The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Week 10 DFS plays, and picks against the spread

Episode Date: November 13, 2020

On this episode of The Athletic Football Show, Michael Beller and Derek VanRiper break down the Week 10 DFS slate. They discuss Rams-Seahawks and Bills-Cardinals, the Mike Davis free space, a trio of attractive cheap quarterbacks, the diversity of high-priced receivers, and more.Later, Beller and Vic Tafur run through every Week 10 game, highlighting their favorite picks against the spread (begins at 30:45). Can the Buccaneers bounce back against the Panthers? Who wins the expected shootout in the desert between the Bills and Cardinals? What's the right side to be on in the showdown between Justin Herbert and the Chargers and Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins? The guys answer those questions, and a whole lot more.Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBellerFollow Derek on Twitter: @DerekVanRiperFollow Vic on Twitter: @VicTafur Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show. Hello, everyone. Welcome into the athletic fantasy football podcast and also the athletic football show here for Friday, November 13th. Week 10 here in the football world, week 10, already underway after the Thursday night game between the Colts and the Titans, and we are here to spin things on forward to the weekend. You know what we do here on Friday's DFS and gambling. It all starts in the DFS world with me, Michael Bellar, and Derek Van Riper. DVR, let's get ready for some fun action this weekend. How you doing?

Doing really well, and the more I looked at the slate, the more I like it. I thought the initial glance from a season-long perspective was a little bit underwhelming, but from a DFS perspective, it is excellent. You know, sometimes when we get into the DFS world, we start talking about the games. Sometimes we just jump right to the positions. I think we have to talk about the games through the lens of one game in particular. This week, Seattle and the Rams, that is going to be very popular in the DFS world with as high scoring as that game is expected to be and the many different ways you can invest in it.

So how do you plan for a game like that when you look at the rest of the slate, you know, incorporating that game, fading that game, like, what do you do when there's a game that you know is going to be this popular and this popular with good reason, we should say? Yeah, you start digging in. I think popular games are totally fine from a cash game sort of perspective. I think, you know, popular games are popular games for a reason. You have high over undertotals, you have leaky D. defenses, you have capable offenses, and I think that definitely applies to Ram Seahawks. I think that

also applies to Bill's Cardinals as well. You want shootouts. That's where you want to think about stacking up multiple players in the same game. We talk about all sorts of different things on this show on Friday's. Correlation is important no matter what you're doing, whether you're playing cash games and trying to get the right combinations of players or whether you're building a full-on stack in a tournament. But I think you kind of have your building blocks laid out for you and there's an obvious game or two that should shoot out and that is loaded with quality offensive players on both sides. Yeah, those are going to be two games that are very popular and that people are getting themselves invested in. We're going to be talking about plenty of

players from those games, but we start at the running back position and that's the one where maybe you're not going to be looking too deeply into either side of any of those games, right? any of those four teams, not really ones that we think of as contributing big-time running back, especially with Chris Carson, looking iffy for this weekend. And even if he does play, we're talking about the first game back from a couple of game apps. And so at the running back position, things start just as obviously, right? You look at the overall perspective, you see those two games jump out of you. You look at the running back position. Mike Davis, $4,000. This was supposed to be Christian McCaffrey's second game back. He is going to miss this game because of the shoulder injury

he sustained last week and suddenly got a $4,000. Mike Davis staring every, single DFS player right in the face. I mean, can you even fade him at that price? You can in the massive tournaments, but you really shouldn't. He's more of a free square than someone that you should fade. We've seen the usage. And look, Tampa Bay's run defense is really good. No running back has reached 60 yards in a game on the ground against them yet this season.

Where it breaks down, for our purposes, is when we're talking about PPR scoring, a back like Mike Davis who has all the opportunities to catch passes with Christian McCaffrey out. You're talking about a 15-carry floor, even if it's a very inefficient yardage-wise. You add that to four or five catches. Maybe it's only 80 yards from scrimmage with a lot of that coming on those receptions, but that's 12 or 13 points, even without a touchdown. And all he has to do is get opportunities around the goal line, and suddenly you're looking at an 18 to 20 point day.

At 4K, if you're getting three times what you paid in terms of points over dollars, 12 to 13 points is fine. You're not going to get beat playing Mike Davis. If he were $6,000 or something, obviously you'd be very careful and he'd probably be a very limited use. So what a GPP play, if you were 5,000, maybe that would lead you to some better alternatives. But part of the issue here, if you start looking at other cheap running backs at that low of a price point, there's really nothing there. There are no price leverage options. The closest thing you might get is Wayne Gawman at 4,500.

And you're talking about, I think, a less locked-in role in the passing game, a worse offense overall, and you're paying more to get it. So that doesn't really work. And that next wave of replacement backs like Duke Johnson is going to cost more like 5K this week. So there just aren't players around Mike Davis that you can pivot to you at the running back position. So I think in cash, he's an absolute lock in tournaments. It makes sense to build around him as well.

If you're doing the 10 lineup thing, if the field's going to have Davis in six or seven out of 10 lineups, maybe you go four or five just in case of an injury or something, but I wouldn't even want to steer away from him in most places. If I were going to steer away from him, though, in those big field tournaments, in one of those lineups that I still want Carolina's offense, I think about all their pass catchers, Robbie Anderson, DJ Moore, and Curtis Samuel.

They are all projected by Roto Gros. to have 6 to 8% usage rates in tournaments. It's very low. So that could be the way to sort of pivot is to look to the other Panthers in this matchup against Tampa Bay in a big field tournament. But in most situations, play Mike Davis. DJ Moore could be a nice way to get that leverage given what his ceiling is and the role that he's played in Carolina's offense the last few weeks.

Have to imagine that you say they're all between six and eight. I feel like when the dust settles that DJ Moore is going to have the lowest roster rate out of those three guys. So maybe a little extra way to get leverage. But I'm with you, Mike Davis, basically the freest of free squares that we've ever seen in DFS. At the opposite end of the pricing spectrum for running backs, we've got Alvin Camara at $8,200. Then a big drop. You have to go all the way down to $7,100 to find the next running back. That is Aaron Jones.

