Fantasy Football Today - NFL DFS Wild Card Weekend Preview: Main Slate Lineups, Picks, Stacks and Ownership (FFT DFS)

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

Join Our Wild Card Weekend Slate! : https://www.draftkings.com/draft/contest/172910333 Just because the NFL regular season is over doesn't mean you can't play more DFS. Join Sia Nejad, Mike McClure and Meg Shoup as they give you the best plays for this Wild Card Weekend. 00:45 - Which Slate are you playing? 02:33 - Chargers at Texans (42.5) 09:57 - Steelers at Ravens (43.5) 18:23 - Broncos at Bills (46.5) 23:37 - Packers at Eagles (45.5) 31:22 - Commanders at Buccaneers (50.5) 40:25 - Vikings at Rams (47.5) 43:05 - Meg's Cheat Sheet 44:14 - Sia's Cheat Sheet 45:12 - Mike's Top 3 Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday SUBSCRIBE to FFT Express on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-express/id1528634304 Follow FFT Express on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6qyGWfETSBFaciPrtvoWCC?si=6529cbee20634da8 SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dynasty/id1696679179 FOLLOW FFT Dynasty on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aHlmMJw1m8FareKybdNfG?si=8487e2f9611b4438&nd=1 SUBSCRIBE to FFT DFS on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dfs/id1579415837 FOLLOW FFT DFS on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zU7pBvGK3KPhfb69Q1hNr?si=1c5030a3b1a64be2 Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." Visit the betting arena on CBSSports.com for all the latest sportsbook reviews and sportsbook promos. 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

Get groceries delivered across the GTA from real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit superstore.ca to get started. What's up everybody and welcome to Fantasy Football Today, DFS. It's NFL wildcard weekend, which is weird to say. I feel like it was just week one Meg a little bit ago when we were thinking, hey, Washington might win seven games and look at them. They're in the playoffs.

We got Meg, we got Mike McClure. Mike, I'm gonna start with you today. We're gonna do the same thing we do every show. We're gonna go through each game and we're gonna talk about players we like and players we don't like. But Mike, this one's a little interesting because we've got a two game slate,

we've got a three game slate for Sunday, we've got a six game slate, including the Monday game. I wanna ask you and then Meg, how are you playing these slates? Are you playing just one or are you playing multiple slates? How are we doing it? Yeah, I'm going to play multiple slates here. See, I'm going to isolate Saturday only and then Sunday only is going to be my preferred method. When I look at the different game sets, I think that you can certainly play some of those other slates that exist. There is a number of combinations that do exist. But for me, it's just going to be the largest contest.

That that's kind of going to be where I'm focused. So it looks like Sunday is definitely the largest, which is a three game slate. But I do like those two game slates that are very, very different than showdown slates just because of the roster construction. Right. So in a showdown slate, you're essentially playing whoever you want. But the idea of being forced into, you know, three receivers, two running backs, tight end, things like that. I actually enjoy that just because I think you can make some very, very

interesting decisions when it comes to play off football, which frankly, plays a little different than a regular season game. Very, very true. Meg, is that how you're playing this kind of playing the two game slate and then separately playing the three game slate? Yes, and I see that's on DraftKings kind of where the money is as well. But yes, that's how I'm handling it as well. I kind of like, like Mike said, separating it and making big stands on a two and three game slate. So that's how I'm playing as well. Okay. Well, why don't we get started? I do want to point to our Wildcard Weekend DFS Contest. So just so everybody knows, I had to isolate it to one of the slates. So I decided to isolate it

to the most fun one, in my opinion, the one where all the money is, and that's the Sunday slate, the Sunday three game slate. So our contest, you know, maybe we can create a contest just for Saturday if people are interested in that, if we could get at least maybe like 50 people in that. So there's some interest, but the DFS contest, it's already in the YouTube description. It wasn't in the podcast description last week. So a lot of people kind of couldn't find it, but it will be in the podcast description this week. So no worries.

If you're listening to the podcast, it's in the description, click on it. Five bucks for that Sunday slide. Let's get started with the first game. I mean, this is easy, right? We just kind of go in order here. It's the Chargers, it's the Texans. We've got the total here of 42 and a half. The implied totals not super high. Meg, I'm going to start with you. I mean,

I think we probably should be talking about this within the context of a two game slate, right? Because most people will be playing this on the Saturday only slate. With that said, you know, I mean, both of these two gamers are, you know, relatively modest totals. So as much as I want to say, Hey, I don't really love this game. Well, you know, I don't really love the other game either with the exception of a couple of players. So is there anybody you like on either side of this that's really jumping out to you? Yeah, I actually really do like the Charger side here. And again, in the context of the two game slate, I like stacking up the chargers in this spot.

I'm bullish on them to win this game and move on. And I really like a Herbert stack. I'm going to go back to that. They have leaned into the pass a little bit more. He's run a little bit more. So with all that said, I think in the context of the two game slate being so much, you know, all the quarterbacks are so much cheaper than Lamar Jackson, I'd like to take a shot on Herbert and McConkey, of course, is the favorite stack partner, but you could throw in Dobbins, you could throw in Will Disley. So that's how I'm handling this one. And if I want to run back, I could do one of probably you probably wouldn't do both necessarily, maybe you could, but one of Nico Collins or Mixon in the spot, just kind of one stud run back from the Texans. Yeah, Mike, this one is really interesting. I think, especially in a two-game slate, you could get really creative. I do want to point out Big Cheezy's in the chat. He has some golf picks, if you're interested.

That thing starts in about an hour, so if you're in the live chat, check out his golf picks. But he also says Lad McConkey over five and at Perceptions. I assume most people are going to lock Lad McConkey in at $6,800. It's certainly a reasonable price. Quinton Johnston, we gotta monitor the health of some of these receivers, but I don't mind QJ at 4,800. Will Disley only 3,400. By the way, Robert Lamont says, "'Said Herbert last week,

"'it is going to be the main man again this week.'" I do wanna point out, Mike, before I get your take on this game, Hassan Haskins, if this is a positive game script, I think he's kind of a sneaky play on a two-game slate at 4,400, because he got some carries. And I got to be honest with you, he looks just as good as J.K. Dobbins to me.

