The Herd with Colin Cowherd - FantasyPros - The Biggest Fantasy Football Questions For Each Week 5 Matchup (Ep. 1751)

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Starting point is 00:00:30 you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football Podcast. I'm Ryan Wormley. Join as AM every Friday morning by Derek Brown and by Pat Fitzmores. We are talking our week five key questions. Quick reminder for everybody that all of our weekly consensus rankings and tears can be found at Fantasyprose.com slash rankings. Guys, we have a couple fewer games to talk about. We are into by season, which is frustrating when setting lineups. But it's really nice when I'm doing this show and you can kind of focus a little more at some of the other matchups and not have so many games to get through. We've got four teams on by some good

Starting point is 00:01:08 fun players here. It's going to be, you know, it's not by Mageddon with, you know, six teams on by, but there are a lot of good players. Falcons, Packers, Bears, and Steelers are all on by this week. So just in case for some reason, anybody watching missed that and just forgot to check that for their lineup this week. Go check that because there are teams that will not be playing. Also go check if you have any guys in the Vikings Browns game because we have another early game. We could jump right into that one here over in London. So I will say once again, and we'll talk about a little bit more later, I'll say this for every international game.

Starting point is 00:01:43 Get Fantasy Pros autopilot. Do not get stuck with like a Jalen Warren situation last week where it was maybe less of a true surprise in the morning that he was not playing, but we, you know, he went into Saturday night questionable and ended up not playing. Alvin Camer is really the best example from a few years ago where you got that surprise scratch and a lot of managers got stuck with zero. Autopilot will help you make that not happen. It doesn't have to set your whole lineup for you.

Starting point is 00:02:05 You can include it to just do inactive players swap out. So I would strongly recommend that as long as these international games are going on and even for the rest of the season. But that first international game for this week, the only international game. Like I mentioned, Vikings, Browns, kind of an obvious question, you know, angle to hit on this one, not an easy spot for Dylan Gabriel's first career start. Brown's finally making the change after Joe Flacco looking very bad. for most of this season.

Starting point is 00:02:30 So D. Braw, start with you. What are your expectations for Browns players this week just in general? I think this is going to be a rough game for the Browns, man. I think the only guy you're confidently starting is Quinn Sean Jepkins based off the volume. And you can run against the Vikings defense. They've given up the ninth most rushing yards per game, seventh highest yards after contact for attempt. So outside of him, I don't know how the Browns are going to move this ball, man.

Starting point is 00:02:54 Like I worry that like, why are you throwing Dylan Gabriel into? his first NFL career start against this freaking defense where you know Brian Flores is going to heat him up he's going to blitz him they're going to have pressure him and Dylan Gabriel for as much as people want to talk about like I didn't dislike him as a prospect but I mean very much every part of an Oregon quarterback coming out it was either screens or deep balls and manufactured stuff good luck young sir that's all I could say fits what do you think and specifically what are your expectations for Gabriel and this offense against a Vikings defense that has made other quarterbacks look bad at times this year.

Starting point is 00:03:33 Expectations are pretty low, warm. It is an interesting choice for the Browns to make the switch to a rookie quarterback now for an overseas game against the Brian Flores defense. Like, I understand that Joe Flacco got old, fast, and couldn't remain the starter. But, man, like, couldn't you wait a week? I suppose a road game against Pittsburgh in week six wouldn't have been that much easier. but boy, this is a really tough spot for Dylan Gabriel. Flores is just going to throw all sorts of exotic stuff at him,

Starting point is 00:04:05 like complicated blitzes, twists and stunts, simulated pressure. He'll play a heavy front with like zone coverage behind it, stuff that Dylan Gabriel is just not going to be ready for. He will be given some really complicated problems to solve in his first NFL start. And because of that, like I don't really want to start any Browns past catchers. like not Jerry Judy, not David Nizoku, not Harold Fanon. You're starting quenchon Judkins for the volume. But like if the Browns can't get first downs, it's possible Judkins only finishes with 13 or 14 carries,

Starting point is 00:04:40 even if the Browns are running at a high rate to try to take heat off Gabriel. But, you know, if Gabriel and the Browns can't pick up first downs, it's going to be a bad day for Judkins too. I think I have all the Browns rank slightly below consensus. And it's not like the consensus rankings of any of these guys are that high. Well, I do want to ask on Judkins specifically because Fitz, I know you tend to be drawn towards volume above everything else for some players. But there's so much going against Jug. We talked a little bit about this on the Thursday show with Jake this week too. But just for our Friday show audience, I'm curious.

Starting point is 00:05:12 Where do you have Judkins ranked? Are you giving more credence to the volume or are you more fading because of he's going to get all this attention and the offense is likely not going to move the ball very well? I mean, I've got him running back 15, which I think might be like a pretty near He's a pretty near. Yeah, so one spot behind consensus. I just, as I mentioned, I worry, yes, there's going to be volume, but the volume might not be what we had hoped if the bronze just can't move the ball. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:05:43 All right. Let's get into the kind of main early Sunday slate here. First game up, Texans at Ravens. This one is also very simple. the Texans offense is horrific. The Ravens defense might be worse. Which unit wins that battle this week? Yeah, we talked about this on the StartSit show with Jake Sealy.

Starting point is 00:06:03 I know you think the Ravens defense can't win a stink off against the Texans' offensive line. I think the Ravens defense, even in its injury depleted state, can win a stink off against the Texans offensive line. I'm sure you guys have probably seen the play from last week where C.J. Straud got sacked on like the second step of a seven-step drop. Like his right guard and right tackle just ran into each other right off the snap and everyone else triple-teamed one guy.

Starting point is 00:06:31 And I think it was Jeffrey Simmons who just blasted through completely unblocked. Probably a guy you should think about blocking on any sort of passing play. I know the Ravens are just like defense playing poorly. Injuries galore. I think Kyle Hamilton is now in doubt because of a groin injury. But Worm, I still think I'm taking. the Ravens defense in the stink off. If the Texans light up the Ravens for 30 points and 450 yards,

Starting point is 00:07:00 like you are allowed to adopt a new team for the season. You have my permission. I can't believe I don't have that permission already the way the first month has gone. I will say on the Ravens defense side, D-Bro that Kyle Van Ney, I think, is probably going to be back this week. Travis Jones could be back this week. So there are some reinforcements coming. Of course, they're not, you know, going into last week.

Starting point is 00:07:22 still had Roquan and Marlon Humphrey and those guys are now going to be out. So even when you get some back, you're still missing others. Kyle Hamilton, it doesn't, they didn't sound overly concerned, but just with him not practicing on Thursday, obviously pay attention to that because, you know, if Namdi Maddibweke wasn't the most important defender on this team, you know, it clearly was Kyle Hamilton. So missing both those guys would be pretty bad. But I mean, like, like Fitz was saying, Dbrough, the Texans offense has also been quite bad.

