Fantasy Football Today - FFT Express - Beat the Waiver Wire for Week 17! (12/20 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

Adam and Jamey go position by position to highlight the BEST fantasy football players you need to grab BEFORE waivers run. Don’t wait until everyone else is fighting for them — stash these guys now! 0:00 - Intro 00:10 - Quarterbacks 1:30 - Running Backs 4:00 - Wide Receivers 5:50 - Tight Ends 7:20 - DST 7:52 - Kickers 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

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Okay, Jamie, let's talk about it. We've got some quarterbacks to pick up. Who are the names to know? I think the best one is Tyler Shuck, you know, coming off another strong game. He was a little overshadowed by Taysam Hill, but, you know, still did well against the Jets. And now a great matchup against the Titans.

So he's a borderline top 12 quarterback for me. me and somebody I'll be looking at to start over Jared Gough, for example, because I'm terrified of golf taking on the Minnesota Vikings. Mariotta, if he plays, has a great matchup against Cowboys. As we know, only two quarterbacks of season have failed to go over 20 fantasy points against Dallas, but Mario was dealing with that hand injury, so something to keep an eye on there. After those two, it's kind of a mix of, I haven't really settled on the order yet. We'll get that by Tuesday, but you have Aaron Rogers. We'll find out if D.K. Metcalf is going to play, taking on the Browns.

You got cousins and what is a matchup that they're probably going to be chasing points against the Rams, they're home on Monday night. Bryce Young against a depleted Seattle defense. He'll probably have to throw in that game, especially if the Seahawks limit the run game for the Panthers. And then Cam Ward, give credit. He's been playing much better of late, certainly from a fantasy perspective,

and he has a great matchup against the Saints. So all those quarterbacks could be replacement options, but my favorite is Tyler Schump. Yeah, I mean, Cam Ward, I don't think people are going to really trust him, but he's thrown one pick in his last eight games, and it's killing these DSTs. that we keep streaming against the Titans.

So just keep that in mind if you have the Saints DST, who certainly came through last week. Okay, running back is really interesting, Jamie. Ramandre Stevenson, someone that might have been dropped, so he could have a great opportunity against the Jets. Who else? So I would go back to Michael Carter.

Did well in the loss against the Falcons, but I think we'll be a little bit more in the passing game. At least that would be the hope taking on the Bengals. Emmanuel Wilson may be the starter for the Packer. So if we find out before Tuesday that Jacobs potentially has ruled out, he would be number one. So those are the top two guys. Both could be considered starting options. Then we get into the flex range of guys that you got to keep an eye on some injury situations.

At least we know at the Browns that there's not going to be Quinn John Judkins with his unfortunate injury. But I would actually look at the Texans first with Woody Marks being out because Jawar Jordan got 20 total touches, not going to be an easy matchup against the chargers. But anytime you're talking about running that getting that much work, he should be in the flex conversation, especially in PPR when Jordan had five catches. So when you look at the Browns, Rahim Sanders is probably going to be the lead running back unless Dylan Samson's active,

but I think we'll still see a split. So Samson's missed the week 16 game. We'll see what happens with him coming back against Pittsburgh and give the Steelers credit. They shut down the lion's rushing attack almost completely. So the role in the passing game may be the thing that matters here. So Samson could be clearly very popular. But if Samson's out,

don't forget about Trayvion Williams, who had four catches in that game for the Browns after Judkins left. We go to Washington next where Chris Rodriguez scored a touchdown, keeping on Quinn and Williams in that situation there for Dallas. And then we get into really some desperation plays in my mind, but some guys that could be flex options for you. So Taijay Spears coming off a game where he did very well for the Titans. I think we'll see both running back still involved.

Pollard, obviously, the better of the two. Isaiah Pacheco extremely involved in the passing game and given the quarterback situation and potentially the receiver situation for the chiefs, we could see Pacheco having to catch some passes against the Broncos, especially to avoid the pass rush. I'll go back to Audragette, clearly with not as much confidence because of what Taysam Hill did for the Saints, but SMA played more than Evan Hull, and so maybe they gave him an opportunity

against the Titans to carry the ball a little bit more. Sean Tucker scored a touchdown now in three straight games, so if you are desperate, maybe scores for a fourth game in a row in a very good matchup against Miami. And then the really, really desperate guys, Somaget P. Ryan and Isaiah Davis, they're getting work in their respective backfields. P. Ryan scored a touchdown against Dolphins. Davis had four catches for the Jets. Both guys, if you're really stuck, could be flex options if you really need them in the championship week. Okay, we're going to take a break. We've got wide receivers, tight ends, DSTs, and

even some kickers for you. I'll beat the waiver. I'll be right back. Canada can be a global leader in reducing the harm caused by smoking, but it requires actionable steps. Now is the time to modernize Canadian laws so that adult

smokers have information and access to better alternatives. By doing so, we can create lasting change. If you don't smoke, don't start. If you smoke, quit. If you don't quit, change. Visit unsmobile. All right, so the wide receiver, I think the maybe not quite as good,

but the wide receiver equivalent of Ramandre Stevenson would be Troy Franklin. He was, yeah, I'm sure if you were going to pick one, you'd pick Remandre. But both of them have opportunities here. And we don't know that Travion Henderson isn't going to play. It'd be shocking if Pat Bryant played on Thursday. But anyway, who are the available wide receivers to get? And also keep an eye on the Packer situation, Romeo Dobbs, left the game with a wrist injury.

