you ready for the semifinals? Yes.

Let's get it on. Man, there is nothing like a Thursday game with like 17 fantasy relevant players to just get us fired up. Yeah. And what do we know about the running backs right now, guys? What should we do at running back tonight?

Remember that Justin Jackson-Spencer Ware showdown we were expecting? Yeah. Probably not so much. Do you think Gordon's going to play? Yes. Practiced twice this week and made the trip to Kansas City. I would be stunned if he didn't play at this point. Well, okay.

It's going to be tough to know right now. It's 9.15 in the morning. But what kind of workload are we expecting from Melvin Gordon? Where are you ranking Melvin Gordon? Or do you need more information? Do you think we'll get that information before kickoff? I don't know that we'll get too much more information. I am ranking him as a low-end number one running back.

And just to put that in perspective, if he was 100% healthy and had no concerns of injury whatsoever, I would probably have him third, maybe fourth at the very lowest. So now I'm going to rank him right after the Joe Mixon, Phillip Lindsay, David Johnson group. But you're starting him. Yeah, Phillip Lindsey, David Johnson group. But you're starting him. Yeah, I am ahead of Johnson. And I think you start him as if he's going to be a number one quarterback. Running back.

I love Matt Quarterback. I don't think he's going to be a good quarterback. I'm more in agreement with Heath. I think you've got to build in a little bit of trepidation that he's not 100%. So he's at the back end of the number one guys for me. So who are you starting over? Fournette, Dalvin Cook, David Johnson, Chubb, Lindsey, all those guys. I think he's 12, 13. He's right there. Yeah. All right. I'll be Mr. Optimistic on Melvin Gordon.

So Melvin Gordon, if he plays, people are going to start him, and that means people are not going to start Justin Jackson. But what about Damian Williams? Boy, are we getting flooded with Damian Williams questions. So here's an interesting one. I just got one. Half PPR, Damian Williams or Tyler Boyd? I think I'm going to lean toward Williams. Yeah? All right. What do you expect tonight from Damian Williams?

Assuming Spencer Ware is out, he's doubtful right now. Assuming Spencer – oh, I'm sorry, Jim. I would expect somewhere between Spencer Ware against the Raiders and Spencer Ware against the Ravens. I have him projected for 71 total yards and a.75 touchdown. That sounds about right to me. I think he'll be, and I think he can get like five catches on top of that. I've got him for four. I've got him close to a top 12 in PPR and middle of the pack number two running back in non-PPR.

Here's what I like. Kareem Hunt this year had about 19 touches per game on average. He gets kicked off the team. Spencer Ware in his two games had 17.5 touches per game. Damian Williams is already getting nine and a half touches per game as the backup behind Spencer Ware. And now that he's going to be the guy, I think we can safely assume, assuming there's no hijinks from Andy Reid, that he get in that 15-plus touch range. Yeah. Now, earlier this week, I think on the Waver Wire show, I said that the Chargers were really good against pass-catching running backs. In terms of touchdowns, they are. They've only allowed two. But six running backs have had 45 or more receiving yards against the Chargers.

That's a pretty big number. They've been better lately. But there's opportunity here. You want points. You want the running back who's going to be on the high-scoring team. That's Damian Williams. Damian Williams or Melvin Gordon tonight? Melvin. Gordon.

We have breaking news. Oh, yeah? It's really important. Somebody just shared with us on Twitter. Butterfinger has been completely overhauled by Nutella's parent company, including a new recipe. We have more important breaking news. According to ESPN,

it will be challenging for Melvin Gordon to play Thursday night against Chiefs. Alright, so if he doesn't play, Justin Jackson or Damian Williams? Justin Jackson. Justin Jackson. According to Adam Schefter, Chargers initially were told the knee injury that Gordon suffered

was two to four weeks. It's now 18 days and while the Chargers won't make a final determination on Gordon until pregame warm-ups, it will be challenging for him to play tonight. So does that change how you feel about him? Do you move him down in the rankings, or are you just going to wait until the inactivity? If he plays, I'm keeping him where he is. Right. If he's out, I think I'm still going to go with Damian Williams ahead of Justin Jackson.

Yeah, they're both going to be pretty enticing starts. Can I say one last thing on Damian Williams? Yeah, yeah. Had a goal line touchdown last week. That was with Spencer Ware active. Was that when Ware got hurt, though? When? Oh, maybe.

I don't think it was on the same drive. Was it after that? I don't recall. But I know Ware came back into the game after he hurt his shoulder. Yes, but Ware left for a brief period. I can double-check that if you want, but I like that he had the goal line carry. And he also caught a five-yard touchdown with the game on the line late. I like that confidence.

I like that the coaches know. They proved last week that they trust him in those situations. Why wouldn't they trust him again in those situations on a short week against a tired defense at home? I guess if you want to hear our preview of the game you can listen back to it yesterday on yesterday's show but my final question would be the way you felt about spencer where now that we think he's out do you feel basically the same way about damian williams do you feel better because where's not in the picture? Or do you feel slightly worse because maybe you think Ware's a better player?

How would you compare how you felt about Spencer Ware yesterday to how you feel about Damian Williams today? I have Williams ranked higher than I had Ware ranked. Agreed. Just because there's fewer mouths to feed. I mean, I think he's still going to share with either Daryl Williams or Tarkandrick West.

But, I feel more confident in his production, yes. Okay. Watch CBS Sports HQ tonight. There's a Sportsline show on from 6 to 7. Keep you updated on everything. Drop some fantasy takes in there. CBS Sports HQ. I'll be on there giving some DFS info.

And we'll go over the scenario again. Cool. Good stuff. Alright, moving on from that big news. We have a lot of news to get to today. Here's a ridiculous stat. The Oakland Raiders have 11 sacks in 13 games. Just think about that. 11 sacks.

I only went back the last 5 years. In the last 5 years, the fewest sacks for any team was 2015. The Falcons had 19 sacks. The Raiders are not going to get eight sacks in their last three games. So that is just shocking. How many sacks does Khalil Mack have? That's what I'd like to know.

He probably doesn't have 11. But does he have a chance, I wonder, to out-sack the Raiders? I would guess he has more than 11. You think so? I'm looking it up right now. You say 11? I'll take the under on 11. I think he has 8.

Adam says 8. How many sacks does Khalil Mack have? I'll take the over. I'm taking 12. It is 10. 10 sacks. He has 10. The Raiders have 11.

Wow. That was a ridiculous stat. Here's a ridiculous way to lose. You know Will Brinson. He was on the show yesterday. You know Matthew Koka. He's popped on twice. Matthew Koka beat Will Brinson in that Dynasty League on a stat correction. What happened? Winston took the lead in the fourth quarter of Monday Night Football with a pass defensed and for a short period of time beat Coca by.08 points. And Coca's fraudulent run continued with a stat correction. And he is moving on to face Jamie in the semifinals. I believe both teams in that game were outscored by every other team in the playoffs this week. But congratulations, Matthew Koka.

You completely deserve it. Very sincere. That is a terrible way to lose. And then to have Koka brag about it on Twitter and tag Will in it, that's even worse. But that's part of fantasy football. You've got to love it. News and notes, guys. Lamar Jackson is going to start this week.