Starting point is 00:07:48 Like this is, if a depleted defensive line is going to win a battle in the trenches, it's against this O line. So I'll just read down the Ravens injury list here. You said it had a few days up. We don't have an hour, Dibra. Ouzier, Hamilton, Humphrey, Roquan Smith, Kyle Vanoy, Nate Wiggins, although Benoit probably is back like you're saying,

Starting point is 00:08:10 Worm, but basically half of their starting defense, I mean, I'm taking the Texans here. I know it's been rough. I know it's not look good. But if they're going to show life versus anybody, I mean, it's got to be against the Ravens, defense. So I mean, I think they have enough like parts of pieces like however you want to dice this up. Like the Ravens depleted past defense. Can we get Nico Collins, get Christian Kirk a third

Starting point is 00:08:32 week in the in the lineup going? It's a good matchup for Dalton Schultz as well. And Woody Marks. Like so I think Ray, uh, the Houston Texans are going to have some life here. Um, I'm not saying it's going to look pretty. I will go out on a limb and I know this is not like a long and tenuous slim. I'll say the Texans will put up the most points that they have put up the entire season in this game. Well, can we talk about marks for a second? Where do you have him ranked, D, bro? Oof. I got him as a strong RB2. I'm looking at it right now. I've got, I just moved him up and ranks RB 18 right now. Where do you got him at Fitsy? I've got him down at RB 25. Like, I just, I don't know if it's a full backfield takeover. I still think it's. Do you think it was like a one game

Starting point is 00:09:16 sample? Like, are you hedging a little bit with Chub? Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be close to a 50-50. And it was pretty close to a 50-50 last week, honestly. Like, I don't think Chubb is just totally disappearing. And, you know, a 50-50 on a team with a really bad offensive line. I just don't want to rank either back all that aggressively. But Marks does have pass-catching as an out, which is nice. Yeah, that's, that's kind of where I pushed the needle to Marks and why I moved him up is the past catching. And the Ravens, even at full strength, historically, the last two years, that's exactly what I was going to say. I have been bad. They give up versus receiving one. They give up. They give up. They give

Starting point is 00:09:49 a pass is to running max even when they're healthy. And that's why I think Stroud, like to alleviate any quick pressures, things like that, I think Marks being involved in the passing game is going to be huge for them. They, uh, uh, expert consensus rankings has marks right in the middle of you two. He's R be 21. So almost exactly splitting the difference between your guys's rankings. Yeah, I mean, like, you talk about this time about like the trenches and everything, you know, Texas offensive line, Ravens defensive line.

Starting point is 00:10:13 Like the Ravens secondary with all those guys like Nate Wiggins, if he's the limit and out play. Like, I don't know who can cover Nico Collins on. on this Ravens team. So literally who's going to be their starting corners? Like I got to pull up their debt chart. Like I don't even know who. Jeyer Alexander might be back on the field this week. Okay.

Starting point is 00:10:29 Like just necessity. Who's got the other two spots? I mean, I, uh, Kenyon Martin. I'm today years old finding out that you're an NFL player. T.J. Tampa. Okay.

Starting point is 00:10:43 Um, good luck, boys. It's, when you've got six starters less healthy than Jire Alexander, you're pretty beating up. It's not good. Yeah. I think it's Keon Martin, by the way, not Kenyon,

Starting point is 00:10:55 which, but I'm not going to blame you for not knowing. Oh, yeah. The name of the undrafted, you know, rookie on the race. I do have a second question on this game, just on the other side of this. Can we start any Ravens if Lamar is out? I know that there has been some talk out of, you know, Baltimore this week that, you know, Cooper Rush is a professional.

Starting point is 00:11:12 He's like nine and five in his career, so he's won some games. Those were different situations he was in. Like, I know there's, there's okay players. this team. Ronnie Stanley's been banged up. The offensive line has been so bad. Like Lamar, who gets out of sacks as well as any quarterback in football, has been

Starting point is 00:11:27 just getting hammered behind the line of scrimmage because the offensive line has been bad. So I really worry about that for Cooper Rush. Like, this might be a game where they just hand off to Derek Henry 35 times because he's the only, like, good player that they have. But I mean, there's guys like Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, I just don't know how the Ravens are going to successfully get them the ball. Like, I would be trying to not start pretty much any Raven besides Derek Henry, honestly,

Starting point is 00:11:47 Dibrow. you're starting Derek Henry and you're starting Zayflowers and I'm not probably starting anybody else outside of them like I've seen people online like asking me like oh Cooper Rush might feed Mark Andrews I'm like the Ravens don't even want to feed Mark Andrews like the first game with Isaiah likely his route share dropped below 60% like I don't know why that keeps happening but it's happening so I think you're starting Derek Henry for the volume because you can't ever sit him because of course like this is the game where he rips off like a 60 yard run for a touchdown And you're starting Zay Flowers because again, I think the volume is going to be there for him.

Starting point is 00:12:20 But outside of that, no, no tertiary pieces for me for the Ravens. Honestly, Fitz, I don't even really want to start Flowers if I can avoid it. Because this Texas defense is really quite good. And again, like the Ravens offensive line. Well, Stingley's banged up. That kind of helps. That's true. But I just worry about the Texas Pass Rush, honestly.

Starting point is 00:12:36 I think I think Rush is going to be like under fire. And a lot of this game fits. Yeah, I mean, I have Zay Flowers down at wide receiver 20. but in a week with four teams on buy and a lot of wide receiver injuries. I mean, guys like, yeah, some of the players we've lost a wide receiver, I think you have to start them. No Mike Evans this week. No Malik neighbors, no.

Starting point is 00:12:57 So I do think you play them. And believe it or not, I actually have bet the over on Cooper Rush passing yardage, which was 185.5 yards on Hard Rockouts as of Thursday night, really low. And like Rush made eight starts for the. Cowboys last year after Dak Prescott got hurt at midseason. And Cooper Rush averaged 209.6 passing yards in those starts. And that included a 45-yard game against the Eagles. So he had some pretty good days as a passer.

Starting point is 00:13:27 And like, I don't know about you, Worm, but I still happen to think Todd Munkin is a pretty good play call. I do like Munkin. That is a good point. All right, let's go to the next game. Dolphins at Panthers. Fitz, I'll start with you, which dolphins, and I say dolphins, because it could be more than one, but if there is just one, you want to kind of own in on, that's fine, too.

Starting point is 00:13:45 But which dolphins benefit the most in fantasy value from Tyree Kills injury? I'm going to start with Malik Washington. Like, he's been pretty heavily involved in the Miami offense, even before the Tyreek Hill injury. Malik Washington has played at least 28 snaps in every game with snapshares in like the 50 to 60 percent range. And Malik Washington is a short area receiver. His average depth of target is 5.1 yards. The dolphins kind of have to do a lot of quick hitting stuff to protect Tua. Like you can't have Tua taking a lot of seven-step drop.

Starting point is 00:14:18 So Washington is a pretty good fit for this offense. And they get him involved as a runner, too. He has eight carries for 60 yards this year. This dude's good. Like in his final college season at Virginia, Malik Washington had 110 catches, which I think is an ACC record, for 1,426 yards. No, I do think it's possible Nick Westbrook-Kekine, and not Malik Washington. plays more on, with Jalen Waddell and two receiver sets.

Starting point is 00:14:47 Because, like, Westbrook Aquinae is really the only big receiver the Dolvens have. He's 6-2-211. Malik, Malik Washington is like 5-8, 185. But Westbrook Aquina has never really been a high-volume target earner. And through four weeks, Malik Washington has outsnapped Westbrook Aquine, 124 to 79. So I think Malik Washington is like a sneaky play this week. I've got him wide receiver 36.

Starting point is 00:15:12 in the rankings. Jalen Waddle probably gains a little value. Darren Waller, who had two touchdown catches on only 16 snaps last week. He becomes a playable tight end option. And Devon A-chan might just go into Christian McCaffrey mode where he's catching 10 passes every week. Debrough, who stands, I mean, obviously it's the names that Fitz just mentioned. Who stands out most to you as the guy, is it Washington?

Starting point is 00:15:35 Is it Waller at tight end? Is it Waddle just going supernova and getting as many targets as he can handle? same for A-H-N. Where do you go with this? I mean, I think it's Waddle and Waller for me. I mean, I'm not disagreeing with Fitsy on Malik Washington. He's going to get a lot more relevance in the weeks to come. But I think it's Waddle, like, in the sense that they're going to have to run the passing offense through him.