6,900 for James Conner, 6,800 for Nick Chub, who returns this week, $6,700 for his team. teammate Kareem Hunt, or 6,600 for James Robinson and so on and so on. I really want to try to find ways, Derek, to get Aaron Jones and Nick Chub into lineups. Aaron Jones goes without saying the role he plays for Green Bay, the role that he is able to bring to the table to bring to bear every single week, a game against the Jaguars that are a bad defense, and one of the Packers are favored by two touchdowns. I would worry a tiny bit about Jamal Williams getting to salt away some of the clock late if the Packers do end up winning this game as comfortably as the line would suggest,

but that's not scaring me away from a $7,100 Aaron Jones. And first game back isn't scaring me away from a $6,800 Nick Chub. I mean, Nick Chub, I think, was in season long fantasy football, one of the most unfairly maligned players coming into this season. People were so concerned about the role that Kareem Hunt was going to play for the team. And of course, Cream Hunt has a little bit more value in the passing game than Nick Chub does. But first game of the season, a game that they lost 38 to 6, so, you know, right there tells you exactly how that game went. Nick Chubb still gave you 60 yards on just 10 carries. The next game, a win over the Bengals, 22 carries, 125 yards, two touchdowns. The next game, a win over Washington, 19 carries,

108 yards, two touchdowns. Basically, Nick Chubb is like a middle of the last decade, mid-2000s, workhorse back, where, yeah, it stinks that he's not getting the work in the passing game, but it's pretty much also, who cares? He's going to touch the ball 20 times and average five yards per touch. That's why I really have no qualms about Nick Chubb, get it right back in there for me in his first game back from injury. Yeah, especially in games in which the Browns are favored or when they're only slight underdogs, you don't really worry about him getting scripted out. He's legitimately a top five running back on talent. He's not quite a top five running back based on opportunity and usage. That's a lot of talent to get under 7K. I like him a lot

tournaments because when you look at the other backs who are popular, a guy like Miles Sanders might be used three times as often. And yes, Sanders is $400 less, but I don't think the projection is that different. At least it shouldn't be that different for those two players. So Chubb really fits well in tournaments. I like Aaron Jones as a cash game staple. I think there's a very good chance he's going to be,

if he's not the second most popular running back behind Mike Davis, he's probably third behind Duke Johnson. It really depends on what the first. final injuries of the week, kind of steer people to do. The Packers have the highest implied total on the board this week at 31.5. Aside from that, Jacksonville's not good at slowing down opposing running back. So it's a good matchup. The line makes sense. The usage coming off the calf injury last week. Thursday was even more than we expected. And I'm glad you mentioned Jamal Williams, because I mentioned before we were talking about Mike Davis. There aren't a lot of

leverage plays at the price off of Mike Davis in a tournament. If you wanted to do something different, Again, this is a big field tournament. You're talking the $3 tournament with hundreds of thousands of entries in it. Jamal Williams kind of makes sense as your leverage play off of Davis in that price point, and you're getting away from the field on Aaron Jones and Devante Adams. Both of those guys are projected to be very heavily used. So if that game plays the script, it could be a busier week than expected for Williams, and he's at that same 4K price tag as Mike Davis.

Expected usage much lower, but again, a very shrewd, big. field tournament consideration. All right, we got to move on from running backs here, so I just want to ask you one more question. Anyone else in this group of players? I mean, if you're going to go Mike Davis, which we probably are, you're probably not going to want to go cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap across the board at the running back position. So is there anyone else in this group of guys, you know, up to the $62, $6,300 range or so that jumps out at you as very attractive for this week's slate of games?

Yeah, I think, you know, James Robinson at $6,600 is a little too expensive for that group, but I'm kind of interested in him anywhere where I'm at least thinking about Nick Chubb. You get a little further down. Duke Johnson in Cash games, I understand that. If David Johnson doesn't play, yeah, you want to play Duke at that price. He catches plenty of passes. It's kind of like playing Gio Bernard. J.D. McKissick, I guess, is still pretty viable at 4,900. I still see scenarios in which his role as that heavy pass catching back sort of dries up, but that's a pretty bad Washington team. So most weeks, he's going to get his, especially in full PPR.

But generally, I'm kind of sticking to the above 6K range with my running backs outside of Davis. That extra cash flexibility from using Davis is really nice to have. All right, let's move it on over to the wide receiver position. We said this is where things were going to get fun with those two games, Seattle and the Rams, bills and the Cardinals, and of course, plenty of options here with those four teams. DeAndre Hopkins, $7,700. then you've got Stefan Diggs at $7,500. D.K. Metcalf comes in 7,600.

Cooper Cup is at 6,900. Tyler Lockett's down at 6,500. Robert Woods, 6,600. A few cheaper options, too, but those are obviously the headline-grabbing receivers from these teams. It feels like you have to have at least one of those guys in there. Who's the one that you look to first and why? Oh, Cooper Cup on the, on the Ram side. really stands out to me. I mean, $6,900 for him. I think he's often the favorite of Jared

Gough. I think Woods can do plenty of damage as well, especially in this matchup. Individually, you know, Trey Flower or Shaquille Griffin, not much of a big difference between coverage in that matchup for the Rams either. So I like them both, but I always feel like I'm getting more floor with cup, and I think the ceilings are equal as well. I don't think Woods is the type of big player receiver that is better for tournaments than cut by comparison. So I think it's worth paying the extra $300. I look at Lockett on the other side at $6,500. He's going to be a lot more popular than D.K. Metcalfe because you're saving $1,100 on the price,

which does give me a little bit of a nudge toward Metcalf in tournaments. The thing with Metcalf is that he's just such, he's in that group of guys now where the ceiling and the floor are hard to match, right? I mean, we've seen that from D.K. Metcalf. Just look at his, is DK. GameLogs is by points this season. 19.5, 19.2, 23, 17.6, 27.3. Then one stinker, 4.3, 43.1, 26.8. I mean, D.K. Metcalf has a ceiling floor combo that you're just not going to see from a ton of receivers. And so while the 1100 could push more people toward Tyler Lockett, I also think it's deserved.

I think that D.K. Metcalfe deserves to be that much. much more expensive than Tyler Lockett. Yeah, I look at Stefan Diggs because I really want to get involvement in Buffalo, Arizona. That's a game that I feel for sure is going to play to the script. And for what it's worth, does have the highest over under on the board, 56 at last check here. And Stefan Diggs also just a ridiculously high floor this season, 16.6, 32.3, 14.9, 20.5, 23.6, 16.6, 10.8, 15.2, and 23.8. And he is clearly the favorite receiver of Josh Allen and Arizona defense. That is fine, but not one that you run away from. I think that game definitely is going to hit that 60 number.

