Week 3 Love/Hate: Bucky Irving, Zay Flowers, DK Metcalf, Caleb Williams

Summary

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry

Episode: Week 3 Love/Hate: Bucky Irving, Zay Flowers, DK Metcalf, Caleb Williams
Date: September 18, 2025
Network: NBC Sports
Host: Matthew Berry, with Jay Croucher & Lawrence Jackson

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Overview

This week’s episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour revolves around the much-anticipated Week 3 "Love/Hate" segment. Matthew Berry and co-hosts Jay Croucher and Lawrence Jackson provide detailed fantasy football analysis and playful banter. The trio tackle the hottest fantasy start/sit debates, focusing on breakout players like Bucky Irving, Roman Odunze, Zay Flowers, DK Metcalf, and rookie QB Caleb Williams. Covering every position, they offer data-driven opinions, back them up with stats, and pepper the episode with their trademark quick wit and audience engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Running Back Round-Up

Bucky Irving: The Breakout Workhorse

• [06:13] Matthew Berry:
  • Bucky Irving is now among the rare true bell-cow RBs, averaging 20+ touches and 15%+ target share—joining an elite group.
  • “Two first names, always a crowd pleaser!”
  • Facing the Jets, a bottom-10 fantasy run defense, Berry ranks Irving ahead of Jameer Gibbs this week, expecting him to outperform already high expectations.
• [07:05] Lawrence Jackson:
  • Endorses Berry’s take, highlighting the Jets’ struggles against James Cook.
  • Predicts a big game in both run and pass situations.

James Cook: Finally Fulfilling the Hype

• [09:02] Lawrence Jackson:
  • “James Cook, running back one through the first two weeks in fantasy points per game.”
  • Emphasizes his versatile usage (at least 18 touches and 100+ scrimmage yards in each game), and how the Bills are leveraging him better than last year.
• [10:18] Matthew Berry:
  • A preseason skeptic, now a believer: “Let James Cook.”
  • Points to increased receiving work and a plus matchup vs. Miami.

Jordan Mason: Next Man Up in Minnesota

• [11:22] Matthew Berry:
  • With Aaron Jones landing on IR, Mason becomes a top-20 play, likely seeing 15+ touches, including increased passing work.
  • “Seven career games with at least 15 touches: averages 94 yards.”
  • Believes the Bengals-Vikings will surprise as an offensive shootout.

Tyler Allgeier & “Others Receiving Votes”

• [15:21] Jay Croucher:
  • Tyler Allgeier can be a sneaky flex when Atlanta is heavily favored (vs. Carolina this week).
  • Compared to David Montgomery as a “poor man’s version” with TD upside but inconsistent work outside favorable scripts.

Honorable Mentions

• Dobby, Cam Skatteboo, and Bashal Tootin highlighted as strong RB options (“I love the Tootler. I love to toot… everyone else should use the toot!” – Berry, [18:12]).

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Wide Receiver Spotlight

Zay Flowers: Volume King in Baltimore

• [27:37] Matthew Berry:
  • “Only Jackson Smith-Njigba has a higher target share than Zay Flowers—42.6%—that’s insane.”
  • Despite limited TDs, sheer volume and a juicy matchup (vs. Detroit, MNF) locks him in as a top-10 WR this week.

DK Metcalf: Trust and Opportunity

• [29:13] Lawrence Jackson & Berry:
  • Aaron Rodgers’ confidence in him, plus a soft Patriots secondary, means “DK should be ready to get fired up this week.”

Roman Odunze: Breaking Out for the Bears

• [29:58] Matthew Berry:
  • “A lot of people say Rome wasn’t built in a day—but maybe a weekend.”
  • Leads team in target share, deep targets, and has quickly passed DJ Moore in WR pecking order.
  • Top-12 WR for Week 3 against Cowboys, who have struggled on deep passes this season.

Tedaroa McMillan: The Lone Star in Carolina

• [31:32] Lawrence Jackson:
  • “Double digit fantasy points in his first two NFL regular season games without even scoring a TD… he is their offense.”
  • Benefits from lack of competition for targets and projects for another high-volume day vs. Atlanta.

Other WRs Getting Love

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Malik Nabers, Devante Adams, Puka Nacua all cited as target-hog types with little competition.

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Tight End Takes

Sam LaPorta (Lions)

• [36:01] Matthew Berry:
  • “Laporta is a love again.”
  • Faces Ravens, who have allowed the 2nd-most yards to TEs, and leads the position in consistent usage.
  • “I’m like the Harlem Globetrotters out here of the English language.”
  • Ranks him as TE3, recommending to start him with confidence.

Others Receiving Votes

• George Pickens, Wandale Robinson, Juwan Johnson, and even (shockingly) Kyle Pitts, given favorable team situations and matchups. “Your guy Kyle Pitts… he’s fourth in route participation among tight ends this season at 87%.” [39:45]

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Quarterback Analysis

Caleb Williams: Ready for Takeoff

• [45:51] Matthew Berry:
  • “You can’t ask for a better matchup than the Dallas Cowboys—30th in pass defense. Bears have a top-five implied team total.”
  • Slates Williams as QB6, predicting a bounceback “Caleb Cooks” performance in a game with an over/under 50.5.

Russell Wilson: Encouraging Volume

• [46:33] Lawrence Jackson:
  • “Quarterback 2 last week… he indeed got to cooking.”
  • Now faces KC’s pass-funnel defense; still running a surprising amount, so “could probably get three [points] on the ground.”

Dak Prescott: All Systems Go

• [47:33] Matthew Berry:
  • Back to his 2023 self with a dream script vs. the Bears: “Jalen Johnson out. Clean pocket, depleted secondary. Give me all the Dak.”

Others Receiving Votes

• Cam Ward (sleeper trending up), Drake Maye (“my favorite stat of Week 3—Steelers allowing 5th-most yards per pass attempt; faced Fields and Darnold!”), Jared Goff (“expect a Monday night shootout”), and Jordan Love who, despite playing well, faces a negative game script.

Quarterbacks to Avoid

• C.J. Stroud: “It’s been two years since CJ Stroud was good at this point… does not look right—outside my top 20.”
• Joe Flacco: “Browns are in big trouble… I don’t think Joe Flacco is going to do much.” [51:20]

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Hate List Highlights

RBs to Fade

• Quinshon Judkins (Browns)

  • “I just want no part of any offense facing the Packers if I can avoid it.” ([21:43])
  • Pack’s run D is elite—allowing just 2.4 yards/carry.

• Tyrone Tracy (Giants)

  • Losing grip on lead-back workload, Giants inept run game, bad matchup vs. KC.
  • “Not the face of someone who just got 37% of touches.” ([25:19])

• Josh Jacobs

  • Faces same Browns run D; “You’re just hoping he falls into the end zone.”

WRs to Avoid

• Jerry Jeudy
  • Non-factor in Browns’ anemic offense, zero red zone usage.
• Keon Coleman
  • Highly game script dependent; risks vanishing if Bills don’t need to throw.

TE to Avoid

• Evan Engraver
  • Not part of Broncos’ passing game plan. “It’s so weird… he’s just not out there.”

