Fantasy Football Today (September 16, 2025)

Episode Overview: "Waiver Wire! Juwan Johnson, Daniel Jones, Packers WRs, Troy Franklin and More"

The Fantasy Football Today crew—Adam Aizer, Jamie Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and special mentions from Heath Cummings—break down Week 3’s waiver wire priorities, navigating the sudden landscape of injuries, breakout performers, and must-have replacements. The show emphasizes practical FAB (Free Agent Budget) advice, target percentages, upside gambles, and the ever-changing quarterback carousel shaping fantasy rosters. They take a comprehensive approach for listeners in both shallow and deep leagues, ensuring a broad range of actionable recommendations.

Main Waiver Wire Themes

• Quarterback (QB) Crisis: Multiple high-profile injuries (Burrow, Purdy, Daniels, McCarthy, Fields, etc.) are forcing weekly re-evaluations, with QBs like Daniel Jones and Jake Browning emerging as essential adds.
• Tight End (TE) Opportunities: With traditional top TEs struggling or hurt, Juwan Johnson becomes the hot commodity; other wild cards emerge in less typical offenses.
• Injury Replacements & Rookies: RB and WR situations see the rise of names like Chris Rodriguez, Troy Franklin, and shifting dynamics in Green Bay with injuries mounting.
• FAB & Risk Management: Specific bids discussed for key players, including how much to spend depending on league format and urgency.

Key Waiver Targets and Strategic Discussion

Top Priority Waiver Adds

Jamie Eisenberg’s Top 3 (Standard Leagues)

• Juwan Johnson (TE, NO Saints)
  • “Back-to-back games over 15 PPR points—hard to overlook that.” [01:48]
  • 20 targets in 2 games and a 51% roster rate. Playing every snap, designed plays. Last chance to pick him up. [02:39]
• Daniel Jones (QB, Colts)
  • “Two straight solid games… I’m going to trust him this week if I need a quarterback.” [01:48]
• Jake Browning (QB, Bengals)
  • “22+ fantasy points on average in the seven games he started in 2023 without Joe Burrow.” [01:48]

Dave Richard’s Top 3 (for Deeper Leagues)

• Troy Franklin (WR, Broncos)
  • “He’s going to be their number two receiver. The targets have been awesome… very intrigued by his role.” [03:16][03:16]
• Jatavion Sanders (TE, Panthers)
• Chris Rodriguez (RB, Commanders)
  • Noting the evolving Commanders backfield. Deep stasher if desperate or looking ahead. [03:16-04:40]

FAB Bidding Guidance

• Juwan Johnson: 15–20% FAB (“...started to lean more toward 20 just to lock this up...”) [13:59]
• Wandale Robinson (WR, Giants): 8% in full PPR, less in half/standard (“...so I wouldn’t go crazy...”) [16:09]
• Jake Browning (QB, Superflex): 70%+ FAB for QB-needy teams (“...you’re probably starting in the 70 range...”) [16:39]
• Carson Wentz (QB, Superflex): ~30–38% FAB, tempo and longevity uncertain [17:39]

“We can hope that Juwan Johnson can be a top 12 tight end rest of season.” —Dave [12:19]

Positional Waiver Breakdowns

Quarterbacks

Priority Adds:

• Daniel Jones
• Jake Browning
• Aaron Rodgers (great matchup, Week 3 vs NE)
• Carson Wentz, Marcus Mariota, To Rod Taylor (for Superflex/2QB)

Discussion:

• Daniel Jones considered a “borderline No. 1 fantasy quarterback” now due to dual-threat, good decision-making, and a strong Colts offense. [28:46]
• Caution with Jake Browning: Bengals could make a move for another QB, but Browning “can be a borderline number one fantasy quarterback” if he holds the job. [09:53]
• Streaming QBs is viable weekly this season due to abundance and high pass attempt environments.

