Fantasy Football Today - Waiver Wire! Mike White, Pierre Strong, Zay Jones (12/13 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: December 13, 2022

Are we ready to trust the Jets and Jaguars in our Fantasy playoffs? After we react to the Patriots-Cardinals injuries (2:30) we'll give you our top waiver wire priorities (4:08)! Mike White could be great this week, but do we trust D.J. Chark and Zay Jones with potentially tough matchups? Also, be aware of some tough tight end matchups this week (10:10) ... News and notes (12:30) and our top priorities at each position: QB (15:55), RB (21:05), WR (22:55), TE (30:30), DST (33:35), Kicker and IDP. Should you start Brock Purdy, Jerick McKinnon, Elijah Moore or Evan Engram this week? What about Chuba Hubbard and Chris Moore? ... Options in shallow leagues (36:50), deep leagues (39:15), stashes for Week 16 (43:30), a recap of the Patriots-Cardinals game (45:50) and more waiver wire talk (48:00) ... Email us at [e-mail] Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Get 20% off Fantasy Football Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-football-today%20?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-football-collection Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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No, I can't. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. What a play! Can you believe this? No, I can't. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. This is going to go the distance. Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Are you turning to Pierre Strong or Mike White to win your first fantasy playoff game? We are into week 15 and we do have to talk about that bloodbath last night. Unfortunately, some big time injuries that obviously impacted fantasy, but we'll have to talk about Kyler Murray. Very disappointing news,

obviously, and hopefully he has a speedy recovery. I'm Adam Azer with Dave Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. Yeah, baby, we got some interesting running backs. I think, I'm hoping not some traps at wide receiver with guys like Zay Jones and DJ Chark and much tougher matchups than what we've seen them have lately. They're going to be obviously big priorities on the waiver wire for a lot of people.

Can you really trust Mike White this week going up against the Lions to give up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks. All right. How are you guys doing? I'm sure you made the playoffs in every league, right? Congratulations. Hold on.

First of all, congratulations. Because if you're listening, you probably made it to week 15. Right. And you made the playoffs in your league. And if you're still listening and you didn't make the playoffs, thank you. And don't worry, we'll have stuff for you too along the way. We never stop doing these podcasts, even during the offseason.

Now, that being said, no, I did not make the playoffs in every single league I've been in, but I did have a good year. I missed it in my keeper league because of Kyler's injury. That really stings. So now I'm in the toilet bowl in that league. And it was a crazy game. Really tough game to watch if you needed just a few points from Murray or Ramondre. And I don't even know if we've got a Patriots running back that we can feel good about going into next week.

Because Ramondre might play. For now, we're not ranking him. But he could end up going in the game. He talked after the game. He's hopeful he can play. Damian Harris could come back. So real big mess at running back for the Patriots. So of course, we're going to lay out the waiver wire situation

for week 15, but I'll also give you some week 16 players to know just in case you have a first round by, or you want to get prepared for week, uh, week 16 right now, even if, even if you don't have a first round by maybe stash a quarterback or a DST. With that said, Jamie, real quick here. With Colt McCoy taking over now and the fear is a torn ACL for Kyler Murray, is this a big deal for DeAndre Hopkins, James Conner, or Marquise Brown? I mean, it's a slight deal for them. I think you saw Hopkins 7 for 79. The fumble sucked, but I think he's still somebody you're starting. It 79, the fumble sucked, but, um, you know,

I, I think he's still somebody you're starting, you know, it's not the easiest matchup this week, of course, but, um, it's hard to get away from what his target chair should be and his potential should be. Uh, Marquis Brown, I think goes from borderline number two to, you know, number three receiver. Uh, clearly he's going to be the guy that using the slot until Rondo more selfie. Then we'll see what happens there. Um, but eight targets, he was pretty disappointing. You know, had a bad drop on fourth down.

And, again, tough matchup. So number three receiver, you know, for the time being. Connor, I think, you know, you've seen now, this is now three of five games where he's looked pretty good. And he's probably their second best player. You know, Hopkins is still their best player. Second best player. So I think their best player. Second best player. So I think Conner's locked in as a borderline number one,

certainly a number two guy you're starting for the foreseeable future. Yeah, we'll talk about that game a little bit later. But Colt McCoy made two starts earlier this year. In both of those games, two wide receivers had 90 or more yards. In week 10, it was Hopkins and Moore. In week 11, it was Hopkins and Moore. In week 11, it was Hopkins and Dortch. So he hasn't really been, just in terms of pure passing yards,

he hasn't been a big drop-off from Kyler Murray. Not sure about the touchdowns. The fantasy points obviously won't be the same, but all right. So, and the pass rush was just too much for him last night, but the Patriots have one of the best pass rushes in the NFL. All right, with that said, let's get to our top waiver wire priorities.

Jamie, who would you say are the top priorities for Week 15? The running backs are kind of scary. I think there's not really somebody that's a slam dunk. You can make a case for the Patriots, but as Dave laid it out for you, the fact that Damian Harris made the trip and was doubtful and not ruled out, I think he's probably the safest one to come back as of now. Cause Stevenson, you know, we'll see. But I think it was probably with the intent of, you know,

they're staying on the West coast. So the fact that they, you know, took him probably with the idea of, okay, he's not playing Monday. He's probably going to play week 15. So we'll see what happens with Stevenson. You know, I, it's always a little concerning when, you know, you're not in your own facility and having to get treatment. know i i would imagine their their trainers their doctors all those things that they bring with them are fine but you know not in their own building you know so who knows

how cautious they'll be uh with stevenson but in any event you made a case for the for the patriots guys for me i would probably go with zay jones and evan ingram as the top two guys just given what the the targets that they had how well trevor lawrence is playing and given the the nature of jones has been pretty consistent for a month. Ingram, the position that he plays. And then if you want to go quarterback, you know, you can make a case, Mike White or even Brock Purdy. You know, I wish Purdy had Debo Samuel.

That's not going to be the case. But if you need a quarterback, and obviously there's going to be one in almost every league, depending on the playoff scenarios, with not just Kyler, but Lamar Jackson, you know, trying to replace a lot of big-name options there. Mike White looks like the best of the quarterback group. All right, so Zay Jones and Evan Ingram and Mike White. You know, it's just funny to say those names, Dave, in Week 15 with the playoffs on the line.

And White at least has the best matchup you could have. Jones and Ingram are playing the Cowboys, which is a bit of a tricky matchup. They haven't been great against tight ends. They just lost a starting cornerback two weeks ago and obviously struggled against Chris Moore. But I don't know. Who are your top priorities

and how much are you worried about matchups this week with some of the top guys? I'm worried about some of the matchups as well. And I know that's what you're concerned about with Chark going up against the Jets you're concerned about with chart going up against the jets and certainly the Jaguars going up against the Cowboys. I just think that Jacksonville at this point is going to need to keep throwing the football.

So I understand where Jamie's coming from with Zay Jones and Evan Ingram and they're toward the top of the list for me too. I'd still have chart up there. We, we saw a very small bump in playing time for Jamison Williams. And it, it just leads me to believe that shark could be a really good high end number three receiver the rest of the way for a lion's offense. That's really clicking right now.

So I actually think he's only available in 35% of leagues anyway. So yeah, people that are playing in normal leagues, sharks already rostered, but he would be at the top of my list. If he saw there's a Jones right behind him, he's only available in 40% of leagues. So both those guys could be gone. Let's lay out a universe where both those guys are gone. Who would be my favorite wide receiver? I would take it week to week with Elijah Moore. He's available in over 70% of leagues. If there

is no Corey Davis, we saw his playing time go way up. He's taking on the lions. That's a good matchup for him. And I thought he played well, and you can't argue with the targets that he got last week. So he might end up being the top guy to go after, but it's not one that I would have supreme confidence in. Certainly not a rest of season league winner type of guy. That's a wide receiver that you can start this week who could be okay for you as a, as a number three option. And then the only other player that I think is worth adding and stashing.