I think both of these teams end up playing into the 30s in this game and just love Stefan Diggs. And when you look at it, right, I mean, if we're just being realistic, you're going to invest in the running back position, you're going to invest in one of these receivers. You can't have them all, right? You can't have everything. And I feel like Stefan Diggs is going to be a, a nice way to get invested in this game and maybe do it at a way that is going to be a little bit less popular than where some of the other guys are going to land. And maybe you can make that same argument for D'Andre Hopkins too coming in at just $7,700. Yeah, I mean, I know it was a clunker last week for Hopkins, but he's only $200 more than digs. And he's probably going to be about one-third is popular in tournaments, which you have to like, especially when you consider what you mentioned.

That's the highest over-hunder on the slate. That's a back and forth game between the bills and cards where there should be plenty of opportunities for Hopkins to bounce back. So, you know, we keep talking about these guys in the 7,000 range, the high 7,000 range between Diggs and Hopkins and D.K. Metcalf. I don't think you can really find quite enough money for two, but I definitely want to have one in my bills. And yeah, maybe in cash it's Diggs because I feel like his floor is a tick higher. But I think in tournaments especially, D'Andre, Hopkins is probably the guy I like the most out of that trio. All right, well, let's go down a little bit here.

Let's go down into the $6,000 group of guys somewhere in that range. And someone who you and I both put down in our show sheet, independent of one another, Chris Godwin, $6,000. I mean, there's a good chance. This is the cheapest we see Chris Godwin. I don't care how many guys there are to compete with for the attention of Tom Brady. This feels like a good bounce back spot for the Buccaneers to begin with. and Chris Godwin, I think, both with his skill set and just maybe where everyone in that team is at this stage of their career is probably the best fit for Brady and that offense.

So $6,000 for Chris Godwin as something that I want to get in on if I can. It's a steal. I look at the projected usage rates, and I'm surprised at how low they are right now. Maybe that'll change between now and Locke on Sunday. He still has a wide receiver one ceiling. I mean, we talked about the addition of Antonio Brown to that offense and the expectations that would have a more negative. impact on Mike Evans than it would on Godwin. I love this price. And I think if you're going to play a very chalky Mike Davis in the Carolina backfield, you want a low usage correlation play in Godwin on the other side.

So this ticks all the boxes, something I would do, especially if you're playing a Davis tournament lineup. Chris Godwin is an excellent receiver to run it back with. All right, other guys in this range, DJ Chark and Juju Smith-Schuster, too, guys, I know that you are interested. and make the argument for these two guys in their respective matchups. You know, with Chark, we're talking about Aaron Jones as a cash play that we like quite a bit. I think you want to get some exposure to Jacksonville's passing game. Chark's their best receiver. It's not really that close.

6,200 is a fair price. You're getting a good ceiling with that. The Jags are huge dogs in that game. Jair Alexander is working his way back from a concussion. So his availability is not clear at the time of this recording. If he doesn't play, especially, that's another nudge. for DJ Chark. And I think the other guy that I like in this range is Juju Smith-Schuster.

He's only 6,100, so right in the middle of Gobwin and Chark price-wise, 29 targets the last three weeks, at least six catches in each of those games. It really seems like he's back in the saddle as the number one receiver in this Steelers' offense. And they've tripped us up a few times with their pecking order. There's been times where it looks like Deontay Johnson's the one. You know, Chase Claypool had that huge game earlier this season that made us rethink a few things. but we're seeing a little more consistency from Juju in recent weeks. So pending the availability of Ben Rothesberger,

Juju Smith-Schuster at 6,100 against the Bengals looks really good this week. Yeah, I think those are good arguments for both of those guys. I'm going to go a couple hundred dollars cheaper and say Jerry Judy is someone who I like a lot this week, one of my favorite plays, regardless of position. We saw what the ceiling was last week, seven catches on 14 targets, 125 yards and a touchdown has clearly made himself the number one receiver in Denver. And we're starting to see that Denver offense come into focus. There's been a lot of injuries for that team this season, not the least of which to Drew Locke,

he missed a better part of a month because of a shoulder injury. And we're now just starting to see what that offense can maybe be. Probably not a team that's going to make a push for a playoff spot this year, but maybe next year. As soon as next year, that could be a really, really fun offerance right from the word go. Jerry Judy, a huge, huge part of that. at $5,600. He is someone who I like quite a bit.

Is there anyone else who you want to wrap this up with before we move on to the quarterback position? You know, keep Jakeem Grant in mind at 3K, especially in cash. It seems like he's got a nice rapport with Tua already. I think it leads you to wonder about Devante Parker at 5K though in tournaments. It's a nice low price on Parker. You're getting plenty of talent in that matchup as well, even though it's a reasonably tough matchup for both of those receivers going up against the Charger secondary.

The last thought I had was the Bengals receivers. If you are going to play Juju, do you have a preference between Tyler Boyd at 6,400, T. Higgins at 5500, or A.J. Green at 4,400, because all of them are projecting toward being very limited use receivers this week in tournaments. You know, as much as I hate to say, it's A.J. Green, it is A.J. Green, and it's all about that price. I love Tyler Boyd. I've got Tyler Boyd on multiple season-long teams, on good season-long teams. I've had him before. One of my favorite players in the league, one of my favorite targets this year.

But you see that $6,400 price, and we've just talked about so many guys who I would rather go after at that same price tag. And we have to acknowledge what a tough matchup this is, what a tough spot this is. Joe Burroughs' first time seeing this Pittsburgh defense. And remember, just a couple weeks ago, what happened the first time he saw the Baltimore defense? Things really went sideways on the Bengals in that game. I don't think that's going to happen in this one, but we have to leave open the possibility that it does happen. this one and that just makes the 6,400 on Tyler Boy too much, and frankly, the 5,500 on T. Higgins too much. So it's almost like I default to A.J. Green, but even with that being the case, it still is a

nice play at $4,400. We've seen A.J. Green get back in the good graces of the Cincinnati decision makers. And so I do think that it's a play that you can do, a nice companion play with Juju. Are you on that same page if you end up going in that direction? I just think it kind of comes down to what else you've done in your lineup and who you can afford, but I guess I would say I'm not afraid to play A.J. Green because I think the usage has been very encouraging in recent weeks. I feel a little better about the Bengals offense as a whole, having the extra week to prepare for the Steelers defense. It is a tough matchup, but with A.J. Green, you go back to the Titans matchup before the buy. Five targets, even a disappointing effort. 13 the week before that against the

Browns and 11 the week before that against the Colts. I think you're looking at probably six to eight targets pretty easily. Clearly there's room for more if the Bengals are playing catch up and it's one of those high volume games from Burrow. No matter how you look at it, no matter who you're getting invested in a very fun week at the wide receiver position in week 10. All right, let's get on Overts quarterback. Derek, I know this is a position that we like to go cheap at and with good reason, and I'm still finding myself trending in that direction, but talk me out of Kyler Murray. $8,000 I know, but I mean, Kyler Murray has just been on another planet over these last few weeks and really all season. Take a look at Kyler Murray's game log on draftings.