I know he's never going to take his job, but I think there are some interesting plays here, and it includes on a two-game slate somebody at 4,400 like Hassan Haskins. What do you like in this game, Mike? You know, you have to like a lot in a sense that it's a two game slate, right? So you're certainly playing something in this game. I think the you know, the interesting thing for me is basically,

can you get away with not playing Lamar Jackson and playing, you know, isolating a pass catcher or so for that side? So you can stack this game because I personally I I look, it's a game in a dome. And we've seen the Texans be able to throw the football and I think they might be in a chasing game script. So I actually kind of like some of the Texans pieces a little bit here, but you know, lad McConkey pretty clearly the first click here, right? So even though the price points up to sixty eight hundred, I mean, he might as well be eight thousand in this game. He's essentially it sounds crazy to say this, but he's essentially Nico Collins here, like he's got that kind of

upside and floor. Because if they get into a trailing game script, it's going to be the lab, the conkey show. And if they're not on a trailing game script, it's still the lab, the conkey show. So I think he's essentially game script proof. From that standpoint, so he's the first click in, I will put Nico Collins in as well. I think the real question for me in this game is what do you do with Joe Mixon?

Like are you playing Joe Mixon at 7200 or not? Because that's going to change the builds quite a bit. I'm leaning towards playing Mixon at this point. But definitely Collins in every lineup, definitely Lab MacConkey in every lineup. And then after that, like I've got some interest in Dobbins for sure, I've got some interests in CJ Stroud and Dalton Schultz as well.

So I'm very, I'm way heavier on this game than the other game. Robert Lamont adding, Herbert is clearly healthier now in throwing off his front foot now. Interesting, and Farzad says, Farzad, by the way, he's on the course at the Sony open right now. We know that because he's in the early edge chat all the time. And he's, he said, uh, that much this morning, he said M two locks,

M squared locks, keeping my stack huge. And Dwayne Austin says, I won our DFS weekly cash game five weeks in a row. Love the show. Y'all. I love to hear that Dwayne. All right. I got to ask you, Meg, there Meg There's some secondary receivers on the Texans That I think we might need to kind of wait and hear a little bit more from like from the coach and things of that

Nature, but John Metchi got banged up last week. I mean, I will see what what's going on with him Deontay Johnson's on this team. He's 3500. He's starting to get some work finally Robert Woods Of course Xavier Hutchinson. Is this receiver course so banged up that you're willing to take a shot again on a two game slate for Saturday on one of these secondary receivers? I don't know that I will get there. I think there are some cheaper places to go in the next game. You know, so we'll get to that. But I'd probably lean to the cheaper spots here and do or excuse me in the second game, as far as cheaper receivers or tight ends and likely won't get there.

I kind of tease one of the cheaper plays I like in the next game. But no, I don't see me getting to the Texans receivers outside of Nico Collins. And Mike, one question about the tight ends. I think the next game tight ends are probably going to be a little bit more popular, but Dalton Schultz, Will Disley, are they in the conversation for you on a two game slate? They're in the conversation. You know, it's a fascinating two game slate because it's a two gamer. And if you'd let me, I'd play four tight ends. Like, yeah, I would play four tight ends.

You know, I think there's a scenario where I, I, I have a double with Isaiah likely and Mark Andrews both in there with no Lamar Jackson, which is very interesting. But yeah, I think there's three for sure. Likely Andrews and Schultz very much in play. Disley is in play. But I think more likely if they're trailing than winning. I want to call it CJ Stroud quickly though, before we move on, because he's down to fifty five hundred in terms of a price point. And out of all of the quarterbacks on this slate, like, if I ask you which one is most likely in a trailing game script, but going to have options to throw the football there like you,

it's going to be him or Russell Wilson. But we know the Steelers loved her on the football still and playing outdoors and elements. We're talking about CJ Stroud, 5,500, almost guaranteed to be neutral or trailing. I think that CJ Stroud is a very interesting click here, despite the Texans really coming in as home underdogs here. I mean, if you're getting relatively low ownership

on CJ Stroud in a potential trailing game script, optimal conditions, it makes a ton of sense as everybody flocks to Lamar Jackson and perhaps Justin Herbert. So I think that's a good call out. And I do want to say, I think we have to monitor the receiver situation because in a two game slate we're looking at, you know, potentially like onslaughtish type stuff or at least having a quarterback with two or three receivers or at least pass catchers. So listening to what's going on with kind of the injury reports and practice reports for some of these wide receiver

twos and threes on each of these two teams, I think are really important. I do think we can transition. I'm in on mixing two for this two game slate. I just want to point that out. Let's transition to the Steelers Ravens. Another relatively low total. It's 43 and a half.

Obviously we've got the Ravens as big favorites here, which may open up some leverage for some Pittsburgh Steelers that might get relatively ignored. I'm not sure, Mike, I'll start with you on this one. How you playing it? You know, I don't find myself getting a lot here, see, which is a little interesting. Lamar is obviously a great play and gonna be a great play.

I get a lot of Mark Andrews, a little bit of Rashad Bateman. I'm not playing any Derek Henry for right now, which is crazy. It sounds crazy, but I'm probably not playing any Derek Henry only because of the passing volume on the other side on the other game. So I'm prioritizing lad McConkey, prioritizing Nico Collins. I think there's a scenario where mix and matches Derek Henry in this matchup. So I'm really kind of out on the Raven side, believe it or not. And it's really just coming down to some of the ownership stuff, the way it's shaken out. And, you know,

it's not going to be fun because Derek Henry is going to be 70% owned. But I'm looking at making that stand and jamming everybody else in. Yeah, on a two game slate, making a stand like that makes sense. But Meg, at the same time, we've got a pretty high implied total for the Baltimore Ravens, certainly the highest on the board at 26 and a half. And what's interesting here is, you know, if you want to play the passing game, which you know, you may not want to, but without Zay Flowers, everybody's really cheap, right? Rashad Bateman, 5K, you know, you just go down the list if you want to take another receiver.

