MUST GRAB Waiver Wire Adds for Week 3 | Fantasy Focus 🏈

Summary

Fantasy Focus Football — MUST GRAB Waiver Wire Adds for Week 3

Date: September 16, 2025
Hosts: Liz Loza, Field Yates, Stefania Bell, Daniel Dopp
Summary by [Your Name]

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Episode Overview

The Fantasy Focus Football crew gathers to unpack a wild Monday with double-header games, emerging fantasy concerns, and, above all, critical Week 3 waiver wire adds. The episode combines sharp strategic fantasy advice, injury updates, and candid debates about struggling early-round draft picks. With Liz Loza guesting in as host, the team’s chemistry shines through lively banter and in-depth football analysis — perfect for fantasy managers hoping to make pivotal moves heading into week three.

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Episode Highlights & Key Discussion Points

1. Monday Night Doubleheaders Recap & Panel Banter

• (00:45–03:00)
  • The hosts debrief a long night of football, fueled by coffee and caffeine banter (“I might have some. A little. A little Diet Coke morning for me after a coffee.” — Liz Loza, 01:00).
  • Daniel Dopp jokes about taking a day off after the doubleheader, with playful references to “Wally Pipping” from baseball lore.
  • Notable: An ongoing joke about Field Yates’ “bling” and fashion sense keeps things light (“If I can have two women say you look cool, that outweighs a thousand... What's the lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of a sheep.” — Daniel Dopp, 04:42).

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2. Game Deep Dives: Buccaneers at Texans & Chargers at Raiders

Buccaneers at Texans

• (03:01–08:23)
  • Baker Mayfield’s performance hailed as “gamer” status (near 20 fantasy points, 2 TDs), with memorable toughness (“He was doing gymnastics down the field.” — Stefania Bell, 03:20).
  • Injury Watch: Mecca Egbuka banged up, noticeable tightness after a “hip spiker” wrap; fantasy managers urged to monitor (“Let’s just pay attention to Igbuka. Keep your eye out for any injury report for this week.” — Stefania Bell, 05:53).
  • Texans backfield is largely described as a “stay away,” inconsistent usage and a weak O-line; even Nico Collins’ 9 targets mask inefficiency concerns.
  • Texans’ offensive woes: Only three touchdowns in two games, C.J. Stroud’s struggles, and “Nico Collins is no longer a top 10 WR option this week.”

Chargers at Raiders

• (09:48–14:34)
  • Rookie RBs Ashton Genti (Raiders) and Omari Hampton (Chargers) under the microscope: Both early picks are dubbed potential “busts” due to poor O-line play and timeshare concerns.
    • On Genti: “He’s got perhaps the worst offensive line in the entire NFL...if he’s going to be seeding valuable third down work, it might not be even a top 20 RB in fantasy.” — Daniel Dopp, 11:43
    • Liz Loza voices panic: “As someone who has a lot of shares of him, I am nervous...I am panicked about it...it is not an alarmist point.” (13:13)
  • Actionable advice: Genti remains in lineups for now, but may need to be benched soon. Look to matchups for decisions.
  • Marion Hampton is flagging due to backfield splits, fumble issues, and a lack of passing role. Both Genti and Hampton have “moved way down my rankings.”

Other Player Notes

• (19:31–21:46)
  • Brock Bowers (Raiders TE) played but looked limited from a pre-game ankle issue. Stefania flags concern for Week 3 if he doesn't practice.
  • “8.8 fantasy points for Brock Bowers is like TE5...but you’re disappointed because the player is not going to pay off at the cost you used to acquire him.”

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3. Notable Injuries and Quarterback Landscape

• (22:06–28:09)
  • Joe Burrow: Confirmed for surgery, no guarantee he returns in 2025 (“There’s no lock on Joe Burrow coming back this season. That’s the main point.” — Stefania, 22:44)
  • Top Waiver QB: Daniel Jones is “the must add of all must adds” (available in 78.8% of ESPN leagues) after 2 solid weeks (“Rushing TD in both games, over 300 yards, top 10 fantasy scorer both weeks.” — Daniel, 23:45)
  • Other injury notes: J.J. McCarthy (high ankle sprain, likely 2–4 weeks out, Carson Wentz in for Minnesota), Jaden Daniels (knee sprain), Justin Fields (concussion).

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4. Week 3 Must-Grab Waiver Wire Adds

• (23:15–31:30)
  • Daniel Jones, NYG QB: Clear top QB pickup due to rushing upside and matchup-proof start.
  • Bashel Tutin, JAX RB: “Must add” with an expected “growing role” (Adam Schefter source); especially if you need RB depth.
  • Juwan Johnson, NO TE: “Has a TD in back to back games, plays nearly every snap, fast-paced Kellen Moore offense boosts opportunity.” Available in >50% of leagues.
  • Defenses:
    • Falcons DST (play Carolina, an offense in shambles)
    • Seahawks DST (face Saints with turnover-prone new QB scenario)
  • Speculative Adds:
    • Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG WR): 18 targets in 2 games, PPR special.
    • Troy Franklin (DEN WR): Flashes with Bo Nix chemistry, may surpass Marvin Mims in usage soon.
    • Zach Ertz (ARZ TE): Still producing, but QBs uncertain.
    • Michael Penix Jr. (ATL QB): Strong streamer vs weak Carolina defense if needing a QB fill-in.

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5. Position Deep Dives & Key Strategic Advice

Running Backs

• Nico Collins is trending down; Texans offense is sputtering.
• Ashton Genti & Omari Hampton are potential early busts; recommend keeping close eye; possible to bench for workhorse backs with better situations.

Tight Ends

• Juwan Johnson is now in the “must start” fringe alongside Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Tyler Warren, Sam LaPorta. Jake Ferguson and Zach Ertz are also viable.
• Brock Bowers: Watch practice reports closely; 8.8 points disappointing but the position is shallow.

Quarterbacks

• Daniel Jones: Rising stock; high-priority add due to rushing and improved efficiency.
• Michael Penix Jr. and Mac Jones: Viable deep league/emergency options.
• QB landscape is volatile — multiple major injuries — superflex managers need to stay aggressive on waivers.

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6. Mailbag & Listeners’ Questions

(56:21–61:27)

• Should I trade A.J. Brown for Javonte Williams? (“You can’t use a second round pick on a guy like AJ Brown and then turn around and sell him for potentially 50–60 cents on the dollar.” — Daniel, 56:56)
• Superflex: Mac Jones or Jake Browning? — They lean Mac Jones as a safer fill-in if you’re also rostering Brock Purdy.
• Panic on Brian Thomas Jr? — Worry is justified (“We did [start panicking] weeks ago.” — Stefania, 59:19), but target volume keeps hope alive.
• Flex: Jalen Warren or Breece Hall? — Talent breaks the tie; prefer Breece Hall despite early Jets struggles.

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7. Rapid-Fire: Field In The Blank Segment

(46:02–55:54)

• Travion Henderson (Patriots RB): Week 3 could make or break his status; missed assignments, pass-protection issues threaten his role.
• Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars WR): Targets are high, but chemistry with Trevor Lawrence is out-of-sync.
• Quinshawn Judkins (Browns RB): Snap share rising, could leapfrog entire depth chart soon (“Averaged 7 yards per carry after contact; role should only grow.” — Daniel, 52:14).
• Keon Coleman (Bills WR): Disappointed in Week 2, but is a strong bounce-back candidate due to Miami’s porous defense in Week 3 (“Start your players against the Dolphins.” — Daniel, 55:34).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He was doing gymnastics down the field.” — Stefania Bell on Baker Mayfield, 03:20
• “If I can have two women say you look cool, that outweighs a thousand... What's the lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of a sheep.” — Daniel Dopp, 04:42
• “I am panicked about it...it is not an alarmist point. It is something that needs to be discussed and monitored.” — Liz Loza, on Ashton Genti, 13:13
• “Joe Burrow...there’s no lock on [him] coming back this season. That’s the main point.” — Stefania Bell, 22:44
• “Daniel Jones is the number one must add of the week. He’s a priority for anybody.” — Daniel Dopp, 23:45
• “He’s got perhaps the worst offensive line in the entire NFL.” — Daniel Dopp, 11:43 (on Ashton Genti)
• “You can’t use a second round pick on a guy like AJ Brown and then turn around and sell him for potentially 50–60 cents on the dollar. You can’t do it.” — Daniel Dopp, 56:56

