Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast - Unsolved Mysteries + Hungry for More, Prophetic Hope - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/20

Episode Date: September 20, 2023

Will Jahmyr Gibbs get more touches? On today’s fantasy football podcast, Andy, Mike, and Jason investigate the top unsolved mysteries from the 2023 season! Plus, Hungry For More, Giants vs 49ers preview, and NFL News! Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with the #1 fantasy football podcast. -- Fantasy Football Podcast for September 20th, 2023. Connect with the show: Subscribe on YouTube Visit us on the Web Support the Show Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram Join our Discord Check out today's sponsors: News & Notes presented by USAA. Visit https://USAA.com/Insurance Hungry for More presented by Uber Eats. Visit https://www.ubereats.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by McDonald's. Monopoly is back at McDonald's, everybody. This is an alert. It's time to get back to Mickey D's. Monopoly Double Play is back at McDonald's, and it's easy to get into the win. First, you peel on pack, and then again in the app. There are millions of prizes to be won,

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Welcome in. Wednesday, September 20th. Welcome into the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Mike Wright, Jason Moore, Andy Holloway. Back in the building, ready to talk fantasy football with you. The Ducers are here as well. Judge Giamatti, Al Borland, the Rapscallion. Heyion hey oh they all got the caps on i've been the only one ruining this little cap festival the last couple days all right all are welcome all are welcome you want to wear a hat yeah head up put it on you want to take it off that's fine yeah

take it off jay yeah no no no i don't want to take it off. He said if you want to. Oh, it's freedom. Freedom of hat choice. He's being an American. Okay. Exercise your freedom not to display the top of your head. Yeah, well, I mean, it's a compounding issue now. You got hat hair with a little hair. Yeah, don't take it off. Welcome in Thursday Night Preview.

Today we've got unsolved mysteries. We are looking at some of the biggest question marks around fantasy football through two weeks. Got some news to talk about. Hungry for more on the show today. It's a busy, jam-packed episode, and we've got big news from this morning to talk about as well. So happy to have you with us. Thank you for supporting the show. Thank you for subscribing over on YouTube. We appreciate it.

It's the best way to catch Mike, the fantasy hit man live every Sunday morning before the games, part giving you analysis part freaking out himself, which is a hundred percent fantasy football. I'm with you. A hundred percent fun. Yeah, it's a good time.

That's a ballers live.com. You can catch Mike over there. Thanks to everybody that's left us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Also, just to throw that out, if you subscribe on YouTube and hit that bell, then whenever Mike goes live, you will be

notified. You can just throw it on your phone. It's super easy. I watch you every week, Mike. Oh, thanks, buddy. You're welcome. He's watching you. And what else? The new Dynasty podcast, new episode, just landed this morning. Yeah, we break down some trends.

We break down Nick Chubb's Dynasty value. I mean, a lot. Yeah, I know. I know. Look, these are tough conversations, but you have to have them. Dynasty football never stops. And this is a podcast, not a funeral? know. Look, these are tough conversations, but you have to have them. Dynasty football never stops. And this is a podcast, not a funeral? Correct.

Okay, good. Correct. And what else, Mike? We've got something spicy going on? Yeah, we are up for a Signal Award Best Sports Podcast. So we need the- I like winning things. We need the Foot Clan to head over there and support us.

If you've got a moment, FootClanVote.com. It won't take you very long. It's a really cool trophy. It is a really cool trophy. I mean, that's what it comes down to. We look at the aesthetics of the trophies we could win and decide whether or not to enlist the Foot Clan. It's real shiny.

It is pretty shiny. I like it. I think last year we have a silver and a bronze. Oh, no. I bet you the gold one's shinier. Yes, it is. And heavier. And heavier. pretty shiny i like it so we have like i think last year we have a silver and a bronze oh no i bet you the gold one's shinier yes it is and heavier and heavier uh footclanvote.com to make mike happy please and uh let's move on welcome to hungry for more presented by Uber Eats. All right, here we are, post-week two,

looking at some Hungry for More candidates, players that we have recently seen flashing out there, providing some fantasy value, maybe some nibbles for the first time in a while, and now we are hungry for more. Mike, I'm going to let you go first because if it wasn't for you, my answer would have been Nico Collins. But I didn't want to double down on Houston Texans wideout, so go ahead. That's fair.

I think Nico's that guy. So I'm hungry for more fantasy points from Nico, but I think that they're coming. This guy, the question is, will they? It's Tank Dell, their rookie wide receiver. He was a third-round pick. He is little bitty baby boy. That is the knock against him.