You got Nelson Aguilar, Tylon Wallace, Walker, Sims. These are all in like the 3K range, right? And then you got Mark Andrews at 4,700. That makes sense. Isaiah Likely, a pass catcher at 3,200. So there's a lot you can do with Lamar stacks, especially if you decide to fade Derrick Henry, and we'll get to our cheat sheets and top three at each position just to see if any of us are doing that.

Spoiler alert, one of us is. What do you like on the Raven side and are you playing Steelers? I kind of agree with Mike here that I don't love this game in general. We know how these AFC North battles typically go. Ravens put up a ton of points the week before Christmas in this game. But typically, Lamar hasn't played the Steelers a ton of points the week before Christmas in this game. But, you know, typically historic Lamar hasn't played the Steelers a ton, but he hasn't always had his best games against the Steelers. So I kind of like fading Lamar in this game, actually

playing his past catcher. I liked Mike's call out about Andrews and likely being willing to play either. I'm kind of still interested in Henry, but being willing to play Henry or one or two of his past catchers without him in this spot, paying down, maybe getting ownership leverage in the other game with, like we said, both the quarterback. So the summary for me is I love Isaiah, likely that was this is my favorite play in this game, potentially using him more in the slot without flowers. I do like Mark Andrews and I do like Bateman. So all three are gonna be in my pool for this game. And I likely will have at least two Ravens,

whether it's the two tight ends, the tight end receiver, Henry and one of the tight ends. However it goes, that's how I see me kind of getting access to this game. Mike, is there a scenario where, I mean, is there a scenario where you'd play, and Richie Smalls is kind of alluding to this, and I think you both have already answered this, Lamar with Mark Andrews and Isaiah likely,

but add in on a two game slate, another player. I don't know that Darren Henry is affordable. Maybe he is if you really kind of like pull some strings with your roster construction, but maybe with Rashad Bateman, you know, obviously a triple stack is in play on a two game slate. I'm just asking if this particular Lamar Jackson triple stack would make sense with a running quarterback. I think so. Honestly. I mean, at that point, I think it's an interesting way to fade.

Derek Henry would be Lamar Bateman, Andrews and likely, uh, and just knowing, especially if you don't get any flowers in that mix. Um, I think that that's definitely, again, it's not going to be fun fading. Derek Henry, if he scores two touchdowns, you're not winning like you're not. But if he has the game where it's, you know, 60 to 70 yards, no touchdown or 40 yards a touchdown and the game's just not close. You very are you're very likely to be able to win that slate. So, you know, a build that I've got here in front of me,

I've kind of thrown it out as we go here, uh, that I think could work and could get there. I'm trying to figure out if we get running back there. Um, basically trying to get Lamar Bateman, Andrew's likely, and then, uh, Nico and McConkey still in the same lineup, which is doable. You're not going to be able to play mixing. I'm trying to play mixing in that one.. You're not going to be able to play Mixon. I'm trying to play Mixon in that one. You're probably not going to be able to pull it off.

But any of the other combos at the running back does allow you to play that. So that's certainly an interesting one. Obviously, if you decide to fade Nico, you play that there, you can play Mixon. Interesting stuff there. Okay. What about the Pittsburgh side before we move on to the Saturday slate Meg? I'll start with you here. know Jalen were not nausea Harris I don't really know what to do with Jalen Warren in terms of How much volume he's gonna get in both the passing and the running game? It does feel like nausea Harris has kind of commanded a few more

Receptions as well and a little bit more work than I expected But then again Warren was kind of coming back from an injury. They're both in the low 5k range Pickens I do expect to bounce back. I mean, he can't be as bad as he was last week, obviously. The secondary receivers there, I think Van Jefferson would be the guy that I might take a look at at 3200 as a punt play. And then you got Pat Freiermuth. Anybody on the Pittsburgh side that you really like? Yeah, I don't mind. I mean, he's a headcase, but we know how talented he is. I don't mind Pickens as in a bounce back spot, likely, you know, negative game script. And I'm struggling like you with the Pittsburgh running back situation that that kind of surprised

me how little Warren was involved last week, especially in the passing game. So that I'm struggling with, but I'm open to one of those if it fits as one of the Steelers running backs. Mike, from a game script standpoint, I mean, just ignoring last week a little bit, it does feel like Warren makes some sense. And it also feels like people will probably tend to play Najah Harris because he's cheaper

and we know he's getting more work. So I think Warren's actually a pretty interesting play here at 5,200. Do we like anybody on the Pittsburgh side? It would be one of the two running backs for me. Just, you know, outside of the deep shot to pick and so lands in the end zone. I still think that if they find their way to the red zone, it's still going to be one of those two running backs in the red zone. So that's where I would be looking to bet on the Steelers that and just works out from a price point standpoint more than anything. Right. If you're not playing Derek Henry or don't have enough for mixing those two backs at five K and 5,200.

I think they make some sense. So very concerned about Warren's workload last week, but I do want to kind of mention like there, there was something to play for, but not really something to play for. Like once the Ravens won that game, there was no, there was no possibility of them winning the division at that point. So like they were locked into the playoffs. They needed to stay healthy.

Like they could have changed seating a little. But so I am not too worried about it. I think the Steelers running backs are fine. I would still lean Warren just because of the upside in the passing game. Lean, lean that way. But both are definitely in my player pool. All right. Fair enough. I just want to mention I had a live receiving yards over on George Pickens early third quarter. He

hadn't had a catch or a yard. So it was like 31 and a half, I think, and I'm like, they're trailing. He's the best receiver, they're gonna force him the ball. Not two minutes after I made the bet. Did Russell Wilson just drop one right in his hands 30 yards down the field. And And of course it was knocked out because he failed to secure the ball. And speaking of failing to secure the ball, he proceeded to basically knock down like a defensive back, every other ball that was thrown his way. That was a frustrating watch,

mostly for Pittsburgh fans, but for me as well. All right. We got to get to the Saturday slate, which we're going to start with Denver and Buffalo. But before we do that, let's hear a message from our partners. Saturday slate, which we're going to start with Denver and Buffalo. But before we do that, let's hear a message from our partners. Bet MGM authorized gaming partner of the NBA has your back all season long from tip off to the final buzzer. You're always taken care of with a sports book born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with bet MGM.

