Fantasy Football Today - Waiver Wire! Juwan Johnson, 49ers RBs, Tyrod Taylor and More (01/02 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: January 2, 2024

To display your continued support of the show, please vote for Fantasy Football Today in the Sports Podcast Awards in the "Best Fantasy Betting and Gaming Podcast" Category https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/fantasy-betting-gaming-sports-podcast/ 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 It's obviously a weird week for the waiver wire as we wait to see which players are sitting in Week 18, but we'll still give you our top priorities (2:40) including running backs like Khalil Herbert, Zamir White and possibly Jordan Mason. We'll also go over the news and notes (7:05) and get you caught up on what you need to know about injuries and about which teams will rest their starters ... Top quarterbacks (18:15) on the waiver wire include Derek Carr, Mason Rudolph and Tyrod Taylor. At running back (25:35), hopefully you can still get White, Herbert and maybe even Zach Charbonnet. But if those guys are not available, we'll tell you why Mason and Ronnie Rivers could be appealing ... At wide receiver (38:30), can we trust Demarcus Robinson or one of the Giants WRs this week? And at tight end (41:55), Juwan Johnson is the guy to get but don't forget about Tucker Kraft, Gerald Everett and more. And we finish with DSTs (45:30) and Kickers ... 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

Kick off an exciting football season with BetMGM, an official sportsbook partner of the National Football League. Yard after yard, down after down, the sportsbook born in Vegas gives you the chance to take action to the end zone and celebrate every highlight reel play. And as an official sportsbook partner of the NFL, BetMGM is the best place to fuel your football fandom on every game day. With a variety of exciting features, BetMGM offers you plenty of seamless ways to jump straight onto the gridiron and to embrace peak sports action. Ready for another season of gridiron glory? What are you waiting for?

Get off the bench, into the huddle, and head for the end zone all season long. Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older. Ontario only. Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600.

BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Whether in the game or in life, the right coverage can make all the difference. Securian Canada gives you that coverage. For more than 65 years, Securian Canada has been helping Canadians build secure tomorrows. Their insurance solutions are designed to help protect you

and your loved ones financially, giving you the peace of mind to focus on what truly matters. Find their products through banks, credit unions, and associations, or visit SecurianCanada.ca. Securian Canada, insurance designed for life. This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. What a play! Can you believe this?

No, I can't. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Well, maybe you're playing into week 18, or maybe you're just on YouTube to hang out or listening because you love us. Whatever. You're thrilled about your fantasy football championship and you just want more, whatever the case may be.

Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome to Fantasy Football Today. On January 2nd, it's Adam, Dave, and Jamie, and we're giving you the waiver wire priorities, and a lot of it's going to be about who is not playing. Which 49ers running back are you going to be able to rely on against the Rams? Which Rams running back are you going to be able to rely on? And can we go back to Derek Carr in a big game for the New Orleans Saints? Those types of questions we'll be answering right now. What's up, guys? I, you know, confession, didn't watch any of the Washington, Texas game, but I DVR'd it. But man, that was a heck of a day of football. We usually get Monday NFL, but a good replacement yesterday.

I assume you guys were tuned in. Yeah, that game last night was interesting. The fact that Texas played themselves back into it was fun. Had a chance to win. Looked like they were going to get blown out. Maybe the committee made a bad decision, but Penix is awesome. He's going to be fun. Wouldn't you say the committee kind of justified themselves

with the two games on Monday? I mean, the way that Texas rallied, I would say yes, but the way that that game, third quarter, it felt like maybe Georgia should have been in there at that point. But yeah, the first game was great. I mean, that's the thing. It's very possible that Georgia's still the best team in the country.

Yes. So that's why I never bought the whole, well, you gotta award the four best teams argument when they were talking about Florida State because I think probably anyone thought that Georgia was actually better than at least Washington and Texas, but I get whatever.

It's a topic for another day. Anyway, it was just great to have. Did you want Florida State in? I did want Florida State in. That's what I'm saying. I didn't think they were one of the four best teams, but I never bought that argument because I think Georgia was one of the four best teams and nobody was putting Georgia in. That's all I was saying.

But yeah, look, I'm just happy that we had some great football yesterday and that Michigan game was super fun. Super fun ending. Alright, anyway, let's get to the topic of today's show. Tomorrow we'll talk a little bit about 2024 as we're working on our 2024 rankings, and we'll have starts and sits for you throughout the week as well.

Jamie, who are the top three priorities on the waiver wire this week? That's a great question. The top three should probably be... So I went a little bit different with the waiver wire column today because usually we go with the 65% number or cutoff line. I mean, if Zemir White is still out there, he should be the number one guy to go get. Zach Charbonnet, if he's out there, go get him because Ken Walker is probably not playing. Khalil Herbert, obviously, if he's available, go get him. So those would be the top three if you're looking at it.

But if you want to go with the deeper leagues and who could be available, Pierre Strong is looking like the main running back for the Browns. Jordan Mason, I expect to be the main running back for the Niners. Receivers, Demarcus Robinson is probably going to still play for the Rams, I would guess. I don't think he's somebody that they'll sit Greg Dorch. If you want to go a little bit deeper, just for those type of leagues and then maybe bull Melton. I don't expect to see at this point,

at least Christian Watson or on taping wicks, or probably the best receiver there for the Packers, Jane Reed. So it's, it's kind of all over the place. I don't think there's really a top three, to be honest with you. I wouldn't be surprised to see Christian Watson.