And I don't even know if I'd start them is Jarek McKinnon. Who's available in 42% of leagues. I think he's the best running back. That's out there. Heath has talked a lot about how the chiefs offense, when, when push comes to shove McKinnon's the running back who's in. And so if they get into some more close games toward the end here, I think McKinnon's the one that who's in. And so if they get into some more close games toward the end here,

I think McKinnon's the one that you'll see on the field. He gets a lot of high leverage snaps as it is. He's not bad. I'd go after him if he's available. I actually think it's a great waiver wire a week. I think it's a deep waiver wire a week. You know, there's no... It's like if Josh Jacobs were out, we could be really excited about Samir White,

but he's got the pinky injury. By the way, do we know if Josh Jacobs is playing, we could be really excited about Samir White, but he's got the pinky injury. By the way, do we know if Josh Jacobs is playing this week? We don't. Right. We think he is. Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris are facing the Raiders, so that would be interesting.

Pierre Strong certainly looked fantastic. You saw his speed. He was the fastest running back in the NFL draft. You saw his speed on that play where he got around the edge and got past the corner. I think he was the second fastest. I think he was the fastest. I think Pacheco was the fastest. Really?

All right, well, whatever. Doesn't matter, right? He's fast. Chris Moore. If Nico Collins and Brandon Cooks are out and Chris Moore's facing the Chiefs, I think that'd be pretty interesting. Nico Hardman.

You made a pretty strong case for him on FFT yesterday about that you would, I think you said you'd start him over. I know you said you'd start him over Gabe Davis. You said you'd start him over. I think you said you'd start him over Gabe Davis. You said you'd start him over. I think you said if you were doing rankings, he would be a top 24. I think he'd be right around top 24. The Chiefs see the seventh most wide receiver targets.

They allow the seventh most wide receiver yards. And, you know, he's been good both times that Collins and Cooks were out. And that was against the Eagles and the Cowboys. So, yeah, I do. I mean, look, I know that we're talking about playoff teams here, but some of my playoff teams, three-receiver playoff teams, I could use a steady 10-point floor, and I think you'd have, well, I don't know if I could say Chris Moore has a floor.

But Traylon Burks, 65% rostered. Meikle Hardman could be back this week. I don't know if I said him yet. I think it's a pretty interesting week. And then tight ends are really weird because the best guys have dreadful matchups. Dreadful. Like Goddard.

Jeez, Dallas Goddard, if he's still available. His next three matchups are against teams that are top four against tight ends. We'll talk about that in a little bit. But yeah, I'm excited to talk about today's show, and I won't delete Allie too much longer. We should get into some of the names, some of the players. I do want to tell you that if you'd miss anything tonight or if there's or today and there's updated news that

we need to talk about tonight, we have a live stream at 8 p.m. Eastern. So join us. YouTube dot com slash fantasy football today for our live stream. We'll help you set your lineups. We'll help you with your waiver wire claims, whatever it is. But 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight, youtube.com slash fantasyfootballtoday. Be there. Okay, I did want to talk about those tight end matchups. Look at this. Dallas Goddard, his next three matchups are against teams that rank fourth, third, and second

against tight ends. I don't really think Chicago is that good at this matchup this week, if he plays. But that's something to keep in mind. Cole Komet has the Eagles and the Bills in his next two games. Evan Ingram has Dallas this week, if he plays. But that's something to keep in mind. Cole Komet has the Eagles and the Bills in his next two games. Evan Ingram has Dallas this week. So I don't know how much that factors in

if you're looking at a guy like Tyler Conklin, who has the best... Well, then isn't the... Then they should have the safety, too. The Cowboys? So Kirst got hurt in pregame warm-ups, but then he played. I don't know if there's another safety that got hurt.

Was there? I was thinking Kirst. I didn't realize he played. Yeah, he came back. But I don't know. Those are three of the most attractive guys that you could either start or pick up. More likely, you're just starting them. They're probably rostered.

But that's Goddard, Komet, and Ingram. Again, I don't know if Goddard's playing this week, but he's eligible to come back. He said he was going to play. And then you've got a guy like Tyler Conklin, Dave. His next four opponents rank 27th or worse against tight ends. Detroit, Jacksonville, Seattle, and Miami. So, yeah, what are you thinking about tight end matchups this

week? There are people that started Hunter Henry because of the whole he's got a great matchup in week 14 and they're hating us right now. Why? He had 70 yards. I guess. I don't love Tyler Conklin. I don't want to start him unless I'm really low on finding tight ends

and literally streaming and praying. That's the only... What, did he get eight targets? I think it's not that... Eight targets, yeah. That's another guy with a target boost with Corey Davis. But also, it's so funny. The Jets, it's not like they're giving up a ton of points. Throw in two of the three games with Mike White, 44-52 passes.

I don't know. You can count on that, but I don't know. On him throwing a lot? Yeah. Yes, you can. Why? That's what he's done. Every time he's been playing, he's thrown a lot.

I know, but it's just kind of weird because they're such a good defensive team. That's what Joe Flacco does. They trust everybody but Zach Wilson to throw. Yeah, just you wouldn't expect it from one of the better defensive teams. All right, well, anyway, I just wanted to lay that storyline out. Let's talk about some names here. Some news and notes, I guess. The injuries.

Kyler Murray, Kenny Pickett, Tyler Huntley, Russell Wilson. We don't know about them. Well, we know about Kyler. The other guys are up in the air. Desmond Ritter starting for the Falcons. Matt Ryan is starting for the Colts. Brock Purdy has an

oblique injury, but he's expected to play as of now. Thursday game at Seattle. At running back, you're looking at the Texans. Damian Pierce, Jeff Wilson has a hip injury. Mondre Stevenson, obviously, and Damian Harris. Ken Walker was listed as limited in practice. Are you guys expecting Ken Walker, or we just don't know yet? It's a great sign.

It's a great sign that he was limited. It's more of a designation as opposed to a practice because they have to give you an injury report, but these guys didn't go through what their normal practice regimen is because they're playing on Thursday. But the fact that they put him as limited, and DJ Dallas did not practice, kind of tells you, I think, the direction that they're heading.

So I think the fact that it's a positive step on the first day is good. Okay, Josh Jacobs has the pinky injury. Khalil Herbert is expected to return this season. He's eligible to come off IR in week 16. Not sure when he'll be back, but it won't be this week. Mike Boone is likely out for this season. At wide receiver, there's a chance you won't have either Boyd or Higgins this week. Boyd seems completely unlikely.

He's week to week. Higgins could be out too. He's got a hamstring injury. They're at Tampa Bay. Deebo Samuel, sprained MCL and sprained ankle. So worst case scenario is avoided. He's expected to return sometime

in the regular season. Tyreek Hill hurt his ankle. He looks like he's going to play. Devontae Parker's got the head injury. So Parker's probably out this week. Jacoby Myers hopefully will come back this week at the Raiders. Corey Davis left with a head injury. They say he's making a lot of progress.

They're hopeful Corey Davis can play. But as I say every week now, it's rare to see a guy clear the concussion protocol and not miss any time. DJ Moore hurt his ankle. It does not appear to be a big deal. And Richie James is in the concussion protocol. At tight end, Hayden Hurst is week to week.

You know, it'd be really nice to have Hayden Hurst right now. Wow. What? Cole Beasley. Oh, yeah. Yep. Oh, I forgot about it. Right.

Two wide receiver notes. The Cowboys signed T.Y. Hilton, and the Bills put Cole Beasley on their practice squad. Do you guys care about either of those things? Obviously, he says they don't trust Isaiah McKenzie anymore. Yeah, it's over for Isaiah McKenzie. It's kind of been over for a few weeks. But Beasley's a sure-handed slot guy that they're going to try and win with. No, I'm not adding either guy to my fantasy teams.

All right, Daniel Bellinger left with injured ribs. Offensive line, hopefully the Vikings get healthier. They should get Christian Darasaw and I believe center Garrett Bradbury back this week. Dallas lost its right tackle Terran Steele for the season, but hopefully getting Tyron Smith back as early as this week. And Philadelphia right tackle Lane Johnson has an abdominal injury. The biggest defensive news I would say is Quinnen Williams for the Jets. Their star defensive tackle. He has a calf injury. Not looking great as of right now to play against the Lions in a huge game. Minnesota had some key injuries on defense. Jordan Hicks, James Lynch, a defensive lineman, Harrison Smith, a safety.

