Week 16 Waiver Wire: J.J. McCarthy, Michael Carter, Colby Parkinson headline top targets

Summary

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry

Episode: Week 16 Waiver Wire: J.J. McCarthy, Michael Carter, Colby Parkinson Headline Top Targets

Date: December 16, 2025

Host: Matthew Berry (w/ Connor Rogers & Jay Croucher)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into Waiver Wire strategy for Week 16 of the fantasy football season, identifying the top pickups at each position to help managers advance in their playoffs. Matthew Berry, Connor Rogers, and Jay Croucher break down which quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends stand out, discuss the key injury updates, and analyze tricky start/sit situations. The tone is classic "Happy Hour"—irreverent and fast-paced, punctuated with pop culture references, but always grounded in sharp, actionable fantasy advice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pop Culture & Banter (00:01–03:28)

• Keanu Reeves Tangent:
  The trio opens with a lively Keanu Reeves debate, comparing his acting "modes" (from Bill and Ted to Point Break), with humorous suggestions about starting Keanu over Mercedes Lewis in the fantasy flex.
  • Notable Quote:
    • “Keanu has two modes. He either is like wooden, cool Matrix Keanu…or he tries to act and can't really do it. But in Point Break, he really gives it a crack.” — Jay Croucher (03:28)
• Sets a playful, relaxed tone before pivoting to fantasy content.

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2. Waiver Wire Quarterbacks (04:08–13:47)

Top QB Streamers

• C.J. Stroud vs. Raiders (04:08)

  • Stroud is available in over 50% of leagues, making him a strong candidate given the Raiders’ defensive struggles, especially versus QBs since Week 11.
    • "CJ Stroud, I think, has looked good…he's still available in over 50% of leagues." — Matthew Berry (04:42)

• J.J. McCarthy vs. Giants (07:47, 09:12)

  • McCarthy has shown tangible growth, and the Giants are a favorable matchup.
    • “It’s not just he’s played the past two weeks…they are going to let him fling it.” — Jay Croucher (09:12)

• Deep Streamers

  • Tyler Shough (“vertical element,” Saints), Marcus Mariota (against the Eagles), Bryce Young (Bucs), Kirk Cousins (Arizona).
  • Discussion on the Saints’ playoff scenarios and Tyler Shough’s sleeper value.
  • “He's more likely to run in a touchdown. Also the matchup…I’m not sure there's any matchup more favorable than the Jets at this point.” — Jay Croucher (13:05)

QB Start/Sit Questions

• Stroud or Dart? Both offer value, but preference leans toward Dart for his rushing upside (06:44).
• JJ McCarthy or Shough in deep leagues? Both rank as high-upside desperation plays (13:05).

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3. Waiver Wire Running Backs (16:32–32:58)

Top RB Options

• Blake Corum (Rams, 16:32)

  • Surprising availability given his emerging split with Kyren Williams and red zone usage.
    • "He’s had four rushing touchdowns over the past three games...if I had Kyren Williams, I would want to make sure I had Blake Corum." — Matthew Berry (17:53)
  • Upside for playoff and Week 18 stashes.

• Michael Carter (Cardinals, 19:49)

  • With Bam Knight likely out, Carter becomes the preferred option in a messy committee over Amari DiMercado.

• Other Notables:

  • Jecory Croskey-Merritt (Commanders, if Chris Rodriguez is out, 20:54)
  • Audric Estime (Saints, if Devin Neal is sidelined)
    • "If Devon Neal's not healthy…I would think it would be Estime that becomes the guy." — Matthew Berry (27:05)

Pro Tips

• Emphasize adding insurance backs as we close the season:
  • "You need to have your workhorse running backs insured." — Connor Rogers (32:25)
• Discusses how team context and coaching can make or break RB value (example: Andy Reid’s role in Mahomes’ success, 28:48).

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4. Waiver Wire Wide Receivers (33:23–38:16)

WR Picks

• Jaden Reed (Packers, 33:23)

  • Boosted by possible Christian Watson injury; Bears are very susceptible to slot receivers.
    • "I think Jaden Reed is the Packers pass catcher that you most want." — Jay Croucher (34:10)

• Luther Burden (Bears, 36:14)

  • Ascending if Roma Odunze sits, high target share.
    • "Seven targets last week, 26% target share." — Matthew Berry (37:41)

• Deeper Targets:

  • Adonai Mitchell (Saints)
  • Jalen Coker (Bucs)
  • Darius Slayton (Giants) — sneaky with 28% target share last week.

• Notable Weekend Games

  • “Seattle, L.A. on Thursday night…an unbelievable game.” — Matthew Berry (34:46)

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5. Waiver Wire Tight Ends (38:16–40:40)

TE Pickups

• Dalton Schultz (Texans, 38:16)

  • Super consistent, yet perennially unclaimed.
    • “Since week five, he’s the ninth best tight end in fantasy football…all volume driven.” — Matthew Berry (38:22)

• Colby Parkinson (Raiders, 38:56)

  • Benefits from Devante Adams’ likely absence; Seahawks are vulnerable against TEs.

• Colson Loveland (Bears)

  • Gaining momentum as a middle-of-the-field option; good for deeper leagues.

• Deep League Dart Throws:

  • Darren Waller (Bengals are terrible versus TEs), DJ Johnson, Gunnar Helm.

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6. D/ST Streamers (40:40)

• Saints (Jets), Vikings (Giants), Cowboys (Chargers), Bucs (Panthers) all recommended.

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7. Recap: Monday Night Football — Steelers Backfield Frustrations (41:20–47:46)

• Jalen Warren:
  • "Brutal" luck — had two goalline carries stuffed, while TDs go to random Steelers’ tight ends.
  • "Jalen Warren now, guys, has been under 13 fantasy points in five of the past six…just hasn't translated into fantasy points anytime in the near future." — Matthew Berry (44:17)
• Kenneth Gainwell:
  • Now a top-10 fantasy RB since Week 11; Arthur Smith's creative offense opens doors.

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8. WRs & RBs — Rest-of-Season Outlook & Start/Sit

• Jalen Waddle:
  • Disappointing run, but scheduling could help; still a start vs. Bengals and Bucs.
    • "Waddle doesn't have a game with more than 52 receiving yards since week 10…The one note I will make though…is D.J. turner for the Bengals has had a great year and he's actually done a pretty good job of shutting down number one wide receivers." — Matthew Berry (48:14)
• Arthur Smith’s Offensive Mind:
  • "Arthur Smith is an offensive genius. Could you imagine Mercedes Lewis in this offense?" — No. Suzaki in chat, discussed at (47:17)

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9. Early Bets & Lines (“Last Call”) (50:20–51:51)

• Connor & Jay: Both back the Saints to cover -4.5 vs. Jets due to Jets’ depleted secondary.
• Matthew Berry: Likes Vikings-Giants over 44.5; bonus Chiefs-Titans over 37.5.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Keanu Reeves:

  • "He's universally beloved…Keanu. Everyone loves Keanu, but you can't ever say like, you know, where he was great." — Matthew Berry (01:42)

• On the Waiver Wire Desperation:

  • “Sometimes these are desperate times and so for deeper leagues, you know, it’s interesting.” — Matthew Berry, on running backs (27:05)

• On Fantasy Playoff Heartbreak (re: Steelers MNF):

  • “The three most random, useless touchdowns in fantasy football history.” — Matthew Berry (42:35)

• On Injury Handcuffs:

  • “At this point in the season, you need to have your workhorse running backs insured.” — Connor Rogers (32:25)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Keanu Reeves Banter: 00:01–03:28
• Waiver Wire QBs: 04:08–13:47
• RB Waiver Breakdown: 16:32–32:58
• WR Waiver Breakdown: 33:23–38:16
• TE Waiver Breakdown: 38:16–40:40
• Defense Streamers: 40:40
• Steelers MNF/Backfield Woes: 41:20–47:46
• Jalen Waddle Start/Sit: 47:53–49:07
• Early Line Alert “Last Call”: 50:20–51:51

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Tone & Style

• Breezy, conversational, and sprinkled with pop culture and football history references.
• Plenty of side chatter, inside jokes, and listener questions, but main waiver advice is clear, actionable, and always grounded in data/recent performance.