His lowest score, lowest score of the season is 24.1.2 points that came back in week four against the Panthers. Aaron Rogers average this season is 24.8 points. Aaron Rogers is just $100 cheaper than Kyler Murray this week. I mean, talk me out of Kyla Murray. It comes down to the price tag. think if you're going to spend up, Josh Allen brings comparable expectations for 500 less, that 500 might matter. If you can't even get to Allen, I think the other consideration has to be Jared Goff, right? Seattle defense can't stop anybody. It's the easiest matchup on the board.

$6,500's a nice low price. Yeah, you're not getting the ceiling that you typically get from a more mobile quarterback like an Allen, like a Murray, like a Russell Wilson, but you're kidding, a ton of floor in a game that should shoot out. So I could see. Gough being the easy cash game sort of fit. I think usage of Alan and Murray will be pretty high in tournaments this week. That makes sense, given the respective matchup against each other and how that game is supposed to play out. But I think golf at 6500 is really appealing,

and if you want to get cheaper at quarterback, you want to go even a thousand less than that, I think the Raiders Broncos game might play a little bit above those offensive expectations. Who do you like better between Derek Carr and Drew Locke for this? week. I feel like Carr's safer every week. We've seen Locke have to do it kind of playing catch up and you're definitely sweating that out, especially in the first half, the Broncos offense is getting nothing going. But Derek Carr is playing really well. And I am so critical of this guy all the time. It's weird that I sort of like him now, but it's kind of like the

experience we had with Ryan Tannahill last year where he's really just sort of changed expectations with his play over the course of this season. So I think it's really close. I lean toward Derek Carr, and that is largely because I expect the Raiders to win the game. When things are that close, that is often how I find myself breaking a tie. I will say that Drew Locke has much more rushing upside than Derek Carr has.

And Derek Carr has to worry about, from a fantasy perspective, he has to worry about his run game eating into his production, way more than Drew Locke has to worry about that. So those are a couple of marks against Carr and in Locke's favor, and that's why this is so close. And I agree with you. I think this is going to be a really fun high-scoring game. I lean toward Carr just because Raiders are five-point favorites.

I think the Raiders not only win, but I think the Raiders cover. Not one that I'm going to be actually playing. And Vic Tafer and I will be talking about that a little bit later in this episode. But it is one where because of how I expect that game to go, I would lean toward Carr. But it's one where I think both of these guys are great ways to go if you are going to go cheap at this position and get away from the uber popular Jared Gough. And someone else who's right in their range, we got Derrick Card, 5400,

Drewlock, 5500, $100 over that, to a tongue of Iloa. And I am absolutely a sucker for this play this week. After what we saw him do against Arizona, we could go 250 yards, two touchdowns through the air, also ran for 35 yards, so no real concerns about that hip injury.

Now a great matchup against the Chargers and Justin Herbert. I mean, first of all, we are in unbelievable shape in the NFL as football fans with the state of the quarterback position. And that is just, that's great news for all of us, unless you're a Bears fan like me.

But we are just in great, great shape with the quarterback play in the league right now, especially this young quarterback play. But getting back to the point, I think Tua at 5600, a fine matchup with the Chargers. You know the Chargers are going to make them score too. That's another game that's got fun written all over it,

love both quarterbacks, and I think two at 5600 is one of the best dollar-for-dollar values on the board. And you're getting a huge ceiling with it. I think you get a lot more ceiling with Tua than you get with Carr and with Locke. I look at Carr and Locke is better cash game, cheap quarterbacks. Tua, I think, is fringy for cash just because we've only seen two starts, but that ceiling that he was flashing against the Cardinals,

it's very, very obvious at this point. Like, he's, this could be the last time we get him under 6K. Like, it could be 10 years before Tua's under 6K again. Like, that's not a ridiculous statement to make. You and I are going to be old men next time we can get him. Are you like, remember way back in 2020? You get Tua for less than 6,000? I'll probably have like a kid or two, and I have zero children right now.

So there's so much that could go right with Tua. And it's interesting, again, I look at the Roto Grinder's projections for roster rates under 5% right now. I think that's probably going to tick up as we get closer to Sunday. But if he's even 5% at that price, I love Tua. Yeah, man, me too. It's going to be a fun week watching all those guys go ahead. ahead with one another. Let's get over to the tight end position here, Derek. I'm going to make this really easy because I'm not really thinking about this position too much. I want 100% exposure,

not exaggerating. Might not be the smartest play. You don't really care. 100% exposure. Dallas Goddard, $4,200. He now has had, he came back, right, did a little something, not a whole lot. Now has had a buy week also to get under his belt easily. The number one tight end in Philadelphia with Zachard still hurt, I think probably the number two pass catcher behind Travis Fulgum, Jalen Rager, of course, Miles Sanders. of course, but I think the arrow is pointing way, way up for Dallas Goddard. And I've said this a few times on our suite of podcasts here. I think from this point forward, we're talking about Dallas Goddard as a top five fantasy

tight end for the rest of the season. I understand love. I think the thing that works against me having him everywhere, I'm not going to have 10 lineups with Goddart and all of them because there are other really good tight ends in this price range, which is surprising. I would have figured in a week where Travis Kelsey, he's on by and George Kittle is hurt, that it was either kind of pay up for Darren Waller or just get stuck with mediocre options. I do like Goddard. I like the tight end going up against them,

Evan Ingram. The usage has been great. I know Daniel Jones's targets are worth about half as much as targets from a good quarterback, but 29 targets the last three weeks for Evan Ingram is really encouraging. He's only $300 more than Dallas Goddard, so I think he's very much playable. We talk about Hunter Henry a lot. That TD drought can't go on forever. So I'm interested him for tournaments at 4,100. And if Austin Hooper is back, he's only 3,900, I like his matchup quite a bit against the Texans. That Brown's offense has an implied total of 26 and change. So almost four touchdowns likely coming from that Brown's offense. And under 4K, I think Hooper's a nice way to save a little bit of money and kind of steer away from the more chalky options.