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Memorable Quotes

• On Bucky Irving’s breakout:
  “Two first names, always a crowd pleaser!” – Matthew Berry [06:13]
• On the Bills’ RB usage:
  “Let James Cook. That’s all we’re asking.” – Matthew Berry [10:18]
• On Tedaroa McMillan’s upside:
  “He is their offense… You can count on one hand the guys with a 30% target share—and he’s on that list.” – Berry [33:03]
• On his signature joke style:
  “I’m like the Harlem Globetrotters out here of the English language.” – Matthew Berry [36:01]
• On Calvin Ridley vs. trending waiver plays:
  “You just heard me talk up Rootin Tootin… but I’m going with Calvin Ridley. Just volume.” – Berry [19:45]
• Fan interaction:
  “Stuntman Chuck 85: Matthew never stop making bad jokes. You’re the ankle breaker comedy.” [38:01]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:03] RB “Love” List Begins with Bucky Irving
• [09:02] James Cook Tier Jump
• [11:22] Jordan Mason Opportunity in Minnesota
• [14:51] Tyler Allgeier as a Matchup-Based Flex
• [27:04] WR Highlights Begin: Zay Flowers
• [29:13] DK Metcalf & Patriots Secondary
• [29:58] Roman Odunze’s Sudden Ascendancy
• [31:32] Tedaroa McMillan: Lone Bright Spot in Carolina
• [36:01] Sam LaPorta: TE Upside Play
• [45:51] Caleb Williams & the Week 3 QB “Love” List
• [47:33] Dak Prescott Love Call
• [49:23] C.J. Stroud Red Flags
• [21:43] Quinshon Judkins Killswitch
• [25:15] Tyrone Tracy Usage Crash
• [39:45] Kyle Pitts Fun Fact (“fourth in route participation among TEs at 87%”)

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Notable Moments, Atmosphere & Tone

• Classic Banter: The hosts constantly riff on each other, e.g., Berry joking about “running back hands” and “jazz hands” ([00:47]), “the Tootler,” and his bad puns (“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but maybe a weekend!” – [29:58]).
• Audience Engagement: Successful effort to integrate live chat and fantasy mailbag, fielding lineup questions (“Pick two, full PPR: Chase, Connor, Mason” – [13:48]).
• Fantasy Philosophy: Emphasizes the volatility of matchups, necessity of chasing volume and workload, and trusting context over strictly talent in fantasy decisions.

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Summary Table of Week 3 “Love/Hate” (Key Players)

| Position | Love | Hate | |-----------------|-----------------------------------|----------------------------------| | Running Back | Bucky Irving, James Cook, Mason | Judkins, Tracy, Josh Jacobs | | Wide Receiver | Zay Flowers, Odunze, Metcalf, McMillan | Jerry Jeudy, Keon Coleman | | Tight End | Sam LaPorta, Juwan Johnson, Kyle Pitts | Evan Engraver | | Quarterback | Caleb Williams, Dak Prescott | CJ Stroud, Joe Flacco |

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Final Thought

The show is packed with actionable advice and entertaining delivery. Berry and crew excel at identifying usage trends, explaining matchup-driven decisions, and never miss a chance for a joke—however “ankle-breaking” it may be. Their analyses on emerging talents like Bucky Irving and Roman Odunze, the RB shakeups, and the shifting WR hierarchy are must-listen material for any fantasy manager prepping for Week 3.

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For deeper analysis and more rankings, check out Berry’s “10 Facts You Need to Know Before Week 3” on NBCSports.com.

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Transcript

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[Jay Croucher]

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[Matthew Berry]

It is so hard these days in fantasy football to find a true bell cow workhorse running back. There's. You can count them on two hands, I believe, right? Yeah, it's two hands. Okay, it's two hands, but you don't need a third hand. I like the way maybe. I swear I have two hands. I've got jazz hands. These aren't jazz hands. They're running back hands. There you go. You've heard of jazz hands. It's also the running back hands. So, anyway, anyway, Tony Pollard is on one of these hands is my point.

[Jay Croucher]

For now, you should walk around with a workhorse running back list on a.

[Matthew Berry]

Picture on each one of my fingers. Get printout cutouts of their faces. Oh, that's what I should do. And tape them to your fingers.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And when you walk by, people go.

[Matthew Berry]

Here'S how many running backs get high workload.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

This is a terrifying bit. Exactly.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh, no.

[Show Host]

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry.

[Jay Croucher]

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Happy Hour. I'm Jake Groucho. Lawrence Jackson. Matthew Barry. Where's that pen, Matthew? Insurance pen.

[Matthew Berry]

I noticed. Yeah, we have no insurance pens. No backup pens for me today. I've got to make sure this one gets through the game. Don't Aaron Jones me. Little pen.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay. Love Hate Day. So plenty to give.

[Matthew Berry]

Could there have been a better reference than Aaron Jones?

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I don't know what that.

[Matthew Berry]

Well, he's.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He just.

[Matthew Berry]

He went on ir. He's out for four games.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, so you don't want the pen to go on ir?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, you can't have an ir. Yeah, I don't want him to leave the game early the way last week. Yeah. Is there a different reference I should have made?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Maybe, but I don't know.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, great. Well, thanks. Love Hate Day.

[Matthew Berry]

As you can see, witty repartee is already on fire here at the show.

[Lawrence Jackson]

We gotta. We gotta wake up first.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. You got one show a week. Like, come on. Come prepare. Come on now. Yeah. All right.

[Jay Croucher]

Well, Miami Dolphins need to wake up or this season's going to be over. The Bills star. We're going to preview that game. But first of all, Matthew, Commander's fans drink free. They tend to drink free a lot.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, well, you know, this is a pro Commander show. They drink free. As you see it right there. Today is a historic day for D.C. the Commanders organization, and our fans. With the council's approval, we can now move forward on the transformation transformative RFK project that will bring lasting economic growth. Growth for our city. Blah, blah, blah. Josh Harris. We're deeply grateful. We're coming back. Rfk. Hashtag raise hail. Hashtag hail the Commanders. Hashtag faith in five. Commanders fans drink free. We're heading back to D.C. rFK. Sorry. FedEx Field. Yeah, sorry. Raul John, MD.

[Jay Croucher]

It was a great time at FedEx Field. Almost killed Jalen Hurts.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes, exactly. People falling down. Who can forget? So many great memories at FedEx Field. Was it the. The steel peanuts the Dan Snyder sold that were over a year old?

[Jay Croucher]

The airline.

[Matthew Berry]

The airline peanuts that he sold, they had expired for over a year, and they tried to sell them. Sell them at rfk Or. Or the waste that came down, you know, the. The waste that fell on other people or. Yes. Or Jalen Hurts, you know, that people fell through the stands, almost killed the super bowl mvp. Yeah, I know. I mean, it's like just so many different things. The. The dime store mannequin of. Of Sean Taylor in the parking lot in front of the Porta Potties. So many. I mean, like.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Like just such a disaster.

[Matthew Berry]

Such a disaster. Anyway, you know what the best thing.

[Jay Croucher]

Is about the Commanders now and the real sign of growth? I don't think about this team anymore. They're just not that, like, they're just a normal organization, which is a massive step forward.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Right. When it's no news, it's Good news.

[Jay Croucher]

I'm 32 now.

[Matthew Berry]

I used to make the. You're 100% right. I used to make the jokes that people. People will know that I've been such a crazy Washington fan for years and years and years. And they would come up to me and say, like, oh, man, you see the latest story? And I'd literally have to say, which one. You know, you see the latest allegation or the latest lawsuit or what? And I'd literally have to say, which allegation, which lawsuit? And be like, oh, yeah, no, no. Which state is. Have you. Well, the one where the state is suing you. Which state again? Because Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia all at one point. Anyway, there were investigations from three different states.

[Lawrence Jackson]

When it's just football about the commanders. It's all good.

[Matthew Berry]

8Th and 5.

[Jay Croucher]

Got a quarterback and everything.

[Matthew Berry]

All right, let's get to It's Love Hate. It's Love Hate Day. Jay Croucher.

[Jay Croucher]

It is. So let's get straight into it. Start with the running backs.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes. You're looking very bankerish.

[Jay Croucher]

Thank you. Well, it's commercial. It's commercial.

[Matthew Berry]

We got a commercial Thursday. Exactly. Coming up, Lawrence Jackson in a T shirt. He's not part of the commercial.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I can't do the commercials because if I do the commercials, then y' all would never get to do one.

[Matthew Berry]

That's good point. We don't want to be displaced.

[Jay Croucher]

A man who, if he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to be in a lot of commercials going forward. That's Bucky Irving.

[Matthew Berry]

Well done.