At the University of Houston, monster production guys final kyle are we sure on these stats what final two years that's correct 199 receptions 2727 receiving yards and 29 receiving touchdowns this guy was a production monster and what does he do in his first real chance with Noah Brown not out there? Ten targets, seven for 72 with a tutty. 79% of the snaps. Believe that was more snaps than Nico Collins. And the question is, will this keep continuing? Because C.J. Stroud looks better than a rookie should look in the situation

that he's placed in. Negative game scripts. The Houston Texans on top of that are passing more in neutral situations than we would have expected. And Tank Dell, he may just be good. I know he's a hot waiver wire pickup. I'm trying to get him on my teams where he's available and I'm hungry. But you did not get him on your team where he was

available. The waivers just ran. You got outbid. He went for 10 fab in our league of record. Alright. So that just went through. But yeah, I think Tank Dell is, you know, when you have a rookie wide receiver with opportunity in an offense that's giving you some unexpected

passing volume, negative game scripts. I like it. Jason, why don't you go with a guy I don't agree with? Oh, you're wrong. You're wrong. Get hungry because I am hungry for more on Gabe the Babe. Gabe Davis. I know this was a guy I was really excited about coming into last year. Even though he finished as the wide receiver 29,

it came in spurts and was a disappointment overall last season. What I am hungry for is very, very simple. Catching the ball. I mean, I'm so hungry for catching. You're hungry for ketchup? Ketchup on the ball. Yeah, that's what I said. I love a good, you know, put the pigskin and catch up.

Last week, he had the highest catch rate of his entire career. He's never had a game where he caught the ball so well, so long as you take away, you know, like two for two, and he's 100% catch rate in a game. Any game where he's had more than three targets, he's never done what he did this last week all throughout to the Raiders all sure all through training camp you had the same exact phrase the same thing being said it was early on it was through camp it was through preseason that Gabe

Davis is catching everything I don't know why that that's how it was being reported, but all the beat reporters were saying he's catching everything thrown his way. And then what he did was he caught six of his seven targets for 92 yards and a touchdown. And this is a guy who is out on the field. He has run over 80 routes already in two weeks. Last season, he had a pace of over 100 targets, finished with 48 receptions. This is a guy who is playing in an offense where if he gets up to 65% catch rate, he's going to be great for fantasy football because the targets are there. The offense is there.

I am hungry for him to catch the ball at a higher percentage, and so far, so good this year. I mean, there's a reason right now Josh Allen leads the NFL in completion percentage. Some of that is Gabe Davis. So let's just keep doing it, especially for my League of Record team. Sorry, is this more of a prophetic hope? I think a prophetic hope is a wonderful title for Gabe Davis. This year he's had one really bad matchup and one very good matchup.

And so the truth shall be revealed. Last year it was tough to know when you'd get him. And so more consistent, higher target share would be nice for Gabe Davis. That's my concern. But, you know, this is hungry for more. And I understand. I am making the very difficult decision to select a player that was my demise this past week.

This is big of you. It's George Pickens. I am hungry for more of George Pickens in the Pittsburgh offense, in part because there is no Deontay Johnson. He's on IR. No, no, no, no. I mean, he's on IR, but he's day-to-day. Right.

He's day-to-day. On day-to-day. On day-to-day. Yeah. It's not Allen Robinson that's going to be the proliferator of the offense. It's not Najee Harris who prefers going backwards. It is George Pickens. And what I'm hungry for in particular is what we saw this past week,

which was we did it, America. We didn't just send George Pickens on a go route down the sideline his big play was a crossing route in the middle of the field he turned on the jets I mean you talk about uh explosive capability George Pickens is a much more dynamic receiver than we've had the opportunity to see. Kenny Pickett is pretty awful, but he'll be better if he throws it to George Pickett. So, you know, he has more 20-plus yard receptions than Garrett Wilson and Olave combined since the beginning of 2022.

He is a big play machine. I just want to see the target start to go his way so that we can get it all on display. Yeah, and if they were catchable, it would be awesome. You guys old enough to remember when the Pittsburgh Steelers offense looked unstoppable in preseason? Yeah. Yeah, me too. They have looked bad.

Sorry, Steelers, bad. There are some players that just stayed the same this season. Then there are players, I mean, Baker's a player that's in the other camp. You know, Baker's had a better than expected season. But Kenny Pickett? Looks like Kenny Pickett this year.

Justin Fields has not taken a leap at all. No. No, I mean, watching like if you're too happy, like maybe you're too happy like maybe you're you're too happy life's going your way too much you're smiling a lot you're laughing you want to tone that down go watch some of the film of justin fields and uh the lack of decisiveness and and um yeah some players stay the same some players have changed it's changed. It's tough to buy into the hype. Yeah.

Getze. Designed runs, okay? Designed runs for Justin Fields. He's got a superpower. Just use that. Don't make him throw the ball. All right, that was Hungry for More, presented by Uber Eats. With Uber Eats, get anything delivered.

Well, almost anything. Running backs? No? No. Flapjacks and baby backs? Yeah. Yeah, you can do that. Order now on the app. Product availability may vary by region. See the app for details. News and notes from

around the league. Presented by USAA Insurance. Big news this morning. Waiver Day. A lot of people out there fighting for Jerome Ford, and the Browns have signed Kareem Hunt to a one-year deal. It happened this morning. Jerome Ford, there was a heavy investment.