Watching his warm-ups before the Minnesota game, it looked like he wasn't that far away, and that is a big game for them. They need to win to get into the playoffs. So, yeah, obviously, it doesn't matter, right? I mean, go ahead and make your waiver claims as if christian watson and jayden reed are not going to play if you're playing this week it means you're

facing one other person so you can always pivot um yeah and then uh i don't know did you mention mason rudolph i didn't see any quarterback well because he could be facing he could be facing backups by the second half if not not the entire game, you know. That just means they'll run the ball. He's played well his last two games. Fantasy points weren't there because they just kept rushing for touchdowns, but he had a good game at Seattle. Yeah, it's going to be a fun offseason for the Steelers

if Mason Rudolph gets them into the playoffs and they maybe win a game because he's looking much better in his two games than Kenny Pickett has really in probably two years. I think that we won't do the top three at each position this week. We'll just go through each position. But Dave, do you want to give your priorities? Yeah, I don't have any wide receivers on my list because I think that, first of all, there's a lot of uncertainty this week.

There's a lot of players that we think will play. There's five teams that could rest their players and more that could start resting their starters if they build a lead or if they hear about other teams that affect their playoff status building a lead. So I don't have any wide receivers in my top three because I think there are a lot of wide receivers that are out there that you can go and pick up,

maybe even on your second run through of waivers. I agree that Zemir White should be the number one guy. He's available in 36% of the leagues, but otherwise I'm going with Saints because I know they're going to play and their starters are going to have something to play for and they're going to be out there a lot. I've got Jawan Johnson at the top of the list. I've got Jamal Williams next, assuming there's no Alvin Kamara and then Derek Carr is after that. But if I had to make a top three, Carr would be out, and Zemir White would be in. So White, Juwan Johnson, Jamal Williams.

Okay, Alvin Kamara does have a chance to play this week, so hopeful there. That's a big game for the Saints. They need a win and a Buccaneers loss, and then they will get the division. We'll keep you updated on who's not playing for anything and who's going to be resting starters. We'll do that in a moment.

Please vote for us at sports podcast, awards.com. Go to sports podcast, awards.com. There's also a QR code. You can do the QR code here. If you're on YouTube, youtube.com slash fantasy football today,

but sports podcast award awards.com. And, uh, we are in the, uh, fantasy betting and gaming category. And just please vote for fantasy football today. I actually don't even know when voting ends.

So I'm just going to tell you over and over again. See, you're showing it. You got a screenshot here. It'll be May and you'll be like sports podcast awards. Look, it'll be over. See this screenshot here of us. This is Schaefer's computer. Didn't even vote for us.

Because if you did, it would say voted like it does on my computer. No, it's probably a different browser. Good for him for keeping it fresh. All right, news and notes. Baker Mayfield has rib soreness, but he's expected to play at Carolina. Again, they need to win that game. If they win that game, they win the division, Tampa Bay. Minnesota has not publicly named a Week 18 starter

yet, but Nick Mullins, I feel like Nick Mullins would be pretty interesting, right? If it's him at Detroit, who could be resting. That's how I have it ranked. I didn't put him in the waiver where I call him, but I can't imagine that they don't play Mullins. Jaron Hall was awful. Unless they go back to Dobbs.

It felt like when Hockinson got hurt that there was some rumblings in Minnesota that they just want to lose and get a little bit better draft pick. And we've got a lot more quarterback news. Taylor Heineke has an ankle injury for the Falcons. Mason Rudolph is starting for the Steelers. Tua Tungabailoa. I mean, Mike McDaniel is a little frustrating.

He's very rosy with his injury reports. So I don't know how you guys are looking at this, but Tua hurt his shoulder. They said it's fine. I was expecting Mostert to play all week. He originally had optimism about Jalen Waddell, you know. So I don't know what to make of it. But as of now, two is fine.

This is one of the biggest games of the week. His history has been to rest guys whenever they've been hurt. And so the Mostert one was a little surprising because I think he came back to practice right after sitting out practice. He got in at least one limited practice. And so that was, you know, I guess maybe it was, okay, we know we have a potential winner take all game if we lose in baltimore we need him for buffalo so let's not risk it

waddle and i don't think anybody really expected to play um to uh i i didn't really view it as him leaving the game because he was injured you know at that point they were getting blown out but the other side of it you know you say he's rosy with his injuries. He's got a track record of leaving guys in games too long. And Bradley Chubb should not have been in the game when he got hurt. He explained why that was, but it didn't make any sense. Jalen Phillips shouldn't have been in the game when he got hurt. It's kind of been a pattern with him that he's leaving guys in games too long

in these blowouts on both sides, which is weird because last year he pulled two almost every time they were up. Remember the Houston game, for example, when they were up big at the start of the third quarter. So I don't understand what he's doing. But yeah, I don't think Tua's sitting this game. No, no, I'm just saying I wish I could believe him, I guess. But I think, Jamie, this is something that sports fans have to accept, is that coaches leave their players in longer than fans want them to.

It just seems to happen all the time. And that's an interesting point for this week. It's not necessarily they leave them in too long. It's they don't have enough guys. There's only 53 guys on the roster, so you can't pull everybody. And only 48 are active. And so we're going to see what happens this week with who sits, who gets brought up from practice squads,

who gets opportunities when some guys are limited, questionable, whatever, dealing with injuries throughout the week that they're not going to play. But in terms of what happened to the Dolphins, for example, he said that there was a fumble and they didn't really have the opportunity to get some guys out that they wanted to, and that's why Chubb was still on the field. But yeah, I mean, it's just been an unfortunate situation for Miami.