[Jay Croucher]

You heard from Bucky Irving on the Bucs run Game success.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Going into a game, we always want to establish the run. We know everything starts out front with the O line. So just being able to trust them guys, every time we get the opportunity to run the ball, just believing them that they're going to open up the holes and we trust our progression, go through our region, do what we do. Excited to wear these sweet white Creamsicle uniforms. I'm excited to go against the Jets. I want to catch out to uniforms.

[Jay Croucher]

Not at all.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Not at all.

[Matthew Berry]

Oh, if I'm an Oregon guy.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Not at all.

[Jay Croucher]

Very Matthew Barry type question. Hey, Bucky, you excited to wear these sweet light Creamsicle jerseys?

[Matthew Berry]

I would be.

[Jay Croucher]

They are delicious.

[Matthew Berry]

I'm pro Creamsicle jerseys.

[Jay Croucher]

Sure.

[Matthew Berry]

Definitely.

[Lawrence Jackson]

They look great. But I believe Bucky Irving when he say that.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes, I do, too.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I definitely believe. Because he gonna run like it, too.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Shout out to Jameer Gibbs in the running back rankings.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes, he is. He comes in at number six, which is why he makes the loveless look. You're obviously starting him. Everyone that's drafted him is starting him. But Dweck's do. I think he exceeds expectations this week, which is what the love and hate list is all about. Those that exceed or fall short of expectations. I do. Look, we talked at the beginning of the show. You saw the clip about my. My running back hands, my jazz hands, the number of Bell Cow running backs. Well, Bucky Irving is one of them. Right. There's only four running backs this year, averaging at least 20 touches a game and at least a 15% target share. And one of them is Bucky Irving. Two first names, always a crowd pleaser, you know. Is a crowd pleaser a matchup against the jets through two weeks, Lawrence, the Jets are bottom 10 in terms of most fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. This jets defense, I actually, it's weird because I think the jets are a better team than they were last year. Even though they're 02 and even though the jets defense hasn't seemed to show up in the way that we expected them to. Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And Jay, you just mentioned how Matthew has Bucky Irving ahead of Jameer Gibbs. Well, that's understandably so. You got Gibbs versus the Ravens. Bucky Irving going against this jets team that just let James Cook run wild on him.

[Matthew Berry]

So just like Jennerman's Cook.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

See what I did there?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Cook them for real. Talk about witty there, Matthew. Good one. Yeah. But expect something similar out of Bucky Irving. We saw him against the Texans as they're. I'm sorry, against the Texans?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

As the Bucs are trying to come back. Bucky Ervin involved in the run game, pass game just like we used to. So should be another nice day.

[Matthew Berry]

Producer Steven, do me a favor. That. That hole that they let James Cook. Do me a favor. Clip that off. Send that into the Smithsonian and the Emmy reel. Go ahead and do that.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay. Comment from Tej. Let's move on quickly. Bucky Irving will be the RB one this week. I think I am very high on him as is Matthew. It's about time.

[Matthew Berry]

Do you think Tej? I'm just looking at Tej's note. Well, no, he just says he just high is in all caps. Is that like sort of code?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Do you know what that means?

[Matthew Berry]

Is he smoking a doob or something like that? Has he got a bong?

[Jay Croucher]

He's a tagger.

[Matthew Berry]

I'm just asking, you think he's a gummy guy or a bong guy? Lawrence, it's hard for the Tigers.

[Jay Croucher]

Because he wrote it.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Because he wrote the pause.

[Matthew Berry]

The pause. It's hard with it.

[Jay Croucher]

Gummy Creatures Valley and Vincent cream school jerseys drink free. Yeah, no doubt opposition to that. The Creamsicle jerseys are a big hit. It's bad news for New York jets that they're defining player this season. And the guy that most jets fans text me about Michael Clemens who's not being good. Not been a great start of the season for Michael Clemens and a guy Lawrence who took advantage of said jets from run defense was a To be fair, a much maligned guy on this show, James Cook in the preseason, thousand percent, but he has shoved that.

[Matthew Berry]

I was, I was leading that charge. And so through two games, I have been wrong on James Cook. Lawrence.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, not on this show. Just y' all on this show. Let's let them, let them know that I, I already, you know, James Cook, running back one through the first two weeks in fantasy points per game. This the thing about it, fellas. Week one, he was running back four in a negative game script. Next week against the jets, positive game script, running back, too. So that's what you want to see with James Cook. What you also want to see too, is through these first two games, he has had at least 18 total touches and over 100 scrimmage yards. That's the thing we've been trying to kind of. That's what we wanted to see out of James Cook. We didn't want to see these 13 and 14 touch games. Now he's getting these 18 touches and he's making the most of them again over five yards of carry. I still believe if the Bills did not go away from him against the Chiefs, they would have played the Eagles in the Super Bowl. James Cook is a baller. They are riding him in the run game and he's getting work. In the pass game against the Ravens in week one, he didn't do well in the run game. They said, all right, we're going to throw him some little passes and he made one of the biggest plays in that game. So James Cook, big love this week against the Miami defense, who's allowed the six most fantasy points to running back so far?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I mean, one of the, one of the anti James Cook arguments that I made in the preseason was they just didn't use him the passing game enough. He. Last year he had a under 9% target share and so. Or at least under 10% target share. And so the fact that if they are going to. Which I never understood because he's a good pass catcher and it's explosive player. So if they are going to continue this trend of using him more in the passing game, then, then, yeah, let James Cook. That's all we're asking. We're asking you, Buffalo tonight, to let James Cook again. You see what I did there? I used his last name as a verb. Jay Croucher.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You did it twice.

[Matthew Berry]

I did it.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You did it twice. Go and make it three times just for the folks.

[Matthew Berry]

You gotcha. I got you. That's all right. That's all right. Yes.

[Jay Croucher]

Let's keep going. Bills are 12 and a half point favorites in that game too, which will help for game script and help James get the chef's hat out of the kitchen. Let's move on to Jordan Mason. Matthew now all of a sudden might be featuring on the vaunted Berry running back workhorse Aaron Jones is on ir.

[Matthew Berry]

That's exactly right. You know, Jordan Mason again, another guy, two first names, always a crowd pleaser. And he's had seven career games, literally seven games where he's gotten a decent workload where he's gotten at least 15 or more touches. And in those seven games he's averaging 94 yards. You mentioned Aaron Jones on IR. So we certainly expect Jordan Mason to get at least 15 touches for the Vikings this, this weekend in a game against Cincinnati. Right. Who last week allowed 5.3 yards per carry to Jacksonville running backs. Right. Last week both Travis Etienne and Bashal Tutin ran all over Cincinnati. So Mason, who by the way started to be more involved in the passing game, he's. That's never been a big part of his game. 4% target share last year. Right now he's up to 10% and that's with Aaron Jones active for a game and a half who's primarily the Vikings passing down back. So the fact that they're using him more in the passing game already and I expect him to use them even more in what should be a, I think a sneaky shootout against the Vikings. I actually think Jake Browning, Carson Wentz, what I think is going to do well, I do. I actually think that's going to be what I think that's going to be right here. It's 41 and a half. I've said I would take the over. I actually think this is going to be a very entertaining game just to kind of like, like, like, like, like Giants, Cowboys was last week where you're like what the hell is this? Or or Steelers jets in week one where it's just one of those ones that you don't, you don't expect it to be entertaining, but I bet you it's going to be.

[Jay Croucher]

It's still Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson might be the two best receivers.

[Lawrence Jackson]

And back to Jordan Mason real quick. We saw him those first 8, 9 weeks on the 49ers last year without, without CMC. Now this will be interesting. He gets going here. Minnesota Vikings. What happens when Aaron Jones comes back after he comes back from short term ir? I don't think you could go back to that same kind of 50, 50 split there because we've seen that Jordan Mason can be a running back one in regular football, fantasy football, any type of football. He's that good of a running back. And I know right now the Vikings are very happy they brought him in.

[Matthew Berry]

He's somebody we talked about in the preseason that we thought was a really a good value that he was going a couple rounds after Aaron Jones. But we thought this was going to be a split and that there was an opportunity. Obviously given the injury prone nature of Jones on the wrong side of 30 that there might be opportunities this season where Mason becomes the guy. And it starts now in week three. So yes, he makes the love list. Have him as a top 20 play this week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Brandon Baxter question on YouTube. Pick two, full PPR. Chase Connor and Mason.

