
Waiver wire, plus some Fantasy celebrations, an early look at the 2025 Top 3 players and a game we like to call "Who Has More?"
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Adam
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Dave
What a play.
Adam
Can you believe this? No, I can't. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. This is going to go the distance. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie and Heath. Hey, hey. Welcome everybody. Welcome to week 18 and congratulations. Congratulations to all you fantasy champions. This is Fantasy Football today presented by FedMGM, the sportsbook. Born in Vegas. And I was just thinking about one of the players that I feel like as a show we were super high on during the draft season and I really think it was T. Higgins. We talked about it a lot. Amazing value. He was like a round five pick and I want, you know, and I hope he carried you all to victory. And I know we had a pretty, we had a pretty good year here on fft. Anyway, I am on. I'm not going to. I am on Cloud 10 today. I have skipped Cloud 9. I've gone right to Cloud Ted. I have beamed up to Cloud Ted. I just got to tell you guys, I had the best fantasy year of my life. So I am fired up. Let's. Yeah, this was the best year because I didn't even realize. I mean, I knew I had a chance, but not until last night when Goff and Gives went off. I won the 14 team flex league, so. Oh, 12 leagues. I won four of them. And yeah, I'm pretty fired up. And, and there's one other that I'd like to talk about, but how did, how did you guys do?
Jamie
Made the finals in four of my leagues. Won three of the four. Let me tell you about the one that I didn't win though. Started the Colts DST0 on my bench. Eagles DST21 points. I lost by 20 to producer Jack. So if anybody out there complaining about the Colts DST and where I had them ranked, which was number one and you're complaining about it to me. I'm with you all the way. Huge whiff by me. Wish I had had the Eagles in my lineup, otherwise it would have been four for four.
Adam
Jamie, how'd you do?
Dave
I won seven of eight.
Adam
Seven of eight finals. Wow. That's.
Dave
29 redraft leagues. So not the best percentage but happy. I won our big, big office league which is, I think it's 22 teams now. So I was happy about that. Never won that one. Been in that one a long time.
Jamie
Yeah.
Dave
And won a dynasty league I joined last year. So I talked to the commissioner, saw him over the weekend and another guy in the league and he said oh, you're in the finals, you're in finals, huh? And I said yeah. And so then they, they turn to each other and go I, I told you not to let him in. I was, I was happy with that moment. And then all three father son leagues we won. So that was.
Adam
Wow. All right, that's.
Jamie
Is that really you that won those father son leagues or are we just.
Dave
Going to give credit the six year old one which is non ppr. We, we, we Jonathan Taylor our way through the final, you know, three games. Yes, he carried us and non PPR was huge. One without one in the game where Jalen Hurst got hurt. Had to replace Jalen Hurts with Bo Nix. So start of the week carried us to a victory. And the other, the other two, both of them, Trey McBride, huge games. They both drafted Trey McBride on my recommendation but they drafted him and my, my 10 year old Eli, ridiculous draft, 14 team league just loaded. And my, my 12 year old Ronan, he, he drafted and did most of it by himself.
Adam
That's.
Jamie
I'd also like to give a shout out to my son ryan who finished 42nd in the Scott fishbowl.
Dave
That's amazing.
Jamie
42Nd out of 4,000 whatever teams that's in the Fishbowl. Pretty proud of the kid. He was, he was pretty disappointed. Remember in the fishbowl, the final, there's 50 teams and only one team can win. It's whoever scores the most points plus has the highest average going in and he did better. I'm looking at the rankings now or the results, I should say. I don't know how many analysts were ahead of him. A couple were but he was ahead of some pretty heavy hitters that also made the finals. So proud of the kid.
Adam
Yeah, that's awesome. And you know what? There were on Sunday night, I thought I was going to go two and two. I'd like to Tell a little story. Here is going up against Heath in the podcast league. Heath, who changed his logo, his avatar in the podcast league to the final score of him whooping me in the championship two or three years ago. And you know what? I'm just going to tell you what happened. I'm going to put up a screenshot, and I wrote a little song about it. All right. So, Dave, did you bring your accordion by any chance?
Jamie
Yes, of course. I always have my accordion.
Adam
All right, well, here we go. Sing along if you'd like. When you need 33 to win in fantasy, that's Brock Purdy. When you're losing to Heath in the old podcast league, that's Brock Purdy. It's Debo, Garendo and Piersol. Yes, I know this song's nerdy. Interceptions almost cost me, but Heath is toast. That's Brock Purdy. Yes. I beat you, Heath. You thought you had it, but I Brock Purdied you and I win. All right, that's it. Let's get on.
Dave
You sacrificed Brock Purdy's elbow to win the game.
Adam
Yeah, I wasn't too disappointed when he left at the end. I feel bad saying that. And I gotta give a. A big shout out to the Lipkins on team Like a good neighbors who rode Malik neighbors and his 36.1 fantasy points to a win in the FFT Open. So the Lipkins win it? I think. Brothers, I'm not sure. Like a good neighbors. And that is out of the stamfold division. They are the FFT Open champions. That is freaking awesome. They had Jaden Daniels, Saquon Barkley, Jameer Gibbs, Malik Neighbors, Adam Thielen, John, and they survived a 1.5 point dud from Terry McLaurin to win the FFT Open. Very cool stuff. All right, thank you for. For indulging and let's get on with the show. We're going to talk waiver wire for week 18. We're going to play who has more. Yeah. At the end. Yeah, baby.
Jamie
And Jamie, didn't you think we were done with that game?
Dave
I was just hoping, but yeah, sure.
Adam
Shannon with the win. Yeah, we got some. Some winners here in. In the chat and we're displaying your comments, but. All right. And we're gonna really big story today is who's playing right. Who's playing in week 18. So the bills. Josh Allen is going to start and the Bill starters are probably not going to be in very long, especially Josh Allen. So don't start him.
Jamie
They did the same thing in 2019 by the way.
Adam
Every playoff spot has been determined, not necessarily the seed, but every playoff spot has been determined except for one. It's either going to be the Broncos if they beat the Chiefs, the Dolphins if they beat the jets and the Broncos lose, or the Bengals if they win against the Steelers on the road and the Broncos and Dolphins lose. So that's the only spot up for grabs. But seeds are up for grabs. The big game, of course, is Sunday night, Detroit hosting Minnesota for the one seed and the and the NFC north title. So don't start Josh Allen. The Steelers could be eliminated from the division if the Ravens win earlier in the day on Saturday, which they almost certainly will do against Cleveland. So the Steelers could have pretty much nothing to play for except for a seed the Patriots have.
Jamie
Well, hold on. Stop right there. Mike Tomlin already said the starters are playing. They. He wants to try and get the offense, like, functional and moving in the right direction. After three weeks of no direction.
Adam
Yeah.
Jamie
So I would expect to see the starters for Pittsburgh play at least three quarters.
Adam
Right.
Dave
And then that outcome for the Steelers could determine what the Chargers do.
Adam
Okay, how is that?
Dave
If the Chargers win and they want to, depending on how they approach it, they can get the five seat and.
Adam
The five seed you want because the five seed is going to be face.
Dave
If the Steelers win, then the Chargers, I believe, are locked into the six.
Adam
Okay. And the Chargers play on Sunday, whereas.
Dave
And then the Chargers have nothing to play for.
Adam
AFC north games are on Saturday. All right, so I was going to say Pittsburgh.
Dave
Yeah.
Adam
They're going to play their starters. We don't know if they're going to play for the full game. We don't know about the Patriots. They have the number one pick right now. They're facing the Bills. They could win that game. So we don't know about what they're going to do.
