Fantasy Football Today - Start or Sit (AFC) and 2023 Rankings (01/05 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: January 5, 2023

Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  *For each game we preview today, we'll be asking a 2023 rankings question As we get ready for Week 18, we first have to figure out which teams could rest their starters (1:50). You know about the Giants and Bucs but we tell you about a few other teams that could be sitting players. Then we've got players we love (5:00) and players to avoid (9:15). Expect Trevor Lawrence to bounce back, but don't expect much from Terry McLaurin ... News and notes (13:10), rankings disputes (22:15) on Travis Etienne, Alvin Kamara and more, and then we've got One Question for Each Game (28:50). Do we want to start the Dolphins wide receivers? Isiah Pacheco? Amari Cooper? .... Start or Sit and a 2023 question for Titans-Jaguars (34:30), Chiefs-Raiders (41:30), Ravens-Bengals (47:30), Patriots-Bills (57:45), Jets-Dolphins (1:01:00), Chargers-Broncos (1:07:15), Browns-Steelers (1:13:50) and Texans-Colts (1:17:30) ... Email us at [e-mail] Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Get 20% off Fantasy Football Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-football-today%20?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-football-collection 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." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ 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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Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. All right, everybody, we are into week 18. So we're going to talk 2023 today. We got eight games to preview all of the AFC home games. And for each game, we're going to talk about a week 18 question. Well, all the week 18 questions and a 2023 question. So this will be a good show. We also have a good old fashioned rankings disputes.

We haven't done that this year. And this is a good week to start that. Yeah, why not? Good week. We're going to do some passionate arguments. And I forgot to ask you if these rankings are accurate,

so we'll have to do that on the air, so that'll be a lot of fun. Adam, Jamie, and Heath here on Thursday. We do not have a live stream today. We don't have any live streams left for Week 18, so you do not have to go

to YouTube.com for those. But YouTube.com slash Fantasy Football Today, you can still watch all of our podcast episodes. Quick update on Bill's defensive back, DeMar Hamlin, just what the team released yesterday. DeMar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight. He is expected to remain under

intensive care as his healthcare team continues to monitor and treat him. So we love to hear about all the improvement and we hope to hear more and more throughout the days and weeks. All right, we're going to get back on track here and talk fantasy football. And if you missed yesterday's episode, I'll give you a bunch of ideas on how to resolve your league. So I hope that was helpful for you. And let's go to it. First of all, let's talk about who is going to sit. In terms of your rankings, Jamie, you can start. Who did you rank with concerns that they will sit for either all or part of Week 18? Just right now, only the Giants and the Bucs. I still have all the main guys ranked,

but significantly lower. So Barkley and Fournette, for example, are outside the top 24. Godwin and Evans, same thing. Giants receivers are ranked, but very low. Barkley and Daniel Jones outside the top 12. So still ranking them as of now, just not really fully understanding yet.

Don't have a full understanding yet of what the team's plan to do. So I know Todd Bowles, for example, was asked who would play quarterback if Brady doesn't finish the game. He indicated Blaine Gabbert. Saquon Barkley, his comments, you know, he wants to play unless Brian Daybold tells him differently. So narrator, Brian Daybold is going to tell you differently. comments you know he wants to play unless brian dable tells him differently so uh narrator brian dable's gonna tell you differently um so at this point you know planning not to have those guys if

i'm in a week 18 championship and looking at alternatives and maybe their backups and another one i saw yesterday the line has shifted um majorly in the chargers broncos game because i guess there's a if there's a decent chance the chargers could be locked into the sixth seed before they kick off because those um other games are happening at one wow who the chargers yes well if they win there are either way they could be locked into their seed very easily. In fact, are expected to be, because they are now two-point underdogs to the Broncos. They were two-and-a-half-point favorites.

I think they have to win, though. That's so interesting. They're currently the five seed. Right, but they could fall to the six if they lose. They could, yeah. That doesn't make any sense to me. If the Ravens have already lost? No, if the Ravens lose...

Because the Ravens and Bengals play at one, and Lamar Jackson's not practicing. Okay, so the Ravens- Oh, I guess because of the... Right, if the Ravens lose to the Bengals, then the Chargers, I do think they would be locked in. Yes, that does make sense now. Okay.

Because they have the tiebreaker now. I don't see why it would change after both teams play a conference game. I don't think they could. They can't fall to the six by winning. Okay, so they would be locked into the five, not the six. Yes. Okay, yeah. The Ravens, I guess, could technically fall to the six.

All right, well, that's pretty interesting. Okay, so watch out for the Chargers. And then, I don't know, still got to be a little concerned about the Vikings. And the Bears. I don't know how you feel about them. But Fields isn't playing. What did you say, Heath? Very.

Okay. Yes, I'm going to downgrade the Vikings. I actually didn't rank the Buccaneers. Even though they say they're going to play, I feel like they're going to play for two series. I just can't believe you're going to play that offensive line with a 45-year-old quarterback. And even Mike Evans, who's had plenty of hamstring problems, for a full game that means zero. And they also indicated that they might elevate a number three quarterback for this game, Kyle Trask. So I think that would tell you a lot of what you need to know.

All right, players we love this week. Jamie, who are we starting? Who's our favorite start? Start of the week is Trevor Lawrence. Love the setup for him in that matchup against the Titans. He was clearly amazing the first time these two teams met. And we know the Titans' secondary and really their pass defense has been bad all season long.

Eight quarterbacks have scored 22 or more fantasy points against them. Really, it's more about Lawrence. I know he's been relatively mediocre from a fantasy production standpoint the last two games, the 18 points against the Jets in the rain and wind, and then the disappointing half against the Texans. But you go to the five-game stretch he had prior to that, three of those games he was over 30 points, including the matchup against the Titans.

So I think he's going to light them up. At least that's the hope. And so top five quarterback for me this week. Trevor Lawrence, now the follow-up question, I was going to ask you this for one question for each game, is do you go back to Kirk and Zay Jones? 100%. Jones had a big game against

them the last time. Kirk did not. But I think you just look at, you know, any time that they're going to be in a situation where they're facing a defense like this, a run defense like this, it just lends itself to buying into the pass catchers. Evan Ingram was an absolute terror against the Titans in the first matchup, 11 catches, 162 yards. So I think all three guys are certainly at play. If I were ranking them just as players, forget about the positions, I would go Ingram, Kirk, Jones,

but all three top 50 players this week. All right, Heath, who do you love? This is very on brand, but I'm going to say Greg Dortch. Oh, he's in our rankings disputes, but we could talk about it now. Yeah, I just, like, I had the stat last week that he played at least 60% of the snaps in five games. He'd scored at least 13 PPR fantasy points in all of those,

at least 15 and four of the five. And he played the snaps last week. He got the targets last week and the production was just absolutely awful. They could not, could not connect with David Blau, but I, I'm still going to start a guy who's getting 10 targets on a regular basis. And in five of the six games where he's had that type of workload has been

awesome. I'm just completely ignoring the bad thing that happened last week and going right back to him, especially if Colt McCoy starts. I thought David, David, even with boss starting. Okay.

All right. So Jamie, I think you're about tense. Well, I don't know if the rankings are updated, but last we saw, Dortch was 36th for Jamie and 20th for Heath. That sound right? Yeah, at San Francisco this week. Yeah, and I think I have a couple of Bucs guys maybe between there,

so that could change some things. So, no, I agree with Heath. I think it's a good player to buy into, a good situation to buy into. I do think you have to take into account that his worst game did come with the same quarterback that he's playing with. And so the other thing I think you also got to take into account, I know the numbers will suggest that the 49ers – All right. Yeah, the 49ers give up the second most receiving yards

to slot-wide receivers. So we'll see when Jamie's ready to talk about that. And he did have nine for 103 against the 49ers earlier this year. I'm sorry. I got so choked up about Greg George. I think two things take into account. One, the quarterback obviously matters here because clearly they did not connect. Two, you got to expect a very pissed off 49ers defense after what happened last

week, where they almost got embarrassed by Jared Stidham. So in their building, I think it's going to be tough go for the Cardinals, especially if it's David Blau, Corey Clement and, and Greg Dortch, you know,

we'll see what Marquis Brown decides to do. It sounds like he's going to play, but just a lot of backups there against that offensive line. So I think Dortch is a good third receiver in PPR. I do think you've got to buy into his track record for sure. You know, it's not just the 10 targets. It's every time he's had more than three targets, he's been 13 or more PPR points.

So there's a very good track record of what he's done when he's gotten opportunities, but it's also could be an absolute, you know, he could have a six for 40 day. Wouldn't surprise me. All right. Players to avoid this week. Jamie, who are you sitting?