All injured. I would say at least two of them could play this week. All right, that's fine. Houston's best cornerback, Stephen Nelson, left with an injury facing the Chiefs this week. And blah, blah, blah. Top three at each position. Dave, who are the top three quarterbacks to get this week? Mike White's at the top of the list. He's 51% available.

After him, I've got Ryan Tannehill, 47% available. Brock Purdy, 78% available. White's the only one that I would feel good about starting because of that matchup against the Lions, combined with the fact that he's just been throwing so many passes. And so it's Mike White against the Lions.

Ryan Tannehill at the Chargers. Brock Purdy at the Seahawks on Thursday. Jamie, I think you had Purdy second over Tannehill. You go White. Is that right? White, Purdy, Tannehill? Yes. Okay. Yes, Seattle stinks. Seattle does stink. So with Tannehill and Purdy, well, actually, I that right? White, Purdy, Tannehill? Okay. Yeah, Seattle stinks. Seattle does stink.

So with Tannehill and Purdy, well, actually, I think with Mike White, where does he rank, guys, and who would you start him over? None of them are in my top 12, but just outside. All three are borderline top 15 guys with probably Purdy and Tannehill closer to 20, or top 20, excuse me, with Tannehill and Purdy and Tannehill closer to the bottom of that group. But Mike White, look, I mean, as long as he's healthy, that's the biggest thing. You know, he's got to get through practice with the rib injury. You know, Purdy's got to get through the oblique injury, but seems to be fine.

I think it's more of, again, a Thursday game, Monday designation type of situation for him. But he did have the injury reported after the game on Sunday. So just something to keep an eye on there. Tannehill, I think we'll get a boost if Traylon Burks does play. So you can, you know, if you want to put him second over Purdy,

it's fine. I just like what I've seen from San Francisco quarterback. And I think Purdy has basically looked in, in his two appearances, like Jimmy Garoppolo, which is just a credit to Kyle Shanahan and the weapons that they have there. It sucks that he doesn't have Debo,

but again, Seattle is just absolutely dreadful. I think it'll be another good game for him. They're dreadful against the run. I think I'm going to start Christian McCaffrey this week, guys. Short week playing Seattle.

That's one of my concerns with Purdy is that he might just be able to hand off. The other concern is that, yes, he looked good. I love the way that he can handle the pocket and make defenders miss when the pressure's on. He seems just unflappable in that regard. He doesn't challenge downfield that much. Now, he did on a couple of touchdowns.

That's great. But I wish he'd throw further than five yards a little bit more often. So, yes, Seattle's defense stinks. 21 or more fantasy points to three of the past five quarterbacks that they faced. But I'll go with Tannehill against the Chargers. They've allowed at least 20 fantasy points to three of their past four.

I think that their defense isn't exactly anything special either. Neither one of those two are in my top 12. Yeah, they're hard to figure out the Chargers because in their last eight games, there's only been one quarterback that's thrown more than 28 passes against them. And that's my fear with Tannehill, is that they're just going to run the ball. It's got to be a Derek Henry game.

I mean, their defense is awful right now. But you made a good point, Jamie, on HQ, is that both teams should be able to score, right? So if the Chargers score against this depleted Tennessee defense, does that mean that Tannehill's going to have to throw a little bit more? He threw 38 passes last week. He absolutely might. He absolutely might.

But I think if Mike Vrabel has his way, it's not going to be what's happened the last two games to them. Can they avoid that? Maybe not. But I think if their formula for success is their formula for success, it's don't make Tannehill have to throw. I also wouldn't overrate the Chargers defense just because Tua couldn't connect with anybody

except for Tyreek on that deep play. But they're not that bad. I mean, what are they? They're only five quarterbacks have scored, I think, 20 or more points against the Chargers, and two of them were Mahomes. On the season, yes, but in the past or more points against the Chargers. And two of them were Mahomes. On the season, yes. But in the past four games, it's been three.

Yeah, but Mahomes, Kyler Murray, who had 56 yards and a touchdown rushing, and Derek Carr, who had 20 fantasy points, which was a bad game for him. And then Tua was terrible. I'm not going to argue over Tannehill. I don't think he's top 15. Yeah, that's the truth.

You don't think you have to. Mike White's the only one that I'm not going to argue over Tannehill. I don't think he's top 15. Yeah, that's the truth. You don't think you have to. Mike White's the only one that I'm interested in, and he'll end up either at 12 or right under 12 in my rankings this week. Yeah. Because he's playing the Lions. And I think for me, with Purdy, I have him in a super flex league.

I have him in Russell Wilson, and I obviously can't. By Thursday, there's no way I'm going to know if Wilson's playing. I like Purdy. I'm just a little worried about re-injury. You know, I don't know how serious it was, but I hate that it's a Thursday game. And before Debo left the game, he was throwing so much to Debo, and he did two weeks ago as well. So I just wish it were a Sunday game. Unfortunately, it isn't. You're just going to have to weigh the risk of re-injury. It's a double standard because you could play that game with so many players.

But oblique is such a kind of vague injury, and it's a short week. I don't know, man. Well, if you're doing that with Purdy, then you've got to do it with Mike White too. Yeah, except I feel like Purdy is kind of like a soft tissue thing, you know, where he could tweak it and it could go wrong. Okay, but Mike White takes one more vicious hit. He's on his way back to the hospital. Yeah, but then if

he goes to the hospital in the second quarter, he will be back after halftime. That's what I know about Mike White. Alright, Jamie, who are the top running backs this week? I think Jeremy Cannon makes the most sense just because of the uncertainty with the Patriots' backfield, but, you know, Jamie, who are the top running backs this week? I think Jeremy Cannon makes the most sense just because of the uncertainty with the Patriots backfield. But, you know, again, there's nobody that you're picking up

and starting this week outside of potential flexes unless Josh Jacobs is out, and then Zemir White would probably be a number two running back just based on his opportunity. So I'll go McKinnon one, Pierre Strong slash Kevin Harris two, and Chuba Hubbard three. If you want to put White third, you can, but I think Hubbard is going to continue to eat into Deontay Foreman, and they're going to run, run, and run some more

because they're run blocking their offensive line. Just everything they're doing on the ground has been great basically for a while now, but certainly coming off the game against Seattle, and they'll probably do the same thing this week as much as they can against Pittsburgh. All right, so McKinnon, Patriots running backs, and if you had to pick one, I'm assuming it'd be Pierce Strong.

Strong, yeah. And then third was Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard. All right, so let's play a game where Ramondre Stevenson and Damian Harris are out, Josh Jacobs is out, Damian Pierce is out. If that's the case, which backfield would you be targeting

and would you start any of those handcuffed backup running backs? As I just said, Zemir White would be a number two running back. So Zemir White would be one. I would say you said the Texas guys? Yeah. Zemir White would be one. I would target the Patriots guys two, strong two.

And then I would target Rex Burkhead, three. I did get some good news for them, which could be good news for Pierce also. The Texans just waived Benjamin. So that could be a good sign for Pierce's status. Okay, Dave. Jarek McKinnon, is he just a start? Is he a stash or a start? He's a stash.

Could be a start as the season rolls along. All right. Wide receivers, Dave, who are the top wide receivers to get? I've got Chark one, Zay Jones two, Elijah Moore three. The only one that's going to be available in more than 50% of leagues is going to be Elijah Moore. I think you can buy into what DJ Chark's been doing the past couple of weeks. I think you should definitely buy into this Lions offense. Really, the whole Lions team has been so much better. And Zay Jones is going to be an up-and-down guy. You know he's going to get – he should get target volume every single week.

Just got to hold on to the football. He didn't do it two weeks ago. He did last week. Had a great game. Good number three receiver in PPR. This, to me, is the biggest question of the week. It's Charkin Zay, whether you're starting to be really nervous this week.

