Transcript of Week 2 Matchups + Start/Sits, Delicious Garbage - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/12

The fantasy footballers studio is sponsored by Walmart. Welcome to the fantasy footballers podcast with your host, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright.

Welcome in.

Friday, September 12th.

Jason Mohr, Mike Wright, Andy Holloway, the fantasy footballer is back with you. Deucers Alley is full of producers, and we got a show for you today. We've got more matchups for week two. We have news to catch you up on. We have a game to recap, and a lot's going on in the world of fantasy football. We're going to try to help you with your start, sit decisions today, and it's a good time to remind you that if you venture to our YouTube, youtube. Com/thefantasyfootballers, you can subscribe, watch the show, and most importantly, click that bell so you know when Mike is live one hour before kickoff on Sunday. As we prepare those final start-and-sit decisions for week number 2. How are you two gentlemen doing this Friday morning?

I thought it was a very fun game. I mean, it was strangely one-sided, and yet the score, the magic of football is that one team can feel like they're dominating, and you're like, Oh, they're down one countdown. How is this even possible?

And yet know that they wouldn't win.

Yes, of course.

It was like both of those were true.

Of course. I mean, some big performances and unfortunately, some big injuries.

A couple of really sad injuries. You had Jaden Reid on a countdown catch, which was a great He had a breakdown that he sold out for, caught, secured it, survived the ground. His collarbone did not survive the ground. Then, unfortunately, for fantasy, for him and for the packers, that was a penalty on the play.

Which a lot of times you see those and you're like, Come on.

That was a penalty.

You saw that in super penalty.

He had him in a full joke hole. Okay, that's fine.

Yeah, so he got hurt. That was very frustrating. And then Austin Echler-Oh, man.

Even sadder.

Achilles tear at the very end of the game. He is going to be done. And we might not see Austin Eckler again.

I would doubt it. We talked a lot over the years about Achilles injuries, specifically for runningbacks, are darn near impossible to come back from. If you do, it's usually a two-year process before you look the same at 30 years old. I'm guessing, and Austin Echler is a friend of the show. Absolutely adore him.

You could see it on his face. It's so sad. He was just sitting there basically saying, Come on, man. Come on, man.

It was a big time. And you knew it right away. That's one of those injuries. Noncontact. You don't always know with an ACL. It can look like it or an MCL. But with Achilles, you don't need them to go. Usually, you don't need them to go get an MRI to know exactly what happened. It's like, Oh, that was an Achilles.

It feels like a bad... I I don't have any data, but it feels like a really bad year for Achilles. It just feels like across all sports, we've had a lot of Achilles injuries.

Like basketball?

I don't follow other sports. Yeah, basketball. We've had to see that quite a few times in I don't know if they're training different. It's just what happens. Leading receiver for the Washington Commander, Zackert 6 for 64, and a breakdown on eight targets. Debo, 7 for 44, and a garbage. Do we have the button?

Oh, we do.

Oh, the Garbage Land came.

Yummy, yummy, yummy.

That was the stinkiest of garbage.

We were in our-Oh, man. In our live chat with the office, and Mike needed some Garbage from Jaden. I wanted some garbage from Debo, and we were begging for it, and we got that Yum Yum Garbage. We got that yummy, yummy, garbage.

We got to move in that dumpster head first.

Gobble up all those nasty brown banana peels.

We also should talk about the fact that the Eckler injury happened late in the game. They could not run the football at all, including Jaden Daniels. I mean, the packers defense is swarming. It feels like they're playing with an extra three guys on the field at all times right now.

And Mike is still Well, not full-time.

No, it's wild.

Goodness.

But one of the big stories, we had said on Wednesday, we would play basically everybody over Bill. Just didn't feel like the matchup for Bill was good. Yesterday, Jason did come out and I'm going to say that he... Let me just fill in the blanks here. You said that if Washington had a good game, that you felt like Bill would have a good game. They did not have a good game. Bill did not have a good game.

Well, Bill only got four carries. What surprised me, and you saw this the week prior against the packers where it's like the heavier running back is the one that you need to use in this game. So I was just surprised they didn't go to Bill a little bit earlier. Obviously, you got down quick, and then you have to pull.

Cliff loves his old guys.

This is exactly what I expected for Bill in this game, that there was almost going to be no opportunity to run the football, and third downs would be Echler. We'll see brighter days ahead for Bill, certainly. Echler is going to be gone. You I might see Chris Rodriguez back to the active roster.

He'll be active. We'll sort through the mess as we get to the waivers, but- It seems like they could use Brian Robinson pretty bad right now. I mean, it's like, Jeremy McNickels will probably take on the pass catching roll. While the people who drafted Bill are seeing a new opportunity in front of you, we'll see. I'm going to pump the brakes on it. Everything goes to Bill, and this team, Washington, probably needs to trade for a running back.

Yeah, they may do that. On the other side, look, this game could have been much bigger for Jordan Love. He had 2. 92 and 2. If you had barely missed Matthew Golden Goose, who had two deep targets that were just barely misses, they would have been long touch downs. I think you're going to see a lot of big games for Jordan Love this year. He was very close to my fan I see MVP. He was very close to a my guy.

They were chucking it, too.

That's why. That's the exact reason. The play calling in Green Bay is outstanding. The fact that, look, you can't expect Jordan Love and Matthew Golden to be on the same page instantaneously. I think that changes over time, especially now that Jaden Reid is out, and you're going to have to spread the ball around. But they just have so many weapons. Tucker Kraft, 6 for 124 in a breakdown, seven targets, and really looks He's like a top five tight-in candidate the rest of the season.

Tucker Kraft. Look, we're only two weeks in, but over the draft season, it was for me, the big three guys. And then after that, I just wanted to wait on Tucker Kraft, and that is feeling pretty Good right now. The dude is just a Yack monster. He goes rumbling and stumbling down the field, and he's very hard to tackle.

Number one last year in yards after catch. He is a dog. Yards after catch, per catch.

He's You got that George Kittle in him of like, I'm not afraid of any of you. I'm stronger. I'm going to hit you. I'm going to keep running. It's great. Josh Jacobs, obviously, was awesome. And my favorite part, obviously, they had to get more receivers involved once Jaden Reid went down. So you saw both tight ends get involved. You saw Don Tavian Wicks out there.