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Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment / Topic | |-------------|--------------------------------------------------| | 00:45–03:00 | Doubleheader recap, banter, bling jokes | | 03:01–08:23 | Buccaneers at Texans recap | | 09:48–14:34 | Chargers at Raiders, Rookie RB struggles | | 19:31–21:46 | Brock Bowers’ status & TE landscape | | 22:06–28:09 | QB injuries, Daniel Jones as top waiver add | | 23:15–31:30 | Must-grab waiver wire picks (RB, WR, TE, DST) | | 31:30–37:32 | Speculative, deep league adds & QBs | | 46:02–55:54 | Field in the Blank: make-or-breaks & bounces | | 56:21–61:27 | Listener Q&A and strategic debates |

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Takeaways for Fantasy Managers

• Act Fast: Daniel Jones is a must-add across leagues at QB, with numerous injury openings.
• Running Backs to Monitor (and Worry): Ashton Genti and Omari Hampton are underperforming; don’t hesitate to bench them if you have viable alternatives.
• Waiver RB/WR/TE Priorities: Bashel Tutin, Juwan Johnson, Wan’Dale Robinson, Troy Franklin, Falcons DST.
• Monitor Injuries: Pay particular attention to Brock Bowers, J.J. McCarthy, Jaden Daniels, Justin Fields — their statuses can swing positional value.
• Start Your Players vs Miami: The Dolphins defense is a prime matchup, especially for pass catchers.
• Don’t Panic Sell Studs: Hold or ask for much more if moving disappointing stars (e.g., A.J. Brown).
• Mailbag: Lean toward talent and opportunity in timeshares or committees — e.g., Breece Hall over Jalen Warren.

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For further questions, juggling deep league dilemmas, or handling injury fallout, tune in for follow-up shows throughout the week as player situations and rankings evolve.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Liz Loza]

Hello and welcome in, friends. I am not Daniel Dopp. I am Liz Loza with Feel the Eights and Stefania Bell. And is everybody awake after the Monday night doubleheader?

[Stefania Bell]

There's a lot of coffee on the stage already happening.

[Liz Loza]

I might have some. A little. A little Diet Coke morning for me after a coffee.

[Daniel Dopp]

Are you a non coffee drinker?

[Liz Loza]

I do prefer tea, but when I'm here, I drink coffee because I'm a bit of a tea snob and I don't like the tea selection.

[Stefania Bell]

You know what? I can relate because I'm a coffee snob, but tea is what I have before bed. So I can't imagine tea getting me fired up to talk about two Monday night football games that basically cost me an event. Exactly. I needed no tea last night.

[Daniel Dopp]

Ooh, man, that was a long one. Um, it was the only one I think we have. I know we have three more double headers. I believe the rest of the double headers are 7pm and 8:15. Or like 8pm and 8:45 start. You'll get the staggered game.

[Liz Loza]

How smart was it of Daniel, by the way, to be like, I'm going to take. I'm going to take Tuesday off. Liz, you can go in on Tuesday.

[Daniel Dopp]

Only one problem though, Liz, you ever heard of Wally Pip?

[Liz Loza]

I am aware of him because you.

[Daniel Dopp]

Might be Wally Pipping Daniel today with a strong performance which we are all very confident in.

[Liz Loza]

I. I won't Wally Pip him if I don't mention that. Trophy Smack, our friends over at Trophy Smack helped us decorate this entire set. Right. Trophy smack.com you too can decorate. Listeners and viewers, your own she shed man cave. Whatever sort of area that you want to live in with all of the. Adorn it with all of this wonderful glittering. These items. You can get 10% off using the promo code Focus10. Okay, so now focus. Yeah, let's do it.

[Stefania Bell]

Let's do it.

[Liz Loza]

We got to bring it in.

[Daniel Dopp]

So on top of the fact that we had two games last night, there was like a 25 minute stretch yesterday where I. Every time I turned my phone around and I acknowledged my phone, it was like, Adam Schefter, quarterback news injury update. Adam Schefter, more quarterback injury news update. It was wild. Something I know Safanga is about to be very busy, so hydrate, do whatever you need to do to get ready because we have an action packed hour ahead.

[Stefania Bell]

Let's.

[Daniel Dopp]

Let's begin.

[Liz Loza]

Okay. So should we start with the Bucks at Texans game though?

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, we should. We should start there. The Bucks end up winning this game. How cool is Baker Mayfield, by the way?

[Liz Loza]

Super cool.

[Daniel Dopp]

He is cucumber cool. What a gamer Baker Mayfield is. He had nearly 20 fantasy points last night. Two touchdowns. Felt like one of those like willed the team to win efforts from Baker Mayfield.

[Stefania Bell]

His on that last drive, he basically was more than willing. I mean, he was doing gymnastics down the field.

[Daniel Dopp]

Getting on the final drive, a Baker at one point seemed to seriously hurt himself and then got right back up, started talking crap to the defensive player, was not hurt. And then like three plays later, he was about to get sacked, gets the ball away. But the Houston Texans pass rusher ripped his chain from around his neck, literally. So like at the end of the replay, which is in slow motion, you can see Baker's chain, which is just halfway down his back. You're like, what is going on here right now?

[Stefania Bell]

You know, what did you look at field?

[Daniel Dopp]

Okay, I'm a chat just to pay homage. I threw a chain on for the show this morning here.

[Stefania Bell]

So I didn't know that. Field with the chain. The YouTube chat. By the way. Hang out with our friend Eric Moody YouTube chat and tell him while you're asking him very important fantasy questions, we want to know what you think about Fields bling. Do we want the bling to be showing more. More bling for field, or do we want to hide the bling?

[Liz Loza]

I'm going for like just ice. Is it drip? What do we. What do we call it?

[Daniel Dopp]

No, it's definitely not drip. I don't know exactly what the rest of those things mean, but I do know what drip means, and I don't have much of that. No, I don't have much of it is all I'll tell you.

[Liz Loza]

I don't. You don't think this like velour. Orange velour.

[Daniel Dopp]

You know what, I got to be honest with you. You know what, I'll be honest with you. Whatever. It's sweet is what it is.

[Liz Loza]

It's sweet.

[Daniel Dopp]

You guys. Two ladies. I tell people all the time, the opinions of gentlemen I am unbothered by. Completely unbothered. I could have a thousand guys walk up to me and say you have no drip and your bling is stupid and you have terrible hair. If I can have two women say you look cool, that outweighs a thousand. What's the lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of a sheep.

[Stefania Bell]

Oh, look it.

[Liz Loza]

Well, if it means anything to you, 70% of the chat is saying they need more bling.

[Daniel Dopp]

More bling. All right, I'm bringing out more bling tomorrow. We'll work on this.

[Stefania Bell]

Stay outside the shirt for the rest of the show.

[Daniel Dopp]

So my big takeaway from this game was actually not Bucks related. The Mecca Abuka found the end zone again. He had under 30 receiving yards, just four catches, but the guy looks like the real deal.

[Stefania Bell]

I do want to talk about Mecca Buka. If you did see our fantastic crew last night, got a close up shot of him getting what we call a hip spiker wrap. So they were taking an ace bandage and wrapping it around both hips and around one of his thighs. And it was interesting because it was. I can't remember if it was Joe Buck or Troy Egman, but they commented on the next play when he was running into the end zone that he did not look like he quite had. He he would looked a little tight tighter. Now could be just that the rap.

[Liz Loza]

Was, you know girl, we've before listen, we know what it's like.

[Stefania Bell]

I know. But the difference is we know how to move as we are accustomed to it so that it is seamless. But it did make me say let's just pay attention to Igbuka. Keep your eye out for any injury report for this week.

[Daniel Dopp]

So I did not really have good call there on Abuka will monitor his status to play the jets this upcoming weekend. Obviously on a shorter week for Tampa. I didn't have a dramatic takeaway from the Bucks last night. Something that like totally caught me off guard or a player who has totally underperformed expectations. We talked about this coming into the game. Mike Evans drew arguably the best corner in the NFL, Derek Stingley. He got 10 targets. Like that's fine to me we need to talk about this Texans offense and we came into the season with very, very low expectations for the Texans backfield. The fact that Nick Chubb got 15 fantasy points is nice. I don't think it's sustainable. He got there. He was averaging like 1.8 yards per carry prior to the 25 yard zone.

[Stefania Bell]

And I was happy for him personally. But I also think it was a little bit of trickery for you if you're thinking like for fantasy purposes. Actually what I liked was what I saw of Woody Marks because when not the utilization, but just there was a couple, there were a couple runs that he had where he looked like the reason that they brought him to the Houston Texas very.

[Daniel Dopp]

But I think that for me, I still feel as though this Texans backfield is largely a stay away. You know, especially in PPR scoring where Nick Chubb had two catches last night, which is a lot for Nick Chubb to me. I think all the focus on last night's game for those that play or have Nico Collins is nine targets sounds good and it is good, right? Nine targets is a good number for Nico Collins.

[Stefania Bell]

Spectacular catch.