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All right, we move on to the Saturday Saturday or excuse me, the Sunday slate, but a note from big cheesy says this game he's referring to the Pittsburgh game is going to be closer than expected. I actually agree. I lean to Pittsburgh. If you're going to, if you're going to give me 10 points with a division opponent, uh, with the stock being as low as it is an inflated line, uh, I'm going to go ahead and take the plus 10. That's actually not something I'm, I'm actually going to bet, but I'm saying, if you want my take on that game, I would be on Pittsburgh plus the points. All right, let's go to Denver and Buffalo.

This is a pretty high total sitting at 46 and a half, the implied total for Buffalo, very high at 27 and a half. Meg, I'll start with you. How are we playing the Buffalo side? For me, playing the Buffalo side, I'm not gonna try to, I think you either play Josh Allen or James Cook in this spot. It always feels like it's kind of one of them just massively taking over, you know,

whether it's Josh Allen rushing and passing touchdowns or James Cook getting multiple rushing touchdowns. So I'll likely play one or the other and no Buffalo pass catchers. I'm not going to try to predict that. And that's likely how I'm going to play it. That's interesting. Mike, on the Bill side, I mean,

can we make an argument that Amari Cooper has been so in and out of the lineup, that Keon Coleman has been so in and out of the lineup that you could do a stack with Josh Allen and Khalil Shakir or pull the Khalil Shakir piece out and just hope that at 5,300 there certainly seems like value there. I don't love this Bill side, but I'm trying to find a way to play somebody beyond perhaps Josh Allen and James Cook. Yeah, I'm not going to play any Josh Allen, which is maybe going to be a problem, just because of what he's been able to do. But I'm going to take the stand on that. So having said that, I will play some Shakir for sure. I think that that's the piece I want to look at. I think that if we think Buffalo doesn't just absolutely roll here,

I think Shakir is someone that's going to have a big game. If the game is tight and competitive, I think he's the guy that's going to get peppered with targets from Josh Allen. If they again, find themselves neutral or somehow find themselves trailing in this game. But overall, I'm not looking to stack it as much as I kind of thought I might. I think Denver has been an interesting case because they've had weeks where they've been awful defensively, and then they've had weeks where they've been really, really good defensively.

And on paper, they're great defensively in terms of EPA per play. So I expect a tight competitive game here, actually, believe it or not. So I'm going to be off of this game largely. And I know the other game that we're going to talk about, especially the Washington game is going to be extremely popular. But for me, for good reason. So I'm going to be mostly off here. I like Shakir and I like Dalton Kincaid a little bit. I will preface that with most of the Kincaid lineups or double tight end lineups, but I do like him there,

but mostly off the Buffalo side for me. Yeah, this one's interesting. Meg, I'm gonna ask you about what you like on the Broncos side. I think James Cook, knowing that Ty Johnson, especially in the passing game, gets some work, Ray Davis can sometimes get some work. I do feel like

people aren't necessarily going to play enough of James Cook. So I think that's something, even though it's a stout defense, don't get me wrong, but like when James Cook cooks, like it's crazy, right? He'll have like three touchdowns on 10 attempts and it's just, he just has one of those games. So I think he's an interesting play, but my favorite play on that side is definitely Khalil Shakir and then kind of move on. I don't think because of that Washington game versus Tampa, I'm not playing Josh Allen either, but I don't hate it. What about the Broncos side? I don't want to play any running backs, even though you can run on Buffalo. Sudden at 6,600 is interesting.

I don't know that I'll get there. Marvin Mims, 5,100. I got to be honest. I don't like this Broncos side at all, Meg. I don't either, but I do agree with Mike that this could be closer or they couldn't at least make it competitive. Um, and again, if we think they're likely playing from a still a neutral or excuse me, negative game script, I'm going to take a shot.

We, I went to him last week. We discussed it here last week. I loved the Marvin Mims last week and he paid off. I'm going to go back there actually, because I'm seeing him coming in at very low ownership and I was looking at ownership on the sixth game slate or six, excuse me, six, uh, the, the full slate, sorry. And he, the ownership looked incredibly low. I assume he'd still be rather low on Sunday only. And I'm going to take a shot on him as a contrarian play. I think that's interesting. Cause we know when like the chips are in the middle

and it's fourth down or third and long, we know Marvin Mims is one of those guys that he looks for and he's been really red hot over the last, I would say five or six games getting a ton of targets way more than anybody ever thought he was going to get. And he's cashing in on them with efficiency. Anybody on the Bronco side, Mike, that you like, not really. Um, I, you know, both of these teams are similar in the aspect that they can absolutely spread it around a little bit. Yeah And I actually think Bo Nix can run a little bit in a do or die game like this

I know that they he did at times throughout the regular season not at other times But I personally I really think this game could be extremely competitive and extremely competitive with clock running Essentially running clock in this game. So I I't like this game for this DFS slate. A lot of my lineups will have zero pieces from this game. Okay. I'm essentially treating the three game slate

almost as a two game slate. Right. And that's one way to make your roster construction maybe a bit different from others because people tend to like to pull at least a piece or two from each game, but that's not necessarily how you want to play it, particularly on a three game slate where a lot of times I'll focus on on two games as well. So let's get to that second game of the slate. This one's at 4 30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Green Bay Packers,

Philadelphia Eagles. It's a 45 and a half point total, very high implied total for the Eagles at 25. It's about 20, 20 and a half, 21 for the Green Bay Packers. This one's interesting for several reasons. I don't know that we're sure that Jordan Love is fully healthy. We're certainly not sure that Jalen Hurts is fully healthy, although we expect both of them to play. Maybe there's some rust. The running backs, I think, will be a focal point for some people.

Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs. The receivers on each side, I mean, no Christian Watson for Green Bay. So I think Jaden Reid, Romeo Dobbs, Dontavian Wicks get the lion's share there. And then of course, AJ Brown, Devante on the other side. Mike, I'm going to start with you. What do we like in this game? A lot, honestly.