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Summary

This episode blends the show's characteristically entertaining energy with a thorough, practical rundown of Week 16 fantasy football waiver priorities. The advice leans on forward-looking strategy (insuring RBs, targeting injury replacements), with strong insight into team context and playoff outcomes. Though peppered with digressions—from Broadway reviews to NFL history—the hosts continually steer back to thoughtful analysis, giving listeners both a laugh and the edge they need for their fantasy playoff pushes.

Transcript

[Matthew Berry]

Jake holds his beard pretty well. I will say I've never. I don't think I've ever seen you drunk. I've been. I've been out drinking with you a handful of nights. I don't know that I've ever.

[Connor Rogers]

He just, he holds it really well.

[Matthew Berry]

Where you don't go.

[Connor Rogers]

Jay's drunk. Jake's been drinking the same way the rest of us.

[Jay Croucher]

He's fine.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, he pulls it together pretty well. The one night in the combine where you. Where you somehow managed to scrounge out little bottles of wine at 2:30.

[Jay Croucher]

That was a tough service. Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

Those are good.

[Connor Rogers]

Next day you've had better moments.

[Jay Croucher]

But I struggled. Yeah. You power through to your credit. Yeah, I power through. Yeah. I always show up like, you know, Keanu raising hardball. Most important thing is showing up. I always show up.

[Matthew Berry]

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry.

[Connor Rogers]

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Happy Hour. Connor Rogers, Matthew Berry and Jay Croucher from Hardball.

[Jay Croucher]

That's a ridiculous graphic. Yeah. Also, I saw Keanu Reeves in the flesh on Broadway, the Hudson Theatre on Saturday afternoon in Waiting for Godot, which Waiting for Godot was one of the most famous plays of the 20th century. Samuel Beckett. Waiting for do kind of sucks. It's not that. It's not that interesting. I'm sorry.

[Connor Rogers]

Good review.

[Matthew Berry]

Does. Does Godot ever show up?

[Jay Croucher]

He doesn't show up. Godot. No. He shows up.

[Matthew Berry]

There we go. We've ruined a play for you as well.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, exactly.

[Connor Rogers]

Covering all our bases.

[Matthew Berry]

You don't have to go see it.

[Connor Rogers]

Even Broadway is not safe.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

He never shows up. Who'd you see it with?

[Jay Croucher]

My wife.

[Matthew Berry]

Okay.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, My wife Sophia. Yeah. We saw Keanu. Keanu is a fascinating kind of character in the Zeitgeist because Keanu has. He has a fantastic face, a fantastic voice, has this kind of whimsy about him. He's really not a great actor.

[Matthew Berry]

He's not, you know, and he's universally beloved. Yes, Universally beloved. Keanu. Everyone loves Keanu, but you can't ever say like, you know, where he was. Great.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

Like, again, he's. What's weird is Johnny Mnemonic. No. Exactly. He's been in a bunch of great movies.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

Like, the Matrix is amazing.

[Connor Rogers]

Continues to get massive roles.

[Matthew Berry]

I mean, the Matrix is amazing. Like, if you like action movies, John Wick is as good as it gets. If you enjoy that kind of movie.

[Connor Rogers]

I kept making them.

[Matthew Berry]

I. I love the John Wick movies. Oh, he's great. And I will tell you, as a kid, when I was a teenager, me and my friends would quote Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure all the time.

[Connor Rogers]

Like that.

[Matthew Berry]

That is to. To this day, there's a couple of buddies right from high school that all we do is just text Bill and Ted quotes.

[Jay Croucher]

Well, you should go see Waiting for Godot because, you know, Keanu does. It's so. It's two characters. It's Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter from ted.

[Matthew Berry]

Bill and Ted.

[Jay Croucher]

They do it together. They do the play together. So it's quite. Yeah, it's good to reminisce about that film. But, yeah, there's not much. There's no range.

[Connor Rogers]

Stuntman Chuck says Reeves best performance ever is in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

[Matthew Berry]

It's actually. I will tell you this, it's actually an underrated movie because it's a. Everyone thinks it's like a goofy teen comedy and it's a goofy teen comedy, but, like, I've never seen it. It's actually. It's a fun. It's just a. It's. It's fun structurally. It's. It's. It's well done for what it is, I guess is my point is like. And I would argue. I would argue just, by the way, shout out to my friend Ed Solomon, who is one of the writers of Bill and Ted, my friend Ed Solomon, who's been forever. But I would argue that, excuse me, Bill and Ted led to Beavis and Butthead and all the sort of like stoner buddy kind of, you know, comedies and everything like that. It was the first one, Harold and Kumar.

[Jay Croucher]

All of it.

[Matthew Berry]

All those like, all sort of Bill and Ted was kind of the first one of those.

[Jay Croucher]

But, yep, the best Keanu movie, by the way, is Point Break. That's his best performance. Keanu has two modes. He either kind of is like wooden, cool, Matrix Keanu, Matrix, John Wick, et cetera, speed. Or he really tries to act and he can't really do it. But in Point Break, he really gives it a crack.

[Matthew Berry]

The last thing I will say is, believe it or not, this is a Producer Adam show, not a back to producer Pete show. Given the fact we've spent five minutes.

[Connor Rogers]

Talking about Keanu Reeves, Scott McLory said Keanu or Mercedes Lewis in the Flex this week. Yeah, all the greats.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. It's obviously Keanu, you know. Yeah. But we've spent about the same amount of time talking about Keanu Reeves, Mercedes Lewis, Niever, which can help your fantasy team. So let's get to waivers.

[Connor Rogers]

Let's do it. It is Tuesday. We got waivers for you. Congrats. If you still need them in the fantasy football playoffs, of course, we'll recap Monday Night Football as well. Don't worry. And we got our early week bets on sides and totals in last call. Let's jump right into the quarterbacks for waiver Wired. And we start with CJ Stroud, who is 52% available coming off a strong week where he threw for three touchdowns. Actually ran a little bit too. The yardage wasn't there, but the attempts were. And why you might be considering streaming C.J. stroud, Matthew, is because he plays what is arguably the worst team in football, the Las Vegas Raiders.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. Since week 11, they've allowed the highest passer rating to opposing quarterbacks. A week after Jalen Hurts completely embarrassed himself to win that football, he looked like Jalen Hurts again. Thanks to the Raiders coming to town since week 11, they also give up touchdown passes at the second highest rate in the league. CJ Stroud, I think has looked good. He was somebody that we mentioned last week on this show as a streamer he produced last week. And now we are saying once again, since you did not listen to us, he's still available in over 50% of leagues. He likes C.J. stroud against the Raiders.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, we talk about C.J. stroud every week. Make up your mind, America, whether you want him to to reach the threshold of 50 cent roster or so. But do you think he can ever start running more and using his legs? I always have it in my mind with Stroud how he used his legs in that game against Georgia, but we just don't see it.

[Connor Rogers]

He can. Like in the perfect world, you'd think younger Dak the way you'd hope he can run, but he just isn't really.

[Jay Croucher]

He's not that fast.

[Connor Rogers]

He's not, he's not that. He's not slow though. That's a little mistakes with CJ Stroud. He's just not overly decisive as a runner. He'd rather keep his eyes down.

[Matthew Berry]

He's not any slower than Jordan Love.

[Jay Croucher]

No.

[Connor Rogers]

Right. That's a similar.

[Matthew Berry]

That's a good like, I feel like.

[Connor Rogers]

That'S the kind of athlete like you're looking at that kind of athlete, but he just prefers to be a pocket passer. He's a really good pocket passer. So no, I think if you're looking at forever more than more than 20 yards per week and it's not going to happen.

[Matthew Berry]

The only concern in CJ Stroud and like this is hilarious like Too big a lead. No, just 100%. Like so the line is 37 and a half in this one. But the Texans are fortunate half point favorites.

[Jay Croucher]

Right.

[Matthew Berry]

I mean it just doesn't like, I mean just the, the Raiders offense is so broken and the Texans defense is so good.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. So markets I am like 26 to 11.

[Connor Rogers]

That's right.

[Jay Croucher]

It's not great.

[Matthew Berry]

No, exactly. So just that's the only question is, is there a defensive touchdown, a rushing touchdown and then CJ Stroud is a very efficient like you know, 14 of 17 for 185 yards because he just doesn't need to do anything.

[Connor Rogers]

This one from. Hey, you in the chat, Shroud or Dart this week lost Mahomes. Oh, tough.