I mean, yeah, he's, he's going to be on the boundary. So he's going to see probably, you know, good chance of seeing Gardner. Um,

he's playing outdoors. Both of his games have all of his good games have come indoors. Um, golf has been bad outdoors. I think you said it, you know, a good point, Adam. If Quinton Williams is not there, I mean, Josh Allen was miserable until Quinton Williams left the game in week 14. And then once Williams left, things opened up a little bit for the Bills.

So that's a big injury to keep an eye on there. But they still have a lot of bodies to rotate that they can throw in there. Yes, the Detroit offense has been great. Yes, Chark has been great, but the setup has been certainly much, much better than it has been this week. Right. And he only has 13 targets in his last two games. He's caught, I think, 11 of them. He's been awesome. He's been absolutely awesome. I mean, you know, we, again, you know, a couple things, you know, for people that have been listening to us. I can't say how many times we've mentioned J.K. Dobbins for the last month about picking him up and stashing him and get ready for what's coming.

He did it a week early. And Chark, we've been saying this for weeks. Pick up DJ Chark. Started with the Buffalo game when he came back and scored a touchdown. Okay, he gets Jacksonville next week. Let's see how he does against the Revenge game. So he's looked great. But as I'm telling

people to add him, I'm going to tell people on Wednesday to sit him because it's going to be one of those situations. So I want him on my team if I can, but this is not the week you want to trust him. So this is DJ Chark we're talking about here. I guess Dave is going to have Carolina and Chicago in week 16 and seven. Those are great. That's much better.

Yeah, we can get further into it later in the week, but also another thing the Jets do beautifully is they don't allow deep balls. They haven't allowed a deep... If I define a deep ball as a 20-plus air yard pass,

they haven't allowed a deep ball touchdown since week six. They're one of five teams that's gone that long without allowing a 20-plus air yard pass to be caught for a touchdown.

Chark has two of those of his three touchdowns this year, including one last week. And by the way, it's not just Sauce Gardner. It's DJ Reed on the other side, too. They have two terrific cornerbacks, and they just held, in the last two games, Justin Jefferson and Stefan Diggs

to fewer than 50 yards. So I think... Yeah, but this is DJ Chark. It's not just Chark. I mean, this whole matchup is so fascinating. And this game is the game, potentially. Ah, see, now I know. Potentially. And then Zay Jones is the other one.

I mean, you know, I think you could be very encouraged by the fact that he torched Baltimore a few weeks ago. That was great. But, you know, again, Dallas is not Tennessee. I don't know what Dallas is defensively. This is actually less about the matchup and more about the season-long thing for Zay Jones. How much are you going to buy into the last month, basically,

compared to before this, he wasn't even a guy that was really worth rostering? Well, I mean, it's buying into Lawrence. But Lawrence has been awesome the last month. You know, and as Dave said, they're struggling to run the ball right now. I don't think they're going to stop Dallas, despite the fact that Dallas had some offensive struggles against the Texans.

So I think we'll see this being a game where they're chasing points. I think this will be a situation where Zay Jones has 40-plus targets in the last month and just been outproducing Christian Kirk. And so if this is now – I don't think he's the go-to guy in this offense, but he certainly won A in the last month. I'm trusting Lawrence right now. I'm trusting the way that this passing game is, is producing and I'm trusting what Zay Jones is getting.

And so, yes, two games ago was awful against Detroit. Great matchup. But he bounced back and he bounced back in a big way. And I think that shows that Trevor Lawrence wasn't concerned about the drops either. So they are,

they are using him and he is producing. So he's, he's to me has a higher ceiling this week by a lot. And I think that shows that Trevor Lawrence wasn't concerned about the drops either. So they are, they are using him and he is producing. So he's, he to me has a higher ceiling this week by a lot than DJ Chark. All right. Last question. I'm not just looking at the chat on YouTube and a couple of people are asking. So if Josh Jacobs were out, are you confident that it would be Zamir White, the guy to get and not Amir Abdullah? I'm not, I'm confident that it would be Amir White to get. I'm not confident that he would get significantly more touches than Amir Abdullah. And it's clearly not an easy matchup against the Patriots. I know their run defense has been a little leaky the last couple of weeks

against Buffalo two weeks ago and then James Conner. But I still think that he's going to get the most opportunities to carry the ball. You know, he may not have the most opportunities to touch the ball if the game gets sideways and they're throwing it to amir abdullah but i still think the minute that jacobs left with the finger injuries amir came in now it seemed as if he did something wrong because when he went out i think it was a running backs coach kind of yelled him a little bit um which is understandable for a rookie but he's probably gonna get a lot of practice reps this week because i can't imagine they're gonna run jacobs out there who's dealing with a quad injury

calf injury and a finger injury and say okay yeah you're gonna be our guy every practice rep so hopefully zamir white takes advantage of of of the opportunities as we get in practice. And if he's forced to start, he'll, uh, he'll get a good chance to carry the ball. So format matters for your fantasy team. Um, but I, I would lean white over Abdul. And Dave Agumbo, Wally or Birkhead. If Pierce is out, it's almost, almost the same thing as in Las Vegas where Burkhead would be the main running downs guy

and Agumbo Wale would be the passing downs guy, but we've seen Burkhead handle passing downs too. So there's a chance where he may end up playing all the running downs and some of the passing downs. To me, it's a no brainer that it will be Burkhead. And Dave, follow-up question.

Miller, Light, Miller light or, uh, lukewarm tap water. What time of day is it? It's football time. Oh, then it's definitely Miller light. Yeah.

And it's holiday season too. Oh, then it's absolutely Miller light. Yeah. I know you're going to sit down with your family during the holidays and crack open a cold Miller light. It's what I Lite. Yeah, I know you're going to sit down with your family during the holidays and crack open a cold Miller Lite. It's what I do. Oh, you're not going to talk about this?

Sorry. I'd be happy to talk about it. Please talk about it. My favorite thing about Miller Lite is that it's easy going down. It's not one of these crazy beers that's got all kinds of stuff in it. And it's low on the calories. So I get a nice, crisp, cold, refreshing beer without the guilt of having 250 extra calories stacked onto my giant belly. So it's actually the perfect beer for me during the holiday times, watching the games. There's a triple header on Saturday.

You know I will be curled up on my couch. No sound on. Having a Miller Lite. So weird. Yeah, the holidays can be stressful. That's all the more reason to raise a glass or a can and keep things uncomplicated. And since 1975,

Miller Lite has been the beer with taste you can depend on. No games, no gimmicks, just great beer. Miller Lite, great taste, 96 calories. Go to millerlite.com slash FFT to find delivery options near you so you can give the gift of Miller Time this holiday season, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Tis Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Let's go back to the waiver wire. Jamie, who are the best tight ends to get this week? Evan Ingram would be one. It's hard to overlook with his production, certainly what he did in week 14 against the Titans. I think you look at Chico Conco again, certainly depending on what happens to Traylon Burks, but it seems as if he's going to be a staple in the offense. And again, if you're going to play game script and they're chasing points,

then you should see another bump in targets. The third guy would be Tyler Conklin. Again, coming off eight targets, facing a matchup that should be favorable for him. And an opponent that he knows. He played in the NFC North last year, played Detroit twice. So we'll see how things go there for him. I'll go back to Hunter Henry again, another good matchup against the Raiders. It's going to be probably dependent on Jacoby Myers,

how much you'll trust him, but you know, nearly had a touchdown against the Cardinals three for 70. And I think he has another opportunity to potentially find the end zone. So not a, not a must-start guy, but certainly somebody that can be potentially helpful for you. And then Taysom Hill,

if there is no Jawan Johnson, you saw him score a touchdown last week and no Mark Ingram. So he could, you know, see another boost in, in carries as well. They did elevate David Johnson to the active roster. So he'll probably be the number two running back, but we know how they use Taysom Hill.