Starting point is 00:15:56 And that's something Miami has been so reluctant to do. Like with Tyree Kill around, Jim and Waddle's not sniffing a 25% target share. And he should be. So now they're going to be forced to feed him a 25% target year because he deserves it. And he's the clear number one option in this passing attack. So I think Waddle is going to stay in the most. Like I've got him right now as wide receiver 17. And I'm not worried about because Carolina plays so much zone coverage.

Starting point is 00:16:23 J.C. Horn's not going to shadow him or anything like that. They're going to move him around the formation to get him off a horn who has honestly been freaking amazing this year. But Waddle, I think benefits a ton. And Darren Waller, like I think his snap share is going to go up. Like last year, our last week, he only had a 37% route share. I think that's probably going to creep into like the 50 or 60% range. And honestly, if you were to tell me like, I've got to look at where I've got him ranked this week, Fancy, where do you have waller rank this week?

Starting point is 00:16:50 Because I know we were talking about this earlier in the week. Where have you come down on him? Tighten 14. One spot ahead of Mark Andrews. Yeah, I've got him inside my top 15 tight ends. I might bump him up a little bit more only because, dude, this is arguably the nut spot for tight ends. Like Carolina is nine.

Starting point is 00:17:08 Ninth most fantasy points per game. second most receiving arts to tight ends. So even at like a 50 to 60% route share, like the Dalton Kincaid kind of role, he's going to be targeted a ton. And I'm not telling he gets two touchdowns, but if you're struggling at tight end, Darren Waller's worth of start this week.

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Starting point is 00:19:01 Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's Extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down?

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Starting point is 00:20:28 I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Starting point is 00:20:54 Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Live 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Yes, to the two of you. I have seen Hunt for Red October. Very, very good movie. Surprised. I will say I'm a little bit surprised.

Starting point is 00:21:19 I'm not going to lie. I want to throw just a quick, actually second question on the game we were just talking about. Is this the week that Tedaroa McMillan finally catches a touchdown? Yes or no? It's you, bro. I think it is only because Carolina's been trying to force feed him the ball. He's got three red zone targets in his last two games. And if you're over at Hard Rock bet right now, they've got the best odds on the board for him as an anytime touchdown score plus 175. So count me in Fitz. I want to say yes, but I there's hesitance in your voice, Fancy. I hear it. I know. I like, I mean, McMillan's been playing so well under adverse circumstances. But I think the realistically, the better. percentage plays that he does not score a touchdown. Let's go to the next game here.

Starting point is 00:22:04 Raiders at Colts was week four what we can expect from Ash and Gentie moving forward, or was he just taking advantage of the Bears defense, Debrough? I think it was partially the Bears defense, but I think we can, the magic can continue for at least another week because Indies rush defense has not been good. Eighth highest explosive run rate, fifth highest yards before contact for attempt. And that's really the metric that I want to high. highlight for Gentie when he's not getting a lot of help by his offensive line. And it's amazing that when we get a matchup, where finally Ashton Genties not hit in the backfield almost every single

Starting point is 00:22:39 carry. Some of the talking heads of media out there are talking about he's a bust. He was terrible. He's not generational. He's not a great player and stuff like that. I see them chirping about that this week. And I'll say Gentie continues this week, although he's going to be very matchup sensitive just because of the offensive line that he's running behind this year. Fitz, what do you expect out of Genti for his follow-up from that big breakout game. Debrough touched on it. Even with the big day last week against the Bears, 155 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

Starting point is 00:23:09 And even with that matchup against a bad Chicago run defense, defenders still made contact with Ashton Genty behind the line of scrimmage on like 70% of his runs last week. And now the Raiders are going to be without starting tackle Colton Miller, probably their best offensive lineman. He's on IR now with an ankle injury. Genty is awesome. He's just, he's so hard to tackle with his amazing contact balance and all the little shakes and shimmies he gives you.

Starting point is 00:23:37 But there's still going to be some rough days just because the Raiders offensive line is so shaky. We went kind of quick on that game. So let me take this opportunity to say that I meant to ask you guys about Thursday night football last night and totally forgot at the top of the show. So I do just want to quickly give you the opportunity to, to weigh in on that game, 26, 23, and overtime 49ers. I mean, the game itself, you know, less relevant, but just from fantasy perspective, you know, obviously, like, both passing games were really productive in this one. Matthew Stafford, 389 yards and three touchdowns, no picks.

Starting point is 00:24:07 Mack Jones, despite dealing with, you know, the injury stuff, 342 yards, two touchdowns, no picks. Running games were pretty inefficient. Both running backs, you know, they combined to catch, the starting running backs combined to catch three touchdowns in this one to kind of, you know, help their day a lot as well. Kendrick Bourne, 10 catches 142 yards. Puka and Devante doing their usual stuff. kind of the run through of the box score with d bro. Were there any kind of major fantasy takeaways from Thursday night football you wanted to hit on? Good Lord.

Starting point is 00:24:34 Can any Rams running back hold on to the freaking ball? Like, I mean, Kyron drops the ball on turf, doesn't it get taken off the field? Blake Korn does it once and he gets shoved into the shadow realm. I don't know what Kyron has on Sean McVay. Like, has he got like,

Starting point is 00:24:51 you know, incriminating pictures of some sort. I don't know, but he can seem to do no wrong. I'm curious, I'm curious if we see more of a backfield split because we've seen that kind of like in the works. But Kyron's past game role has been surprising over the last few weeks, especially last night. Tons of targets, lots of usage out of the backfield. I'll throw this back to you, boys.

Starting point is 00:25:14 Is Matthew Stafford a top 12 quarterback or fringe moving forward? Because he's playing elite level football and he's got two alpha wide receivers. In fantasy, I mean, in fantasy borderline, if everyone, if there are no buys. If they stay healthy. Yeah, I mean, coming into this game, obviously he lit it up on Thursday night football. But coming into this game, I think he was at like 269 passing yards a game and two and a half touchdown passes a game, which was, I think he's tied for the league league or was coming into last night's game and could be leading after this week. Yeah, I mean, I think he's real, I do think he's sort of a fringe low in QB1, high in QB2. We just know we're getting zero rushing upside.

Starting point is 00:26:04 But the guy I want to talk about is like Mac Jones. Like that was a heroic effort. I mean, they were practically like dragging that guy off the field after some of those series. And like, oh, God, he's done. And then he would come back out for the next series and be completing throws to Kendrick Bourne, who looked like a star. last night. It was a fun game and interesting game. And I wonder about Mack Jones. Like if if there is a possibility that he could have like a Sam Darnold career arc where he's

Starting point is 00:26:32 rejuvenated in free agencies, like some some team tries to do quarterback in the cheap and like gives Mac Jones a shot. Because he's either like, he's either a bottom 10 starting quarterback somewhere or he's the best backup quarterback in the league. But like he can actually play a little bit. I don't think he's terrible. I don't think he's ever going to be a star, but, like, he showed last night he can be functional. Weekly finishes for Matthew Stafford, Adibro, to your point on him,

Starting point is 00:27:03 QB20, QB19, QB14, the first three weeks. Last two, QB2, and then what we saw last night, which will be, you know, a very high finish. Obviously, there's a full week to go, but he scored over 25 fantasy points, so he will be, you know, quite high wherever he ends up this week. So three non-QB1, type weeks, but two, like, top five, at least probably you would think.

Starting point is 00:27:26 And by the way, like the Rams are the dream team for fantasy football because it's like you're starting Puka every week and he's a monster every week. You're starting Devante and he usually does well. You're starting Kyrin every week no matter what your beef with him is. Like more often than not, he puts up points and, you know, then Stafford is absolutely playable. By the way, the Rams next week on extra rest, get that Ravens defense. So you'll be wanting to. ranked very highly going into week six.