Jason and I have had actually an opportunity to talk about this situation for quite a bit of time before the show. Mike, we have not spoken to you about it, so I am curious your take of what you think this backfield will look like. Jason and I are in pretty much, we have the same opinion. Well, I will start that this morning, if you are persistently online, such as myself, it was a wild ride because it went from, you know, later last night, Kareem Hunt is going to be visiting the Cleveland Browns. And then it was, oh, there was, we need a correction in the verbiage because

it was, no, Kareem Hunt's going to try out. And there is a very big difference of if someone is visiting, that means the team already is good. Like we know you're a good player. Let's see if it's a fit contractually speaking. But a tryout means we need to make sure that you still have juice. So that it was like, okay, cream stock up. Oh, cream stock down. Then this morning it was oh, the cream hunt very, very

close to a one-year deal. And two come in and the verbiage of the tweet was replace Nick Chubb. And it was like, oh, crap. Cremon's stuck way back up. And then we got another Cleveland beat reporter saying, no, no, no, no, Jerome Ford will still be the leader

of this backfield. So it was an insanely bumpy ride this morning. I adjusted. Jerome Ford wasn't available in the majority of my leagues. And my, I mean, I wish I could show you guys. That's just the ticker of the fab bet that I was on. I'm like, okay, I'm in on drone foot. Whoa, whoa, I'm out.

Oh, I'm back in. I'm out. I'm back in, baby. So where have you landed? Because Andy and I know where we're at. I have landed on the fact that what has happened in the past of going back to when they refused to trade Kareem Hunt, we're not exactly sure why, but maybe they weren't going to get the draft pick they wanted.

And then they did not use Kareem Hunt. And when they used him, he was quite inefficient. They did not bring him back over the offseason. They felt like Jerome Ford was good enough. He was ready to go. He had enough time as a rookie. So I do believe that Jerome Ford was good enough. He was ready to go. He had enough time as a rookie. So I do believe that Jerome Ford will see the – I think this is a 1-2, not a 1-A, 1-B. I think this is 1-2 and it's Jerome Ford. That is essentially, I believe, how Andy and I have it. We see Kareem Hunt coming back to this team to not change –

I mean, this is the same coaching staff the same team the same situation I it seems very clear and and straightforward that at least to start Kareem Hunt should play the Kareem Hunt role right one that he had last year and he was I know it feels like he was completely uninvolved we talked about when they didn't trade him, they didn't use him. They did. He was on the field for 42% of their snaps on the season. He played in every single game. He just didn't do much because he isn't the Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs. He isn't the 2017 version of Kareem Hunt. He has lost a step. He's not the guy that isn't, you know, sometimes you go, well, how is he going to keep this great player behind him from overtaking him? Even if Jerome Ford starts with the lead

role, Kareem Hunt isn't that dude anymore. Kareem Hunt is a veteran who is necessary for this depth chart, who knows the system, who will come in on third downs. He will probably receive more receiving work than Jerome Ford. But Jerome Ford is the one. Jerome Ford is going to play the Nick Chubb role. And obviously the big difference here, Andy, you said this really well in the studio beforehand, was Nick Chubb cannot lose the Nick Chubb role. Jerome Ford could.

If Jerome Ford comes out and just is putrid. Ball security issues sure yeah shorter leash bad efficiency etc that being said I think Jerome Ford he showed enough in week one for me to believe that he's going to keep that role so I he's not Nick Chubb he's not going to put up the numbers Nick Chubb did because Nick Chubb is special but he will be the one and Kareem Hunt will be someone that he'll take I don't I don don't think is going to be very relevant. He'll be out there for third down, and I also believe that Kareem Hunt was extremely selective

with where he wanted to go this offseason. We've seen that, right? He's had opportunities. He had visited some places. It was reported that he went to the Saints in, I think, Chicago? I thought it was Indianapolis. Oh, yeah, okay. It was Indianapolis.

I do think that there's some level of guarantee provided him that he'll be utilized. I don't think that he's agreeing to this deal to come here and they say, well, you're not going to be on the field. So I think I'll be there on third down and I think I'd rather have Jerome Ford overall because of how washed I think Kareem Hunt is. Yeah, I agree. It was also- But he's going to frustrate Jerome Ford managers. He could. And also, Pierce Strong was the current backup. Who was a release from – Yeah, they saw –

No, they traded him. Wait. It was a trade from New England to get Pierce Strong. But it was – they saw it on the field, and they said, no, we've got to upgrade that. You lose Nick Chubb, you've got to add to the room. So if Hunt is still on your waivers, I think he's a cursory add because running backs are hard to come by.

But, you know, I wouldn't be throwing him right in the lineup anytime soon either. Yeah, yeah, give him a little while to acclimate, get ready, and see what his role is really going to be. And I would assume that, you know, week one, week two of his availability, he's not going to even play his role yet as he works back into football shape. Jamal Williams out for the immediate future with the hamstring injury. And head coach Dennis Allen says Kendri Miller will be a full go at practice.

Here we go, baby. This week, which is going to dominate. Let's go, Kendri. We've got one week before Alvin Kamara comes back. This is your moment. With Kendrick Miller actually in the spotlight with a chance to hopefully stay healthy. He's got a matchup against Green Bay. Through two weeks, they've given up the 26th most fantasy points to running back position.