So desperate times call for desperate measures and Taysom Hill could be that desperation play that you need. I kind of like the matchup for Taysom Hill and I think he'll continue to get opportunities. He's going to be my second favorite one on this list. With Evan Ingram first. And then I got another name for you. I think he'll continue to get opportunities. He's going to be my second favorite one on this list. Wow. With Evan Ingram first. And then I got another name for you.

I don't think you mentioned him, Jamie. Hayden Hurst? I don't think he's going to play this week. No, but he's still considered day-to-day with the injury. Do you pick him up with your last waiver claim of the week and keep your fingers crossed that he plays on Sunday? Because if there's no T. Higgins and there's no Tyler Boyd uh I think Burrow's running out of guys he can trust and I figure that his target share will go way up he's the claim of the week yeah okay sorry I gotta get creative

um that was a good hard right turn. Thank you. Hayden Hurst, I love for him to be playing. I thought he was week to week, so I wasn't expecting him. I don't think he's playing. So, I mean, you know, you can wait until the end of the week, but... Okay. Evan Ingram, Chico Conquo, Tyler Conklin, Hunter Henry, Taysom Hill. Would you start any of those guys over Mark Andrews?

I would start In him over Andrews. If there's no Huntley or Lamar Jackson, yes. How about Greg Dulcich with the dream matchup this week? 86% rostered. Drop him, keep him, start him. What do you do? I'll start him.

He had eight targets. I know it wasn't pretty, but he still had eight targets. Dulcich has the Cardinals this week, and he had eight targets in two straight games now. If Sutton pretty, but he still had eight targets. Dolcic has the Cardinals this week, and he had eight targets in two straight games now. If Sutton plays, then maybe we'll have a different discussion. But assuming Sutton's out, if he gets eight targets again, even if it's from Brett Rippon, there have been eight tight ends who have had six or more targets against

the Cardinals. Seven of them have had double-digit PPR fantasy points. A lot of them have had significant 15-plus. DSTs. Dave, you like any DSTs this week? Of course. The Commanders are

out there in 56% of leagues. People drop them because they were on buy. I love the matchup against the Giants. You saw them do okay against the Giants the last time they played. That was two weeks ago. Giants have given up at least 10 fantasy points to three of the past four D last time they played. That was two weeks ago. Giants have given up at least 10 fantasy points to three of the past four DSCs they faced. Washington's had at least eight fantasy points in each of their past nine games.

Safe floor, high ceiling, coming off of a bye. I wouldn't use them next week, but I like them this week. A defense that I like this week and next week is Denver. 56% available, just like the Commanders. They've got the Cardinals without Kyler Murray this week. They've got the Rams with Baker Mayfield the week after that. So that's a DST that can help push you. A, it'll save you a waiver move. And B, it'll help push you potentially into your fantasy finals.

Jets are out there in a few leagues. They're playing the Lions. They're at home. I would take a chance on them. Those are going to be my top three. Jets was third jets are third okay washington and denver priorities this week for sure jamie kickers um the kickers are uh young shui ku indoor game against the saints robbie gold against se Seattle. Cameron Dicker against the Titans. Will Lutz against the Falcons. And Joey Sly against the Giants.

Dave, do we have any IDP? I can get them to you in a few minutes. I have a couple of our defenses if you want to. I would take a chance on the Saints this week against the Falcons just to see what Ritter does. Who knows, he may struggle. The Vikings against the Colts, we know they've been bad. The Browns against whatever the quarterback situation is there

for the Ravens. And the Cardinals against Brett Ripper. It's actually a pretty good week for DSCs. I would take all those personally over the Jets. I don't know if Cody Barton's still available. I mentioned him last week, but he's an absolute IDP star right now. Four straight very good games for Cody Barton.

He keeps having a pass defended, which is probably not going to continue, but a lot of tackles for him. Seattle linebacker. That's the only guy. Deron Payne is someone I had to drop, unfortunately. Zach Allen is doing a great job for the Cardinals. I watched him again last time.

Did he get hurt in the game? Did he get hurt? I don't think so. Which defensive lineman got hurt for Arizona yesterday? Oh, he was him. Good job. Hand injury. He doesn't need that. He'll be fine.

I think he was on the injury report going into the game, though. Yeah, but that was with an illness. Okay. So, Zach Allen is good is good yes you can look at him deron payne is very good and uh he's getting the giants just had a good game against them what about chandler jones that's a blast from the past the last two games for him four sacks against chargers he had six total tackles rams only three total tackles but looks like he's starting to generate some pressure and he's got the Patriots this week. Okay.

Take a look. Josh Uche, too, man. He's been on fire. He's got five sacks in his last two games. It's tough to chase sacks, and he's a linebacker, I guess. It's easier to chase them with defensive linemen than it is linebackers. All right. So that's a brief look at the waiver wire.

We'll obviously have more. I'll give you week 16 guys in a second. But, Jamie, how about the shallow league guys, the J.K. Dobbins of the world? Who are the players that 10-team managers or ESPN Yahoo leagues should be looking at on waivers this week? Trevor Lawrence, if he's available, he's 84% rostered on our site, so probably a little bit more available on some other sites.

At running back, Cam Akers obviously scored three touchdowns the last two games. J.K. Dobbins, like you said. Damian Harris is 67% rostered on our site, so if he's the starter for the Patriots next week, he clearly has must-start potential. At wide receiver, you're looking at Donovan Peoples-Jones coming

off his big game, 83% rostered. I'm going to go back to Michael Gallup and Jacoby Myers. I know they struggled in Gallup's case and Myers didn't play, but clearly there's a path to success for both. Drake London, 70% rostered. There's a chance for him to hopefully build off his last game and do well with Desmond Ritter. Tight end is a bunch.

Gerald Everett still had a healthy amount of targets and a good matchup this week against the Titans. David Njoku, clearly a big game for him 82 percent dallas goddard and darren waller we've been saying it for weeks to stash those guys uh dawson knox coming off a strong game and i think he'd have success against miami and then my favorite one is cole comet uh 75 percent roster i don't know why people were dropping him but um despite the tough matchup you know he's gonna get a lot of targets from justin field do you uh do London and Donovan Peoples-Jones this week? I said that I would start Peoples-Jones over Gabe Davis on the show

and on HQ, and I think I'm going to have to walk that back. I'm just terrified of anyone facing Baltimore, basically, except Njoku. I think he could be okay. But those two guys, Peoples Jones and Drake London, because the Saints have been really good against wide receivers lately. How do you feel about them? I don't know if you have to worry about starting them.

Most guys that you're picking up off the waiver wire right now are not necessarily must-start guys. You're talking about third receiver in three receiver leagues, fourth receiver if you play a flex. That's where these guys are going to live for now. But if they have another good game, mean if people jones has another big game especially with marie cooper again dealing with the hip injury you know you might go back to him in week 15 let's get 16 excuse me you might go to drake london again in week 16 if he has another good

performance so must start no um must add not even that category but someone you might want to kick off your roster like who's going to help you more rest of season at this point, Debo Samuel or Drake London. Could be Drake London. Yeah. You might not play. Yeah. All right.

Hey Dave, none of these guys are available in my leagues. Who are the deep league guys? The deep league guys are interesting. I'll start at wide receiver. Cause you've got a lot of Rams wide outs that came alive with Baker Mayfield on Thursday, Ben Skoranek, 95% available. Got a lot of targets. Looked like a poor man's

Cooper Cup, I guess. Tutu Atwell, 98%. Looked like a faster Cooper Cup. I guess everybody just looks like a Cooper Cup in that uniform. Isaiah Hodgins, Giants, 98% available also big guy physical not a burner who can get open and we know that Richie James is unlikely to play this week I don't know if

you really want to trust targets in the Giants offense but there's one who's been good the past couple of weeks Chris Moore we've talked about him he's 95% available and a guy that I'm I'm a little particular to, but I think I'm only going to take him in the deepest of leagues,

is Rashid Shahid in New Orleans. He's been playing a lot more. He's got great speed. I wonder if there's something there for him, but it's not somebody that I'm going to recommend in your typical 12-team league. Maybe only like 14, 16-team leagues, bench spot type of a guy.