You're talking about a hands team?

Dude, that's what I was going to bring up. The funniest thing to me was in Slack last night, when you point out, you said, What? Dontavian Wix is on the hands team?

That's right, people. The team believes that Wix can catch, which he did. He got four of his six. He was four for 44. This was the normal Green Bay Packers. It spread out. Jay, you said you're like, Who do you think is going to catch the countdown? If you bet Romeo Dobbs, then you won. You got your countdown. We'll see if the targets are more consolidated a bit here, though, with the Reid injury.

You're going to see more Saviynt on the field as well with Jaden Reid leaving.

He looked explosive.

Yeah, he's got... They'll probably get him the ball in some- Get him some better cleats. Some Yacks opportunities. All right. It's Friday.

Put Klan Friday.

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News and notes from Around the League, presented by Progressive Insurance.

Just to conclude the conversation, Jaden Reid was formerly put on IR with a fractured collarbone. They expect 6-8 weeks and back towards the end of the year.

Yeah.

Juan Jenning still not practicing on Thursday. Shoulder injury worked on the side. James Cooke, good news, upgraded to a full practice on Thursday. Just got a day off, and he's back out there with the ham string. Same with Malik Nabors, upgraded to a full practice on Thursday. Well, this is of how we live our lives in Miami. But Mike McDaniel says Jalen Waddle should be available for week two, but not Darren Waller.

How many plays will Waddle be available for?

How many plays is he hit?

I'm going to guess three and a half plays, and then the rest of the game once he comes back. Okay.

What are you hearing about Xavier worthy?

Limited practice. I personally can't imagine that he plays this week. And honestly, if he plays, I would be really scared to put him out there, get at least another Another week of practice, get used to his new armor that he's going to have to wear on that shoulder. But overall, it is good news.

It's great news. It means you don't expect him to miss four weeks. They're not putting him on IR, obviously. They don't have a designation of very limited in practice, but that would be my assumption is that he was there. But his injury would be shocking to me if he played this week.

All right, What else do we have going on? We have- Brock Bowers.

We're on Brock Bowers' watch.

Brock Bowers is serious. They're on Monday Night Football game, which made it real tough. We had people saying, Do I start Tucker Kraft last night? We don't have any information about Brock Bowers. I think the general wisdom was you wait for Brock Bowers, and then it's like, Whoops, Kraft goes off. However, because it's a Monday Night Football game, that means that yesterday's practice report, which was Thursday, is really just the normal Wednesday in the cycle where a lot of veterans or anybody already banged up, you get the day off. I saw more information that led me to believe that it's possible this is a PCL sprain that could be a week's long injury. Really, truly, right now, we're just on Brock Watch. You have to. If you've got Brock Bowers, You need to be on the waiver wire today, get someone to replace him. Then keep in mind, you might need to replace him on Sunday, not knowing, unless you want to take the shot at Myers or something.

There is an Injury Blitz episode. We release it every week for jointhefoot. Com supporters and Premier tier and above. Matthew Betz, our injury expert, will go over that. It comes out this afternoon, and you'll want to avail yourself of his opinions in terms of any breaking news and updates. Dallas Goddard did not practice again. Evan Ingram, though, was upgraded to a full practice. Oh, look at that. Evan Ingram may be playing some football this week. We get to see another week. Then I just got this news coming through that Rasha Bateman was not present at practice on Friday.

Interesting.

Interesting.

We saw, same with Patrick Ricard, still missing time, the fullback there.

Quinchawn Judkins did participate in full practice on Thursday, so he's going to practice in full Thursday. On Friday, there was a report that he will play on Sunday without limitations. Really hard to imagine.

I'm starting to have the ability to imagine him playing a bunch.

I have him in two or three league, and in one of those league, it's a question now. It's like, Oh, because I don't have good options. I don't sit there and go, Quinch on Jenkins. You got to get him in your lineup immediately, because what if he gets the workload? But if you don't have any good options- Do you want a bad question?

Yeah. Do you want to feel pain?

That's all I want right now.

How about I ask you Quinchawn Judkins if he's active and starting? Of course. Or Kenneth Walker.

I'd play Walker. I would play Walker as well.

No, we're not there yet with Kenneth Walker.

Let's take you a little easy. Nick Chubb over at Quinchan right now? Yes. Okay, so he's still a desperation running that play for week one.

Process-wise, results may vary. Quinchan Judkins. Quinchan Judkins may vary. He literally could have five carries and two touch downs.

Side effects include nausea, like diarrhea.

You don't know. For me and my teams, I'm playing a guy who I know is going to touch the ball 10 plus times.

All right, that was news and notes sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Quote today at progressive. Com. Progressive casualty insurance company affiliates and third-party insurers not available in all states or situations, coverage subject to policy terms, limits, and conditions. Let's jump right in.

Fantasy Forecast, presented by Prize Picks.

Yesterday, we covered the Jags, bangles, giants, cowboys, bears, lions, rams, Titans, patriots, dolphins, 49ers, saints, bills, jets, and the Seahawks, Stealers, ball games. So if you want to hear us break those games down for fantasy, just tune into yesterday's show, and you can. It's just sitting there waiting for you. All right, today we're starting off the Cleveland Browns with Quinchawn Judkins, 0-1, traveling to Baltimore for the Battle with the Ravens who are 0-1 and at home, awful loss.

And angry.

Very angry, and will really, really easily win this game. Vegas Line, Baltimore minus 11. Oh, come on. Eleven and a half.

Oh, man.

Do it, Andy. No. Do it. No, not even close.

Okay.

I don't believe it.

I'm taking them to cover, though. Eleven and a half.

I'm not.

Really?

I had it in there forever in our weekly weekly picks. I'm like, It's 11 and a half. You always take the points. And I'm like, Is that in Baltimore? I think they might cover it.

It's 11 and a half. The overrunner is 44. That gives the Brown 16 points. It's a tough situation to be like, Hey, I'm going to go chase Dylan Samson or Judy Tillman, Fannen. I don't like it. I really don't. You could have some targets. You can have some high passing volume. I think that is something you can bet on, but I'm not sure that they are going to have a lot of first downs in this game. You may see I'm just not on the brown side in this one.