[Daniel Dopp]

But it took a spectacular catch. Spectacular to salvage a night. This Texans offense is completely out of sorts. The offensive line is on the short list for worse in the NFL and pass protection not a whole lot better for run blocking as well. And there's just not enough time right now for CJ Stroud to do the damage with Nico Collins that we saw last season. I understand it's early, I understand they had a lot of changes, but if you drafted Nico Collins, you probably did so very early. I was a strong advocate for Nico Collins coming into this season. And they got to get it right in a hurry. Because the problem for the Houston Texans is when their number one wide receiver isn't doing damage, they don't have nearly enough outcards to play. Who else in the Texans offense right now? I mean right now, start of week three, can you say to yourself that guy's a difference maker? Maybe one of their two rookie wide receivers, Jaden Higgins or Jaylen Noel, gets there in time.

[Stefania Bell]

So spotty. It's like, you know, you can't count on it for fantasy purposes.

[Daniel Dopp]

And oh, by the way, for the past couple of seasons it's felt like the AFC south winner, the Houston Texans could kind of just get there on the strength of the crappiness of the rest of the division. They're 0 and 2 now. They don't have time to mess around anymore going forward. They have a grand total. Grand total of three touchdowns in two games with the Houston Texans. Three in two games. That's not good enough. C.J. stroud has now gone 13 out of 19 games with under two passing touchdowns. This offense needs to get going in a hurry and it has hurt Nico Collins to me. He is no longer for this week. He is not a top 10 wide receiver option.

[Liz Loza]

I. I think that that's a really cogent point to make. Also, three catches out of nine targets, volume is king, but we'd like to see more efficiency out of a potential number one.

[Daniel Dopp]

And the counter is if he catches one of those two end zone targets late, that's fine. The operations all out of whack right now for the Texans. If not for the second game that took place, maybe my frustration surrounding Nico Collins would be greater. But I think if you stayed up for last night's game, you probably went into the game with some hope and some optimism and some expectations. I think you left that game and I know this is going to sound a little bit alarmist, a little bit overreacting, and that's fine to a degree. I think we need to start to have the conversation about whether each of the two running backs taken in the first round of the real NFL draft.

[Liz Loza]

We're talking about Chargers at Raiders.

[Stefania Bell]

Right.

[Daniel Dopp]

Chargers and Raiders now. Yep. Which the chargers win convincingly 20 to nine. Geno Smith was bad. The Raiders offense was terrible. We need to have the conversation about whether these two rookie running backs are entering bus territory for this season. And I know that it sounds like it's only two weeks. How can you say that? Here's the problem that we have is let's talk through it with both of these players. Aston Genty, who last night had a total of 43 rushing yards on 11 carries, 11 carries for 43 yards along of 12 yards. Ashton Genty had a measly three rushing yards prior to contact last night. Check this out. So far this season the Raiders are averaging negative 0.23 yards before before carry on running back rushing attempts. We throw out quarterback attempts because a they don't matter for running back fantasy conversations and B sometimes one quarterback scramble can go for 25 yards where he's untouched. He just rolls out and runs up the sideline and it skews the numbers. Think about that negative 0.23 yards before contact per carry. That's dead last in the NFL. Unsurprisingly, the only team in the NFL with a negative yards gained before contact per carry. On top of that, at least you could hang your hat on the volume and the snaps for Ashton genty in week one, 21 opportunities and he played 86% of the snaps. Last night he had 14 opportunities, 11 rushes for 43 yards, three catches for one yard, one yard for Ashton Genti, which means in two games he has five catches for three yards. On top of that, he played 56% of the slap Slot snaps last night. Dylan Lobby was out there. Samir White was playing a lot of the third down snaps. Less than 1/3 of the third down snaps last night went to Ashton Genty. I don't know how you can't be petrified about this situation. For a guy that was going in the first round, he's got perhaps the worst offensive line in the entire NFL. The volume is fine but not incredible. And if he's going to be seeding valuable third down work to other running backs in his offense, it's not a top 10 player in fantasy. It's not a top 10 running back in fantasy. It might not be Even a top 20 running back in fantasy.

[Liz Loza]

Well, I think we expected that the efficiency of this offense would improve. There would be more stability at the quarterback position with Geno Smith coming in. And we knew that Genti profiled as an every down back given what he did at Boise State. Right. And so he did see four targets. But the. I don't think the offense is firing on enough cylinders for him to be efficient or effective enough. And that is becoming part of the problem. Now. You don't want to say of a player that is Ashton Genti that was such. That has such high draft pedigree that he could be phased out of a game with game script. A running back that you take in the first round is not able to be phased out this much. So I think that that is the holistic. If we're looking at the entire environment, the problem is that it's a problem.

[Daniel Dopp]

It's a pro. I just think it's a problem. On top of that it's a problem for the Raiders because they took a player sixth overall at a position where yes, we've seen a bit of a running back resurgence. We also know that you can find enter Bill Crosby Merritt, 7th Round Running Backs that can play meaningful snaps for you in the NFL. So it's a real problem. Again, I'm talking about week three for now. I hear you going forward. It's to me it's like this one's a. Like this is a real red flag.

[Liz Loza]

So just to pull the back and to be honest, I was very loud about my support of Ashton Genti at the top of the season. I'm not going to shy away from it and I think that you are completely on point because as someone who has a lot of shares of him, I am nervous. I am not thinking like oh this is fine, like I am panicked about it. And so I can understand and would encourage fantasy managers to Also feel panicked about it. It is not an alarmist point. It is a. It is something that needs to be discussed and monitored. We can't shy away from it.

[Stefania Bell]

So here's the question. What's actionable out of that? Are you saying. Yeah, do not start. Astro Gentee Week three I wanted to look at who they were because part of it is the offensive line. You know, there's. He's not getting any lanes to run as everything you pointed out by the metrics. But even if you just watch the game like it's a swarm to him and it's. Well, there's a cohesion virtually impossible. Right. So. So it's Washington. They play at Washington. At Washington, potentially home to the Bears. Then at the Colts and Tennessee, who looks pretty good. And then at the Chiefs.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Liz Loza]

Well, the Bears will help them.

[Daniel Dopp]

The actionable is this to find is for now, he's staying in your lineups. But there are scenarios in which like I'll just give you a random name that this may sound insane, but if you drafted Ashton gentee as your RB1 and you drafted enter, you know, pick, pick a random RB2 that you think you know, Alvin Camara is your RB2 and you drafted Javante Williams.

[Liz Loza]

I was just thinking Javante Williams, right?

[Daniel Dopp]

Like, just think about somebody like that where you're like, all right, am I going to make a decision to bench Ashton Genty potentially for Javante Williams? If things keep going for each of those players for yet another week or two, that could be the case. For now, he has moved dramatically down my rankings. He's much closer to 20 than he is RB5 or 6, which again, that was his preseason ranking. All right, so the next part of this equation is of course Marion Hampton wasn't drafted as high, but I think Hampton buzzed even more during the preseason. Just like the interest in taking him, he soared up draft boards in terms of adp.

[Liz Loza]

More approachable, more enticing out here.

[Daniel Dopp]

Days are getting a little cooler and mornings are starting with a few more layers. It's a season for more time at the grill and more feed for your animals. That's why season after season, we're here for your life out here.

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[Daniel Dopp]

So I mentioned that the Raiders are dead last in running back ranks and yards gained before contact per carry. The Chargers are 30th 0.22 yards gained before contact per carry. On top of that, as we know, there is two backs in this backfield in Los Angeles that do matter. Najee Harris had eight carries as did Hampton last night. On top of that, not a lot of passing game utilization for Omarion Hampton. On top of that, the Chargers are an aggressive passing offense. Now when they drafted Omarion Hampton, it was let's imagine a world in which Amarian Hampton is the guy in this backfield with a nasty offensive line and a coordinator who wants to ground and pound his way to wins. In Greg Roman, none of those are taking place right now. So there's less frustration for me surrounding Amarian Hampton because he was going in like the third round as opposed to the first round. But make no mistake about it, he like Ashton Genti, has moved way down my rankings. And there's a world in which Omari Hampton is not in your lineup as soon as this weekend.

[Liz Loza]

That seems a little severe. I don't know.

[Daniel Dopp]

I mean again, the same logic applies like If Amariah Hampton was your second running back and you've got Bucky Irving and Javante Williams, would you. Can you tell me right now definitively that if you had Javante Williams, Chargers playing right.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Liz Loza]

Oh, the Broncos.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, you imagine that. But just imagine you have.

