Fantasy Football Today - Start or Sit (NFC): Rams WRs, Deebo, Pacheco and More! (10/06 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: October 6, 2023

Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts Holy cow, Justin Fields and D.J. Moore! Should we sell high or just hold and enjoy the Fantasy points? We recap Bears-Commanders including our thoughts on a disappointing night for the Commanders wide receivers and then update you on the key injuries (11:04) to follow for Week 5 ... One Question for Each Game (21:10)! How do we feel about Cooper Kupp and Puca Nacua? Can the Texans throw on the Falcons? What are our expectations for Michael Wilson this week? Then we help you Beat the Waiver Wire (26:22) for Week 6 ... Start or Sit for Eagles-Rams (29:22), Texans-Falcons (37:30), Cowboys-49ers (43:10), Bengals-Cardinals (54:05), Chiefs-Vikings (1:00) and Panthers-Lions (1:05:00) ... Email us at [e-mail] SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dynasty/id1696679179 SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aHlmMJw1m8FareKybdNfG?si=8487e2f9611b4438&nd=1 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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Visit amex.ca slash business platinum. This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. What a play! Can you believe this? Can I know I can? It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Off to the races! And he stays on his feet!

He's just going to go the distance! Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Well, it's been a little while since I've sang anything on this show. Probably like a day or two. I don't know. But give me, give me more. Give me more. Give me, give me.

Woo, DJ Moore. 45 fantasy points. And yeah. You sang yesterday. What'd you say? You sang yesterday. What did I sing? You sang, um, uh, Heath asked you to sing something about.

What? I don't remember this at all. Yes, you did. It was driving me crazy. You asked who sings that song. I forget what it was. I don't know. Well, it was a while.

It's been almost. Oh, it was. Who do you love? Oh, you're right. I did sing. Damn it. You literally sang yesterday. that's a while that's a long time for me that's actually what like four shows ago for you yeah i've done right i've done several things since then so that's probably why it felt like an eternity anyway

chicago beats washington 40 to 20 i think that stopped a 14 game losing streak for the chicago bears they were very excited about it. Good stuff. We'll talk about that. We've got six NFC home games to talk about. Some pretty good games on this slate. The Eagles at the Rams. I mean, we're going to have to rank the wide receivers in this game.

It'll be fun. Houston at Atlanta. Dallas at San Francisco. Cincinnati at Arizona. Kansas City at Minnesota. And Carolina at Detroit. Really intriguing games. We're going to beat the waiver wire in a little bit.

You know, Deontay Johnson is rostered in 69% of leagues, so he might be available. Yeah, go get him. Yeah, if you have an IR spot, obviously he's rostered in those leagues most likely, but Deontay Johnson could be out there for you. But let's start with Chicago 40 and Washington 20. And we did have some injuries to both Bears running backs,

so we'll keep an eye on that. Deontay Foreman was inactive, but there's a possibility he's a big waiver claim next week against the Vikings. But anyway, I asked this to Jamie on FFT and five, Dave, I'll ask it to you. Buy, sell, hold fields and more two big games in a row for the for this passing game. They are must start fantasy options for the remainder of the season, or at least until Justin Fields turns back into a pumpkin. How in the world can you say anything other than that? I don't see either one as sell-high candidates.

Moore is the only guy who's great in this passing game. Komet's okay. Obviously, he's scored now in consecutive weeks. But Fields, second week in a row, looked really comfortable throwing the football until pressure started to come, and then he struggled a little bit more, but it didn't matter because DJ Moore was still making plays after the catch. He's outstanding, going to have a huge target share from week to week, must-start fantasy receiver, and I love what I'm seeing. I'm so encouraged.

Chicago studied the matchup against Washington. They saw that defenses were throwing deep on them. What did they do literally on the first three pass plays of the game? They went 15 plus air yards downfield and I love it. I hope they continue to play smart and prepare smart. And as long as they're giving fields enough protection, I guess we can trust them for his arm. I think it's great. Okay. Yeah, Jamie, you mostly agree with that, right?

Yeah, I mean, look, as I said to you last night, Packers spent a month game planning for the Bears. He had a mediocre game there. Bucs defense has probably ended up being better than we think, especially when they're healthy, and he struggled there. Kansas City was probably going to be a bloodbath. We expect him to play a little bit better, but struggled there. Buck's defense is probably going to end up being better than we think, especially when they're healthy. And he struggled there. Kansas city was probably going to be a blood bath. We expect to play a little bit better, but you know, struggled there and then two easier matchups.

And so there's going to be ebbs and flows. That's just the nature. I think of how he's going to be, but I like the design runs last night. I think, you know, getting 50 yards rushing on top of the passing is awesome. And so you're seeing the,

I think the evolution of what Justin Fields is. Hold on. Yeah. Here's their schedule moving forward minnesota las vegas the chargers at new orleans carolina at detroit at minnesota and then they're by in week 13 yeah it's good very good i think it's good i think it's really good all right on the other side of the ball we we saw, I saw a stat. It was like 51 or 55 straight dropbacks without a pass attempt, without a rush attempt. I don't know, something crazy. It was like the most in the era that whoever tracked that was tracking it. So anyway, my point is they didn't run the ball.

Of all the people who track. You know what? I got to look it up now because it was amazing. They just threw and threw and threw and threw, and you still got almost nothing from McLaurin and Dotson, but you got a huge game from Logan Thomas. Dave, your thoughts on the Washington passing game? So what ended up happening, first of all,

the Bears played nothing but zone coverage in the first quarter and one snap of man coverage in the entire first half for the second week in a row. So it's working for them, and that keeps receivers from beating them deep. And Sam Howell kind of took what the defense gave him. I don't think they necessarily did anything to double cover McLaurin or Dotson. I think this offense is predicated on spreading the ball around. And Eric Biennemi learned in Kansas city to use running backs and tight ends.

And he is. And so Sam Howell is following the offense and it really stinks. I thought McLaurin would have had a good game. I'm kind of, I'm kind of looking at Dotson as a bi-week replacement wide receiver right now. I think that's as good as it gets. It wouldn't surprise me if you started to see him get cut in some leagues.

And I don't even know if he's that great of a receiver to pick up at this point, but McLaurin might follow suit after games like this. to see him get cut in some leagues. And I don't even know if he's that great of a receiver to pick up at this point. But McLaurin might follow suit after games like this. I think Logan Thomas remains a streaming tight end. It's a great game. I don't know how often he'll have games like this. But I think Howell deserves a little bit of credit too. Fell into a lot of production

because they threw so much in the second half. But he hung with it, and he ended up putting up decent numbers. He looked like crap, though. You know, I mean, this wasn't... Early he did. This was, look, if you started him, and he was started in 54% of leagues.

You got 29 points out of Howell. That was great. But I don't think it was a game where you, you know, grew confident in him. I mean, well, personally, because I think he looked bad. Well, I mean... And he needed 51 pass attempts.

What are your expectations for him moving forward? He's a bi-week replacement. He's a guy in 2QB and super flex leagues. I don't think you're saying this is my savior in one quarterback league. No, I don't think you're starting him at Atlanta next week. Not unless he's a bi-week replacement. He had a low A dot, 7.6. He was off target on under 10% of his throws,

which was a lot better than Justin Fields, actually. But he threw a lot of short passes. He couldn't throw deep because the Bears are dropping seven guys back every single play because they're all by two scores plus. He had a long pass interference call for Terry McLaurin. He had one that should have been called on a second play from McLaurin down the field. So, you know, there were a couple of attempts.

Okay, so PFF started tracking in 2006. Washington has the most since that time. 55 straight dropbacks without a design run was the most that PFF has tracked since 2006. Yeah. Look, we thought this would be a different game script. We like Brian Robinson for that reason. I guess you always have to be aware if they fall behind,

you're going to have some trouble with Brian Robinson. I did like his involvement in the past game, but that's, you know, I don't think something you're banking on, you know, season high for catches from. Yeah.

The prop though. That was good. So the in season projected schedule remaining for Washington coming into this week, they are bottom 10. So they do have a tough schedule. It's the opposite for Chicago, obviously. You know, they play in a tough division

with some good defenses there. So Howell remains no better than a bi-week QB. Okay, we got some great weekend programming for you. First of all, you can follow us on Twitter or X, whatever you want to call it, at DaveRichard, at JamieEisenberg, J-A-M-E-Y, at HeathCummingsSR, at AdamAzer, A-I-Z-E-Y, at Heath Cummings, S-R, at Adam Azer, A-I-Z-E-R.