Jamie
Well, they should take a long look at Joe Milton, that quarterback is what they should do.
Adam
Yeah. The commanders say they're going to play their starters. They're at Dallas. The Texans want to play their starters. Again, we don't know how long they're going to do it. The Panthers are going to play their starters. You figure most of the teams that are eliminated are going to play their starters. Maybe not injured guys.
Dave
Right.
Adam
Did you see that?
Jamie
The Titans are going to use both quarterbacks.
Adam
Titans are going to use both quarterbacks. We don't know about their running backs right now. Both Pollard and Spears could play or could be out.
Dave
Spears looks like he's not going to play. Pollard looks like he is going to play.
Adam
They originally said Spears was out and then they changed their tune.
Dave
Right. But they're still, I think, a little.
Adam
Pessimistic on all healthy veterans will play for the Bears. I don't know what that means. Does that mean Caleb Williams is not playing there at Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers is going to start for the Jets? And what am I missing?
Dave
I mean, the packers, the Rams is the biggest one. So the Rams is the biggest unknown for us right now. So the track record for Sean McVay is to sit these guys in these spots. But they still have the opportunity if they want to, to try and get the three seed as opposed to being locked into the four seat. So if they win and the Bucks lose, they would be the three seed.
Adam
Three seed would be facing likely the.
Dave
Commanders, Commanders if they win. Otherwise, if the Commanders lose and the packers win, then they're playing the packers. So the 6 and the 7 is still undecided in the NFC.
Jamie
No one wants to be the 4 seed because then you're taking on the loser of the last game of the year between Minnesota and Detroit.
Dave
Right. So that could be incentive for the Rams to try and win. But Sean McVeigh was faced with the same situation in 2019, I believe.
Jamie
Oh, three times 20.
Dave
But the three, the three and the four. He was faced with this decision before, okay. And he decided to rest his guy. So the, the typical MO for him is to rest in the spot. And so three, four. He knows he's playing at home. I, I guess he's not going to necessarily approach it with a must win mentality. So that's the one. I think the, the Chargers, I think could be determined by what happens with the Steelers. So it's a little bit of up in the air. The rams, until Sean McVeigh says anything, we don't really know. You said the Texans, they're going to play the Steelers as of now, they're going to play Packers. The packers and the commanders as of now are going to play again. I think you said it best. We just don't know how long they're going to play these guys, you know, could be half, you know, could be the Dan Campbell mentality of just go out and play and see what, what happens. So there, there's, there's a lot to be determined here for anybody that's still playing for something. And obviously if there's some DFS interest, you know, you, you, you could either get really lucky or you can get really screwed by depending on how you view these guys. So as we'll talk about, the quarterbacks I think are easy to avoid. You know, in terms of the backups like you don't need to play Carson Wentz, you don't need to play Mr. Bisky, you don't need to play Jimmy Garoppolo if you don't want to. You can if you, you know, want to take some swings at fences, you know, just in terms of their situations. But you know, those guys are playing with some backup offensive linemen and some backup receivers. So it's very, very risky. The other situations I think are a little bit different, like the running backs I would trust a little bit more so than the quarterbacks. And some of the backups like Ray Davis could be a monster.
Adam
And yeah, we didn't mention but Baltimore, this is the good news. If you have Lamar Jack, if you have any Ravens, they are the first game of the week and if they win, they win the division. So you are going to get your Ravens. Now they may not get a lot of teams.
Dave
I mean, you're going to get, yeah, you're going to get the Ravens, you're going to get the Bengals, you're going to get the Broncos, you're going to get the Dolphins, hopefully to a place, you know, not that that really mattered for the skills players so much. I guess the Von Hn was bad. But you're going to get, you know, the most of the AFC teams are there are a lot of AFC playing because of the three teams competing for the seventh spot. And it sounds like most of the playoff teams in the NFC are playing aside from again the Rams.
Adam
Yeah. And the Broncos are going to be playing most likely against Chiefs backups. So that could be a very fruitful day for them. All right, if you have not voted for us, please do so. Go to sports podcast group.com and vote for fantasy football today. Go to sportspodcastgroup.com click vote now and then you'll find fantasy football today in the best fantasy betting and gaming podcast category. Also go to the Fantasy Football Today new fan shop powered by Shop Sense. This is a great time to do it right because you can get your trophies, your T shirts for your fantasy champions or your fantasy losers in your league. It's shop.cbssports.com fantasy shop.cbsports.com fantasy. You can also check the link in the episode description and there's trophies, T shirts, all the gear to make your league unforgettable. Shop.cbssports.com/fantasy Here are your news and notes. Anthony Richardson was experiencing back spasms last week. That's why he missed the game. Whoever's at quarterback for the Colts will be facing the Jaguars, which is pretty usually a pretty good matchup. Kenny Pickett's got the ribs injury. The Eagles have nothing to play for. So are we expecting Pickett to be the quarterback or or could they go with that third stringer as of now.
Dave
Pickett, but it could be Tanner McKee.
Adam
Yeah. Derek Carr has a chance to play well we'll have to see later in the week. Brock Purdy hurt his hand so he may not play this week against the Cardinals.
Jamie
Dealing with quote nerve stuff according to Kyle Shanahan. I and and Shannon had said after the game that his status is very much up in the air so I would expect we'll see a backup quarterback for San Francisco. Baby, let's go just revenge game. I I do think he also said after the game that Dobbs was the backup last night because they wanted to potentially use his mobility. So I don't know if that was an excuse and Dobbs really is the backup or if that was just a one off and Brandon Allen's going to be the quarterback, who the hell knows. But once, once they make it clear whoever that quarterback is, pretty interesting DFS.
Adam
Play TUA is questionable at the jets and the Titans are going to start both of their guys and Zach Jackson of the athletic reported that DeSean Watson is unlikely to play a meaningful down for the Cleveland Browns again. Well they can thank the Giants they now have a chance to draft a top two quarterback. Running back news James Conner is going to be questionable. Trey Benson also. That's definitely one to watch. There is the 49ers are struggling against the run lately. Chase Brown has not been ruled out. Seems a little unlikely with the High what was reported as maybe a high ankle sprain but he hasn't been ruled out at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Could be Khalil Herbert though. I mentioned both Titans running backs are going to be questionable. Amir Abdullah. Jamie had him in your waiver column. I haven't seen an update on the foot. Have you seen anything on Abdullah against the Chargers this week?
Dave
He is not listed on our injury report. He was talking to the media after the game so at this point I'm assuming he's going to play.
Adam
Aaron Jones has a good chance to play at Detroit. Kendry Miller's in the concussion protocol and Justice Hill will play for the Ravens. Wide receiver Mike McDaniel is optimistic about Jalen Waddle playing this week at the jets and Chris Olave has a chance to play this week and that's pretty much it for the news and notes. If you have not signed up for BETMGM yet, it's that's ti. Let's do it man. Got one more week of the regular season than the playoffs and obviously a lot of other sports going on. So if you haven't signed up for BetMGM, just use the bonus code Fantasy and you're gonna get up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Download the BetMGM app. Sign up using the bonus code Fantasy. Deposit at least ten dollars and place your first wager on any game and you'll receive up to fifteen hundred dollars in bonus bets. If your bet loses. Just make sure you use the bonus code Fantasy when you sign up all right, the quarterbacks to get on the waiver wire. Jamie, who are the best ones we're looking at this week?