[Matthew Berry]

That is a, that is a tough one. I'm going to go with Dart this week again. Just sort of. Dart is at home against, against the Vikings. Right. And just I think Dart, because of the rushing upside that you get, like, I just feel like there's just a floor with Dart. Whereas with Stroud, we like him as a streamer because Darts, I mean, we like Stroud as a streamer because obviously Dart is rostered in well, more than 50% of leagues. But I just sort of feel like, I don't know, I just. Dart has been a top five fantasy quarterback.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

You know, on a points per game.

[Jay Croucher]

Basis I would go Darth swapping because of the rushing, but I did think it was a pretty bad loss for the Giants against the Commanders. That looked like a team that has kind of packed it in for the season and so they can, they can pack it in and Dark can still put up fantasy points. But it's a little bit of a concern. I thought that would look better in that game. I thought Dart would look better and.

[Connor Rogers]

You had him pulled by the spotter and on a play that now it feels like they're really being cautious with him. So all fair.

[Matthew Berry]

I actually thought the. Since Dan Quinn has taken over the defense, they've actually played better. They played a lot better. They're still not good, but like they, you know, like they gave Denver a run for their money. Like that was a game they easily could have won.

[Jay Croucher]

You know, J.J. mcCarthy game against the Commanders doesn't look as bad after he touched the Cowboys as well. So that looked like, oh, the commander's back to being atrocious. But yeah, JJ McCarthy speaking of 65%.

[Connor Rogers]

Available and the next quarterback on our wavered wired list, he's got those New York Giants things haven't looked good on the defensive side of the ball, especially for them. He's coming off a three touchdown week if you count the rushing, which we do. And we got to hear from JJ McCarthy this week on his gritty after scoring a touchdown.

[JJ McCarthy]

I did it in practice and I was told not to do it. So it's just me, you know, being who I am, it's like oh, now I'm more enticed to do it. But if it's that open, obviously just get in the end zone no matter what and be coachable and do what my coach says. So yeah, I'll definitely get a minus for that one. You're okay with that? Yes and no. Yes or no jj, what do you.

[Jay Croucher]

Think has allowed you to push through.

[Connor Rogers]

All the adversity you've you faced this year and not let it break you?

[JJ McCarthy]

I love what I do like I love playing ball. I realize how blessed I am to be in this position and most importantly I love the people I do it with.

[Connor Rogers]

Jay, obviously you have to be in a little bit of desperation mode this deep into the fantasy season and playoffs to start nine but can't call him that. Last two weeks he's been nine. He hasn't been J.J. mcCarthy. Right? It's better than being nine to five.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I guess so. The good thing I think with JJ is outlook. It's not just he's played the past two weeks, it's that I think that they are going to let him fling it a little bit these last few weeks because what else are you going to do if you Minnesota. All that matters these final three weeks is evaluating JJ McCarthy, getting him more on the same page with Justin Jefferson. And the thing is is that the Justin Jefferson game just has to be coming. He can't keep on going these 2 for 24 type games. JJ is going to connect with him eventually. It's a super favorable matchup against the Giants. The market has upgraded its opinion of jj. This game looked like it was going to be around pick or so. Now the Vikings are three point favorites. There was a lot of steam in the market towards the Vikings against the Cowboys. The betting world certainly thinks that JJ has made strides and to me, Connor spoke about this yesterday but he just looks so much more in control. He wasn't frazzled, he wasn't rattled, he wasn't doing the crazy. J.J. mcCarthy throws nearly as much. There was still some misses but he just looked so much more in command.

[Connor Rogers]

Saw some more touch throws. We know the kind of athlete he is. I do like that. Even with his confidence broken, he's not afraid to push the ball down the field because at least he'll keep the defense honest. And the Giants defense. I thought Abdul Carter played really well last week, but outside of that, this is a. This is a broken franchise right now.

[Jay Croucher]

So I've bet against Abdul Card all year for defensive rookie. He only has like two sacks on the season. I watch that guy every play. He is an absolute monster. It is insane that he only has two sacks on the season. Feels like he's gonna get a sack every single play.

[Connor Rogers]

Right? But think of also, they're not always in scripts that benefit him and that's kind of hurt the season.

[Jay Croucher]

He's also had like four called back by penalties.

[Connor Rogers]

Right. It's been a bad luck season and some of his own doing with all the off the field issues as well.

[Matthew Berry]

Giants have allowed multiple touchdown passes in six of the past eight as well. So it's a nice matchup for JJ for all these things as well. And it does, to your point, feel like the Giants have sort of given up a little bit defensively.

[Connor Rogers]

Some desperation options. Tyler Schuck against the Jets. Trevor Lawrence could have probably had 12 touchdowns against the jets if they kept trying to score. So Tyler Schuck's playing really well right now. It's a great spot for him. Marcus Mariota. It is. Mariota. It is. Against the Eagles, once again, they're called desperation options for a reason. Bryce Young and the Bucs basically playing for their division. And then Kirk Cousins against Arizona.

[Jay Croucher]

I mean, perk feed Jacoby.

[Connor Rogers]

Right. That oddly could be a shootout game. Is that not hilarious?

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, yeah. The total for that One is it's 47 and a half.

[Connor Rogers]

Right.

[Jay Croucher]

There you go. But yeah, teams both have suspect defenses. Falcons defense is fine, but not afraid of giving up some big numbers. And then the Cardinals defense is just completely banked up. And the thing with the Falcons is that like this offense can still move it. Like it's still Bijan Robson who leads the entire league in scrimmage yards. Drake London expected back, which makes Kirk Cousins much more appealing. Also, you have Antonio Gates in 2005 at tight end. Like, there's a lot going on for the Falcons now. Good offensive line, but to me, kind of the most compelling one of this group is Tyler Shaw. For me as well, he is. We spoke about a little bit. I don't think he's going to win offensive rookie of the year because it's a bit too late, but he's playing as well as any rookie quarterback right now.

[Connor Rogers]

He really, I think There's a world where the Saints went out their last three games here with the Jets, Titans and Falcons and it's really because of how well Shuck is playing. He's given a vertical element to their offense. I. I like his athleticism. It's played college football for seven years because of all the injuries he's had. He just feels like he's healthy and more spry right now.

[Jay Croucher]

Love his acting ability as well. I don't think Keanu Reeves could have pulled that off on the slide at the end. It was very well done and he can with his legs.

[Matthew Berry]

17 fantasy points in four of his past five games. Has he exceeded expectations based on what you thought coming into the league?

[Connor Rogers]

I think he's been better than I expected. I'm really impressed with Tyler Shaw. I've been more impressed with the Saints and it's not the wins and losses. But their defense is well coached by Brandon Staley. I think Kellen Moore's done a good job with the ingredients. He has this one from GZR. Do we start JJ or shuck? 14 team league. Been getting away with Mario Top but I don't like his matchup. I would start Tyler Schuck. That's just me. I have more confidence in the floor of Tyler Schuck.

[Jay Croucher]

The rushing upside. I think he's much more. He's more likely to run in a touchdown. Also the matchup. I know the Giants are pretty favorable matchup. I'm not sure there's any favorable more matchup than the jets though at this point. Just.

[Connor Rogers]

Just fired their defensive coordinator this week.

[Matthew Berry]

Trevor Lawrence just lit them up for six.

[Jay Croucher]

Right. By the way, the Saints are going to win out. They'll be 7 and 10. They blew these ridiculous games earlier in the season. I was right all along. This was a playoff team. This team should have won the division.

[Connor Rogers]

They'd be right in it with the Panthers and Bucs.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, they should have been Arizona. They should have been the Niners.

[Matthew Berry]

Are they still mathematically alive? Is there still a scenario where they. Are they officially out.

[Connor Rogers]

But there is a world where they finish with one less win than whoever wins the division. Like we could have an eight. We could have an eight, nine division winner with the seven win Saints.

[Matthew Berry]

Easy.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

That's ridiculous.

[Jay Croucher]

They could have beaten the Bills in Buffalo. That was close at the end. What could have been. You should have started Tyler Schuck from the beginning. Kellen Moore. We could have done great things.

[Matthew Berry]

The funniest thing is is that like there's every. It feels like Every five. Once every five years there's like an eight, nine team or a seven and eight team that makes the.

[Jay Croucher]

It's usually from the. It's usually from the South.

[Connor Rogers]

The Bucs did it two or three years ago with Brady.

[Matthew Berry]

Right.

[Connor Rogers]

They're eight, nine.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes. And the Carolina Panthers did it with Kevin Newton. With Ron. Ron Rivera.