I'm still fine with the volume. Joe Flacko threw the ball 45 times last week. He's probably going to throw the ball Well, 45 would be the floor, I would say. This could be a 50 attempt Joe Flacko game. So there may not be touch downs, but you're talking five.

How many attempts last week? 45. So out of 45 attempts, We were not happy with Judy. We were not happy with Najoku. We got the touch down for Tillman. We were happy with Tillman.

We were happy with Tillman.

And Fanon, who no one started, but now they're going to try to start.

Najoku was fine. He was a little disappointing because we hoped for a big week, but then also you had Fanon was very good.

What we see, he was three for 37. I'm not fine with that. Okay. I don't think you should be either, Jason. Where's your standards, man? I think tied in 23 in week one.

Where's the Jalen Warren line for David Najoku?

Three for 37.

He's not a running back.

3 for 37? No, that's miserable.

I didn't remember it was that bad. Okay.

Well, I'm correcting you.

That being said, I do think you look at last year, the Ravens defense. Would you say it was good last year? Yeah, they have a good defense. But for fantasy purposes, because they've got such a great offense, teams have to throw a lot. They were 23rd against quarterbacks, 28th against wide receivers. If Joe Flacker goes out there and throws the ball 50 times, someone's catching those balls, whether it's Tillman, I think is a pretty fine play. Judy, okay. Najoku, I'm still probably starting all of those as Najoku's probably in. The wide receiver are flex options that you've just got to look at who else you have. The real question here is people spent hard on Harold Fanon, and that one feels a little scary for me to throw right into the lineup after one week against the bangles who we knew going in are historically bad against tight in.

I would play Fanon over Najoku.

You would play Fanon over Najoku.

That was going to be the question. Yes, I would, because I think the way they utilized Fana in the types of little designed stuff in the flats and out of the backfield, it's just the junk little guaranteed targets, and I feel better about that right now.

I don't hate that take. I'd still play in the Joku, but I think they are both playable as top 12-ish tight ends.

All I know is that... Yeah, you're right. Somebody's going to have a... There'll be a couple of players that have a good game for the Browns. But not all of them.

Right. Yeah. No, certainly. You're not going to be happy with Judy, Fanon, Najoku, and Tillman. So the question is now runningbacks. You've got Dylan Samson last week had eight targets. If you're in a full PPR, you're off everybody.

All of them this week. I'm off all of them this week. We're not going to get to run the ball that much. I mean, you could roll the dice with Samson hoping you get targets, but I don't know what the Judkins utility will be. I feel like it's a wait and see weekend for Cleveland.

Yeah, I would prefer that route. If I were to start one, including Judkins, it would be Samson. Samson last week was the running back 16 in half PPR. When you get eight receptions, 8 for 64 is a good wide receiver receiver. So they're going to have to throw the ball a lot. I'm fine starting Samson.

You play Lamar, you play Henry, you play Zé flowers. But is that the end of the story for Baltimore this week?

Yeah. Isiah likely is practicing. We will see what his status is going to be.

I don't think he was- I think he's working on the side. I think he had his helmet, which was a big deal. Okay. So I don't think he's practicing to the point where he's- Those things are pretty heavy. They're pretty heavy, especially if you put that Guardian Cap on. You know what, NFL- He was working out in front of some people. Nfl needs to a universal everyone must wear a Guardian Cap rule because honestly, it might be better for players, but when no one else does and one guy does, you just look so stupid. You just look so stupid.

You are very- Saviynt and Dobbs did it.

Yeah. I want them all because then it's like, Hey, you're all looking the same.

Yeah. Or just- Can we just get a better- They don't bother me at Can't we get a better helmet?

Right. I think they've been trying.

Yeah. Denver.

I think if we had a path to that, the NFL, after a old concussion, Kate, they would have figured it out.

I'm not sure the Guardian Caps are- Yeah, I don't know. Are effective.

I don't know if they are.

We don't know. I remember reading some stuff. There might be some marginal tiny bit of data difference.

I feel like they can make them look better, though. Like the same exact Guardian Cap. I feel like they're doing a bad job with the logo on it or something. I don't know.

I think it's because they have giant heads, Jason.

It's bumpy. Right. So they have to put a sheet over the bumpiness. They're doing their best, Jason. They're trying to protect their brains.

I'm just telling them to protect all of them.

All right, we're going to take a break. We'll be back the rest of the matchups Coming up, starting with Denver. The Denver Broncos limped to a victory in week one. They are want to know. They traveled to Indianapolis, who looked great in week Also want to note, Vegas has Denver one and a half point road favorites over under a 43 and a half. Didn't get the offensive performance from the Broncos we were hoping for in week one, but the Colts got everything they could have ever dreamed from Daniel Jones, who was very, very, very good in week one.

Johnny Taylor disagrees.

Johnny Taylor disagrees that Daniel Jones was good?

No, he disagrees that Daniel Jones got the production that everyone He wanted. Right. He stole. He stole from Johnny Taylor. All right.

Thank you for explaining. Right at the goal line. Thank you for explaining. I would have made a bigger deal about that because I've got Jonathan Taylor and two touch downs vultured. Really, really upsetting. However, Jonathan Taylor had two opportunities to get the countdown before they gave Daniel Jones. That second one, it was like, I couldn't believe Jonathan Taylor didn't get in, and one guy tackled him. So shame on you for allowing that tackle. Daniel Jones came in. So it was a punishment. It was a punishment and a A deserved punishment.

Yeah, Daniel Jones, two touch downs on the ground, 22 for 29 through the air last week. Tough task facing the Denver defense, certainly. By the way, the last time Jonathan Taylor played the Broncos, he had that huge long down run where he fumbled it. Oh, dropped the ball backwards. Before he crossed the goal line. He does not want to get in there.

Yeah.

But I did. Look, I said it would be Tyler Warren getting some of these touche pushes. It was Daniel Jones that got them. That will be something in play all year long when you have Jones because, hey, they worked. They worked, and that's what happens. But Jonathan Taylor did look good in week one. Let's talk about the quarterbacks. Bo Nicks, a lot of people drafted him fairly high. Is he right back out there completely giving him a pass on the disappointing week one? Is that your approach, Mike? Are you looking to find somebody else? He was the quarterback 27 in week one.