Carson Wentz is unlikely to play this week, and there's a chance they could shut him down for this season. Nick Foles, where do you plan on ranking Nick Foles if he starts? He's 8% owned. He will be at the Rams this week. He is a top 32 fantasy quarterback. He's 33 for me. He's 33?

You've got two guys from River, Taysom Hill? You have Flacco ahead of him? Taysom Hill over him. Well, I mean, I think it's worth asking because, you know, two quarterback leagues, super flex leagues. Well, sure. If you're desperate in a two quarterback league, you can go to four. Absolutely.

He's an option in two QB leagues. I think you look at it. Look, the first two games of the season, he didn't have Alshon. Obviously, he didn't have Golden Tate, so the receiving core is different. Offensive line is probably worse than where it was at the start of the season. So he just did not play well in those two games against Atlanta and Tampa Bay. And as we know now, looking back, that was the game where Atlanta got hurt, so it's not necessarily the defense that it is.

But Tampa Bay was bad at the time, and he did not play well against them. I'd start him over Matthew Stafford. I'd rather start Driscoll. I'd rather start Driscoll. I would rather start Driscoll. Driscoll, okay. Ryan Tannehill's going to play with an ankle injury. And running back news, James Conner mispracticed. So you have to start Damian Williams, Justin Jackson over Conner, right?

I would start Williams over Conner, and I would start Williams over the 49ers guys. Because ofida? You may like Jeff Wilson better, but I think there's a chance with Matt Breida potentially playing, you have to start Williams to be safe. Okay. David Johnson mispracticed with a quad injury, but he's expected to play. And Jamie was just alluding to Matt Breida.

He was limited in practice, so he has a chance to play. LeSean McCoy mispracticed, but Chris Ivory practiced in full. So I'm just going to ask it. You had started running back tonight over Chris Ivory, right? Oh, yes. Yes. I would start Justin Jackson over Chris Ivory. Even if Gordon plays, you're saying?

Yes. Okay. Darius Geis had three additional knee surgeries after his ACL surgery due to an infection. Man. additional knee surgeries after his ACL surgery due to an infection. What's going on with that? Because Alex Smith's career is in jeopardy right now. Yeah, they need a new team doctor. It's different operations, though, because Smith was, I believe, done in Washington. Geist went to Dr. Andrews.

He just had a freak situation. And it's a shame. I mean, for Dynasty owners of Darius Geist, we don't know enough right now. But that's obviously a freak situation. And it's a shame. I mean, for dynasty owners of Darius Geist, we don't know enough right now, but that's obviously a bad thing, and we hope for the best for him. Wide receiver news. T.Y. Hilton mispracticed with an ankle injury. It's a new

injury. He's always banged up. He came back after the ankle injury last week, so I'm sure we expect him to play right now. Doug Baldwin has a chance to play this week. Odell Beckham Jr. did not practice yesterday, but he has a chance to play. He's improving. Quincy Inunua could play on Saturday. We're going to talk about Robbie Anderson in a moment because he's part of our rankings disputes.

Deshaun Jackson's unlikely to play. Kiki Cutie could return this week and face the Jets on Saturday. One more. Allen Robinson missed practice, right? He did. With a groin-slash-hip injury. Allen Robinson missed practice, right? He did. With a groin slash hip injury. Okay. Thank you, Heath. Austin

Hooper missed practice with a leg injury. And offensive line news. Big stuff here. Ryan Kelly, a Colts center. He was limited in practice. Hope he gets back. He's outstanding. Green Bay put their right guard, Byron Bell, on IR, and their right tackle, Brian Bulaga, may not play, and that's not going to be good at the Bears.

Left tackle, Teron Armstead, could return for the Saints this week. They have the Monday game. Cincinnati left tackle, Cordy Glenn practice. Oakland's offensive line is really beat up, but they have a great matchup against Cincinnati. And on defense, we've got some defensive back news. Marlon Humphrey for the Ravens. He played through a groin injury last week,

mispracticed yesterday. He's probably going groin injury last week, missed practice yesterday. He's probably going to play, but he's going to play hurt against Tampa Bay. Eric Berry expected to play tonight. Miami cornerback Xavier Howard will likely miss another game. And Atlanta defensive tackle Grady Jarrett missed practice, and that would be helpful for David Johnson. Rankings disputes for the AFC home games mostly.

We'll throw one NFC ranking. No, we'll do that. We'll do Trubisky tomorrow. Let's do the three AFC ones for the games we're going to preview today. Deshaun Watson. Heath, you didn't learn your lesson. You got him third again. Jamie's got him seventh.

Dave has Watson 14th. Wow. I reject the notion that I should learn a lesson from one week of football and change my ranking because of it. Well, how often has he been top five? Occasionally. I actually just dropped him a few minutes ago, so he's now 12th for me. Oh, wow.

From what? From 9th? From 7th to 12th. Heath Island. Heath Island. Okay. Tell me about Deshaun Watson at the Jets and why you're pumped. I like the rushing volume.

I like the matchup. And I think he's going to be awesome. I don't know how much work he's going to have to do. I think if the Jets could score some points for a change, then that would force Deshaun Watson to throw. But I think they're just fine letting him be a low-volume passer. And the matchup would be great if he had to throw 30 times. But I don't expect him to be ultra-efficient like he was for that five-touchdown,

20-attempt game he had, I don't know, what was that, like a month and a half ago, something like that. I worry about him coming through with two touchdowns. The rushing will be there. The yardage will be all right. DeAndre Hopkins will get his, and that will be about it. So I just see other quarterbacks with more upside than Deshaun Watson this week. Yeah.

I mean, for me, it's a play against the Jets. The Jets are terrible. Yeah, right. That's what I was going to say. It's hard to see him having a bad game because eight of the last ten quarterbacks to face the Jets have scored 21 or more fantasy points and six points for passing touchdown leagues. The exceptions were Osweiler and Josh

Allen. So it's a good floor. I mean, again, I see both sides of it. That's kind of why I'm going back and forth in the middle. Yeah, I don't see necessarily the ceiling that probably Heath does, but I probably see a little bit higher floor than what Dave has.

He's been under 250 yards in seven of his last eight games. And he had 267 last week. Passing yards. He's been over 250 yards in three straight. Yeah, he's got 30, 30, 40 rushing yards. You know, that could happen. That may be more. Okay, so that's the Sean Watson.

Watson or Rivers? Rivers. I will have Rivers by a spot. Okay, more rankings disputes. How about, where are we? Robbie Anderson. Oh, Jarvis Landry is the other one. All right, how about Jarvis Landry? So Dave and Jamie have Landry around 20th.

Heath has Landry in the low 30s. Heath Island. Heath Island. Heath Island. I think we may have talked about this earlier in the week, but if you look at his production in the passing game over the last five weeks since Freddie Kitchens took over, it's abysmal. He has one game with more than 60 yards.

He scored one touchdown. He has zero games with more than six catches. He scored one touchdown. He has zero games with more than six catches. That's a good argument, Heath. Dave and Jamie, what do you have to say about Jarvis Landry? Go ahead. I think Jarvis Landry has kind of proved over the last couple of weeks that he can be used in a number of ways in the offense. And Kitchens even said it this week when talking to the media.

He said anytime you make big plays, whoever's making them, it energizes the team as a whole. Jarvis is definitely an electric kind of personality and player. Anytime you can get the ball into Jarvis' hands, it is good. They've been doing that the last couple of games. It hasn't been eight, nine catches like we might have seen from him earlier this year or in years past when he was in Miami. But he's making plays.