Come on, Kendrick. Are you optimistic? I am optimistic. they've given up the 26th most fantasy points to running back position. Come on, Kendra. Are you optimistic? I am optimistic. You know, it's one of those things where I believe the talent of Kendra Miller is really, really good. Like, I know both Mike and myself absolutely loved his collegiate film. He was one of our favorites. What we saw in very, very, very limited work

this offseason since he spent most of it re-injuring himself and recovering and then re-injuring himself was great. He caught that bomb wheel route pass down the field in his one preseason game that I remember. I think if he comes in and he's a full go and you don't have Alvin Kamara and you don't have Jamal Williams, he's going to get enough opportunity to show his talent in a winnable matchup, and I think he'll succeed. Some concern about Anthony Richardson's availability.

He's still in the concussion protocol. He will not practice Wednesday. And so Gardner Minshew could end up getting the start. We'll monitor that situation. Dan Campbell said Amon Ross St. Brown will not practice on Wednesday. It's considered day-to-day. It's concerning to me because Amon Ross St. Brown is not the kind of wide receiver where it's a big play here or a big play there. He's generally a pile it up type of guy. And if

this, like, are you getting 80% of Amon Ross St. Brown if he's dealing with turf toe? And is 80% enough for you? I mean, what is your moving forward policy with Amon Ross St. Brown? Yeah, I mean, I think that's the way I see it. You're going to get 75%, 80% of Amon Ross St. Brown? Yes, to answer your question. That is good enough to be started in fantasy football. You know, because he's usually that, you know, great off the line, good route running, you know, get a short, quick pass,

I do worry a little bit about that explosiveness off that foot. Hopefully they'll figure out, you know, which ways to utilize him better with the specific foot injury he has. I'm still going to keep him in my lineup if he's active, though. Okay. Well, one more piece of news from the best-named beat writer in the land, Jack Hammer. Jack Hammer.

Jack Hammer. Okay. I thought you just stopped at Jack. Pause for effect. Of the Santa Rosa Press, Democrats said, Brandon Ayuk had a CT scan yesterday. Revealed no break in the clavicle area, limited in practice, game time decision, Thursday night game. What's your gut telling you right now? Are you making plans? My gut is telling me that he will be active and he will

absolutely not be in my lineup. Once he got hurt again the second time in that game, he didn't do much from then on out. I think he's in a role where he, like, this is, you know, just my own opinion, no insight. But it feels like he, because he was doghoused for effort early in his career and Shanahan loves the hard, tough, gritty, playthrough injury guys. He loves Jack Hammer. Oh, for sure. I think Brandon Ayuk's going to just say, I have to be out there.

I will be out there. But I think he's really hurt, so I don't think he's going to be great. I will be making plans to put someone else in my lineup because either he's out, and you have to, or he's in, and I would hope I can have a better option. All right. Any other news? You got anything, Brooksy?

Not yet. That was today's News and Notes presented, as always, by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. Let's take a quick break and we'll come back with Unsolved Mysteries. 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. Alright, we are back, and we've got

questions, and it's time to answer them. I hope you guys have the answers. Unsolved Mysteries. All right, here we go. Last year, for what it's worth, the top mysteries after two weeks that we were talking about, the usage of Kyle Pitts. Okay, which we have the answer. The Bengals offense and offensive line woes.

We got a very definitive answer the rest of the season. Russell Wilson, whether he can turn it around. He didn't. But he did not turn it around. And then Matt Ryan and the Colts offense last year. Matt Ryan was once a quarterback in the National Football League. The graphic team is. Jason has a full head of hair.

Jason is. And he's got the trench coat on. I mean. Is that a paying homage to. Yeah. Whatever. Sherlock. No.

The host of Unsolved Mysteries. That's right. That's his hair. Number one, William Riker. Robert Stack. Oh, that was Unsolved Mysteries. Who was I? You were thinking of the Never Happened.

Oh. Yeah, I was thinking of. Not this time. Yeah, what show is that? We made it up. Brooks, what was that show? Crap, I don't know. We got to look this up. Rap Scall rap scallion no he's shaking his head the the whole we've never happened uh we made it up if you don't

know what we're referencing we got to tweet this out it's an all-timer all right guys my i've had to search will reicher yeah yeah to find out the actor's name. Remind me. Jonathan Friggs. Okay. And now Jonathan Friggs. That name is made up. Beyond Belief. Oh, is that what that show was? Yeah.

Well, here we are in Unsolved Mysteries. We made it up. And number one is Jameer Gibbs' usage and whether it will improve. Now, let me give you some numbers because I think it's been hard for fantasy players to understand what's happened. And you had an RB 36 finish in week one. He had 27% of the snaps, ran nine routes, seven rushing attempts, 60 total yards, just two targets. Last week, week two, he was a running back 24 in fantasy. 9.1 fantasy points, played 48% of snaps, 21 routes, seven rush attempts, nine targets, which you'd like to see that number. Led the team in targets.