You can follow Chris. You can follow Dan. You can follow Jacob. You can follow Zach Brooke. You can follow Thomas Schaefer. We're going to be answering your questions on Twitter every weekend with the hashtag AskFFT. So reach out to us.

Usually we post a thread or something. You can respond to it. Use that hashtag AskFFT. Sunday morning, going at 9 a.m. again, I assume, Sunday morning on HQ? All right, we got a London game. We got the Bills and the Jaguars in London. So 9 a.m. HQ, Fantasy Football today.

11.30 a.m. during the game, we'll answer your start-sit questions at youtube.com slash fantasyfootballtoday. It's pretty cool that you answer those questions for everybody. Don't make fun. I have a score. Well, I mean, just buy a bag of Ricola already. You know what the problem is?

I have a prescription medication for the cough, and it got obviously a lot better. I stopped taking the medication. It did? I don't know. Yes, yes you finished you're supposed to finish it oh dude i don't think you have to finish it if the cough goes away but i it got a lot better now i just have this little like wimpy i have this little zoolander cough whereas a couple weeks ago i had the hack along anyway go back to the medication at least i'm'm going to have to. I'm going to have to. Scoring change suggestion. I was thinking maybe we should,

I think I've probably brought this up before. I think every fumble should be minus one and a lost fumble should be minus two. Not an additional minus two, but a lost fumble should be minus two like it is now. But even a recovered fumble by the offensive team should be a minus one. Thoughts? So wait, wait. If you fumble but you offensive team should be a minus one. Thoughts? So, wait, wait. If you fumble,

but you don't lose it, you get minus one? Yeah. So, what happens if a quarterback gets like a shotgun snap and drops it and then picks it up and throws a touchdown? It's minus one? I don't think that counts as a fumble. It'd have to be a fumble in the book. I believe it's scored as a fumble. You think so? He drops his nap, though. I believe, no.

Yeah, I do. I don't think you're right fumble. You think so? He drops his map? No. Yeah, I do. I don't think you're right on that. I think I've seen it scored that way before. So what happens if there is a tip pass from a quarterback? Should he be credited one point on a potential interception? Or drop the interception?

Yeah, right. Do drop interceptions. He throws it right to the defender's hands. I just think that the fumble is such a bad play. I forgot who fumbled and recovered. Cole Komet, he fumbled last night and recovered it. It's like he should lose a point for that. He should lose a point. Are you getting killed because somebody started Cole Komet against you?

No, absolutely not. I'm just saying, and you know what? He kind of caught it. He kind of reclaimed it with his leg. If you do that, you gain a half a point back for an extra leg. All right, just think about it, people. It's good that you spent three minutes on this, then you're going to rush us through a game.

Right, right, right. Sorry, we have three games to go and four minutes to do it. Let's go, guys. All right, you know what? I'm going to eliminate Philadelphia and the Rams. You guys can figure that one out for yourself. I'm glad we talked about the fumble. News and notes. Jimmy Garoppolo was limited. Still hasn't cleared the concussion protocol. And that's a Monday night game.

So we'll see how that progresses. Damn it. Kenny Pickett's going to play. Derek Carr. I don't know. Derek Carr exists and he has a shoulder injury. Running back news. Javante.

Take a shot every time Adam coughs. Yeah. Well, what if I mute it? Do you still take a shot? Yes. Okay. Like a fumble. That's going to be a lot.

Javante Williams was limited in practice. Uh-oh. So that's the total. We previewed that game yesterday. Denver and the Jets. Jamie, your thoughts with Javante returning to practice? I mean, still keep an eye on it. If he's limited again, you know, we'll see.

But yeah, Jaleel McLaughlin, I hope you didn't spend a lot of fab on him or all your fab on him. Yeah. But we don't know that Javante is playing, but if he does, would he be the highest ranked running back for you for Denver? Yes.

By default, but I don't know how long that's going to last for because he's just not fast. Jonathan Taylor says, it feels good to be healthy, but he also didn't seem like it felt too good for him to be a Colt. He did not commit to being there, really, or wanting to be there. Right, so don't drop Zach Moss under any circumstances. Saquon Barkley practice looks like he's trending in the right direction. Ramondre Stevenson was limited with a thigh injury.

Kyron Williams missed. Oh, actually, I don't think I have an update on that. Did Kyron Williams make it back to practice yesterday? I thought I saw a rest day, but I'm not sure. All right. We expect Kyron to play. So he did limit. He was limited in practice with a hip injury.

Miles Sanders was limited in practice. Wide receiver. We've got to talk about Amonra St. Brown. I know you guys are still ranking Amonra St. Brown, but Dave, there's got to be at least a chance that Amonra doesn't play because he said something like he hopes to play. I saw a report that says that he's playing.

Cooper Cup. You've got to be careful with the Lions. We may get a false report. We saw last week. What was the false report last week? The NFL Network. And they corrected themselves, but that said David Montgomery and Taylor Necker out. Oh, right, right. Remember, we had the whole fiasco on Thursday.

Right. Oh, yeah. Cooper Cup is going to go. Looks good there. T. Higgins mispracticed. Zay Jones looks like he's going to play. Would you there. T. Higgins missed practice. Zay Jones looks like he's going to play. Would you say that, Zay Jones, playing?

Seems like he's trending in the right direction. All right. Maybe a little too early for me to be saying that. Odell Beckham and Rashad Bateman are practicing. Jonathan Mingo is out of the concussion protocol. Not a huge deal, but if you look at Terrace Marshall in the last two games, for what it's worth so far, Terrace Marshall's playing time,

it seems like directly linked to Jonathan Mingo's availability. Roll two. He's a short area target. Yeah. Did you see there was a report that they're in the market for a number one wide receiver? I don't know what that means, but that's not, I think, a good sign for Mingo right now that they don't feel comfortable that maybe he can grow into that role.

Adam Thielen, by the way is well I'm gonna I won't go searching through my notes I have it later when we talk about that game I have a stat on Thielen uh Pat Fryermuth missing practice Luke Musgrave practiced here's what Arthur Smith said on Kyle um Kyle Pitts uh he was asked about Kyle Pitts being healthy. He said, I'd hate to put percentages on it, but you have to acknowledge that I thought against Jacksonville that there were some things outside that he looked as fast as he did as a rookie. It's getting close,

but to Kyle's credit, he continues to work and work behind the scenes and has never made an excuse out of anything. He's not healthy. He's just not no it's it's it's a terrible combination of him not running as fast as he can and him being asked to run routes 10 plus yards downfield and so what's happening is desmond ritter already wants to get rid of the ball as quickly as he can and throw a short and johnny smith is getting open faster

on shorter routes and he's the one getting targets because it takes Kyle pits an extra second to run his route. And he's really only getting open against zone coverage. Yeah. So, you know, obviously it's a big deal and it just, he's not healthy.

We, that's what we thought. And now we get some confirmation. The giants. He can still, he can still maybe be a touchdown or bust tight end, but that's it that for now I don't think you can look at him as an explosive you can't count on him for big yardage

at least not yet how many touchdowns does Kyle Pitts have in his career two three three two three four yeah so he's a sophomore year one is rookie yeah Devon A-chan already has more total touchdowns in his career in two games than Cal pits has the giants say they want to get Darren Waller more involved. Waller said that he was spending a lot of time on past protection in week four. You'd probably like to see Daniel Bellinger play. Cause he left last week's game. He was limited in practice on the offensive line.

We are really fired up for this Cowboys 49ers game. I'm speaking for everyone in the country. And the Cowboys are going to have, looks like all five of their starting offensive linemen ready to go. Minnesota center Garrett Bradbury practiced in full. Baltimore right tackle Morgan Moses was limited. That's good news.

We're hoping that Houston gets Laramie Tunsil and Titus Howard back this week. I don't think Pittsburgh's going to have Dan Moore, their left tackle. Peter Skowronski looks like he'll be back for Tennessee. The Giants are going to be missing almost definitely Andrew Thomas, probably their center, John Michael Schmitz as well, and one more kind of backup offensive lineman. So Giants super beat up there.

And Cole Strange. Cole Strange has barely played. He's trending in the right direction for the Patriots. And that's that for the offensive line for the most part. Defensively, Shaq Leonard has not practiced this week for the Colts. So that could help Derrick Henry for sure.

Quiddy Paye, another defensive lineman, another member of their front seven, also missing practice for the Colts. Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey's been practicing. Dave, Baltimore, or Buffalo, sorry, defensive end or edge rusher Greg Russo, he's out. Von Miller is questionable. So what does that mean to you for Trevor Lawrence?