Baker's making plays. It's a good matchup against Denver. I don't mind trusting him as a low-end number two receiver. There's two things for me. One, once we get past like around the 15 to 18 market receiver, it's pretty lumped in with a lot of like, okay, maybe this, maybe that. This guy could do this. This guy could do that.

I do like the involvement the last two weeks, but it's also a play against Denver. They're down two cornerbacks. Obviously, without Chris Harris there, that's a bad spot for them. And I do think that as Baker is improving, he's going to start to, okay, now where do I go to get production from certain guys? And you've seen Njoku dropping passes. You see Antonio Callaway making some questionable plays. Rashard Higgins isn't a consistent receiver.

Rashard Perryman's a one- or two-shot type of guy. So I think in the five to eight targets that Landry will get, plus now if they're just trying to get the ball in his hands in some creative ways, and given the matchup, I think he's in that number two range. For me, a little bit of a lean toward the high end of that. Okay, so I know this will probably be an easy answer for Heath, but would you start a running back tonight over Jarvis Landry? I would too, yes.

Yeah. Okay. This isn't a Jarvis Landry's a great start. Right, right. Again, it's the receiver landscape. And he'll get pushed down if Odell plays. I'm trying to think of anybody else.

Obviously, Odell's the big one. But he's just somebody I think that it's worth the gamble given what you've seen the last couple of games and how they're trying just to keep him more involved. You want to talk about Heath Island, which is the new name of the rankings dispute segment.

Jarvis Landry is... That's been a Wednesday staple on FFT for a while. A little lower than the others, but Robbie Anderson is much higher for Heath. Robbie Anderson is 22nd in Heath's rankings in non-PPR, 25th in PPR, outside the top 48 for Dave and Jamie. I'm going to let Dave and Jamie have the first word. Jamie, tell us why Robbie Anderson,

who had seven targets last week in a row, three of his last four, actually, is outside your top 48. He's just inconsistent. I mean, you're getting the four catches. Last week was good. What do you have, four for 77 in a touchdown? Four for 76 in a touchdown.

76 touchdown. I don't think that's going to be the case on a regular basis for him. And I do buy into the Texans' pass rush making things very uncomfortable for Sam Darnold. So I don't think he's going to have time to necessarily make some plays down the field. I don't have a problem with Anderson. I probably have maybe a few spots too low, but I don't think he cracked the top 40. What is the difference between him and i mean you kind of reference this jamie that that glop of receivers that you just don't feel great about

now i'm not saying he belongs in the glop starting in the 20 range i am but you you might and i think you might you started more related yes all right and it's because of the upside right because he's got that chance to have one catch and break it big. Sure, but there's been a hell of a lot more downside. Of course, the downside in non-PPR. And I don't know, let's go back. Let's go back to the last four games, right? He's had seven or more targets in three of those four.

He had four for 32, two for 22, four for 48. And then last week he had a touchdown and he had a 37-yard connection. Right, and I think you could look at the same thing. In the last four games, Jarvis has had two for 22, three for 30, and three for 57. Sure, but one guy's playing a Broncos team that's down their best corner. I think that's another point that we didn't talk about with Jarvis Landry. I think the Broncos at home against a rookie quarterback with their playoffs hopes still alive, even without Chris Harris, are going to be good defensively this week. And the Texans with their playoff hopes still in great even without Chris Harris, are going to be good defensively this week.

And the Texans with their playoff hopes still in great standing. I think the Texans will be good too. The Texans, to me, they do not have... I mean, you've got two receivers catching passes from rookies. Well, let me just say that the Texans, to me, do not have a good pass defense. They have played very... They have great pressure. They don't have a good pass rush? Good pass

defense. They, to me, have faced very weak competition. You look at some of the wide receivers who have done well against them, talking guys like Taewon Taylor, Sterling Shepard, Zach Pascal twice, Zay Jones, Dante Moncrief, Devante Parker, Antonio Callaway have all had respectable

games. I don't think I have the guts to start Robbie Anderson, but I just want to point out that the Texans, because of their schedule, their defense looks better than it is. Their run defense is pretty legit. Their pass defense, in my opinion, not so great. That doesn't mean they can't do well against the Jets, but I don't think it's a bad matchup for

Robbie Anderson, is what I'd say. Heath, final word, since you have him in the 25 range? There was an interview with Sam Darnold this week, and they were talking about the interceptions, because earlier in the year, you remember, he was just like, he wouldn't throw the ball to Robbie Anderson, because he wouldn't throw it more than five yards down the field.

And he talked about how he's really just decided he's going to let it go here at the end of the season. And so, I expect Robbie Anderson is going to continue getting about seven targets a game. I was a believer in Robbie Anderson before the season, and that's the final you getting about seven targets a game. I was a believer in Robbie Anderson before the season and

that's the final word. Look, if you're in a situation where you just want to take a shot on a guy, I mean, what difference is there between him and Robert Foster, Jordy Nelson? I'm glad you went there because I have a cool stat on

Jordy Nelson. Jordy should be better than Robbie Anderson. In PPR, I think there's no question. But in non-PPR, I think their floor is basically the same. There's a million wide receivers who have this three- or four-point floor and maybe don't quite have the upside that Anderson could have, but we've just seen it so more often than not that Anderson doesn't come through. Here's a Jordy Nelson stat.

He's facing the Bengals, and he has had 7 to 11 targets in two straight games. I wish it had been more, but it's two straight games. There have been 17 wide receivers with 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11. 7 to 11 targets against the Bengals. 17 wide receivers. 12 of them scored 13 or more fantasy points in PPR.

The five who did not, three of them were Ravens, so they barely count. Sammy Watkins had four catches for 74 yards, and Chris Goblin had a bad game. Do Ravens count less than Raiders? About the same. But, you know, it's a very good matchup for for Jordy Nelson and most people aren't going to be starting either Nelson or Robbie Anderson so let's talk more about players that they are going to be starting where is Jalen Samuels in your tight end rankings a segment all into itself uh right around six or seven I'd put him at seven two three samuels was the number eight tight end in non-ppr last week

number seven in ppr does it worry you that he had 11 carries for 28 yards at oakland like we don't know that he's a good ball carrier they haven't been running the ball well as a team for about a month so you just think he had seven catches for 64 yards so you think he'll a good chance to score a lot of involvement in the game. Yeah, I mean, the Patriots are terrible against pass-catching running backs. I believe they're top five in receptions allowed to the position. So he should have the chance to do well in that regard. Yes, Jamie, they are.

In fact, they're six most catches, six most receiving yards to running backs. We were so close. Okay, that's a segment. And then this segment, just want to let everybody know where Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have finished in four-point versus six-point for passing touchdown leagues. Lamar Jackson's made four starts. In those four starts, I will give where he finished in four-point

for passing touchdown leagues, followed by six-point. 13th and 17th. 8th and 15th. 12th and 15th. And then last week he was actually better, 13th and six-point-per-passing touchdown leagues, 16th in four-point. Pretty big difference, though, for Lamar Jackson.