I mean, aside from the Giants and Bucs, if you can get away from them and potentially, you know, some of these other teams from a sitting standpoint, I would try to avoid, I'll say Deshaun Watson, just from a guy who's going to play in a competitive game. This Steelers defense has clearly been fantastic since TJ Watt came back in week 10. One quarterback since then has been over 19 fantasy points. Granted, they've played the bottom of the barrel in terms of quarterbacks.

And Joe Burrow, the one guy of substance that they have played, lit them up for 34 points. But I don't think Deshaun Watson's in that category. I don't think he's also in the bottom tier category, but I don't think he's going to build off of what he did last week when he only threw 18 passes and had three touchdowns. So Steelers have a lot to play for. It's in their building.

I think it's going to make things tough on Watson. So not a top 12 quarterback this week. All right, Deshaun Watson, sit. And Heath, how about you? Player to avoid? Yeah, I'm going to try to stay away from Terry McLaurin John Dotson has been the number one wide receiver in this offense for more than the past month and with Sam Howell I have no idea when I thought it was going to be Taylor Heineke I actually kind of thought I'd go back to Terry McLaurin because he's at a higher target share with Heineke than any other quarterback in his time in Washington but with Sam Howell um i i don't really want to start a washington

wide receiver but i think i'd start dotson over mclaren and we might see both quarterbacks right was that the report howell and not anymore i don't think no i think it was when they were going to start heineke and then bring howell in that was the case but now that they're starting howell unless it's just a disaster. Okay. They are facing the Dallas Cowboys this week. There was this one other note I wanted to mention in terms of which teams are sitting.

The Detroit Lions, even if the Seahawks win at 4 o'clock or 425 and eliminate the Lions, the indications are they are going all out for this game at Green Bay. It's just an important game for their franchise, it seems. And they, by the way, could become... If the Seahawks lose and the Lions win, they're in the playoffs, they would be the first team...

I don't know if you guys saw this. 52 years, I think? Something like that? Maybe more. Maybe it was in the 1950s, 1952 or something like that, to go 1-6 and then make the playoffs. So it would be pretty incredible if they were able to do that. Okay, we've got some programming notes for you. Season's just about over, the fantasy season,

but we would never, never leave you. Three episodes per week for the next several months, like the next four or five months, I don't even know. And three episodes per week. We might even have more than that because we might throw in some Beyond the Box score special episodes, but we'll give you some DFS talk,

obviously, during the playoffs. We'll preview the games. We'll help you with any playoff challenges you might have, but we're going to focus it on 2023 and rankings and those types of things and a lot of really interesting players. It's not easy coming up with the top 12s this week. Some good debate. I already completely regret one of them. There's no way coming up with the top 12s this week. Some good debate.

I already completely regret one of them. There's no way I can have Justin Herbert ahead of Joe Burrow, so I'm going to change that. But, yeah, we'll be talking about all those things. Do you want me to change that before I publish the story? Yes, please, please. You can keep Herbert ahead of Fields, but it's got to be Burrow ahead of Herbert.

All right, so let's adjust this on the fly here. What's your rankings? You have Allen 1, Mahomes 2, Hurst 3. Yeah, Burrow 4, Herbert 5, I think Fields. Fields, Lawrence, or Lawrence, Fields? What did I do? You have, now it's Allen, Mahomes, Hurst, Burrow, Herbert, Fields, Lawrence.

Okay. Works for me. Good with that. Yeah, sure. I kind of want to put Lawrence ahead of Fields, but I'll go with Fields. You want Lawrence ahead of Fields? No.

Yes. Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Okay. You're now the low guy on Justin Fields. Congratulations. Good for me. Always a good thing when a guy...

It's our brand. Yeah, when a guy was going to set the rushing record for a quarterback. News for me. Always a good thing when a guy... It's our brand. Yeah, when a guy was going to set the rushing record for a quarterback. News and notes. Okay, Teddy Bridgewater seems unlikely to play, probably going to be Skyler Thompson against the Jets. Washington's going to start Sam Howell. Justin Fields is out this week with a hip injury.

And Trevor Simeon will start. He faced the Jets in Week 12. A little bit tougher competition than the Vikings. S simeon was 14 of 25 or 179 yards a touchdown and an interception he'll face the vikings at home this week tom brady's gonna start but you know we already talked about this we we don't expect him to play too much david blau is gonna start for the cardinals he was 24 of 40 for 222 yards and a touchdown at Atlanta last week. Now, also, Keith, Kyler Murray probably won't be ready for the start of the season with the ACL injury. What's your reaction there?

I don't like it. He's a guy who I think had taken a little bit of hit even without that, and you've got some quarterbacks who are rising that you could argue to put ahead of him. I think he was still in everybody's top 12. He was definitely in my top 12. I think he'll be drafted as a top 12 quarterback, but unfortunately he's going to be someone like we talked about with Justin Fields and Trey Lance this year, that if you draft him as your number one quarterback, you've got to draft a number two quarterback pretty soon. The nice thing is that when Murray's right and he has DeAndre Hopkins, he has as much upside as any quarterback in fantasy football.

And so you might be drafting a guy now in round eight, round nine, round 10 that you're not going to be able to start week one, but that could be a league winner in the second half. You know, they said, I think it was Kingsbury, said that Hopkins is being bothered right now by the knee injury that he sustained last season. Yeah. That makes me nervous, too. He's old. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, that's...

I think this is a business decision. I don't think it's a health decision. You think so? All right. Yeah. I mean, you can certainly do that. He's probably got some sort of ailment. I don't want to take that away from him.

But I don't understand why you know we we talk about this with college football players like why would you play in bowl games if you're they're meaningless games and you have your whole life in front of you to earn millions of dollars i i get both sides of it but for me it would be the smart decision to sit if i'm josh jacobs for example like why are you playing this week yeah i know you say that all the time like these guys want to play. I understand they want to play. And then he pulls out something, God forbid, gets hurt. Millions and millions of dollars under.

I mean, the types of injuries that used to be so bad for careers are treated so much better. People are recovering so much more quickly now. An ACL injury, if you're a college... You're not getting the same contract if you're You know, an ACL injury, if you're a college... You're not getting the same contract if you're coming off of an ACL accident. I agree. If you're a college senior or junior or whatever,

and you tear your ACL in the national championship game, like Jamison Williams... Different story. You know, it's going to set you back a year, but you still have your whole future ahead of you. I'm talking about the Adam Azer Injuries News and Notes Bowl.

You know, that type of bowl game, you're sitting if you're a first-round pick. The National Championship game, no, you're playing for something. That's a different story. I'm sorry. Okay, no, I'm sorry. Yeah, it'd be more like the Sugar Bowl or whatever,

the big game but not a championship game. Sorry, I should never have brought the National Championship. That was dumb. But like what Bryce Young was just playing in, you know, a few days ago. Yeah, no. Look, again, you want to be out there with your teammates.

You want to be out there, you know, your school, those, those things also factor in, but if you are projected first round pick or you're put, you're going to free agency and this is your chance to get maybe your last contract. Like, yeah, I get it. Look, man, my voice, I got to conserve my voice. This is week 18. I don't have to be out here with you guys, but I am. That's true.

I am here. Yeah, that's what I'm doing. LeVar Jackson mispractice at running back. James Conner is day-to-day with a shin injury. It could be. A what injury? I said shin. We're going to replay that one, please, Thomas.

I said shin. Could be Corey Clement for the Cardinals at San Francisco. Well, explain that one to me. Like, what happened to Keontae Ingram? And why, in a meaningless game this week, would they play Corey Clement for a game over Keontae Ingram? They may not.

They may not. But I think if you're Cliff, you need a win. You're probably going to play. It sounds like Mike McDaniel needs a win. Sounds like Mike McDaniel's in a must-win game, maybe. Oh, come on. That could not be.

That would be. That was the reporting from yesterday. That would be bad. That would bother me. That what? Steven Ross may not be willing to wait for a second year if they lose six straight and miss the playoffs there's only one reason that would happen yep and it's the thing they got in trouble for last year it's still on the table still on the table right i could see

that that'd be sean payton all right tony pollard practice in full that's good uh jamie already mentioned this saquon barkley says he's playing unless told otherwise but he doesn't you know he won't make that decision christ Christian McCaffrey missed practice, so we've got to keep an eye on this. Elijah Mitchell's eligible to return from IR, but probably won't happen this week. Would you guys go with Mason or

Tyrion Davis-Price if McCaffrey were out? I think you've got to go based on what they showed us last week, which was Mason back at the number two spot. Now, Elijah Mitchell is activated off of IR, so his window is open. I'd be shocked if they played him at this point, especially if they have the chance to maybe get a bye and give him another two or three weeks of rest.