Starting point is 00:27:54 I'm sorry, Worm. I'll go ahead and apologize right now. I'm sorry. Honestly, like, the pressure is off once Lamar's hurt. It's like, okay, this team's just bad. So, like, it's almost becomes emotionally easier to deal with. Let's go to Giants at Saints. Speaking of favorite teams, Dibro.

Starting point is 00:28:09 Jackson Dart looked great in his first start, but he also lost his best weapon for the season when Malik neighbors went down. So I'm curious both where Dart is ranked amongst quarterbacks for week five for you fits, but also for. rest of season. Yeah, by the way, D'Brow's boy Jackson Dart going against his team. D'Ros going to be dialed into this game on Sunday. I hope he rubs it in their faces.

Starting point is 00:28:32 Go ahead, Fancy. I'll get to it in a second. I've got him QB15 this week and QB20 rest of season. Like, the rushing numbers are going to be good. And he is a really aggressive runner. Typically, one read. If it's not there, he takes off. The passing numbers, especially with Malik neighbors out, will not be good this season.

Starting point is 00:28:51 Debra. QB 11 for this week, and I've got him QB 18 for the rest of the season. Like the rushing is definitively there. The passing is going to be up and down considering what matchups they have. Now, this one's a really good one for Jackson Dart. Saints have given up the six highest yards per attempt, third most passing touchdowns. I think last week, too, like what you could talk about like the defensive matchup for Jackson Dart, but also when your best receiving threat in your offense goes out in the

Starting point is 00:29:21 middle of the game, your entire game plan, especially through the air, we know is based around Malik neighbors. So when that happens in the middle of the game, it is just try to survive and do the best you can to either sit on the lead and lean on their defense and run the ball and get out of there with the win. So for this one, they've had a whole week to kind of prepare Darius Slate last year without Malik neighbors in the lineup. Dude, he got Malik neighbors treatment. He got like a 29% target share. This is a really good matchup to sit here and feature him. And I'm not saying, every week is going to be like that. But if you're going to, if you want Jackson Dart playing the best football he can,

Starting point is 00:29:58 this is the type of matchup where you open up the passing game some and you allow the kid to learn on the job. I hope Jackson Dart just rubs in in their faces. I hope he makes them rude the day of the fact that they passed on him, took Tyler Shuck, who is not starting for this team this week. Their second round pick is not starting for this team this week. I hope Jackson Dart rubs it in their faces that they did not draft him. I really, really, really do.

Starting point is 00:30:26 They didn't need a starting quarterback. They have Spencer Rattler. Oh, dude, I, I, whenever that happened, we were live on the draft coverage. Like, I, I just, I absolved myself of all Saints fandom until Loomis is gone. He is a buffoon, a moron. I cannot stand every. He's basically given away all their picks for players that aren't even starting on the freaking team.

Starting point is 00:30:49 Like, let's go sign Brandon Cook. he's a nothing burger. Let's go trade for Devon Bailey. He's not starting. Like it, it's ridiculous. What do you think fits of Scatibu without neighbors? Like, do you worry that things will kind of get condensed a bit in the passing game and it'll become harder for him to run? Or, all right, do you just think like he's good? He's going to get the volume. Like, don't overthink it. Yeah, I mean, you have to worry about that. It seemed like the Chargers were throwing some pretty heavy boxes at Scataboo last week. He almost got into the end zone a couple of times, though. There was one, I think he got stood up by Derwin James at the goal line once.

Starting point is 00:31:26 There was another charger defender, I forget, who made a real nice, like they had a play where they got Scataboo out wide and he just had one man to beat. But the guy made a really nice sort of diving low tackle on Scataboo and just got enough of him to knock him off his feet. Man, yeah, like it will be pretty hard and he might not be super efficient. like I don't think he's averaging five yards of carry this season, but man, like he is just such a warhorse. You can just keep giving him the ball and that guy is just a tank. Can we talk about the vibes for the Giants too with Dart and Scataboo? Like their entire team dynamic and vibes felt totally different last week. Like they were feeding off the energy of these two guys. You could see, like I watched that entire game and it was so much fun to watch.

Starting point is 00:32:14 Now when is it going to happen for them on defense? Because like, it's should be happening there. We're with Abdul Carter and Kvon-Tibodeau and Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence. Like, why is this defense not better? I don't know. We'll see. Let's go to Cowboys at Jets. By the way, just quick note because it got tweeted while we're recording this.

Starting point is 00:32:32 Braylon Allen, according to Aaron Glenn, is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks. Surgery is still on the table per for Aaron Glenn. What? Why do you have a guy who is an important player in your office? offense returning kickoffs. Like, why, like, put the, you know, nobody, nobody will remember this. He says this.

Starting point is 00:32:56 Use the cannon fodder on kickoffs. Nobody will remember this fits, but Dante Deemis, the year he was like basically poised to be a first team all big 10 wide receiver. Maryland, I was at Maryland, Iowa game. It was a big night game,

Starting point is 00:33:09 you know, really exciting Maryland's, you know, back on the map or whatever. And Dante Deemis was returning kickoffs for some of me. He's not even that type of player. He was, he's like a Mike Evan.

Starting point is 00:33:17 inside player like big body like you know at the college level like big body you know what and he was returning kickoffs and he was never the same his career was basically ruined because his knee was destroyed on a kickoff return in a i have thought about that every time i see good players returning returning kicks ever since yeah if you want to do in a playoff game okay but like in an early season game i i just don't understand and it's not like brailyn out like brailyn allen never returned kickoffs in college i do not understand i do not see the upside it drives me nuts when i see it happened. Stupid.

Starting point is 00:33:48 So in this game, I thought this was an interesting one because I sat down, trying to think of a good question for it. And I felt like most players, especially with Braylin Allen out, most players feel pretty straightforward in this matchup, like where they rank is kind of obvious. So I wanted to kind of put it on you guys and ask, who is the toughest player in this game for each of you to rank? And Debrough, we can go with you first. I feel like I'm over the moon with this guy.

Starting point is 00:34:10 And maybe I'm just drinking too much of my own Kool-Aid here. And Fitsy's going to have to, like, pull me back a little bit because I've been talking about him in the waiver wire article over the last like two to three freaking weeks. But after the breakout week that we saw from Mason Taylor, I've got him as a top 12 tight end this week. And he's the guy where it's like versus ECR. I'm like, ECR has him as a mid tight end two. Tid 21 in ECR by the way. Yeah, man, but look like last week, he got a 25.9% target share. He had a 33% first read share. If the ball is not going to freaking Garrett Wilson, it's going to Mason Taylor. And I know he's limited in practice this week and stuff, but I think the usage of

Starting point is 00:34:49 the last two weeks shows us that he's getting healthier. And I said in the offseason, they need a second past game weapon to step up. There's not a ton of volume in this passing attack, but there's enough to support two weapons. And look at the matchup. Like I think Mason Taylor should be a tight end one this week. But ECR says I am totally wrong. Fancy, am I crazy? I've got him ranked right at ECR. I should probably move him up to like tight end 17 ahead of the two Browns tight ends who I have no interest in using.

Starting point is 00:35:26 Like yeah, it was the usage has been encouraging. He looked good in that game against the dolphins. Like he did not look like a rookie. So I'm open to it. I mean, I always. I don't know if I can trust any pass catcher in that offense other than Garrett Wilson just because I don't trust Justin Fields. I guess my thing here is do you trust Travis Kelsey more?

Starting point is 00:35:48 Do you trust Mark Andrews more? Do you trust T.J. Hawkinson more. Do we trust any of those other guys? Like more than a guy that's in a consolidated passing attack versus veterans that are not getting targets, have backup quarterbacks, and we're worried about matchups. Patrick Mahomes is a backup quarterback. You mentioned Travis Casey. I still think he's a little bit better of a pastor than Justin Fields.