It makes me rethink Trevor Lawrence. And he could end up being a decent starter after all. The issue was never the secondary for Buffalo. They are beat up there too. But if Russo doesn't play, if Von Miller doesn't play, what was a huge strength for the Bills is their pass rush. And now it might be a little lightened up. Cam Robinson might play. He's a good offensive lineman for Jacksonville. Maybe there's an opportunity here for Trevor Lawrence to bounce back. And we talked about Zay Jones coming back. That'll help too. It certainly can. When he had Zay Jones on back. That'll help too. It certainly can. When he had Zay Jones on the field, that was his best game of the season.

Fantasy-wise was that week one performance against the Colts. Also probably his easiest matchup so far this year as well. I still trust this Bill's defense that they'll get things right enough or have enough ammunition on the defensive side of the ball to limit Trevor Lawrence because we just haven't seen that big game from him yet that we've been waiting for. So hopefully it happens, but I'm still a little bit nervous, even if those guys are missing. But look, I mean, Von Miller's made the trip.

So that's a sign that he might actually play. Yep, that's true. Do you have anybody ranked ahead of Trevor? That's the game of the week, yeah. What were you waiting for? We're going out to London. That's the game of the week. For the Bills and the Jags. Yeah. Not the Cowboys and the Niners. You have just absolutely Costanza'd. I thought it would be Chiefs Vikings. I was waiting for that music for that game. I'm looking for a good game. I don't know. Actually, Chiefs Vikings would be a pretty good game, I guess. Chiefs Vikings is the game of the week. Thank you for not jinxing that one.

By the way, when you hear that song, do you ever think of that scene from 500 Days of Summer where he's walking down the street and he's dancing around? I picture you, Adam, dancing down the street and high-fiving people when I hear that song. Why did you wait? He gave you enough. You didn't need me to jump in there. Yeah, I told Jamie before the show to jump in and talk about the game to kind of get Dave going. And then I saw Jamie was talking and Dave's eyes lit up.

I couldn't wait to make this point. I was like, yes, I'm going to smash this ball right now. I have a question. Is there anybody, Jamie, that you have ranked over Trevor Lawrence now that you would change if you knew that Russo and Von Miller weren't playing for Buffalo? If I knew that they were not playing? Right.

So Bill's defense- I don't think he's going to outscore Sam Howell. No. I don't think so either. But I've got Jared Goff ranked one spot ahead of Lawrence. I like Goff much better than Lawrence. I could see myself flipping that. I don't know if I will, but I would consider that.

All right. Well, it's a bold call for game of the week. And let's yeah, that's pretty much it. Dre Greenlaw and Charverius Ward, two key members for the Niners. They were limited in practice. That's good. Saints getting a little healthier on defense. It looks like at New England this week. We'll take a break when we come back. We got one question for each game. Beat the waiver wire and then a breakdown of six NFC home games. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. Welcome back, everybody.

One question for each game. Philadelphia at the Rams. Rank the wide receivers. Jamie, you can go first. Assuming everybody's playing? Yep. Brown, Smith, Cup, Nakua, Atwa. Dave?

I've got Brown, Smith, Cup, Nakua, Atwell, Zaccheaus. And Nakua being fourth, is he in your top 24? Do we have four top 24 receivers in this game? He's right on the cusp. I've got him at 25. I had Terry McLaurin a spot ahead of him. Stupid. Alright, Houston at Atlanta. Are we thinking another big day for the Houston passing game, or

is Atlanta's defense going to win this battle? I'm not shying away from Houston's passing game right now, by any stretch. I'm starting Nico as a number two receiver, but I kind of have a feeling that he could get the A.J. Terrell treatment. And if that offensive line is healthy,

what they might do is start Tunsell at left tackle and Titus Howard at left guard. And if they do that, they might be inclined to run more. It's the end of the game for that one. I'm a little nervous about these Texans, and I think that the Falcons will have some sort of plan for putting a top over Tank Dell, kind of like the Steelers did.

But they've got a better cover corner that can put the clamps down on Nico when he lines up outside. I'm starting them, but I'm not loving them. Only two quarterbacks now, going back to last year, only two quarterbacks in the last 14 games against Atlanta have scored more than 20 fantasy points, non-decimal, in six-point-per-passing touchdown leagues. That was Justin Fields last year and Jordan Love this year.

All right, back to one question for each game. Our third game is Dallas at San Francisco. Do you like either of the quarterbacks or either of the tight ends in this game? I like Ferguson over Kittle. Ferguson's a starter. Kittle's a borderline starter. And I like Purdy over Dak. But do you like them in general?

Do you like the... Are they top 12 quarterbacks? No. No. No. But Purdy, I think, is a good by-replacement if you have him on your bench.

Okay. Cincinnati at Arizona. Dave, what are your expectations for Michael Wilson, 54% rostered? I think he'll do okay. I think he's going to continue to get a lot of snaps and playing time and targets, and he's got a shot to score.

He's different than your typical rookie. He looks like he's just a lot more dialed in and able to run a variety of routes. And Cincinnati secondary is a little shaken up right now. Are they? That's key because they've been very good. It's been a time. Is Cam Taylor brick going to play?

I don't know. Let's find out. Taylor Britt for the entire podcast stops for Cam. Limited. Okay. He's in the concussion stops for camp. Limited. Okay. He's in the concussion protocol. He was limited. All right.

Hopefully if he clears it, that I think it makes a little bit of a difference. Okay. We'll see the way that Dobbs is playing. I, I like, I kind of like Arizona. I think that they might end up putting up some points.

Wilson's a good, not a good number three receiver and okay. Number three receiver. All right. Kansas city at Minnesota. This chiefs defense been pretty good. Does Minnesota put up a good number three receiver, an okay number three receiver. All right, Kansas City at Minnesota. This Chiefs defense has been pretty good. Does Minnesota put up a big number on what has been a good defense, or are they going to let us down other than Justin Jefferson?

How are you guys feeling? Jamie, what is your vibe on Minnesota? Garbage time. That's when Kirk Cousins has been at his best so far this season. So I think we'll get that again this week because I don't think Minnesota's defense is going to stop the Chiefs. No surprise there. So I think you'll get what we saw the first couple of weeks for Kirk Cousins. I think Addison has a chance to score. I know he was miserable last week, but I think that had to do with how the game unfolded, the fact

they didn't have the ball very much. If you're desperate, KJ Osborne, because he's still playing more than Jordan Addison. And then you're starting the two main guys in the passing game when it comes to Jefferson and Hawkinson. Are we overrating the Chiefs a little bit, by the way, offensively? They're 11th in scoring. They are 5th in yards per play or tied for 4th or 5th in yards per play. But they're not... They've had two down games.

They don't look like the Chiefs. The Jaguars game was a little bit of a struggle. And the Jets game was a little bit of a struggle. The Lions game was a struggle. But that was... But I mean, they'll tell you in that game. I little bit of a struggle. The Lions game was a struggle. But that was... But I mean, no Kelsey in that game. I kind of discount that one. Okay.

So I don't think we're overrating the Chiefs offense. I mean, it's enough of a sample size with Mahomes and Reed together that they're pretty good. Carolina's at Detroit. Should we use Josh Reynolds or Jamison Williams this week, Dave? I'd lean Reynolds,

but I'm not itching to start either one of them. You're starting Michael Wilson? I mean, look, if there's no Amonra St. Brown, you're probably starting Josh Reynolds. Oh, yeah, that would change things, but we're expecting ARSB at this point. Are you starting Michael Wilson over Reynolds or Jameson?

Yes. If there's Amonra, yes. If there's no Amonra, I would start Reynolds-Dubro. This is the last game we're talking about, so it's going to be a while until we get to it. So I'll just ask another question. David Montgomery, good start or great start this week? Great start. Yeah, Carolina's run defense absolutely stinks.

Meanwhile, Detroit has the best run defense in football so far. Beat the waiver wire. Two teams on a bye next week, green Bay and Pittsburgh. So plan ahead. Uh, collar Kyler Murray's still out there. He is 43% rostered. Josh Dobbs.

If you need someone for next week, 39% rostered. He's at the Rams, Jimmy Garoppolo against new England. I don't know. It's possible. New England's defense really struggles without two of their best players who could be out for the season.

I got Baker Mayfield on here against Detroit. I don't know. Thankfully, it's Jordan Love and Kenny Pickett out next week, so it shouldn't be dire straits at quarterback or anything like that. I don't know if you guys, throw in any names you guys want, but I have Chuba Hubbard.