Okay, do you think the Steelers beat the Ravens this week? Yes. If they said everybody, yes. Do you think the Jaguars beat the Titans this week? Yes. And I think the Texans and Colts will not end in a tie. There you go. If the Jaguars win at Tennessee and the Steelers beat the Ravens and the

Titans-Colts game does not end in a tie and the Bills lose, which might be the least realistic of them, then the Bills are out. So the Bills, you'll see their playoff odds like 90% or something like that. But it's not that unrealistic. It's they lose to the Dolphins and the Steelers beat the Resting

Ravens and the Jaguars win at Tennessee, which I don't think will be easy. And then the Colts-Texans game is not a tie. So the Bills have a very realistic possibility to win the division or to miss the playoffs. They're a very interesting game. I think if you look at it,

the Bills are probably the second best team in the AFC right now. And to go from that scenario of winning the AFC and being the two seed, AFC East and being the two seed, to not making the playoffs is wild. I just want to let everyone know, I see some people commenting about my lip. I busted my lip last night.

I apologize for that. So I look a little ridiculous today. But thank you for pointing it out. Someone said, I thought I had a red dot on my screen, but it was Adam's lip. So there you go. My bad. Josh Allen does have a sore neck. Trevor Lawrence is questionable.

He's going to try to play at Tennessee. Jared Stidham's going to start for the Broncos at Las Vegas. Will Levis also with the injury, probably not expecting him against the Jaguars. Christian McCaffrey has been ruled out for this week. He should be fine for the first playoff game, which is in three weeks. Alvin Kamara has an ankle injury.

He's going to try to play against the Falcons. Ken Walker has a shoulder injury. They're at Arizona, and the Seahawks have not been eliminated, right? Correct. They have not been. Correct. I mean, obviously, Charbonnet could be walking into an amazing situation at Arizona. Christian Kirk could actually practice this week and has a chance to play.

Jamal Agnew is out for the season with a broken leg. I don't know that we're going to get either Bengals wide receiver. T. Higgins re-aggravated his hamstring injury, and he only went back in the game because it was a must-win game for the Bengals. And then Jamar Chase said he played at about 70%. So they're facing Cleveland. That could be a lot of backups in that game,

Cincinnati and Cleveland. Devontae Smith has an ankle injury. The Eagles have talked about resting their starters, so Smith seems like a guy that may not play. I think you should plan on that. Jaden Reed hurt his... I had ribs, but was it chest or ribs for Jaden Reed? They're listing it as chest, so it could be ribs.

Yeah, all right. It was chest during the game. Noah Brown left with a hip injury. Devontae Parker left. Tyler Higbee has a dislocated shoulder, and the Rams waived Lucas Havrisick. And there are, of course, defensive

injuries. The Dolphins got pretty beat up defensively. There are some offensive line stuff. Ask the Magic 8-Ball. It's going to be a big week for Gabe Davis. All right. Is Gabe Davis going to have 80 or more yards

and or a touchdown at Miami? The stars say no. It's never. You can't predict it, Jamie. Oh, yeah, you can. He's going to get Eli Apple. Good luck.

And the Dolphins' pass rush is down to nubs. It should be a really good game for Josh Allen. By the way, you said the Bills are the second-best team. If the Bills and the Browns play a neutral site game, who wins? The Bills. I think Cleveland wins. All right, so who's resting this? Who are we worried about

resting their starters or maybe even playing a half this week? What's the list? There's five teams. I think you look at San Francisco and Baltimore easy as the one seeds.

Cleveland is not going to play, doesn't have anything to play for, so they're probably going to rest their guys. You have... Kansas City's probably going to rest their guys. And then the Rams are most likely not going to play their guys based on Sean McVay's track record.

You got two more teams that are interesting. The Lions, they said they're going to play their guys. Oh, they're going. Is that a full game? Okay, and then the Eagles, who Nick Sirianni already're going to play their guys. Oh, they're going. Is that a full game? Okay. And then the Eagles, who Nick Sirianni already acknowledged he could rest some guys. Dan Campbell said two weeks ago that he planned on keeping his starters in there, and he reiterated it again after the loss against Dallas.

So I would expect a majority of action, if not four full quarters, from the Lions starters. I think there's a chance. Andy Reid said he hasn't figured out yet what he's going to do with the starters, but the way that the offense has been not great in Kansas City, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Patrick Mahomes and company play until they score a touchdown. So there might be a little bit of them.

Remember, that's a team that always plays their starters in the preseason, so they're not opposed to putting their players out there in meaningless situations. And I don't know if I understand why Philly would rest some starters, maybe the ones that are hurt, and they just want to make sure that they're, you know, they get an extra week of rest and they don't practice for a week. I get that. Like in the case of Devontae Smith, I wouldn't expect him.

But I think they would want to try and get some positive momentum going, kind of like the Chiefs offense. I think it'll be tough for them, though, because I think the Giants are going to give them a game. Well, that's the thing. I think in the case you brought it up earlier, they might be scoreboard watching. So if they see that the Cowboys are ahead, then they start playing guys.

It makes sense. Right. If the Cowboys win, they're playing the Commanders. If the Cowboys win, they get the division. If the Cowboys lose and the Eagles win, then the playing the Commanders. If the Cowboys win, they get the division. If the Cowboys lose and the Eagles win, then the Eagles get the division. And it looks like odds are we'll go, I believe, 20 straight years, maybe 19 straight years

without a repeat division winner in the NFC East. One of my favorite quirk stats in the NFL. It's unbelievable. But all you have to do is look back to last year. If you recall, the Cowboys faced the Commanders. It was the opposite, right? The Eagles needed to win, and the Cowboys could have won the division. If they won and the Eagles lost, the Eagles were facing the Giants' backups,

and they almost lost. They played horribly in that game. Jalen Hurts was coming back and wasn't healthy. But the Cowboys lost 26-6 to the Commanders. It was just an embarrassing loss in Week 18 last year, and it didn't matter. They went out and blew out the Buccaneers the next week. But anything can happen. The Eagles are very much alive for the NFC East.