But he's on the table, too. We find out McCaffrey's out, they're all on the table, and then hopefully we get an idea of who can be the starter. And they are getting what has now become probably the best matchup, maybe Texans or whatever, but I would just say, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a jerk, but I don't think there was really a clear

who was number two behind McCaffrey. They both played five snaps. I think Mason had two carries, and Tyrion Davis-Price had one. So I would think it'd be a split. I'm sure we would agree on that. Josh Jacobs has been limited and Davis Price had won. So I would think it'd be a split. I'm sure we would agree on that. Yeah. Okay.

Josh Jacobs has been limited in practice. Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson both missed practice. Would figure that Gibson more of a risk to miss the game as he missed last week. Wide receiver news, Marquise Brown's going to play, but DeAndre Hopkins is out. Devontae Parker did practice. He's missed three straight games with a concussion.

Huge game for the Patriots. Sky Moore was limited in practice, and Mecole Hardman is off IR, so he could come back. But it's weird, though, because he was on the injury report with something different. Oh, that is weird.

Limited with a pelvic injury? Okay, well, at least he was limited. Offensive line news, Miami left tackle. Pelvis, pelvis, pelvis. Ter, at least he was limited. Offensive line news. Miami left tackle. Elvis. Elvis. Teron Armstead mispractice. Kansas City offensive lineman Joe Tooney was limited.

Tyler Center, Dallas Center, Tyler Biotis is, I would assume, not going to play. Remember, he had that injury on Thursday. And right tackle Brian O'Neal for the Vikings is out for the season with a partially torn Achilles. Here's a big one to watch for on defense here. I mean, it's probably not going to affect any decision you make, but maybe for DFS. Calais Campbell, the Ravens run defense has been really bad since Calais Campbell got hurt. He did not practice yesterday. Marcus Peters, their cornerback, did. It was limited, but Campbell has been out, and he did not practice yesterday.

And you're talking about, remember, they traded for Roquan Smith. They had basically the best run defensive football right up there. It's been really bad since Calais Campbell got hurt. So it's a big difference. Xavier Howard for the Dolphins, he mispracticed, but he's making progress. And defensive end Bradley Chubb mispracticed. And they're not just missing Tua and likely Bridgewater.

I mean, they're missing some of their best players in right now. It's Ron Armstead, Xavier Howard, Bradley Chubb. And the Patriots getting a little bit healthier with cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones limited in practice. Marcus Jones, another cornerback, did not practice. And Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen mispracticed. That's one where you may not see him. Meaningless game for them.

All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we've got rankings disputes, one question for each game, and eight AFC home games to talk about. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. Did you know 66% of utility damage is caused by not requesting a locate? Don't let your project become part of this statistic. A quick locate request can save you from unexpected downtime,

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Data sourced from the orcga 2023 dirt report i am looking forward to hearing uh refresh my rankings these aren't accurate anymore but let's give it a shot rankings disputes for week 18 the quarterback dispute is sam darnold jamie has him 21st heath has him 11th yes thumbs upold, dispute? I might have him too high. 21. Heath, why do you have Sam Darnold 11th? I'll probably move him down a little bit, but he has been basically a borderline top 12 quarterback

since he's come back. He's been incredible in terms of efficiency, 8.8 yards per attempt, passer rating over 100. He's just playing really good football, and I think he's going to play the entire game. Jamie? And the Saints have been awesome against quarterbacks, but they've allowed several to be in that 19-point range.

I think he can do that. Okay. Jamie, you're not feeling it. No, he's had two good games against two teams that have really struggled against quarterbacks lately. Detroit's been awful, and then Tampa Bay the last month or so has been bad. And so I think this is just, for me, it's buying the Saints defense in their building.

They've just been exceptional. And so I don't trust Sam Darnold, no. Okay, let's go to our next one. Alvin Kamara. Same, Jamie, 21 on Kamara. And Heath, 8. Yeah, all right. Same game.

Heath, you're liking Kamara against the Panthers. Yeah. Yeah, he's not prepared for rankings. Why would you decide to do this? Week 18. I mean, here's how rankings suits work. I tell you a player in your rankings and you talk about it. What do you mean you're not prepared?

I just don't know why we're doing this. He has 17 or more touches in each of his last three games. It does, and it's a good matchup. Jamie, I'm surprised you don't like Kamara this week. Is it a good matchup? I think so. Haven't they been pretty bad against running backs? No, they've been pretty good against running backs.

I'm excited to go mix them. Okay, you're going to get me wrong about that. I haven't previewed that game yet. though, right? Haven't they been pretty bad against running backs? No. They've been pretty good against running backs, outside of Joe Mixon. Okay. You don't get me wrong about that. I haven't previewed that game yet. Well, he's just one of these guys at this point where the reception total is cratered for him. And if he does not score, like, you know, we've seen several times,

including last week, you know, you're getting 15, 16 carries, you know, on a good day, maybe 20. You know, the game against Cleveland is probably a good indication of that. 20 carries, 76 yards scored. Good. Okay. Yeah, no, they've been good the last few weeks.

They were bad against Latavius Murray three or four weeks ago. But, yeah, Panthers have been good. Okay, fine. This one we've got to talk about here. Travis Etienne. I mean, this is a big one here, Heath. You have Travis Etienne, third. Jamie has is a big one here, Heath. You have Travis Etienne, third. Jamie Haslam, 16th, facing the Titans.

He had his worst game against the Titans just a few weeks ago. Come on, man. Third. Yeah, I think Travis Etienne's the top 12 running back who just hasn't scored quite enough touchdowns to rank as a top 12 running back on the season. But I do think that Jacksonville is going to score some points and that ETN is going to be okay. But top 12 or third?

You going to move them down? Sure. Well, come on. I mean, you know, look, we saw what happened to Zeke last week. And yes, he scored. We averaged under two yards per carry. Here's the problem.

I think you notice I'm high on all these guys. I'm the high guy, it seems like. There's a lot of guys that I don't think – I'm pretty high on guys that I think are going to play the whole game. Okay. There's a lot of guys that I don't know if they are. Okay. So maybe I'll move him down to seventh or eighth,

but he's going to be in my top 12 for sure. Okay. But maybe I'll move him down to seventh or eighth, but he's going to be in my top 12 for sure. Okay. Um, Jamie, your thoughts on, uh, on Travis ETN. Uh,

I think he's going to get work. I think he's going to struggle. I think he's got a score to, you know, deliver on this. It's a guy that hasn't been involved in the passing game, which is, you know,

frustrating for the majority of the season. So look, he's, he's a, he's a star talent, but this is a star defensive unit when it comes to stopping the run. So, look, he's a star talent, but this is a star defensive unit when it comes to stopping the run. So this is a throw, throw, and throw more.

Okay. Last one here is David Montgomery, and Heath has... Heath's the high guy in David Montgomery, but, Jamie, you have him 23rd, and facing the Vikings, is this because Fields isn't playing? This was actually before Fields was ruled out.

So I probably will not move him much, but I think we're going to see a little bit too much of Khalil Herbert. I think this is a team playing for something versus a team not playing for something. And I just, you know, what Montgomery has done the last couple of games since Herbert's come back, you've seen a little bit of a tail off. I think it's tough to throw on this team.

He hopefully will be involved in the passing game, but Montgomery just makes me a little bit nervous. Heath, do you have him at rank 10th because you think he's going to play a full game? He only had six carries last week. He had 16 the week before with Herbert back. Or do you just genuinely think he's going to have a good game, David Montgomery? Yeah, I'm more worried about whether the Vikings are playing for something and who's going to be playing for them.

If I was them, I wouldn't want to win and get the two seed and play the Packers instead of being the three seed and playing the Giants. I would be very happy to not win this game. Yeah, and plus, not just that. I mean, they need the Niners to lose in order for them to get the two seed. They need the Niners to lose to the Cardinals at home. So it's probably going to be the Vikings in the three seed.

The last time we saw Montgomery play with Trevor Simeon, he had 17 touches. Darrington Evans had 10 touches in that game. And Montgomery had 113 yards against a very good Jets defense. By the way, Heath, the Giants beat the Packers. Just saying.

Careful what you wish for. But the Giants crushed the Vikings and the Vikings beat the Giants. The Packers crushed the Vikings? Yes. Yeah, that's true. Um, all right.