Chris Moore has got to be the prize of that group, right? I don't know, because what happens if Brandon Cooks and Nico Collins comes back this week? I can't imagine Brandon Cooks playing again. I can't either, but you never know. I just think that last week, and we've seen it before from Chris Moore, where he has one big game, and then he reverts back to being a coach. I don't think that last week, and we've seen it before from Chris Moore, where he has one big game,

and then he reverts back to being a coach. I don't think that's fair. First of all, we have seen almost nothing from Chris Moore. I'm not saying he's got this great history, but we have not seen consecutive games without Nico Collins and Brandon Cooks. But in the two games he has played without Brandon Cooks and Nico Collins,

he's been good in both of them. Now he scored a touchdown in one. He didn't have a big game, but you know, like, and by the way, Nico Collins was averaging something like eight targets per game in his last four games.

So I think Chris Moore is going to probably get eight targets. And if you do that against the Chiefs, I think you're going to fall into 12 ish PBR fantasy points, you know, with, with potential for more. I hear you, Adam.

He's the prize that group. And now he isn't if the other guys come back. But, you know, look, I think you can take that kind of gamble here. You're not competing against that many teams on your waiver wire. I think a lot of people won't even give a crap about Chris Moore.

Right, I don't know how many of these receivers people are going to care about. I mean, I'm going to care. We're just at the point of the year where half the league is done. Right. I don't know how many of these receivers people are going to care about. I mean, I'm going to care. We're just at the point of the year where half the league is done. Right. All right. Let's take a break here. When we come back, we'll take a look ahead to Week 16. We'll briefly recap the Monday night football game, and we'll talk more about the waiver wire.

I mean, if you're in a 2QB league, you go with Mitchell Trubisky, maybe. Gosh, who is the other? Oh, Andy Dalton, maybe. I don't know. Something like that. We'll discuss. discuss we'll discuss we'll be right back on fantasy football today what does possible sound like for your business it's having the spend to powers your scale with no preset 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. All right, so you're not playing for anything this week,

got your first round by, or you just want to get ahead of the game and not playing for anything this week. Got your first round by, or you just want to get ahead of the game and stash someone for next week. I'm mostly going to focus on quarterbacks, tight ends, and DSTs. I feel like the running backs are based on injuries and the wide receivers, the ones we tell you to pick up this week,

are probably going to be the same ones for the rest of the season. But anyway, you got Mike White against the Jaguars. Got Daniel Jones at Minnesota. I know he's not widely available, but if you're, you know, maybe you don't want to drop him. Daniel Jones. Tyler Huntley, if he comes back, against

the Falcons, although that could be Lamar Jackson. Sam Darnold. Jackson is expected to play in Week 16. Yeah, as of now, yeah. Sam Darnold against Detroit. Brock Purdy against Washington. Kenny Pickett against the Raiders. Jordan Love, I put put on here if you're in a 2QB league, he's at the Dolphins. But I think the top two, Mike White and Daniel Jones against the Jaguars and at the Falcons respectively, look like the best options for week 16 on the waiver wire as of now.

You could pick up Elijah Moore. Like the Jets, if you want to buy into the Jets, whether it's White or it's Elijah Moore or it's Tyler Conklin, they've got the Lions and the Jaguars in their next two games.

So those are some of the players that you might consider for Week 16. Kate Otten has the Cardinals in Week 16. I wish that were, you know, a better situation.

Daniel Bellinger's at the Vikings. Hayden Hurst is at the Patriots. They're not very good against tight ends. Not a great list, I know. Cotton did play more snaps than Brate last week. There you go. You want to stash a DST for week 16? The Titans get the Texans.

They're 70% rostered, but I'm sure they'll be dropped this week against the Chargers. The Bengals are at New England. The Vikings get the Giants. I don't really want that one, but the Broncos, Dave, you mentioned them earlier. They have the Cardinals this week, and they have the Rams next week. And then you drop kick them into the sun because they play at Kansas City. There you go.

And Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay's 84% roster, but if they get dropped this week against the Bengals, which they very well might, they're at Arizona next week. That's a good one. There you go. That's week 16 for you. If you missed it, please rewind. Patriots 27, Cardinals 13. Jamie, any

major fantasy takeaways from this game? Nah, none. Boring game. Nothing happened. It sucks. It sucks that Ky game. Nothing happened. It sucks. It sucks that Kyler Murray got hurt. It sucks that Ramondre Stevenson got hurt. I think you jinxed him. You said you were going against both those guys,

right? Yeah, I put the tweet out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you won.

I won, yeah. But yeah, it sucks to lose Kyler for what's most likely the rest of the season. It sucks to lose Stevenson, however long he's out. And Devontae Parker getting hurt, not fun either. So just not a fun game.

Really not a fun game. Yeah, and if Kyler tours ACL, then it's going to be a very interesting situation for next year. I think it makes it easier to hit the reset button for them because that's been a lot of talk about, you know, maybe moving on from Cliff Kingsbury and Steve Keim. And so if you know you're going into 2023 with

the potential of Kyler being limited to start the season, then maybe just bring in a new coach and see how that goes. Or you stick with Kingsbury and say you don't want to have a quarterback to learn a new system until Kyler's ready to go. So it could go either way. My guess is they move on from those guys. Yeah, either way, it's bad

news for that team. And I did a, Oh, look at this. I did a Twitter poll last night. Who deserves more of the blame if a team continues to commit a lot of penalties? That is the Cardinals with their illegal shifts and their false starts. And my goodness, coaches are players. Players got 50.5% of the vote coaches, 49.5% of the vote. Coaches, 49.5% of the vote. All right. But you know what? James Conner is really emerging right now. And there's just no way you can take him out of the lineup.

And he's had a lot of catches with Colton McClure. Especially against the Raiders. Yeah. So it's good for him. I didn't know he had this in him. What did you say? Against the Broncos. Oh, right. The Patriots. Oh, that know he had this in him. What did you say? He gets the Broncos. Oh, right. The Patriots.

Oh, that's right. That's right. My bad. But yeah, good for James Conner. Marquise Brown could have had a better game. He had a really bad drop on a fourth down. Would have been probably around 60 yards for the game. Five catches, 60 yards or so if he had caught that ball.

And Greg Dortch, just... Robbie Anderson basically was the guy they use in three receiver sets. Does that mean Marquise Brown was playing in the slot? Yes. Well, yeah. So Dorch was a, was a total bust.

Didn't have a target. All right. To the waiver wire. So the check to see if available guys are Trevor Lawrence and Daniel Jones. They're 84 and 79% rostered. Jones had about 20 points, I think, against the commanders a couple of weeks ago. He had 19 points with a fumble,

but he ran for 70 yards, and he had, I think, right around 200 yards passing in a touchdown. Yeah, and he's the top 15 quarterback on the year. But would you start Mike White over either Trevor Lawrence or Daniel Jones? Over Jones, yes.

Over Lawrence, no. No. So you guys are all in on Trevor Lawrence right now? Yeah. How could you not be? Because it's the Cowboys. They're a much tougher matchup. And two weeks ago, don't forget, two weeks ago,

he went at Detroit and he sucked. He got hurt. He played the whole game. Well, he didn't play the whole game. He left right before half. He did not miss a snap. I don't think he missed a snap. He played almost the entire game.

He did not have a great game. Did he finish as a top-12 quarterback that week? Maybe. It was such a bad quarterback week that he may have finished. He was not a top-12 quarterback that week. No. Are you sure? Because it was a really bad quarterback week.

I thought he was like 13th or something. Well, either way, he struggled against the Lions. I guess, you know, look, I don't know how tough the Cowboys defense is. I don't think they're like some impenetrable force. But, okay. Anyway, would you start Brock Purdy over Daniel Jones? Or Ryan Tannehill over Daniel Jones? I would go Jones, Purdy, Tannehill.

Okay. Dave, Taylor Heineke against the Giants. Their defense stinks right now. They could get a little healthier this week, though. Desmond Ritter at the Saints. Colt McCoy at Denver. Baker Mayfield. Trubisky, Dalton.