I think the Packers side is very similar to the Texans side. And no one really wants to make that click, particularly on the quarterback situation. So I like Jordan love at 5800. And again, at the ownership, you know, we're talking single digits, maybe 10% at most. But that is not a normal single digits that is on it. That's on a three game slate, right? So it's not a not a normal situation. So I think you could separate there and it allows you to pay up again.

We're talking about a quarterback under 6K in an extremely likely scenario where they're dropping back throwing the football playing catch up desperation time. Right. So that that's what I'm interested in there. I'm definitely playing Saquon Barkley and I think that there could be some rust why I like this game to be competitive. I'm more worried about Jalen Hurts than I am Jordan Love. Jalen Hurts has thrown four competitive passes in the last month, essentially. That to me is a problem because he's someone that if you watch the Eagles offense early in the season and at times like that, we know the running game is great. We know the tush push is great. But the timing at times has been off with those receivers who have been in and out of the lineup. And when he's been out of the lineup that long,

and you've got AJ Brown dealing with an injury as well, to me, I think that there's a scenario that the timing is off just enough. And the, you know, they're running the football, have it a conservative game plan. So for me, I think the Eagles could come out very slow here. And I think that Jordan love is no one's going to play him. I like him a lot here. Micah bet I put out on my buy the book show out in DC yesterday, because I'm asking you this because I know you love first quarter bets. I bet this game Eagles Packers first quarter under nine and a half your thoughts there. I like it. I like it quite a bit because I, again, one thing we have seen with the Packers,

which maybe they'll mix it up here, they run the ball a lot in the first quarter. We've seen so many times this season, regardless of opponent, Josh Jacobs just touched the ball eight, nine times on an opening drive that chews up half a quarter. The Eagles defense has obviously been phenomenal, but we know they're gonna run the football as well.

So I think that clock is definitely running early and I would be willing to bet against multiple first quarter scores in that one. All right, Meg, how are we playing this game? Yeah, for me, I agree with Mike first of all, that I think the constrained kind of stack that you'd wanna look at here would be the Jordan Love stack. So I totally agree with that. I'm likely going to fade Josh Jacobs and you know, I don't know how much I'll get to love stacks, but I would be more interested in his past

catchers, especially craft. But of course, you can mix in the other ones with Watson out. So that's how I'm handling the Packers side, the Eagles side, I'm prioritizing Barkley. We saw him go off in his first match, first, very first game in Brazil. And I think, you know, he sat out last week was not able to break the record. I think he's going to make that payoff here and still be the go to guy, even though we have all the Eagles weapons back. And so we haven't had a lot of games with all the Eagles weapons. But with that said, we saw how extremely explosive Barkley was game one. And I think he will be in this game too. So I'm prioritizing Barkley from the Eagles weapons. But with that said, we saw how extremely explosive Barkley was game one, and I think he will be in this game too. So I'm prioritizing Barkley from the Eagles side. Meg, let me ask you this, because I think a lot of people will

say Jalen Hurts rust makes sense, right? And Jalen Hurts, is he fully out of the concussion, you know, in terms of like, what's the gameplay going to be like? Are there going to be a lot of design runs and things of that nature? With all of those questions, and knowing that we got Josh Allen and we'll get to the Tampa Washington game. I do think like it's interesting on a three game slate to get super contrarian fade Barkley and play Jaylen hurts with two of his past catchers and basically hope he just pushes in for one or two touchdowns, but then throws

to why we don't have to do two past catches, but throws to Brown or Devontae Smith and gets a couple of touchdowns there. I mean, I certainly don't think that's impossible with the 25-point implied total. Any thoughts on that contrarian move? I think that's a very nice contrarian look and makes a ton of sense. They did that, it was, I believe, the opening week of best ball playoffs against the Steelers, and it just was not Barkley, all the Eagles passing game. I don't know, like Mike said, I'm a little more wary of that with Kurt's coming back. How much are they going to run him? How much are they going to do the tush push? And that's why I'm leaning into

Barclay, even though he'll be high owned. So I don't think I'll personally do it, but I totally get the case for it. Mike, your thoughts there considering that you got to think the Green Bay game plan is like, Hey, let's let Jalen hurts beat us. We're not going to let Barclay beat us. that you got to think the Green Bay game plan is like, hey, let's let Jalen Hurts beat us. We're not going to let Barkley beat us. I definitely think there's something there to it. It wouldn't shock me at all. It's such a small slate.

So yeah, I think that Hurts doubles are definitely playable. I would go as far as to say, though, I think that there's still a scenario where you could play Barkley with Hurts. I know that coming into this season, I think myself at least and some of the others, I think we all expected maybe a little more passing work for Saquon than we've seen, frankly. Considering the injury circumstances, and I said it was injury, I know it was a concussion, but considering the timing and all that with j1hertz

It wouldn't shock me if seq one actually had that five six seven target game When it's all on the line here because at the end of the day I do think this organization is smart enough to put the ball in their best players hands and I do Think everyone knows that it's a quam Barkley So while we haven't seen it before, and maybe the more appropriate thing is to play an over on his receptions in a prop market, but I like speculating,

and I think the way I would be most interested in playing Jalen Hurts still is that Hurts-Barkley combo, and just know that you're getting every single point from the Philadelphia Eagles offensively that way. Yeah, quite literally there. Cause we know Barclay is gonna be on the field the entire time. Maybe we'll see him spelled for a couple of downs

when he has to like catch his breath. But- Famous last words, I'm locking in Kenny Gainwell first touchdown now. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Kenny Gainwell fans are like, what are you talking about? I know they're out there. All right.

We've got, let's see, we got two games left to cover. We've got one still on that Sunday slate. It's the one with the highest total that this is just going to be fireworks and make, you know, I'm starting with you on this one either, of course, Monday night football. But before we get to those two games and our cheat sheets and our top three at each position, we're going to hear one more message from our partners. All right. We're back on fantasy football today.

DFS, before we get to Washington and Tampa, Greg Hussay says, Hertz will be back to scoring all the one yard touchdowns. That's probably true. Big Cheesy says, Barkley receiving line is one and a half receptions and it's juiced to minus 175. So we're expecting at least a couple there, if not more.