Well, the bottom line is everybody wants to play the Vikings. Every wild card team wants to play the Vikings. Or the Bucs. Would you rather play the Vikings? Who's better, the Vikings or the Bucs? The Vikings. Oh, that's a good question.

Ryan Jensen back? Yeah, I think so. I think he'll be back. Ryan O'Neal's out? Yeah, well, we know that, yeah. Yeah, I think the Vikings I think I picked the Vikings but man those are some pretty weak division winners okay

one question for each game Tennessee at Jacksonville I think we've answered most of the questions here I was going to ask you oh Jamie said yes so I'll just ask Heath are we going back to the Jaguars wide receivers after two bad games? Low end number two or number three wide receivers.

Is that where you have them, Jamie, or a little higher? No, low end number two receivers. Kirk a little bit higher, probably in PPR. Maybe low teens. High teens, I guess. Okay. Okay, so you might have to prepare to maybe start them over Mike Williams

or even Keenan Allen, because as we talked about earlier, there's a scenario where the Chargers are not playing for anything in their game. Kansas City at Las Vegas. Who do you trust more in this game, Juju Smith-Schuster or Isaiah Pacheco? What's the format? Half PPR. Any PPR, I trust Juju.

I'm going to go with Pacheco. I don't know what happened there with Juju last week. That was very disappointing. It's been, I think, three of his last four games. Three of his last five games have been really bad. So, was it A. Jones or Juju? Zay. Zay.

Baltimore or Cincinnati? Would you start Mark Andrews or Darren Waller? I would start Mark Andrews. Yeah. I wish I could rely on Waller to play a full snap share.

That's what's really holding him back. He's playing about half the snaps, not even. New England at Buffalo. Can you trust the running back in this game? Trust? I would still trust Ramondre Stevenson. He's a number two. Heath obviously will start ETN,

but Jamie, would you start ETN or Ramondre Stevenson? I would start ETN or Ramondre Stevenson? I would start ETN. Okay. Jets at Dolphins. How on earth can you justify starting Tyreek Hill or Jalen Waddle? Well, I would still start Tyreek Hill. I mean, I think what you got from him last week

is as much of a disaster as you can expect. So I don't think he'll get much worse. Granted, he could not score, so that's clearly on the table. But my guess is that he will still get some opportunities. What I would like to see is it feels like they've gotten away from what they were doing a little bit earlier in the season with a lot more jet sweeps and bubble screens and some of those things, you know, Tim, just to create touches for him.

So I would like to see that a little bit more, at least that's the hope. Um, but yeah, Jalen Wild to me makes me, I'm terrified. Yeah. I mean, what he did last week, Tyree kill, he had four catches for 55 yards on seven targets. He also had technically a rushing touchdown. It was, it was a backwards pass. Uh, but you know, obviously most of the came with Teddy Bridgewater. When you look at these guys with Skyler Thompson, I'll just tell you what the numbers are. For the season, Tyreek Hill has played 53 snaps with Skyler Thompson, and he has 11 catches for 79 yards on 15 targets in 53 snaps.

Jalen Waddell has 64 snaps, seven catches, 87 yards on 10 targets. Thompson's been awful. So, all right. Heath, I think you're a little lower. You think you have Hill like 15th, 14th, something like that, but Dave and Jamie, I think, have him in the top 10.

All right, so it's going to be start Hill, sit Waddell, basically? Waddell's number three. All right. Chargers at Broncos. Rank the wide receivers in this game, Heath. I thought we were doing 20-23 questions for these games. Yeah, we will once we get into the games.

Okay. Right now, it's Allen, Williams, Judy, Sutton, but I'm moving more. Assuming that Tyler Huntley is starting for the Ravens, I'll probably end up having it Judy, Allen, Williams, Sutton, but I'm moving more, assuming that Tyler Huntley is starting for the Ravens, I'll probably end up having it Judy Allen William Sutton. Because the Bengals, in that case, will beat the Ravens and make this game

meaningless for the Chargers. Likely. Assuming that the Bengals are going to start all their guys. Cleveland at Pittsburgh, would you start Deshaun Watson and Amari Cooper in this game? Are we going to the... I mean, Jamie already said no, but Heath, how about you? Any faith in... Well, you said no

on Watson, not on Cooper. Let me... Alright. Start Watson. Start or sit Watson and Cooper. Just talk about it. Cooper is a number two wide receiver with a lot of upside and little floor. Watson is a sit. How you feel, Jamie, about Cooper? Yes. I think that's the best way to describe it.

All right, because I know we only had four targets last week. Watson threw 18 passes. But I think they're starting to develop something here. Well, I think the thing you look at with the Browns, they will throw more. But this is kind of what this game feels like. It's going to be a slugfest, ugly,

not exactly a lot of aesthetically pleasing things to look at. And so I think for Cooper, he's going to need, I think, a little bit more volume to be successful. He's not breaking long plays like this against the Steelers' defense.

So, number two receiver. It's more based off of what can he do if things go well. All right, Houston at Indianapolis. Rank these flexes in half PPR. Brandon Cooks, Zach Moss, Michael Pittman. How would you rank them? Cooks, Moss, Pittman.

Moss, Pittman, Cooks. Sure. Yeah. Okay. Looking forward to that game. All right, here we go. A 2023 question and some starters sit for each game. Tennessee is at Jacksonville.

Here's your 2023 question. Travis Etienne or Derek Henry? I'll take Etienne. I'm just making sure, but I'm pretty sure I also had ETN two spots ahead of Derrick Henry. Do you think Derrick Henry started to show some

signs of decline this year? I think it's a combination of him showing some decline, which is very minimal, and the him showing some decline, which is very minimal, and the team showing significant decline. So offensive line has been an absolute disaster for the Titans, which is not on him, but it's a byproduct of where he is. And the quarterback play has been significantly in decline.

So will Ryan Tannehill be back next year as a starter? Will there be an upgrade? Will they find more playmakers in the passing game? Because I think losing A.J. Brown, we probably didn't put as much stock into that as we might have. So yeah, this is a team that needs probably a reset button, especially if they miss the playoffs. So not from a coaching standpoint, from just certain personnel. They can't continue to play the same way and hope to have success. It just doesn't work. I do appreciate the fact that they used him so much more in the passing game this year, though. That kind of covered

the decline in the rushing game, if there was any. I agree with Jamie. I think it was mostly that the offensive line got awful. Yeah. All right. So, this game here, it seems like we're, you know, you guys don't agree on Etienne. Not that he's an outright sit for Jamie,

but he's... No, you're starting him. Well, I don't want to start him. not that he's an outright sit for jamie but he's no you're starting him but well i don't want to start i don't i don't i wouldn't want to start him well i mean to his point when you when you start to get into who's playing and who's got potential you know if if they do you know doug peterson is is done a fantastic job and and i forget where i saw it might have been something dan rolovsky tweeted to give him credit that if they hit a bunch of RPOs against them that they're susceptible to that.

So it may not be Trevor Lawrence pulling it and throwing it, which I hope he does. They could hit some misdirection on this Titans defense and he hits one big hole, he's gone. I'm not sitting Travis Etienne. I'm not going to Matt Breida for Travis Etienne. No, I'm going to Cam Akers though.

Yeah, Akers is a better start. I agree with that. It's obviously case specific, but I would be very tough to sit Travis Etienne in a huge game like this where you know he's playing so much and has such a big role. There are going to be players on teams who are not playing for anything that we did not expect were not going to play, or that we didn't talk about maybe not playing the whole game, that are not going to play the whole game this week.

I mean, it's a fair point. It's a fair point. Um, I was going to say, I'd start mile Sanders over Travis ETN. I think I would. I mean, I just feel like they're going to probably Eagles probably gonna win by 30

and giants are going to rest everybody. But, um, Heath on that subject, since you won't be on the show tomorrow, don't you think Jamie should have made Boston Scott the start of the week? That would have been a good one. I think we've got a streak going of three or four weeks now

where I did not know the start of the week, and I sent in my starts, and one of my five starts for the Thursday show on HQ was the start of the week. Hey, okay, good. I do have to, for our Sunday show, come up with a different start of the week because the game is on Saturday. So maybe Boston Scott will be in consideration for the Sunday show start of the week. There you go. Narrator, it will not.

When I say I don't want to start ETN, I'm not going to Zach Moss and Matt Breida. But Cam Akers, the Cowboys guys, he's 16th for Jamie, and he's third for Heath. So, fourth for Heath. So, anyway, yeah, that's ETN. Okay, we said start Trevor Lawrence. And would you start Lawrence or Cousins? Lawrence. Cousins may not play a full game.