I mean, Goddard's going to be popular. Engram's going to be popular. And Waller's going to be popular, too, is the only truly elite tight end on the board. I think Eric Ebron in $4,400 is probably going to be pretty popular, too. He scored in both of the last two games for the Steelers and has that touchdown upside. He's not going to catch a ton of passes. He's not going to give you a ton of yards, but he does have touchdown upside for the Steelers and for fantasy managers. And one last note on Austin Hooper, we talked about this on the Athletic Fantasy Football podcast on Wednesday. His first game that he's played this season without O'Dell Beckham on the field.

He was hurt himself when O'Dell Beckham got hurt. So it's will be Austin Hooper's first game as, you know, potentially, certainly I think a top three and maybe even a top two target in the passing game for the Brown. So that could definitely increase his target volume a little bit in this one. To wrap things up, Derek, really quick at the defense position. We know how we do this every single week. Let's go cheap. I've got a surprising team to throw out there. How about the ramps at $2,200?

I mean, we've seen Seattle without Chris Carson, and maybe they're getting Chris Carson back. but Pete Carroll, especially for Pete Carroll, did not sound very optimistic about him for this week. And we've seen Russell Wilson throw a lot of interceptions these last couple of weeks with Chris Carson off the field. And, you know, there's not a bad, it's not necessarily a mark against the defense to be involved in a shootout. You might lose some points there, but it's also a lot of opportunities to make some plays. And we know what sort of playmaking defense the Rams have. So that's a route that I could see myself going. it has mostly to do with the fact that they're just $2,200.

Right. You've very eloquently outlined why defense does not matter in your DFS lineup. You can absolutely justify just paying the $2,200 for the Rams, saving money, having a chance of a Rams defensive touchdown or a couple of sacks or a couple of picks. When you throw the ball 40 plus times, bad things can happen even when you're really good. So lean into the variance, save money as much as you can. I would say I wouldn't spend more than 3K. The Saints at 3K look really nice going up against a very banged-up San Francisco team.

If you're spending more than that, you're probably spending too much. You're probably missing out on value somewhere else in your lineup. There you go. Defense doesn't matter, especially in the fantasy world. We love offense, offense, offense, and that's part of the reason why we have loved this football season. Derek, that's going to do it for this portion of the show. Have a good weekend, man. Good luck.

Yeah, you too. Good luck. All right. to the against the spread portion of this episode of the athletic fantasy football podcast and athletic football show. And to do that, you know, who we bring on, it's Vic Tafer of Vic's picks, also one of our Las Vegas beatwriters here at the Las Vegas Raiders beatwriters here at the Athletic. Vic, how you doing today? Going good, man. How you doing it?

I am also doing well, man. It's, uh, it was a five and five week for us as a, uh, as a pair. You went two and three. I went three and two. Your two wins in week nine. Good call on the Jets. Good call on the Panthers. Man, they nearly won that game outright against the Chiefs. Losses, a tough one with Tampa Bay,

which I think I had the Saints there to increase my lead in our head-to-head record. The Bears and Washington both taking losses for you. I had the win on New Orleans, Baltimore, and Las Vegas. Losses on Washington, so our consensus record dropped below 500. to five and six. I also lost on my beloved Arizona Cardinals, and I thought they had it too once they took that 31-24 lead, but Tootung of I low end, the dolphins coming back in that one. Good news. We both hit on our upset pick. The first time we've done that all season, both of us picking upsets that ended up winning outright. You were on those Miami Dolphins beating the

Cardinals. I was on the Saints, not only against the spread, but straight up against the Buccaneers. So any of those wins or losses tell you anything about those teams that you were on a week ago. I still have no idea what happened in that Saints game. Maybe you can explain it to me why exactly it took place there. I mean, to me, that was shocking. I definitely thought the Bucks when I win that game, they just didn't even show up. I think that was, I still can't figure out what exactly happened there. Just one of those games, right, that sort of gets out of hand early, and then once it is out of hand, once things get out of hand against a very good team, like the Saints are, it's really hard to claw back, I think, and just one of those games that you could play that

20 times and that's literally the only time it would have gone that way, would have gone that sideways for the Buccaneers. So a huge game though for the Saints, right? Because now they have the sweep over the Buccaneers. So they're firmly in control of the NFC South. And that could be the difference between being maybe the one seed in the NFC versus having to go on the road in that first round and play a tough division or tough opponent. If it does end up being the Eagles, not the pushover they were looking like early in the season. So a big, big win. for the Saints. On the season, you are now sitting at 18, 26, and 1. I am at 25, 19, and 1. Let's start improving on both of those records here today. You know, it's funny, Vic, I was going to ask you

if you would give me the thumbs up to pick the Thursday night game, because even though you all are listening to this on Friday at the earliest, it's actually 440 Eastern time on Thursday afternoon that Vic and I are recording this. So, Vic, I was going to ask you to give me the thumbs up to pick the Thursday night game. Then I went and looked in our show sheet. to see what your picks were and saw that you'd already pick it. So I guess I'm taking that as a thumbs up. So we're going to pick the Thursday night game. You all are either going to be able to maybe give us a sideways glance.

Did they really pick this in advance or laugh at us when you are listening to it? Because we're on the same team here, Vic. I mean, are we missing something? Are we missing something here? How are the Titans now underdogs in this game at home against the Colts? It is strange. I think you're getting a better team here at home. So I think listeners will come in on Friday hear this and say,

wow, those guys are on the ball this week. They want to know when things are looking up. So I think it's a good sign for both of us. I mean, how this game opened with Tennessee as a two and a half point favorite, I want to say. And even there, I was like, all right, well, I'm on Tennessee for sure this week. And then it's just slowly but surely gone the other direction. And I know the Colts have a, you know, good bordering on great, maybe even great bordering on elite defense. But, man, that offense is just leaving you so much to be desired every single.

single week. And this is a good offense they're having to slow down. This isn't, you know, the bears who we saw them suffocate earlier this season. This isn't even, you know, the Vikings of week two, who they totally dominated. This is a really good offense that they are being tasked with slowing down on the road in a short week having to make that sort of trip. I mean, I don't know. It makes me feel like we're missing something, but it also feels like, yeah, this is just the better team playing at home, getting a point with the Colts favored by one. So we are both on the Titans, we are making that a pick here. I promise you, I wish I could hold up like a newspaper or something, listeners,

and show you that, yes, it is Thursday when we're making these picks. But it is. It's Thursday afternoon. We are doing this well in advance. And, hey, if we end up losing, you know, you'll have that against us, but feel very, very good about the Titans. So either we were right and we're brilliant or else we're really honest and commendable for being just very trustworthy.