They win and the Cowboys lose and they get it. All right, we'll take a break. And when we come back, we'll get into the waiver wire right after this on Fantasy Football Today. With Smartwater's pure, crisp taste, there's nothing to overthink. on Fantasy Football today. With Smartwater's pure crisp taste, there's nothing to overthink. So while you may be spiraling over double texting your crush,

whether your skincare routine is working because you look the same or is doing nothing because you look the same and whatever the heck red light therapy is, it's definitely not that. Don't overthink how you hydrate. Life's full of choices. Smart water is a simple one.

Ah. spending limit more cash on hand to grow your business with up to 55 interest-free days and the ability to reach further with access to over 1400 airport lounges worldwide redefine possible with business platinum that's the powerful backing of american express terms and conditions apply visit amex.ca slash business platinum getting right into the names to know, we'll start with the quarterbacks here on Fantasy Football today. The quarterbacks to look at in Week 18, and Jamie's list,

is Derek Carr, 65% rostered, facing Atlanta. Tarod Taylor against the Eagles. Mason Rudolph at Baltimore. And Gardner Minshew against Houston. Does that sound right? Yes. You know how to read. Yeah, I did my own version

before I got yours. I want to make sure I didn't confuse the two. But Derek Carr, Terod Taylor, Mason Rudolph, and Gardner Minshew. How much do you like Carr this week, Jamie? I mean, he's almost a top five quarterback.

It's based on who's not playing, but he's a top ten guy. 19.5 points or more in three straight games. I know Atlanta's defense has played better probably than people think, and they've been pretty good against quarterbacks. Justin Fields did what he did last week, but a lot of that was with the legs too. Dave said it. The Saints have a lot to play for. I think, you know, you're seeing guys emerge. You know, last week was a bad week for Olave and Shahid,

and Jawan Johnson was fantastic. You know, Taysom milked out a touchdown. He was bad against the Falcons the first time these two teams met, but still threw for over 300 yards. I just think the Saints have still plenty in front of them. They could still somehow get a wild card if things break their way as well. So I like the setup for Derek Carr this week to perform well. Same with Teron Taylor.

I mean, you see what he's been able to accomplish. And as we've seen, it's a very good matchup against the Eagles. They're terrible. Yeah. You know, I was looking at Philadelphia and just how has any bad quarterbacks done well against them? Bad fantasy quarterbacks. Because, look, if you're playing this week or if you want to do DFS this week and you have two, obviously, Mahomes, all the teams we mentioned, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Brock Purdy. You're going to be hunting on the waiver wire, perhaps. So, honestly, the only three quarterbacks

that did well against Philadelphia that were not must-starts were Mack Jones in Week 1. He threw 54 passes. And then twice, Sam Howell. But, I mean, look at Philadelphia. Look what they played. Kirk Cousins, Stafford, Tua, Prescott, Mahomes,

Allen, Purdy, Prescott, Kyler. So just to give them a little bit of slack, Philadelphia's had one of the hardest quarterback schedules in the NFL. I do like the way Terod Taylor's playing, though, Dave. He's throwing the ball downfield. You can beat the Eagles downfield. Is he going to be a top-12 guy?

He's 13th for me right now so it's really close it's the question of how much do i think that like baker will be effective geno smith will be effective for now i have those guys ranked ahead i've golf ranked ahead because i'm i'm buying what dan campbell's saying about playing out as starters but tarod taylor is absolutely one of the quarterbacks that you could go and turn to if you're without Lamar Jackson this week. If you're worried about Mahomes not playing four quarters, he's not going to play four quarters. Stafford, you made it this far with Stafford, and he's out.

I do like Carr better, but he's only available in 35% of leagues. Terad's out there in 95% of leagues, so he's probably going to be the quarterback that is most added. Okay. Just thinking about the Seahawks and Geno Smith. Is there a possibility that they could be eliminated before their game? Usually the NFL does a very good job of scheduling week 18 so that that doesn't happen. Right.

So they would need Green Bay to lose, I believe. And I got news for you. Even if they were, I'm pretty sure Carroll would play his starters. Yeah, probably. You worry about the... You don't necessarily worry about the teams that have nothing to play for because they're out of it. You worry about the teams that have nothing to play for because they're in it.

Well, I mean, the only thing you'd worry about is injuries, and I know Gino's been fighting through a couple different things. That would be the only concern with him, potentially, is if they are completely eliminated, do they sit him? But I agree with Dave. I would imagine that we see Geno for four quarters. But actually, I like Tyrod better than Geno.

That's all they have to do, huh? Is the Seahawks, all they need is a win and a Green Bay loss. That's it. From what I'm seeing. How about that? Okay. It's a lot to a win and a Green Bay loss. That's it. From what I'm seeing. How about that? Okay. It's a lot to keep up with here. Mason Rudolph. It's interesting. Look, 18 of 24 for 274 yards at

Seattle is a really good game. I know the fantasy points weren't there. Only 10 points. But he scored 24 points the week before. He's got it going on with George Pickens and he's at Baltimore. So we know this situation there. Jamie, thoughts on Baltimore? We don't know the situation there. We don't know exactly what Baltimore will do. So we know this situation there. Jamie, thoughts on Baltimore? We don't know the situation there.

We don't know exactly what Baltimore will do, but we know there's a possibility it's Rudolph in a must-win game against backups. And Harbaugh said that they're not going to be secretive about what their plans are. So we probably will know by the end of the week what they're doing in terms of who's playing, who's not. I can't imagine that they're playing. I mean, of who's playing who's not well i can't imagine

that they're playing there's i mean marlon humphrey's not playing for sure you know he's so you know you start to look at which defensive guys will or will not be out the kyle hamilton won't be out there you know that so um taking guys off the field makes sense their offense is probably going to be sitting guys although the steelers have a chance to you know hopefully have the ball a lot and they still have something to play for, you know, and they need help to get into the playoffs. But based on what Rudolph has done, I think it's worth taking a flyer on him.