[Liz Loza]

Well, it's the Najee Harris piece that makes it a little bit more concerning. I mean, they split the backfield fairly evenly and I mean, I think the Fumble is an issue here too. On the, what, penultimate play that gave the Raiders just a little bit of hope. That's a, a moment where you would hope the rookie not have a rookie situation. And given this coaching staff, I'm not sure it'll be forgiven so lightly.

[Daniel Dopp]

Basically six fantasy points per game through two games for Hampton. I understand this all sounds very, very, very alarmist this early on in the season. The thing is you're looking for things that have taken place and the things that can change. Genti is the one. To me that is scarier because I'm not sure how likely the offensive line is to get better with the Chargers because they're such a good team. They might have games where they're bludgeoning teams and they just turn to the running game and they say, even if we're already up 24, nothing, here's 20 carries for Amarian Hampton.

[Stefania Bell]

I want to talk about one other player in this game who is invisible and that was Brock Bowers. And I think, you know, we all talked about is Brock Bowers going to play in this game? And we were all excited he was going to play, but even in warmups he didn't look right. And I thought to myself, oh boy, he's going to be out there, but he's not going to be Brock Bowers. Like. And here is my question to the Raiders. Why did you run so much of that 11 personnel and use Brock Bowers and not use Michael Mayer who's proven himself to be a capable pass catching tight end. And Brock Bowers wasn't fooling anyone. You know, he wasn't 100% right. And so it's just a reminder that sometimes when players play now, we, we didn't know everything was optimistic. We know Pete Carroll was optimistic about how he looked on Saturday. I at least expected that he probably looked like a guy that they would actually use and target in the way that they normally do. But it really, it was disappointing to me enough to make me want to watch what happens with him this week. I don't think I'm saying take Brock Bowers out for next week. But you know, if people want to complain, fantasy managers like, I hear you, I feel you, because you thought you were getting Brock Bowers and you really didn't.

[Liz Loza]

But on a short week and at Washington, so an away game across the country, are you at all concerned? Would he be ranked? I mean, this is a player who's consistently ranked the tight end one or tight end two.

[Stefania Bell]

Right.

[Liz Loza]

Are you moving him outside of those top two? Given the.

[Stefania Bell]

I might, depending on what he does during the week. I mean, this will be a day by day monitoring because if he doesn't practice all week and we get to Friday and that's the first time he does, I'd be a little concerned.

[Daniel Dopp]

And the irony of it all, 8.8 fantasy points for Brock Bowers is like tight end five for the week because it's such.

[Stefania Bell]

I mean, it's not actually that tight and like it's. No, he's, he's outside the top 10.

[Daniel Dopp]

Okay.

[Stefania Bell]

But 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Daniel Dopp]

There's nobody that was reasonably available that you're like, yeah. So it's, it's. This is a, this is.

[Stefania Bell]

Gerald Fannin Jr. Was ahead of him. I beg your pardon.

[Daniel Dopp]

This is a trap though, where it's like you have no choice. With Brock Bowers, it's just again, like what, what some of these things. Is there an actionable? No, because the actionable is just. You're just disappointed because the player is not going to pay off at the cost that you actually use to acquire him.

[Liz Loza]

But these are the facts, so let's illuminate them. Also let's illuminate the quarterback position, another island position. I'm going to read the top 10 scores at the position. Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Drake May, Daniel Jones, Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Mack Jones, Spencer Rattler, Bryce Young. In week one, you said Mac Jones.

[Stefania Bell]

And Spencer Rattler right there is so.

[Liz Loza]

All over the place. But now that we have these injuries, I think that it's an interesting conversation to have because we have names that are in the mix who are, who are putting up points and we do have significant injuries. Three particular players. I want to start obviously with Joe Burrow here.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah. So for waiver wire now.

[Liz Loza]

Yes.

[Daniel Dopp]

Okay, so let's do the waiver wire and we'll do the. To me, there are four players that are absolute must ads this week. I have a fifth, but it's. I'm kind of pairing it with number four. I can get to my quarterback. Must add. But anything that you want to add to the Joe Burrow news compared to where we were yesterday.

[Stefania Bell]

I think just, you know the, that when we were talking in the morning we were talking about it potentially being severe. Now we know that he is definitively having surgery. The recovery time from surgery runs on the order of 12 to 14 weeks for Clarence to return to play. And I would, what I would say is we know return to play, not necessarily return to performance. And then don't forget, we don't know how the Bengals will be doing at that point. Everybody heals at a different rate. So this, there's no, there's no lock on Joe Burrow coming back this season. That's the main point.

[Daniel Dopp]

Okay, so I'm not going to bury the lead on a couple of other quarterback injuries. But you guys are all aware there are more beyond Joe Burrow that took place this past weekend. But Daniel Jones is a must add. He is the must ad of all must ads this week because of the position he plays. You mentioned that island spot. He is available on ESPN.com in 78.8% of leagues.

[Stefania Bell]

I think I've already put in a request in like five different leagues.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, probably.

[Stefania Bell]

Advisors told me preseason that I'd be Daniel Jones across the board. Number one waiver wire ad. I would not have believed you.

[Daniel Dopp]

Rushing touchdown in both games so far this season he has not thrown an interception or fumbled the ball. So far this season he had over 300 passing yards probably, but he's been a top 10 scorer at the position each of the first two weeks. The first week was against Cupcake City. Miami looks like the worst defense in the NFL. But the revenge that Danny Dimes got, not the revenge, but the validation he got in Week two was doing it against an awesome Broncos defense. I don't know that we can go ahead and say he's totally matchup proof. There's a lot of football ahead. A lot of things happen in the first two weeks that don't look like reality by like week five or six, given where we are right now, given how well he is playing, Danny Dimes is the number one must add of the week. He's a priority for anybody that has Joe Burrow or some of the other quarterback injury updates that we'll discuss when I get to my other quarterback. Names of note Next player that I think is a must add and I'm building off a little bit of what Adam Schefter said on Sunday is Bashel Tutin, Running back, Jacksonville Jaguars yes and Shefte. I was talking to our producers after the fact and they were saying after our show on fantasy football now, and they were like, you know, Shefty, sometimes with Schefter, it's not like they have to go through his segment with a fine tooth comb and say like, hey, how does this look for a tee up more so Shefte, because he's got all the news just says like ask me about these three guys, whatever you want to say. And so the tee up on Sunday to Shefte was like, hey, I know the Eagles made a trade for Tank Bigsby. Anything you want to say on that? And he was like, yes, Bashel Tutin is going to explode or is going to have. Let me re. Let me rephrase that. He is going to have a growing role throughout the season. I would be adding him obviously with one less back in the backfield. That stood to reason. But we saw it right away pay off. He had a receiving touchdown. Trevor Travis et well, one of the atn Travis etn.

[Stefania Bell]

Yep.

[Daniel Dopp]

I just combined their names twice. Travis ETN was once again really good for the Jaguars in Week two and he could absolutely keep the job for the rest of the season. But if there is a guy that is perhaps a touch vulnerable to losing more work and given how few running backs are actually worth adding off the waiver wire in general, that's why I believe that we should be adding Basil Tootin. So far this week he's available in 60% of leagues. On ESPN.com is there a world field.

[Liz Loza]

Just before you move on to the next player that you would maybe consider based on this news and based on the data we received in week two, potentially selling high on Travis etn.

[Daniel Dopp]

Potentially, yeah. But there's another good I completely forgot. ETN is a great example of if you have again if you went Ashton Genti plus Alvin Camara plus Travis etn. Who were you guys sitting in week three?

[Stefania Bell]

Out of those three, what were my choices? Ashton.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yep. Camara.

[Liz Loza]

Camara and etn.

[Daniel Dopp]

Etn.

[Liz Loza]

Probably ETN drags are at Titans.

[Daniel Dopp]

I mean it's at least a conversation. I'm just saying that we have quickly gone. Yeah, that. That to me is illustrative of the struggles that those two rookies have had. So I would not sell high on Travis ETN unless I like smoked it in the draft and I got two good running backs and I got Javonte Williams and Travis ctn just because there are so many other spots where I'm already like oh my God, like are we in dead zones in Seattle? And other spots and you know, injuries at running back do often pile up during the course of the season. There are a couple of guys that we had high hopes for that haven't performed. So I'm generally holding on running backs. Right.

[Liz Loza]

Just to clarify, Jackson hosting Jacksonville hosting Houston.

[Daniel Dopp]

Okay.

[Liz Loza]

Next week, next player.

[Daniel Dopp]

Juwan Johnson, who we talked about how Brock Bowers despite it. Yeah. And Juwan Johnson. So at a really, really difficult spot to find starters. I mean really difficult right now. And I will include Brock Bowers in this portion of the conversation. I believe there are unequivocal locks at tight ends. Tight end that include the following players. Brock Bowers, I believe Trey McBride. I believe Tyler Warren, I believe Sam LaPorta about it.