So either way, we can't lose. Yeah, right, not getting back together really quickly on Friday morning and deleting this part of the show. and throwing two new picks in there. We're going to live with it. We're going to live with whatever it is. We're both living with those Tennessee Titans. Let's fast forward things to Sunday.

Now, again, these are week 10 lines, courtesy of the consensus at Vegas Insider. The first game is Lions. The posted lines you see are minus three. 45 and a half is the over-under. This is assuming Matthew Stafford is able to play. First, he had the COVID issues last week. Then he got hurt in that game.

Ended up giving way to Chase Daniel. We're just going to skip through that game. and not pick it here. I do lean toward the footballs with or without Stafford, but I'm just going to move on to the next game, given that you can't actually find that line posted everywhere. Browns are at home minus 3, minus 120 for the minus 3, so a little bit more juice there.

They are hosting the Houston Texans, 49, is the over-under. No pick for either of us. I do want to talk about it for a second, though, Vic, because I was this close, this close to picking Houston. The reason why I went away from them is with Nick Chubback. I really do fear Cleveland being able to control this game on the ground. That's a bad Houston defense that they are playing. And I do think that with Chubbin hunting,

that same attack that we saw be so good the first couple of weeks of the season on the ground that the Browns are going to be able to control it with the run game. So that is what scared me off the Titans. But they are, you know, like the others receiving votes for me, just outside of the top five. Yeah, Texans are tough for me because they've killed me all year long. from David Johnson and fantasy football to like all the early season bad beats. And then last week, Jake Luton gets her freaking backdoor cover against him.

So I just can't even look at the Texans anymore. So yeah, I get why you're saying it. But that's a pretty good number. I think the Browns obviously have some issues, but they're coming off a buy. So for me it's a tough one, but I probably lean the way you're going. Yeah, it is just one that I just a little too scared off of with what my instincts tell me to do. And so that makes it easy for me to get away from. We're actually, as I glanced down, not picking any games in the early slate.

And again, because of the Masters being on CBS this week, there are only five games in that Sunday 1 p.m. Eastern kickoff window. The third of which is Packers minus 13 and a half at home against the Jaguars. That's a 50 and a half over under. Then you've got Eagles minus three and a half in New York. It's an even line on that. So a little less juice than the minus 110 you're used to getting 44.5 is the over under. And then Buccaneers and Panthers. Buccaneers are minus five and a half in Carolina, 50 and a half is the over under.

Of those games, Vic, were any of them, I said that neither of us is picking any of those as one of our top five plays, but were you close to making any of those one of yours? Actually, you know, as you're saying, I was thinking about to myself, I actually made the bucks from my picks. Oh, yeah, you did. I missed it. Looking down the list, it's all good. I thought I made the bucks.

Yeah, I think to me, I forgot what the number is, but Tom Brady's. Five and a half. Buccaneers minus five and a half. Right. Time Brady's numbers against the spread coming off a loss. really good career-wise. There aren't that many cases, obviously, but I think it's a great match-up form. I think, I don't know. Again, I have no idea what happened last week as far as their offense not being able to complete passes down the field. But I think the Panthers

defense definitely able, one, you can definitely come back and bounce back on it. Not very tough defensively against the pass. So I think Tom Brady is the big week and they cover that number on the road. Yeah, you know what? That's funny because when I thought we were going to be talking about games, we almost took in this group, but you did actually take one. That was the one that I was going to bring up and be on the same side as you. I just feel like a really good bounce back spot for Tampa Bay. Carolina, I mean, all hats off to that coaching staff and those players. They have been far more competitive than anyone expected them to be this season. They feel like the one team that almost didn't miss a beat installing a totally new offense and having this

new coaching regime in place and a new quarterback. I mean, this could be a team that we're talking about is really on the rise in 2021. But I do think that this is a huge bounce back spot for the Buccaneers offense. And hey, one game back, Christian McCaffrey looked awesome. And now he's going to miss at least this game because of a shoulder injury that he suffered against the Chiefs a week ago. So Buccaneers feeling like the right play in this one. Let's get into that late window.

Six games in this 4-425 Eastern window. Got to love that. First one, what a game we are expecting here. Miami Dolphins and Tuatung of Iloa against the Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert, two guys who give us even more confidence. that the state of the quarterback position is strong in the NFL, not just today, but for the next 10 years. These two guys, of course, were selected back to back in the 2020 NFL draft to a fifth. Herbert 6th, I am riding with Tua and the Miami Dolphins.

Minus 2.5 is the line 48 is the over under here. And Vic, I mean, I just loved what I saw from this team last week, loved the way that they battled back. And like I said, when we started this portion of the show, once Arizona came back and took the lead, took that lead 3124, That was very late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter. I thought, all right, this is the better team. They're at home. They've got command of this game. One stop, one score, ball game.

Let's do it. And instead, Miami goes right downfield. They get the score. They get the stop. They get the score again. And suddenly, two has got already a hallmark win in just his second game. And what a game he played. And it's not just him.

What this came down to for me, because I think the Chargers, I mean, they've taken some tough luck losses, which is really just, it should be like on the Chargers. like team crest, tough luck losses. I mean, it's just what this team does going back years and years and years. But where this comes down to for me, I think there's a pretty big coaching gap between Brian Flores and Anthony Lynn. And that was enough for me to tilt in the direction of the Miami Dolphins. So that is one of my five picks, joining the Titans, my second pick so far of week 10 Miami Dolphins.

No pick for you here. Do you have a lean? Are you against me? Are you with me? No, definitely with you. I think that the Dolphins probably my sixth. pick of the week. They're close making my top five. But yeah, I love the dolphins this year. I think Brian Flores done a great job, great secondary, getting from pass rush now. So like you mentioned,

that was a big win last week. I think the Chargers clearly have some issues. I mean, Justin Herbert, I mean, it's not his fault. Last week was two passes and the game, both hit the receiver in the hands. So I think he's done his job. I just think that the coaching, the clock management was really terrible last week. I got a lot of issues the last month or so. So it should be a good spot for the dolphins. I will say, even though those were pretty much perfectly executed by Justin Herbert, I hate that those are your last two plays, right? You've got this incisive, deadly sort of route runner in Keenan Allen.