Right. And the Jaguars wide receivers are number two options. Evan Ingram is a must start. How many tight ends would you start over Evan Ingram? One in PPR. Yep. Okay.

Maybe two, maybe Kittle. All right, what do you think about Traylon Burks? Josh Dobbs did a nice job last week last week 20 of 39 232 yards and a touchdown and a pick so we're not saying to start him but obviously he was he was better than malik willis and burks was solid four for 66 on eight targets what do you think about him i think it totally comes down if you think they're gonna let josh dobbs throw 40 passes again. You may not have a choice,

right? Well, I don't know. I think that their preference, now that they have Derrick Henry back, would be that they're going to be in a one-score game for the entirety of the game, and they're going to run the ball with Derrick Henry 30 times. They've not let Ryan Tannehill throw that much very often, so the problem is, if Josh Dobbs throws 30

passes, then we're probably looking at 160 yards passing. Burks is in that group. And I think I like Kadarius Tony better, but Tony's in the same group of guys that I don't really think have much floor. But if you're looking for a desperation start this week, Traylon Burks is going to play the whole game. He has something intense to play for. So he's a nice boom-bust flex. And you like him better than Robert Woods, right? Yes. Okay.

And start Henry and sit the tight ends? Okonkwo and Hooper? Yeah. Okonkwo disappeared, right, when Burks came back? Okonkwo had three for 24 on four targets. Hooper had one catch for six yards on six targets. And the Jacksonville DST. So it looks like Heath has them third.

Let me hit refresh here. Make sure I got the updated rankings. Third for Heath. Jamie, 14th for you. What's that all about? That's one I will adjust. It's a Jaguars defense. But it's also he's alluded to this

this is a different titans team you know with with derrick henry without derrick henry uh i think they're going to limit the amount of times that josh dobbs has to throw and so is it a matter of do they score enough without you know getting turnovers so in terms of the titans score enough without the Jaguars getting turnovers. I think the Jaguars' defense is definitely a number one defense. I probably would not rank them as high as Heath does. Okay. Looking forward to the victory lap when they

win the AFC South. Who am I going to be? I'm obviously going to be a Bills fan. We're all going to be Bills fans. Then Jaguars will be my second favorite team. When the Giants get eliminated, I'll be a Bills fan. We're all going to be Bills fans. Then Jaguars will be my second favorite team. And when the Giants get eliminated, I'll be a Niners fan. Just letting everybody know my rooting interests. We've eliminated four teams from contention.

Quickly. Kansas City at Las Vegas. All right, your 2023 question. Why not Travis Kelsey Kelsey number one overall? Basically the same reason as why Travis Etienne over Derrick Henry. I know Kelsey's not showing signs of decline, but father time is undefeated. And he's going to be 33 years old.

Okay. Okay, fair. So where would you take? Are you sticking with it? Yeah, I'm going to stick with it, yeah. I'm not saying I'm going to stick with it in August, but in February, yeah, I'm going to draft January and February, sure. Kelsey number one.

So what's your projected top five right now? What I project will happen or what I would do? Your top five. Adam Azer's top five overall picks because we are unveiling this on Friday's FFT if you didn't know. I didn't know that. Just your top 24. Seriously? Yes, just yours. Oh't know. Just your top 24. Seriously?

Yes, just yours. Top five is going to be Kelsey, Jefferson, McCaffrey, Eckler, Chase. Okay. How's that?

Just want to let it marinate. I don't want to let it marinate I don't love Chase number two I think he just I love him as a player but in full PPR I just don't think he's got the profile to be the number one wide receiver but he's just safer than Cup I think at this point so

I wouldn't be opposed to any wide receiver other than Jefferson at number two, like Hill and Adams and even digs, but probably not digs, but all right. Yeah. I'm sorry.

Yeah. Good. You keep saying you wouldn't be opposed to any wide receiver other than Jefferson at number two, other than chase. No, no, no.

Other than Jefferson, Jefferson's one, Jefferson's one, but Jefferson's two. I'm sorry. I mean, number two, wide receiver, number two Jefferson. Jefferson's one. Jefferson's one. But Jefferson's two. I'm sorry. I mean number two wide receiver. Number two wide receiver. Okay. I've got a cop at number two wide receiver. Yeah. I mean, probably.

It's the Kelsey argument. It's the age thing, but I know he's not as old as Kelsey. All right. Anyway, stat of the game for this one. Number one, four games without Denzel Perryman. The Raiders have allowed a rushing touchdown to a running back in all four games.

In three of the games, a running back has rushed for 85 or more yards. Those were Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, and Christian McCaffrey. But without Denzel Perryman, it's been a really bad run defense for the Raiders. And with him, it really hasn't been that bad. So I think at this point, Heath, everyone's going to start

McKinnon, but Pacheco, Pacheco, he's got to be on your list of guys who are going to play, right? Low-end number two running back, yeah. Top 24 guy for me. Okay, would you start Miles Sanders or Pacheco? I think I

still have Sanders higher. No. Pacheco over Sanders. Okay. In PPR, Sanders over Pacheco and none. And how about, guys, Pacheco or Dobbins? Pacheco. Pacheco. I have Dobbins one spot higher

he's another guy I kind of worry about resting because they know they're playing next week and do they want to make sure he's right I wonder if they're going to know obviously this comes into play are they going to know before the game if the Bills Bengals game is going to be

made up because that will affect the Ravens I would imagine they have to announce that before the game if the Bills-Bengals game is going to be made up. Because that will affect the Ravens. I would imagine they have to announce that before the games are played Sunday. At this point, it would be shocking if they play that game again. You would think so.

The Raiders have allowed 76 to 101 yards to a wide receiver in seven of their last nine games. Will a Chiefs wide receiver in seven of their last nine games. Will a Chiefs wide receiver get to 76 yards? It's happened in seven of the last nine games against the Raiders. Yeah, pick one.

You still have to rank Juju ahead of Tony, right? I do. Yes. Juju's still a good number three receiver, just based on what his potential could be. The funny part about this game is that the Raiders are really one of the easiest start-sit teams. Well, they're easier than the Chiefs, I think.

Because you start Adams, start Jacobs, and we're not worried about Jacobs, are we? Not as of now. And then Waller is probably a start, but how good of a start is Darren Waller? And then we'll talk about Stidham. Heath, where do you have Waller is probably a start but how good of a start is Darren Waller and then we'll talk about Stidham Heath where do you have Waller eight-ish

okay you have him behind Dallas Goddard, Dawson Knox you have him behind Taysom Hill are you going to keep that in PPR I don't think I'll keep him behind Knox but I think I'll keep him behind Taysom Hill okay and then Jamie any interest in Jared Stidham?

2QB and Superflex, yes. Absolutely. One quarterback league, if there's no options available and you're worried about Brady, you're worried about Daniel Jones, I like him better than Deshaun Watson, for example. So, I think there's certainly, as he showed you, plenty of upside.

And, you know, you should probably at least go with the assumption that he can produce like what Derek Carr was producing. I don't want to say that they're in the same caliber of player, at least as of now. But Carr was basically living in that 20-point range. So I think Stenum can do that based on what he did last week. He didn't embarrass himself. No.

All right. Anything else on this game? Do we talk about McKinnon? Probably. I mean, there are probably some interesting McKinnon decisions. I would start him over Etienne in PPR. Interesting. Would you start the Packers running backs or Jarek McKinnon?

Jones, McKinnon, Dillon. All right. Raiders give up the most receiving yards. In fact, these two teams give up the most receiving yards. In fact, these two teams give up the most receiving yards to running backs.

Keep that in mind. That's it for this game unless anybody interested in the Chiefs DST? No. Low end starter at best. Okay.

Baltimore's at Cincinnati. 2023 question. How are we going to be feeling about Joe Mixon in 2023? How are you guys feeling about Joe Mixon right now? Number one running back? Yeah, top 12 guy. I had him as RB5.

6, I think. Yeah, I think I am 6 or 7. I didn't like it, though. I felt... I think he's had such a disappointing season. I mean, the Carolina game was amazing, but if he doesn't catch passes, like sometimes that goes away.

Oh, wow, his role in the passing game isn't what we thought. Maybe they use P9 more or something. Maybe they just don't throw to running backs as much on first and second down. He was set up to have such a great year, and it just really didn't happen. I'm pretty disappointed in Mixon. Didn't he miss a really layup game

too? Maybe. He missed the Titans game, which Piran came through with a big game. That was a great callback. Piran was better than Mixon, basically. Piran's three games there he filled in for Mixon, two and a half games. He outscored almost

every Joe Mixon week. I just was really in for Mixon, two and a half games. He outscored almost every Joe Mixon week. I just was really disappointed in Mixon. He missed the Titans and the Chiefs. You don't see any signs of concern with Mixon, Heath? I think we all had him in the top six or seven running back, right?