If in fact you're down Mahomes and Purdy and Lamar and all these guys that potentially will be sitting Flacco and, you know, he's got some strong games behind him to at least say, okay, maybe he helps me. And you could get another similar game script where he plays really well, and it's just a lot of Najee Harris and Jalen Warren. That's the concern. And then why is Gardner Minshew on here?

Well, I think, again, that's another team that's playing for something, and the Texans' secondary is certainly the weak point of their team by comparison to their run defense. Not that Jonathan Taylor's not doing anything, but that's why he's at the bottom of the list. You're looking at who can play, who's going to help me, who's got a chance with a decent matchup to come through. And I think Mitchell could be in that 18-point range.

I don't have high expectations for him, but I think just based on the guys who are available, he's got a chance. Some other names I want to throw on the guys who are available, he's got a chance. Some other names I want to throw out, maybe throughout the week. If we find out Nick Mullins is the starter at Detroit, and if we find out Sam Darnold is the starter

against the Rams, who have allowed 20 or more fantasy points to a quarterback, or you look at the Washington team's QBs in six weeks. You feel like it's Ray, Ray McLeod. I feel like it may not even matter, but you know, that game, the Rams 49ers game feels like a run on first down, run on second down,

try and convert the third down through the air and then punt both teams. I just don't see that being one where either team is going to try and show anything. They might play each other in the second round of the playoffs. Okay. All right, so then what about Mullins? If he's named the starter, would you put him ahead of Carr, Taylor, Rudolph, Minshew? He'd be ahead of Rudolph.

So he'd be third. He'd be fourth for me. I'd put Minshew ahead of him. There's still a chance that he gets benched if he stinks. True. All right, at running back. for me, I'd put Minshew ahead of him. There's still a chance that he gets benched if he stinks. True. Alright, at running back, you're not putting Elijah Mitchell on the list because you

don't, Jamie, you just think he's not likely to play or not likely to play a lot. I'd be very surprised if the Niners played him given the fact that he's been so banged up over the second half of the season and you have McCaffrey now with a calf injury. If they lose both those guys not that Jordan Mason can't do anything to help them but I mean that's your you know not your

your second best player in Mitchell but it's your certainly your second best running back and so given the circumstances like why why risk it so if McCaffrey was 100% then maybe they play Mitchell but the fact that there's some uncertainty about McCaffrey going into the playoffs, and I know he said that he's fine, but I'd be very surprised if he played a good portion of the game. Maybe he gets a drive or two. And the way I'm writing the story is if Elijah Mitchell's out there, you could certainly pick him up.

But Jordan Mason feels like the one that's going to get the majority of the touches. And so that's the way I would lean. Uncertainty is the buzzword of the week, Adam, because any game involving those five teams that we talked about, the teams that could be resting, there's so much uncertainty. You just don't know who's going to play or for how much. I mean, they've got Tyron Davis-Price on their practice squad. What's to stop them from calling him up to the active roster

and giving him all the work? Because Mason's got value to them, too. Yeah. So any team that's got uncertainty, I'm going to be pretty skittish about. I might make an exception in the case of Pierre Strong. But otherwise, I'm going to try and stay away from Ravens, Chiefs, Browns, Rams, Niners. Fair enough. Okay, and then so... Welcome to Week 18.

That gives us Zamir White, Zach Charbonnet, Khalil Herbert. Zamir White facing the Broncos, and Charbonnet facing the Cardinals. That's amazing. And Khalil Herbert facing the Packers, who really are not very good against the run either. You got Jamal Williams against Atlanta. If Camara is out, Clyde Edwards,

a layer of possibility at the chargers, Pierre strong against the Bengals, Jordan Mason and Ronnie rivers facing each other. And then Melvin Gordon against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But do you feel strongly about the order, Jamie of Zamir white, Zach Charbonnet, Khalil Herbert, and Jamal Williams. If those guys are all available. I mean, you order, Jamie, of Zamir White, Zach Charbonnet, Khalil Herbert, and Jamal Williams?

If those guys are all available, I mean, you know, look, you said it. It's a 1v1 matchup in your league. You know, if you're at this point, it's not the semifinals. If you played to Week 18, it's very shocking if these guys are still available. You know, I mean, I'm using the percentages loosely here because who hasn't picked up these guys unless it's an 18 league or or even smaller than that but um yeah i feel very strongly about the order here i mean samir white's the top five running back for me this week he's been fantastic uh as as the replacement for josh jacobs in three straight games and two of those catching the ball um charbonnet should get all the work for the Seahawks if there's no Ken Walker

we've seen how he's done um and I think three matchups or two for sure uh one was really good one was okay but like you said it's the Cardinals so I think he does better than DeAndre Swift for example which was a disappointment um who was the the one Cleo Herbert yeah look he's Herbert was amazing yeah he was uh he was a league winner for a few people, um, this past week, you know, who, who started him, um, nearly helped Heath, um, beat me in, in the Yolo league. Uh, when I saw him start him, I was like, oh, great. And, uh, uh, Jamal Williams is the one that makes me the most nervous to be honest with you because he's just not been good.

And, you know, with this, um, this Falcons run defense has been very good for the majority of the season. I know they were awful against the Bears. And how much they're still competing, you know, if you want to question their motivation at this point, is certainly understandable. But, I mean, Jamal Williams has been awful. You know, and so with the way that they could still use Taysom Hill

as a goal line option, you know, I know they haven't done that in a few weeks, but that's been, I think, byproduct of everybody being healthy. And I wouldn't be surprised if Kendrick Miller gets healthy. We see him a little bit at this point just because Williams has struggled. Well, I think you could make the case that Herbert is the only one. Actually, it's not even you could make the case. It is the case. Herbert is the only one that isn't tied to an injury.