And with the injuries taking place on this offense, Amon Ross, St. Brown, and now David Mopportunity, who is going to have the opportunity to sit on the bench for a few weeks. Well, he's day-to-day. What is the expectation for Jameer Gibbs' usage moving forward? Because as is often the case with rookie running backs, it has been a slow acclimation. Yeah, the opportunity for Jameer Gibbs is going to be

essentially what we saw last game. That is my belief. I think he will be a max 55% snap type of player. He was at 48% of snaps. I don't think he's going to get much more than the 16 opportunities he had last game. And that is absolutely enough for Gibbs to be very good. He's never going to be a guy that's out there touching the ball 30 times. He's not built for it. And I don't believe this team wants to use him in that way. They drafted him for the

role that we're seeing. Will his usage go up a little bit more than week two? Yeah, that was his second week in the NFL. I believe he gets on the field a little bit more than week two? Yeah, that was his second week in the NFL. I believe he gets on the field a little bit more, slightly above 50%. He's never going to be a workhorse, never going to be a bell cow, and he's never going to need to be. He was 2.4 yards per carry last week. As putrid, he did not have any explosive run. That's not going to be the norm. This guy is just a lightning bolt

on the field if he finds a crease he's gone very similar to like Kenneth Walker Kenneth Walker can just suck suck suck tackle tackle tech oh there you go he's gone he's got a great fantasy day so uh let me highlight something to you he had an opportunity on 50 of his snaps last week he had a 36.6 target per route run last week and uh that's insane for a running back and so uh you're talking about above alvin camara's best season and eckler's best season Alvin Kamara's best season and Eckler's best season and McCaffrey's best season and David Johnson's best season. So if that type of number continues,

it's only going to be a matter of time until you have a very explosive fantasy production day. And at least in the short term, the Amon Ross St. Brown, should he miss time or be limited because he actually has turf toe? I think Jameer Gibbs is the number one benefactor of that situation. We could see plenty of snaps where you're like, oh, look in the backfield. Oh, it's freaking Craig Reynolds again. But then look at the slot. Oh, there's Jameer Gibbs. So I do believe that the arrow is still pointing up.

Being in on 48% of the snaps, but seeing an opportunity on 50% of them is absolutely outrageous. That's a player that they need to get on the field more, and they will figure it out. Let me ask you this then, because would you rather have Ramondre Stevenson and what you've seen from the New England offense, or would you rather have Jameer Gibbs moving forward? I'd rather have Ramondre Stevenson and what you've seen from the New England offense or would you rather have Jameer Gibbs moving forward I'd rather have Ramondre Stevenson I

still think that he his utilization is going to be better his uh opportunities will be more he's still catching the ball um he's not as explosive as Jameer Gibbs but I'll take the opportunity he is still talented uh he's not like you know an old busted guy that's just living on opportunity. Travis Etienne or Jameer Gibbs? You staying with Etienne? Yeah, the Etienne snaps have been outstanding. Yeah, they've been outstanding. He has the possibility of the opposite happening to him

because the team said, we're going to work Tank Biggs being slow. He's being worked in very slow. Zero opportunities is pretty slow. Very, very, very slowly. Well, I mean, he had a couple of bumbling accidents in week one. But by midseason, there's a chance that ETN's snaps are going down while Gibbs are going up. Okay.

Second unsolved mystery, the Baker Mayfield redemption tour, which also includes the Mike Evans explosion through two weeks. Okay, second unsolved mystery, the Baker Mayfield redemption tour, which also includes the Mike Evans explosion through two weeks. Baker's completing 69% of his passes, zero interceptions, one sack. He's dominated under pressure. In fact, he finished 14 for 17 for 223 yards and a touchdown under pressure. You talk about the offensive line issues. They have not been an issue for him. He's the third highest graded passer. He's making quick decisions. And then you've got Mike Evans, who has been an absolute monster through two weeks. He's got a

28% target per route run. That's the highest number since 2015. So far, the dream has come true. When you look at Baker and his tendencies historically as a deep passer, it has come true for Mike Evans. So what is the truth of this situation? What would you project going forward? I think that Baker is, he's got quite the heater going, but it's going to be an issue the next couple of weeks starting out against Minnesota and Chicago uh I mean those the numbers of him you said he took he's only had taken one sack I mean I would point to Minnesota and Chicago not necessarily that Tampa Bay has

fixed their offensive line perhaps Perhaps their offensive line is, they figured out how to improve it, and Baker's making nice, quick decisions. But this week here, against Philadelphia, it will be tougher. I think that he's still in play as a streamer because the Philadelphia secondary is banged up, and Mike Evans, you keep playing him until that fire shows that it is out but there will be far more pressure this week and that that's what we what we will be watching is

when the pressure is finally coming through how does Baker Mayfield manage that and I think it's going to be a lot tougher for him this week and then the following week is on the road against the Saints Jason what are your thoughts on the Evans hot start to the season? Yeah, Evans to me, I'm pretty confident in going forward, much more confident than Baker Mayfield. Obviously, they're tied together. If Baker has complete implosion ahead, that's not going to come at the same time as Mike Evans exploding. And I don't believe Mike Evans is going to continue to be, what is he, the number two wide receiver, I think, on the year. I don't think he ends on that kind of a heater.

Three touchdowns through the first two weeks. Yeah, but what it does show is that his talent is there. He hasn't lost a step. And he's always been a really great wide receiver, but I do side on the side with Mike. I don't think that the Baker Mayfield redemption tour continues. Uh, they're two and oh, right now life is rosy. Um, I, I, the way that I see the schedule laying out, they're going to lose to Philly, and I have them losing to the New Orleans Saints the week after that. That's in New Orleans, and then it's a bye week.