Dave
Josh Dobbs would be number one just with the opportunity to start against the Cardinals and what he was able to do, as Dave mentioned as a member of the Cardinals last year and as a member of the Vikings. So he he played in 13 games. He scored 18.9 fantasy points in seven of the 13 appearances that he had. So we know he's going to do a lot with his legs. He scored a rushing touchdown when he came on for the Lions last night so he has borderline top 12 upside for me, especially with the guys who are sitting this week. Joe Flacco would be number two if he starts in place of Anthony Richardson. Again had over 30 fantasy points against the Jaguars in their first meeting and Jacksonville number two in most fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Number three currently is Michael Penix, but you can make a case for Bryce Young. But Pennix just gets such a great matchup against the Panthers and it's a must win game for the Falcons. So I like the upside for Pennix a little bit more than Young. Young is safer though. 20 or more fantasy points in three of his last five games.
Adam
All right, so the top three were Josh Dobbs at Arizona, Joe Flacco against the Jaguars and Michael Penix Jr. Against the Panthers with Bryce Young in there as well at Atlanta. Another good matchup. How about Drew Locke against the Eagles backups?
Dave
I don't know if it's going to be the Eagles backups and I'm not chasing Drew Lock's points against the Colts, so I don't even have Drew Lock ranked in my top 24.
Adam
I mean I'm Only doing that because I figured the Eagles, if they play their starters, it's not going to be for long. And the Eagles have nothing to play for except a Saquon Barkley rushing record. We don't know if he's going to play. That's a big storyline going into week 18, by the way.
Dave
Would you like a little bit of criminal. They didn't let him go break it.
Jamie
I agree. Unless he says, nah, it's fine, I don't want it. And then the team just moves forward that way. Because remember when he played the Giants earlier this year, he had a chance to get some sort of record against them.
Adam
It was his. It would have been his biggest rushing game of his career, I think. And he's like, nah, right?
Jamie
And he told the coaches, don't worry about it.
Dave
You know, he's saying all the right things. He's certainly saying all the right things. AJ Brown said he would love to be on the field for him while he breaks it so he can look back and say, I help my teammate get that record. You know, I mean, given how the Giants run defense has been at times this season and how Barkley should be able to run against them with that offensive line, it would be a surprise if he didn't take him maybe a half, maybe a little bit more than half to get it if he's going to get as much work as he did. And the fact that they gave him, I know it was to get him to 2,000 yards, but to give him 31 carries in a blowout victory against the Cowboys last week, like, why would you not just give him the chance to break?
Jamie
And in Devonte Smith's rookie year, the Eagles had a meaningless Week 18 game. Smith went out there, he only needed to catch like four passes for a low number of yardage to break DeSean Jackson's franchise rookie records. And Sirianni let him do it. Then once he broke the records, he was out of the game. So there's precedents here where the Eagles have let players play to get records in a meaningless game.
Adam
He needs 101 yards Saquon Barkley. So he. I don't. I mean, I know that he could do that, but I don't know that he can do that in a half. That's. That's a lot, but we'll see. All right, so back to the quarterbacks here.
Dave
Jonathan Taylor, against the Titans, had 88 yards in the first quarter. So it's not like. It's crazy.
Adam
It's not crazy, but it's Also not crazy to think that he won't rush for 101 yards in the first half. All right, so back to the quarterbacks here again, it's Dobbs. Dobbs at Arizona. Flacco against the Jaguars, Penix against the Panthers. Bryce Young at Atlanta. Drake May's a little risky, but he. If he does start and finish, he's going to be facing Buffalo. Backups. Kenny Pickett could probably torch the Giants. Tyler Huntley had a good game, but that's tough to trust. You don't like Drew Lock, then there's guys that maybe like Aaron Rodgers. I think we're probably done with him at this point.
Dave
I mean, after what happened last week, it wouldn't be surprising, especially with what he said, that he took himself out of the game. Like, if they're behind, does he just say, let Tyrod finish it out?
Adam
He probably wants that 500th touchdown, but.
Dave
I'm sure he does. I'm sure he also doesn't want to be booed out of his own stadium for what might be his last game with the Jets.
Adam
I don't get the sense that he cares. Yeah. How do you feel about, like, Caleb Williams and Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, Anthony Richardson, the shallow league guys.
Dave
Who are the guys you said? Caleb Williams.
Adam
Caleb Williams. Russell Wilson against the Bengals. Geno Smith at the Rams. Anthony Richardson against the Jaguars if he starts.
Dave
So Richardson I would like a lot if he starts. I like Russell Wilson against the Bengals a lot, given the matchup and the fact that they're going to play. He scored over 30 fantasy points against them the last time. And Gino, I think, has some pretty big incentives to reach if he puts up some numbers here. So against Rams backups, I like all three of the guys not named Caleb Williams as top 12 quarterbacks this week. If Richardson plays.
Adam
Okay. Dave, anything to add on the quarterbacks?
Jamie
No. With Geno against the Rams, if the Rams are going to rest their guys, then it just makes the matchup easier. Could be just an absolute smash spot for Seattle.
Adam
All right, let's take a break. We'll come back and we'll talk about the best running backs. Actually, pretty. Pretty darn interesting group of running backs to get this week off the waiver wire. We'll be right back. On fantasy football.
Jamie
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Adam
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Jamie
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Adam
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Jamie
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Adam
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Dave
So here's what Geno Smith needs, if you want to know. $2 million if he surpasses his career high in passing yards, passing touchdowns completion percentage, passer rating and either 10 wins or a playoff berth, he's not gonna get the playoff birth. But he gets. He has a chance to get $6 million on three incentives.
Adam
So yeah, so he could definitely passing.
Dave
Yards for his career high. One more win to get to 10 wins and he's over 70 completion percentage right now. So I'm gonna guess he has a chance for a pretty big game here.
Adam
Oh man, his career high completion percentage is 69.8. Right now he's at 70.2. He should definitely get the yard dink and dunk.
Dave
JSN may get ready for about 50.
Adam
That's really funny. All right, to the running backs. If you can get J.K. dobbins in shallow leagues, Jalen, Warren, Amir, Abdullah, two of those guys, we don't know how much they're going to play, but we, you know, again, we could know the Chargers incentives based on what the Steelers do on Saturday as Jamie laid out earlier. But Abdullah against the Chargers could be good and he's 70 rostered. But the guys who might who haven't been picked up recently. Maybe Ray Davis and Ty Johnson. Ray Davis being your number one guy, Jamie? Yeah.
Dave
You know, I always group the the guys together so we could see a little bit of both. I would, I would hope what Ray Davis did the last time he got a chance to start the one game James Cook missed, it was over 20 PPR points for Davis. So there's that potential again. But he's playing with backups and backup offensive linemen, so just keep that in mind. But so could the Patriots, right?
Adam
And we don't know that he would get all the work. I mean, they might be like, he's our number two guy. We don't want to get him hurt. But Khalil Herbert, how do you think he'll do at Pittsburgh?
Dave
And he didn't look bad when he came on at the end for the Bengals. And we know this spot has been fairly successful for running backs. I would go back to probably look at what Zach Moss was doing as opposed to what Chase Brown is doing, because I don't think Will Herbert's as explosive. So you are talking about maybe a low end number two running back. But you know, when we start to get into who's missing and offense that you play for and all those things, like Khalil Herbert, you know, sort of pushes his way near the top.
Adam
And then the third kind of replacement running back this week is Michael Carter. Or you could throw Trey Benson in there. So Dave, Jamie goes Ray Davis, Khalil Herbert, Michael Carter slash, Trey Benson. How do you see those three backfields?