[Jay Croucher]

Sam Bradford did it with like St. Louis or something. Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

And the Commanders. Commanders under Ron Rivera also did it once. But that was the Taylor Heinecke year, I think. But. But it feels like that team is always for any year that there's a. Like a team with a losing record in the playoffs. It's always for the NFC South.

[Connor Rogers]

Forgot about the Commanders in the COVID year. Yeah, the 2020. I did forget about that one. The 2010 Seahawks were seven and nine. The 2014 Panthers.

[Matthew Berry]

I think that wasn't that the, the. The Marshawn lynch run. The Earthquake run.

[Jay Croucher]

That's right.

[Matthew Berry]

That's the.

[Connor Rogers]

They pulled off the upset in the.

[Matthew Berry]

Opening because everyone was like bitching about them.

[Connor Rogers]

And seven to nine team in the playoffs because they were the. They were the first team with a losing record, if Google's correct. Which it often is to make the playoffs.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, that's right. And everyone thought, oh, they're going to get killed. And then Marshawn lynch had that.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

That epic like one of the greatest runs in the beast mode Rumble. Run the beast mode Rumble.

[Jay Croucher]

Just to bring it back to Demar Hamlin quickly. So we were with that eight and eight team or whatever, the commander's team that got in. So everyone thinking about the Mahmoud, like, I didn't play that well out in the field. Alex Smith won the award unanimously because he won the division. Alex Smith, great story. Should have won the award. The performance aspect. Alex Smith was the worst quarterback in the league.

[Matthew Berry]

He. He looked like bad Philip Rivers from last week. He was out there.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

He was limping around on one leg. He couldn't throw it.

[Jay Croucher]

It was gallant.

[Matthew Berry]

O. Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

It's a great story.

[Matthew Berry]

Oh, it's a.

[Connor Rogers]

That's why. That's why you won.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

So you're thinking. Your thinking was right. No one can ever deny you of that. This is the problem with human voters. You trusted human beings with your.

[Jay Croucher]

We need AI taking over these votes. Where's Gemini?

[Connor Rogers]

I don't know if we want that either.

[Matthew Berry]

Philip Rivers. Philip had had Seattle lost this weekend. Philip Rivers.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, it would have been dangerous hours.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Trouble.

[Connor Rogers]

Are you back in on the award again?

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I've got two horses. I got McCaffrey so looking forward to how he goes down as a minus 250 favorite. Now, my long shot, though, is aidan Hutchinson, who's 35. 1. Still, if he has a big close, he leads the NFL in pressures. He had the crazy end of Stafford. He's like, second in fourth. I think if Aiden Hutchinson has a big closing, steal that award because everyone remembers how he got.

[Connor Rogers]

Somebody got chased down on that interception. That would have really helped you a lot.

[Matthew Berry]

That would have helped. Lions need to make the playoffs, I feel.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, if they went out and Hutch has a big close, I think he can do it.

[Matthew Berry]

Yep.

[Jay Croucher]

Now you've got the curse of Croucher on you, so good luck, Aidan.

[Connor Rogers]

Running backs, we start with Blake Corum, still 60% available, which surprises me with how much work he's gotten and probably being the most important insurance back potentially in the sport.

[Jay Croucher]

Jay.

[Connor Rogers]

Week 15. 11 carries, 71 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown. Sean McVay getting both him and Kyron Williams involved. And we got to hear from Corum on how the running back room has.

[Blake Corum]

Played out the running back room in general. You know, it starts with, you know, coach Ron G. You know, he does a phenomenal job at, you know, coaching us, you know, on and off the field. You know, man, it's amazing. You know Ronnie, you know Jarquez, and then, you know, me and Kyron, we have a great relationship. You know, we push each other, you know, to the limits. We want to see each other succeed. You know, I get hyped when he breaks those long runs or runs someone over or like that one where he bounced it all the way across the field. That gets me hype and, you know, vice versa. And so, man, our running back room is special.

[Connor Rogers]

The Rams playing a massive division matchup against Seattle this week. Matthew, it's been surprising to see just how much work Corum is consistently getting. And he looks really good, and he's been efficient is the more important part.

[Matthew Berry]

He played 46% of the snaps last week. Like, he played only five fewer snaps than Kyron Williams. And Kyron Williams is a guy that we really like, but he's also a guy that gets hurt. I. This is the most shocking player available, just because if I had Kyron Williams, I would want to make sure I had Blake Corn.

[Connor Rogers]

You have to.

[Matthew Berry]

I mean, unless the answer is, like, everyone that drafted Kyron Williams didn't make the playoffs, but I find that hard to believe. You know what I mean? Like, so it's just like, no, but, like, he's had four Rushing touchdowns over the past three games. Like we've talked about him, he is like Tyler Algier West. He is somebody that, you know, gets you double digit touches in a game with a decent shot at a touchdown. They like him in the red zone. Now I understand you may not want to use them this week at Seattle, but they're at Atlanta next week. And for those that play in week 18, they've got Arizona at home. And if the Rams clinch the number one spot, which is easy, you know, to see, like Corum could be like, you know, a Joe McKnight, you know, you know, like a week eight throwback. Thank you very much. Yeah, week 18 superstar, right? I could see Corum just getting all the work in a game where they rest Kyro Williams because they've clinched the number one seed.

[Connor Rogers]

Yep.

[Matthew Berry]

You know.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. He could also be a championship decider in that Monday night game against Atlanta next week. Now the Seattle matchup is brutal. And a big thing about why Corum has been valuable is just this offense scores every possession and if you're going to be sustaining drives, there's just more opportunity to get numbers. But I do think this game coming up against Atlanta, who cannot stop the run to save their lives, that could be a big play call.

[Matthew Berry]

Since week four. Sorry. Since week seven he's gotten 40% of the red zone rush attempts for the Rams and he's averaging double digit touches a game. Like, I mean, you know, again, the fact that Kyron Williams is 100% rostered means Blake Corum needs to be 100% rostered. I can't believe we're having this conversation.

[Connor Rogers]

Raise the flags. Cormor Judkins half point ppr.

[Jay Croucher]

I still think it's Judkins because of workload, but I'm so sick of judging Buffalo.

[Matthew Berry]

They're playing Buffalo. You can run on Buffalo.

[Jay Croucher]

I'm just so sick of Judkins. I know it's not his fault, but every week it's like, oh, check the box. Oh, crunch on. Judkins has 17 carries and he's at 35 rushing yards. Like there's just the faces, stacked boxes constantly.

[Matthew Berry]

I just, I don't know that it's. Yeah, I don't know. It's his fault. I still love Judkins talent.

[Jay Croucher]

Me too.

[Connor Rogers]

I think Judge will be fine. It's just a bad situation.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Our next one is Michael Carter. He's 95 available in week 15, 14 carries for 56 yards.

[Matthew Berry]

Let's figure this one out.

[Connor Rogers]

Caught four passes for 38 yards. One note Amari di Mercado, 90% available. Jay, it's tough times if you have to try to rely on the roulette of this backfield every week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. So we have one element of clarity and the Bam night very unlikely to play. So now we're playing the Michael Carter Amari di Mercado game, which is a game where everyone loses. No one wins this game.

[Connor Rogers]

But no one's seen Trey Benson in years by the way.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, it's like. It's like playing Jumanji and then you end up in the jungle and then you hope to come back 30 years later. But I think that Michael Carter is the running back that you want of these two because of the workload last week, you just don't feel great about it.

[Matthew Berry]

Since Bam Knight's Injury, he played 81% of the snaps. He's had four games with double digit touches. This year he's averaging almost 13 fantasy points per game. And so DiMacardo does have some upside there. But I suspect that if you are desperate enough to want to start an Arizona running back, we think Michael Carter would be the answer to that unfortunate question.

[Connor Rogers]

Alright, keeping it moving here guys. Jecory, Crosby, Merritt, 52% available. He's coming off a week obviously with no Chris Rodriguez, 18 carries, 96 rushing yards. Just when we were out on Bill Matthew, he looked good. He reappears and he looks good. And now he kind of runs into the Philadelphia Eagles though.

[Matthew Berry]

But you can run on Philadelphia. That's the thing. You can run on Philadelphia and we'll get into it in a second. But Marcus Mariota is going to start for the Commanders this, this Sunday and for the rest of the season. And so like the offense is working fine on a Mariota, like he's been fine.

[Jay Croucher]

Jay Daniels didn't have a great year like this. He's Mariota's worse than Daniels but it's not like a massive drop up like it would have been the year before.