So a month from now, I think things will be much less rosy. Baker will be looking up from his back more often, and I am skeptical that Baker will be a revelation. Well, let's put it to the test. Would you rather have Mike Evans or Brandon Ayuk rest of the season? Mike Evans. I'll take Mike Evans. Unsolved mystery number three, the Bengals' offensive woes.

Hey! Oh, here we go again. Is this a repeat episode? I mean, we were in this exact same situation last year. Very slow start. They were not good to start last season, and now there was some news this morning. We didn't mention it,

but Joe Burrow says he's feeling a little bit better. The Rams, the Titans, the Cardinals, the Seahawks. That's the next month for the Bengals. Okay, we have our answer. Now, maybe the Rams' defense is is better than we thought you know obviously they've got donald they're not they're not terrible but they're not a world beater the titans defense and their secondary we've got our answer it's what they've been the last you know two years they're just not good. The Cardinals? Yeah, not good. So I think the

schedule is really, really going to help them out over the next month. The talent on the offense is great. I think the only concern, like literally this would be the easiest question of all time. Will the Bengals' offensive woes recover? Oh, yes. They're just chock full of non-stop talent of course they're going to recover the only concern is the calf and and i'm not a doctor so i how do how do you or a farmer or a farmer and that would all forms of calves you have no knowledge of right yeah i didn't understand i did not understand, but I appreciate you going with it. I'm going to yes and you, Mike, but goodness, that was great. That was some of your best work.

Thank you. That's the end? That was the end. I mean, where do I go from there? Yeah, I think it gets a lot better for the Bengals, and I would be targeting their options. I've made some offers on Jamar Chase in certain leagues. I've made offers on T. Higgins, and if the calf is bad, then you've made the wrong bet.

But it's hard to imagine him unable to get out onto the field. Maybe he misses a week here or there, but I think he's going to be able to fight through it. For fantasy purposes, I 100% would be targeting Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. But at the same time, I wouldn't be targeting Joe Burrow. And the reason why is because I think even with a less than 100% calf, Burrow can be better than he's been the first two weeks, utilize the talent that he has in Tee Higgins. And Chase, obviously last week with the calf issue, Tee Higgins was awesome. We don't need to talk about Jamar Chase's talent. That's going to win out, period. Even if the backup quarterback is playing, he'll still win out the same way that

Garrett Wilson did last week with Zach Wilson. But for fantasy purposes, I don't believe Joe Burrow is going to run at all. I think he's going to be in the pocket and not move. And so for him to really have what the expectations and the hope would be for a bounce back for Joe Burrow, you know, he was drafted, what, the quarterback four? I think so. If you're going to say, hey, just the expectation that he's going to be a top four quarterback, I do not think that's going to happen this season because I don't think he has any rushing touchdowns or very few. I don't think he has many rushing yards. And so you're talking about, well, he needs like 45 touchdowns or at least 40 touchdowns passing if he's going to be top four this season if you delete out his rushing. So that's how I view the Bengals.

What is the truth, our final unsolved mystery here about Jordan Luck. Is he the real deal? Because it was a huge mystery coming into the season. He's looked pretty good. He's got an insane touchdown rate right now, 11.5%, which is not going to hold up over the course of the year. So that's six touchdowns on 29 completions. He's executing the offense and putting them in a position to win the ballgame. Is it a little bit of fool's gold so far from Jordan Love? Yes.

He's cruising through for fantasy football based on the touchdowns. What are the rushing touchdowns for the Packers right now? I believe Jones had one in week one. So I think that's it. Kyle, go ahead and vet that for me. In terms of actual completion percentage, here are the three worst

current starting quarterbacks in completion percentage. Zach Wilson at 54. Deshaun Watson at 55. I'm not hitting it. Yeah, no. We should not hit for that. Jordan Love at 56%. I mean, guys just in front of him, Joe Burrow,

which illustrates how bad he's been throwing the ball, but Joe Burrow's been terrible for fantasy. Bryce Young, terrible for fantasy. Kenny Pickett, terrible for fantasy. Fields, Tannehill. Those are the guys who are just above Jordan Love within a few completion points, and those guys are bad too. Those guys are bad for fantasy, so Jordan Love has been overproducing in terms of touchdowns. Now,

Jordan Love, I think, can improve as a quarterback, but the balance of passing touchdowns and rushing touchdowns it it always happens in the end so there will be I think some swift regression to the mean in terms of of rushing versus passing scoring yeah if you just look at his uh his 17 game pace obviously that's a ridiculous sample only two weeks but it's 51 passing touchdowns on only 3,300 passing yards. Of course that's not going to happen. I mean, this last game maybe is more of a better performance by him than maybe we even realize just in the fact that Christian Watson was not available, Aaron Jones was not available,

who's a key cog in that offense. Sure. He will get those players back at some point in time, which there is trust in the coaching staff. Yeah. And that could boost it up. I'm not saying it's a, I'm going to throw the, what he's done into the garbage. It's just a, I'm not, this isn't the, the Jordan love celebration tour through two weeks. It's a, okay, well maybe the Packers have a player here. I'm going to, I'm still going to continue to see. Two weeks isn't enough for me. Yeah, this, what he has

proven to me is that he can be a really solid option on the right matchups. You could have predicted these two matchups, you know what I mean? The Bears, yes, please, let's play my quarterback against the Bears. The Falcons, they're okay, And he was okay. He had three passing touchdowns, still did not have a great fantasy week. He was the quarterback 16. 151 yards. Yeah, on the weekend. And one of those passing touchdowns was a little tap pass, which still counts for him.