Jamie
I go Herbert first. Just. I know that there's a chance that Chase Brown could play, but if he's diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, I'd be shocked if he plays. And if he does play, he'd probably split reps anyway. The Steel. This doesn't sound like the Steelers. They've allowed 17 or more PPR points to nine of the past 13 to a running back in nine of the past 13 games. Chiefs had a rush touchdown last week, but they were splitting so much, there wasn't one player that really had a shot to get 17 plus PPR points. I would imagine that Khalil Herbert would have a very good opportunity. And again, if. If the Ravens win earlier in the day, what Mike Tomlin talked about was getting the offense going. The defense needs to get going too, but he could pull starters in the second half if he wanted to. And the Bengals can just go and use Khalil Herbert to wind down the season. Could end up having A very good day. So I would take him first and I think I would take Michael Carter second. I'd be shocked if James Conner played after he left each of the past two games. Why play in a meaningless game? I know players play, but just doesn't make sense for a guy that old to go and play without anything on the line. Just start wrestling up for next year. Davis would be third.
Adam
Okay, other guys, and I'll give you one more name.
Jamie
Like if. If we think the Rams are going to sit their guys, Blake Corum is going to get a huge opportunity and that's somebody who could end up being pretty potentially good. And again, these are Ray Davis and Corm especially. We don't know how much they're going to play. We think there will be an opportunity for these rookies to play. They're probably better guys to throw a dart on in a GPP rather than in a Week 18 championship game.
Adam
Yeah, I'm pretty intrigued by Jaleel McLaughlin, who's next on Jamie's list after those three replacement situations in Buffalo, Cincinnati and Arizona. You heard a different order for Dave, but Jalil McLaughlin against what we expect would be Chiefs backups, Antonio Gibson against Bill's backups.
Dave
And yeah, it's just a question of who's going to be the starter there for the Patriots, you know what or who's gonna get the majority of touches. Starter should not matter at this point after what happened last week, but right, who's going to be the lead running back? Did Gibson do enough and has, you know, Stevenson put himself in the doghouse enough that he's. He's done as the lead guy. So right now I still have Stevenson ranked high back to back as Flexis. If we find out Gibson is going to be the lead running back, then he'll be a borderline number two running back for me.
Adam
Someone's asking about the NFC south and basically Bucks are in with a win and the Falcons are in with a win and a Bucks loss. So that's what we're.
Jamie
So they're technically alive.
Adam
Yeah. And Tampa is playing New Orleans at home and Atlanta is playing Carolina at home. So it looks good for Tampa Bay. And then that overtime game, Atlanta had had everything in their grasp because they had controlled their own destiny. If they had beaten the Commanders and they kind of let that one slip away. Other running backs could look at Clyde Edwards, Elaire, he's the Saints running back now he's at Tampa Bay. Not a good matchup. Bucks have been dominant against the run lately. Carson Steele and Samaj P. Ryan for the Chiefs. It's funny. Deontay Foreman. It just looks like he's probably gonna be the start. We don't know about Jerome Ford, but Ford was not. He didn't make it through the game, and he just. It's just a terrible matchup for Deontay Foreman against the Ravens, who need to win. And then Justice Hill is back. The Browns have not allowed more than 25 receiving yards to a running back since week seven. It's one thing that they're doing well. The Panthers running backs there was a mess last week, but Miles Sanders could be back. Raheem Blackshear, they're at Atlanta. Kenneth Gainwell, maybe. Maybe the. Maybe the Eagles can sign Boston Scott for this game. Kenneth Gainwell against the Giants. Emmanuel Wilson against the Bears. Again, we don't know what the packers are going to do with their starters and Chris Rodriguez Jr. For the Commanders at Dallas. So I just want to go through the NFC scenarios one more time with the seating here. So the packers are the seven, but they could be the six, Right? Okay. They can't be the five. The five will be the loser of the Sunday night game.
Dave
Correct.
Adam
The one will be the winner. The two seed is the Eagles, no matter what happens Sunday. And then the 3, 4 is either going to be the. So if the Rams win, they're the three seed, which is what they want to be. They want to face the six, not the five. They don't want to face the Vikings or the Lions. And if the Rams lose and the Bucks win, then the Bucks are the three and the Rams are the four.
Dave
Correct.
Adam
But there's no scenario where the Falcons. The Falcons are two games back of the Rams. So the Rams.
Dave
If the Bucks lose, the Rams are the three. Okay.
Adam
And what time are those games? Rams are at four.
Jamie
Yeah, they're both going to be it. The Rams are definitely at four.
Adam
The Bucks are at one. So that's interesting. Right. So if the Bucks somehow lose to this, to the Saints, then the Rams are locked in.
Jamie
Yeah, Rams are locked.
Dave
Right. So if the Rams are waiting out the outcome, that could determine what they do as well. So if the Bucks win and they're preparing to play, then they may play.
Adam
Yeah. Well, I think the Bucks are going to win.
Dave
I think the Bucks are going to.
Adam
Win, too, wide receiver.
Dave
It gets a little more interesting if Car and a lot and Kamara play.
Adam
It's 100. 100 true. Right? Yeah, that'd be so interesting. Wide receivers. Oh, man. Are the Falcons fans rooting for that they are rooting for that. The trio. It's funny to have a starting.
Dave
Reportedly sent all their Toradol to New Orleans.
Jamie
All right, do they have Marshawn Lattimore back for one game?
Adam
Yeah. Right. Can. Can Mike Evans have a good game against the Saints? Because he. Even in the games that Lattimore's missed, he hasn't been good.
Jamie
Yeah.
Dave
I'm writing the. The all fantasy teams, all rookie team, all bus team once the season's over. And I started putting the list together yesterday and I was like, it's really hard to keep Mike Evans off the list despite the fact that he missed time. And same Puka. Like, their points per game are so good. So.
Adam
Yeah.
Dave
Including how they do one more game, at least for Evans. Puka may not play, but they're not on the. The first team. But they. They Both made the 13.
Jamie
Yeah. And you know, Evans is getting at least 85 yards.
Adam
That's right. Oh, yeah. Big time. All right, Check to see if Michael Pittman. I'm gonna throw Josh Downs in there. I know we had a bad week.
Dave
But I think he's rostering to me, Lisa.
Adam
Okay. I thought he was rostering about the same amount of leagues as Michael Pittman. This is the shallow league talk.
Jamie
Where's Pierce at on this list?
Dave
I didn't put Pierce on the list. I should have.
Jamie
Yeah, he belongs.
Adam
Just for fun, would you rather have Downs or Pittman this week?
Dave
Pittman.
Jamie
Pittman. I might rather have Pierce, too. Joe Flacco is in full blown YOLO mode, and it's part of the reason why he had the turnovers that he had against the Giants. He's just chucking up balls deep to wide receivers downfield. That sounded a little funny. Sorry about that. But he's. He's letting his big guys go up and catch 50, 50 balls. And with Pitman and Pierce, those are like 55, 45, 60, 40. And then he also had good accuracy on slants and outs and stuff like that. So not the most consistent game for Joe Flacco, obviously, but he's just. He's willing to air it out.
Adam
Yeah. Jalen McMillan would be the prize here if you could.
Jamie
Still, he's still going to be on a waiver.