Josh Allen in his last three games since returning from the injury, pretty similar, actually. Fifth in four-point and sixth in six-point, second and second two weeks ago, and then last week he was eighth in four-point for passing touchdown leagues, and he was 17th in six-point for passing touchdown leagues. So when we give rankings, they are typically for six-point for passing touchdown leagues. Just keep in mind Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen.

Bump them up a few spots in four-point-per-passing touchdown leagues. All right. We're just about ready to get to the games. I keep putting off Team Name Tuesday, but I feel obligated to read this one from Evan. Evan says on Team Name Tuesday on a Thursday, Happy Galidays! Whether you celebrate Chris Gus, Januka, or even

Saquonza, these songs will have you Pete caroling all night long. I might need some help with these Christmas songs because I don't know all of them. O Cameron Ye Brateful? O Come All Ye Brateful. That's pretty good. I Really Can't Stay but Baby It's Carlos Hyde?

Baby It's Cold Outside. Very good. Santa Claus is Coming stay, but baby, it's Carlos Hyde. Baby, it's cold outside. Very good. Santa Claus is Coming, McCown. I know that one. Dion Dredel, Dredel, Dredel. I made it Charles Clay. Felice Nagy Dodd. Alf Have a Blue Christmas.

Oh Christmas Tyreek. Blocking Around the Christmas Breeze. Have Yourself a Mariota Christmas. And Alma Holmes for Christmas. Very nice. I don't know if that's a team name as much as it is just an awesome collection of holiday-themed fantasy.

Maybe they're all team names. Yeah. I think so. Yeah, sure. Works for me. That's good. That's really good. That was good. Yeah. New England's at Pittsburgh. All right, you're stat of the game. So, Jamie, you just talked about how bad New England is against pass-catching running backs. What about Pittsburgh?

They allow the second-fewest catches and the second-fewest receiving yards to opposing running backs. Only two running backs, Christian McCaffrey, five catches, 61 yards, two touchdowns. And Leonard Fournette, two catches for 46 yards. Only those two have had more than 24 receiving yards against the Steelers. Now, I seem to remember on that Thursday night game against the Panthers, I'm pretty sure my stat of the game was about how good the Steelers had been against pass-catching running backs. And then Christian McCaffrey comes out, has five catches, 61 yards, and two touchdowns.

So it typically doesn't matter for James White. But let's just start with the Patriots running backs. We'll go with the Patriots first here. Any interest in James White, Sonny Michel? What do you do with these dudes? I mean, James White's a must-start in PPR. He's at least a flex in non-PPR. This feels much more like a James White

type of game than a Sonny Michel game. Michel's just been very disappointing the last two weeks. 37 carries over that span, and he's gotten less fantasy points than James Devlin and James White. Obviously, Devlin's a fluke because of the touchdowns, but that's an important part of this for him is that clearly he's losing those goal line opportunities. He has seven catches on the season, and as much as the Steelers have given up touchdowns the last, I think it's five games in a row they've given up a touchdown to a running back, you're counting on that for Michel to save you. I don't want to count on that right now.

So he's, I think, a low-end starter at best and non-PPR and someone you may want to avoid completely in PPR. So I dug into the history of this game a little bit because these teams have played each other, I think it's one, two, three, four times in the last three years. And the Patriots have this pretty consistent track record of leaning on their running backs, but not through the air. And we've seen LeGarrette Blount have big games, five touchdowns on the ground in their last three against Pittsburgh. And so that makes me a little bit nervous about James White. But in PPR, he's given you eight plus fantasy points, three of his last four games.

It's hard to get away from him because you know what he's capable of doing. I think that if Sonny Mischella played better than he did last week, there'd be no doubt we'd be talking about saying that he's the number two running back this week. But he didn't play well the last two games. He had to change. But two games ago, he was fine. He just didn't score. Well, I don't know. His rushing average wasn't great.

It's gone downhill. And he had a chance to ice the game last week. He had a short yardage carry last week, and he couldn't get the job done. So I'm worried that the Patriots could lose confidence in him and not give him as much work. I'm very hesitant to start any Patriots running back in non-PPR. But you all agree that White is a must start in PPR or no? I think you just have to based on track record. His numbers have gone down. His recent track record is—

He's got one game with 18 PPR fans. It's scary, his recent track record. He's got one catch, seven catches, and two catches in his last three games. I would hesitate. I have him ranked as if he's a must-start, but I would hesitate to call him a must-start just because there are guys that you could have picked up on waivers the last two weeks that I would start over him.

James White. So like the guys tonight? I would start the guys tonight over him in PPR. I would start Jalen Samuels over him in the same game. Yeah, my next question, who's the best running back in this game? Jalen Samuels. Samuels. It's incredible, man.

But it is. He is. Yeah, Patriots are not good against running backs. Would you guys start Jalen Samuels or Aaron Jones? Samuels and PPR. Yep. I'll take Jones. All right.

Who's the best quarterback in this game? Roethlisberger. Ben. I think it's Ben. I've struggled with these guys, and I've got them both right around eight now. I'll lean towards Ben. Okay.

Yeah, I got to say, Brady, I think he's played well enough lately. He had 311 yards against the Vikings. That is the most by any quarterback in a game that Everson Griffins played. It's second most all year against the Vikings. He scored 23 points at the Jets three weeks ago, and he had a huge game, 32 points at the Dolphins last week.

His yards per attempt is up over his last three games. That's a pretty good sign. He's only been sacked twice in his last three games. And what's the variable? Rob Gronkowski came back. Look, I know Gronk, he's not looking as good. He's more coverable. But Gronk took those weeks off, came back, and Brady's been better.

Roethlisberger. Dude, Roethlisberger really... I'm ready for him to have a huge game. I feel like he's been knocking on the door. But his production, four straight games with 21 to 24 fantasy points, only two games with more than 24 fantasy points in his last eight games. In this environment, that's just not good enough. He's always good,

but will he be great? I want a huge Roethlisberger game. What do you think? There's a chance for it. What's the definition? 303? 28 or more fantasy points and six points per pass.

So that would get the job done, 303 with a turnover in there? There's absolutely a strong possibility of that happening so long as James Conner doesn't play. Okay. I guess if James Conner plays, obviously you guys are going to start him. So how about the Patriots wide receivers? Because we know we're starting both Steelers guys. How do you feel about Gordon and Edelman?

Edelman's the must start for me. Gordon's the number three for me. They're both must starts. Dave, is Josh Gordon a must start? Yeah, they're both right up there. They're both number two receivers. Heath, you just want to see more targets? You talked about it when Gronk came back.

And Gordon had a good game last week. But he has seen his targets suffer with all of the weapons there. It's been a lot of Edelman. It's been more Gronk. And it's been a little bit. What, 16 targets in his last three games? 17 I have. Three good games, though.

70 yards, 58 in a touchdown against the Vikings, then 96 yards last week at Miami. Okay. Works for me. Okay, so most people are probably going to start Gordon, but you heard it from Heath. Heath would start Robbie Anderson over Josh Gordon? Start Robbie Anderson over Josh Gordon.

Okay. Gronk, you're going to start. Boy, the Steelers are terrible against tight ends. Wow. And how about Vance McDonald? The Patriots are pretty bad against tight ends, too. They've started to clean it up over the past couple of games, but I don't necessarily buy it. Here's the trick for

Roethlisberger. If he's going to have one of those 300-yard three-touchdown games, he's going to need to lean on somebody other than Brown and Juju. The Patriots are going to probably double-team both of them on obvious passing downs. If it's third and five, third and six, Vance McDonald might be his number one read.