Starting point is 00:36:10 He's more of in the Washington old and can't do anything with his. No, but I would rather start Mason Taylor than Mark Andrews to that point about, you know. I mean, seriously, Mark Andrews with Cooper Rush. Like, we feel better about that? Hmm? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, track record to some extent.

Starting point is 00:36:27 Like, I agree on maybe ranking Mason Taylor too long. I'm just, I guess I need a little bit, just a little bit longer an odd. You needed another game with 26% target here, huh Fitsy? That wouldn't be bad. I mean, I'm just saying, like, I'm throwing it out there because I'm like, his usage, the matchup, the high total, it all kind of lines up for me. But again, maybe I'm drinking too much of my own Kool-Aid. So Fitz, who's the player that's toughest for you to rank in this game?

Starting point is 00:36:53 I mean, for me, it was both quarterbacks. Like, it's just, it's really uncomfortable to rank Justin Fields as a top five QB, and I have him QB5, knowing what he looks like as a passer on his bad days. Like in week two against the bills, Fields had three completions for 27 yards. Got knocked out of that game with a concussion, but he wasn't knocked out until early in the fourth quarter. Like he had three completions in three quarters. But obviously, like Fields is wildly productive as a runner. Average is 59 rushing yards as three touchdown runs in three games.

Starting point is 00:37:26 And the Cowboys pass defense is terrible. They're giving up 309 passing yards a game in like 9.2 yards per attempt. So great setup for sure for fields. And then like Dak Prescott was just incredible against the Packers. That had to be one of the best games of Dak's career. He was just so good in that game. The inclination is to rank him highly after such a good game. And he did it without C.D. Lamb.

Starting point is 00:37:52 But the fact is he still doesn't have C.D. Lamb. George Pickens is going to be seeing a lot of sauce gardener. And the Cowboys are missing a bunch of starting offensive linemen. Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker are out. and Tyler Guyton has a concussion. I'm not sure whether he's playing. So I have DAC QB12 and I'm just, I'm not sure whether that's too high, too low, or just right.

Starting point is 00:38:13 Can I make you feel a little better about DAC, Fitsy? Sure. So the Jets have the third lowest pressure rate, so that's going to help the Dallas offensive line. They're playing more too high over the last two weeks, less man coverage. So sauce is not going to shadow George Pickens. And if he's not shadowing George Pickens,

Starting point is 00:38:30 George Pickens is going to get plenty of Brandon Stevens. and Worm has seen Stevens play. He knows how bad that. We've all seen Stevens at this point. So they're going, I think that's going to have a good game. I think I think Cooper Rush could have a good passing day against Brandon Stevens. I actually like Stevens a lot as like a person. I always really like respected him.

Starting point is 00:38:52 And so I don't want to like be too mean to him. But yeah, he's, he's not been very good the last couple years. I already mentioned this, but let autopilot manage your fantasy football lineup. so you never have to worry about last-minute changes, auto-swap inactive players, and ensure your lineup is always optimized, even when you can't be online. Take control with the flexibility

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Starting point is 00:39:27 of Fantasy Pros premium at Fantasypros.com slash premium. All right, next game here, I'm Broncos at Eagles. By the way, the early slate is so bad this week. This is the only game that has two teams that have more than a single win this season in that early afternoon slate on Sunday. It is a lot of like 0 and 3 versus 1 in 3, 1, 2 and 1 versus 1 and 3. It's really ugly. So hopefully Broncos at Eagles can save us a bit here.

Starting point is 00:39:56 Fitz, I'll start with you. Was last week the RJ Harvey coming out party or will he fall back to Earth against? Philadelphia, and yes, I am being mean to Debrough by not letting him go first on his boy, RJ Harvey. I love the fact that you're making me wait. I love this. I did it for Jackson start too, right? I think I think I tip it. Maybe I love it. Dbrose is going to be like a rodeo bowl in the shoot just waiting to get out and raise hell. I'm cautiously optimistic. So Hervey played a season high 33 snaps. Snapchat was up to 40.7 percent. And I think that's closer to the usage we were hoping for with RJ Harvey.

Starting point is 00:40:32 We knew he wasn't going to be a workhorse. Like Sean Payton always uses more than one running back, but as much as the Sean Peyton offense runs through his running backs and as much as they get used in the passing game under Sean Payton, like there are typically two fantasy relevant backs in a Sean Peyton offense. I think Harvey has reached the point of fantasy relevance now and the passing game usage was really encouraging, like four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown on five targets. So, yeah, I think we can.

Starting point is 00:41:01 start Harvey now. Debra? Yeah, I think it's the breakout game was real for everybody out there. RB 12 on the week last week. I'm confidently starting him this week.

Starting point is 00:41:15 And I just want to throw out a bunch of stats here. Philadelphia has quietly been not great against as good as their defense is, they're not great against defending the run. They've given up the 12th most rushing arts per game. They have the lowest stuff rate. And if you want to get more granular about this,

Starting point is 00:41:30 Denver has been more of a gap scheme run game so far this year. Philly against Gap runs, 11th highest yards per carry, third highest success rate. And if Harvey's not going to get it done on the ground, I think he will. I have J.K. Dobbins and Harvey both as top 24 backs. I think Denver's offense should go through their ground game this week and avoid the past defense. And I think, I mean, Sean Payton, we know that he's a smart play designer. I think that's what's going to happen. Harvey can also get it done through the air

Starting point is 00:42:00 and, you know, kind of fits you had laid out. I mean, look, this backfield was Dobbins and Harvey last week. Harvey had a 25% route share, 12% target share. Philly through the air versus running backs. They've given up the 10th most receiving yards and the fourth highest yards per reception. So I think Harvey can lead the way as far as like, you know, checkdowns and screens and stuff to make life a little bit easier

Starting point is 00:42:24 for Bow next this week. So Harvey confidently starting him. I want to ask a second question on this game. I want to ask about Sequin Barclay quickly. Just like he hasn't been a disastrous fantasy pick thanks to the touchdowns, but he has been really inefficient with his touches. And he has not had a 20-point fantasy game yet and half-pr scoring, despite actually catching passes and scoring touchdowns,

Starting point is 00:42:46 which are two very valuable things. So I'm just curious in general, like what your concern level is, and specifically this week against the good Broncos defense in general, Fitz. Low to moderate. the offensive line hasn't been as good for the Eagles. There have been some injury issues up front. I don't know if it's possible for Sequin to be as good or as efficient a runner as he was in 2024. But on the bright side, they are using Sequin in the passing game more than they did last year.

Starting point is 00:43:16 He already has 14 catches, which puts him on pace for about 60 catches, which would be the second highest reception total of his career. Debra. My concern level is not high for Sequin because we know the volume is going to be there, but kind of like how Fitsy alluded here, I mean, their offensive line covered up a lot of sense for Sequin last year. Like he was awesome for fantasy and stuff like that, but he was not amazing as a tackle breaker. Like he wasn't generating all of this stuff on his by himself. He had 3.5 yards before contact per attempt last year.

Starting point is 00:43:51 That is an astronomical number. Now, that's falling back to Earth. the only 1.23 this year, which is really hurt Sequin in the sense that he's not breaking tackles, guys, amongst 43 qualifying backs, Sequan Barkley, ninth lowest explosive run rate, third lowest miss tackles force per attempt, only Chuba Hubbard and Kareem Hunt are worse than Seacuan Barkley, and the 10th lowest yards at the contact per attempt. So based off of his role in this offense, I'm not worried about him and the touchdown equity that he brings, but saying that I think there's going to be a bounce back, that better days are

Starting point is 00:44:28 coming, like all that kind of stuff for Sequin. No, I don't see that. Let's get to the Sunday late afternoon Slate, late afternoon Eastern time. Titans at Cardinals. This one I'll keep really simple here, D'Brow. Are you starting, Amari Di Mercado, Michael Carter, neither, or both this week? I think both are flex-worthy. And I know that this has been the talking point of all of Twitter this week. It's been like, Oh, which side do you take it? You take it Michael Carter or Mari Di Mercado? You can't like both.