Adam
He's probably not, but he's 71 rostered. And Romeo Dobbs had 11 targets last week with Christian Watson out at Minnesota. But again, we don't know what the packers are going to do. So the guys who are rostered in fewer than 65% of leagues. Chris Olave Has Tampa Bay on the road. Olamide Zacchaeus, two straight games with 23.3 to, to 24.4ppr fantasy points. He's at Dallas again. Don't know what they're gonna do. Marvin Mims at Kansas City. They need to play. He will definitely be playing. And that's really, I mean, those are the exciting ones, I guess. You know, you got like Rashad Bateman, Don Tavian Wicks, Ricky Pierce, all Jalen Naylor, Wanda Robinson is actually pretty easy. Pretty interesting because I, I do think the Eagles are not going to have their guys in their starters in for the entire game. Brandon Cooks, Xavier Legate. But let's talk about the top ones. Jamie Olave, Zakias Mims. Thoughts?
Dave
I mean, obviously Olave's got the most potential, most upside if he plays, especially if Car does return. So it's a matter of, you know, how much you're willing to trust him coming back from the concussion. But you would expect them to be throwing a lot and he would be my, my favorite in terms of upside. Zakiyas clearly has, you know, stepped into the Noah Brown role and done much better than Noah Brown with what he's done the last two games. You hope it's not just the revenge game factor and they weren't giving him targets because clearly they needed to win those two games and he was a big part of it. My gosh, Jane Daniels was leaning on him early in that game. Should have had another touchdown. It's funny, when he, when he had the touchdown that was taken back from a holding call. Actually texted you. I walked out of the room. I didn't realize it was, it was holding call when I was like, oh, another game. Good game for Zacchaeus. And I walked back and I was like, why is the score change? I was like, oh, holding. But yeah, he's, he's been, he's been fantastic. I think, you know, you just look at some of the opportunities for these guys and, and what they're looking at, you know, Mims is a little tougher to trust, but just coming off the game that he had, like, how do you put that back in the box after what he did, you know, catching all of his targets and Bonex leaning on him and they're giving him some, some opportunities in the backfield too. You know, whether that continues or not remains to be seen. And as Dave said, Alec Pierce should be in this group too. You know, just based on what his downfield plays can be. And even for Richardson, you know, I mean, this has Been sort of Richardson's guy as well, you know, in terms of, you know, looking for him and the matchup against Jacksonville. So, you know, enticing, especially if they decide to throw the ball up.
Jamie
Sorry, Adam. I wouldn't be as excited in Pierce if Richardson plays. This is a Flacco thing.
Dave
No, I would agree, but it's still a great matchup. And, you know, this is what Richardson does. You know, it's. It's a lot of when he's throwing, he's taking shots, and they may allow him to do even more of that.
Adam
Shots, shots, shot, shot, shot. Yeah. All right. Any other thoughts? Dave Lave, Zakias Mims Bateman, Wicks Pearsall Naylor, Alec Pierce, Wando Robinson. Oh, the Cowboys receivers. I think I skipped them.
Dave
Yeah.
Jamie
Brandon Cooks is interesting. I believe he had eight targets on on Sunday, so that's not bad. He's probably the best Dallas wide receiver that you could start. If the Rams rest their guys, this is going to be, again, more GPP focused than anything else. But Jordan Whittington could take over in the slot for Cooper Cup. I. I think he might be the future of the slot for la. So not only a guy you could stash and keeper leagues, dynasty leagues, all that stuff, but someone who could be fairly useful. I would still start guys like Pierce, Mims Akias way ahead of Whittington, but just another guy. He and Tutu Atwell might be the best options for the Rams as far as the passing game goes if they rest guys and Garoppolo might start. And Garoppolo might view this as an opportunity to showcase himself, can try and do what Darnold did last year.
Adam
He's going to be the Giant, maybe.
Jamie
End up as a starter somewhere.
Adam
He's going to be the Giants quarterback next year. I just. It's inevitable.
Dave
I. I don't want to gloss over Jalen Naylor just because what we saw last Night was the third receiver for the 49ers having a big day in Ricky Piersol. And we know the secondary is an absolute joke right now for the Lions. So with how this game could go, and you just saw what a game plan was to try and take away, which didn't work in the entire game, to try and make things tough on Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and Sam Darnold was not afraid to go to Naylor. So in a game that's expected to be north of 50 points, all Minnesota's guys are at play here.
Adam
Schaefer, can you come on the show can we get a little Shaffer here? Well, Minnesota Schaefer, who do you think is going to win?
Jamie
Unmute yourself. There you go.
Adam
Oh, the Vikings are gonna win. Oh, I agree. If the spread. If the spread was like four and a half, I would say the lines, but it's too close of a spread. Vikings are gonna take it. What is the spread? Two and a half. Who the Lions are. The. Yeah, Lions. Oh, wow. That is exciting. I. I definitely underestimated the Vikings. They are def. They are better than I thought. They are legit. They are really good.
Dave
This. This is. This is the game where Darnold. If he Darnolds, it's gonna happen.
Adam
I don't think he's gonna. Darnold.
Dave
I don't think he is either. But if it's gonna happen, this is the game. Because, like, last week, everything is. I mean, he had a bad throw. You know, he nearly cost the game.
Adam
He'll make a mistake. Yeah, he'll make a mistake, but not. Hopefully not more than one. Man, that's. It's just a shame for the Lions. Like, I don't know why. I just have a soft spot and my heart for them and their defense. Just.
Dave
Thomas doesn't.
Adam
Yeah, I know. We don't have a Super bowl either. The Bills don't have a Super Bowl. There's a lot of teams that don't have Super Bowls. I don't know what it is. Yeah, I don't care about that. Yeah, I don't care about the Vikings. Like, whatever. I was a Vikings fan a few years ago, if you recall. Wish I had stuck with that. I don't remember that. I remember you being a Jags fan.
Jamie
Oh, he's been a Jaguars fan, a Vikings fan, an Eagles fan.
Adam
Can I say anything to keep from.
Dave
Acting the worst is when he was an Eagles fan, like, as a Giants fan his whole life, being an Eagles fan. That was the worst.
Jamie
Yeah. I mean, why not root for the Cowboys next?
Adam
I was thinking about calls that I've made because people love to kill me for. For all my causes. Like the Lamar Jackson MVP thing.
Dave
I.
Adam
A few years ago or the year before they got Trevor Lawrence, I said the Jaguars were going to go oh and 16. Do you remember that? I was convinced. Do you remember what happened? They won week one and I got to see and they went one in 15. I just. I don't know what I thought about that, but I'll always love the Jaguars for that. All right, we're gonna take a break, come back and talk about tight ends. Is it going to be Okonkwo again getting you to a Week 18 championship? We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today, Future you faces some big expectations. Work out more, go to bed earlier and most importantly, make smart money decisions. Thankfully today you has bank of America one place with tools and guidance to help balance tasks from budgeting to saving. So you can just be you with big plans. Do more with the bank that asks what would you like the power to do? Explore our tips and more@bankofamerica.com futureyou.
Jamie
Hey CBS Sports podcast listeners, are you looking.
Adam
For the best sportsbook promos and reviews? Search for CBS Sports Betting to find the latest including betting tips and trends.
Jamie
Again, just search CBS Sports Betting in.
Adam
Your browser and you'll have everything you.
Jamie
Need to know before you bet.
Adam
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Dave
First because they may have two quarterbacks and one doesn't seem to like his tight end as much as the other one does. So I, I, I if honestly like the tired Titans passing game, I would like to avoid if they're going to play both guys.
Adam
Interesting. All right, so you'd rather have Kasicki.