I think Chuba Hubbard makes sense. With Miles Sanders, obviously hurt, not playing so well. Chuba Hubbard's 56% rostered. Tank Bigsby, 53%. You can look at any handcuff right now and just pick them up, but Bigsby is pretty available. Rico Dowdle, 18%.

Josh Palmer. Ronnie Rivers. Ronnie Rivers, sure. Josh Palmer, 74%. Who? No, I said Ronnie was a good one. Okay. Deeper leagues, Josh Downs.

And if he stays on IR, Keaton Mitchell can be stashed another week. Yeah. Josh Palmer in shallow leagues. Deontay Johnson, 69% rostered. Quinton Johnston, 57% rostered. I don't know if JSN got dropped. It's the thing. I mean, are you guys really adding JSN?

If you see him, there's just been no indication that any type of breakouts coming. I think if you have an open roster spot, you should be stashing him because as we've seen with Quentin Johnston, there's an opening now because of an injury. And so if something were to happen to Tyler Lockett or DK Metcalf, the ceiling is still very much in play. So you have to be patient. But yes, it's not exactly been the most encouraging start in redraft leagues, but we still know that there's so much upside

with these guys. And what do teams do during their bye week? They self-evaluate. And so at some point, someone in the Seattle coaching staff is going to say, hey, we've got this first round pick. He's pretty good. He's moving around well. Why don't

we try and incorporate him a little bit more into the offense? Except they've been good. That's the thing. It's not like they're struggling. But hopefully the bye week changes things for them. I get it. Rasheed Rice, he's going up against Denver on Thursday, so that's good. And you don't want to

miss out on it. They finally got him on the field for 70% of the snaps. The schedule is incredible for Kansas City coming up. So we keep banging that drum. At least I do. Rasheed Rice. Michael Wilson, 54% rostered. Michael Gallup, 33% rostered.

He's been good. Wanda Robinson could help you out in PPR. He's 16% rostered. Some DSTs. Seattle is at Cincinnati next week. Atlanta's at Washington. And New England, I don't know if I really believe in New England. They're 75% rostered. They're at

Las Vegas next week, and Garoppolo throws a lot of interceptions. Anyone else guys to beat the waiver wire with? Let's go to the games. Let's go to the games. I think this one is so intriguing from a fantasy perspective. Let's see what happens. Philadelphia to the games. Let's go to the games. I think this one is so intriguing from a fantasy perspective. Let's see what happens.

Philadelphia at the Rams. Your first stat of the game before we talk about the wide receivers. No running back has more than 45 rushing yards against the Eagles this year. Only Brian Robinson has scored a rushing touchdown or any touchdown against the Eagles. They face New England, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, and Washington. They actually have a better yards per carry allowed to running backs without Fletcher Cox on the field than with him on the field, both this year and last year. I don't know if that's a fluke or not. I mean, I don't think

not having Fletcher Cox is a good thing, but Kyron Williams, he's had pretty much nothing but bad matchups and he's been really good, but this is a terrible matchup. Is anybody worried about Kyron Williams? At some point, I'll turn it to a pumpkin, but you just got to keep starting him until that happens. You know, he's still involved in the passing game. That's going to be an interesting part of this too, with cutback, you know, how much will those targets still be there with what Higby's done the last two games with obviously Nakua and Atwell, you know,

so where's Matthew Stafford going to go, but if he's under duress, I think that's still something that he's going to look at as his running back. So I'm still pretty confident in him. He's got the goal line role still locked down too, so if they're down there and have a chance to score, it's not like we're seeing a tush-push from Stafford. So I think we'll still get Kyron Williams with enough production.

Wouldn't play him in DFS, but I certainly would start him in redraft leagues. Okay, would you start Kyron Williams or a somewhat struggling Travis Etienne? Williams. Okay, so you like Kyron Williams quite a bit then. He's top 10 for me in PPR. All right, so questions in this game. Who is the best running back in this game?

I have Swift higher. Swift. Who is the best? We saw four catches last week. That's a nice move. I hope that that sticks, but he's also playing the most, still explosive. I don't think this is that tough of a matchup.

Certainly not with that offensive line that he's working with. I'm confident in Swift. Rams actually allowing the fewest receiving yards per game to running backs. Keep that in mind through four games. Who's the best wide receiver? You already answered that. It's A.J. Brown. You guys both go Brown, Smith, Cup, Nakua.

Who's the best tight end in this game? Goddard. Higby. Oh, all right. There's no way I can trust Higby if Cup's back. So you're telling me Cup's there, Nakua's there, Atwell's there, and Higby's still going to get double-digit PPR points? I don't necessarily think that's guaranteed,

but you're telling me that Devontae Smith's there and A.J. Brown's there and Dallas Goddard's going to do what Dallas Goddard's done the last four games. So, I mean, it's basically the same argument. Yeah, I didn't say I really like Dallas Goddard, but if I agree with the argument, that means I don't like either tight end. I don't feel good starting either tight end. Okay.

So, yeah, I mean, it's an interesting game, but you're starting a lot of players here. So, for the Rams, any interest in Matthew Stafford with cutback? And can I just throw out some numbers real quick here, Matthew, if I can find them, just what the Rams passing offense looked like. Oh yeah. In 2021 last year, they were horrible, but they really didn't have a number two receiver and Stafford was hurt. He, I mean, he was, he got hurt late in the season, but he entered the season hurt. But in 2021, he was a top six quarterback. He was eighth per game in six point, tenth per game in four point.

He threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns in 17 games. Cooper Cup was the number one receiver. He had almost 2,000 yards. He was insane. Robert Woods played nine games. He was on pace for 85 catches, 1,050 yards, and eight touchdowns on 130 targets. He was wide receiver 18 per game in PPR, but take away his rushing production, he would have been wide receiver 31 per game. So what you're hoping for, I think, is Nakua being a lot better than Woods and Cup probably not being as good as he was in 2021

when he had one of the best wide receiver seasons we've ever seen. But Stafford was really good, you know? So I'm surprised. He's pretty low for you guys. And the Eagles have struggled. They gave up the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks. A couple of reasons for that. They lost their slot cornerbacks. So they moved Bradbury to the slot and they're really not getting to the quarterback. They're 22nd in pressure rate, which is shocking. I think they were second last year, maybe first. So anyway, long-winded way of saying, why are you so low on Matthew Stafford, Jamie?

I said this earlier this week. It's now 17 games going back to 2021. And you gave the stretch where he certainly has had injury concerns. But Cooper cup has played the majority of these games of those 17. So of his last 17 games, he's got two with more than 20 fantasy points. He's got three games this season already of the four with over 300 yards passing and has yet to eclipse 18 points. So I think that's just kind of where he's living right now. So does he have the chance to have a big game this week? Sure. Absolutely. Um, I started him over a borough. I started over Daniel Jones. I started him over

Dak. You know, if you're talking about three guys that were drafted ahead of him, that's fine, but that's, that's about it. You know, so QB 16, QB 15, you know, so I have him in a super flex league. I'm fine with him as a number two quarterback there, but I don't think there's a huge ceiling for him unless a lot of things change. The interceptions have to come down. You say he was playing hurt then. He's got a hip injury now, so it's not like he's 100%. And I do think that this offensive line is certainly going to be tested by this Philadelphia front. So while they have not gotten a lot of pressure to the level that we expected them to,

this is a turnover type of game for Matthew Stafford also. And the crappy thing for the Rams, and I hate this for them, they're going to be playing an away game in their own building. There are going to be so many Eagles fans there that he's going to have to go with a silent count again. It's just crazy.

Every time they're at home, they have no home field advantage. So it's just a frustrating situation to watch Matthew Stafford sometimes. All right. Well, I am currently setting a fan to a lineup with Matthew Stafford, Puka Nakua, although Cup's only 500 more, so I think maybe I'll go with Cup.

Matthew Stafford, Cooper Cup, and the reverse stack, if you go that way and you're doing DFS, you want to get someone else on the other side. I'm going Dallas Goddard at 5,500 because Brown and Smith are obviously Sounds like a good donation. The big one? No, I am in a, like, a friends group. We paid 50 bucks for the year.

We set a lineup every week, so this will be that. Okay, so Cup, where do you guys have him ranked, Dave? I'm ranking him pretty much like he's going to be himself again, 10th among wide receivers. So close to where you would normally rank them, but not exactly as high. All right. Well, keep an eye on any reports.

Jamie has him 14th. He has him ninth. Keep an eye on any reports. We'll update you on Sunday if he's going to be on a snap count or anything like that. And Puka Nakua is like a borderline 2-3 at wide receiver. And Tyler Higbee is like a low end. A tight end who might get you eight PPR points.