Josh Jacobs could play. Ken Walker could play. I guess Foreman could be active. Deontay Foreman could play. Yeah. I don't know what happened there. They just made him inactive, and he was not happy about it. But you're right.

Well, I mean, that was their roster, their lineup was their, uh, their roster, their lineup in the beginning of the season. Remember Foreman played week one, then wasn't active for, I think it was four straight games. And then Herbert had the ankle injury and all of a sudden Foreman was their guy. So, you know, it just makes sense that he's not part of their future. So I guess I shouldn't have said it like that because Foreman definitely could creep back in there. We don't know what there's unpredictability with this team.

No, but you're right. You're right in terms of who's dealing with other guys. Yeah, if Jacobs plays, there's no way you're trusting Samir White. But why would Jacobs play at this point? Well, as Adam likes to say, if he's healthy, they're not going to sit him, I don't think. You know, I feel like that's Antonio. If I could gather anything from Antonio Pierce, I feel like if Jacobs is healthy, they're going to play him. I don't think it's the same Josh Jacobs because of what Zemir White has done.

Pierce said it. There was a story in The Athletic last week that he's playing. White is playing. So it's not like it's Jacobs getting 95% of the touches. It might be 80-20, but he's still going to play as Amir White to some extent. The only running back that we've talked about in the last three minutes that might even be available in most leagues is Williams,

though, because everybody else, like, that's why I didn't mention them. I mentioned Amir White because he's available literally 36%. It's percentage points ahead of Herbert and way more than Charbonnet as far as availability goes. Herbert, by the way, I'm looking at his game log,

his career game log. He has nine games with 18 or more carries. He's been over 100 yards in five of them, 97 or more yards in six of them. He's averaged more than four yards per carry in eight of those nine games. Every time he gets work, he produces. I know there's more to it than that

of why he's not on the field more and why they don't trust him, but I get it. But he's just so interesting because he's been a really, really efficient, really good runner in his NFL career. All right, so the other names, you know, just to review. Samir White, Zach Charbonnet, Khalil Herbert,

Jamal Williams, Clyde, Pierre Strong, Jordan Mason, Ronnie Rivers, and Melvin Gordon. Yeah, and really, the focal point should be on the latter part of that list because those are the ones that you might be deciding on if you're playing this week and DFS options for this week. So Pierre Strong looks like he's going to get the majority of work in Cleveland. Kareem Hunt's been on the injury report every week why would they risk jerome ford you know with with what their backfield looks like so those guys are probably sitting and again you know what what's the bangles motivation you already mentioned about what the receivers might do they lost dj reader you know and so this run defense has really been

abysmal for three straight games and so strong is is probably the one who has the best chance understanding that the browns are resting a lot of their offensive guys too but again you know if he's going to get all this opportunity he might be the one that has the highest ceiling jordan mason against the rams again who are they sitting who are they starting um we know the 49ers run running back has typically always been good so there's a chance for him to have a big game. I know it's a tough matchup, but still, you like those chances. Ronnie Rivers, again, the Rams running back, for the most part, has been good this season, whether it was Daryl Henderson

or certainly Kyron Williams against a 49ers team. You know they're not going to play Armstead. Why would they risk him coming back? I think they already ruled him out. That's what I'm saying. You have guys that are going to be sitting there. Green Law has been battling injuries. You know, they're not going to risk Fred Warner.

So, you know, a lot of their guys are going to be down. So there's a lot of intrigue with those guys. Like Dave said, you don't want to trust it because it might not be Ronnie Rivers. It could be Royce Freeman. I was going to say, why not Royce Freeman? Right. Yeah, it could be. It could be both.

Well, we just haven't seen Freeman play very much since Rivers has come back. So, you know, you're just looking at it as who of the backups have the chance to help you this week. And it's a complete roll of dice. But, you know, if you're just starting to go down depth charts, these are the guys that are, you know, next man up. Like for the Chiefs, for example, do the Chiefs play P. Ryan and Keontae Ingram, who they brought up their practice squad last week because of Edward Soler's situation. That probably should have been an indication that maybe one of those guys wasn't going to play. Thankfully, it was Pacheco that played.

But they made a practice squad move last week. And so Edward Soler, does he get the chance to be their lead rusher this week? Or is it the third and fourth guy? So honestly, I don't know with that one. It'd be shocking if they played Pacheco. Coming back from the shoulder injury and all the work that he just had. He has

nothing to prove. To Dave's point earlier, it could be they leave Mahomes out there for a drive and go get a touchdown, maybe have your receivers catch the ball and feel good about themselves going into the playoffs. But at this point, I wouldn't play them at all.

Five, three targets to Marquez Valdez-Scantlin. Yeah, just three drops. If they want Mahomes to have a touchdown drive, it's going to have to be more like three quarters than one drive. Okay. We'll take a break. When we come back, we'll talk about the wide receiver. It was funny.

Just real quick before you go to commercial um somebody tweeted at you and said did jamie really start baker over my homes at that point baker was absolutely awful my homes hadn't played yet and then baker has two touchdown drives at the end of the game and my homes it was just terrible so i was i had to have fun with those with those responses yeah right, let's take a break now, and we'll come back and talk about the wide receivers. Get excited. Plus DSTs. Get excited.

And we can't tell you to pick up Lucas Haversick anymore, but maybe we'll give you some other kickers. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. Metrolinks and Crosslinks are reminding everyone to be careful as Eglinton Crosstown LRT train testing is in progress. Please be alert as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals. Be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so.