Starting point is 00:44:57 You got to pick a side. Which one you're picking up off of waivers? And I ended up with Michael Carter in a lot of places because everybody went to the DeMarcato side. So Michael Carter you could get for basically free off of waivers. And I think the way that this backflow is going to work out this week is I think Michael Carter is going to be, if you look at the early season usage of James Connor and and Trey Benson, James Connor was your early down guy.

Starting point is 00:45:21 He got a little bit of the passing down work. Tray Benson worked in the passing down and sprinkling in on early downs. I think Michael Carter is your James Connor, and I think Tray Ben, Amari D. Mercado is your Trey Benson. I think both guys are going to have relevance this week. I wouldn't be surprised if both of these guys scored. If I got to pick one, I pick Michael Carter because I think he's going to own the early down role.

Starting point is 00:45:41 And what we saw from him last year, week 17 through 18, he had 18 touches per game, 70 total yards. He wasn't truly efficient, but RB 11 and RB20 in those weeks. So really, like, if you need a flex, either one of them. I can make you a case for both of them. If I got to pick one, it's Michael Carter. Fitz, DeMercato, Carter, neither, or both. I agree with DeBro.

Starting point is 00:46:04 I think they're both flex-worthy. I've got Carter ranked RB28 and Demercato RB29. And I know it seems counterintuitive to think that, you know, when DeMercato was active last week, the number two running back and Michael Carter was not active to think that Michael Carter would be more valuable than the guy who was already ahead of him on the depth chart. But I do think there's a good chance that the Cardinals just leave De Mercado in the passing down roll and move Carter into the early down roll. And Carter kind of tipped his hand, tipped the team's hand. He was doing a locker room interview and they were asking him about,

Starting point is 00:46:41 you know, going from the practice squad to being probably a prominent part of the offense this week. And he said, yeah, it's a lot. You go from the practice squad one week to start the next. Like he said he was starting, basically. So I kind of think that's how they're going to play it, but I do think they both profile as like playable options against a Titans run defense that this has just been a great matchup. Like fourth most fantasy points to running backs, third most rushing yards, a league high six touchdown runs against the Titans. Similar question on our next game. Buccaneers at Seahawks, another backfield with, you know, the main, you know, characters hurt. Bucky Irving not playing for the Buccaneers.

Starting point is 00:47:21 So how are you approaching the Tampa Bay backfield? Fitz will start with you this time with Irving, you know, hurt. Well, the matchup is less appealing than it is for the Cardinals running backs. I mean, the Seahawks have a lot of the seventh fewest rushing yards to running backs and giving up just 3.3 yards per carry to running backs. Their third in DVOA against the run. White obviously has the appeal as a pass catcher, but less so as a runner, like career average of 3.9 yards per carry. I think that kind of yards per carry, not a great stat, but I think it's a

Starting point is 00:47:53 pretty good reflection on Rashad White in this case. And then I've got Sean Tucker running back 38. Just kind of cautious. Maybe he is a much bigger role than we expect, which would be fun to see because, like, I think a lot of people have been ready for Sean Tucker to break out and do something more. Like, I mean, Bucky's great. Like, whoever's behind Bucky when healthy, like no one's leapfrogging Bucky on the depth chart. But I think people want to see Sean Tucker and maybe they get the chance this week. DeBrow, what do you think about this backfield this week?

Starting point is 00:48:25 I think it's going to be mostly Rashad White. I think Tucker's going to, I think he's going to factor him for like 30, 35 percent maybe of the snaps and stuff like that. That might be a little bit high. I think Rashad White, I am going to have as a top 24 back, just based off a volume. I think he's going to get the high leverage touches. And the other part about it is if one of these guys is playing in the passing game,

Starting point is 00:48:45 I think that's where Rashad White can have a good day. Seattle's given up the most receiving arts to backs. So I think he can get, especially with the Buccaneers, how banged up are they in the passing game? Like, I mean, Mike Evans is not going to play. Like outside of a Mecca, Bucca, who is Baker Mayfield throwing the ball to? So I think Rashad White can get their own volume, even though the matchup like Fitsy pointed out is pretty bad.

Starting point is 00:49:07 If you want a chance to win a signed AJ Brown Eagles jersey for free, courtesy of our friends at pristineauction.com, all you need to do is head to Fantasypros.com. contest, complete the form, and either download the Fantasy Pros app, leave a review for the podcast, or follow us on X, Instagram, or TikTok at Fantasy Pros. The more actions you complete, the more entries you receive. We will be announcing a winner on the podcast near the beginning of next month. If you're watching on YouTube, be sure to subscribe and turn on those notifications, so you can be alerted when new episodes are up and to claim your prize. Let's go to Lions

Starting point is 00:49:39 at Bengals in Jake Browning's defense, Dibro, at Minnesota and at Denver are two of the toughest You could have, especially as a backup quarterback. Home against Detroit isn't exactly easy, but it might feel easy by comparison relative to the last two weeks. So are we willing to give Bengals players another chance this week? I think we are. I mean, Jake Browning, I think you're not playing him outside of Superflex formats. But T. Higgins, I think, goes back into like wide receiver three territory. The lion's secondary is banged up. They've given up the 10th most pprs per target to perimeter wide receivers. So he gets flexed. relevance back. The player that I'm not going to go back to, and I'm willing to start, like,

Starting point is 00:50:21 you know, pick your injury running back du jour this week, Marri Di Mercado, Michael Carter, Rico Dowdle, because Juba Hubbard's not going to play. I'm probably starting a lot of those guys over Chase Brown this week. Like, he gets all the volume. He's not going to go anywhere. Detroit's rush defense has been really good. So I think, like, you can go back to T. Higgins. Obviously, you're playing Jamar Chase. If you got Jamar Chase, Jake Browning in Superflex formats. Chase Brown is just this offensive line's not going to do him any favors. And Detroit's run defense has been really good.

Starting point is 00:50:54 I'm probably going to go with one of the guys the flavors of the week over Chase Brown. Bitsy, tell me I'm wrong. I've got, like I've got Chase Brown RB 23. He's at least getting volume, man. He's averaging 17 touches again. He's not doing anything with it, dude. I know, but like he's catching passes. He's,

Starting point is 00:51:14 I'm following the volume, man. And even there, it's like running back 23, excuse me, low end RB2 in a in a week where four teams are on by. So I don't think I'm going completely overboard there. I'm with you on not benching Jamar Chase. And some people think that's insane. Some people really want to bench him

Starting point is 00:51:37 and think that sticking with him is like the band playing on the deck of that Titanic as it's going down. So I know it's been bleak for Chase the last couple of weeks. Well, he had Surt pain last week too. You're right. Like, like, they should have known that that down game was coming. I think both sides have a good point on Chase in general.

Starting point is 00:52:00 Like, in general, I do think having a stud player whose circumstances have changed, but is still healthy is sometimes the worst thing you can have in fantasy because you feel like you cannot justify sitting a player like Jamar Chase. He's number one overall pick probably. in your league. Yet, if he continues to throw goose egg after goose egg, like, it will just drag you down more so than, like, if he was injured, not that you want a guy to get hurt, but if he was injured, okay, that's easy.