[Matthew Berry]

1,000%. Three of the past four games the Eagles have given up at least 125 rushing yards. Cliff still calls a good game. The mobility of Mariota opens up some running lanes for so I do think a second assuming Chris Rodriguez is out and we don't know that yet. He was inactive last week with the groin and he went all the way up to game time.

[Connor Rogers]

Right.

[Matthew Berry]

You know he wanted to test it out pre game and then ultimately he was a scratch. So I think there's a decent chance that C Rod is back but on the chance that he is not. I do think Jecory Crosky, Merritt, who had 18 touches last week, suddenly becomes interesting in a flex way against the Eagles because I don't think they're going to want to throw against Philadelphia. I do think they're going to try to run as long as they can keep it somewhat close.

[Connor Rogers]

Welcome back. Audrey Sma to waiver wires.

[Matthew Berry]

Before we move up the Commanders, I just want to say. So it is official. They've officially announced that they are shutting down Jane Daniels for the year. Jay Croucher. I was right. I was vindicated. This is what they should have done.

[Jay Croucher]

The entire time, delayed vindication. He had to get hurt a second time.

[Matthew Berry]

I know. This is what I was saying, don't put him out there because he's going to get hurt again. And everyone was like, oh, he's an NFL player. You should play. And he's. I'm like, the team is not there. The offensive line is not where you want it to be. Why are you going to risk injury to a guy like, you should say.

[Jay Croucher]

Give the same speech to Zach Taylor and the Bengals.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, honestly, I mean, I don't know Joe Burrow's going to play, but, you know, I think it's different. The only thing I can think of is that it is somewhat different in the sense that Jaden Daniels is still very young in his career. And I don't know, this is a weird one for me, but I'm just curious to do you think I think this. But I'm a, you know, I'm a Commanders fan. I'm a Washington fan since I was five years old. Like, do you think that a lot of the narrative around Jayne Daniels is entirely because of Robert Griffin III of RG3? RG3. Washington was in the quarterback desert for a long time. Here comes RG3, an electric rookie year. He wins offensive rookie of the year. He leads Washington to the playoffs in the first time forever suffers an ACL tear.

[Connor Rogers]

Right.

[Matthew Berry]

You know, just has a bad injury. And this was never the same. Right. And now there's a lot of different theories on that. Some of it was like, RG3 desperately wanted to be a pocket passer and Mike Shanahan wanted to be, you know, to use his legs more. And, you know, and there was arguments about, you know, his work habits and did he do too many commercials after that rookie year, blah, blah, who knows? But he was never the same after. And he was, you know, Heisman Trophy winner who was electric in that rookie year. And so now you've got Jaden Daniels who again, mobile quarterback, electric rookie year.

[Connor Rogers]

Slender guy.

[Matthew Berry]

Slender guy. Right. That. That. That uses his legs, you know. And so I think there's. I will tell you if we're talking from people inside the organization, they're like Jayden Daniels night and day.

[Connor Rogers]

From Robert. I was going to say I don't like that because Jay Nails is such a better processor and pocket passer.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes.

[Connor Rogers]

He runs because he can.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes.

[Connor Rogers]

And it's not to take away from RG3. He was one of the most dynamic athletes we have ever seen on an NFL field when you look at his track background. But Kyle Shanahan built that offense where it was the running opened up so much of the past. I don't think you need to do that for Jaden Daniels. I think he's great in the pocket.

[Jay Croucher]

Do you think he took a step back this year? Because coming into the season I would have said Jaden Daniels looked like the fifth best quarterback in football after Mahomes, Alan, Lamar and Burrow. And then now. I mean he had an uneven season when he was out there, but.

[Connor Rogers]

Right.

[Jay Croucher]

It was uneven because he wasn't out there a lot.

[Connor Rogers]

Perhaps that's.

[Matthew Berry]

You're working with a. McLaurin was hurt. You know, I mean like there's a lot of things that just weren't there for him. But I agree with you. Like you feel going into next year you feel less good about Jayne Daniels than you did at the start of this year. And so it's. But I just wonder if the caution around Daniels from the organization and from like people like me. Whatever. I'm just a stupid fan yelling but is because of the. We have this RG3 into it.

[Connor Rogers]

Some of us like PTSD kind of built into it. Yeah, I think so. I don't. I think it's a ridiculous comp to make footballer. Talk about a gallant effort. Barry playing through the illness for the people. For the people.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Thank you. Because Barry was at the Jags bar on the weekends watching. Drinking the teal juice. Yeah. You can't go to that place without contracting a disease.

[Matthew Berry]

The truth is it's. I thank you for brawler and I would always fight for the eldest. The problem is I actually don't feel sick. Like. Like my throat doesn't hurt. My noses and stuff. It's just my voice is shot because I've just been talking a ton for the last two weeks. So you know, maybe. I don't know.

[Connor Rogers]

Famous last words.

[Matthew Berry]

Right. Exactly.

[Jay Croucher]

But.

[Matthew Berry]

But yeah. I mean.

[Jay Croucher]

Well, you should start just Just start breathing on Connor to kind of figure.

[Connor Rogers]

Out I regret Wednesday show.

[Matthew Berry]

I. I regret us making out before the show. Yeah, that was a bad move. Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

I'll be here with Lawrence tomorrow. All right, our next backfield here, guys, the Saints with Devin Neal leaving this game. Yes. Jay Nails not playing. Audra guesstimate 99% available.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Welcome back. Audrey Guesstimate waivers. We're happy to see you. I'm happy to see you.

[Matthew Berry]

NFL draft exchange.

[Connor Rogers]

Yes, that's right. He is the face of the show forever. They play the Jets. Jets aren't very good on defense, amongst many things. He only had three carries last week. He did catch three passes, which is bizarre because that's not really what you think of with Awdric estimate Evan Hull played a little bit, has bounced around the league for a while. I mean, to me, if Devon Neal's not healthy, Matthew, I would think it would be estimate that becomes the guy.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. I mean, it's obviously it's a little risky to start this guy, but it is like sometimes these are desperate times and so for deeper leagues, you know, it's interesting. Hands up if you knew Adric Estimate was even on the Saints. Right? I mean, like I thought they had.

[Jay Croucher]

What happened?

[Matthew Berry]

Cam Akers was on the table Broncos practice squad anyway, so. But Hodrick estimate get an opportunity out. We know Camara's not coming back. Devin Neal left this game with an injury. And so you prefer estima to Evan Hall. If you are banking on a Saints running back this week ran twice as many routes as Evan hall. So they're using him on third down. And so given the fact that we think they will be passing somewhat, you could do worse than Audrey estimates 7 and 10.

[Jay Croucher]

Loading. Saints can have a better record than the Kansas City Chiefs this year.

[Connor Rogers]

The Saints could win six of their last eight. It's amazing.

[Matthew Berry]

It's like, it's. It's. Remember when Kyle Shanahan won his final six games or whatever. I think it was rookie year, his first year coaching Niners. Everyone's just like, what's going on?

[Jay Croucher]

What's going on? Yeah, they tried for Jimmy J. Yeah. What a sentence. By the way, you prefer estimate to Evan Hull. Terrifying.

[Connor Rogers]

It's funny when you go back and look at your rankings. I had Evan Hull in 2023 as RB19, one spot in front of RB20. Chris Rodriguez Jr that was a miss. That's when you miss Chris Rodriguez is a much better player than Evan Hull. But it's just funny when you go back into the Rolodex and you're like, what? Yeah, so here we are.

[Matthew Berry]

But the other thing is, I'll just. We're all over the place today. But, you know, the thing is, I just want to say this about what, What, Connor, what you do and what all the people that study the draft into these rankings are so much that you can't predict in terms of scheme, coaching, offensive environment.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

You know, we talked about this on the Football night in America pod around Patrick Mahomes, and we were talking about, you know, and what are they, what goes with. It was a whole conversation around the Chiefs, right? In terms of like, well, does Kelsey retire? Andy Reid's like 70. Does he. You know, what happens? Like, how long does it take Mahomes to get back? So we had this whole football discussion about the Chiefs. Fine. But what I just said is, as I said, we were just talking about Andy Reid and Mahomes, and I said, listen, I'm a big, you know, Patrick Mahomes, you know, one of the great quarterbacks of all time, first ballot hall of Famer, if he does nothing else for the rest of his career. And I, but I, my, my argument is that Patrick Mahomes, if he goes to any other team, if he doesn't go to Andy Reid, I think he's still probably brilliant. But I don't think he's Patrick Mahomes. Capital letters, three Super Bowls, face of.