Be alert, be aware, and stay safe. Did you know that across Ontario, utility damage happens 19 times a day? That's over 4,222 incidents a year. Don't let your next dig be one that causes costly delays or safety risks. Before you break ground, make it a point to request a locate. It's not just the law. It's a step to keep your team and community safe. We had a question in the chat. Any update on the Fantasy Football Today Open, the FFT Open?

We have a winner from the Dan Schneier division. His name is Jesse Chettle, and he is your champion. He started Kyler. He started Likely. He started Puka Nakua. His

running backs were kind of bums. Rashad White and Ty Chandler in the finals. And Devontae Adams was his flex. It's only two receivers, two running backs, and a flex. So I think he blew away the other three finalists. But congratulations to Jesse, the inaugural FFT Open champion. And I'm sure we'll do it again next year. We raised over $20,000 for St. Jude.

It was amazing. We sold out in a matter of hours. Some amazing. We sold out in a matter of hours. Some of the leagues sold out in a matter of minutes. It was a lot of fun. It was cool. Thanks to everyone who was a part of it, everyone who wanted to be a part of it. Obviously, all of you who have donated to St. Jude, a lot of you have asked, I made some

money in fantasy football. Who can I donate to? You donate to whoever you want. That's an amazing gesture. A lot of the players have charities that they support. I saw someone tweet about that. Michael Gelkin. That's an amazing gesture. A lot of the players have charities that they support. I saw someone tweet about that. Michael Gelkin, he does it every year. And it's a great, great thing that he does to let people know what charities the players support. Right.

Or St. Jude is always a great place to donate to. We just got a tweet today that somebody donated to St. Jude. That's great. All right. We'll take a look at wide receivers now. Dave, it didn't seem to really be earlier. I feel like you didn't really want to endorse any wide receivers. Oh, I just didn't want to prioritize wide receiver as my waiver claims.

There's a lot of guys to pick up. I think the one that might be the most interesting is, unfortunately, one that's on a team that might rest their starters, and it's Demarcus Robinson, who's been amazing for fantasy lately, but I don't know how much he's going to play. I'm pretty sure if he does play a lot, he's not going to catch a lot of passes from Matthew Stafford, and it's just kind of an ugly situation with that Rams 49ers game. So as much as I want to put Demarcus Robinson toward the top of the list, I'm not going to. So if I had to give a top three among wide receivers, it's not pretty, but here we go.

Wandale Robinson, Greg Dortch, Rashid Shahid. That would be how I would rank the top three receivers, none of them being priority claims in Week 18, unless I was desperate for a wide receiver and I needed to go get one, and I was good at every other position. Okay, so he said Wandale, Shahid, and Dortch. Dortch, Shahid? Wandale, Dortch, Shahid.

Dortch, and then Shahid. Okay, and Jamie, you also have Demarcus Robinson number one, but obviously I'm sure you have the same fears. Yeah, I would not be surprised if he has a showcase game to see about maybe getting a contract, if not for the Rams someplace else. So remember, Carson Wentz is probably going to start for them. So we'll see what he has anything left. And it could be Tutu Atwell.

I think he's still healthy. He is. He could be the guy for the Rams. He could be the one getting the showcase game. Yeah, he'll be mentioned in the column. Greg Dortch has been fantastic for the Cardinals from a production standpoint. He hasn't always been pretty from a target share, but this is now nine of 11 games going back to last season

where he's gotten four-plus targets and scored 11-plus PPR points. So his floor is very safe when the opportunities have been there and had a huge catch to help them upset the Eagles last week. Bo Melton is somebody you should absolutely look at because if all the Packers are injured, he's coming off two productive games in a row. The team could not have been more excited about him if he saw any of the locker room stuff,

but they were so happy for Melton. Got promoted off the practice squad, so signed the active roster right away after they've been bringing him up for the last couple of weeks. Dave mentioned Wandale. Darius Slayton's been fantastic with Terod Taylor, so I would actually put him ahead of Robinson because there's a little bit more of a ceiling there for Slayton. And then it kind of gets to the,

of could there be a Ravens guy, you know, with another quarterback that we, we should mention in Huntley, you know, just based on his ability to use his legs. We've seen some, some certainly big game from him in the past. But, you know, Nelson Aguilar might be a guy that they play a lot and has, you know, been productive at times in his career. So there, there's a lot of ways you can go with the receiver spot, but I think Dave is on the right track. We're on a similar track of

who's the type of guys. For me, I'd look at the Rams guys just because I think they'll still throw. I'd look at Dortch if you're just looking for guys that are widely available. Then I would take Slayton over Wanda Robbins.

Fair enough. And at tight end, Jawan Johnson. We ready to buy in? Is he going to be a top 12 guy this week? He's like a top six guy. Two guy last week. He was the number one. Big time target in the Saints offense.

Decent enough matchup. I'm running to him. And Tucker Kraft's been really good. I don't know what happens if Musgrave is back, but Kraft has just been, let's see, 9.5, 6.7, 10.4, 15.7, 10.0. That's 9.5 or more PPR fantasy points in four of his last five games.

And he does it on four to six targets every week. He's not getting a ton of targets. So that actually a little scary he's probably averaging i don't know nine ish yards per target lately and that's that's hard i don't know that tucker craft's gonna do that but um he's been good in chicago six most fantasy points to tight ends so is he second for you jamie he is right yeah i mean you said it it. It's not just what happens with Musgrave back. What happens if they do get their receiving core healthy? Sure. He's been doing this a lot of no Christian Watson for sure.