[Matthew Berry]

You're obviously starting. You're obviously starting Chase. I think I would go Mason here over Conor Mason. Yeah, I mean I'm just, I'm nervous about. Yeah, I'm nervous about Trey Benson's increased usage especially in the passing game. Arizona on the road at San Francisco. You don't love that matchup. So yeah, give me Jordan Mason and Ja' Mar Chase there.

[Jay Croucher]

Comment from Aldo Baravero. Jordan Mason will be on the COVID of Madden 27. Bank on it. I don't think so. You never know.

[Matthew Berry]

I mean like. Well, I suppose if you went, if you bought like a. If you bought Madden 27 and then you like printed out a picture of Jordan Mason, like taped it then I saw.

[Lawrence Jackson]

There's a way. There's a way.

[Matthew Berry]

Where is, how is there a way?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Go for 2,000 yards and on the way to that 2,000 yards maybe like week 11, week 12, make sure you jump over somebody backwards. Yes, that's how you get on that cover.

[Jay Croucher]

Jordan Mason, that is the recipe these days. Okay. My guy for the love list, little niche but It's Tyler Algier. Ty$sign he gets at Carolina. Yeah, I don't think anyone's quoting that before but I'm going to try to start that movement. So the thing is with Tyler Algier, even though obviously it's Bijan Robinson' backfield, Bejan is the guy. This team does not throw the ball. They are bottom three and pass rate over expectation. I think they're still adjusting to this post. Caleb McGarry world. And you see that week two against the Vikings.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Bijan played 67% of the snaps through Al 32%. Tyler got 16 carries, the B's 22. Towards the end of the game, Tyler Alier was The guy in there icing it away, getting the touchdown on that final drive, much to Matthew Barry's chagrin against the Vikings. So in a game where the Vikings, sorry, where the Falcons are five and a half point favorites against the Panthers, who might have the worst rush defense in the NFL, I think this is a game like there are going to be games with Tyler Algier. I would look think of him as like a kind of a poor man's David Montgomery from last year where I think he's going to get a lot of work, he's going to have a lot of touchdown equity and in favorable matchups like this one, I think he can be like a low end, viable flex guy.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, to me that's the key. Favorable matchups like this one, like you mentioned the usage last week, the problem, the Vikings couldn't get anything going on offense and so it was just game script. I don't know that I would count on Tyler Algier as a viable flex week in, week out. I think he's, he's, he's better suited as basically an insurance back for anyone that has Bijan Robinson on their team. All that said, Lawrence. I like the call in terms of is he usable this week in a game in which we expect them to win and win handily against the Panthers.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Man, looking at those Week 2 numbers, 22 carries for your starter and then 16 for backup, that is crazy. But again, that's because the Vikings were giving them the ball like the Falcons didn't have to do anything. There was really no need for them to throw the ball. They'll be in those types of games down the line, but this is certainly not going to be one or at least we don't expect it to. One thing of Note though, these two teams met up in this year, week 18 last year it was 44 to 38 in overtime. So have that in the back burner too though.

[Jay Croucher]

All right, question from Ryan Voltz. Gross, Algier or Gainwell this week? Half point PPR.

[Matthew Berry]

You're Mr. Algier, you tell me.

[Jay Croucher]

Tie, dollar sign?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, all the way.

[Jay Croucher]

I think that Jaylen Warren, per Aaron Rodgers, who's a decent source, says Jaylen Warren is going to get progressively more work and giving him more work in the past game. So I think that's going to come at the expense of Kenneth Gainwell. It's a favourable matchup against the Pats, but still I'd take Algier there.

[Matthew Berry]

See, I don't think it's a. I completely agree that it's Algier, but I don't think it's a favorable matchup against the Patriots. Through two weeks, the Patriots have actually given up the third fewest rushing yards that defense overall. Sorry. Third fewest rushing yards to in the game. Sorry. The third fewest rushing yards in the NFL through two weeks are the Patriots. They faced Ashton Genty and Devon Hn. Yeah, I'm just, you know, I mean, like, like so yeah. And Gainwell's done nothing. Gainwell's been out there a lot, but it's mostly like, you know, blocking and like. Yes. Tyler Algier.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Tyler Algier gonna score a touchdown again.

[Jay Croucher]

All right, let's get to some others receiving votes headlined by a friend of the show. He hasn't been on the show, but we like him. He's our friend. Dobby, J.K. dobbins, who gets a matchup against the chargers.

[Matthew Berry]

Dobby has 15 touches in both games so far this season and 86% of the Broncos red zone rushes. So when they get in close, they're going to Dobby. I'm at running back 20:70 as you see there. How about Cam Scatterboo? We love Tyrone Tracy here, but I'm not coaching the Giants. Cam Skatabu led the backfield with snaprate and touches in week two. He got the only goal line carry going against Kansas City. Not a great matchup, but it does feel like Skataboo at the moment is the lead of that backfield. And then hell. Listen, you know I love the Tootler. I love to toot. I'm a big fan of the toot. I often use the toot and I would suggest everyone else also use the toot. Bashal Tootin, of course, is what I'm talking about. Against the Houston Texans. They've allowed the ninth most fantasy points to opposing running back so far this year, Lawrence. And last week, 74 yards on just 10 touches. 74 yards on just 10 touches, that is. Give me a second. 7.4 yards per touch. Did that math in my head. No big deal. I'm just going to say, I don't want to brag, But I mean, 7.4 yards per touch is pretty good.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I think you can't prepare with that answer.

[Matthew Berry]

No, no, no, no, no. Right now, Right now. In my head, he only played 18 snaps, but he saw a touch on 10 of them. He was explosive and I think he's going to only get more work. A lot of people have said he could be this year's Bucky Irving. I'm on that Train.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay. Question from Valiant Vincent.

[Matthew Berry]

Yep.

[Jay Croucher]

Need to figure out this flexural frustration over Calvin Ridley if Travis Hunter or Rootin Tootin start instead. That's a terrifying nickname.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, Vincent.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, it certainly is. No, Tennessee is at home against Indianapolis, so I do think better days are ahead for Calvin Ridley. I'm not starting. I'm not starting Travis Hunter until I see it. And they're going up against Houston, which is a pretty good secondary as well. So I actually. And look, you just heard me talk up Rootin Tootin. The Tootin machine. The Tootler.

[Jay Croucher]

Toot Daddy.

[Matthew Berry]

The Toot Daddy. A lot of things we can have here with Bay Shoal, but I'm going with Calvin Ridley. Just volume. I know it's been a slow start, but like, you know, Rams and Broncos, Pat Surtan cover. There's a reason why he's still the number one option on a team that's going to throw for me. It's Calvin Ridley. I know the Colts are good, but I'm saying Calvin Ridley, too much work. What do you think?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Nah, it's really. You even saw that increase in week two for him now, you know, you kind of get some relief with when you got the Colts pass rush rather than the Broncos or the Rams, so.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Question from Mr. T. The Mr. T. Lawrence, the sock game today has to have Matthew's ankles feeling jelly.

[Matthew Berry]

What's going on with your sock game?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Just some strikes, man. You know, I want to be some. Just some stripes. Big ankle guy.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

No, Lawrence has terrible ankles.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, I gotta have something on the ankles. Ankles get a little cold mucho frio sometimes, you know. So we gotta keep something on the ankles there. I understand.

[Matthew Berry]

Not everyone can pull off my ankle game the way. The way I do. I will say. Let's see. There you go. A little something for the kids. There you go.

[Jay Croucher]

Also the kids.

[Matthew Berry]

Hopefully 100. Let them know.

[Lawrence Jackson]

That's real skin right there.

[Matthew Berry]

Over 18, obviously. Just when you're my age, everyone's a kid.

[Jay Croucher]

That's perfectly what you did there is illegal in Texas. Oh, no.