And we've got Big Cheesy saying, Packers coming off a horrible loss to the Bears. Love the plus four and a half. I kinda like the four and a half as well. Eagles are tough though. All right. Commanders bucks. They're tough, just not quite as tough as the Eagles perhaps to 50 and a half point total. Certainly not as tough on defense, Meg. I'm just going to open it up to you because there's so many plays I think on both sides, but particularly that Tampa side. What do you like in this one? I think we all like a lot in this game.

Obviously, the high total on this slate, we're expecting fireworks. You know, the defenses are one to attack. So it's there's not a lot I don't like from the Washington side. Of course, you can approach it from Jaden Daniels. Go from there. I don't think you need to overstack it. You know, he he like Allen is hard to predict who is going to be the pieces that go off. But I think you can consider Austin Eckler in a potentially new game script. I think you can consider Zach Ertz. Of course, you can go to the wide receiver one my favorite player Terry McLaurin, but we know it doesn't always go to Terry McLaurin. He gets the most red zone equity, but he doesn't always get the highest target share. So then of course you could pay down for Zaccheaus. Um, you know, I've struggled with that.

I'm, I likely will lean to the cheaper pieces like Ertz or Eckler most likely, whether I'm playing Jayden Daniels or as runbacks. So that's what I'm concerned from Washington side from Buckside. Same thing. It's hard not to like much. I love Bucky Irving the most he's going to be high owned, but it's justified. Washington run defense has been pretty bad all year long. And I think he could do well in both the run and pass

game here. And then obviously, I'm still open to Baker stacks, even though a lot of more looks like he's playing, I will still be open to Mike Ems, because it looks like and again, I was looking at the full slate ownership, but it looked like Evans Baker Evans ownership was fairly low. So if it is fairly low even on Sunday, if more people are going to Josh Allen, Hertz, Jayden Daniels, then I don't mind getting contrarian as far as the stack,

making the Bucky side more unique, playing Baker, Bucky, Mike Evans, and then running it back with some of those cheaper Washington pieces. Mike, I love everything Meg just said, including Baker, Bucky, Mike as a, as a, just a three piece and then running it back with honestly for me, the run back would be probably Zacchaeus because I think he's at this point firmly established himself as the wide receiver too.

And I don't think they're going to be doing a lot of experimenting in the playoffs with like De'Ami Brown and Luke McCaffrey, James Encrado might get some looks, but I feel like Zacchaeus and Austin Eckler are really good, interesting value plays. Which side of this stack do you like the best and are you just playing multiple kind of multiple lineups with multiple pieces in this game? Multiple lineups, multiple pieces. I'll tell you the the stack that I like and the way I'm going to play it mostly is going to be Jaden Daniels, Austin Echler, Eckler Bucky Irving Mike Evans I want those four together in a lineup Similar what I just mentioned with Jalen hurts and say quam Barkley. I Like pairing Daniels and Austin Eckler together. I'm extremely confident that Jayden Daniels leaves everything on the field

From what we've seen throughout his career This game is going to mean a lot to him, obviously, individually. And I think he leaves it all out there to the point where he like the injury concerns zero for me. He's going to take a lot of big hits. They're going to do everything to try and win this game. But I think he's got 100 yard rushing upside pretty clearly in this one. And then Austin Eckler, I think if they get in the right scenario

where Tampa is playing well, Austin Eckler is going to have 10 targets in this game. Just the way they operate. I really think Austin Eckler is the one person on this. Like I know you have massive upside at the running back position here. And this three game slate feels a lot more like a six game slate at the running back spot or more because of Saquon Barkley Even Josh Jacobs who has red zone equity big time and Bucky Irving, right? So I think there's a scenario where Austin Eckler could match Saquon Barkley It sounds nuts, but on a two game slate if Barkley doesn't land in the end zone all the tosh bushes go to jail and hurts I think Austin Echols got huge upside. So he's the first click in on the entire slate for me. And I'm pairing Daniels with Eckler.

That is really interesting because I was looking at Austin Eckler props and I think this is the time to like in the game script to potentially feature him with Brian Robinson kind of being more of a plotter, not really involved in the passing game. Meg, I see you kind of nodding your head your reaction to what Mike said. I definitely am interested in Austin Eckler props. I definitely am interested at Austin

Eckler at this price point. So I guess I kind of lockstep with you guys there. Someone in chat mentioned Jalen McMillan and I obviously whether I can afford Mike Evans or not, I am very interested in McMillan as well. So I think that's a good call out. Yeah, absolutely. And one last thing on Jade and Daniels. I think Mike, I guess we got your opinion on how you're playing him. It's with Austin Eckler and then Bucky Irving and Mike Evans on the runback. Meg, you probably already addressed this, but I feel like we do have to mention Terry McLoran's name. I

think you did on the front end. But if you're playing Jade and Daniels, what would that stack look like? So it was very similar to Mike. It was, it was Jade and Daniels, Austin Eckler for me. After messing around with it, I did have one build that I got Zacchaeus as well, but it's hard to get McLorin.

And we, again, we know the touchdown equity is there, has been all has been the season but the target share isn't for a wide receiver one which has you know i've gone through a yo-yo with Cliff Kingsbury and getting frustrated or thinking he's a genius but you know i do get a little frustrated that Terry McLaurin isn't just kind of featured more or we find a way to get him the ball more you know in that Atlanta game that was wild to ball more, you know, in that Atlanta game, that was wild to me. But, you know, anyway, so that's just a Washington friend frustration that you can't always lean on Terry McLaurin because the target share isn't consistent.

Last question, or I guess the last comment. Jack says, don't forget, Lattimore will be shadowing Evans. We'll see if he actually shadows him, probably, but, you know, is the jury, like, do we know if Lattimore is A, fully healthy and B, whether or not he's as good as he was a few years ago when he was shadowing Mike Evans?