[Liz Loza]

Yep.

[Daniel Dopp]

And I believe Juwan Johnson. I might have forgotten one name there. Apologies if I did. One obvious name, but there aren't many of them.

[Stefania Bell]

Jake Ferguson. Did you say him?

[Daniel Dopp]

I did not. But even he had like, you know, I mean he's probably close. He's been good. He's been good.

[Stefania Bell]

He's been decent.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yep.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah. I think I feel like he is. But consistency enough that I know that Dak is looking for him. So he's the guy I would throw in there.

[Daniel Dopp]

So I think that Joanne Johnson has at least approached that conversation. He's playing basically every snap for the Saints. He has a touchdown in back to back games. It's a high volume passing offense because they're often going to play from behind. Yes. And it's a very fast paced offense as well. That's a staple of a Kellen Moore offenses. Tempo, tempo, tempo, tempo, Tempo means more opportunities if you're moving with relative efficiency. So Juwan Johnson, who. I get it.

[Stefania Bell]

Shout out Daniel Dopp for being a year too early on Juwan Johnson. Do you remember last year he kept trying to speak it into existence.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah. And he's not. We've said this a few times. He's not Sam Laporta level of star. But this is not a complete random like this guy's going to come back down to Earth. He makes $11 million a year. Right. He is probably one of the, I had to guess. 12 highest paid tight ends in the NFL. Like he's a player the Saints reinvested in for real money. And Kellen Moore was complimentary of him throughout the off season. Perhaps we should have seen this coming a little bit more. We weren't talking a whole lot about the Saints.

[Liz Loza]

This preseason situation makes him particularly enticing and available in over 50% of ESPN fantasy.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yes, indeed. The last two must grab. And I'm going to put them into one category. Falcons defense and special teams. They play the Panthers this weekend.

[Stefania Bell]

I already added them in in in one league because I saw it in week one. I was like, ooh, defense looks pretty good and I don't think I was expecting it. They are the number one defense in scoring this week.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, they are. They have totally revamped their pass rush and the Panthers have been a mess. Right? The Panthers this past weekend allowed a strip sack fumble return for a touchdown against the Cardinals. Falcons in this category. I would throw the Seahawks in that category as well. They play the Saints. The Saints, of course an offense that despite some of the good things they have contributed to Juwan Johnson's outlook, are still an offense that we like our defense is facing. So I gave you four. Call it four and a half. Those are must adds. I don't care what league you're playing in. All of those guys should be adding added. But that's it for me because I am trying to be very judicious here on like you must be adding these players. Like I want to be like stone cold locks. The next group is my speculating group. Like certainly can be added. If you're a roster tinkerer and you want to hit that waiver wire, go for it. 12 team leagues probably going to be added, but not absolute stone cold locks in 10 team leagues. First up, Wanda Robinson, who has 18 targets for the Giants in two games so far this season. We mentioned in week two he had his first one first game ever with over 100 receiving yards. He had previously reached 100 on the nose during his rookie season. I don't know that the Giants are going to be nearly as effective throwing the football this week against Kansas City as they were last week against the Cowboys. That being said, Wondale ton of volume. Maybe you think he's only a PPR guy. That's okay. Our default scoring is ppr. Trey Franklin, we talked about him a little bit yesterday on the show, but this might be bad things for Cortland Sutton managers, but the Broncos have a player that they seem to think could be, at least in some games, the focal point of their passing game. He was very heavily targeted in Week two. He's a very fast receiver. He didn't time well during the pre draft process. He's got legit play speed. Him and Bo Nix have been playing together for like half a decade now, so there's certainly plenty of institutional knowledge between those two. And trust Trey Flankin, Trey Franklin, a guy that has my attention even though he had a quiet week one. That's why he's not in the must grab waiver pickups.

[Liz Loza]

There was a little bit of a drum beat for him over the summer as well. You know, we just weren't really listening to it, I think because we were listening to the Evan Ingram potential drum beat or the Marvin drum beat. Right. But he's the Troy Fly.

[Stefania Bell]

You got me hooked on Marvin Mims and I picked him up in like three weeks and now I am. What happened to Marvin? Yeah, you know, it's weird.

[Liz Loza]

Yeah. But also I feel like the Marv.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah, but I feel like the Marvin Mims story from last year was like, yay, Marvin Mims. And then absent. And then he might say, yeah, exactly. And so you expected this growth and just haven't seen it. And I'm kind of like, maybe I'm interested in Troy Franklin now.

[Liz Loza]

I want to talk about the tag board. I think we have a couple of questions on the tag board. Let's take a look at those.

[Daniel Dopp]

What do we got?

[Liz Loza]

I am waiting for us to get to them.

[Stefania Bell]

And now a message from McAfee. Your package couldn't be delivered.

[Daniel Dopp]

You owe thousands in unpaid tolls.

[Stefania Bell]

You won a free gift.

[Daniel Dopp]

If texts like these sound familiar, McAfee can help.

[Stefania Bell]

McAfee automatically identifies text and email scams as well as AI generated audio to.

[Daniel Dopp]

Help you stay safe.

[Stefania Bell]

If they're faking it, they're not making it pass to us. Get award winning scam detection today.

[Daniel Dopp]

McAfee.com KeepItReal I'm Christian McCaffrey, pro running back and Abercrombie is an official fashion partner of the NFL. I'm not kidding when I say NFL by Abercrombie. Broke the Internet last year and I think this season's lineup is even cooler. And so does my wife who keeps stealing all my hoodies. Stay fit for the season and Abercrombie's newest arrivals. Shop NFL by Abercrombie Crombie in the app, online and in store.

[Stefania Bell]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

[Daniel Dopp]

Learn [e-mail] well, Troy Franklin, in the meantime while we wait for those is available in 98% of leagues. There we go. From Scott.

[Liz Loza]

All right. Is that velour Field is wearing? That's what I thought it was. 1977 called and wants that shirt back.

[Stefania Bell]

First of all, it's not velour. I touched it.

[Liz Loza]

I know, but I didn't touch it.

[Stefania Bell]

You know what it feels like? It's like that soft terry. Terry cloth, you know, it's like. Yeah, but it's super soft. Like, I love soft. Like I would.

[Liz Loza]

It's giving surfer vibes, which is.

[Stefania Bell]

It totally is. Although with the long hair.

[Daniel Dopp]

Negotiations continue and potentially cutting the hair, but.

[Liz Loza]

No, no, no, don't do it. Don't do it.

[Daniel Dopp]

1977. No, no, you weren't.

[Stefania Bell]

By the way, if it was 1977, it would have been a T shirt and it would have been tighter and it would have had caps sleeves.

[Liz Loza]

Next week.

[Daniel Dopp]

Is that when you fold them up like this?

[Stefania Bell]

No, but it's like. Like the store.

[Daniel Dopp]

Your cigarettes.

[Liz Loza]

Hem around the sleeve like it's a grease. No, that's the 50s. Yeah.

[Daniel Dopp]

I was also not alive in the 50s.

[Liz Loza]

Let's look at another one that I.

[Stefania Bell]

Want to look at. Start acknowledging. Oh, a flav.

[Liz Loza]

A field needs a flava flav clock chain.

[Stefania Bell]

It's kind of like what. You know, where's that.

[Liz Loza]

Where that champ.

[Stefania Bell]

The champ one. You don't want to lose or.

[Liz Loza]

Put that buddies.

[Stefania Bell]

Put that on only.

[Daniel Dopp]

Whoops.

[Liz Loza]

Oh, he just knocked your Sam. Your 49ers helmet off. And the mic there is chaos.

[Stefania Bell]

H. My poor 49ers.

[Daniel Dopp]

This is awesome. I love this right here.

[Stefania Bell]

You cannot be the.

[Liz Loza]

You got to pull it up.

[Stefania Bell]

49Ers on the ground.

[Liz Loza]

All right. Show them. Show the people feel.

[Stefania Bell]

I know. If only. Yeah, if only. That word clock.

[Liz Loza]

But that is.

[Stefania Bell]

The chain is the right size. Okay.

[Daniel Dopp]

All right. Locking it for the rest of the show.

[Stefania Bell]

Just a moment to restore my 49ers.

[Daniel Dopp]

Oh, sorry about that place.

[Liz Loza]

If you're restoring things that are, you know, maybe a little bit dusty, then that's the perfect sub segue to your next pickup.

[Daniel Dopp]

And there's a. There's a case to put Zach Ertz higher up in this segment, but again, I'm trying to be diligent on like 10 team must ads. So Zach Ertz, who's available in exactly 50% of leagues, does have a touchdown in back to back games. He also, Stefania might be without his quarterback this week.