Two QB leagues. Who's the best option there from what you said it's Heineke because what you said about the Giants matchup they've given up at least 21 fantasy points to a quarterback in each of their past two games Heineke's been playing okay just hasn't been getting huge stats and I wonder if this is a

matchup you mentioned the defense bad their run defense hasn't been great and the commanders can just run on them a lot it's been a recipe that's worked for them. Jones would actually be kind of real close to that. I don't love the matchup for him. This commander's defense has been playing better.

If I had to pick another quarterback after Heineken Jones, I guess it's Darnold, but I really don't feel good about anybody that you name. I want to give D give Jones credit, though. I mean, he's been 20 or more fantasy points in three of his last five. His worst game over that stretch was 16 points.

That was at Dallas. He got to 19 against the Commanders. He's running. He's got two rushing touchdowns over that span, a 71-yard game against Washington. So you said it. He's a top 15 quarterback. At some point, you just got to give him credit for what he's doing,

despite the lack of his receiving core. We like running quarterbacks, and he's been among the best. And Daniel Jones just scored the most points of any quarterback all year against the Eagles, which is wild. And he didn't even finish the game. That's right. All right. So let's talk about

running backs then. So how about Cam Akers and James Cook? Cam Akers, James Cook, J.K. Dobbins, and Damian Harris. Jamie, those are the shallow league guys. Obviously, Dobbins is the man. But Akers, you know, two good games in a row. Is Dobbins clearly better than Akers this week?

Oh, by far. And I wouldn't say two big games in a row because he just found the end zone last week, and he also fumbled in that game for Akers. So I think with Akers, as I said last week, he's a poor man's Jamal Williams. If he does not score, it's going to be an absolutely miserable stat line. He is not catching the ball at all. And so you're counting on more in non-PPR leagues,

a little bit lesser of value in half PPR and really no value in PPR. Again, if he does not score, it could be atrocious. So Dobbins is the prize for me. Harris is, is a close second if Stevenson is out. So, you know, it's just something to keep an eye on there.

A lot of people dropped Damien Harris, understandably. So I don't want to, you know, completely move off of James Cook. You know, my concern was he wasn't going to build off the game to the same extent that he had the,

the, the, the new England game. And, and that happened against a very good jets defense. I don't think the dolphins defense is as tough. to the same extent that he had the New England game. And that happened against a very good Jets defense. I don't think the Dolphins defense is as tough. So we'll see if he's able to get back into the swing of things, certainly catching the ball.

So if people are dropping him, you could take advantage of that. And he's a debenture injury away from having a lot of value. And I think that covers those four guys. Yeah, yeah. So then we have McKinnon, who, boy, unpredictable guy. The Texans, they're a horrible run defense, but they're actually good against pass-catching running backs. But I don't know that matchups even matter with McKinnon. Just, you know.

Yeah, right. If he's on the field at the right place at the right time, he seems to make plays. And when he's not, he's terrible for your team. I think I'd personally jump from James Cook to Jarek McKinnon. Okay. As far as bench running backs go. There's much more upset.

I think you said it again yesterday that McKinnon has no value on the HQ show. I don't know how you phrased it. No, I said I'm never starting him. That's right. You said you're never starting him. And as I said to you, he's the most likely handcuff. I don't think it's Melvin Gordon.

I don't think it's Ronald Jones. I think if there is an injury to Pacheco, then McKinnon is going to be part of a committee, but I think he would be the leader of that committee. And he's certainly the preferred guy, as Heath has pointed out, like Dave said, whenever they're in these tough situations. So is that going to be this week? Probably not.

But is that going to be something that happens at some point the rest of the season? Yeah, I can see it. I mean, we didn't expect it to happen against Denver when they were up 27-0. So McKinnon, I think, has value as a flex. He has value as a flex this week because of the matchup, and then we'll see what happens moving forward. All right, we prefer Pierre Strong to Kevin Harris. We like Zamir White over Amir Abdullah, but we don't have certainty in these situations. We prefer Rex Burkhead to Daria Gumbawale. And if all three of those situations work out where the starters are out, Zamir White would be our favorite. Right? I got that right?

Yes. Yes. Actually, I moved White to third behind the Patriots guys. Okay. But you have the Patriots guys ahead of White, I think because you're thinking it's more likely that Josh Jacobs plays than Ramondre Stevenson? Okay. Now, the other guy who's just getting work is Chuba Hubbard. So, I guess we can talk about him, Dave,

your expectations for Hubbard. He has 14 and 17 carries in his last two games. Steelers have struggled against the run last three weeks, which is surprising. They had a very good run defense for most of the year. But Carolina is a team that's four and three in their last seven games, running the ball a ton. What do you think about Chuba Hubbard?

I think he's going to continue to take some of the rushing work away from Deontay Foreman. And he played 11 of 15 snaps on third and fourth down against Seattle last week. I think that's what his role is. And when he's got a hot hand, as we saw in the second half, he gets a lot of the work. The downside to Hubbard is that Foreman's still there, and Foreman will still dominate snaps inside the 10.

And Raheem Blackshear is there, and he played 20% of the snaps last week, and he had a hot hand. It was a lot of Hubbard and Blackshear in the second half. So I'm nervous about starting Chuba Hubbard. I think he's another good piece of bench depth for fantasy managers who can't get their hands on McKinnon. All right. I wonder how much of a foreman's foot injury played into that, you know,

just missing from practice time and getting a little bit more work. So it's just something to keep an eye on there. But you also go back to two games ago. He had, I think, 17 carries. Yeah, he did. Something like that. And it's not like Foreman isn't getting work. They're just, they're like, I mean,

they're like what the Browns used to be with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb. They're like what the Cowboys are. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe even to a larger extent. I mean, Darnold what the Browns used to be with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb. They're like what the Cowboys are. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe even to a larger extent. I mean, Darnold's barely a Cowboy. Well, as I think it was Pete Prisco noted on one of our shows, that their offensive line is starting to click. And, you know, this rushing attack has kind of gotten them back in the playoff hunt.

You know, I mean, It's been interesting to watch. If the Bucs aren't careful, they may end up losing the division and the Panthers sneak into the playoffs, which would be just an amazing story that they fired their coach and they couldn't figure out their quarterback situation. Even at a sub-500 record, for them to be a playoff team would be amazing.

They face Tampa Bay in Week 17. Could be a big game. Jordan Mason has somewhat of a role. Travis Homer. Look, there's still a possibility that Travis Homer is... Go back to Mason for a second, because they brought up a great point that this can easily be a game that the 49ers just try to run the ball over Seattle.

And if McCaffrey has this knee injury, he'll get his numbers and then get out of the game if they're playing with a lead. And Mason, you know, as we've seen, he's picked up that Elijah Mitchell role. So we could be looking at a double-digit day for him. So if you want a sneaky play for this week, probably better non-PPR, Jordan Mason might be the one to get.

It's not exciting, but he's given you at least 51 rushing yards each of the past two games. He has at least eight carries in each of the past two games. I'm going to make a terrible joke. Jordan Mason is not your best option, but he's not bad. Okay, I'm glad someone got that. That's from the What The Rock? Yeah, because that was his character.

He was Mason. You're bad. What's that? You're best. You're best. Losers whine about their best. Travis Homer could be the starting running back this week again. They have a Christmas movie.

You know what movie was on last night that I've never seen that starts out with Christmas carolers, but other than that, it's not a Christmas movie? I was cracking up, laughing my head off, The Addams Family. The original? Can you believe I've never seen that, first of all? And my God, it's so good.

I only saw 15 minutes, and I loved it. The original one with... Yeah, with Christopher Lloyd and Raul Julia, whatever, I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Angelica Houston. Angelica Houston. Yeah, very, very funny.