And you're right there on the goal line, and you don't even really give him a chance to work his magic and make a play in that way, at least once. I mean, I can understand wanting to throw that fade one time, but, man, let's let's like Keenan Allen try to make a play for us. So with the game on the line there. Again, it speaks back to the coaching, and I trust Brian Flores and the Dolphins in this one. Speaking of the Raiders, they are the next game on the schedule. No pick for either of us. Raiders minus 5 at home against the Broncos. Vic, you've got your eyeballs on this team all day, every day.

Even though you don't have a pick here, what can you tell us about your expectations for Raiders Broncos? Well, without looking at the number, my prediction was Raiders 3.30. So that's a 4-point win. The line is 5, so I guess I'm going with the Broncos. I think the Raiders' offense is definitely one of the top ones in the league. But their defense, to me, still has so many question marks. So I think the Broncos will be able to score some points. I think we'll keep it close.

So I think that's not a strong lean, but I would probably take the five points at the Broncos. Derek Van Riper and I talked about this earlier on in this episode here. That's going to be a fun game, we think. From a fantasy perspective, I think that's a good one to be invested and think both of those offenses can get things cooking against the opposing defenses.

And speaking of that, another perfect segue, because we've got potentially the highest scoring game on the docket up next. And you and I are on opposite sides of this one. Cardinals at home minus one and a half against the bills. 56 is the over under in this game. And I think this game gets into the 60s, Vic. Anyone who's been listening to us probably knows where we're going. If we have opposite sides of a Cardinals game, I am on the Cardinals.

You are against the Cardinals. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment with these guys, Vic, because I feel like I'm probably a game under 500, I think, exactly. on the Cardinals, but I keep going back to the well with them. I'll let you go first here because I love the Bills too, and I totally understand why you would want to pick the Bills, but what is your reasoning behind this Bills pick? First off, I'm saying, you're like 4-0-1 against me head-to-head,

so definitely people should lean towards the Cardinals here. That would be the strong indication for me. But I think the Bills, I was a huge win last week, just great job coaching on both sides of the ball, I thought. And to me, an advantage is preparing for Russell Wilson, getting Colin Murray the next week, I think is a nice edge. So I mean, Josh Allen has been playing really well until like a two-week skid, but the team's back on track. So I like the bills are a better team.

And so I'm taking the bills. Yeah. You know, I think that's, I mean, these are two great teams. They're two really, really good teams, really fun teams, teams that, you know, basically have been able to do whatever they want to do offensively in every game this season. And you love that as a signature, right? I mean, these are two teams, even the bills now who really live with their offense. And you love that they can go into pretty much every game against pretty much. any team and execute the sort of offense that they want to run. And I think that's going to be

the case. I don't think I don't see either of these defenses slowing down the opposing offense. I don't think we're going to be, you know, suddenly greeted by a 20 to 17 game between these two teams. And so what it comes down to for me, just the team playing at home, even though homefield advantage doesn't really mean too much. I will still take the fact that Arizona doesn't have to travel at all, right? They were at home. Last week, they get to be at home for this game too. Meanwhile, Buffalo has been traveling and they've got to go across country for this game. So I do like the Cardinals just having to lay the one and a half, right? Basically, when the line's one and a half, you feel pretty comfortable backing a team if you feel comfortable with them winning the game.

And I do feel comfortable with the Cardinals winning this one. So one more for us to go head to head. And actually, we've got one more a little bit later in the show. But first, before we get to that, we've got a clash in the AFC North. Steelers minus seven and a half. They are hosting the Cincinnati. Bengals. There is a pick in this one. It is by me and I am going with, I think I feel like we can call them the adopted team of this show, Vic, the Cincinnati Bengals. It feels like at least one of us

picks them every week here. Seven and a half just feels like too much from me, right? If you've been listening to us, you know exactly where we land on this Bengals team. It's a good offense. Joe Burroughs, a good quarterback. Live it up to that number one overall pick status. And seven and a half is a lot to lay. That backdoor is always open against a team that is not afraid to take chances on offense and a team that is never going to pack it in on offense. It's his first meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. It's a very tough defense. We only have to go back a few weeks in our memory banks to find him meeting a tough defense in the Baltimore Ravens for the first time all season. And we saw what happened in that

game. The Bengals' worst offensive performance of the season, although he lost 27 to 3. Ravens totally controlled that game. Ravens' defense really totally controlled that game. But I think that's a good moment for Joe Burrow to learn from and step forward. And it's just, again, with the way that this team plays offense and executes its offense, it just feels like a little bit too big of a number. I would actually feel better, Vic, if I was going to back a team laying seven and a half against the Bengals, I would want it to be a dominant offensive team. I would want it to be Seattle, or I would want it to be the chiefs. I would want it to be a team that could just put up points and run away from them. And, you know, that team is scoring two out of every three possessions and

the Bengals are scoring, you know, one and a half out of every three possessions, and they get enough possessions in the game to build up that 10-point victory. And as good as Pittsburgh is as a team, they're the only undefeated team in the NFL. They are a great team, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. I don't think they're that brand of offense. I don't think they're the sort of offense that can run away from the Bengals. I think if they're going to win this game by more than seven and a half, they're going to have to not totally suffocate the offense, but really control it defensively and then have Ben Robespberger and the offense do their thing to the tune of, you know, 24 or 27 points. I think that's where this game is covered by the Steelers. I think it's either 27-17 Steelers or like 34-30 Steelers. And the way that this Bengals offense has played, I think it goes more toward the latter than the former. So I'm going to back our boys, right? One of us does it every week. I'm going on the Bengals. No pick for you. But what's your lean in this one?

Yeah, we definitely love Joe Burrow. But this week, to me, like you mentioned, the match of the Ravens game, to me, sticks out. And I think that matchup of the Steelers' friend seven against the Bengals on the line, really it would concern me. I think it'll be a rough week for Joe this week. I think he's going to hit a lot. And I think the Stewart's going to run the ball still, so I think they're able to control the game a little bit that way, offensively delayed.

So I think they pull away towards you. And you don't get any line value because it would open at 10 because of Ben status now at seven and a half. So just enough for me to not jump on with our boy. But I still love Joe Burrow, just not this week. All right. One more game here in the late window that neither of us is picking, is the Rams and Seahawks.

Rams minus one and a half at home. Again, Seattle, 55 and a half is the over-under. I can just see this game going in myriad ways, and I don't want to really trust either of these teams. Can't wait to watch this game. I think it's going to be a fun game to watch, but neither of us making a pick here. The final game in the late window is one where you have a pick.

Saints at home, they are minus nine against the 49ers with an over-under of 49, so a lot of nines in this one, and you are backing the road team nine-point. Doug, San Francisco, 49ers. A lot of injuries on this team, Vic. Why are you confident that they can at least keep it within that nine-point number? Well, we talked about what a huge winner was for the Saints last week. They beat the bucks.