[Stefania Bell]

I know. I was going to say Zach Ertz left for dead years ago and just keeps being a consistent solid tight end and proved to be last year year somebody that would help Jaden Daniels out. It was somebody that he could trust. Well, now, will it be Jaden Daniels throwing him the ball this week? Apparently suffered a knee sprain. If you were watching the game last week, you saw him a little bit gimpy after he took a hit to the outside of his knee. All we're hearing is that it's a sprain. Reportedly no major injury. Had a big ice pack on when he left. But Dan Quinn. I went back and looked at the presser with Dan Quinn and he was very specific in his remarks about Jaden Daniels, which frankly. Thank you, Dan Quinn. We appreciate the clarity. But what he said was he will have to meet all of his benchmarks for him to play and very. That he goes. Jaden's a runner and he. He needs to be able to pivot. He needs to be able to decelerate. He needs to be able. He went through all the things I was like, sounds like you've been talking to a member of the rehab staff. But all of it was like, we're not putting him out there if he can't do those things cleanly and doesn't feel 100%. All of which makes me think it is more likely than less likely that we do not see Jaden Daniels this week again.

[Daniel Dopp]

They play the Raiders at home on Sunday and he's a very, very, very tough player. Remember last year he was seemingly doubtful to play against the Bears because of that AB injury and then he ended up playing. Not ruling anything out with Jaden Daniels, but at least prepare for the possibility of him not being available.

[Stefania Bell]

Dan Quinn said he'd take it to Friday. So the good news is it sounds like you're going to know ahead of time. You're going to have plenty of time, but just be prepared.

[Daniel Dopp]

I spilled my cafecito here, which was done by me. I'll clean it up in just a minute.

[Liz Loza]

We are in mid season form.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, we are. Kyle Soppi, great call up, by the way. Notes that Tucker Kraft has probably entered his name into the must start tight end conversation. So good call there. Moving on, if you need him type players and this would be either a deep league or you need a quarterback replacement because there is at least a chance that we will not have Brock Purdy and Joe Burrow and Jaden Daniels and Stefania. Two other quarterbacks, including one in Minnesota.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah, J.J. mcCarthy had a right high ankle sprain which I didn't see during the game. He played through. You know, give the kid credit for playing through. Um, it. It looked like, it just might be a minor thing for. For his ankle. But now Adam Schefter is saying that he's expected to miss two to four weeks. So I just want to acknowledge that people hear high ankle sprain, they're like, no way is it two to four weeks. Because we think with a high ankle sprain is always longer. Not necessarily. If it's a very mild high ankle sprain, two to four weeks is reasonable. The high ankle sprain is different because it's. It's an injury that happens higher up. That's why it's called high. But it's also not just people think of rolling your ankle, you know, like a basketball sprain, like you roll your ankle. But a high ankle sprain is more of a twisting injury. Like, your leg gets rotated one direction inward relative to your foot, rotating outward, and it makes it impossible to plant, and it makes it really hard to change direction. It also makes it hard to just advance over that ankle to bear normal weight. So it's a little trickier than you might think. But if it's mild and what they did with JJ was they taped him back up. They call it spatting. They put tape over the outside of the cleat and the shoe to try and make that ankle as stiff as possible. That's how he finished the game. Sometimes with extra tape like that, you can move a little bit more quickly. So I would plan on him being out. Like, they've made it clear, you know, it's. It's. It's not likely that he's going to go, but Carson Wentz will come in and start for him. I don't know how long it will be. I would not assume it's going to be a really long time.

[Liz Loza]

Very interesting battle of the backups because Cincinnati is at the Vikings in week three, so we're looking at Jake Browning and as you mentioned, Carson Wentz.

[Daniel Dopp]

I just want to clarify right now if my app will open. My wi fi is no good here. I don't believe that JJ McCarthy is yet IR eligible people, because while it has been reported by Shefte that he's two to four weeks likely to miss the team, the team just called him unlikely to play this weekend. Right. So just a reminder, we follow the team's statuses for reasons that we've explained many times before.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah. It also just so happens to be the same leg that he had that massive meniscal repair on. So you know you're going to be smart with your franchise quarterback.

[Liz Loza]

So if you are missing one of these players and you did not get Daniel Jones field.

[Daniel Dopp]

Michael Penix Jr. Is intriguing is intriguing to me for this reason he plays the Panthers this weekend. This past Sunday night we saw why Michael Penix Jr. Can have real boom bust Jared Goff like nature to his game. In a game in which Atlanta played excellent defense which we think might have a chance to keep up. This week against the Panthers, Panix was hardly throwing the football at all. On top of that he does not gonna. He can run. He's way more mobile than Jared Goff but it's not a real staple to his game at this time. That being said, he's available in nearly 72% of leagues. The Panthers are clearly amongst the league's weakest receiving, excuse me defenses in and it's just a problem all year for them. So Panix Jr. Has my attention as does Mac Jones who is available in nearly 98.6% of leagues. Mack was great this past weekend for the 49ers. It was not a tough matchup against the Saints. I will also acknowledge that going on the road having no George Kittle having a totally reshaped room of wide receivers compared to what we are normally accustomed to where it's backup quarterbacks throwing to Brandon Ayuk and Debo Samuel and George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey like I think we deserve he, he Mac deserves some real praise for how he performed this past weekend. They put the Cardinals this week.

[Stefania Bell]

They do. I was just going to say, you know the Cardinals defense has been looking pretty good and but the nice thing for the 49ers is their home opener so they don't have to travel this week. So that does help them out. You might have another quarterback out as you're looking to bring Mag Jones in because Justin Fields suffered a concussion in last week's game. And you know, as we talk about all the time on this show, nonlinear progressions. It's a criterion based progression, not a time based progression.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, so we'll see. And Aaron Glenn, the Jets head coach only said that it's hard for a player to play if he doesn't practice. So we got to see Justin Fields back on the practice field in order to see him play on Sunday. We have seen players miss all week, clear concussion protocol on Saturday and then play on Sunday. You could throw names like Matthew Stafford Tuatangovailoa though I'm very nervous Thursday night at Buffalo. That gives me. That definitely gives me pause. But one more name and this is a deep league name, it's a Name that. Until the Tennessee offense gets going a little bit more than it has in the first two weeks, it's going to be really hard to start. But back to back games with at least six targets. Alec Ao Manor Titans rookie wide receiver who caught the first Cam Ward touchdown pass of his career this past Sunday. Did you guys see that play?

[Stefania Bell]

That was a crazy play.

[Daniel Dopp]

Ridiculous.

[Stefania Bell]

That's the play where you know that, that everyone's thinking, don't throw it, don't throw it, don't throw it. And then he throws it and it's like perfectly placed.

[Daniel Dopp]

It was a callback to his college tape where it was razzle dazzle backyard football at times. But there's some magic to Cam Ward. I'm excited. The numbers have been terrible, the fantasy numbers have been awful. But Cam Ward gives me some optimism going forward. If you're a dynasty league player and you have Cam Ward, that player is going to be useful for you going forward.

[Liz Loza]

But Ayom, let me give yourself some kudos here because you called out I.O. manor throughout the preseason.

[Daniel Dopp]

He was my longest shot. Yeah, with Shefty in the preseason. So I've got him as like my last bench player in a handful of leagues. So I'm interested. I like this player a lot. I think he's going to be a part of Tennessee's future going forward. So those are the names. I kept it a little bit tighter than usual because I don't want to waste your time with 30 names that are 25 of which are mostly for people that play in 16 team leagues like the War Room League or something.

[Stefania Bell]

Just want to throw out one other injury to keep your eye on, and that's Aaron Jones suffered a hamstring injury in this game, unfortunately. And we, we've seen he's had hamstring injuries before in the past. When he's had him, he's come back solid. Aaron Jones has the past catching to his name. That's why you know him. Jordan Mason. I know you love Jordan Mason and Jordan Mason's going to get more run if Aaron Jones is out, but more run being the operative phrase because he is not a pass catcher and Aaron Jones has helped J.J. mcCarthy. I don't really know what we're going to make of the offense here because we don't know exactly how it's going to look if JJ's out.

[Liz Loza]

But just keep faith that Kevin O' Connell will figure something out though.

[Stefania Bell]

Yes, I believe he will.

[Daniel Dopp]

We're going to dive more into this over the next three days as people Kind of turn their attention fully to week three.

[Liz Loza]

Okay.

[Daniel Dopp]

I think that I was just.

[Liz Loza]

Oh.

[Daniel Dopp]

But I think there's a chance that things get better in a hurry for this Vikings offense now. There's. Of course, there's a chance that it gets worse. Right. But, like, it's not a very high bar for Carson Wentz to clear right now with J.J. mcCarthy. Right. Seven catches total for Justin Jefferson through two games. T.J. hawkinson has been unstartable through two games. It has not been the Vikings offense that we are accustomed to.