[Connor Rogers]

The run they had.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, the run they had because that's Andy Reid. And I'm like, and so if Andy Reid decided to retire, that's a huge loss for the Chiefs and everything like that. And the last thing I said is like, the Andy Reid argument isn't Patrick Mahomes, by the way, the Andy Reid argument, who I also think is the first ballot hall of Famer, The Andy Reid argument is Kevin Cobb, is Mike Kafka, is Jeff Garcia, is the fact that he was able to get production out of these quarterbacks that candidly were never good anywhere else.

[Connor Rogers]

Right.

[Jay Croucher]

Alex Smith was like a fringe top six, seven quarterback, went to the playoffs, right.

[Matthew Berry]

With, with Andy Reid. And so my, that's my point is it's like. But so Patrick Mahomes going anywhere else, I think.

[Connor Rogers]

Right.

[Matthew Berry]

You know, is probably a good quarterback, but not, you know, what they built, what they, what they built. Special.

[Connor Rogers]

It was special. Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

I mean, you know, Peyton Manning was always going to be great, but Peyton Manning benefited from the fact that he went to the Colts and had Tom Moore for 18 years. Like, he was in the supporting cast for 18 years. And he had Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wade and like I just, you know.

[Jay Croucher]

There'S this made what Jayden Daniels did last year so impressive because it's not like it was the most amazing context in the world. It was okay, but the O line was bad and he had Terry McLaren and nothing else. Really.

[Connor Rogers]

He's going to get Cliff Kingsbury another head coaching job with the year he had.

[Matthew Berry]

It's unbelievable, right? But like, like Bo Nixon, Bo Nix goes to any other team.

[Connor Rogers]

Sean Payton fit to a T. Right, Right. And we've seen the highs and lows of that already.

[Matthew Berry]

And so my point is like when you sit here like, wow, I had Evan hall over Chris Rodriguez, like, it's all a lot of it in terms of what team do they go to and does that team, that coaching staff that invests that offensive or defensive environment fit what that player does?

[Jay Croucher]

Well, that's all right. Connor had a bad miss on Evan Hull. Happens to the best of us.

[Connor Rogers]

I apologize to the public. RB19 should have been RB20. Top running back targets here, guys. The deeper league ads, Jawar Jordan. Of course, this is all dependent on the status of Woody Marks and Nick Chubb and kind of could be a very well be a one off week. Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Beatty both against Jacksonville's the best run defense in football, by the way. So you're desperate times there.

[Matthew Berry]

Super desperate. RJ Harvey left the fourth quarter with a rib injury. So just again it is that, you know, it is weak. 6:16 teams are beat up and so you might be scrapping through the waiver wire to find somebody with a pulse. But I think the most important thing is just like a lot of these guys are getting opportunity because of injuries, whether it's to RJ Harvey or Woody Marks or Devin Neal. Which brings us to the fact that you need insurance running backs just don't go to the waiver wire trying to beat out somebody else to grab your guy. It's why we talk up Blake Corm so much and then you sit here and go, all right, Kyle Algier behind, you know, bijan, obviously. Chris McCaffrey's back with Brian Robinson. Sean Tucker in case anything happens to Bucket Irving. Devin Singletary with Tyrone Tracy, on and on and on.

[Connor Rogers]

That's absolutely right. And we've seen with Devon H.N. when he leaves the game, you know, two weeks ago, it's Jalen Wright. So yeah, at this point in the season, you need to have your, your workhorse running backs insured.

[Matthew Berry]

I picked up Malik Davis last week. I Don't have Javonte Williams. But then Javonte Williams left the Sunday night game with a shoulder injury and I was like, oh, do I have the starting Cowboys running back this week? And then Javante Williams came back. But Malik Davis, we think that if something were to happen to Javante, if during the week that shoulder injury acts up again.

[Connor Rogers]

Wow, it seems like you're putting that out in the air with an evil grin on your face.

[Matthew Berry]

I'm kind of hoping.

[Connor Rogers]

What's wrong with you?

[Matthew Berry]

What's wrong with me?

[Connor Rogers]

How long do you have waiver wired Wide receivers? Jaden Reed, 59% available to Javante long term.

[Matthew Berry]

I just.

[Connor Rogers]

Just a little cranky.

[Matthew Berry]

Should I just feel like, you know, listen, the Cowboys weren't eliminated. Like, just, you know, like, hey, let's take time to get healed. Yeah, let's.

[Connor Rogers]

Hey, you're not under contract at this point.

[Matthew Berry]

Let's see what Malik Davis has. Come on.

[Connor Rogers]

Jaden Reed tops our wide receivers list. He's 59% available. So obvious there's a Christian Watson injury factor here. He left the game with what's being deemed as a chest injury. He did fly home with the team, which is a good sign. But the targets have been there, Jay, since Jaden Reed came back and there was really no time to waste getting him re acclimated into this offense.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, he looks very much like Jaden Reed. As we look at the most touchdowns allowed to slot wide receivers. Well, look at that. Chicago Bears number one and they play Jaden Reed who loves to play in the slot. I think if Christian Watson can't go, I'd say that's the likeliest expectation here. It's not a great room to choose from in terms of fantasy choices because it is so evenly distributed. Distributed. But I think Jaden Reed is the packers pass catcher that you most want.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, with that I am.

[Matthew Berry]

I completely agree. Again, we've talked about this when we talked about this yesterday when Christian Watson got hurt. I think that if you are picking a Packers wide receiver, we like Jaden Reed. We think it's good. We think it's the most stable role. We think he's the best player. I think as well. And it's a decent matchup against Chicago who have allowed the most touchdowns to the slot. I just, you know. Yeah, packers wide receivers in week 16.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, man.

[Matthew Berry]

A little dicey.

[Connor Rogers]

You get the old two for 14 yards.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. But it's just, you know, I mean, like, that's the territory we're in. We don't feel great about Any of these guys, to be honest with you.

[Connor Rogers]

Somebody.

[Jay Croucher]

Massive game, by the way.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, Saturday night.

[Matthew Berry]

This is a great week. This is a great weekend. I mean, like, Seattle, Seattle, L.A. on Thursday night.

[Jay Croucher]

That's the game of the season.

[Matthew Berry]

That's a. That's an unbelievable game. And then you. Right. You mentioned. You mentioned Green Bay, Chicago. That's an incredible game.

[Jay Croucher]

Pats, Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

[Matthew Berry]

Pat's Ravens. That's a huge game. Honestly. Niners, Colts on Monday night is really interesting now.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep.

[Matthew Berry]

Because Niners definitely need to keep pace. And Colts, that's their season as well.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Saints, Jets.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh, yeah, big screen.

[Matthew Berry]

Well, you know, jets battling for the number one pick. That's.

[Connor Rogers]

It's a huge Broncos.

[Jay Croucher]

Who would have thought the one seed might come down to the winner of this Jags Broncos game? There's a lot going on.

[Matthew Berry]

There's a lot.

[Connor Rogers]

Two weeks now. We get Giants Raiders toilet bowl.

[JJ McCarthy]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

There's something for everyone right now. All right. Luther Burden's our next wide receiver Insider.

[Matthew Berry]

What do you think? Do the Giants win that game? I feel like they do.

[Connor Rogers]

Yes. The Giants definitely win that game. The Raiders will be picking number one, and they will be taking Fernando Mendoza.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I know. I was so, like, I was, like, watching the commander's game, and I was watching with, you know, backup producer Pete, who's a crazy Giants fan.

[Connor Rogers]

Right. Where's his heart at these days?

[Matthew Berry]

He was rooting for the Giants to win, and I was rooting for the Giants to win.

[Connor Rogers]

It's perfect. You guys had a great time together.

[Matthew Berry]

Once we're on the same page first time ever, he's just like, what are you doing? I'm like, we're not going anywhere. I want the better draft pick. Like, I am full on. We should be losing.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh, yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

Pete was like, I want to win every game.

[Jay Croucher]

It's the Sam Presti, Oklahoma City model.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Cheerful losses when you're not in it.