The problem is McDonald's had good matchups, and he doesn't come through. Yeah, he drops a touchdown. He doesn't get enough targets. He's a touchdown or bust tight end, but there's a zillion of those guys. So he's probably toward the top of that zillion. Heath, where's the crap burger this week? Is Vance McDonald in the crap burger? I think Vance McDonald may be the very top of the crap burger the top bun okay good to know sit the dsts and that's a that is our patriots steelers

preview i guess one last question would you start julian edelman in ppr or justin jackson damian or Justin Jackson, Damian Williams? Let's see. I think if you're telling me Melvin Gordon's not playing, I would start Justin Jackson. Okay. All right. I think I'm going to go Samuels. We've got... Was Samuels one of the choices?

I don't know. I thought he was. Samuels was not one of the choices. Well, I'm telling you that. He should be. Samuels over of the choices? I don't know. I thought he was. Samuels was not one of the choices. Well, I'm telling you that. He should be. Samuels over Justin Jackson. He should be. Okay.

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for a family barbecue a few months ago. And we had like 15 to 20 people there, and there was plenty of food. Maybe there was more like 12 people. It doesn't matter. There's plenty of food to go around. So go to OmahaSteaks.com, put in FFT in the search bar for $49.99. You get 74% off. You get all of that food, and it's just absolutely delicious. Our next game

is, dare I say, the hardest one to project? You guys tell me. Dallas at Indianapolis. Oh, I don't think that's hard to project. Yeah, what's hard about that one? Well, I could see it going either way. I could see it being low scoring or I could see it being

28-24 kind of game. I don't think it's going to be in the 30s. But I think you know who you're starting with. That's the thing. Yes. But I guess it's just a matter of how good they're going to be. Couldn't you see a scenario where it's kind of a low-scoring game? Because these defenses are respectable,

but also very talented offenses. I think it's going to be a typical Colts game. They can't run. Dallas will score early, and then the Colts chasing points, and Luck and his receiving core will be fine. The thing I love about this game is you know Amari Cooper is going to dominate targets for Dallas.

Oh, he's going to have a monster game. So he's going to be awesome. You know T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron are going to dominate targets for the Colts, so they're going to be awesome. You know T.Y. Hilton and Eric Ebron are going to dominate targets for the Colts, so they're going to be awesome. Zeke's awesome. Luck's awesome. I think there are two hard players in this game, and it's Marlon Mack and it's Dak Prescott.

Can I go to Luck real quick? Because I know he's awesome, but you guys have him second. I thought he'd be closer to fifth this week. You're very confident in him against the Cowboys' defense. The only quarterback that I would consider starting ahead of Luck would be Goff. But even Goff's situation, he could end up handing off to Todd Gurley a bunch. Because I feel like we're headed toward a big get-right game for Gurley. Well, it's also a big get-right game for Goff.

Yeah, sure. I like them both, but if one of those two had a chance at four touchdowns, I think it's Luck, not Goff. I think they're both in the three-touchdown range easy. Just to clarify, Dave has Mahomes ahead of Luck, but the other quarterback

would be Goff that you'd consider. Right. I thought about putting Goff ahead of Luck, and I'm not doing it. Do you look at Andrew Luck at home over the last entire season, basically. 343-3, 297-3, 285-3. He had the weird game against Buffalo where he only threw for 156, but four touchdowns. 464-4 against Houston.

It hasn't mattered who he's played. Here's your stat. Here's your and 4 against Houston. Like, it hasn't mattered who he's played. Oh, here's your stat. Here's your stat of the game. Sorry. No quarterback has scored more than 26 fantasy points against Dallas in six-point-per-passing touchdown leagues. 26. That's the most all year. Andrew Luck has scored 26 or more in eight of his last nine games.

I love it. It's a showdown! Alright, so Luck's fine. Luck's stardom over everyone except Mahomes. What about Dak? Heath, you said he's difficult. It's a showdown. All right, so Luck's fine. Luck's stardom over everyone except Mahomes. What about Dak? Heath, you said he's difficult. Everybody's got him between 11th and 14th right now. Yeah, I've got him 14th, and the guys in the same range as him, mostly the guys right above him are the ones I really struggle with.

Breeze on the road, Russell Wilson and his pass volume, I think those guys are all very similar. I don't think it's a bad thing to start Dak. I'd feel perfectly fine with it, but I haven't yet found a way to get him in my top 12. The only three quarterbacks to not achieve 20 or more fantasy points against Indianapolis in their last 10 games are Derek Anderson, Marcus Mariota, who played a half, and Cody Kessler. Everybody else that they've played has gotten you at least 20 fantasy points.

Six have given you at least multiple touchdowns. And the Colts are giving up five and a half yards per carry to quarterbacks in their last four games. Dak's getting four plus carries a game. I think he's going to continue running. I think he's going to continue playing very well like he has. I think he's a top 12 quarterback, and I might talk myself into moving him even higher in my rankings before Sunday comes around. Yeah, my initial ranking is I had him 11.

I moved him back up to 12 this morning. Yeah, it's a good spot for him. It's just a matter of which deck you're getting, because he's played really well late, but it's, what, two games over, two games at 30, and then two games under 20? Yeah. And he's played well in all those games. It's not like he's played poorly.

Right. It's just a matter of is he getting you the second touchdown. Yeah, and also he threw 54 passes last week against the Eagles. He's not going to throw 54 again. In overtime. In overtime. And the Colts may not have a great secondary, but nobody's is as bad as the Eagles right now. Okay, so Prescott, for the first time this year, I'll be starting Prescott over Jameis Winston.

I think that's probably an easy call. But would you guys start Prescott or Cam Newton? Dak. How about Dak over Aaron Rodgers? Yep. That was my next question. Prescott or Drew Brees? Dak.

I'll take Brees. I currently have Brees? Dak. I'll take Brees. I currently have Brees ranked higher. I'm not sure it's going to stay that way. Check the ranking Sunday morning. Yeah, it's a bad spot for Brees. Dak. From Dak to Mack. Marlon Mack, start or sit? Sit.

Tough matchup. Doesn't consistently get enough work. Not a factor in the passing game. This is Andrew Luck's game to let it rip i i think he's a flex there are a lot of running backs that i'd like to start over him that you haven't been there are a lot of running backs that you have been starting that i would start him over such as like i'd rather start him than kenyan drake i'd rather start him than tevin coleman i'd rather start him than Tevin Coleman. I'd rather start him than Jordan Howard, Adrian Peterson,

Josh Adams. Here's one. How about Chris Ivory? I'd go Mack. I'd go Mack, too. Eric Ebron must start. Eric Ebron or Jalen Samuels? Double E. Samuels.

Two votes for Samuels. The only two tight ends I would start over Samuels? Double E. Samuels. Samuels. Two votes for Samuels. The only two tight ends I would start over Samuels are Kelsey and Kittle. Okay. Sitting the DSDs? Please. Yeah.

All right. Cleveland's at Denver. That's our next game. We'll talk about it right after this. Kick off an exciting football season with BetMGM,

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Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. So stat of the game for this one. This is a fun one. Philip Lindsay has only two games with more than 14 carries when Royce Freeman is played.