Maybe Jaden Reed gets a boost in that regard. So he's another guy in the shallow league, 71% rostered. But Parker, Washington, coming off an amazing game for the Jaguars. Clearly, we've seen an up and down season for Brian Thomas. I think he'll be better against the Colts in Week 17. But Washington could be a starter in three receiver leagues. Mack Hollins could be somebody that the Patriots need and maybe fantasy managers need as well. Kashon Booty left with a head injury.

DeMario Douglas left with a hamstring injury. And so Hollins, in the two games that Booty was out, was very involved for Mac, for Drake me, excuse me. And so Hollins could be an option in three receiver leagues. All these guys are three receiver league are only worth using in three receiver leagues. You want to start these guys in two receiver leagues unless you're really stuck. Chimericay had another touchdown, you know, taking on the tight. The Saints could be involved again from K.M.

Ward, as you alluded to, playing well. I would look at Jalen Coker again. I know he didn't have a great game against the Bucks, but we expect them to potentially be throwing more against Seattle and against Seattle. Then with a lot of injuries on defense on their in their secondary, but on defense as a whole. And then Trey Tucker was very involved against the Texans and taking on the Giants at home. I think Tucker's worth the look in deeper leagues. We know he's been very tough to trust.

But I still think with Tyler Lockett also banged up, that could be somebody that benefits in that great matchup against the Giants. Yeah, by the way, Matt Collins, two games without Cajon Booty, 16.6 fantasy points at Tampa Bay, 10.4 against the Jets. And he ran 84% of the routes in Weeks 10 and 11. All right, tight ends. I'm going to go back to Brent Strange. I know he didn't play well against the Colts the first time around, but scored a touchdown against the Broncos. I think just the way Trevor Lawrence is playing right now,

you take your chances with Strange as a low-end starter. The next two guys are really more deep league options. But look, if they're going to feature Taysam Hill like they did in the first game without Camara, Kendra Miller, and Devon Neal, maybe it's just him as the running back of choice and giving him these opportunities, which what sounds like his last couple of games with the Saints, maybe his last couple of games in the NFL.

And then Micahekees scored a touchdown in two of the last three games. You're just attaching yourself to Joe Burrow. I know it's tough to trust Gaseki when everybody's healthy, but we did see him score against Miami. The Cardinals who they face in week 17 have been miserable against tight ends for the majority of the season. So Gaseki is somebody in deeper leagues that you can look at. DSTs.

I'm sorry, before we get there, the shallow league guys at tight end because these guys may have been dropped. Hunter Henry touched down two of his last three games. Great match up against the Jets. Dalton Schultz has just been amazing for the majority of the second half of the season, coming off another good game against the Raiders, which we know have been good against tight ends, but Schultz is just locked in right now.

so I think you can still start him against the Chargers. And then Joanne Johnson is the best of the bunch, looking at what he did in the first game without Devon Veilay. Great match up against the Titans. You'll be starting Joanne Johnson as a potential top six tight end this week. Wow. Okay. And Hunter Henry has been really consistent. And just a few weeks ago, he had a good game against the Giants.

It was almost a great game, if you recall. He had a touchdown called back on something like an illegal shift or something like that. But when he hasn't faced Buffalo, basically, Hunter Henry's been pretty reliable. Okay, Jamie, what do we got for DSTs? Giants had a good game against the Vikings and taking on the Raiders, who I know look better offensively against the Texans, but it's still Gino Smith. And so maybe we get a few pressures and some sacks and maybe a turnover to there.

Vikings defense has been awesome. I know they're taking on the Lions, but still trust Brian Flores. The Ravens could be facing Malik Willis. You brought up, you know, we may have had this conversation already before, but the Bucks defense against Quinn Ewers, that could be an option to take a look at there. And then depending on what the commander's quarterback situation looks like if you look to check out the Cowboys for kickers.

Evan McPherson's just been very good. Takes on the Cardinals. They're one of the best teams in terms of allowing fantasy points of kickers. Eddie Pinero's has been solid. We'll see who does Monday night, but taking on the Bears. In that same game, Hiro Santos, taking on the 49ers. So another option to consider as well. Thank you, Jamie.

Thank you all for watching and listening. And we will talk to you tomorrow.