So I just think that's an open question. Mike and Meg, Meg, I'll start with you. Are we downgrading Mike Evans at all if and when we see Latimore on the field? It certainly is in my head. I saw Latimore practiced in full or got a practice in. So it certainly is in my head, but I a lot of more practiced in full or got a practice in. So it certainly is in my head, but I think it's in a lot of people's head because I saw the ownership

looked fairly low on Mike Evans. So if the ownership's low on Mike Evans, I'll lean into, no, I'm going to play Mike Evans and lean into that. So yeah, I'm still in on Evans. Mike, your reaction to the lot of more comment. Yeah, I look, I think that it's not ideal, no matter how great of shape you think Latimore is in at this point. It's certainly not necessarily ideal. As far as Mike Evans here, I like him and I want to find a way to play him, but it's certainly not the priority. And what I mean by that is like, I'm prioritizing Saquon Barikoi still at 8,500 and I'm prioritizing Bucky Irving at 7k

before I'm prioritizing Mike Evans. Like and I think that you know there's always a tipping point where you should prioritize Evans based off ownership and everything but for me I just you know knock on wood I think the scenario where Mike Evans catches three touchdowns 150 yards and just completely buries me is not as likely here. Because I actually we've seen Baker spread the ball around McMillan like there's a scenario where McMillan matches Mike Evans here. We're talking about Bucky Irving, a true workhorse, and they finally committed to that. And then Kate Otton is going to be thrown back into the mix here as well. So I'm not prioritizing Evans at all. Like I would love to play him. Would be nice to have him in there, but I'm at any ownership,

regardless of the ownership, I'm all in on Barkley and Bucky Irving. I would play him at 80%. Right. All right. All right. Big Cheesy asks the Eckler question before we get to this last game. Uh, do you like from a prop, is receiving yards or rushing and receiving? I personally like rushing and receiving for Austin Eckler.

Michael, go to you and then Meg, what would you prefer? I mean, we don't have the numbers in front of me, but I do expect him to get some rushing attempts. He's usually pretty efficient with them. Your thoughts, Mike. Yeah, I would say on that, like initial gut reaction is like a lot of the damage I expect to be done in the passing game.

So I actually not even looking at yardage. I'm looking at receptions more than anything. I don't mind them for an anytime touchdown. I don't mind them for two touchdowns and I don't mind them for longest rush over rather than yardage because I do think there's a scenario on a draw play where we get that 13, 14 yard carry out of Austin Echols. Meg, your thoughts? Very similar to Mike. I respect the Tampa run defense a lot. So I probably would lean receptions or receiving.

Yeah, that makes sense. That is a, it's a pretty solid rush defense. And I do think they're getting some targets back in their secondary. I shouldn't say target. Some of their guys back in the secondary. So that Tampa defense will look a little bit better than it did trying to stop Spencer Rattler, which somehow they weren't able to do last week,

which is super weird, but you know who was stopped with Sam Darnold, uh, seeing ghost yet again. Well, let's go to the Vikings and the Rams. This one you might be playing isolated. I mean, I think some of you were playing the six game slate, but a lot of you are just playing either the five or the three, the two, and then now the one. So I don't think we have to talk about this in a showdown context, but let's just cover it real quick. Mike, I'll start with you here.

I mean, I do like the Sam Darnold side here at 6,500. I think Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison probably do for a bounce back. Again, on the six game slate, I don't know that I'm super interested in a lot of pieces in this game. I think Kyron will get a ton of work. Puka, Cooper Cup, big names, I get it.

What do you like in this game, Mike? Yeah, I like the Minnesota side for sure. I think it's a big Sam Darnold bounce back in this particular one. Lot of Justin Jefferson. I like Jordan Addison. Again, this is more of a prop betting side, but I like Jordan Addison's longest reception over.

Vikings side mostly for me. The Rams, I think they're still going to try to run the football a bit and really kind of spread things out. So, you know, if you want to isolate Puka, I think it's fine. But I do prefer that Minnesota side more. So I had a good prop season, a good NFL betting season, a good prop week last weekend, but I also had Jordan Addison over 64 and a half receiving yards. And Meg, you know how many he had? That's right. If you're watching us on YouTube, she just held up her hand and made a zero. Zero yards on one catch. I don't know that that's his fault, but that's what happened. So Meg, what do you like in this game?

Very similar to Mike Viking's passing game. I think you could isolate one of the kind of to Mike Vikings passing game, I think you could isolate one of the kind of high priced rams in either Kyren or Puka. But again, I'm not really playing this the full slate. So I don't I really am not going to worry about that. But if you were, I would I would focus on the Vikings passing game. I like the potential Darnold Jefferson Addison bounce back. I totally agree. I don't know that there's anything else to cover because we kind of know where the volume's coming on the Ram side, you know, it's, especially with Blake Quorum out,

although I don't think that would have mattered. Kynan, don't forget, this is the playoffs. So like the key guys are going to be the guys even more so. So Kynan Williams is going to get a ton of work, hopefully maybe in the passing game too, but we know Puka and Cooper Cup are going to be those guys too. If you're looking for cheaper options on the six game slate,

this is not the game to find them in my opinion. We covered a lot of games with cheaper receivers and we do have to wait and kind of hear some things and watch some practice reports for some of those early games we covered. But yeah, a lot better cheaper options on the full slate than what you're gonna have in this game in my opinion. All right, let's get to maybe some of those cheaper options

in our cheat sheets, Meg and then me and then Mike, we're going to do your top three at each position. Meg, you're going to give us your favorite stack, chalk by chalk, fade, contrarian and value play. Sure. Some of these are going to be Saturday. Some of these are going to be Sunday, but you can put it in context for whichever slate you're playing.

For me, the stack is going to be Baker, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, just because of Bucky Irving is going to be very high on Baker. And Mike Evans are going to be lower on. So that's, I think, a unique way to put it together. The chalk by is Bucky Irving for me, this Washington run defense, unfortunately, is one you do want to attack. For me, the chalk fade here is going to be Shakir. I do like him from the Buffalo side passing game the most. However, I just like too many other guys in that air in that price range and he's coming in what looks to be pretty high ownership.

And then for me, the Kacharian play, similar price point is Marvin Mims coming in very low on. He's explosive, he's being used more. They're playing likely in a negative game script. So I'm gonna lean into Mims again this week. My favorite value is Isaiah likely in that Saturday night game. And I just think he's too cheap and going to be used more in the slot without flowers.