Dave
So yeah, I take a little bit of a different take than than Dave has. I do agree that Khalil Herbert should be added but this run game could be terrible for Cincinnati if the Steelers do play their guys and the defense holds up and that's kind of what we saw, that they couldn't run the ball against Denver very well and Kaseki had a big game. Obviously the receivers were trying to they were trying to take away the receiver. So you saw Kaseki involved in the in the short passing game, but I think that could happen again. So when there's a mess with those guys at the bottom, like the game he just had and how successful he was, I wouldn't be surprised if he's their run game, essentially.
Jamie
Yeah. You'll see in the stats that the Steelers have allowed some pretty big numbers of tight ends over their last four games, but it's all big name tight ends. Or at least in the case of the Ravens, they had two guys. It was Andrews and Isaiah likely had a touchdown. I don't know if I can put Kasiki in the same box as those guys and I'm a little bit nervous about trusting Gasicki to have the exact same type of target volume that he had. He's close. I think he is going to be a top 12 tight end for me this week, but I might rather go Okonko even with the quarterback snafu in Tennessee.
Adam
All right, so Jamie's top four. Well, first of all, you can look for Kyle Pitts or Hunter Henry. Pitts would be pretty interesting. He only had five.
Dave
Don't forget the Texans are getting healthy on defense and they want to show that they actually can play football again.
Adam
Yeah. And. And that would be Okonkwo's matchup. Yeah. So you could look for Pitts or Henry, but the top four that are not rostered in a lot of leagues are Gasicki, for Jamie, Dalton, Schultz, Juwan Johnson and Chigo Conquo Dave, how would you rank it?
Jamie
It's going to be Okonkwo. This is how I have it now in ppr. Okonkwo, Schultz, Gasecki and Juwan Johnson's dead last.
Adam
Okay, so you just have more faith in Okonkwo regardless of the quarterback situation.
Jamie
I mean, the co. The coach who's also the play caller really went out of his way to. To compliment Okonkwo after I guess it was Monday that he did it. And this is. If they don't have a run game, this is their plan B is to just throw short passes to Okonkwo.
Adam
Okay. And do you like Kyle Pitts better than your favorite waiver wire tight end?
Dave
No, I like these guys all better than Pitts, maybe better than Juwan Johnson. Johnson's going to kind of hedge on what's happening with the Saints receivers, but he had a nice game against the Raiders.
Adam
What about Hunter Henry versus your favorite waiver wire guy?
Dave
Henry is behind Gaseki and behind Okonkwo and behind. He's like right there. I mean they're all Pine Schultz. They're all like top 12 guys.
Adam
Why is Dave wearing a Michael Pittman shirt? Who has a Michael Pittman shirt?
Jamie
This was my Halloween costume and Pittman just had a great game on Sunday. So.
Adam
Okay.
Jamie
It's also laundry day at the Richard House dsts.
Adam
The Seahawks are at the Rams. This could definitely be dependent on the situation here. The Texans are at the Titans. They're getting Aziz Al Shire back. You know, I I already sang my one song for the day. But I also just so everybody knows, I wrote a song in the tune of Hot to Go about Henry too. Too Henry T O O T O O and it had to do with Aziza Shire. But I'm not going to sing that one. I decided now the Commanders at Dallas that could be a good one. This this is kind of a weird week.
Dave
I mean a lot of the DSTs are rostered, but you may find some on waivers that are just check our rankings. The there's some really good matchups and kicker streamers.
Adam
Will Lutz against the Chiefs. Zane Gonzalez at Dallas. Will Rikerd at Detroit. I like Will Rikert a lot. I mean he's good. Gonna be a high scoring game indoors.
Jamie
Two field goals.
Adam
Did he. Weren't they long though?
Dave
He doing one? He might have missed two. It's funny because like you see what what happened with Jake Moody last night. The Lions are, you know, statistically one of the better teams against opposing kickers, but that's just no, there's no way to qualify that.
Jamie
He made a 25 yarder and a 50 yarder. He missed one from 57. He missed one from 43.
Adam
He still, he scored double digit points in three.
Jamie
Oh yeah. I mean it's going to be a high scoring game. Lots of opportunities. Rikert should at least hit two field goals and get like three extra points.
Adam
I promised people some 2024 talk on every show this week and I sort of forgot about that for this episode.
Dave
But we've been doing 2024 talk the entire time.
Jamie
Yeah, man, we've, we've really come through on that promise for like the last 300.
Adam
2025 talk. Someone asked in the chat, who are your top three overall players for 2025?
Jamie
I honestly, I, I have not thought about it yet. I've been so locked into the season.
Dave
Jamar Chase, Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson in some order.
Adam
Interesting. Definitely Bijan up there for me. Barkley not sure, not sure about top three. Like.
Jamie
Probably top of your head. Who would you put up there against Saquon?
Dave
Jefferson is fourth.
Adam
Jefferson's really interesting. I think, I think, oh boy. That Nico Collins is not going to be a top three pick. But there's a going to be a great case to be made for Nico Collins because I don't think Diggs is going to be back and I don't care if he is like Nico Collins has a chance to have number one wide receiver overall production. I don't know why he slumped so much at the end. Just Stroud's been so bad. But like they upgrade their offensive liner and yes, look, I think Jamie's three makes sense but Barkley's kind of old to be a number one running back.
Dave
And I would have B zone over.
Adam
Barkley and he doesn't catch that many passes either. So it's like I know he had an amazing year but he's definitely top five. I don't know if he's top three. Chase. Chase is also interesting because he never has been able to do this with Higgins on the field, but I don't see how you can deny it.
Dave
Well, Higgins may be gone.
Adam
Yeah. If Higgins is really the.
Dave
The concern is is Chase gonna have a contract situation that we're bothered by this.
Jamie
Right. And then he's holding out and he's not in training camp and it's kind of like the CD Lamb situation all over again. Might you be interested in a list of the nine players non quarterbacks that average 19 + PPR points per game to help you figure out who should be top three?
Adam
Top five nine who? Nine quarterbacks.
Jamie
Players that averaged at least 19.
Dave
Two you could throw out. Puka's not going to be one and Kamara is not going to be one.
Jamie
Puko isn't on the list and neither is Camara.
Dave
So here, here over 19 points.
Jamie
They did not. They were very close. Amun Ra Saint Brown, who's going to be a first rounder but probably not top three. Derrick Henry not going to be a first rounder, not going to be top three. Jefferson definitely in the conversation. T. Higgins definitely not because who the hell knows where he's going to play. Bijan definitely is. Godwin definitely not. Jameer Gibbs.
Adam
Yeah.
Jamie
Adam, you're going to make your shame case for him like you did last year that he's going to share too much and then he can't possibly do it. And I think it's important to look at what his average is. His average with with David Montgomery isn't going to be 19.8. That's what he's at right now. And then the other two are Saquon and Chase. So I think a top three, some order of Chase, Bijan, Saquon is probably going to be where we settle in.
Adam
Full ppr. I think it's, I think it's justifiable to go with Justin Jefferson. And honestly, I mean, I think people will come around to the idea of Nico Collins. It's going to sound crazy at first, but to put him ahead of Saquon Barkley because how many cat does Barkley have? 40 catches.
Dave
He has 43 targets and 33 receptions.
Adam
Yeah, that's not, I mean 43 targets is. No, it's not enough. It's not enough. You've got to have like a, a special, special year to be that good. And he is having it, but I don't know that he'll have it again when he's going to be with 28. 28's not that old. I mean, maybe I should just get over that.
Dave
Well, it's also going to depend on how far of a playoff run they have because then it's just additional touches for him.
Adam
Yeah.
Dave
You know, coming off the year that he's having with 345, which is, you know, pretty close to the number that we hate. We'll see how many, how many touches he has.