[Connor Rogers]

Luther Burden, 83% available. Roma Dunze obviously was not able to go. Gave it a try and warm up. Sim was ruled out. Luther Burton a little banged up coming out of this game, so that's important to note here. This is from Courtney Cronin, though, who does a great job covering the Bears. Ben Johnson said all options are on the table regarding Roma Dunze's foot injury and whether the team will shut him down for a stretch of time to get him healthy, ready for a potential playoff run. Johnson also said there may be a case that we need to protect him from himself. So that's going to be. We'll see if Roma Dunes ultimately can play through this or not. And if he can't, Jay Luther Burton becomes a big deal in this matchup. And the packers secondary, they don't. They haven't been great. Honestly. They play a lot of zone. It's probably one of the more weaker parts of a strong team. No, Michael Parsons is going to hurt the pass rush.

[Jay Croucher]

I think Parsons covered up for a lot of sins.

[Connor Rogers]

I agree.

[Jay Croucher]

Because now it's like Lucas Van Ness still ramping up off injury. Rashawn Gary who is not really at the level that he was a couple of years ago. So yeah, the issue is, is that the Bears just don't throw the ball a great deal and they were able to run the ball somewhat effectively on the packers, particularly in the second half in that matchup a week ago. But of the Bears pass catches, DJ Moore, despite having the good game, he didn't get a ton of volume. He only got five targets. Luther Burden, I think, well he got more targets than him last week and I think projects just as well as DJ Moore now, if not better.

[Matthew Berry]

Seven targets last week, 26% target share. And so yeah, if Roma Dunes 8's out, Luther Burden, who we like talent wise becomes pretty interesting deeper league targets.

[Connor Rogers]

Adonai Mitchell, he's got the Saints. He's still getting a high target share for the jets right now in that offense. And I don't think Garrett Wilson is coming back this year. We'll see. But that wouldn't make a lot of sense. Jalen Coker against the Bucs he's 95% available. And then Cokehead tonight, back to back.

[Matthew Berry]

Games with at least 20% target share and 60 yards. We've talked about that game might be a sneaky shootout. And how about Darius Slayton against the Vikings? 28% target share last week for him.

[Connor Rogers]

For tight ends, Dalton Schultz tops our list here at just 51% available target monster. Dalton Schultz, the new Hunter Henry.

[Matthew Berry]

Every week we talk about Dalton Schultz. Maybe more reliable, more reliable but still as available people won't pick him up. I don't know. Since week five he's the ninth best tight end in fantasy football. Again, it's not sexy. There's not any big plays, it's just all volume driven. But in week 15 he had a 35% target share. He's had at least eight targets in six the last nine. Dalton Schultz against the Raiders this week, I think he's a locked in top 10 guy. How about Colby Parkinson, my desperation play from fantasy Football pregame last week, guys he looked good against, you know, and Seattle. Actually Seattle, Seattle is not good against tight ends. One of the few weaknesses of the Seahawks defense is their defense of the tight end. They allow the most receptions and receiving yards to tight ends. Other than Cincinnati. Cincinnati is by far the worst. But after Cincinnati, Seattle allows the most. So Colby Parkinson I think is pretty interesting this week, especially if Devontae Adams can't go.

[Connor Rogers]

Seeming very unlikely with Devontae Adams hamstring injury. That would be a big boost for Parkinson. And then Colson loveland here, Jay, 60% available, much more consistently involved in the Bears pass game now.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, it's encouraging that he got five targets, 4 for 63 in a game that the Bears won 31. 3. You're not expecting that type of script against the packers. Where the packers, they are favored in Chicago, if only by 1 1/2 points. So Colson Loveland, yeah, seemingly turned the corner. He's finishing stronger than Tyler Warren who is much compared to in the draft process. Then that's Tyler Warren's fault. But Colson Loveland certainly very viable option.

[Connor Rogers]

Alright, some deeper league targets. How about Darren Waller? Guys, when Darren Waller plays, he's effective. And the Bengals have been horrific against tight ends. Matthews, maybe another big Waller week.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, we'll talk about him a little bit more in the next segment when we get into Monday Night Football. But Bengals have allowed six more touchdowns to tight ends than any other team in the NFL. Six more like. That's a massive amount. Dio Johnson always seems to do something out there. Double digit fantasy points in six of the nine games he's played with Jackson Dart under center. And how about Gunnar Helm who we've talked about on the show over the course of the year? A little bit. Love him in Dynasty. I know the Titans are very excited about Gunnar Helm, but he's had at least four receptions and four the past five. So if you're looking for, if you're deep league sort of desperate, I need a guy that's got a shot at 4:40, you know, a chance at falling into the end zone.

[Connor Rogers]

Gunner Helm's your guy if you need a defense. How about the Saints against the Jets? Could be another Brady Cook week. The Vikings against the Giants. Brian Brian Flores is coaching his ass off again despite, you know, the Vikings having a tough season. The Cowboys against the Chargers. The Chargers have no one there to pass protect. So Justin Herbert's been getting hit a lot. And then the Bucs against the Panthers. Todd Bowles, we heard a very Angry Todd Bowles needs to carry over in the big division matchup. If you're streaming the Bucs defense, we're taking our first break. When we're back, we'll debate how confident we are starting a Steelers running back in the playoffs. Question is, which one, if anyone? Kenny, right after this.

[JJ McCarthy]

Kept the momentum going. A lot of guys made plays today. You know, I would like to get some more opportunities for obviously for DK, but Kenny had a fantastic game. 100 what, 26 combined yards. Pat had some nice plays. Marquez had a touchdown. That was awesome.

[Connor Rogers]

That was Aaron Rodgers after the Steelers comfortable Monday night win against the Dolphins out there in the colds. Darren Waller though, tops the fantasy list at 25.6 points. But in this one, guys, it's about the running backs and Jalen Warren managers. You drink for free because that was brutal. You've been through a lot this year.

[Matthew Berry]

That was brutal. Like I had a friend shout out to my friend Kip Levin who was telling me like he, he was down 8 and he had to decide between Kenneth Gainwell or Jalen Warren. And the other guy had like waddle. And it's like, what am I going to do? And so we just talked about it and I said I think you should go with Jalen Warren just because I think he's got the better chance at a touchdown. And he gets two goal to go carry, you know, rush attack.

[Jay Croucher]

He just gets smashed with the ball.

[Matthew Berry]

So there were two rushing touchdowns for the Steelers, but it wasn't even Kenneth Gainwell. It was two different tight ends. I mean, John O. Smith and Hayward.

[Connor Rogers]

Connor. Hayward.

[Matthew Berry]

Connor. Hayward gets the tush push. And so I mean I tweeted this out like it. And then you got Marquez, Vallis scantling who you know, hands up if you knew he was on Pittsburgh these days, the three most random useless touchdowns in fantasy football history. Especially given the fact this was a playoff week. This game game was Arthur Smith's master chef's kiss.

[Jay Croucher]

Well, it's his second masterpiece because he had four tight end score against the Bengals in prime time. Steelers.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes, that's true. But at least somebody, some people out there might have Friar move I guess, right? Like he had Jono Smith on a sweep, you know what I mean?

[Connor Rogers]

Like literally positioned as a running back and they tossed it to him.

[Matthew Berry]

He looked great by the way.

[Connor Rogers]

He, he did, he looked explosive.

[Matthew Berry]

Look explosive and eased right in. But just my point is like if you have Jaylen Warren, you're like, I gotta deal with Kenneth Gainwell now. You know, like. And so, and Gainwell's getting a lot of run. We'll talk about that in a second. But then like you get in close, I'm like, well, at least he's a bigger back than Gainwell. They'll give it to. And he does. He gets two opportunities but they don't block for him. He can't get in. And then Connor Hayward gets in and then later on they've got like a gimme and they let John Oak Smith do it instead of Jalen Warren. So just absolutely brutal there. 7 points, 1.8 fantasy points for Jalen Warren. 12 for 33, 3 for 15 on the receiving, but could have been a much bigger day. Kip did end up winning by half a point though. So shout out to my buddy Kip. Glad he was able to pull that one through. Jaylen Warren now, guys, has been under 13 fantasy points in five of the past six. He's averaged just 3.1 yards per carry over the last month. And it's so weird to me, Connor, because I actually really like Jalen Warren as a talent.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh, it's awesome.

[Matthew Berry]

But like I just as a right, as a. As a running back talent, just hasn't looked. Just hasn't translated into fantasy points anytime in the near future. As for the week, he's running back 38, right?

[Connor Rogers]

You deal with injuries sometimes of Jalen Warren being banged up and then when he's a go, you need him to catch five passes in space and make people miss. And when he catches 3 for 15, you're not going to make up for it on the ground.