All right. I'm going to go with my favorite stack is also Baker and Evans. But just like Mike and Meg, I'm going to play the other side of that stack as well with Jaden Daniels, maybe with Austin Eckler or Zacchaeus, who by the way is my value play. So I'll just start there. My stack is Baker and Evans. My value plays Zekias. It's a lot in this game. Actually it's almost all in this game. My chalk buy is Bucky Irving. My contrarian play is Austin Eckler but based on what I'm hearing from YouTube maybe it's not contrarian at all. We'll have to wait and see. It's still a three-game slate and he's still a running back that's like very low on the pecking order relative

to some of the other ones but the chalk fade is gonna be Derek Henry. I just don't I'm just gonna go go ahead and, you know, I can't play everybody. And if it's between Henry and like Saquon Barkley at a high price, it's probably going to be Barkley for me. If you want to play Derek Henry, I totally get it. I'm just not getting to him. I think the Lamar stacks are really interesting

with some of those really cheap pass catchers that Meg really highlighted with Isaiah Likely and of course, Mark Andrews and pretty low price price for Sean Bateman if you want to go there. All right, Mike, top three at each position and we start at quarterback. Jaden Daniels, number one for me. I love the rushing upside again. I think he leaves everything on the field. Tampa's really beat up in the secondary. And then on the other side, it's Baker Mayfield, because Washington's not going to stop them either. This game's going to go back and forth. Whether or not it goes over the total, it's a high total.

But we're going to see yardage racked up. We're going to see fantasy points scored, for sure. And then number three, Jordan Love. No one's going to play him. No one's going to play him. And I think that this game could be extremely competitive. So give me Jaden Daniels, Baker Mayfield, and Jordan Love. All right. By the way, before we get to your running backs, I do want to point something out.

People are talking about the Rams game relocating to Arizona. I just feel weird if I didn't acknowledge all the stuff that's going on out there. So obviously our thoughts, if any of you are out there, or if you have family members out there, our thoughts are definitely with you, and we're absolutely wishing you the best. There was a question about the game itself being moved to Arizona, if that happens. Mike, real quick before you give out your running backs, I mean, I don't know that this should affect the line that much, the Rams don't have much of a home field

advantage as it is moving to Arizona. I can't imagine the line gets affected too much here. Yeah, it doesn't impact the line at all. If you can make the argument that it helps the Rams slightly more, cause it probably just impacts Vikings fans a little more. There's obviously Viking fans everywhere in LA. Like there's every team has fans in LA essentially. Yeah. So yeah, I would say minimal impact, you know, minimal impact. All right. We just

did the top three quarterbacks. It was Jayden, it was Baker and Joe and love. Let's do the top three running backs, Mike. Bucky Irving, Saquon Barkley, Austin Eckler. Look, it's gonna be popular. Me, you know, the one way to make it slightly less popular is to put all three together. But I love Barkley, I love Irving, I love Austin Eckler as we talked about, those are my three.

Interesting. One way to make it less popular is to put all three together, that's true. All right, top three wide receivers. Going value at receiver for the most part because of what I just mentioned, I'm gonna pay up for Jayden Daniels at QB, locking in Bucky Irving and Saquon Barkley.

I'm gonna go with Dontavian Wicks, Jaylen McMillan and Khalil Shakur. I like McMillan. I think it's a good way to get exposure to Baker Mayfield and that bucks offense without having to pay the price tag on Mike Evans, keeping in mind that I'm pairing him with Bucky Irving and then Dontavian Wicks. Look, the Packers are beat up.

He's a guy that I think we all know has a ton of upside and the price point just simply works. And then Kalusha Kerr, I think the Bills game could be more competitive. If it is, I really expect Josh Allen to lock in there. So Wicks, McMillan, and Shakir. Shakir seems like one of those guys that if you don't have him, like it could be fine because he could have like 42 yards on three receptions.

But he feels like the type of guy that could just get loose on a couple and like just crush your dreams because he has 110 yards and a touchdown or two. I don't know that I expect that. I'm just, he is that type of guy that could pull that off. I think Don Tavion Wicks is super interesting. I think if you get the Green Bay Packer receiver right, and if they go over their implied total of around 20, 21 points, whether it's,

Wicks is the value option obviously, but Wicks, Dobbs, guys like Tucker Craft, I think are really interesting. Jayden Reed, not as interesting to me. But speaking of Tucker Craft, give me your top three tight ends. Yeah, we'll go Tucker Craft, Zach Ertz, and Dalton Kincade. Again, looking for just little pieces to pair with Josh Allen.

For me, it'd be Shakur and Dalton Kincade. Zach Ertz, that game in general, we've seen Jayden Daniels like to target him a bit. And Tucker Craft. Tucker Craft, look, I like Jordan Love. I like the cheap pieces on Green Bay, because I know they're going to have to throw the football. If you're Green Bay and you're Philly in this game,

you don't let Josh Jacobs run all over you and you make Jordan Love beat you with those weapons. So for me, it's Tucker Kraft. I'll be playing double tight end almost exclusively unless I'm playing all three of those running backs. So the scenario that I don't play all three running backs together, it's double tight end. If I'm playing all three of them, then it's likely going to be, uh, Tucker craft as that,

uh, that tight end spot. All right. Uh, and we talked about the two tight ends in that Baltimore game. If you want to get involved there, uh, or if you missed that part of the show, go back to the beginning to, to hear some talk about Mark Andrews and Isaiah likely. All right, I think that's it unless unless I miss something. I think that's everything. We tried to get to some of your questions. I appreciate everybody being in here and I like when you throw out props, big cheesy and everybody else and when you have questions too, we certainly try to get to them. We spent 50 minutes on it on a

show that only covered the six games, but I thought there was a lot to talk about, particularly from a roster construction standpoint. And Meg, you and Mike are very good at kind of doling out some advice there. All right, I guess we'll see everybody next week. On behalf of Mike McClure, Meg Schaup, and Nada on the ones and twos and threes and fours, this has been Fantasy Football Today, DFS. Let's see some green this weekend.

We'll see you next week.