Two games with more than 14 carries. And Ronald Jones is the only running back that scored a touchdown against the Browns with fewer than 16 carries. Let that sink in. And then start Phillip Lindsay anyway.

100%. So I asked you this on Tuesday's Waver Wire show. I don't remember the answer. I was listening. I just don't remember. Why are you guys so low on Baker Mayfield? You have him around 20th. I'm a little worried about the upside.

I think this is a low-scoring game for them. Okay. So sit Baker Mayfield. And then Nick Chubb, we went in-depth on him yesterday, but he does have a tough matchup. You guys just don't seem concerned. Top 10 guy, Nick Chubb.

You have to. Workload has been great for him. They're using him as a pass catcher. And when they're near the goal line, he gets a lot of work. So I feel confident starting him. Both running backs in this game, Chubb and Lindsay, are they better than the recent waiver wire pickups? Samuels? All of them.

All of them. All right. Start these guys. We won't get cute. Jarvis Landry, we already debated. If you missed the Jarvis Landry discussion, Dave and Jamie have Landry around 20th. Heath has him about 31st or so. You can listen to that in the rankings dispute section.

And then are there any other wide receivers in this game on either side that you would start? Not with a smile. No. I think Cortland Sutton, if there's a crap burger at tight end there's probably a bigger crap burger at wide receiver and i think sutton is toward the top of that crap burger that's also so he's still your favorite bronco uh yeah i would still take him ahead of day sean what about the one about tim petrick oh no no i'm still going to take Sutton. The usage was there. He dropped a touchdown last week. Two deep targets.

It will hurt him if Denzel Ward ends up playing. So Ward clears concussion protocol. I would imagine that the Browns would put him on Sutton and that would probably limit Sutton even further. So

Cleveland is actually solid against receivers, and they're 14th against receivers while facing the Chargers, the Steelers twice, the Saints, the Bucs, the Chiefs, the Falcons, and the Texans. They've faced some of the very, very best. They quietly have one of the better cornerback units in football. Yeah, but Ward might not play. Yeah, if Ward might not play.

Yeah, if Ward doesn't play, that changes a lot. But they still have T.J. Carey on the outside. He's been very good. They've got Body Calhoun in the slot. Terrence Mitchell filled in last week. They've all been playing very well. The scheme is agreed with the personnel that they have. Greg Williams deserves credit for what he's doing with that unit. I just wish the pass rush was a little bit stronger for them.

Well, the secondary benefit is because of their pass rush because they are getting after the quarterback. Whether they're getting sacks or not, they're still getting pressure there. Where do they rank? Do you have any idea on pressures? No. I'll check it out. David Njoku, speaking of crap burgers and tight ends, where's David Njoku?

And Matt Lacoste is outside the top 20. Don't start, Matt Lacoste. What about Njoku? Denver allows the fourth most fantasy points opposing tight ends. Njoku? He is the meat of the crap burger sandwich. So he's behind the bun of Vance McDonald? Yes.

Okay. He's around 12. Do you want to know who the lower bun is? Yeah, who's the lower bun? Kyle Rudolph. Okay, so from McDonald to Rudolph, there's a bunch of crap in between that. Alright, that's it for this one. DSTs, sit the Browns.

Steelers, 17th for Jamie, unless that's been updated. You mean Broncos? Yep, Broncos. Don't know why I said that. Broncos are 17th for Jamie, 12th for Dave, and 7th for Heath. Oakland's at Cincinnati. I already gave the stat

about Jordy Nelson and what wide receivers with 7-11 targets do against the Bengals. They usually do very well. Here's another stat of the game. Doug Martin. There have been seven running backs with 15 or more carries against the Bengals. Martin has 15 or more carries in three of his last five games. He left one of them early with an injury,

and they lost the other one by 17 points. So assuming they're competitive, Martin's trending toward a 15-carry day. The seven running backs who had 15 or more carries against the Bengals, all of them scored 14 or more fantasy points. Hot damn, that's a stat of the day. That's a good one. How much do you like Doug Martin this week? I like him enough to say that he's a number of the day. That's a good one. How much do you like Doug Martin this week?

I like him enough to say that he's a number two running back. I think he's got a great shot to score. You mentioned the carries. I think that's going to help him. I wish his rushing average had been better the past couple of weeks. He's going to need to... He needs his offensive line to really come through for him here to help him kind of shake free and get a bunch of five-plus-yard gains.

Do you need to block the Bengals? I mean, it's kind of part of football. It's an important question because they do have some injuries, including Osemaly, on their offensive line. He's one of those guys that I'm nervous to start because of the talent, but the opportunity and the matchup are too good to pass up. This has the feeling of that sneaky game that nobody cares about. That's the most exciting game of all.

I think this is the hardest game to project. You said it about Indy Dallas. I think this is because you've just got a terrible offensive unit against a terrible defensive unit all the time. Well, who are the guys you're confident like mixin's gonna be a beast right absolutely okay i'm starting mixin i'm starting boyd i'm starting martin how would you rank as flexes boyd martin jordy nelson like that in ppr i think i'd probably put boyd ahead of martin right boyd martin nelson in PPR. In non-PPR, I would go Martin, Boyd, Nelson.

So how much do you guys like Tyler Boyd this week? Not the same as every other week for me. He's in that Jarvis Landry low-end number two receiver range. I have him in that same range. When you look at sleeper-wide receivers, would you rather go with

John Ross, who has a touchdown in four or five games without A.J. Green, including the game Green left early with an injury, or Jordy Nelson? Jordy. I'll take Ross. I'll take Jordy in PPR. I'll take Jordy in both. Okay. Jared Cook is a must start. Anything else in this game? Oh, Derek Carr. Any quarterbacks that we've been starting most of the year, like a Rodgers?

I'd start him over Jameis this week. Would you start him over Rodgers? No. I would not. I would start him over Mariota. He's played great the last game. He's got 19 fantasy points, three of his last four. But I still have trepidation. I don't want to start him if I don't have to

He's great in a two quarterback league But that Rodgers, Cam, Trubisky I'll take Nick Mullins ahead of Derek Carr He's not in the same category as Trubisky Well we're going to debate that We're going to debate that tomorrow Uzama, Kratberger

PPR Well, we're going to debate that tomorrow. Uzama, Kratberger? PPR, he's going to be good for like 6, 7, 8. That's what he's been getting you. Okay, that would be Bengals and Raiders. Let's go to Tampa Bay at Baltimore. Stat of the game. Cameron Brait has played three games without O.J. Howard. He does not have more than 36 yards in any of those three games,

but Cameron Brate has five red zone targets in those three games. All five of them were from the 12-yard line or closer, and three of them were from inside the six-yard line. P.S., Baltimore has allowed a touchdown to a tight end in four straight games. I'm kind of bringing it with the stats of the day today. Yeah. I'm enjoying them, Adam. Thank you.

There's a correlation between the stats of the game and the team name Tuesday on a Thursday. Yeah, yeah. It's a good show today. Look, Braid has touched down or bust, but I think based on those trends, a lot of targets inside the 12-yard line. Ravens not so great against tight ends. How do you feel about starting Bray? I'm worried that I have Bray ranked too high. Where do you have him? I've got him ninth, and I'm pretty comfortable with it.