Yes. Yeah, I can tell you right now. I don't have Chris's rankings yet, but of the four of us, you back right yes yeah i can tell you right now um i don't have chris's rankings yet but of the four of us uh you guys both have him fifth i have him seventh dave has him 12th okay so dave has a little more concern yeah and and for me it's i have jacobs behind him if jacobs is in a great spot still i will have jacobs ahead of him i know you're gonna make fun of me for this, but I'll at the risk of being made fun of by Heath, which happens a lot. A guy on

this team with those receivers who played against favorable running situations because it's not like teams were stacking the box. He definitely should be averaging more than four yards per carry. It was an extremely disappointing efficiency. Were you laughing at me?

No, not at all. Oh, I thought you were sniffling. I thought you were laughing. No, I think Mixon should have done more with the carries he got. Okay. You're allowed to have a back and forth here. That's okay.

I think the thing for me that was the most frustrating was the lack of touchdowns. Yeah. Because he was so good in that regard last year. Yeah. I just think, honestly, if you look at Joe Mixon's career, I mean, I did this before the season started.

He's basically like Najee Harris. He hasn't been an explosive running back other than, you know, like a few portions of his career. But just overall looking at the career, it's really underwhelming if you just look at the rushing stats and even the advanced rushing stats, yards before contact, after contact, that kind of stuff, he just hasn't been that good.

And I thought, all right, well, they're going to have by far the best offensive line they've had plus the best passing game. It's going to be the best situation for Mixon. And it was. And when you look at points per game, you know, he's basically come through, but I think, I think he's been disappointing. It's just that Carolina game boosts his points so much. And it won you a week. So it's important. But personally, I think he's been underwhelming.

All right, whatever. I guess we have time to talk about that. Maybe nobody else feels that way. I think it would be interesting to see what David thinks. No, he has been underwhelming, for sure. All right, so this game, the Ravens are obviously a good defense, although I did mention they've been struggling

against the run without Calais Campbell. Is there any hesitation at all with the big four on the Bengals? Zero. No, no. Okay. And we don't think necessarily that they're going to be resting there, guys. So far, we have no indication of that.

I was listening to some of Joe Burrow's comments from the media, meeting with the media yesterday, and he was talking about how some guys are still a little hesitant to play after what happened in the Buffalo game. So that could be something. And the guy you have to worry the most about is T. Higgins because he was involved in the situation. So, you know, just keep checking.

I would assume at this point, though, everybody's playing and hopefully puts up big numbers. Okay, then how about Tyler Boyd and Hayden Hurst? Heath, how do you feel about them? I do not want to start them. All right, the other side of the ball, Jamie, break down the Ravens. Mark Andrews is a start because of his position.

Hopefully last week, as John Harbaugh said, they got him going and that will carry them for however long their playoff run goes. But for anybody playing this week, you can, you start him and just hope that that connection between Huntley is, is alive again. And then JK Dobbins makes me nervous because a,

this Bengals run defense has been great. And B is he going to get the full allotment of carries because of the playoffs looming. So he's a, he's a flex for me better in non PPR than half PPR. I'm sorry, better in non PPR than half PPR. I'm sorry, better in non-PPR than full PPR. Okay.

So Zach Moss or J.K. Dobbins? I'm probably a little bit too giddy about Zach Moss this week, so I would take Moss, though. They're very similar. Dobbins is the better player by far, but much better matchup for Moss. Yeah, I'd go Dobbins.

Okay. What are you drinking there, Heath? Looks tasty. LaCroix? Key lime LaCroix. Oh, that's not

tasty. I don't like key lime. Sorry. I disapprove. Mark Andrews or

Dawson Knox? Andrews. Knox for me. Mark Andrews or Dallas Goddard?

Goddard. Yeah. All right. I know you guys like Evan Ingram better. Okay. Which DST, do you like either DST in this game? Huntley starting, I like the Bengals quite a bit. Bengals are top 12.

Okay. So getting away from the Ravens? Yeah, for sure. By the way, I forgot to give this statistic. Since Tyler Huntley took over, the Ravens are the lowest scoring team in football. They are averaging 11.8 points per game. They are 26th in yards per game.

They are 24th in yards per play. Yikes. So has this season with Lamar's injury helped or hurt his contract negotiations? Because they've seen how bad they are without him. But he's also not been healthy for the second straight year. That's a good question.

That's a good question. I would think it's helped him with this team. But at the same time, I do think that the stories that are coming out are legitimate. Like it's probably time to blow this up. Um, and they're kind of,

they're, they've been winning, right? I mean, I know they just lost to Pittsburgh, but, uh, they're three and two to their organization.

You know, their defense is, you know, through a variety of different personnel has been, been great. Their run game continues to be great, but can they win to the level that teams want to win playing this way? And the answer is probably no.

So can you maximize the potential? Like Jason Lacofora, who knows this team very well, does a radio show in Baltimore, our former NFL insider, says blow it up. You know, get side and trade, essentially, Lamar Jackson. Tag and trade Lamar Jackson. And get a bunch of picks for him. And go a different route.

Yeah, I think that if you just go back to last year, they were in first place when Lamar Jackson got hurt. And I think trading away Marquise Brown was... They were in first place when Lamar Jackson got hurt this year. Okay, but I think Jackson got hurt this year. Okay, but they were... I think they were better last year. I think they really... Bateman looks like he might be a miss.

I don't know. But I feel like they could pull it off if they had a good wide receiver and Mark Andrews and a healthy Lamar Jackson. And a healthy J.K. Dobbins. They didn't have that last year, too. Right, exactly. I don't know. Blowing it up might be a bit of an overreaction because it's not that

easy to just transition to a completely new style yeah uh but i'm sorry i mean to be to just to go that route you need a new office coordinator you know not that i think craig roman couldn't adjust but i i think that's probably the way you go but if you do have a more traditional quarterback there, and you add a wide receiver, so let's say they go, the Tyree kills, the farm digs, DeAndre Hopkins are out, and they go out and they get Devontae Adams.

Go out and get a stud. And I don't want to say it's a Derek Carr, but someone like that. A veteran. Does that make their team better? I would say no. We probably all agree that the team is probably not better.

No, just go with Jackson. But if it's a younger guy and you're building around that player, it's a different story. All right, let's take a break here. New England at Buffalo and four other games when we come back on Fantasy Football today. The Bills host the Patriots here. Here's your 2023 question.

Is Ramondre Stevenson a top 15 running back for you next season? He's top 12 for me right now, with the assumption that Damian Harris walks as a free agent. I think he's right in that top 15 discussion. If I was doing a draft right now, I'm not sure that I would draft him. I guess the rookies aren't in there yet, so probably. Okay, and is he a start for you this week, Ramondre Stevenson? Low end number two, slightly better in full PPR.

Are there three good starts in this game? Allen, Diggs, Knox? Those would probably be the top three, yes. Are there any sleepers in this game? I mean, if the secondary is still so beat up for the Patriots, and they did get a couple guys back, unlimited practice on Wednesday, but if they miss those guys again,

I would take a shot on gabe davis this week yep and how about jacoby myers or gabe davis as of now we're not we haven't ranked myers because of his injury last week and he practiced on a limited basis but i think if if you tell me he's playing i would take him in pPR over Davis. For sure. Okay. Alright. I think that's about it. Yeah, that's about it. I mean, Josh Allen, Stefan Diggs are must-starts.

Dawson Knox is a little bit more interesting. He's going to be in that range with... Let's see where he is. Just to give you some names, he's ahead of Pat Fryermuth. He's ahead of Darren Waller for both of you. He's right next to Dallas Goddard and similar to Mark Andrews.

There you go. Who gets the final playoff spot in the AFC? The Steelers. Do you think the Dolphins lose? The Patriots lose? Steelers beat the Browns? Definitely think the Patriots lose. Patriots lose, Steelers beat the Browns? Definitely think the Patriots lose. And I definitely think the Steelers beat the Browns.

I think the Steelers beat the Browns. The one I'm the least certain about is Dolphins-Jets. What about you? I think the Dolphins beat the Jets in an ugly game. But I agree with you. I think the Patriots lose. I would not be surprised if the Dolphins lose, Jets in an ugly game, but I agree with you. I think the Patriots lose. I would not be surprised if the Dolphins lose though. And the Steelers win.