They swept them. I think they're a little flat this week. The Niners get the receivers back. They'll be able to score some points, I think, this week. So a defense, I think, definitely will play better than did last week. So, I mean, it's just a big number. I think the Niners have some value here. I play the kind of safe from other four picks.

I started to kind of throw a wild card in there. but I like the spread. Like nine points to me, sounds like a good number for the Niners. Yeah, the Saints are one of those teams that I, like I look for their spread first because I almost always want to back them. They're one of the teams that I've backed quite a bit here on this show

and for real life with my wallet. And it's worked out mostly good, but this is one that scared me just a little bit. The nine is too high of a number for me to really want to get behind with my mouth here on this show or with my wallet in my pool where I pick every game against the spread. I will be picking the Saints, but not super confidently.

So you like the 49ers. I like the Saints, but not super confidently. Sunday night football, Ravens and Patriots, NBC. I thought they were getting a different game when they first signed up for this one. Ravens minus 7, 43 and a half. Neither of us is picking this one. And that leaves us with Monday night football. NFC North Clash, Minnesota, in Chicago to take on the Bears.

As a not lifelong, I lived in Washington, D.C. for about four or five years in my life. but a born and bred Chicago and who lives in the city now, I will apologize on behalf of the city of Chicago to the national football viewing audience for foisting the bears on you once again on Monday night football. But Vic, you like this team. We both have to make a pick here.

You've got the bears. I am going against the bears with the Vikings. Two and a half is the spread. Vikings are favored by two and a half minus 120. On that two and a half, 44 is the over under in this one. And I guess talk me into the hometown team. Why am I wrong about this? Why do you like the bear?

I think there's some good value. I think the defense is still pretty good. They didn't cover last week by like what, by a point. I think there are two games they haven't covered by like a point this year. I think their defense is good enough to overcome the offense. I think they'll get some pressure on Kirk Cousins. I also think the receivers actually have a good matchup too this week against the Vikings' secondary. So I think it's good.

I think it's good value. I think the Vikings may be a little overrated at this point after getting hot. So I think the Bears are the play here. I think that Delvin Cook is going to run the ball. well that he might damn well run all the way back to Minneapolis after this one. I mean, I just don't see how the Bears slow him down at all. You've now got Roy Robertson Harris out

as well for the Bears. This team is dealing with now some injuries starting to mount on the defensive side of the ball, and I just don't trust their offense one bit. I just don't think they can get really anything going the way Nick Foles has played, the way the offensive line has played. David Montgomery might be out for this, and that

is not a huge loss, frankly, but he's still the starting running back. They still have to change things up on the fly, and that could mean signing Lamar Miller off the practice squad, just days before this game is played. It could be asking more out of Cordero Patterson, who is very much not a running back in Ryan Nall. I think what has been a bad offense could be even worse in this game against Minnesota. And I think Minnesota, even though their defense hasn't lived up to what we usually expect from a Mike Zimmer-led unit, can take advantage of some of the Bears' offensive deficiencies.

So I just see that as a dangerous combination for this Bears team in particular, a team that really thrives on running the football. You know, that's the sort of team that can give this Bears defense fits. So I do like the Vikings actually quite a bit in this one. So we've got two head-to-head picks this week, Vic. That'll be fun and one consensus pick on the Tennessee Titans here. Let's rat things up with our picks. You have those Tennessee Titans.

Fingers crossed, hopefully we already won that one. Titans, one-point dogs at home against the Colts. You've got Tampa Bay minus five and a half. against the Panthers. You've got those Chicago Bears on Monday night football, two and a half point underdogs against the Vikings. The 49ers, they are nine-point dogs against the Saints and the Buffalo Bills, one and a half point underdogs.

In Arizona against the Cardinals, I am on the opposite side of that Cardinals' bills game. I am the opposite side of Vikings and Bears. We are together on the Titans, my two unique games, dolphins minus two and a half against the Chargers and Bengals plus seven and a half in Pittsburgh. Taken on the Steelers. pick, I will go first. We didn't pick this game again because of the unknown status for Matthew

Stafford, although sounds like he's going to be able to start. I am taking, however, the road team, the Washington footballs think that they can get a win with Alex Smith at the helm in Detroit, really trust that defense to make life hell on the Detroit offense. Where are you at with your upset pick this week? I didn't say anything else, so I had the Niners plus nine, so might as well go all the way. I'm taking the Niners with the upset. Why not? Why not? San Francisco Fortnite was it was not a great week to be picking upsets, right? I toyed with the Bengals a little bit. I toyed again with the Texans to up end of the Browns in Cleveland, but like I said, just don't trust them to be able to keep Nick Chubb and Kreme Hunt and checks. So all right, there we go. Football's for me

and 49ers for you. On the Survivor Front, we'll get through this quick. Again, we're going to assume that if you need to take the Packers, you can figure that one out, take the Packers minus 13 and a half against the Jaguars. Looking beyond the non-obvious candidates, I do look at the Raiders. It feels like a good spot for them at home against the Broncos. That offense has been going, and you like the way the offense has played, right? They've won the games in multiple ways. You've seen it right up close and personal. They've been able to win on Josh Jacobs.

They've been able to win on Derek Carr. They've been able to win with a strong combination of the two. I like that diversity of offensive options that they can bring to a Broncos defense that really hasn't been all that threatening this season. So that would be a way I would lean. Do you have any other candidates for the pool here? No, it's not much. It's something we've picked most of the good teams are raised.

to the Raiders, maybe even the Dolphins. The Dolphins, I know it's a small number, but I think they should win that game. Hey, you're at a point where small numbers are good numbers so long as you like the team. And that's where we're going to leave it for this episode of the Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast and the Athletic Football Show. Small numbers are good numbers if you like the team. I like that. I might turn that into some sort of go-to phrase here.

If you're not getting an athletic subscriber, you listen to Spotify, iTunes, anything like that, get yourself in the door, get Vicks picks in written form. See all of them, not just the five that we talk about here. see all of our fantasy stuff, see all of our NFL stuff, every single thing that we do at The Athletic. Go to theathletic.com slash fantasy football pod. You can get yourself a subscription for just $1 a week. For Derek Van Riper and Vic Tafer, I am Michael Beller. We will be back with you next week.

Until then, thanks for listening. Have a great weekend and enjoy all of the Week 10 action. This was the Athletic Football Show.