There were two different questions. Sorry.

Go on.

I am putting him right back out there. I am not giving him a pass. That was a really pathetic opening performance of just all these trick shots of bow necks.

A bunch of Dude Perfect stuff.

Yeah, he's on the run. He's like, Check this out. You're like, Boom.

Bro, set your feet.

Set your feet. You're not Patrick Mahomes yet.

Just set him. It really felt like he got full of him.

Set him. Get your mechanics in and make a good throw. I'm not given the pass, but I am going to play him again this week.

It'll be really interesting to see how... Because the Broncos looked terrible and the Colts looked great, but the Colts also played the Dolphins who looked terrible.

So it's like, is the Colts defense somewhat responsible for what we saw against the Miami Dolphins?

We don't really know yet. We didn't expect the Colts to have a great defense, but I think there's an opportunity here for them to present difficulties for the Broncos in the Colts. They were in Indy, so they stayed home, home and home here for Indy.

Right. So wide receiver's for the Colts. Michael Pitman's last three games, 9 for 109 with a score, 6 for 72, 6 for 80, and a score. Now, The Denver Broncos defense is different. Jay, you're now the resident Michael Pitman.

I am. I've got him everywhere. We'll go to you. I believe in him. I think he's- We built this city. I think he's going to be a wide receiver, too, this entire season. Okay, so he's still a player. And he is not going to be in my lineup this week.

Who are you putting in over?

Currently, and this is my League of Record roster, I have Pitman on the bench. I have Keion Coleman and Cedric Tillman in ahead. The Broncos defense is really good. Pat Sertan came up on the injury report with a groin, so I'm monitoring that. But assuming Sertan is there with the Bronco's defense, I think Pitman is going to be great this year. This is not a matchup I'm looking forward to playing him. I think I go Pitman there. Stefan Diggs didn't even play half the snaps. He still targeted him. Well, sure, but Pitman had a better game last week. Sure.

Keion Coleman.

I would continue putting Keion Coleman in ahead of Pitman. That's one of the players I have in my lineup ahead of him.

I made you a trade offer for him.

I did see that. I have not rejected it, but I'm going to reject it, but I haven't yet. It was a fair offer. Well, I was going to look at countering, but I left it there.

You're good. Yeah, I thought it was okay. People probably want to know what it is.

I don't remember.

Do you? I believe I offered you Travis Hunter.

Oh, it was the third round pick.

And nick Chubb for Keion Coleman in the third round draft pick.

Yeah, the third is way too... People might not understand the value of our league, but a third is way too much for that. But it was a Fairtrade. I don't think it was bad.

Way too much or fair? It's tough. Is that what you were laughing at, Al?

Exactly what I was thinking.

When I say it's a fair trade- It's a real 5-10.

When I say it's a fair trade, I mean it was not- Well, let's see if we can get some done. It was not an egregious offer.

No, I mean Travis Hunter. If I offered you Travis Hunter for Keion Coleman straight up, what would you do?

Oh, man, that's interesting.

Because we know what the draft looked like.

What week is Waldron I'm fired. Okay, that's my biggest question. Man, that's a good question.

I thought about it, and then I was like, I don't know if I want to do this.

I don't either. Wow.

So I didn't. Don't ask me.

Mike, what do you think? I'm not involved. All right. Jonathan Taylor, you play him. Dobbins and Harvey, I would expect to see pretty much the same thing as last week, personally. I think Dobbins will be a good play when he scores for Denver, and Harvey will be a limited snap, high upside player. Do you have any difference of opinion from week one to week two, Mike?

I don't think so. There was some press conferences where they were talking about we had some disappointments on offense, and then highlighting that they were very pleased with R. J. Harvey. That doesn't mean he's going to get in there more. It's bidet. Six targets in the first half, if that's really what Sean Payton is going to do for the time being, which is bizarre, but this is how he's going to run the offense. Harvey is a sketchy play until we see that transition to being Dobbins and R. J. Harvey at the top.

Courtney and Sutton, a 24% target share in week one. Courtney Sutton's every week. Play him, but do you play Franklin, Mims, or Bryant, or just wait?

I think you wait. I think you have to wait. The Marvin Mims snaps of the preseason did not continue, and he was down to a halftime player. So I mean, look, 53% of snaps for Mims, I guess, is-It's still an upgrade. That's an upgrade over last year, but it was not the hope that we saw in the preseason.

And you don't know if that's him still coming back off that injury he suffered late in the preseason, and he's getting worked back into the role that he had prior to that injury, or whether it's basically Courtland, Sutton, and then packages with everybody else. Honestly, that's what I expect going forward, unless someone just demands that they are winning on every route. I think it's going to be Mims and Franklin and a little bit of Pat Bryant until-We only got one touch down from Nicks last week, too.

If we can get a better performance of the offense, we'll have this discussion.

Those guys are best ball players.

Tyler Warren is a dog. Yes. Play him. Then Evan Ingram or Johnny Smith this week, what would you do?

Johnny.

Yeah, I don't think I would...

You don't want to mess around with the injury, right? Correct. Carolina's 0-1. They travel to Arizona, 1-0. Vegas Line, Arizona minus 6. 5 at home over under 44 points gives Carolina 19 implied points, Arizona 25. 5. You'll be happy. The game's in a dome. We've got... Well, maybe. Maybe they'll have the roof open. But probably not because it's hot. It's a little hot. It's a little hot. All right, we're home. The Cardinals are home. The Panthers. Everything that happened in week one for the Panthers was depressing to me. There just wasn't It isn't any semblance of what we saw at the end of the year with Bryce Young. The Cardinals are heavy favorites in every game where they're six plus point favorites. Here's Kyler's numbers. 251 passing, you heard 71 % completion percentage, and the Cardinals covered the spread in 8 of 12. So hopefully he looks better. He was very sick last week. We are going to take solace in the fact he was sick because we were sick when we watched him. There is some good indications that maybe they're going to use Marvin Harrison a little bit better this year so far through week one?

Yeah. Kyle tweeted out, the Borgogan tweeted out the difference in his routes and the uptick in crossing routes was cross your fingers. I'm sorry. No, I can't power it through. I'm sorry for that. But we need that to stick. That was the problem with Marv last year is everything they drew up for him was difficult, and we need him to get easier, just pitch-catch, and then let your top five talent do what he does.