He's toward the outer edge of Planet Crapburger. Yeah, he's on... He's the atmosphere. For me, he's on top of it. Okay, yeah, he's seventh to ninth for everybody. So, Star Cam and Bray. Any interest at all in Jameis Winston?

No. No. Peyton Barber? No. None. Mike Evans? Number two. Yep.

Adam Humphreys? Not much. He's on the flex fence in Ppr number two in pbr number two pbr chris godwin i'm nervous that his 10 target one catch game will lead to fewer targets moving forward number four receiver i'd say number three but he's touchdown dependent would you start jordy nelson or john r Ross over Humphries or Godwin? I would not. I would start Jordy over Godwin.

I would do that in PPR. Okay. That's the books about that. Lamar Jackson. I do sort of... You all have him top ten. He hasn't really deserved that in six-point-per-passing touchdown leagues. And he's had nothing but, not good, but great matchups.

I know Jackson has another one, but top 10? This is a matchup where it's going to be really good for his legs. The Bucs' pass defense has gotten better since they got rid of Mike Smith. And that's great. But their run defense has been consistently poor. This is his toughest matchup. And he hasn't scored more than 22 fantasy points and 6 points per passing touchdown. You're looking at the quarterback passing stats

for it to be his toughest matchup. And it's still a good matchup, even though it's his... The Buccaneers are giving up more fantasy points than just Chiefs. But lately, they haven't given up more than 24 in eight straight games. They just held Drew Brees to 16, Cam Newton to 19. I don't think they have a good pass to the events. I think it's all garbage. I think they suck.

But so do the Falcons, so do the Chiefs, so do the Bengals, and so do the Raiders. He just hasn't come through. I'm just surprised he's top 10. I hate when I argue against the three people who are paid to do this. No, look, this is why you're great at your job. You bring up questions that sometimes we don't think of. I think some of it is a little fluky, like Cam with the shoulder. We really don't know how healthy he is or what he's playing with.

You know, it breezes track record is outdoors. That's part of it, too. Yeah. You know, so we'll see. It's a gamble. I mean, I'm making the gamble. I'm starting him. I said it, I think, either Sunday or on Tuesday.

Like, one of my tough choices is Lamar Jackson or Dak Prescott. Right now, I'm going with Lamar Jackson because I just think there's a little bit more upside with him. But that may end up being a costly decision for me. I don't know what you do with Lamar Jackson. I guess I know what I would do because I've got him right tired. But Lamar Jackson versus Phillip Rivers on Thursday. Lamar Jackson versus Deshaun Watson. Those are some tougher choices for me. I'm starting him over Rivers. I think I am too.

I think that this is a game where the Ravens just run the ball like crazy, and Lamar Jackson will be a big part of that. I think he can throw for one. I think he can run for one, and I think he can get just 70 yards rushing on top of it and low passing yardage. I'm not starting him for his passing yardage. I also think he could play a mistake-free game here, too. I hope so. And I think that even four-pointer passing touchdown leagues completely makes sense. I get it. But we like Matt Ryan to bounce back.

Not bounce back, because he ended up with a good game last week. But we like Ryan. Cousins are going to bounce back. So just some big names that you guys have Lamar Jackson over. The rankings are different for each analyst, so you'd have to check the rankings page. It's too much to get into right now. But, okay, that's your Lamar Jackson discussion. Okay, what do you think about Gus Edwards and Kenneth Dixon, guys?

I'm a little worried that Kenneth Dixon's going to get more of the work. If he gets the same amount of the work and gets the nine carries and Dixon gets 16, or Edwards gets 16, then I think Edwards is going to be great. Edwards is a low-end number two for me. Dixon's a good flex.

I think that sums it up nicely. If this were a game where Jameis ends up playing well and they're in a competitive matchup, I wouldn't be surprised if Dixon played more. But I think they control the clock, they control the ground game, and that's perfect for Gus Edwards. Would you rather have Gus Edwards or Doug Martin this week? Martin.

Martin. Definitely Martin and PPR. I think I prefer Gus and none. The great thing about the Ravens is they're going to run it 50 times So like yeah Lamar Jackson will have 10 or 15 carries and Kenneth Dixon Can take 10 carries there's still 18 carries for Gus Edwards

Gus Edwards or Dante Pettis Format Edwards non PPR Pettis PPR Yep Okay Did we miss Edwards, non-PPR, Pettis PPR. Yep. Okay. Did we miss anybody? You're not starting a wide receiver, are you?

For Baltimore? No. Is this going to be two straight weeks where the Bucs keep a wide receiver out of the end zone? I wouldn't be surprised if one of them scored. You just can't figure out who it is. Right. He'll take some shots with John Brown. That's been the case. Last week they connected.

The week before they missed. Yeah, it's just there's no rhyme or reason to it. I do love Lamar Jackson in DFS. Ravens, 6th for Jamie, 5th for Dave, and Heath has him 10th. You can start that Ravens DST.

Houston at the Jets. So if you want to hear about Deshaun Watson or Robbie Anderson, please check out our Rankings Disputes segment. We talked about them earlier. I think Lamar Miller is certainly worth discussing here. Over his last seven games, which is actually eight weeks. So eight weeks, which is seven games and a bye for him. He's the number 12 running back in non-PPR.

He's 15th in PPR, Lamar Miller. And it's a very good matchup, right? Do you have any hesitation starting Lamar Miller? I'm starting him. Number two running back. Are you leaning toward Damian Williams, Justin Jackson, Jalen Samuels ahead of Lamar? Yes. Yes.

Is there a reason why? Is that more to do with the other guys or Lamar? More upside. To me, Lamar Miller is a good floor play. But the ceiling is always risky, as we saw last week, where Alfred Blue all of a sudden looked like he's playing better. And I think there's at least a little bit of concern about the floor just because they have those weird games where Alfred Blue gets more carries than he does. Yeah.

And last week he was saved by a touchdown. Alfred Blue has had 13 to 15 carries in four of his last six games. That's weird. I don't, I can't make any sense of it. They just like using multiple running backs. They don't want to put too much on Lamar's plate. They run a lot. It's not familiar.

It's the story of Lamar Miller's career. They do run a lot. Any wide receivers other than DeAndre Hopkins in this game? Yes, Robbie Anderson for Heath. No, for Dave and Jamie. But other than Hopkins, do you want to start? I moved Anderson up to where I said. He's in the 40s. Okay.

How about tight ends in this game? Jordan Thomas, Chris Herndon? They're both low-end streamers that you're going to pick up and use if you missed out on Ian Thomas. It's a good spot for Herndon. If you go to a diner

and you get a really, really good burger that's just super, super juicy, but then you get it to take it home, and by the time you get home, the bottom bun's all soggy and there's just this pile of grease in the bag, Herndon and Thomas are that grease. Don't forget about Ryan Griffin, too. He led them in targets at the Titans this last week. Herndon is 64% owned. He's coming off a really bad game,

but Buffalo allows the fourth fewest fantasy points at tight ends. That was Herndon last week. This week he faces Houston. They give up the eighth most fantasy points at tight ends, including 65 yards and a touchdown to Ebron last week. Gronkowski, Jeff Swaim, Jeff Hireman, John U. Smith, Anthony Ferkser all had season highs in yards against the Texans. Jordan Reed came within four yards of his season high.