Starting point is 00:52:23 Put him on IR, pick up somebody else, and you're getting points elsewhere. Having said that, I do think, like, Jake Brown and historically is better at home, which is where he is here, Detroit's defense is not the same as Minnesota and Denver. Like, I would try again. There will come a point where it gets to be, like, man, like, you are just kind of on the Titanic, right? fits. I think that's an apt metaphor at a certain point. I don't think we're there yet just because there was two really tough matchups. Well, can we also, I mean, I know we're all prison in the

Starting point is 00:52:50 moment here. We also all still remember him versus Jacksonville too. And Chase went off with Browning under center and the, and the matchup wasn't nearly as bad. Like, we're all old enough to remember that too for everybody that wants to grab the shovel and just bury Jamar Chase right now. That was a game at home where Browning is better. And he still has 10 catches over the last two weeks. They're at least trying to get him the ball. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and you know Jamar Chase. Like, If he's not going to get the ball, he's going to get out there and not the cryptic tweets of A.J. Brown, but he's going to chirp about it. Where do we have? Oh, sorry. Go ahead. You can go ahead. I was just going to ask, where do we have T. Higgins ranked? I'm wide receiver 33. I think I'm right around you. I've got a wide receiver 31, Fancy. So we're holding hands here. Where do you have Chase ranked this week?

Starting point is 00:53:31 Nine. Same. Exact same. Yeah. And I think I need to move him up, to be honest. Chase is also the type of player that, like, you don't need a great quarterback. Like, if he just gets him the ball and there's any amount of space, like, he can take it to the house. So, um, yeah. I have a funny story on Higgins, by the way. So a good friend of mine, uh, who does not really pay that close attention to fantasy, but like he's in like a, you know, a league with his, his family and everything. He like, you know, asked me for some help with the draft and for making some of his, you know, picks and everything. He called me last night and he was like, hey, I need to pick up a tight end because crafts on by. Who should I drop? And he has really

Starting point is 00:54:08 strong receivers. And he was listening just the guys on his bench. And one of the last guys he mentioned was Higgins. He was only reading last names. And because I was thinking bench and he was, I just assumed he meant Jaden Higgins. And I was like, well, your other guys are pretty good. So like, yeah, I would drop Higgins. And then he, like, not even four seconds later, I go, well, wait, wait, wait, did you, was it T. Higgins or Jaden Higgins?

Starting point is 00:54:28 And he goes, well, I already dropped him. I was, what? You didn't do it right away. Oh. And it was T. He dropped T. Higgins to pick up a Harold Fanon Jr. Oh. So I was like, I was like, you could try messaging the commissioner, see if you can get him

Starting point is 00:54:41 to undo it. know, we will or not. It's kind of your own stupidity. So shouts to my friend David for making that hilarious mistake. Shout out to David. And shout out to using first names, too, when you talk about players. I know. He didn't realize that there was multiple Higgins receivers, I guess.

Starting point is 00:54:58 All right, let's go to commanders at Chargers last game in the late afternoon slate. Debrough, how much are you downgrading Chargers players with Joe Alt, now joining Roshan Slater on the shelf, at least for the time being two of the best tackles in football? are now out, not a very good offensive line. What are you doing with the Chargers in general as a result of this? Not much this week. Now, again, I think this is going to be week-to-week matchup sensitive based off of the matchup. But the commanders have the ninth-lowest pressure rate.

Starting point is 00:55:28 So I'm not that worried. And looking at their run defense, like they've allowed the ninth highest-miss tackle rate, their 14th and explosive run rate. So I think even behind like a downgraded offensive line, the Chargers can still have a lot success this week. Fits? I think I'm a smidge below consensus on all the charges this week, except for Ladd-McConkey, who I'm stubbornly keeping faith with. I think this is Ladd-week, Fancy, to your point. I think it's Ladd-week. Don't the commanders get beaten up pretty good by slot receivers?

Starting point is 00:55:58 A lot, a lot of problems depending the slot. Yeah, Mike, have they been playing Mike Sanra still back in the slot now? Isn't he hurt? They have. Yeah. I think it's Lad week. I think the coverage matchup. And plus, dude, if we, if anybody watched that game last week, Ladd is pressing so much. Like, you could tell what's in his head. Like he wants to like a lot of drops and stuff like that. He didn't look the same. Like, this is a get right. Like, you got to infuse this guy with some good vibes. Because if, like, you're going to need him the rest of the season. Yeah. But anyway, I don't think the Chargers offense completely breaks. But yeah, not having a two cornerstone offensive tackles. Joe Alt and Rishon Slater, who's out for the season. Right. Not a good thing.

Starting point is 00:56:36 The Chargers wanted ever Sean Slater and Joe Alt. offensive tackles. And in week five, it's going to be Trey Pipkins and Austin Deculis. Geez, I might have to, I don't even The Chargers a little more. I was just like it's not. Yeah, I had a, I don't even I watch a lot of SEC football. I don't remember Deculis at all from LSU. He was like a

Starting point is 00:56:55 first time of heard that name. Sixth round pick in 2022, I want to say. So yeah, that's maybe I have to drop the Chargers a bit more in the rankings. Debrough, I want to quickly ask you a question that we talked about on the Thursday show to reference another person in my life who asked me a question. My brother-in-law was asking me about this dynasty trade.

Starting point is 00:57:16 And Fitz felt like it was kind of a fair value, but he didn't think he would actually pull the trigger on it. I'm curious what you think, D-Bro, because it's a lot of players that you really like. It's giving away Puka Nakua. And this is like a 12-team, start-through-out receivers, Super Flex Dynasty League, giving away Pukua, getting Quentin Johnston and Drake London. Oh, good Lord. So the question is, how much do you really believe in this breakup being real for Quentin Johnson?

Starting point is 00:57:41 Is it enough to bridge the gap between two very good receivers? But obviously, Puka would be higher than London. Okay. Pretty fair, isn't it? I think it's really fair. I think that name value hasn't caught up to actual production with Quentin Johnson. I think you can add it more to the QJ's side, like a 27 or 28 second or something like that. But like, I think it's fair.

Starting point is 00:58:05 I think it's definitely fair because I think I, dude, Fancy didn't necessarily say. this in week one on the way of our show. I said the QJ breakout is real. The numbers say it is real. And it has been real. The guy is a wide receiver one. Like, his breakout is definitively real. So I think it's a fair return. Like if you want to do that now, you're giving away the wide receiver one and all a fantasy this year. He's probably going to go on to have a Cooper Cup type of record breaking season and he's going to be a difference maker and league winner. And we get down to the end of the season and we get the percentage of teams that went to championship. championships and playoffs and Puka stays healthy.

Starting point is 00:58:41 He's going to be at the top of that board. He's going to be. So knowing that you're giving that type of player away, go ahead. What I told. What I told my brother-in-law was I wouldn't make it if you guaranteed me health, but there is a history of Puka getting banged up and Stafford's back. So that's why I would say I was like, I don't know if I could actually bring myself to get rid of Puka right now.

Starting point is 00:59:02 But if I were to, that would be the justification because it's a fair deal. And you're getting out from not just him, but also Stafford's health. So that was, can we all say definitively at rope fast we move on. Is QJ their unquestioned wide receiver one moving forward? I think he is. Fitsy.

Starting point is 00:59:19 I'm not ready. I can't say unquestioned with, with lad. We'll see what happens. I mean, he's just, he's really good, but like,

Starting point is 00:59:28 so is lad. I don't, I haven't stopped believing in lad. Okay. Two games left. We'll go quick on these. Patriots at Bill's Sunday night football. I don't really have a good question for this game.

Starting point is 00:59:38 I'm just super excited to watch this. Actually, I just think it's going to be an awesome matchup. So just give me a final score prediction from you guys. And then also one player that you disagree with consensus on this week in this game. For what it's worth, Hard Rock bet has Bette has Bills minus eight. I'm not sure if this has moved at all. Hard Rock bet has bills minus eight, total set at 49. So again, DeBrow, give me final score prediction and a player you disagree with consensus on.