Atwell's a low end number three. Okay. Eagles DST, are we starting them? Yeah, don't hate them. All right. Let's do some Nakua's here. Nakua and Cream. Is that funny? I'm laughing. Nakua and Cream. Is that funny?

I'm laughing. Puka Nakua or Breece Hall? Breece. I think I'll take Nakua in full PPR. Puka Nakua or Alexander Madison against the Chiefs?

Nakua. I think Chiefs? Nakua. I think I'm taking Nakua there too. Puka or Kirk and Ridley? Or who? Well, the Jaguars guys. Jaguars receivers and Puka. I currently have both Jaguars ranked higher. I will take both Jaguars as well.

All right. Houston's at Atlanta. Is this the second most intriguing game on the slate? No, but from a fantasy perspective, I think it's actually pretty interesting here because Atlanta's defense, they are 10th in points allowed. They're sixth in yards per play allowed.

They have faced Carolina, but also Green Bay, Detroit, and Jacksonville. It's not like they've had a super easy schedule. They're just playing very well. I gave you the stat about only two quarterbacks in their last 14 games have scored more than 20 fantasy points, non-decimal, six point per passing touchdown. So let me give you another stat here. And we kind of alluded to it earlier with the Kyle Pitts injury update. This is the season stats for Pitts and Janu. Pitts has 21 targets.

Janu has 20. Pitts has 11 catches. John who has 15 pits has 121 yards. Johnny has 179 and the ADOT really jumps out. As Dave mentioned, it pits is running downfield. Ritter's not getting it to him. Pits is eight out is 12 yards. Average depth of target. John who's a seven.

So should we be just straight up? Be starting John who Smith and sitting Kyle pits. What's stopping you from doing it? It's simply that it's Jonu Smith. If he was a tight end that had a little bit more of a pedigree coming out of college, maybe he was new to the NFL, maybe he's a rookie or second year tight end. I think you'd gravitate toward him more. But we've seen Jonu get these opportunities before and then stink it up.

I also think that this is a game where Atlanta might be able to run the ball a little bit. So I have Johnny like 15th in my tight end rankings and I'm a little nervous, but I love the idea of stashing him just in case he ends up being a, a surprisingly decent target in the Atlanta offense. I hope that the Texans are up by 10 plus points at halftime and they bench Desmond Ritter for Taylor Heineke.

Yeah, that's another beat the waiver. But I don't know if that necessarily, I don't know if that completely unlocks Pitts. It unlocks Pitts from the standpoint of there won't be a quarterback who's afraid to throw the ball. Taylor Heineke is not afraid to make plays. Whether he makes mistakes or not,

that's a different story, but he is not going to be gun-shy. And that's the biggest thing that Kyle Pitts and Drake London need right now. They need somebody that's going to throw them open or at least attempt to challenge

the defenders as opposed to what Desmond Ritter is, who's playing like a young quarterback. He's playing scared and he's trying not to make mistakes. And Taylor Heineke's like, I don't care. You know, he's that type of player.

He's a YOLO quarterback. Hey, so Jacob Gibbs brought this up on our live stream yesterday. The Texans are one of those teams that reliably play a lot of zone, and that's helped tight ends get an 84% catch rate against them because quarterbacks can just check it down. They're open all the time. That's something that I think would help Janu because he's running those shorter routes and is going to get open easier against zone coverage. All right. Enough about those tight ends. Some other players in this game.

Nico Collins or Puka Nakua? Nico. Nico. Tank Dell or Puka Nakua? Puka. Puka, but that's close. If you guys were setting everyone's roster, Nico Collins would be started

in 90 plus percent of leagues, right? He just must start. If you check Nico's projections on Sportsline, I believe he's like a top five receiver for this week. He's certainly a top ten. Oh, wow. Let's check his start percentage. A lot of people have set lineups.

91 percent. Okay. So Dell, I guess, is a lot more interesting, right? You guys have him outside your top 24, inside your top 30. Would you start Damian Pierce or Tank Dell? Who's a better starter in this game? Dell, by far. I have Dell ranked higher.

I thought we had some good vibes on Damian Pierce. I was curious why he was so low for you guys, Route 24. Atlanta's run defense has been great. Yeah, so that's part of it. And then we're still not sure if the offensive line will get those two guys back. I think Titus Howard is going to be back. I'm not sure on Tunsell yet. Keep an eye on that. And I think that will help. But Atlanta's got some big meat up front and that's going to slow down Pierce. He's averaging 2.8 yards per carry. His metrics are absolutely terrible. He's had a tough schedule,

but as you guys said, that is continuing this week. So you basically want to try to get away from Damian Pierce. Got to talk about CJ Stroud. Uh, he is last. I checked 11th for Jamie. Let me get the updated rankings.

Stroud's 11th for Jamie and 14th for Dave. So, um, would you guys start Stroud or Trevor Lawrence? Lawrence. Stroud or Russell Wilson? Stroud. Stroud.

Stroud or Brock Purdy? Stroud. Same. Stroud. On Atlanta's side of the ball, sit Ritter, start Bijan. We got a lot of questions last night on our live stream. Should I start? Roshan Johnson, Kenneth Gainwell, Jalen Warren.

How do you feel about Tyler Algier, who has had, I think, 14 or 15 carries in both of their wins. They are favored in this game. Any interest in a low-end perspective in Algier? Buy week or play set. Four teams are on a buy. It just depends on what you have. He was dropped in our salary cap league,

and I tried to pick him up with no money because I had no money left. And Thomas Schaefer, I think, spent like $30 on him. Wow. Thomas, that's a lot to spend on Algier. Is Bijan Robinson getting his first rushing touchdown? Sure. I think so. All right.

Let's get it. That's the easiest pivot in the world for Atlanta to make when they're trying to win a game. Touching touchdown? Sure. I think so. All right. Let's get it. And starting... That's the easiest pivot in the world for Atlanta to make when they're trying to win a game. It's just hand off to Bijan. Yeah, no kidding. Use that guy. He's good.

Start or sit, Drake London? Sit. Sit if you can. All right. Houston actually allowing the fourth fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. They've been pretty good. They're getting their slot quarterback.

Miko Ryan is a good coach. He is a great coach. Those players are loving him. Shouldn't everyone just hire people from San Francisco? It's a pretty good success rate. Speaking of which, Dallas is at San Francisco. Dallas is first in the NFL in pressure rate. San Francisco is seventh.

Dallas is third best in pressure rate allowed offensively. San Francisco is 19th. But both teams get the ball out of their hands very quickly. They're both in the top six in lowest or least time to throw. They get the ball out. They distribute it. And that's really what I wanted to focus on here. You're sitting there going, why is Dak Prescott not having a good fantasy season?

You know, what's going on with Dak Prescott? Look at the numbers. He's throwing the ball a lot. Three games with 34 or more pass attempts, so it's not that. Career low, 2.9% touchdown rate, but his air yards per pass attempt, laughably low.

5.4 yards per attempt in the air for Dak Prescott. He's completing a lot of passes. It's like Tom Brady last year. Completing a lot of passes, but they're not going anywhere, and he's not really getting a lot of yak from his receivers.

He's throwing to his wide receivers at a career-low rate, 53.7% of the time. So Dak Prescott, maybe it's because the offensive line has been banged up, guys. That's what I think it might be. Getting the ball out of his hands super fast.

Coordinator. Throwing really short. Yeah, it could be. Okay. But I hate it. It's been terrible for him. I know you guys are not starting him in this game, but you want to just give some overall thoughts on, Dave, on what you've seen from Dak and what Dak managers should be doing or

thinking right now. I'm looking up some numbers to go along with this, but the hunch is that his ADOT is low because of the offensive line and or game script. Remember in week one, his offensive line was just fine. Took on the giants. They blew him out. He didn't have to throw downfield very much. And then after that, the offensive line started to take on some hits. Pressure started coming. He couldn't throw downfield that much. Last week was his second highest rate of throwing passes of 15 or more air yards those

are deep throws it was 17.6 that's okay that's not great but a low off target rate all season long he just isn't throwing a ton of touchdowns and he isn't really attacking downfield that much with the offensive line healthy and a tough matchup hopefully that line protects them that's going to be a tough ask for them. But if they do that, then there should be some opportunities for Dak to make some splash plays. Okay, so questions for this game. Which quarterback do you prefer?