Adam
Yeah. Mr. Papinski says HN is going to be a fun discussion. Does he enter this conversation?
Dave
No, no. He's not in the top three.
Jamie
No, no top three. But he's a first rounder and Jameer with, with Montgomery this year it's 14 weeks, 13 games, 18.2 in terms of.
Dave
Jefferson, I mean clearly the quarterback situation is going to determine it because if they move on from Donald and it's McCarthy, he's not going to pass Chase and be a top, the top receiver.
Adam
Okay. Honestly, receiver. I mean you could see so many guys finishing his wide receiver one next year, including Brian Thomas Jr. It's probably going to be hard from the one, but so good. Malik, Neighbors, Puka, Puka. Why couldn't Puka. Why not Puka Nakua? There's no reason, especially if Cup's not back and cup looks like nothing right now. I, I don't know why Pukinakua can't be a top three pick. I, I think he could definitely.
Dave
He certainly, I mean, again, you know, if it's going to be wide receiver heavy, I think the thing that we're going to see is that all these running backs did so well this year that we're going to get a little bit of a pushback toward that position. And you know, one thing that we've had some discussions during the year, I know talking to Robert Turban about it, for example, you see more Bell Cow running backs this year, you know, and that's been awesome. You know, we haven't seen as many two, two back situations, tandem situations where the, the second guy has been taking as much work from the first guy. I mean, you know, you, you. We've, we've been really lucky with that. So will that continue? You know, if that's the trend that the NFL is, is moving toward, you know, and so I don't see, you know, the way that defenses are playing where they're taking away big plays from all these, you know, passing games. That, that's why we've seen a shift toward running backs and the fact that the free agent class was as successful as it was. I mean, Joe Mixon was having a monster season before he tailed off toward the end, you know, just in terms of his, his production. Camaro was having a monster season before he tailed off, you know, in terms of how he's operating. Not that he changed teams, right. But Derek Henry and St John Barkley and, and Josh Jacobs and all these guys that sign contracts and all delivered. Really, the only one that didn't was DeAndre Swift, like in terms of the, the high end guys, you know, I mean, Zach Moss was Zach Moss, but you know, in terms of like the guys that signed, you know, somewhat big deals, they all were successful.
Jamie
Back to Nakua when he came back in week eight, through the rest of the season, and this includes week nine, remember, he did not play either. I think he got hurt in week nine and then he got it, huh?
Dave
He got ejected.
Jamie
Oh, that's right. He got ejected from week nine. Including that game, he averaged 19.8 PPR points per game. Absolutely. In the conversation to be a top five pick.
Adam
Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm just doing a little bit of math. Oh, wow. Jamar Chase averaged 27.4 fantasy points per game in his last eight games. That's basically what CD Lamb did down in that big stretch last year. And, and chase Brown averaged 20.6 fantasy points per game in those eight games. That was the start of the Chase Brown error. That was after the Zach Moss injury. All right. Last.
Jamie
Some of those games were without T. Higgins, too.
Adam
I don't know if any of them were without C. Higgins.
Jamie
How many within the last eight games?
Adam
Yeah, how many did he miss starting with Las Vegas. He missed two of them first two. And Chase had a 55 point game in one of them. Okay, who, let's play to finish off our Tuesday show. Who has more operations?
Dave
Right?
Adam
Haven't seen who has more. We've been playing it on CBS Sports Network on every Tuesday. I asked Dave and Jamie a question. They give me an answer. So who has more fantasy points per game in full PPR this year? Justin Jefferson or T. Higgins?
Dave
T. Higgins points per game, huh? Jefferson.
Adam
It is T. Higgins by 0.2 fantasy points per game.
Jamie
I was just looking at that when I was going over the players that had at least 19 PPR points per game. So that was a, that was a layup for me. Thank you, host Acer.
Adam
You're welcome. And in my, my home league, my softball league last night, the Jameer Gibbs touchdown with about two and a half minutes left gave one of my friends a win by 0.12 fantasy points. He needed every yard of that.
Jamie
So much of that going around this year, it's crazy.
Dave
Something similar to one of my buddies. He texts me because I just lost on that.
Adam
Oh yeah, it was brutal. I, I think I may have won the flex league on that. On that, right? Maybe not, but close touchdowns. Who has more touchdowns, Jamar Chase or the New England Patriots?
Dave
I'll take Chase.
Jamie
Yeah, I, I'll, I'll say the Patriots.
Adam
It is the Patriots, 17 to 16. Jamar Chase does have more touchdowns than the New York Giants though. 16 to 14. Who has more fantasy points per game in six point per passing touchdown leagues in the fantasy playoffs the last three weeks? Jaden Daniels or Jared Goff? Who was the number one quarterback?
Dave
Daniels.
Jamie
I will say golf.
Adam
Dave is on fire. He's up three nothing. It is Jared Goff, 38.1 to 36.6. Who has more PPR fantasy points per game in the fantasy playoffs? Brian Thomas Jr. Or Malik neighbors?
Jamie
I'll say Brian Thomas Jr.
Dave
I'll say neighbors.
Adam
It is Brian Thomas Jr. Dave with a sweep. Dave's already locked this up for nothing. Brian Thomas Jr. Was the number one wide receiver in fantasy during the playoffs. He was followed by T. Higgins, Mike Evans. I'm on Ross St. Brown and Malik Neighbors.
Jamie
Is he a first rounder?
Adam
I think so.
Jamie
I think so too.
Dave
Again, got to see who the coaches.
Adam
Who has more.
Jamie
It's who we think it's gonna be. I'm gonna be very excited about.
Dave
I don't think it will be Ben Johnson. If Trent Balki's still there, then fire Trent Balky.
Jamie
And let's bring on Ben Johnson.
Adam
Who has more PPR fantasy points per game in the fantasy playoffs? Amir Abdullah or Saquon Barkley?
Jamie
No, I. Oh, I'll say Barkley. I, I. Honestly, this isn't just to, you know, do a bit. I'm taking Abdullah.
Adam
It is Amir Abdullah by 5/10 of a point. 18.18.4.
Jamie
It's unbelievable.
Adam
Who has more total touchdowns this season? Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or Joe Burrow?
Dave
Burrow.
Jamie
Yeah, I think it's Burrow.
Adam
It is Joe Burrow. 44 for Burrow, 43 for Jackson, 40 for Allen. And there's another quarterback who actually has more than Allen.
Dave
More touchdowns than Allen.
Adam
Yeah.
Dave
Is it golf? No, Baker.
Adam
BAKER Mayfield has 42 touchdowns this year. Unbelievable. Who has more championships, Joe Montana or Tony Kukoc?
Dave
That is that.
Jamie
Well, hold on.
Adam
Wait.
Jamie
Are you including any, like, European league?
Adam
Just American, strictly NBA championships versus Cookie Montana.
Jamie
Don't they have the same.
Adam
They do not have the same.
Jamie
Oh, then it's Montana, I think. Oh, I think it's Montana.
Adam
It's Montana. Four to three. Good job, guys. I was trying to find, like, LeBron has four. How many does LeBron have?
Dave
No, he has more than Ron has. One with the Lakers, two with the Heat, one with the Caps.
Adam
He's four. Yeah.
Jamie
And Cuco just has the three with the Bulls, right?
Adam
Yeah, three for him. Montana with four.
Jamie
You would know. You would think that I would know that, Adam.
Dave
I was trying to think if CU coach, like, signed somewhere else and, like, won a championship.
Jamie
I don't think, I don't think he ever. Did he play with anybody else?