Christina Ricci was amazing. They're all great, yeah. Yeah. Anyway, Travis Homer. Your favorite character was The Hand. I love The Hand. Travis Homer could be the starting running back if he is does he crack your top 30 this week against the niners i had a hard time uh between travis homer and kareem hunt cracking my top 48

at 48 okay the nice thing we can say about travis homer is that he played 91 of the snaps last week usually when there's a running back that plays that much, he's a borderline must start. But he had only 11 touches, and he's taking on the Niners? Yeah. And forget it, man. He's a desperation play. We've talked about a lot of other running backs I'd rather start. Jamie, you put Gus Edwards on the drop list.

They did have 13 carries facing the Browns. Do you not think that he's got some Chuba Hubbard-like appeal? I mean, I guess he can. You know, you're counting on the score. It's probably a mistake to put him on that list, but are you going to start Gus Edwards anytime soon? Nope. He's a bench guy. Alright, let's take

a look at the wide receivers here. So the check to see if available list, tell me how many of these guys you would start this week. Donovan Peoples-Jones against Baltimore. Gallup at the Jaguars. Jacoby Myers at Las Vegas. Drake London at New Orleans. Peoples-Jones, Gallup, Myers, London.

How many of them are starters, Dave? Zero. They're all potential starters in third year league. Yeah. I guess Jacoby would be a potential starter in PPR. Right. If we assume that there's no Devante Parker and maybe no Ramondre Stevenson,

who's obviously a big pass catcher, Myers has been really bad lately. He's had some tough matchups. And by the way, the Raiders are dreadful against the slot. They allow the most receiving touchdowns to slot wide receivers and the second most receiving yards to slot wide receivers.

So my message for you maybe would be don't drop Jacoby Myers right now. I guess you probably would drop him for Zay Jones though, would be my guess. 100%. All right, Zay Jones, DJ Chark, Chris Moore.

We haven't talked about Traylon Burks and that is my bad. If he plays this week, where do you rank Traylon Burks? He would be my favorite of the group that we just listed, the check to see if he's available. And I would put him – I would probably still pick him up third behind DJ Chark, but I would start him over DJ Chark.

So if you want to go Burks over Chark this week, then I think you can do that. Yeah, he's the number three receiver if he plays. He's kind of on fire. His last three games, 70 yards against the Bengals. They have 111 yards at the Packers, I think, something like that. 70 yards against the Bengals

and then play like five snaps, caught a 25-yard touchdown against the Eagles. Nicole Hardman, remember him? He scored 12 or more points in PPR in four straight games, scored a touchdown in three straight games. He's the guy that I don't think you're going to throw him right in your lineup,

but yeah, stash him. Pick him up. Elijah Moore. He was great. We already talked about him. I got one. He's one of five wide receivers. I guess it's four now

that if you're on by this week, you should go and consider. Elijah Moore has an opportunity if Corey Davis is out. Some deeper league guys, Marquise Goodwin, Jawan Jennings. Just keep in mind with Elijah Moore,

we saw a game where Corey Davis missed a few weeks ago and he wasn't good. Yeah. Who was the quarterback? I believe it was Mike White's first start. Okay. Jawan Jennings, Ben Skoranek, Isaiah Hodgins.

Dave mentioned some of these guys. Nelson Aguilar. I'm sorry. It was Mike White's second start. It was White's first start where Elijah Moore scored, and then he disappeared the following week. And then last week he... Right.

It was three games against New England, Buffalo, and New England. Yeah. Where Corey Davis missed. Those games were started England, Buffalo, and New England. Yeah. Where Corey Davis missed. Those games were started by Zach Wilson, Zach Wilson, and Zach Wilson. Okay. And the playing time is way up for Elijah Moore. So I do see the reason to be excited, and the matchup is terrific. Any interest in Demarcus Robinson, guys?

Who's their quarterback? Yeah. I might be mildly interested if it's Tyler Huntley because I think he's their number one receiver at this point. Ooh, I got one. Oh, go ahead. Paris Campbell at Minnesota, 53% rostered. Yeah, not bad in PPR.

In their last three games, the Vikings have allowed eight wide receivers to score double-digit PPR fantasy points, including four Lions. Yeah, it's a weird week. It's a tough, like, how many playoff teams are starting Paris Campbell? I get it.

But for those of you who are in that rare situation, I do want to throw out as many names as possible. It's just, you're not really picking guys up to stash them all that much anymore. If you're doing that, then Jamison Williams should be toward the top of your list. Okay, tight ends.

Gerald Everett. Start, drop, stash. What do you do with Gerald Everett? And you have, what, nine targets? You're going to reluctantly start him if you can't get your hands on a better tight end. I hope I can get my hands on a better tight end. The only one I would drop him for would be Ingram.

Komet? Oh, if those guys are available, that's a different story. Yeah, like of the widely available, of the, sorry, widely rostered guys, Everett, Njoku, Goddard, Dawson Knox, Cole Komet, Darren Waller. Where does Everett rank in that group? Assuming Waller and Goddard are playing?

Yeah. He would be left. Behind Dawson Knox? Ahead of Dawson Knox. Okay. Yeah, that's what I figured. All right, so the tight end... Good matchup for Knox.

Yeah. As another guy, matchups mean absolutely nothing for Dawson Knox. If you look... He's the first one to score against the Jets. First one to score against the Jets.

He's had great matchups before. He's been terrible. Like, he had two catches for 17 yards at the Lions. So, matchups just don't matter for Dawson Knox. All right. Evan Ingram,

Chig Oconquo, and Tyler Conklin are the top three for Jamie. Dave, what's your order? At tight end, it's Evan Ingram. Number one, I've got Hill.

Number two, Oconquo would be third for me. That's assuming that Traylon Burks is out. Yeah. Big difference for Oconquo if Burks plays versus if he's out. Huge. He might not play more than 12 snaps if

Burks plays. I don't think it's going to be huge. I think he started to do enough that they're going to continue to lean on him. They need players in this passing game. And so, again, if you're playing out game script and they're chasing points, then I think Oconquo's in a good spot. If Goddard and Waller play this week, do you go to the waiver wire?

That's no German James, potentially. Do you go to the waiver wire or do you just start Goddard and Waller? Goddard, for sure. I'd be a little nervous about Waller, but he'd still be a top-12 tight end. I think if this was a normal week last week, because they played on Thursday, Waller would have played based on everything he heard.

So Waller might be a little bit healthier. Yeah, Goddard, like I said, his next three matchups are against top four teams against tight ends. Chicago, though, is very untested. They have faced almost no good tight ends this year. The best one they faced was Schultz, and he had 74 yards.

And Dallas Goddard's Dallas Goddard. But when Dallas Goddard has had tough matchups, he has struggled a little bit. He had 26 yards and a touchdown at Washington. He had 22 yards on six targets against Dallas. He had 23 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders in the second game.

He got hurt in both Commanders games, but he left one of them early. Alright. Other tight ends. Hunter Henry at the Raiders. Greg Dulcich, do not drop him. He's got the Cardinals. And then if Juwan Johnson plays, what do you think?

I mean, he's basically been the epitome of touchdown or bust. So I would say high-end number two, Ted. The two DST prizes are the Commanders against the Giants and the Broncos against the Cardinals. And the Saints, Jamie likes the Saints against Atlanta, Vikings against the Colts, Browns against Baltimore, Cardinals at Denver. Dave's third favorite streamer behind the Commanders and Broncos

is the New York Jets DST. Kickers are Young-Wei Ku, Robbie Gold, Cameron Dicker, Will Lutz, and Joey Sly. And programming announcement, we're going to be recording the Sunday recap show at 4 o'clock so I can finish in time for the Giants-Commanders game. Hope that's cool

with you, Dave. We don't even have to worry about the other afternoon slate. What? I'm just kidding. Very excited for football. Excited for fantasy. Big week for a lot of NFL teams. This is a beautiful time of year.

Holiday season. I got my Christmas vacation sweater coming in the mail tomorrow. Everything is just very... Great time of year, everybody. So, happy to be sharing it with you. Congratulations on making the playoffs. Good luck to your fantasy team this week. Good luck to your NFL team this week.

And we'll talk to you tonight on our live stream and tomorrow with some tough calls for Fantasy Week 15.