I think it was really heartening. Going back and looking at his utilization made me excited for Marv going forward. I think in this matchup, you could pretty much start every single Cardinal that's questionable. Kyler is a great start this week. James Connor, goodness gracious. The Carolina Panthers are the worst run defense we've ever seen at this point in time. Marvin Harrison is locked in. And while I don't- And Trey McBride. Yes, Trey McBride, of course. While I wouldn't sit there and recommend, Hey, start Trey Benson.

I think in a pinch.

Yeah. If you're a zero Rb team that has to start someone, you can easily see how it could get done in this match.

I agree. 33% of snaps. That is tied for the highest snap percentage of his rookie year, Trey Benson. Chuba, you play him because he's a good running back, and it just works out for Chuba no matter what happens. Tepnick Millen, the Targets were there, the production.

He dollied it. He had nine targets. He caught five of them.

Okay. I like it. I like it. Redemption. I had to put that. He was working.

He's one of eight first-round wide receivers to see nine plus targets in their first game. We knew he would be the guy. Jason, you admitted yesterday you went from Xavier Laguette Apologist to Despiser in 24 hours.

I mean, in 22 seconds. Just watching the game, I really wanted that one play was just preposterous of all wide receiver's, drag the feet, and he was just like, I'm going to scroll through this catch. He had five yards to get that second foot down. He's just like, I'm going to run right out of bounds. He's not a good wide receiver. I mean, I wanted- He's not. He's a good athlete. I wanted. He's a great athlete. He was so impressive his final collegiate year. He's a first-round NFL draft pick. The opportunity is in front of him going into year two. He reminds me situationally a lot of Keion Coleman. Yes, very much. And it's like, okay, I'm going to bet on those guys. I'm going to take shots. And I drafted a lot of Keion Coleman. I drafted a lot of Liguette. And I feel like one weekend we've got our answer. One of them stepped forward and one of them stepped out of bounds.

Thank you. I was hoping you'd go there. Philadelphia, 1-0, taking on the Chiefs in Arrowhead. Chiefs are 0-1. Vegas Line here, Philly minus one and a half road favorites. I don't know if we have an answer to this question, Kyle, if you're listening. When have the Chiefs been home underdogs?

In the Patrick Mahomes era? Yeah.

Have we had that in years?

That has to never happen.

He's going to look it up. I don't know if it's ever happened, at least in several years. This is the Super Bowl rematch, and we've got the Eagles as favorites. So 46 and a half point over under. Patrick Mahomes was pretty good in week one from a fantasy perspective. He was 24 for 39. He ran a ton, 6 for 57 on the ground. We don't know if we'll have Xavier worthy or not. We think we probably won't. Hollywood Brown dominated target chair in his absence. Juju will be involved. I've already told you, Taekwan Thornton will- 42-yard-touchdown reception. He will score a 42-yard touchdown in this game.

That means you're starting him over most questionable pieces.

See, I was asked that question, and what my response- Because that is a guaranteed 10 points. It is a guaranteed. That's a lot. But when I make a countdown guarantee, it's really a heart decision. So if you want to move them up in your ranks via your heart and believing, you can do that.

It's not your analytical ranks.

Yeah, a countdown guarantee. I mean, this is... He's also going to catch a pass on the first drive, just so you know, if you need that.

Is it the No. No. Just a catch.

Is he the first countdown of the game?

We'll find out. I got something to watch in this one. So I wonder what we'll see from Travis Kelsey this week.

Man. Week one, it's devastating, honestly. The fact that worthy goes out immediately, and then Travis Kelsey ends up with four targets It's two for 47. Yeah, he caught the countdown. But that is an 11% target share for Travis Kelsey for a team that then fully featured Hollywood Brown.

It was early when it happened to be worthy. So you can look at this and say, Hey, let's design some stuff to get Kelsey involved.

But the thing about Kelsey is you don't even fully design it. Okay, here's the route. We know we're going to go to Kelsey. Go do something.

They got shut down.

Most recent example, obviously, these teams played in the Super Bowl. In that Super Bowl, you had Xavier worthy, who had eight for 157, and two was the star. Travis Kelsey over there, four for 39. In the Super Bowl. So are you playing him? He's a low-end start for me. There are guys-Juan Johnson. I would play Juan Johnson over Travis Kelsey.

Kyle Pitz.

I'd play Pitz over Kosen.

Hawkinson.

I'd play Hawkinson over Kosen.

Britten Strange.

That one, I think Strange's floor is higher, but I would go Kelsi.

Did you say Fanon?

No. I would play Kelsi. I'm not as bullish on Fana after one week. I am super bullish on Fana the rest of the season, but this week, I'm not confident enough yet.

Ezea Pacheco. Do we have a Pacheco problem? Since returning in week 13 last year, six games played. Total, he scored 26 fantasy points, 3. 7 yards per touch. He has not looked like the- No, you cannot play him. Pacheco of old.

I think on a per touch basis, he's okay, but he is not getting the utilization. I mean, he had five carries. They are splitting this work up three ways now. If they just split it up between him and Hunt, you cannot play him. If they're splitting it up three ways, you certainly can't. If you're playing against the Philadelphia Eagles, he's like a must bench. Honestly, I think Trey Vincent is a better play than Pacheco I was going to say, I feel like we have a pretty good barometer of Ken Walker versus Ken Walker, Pacheco.

Ken Walker, for sure. Okay.

The answer, by the way, they have not been home underdog since 2022, so it's been a really long time. Mahomes or Herbert?

I'd play Herbert.

Baker or Mahomes. Baker plays Houston in Houston.

I would play Baker.

Me, too. Justin Fields against Buffalo.

Yeah, I'd like to play Fields.

On the other side, simple enough. Jalen Hertz, Saquon Barkley, A. J. Brown, Devante Smith. Put them in your lineup. Dallas Goddard might miss the game, giving some more targets to the wide receiver position.

Historically, they have done very, very, very well.

At what point would you pick up Dotson? Let's say you come out and Dotson is- This morning in my guillotine.

It has to be done.

Wow. I was going to say probably never, but maybe.

For context, a- Three catches. A guillotine league is Are we 17 or 18 teams?