Purdy. Who is the best wide receiver in this game? Lamb. Still Lamb, but Ayuk's not far behind him. I think this is going to be a game where if they can protect Purdy, we'll see some of the holes in the secondary without Diggs there for the Cowboys. I love the Niners minus three and a half in this game.

I don't know how you guys feel. I think they're going to – I think they're going to – I don't know about handle them, but the Diggs – right. The Diggs thing is going to be, I think, a big deal. Also, we have these stats. And Michael Parsons is still not 100% too. Right. When both Debo and Iyuk have been on the field at the same time,

Iyuk has 20 targets. Debo has 11. Kittle has 7. McCaffrey has 13. Now, part of that, of course, was week four when Debo got no targets. But Ayuk's just been the better receiver. Pollard. Any concerns about Pollard against this Niners defense?

Concerns to the point of benching him? No way. Concerns to the point of him having a monster game? Yes. So, still a top 10 running back. You're still starting him. Probably not the best DFS play because his price is still going to be high. So, I mean, I guess it doesn't matter how you view him, you know,

and what you have on your team, but I think you can't get away from him. Okay. Start lamb. Any interest in Michael Gallup? In the Michael Wilson, Josh Reynolds, you know, Tyler Boyd type of player, bi-week replacement, number three type of guy. He's played much better the last two weeks. Brandon Cooks has certainly disappeared. And so he's been, I think, what you can expect without a touchdown.

You know, 10, 11 PPR points. He'll probably do something similar. Six, seven targets. If they're chasing points, then hopefully we see Dak's numbers from an attempt standpoint and leaning on some of these guys increase. But Jake Ferguson's been a problem for both receivers. I don't know. I think you just kind of know what Michael Gallup is.

It's interesting, Dave. The total on this game is 45. And the Niners have scored 30 points every game this year. The Cowboys have scored 30 points in three of four games. Do you think shootout? I think the offenses are better than the defenses in this game. I mean, both teams are good at both, but I feel like I trust the offenses more. How do you feel?

I feel like it could go over 45. I wonder if that's just a public perception thing where they look at both defenses and they see Nick Bosa and Michael Parsons and people go, all right, well, these are two awesome defenses. But to me, the offensive line means everything to Dallas. And if they're getting Smith back and now it's a game under their belt since injury for both Zach Martin and Tyler Biedish, I think that this line can potentially hold up against the Niners. And the Niners have been bringing it quite well this year with their pass rush. They don't blitz a ton. And I think if that's the case and they stick with that, then there's definitely going to be room for Dak to like be mobile. They could bootleg out. He can move outside of the pocket and throw downfield. I think that

would help him a lot. And there could be points for sure. Okay. All right. Um, what did I miss from this game here? So we like Lamb. We like Ayuk. Are we going back to Debo? And we'll talk a little bit more about the tight ends. Are we going back to Debo Samuel? Again, it's similar to Pollard. Like, you got to really be a loaded,

have a loaded fantasy roster to bench somebody like Debo Samuel in this type of game. And I guess part of last week was let's just manage his snaps and not risk further injury. He's still on the injury report. That's not cool. But how are you benching him at this point? And who are you benching him for?

Like, are you benching him for a receiver that's got sky-high upside? I mean, I have a tough call in the FFT Open where it's, you know, not exactly two receivers and a flex. And so I have my receivers. I have a good number one guy. But it's Jalen Waddell, Debo Samuel, Jacoby Myers, and Romeo Dobbs. And so it's not an easy call for me to play Debo over all those guys. Yeah, but you are.

But would you start Nico Collins over Debo? Yes. No. All right. And let's talk about Purdy here because he seems to be almost a guarantee for at least 20 points. It's also a little bit hard to know what to make.

A little bit hard to know what to make at Dallas' defense. They face the Giants, the Jets, the Cardinals, and the Patriots this year. This is going to be such a step up in competition. And I don't think they were particularly good defensively against great offenses last year. I have to go back and look.

But yeah, Purdy, again, I thought he'd come in a little bit higher for you guys. You have him 15th. So were we just thinking like low 20s like usual for him? Yeah. Well, this is also tough competition for him too. Let's not discount that, yes, the Dallas defense hasn't exactly played the toughest of competition. And yes, they are down one of their key guys but this is still also you know he's not facing Arizona and uh who else have they played Giants Rams um yeah so yeah I think you just kind of know what you're getting with

Purdy if he doesn't get you the second touchdown then we might have a little bit of a down game and you know Christian McCaffrey scoring he scored what 13 straight games yeah 14 straight games um so if if the Vegas total is correct and these two defenses do show up, then you got to be a little bit concerned about Purdy. But he's a great biweek replacement. He's again similar to what we were

talking about with Stafford. I would start Purdy over Stafford. But he's similar to that type of quarterback where you're starting him over Burrow. You're starting him over Jones. You're starting him over Prescott. You kind of just know what you're

getting at this point. So I think, Adam, we've talked about this. We both have a situation of Purdy and Burrow. You kind of just know what you're getting at this point. So I think, Adam, we've talked about this. We both have a situation of Purdy and Burrow, and I don't know how you could trust Burrow over Purdy at this point. So easy to stick with him, but just know that the ceiling is a little bit limited. He has played much better at home.

I don't think he's had a game under 20 fantasy points at home. He's had one game in his regular season career under 20 fantasy points, and it really should have been 20 fantasy points because it included a pass that was ruled a lateral for a touchdown in the game. We, we talked about the offensive line protecting Dak Niners have to have the same thing for Purdy because the Cowboys,

they here's the two things that they do. Well, they bring pressure just as well, if not more so than the 49ers. And they play a lot of man coverage behind and Purdy's numbers, his completion rate in his yards. They're noticeably higher against zone than man. And he struggles like most quarterbacks when he's under pressure. 48.6% of his throws are completed, 5.6 yards per attempt. Those are numbers that actually kind of scream out Debo to me because they're short throws. He's got to get rid of it quickly. He can't wait for Brandon Ayuk to get open 11 yards downfield. And so I'm a little bit concerned about Purdy having a big game, but the fact that he's got a genius as a play caller and he's so effortless in this offense, I think he can get you 20 or 21 fantasy points. No problem.

Okay. That's going to pretty much wrap it up for that. Oh, sorry. Ferguson, Higby, Kittle, Goddard. Who's the best tight end? Ferguson. I reluctantly have Kittle over Ferguson just because I think he's also a good short area target for Brock Purdy. But I totally get it with Ferguson as a dump off, easy to throw

to guy who could get six for 60. No problem. Kittle might be playing more offensive line than tight end. That's fair. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, Cincinnati's at Arizona. Can we trust anyone on the, yes, you can trust someone. That's a bad tease.

Can we trust Marquise Brown in this game? There you go. Now you're going to stay tuned. We'll be right back. Welcome back, everybody. The Bengals are at the Cardinals. Are the Bengals going to lose? Are they going to go to 1-4? Stat of the game.

No wide receiver has more than 72 yards against the Bengals. Pukunukua had 5 for 72. Remember, he caught that late 30-ish yard catch. He's the only wide receiver with more than 63 yards against the Bengals. No wide receivers had more than 7 targets against the Bengals. We already talked about Michael Wilson. He's the only wide receiver with more than 63 yards against the Bengals. No wide receivers had more than seven targets against the Bengals.

So we already talked about Michael Wilson. He's a number three, four wide receiver. But Marquise Brown, three big games in a row, Jamie. Has Marquise Brown earned must-start status, or are you concerned about him in this matchup? Slightly concerned. He's definitely a must-start receiver in three receiver leagues. You can't get away from what he's done and how Josh Dobbs has played.

So I think you've got to give him some, some do there that he should be in those formats in two receiver leagues. No, I think you got to give this Bengals defense some credit. Their secondaries play well, and this should be a game where James Connor has an opportunity to run on this Bengals defense as well. So, you know, you hate to say, take away the touchdowns and what does Marquis Brown done, but you take away the touchdowns and some of these games haven't exactly been fantastic performances that are overwhelming. So I think that's kind of what you sort of have to operate under the assumption of if he doesn't score, what are you getting? And it could be a five for 60

type of day. So good, not great. Um, I would put them in the number three receiver range as opposed to the number two receiver range. I've got them as a number two receiver. I think that they're going to throw a decent amount. I agree that Connor's going to have a big game range. I've got him as a number two receiver. I think that they're going to throw a decent amount. I agree that Connor's going to have a big game, but I got this feeling that the Bengals' offense is going to be a little bit better than what we've seen the past couple of weeks. Not that I'm starting Joe Burrow,

not that I'm saying he's going to have like 25 points and be an absolute monster, but I think they make the game competitive. And I like what I've seen from Brown. At least seven targets each of the last three games, at least catches in each yes if you take away the touchdowns he's right at 11 PPR points but I think he could score I think he could have a couple of big plays I I think he's the second it's easy to say he's the second best receiver this game he might be the second best receiver in this game even if T Higgins plays that's I've been impressed with him and I've

been impressed with Josh Dobbs is there really a possibility that T Higgins plays. I've been impressed with him, and I've been impressed with Josh Dobbs. Is there really a possibility that T Higgins plays? Doesn't seem like it at this point. I mean, from what I understand, it's a pain tolerance thing, as opposed to does he need to be out there practicing? So if he feels like he's able to go, they'll probably be playing. But then you've got to worry, is he a decoy? How much is he going to tolerate?