Hey, but we love that. We want everyone to do that. Seriously, if you get around the goal line, stop handing the ball off. Just hand it forward. Pay it forward. Yeah, the Saints this coming week, I'm not going to start jordan love this week like he's he's on my bench uh but in the right matchup you know the lions the week after yeah i'll stream him all right thursday night breakdown

the new york giants are one and one they take on the san francisco 49ers who are two and oh Thursday Night Breakdown. The New York Giants are 1-1. They take on the San Francisco 49ers who are 2-0. The DraftKings Sportsbook line here. Thursday Night Football in San Francisco. San Francisco, 10-point favorites. The over-under is 44. That gives an implied point total to San Francisco of 27 points. Just 17 for the Giants.

Heavy favorites generally crush. Over the last five years, team's favorite with nine plus points. They average almost 30 points a game and they've won 85% of the time. Is this script going to be exactly what we expect it to be? Because that's the side I am on.

Yeah. No almost upset here. No. You're trying that on? Jason told me all I have to do is make chicken noises. No, it doesn't quite work. It's still fun to do. Yeah, I mean, we saw the Giants struggle in the first half

against the Cardinals defense. Obviously, they recovered, won the game, played great. But we also saw the Giants, when there is a pass rush that can get through, you know, if Micah Parsons is on the other side, they could not deal with the pass rush of the Dallas Cowboys. And a lot of teams can't. And you're not going to face the Dallas Cowboys every week. But the San Francisco 49ers are pretty close. I mean, you want Bosa coming

down on you? Like Daniel Jones is going to, Daniel Jones is going to have a really bad day. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty bad day. Mike, is there any fantasy value to be found on that side of the ball on the giants? Yeah. I mean, this stat could be shocking to people. Darren Waller is leading the tight end position in receiving yards. So Darren Waller is still in only the 20% target share so far. We're going to need more than that. And I think week two or week one is you got to throw that in the garbage for the Giants. But week two is more of a bounce back,

and I expect that Waller will still be heavily involved. Eight targets past week, six for 76. It was a tight end five because he didn't get a touchdown. But he is still in play. Do you – I mean, Matt Burrito was a hot waiver ad because Saquon is presumed to be out. They're giving us the whole he's Wolverine recovering. Well, it makes you think he's definitely going to be there the following week,

which makes Matt Burrito and the investment there to be very short term. Which, yeah, very possible. And what sucks about that is if you were going in on Matt Burrito when we were discussing him, this matchup is terrible against the San Francisco 49ers. But the next two matchups are, like, if Matt Burrito has to be the starter for the Giants, he'll be very usable for fantasy football.

I still think there's a chance that Saquon ends up missing the multiple weeks, and the Giants are just doing some razzle-dazzle Houdini stuff here. Oh, yeah, Kyle's mentioning it is a Matt Burrito revenge game against his former 49ers team. I don't really care. Yeah, I don't really care either. We were, just for a personal anecdote, like I was struggling. Kyle and I were very much struggling of do we go hard after Matt Burrito

for one week because right now our RB2 is A.J. Dillon. And it's like, would you rather play A.J. Dillon? I'd probably just play A.J. Dillon. And it's like, would you rather play A.J. Dillon? I'd probably just play A.J. Dillon. And that's kind of where we ended up with a low FAB bid of, if we get him, we get him, but we're not super worried about it. So right now it's Darren Waller, and I'm out. On the other side, George Kittle has the same fantasy points right now as Kyle Pitts on the season.

That feels bad. And in case you didn't know, Kyle Pitts has fantasy points on the season. It's not a lot. 7.9 fantasy points for George Kittle through two games. That was including last week where Brandon Ayuk got banged up and was in and out of that game. Is this a breakout game? Is this one of those George Kittle type of weeks,

or is this a game that the defense is going to be so dominant and if Kittle doesn't score the first two times, it could just be the running game? It could absolutely be that way, but there's no chance that you are looking elsewhere and benching George Kittle. You wait for opportunities for any of the wide receivers, you know, Ayuk or Debo, usually Debo, to miss time,

and then you just have those games where it's like, hey, Kyle Shanahan has found a hole in the defense, and he's going to exploit it, and that hole is filled up by George Kittle. And so I don't want to miss the opportunity for the explosive game. George Kittle still has a wide range of outcomes here, but every tight end can have a bad game out there if you're not Kelsey or Andrews. So you're sticking with George Kittle.

The opportunity for him to have a great game exists in this matchup. But Debo, Debo is like, if you've got a bunch of great wide receivers and you're just loaded and you think you can bench Debo, don't do that. He's going to be awesome this week. Agreed, Mike? Yeah. Brock Purdy was your stream of the week? Yep.