17 teams.

That is a very, very deep roster. But I think Godert being out is at least interesting for Dotson.

Sunday Night Football, the Falcons at 0-1, taking on the 1-0, Minnesota Vikings. Vegas Line has Minnesota minus three and a half. The over-run is 44 and a half. One thing I noticed this week was J. J. Mccarthy was not a high draft pick in fantasy, but man, was that fun to watch? And so people, I've noticed, really, really want to start him. They really want to find a way to get him into their lineup.

I think this week it's okay. I'm not going to force him into my lineup, but I think that Bo Nicks or JJ McCarthy, I think, is a fair and interesting question.

He's a consistency score of an A.

Oh, 100%.

100% of his game so far.

How was the first half consistency score?

That doesn't matter. It's how you finish, brother.

Offensive player of the week. Just outpacing Daniel Jones from the AFC.

Yeah, it is interesting. This is a matchup you certainly can roll the dice with. If you want to play and have fun, I think JJ McCarthy is a fine play. The Falcons defense is not nearly as good as the bears defense that he faced last week. This is their home opener. They're favored by three and a half. They're projected for 24 points. A lot of feathers in the cap of being a fine start.

Jefferson's in, Hawkinson's in.

I think Hawkinson is important to say. He had a terrible first week, and I am holding-Oh, my gosh.

I hope his numbers were better than Najoku. Oh, they're very similar. 3 for 15. That's worse. You're right. That's worse. Najoku, big week. Sorry.

Go on. No worries. But Hawkinson, I've got to give it at least another week. I will have him in my lineups if I draft it.

Their rate of passing was much lower compared to what we're normally seeing with Kevin O'Neill. It might take a couple of weeks to get that back up to speed.

We did not see anything from Thiel, and he had no catches He had no catches. He had a two-by conversion. Jordan Mason was Mike's start of the week. Aaron Jones was the RV 12 on 11 opportunities. If you were staring that decision down, a lot of people probably took Aaron Jones and maybe got Mason later. Who would you start, Jason?

I It's a good start, Aaron Jones still. I think he's the vet. I also-Oh, I know he's the vet. Yes. I think he gets the veteran treatment and will have the first opportunities. This run defense, I think, is still even a little softer. Then the Passing work to me is still what scares me on the Jordan Mason side. Jordan Mason, I think, has a higher probability of getting a rushing shutdown in this game and would be a great start for that reason. But outside of, if he doesn't get a touch on, he could end up with 70 yards, have a great game, look great, and you'd be really disappointed in fantasy if he doesn't catch the ball. So that's where I'd rather have the more ways to score for Aaron Jones.

Let me ask you a question. If you had to rate the Falcons' offensive performance in week one, one is the biggest sad face possible, and 10 is you're grinning from ear to ear. On the count of three, I want to hear the number that you would define from what you saw on film. So 1-10.

Okay.

Can we use decimals? Or it's got to be whole numbers here?

Whole numbers. 3, 2, 1. Five. Okay, so we're in the middle.

You did not participate?

Oh, no. I was setting you up on the host. Sorry.

Do you want an answer for me? I would love your answer.

Five. Okay. So Bijon. Let's talk about Bijon for a moment, because we may have seen the reception mask, something interesting in week one. He was amazing in the passing game. If that continues, you're never going to have a problem. He was 6 for 100 through the air, but he was only 12 for 24 on the ground. The bigger thing that has been brought up or maybe not brought up enough, he really split the work with Tyler Algier in the backfield.

He split the rushing work.

Which is stupid. It's just to be clear, it's stupid.

It is stupid. I wonder how much of that was game plan. Obviously, they know the Tampa Bay Bucaneers very, very well. They know Vita Vea. They know how difficult it is to run on the Bucaneers' defensive line. During that game, Bijon wasn't sharing the field that much. He 83% of snaps. You love to see that. Half the time, he was a wide receiver, and then he split the running back carry. This will be a really interesting test to see if does it go more 70, 30 rushing attempts, or is it still more 50, 50 rushing attempts, which would then be very, very stupid?

They are facing a terribly, terribly difficult rushing defense, probably worse than last week. I mean, you're going to have Jalen Carter back, and we don't like running on the Oh, I am a fool. I am a fool. The Vikings?

You scared me. Oh. I was wondering what I was- I thought Carter got traded. The Vikings are a good run, D for sure.

Last year- Sorry. They were six against the run, and I put Philadelphia in their place.

Yeah. In week one, they were six against the run. Last season, they were third against the run. They're a very difficult run team as well. So hopefully, the nice thing that we saw from last week is that if you're in a difficult matchup for runningbacks, then just throw the ball. Just get them out in space. There is a piece of me that can see how that could be worrisome, but I think it's a beneficial thing. It's like Devon Achan, you don't have to worry about how good he is on the ground, usually. Because he's used as much as a wide receiver is.

It wasn't that they were 50-50 in carries at the end of last year, talking Algier and Béjan, but Algier is still in a lot of those games after the buy week, got a lot of attempts. I think that what happened was Béjan was very ineffective, and they said, Okay, we'll try Algier. Then Algier was very ineffective. It comes down to catching the ball, so Béjan is still fine.

Kyle Pitz is your start of the week, Mike?

Yep. In a world of needing tight ends, I think that he should be an okay play. Now, with the news that sounds like Darnell Mooney might play, that does create a downgrade, in my mind, to Kyle Pitz.

Mooney and London were limited on Thursday. We'll follow the injury reports today, and we'll take a break. I'll try to remember which teams are playing each other. All right. Are we happy about the Monday Night Football double header?

Because it's spread out-7: 00 PM Eastern, 10: 00 PM Eastern.

Oh, man.

East Coast, get rekt. Wait. You want to ruin your Monday?

Oh, guess what? You Monday Night.

You get Tuesday morning football. Is everyone canceling work on Tuesday?

Look, we're West Coast guys.

West Coast, thank you.

I really don't know. How does this work? Hold on. Is Kyle on the microphone. Can we record Kyle? He is, yeah. Kyle, you're back in Georgia.

East Coast.

Where Jalen Carter played. How do you survive? I go to sleep.

Oh, you don't watch? You don't watch it?

Big football fan, Kyle.