We saw that last year. Remember last year with T Higgins? Yeah. It was a different injury. Higgins? Yeah. It was a different injury. A little different situation because if they lose this game, they're really done. But look, he's got to worry about his contract and his future. So that's also a play here too.

If they go one and four, they might have that type of receiver that they can trade to the Panthers. Hey. Yeah, but the Panthers don't have the capital to pay up for T. Higgins. I would think if they're trading him, that's like a big-time suitor come calling. Chiefs, maybe. All right, so let's sum this game up.

Do your best to sit Joe Burrow. Jamie has Zach Wilson ahead of Burrow. Dave has Burrow one spot ahead of Zach Wilson. Daniel Jones, Jamie has ahead of Burrow. Dave has Burrow one spot ahead of Zach Wilson. Daniel Jones, Jamie has ahead of Burrow. Dave does not. But that's the quarterbacks we're talking about here. You can start Matthew Stafford over Joe Burrow, as we said earlier.

Brock Purdy, Josh Dobbs in the same game. Josh Dobbs. Dave, you actually have Dobbs 12th. You have Dobbs ahead of Stroud, ahead of Purdy. That's a nice endorsement there of Josh Dobbs. The only thing I worry about with Dobbs is if they're playing with a lead, are we going to get that sort of frenetic play from him? Yeah, I think it's going to be, if it's a lead that they have,

I don't think it will be more than like 10 points. Okay, and Chase is a must start. You've already talked about Connor. I know you guys love Connor. Is Mixon a must start? Yes. Number two running back. Okay. Would you start Kyron Williams

over Mixon? Yes, but barely. Yes. Would you start Kyron Williams overs over james connor no uh no what about the i like honor over pollard what about mixon versus the colts guys mixon mixon all right unless hold on i don't know i don't know if i'd love moss if there's no jonathan taylor like let's say the colts don't make Jonathan Taylor active. I think I'd still like mixing over Moss.

Yeah, I'm not touching Moss against the Titans. Yeah. I thought about it for a second. No. All right. Anywho, that's it. Don't start Higgins if he plays. Tyler Boyd, I mean, by a week, he could get you 10 PPR points.

He's getting seven. He can do that any week. Seven to nine targets in three straight games. He's averaging eight targets a game in the last three with Higgins. And so now you take Higgins away and maybe it's a 10 target game for him. They're going to throw probably 45 plus times

again. For 175 yards? Yeah. That's the downside of it. So PPR will get you maybe seven for 40. Okay. I am making a wager on the 49ers. I inspired myself to bet on the Niners minus three and a half, just letting everybody know.

Now we're all in this. How many units? One unit? $31, which is actually one of the biggest bets I will make. I do not bet big. Yeah, I know. That's why I said ooh. I feel very confident in this. I feel very confident.

I think that's it for this game. Oh, Ertz. Would you start Ertz over the Ferguson, Higby, Goddard? Who else? Some other guy? Kittle? In PPR, I would start him over Goddard. Who else? Some other guy. Kittle. In PPR, I would start him over Goddard and Kittle.

I'm going to move Ferguson a spot ahead of Hurts. I can't do it. Okie dokie. Kansas City's at Minnesota. Stat of the game. Let's talk about this Minnesota run defense. DeAndre Swift, his huge game on Thursday night. He's the only running back

with more than 41 rushing yards or a touchdown against the Vikings. They've been a pretty good run defense aside from that game. That was, however, against Rashad White, Josh Kelly, and the injured Miles Sanders slash Chuba Hubbard. How do you feel about Isaiah Pacheco in this game, Jamie Eisenberg? Very solid number to running back. His numbers the last two weeks have been fantastic. And so, you know, I think you're seeing, um, the evolution of what he has become

and kind of what this chiefs offense has been as well, that they are relying a little bit more on one guy to carry the, carry the, the, the running back load. We still have the passing game is still there, but playing with the lead, look, Minnesota is going to have to try and defend the chiefs passing game as best they can. And so that should open up some rushing lanes.

The, the offensive line from a run blocking perspective has been awesome. And so I think you just look at Pacheco, the way that he's running. Um, it's, it's like, you know,

he's, he's chasing somebody that stole some from, he just runs angry. Every time he touches the ball, it's fun to watch. And he's being used in the passing game too. He just runs angry every time he touches the ball. It's fun to watch. And he's been using the passing game too. So the things that we were concerned about, is he going to get touchdowns?

I know it hasn't exactly been the goal line variety all the time, but is he going to get touchdowns? He's answered that the last couple of games. Is he going to be involved in the passing game? He's answered that all season so far, whether it's been just route out run or even getting those chances. So I think it's just hard not to view him as

a number two running back. And I don't think the Vikings run defense should be the reason why you'd be benching him because of what they've done. You listed the names of the players that

they've had success against, and this is just a different animal that they're facing. You like him better than Madison? Yes. You guys like Madison? I don't mind Madison.

Madison, Madison, sorry. Madison, Madison. Madison. Yeah. I don't mind Madison Madison sorry Madison I don't know how to feel about Madison I've got Pacheco over Madison and Addison I don't know how to feel about the Vikings in this game because I do like the Chiefs defense quite a bit

they give up the 10th fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks running back let's see they give up the 6th fewest points to running backsbacks. Running back, let's see. They give up the sixth fewest points to running backs, but 4.6 yards per carry. They've been good against running backs on the passing game this year. They give up the tenth fewest fantasy points

to wide receivers. They're not good against tight ends so far. So who's a great start for the Vikings? Who's a great start, Dave? Justin Jefferson. He took my answer. Is Cousins a great start? Cousins is a good start too.

I've got him sixth among quarterbacks. I think he can be very, very good. I think Minnesota goes right back to doing what they did for the first three weeks of the season and that's throw a ton. Madison's helped a little bit in that because he can catch the ball, so maybe that helps him in PPR. But I think Jefferson and Hawkinson are the

two guys that fantasy managers are can say are musts and Addison is a flex I mean Cousins is in the top seven for everybody fourth for Heath last I checked those rankings do change but golf scored 16 points against the Chiefs Lawrence scored eight field scored 11 and at the time it was easy to dismiss it he wasn't't playing well. But look what he's done since then. Zach Wilson did score 22. That was... And he could have had a better game. A couple of touchdowns he missed. But that was a bad week. But

yeah, I don't know. I mean, alright. So start Cousins. Cousins... Yeah, I think you know who to start him over. Pass volume offense. High scoring game. That's literally all. And Cousins has played well this year. And Mahomes is top two for everyone.

Like Pacheco, as I mentioned, any receivers for the Chiefs? It's just Stash, Raji Rice. All right. Vikings do allow the most fantasy points to receivers. Start Kelsey. Yeah, let's talk a little bit more

about Jordan Addison. Addison or Nakua? Nakua. Addison or Tank Dell? Addison. I will take Dell. Addison or Madison? I think I have Dell ranked.

I'll go Dell over Addison. They're back-to-back for me. It's close. Addison and PPR. I've got Madison. All right. So far, the Chiefs kind of middle of the pack in terms of big plays allowed, and that's what Addison is. Unfortunately, he's... Right now,

he's a big play guy. He's a high A-dot, high route depth guy, and he needs to hit that home run, it seems. It's a garbage time thing. They're not going to do a lot in the first half, most likely. Garbage time. I don't know about garbage time, right?

That's kind of implying they're going to be getting blown out. Yes. You think they're going to be getting blown out? Yes. I think they might be losing by seven in the fourth quarter. I don't know if they're getting blown out. A final score could be a by seven in the fourth quarter. I don't know if they're getting blown out. A final score could be a blowout score.

All right. But I think Minnesota stays competitive. I think with Madison, it might be a garbage time thing, but it could also be a touchdown thing. It should be a lot of passing one way or the other. That's kind of the key here. Carolina at Detroit. Last game we're doing today.