And Wicks in and out of the lineup, Reed in and out of the lineup. Dobbs has kind of been the steady Eddie, but not that he's a big detractor at this point. But yeah, there's a lot of moving parts with it for sure. You are getting a lot of targets for Gerald Everett these days, eight to nine targets in four straight games. So he is on this list. He was dud last week,

which, which sucks. I think a lot of people are relying on him. Yeah. Yeah, he was, but it still had four, you know,

7.7 PPR fantasy points and people, you know, it's not terrible, but it's, you know, it's, you know, we have eight or nine targets on nine targets. It's really bad. It's not terrible, but it's... That's terrible. Eight or nine targets.

Nine targets. It's really bad. Four straight games with at least eight targets. That might be his floor right now, as long as Keenan Allen remains out. Gerald Everett's interesting. And then Johnny Munt had a good game for the Vikings and faces Detroit.

You know what's weird? Detroit, all year long, they've been bad against tight ends. But if you just look at fantasy points allowed, they're 24th right now. There are only three tight ends that have scored double-digit PPR fantasy points against the Lions all year long. They're one of those that if you played team tight end,

you'd be very happy against the Lions. Right, only three of them, and one of them was Taysom Hill, and he had 59 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. So only two have done it on receiving totals alone. Hawkinson was on his way, but he left with an injury,

but it looks like it may be a good matchup on paper for Johnny month. It may not be any interest in Hunter Henry. If he plays against the jets or Durham, Durham Smythe been a little bit involved lately? A little bit. I'd be into Henry just because we know that he's been a short area target for Bailey Zappi, so I would expect him to have good volume if he plays. But another player, it's like, well, why would the Patriots play him?

If he's just ready to go and healthy and all that, I guess. But maybe he might be more hurt than they're letting on because he's missed so much time. Okay. Jawan Johnson. Let's see. Who would you start him over? Would you start him over Dalton Schultz?

Yes. Oh, yeah. Would you start him over Jake Ferguson at Washington? Yes. Oh, yeah. Would you start him over Jake Ferguson at Washington? Yes. It might be easier to say who I would start over, Jawan Johnson, rather than you running down a list of... Yeah, all right. I'm listening.

I'm listening. I would rather start Laporta, Goddard, especially with Devontae Smith out, and assuming that the Eagles are going to play their guys, Evan Engram, and in PPR, I've got Kincaid and McBride ahead of him. That's it. Yeah, I would start him over at Gate. Because it looks like Knox is fine. Okay.

And then, Jamie, do we have DSTs? We do. A lot of it is obviously tied to some of who's not playing, but based on the percentages, take a look at the Steelers, for example, if they're out there. But the Lions, whoever starts for the Vikings is probably a turnover machine. The Patriots, Jets, we know about that offense. The Bucks and Bryce Young, we know what that means.

And the Raiders against Jared Stidham in the revenge game. No Jaguars? Who? Jacksonville Jaguars. I have them right behind, so they'd be fifth. I've got them first. Oh, wow. Yeah, no Will Levitz.

I'm assuming no Will Levitz. Tennessee's just been much better at home. They are better at home, for sure. Lions, so Jamie's list is Lions against the Vikings. Dave likes the Jaguars first. Patriots against the Jets. Bucks at Carolina. Raiders against the Broncos.

Yeah, the Raiders have been good. The Texans, I think they're like 72% roster or something. Right. They're only out there in about a quarter of leagues, but I'd be interested in them, too. Yeah, they're like 72% roster or something. Right. They're only out there in about a quarter of leagues, but I'd be interested in them too. Yeah. They're playing well. And Kaimi Fairbairn, Matt Gay, and Matt Prater

are the kickers listed here. Kaimi Fairbairn, Matt Gay, and Matt Prater. If you need an IDP, you can go ahead and tweet Dave Richard. You guys, you're not playing any leagues this week, are you? No. No, I'm done. Yeah, it's just tough to play in week 18, but I definitely will be doing a lot of DFS. This is a great, fun DFS week.

Definitely going to be some bargains out there, whether it's Jordan Mason or whoever. And that's it. All right, guys. Thank you. Have a wonderful day. You too. Take care of that cough. I don't know what's going on here.

Take care of that. I think I'm going to go get some bagels. Take care of that face. You go to a bagel store, what do you get? What's your bagel? With what? It depends on where. Egg and onion bagel

heavily toasted with butter. you dave i probably go uh you gotta go lox yeah cream cheese right yeah of course cream cheese and yeah oh okay well no uh no egg and cheese where's the egg and cheese for you there it's up there did i ever tell you about the sandwich I used to get when I lived in Chelsea when I was, or no, it was Tribeca

when I was like 25. I would go to the bagel place. This is going to gross everyone out. I would get a ham and cheese Sunday. This was my football Sunday meal. Ham and cheese on a cinnamon raisin bagel with Russian dressing.

Yikes. That's disgusting. It was incredible. It was incredible. It was like everything I love, I just could buy. I love Russian dressing. I love ham and cheese. I love a cinnamon raisin bagel.

And I put them all together every Sunday. It was freaking delicious. They must have been talking smack about you every time you walked out the door. Yeah, they should have made it like The you every time you walked out the door. Yeah, they should have put like, they should have made it like the Adam. Put it on the menu. They should have called it the nausea. They should have called it the Adam.

The Adam. Alright, that's it for us. Thanks for watching everybody. Thanks for listening. Talk to you tomorrow are you a professional pillow fighter or a nine-to-five low-cost time travel agent or maybe real estate sales on mars is your profession it doesn't matter whatever it is you do however complex or intricate monday.com can help you organize, orchestrate, and make it more efficient. Monday.com is the one centralized platform for everything work-related.

And with Monday.com, work is just easier. Monday.com, for whatever you run. Go to Monday.com to learn more.