[Matthew Berry]

Next week in Texas it's fine.

[Jay Croucher]

To the hate list completely headlined by Crenshaw Junkins. He's trending up, but this week he plays the best defensive football potentially.

[Matthew Berry]

And that's the issue. Right. It's the packers who allow under 40 rushing yards per game. It's the second fewest in the NFL. In fact, running backs that face the Green Bay packers this year, averaging just 2.4 yards per carry. Remember, they faced Jameer Gibbs in week number One, they faced Eckler and Jakory Crosby Merritt in week number two. Judkins, who is the lead of that Browns backfield. I think he needs to be rostered in 100% of leagues but I'm outside my top 35 for the week. He's my running back 36. I just want no part of any offense facing the packers if I can avoid it.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, yeah. Kusha Juktis surprisingly got the, you know, he was running back one off the bat for the Cleveland Browns. But like you said, tough defense out going against the Cleveland Browns. I'm sorry, Green Bay Packers.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes sir.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Sean Judkins might play for the Cleveland Browns. I don't if I didn't see Jameer Gibbs do it against the Packers. Hell, the Cleveland Browns offense as a whole is struggling to move the ball. So it is extreme. I'm scared to start any Cleveland Brown, the Joe Cool, Harold Fannin, Gerald Judy, all of them against this.

[Matthew Berry]

I actually think Fannin might be okay. We'll talk about him a little bit later in the show. But quick question for you.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

Jay has brought this up the other day, but how soon do we. If Flacco struggles here against the packers and I can't imagine that he won't like I don't, I don't see Flacco dry as he is. I just don't see him outrunning Micah Parsons and company. Do we see a quarterback when is your prediction that we see a quarterback change in Cleveland? And as the biggest Chadur Sanders fan I know, is it going to be Sanders or Dylan Gabriel?

[Lawrence Jackson]

It's going to be Dylan Gabriel first. He's the backup. He's the guy who came in after flat shout out to Dylan Gabriel through his first NFL touchdown pass. Nice to see somebody from Cleveland Browns throwing a touchdown pass no matter when it came in the game. But it would be Dylan Gabriel and I think, man, I mean you just saw Flacco though have 45 passing attempts and didn't reach 200 passing yards. If something similar like that happens again, man, it'd be tough to go past week five with this really weak four. But you know, you brought Joe Flacco in for something. I just, I, yeah, we should. If Dylan Gabriel is the backup now, which he is, he probably should be playing right now.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep, agreed.

[Matthew Berry]

They may just want, they just may not want to throw, you know, a rookie into the, you know, against the Packers. That's the issue is that. But it's like the Browns upcoming schedule is just, it's not, it's not easy.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Like he couldn't.

[Matthew Berry]

Not good.

[Lawrence Jackson]

The the pressure that they apply and Ravens didn't have a good pass rush in Week one, but they did against the Cleveland Browns and he just couldn't like the other quarterbacks the Browns have on a roster move a lot better than Joe Flacco does at this point.

[Matthew Berry]

There you go.

[Jay Croucher]

Indeed. All right, Lawrence Tyrone Tracy. The book on Tracy, his appeal was that he's going to be the number one guy and that would offset the concerns about the Giants offense in general, the bad offensive line. But now it doesn't even feel like he has a a grip on Workshop.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, we saw that. You look at week one running back touches, he had 63% of those to Cam scatterboots, 21%. Week two that changed drastically. Tyrone Tracy down at 37.5% of the running back touches. Scatterboo 54% of the touches. What you're seeing on the screen is the actual snap rate which also went to Cam Scatterboo. So I think hearing what Brian Dabo said, I think he's just going to go with the flow. He said can't. He said Scatterbo had good runs so we had to go with him.

[Matthew Berry]

Tyrone Tracy, this picture clearly taken before he got his workload limited.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That is not the face of someone who just got 37 and a half percent of the running back touches right there.

[Matthew Berry]

Exactly.

[Lawrence Jackson]

But then two guys, he hasn't been effective in these two games. In the running game, just 15 carries for 39 yards. That's two and a half yards per carry. See my math right there, Matthew, well done.

[Matthew Berry]

You're like a young Matthew Berry out there. Yeah. Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I don't know about that though. Then there's this too right. The Chiefs, while they're struggling on the back end, run defense has not been a problem for them. They bottled up Amari and Hampton week one. It took Saquon Barkley 22 carries just to get to 88 yards in week two. So now you're going against the Giants running backs like I like them other two running backs a little bit better. So going to be scary situation from a lot of points with Tyrone Tracy.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep, scary situation as well in some ways for Josh Jacobs who even though the packers are seven and a half point favorites in Cleveland expect to have game script. Game script hasn't mattered for the teams placing the Cleveland Browns watch defense at this point. Derrick Henry had 11 carries for 23 yards.

[Matthew Berry]

Like that just doesn't in a game they dominated and they were up the.

[Jay Croucher]

Whole time they had game script. This Cleveland Browns defensive line and run defense might just be so good. Myles Garrett is on another planet at the moment that look, you're still going to start Josh Jacobs. I just wouldn't expect amazing things. Also, the packers run game hasn't really ignited yet. They've dealt with injuries on their offensive line.

[Matthew Berry]

You're hoping he falls into the end zone, which he easily could.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, I don't, I don't think anything really has ignited for the packers offense. They just, they're playing well but it's. The defense is so good. It's like you know.

[Jay Croucher]

Indeed. All right, let's jump to love hate pass catches headlined by Zay Flowers, who we heard from on being a spark plug in this stacked Ravens passing attack.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I feel like somebody like anybody could start like with a spark, anybody could spark us to just start moving the ball. You know what I mean? But I just feel like my energy is always like consistent and I try to keep everybody up, keep everybody with a smile on their face and hey, whoever made the play, we made the play. As long as we get the ball moving downfield, I feel like we'd be alright.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay. Zay Flowers, who is just dominating in terms of target share. Matthew only Jackson Smith in Jigba has a higher target share this season.

[Matthew Berry]

That's exactly right. Like literally he only Jack only JSN has a higher target share than Zay Flowers is 42.6%. I mean it's just insane. And then you think about this matchup against the Detroit Lions. It's a great game on Monday Night football. Lions bottom 10 in terms of both most fantasy points and most yards allowed to opposing wide receivers. Ravens have the second highest implied team total in week three, by the way. Over under is 53 and a half. We expect a lot of fireworks on Monday night. So. So yeah, Guimise Flowers has a top 10 play this week. The concern with Flowers has always been he doesn't score a lot of touchdowns. He's not a big touchdown scorer. You know you think about they've got Andrews, they've got Hopkins eventually they got Isaiah likely back. They've got other.

[Jay Croucher]

The problem is like a close Derek.

[Matthew Berry]

Henry, Derrick Henry when they get in close as well. But what's crazy is that even though he doesn't have this massive touchdown upside, Zay Flowers is just so good and so on the same page with Lamar Jackson that the volume has. It hasn't mattered that the touchdown equity isn't huge because he's Just getting so much volume.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I'm going to bet every week that Zay Flowers is going to be the Ravens offensive weapon every single week that touches the ball second to most to Derrick Henry.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I agree with that.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay. Perhaps the primary offensive weapon in the Ravens rival the Pittsburgh Steelers is DK Metcalfe, who's still waiting to fully ignite. But I think we've seen enough from Aaron Rodgers. Lawrence, to suggest that Aaron Rodgers, even though it's imperfect, he can't really move that much anymore, but he still has the arm and he can still get DK Metcalf the ball. And now they have a really favorable matchup against the Patriots passing defense. That has not been good.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah. Talked about it on fantasy football pregame. We did. We talked about can this Dolphins receiving group get back on track? And they did. And that's enough for me to know that when you're going against the Patriots pass defense, then you want to get a receiving.