I've given that stat before. So it's a much better matchup for Herndon this week than it was last week. Yeah. Stop feeling it? I'm just, I don't know if I can trust the Jets to do anything right. Do you trust Elijah McGuire, guys? I don't know if I can trust the Jets to do anything right. I like the situation for him if he's the only guy.

And so he's been doing a decent job in the past game since he's taken over that Blaupau role. I think you can use him as a flex this week. Yeah, there's a lot of running backs that I like him over. A lot of them. Okay, go on. Elijah Maguire, over. You want me to name them all? Just a few. Todd Gurley. Marlon Mack.

That's a good one. Josh Adams. Agreed. Adrian Peterson. Josh, Jordan Howard. Kevin Coleman. Agreed. And this is the one where Jamie won't agree, but I'd take him over James Whiten on PPR. I think I'm back-to-back, so I don't know. I'd take him over James Whiten on PPR.

I think I'm back-to-back, so I don't know about that. I'd take him over Sonny Michel on PPR. I do wish it were a better matchup for him, but it's a good opportunity for Elijah McGuire. Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What? What happened? What did I say? Two weeks ago, you were right, but I said Elijah McGuire over Sonny Michel on PPR, and you eviscerated me. Oh, you wanted me to come back at this?

Yes. Of course I'm going to agree with you this week if Crowell is out for the first time in his career. Two weeks ago, Isaiah Crowell was perfectly healthy, and you were taking James White. What was it again? Oh, no, you were taking Sonny Michelle, Maguire ahead of Michelle and PPR.

It was bonkers. Now it makes sense, Heath. I'm on board. Heath Island has two members. Jamie said it, not me. Oh, okay. The Texans, for what it's worth, as good as their run defense has been, they've given up a touchdown to a running back in two straight games.

I think they've given up a rushing touchdown in six straight games to a running back. Houston has not allowed, let's see, has allowed six rushing touchdowns to running backs in their last six games. So not quite consecutive. But, yeah, they're letting guys in the end zone. Yeah, Tennessee, no one scored against them in Week 12. All right, we've got two crappy games left.

Detroit at Buffalo. I gave this stat on Tuesday's show, but here it is again. The Lions, I'm sort of intrigued by this. Probably not much of a rhyme or reason, but they allow by far the fewest rushing yards per game to quarterbacks. They have faced Prescott, Trubisky, Aaron Rodgers, what that's worth, Russell Wilson, and Cam Newton. And they give up like five rushing yards per game to quarterbacks.

We've got another Melvin Gordon tweet from Ian Rappaport. What do we got? The Chargers are promoting Troy Mayne Pope. Oh, boy. From the practice squad for tonight's game against the Chiefs. Melvin Gordon has been pushing to play and there's no decision yet, but Troy Mayne Pope has been promoted. Well, they never replaced Eckler, right?

Or Gordon? They... Newsom replaced Gordon. Yeah, that was Newsom. Wasn't he already on the active roster? They promoted him up there. I guess... It's not sounding good for Gordon.

No. Josh Allen, sounding good for him. How do you feel about him this week? Low end starter. I don't know how much. I'm a little worried about just how much running he'll actually do. This is a defense in Detroit that just is not able to rush the passer. They just lost their best pass rusher for the year.

Let me just face a team that doesn't rush the pass when he ran for over 100 yards. My biggest thing is I don't... What do you want to project Josh Allen for on a per-carry basis? His yards per carry? 25? What? In the last three weeks, he's been right around 10 yards per carry.

I can't believe that's going to... Teams are just not accounting for it, and they have to. Yeah. Three straight games. But again, it's not design runs. Right. And the Dolphins put a spy on him, and he made Kiko Alonso look silly. And you've got a good

point with the Jets. It's not like they've got a great pass rush, either. They were getting close to him, and when they were, he was escaping the pocket and picking up big yards. It's also their offense is doing this by design as well. You said it the other day. Everybody's playing man against them, and so when everyone's back is turned, he just

takes off and runs. Josh Allen or Aaron Rodgers? Josh Allen. It's Allen. I still have Aaron Rodgers one spot ahead of Josh Allen. In four-point per pass touchdown leagues, definitely Allen. Yeah, so Allen is 15th,

16th, and 18th in the rankings for Jamie, Dave, and Heath. Where do you think he'd be in four-point per pass in touchdown leagues? Would he move ahead of Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins? Yes. Yeah, he'd be close to a top-12 quarterback for me.

Do you have an answer? Yeah, I'm looking at it right now. I think I would put him at 13. I move him up to 15. Are you starting any running backs in this game? No. No. No.

Zach Zender and Chris Ivey are interesting flex options if you're stuck. And Theo Riddick, the standard 10 in PPR. Also, to clarify on a wide receiver in this game, I had expressed some excitement for Isaiah McKenzie earlier in the week. If Chris Ivory plays, that excitement will no longer exist. Well, he could still get a couple of end-of-rounds. He could get two, but DJ Moore's going to get that every week. But Zay Jones, I mean, Zay Jones is getting nine targets in three of his last four games. I know he had a bad game last week.

Any interest in Zay Jones? Not a lot. Any interest in anybody not named Kenny Galladay? Not a lot. All right. Galladay is a safe start this week. He's top 20 for you guys? Yep.

I'm starting that mess. Tough matchup, but we talked about that on yesterday's show, so please check that out. And final game is Washington and Jacksonville. Stat of the game, this game is terrible. Would you start anyone other than Leonard Fournette? The defenses. Yep.

The defenses are okay. I don't mind Vernon Davis if you're really desperate at tight end. Oh, yeah, yeah. All right, so Vernon Davis, or we'll get in the burger here, or David Njoku. I'm certain Vern. I think I'm going to go Vernon in PPR. Vernon Davis or Jimmy Graham?

Vernon. Vern. Vernon Davis or Vance McDonald, the top bun of the Krat Burger? Vance. Yeah, yeah, Vernon Davis is the pickles. But I would take Anthony Frickster over a lot of the guys you just said. He's the pickles of the Krat Burger. Don't call him the pickles because pickles are the worst food on planet Earth.

They are flavor dominators. You're insane. Pickles are wonderful. Pickles are the next bet I lose because I hate them almost as much as I hate Butterfingers. Good, so the two bets you owe me, one, you have to eat as many pickles as I can. I am adding this to the list. Which list? The list of things that are future bets or the list of stupid things Adam has ever done?

I've been maintaining a list on Twitter of Adam's stupidest statements. Yeah. And pickles are the worst food on earth. Well, pickles are second worst behind beans. Beans are my least favorite. Pickles are – maybe pickles are worse. I think pickles are my least favorite food. Are you putting all beans in the same category?

Pretty much. There's not – well, I'm not like green beans. But like refried – Well, they're a bean. Okay. But I'm talking like green beans. Well, for a bean. Okay, but I'm talking like you go to Rex's restaurant and you have rice and beans or something like that. Those are disgusting. Beans are gross. So black beans. Black beans, yeah. Refried, pinto, all that stuff. Gross. What about jelly beans?

Jelly beans are okay. Only some flavors. Oh, we're out of here. Thanks for listening to the Thursday show. Back tomorrow with a recap. Oh, sorry. I've got a good stat for you, though. More news on Melvin Gordon? My favorite type of bean is gaggle.

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na.