Fisher McCaffrey's decent. Play him. 100% of snaps, baby. Okay. You guys want to jump into the mailbag for a couple minutes? Sure. Mailbag. 100% of snaps, baby. Okay. You guys want to jump into the mailbag for a couple minutes? Mailbag. Mailbag.

Ooh, yeah. Ronnie in Louisiana says, what should we do with Alexander Madison? Do we wait and see or trade him away? I'd wait and see. Next two weeks are winnable matchups for him. You had a really rough week one with Rashad White. You had a bounce-back performance.

I see them similarly where I don't think the talent of Alexander Madison is going to win many tough matchups, but if he's in a good one. The problem is if he bombs out a couple more times, the trade option is gone. But I feel like the trade option for Madison right now is not great anyway. So I don't think that if he goes the next two weeks and he's terrible, I don't think that the floor is going to fall out. It's already gone. People aren't going to want to trade for Madison right now. All right, trade question from Chris in Minnesota,

probably hanging out with Mr. Madison. Should I do this trade, full PPR, trade away Jerome Ford and DeAndre Hopkins, receive A.J. Brown? Yeah. Yeah, I'd do that. Yep. Jerome Ford's value could be the highest it will be right now. Yeah, it could be.

I mean, Jerome Ford could be great, but this is trading on promise, and Hopkins is going to be a flex wide receiver three type of a player who will have a couple boom games. But A.J. Brown's value is people are so mad. Like, people are so upset with A.J. Brown. And Jamar Chase. If they're that high of a pick, they are mad. But Jamar, I'm saying Jamar Chase has been

garbage for fantasy football. Yeah, 30-something yards every week. A.J. Brown had a fine week one. I think he had 70 yards or something like that. Week two, the touchdown got taken away from him. If people are trying to bail out from A.J. Brown, I will be there pretty much every time.

I agree with everything being said, but I want to go back to Madison real quick okay if I am a team and I am one of these teams that that was devastated I'm actually several of these teams my my injury luck across my leagues has been pretty bad through two weeks you know if you lost Nick Chubb or Saquon or Eckler, J.K. Dobbins, if you lost multiple of these players and you are sitting in a position where you're having to play a Matt Burrita and you've just got garbage, I would go out and try to trade for Alexander Madison because if you're in a good spot, I'm not sitting here standing for Madison saying he's going to be outstanding. But I think that the managers who have him feel like Mike just said his floor is already lost.

Nobody's trading for him. You might not even be able to get anything for him, so you just hold on and hope. But he was on the field 76% of the snaps. He is still getting the opportunity there on a good offense. 89% of the running back attempts last week. Yeah, he is the dude. Those numbers are simultaneously wonderful and terrible. Yes, I agree.

Because it shows how little production is possible despite all of that opportunity. Yeah, but that's why I think you can actually acquire him on the cheap, not give up a ton for him. Just trade, you know, a middle-tier wide receiver, and you might be able to snag him away if you're in need of a play. And this week against the Chargers, because maybe you've got someone like Eckler that you expect to come back, hopefully sooner rather than later. It's not Chubb, who's gone forever.

It was a good matchup this week. Frank wants to know, would you trade Zach Moss for Jordan Addison and a half PPR? Yes, I would. That trade is just, do you need a wide receiver? No, it's not. I think even if I mean, if Zach Moss is like your running back too right now, then I can

see a world where I don't make that deal, but I would prefer to get Jordan Addison. Addison's value is going to just keep going up over the course of the season where we laid out everything with Jonathan Taylor possibly coming back. If Taylor comes back, your Zach Moss value is basically zero. If Saquon doesn't play on Thursday, Warren wants to know, would you go with Matt Breida or would you wait to play Kendrick Miller?

Kendrick Miller would be the pick, but we don't know today that he's going to be the guy. I mean, there's the hope, but there's plenty of possibility that we would be surprised with Tony Brooks Jr. in that game. I was going to say, waivers have probably run, but if you can get a hold of Tony James Jones Jr., I would grab him off of waivers. So you've got Matt Burita, apparently,

and Kendra Miller. If he is out there, I would go get Tony Jones and drop Matt Burita so that you have the pivot option should Kendra Miller not be able to go and what's the difference between Matt Burita and a bad matchup and Tony Jones who is bad it gives you yourself the option to pivot to Kendra did I say Tony Brooks I mean what is this man's name

I've lost the real name his name is Tony yeah I believe it's Tony let me look at it it me look at it okay it is tony tony brooks james jones jr yeah i just got it just got it is tony jones jr for those who are needing to pick this out laughing through the studio for people who need to pick him up giggling like a school boy on waivers it's tony jones jr for those of us you know if you know you know that it's tony tony brooks james, you know, if you know, you know that it's Tony, Tony Brooks, James Jones Jr.

If you know, you know. Alright, start to the week tomorrow. Matchup previews tomorrow and then the fantasy face-off on Friday along with the rest of the matchups. And the wheel of shame! Oh, it's gonna be fun. Don't miss it. Thanks for tuning in. We appreciate you. Goodbye.

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.