Uh, the real tricky one would be, which you can see it happening is all of them lose. Jacksonville loses. And then Jacksonville still gets it. You could see that. Wow. I'm not as sure that the Patriots are going to lose.

Cause it's like, you know, I just don't know. And I, and I think it, let's, I'm not as sure that the Patriots are going to lose. Because of psyche of the Bills? I just don't know. And I think we'll see who all suits up. Right. I can see it, but I think they're going to destroy them. Yeah, I wanted to tread lightly on this,

but I mean, there's a scenario in my mind that keeps playing that this is the most emotional game in regular season history for the Bills, and they just have a cathartic destruction of the Patriots, basically, and they just pour everything into this game. Which, I mean, again, it doesn't mean me hating the Patriots, but I just want to see it. I want to see a joyous moment for the team and for the fans.

It's a bad week to be the Patriots having to go into that building. It's just not fair to them. I think everybody's rooting for Buffalo. Jets at Dolphins. 2023 question. Garrett Wilson or Jalen Waddell?

Right now for me, it's Waddell. If you told me that there's a quarterback upgrade coming for the jets then it would be well i had wilson at wide receiver 10 waddle at wide receiver 11 in my 2023 rankings so the level like i'm obviously assuming some level of upgrade at quarterback how big that level of upgrade is will determine how high Garrett Wilson is. So, I don't know. They sound committed to Zach Wilson. I don't know if it's just organization speak,

but I don't know that they want to give up on him just yet. But we'll see. How about in this game, Garrett Wilson? He's still a reasonably priced backup, so you can keep him on the roster and go get a starting quarterback. Garrett Wilson or Tyreek Hill? I know you're going to and go get a starting quarterback. Garrett Wilson or Tyreek Hill? I know you're going to start Wilson over Waddle. Garrett Wilson or Tyreek Hill?

Right now, it's still Hill. I've got Wilson over Hill. So how much does Xavier Howard matter to you, Jamie, in this game for Garrett Wilson's purposes? You have to take it into account. You have to take it into account Bradley Chubb, too. You know, so pass rusher and corner not being there is bad for the Dolphins.

So there's a ton of upside for Garrett Wilson. So, yeah, I have no problem with somebody wanting to start Garrett Wilson over Hill. They're very close for me. I see you guys have Mike White around 15th. Is that a confidence thing or a this-is-week-18 thing for Mike White? Yes. Well, I wonder with you, Heath, how you could be confident in him

when I know you like to look at yards per attempt and you like to look at completion percentage, and he's been just abysmal in his last three starts. Because he gets to throw it 45 times a game. Yeah. Does it matter, though? I mean, he's thrown it that much three games in a row, and he's scored 17.5 points with a rushing touchdown,

10.7, and 3.6. And he has zero passing touchdowns in those three games, correct? Yes. Yeah, I just don't buy that part of it, I think. I think he's going to be somewhere between 250, maybe over 250 yards, which he's been in three of his four games. And I'd expect him to have at least one touchdown

with a decent chance of two. Jamie, you like any... That's another thing for next year is they're going to probably fire their offense coordinator. So that's something that's going to be to consider and to monitor who replaces LaFleur. I don't think they should.

You know, I liked what Robert Salas said. He said, I was in that position once. People wanted me fired. And then he didn't get fired. He became a head coach. You just have to think about it. I mean, is it really LeFleur's fault that they are struggling on offense,

especially since they're so much better whenever Zach Wilson isn't playing? But that's a big part of it, though. If you're the offense coordinator and the prize draft pick that you selected has failed so miserably, you have to point the finger somewhere. Joe Douglas.

Zach Wilson. You can point the finger at Joe Douglas, that's fine. But he's not firing himself. No. Unless the owner makes that decision. This roster is in fairly good shape. And they just whiffed on the quarterback. And so, is it the quarterback?

Yes. That's him. But, look, if Robert Sala is going to go to bat for his guy, that's great. But I would not be surprised if that's a, you know, fall guy is the OC and they go get somebody else. All right. Do you like a running back is the OC, and they go get somebody else. All right. Do you like a running back in this game, Jamie? I think they're all flexes. I like Mostert the best.

I was encouraged. I know a lot of it came with Teddy Bridgewater, but the role in the passing game for him, Mostert, I think is something that matters here because of how the Jets' defense is. And so taking away at least one of the outside guys, if not both, with how they're A, should run the ball, and B, working these guys in the passing game. So I know Wilson got more work last week.

Both guys had seven-plus targets. Mostert was just better with his targets. But I think in a game like this where it's who do you trust, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the guy Mike McDaniel trusts a lot. Actually, Skyler Thompson completed 12 passes, and Mostert caught five of them. So he was checking down a lot to

Raheem Mostert at the end of that game. It's unfortunate. They just seem to have no consistency with the roles. Looks like a pretty even split. Right, but Wilson had 15 carries, too. Yeah, and you wonder if that Mostert fumble two weeks ago put him second behind Wilson.

Would you start either guy over, let's say, J.K. Dobbins, who I know you guys don't love this week? No. No, if there was one of them, then yes. But the fact that there's two guys splitting, no. Unless we find out again that they may not play Dobbins a full snapshot. Do you like Tyler Conklin? Does anybody like Tyler Conklin this week?

Yes. High end number two tight end? Much better in PPR than none. Six plus targets and three or four starts with Mike White. Dolphins are top five and fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends. I think it's three touchdowns to the three tight ends have scored in the last three weeks against them. So, you know,

one of them was like Mercedes Lewis. But, you know, I think you just look at what Conklin's opportunities are here. And CJ Uzama had plenty of targets against the Seahawks as well. So, again, it's just a matter of where does Mike White check down to? And he checks down to everybody. So, Conklin might have another good game.

Oh, not only was Mercedes Lewis one of those tight ends that scored a touchdown, how about Quinton Morris also scored a touchdown against the Dolphins? And Hunter Henry had five catches for 52 yards. The other tight end was Dawson Knox, who went nuts. Six catches, 98 yards, and a touchdown. So it's a great matchup,

and you're getting a lot of targets for Conklin with Mike White. I believe that is it for that game. The Jets DST is 11th for Jamie, 9th for Dave, 18th for Heath. So we don't love the DSTs in this game. I think I moved them up to 12th. Okay, so right around 12th for

everybody then for the Jets. Chargers at Broncos. 2023 question. What kind of bounce back are you expecting for the Denver passing game? Who's the coach? Who are the receivers? I'm going to say it's not Sean Payton, and I'm going to say it's Judy and Sutton.

You do know that for Sean Payton. A team has to trade for him, right? Exactly. That's why I said not Sean Payton. Yeah. Who are the receivers, Heath? I mean, it's the same top two. Oh, and Patrick. I forgot about Tim Patrick.

There's been some buzz about them having to trade Judy because they're not going to be able to pay him. I think his last year coming up is this year, and they've already extended Sutton and Patrick, right? Well, this is his fourth year. 2023 will be his fourth year. Right. So they have his fifth year option.

They have his fifth year option, yeah. There was buzz about them trading him at the deadline. It didn't happen. But what kind of bounce back? Because we're making the top 12 at quarterback, and probably once you get to 12, it's a little bit tricky. Russell Wilson is not going to be in the top 12, but I wouldn't mind taking a chance on him.

That's top 15 quarterback. He will not be in my top 15. For me, like Cousins outside my top 12, I'd rather have him. I'd rather have Daniel Jones. I probably would rather have at this point the 49er starter, whoever that might be, just based on what Purdy has shown and what Lance could be. Oh, man. I mean, Lance I understand, but the 49er starter, Garoppolo or Purdy,

there's no upside there. There's also very little downside too. But you're not starting that guy. Once you get into this range though, for me, I would feel more comfortable with Purdy. There's no way you're drafting Brock Purdy over Russell Wilson next year. Probably not.

I'm loving his Lance. Lance, yeah. Lance I totally get. I probably still take Stafford over him too. Oh, interesting. Okay. All right, Heath, let's go to the game for this week then. How do you feel about Justin Herbert?

Let's just say they are going to play. I think Gino over him too. Yeah, yeah. Gino almost made my top 12. I mean, he's basically going to be right around that this year. Anybody else going to pay him, or does he stay in Seattle? Or do they draft somebody in the first round? Yeah, that's the issue.

I think they bring them back and draft someone they have they have a takeoff over wilson too okay um all right justin herbert how do we feel about him in this game broncos really have struggled defensively but not not they're not like a layup or anything but since the bradley chubb trade they've been worse. How do you feel about Herbert? He was 10th for me at the beginning of the week, and he's still 10th right now. I might drop him a couple of spots.