[Stefania Bell]

So weird, though, that, like, Carson Wentz didn't do any training camp. Like, he hasn't played. I'd just be curious to see. How does he look?

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah. The. The things that he has going for him that JJ doesn't. Is that while I think. Really. Yeah. It's the experience. Right. Is that like, he's just seen stuff. Yeah. Yeah. He's seen a lot of stuff that JJ hasn't yet seen at the NFL level. So I'm not guaranteeing you the things. I don't feel dramatically better because Carson Wentz is in there over JJ McCarthy, but I don't feel worse either, if that makes sense.

[Liz Loza]

I appreciate that you take these dramatic pauses. Feel.

[Daniel Dopp]

Oh, that's what I'm here for.

[Liz Loza]

Keeps me on the edge of my seat. I wasn't quite sure I was waiting for. It was beautiful.

[Daniel Dopp]

That's what I'm here for.

[Liz Loza]

Now let's move ahead. As long as this is no longer a pause, but we are moving indeed ahead to a segment called Field in the Blank.

[Daniel Dopp]

Boom. I see what you did there. Here we go. Coming off of his week two performance, Week three could make or break Travion Henderson's value as a starter. And his value as a starter may already be behind us for now. Right. Let's just talk a little bit about what went wrong for Henderson in Week two. For those that didn't watch the game super closely, he was playing early. The Patriots offense actually played well this past Sunday. Henderson had a couple of catches, two for 30 yards. He had a few carries as well. He ended up having three penalties, one on special teams and two on offense this past weekend and struggled in pass protection. The Dolphins were trying to basically put Drake May under siege, and Henderson just didn't really have it. As a matter of fact, yesterday Mike Vrabel noted that the Patriots best offensive play of the game, this wheel route to Ramandre Henderson, was actually designed. I'm sorry I did that again.

[Stefania Bell]

You're marrying these running backs.

[Daniel Dopp]

I keep Doing that Ramon Dre Stevenson had a long catch, like a 55 yard catch. It was a play that Vrabel said was designed and run during practice for Henderson. So I won't go as far as saying he was flat benched because he ended up coming back into the game later. But Henderson definitely saw a reduced role and it was a reminder for as excited as I am about this player, I think all of us are, I think the Patriots are. There are still some elements of his game that he needs to be better in to stay on the field more often.

[Stefania Bell]

But they, they did that with Ramon Ray Stevenson before too, remember? Because when there were ball security issues and it was like, now he's in the doghouse. And so I think either of these players has the opportunity to like hot potato it back to the other one. And I think it's like you said, they, they have Trayvon Henderson there for a reason. They like him.

[Liz Loza]

But when you look at the ADP, I mean Henderson was I believe 50th overall.

[Stefania Bell]

Well, and he was vaulting upward. The trajectory was so strong late in.

[Liz Loza]

The season, the top 100.

[Stefania Bell]

There's no question about like the value if Ramandre has a bigger role. I just, it's interesting because it's, it could make or break his value as a starter. You think for week three or are we talking this season?

[Daniel Dopp]

I would just say this. It's like we'll learn, I think we'll learn something this weekend about Henderson. If we go into week three and he barely plays, you say to yourself, okay, the Patriots, they think they can sort of scrap and claw their way or scratch and claw their way into maybe back end of the wild card contention. And while Henderson's a big part of the future, there are things that go beyond the box score, pass protection, lining up correctly, the intangibles, if you will, of running back that he is not yet at the level need him to be at. And so you're going to have to be very, very patient. I would not, would not be starting him in week three.

[Stefania Bell]

So I had a little just fun on my own looking at your field in the blanks and I was like, I'm just going to pick a name. Ok. But even though this is not my segments.

[Daniel Dopp]

Field in the blanks segments.

[Stefania Bell]

But I just wanted to like play along and the blanks.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah. Why not?

[Stefania Bell]

Well, because there weren't that many people. I was like, how many people Is it make or break value?

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah. Brian Thomas Jr. You know, I felt like I gotten some stuff off my Chest yesterday that I wanted to leave it be. But. Yes. I mean, do you.

[Stefania Bell]

What do you think of my choice there?

[Daniel Dopp]

I think it's a great choice. It's. It's going to be hard.

[Stefania Bell]

It's right, like, invisible.

[Daniel Dopp]

Put it this way. You know, the Tyree killed Tua like, icy vibes thing going on last year.

[Stefania Bell]

Last year, and I don't know, part.

[Daniel Dopp]

Of this year, but at least better so far this year. Right. He had 109 yards this past week on six catches. Like, you'll. You'll sign up for that from Tyreek. The early stages of that feel like they're taking place right now in Jacksonville. I don't know what the relationship is between Trevor Lawrence and Brian Thomas Shield Jr. The on field relationship ain't great.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah.

[Liz Loza]

So 12 targets. It's hard to shy away from 12 targets.

[Stefania Bell]

Right.

[Liz Loza]

But the. But the.

[Stefania Bell]

But they are out of sync. Like, if you could put out of sync into a statistical category, which, frankly, I think we should figure out how to do, because there is a lot with that. I know, I know him and his boring, like, actual numbers, but there is an out of sync thing. H. Well, Trevor Lawrence looks just generally out of sync more than. I think we all thought it would get better by the time the season started. We talked about his footwork being changed, you know, Liam Cohen really wanting him to work on adapting his footwork, and we thought those changes were progressing. And I don't know, feels like that.

[Liz Loza]

No one can say no to.

[Stefania Bell]

Right. And then now all of a sudden, I think Brian Thomas Jr. Is really on the losing end of this. And I don't know what's going on.

[Daniel Dopp]

The next prompt, you want to read it without the names and I'll fill in the blanks for you.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah.

[Liz Loza]

So you want to say. Yeah, okay. So blank snapshare in week two suggests he may already be overtaking blank on the depth chart.

[Stefania Bell]

I feel like we need the game show music that's like, you know, match Game. You know, I was like, well, people write their cards and then they.

[Liz Loza]

77. I feel like you just added a base to the back.

[Stefania Bell]

That was. That is the 19. That is 1970s game show this. But then everybody fills in their card and then you put it up and then they read the card. You try and match it.

[Daniel Dopp]

So best game show ever, Is that what you're saying?

[Stefania Bell]

It's one of the best ever, I think, usually because it went off the rails, much like we tend to do here.

[Daniel Dopp]

So Family Feud is really tough for me to top. Just because the bloopers are the best. Steve Harvey is incredible. So one more time because I derailed this.

[Stefania Bell]

I derailed it.

[Liz Loza]

Blank's snapshare in week two suggests he may already be overtaking Blank on the depth chart.

[Daniel Dopp]

Quinshawn Judkins snap share in week two suggests he may already be overtaking all other Browns running backs on the depth chart. Judkins only played 19 snaps this past weekend. That's not a huge number for running back. But the guy had no training camp. He had like three practices ripped off.

[Liz Loza]

That 30 yard line.

[Daniel Dopp]

He averaged 7 yards per per carry after contact looked good. Dylan Sampson hardly played. He had a garbage time touchdown to to save the day. And then Jerome Ford still played a decent amount. But I think you know Jerome Ford is what he is, right? He's not super explosive, not a game changer, not dynamic. So Judkins, his role should only continue to grow as he gets back into football shape more, understands a playbook more, gets more practice time with his teammates. The one huge caveat here is that he might get suspended too. Now with the NFL as we know, we don't have any sense of when that could come down. But that would totally change the outlook for some period of time. But for now I am treating him as the Brown starting running back and that would probably be somewhere in the RB25 range, not top 20 because the passing game value is not there yet. He can, he is a good receiver but that'll be a little bit of Dylan Sampson, a little bit of Jerome Ford as well.

[Stefania Bell]

How available is he?

[Daniel Dopp]

He is not that available on ESPN.com I think I want to say like 30% but if you have a chance.

[Stefania Bell]

It might be worth it because buys are starting in week four and if.

[Daniel Dopp]

They really a buy in week four.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah, because I went, I, I looked. I think it's week week four. Week four, Week. Yeah, because one team has one. Maybe it's week five.

[Daniel Dopp]

I think it's week five.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah, maybe it's week five. Whatever.

[Daniel Dopp]

I think it's Vikings sooner than we know.

[Stefania Bell]

It's soon enough that if there is no suspension handed down he might be somebody who could replace Last one here.

[Liz Loza]

Last one. Blank disappointed fantasy owners in week two.

[Stefania Bell]

There we go.