[Matthew Berry]

Especially as long as Christian Gonzalez is banged out.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, that too. And then you just got. When Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback, it's all about trust. Who. Which guys is he trusts right now? That's DK Metcalf, that's Jalen Warren. And so he. DK Metcalf should be ready to get fired up this week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. Matthew. A guy that Kyler Williams seems to trust and Ben Johnson does, too, is Roman Dunes, who is pretty clearly the number two in terms of where he's drafted among wide receivers for the Bears, but he's the number one guy at the moment.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. A lot of people say Rome wasn't built in a day, but maybe a weekend. Thank you. Come on. God bless.

[Jay Croucher]

I don't know what that means.

[Matthew Berry]

There you go. There you go. Thank you very much. God bless. There you go. Came up with that, right? Just in the moment right there.

[Jay Croucher]

Good to see blessing the regulars with these same material.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I think you're being generous with C material, to be honest with you. Listen, you know the two shows on you and Burr, watch out, tip your waitress says, please try the curly fries. All right, look, here's the thing about Roma Dunze, right? I'm at wide receiver 12, so I'm as a wide receiver one this week. You love the matchup with the Cowboys, who've allowed the most yards on deep passes. Roma Dunze obviously leads the Bears in average depth of target and deep targets as well. I mean, this is a team that Wando Robinson got deep on. The Cowboys, right. Including Malik neighbors, 74 fantasy points to Giants wide receivers that's what the Cowboys gave up in week number two. And in both games so far this year, Roma Dunese has at least six receptions in both games that matches his total from all of last year. Like he only had two games last year with at least six receptions. He's two for two so far. He's clearly supplanted D.J. moore as the number one weapon in the passing game for Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. And this matchup with Dallas so far, I mean, you know, just amazing. 30% target share. So no other wide receiver in the bears is over 16%. So yeah, over 18%. I should say so. Yeah. Dunes a top 12 for me.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I just turned one down Robinson into a peak. Jerry Rice, Cowboys pastor Tedron McMillan Lawrence, who has been probably the singular bright spot for the Panthers so far. He's looked like an absolute beast.

[Matthew Berry]

And the chubbler. The chubbler has been fine.

[Jay Croucher]

Totally fine. It's not like I was running off.

[Lawrence Jackson]

What about Bryce Young went behind by 15 to 20 points, so the headline.

[Jay Croucher]

Is more that he gets behind by 15, 20 points in the first place. But Tedron McMillan just looks like a beast and he's just going to have an overwhelming target share in that offense.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, double digit fantasy points in his first two NFL regular season games without even scoring a T hasn't scored a touchdown yet. That honor goes to my boy Hunter Renfro. But besides that, nine targets week one, ten targets week two again, Carolina five and a half point underdogs in this game against Atlanta. And I brought it up earlier about the game that the Falcons and the Panthers had in week 18 of last season, which was in 2025. Like we are here now. Carolina won 4438 in a shootout. Now I don't. I saw Atlanta's defense against the Vikings last week. Still a young quarterback there, but this has some surprising shootout potential as well. So Tedaroy McMillan like him in week two, AJ Terrell might not make the game. That just hurts Atlanta on that end of the field even more in his young bright star in the making.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep, 7:1 to an offensive rookie of the year.

[Matthew Berry]

He just, I mean like you talk about situations and there aren't that many in the NFL, but you talk about situations where and you know, like I'm going to use maybe one hand instead of two, but I'm breaking. These are now my wide receiver hands, not to be confused.

[Jay Croucher]

Sure. Yes, running back.

[Matthew Berry]

So my wide receiver hands in terms of wide receivers in the NFL where they literally have it zero target competition and I would argue Tedro McMillan, who's competing with Hunter Renfro, who wasn't on an NFL roster a month ago, and Xavier Leggett, who has been to be kind, inconsistent in his NFL career so far. Like, it is all. We've seen some Jatavian Sanders, I suppose, but, like. Like, literally, like, he is their offense. Like. And so it. You can count on one hand the guys that are like a 30 target chair here and like, he's. He, you know, or near it. And he's on that list.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, him. JSN is on the hand.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

That's the funny thing is it kind of contradicts it and they play for the same team, but I think Devonte Adams and Puka Nakura both on that hand because there's no one else.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. Malik Neighbors is on the hand. Right. I might need another hand, but, like, I don't, you know, maybe a couple of fingers. Like a hand and a couple of fingers. Hand and a half. Yeah. Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Terrifying analogy. All right, question from Lawrence. Sue Jackson's brother need help with picking two Emeka Igbuka, who, by the way, wasn't practicing today. So that's something to monitor. A.J. brown, T. Mac or Keenan Allen this week? That's a good question.

[Matthew Berry]

That is a good question. Because.

[Jay Croucher]

Trouble.

[Matthew Berry]

Lawrence, go ahead.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Who the Eagles got?

[Matthew Berry]

Philadelphia is playing the Rams, so that's a tough matchup. And A.J. brown's been bad. So that's what's crazy is, like, you would before this season. You'd have been like, well, it's obviously AJ Brown and like Tedron McMillan, basically. But a mech has been hot for two weeks. So has Keenan Allen. Chargers are at home to Denver. He'll probably avoid Pats or tan. I think McConkey will get a decent amount of him or they'll keep him on one side.

[Jay Croucher]

I mean, McConkey's banged up, too. So I think this is going to be dictated by injuries. I think if everyone is healthy, I might even go with the two rookies.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Two rookies.

[Jay Croucher]

It's kind of crazy. But AJ Brown, that passing attack has just been so bad, and I kind of need to see. And then Keenan Allen, we'll say it's just such a brutal matchup against the Broncos.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Keenan Allen was almost the guy that I picked to talk about instead of Ted Aurora, because again, at the end of the day, that's Justin Herbert's guy. Like, he's Keenan Allen. It's almost like last year with the Bears didn't happen for Kenan. Allen. But if all healthy, Jay, I might roll with you and go. Two rookies here. Mecca, Buka, Teterow, mcmillan.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I'm good with that. I'll just say this, Lawrence, I like your wide receiver room. I mean, all four. Like, I know it's been tough for A.J. brown. Better days are ahead for A.J. brown. He's just too good. The Eagles are too good for him just to be this disappointing. So I do think better days are ahead, but, like. And so I think they're all right there. I understand the question. So I don't know that you can totally screw it up, but I will say I'll go with you guys and the rookie wide receivers there.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Speaking of too good, the Lions too good to replicate their Week one performance. They got back on track very much against the Bears in Week 2. Now, tougher match up against Baltimore, but Sam LaPorta has really picked up, really, really left off in his rookie season. He seems back to that type of player.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, a little bit quieter in Week two, but big game in a week against the packers in week one, he actually had a nice game. He had almost 80 yards against the packers defense. They didn't give much up in week number one. So laporta is a la love again. See what I did there? I mean, honestly, like, I'm just like. I'm like the Harlem Globetrotters out here of the English language. Just the way I'm mixing and matching weaving, doing a little, you know, what's the song they sing to Sweet Georgia Brown?

[Lawrence Jackson]

There is somebody watching this YouTube live right now that think these are hilarious. And as long as you get one person, it's like the NFL gym. You just need one team to believe in.

[Matthew Berry]

That's what I need. I just. I need somebody. I need one of the regulars to back me up here and tell me they're enjoying this. Either way, Laporta is a love. And part of it is because this matchup with the Ravens, I get it. The Ravens have this reputation as being this awesome defense, but against, I mean, they're 31st against the pass through two weeks. Now, again, that's skewed by the crazy week one game where, you know, Josh Allen just went nuts. But still, through two games, the Ravens have allowed the second most yards to tight ends this season. Titans that have faced the Ravens this year have caught 94% of their targets. Even last week, in which the Browns couldn't get anything moving, n' Joku and Fannin were both pretty solid against the Ravens. So Sam laporta is my number three tight end this week. I think it's a good matchup. I think you want as much of this Lions Ravens game as you can get. Again, 53.5 is the over under accurate comment from Cujo.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh, brother. This guy stinks.

[Matthew Berry]

But he could be talking about anyone.

[Jay Croucher]

Still searching for that one guy.