Starting point is 01:00:03 28, 24 bills. and I think my, why is Trevion Henderson ranked over Romandre Stevenson? Like what are people seeing that I'm not seeing? Because Travion Henderson for all of our hope and hype and all that kind of stuff, and Remandre keeps fumbling and he's not playing over Romandre for all we talked about last week. And, oh, Travion's going through him before positional drills and I was even bought into that and stuff. And Trayvion's not breaking tackles that Ramandre Stevenson is. still not ranked above Trayvion Henderson and he's outside the top 24 running backs,

Starting point is 01:00:38 although he's playing a team that cannot stop the run. And we know he's going to be a central figure of the rushing attack outside of Drake May. So I think the bills win this game. I think it's honestly, maybe I'm going a little bit too low on the score here. I think it's going to be a shootout. And I think Romandre should be ranked highly this week. As long as he doesn't fumble, he's going to have a really good game. So Debrough has Patriots covering and the over hit on the total and is disagreeing with

Starting point is 01:01:04 Ramandre, Fitz what do you have? 31-27 bills. I think the Patriots give the bills a really good game. Drake May goes toe-to-to-to with Josh Allen. Stefan Diggs plays well in his return to Buffalo revenge game and all that. But in the end, Josh Allen pulls it out for Buffalo. So I like the Patriots cover and the game to go over the total. I've got Drake May QB3 this week.

Starting point is 01:01:28 So I'm definitely against. And I think part of it is that Josh Allen is going to push Drake. May into a shootout. And so Drake May is going to have to drop back quite a bit and throw a lot of passes and do some scrambling. And he's going to put a points. Debrough, I am one of the fools who has Travion Henderson ranked one spot ahead of Ramandre Stevenson. I do expect Remondry to get more touches. But I do think that Trayon Henderson is always going to do more on a per touch basis than Romandre Stevenson. I'm also factoring in the likelihood that Ramandre Stevenson is one fumble away from fumble jail and not getting out. And also, like, Henderson has that big playability

Starting point is 01:02:12 and he's going up against those defense that's, wait, we don't think Trayvion Henderson is a good running back. Are you serious? Hold up. Hold on. Hold on. I loved him as a prospect, but I know we have a small sample size here. But tell me these numbers don't concern you at least a little bit. No, no, four games. Don't, like, you don't even need a list the numbers in four games in, with the number. of touches he's had in four games. Nothing you can throw at me with numbers is going to, like, change the way I fundamentally feel about Vermont, Travian Henderson. Okay.

Starting point is 01:02:43 And what he was is a prospect. Like, no, a four game sample of like timeshare slash backup work. No. Like, 39. The, the, the fact that he's playing in 29% of the snaps, the fact that he's not playing in a bunch of the routes, he's got 27% route share. But again, like, I, like, I, I, like, I, I, I, like, I, I, I, I, can't rank him above from Andre.

Starting point is 01:03:05 One fumble from a guy who's had chronic fumbling problems away from a much bigger ball. And against a really in a good matchup against a Bill's Rundee that ranks like 30th in DVOA and is given up like five and a half carry yards per carry. Hasn't Trevion like why didn't Trevion break out versus the Panthers then? That was a really good. I mean, it wasn't that a legendary matchup too. Did Trayvion go wild in that game either? You did not. It's coming, man.

Starting point is 01:03:31 I, dude, I hope it is. I hope it is. I hope it is. I don't want to be a Trevion hater. Like I loved him as a prospect. I still have a lot of faith in the kid. I'm just throwing out there. The numbers so far are concerning based off of what we've seen.

Starting point is 01:03:45 And I know it's a limited sample. I know that. Too early to all those Trevionanderson stakeholders out there. Debrough wants you to cut him. I recommend not cutting him. I never said that. I never said that. So much for going quickly on these last two games.

Starting point is 01:03:57 By the way, Travelyn Henderson, RB-25, Ramadre, RB 26 and half PPR at ECR. So back to back there. Monday night football chiefs at Jaguars. The chief's offense looked the best, most explosive it has in years against Baltimore. There's obviously a degree of like both elements being true here. But would you give more credit to Xavier Worthy's return to the lineup, opening things up, or just the abysmal injured Ravens defense that they were facing and kind of, you know, in answering that question, what do you expect for a follow up performance in Jacksonville?

Starting point is 01:04:26 Fitzlock to start with you. Well, the Ravens defense has been bad, no question. I do think Worthy makes a difference. They needed a pass catcher who could make explosive plays. And Worthy speed absolutely helps create space for his teammates. I can't wait to see what this Kansas City offense looks like when Rishi Rice comes back in a couple of weeks. Because the only time we've seen Rice and Worthy play together, it was early last year and Worthy was still a little lost. Like he's a totally different guy now.

Starting point is 01:04:53 I'm not sure what we'll see from the Chiefs this week. I think it largely depends on how well the Chiefs can block jobs. Hines Allen, who has been an absolute playwrecker for the Jaguars this season, like stealth defensive player of the year candidates. So they've got to handle him. And other than that, though, the Jaguars defense, the numbers say it's been really good this year, but it's also been very turnover driven. So we'll see other than Josh Heinz Allen.

Starting point is 01:05:22 Like, I'm excited about the Chiefs offense, cautiously optimistic about it this week. Debra. I think a lot of that was the Ravens, and it's not all of it. They looked like a better offense. I think Worthy gave them a big boost and opened up things for them. But it does have to get brought up that 62% of Patrick Mahomes' yards came after the catch. He had the eighth lowest A dot. Baltimore has not been a good tackling team.

Starting point is 01:05:48 They have the 11th most mistackles this year. Jacksonville, that's not a problem. Their defense is playing out of their minds right now. Like I think this game is going to be a lot uglier than people might think, especially Chiefs fans, considering how the context of the Jacksonville defense, they have the third fewest tackles. They've allowed the lowest pass rating and they lead the NFL interceptions. And I'll throw out one name, since Fitzie's giving some shine to Jacksonville players. Devin Lloyd is playing some really inspired. Dude, he is so freaking good.

Starting point is 01:06:25 he has three picks right now. He's forced to fumble. He's he's all over the freaking field. His playing time's gone up every single week. I think this game's going to be nasty. I'm not telling you Jacksonville is winning this game, but I think the under is more in playing this game. And I think the Chiefs offense comes back to Earth a little bit,

Starting point is 01:06:44 although I do think they're going to have to pass the ball a lot because they're not going to be able to run the ball versus them. I want to correct something I said earlier about thinking that Kyle Hamilton probably would play. He is not practicing again today on Friday. So that looks really bad for that. I don't know what the line's going to end up at in that game, but please bet on the Texans. I would encourage everybody.

Starting point is 01:07:02 I told you all to bet on the Chiefs last week, and you two scoffed at me. So I'm going to do it again. I said, I did. I had Ravens love and hope, and that wins. Please go bet on the Texans this week.

Starting point is 01:07:12 All right, we'll go ahead and wrap things up there. For Debrough and Fitz, I'm Ryan Wormley. Thanks everybody for tuning in. Good luck in week five. We'll see again next time. Actually, I will not be here next week,

Starting point is 01:07:21 just so everybody knows that it'll be you two with a fill-in host, having to come up. with the questions yourself. So we'll see how you guys like it for you two next week. I will be out, you know, for just a couple of days. But for next week, for next time, I'm Ryan. There at Debrough and Fitz. We'll see you.

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd - FantasyPros - The Biggest Fantasy Football Questions For Each Week 5 Matchup (Ep. 1751)

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