Adam
I don't know, but I just looked on Wikipedia. Like, most championships, Cuco.
Jamie
I do. I think he played with Bucks.
Adam
Bill Russell has 11. I think Yogi Berra has 10. I don't know if anyone in football has anything close to that. But Brady's got. Yeah, Brady has the most seven. Like, I know he had the most Super Bowls. I, but I forgot, like, even before super bowl era, I think Brady still has the most.
Dave
How many does Robert Ori have?
Jamie
Doesn't he have like eight or something?
Dave
I think it's six.
Adam
Robert Ori rings. He has seven.
Dave
Seven.
Adam
Two with Houston, three with the Lakers, two with the Spurs.
Jamie
Oh, man. Kukoc played with the Sixers, the Hawks and the Bucks.
Adam
That's as many teams. Oh, that's almost as many teams.
Jamie
I don't even know if I can pronounce this team the first pro team that he was with. I'll put it in the chat. Jamie, feel free to try and pronounce that one.
Adam
Oh, Hugo Plastica. Yeah, there you go. Sure. Well, congratulations folks and we'll talk to you tomorrow with tough calls for Week 18 and some more 2025 rankings. See you later. Paramount podcasts. French Montana has been named the most streamed African born artist.
Dave
Now streaming on Paramount.
Adam
I'm a real immigrant fresher off the boat. I just remember my, my mother working two, three jobs. I was like, I gotta do something. Hit the streets.
Dave
Witness the unforgettable story of an icon's rise.
Adam
I had this idea in French as.
Jamie
Untouchable mob boss and then he turned into an artist.
Adam
His sacrifice to better they self to better their family.
Dave
Don't miss the French Montana story for Khadija.
Adam
New documentary now streaming exclusively on Paramount. Plus go to paramountplus.com to try it.
Dave
Free terms apply.
Fantasy Football Today: Episode Summary
Episode Title: Waiver Wire, 2025 Top Three, "Who Has More?"
Release Date: December 31, 2024
Host: Adam Aizer
Analysts: Dave Richard, Jamie Eisenberg, Heath Cummings, and more
In this episode of Fantasy Football Today, host Adam Aizer and his panel of analysts dive deep into the final week of the NFL regular season. They cover critical waiver wire pickups, discuss the top three prospects for the 2025 fantasy season, and engage listeners with their popular "Who Has More?" trivia segment. The hosts also reflect on their personal fantasy successes and share insights to help listeners dominate their fantasy leagues.
The team begins by analyzing potential waiver wire additions for Week 18, focusing on quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers that could provide significant value in the final stretch of the season.
Josh Dobbs (Arizona Cardinals):
Dave highlights Dobbs as the top waiver wire quarterback with the opportunity to start against the Cardinals. Having shown versatility with his legs, Dobbs scored 18.9 fantasy points in seven of his 13 appearances last season.
Dave: "Dobbs at Arizona has borderline top 12 upside, especially with the backups sitting this week." [20:00]
Joe Flacco (Jacksonville Jaguars):
Flacco is praised for his matchup against the Jaguars, who rank second in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Despite some inconsistencies, his ability to throw deep passes presents upside.
Dave: "Flacco is in full-blown YOLO mode, letting his big guys get open deep downfield." [58:33]
Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta Falcons):
Penix is noted for his favorable matchup against the Panthers, a must-win game for the Falcons, offering significant fantasy potential.
Jamie: "Penix against the Panthers is a must-win game, providing substantial upside." [20:57]
Khalil Herbert (Pittsburgh Steelers):
Jamie prioritizes Herbert due to the Steelers' desperate need to get the offense moving. With defenses struggling against the run, Herbert could see substantial touches.
Jamie: "Herbert should be added first; the Steelers need to get their offense going." [28:58]
Ray Davis (New England Patriots):
Ray Davis is recommended as a valuable waiver wire pickup, especially in PPR leagues, given his past performance when given the opportunity.
Jamie: "Davis averaged over 20 PPR points when he started last time." [27:53]
Michael Carter / Trey Benson:
Both running backs are discussed as potential pickups, though Carter's future involvement remains uncertain.
Jamie: "I'd be shocked if James Conner played after leaving the past two games." [29:10]
Jalil McLaughlin (Seattle Seahawks):
Highlighted for his matchup against Chiefs backups, McLaughlin offers upside in a favorable game environment.
Adam: "Jalil McLaughlin against Chiefs backups is intriguing." [30:39]
Zakias Mims (Buffalo Bills):
Mims is commended for stepping into a larger role and producing impressive fantasy numbers recently.
Dave: "Mims has stepped into the Noah Brown role and performed exceptionally." [37:22]
Adam and the analysts shift focus to future planning, discussing their top three players projected to excel in the 2025 fantasy football season.
Jamie’s Top Three:
Dave’s Top Three:
Adam’s Perspective:
Adam expresses interest in Justin Jefferson and Nico Collins but remains cautious about Saquon Barkley’s aging status and target volume.
Adam: "Justin Jefferson is justifiable to go with him, and Nico Collins has a case to be top three." [52:58]
In their engaging trivia segment, the hosts challenge each other with fantasy football-related questions, testing their knowledge and entertaining listeners.
Q: Who has more fantasy points per game in full PPR this year, Justin Jefferson or T. Higgins?
A: T. Higgins by 0.2 fantasy points per game.
Adam: "It is T. Higgins by 0.2 fantasy points per game." [57:16]
Q: Who has more total touchdowns this season, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow?
A: Joe Burrow with 44 touchdowns.
Adam: "It is Joe Burrow. 44 for Burrow, 43 for Jackson, 40 for Allen." [60:17]
Q: Who has more championships, Joe Montana or Tony Kukoc?
A: Joe Montana with four championships.
Jamie: "He thinks Montana has four." [61:07]
The hosts share their personal fantasy league achievements, celebrating victories and discussing close calls that highlight the unpredictable nature of fantasy football.
Adam’s Success:
Adam recounts winning four out of twelve leagues, including his 14-team flex league.
Adam: "I won four of them. And yeah, I'm pretty fired up." [05:06]
Jamie's Achievements:
Jamie shares his success in making finals in four leagues and winning three, along with victories in father-son leagues.
Jamie: "Made the finals in four of my leagues. Won three of the four." [04:30]
Notable Moments:
The hosts discuss memorable plays, such as Jameer Gibbs' game-winning touchdown, and express pride in their children's fantasy football performances.
Jamie: "My son Ryan finished 42nd in the Scott Fishbowl out of 4,000 teams." [06:47]
As the episode wraps up, the hosts emphasize the importance of strategic decisions in the final week, encouraging listeners to leverage the waiver wire and make informed choices to secure their league victories. They also tease upcoming content, including deep dives into running backs and tight ends, ensuring listeners have the resources needed to excel in their fantasy endeavors.
Strategic Waiver Wire Picks: Focus on players with favorable matchups and roles in their teams, especially quarterbacks like Josh Dobbs and Joe Flacco.
Future Planning: Identifying top prospects for the 2025 season is crucial, with Jamar Chase, Saquon Barkley, and Bijan Robinson leading the rankings.
Engagement and Community: Sharing personal league successes and engaging in trivia fosters a sense of community and camaraderie among listeners.
Final Week Strategies: Making informed decisions in the last week can significantly impact league outcomes, emphasizing the importance of staying active and attentive.
Stay tuned for more expert insights and strategic advice to keep you ahead in your fantasy football league. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newcomer, Fantasy Football Today equips you with the knowledge to dominate your competition.