[Matthew Berry]

Deja and Dragon. Come on, Dragon. Come on, Dragon. Where'd we go? I thought we had something, you and I.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Come on, somebody give us some hope here.

[Matthew Berry]

Come on, Mr. Dragon. What do you mean that guy stinks? He could be talking about Lawrence or Jay. We don't know who it is.

[Lawrence Jackson]

But he also could be talking about like literally.

[Matthew Berry]

All right, here we go. Stuntman Chuck 85. Matthew never stopped making bad jokes. You're the ankle breaker comedy. I will take that. I think that is compliment adjacent. I think that is compliment adjacent.

[Jay Croucher]

The ankle breaker comedy.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, let's move on. Smother, thank you for chiming on the regular. It has been a tough day for Matthew so far. Others receiving votes, headlined by George Pickens, who starts to get loose against the Giants.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, and it's also, it's also the Bears, right? Pickens has seen 71% of the Cowboys end zone targets so far this year and against going against Chicago that through two games the Bears have allowed the most touchdowns to wide receivers. I think Pickens scores at least once on Sunday. How about Juwan Jennings? Came back last week, had 26% target share. He's had a 28% target share over his last nine completed games. When he's out there, he's getting the rock. And since week 10 of last year, he's averaging 15 fantasy points per game. Listen, it's Wandell Robinson. Go long, Wandell. You know you can't try to contain him. It's worth noting the Chiefs allow the second highest catch rate to the slot. Wando Robinson lines up there and clearly they're going to let Russ Cook. How about Juwan Johnson? And we talked about this literally on this show last week. Last week he was on the love list. He crushed. He's once again back. He's not 100% rostered, which I don't get, but so far this year there are only two other tight ends that have a higher target share than Juwan Johnson. And it's a nice matchup against the Seahawks. Seattle has a lot of the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. And you know what, Lawrence, what the hell, I'm giving a little bum to your guy. Kyle Pitts, Carolina Panthers have allowed at least 17 fantasy points to tight end in both games this season. Believe it or not, your guy Kyle Pitts, he's fourth in route participation among tight ends this season at 87%. Shout out Dwayne McFarland and the FantasyLife.com utilization report. But Kyle Pitts, fourth among Titans in route participation and they're playing, oh, by the way, the Panthers.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He's come a long way since, you know, partying with Justin Fields.

[Matthew Berry]

Justin Fields in Dubai or wherever the hell they were.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Hey, Michael Penix, like him. Like you talked earlier about how they don't throw a lot of. He throwed a Kyle Pitts. Yeah, yeah, buddy.

[Matthew Berry]

Trying to make him a thing.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Buddies.

[Jay Croucher]

By the way, Joanne Johnson, currently leading the NFL power rankings of JJ's. Given that McCarthy struggled and Jefferson has mostly been unsighted thousand percent, of course.

[Matthew Berry]

Juwan Johnson, everyone remembers him from his triumphant title title running performance in Week 17 two years ago. Live at noon in the cock. Yeah, exactly. Everyone remembers that. I bet you he gets stopped on the street and they ask him for pictures like I loved you when you helped Matthew win a title two years ago.

[Jay Croucher]

Unbelievable. All right, well, let's go to the hate list headlined by my hatred for those comments. But Jerry Judy against the Green Bay Packers. Matthew, Jerry Judy doesn't really doing much anymore.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. Look, in both games this season he's had a below 20% target share, zero red zone targets. Not a shock because he's never been a big touchdown score throughout his career. But now what do you know? They're playing the packers fifth fewest yards per game allowed to wide receivers. And the Browns have the lowest implied team total in week number three. Again, I think Harold Fannin and Najoku might be okay in this game, but if I'm. If I have to start a Browns wide receiver, it's got to be club set. I'm not touching Jerry Judy. Club said of course always open.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep.

[Matthew Berry]

Keon Coleman, Lawrence™ Matthew Berry, that epic.

[Jay Croucher]

Game in week one against the Ravens. Now getting gets a favorable matchup against the Dolphins. But they may not need to throw that money.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah. And that. And that's the thing about it. Week 1 Keon Coleman Wide Receiver 2 Negative game script. Week 2 Wide Receiver 83 in the positive game script. So positive that even Josh Allen was only quarterback 24. So they didn't need it. So how much will you need against this Dolphins team? That's why not loving Keon Coleman this week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Hey, listen me Evan Engraver. This is just not relevant to this Broncos offense. At all. He has 33 yards in two games. Troy Franklin seems to have taken a lot of the, kind of the short, intermediate routes and the crosses, and it just doesn't feel like Ingram is, is a big part of Sean Payton's plan.

[Matthew Berry]

It's so weird because I, I was pro Ingram, like, they signed into the big contract, right. Follow the money and you're like, what does Ingram do? Well, catch a lot of passes, you know, not that far from the line of scrimmage, you know, especially over the middle. What does Bo Nix do? Well, short, accurate passes. And it's just like, man, this guy's going to be a PPR machine. He's going to be like a Michael Thomas type, you know, at the tight end position. He's just going to be a, you know, over 100 catches kind of guy. And like, they're using Adam Trotman over him. Yeah, like he's just not out there. You can't score fantasy points when you're on the bench, Lawrence.

[Lawrence Jackson]

No, sir. I'm talking about Michael Thomas. He ain't better than Michael Mayer right now.

[Jay Croucher]

Oh, wow. Okay. All right. Sunday night, Patrick Mahomes and the Chief take a road trip to New York where they face the Giants in a prime time showdown. Sunday, 7 Eastern on NBC. And Peacock, we're gonna hit our first break. When we come back, you don't have.

[Matthew Berry]

To call on this game. You know what they're calling this game. Somebody's gotta win.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. Okay, hold on, hold on.

[Matthew Berry]

It's true. NBC, Peacock, 7 o' clock Eastern. Let's go, Chiefs, Giants, Russ, Pat, both these guys are gonna cook. You know, the best B2B marketing often gets wasted on the wrong people. For a while there, I was getting all these ads about expensive pots and pans. If it's not a frozen pizza, I don't cook. So listen, when you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn has grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals and 130 million decision makers. And that's where it stands apart from other ad buys. You can target your buyers by job title, by industry, by company, by role, seniority, skills, company revenue. You can stop wasting budget on the wrong audience. It's why LinkedIn ads generates the highest B2B ROAS of all online ad networks. Seriously, all of them. So spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a free $250 credit for the next one. No strings attached. Just go to LinkedIn.com. fFHH. That's LinkedIn.com FFHH terms and conditions apply at RXBar.

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[Jay Croucher]

Caleb, what's it like for you this week preparing to face Matt Eberhu as the defensive coordinator on the other side?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, I mean it's the same as preparing it each week for me. You got to go out out there and execute the plays that Ben calls and then other than that, you know, I've played a bunch of kind of ball verse verse, you know, that defense and kind of how he runs.

[Matthew Berry]

So it's, it's, it's interesting in a way.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Obviously, you know, you know Matt was my coach obviously last year. So just being able to, you know, move past all of that and be.

[Matthew Berry]

Able to be able to go out.

[Lawrence Jackson]

There and help Chicago Bears do one.

[Matthew Berry]

And those week.