[Jay Croucher]

The reason why Gainwell is so compelling, this Steelers offense is just so strange because they have a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers can still whip it like he had this one ball over the middle to DK Metcalf was like, oh, that's old Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers threw the ball like 65 yards in the air on the Hail Mary against the Bengals. He's still got an absolute cannon. He just doesn't want to get hit and he can't throw off platform anymore. And so everything is like it's a go ball or it's a dump off. And that's basically what he's doing now. And so it's a very strange offense, but Gainwell plays more into that. My other point, why is Aaron Rodgers in on the tush push place? What is the possible standing back there watching him being there? Why isn't that a tight end pushing the pile? I have no idea what the point of him being out there because they kept. They run it like four times last night.

[Matthew Berry]

He's just standing there.

[Jay Croucher]

How is that the optimal usage? Arthur Smith, he's probably like, I'm not.

[Connor Rogers]

Coming off the field.

[Jay Croucher]

That's literally it. He's like, I can't be bothered running on and off the field. So we're going to cost ourselves a chance to convert.

[Connor Rogers]

That's the only thing I can think of.

[Matthew Berry]

Otherwise, logistically, it makes strangest things I've ever seen. That or, you know, they feel like it's some sort of decoy.

[Jay Croucher]

You can have a counter.

[Matthew Berry]

They're not gonna run a counter, like.

[Connor Rogers]

Pitch it back to him.

[Matthew Berry]

That would be hilarious.

[Jay Croucher]

I don't know.

[Connor Rogers]

Good luck figuring out the Arthur Smith, Aaron Rodgers experience. This one from Stuntman Chuck, who's always got the good stuff in the chat. If someone told Arthur Smith that Warren was a tight end, would he get more.

[Jay Croucher]

Tell him that his first name's Tyler.

[Connor Rogers]

The answer is yes. Yes, he would.

[Matthew Berry]

Kenneth Gainwell, though, since week 11, is the eighth best running back in fantasy football. He's at least 16 fantasy points in four of the last five games during that stretch, playing over 52% of the snaps. It's just like, you know what I mean? Look, we talked about in the preseason, like, the Steelers are going to use. And Arthur Smith's going to use Kenneth Gainwell a lot more than you think he is. You know, it's interesting because, like, I mean, so I give out this advice, but I follow my own advice. I have a ton of Kenneth Gainwell this year, and especially in Best Ball. Like. And so, like, oh, man, like, living good. I'm in a. I'm in a flex. The. It's called Flex Fantasy League of Experts. Jake Seeley runs it. And it's like. So it's a bunch of different, like, you know, fantasy experts that are in this best ball league and. And I'm in, like, first place in it. And like, because Kenneth Gainwell is like, one of the reasons why he's a.

[Connor Rogers]

Cog to your team.

[Matthew Berry]

He's gone. I mean, I, you know, it's done well. Like, you know, I have Josh Allen and stuff like that. But, like, I'm just saying, like, of the, like, the way you win those best ball leagues is that if you have.

[Connor Rogers]

You need one of those.

[Matthew Berry]

You have guys that pop, you know, late. And Kenneth Gainwell just always winds up in my lineup because he's always one of my better players. I'm in first place in that league. And so I have a couple of best ball leagues where I have Kenneth Gainwell and I'm in first place anyway. It's just, it's sort of insane.

[Connor Rogers]

No. Suzaki said Arthur Smith is an offensive genius. Could you imagine Mercedes Lewis in this offense?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. It's a great weapon. Let's talk about this, you know and how about, you know and we'll see. Like he's going to get Adam Thielen going. I just know.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

It's coming.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. Adam Thielen feeling was wide open on the Jono Smith touchdown.

[Connor Rogers]

He's always out there.

[Jay Croucher]

He was wide open on a seam route up the middle. Rogers looked at him, he's like, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. Literally, no, I'm not going to do it.

[Connor Rogers]

On the other side, guys, next week.

[Matthew Berry]

We will have Gainwell ranked ahead of Jalen Warren though just to wrap up.

[Connor Rogers]

That, you know, can you continue to start Jalen Waddle when TUA plays this time of year? Because God, is it ugly.

[Jay Croucher]

I think you have to because he's playing the Bengals and then he's playing the Bucks and it's going to be a Miami.

[Connor Rogers]

That's the only hope.

[Jay Croucher]

And that's. And then look it's by week 18 you probably don't want him as much again the Patriots if you're playing that deep. But home to Cincinnati, home to the Bucks, two very poor pass defenses at the moment. I think you feel fine starting Jalen.

[Matthew Berry]

Waddle doesn't have a game with more than 52 receiving yards since week 10. He's been single digit fantasy points in three the past four. I agree with you. You probably have to start him. The one thing, the one note I will make though make is D.J. turner for the Bengals has had a great year and he's actually done a pretty good job of shutting down number one wide receivers. If you look at sort of the numbers, it's one of the reasons why tight ends do so well against the Bengals is that number one wide receivers, they sort of go away from D.J. turner. So. So now Waddle can play in the slot and they figure out different ways. Like McDaniel's as good as anyone in the game in terms of getting guys in space and moving them around and creating mismatches. So.

[Connor Rogers]

But only he could do so much.

[Matthew Berry]

I mean dude. So yeah, I mean Waddle is somebody that is, you would have thought a locked in, you know, a no brainer wide receiver one against the Bengals and I think he's a little bit lower.

[Connor Rogers]

Christopher Long a dude to his hands shrink when he's cold, it shrinks.

[Jay Croucher]

George Costanza went over this 25 years ago. It's unbelievable that he's now.06 in games under. It feels like for 40 degrees. Feels like none of those have been close either. He just doesn't look like he's having fun.

[Matthew Berry]

He didn't play well.

[Jay Croucher]

He hasn't played well in like three years.

[Matthew Berry]

Tough, you know what I mean? Like I'm, you know, nice. I've met him before. Super nice guy. Root for him. But he just, he hasn't played well.

[Connor Rogers]

Like they're calling him the shrinkler in the chat.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I get it. I mean he's. He was missing guys last night, you know, he just. And some of the, some even backwards on the touchdown were like people had to make jump up high like people were making like good catches to come down with the ball systems.

[Jay Croucher]

They need some competition for him next year, I think.

[Connor Rogers]

All right, we're taking our last break.

[Matthew Berry]

They've got competition. Mr. Zach Wilson.

[Connor Rogers]

We got our early line alert for last call after this.

[Matthew Berry]

Miami Dade.

[Connor Rogers]

Oh man. DraftKings Sportsbook is an official sports betting partner of the NFL and new customers could bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets if your download the app and use promo code ffhh when you sign up. DraftKingsportsbook.

[Matthew Berry]

Oh, the crown is yours.

[Jay Croucher]

Crown is yours.

[Connor Rogers]

The crown is yours. Cyber last call early line alert as we do every single Tuesday looking at the sides and totals to open the week. Jay, what are you on this week.

[Jay Croucher]

On the Fightin New Orleans Saints? Tyler Shuckies play minus four and a half against the Jets. The analysis here is that the Saints are a real team and they the jets are not a real team and that's basically it. I think the Saints playing very well. Defense is lifted immensely. Shock playing extremely well relative to expectations. So I think they'll win by five or more.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, I'll piggyback off that. I'm tailing your bet. I'm with you. I think the Saints cover this. The jets are besides Brandon Stevens. They're out of corners. They traded sauce. Their other two corners is Aria Thomas and Jarvis Brownlee are both on ir. They don't rush the passer. The linebacker plays awful. But I think the Saints will easily score 25 plus points in this game and cover.

[Matthew Berry]

I like that call. I'm taking it over with another New York team. I'm giving me, giving me over 44 and a half Vikings at Giants. Two pretty good offenses again. JJ McCarthy has looked a lot better. Jackson dart. We know he can move the ball here. I'm not worried about the Giants defense at all. And I think the Vikings defense on the road as well. They'll take chances with the blitzing. But again, I think 44.5 feels like a low number. Give me one other two. One. I'll give you bonus one. Chiefs, Titans, 37 and a half. That feels too low. I think the market is. I get it. That holds us out. But Minshew is a professional quarterback who started a number of games, a whole week like it's Tennessee. So give me the over 37 out there. Closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. For Jane Connor on Matthew, good luck with Waiver tonight. We'll see you tomorrow.

[Jay Croucher]

Peace out.