I'm not sure he'll stay in the top 12, because I do worry he's one of those guys who could play a half or less. Okay. You guys wouldn't start Mike White or Brock Purdy over him, right? As of now? No. Not yet.

Start Eckler, start Keenan Allen. He's top 12 in both formats. All right. Then how are we approaching Mike Williams and Jerry Judy and Corlin Sutton and Jamie? Judy, Williams, a lot of spaces, Sutton, Jamie? Judy, Williams, a lot of spaces, Sutton. Judy and Williams are both still top 20 wide

receivers for me as of now. Man, it's really tough with Mike Williams because you just never know when he's going to be good or bad. It's not matchup dependent most of the time. He's just a roll of the dice. All right, let me see. Mike Williams or DJ Moore?

Moore. I've got Williams just ahead of me. I'm going to change that, though. I'll DJ Moore higher. How about Metcalf and Lockett or Mike Williams? Williams. Lockett's Mike Williams? Williams. Lockett's still banged up. I'm not sure where he's at.

Metcalf with Lockett there. They're kind of the same. Yeah. And you guys say you like Williams better than Judy? In non-PPR and half-PPR, yes. In full PPR, I'll still take Judy. Yeah. Heath,

would you start Greg Dorch over these guys? I would not. Okay. I started tight end in this game. No, but I would probably go with Albert. Oh, over Everett.

What about Latavious Murray? I mean, we know that this is a great matchup and they might be sitting players. How do you feel about Latavius Murray? High end flex. If I knew he was going to have the same role, he'd probably be like just inside my top 24 running backs, but he's another old guy on a team playing for nothing. They may want to see more

Chase Edmonds. Might be his last game, potentially. 32-year-old guy. Bounced around the league a lot. Yeah. And Marlon Mack's on IR, by the way. So he's out. Would you start a Dolphins running back or a Latavius Murray?

Edmonds, for what it's worth, seven and nine PPR points in the two games that he's come back with. Clearly a limited role. Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. Would you start Murray or a Dolphins running back

I go Mostert Murray Wilson Murray how about Latavius Murray or Saquon Barkley

or Leonard Fournette Murray well that's very unfair why well because you think we'll know more I mean obviously if those guys

are playing you're starting those guys. Well, but if they're playing for... If they're playing... If you tell me they're starting, I have to play them. I don't know, man. Like, really,

it could be too serious for Fournette. This is why we tell you guys not to play with each other. Yeah. Okay. No, you shouldn't play... I would go back to that Kirk Cousins game

where he played a quarter and threw three touchdowns. If I told you for sure that Barkley and Fournette were playing a quarter, you wouldn't start them? Only a quarter? No, then I would not start them. If they were playing a half, a half for Saquon Barkley versus a game of Latavius Murray, I would take a half for Saquon Barkley.

But I think the way I look at it is they're starting and they're playing no more than a half. But anything in between one series and a half as possible. Okay. Cleveland's at Pittsburgh. Let's get our 20, 2023 question for Cleveland and Pittsburgh is Amari Cooper, a top 12 wide receiver. No, but he's close. No, but he will definitely have a four week stretch where he looks like a top five wide receiver.

Okay. Is Amari Cooper a top 24 receiver this week? Well, wait. He's a top 12 guy for eight or nine games, and he is a bottom third receiver for eight or nine games. Yeah. I wonder if he has two...

If he finishes out with a good game here, if anyone's going to care about that, because he had a good road game last week at Washington. He's the low end number two. Is he ahead or behind Judy and Mike Williams? Behind. All right. This is Amari Cooper.

We're talking about Deshaun Watson is 16th for Jamie, 17th for Heath. Nick Chubb or Najee Harris this week and next year? Nick Chubb or Najee Harris? I will take Harris this week and probably next year. I've got Harris this week, Chubb next year. If Harris has another good game, does he still land as a bust? Yes.

I would say so yes especially because 90 of people are not playing but for the season like if we don't look at per game numbers he has a chance to finish the season as a top 12 running back well so are these guys both kind of easy starts this week or any trepidation top 15 all right yeah now it's five straight games without a touchdown for nick chubb but whenever they're competitive he gets he gets work i mean last week he only had 14 carries which was weird they won by 14 but uh it's not like he's losing carries to he has the best game with watson right yeah uh that was his best game, yep. 12.6 PPR fantasy points. Just get me that touchdown, please.

All right, Njoku. How do you guys feel about David Njoku and Pat Fryermuth? Who do you prefer? I prefer Njoku. The Browns have been really good against tight ends for the majority of the season. Fryermuth has been inconsistent

in the last month and so he had a bad game against them earlier now granted it was with trubisky in week three but um they're both low-end starters at best but fryer is actually outside my top level i've got them both as low-end starters um fryer moved one spot ahead of majoku but i don't have a lot of hope or confidence in either. I think when you look back at it, Friar Muth has been, to me,

one of the most matchup-dependent players in fantasy. Good matchup, he almost always does well. Bad matchup, he almost always does poorly. And this is a bad matchup. Cleveland, sixth best against tight ends. Who do you like better next year, Friar Muth or Njoku?

Muth. Friar Muth, slightly. Any other starts in this game? Peoples Jones, Deontay Johnson, anyone? Fuehler? No. All right, anyone? Deontay Johnson is going to be very interesting

to rank next year. Heath, what do I get if he doesn't score a touchdown? I don't know. Remember we didn't make that bet? No. I remember asking you for the odds. Like, what odds would I get? It's probably like week six.

If he doesn't score a touchdown all year and we never agreed on anything. I think it's a record, right? Most targets without touchdowns? Has to be. I don't know, but wouldn't surprise me. All right, Houston at the Colts. 2023 question. Where will you rank Jonathan Taylor?

RB3? Yep. Possibly RB2 if the situation improves enough. How do you feel about him? Because Schneier, you know, Schneier, I think, isn't too high on him. Because the offensive line is really bad there.

So that's got to be a little bit of a concern. I think he's still awesome. My opinion of him has changed, not at all. I think the situation's currently a lot worse than it was, but they've got an entire offseason to make it better. Okay. And are you starting anyone in this game? Jamie's got Zach Moss as a starter, I think.

I think he's a flex. I think Pittman's a flex. Yeah, I like Zach Moss this week. You know, the fact that he's getting consistent work is clearly something you can bank on now. It's two starts, three games since Jonathan Taylor has gone down. The Texans have been so bad for the majority of the season.

Even the last stretch of games, they're still giving up plenty of points as both Travis Etienne and to Michael hasty proved last week. And so for a guy that should be on Adam's wall for over five yards per carry in those two starts for Zach Moss, you know, no work in the passing game, he's got a score, but I would not be surprised if this is a 80-plus yard game on the ground in a touchdown. The Texans should really do everything they possibly can

to lose this game. This is a race to lose because if they win and the Bears lose, then the Bears get the number one seed, which would be a terrible situation for Houston. So yeah, lose this game, please, if you're Houston. Do whatever you can. And Zach Mosh should have an opportunity to play well. Okay.

And you guys like Pittman better than Cooks, right? Yeah. Yes. And, you know, as of right now, the Texans are giving up the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks and the third fewest to wide receivers. It's just wild. And they're probably going to end the season.

If I asked you 18 weeks ago, who's going to be the best team against quarterbacks, I don't think we would have said the Houston Texans, but they're going to end up most likely number one against quarterbacks. All right, so Deontay Johnson holds the record. He's already shattered it. The previous record was sent by Michael Timpson by the Chicago Bears in 1996. Had 109 targets and no touchdowns.

Do you know who's third on the list, Adam? Most targets without a touchdown. Sounds giant-y. It is giant-y. Yeah, let's go with Evan Ingram. Michael Timpson was when? 1996, according to this story I'm reading. All right.

Evan Ingram. Amani Toomer in 2004. Oh, I remember this. That's right. We talked about this a couple weeks ago, right, Heath? There's another giant on this list as well. Who? Hakeem Nicks in 2013 had 101 targets and did not score.

Torrey Holt of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009 had 103 targets and did not score. And the Jaguars have one other person on this list

that had over 100 targets that we should all remember that did not score touchdowns. Allen Robinson? Nope. More recent. Marvin Jones? More recent. Marvin Jones? Less recent.

What's wrong with me? Why can't I get this? But played with Marvin Jones. Allen Hearns? LaVisca Chenault Jr. had 100 targets in 2021. Really? Wow. Look at all the touchdown aggression he got.

So that's it for today's show we've got starter sit for the NFC home games plus 2023 talk on tomorrow's show thanks for watching and listening everybody

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