[Jay Croucher]

Love hate quarterback headline massey by that man Caleb Williams. Been a bit of a rough start to the season but Caleb has shown signs and he gets as favourable a matchup as possible in Dallas.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I mean you can't ask for a better matchup than the Dallas Cowboys who ranked 30th in pass defense through two weeks. They're allowing the fourth most yards per pass attempt. We thought Russell Wilson was dead and then he shows up then suddenly throws for 400 yards against the Cowboys. So Caleb Williams who looks pretty good, I mean Jalen hurts Russell Wilson, both scored at least 24 fantasy points against these Cowboys. The over under in this game is 50 and a half. That's the second highest on the week three slate. Bears have a top five implied team total. Yeah. Caleb Williams. I'm a QB6 this week. I think Caleb Cooks.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Well, you mentioned Russell Wilson, the original chef let Russ cook. Russ Cook last week Lawrence. And now he plays the Kansas City Chiefs who are a bit of a pass funnel with how good their run defense has been.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah. Quarterback two last week for Russell Wilson. He indeed got to cooking. And just like you said, Kansas City's defense is better against the run that they've been against the past these first couple of weeks. But the thing for Russell here is he's the Giants leading rusher right now. 67 yards through two came through two games at six yards per carry. Kansas City allowed Justin Herbert to go for 32 yards in week one. So I think part of it is I think Russell is like running for his life. So if he could get those three four points because he's not going to go for another 400 passing yards, but he could probably get three.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Especially they're losing.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. The funny thing is I know this isn't the case. They're doing these design runs with Russ and I'm thinking like when they're doing and he's not that fast anymore. Are you trying to get him hurt? Just putting him under a little bit of pressure there. Dak Prescott on the love list. Matthew Dak, he just looks like 20, 23.

[Matthew Berry]

Dak again, he really does. You couldn't ask for a better match with the Bears as well. Through two weeks, they're allowing touchdown passes at the highest rate the NFL. They're also giving up the third most yards per completion. They rank 31st in pressure rate. So Dak should have a very clean pocket. Oh, by the way, Jalen Johnson out for the Bears as well. So clean pocket, depleted secondary. Give me all the dak. He's my QB7 this week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Okay. A little off the beaten path pick here for the love list. Cam Ward, who has not produced statistically the first two weeks. But I do think in terms of the underlying stuff, just the eye test. I think Kenwood's good. I think he's going to turn the corner. Now the Colts, it's. We'll see how good the Colts defense is. I think with Chaverius Warden layout to Latu back, they'll be better than they were against the Broncos. But it's just. It's not. You don't have to face as an elite pass rush. You have to play the Broncos in week one. Let's play Jared Verse and co in week two. This is going to be easier. The Colts do not have a great edge rushing room. I think Cam Ward is going to continue to take strides and I think look he'll trend towards being a viable QB2 at some point. Probably just knocking on the door to that as opposed to there right now. But I believe in Cam Ward. I think he is going to to turn the corner. Let's get to others receiving votes headlined by Drake May who's taken a pretty big leap this year.

[Matthew Berry]

Matthew yeah, this is my favorite stat of Week 3. The Steelers are allowing the fifth most yards per pass attempt so far. They faced Justin Fields and Sam Darnold, a guy that doesn't throw and a guy that I mean like literally Justin Fields and Sam Darnold and are still giving up the fifth most yards per pass attempt. Patriots by the way top 5 in pass rate over expected this season. And how about Jared Goff as part of that shootout on on Monday night? Baltimore 25th in pressure rate through two weeks. When Goff has time to throw, he's pretty lethal. 53 and a half again highest over under on the slate. We expect a lot of fireworks.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. All right list Matthew, it's been two years since CJ Stroud was good at this point. He does not look right at the moment.

[Matthew Berry]

He really doesn't like the yips that followed him last year because of the lack of confidence in his offensive line that followed him into 2025. And by the way, the Texans allow pressure at the seventh highest rate in the NFL. He's constantly under siege and he's not even throwing deeps through two weeks. Stroud just 23rd and average depth of target week six of last year. Week six of last year. That was the last time C.J. stroud even got 17 fantasy points. He's outside my top 20.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, Lawrence, guy who's playing better football this year but perhaps won't need to do too much this week is Jordan Love.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, Jordan Love playing damn good real football. But week one just quarterback 17 which is. That's okay, it's not great. But the Lions didn't score a touchdown until the fourth quarter in that game. So what do you have to do week two he's quarterback 11 which is more solid. But again your commanders didn't score a touchdown and those are two good teams. They didn't score a touchdown to the fourth quarter in that game. So now they're eight and a half point favorites against the Cleveland Browns. So when are they going to score a touchdown to kind of provide some type of resistance to this Green Bay team? I don't know if they're going to get that for Jordan. Love to have those numbers.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. Gentlemen, February 2024 NFL Honors. Joe Flacco reduced me not to tears, but to a deep, aggressive form of sadness. He defeated, defeated Demar Hamlin, more of.

[Matthew Berry]

An aggressive, depleted form of sadness.

[Jay Croucher]

That's true. He won that award and it made me greatly upset. This weekend I get my revenge because I'm gonna set Micah Parsons upon you, Joe, and you are in big, big trouble, my friends.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Will this be, will you be like, over it with this?

[Jay Croucher]

I feel like I will be on the field with Micah as he swallows up Joe Flacco. It's gonna be the lion chasing a duck. And I think, Joe Flacco, you should.

[Matthew Berry]

Wear a Micah Parsons jersey Sunday morning.

[Jay Croucher]

I think I should.

[Matthew Berry]

You should order a Packers Micah jersey jersey. And Sunday morning.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, the Browns are in big trouble. I don't think Joe Flacco is going to do much. All right, we're going to take our last break. When we come back, it is the last call preview of Thursday Night Football.

[Matthew Berry]

I love that you think that that's what turned you dark and sad. It's as if you never met before.

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[Jay Croucher]

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[Matthew Berry]

DraftKings Sportsbook on the creditor who has the crown, why it's yours.

[Jay Croucher]

Okay, last call Most Bet player Props Dolphins at Bills a lot of Josh Allen yeah, sure of James Cook as well. Josh Allen alternate rushing out 25 plus and minus 157 is the most popular. I'm gonna go with a Miami Dolphin. I'm Gonna take Devin HN over 39 and a half receiving yards. He had 92 last week and went comfortably over both games against the bills last year. 12 and a half point dogs. I think they're gonna have to be dumping off to the running back a ton and even getting him involved in more traditional pass plays as well. So I'll take the over there on hn.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, for me too many Bills bets spread too big here. So I'm going Dolphins bet too. I'm gonna go Tyreek Hill 70 receiving yards at + 107. He got back on track last week. Now Patriots aren't the Bills defense, but you think the Dolphins are going to be slowing the game down running? I don't think so. Give me those yards for Tyreek Hill.

[Matthew Berry]

Think about last year. The Dolphins and the Bills played each other on Thursday night. In week three it was 3110 bills and I would argue that the Bills are better now than they were in Week three last year and the Dolphins are worse than they were heading into that game. I think the Bills win. I think they win easily and I think there's a chance that you don't even see Josh Allen in the fourth quarter because they're up big. They're just going to be running. So give me Josh Allen under 29 and a half passing attempts in the same game Last year he threw the ball 19 times. I just don't see him chucking it up 30 times because he's not going to need to because the Bills defense is so good. Dolphins on the road in a short week.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. Agreed. Didn't have to do much against the jets either on Sunday. All right, let's take a look at Matthew's top players. The Dolphins at Bills. A lot of these top guys are self explanatory. Starting Josh Allen, starting Devon Achan, you're starting James Cook.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah and that's about it. Honestly, I'm nervous. You know Tyreek Hill I have as a top 20 wide receiver starting him. I'm a little nervous about Waddle and Coleman. Coleman just because I think they don't throw that much. Kincaid you see a tight end 17 and then waddle he's banged up and so if he's out there I know he's going to give it a go but it doesn't seem seems like he's less than 100%. I tend not to like offenses on the road on a short week in general and this Dolphins offense just looks semi broken.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep it does. TUA is another tough one where I mean I think you probably have to start him in two quarterback leagues but if you're starting tour and single quarterback plays, you're not feeling great about it.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I would think that in most quarter one quarterback leagues he's on waivers just after the first couple games. The interceptions you mentioned Keon Coleman, he'll need a touchdown, a payoff.

[Matthew Berry]

I, I'm, I'm in a two quarterback league and I'm starting Tyrod Taylor and and either Jaden Daniels or Marcus Mario instead of TUA tonight. Listen, it's closing time which means you don't have to go home. You don't. But you got but you can't stay. You gotta get out. You can't stay here. Hey, go read 10 facts you need to know before week three on NBCSports.com for Lawrence and Jay, I'm Matthew Peace.

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