[Liz Loza]

But the matchup versus Blank gave him an opportunity for a bounce back performance in Week 3. One more time. Blank disappointed fantasy owners in Week 2, but the matchup versus Blank gives him an opportunity for a bounce back performance in week three. This is where we.

[Stefania Bell]

I wanted. I know next time I think we all should play and write the card.

[Daniel Dopp]

I like it. Yeah.

[Liz Loza]

And we put it up with this music.

[Daniel Dopp]

Keon Coleman disappointed fantasy managers in Week 2. But the matchup against the Dolphins gives him an opportunity for a bounce back performance in week three. Mike Clay kind of forecasted to us it might be a little bit of sauce. Gardner, opposite of Keon Coleman, saw a little bit of that. But more importantly, the Bills just blew the jets out. And Jimbo Cook ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Allen hardly played in this game. He left the game early because Mitch Trubisky went in.

[Stefania Bell]

Well, he left the game because his nose was falling apart and Mitch Trubisky went and there was a 20 point lead.

[Daniel Dopp]

He did return to the game and he's totally fine for practice and all that. He was not on the injury report on Monday, but Keon Coleman had was one of the victims, if you will, of the Bill's dominance against the Jets. Start your players against Dolphins. Start them all. I mean, the Dolphins have made in back to back weeks Daniel Jones and Drake May look, I mean I think clearly because it's a smaller sample size, the best game of Drake May's career was last weekend and Daniel Jones, there were some great games that year. They went to the playoffs. So it may not have been his best career game. But Daniel Jones in week one look excellent. He looked excellent Week two as well. But this Dolphins defense is just terrible. I mean, they're awful. I think they're the worst in the NFL, at least based off what I've seen so far this season. So the Bills are A dramatic favorite, 13 1/2 point favorite at ESPN BET for Thursday night. That's a massive line that I'm not sure we'll see a bigger one for quite some time. But Keon Coleman lines up well for he may only play half of the snaps on Thursday night because they'll be up by 25 at halftime. But Keon Coleman should be. He has a chance to explode in week three.

[Liz Loza]

We love a breakout. And I just have to say that I think the Dolphins defense might be even, might look even worse than Mike McDaniels post game press conferences.

[Daniel Dopp]

Mike's an interesting cat, that's for sure. Yeah, those post game press conferences. I think the hard part is that like the court of public opinion has really turned against Mike McDaniel and the microphone's one of the places that you can earn that trust back. And he's a little quirky. I think he has now lost more trust.

[Liz Loza]

I don't mind quirky, but that is certainly something. But if we're speaking about the court of public opinion, let's turn our attention back to the public in our own mailbag. These are some questions from YouTube. Eric Moody, by the way, still in the chat answering other ones that we're not featuring here. This is from Maxwell Goldstein. Should I trade A.J. brown for Javante Williams?

[Daniel Dopp]

So I first of all, without context of your roster, I respect the question. I get it. Javante's got back to back games as a top five running back.

[Stefania Bell]

AJ Disappointing.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah, I wouldn't do this, Max. I would be doing two things. One of two things. I would either be asking for a significant other piece as part of this deal or I would just say, respectfully, we're going to wait. Like, you can't use a second round pick on a guy like AJ Brown and then turn around and sell him for potentially, potentially like 50 to 60%. 60 cents on the dollar. You can't do it.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah. Plus it's not, we don't know. It's two weeks and Javante's looked good for two weeks. But they we were concerned about shares in the backfield. I thought Javante would come out as the number one to start the season. All the indications were there, but how long does it last? Did they try and give Jaden Blue more run also?

[Liz Loza]

Does his body hold up? Does he start to wear down? This is a player who is not the tackle busting phenom that he was when he entered the league. And A.J. brown in terms of target share is improving. We are not.

[Daniel Dopp]

And there's a chance. I think There's a chance A.J. brown's a top five receiver for the rest of the way. There's also a chance that Javante Williams is a top 20 back. I think you trade a top 20 back for a top five wide receiver.

[Liz Loza]

All right, let's take a look at another question from our mailbag here. This one is from Scott Colburn, Super Flex League. Ooh, I love a super flex. But with all these quarterback injuries, this is interesting. Down Purdy. Should I target Mac Jones or Jake Browning? Russ, who was back in vintage moon ball form is claimed.

[Daniel Dopp]

So I think that my answer would be Mac Jones personally because he has Brock Purdy already. You don't have to worry about the fact that Mack might have one more start in him. We'll see. I mean Mac might have zero more starts than him. It's, it's Tuesday 1054. We don't know there is.

[Stefania Bell]

Yes, they are zero by how well Brock did during the week. But again, Mac Jones also played so well that they know that they have the latitude to get. You know, it's a. It's a long season in the agreement there.

[Daniel Dopp]

All right, but. But because like Browning, I don't think he's a. I don't think that Mac Jones is head and shoulders above Jake Browning every single week. But if you have Mac and Purdy, I would prefer the quarterback room of San Francisco to Jake Browning the rest of the way in Cincinnati.

[Liz Loza]

One more question or maybe two more if we have time. This one's from Max N 2107. When should we start panicking about Brian Thom Thomas Jr. Well, we already.

[Stefania Bell]

We did weeks ago.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah.

[Stefania Bell]

And also a few minutes ago, we did start paying probably around the same time that you were thinking about putting that question in there. That's. It's. It's real. I. I think that also just reflects that there are a lot of folks out there think about how high he was drafted, you know, so that might have been, depending on how your draft look, that might have been your first. Probably was your first wide receiver.

[Liz Loza]

Silver lining here, though. I can't. But I can't veer away from the volume 19 targets that the efficiency is going to improve. If we are buying the Liam Cohen hype, then we have to believe that at some point, even just, you know, a tiny modicum, it will improve. And so there is a motivation there. Thank you. Modicum. That is the word of the day today. Stefan is here, so there's more words. All right, last question from the mailbag. Let's look at this one from Ben. Jalen Warren or Breece Hall? Oh, who's the better consultant? Consistent play at flex. Consistent, a key word. If we're talking about vocab here, I would say that the jets are not playing at least over two games. Consistent.

[Stefania Bell]

I was gonna say you can't use the word consistent and jets in the same sentence.

[Liz Loza]

I mean, I bought. I bought hard after week one and got big hard after week two.

[Daniel Dopp]

I prefer. It's a weekly game. I prefer Breeze Hall.

[Stefania Bell]

Yeah.

[Daniel Dopp]

Like, I just. He's a better player. He's more dynamic player. He's, I think, on the same level, if not better as a receiver. And Jalen Warren is a good receiver. So to me, like, you know, this week against the Patriots, if you want to play him because you're worried about what the Buccaneers run defense could do to Breece hall with Tyrod Taylor there, I guess I'm. Breeze hall is my answer.

[Liz Loza]

So.

[Daniel Dopp]

And that he'll be higher in my ranking.

[Stefania Bell]

I actually think especially close if Justin Fields is out pretty solid is going to touch the ball more.

[Liz Loza]

I also think this is a situation where talent is a tiebreaker. So if we're choosing between these two, we're looking at draft pedigree. We're looking at.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yeah. And by the way, through two weeks, each one of them's had a good week. Like, it's not like, you know, it sounds after week two like Jalen Warren's the more consistent answer. He was not that great in week one when Kenneth Gainwell played nearly as much as he did.

[Liz Loza]

That is a good point. I think we made some great points. It was lovely joining you today.

[Daniel Dopp]

Great job, Liz.

[Stefania Bell]

Lovely having you here today.

[Liz Loza]

This was very palm, very conversation. I know.

[Daniel Dopp]

I like it. 16 weeks left of the season.

[Liz Loza]

I think so.

[Daniel Dopp]

Daniel, enjoy your 16 week vacation?

[Liz Loza]

Well, I don't think so. Thank you so much for joining. That's it for our TV cut of fantasy focus. But we're not done yet. Head on over to the NFL on ESPN YouTube channel to continue the conversation. We are out for today. Be back on Wednesday with Daniel.

[Daniel Dopp]

Yo, this is important, man. My favorite Lululemon shorts, the ones you.

[Stefania Bell]

Got me back in the day, I think they're pace breakers.

[Daniel Dopp]

The ones with all the pockets. Well, I just got back from vacation and I think I left them in.

[Stefania Bell]

My hotel room and dude, I need.

[Daniel Dopp]

To replace these shorts. I, I wear them like every day.

[Stefania Bell]

With that Lulu hoodie you got me.

[Daniel Dopp]

Could you send me the link to.

[Stefania Bell]

Where you got them? Thanks, bro.

[Liz Loza]

Talk soon. Looking for your newest go tos shop?

[Stefania Bell]

Lululemon's best sellers [e-mail].