I watch in the morning before you guys wake up. Okay.

Yeah, but you don't get to live in the-I just thought maybe East Coast, they just always stay up three hours later than everybody else.

Most of them do. Kyle is a very responsible father. That is A 10: 00 PM start.

That's wild.

I am happy that it's a double header, mostly because I am worried about watching the Texans this year for funs sake.

Yeah. For funsies.

For funsies. They've got such a good defense, and right now, their offensive line looks so bad that I'm worried that whether they can move the ball or not. And so I think you're going to end up with a lot of really ugly games. Not that if I'm a Texans fan, I'm not pessimistic on my season outlook. I'm just speaking solely as entertainment of football. It's worrisome.

Thankfully, this is... I mean, at least last year, the Bucks were a team that we would exploit through the air.

Tampa Bay takes on the Houston Texans. Tampa won in week one, Houston lost. The Vegas line is Houston minus two and a half. The overrunner is 42 and a half. This is the early game. So, yeah, it was not encouraging in week one. C. J. Stroud and Company not having Joe Mixon finding their way with the running game. I think they do need to commit to somebody a little bit more. They seem to be saying that they're going to do that with nick Chubb, who actually was pretty good on the ground. When you think about the game script and the fact that this team was, they lost a really low-scoring, nasty game, 14 to nine against the Rams. They finally started giving him the football. He ended up 13 for 60. They talked about him needing to get going. I think this will be a really defining week for whether nick Chubb is a viable fantasy player the rest of the season.

Well, the utilization will be there for nick Chubb. They did figure that out. They came out afterwards and said they need to get him more involved. If you look at the rushing attempts broken up over the course of the team, yeah, Chubb only had 48%, but that was still the vast lying in charge. Dario Gumbawale had seven Damian pierce had 11%, Woody Marks had 11%, so it was mostly Chubb. The issue here is, again, this is the Tampa Bay Bucaneers with Vita Bayer and Jalen Carter. So how can you possibly stop This is the team that just...

On the ground, at least, they stopped Alger and Bégin.

Right, and they have for years. They've been a tough team to run on. So nick Chubb, that style, stylistically, I don't love it. I do think he He'll have the work. I'm not going to, after this week, use this week's success as a barometer for whether nick Chubb will be a good fantasy option. I think he'll have better days ahead.

Mike Evans, one week in. Just play him and see how it goes.

Of course. Mike Evans has never been, honestly, the most consistent wide receiver. Even over the course of years, when you go back to when you had a wonderful my guy pick of Mike Evans, finished awesome, still had so many down weeks. He had eight targets It's 51 yards. It wasn't great, but certainly, you're going to keep playing him.

Emeka Abuka, two touch downs every week. I think we know that will always happen, forever. I do have him- He's on pace for 34, right?

34 touch downs. That's what my projection has.

Good. Bucky Irving, 76% of snaps, higher than any single game from his rookie year, including involvement in the passing game. I think it's going to be a really nice week for Bucky.

Yeah, if you drafted Bucky, after week one was not what you hoped for, it ends up not being the worst fantasy output, but you can at least wrap yourself in the blanket of his usage.

Oh, man. Rashaud White had three opportunities in the game, and Sean Tucker had one. This is Bucky's backfield.

All right. Kate Otton, don't worry about it.

No.

Baker.

He's still fine. He's a top 12 play.

Nico Collins did not see a single deep target. Stroud was really under fire in that game. Oh, yeah. They scored nine points.

I do think they're going to... When you watch film, a lot of this was on Stroud, and I don't necessarily blame him. I mean, if I were taking this nap, I would just start running the other way every time I got the ball. The offensive line is so, so bad. This is a good defensive line across from them, so there's some worries there. But you can throw on the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. I expect Stroud to figure some stuff out, step up in the pocket, look better. Nico is obviously still going to be in your lineup. He should have been one of our starts of the week just to make sure people are confident and not overworked with a bad week.

Why don't you do it? Why don't you do it?

Okay, he's my start of the week. I've got two.

Okay. Jaden Higgens had his first game, 11 routes. We'll see what happens in week two. He's a wait and see and watch, and hopefully... We all want to see the Texans' offense give a sign of life. Right now, they seem like they just never showed up.

I'm hoping for over 60% snap for or Jaden Higgins.

They have not top 23 points scored since week 12 of last year, the Texans.

Yeah, I mean- That's how it feels. It is how it feels. Their offensive line is such a problem. I feel like- It's offensive. They need to They need to just be running with two tight ends every single play and let Nico go figure out double coverage.

All right, the chargers and raters, they're both undefeated. Los Angeles heads into Las Vegas to take on the raters. Vegas line chargers minus three and a half. The over-under is 46 and a half. Both offenses look good in week one. Gino is 71% completion percentage, 362 passing yards. He's got players to take deep shots with, right? With Thornton and Trey Tucker. He's got the underneath guys, Myers and Bowers, and we'll see what happens with Bowers this week. He had a 10. 6 yards per attempt. If you compare that to... Look, I said Caleb made some good plays. I think he was at six. So it's I like it when players are willing to chuck it.

Jacobi Myers is such a good play. And what we saw in week one, especially with the immediate departure of Amari Cooper, that gave me a little bit of worry of like, okay, well, Brock is the one. He's the number one target. Jacobi is probably the two. But now you've got Amari Cooper. Amari Cooper is gone. Jacobi goes out and has 10 targets, catches nine of them. I think he's going to be excellent this season. This week, you might not have Brock Bowers. So Jacobi Myers becomes extremely important.

Does that make you have some confidence in starting somebody else as well when they're at home? You can't run on the chargers. You couldn't last year. You probably can't this year.

If you're going to wait on Brock Bowers, we This is very, very hypothetical, so I apologize if the news you already have it is perfectly fine. If you're going to be approaching Monday and you're not 100% sure that he's going to play, would you wait on him and then just play Meyer if Brock doesn't go?

I'd be willing to do that.

I am willing to do that. Yeah. Meyer had four targets, four receptions for 38, which is obviously, as we've established, a great line for a tight-in. He did that while Brock Bowers was very involved, obviously. So if Bowers is out, I think it's worth going with Mayor.