Quote of the game from Detroit linebacker Alex Anzalone on why the Lions' run defense is so much better this year than it was last year. This is from USA Today. Quote, teams were figuring out last year how to get certain weaknesses exposed. This year, there really are none so far. So we are trying to keep it that way. And if you look at the tail of the two run defenses,

Jamie, Detroit, they are just incredible. Carolina, incredibly bad. Fourth most fantasy points to running backs, 4.9 yards per carry allowed to running backs. So Montgomery is an easy start. What about Jameer Gibbs? Any interest in Gibbs this week? Yeah, I'm still starting him, but the expectations are definitely lower at this point. They have to be. And so you just have to hope that there's a big play or some chances that we're going to David Montgomery, go to Jameer Gibbs. It's again, it's more hope than there is he's done this, or they're going to give him that because they just have not done that yet. You know, even the game that Montgomery missed, it was a productive outing for Jameer Gibbs when he had 14 carries and got you 80 yards rushing,

but it was an empty stat line because it didn't score and wasn't used in the passing game. So I think he's clearly got more upside in PPR than non PPR. It would be fascinating to see what would happen if a mom around St. Brown's not there. And does he become that go-to option in the passing game for him along with Sam Laporta, but there's so many moving parts of this Detroit offense, you know, and now you're adding another player in the mix with for him along with Sam Laporta, but there's so many moving parts of this Detroit offense, you know, and now you're adding another player in the mix with Jamison Williams. So that takes away a little bit of what Jameer Gibbs is. It's just the frustrating part is they're high-fiving and they're

celebrating when they drafted him. And then they're not using him to the level that he should be used. You know, 32 carries for David Montgomery in a game coming off a thigh injury. That could have easily been a 25 carry game. And those other, uh, my math is bad. Those other seven carries could have gone been a 25 carry game and those other uh my math is bad those other seven carries could have gone to jameer gibbs and garbage time and maybe he breaks one and gives you some fantasy production that we've been waiting for so um number number two running back but on the low end variety better than damian pierce for example better than for

me better than both colts guys i don't want to risk the uh the potential rotation there for for taylor and moss in ppr i start tay start Taylor over Gibbs in non-PPR. I'm trying to think. I'd start him over both Steelers guys. I'd start him over... How about Madison? How about Alexander Madison? No, I'd start Madison over Gibbs.

I mean, he's getting enough work that it's a problem for Gibbs. But look, there's going to be a breakout game at some point. Not that that means get away from David Montgomery. This is the perfect landing spot. They're huge favorites. They're at home. This run defense stinks. And so one of these times where, oh, he almost broke that tackle

or he was one foot away from taking it 70 yards, that could easily happen this week. Okay. Dave, talk to me about the Lions wide receivers here with and without St. Brown. St. Brown is obviously the top target slot guy, easier matchup against Carolina for sure. And I think Reynolds will still end up playing a lot. Hopefully he's in that six target range, even with Jameson Williams coming back.

I can't help but think that the Lions, especially if they're building a lead, try and take a couple of deep shots with Jamison Williams. I wouldn't expect a lot of snaps for Williams. Like 11 snaps would be a surprise, but I wonder if, if, if he's the reason why Jared golf has a great week instead of a good week,

because they take some deep chances and they can do that against Carolina. Their defense isn't that good. Yeah. Laporta. You didn isn't that good. Uh, Laporta, you didn't ask about the tight ends, but Laporta is a must easy start at tight end. And I think that's really it. Now,

if there's no, a Monroe St. Brown, I think that I agree with Jamie. I think that boost Gibbs. I think that boost Laporta. I think that boost Reynolds, I think it could be gross.

And it's like Kalief Raymond that ends up getting a few extra targets more so than Jameson Williams. We've, we've seen how careful the lions have been with Jameer Gibbs. You can't expect them to be, you know, willy nilly with Jameson Williams and let him run 30 routes in this first game back.

They're going to take kid gloves with him too. Which if you had to pick a Panthers running back, who would it be? Jonathan Stewart. You've got to figure they're playing from behind and it's a lot of passing. It's like Gibson versus Robinson. Hubbard, they split carries evenly.

I feel like Sanders has a better chance to score, but who would you pick, Jamie? Hubbard or Sanders? I'm going to start Sanders over Hubbard because if they are competitive in this game and he is healthy, then he should have an opportunity to be impacting the game. But, man, last week was frustrating. You know, missed practice on Friday with a groin injury. And then you saw a first time that, you know, he wasn't healthy. So they took him off the field and Hubbard played more snaps than him in a competitive game. You know, it wasn't like this was just a complete comeback effort against

the Vikings. They were, they were right there with them. So for this week, I could see it's certainly a game script. Like you alluded to Adam, where Hubbard is more involved that they're not going to have a lot of success running. If you know, even if they are competitive in the game, you know, by let's say there's a, there's a Jared golf pick six, a special team score. We saw Kirk Cousins throw a pick six last week against his defense also so um yeah i just it it's not good to be in the miles sanders camp right now because of his health because the offensive line because the offense there's just a lot of things working against them do you remember the game between these teams last year where detroit came into the game they they had been on such a roll stopping the run.

And then it was Hubbard and Dante Foreman. I've been saying his name wrong for so long. I'm sorry. Dante Foreman pulverizing them. Oh, it was the first game after they traded McCaffrey. Was it that early in the year? No. I didn't

think it was that early in the year. Because the end of the season is when Detroit's run defense was awesome. Yeah, this was during that stretch of when their run defense was awesome. Right. I don't think it was like week eight or whatever. Maybe it was. This was the only team that crushed them. And it was weird.

And so Dan Campbell was asked about that. And he went on and on about how he said, this is a quote, we were not emotionally ready to go. And apparently it has stuck with Dan Campbell, how bad they were in that game and how unprepared they were in that game. All right, guys, so listen, let's wrap up here. I think they will be up for stopping everything

that the Panthers do on the ground. Like, they almost hyper-focus on it because of last year. Adam Thielen's the last guy I want to talk about. Would you start Adam Thielen over Debo Samuel this week? No. I can't do it. Would you start him? I like them both as quality number two receivers,

but I can't do it. Would you start Thielen over Joe Mixon in PPR? Sure. In PPR, yes. Start Thielen or Ridley? Thielen. Sure. And he'd be, yes. Start feeling or Ridley. Feeling. Yep.

We promise. Zach names, sigh, that same deep breath before I say that. Something like that. I've got waddle ahead of feeling. I don't, I'm curious what you guys think of that.

Uh, I don't hate it. I would. Yeah. Yeah. Let's give the Giants defense credit. I can see this being the waddle game

against the Giants. A little bit better lately. But not this week. Last thing, I got this Thielen stat. He has the ninth most catches in the NFL. There are 15 wide receivers

with 23 or more catches. Thielen is the only one without a catch of more than 25 yards. So, he's old, not explosive. He's getting the job done. Hopefully he has another good game here, and then we can start talking about selling high on Adam Thielen

or maybe holding him. We'll see. Oh, you should be selling high on him now. Okay. He's obviously the preferred target, though, so it's 15 or more points three weeks in a row. Just because you're selling high on somebody doesn't mean he's going to stink.

He could still be productive, but you could get something great in return. Yeah, that's a good point. Okay, that's it. Any sleepers in this game, like a DJ Chark? What's the Lions DST roster ship up to? 80%. Okay, so they've already been grabbed up. I think if you're looking at it,

maybe Mingo is somebody who beat the waiver wire, you know, just based on what Terrace Marshall has done the last game and a half. Hopefully Mingo starts to do something like that. Tark is hard to trust because his only good game so far has come with Andy Dalton. It's a revenge game for him. You guys ever play Zingo?

I remember Zingo. I think Hubbard's a better stash than Mingo. I would agree. A hundred percent. Yeah. 56% roster. All right. Go everybody.

Go play some Zingo. That's probably what you're doing this weekend. So have a fun one. I am. I forgot to tell you, Dan cheated in the dynasty league and I, he doesn't know, and I'm going to call him out for it on the mailbag.

So that's going to be something to really look for. Dan cheated. Schaefer cheated. Four people, I think, in the Dynasty League cheated without realizing it. So I have to call. Did I cheat? No, you did not. Damn it, I want to cheat.

Yeah, anyway, we'll talk to you on the mailbag. That is at noon Eastern on Friday. You can hear it on Saturday. Thanks to Dave, Jamie, and Zach, the producer. I'm Adam. See you later, everybody.