Yeah. You watched the game last night. You said Jordan Love chucked it deep. He was 9. 4 in a 10th last night. That's how good Gino was in terms of downfield targets. He was at 10. 6. Herbert It was awesome to see in week one. He's Jason start of the week on the road here in week two, who also got talked up on the Dynopod this week. I'd play Herb over Dak for sure. This week, I'd play him. Him and Fields, I would probably play Fields, but I think either one's fine. You can flip a coin. What do you think?

I've got Herbert one spot ahead of Fields, but Fields is my quarterback seven on the week, so both are good plays. To me, Justin Herbert is a great quarterback, and Justin Fields is not. They both can have great fantasy output, so I would rather play Herbert.

All right. We have Najee Harris. Maybe he gets more involved. Amari in Hampton. Where are you with him after one week?

I'm very encouraged by his utilization. 80% of snaps, 17 opportunities. We knew going in last week that Kansas City was going to be a very, very difficult matchup. I don't see the Raiders as a pushover, but they're certainly not an unstable defense by any means.

I have Hampton at 17 right now in my weekly rankings.

Feels appropriate.

Keenan Allen is my start of the week at wide receiver. Quentin Johnston can be played in this game. Lad McConkey as well. I think this is going to be Kyle will be asleep, but I think this is going to be the game you look forward to. Oh, yeah. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. The fact that it's in Las Vegas after that week one performance by the Raiders, where I saw some things I really liked. I hope Bowers can play to make this because I think they're going to really, really need him.

Who scores more fantasy points in this game? Really think about it. O'mahion Hampton or Ashton Genti. Because Genti is going to be higher in everybody's rankings. He obviously drafted higher. But the countdown opportunities in the passing work Seemed like they both favor Omari and Hampton.

The passing work?

The receiving work? I mean, not like dropping back to pass. But I mean, Ashton Genti caught two passes last week.

So did Hampton.

Hampton, wasn't his route participation better?

Maybe. He was too...

I mean, they were both extremely… They're on the field all the time. Granted, I will say that the one caveat to that, they could be working Najee more and more in. For all we know, come week 4, Amari and Hampton is going to be down at 55% of snaps. Thank you.

What is the answer?

I'd still go Jenti.

I think Hampton scores more points.

Okay. I'm having a hard time. We'll go with my rankings. I've got Jenti up ahead of Hampton. It should be fun. There's a lot of fantasy-relevant players in this game, and it's a pretty close line.

What's the level for Cuge? What type of names are you willing to play him over?

Because he was a hot waiver head. Keisha Booty or Quentin Johnston?

I'd play Quentin.

I think they're both. They both have some question marks, so I will go upside of Quentin.

Jalen Waddle or Quentin Johnston?

Quentin Johnston.

Keion Coleman or Quentin Johnston?

Keion Coleman.

Michael Pitman or Quentin Johnston?

This week, if Sertan is active, I'll go huge.

All right, that'll do it for the matchups, but we still have the face-off.

Fantasy Face-off, presented by Prizepicks.

What do we call this? Getting our feet wet? Is that what this is? Yeah, we're warming Getting our wigs on.

We had- Testing the water.

Every week, we build a lineup based on the prize pick's projections. If you get that pick correct, you get to put on a crown. If it's incorrect, you look like Mike and Jason this week. If one of you stands alone as the loser, we'll spin the Wheel of Shame, which did not happen this week. I feel like a winner. I was not a winner. I took D. K. Metcalf.

We used to get We should get a tie.

Oh, that's a good idea. Yeah.

Anybody got a spare tie laying around?

I don't think we did. I forgot mine today.

This is good. Will a bow tie count? Sure. You put a bow on it.

Bow tie. Yeah, I tied. So I am not in the clown outfit.

Speaking of Ashton Jenty's two perceptions-You knew that number intimately. I knew that number intimately because throughout the... About the second half of the game, the Falcon let us know that he had three. And so I was I was a king. Except for he didn't. Except he was wrong, and he finished the game with two.

James Connor's rushing projection last week was 69 and a half yards. He only ended up with 39 yards in that.

It was really disappointing. In that match.

So you're-Trey You're in a clown wig now. So our week two picks, I'm going to go Jackson, Smith, and Jigba. There are a few players that I was more impressed with in week 1 in their utilization, where they were on the field and how they looked. More than 61. 5 receiving yards. 61.

5 is shockingly low.

Yeah. Well, I'm taking more.

Yeah, I totally agree.

He had 83% of his team's receiving yards last week.

I think on the show, I exclaimed like, Yeah, because he had a 50% target share. It was 59. Oh, yeah. So I apologize for my inaccuracy.

All right. My pick this week, I think, is pretty fun. I love Zack Charbonnet. I think he's going to be involved. I think he's perfect for this offense.

This is an interesting one.

But the projection is 12 and a half yards for his longest rushing attempt. So his breakaway run, will he hit 13 yards or more? I am going to say no. I'm taking less than 12 and a half rushing yards. And here's why. Well, first of all, last week, his longest was seven. But look at last year. Last year, he only did it three times. Thirteen of 17 games, he did not have one single rush attempt that was more than twelve and a half yards. And in those three games, those just so happened to be the three games where he had over 80 % of snaps and was basically alone. So he's going to split 50/50 here this week with Walker. And so he's just not that type of a breakaway runner.

All right, Mike, your projection here.

All right, so I'm going with Russell Wilson. His projection is 217 and a half passing yards, and I am taking the less.

And I see a reason here in a bullet point reason.

Andy, Jason, they laid out some real good statistical.

96% of Zack Charbonnay's carries went for a few than 15 yards last year. Bottom fifth percentile. There is data here.

Yeah, check this out. Russ stinks.

That's data.

That's your reasoning? Yeah. Less than 217. 5 passing yards due to- Because he stinks. All right. That was fantasy Face-off presented by Prizepicks. Check out max discounts on the app now like Travis, Kelsey, at more than 0. 5 receiving yards for the September 14th game. Use the code footballers and get $50 instantly in lineups when you play $5. That's going to do it. You all look dumb in them wigs. Let's hope to get that turned around. Some crowns next week. Studs & Duds on Monday, Mike on Sunday Live. Don't miss it. Take care. Goodbye.

Thank you for listening to another episode of the fantasy footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot. Com, and follow us on Twitter @theffballers.