Superflex FAB Priority:

“If you need a quarterback, then yes, Daniel Jones should be added … [he] is a top 12 quarterback, Browning is just outside, Rodgers is 12, Young is near the bottom for this week, but next four games ... the schedule is good.” —Jamie [53:44]

Running Backs

Top Adds:

• Chris Rodriguez / Jeremy McNichols (Commanders)

  • “McNichols will get the first shot… Rodriguez is the backup to Jacquard Crosky Merit.” —Jamie [32:42]

• Woody Marks (RB)

• Rashad White (TB), if available (more shallow leagues): “...if you're going to get double-digit touches for him... especially with byes coming up...” [33:27]

• Blake Corum (LAR) (“...he’s explosive, he’s a good football player…” —Sean McVay, per Jamie [60:14])

• Cam “Scatterboo” (Giants) and Basil Tootin (Jaguars) - both seeing increased usage

“If you do not need a running back and have an open roster spot with no IR, stash [Tyler] Algier.” —Jamie [60:57]

Wide Receivers

Top Group (Order varies by analyst):

• Wandale Robinson (Giants)
  • “Right now I have Wandale as the number one receiver to add this week because the floor is so safe and the ceiling could be better than we've seen.” —Jamie [15:11]
• Cedric Tillman (Browns)
• Rashid Shahid (Saints)
• Troy Franklin (Broncos)
• Packers WRs: Romeo Doubs (safe floor) & Dontavian Wicks (higher ceiling with Reed out)
  • “I would actually go Wicks over Dobbs... higher ceiling.” —Jamie [34:46-35:09]
• Christian Kirk, Alec IO Manor, Tori Horton, Hunter Renfrow (deep-league pivots)
• Cooper Kupp/Chris Godwin (shallow league shot in the dark due to injury returns)

On Robinson's Role:
“He’s going to be in the Giants Hall of Fame... safe floor.” —Jamie [66:30]

Tight Ends

Must-Add:

• Juwan Johnson (Saints)—volume and role explosion
  • “Juwan Johnson's number one. 20 targets through two games. Guess who’s #1 in PPR points per game among tight ends this season? Tucker Kraft... then Juwan Johnson.” —Dave [14:01]

Other Viable TEs:

• Harold Fannin (Browns)
• Jatavion Sanders (Panthers)
• Zach Ertz, Jake Ferguson (in shallow leagues)
• Deep stashes: Isaiah Likely, Brenton Strange (if desperate)

“Johnson, Fannin, Sanders... you can move on from Brenton Strange, Hunter Henry, Evan Ingram, Dalton Kincaid, Dallas Goedert... even Mark Andrews if you need the spot.” —Dave [36:28]

Defenses (DST) & Kickers

Top DST Streamers:

• Chiefs (at Giants) — “The Chiefs are still available in almost 50% of our leagues...” —Jamie [37:52]
• Falcons (vs Panthers)
• Seahawks (vs Saints)
• Buccaneers (vs Jets)
• Colts (vs Titans)

Kicker Priorities:

• Spencer Schrader
• Chris Boswell
• John Parker Romo
• Joey Slye (“...Titans are moving the ball, just not scoring touchdowns.” —Jamie [39:59])

Notable Injury and Depth Chart News

• Joe Burrow: “No official timetable, but reports say minimum three months. Are we dropping Burrow?—If no IR spot, yes.” —Dave/Jamie [20:20]
• Browns QBs: “...what happens if [Browns] are 0–4?” (Monitor for WR/TE fallout) [20:28]
• Packers WRs: “Jaden Reed, six to eight weeks [collarbone]. Wicks/Doubs step up; Christian Watson may be nearing return.” [23:53]
• Panthers O-line: “Now you’ve got both Austin Corbett and Rob Hunt on IR. Gonna open the door for more pass rush pressure on Bryce Young.” —Dave [26:39]

Droppable Players (Drop-O-Meter)

• Caleb Johnson — “One billion.” —Jamie [48:58]
• Isaiah Pacheco — “0.” (keep) [49:07]
• Hollywood Brown — “5 (if Worthy plays, 0 if Worthy is out; could be a 10 next week).” —Dave [51:57]
• Hunter Henry — “9, 4... move on for one of the others.” [52:11]
• T.J. Hockenson — “No, not yet.” but “I want to sit him” (Adam) [52:31]
• Trevor Lawrence — “Zero.” (hold) [50:17]
• More context-specific comments sprinkled throughout.

Notable Quotes & Moments

1. On Waiver Wire Triage:

   • “Who needs a quarterback? We need tight ends.” —Jamie (01:48)

2. On Juwan Johnson’s breakouts:

   • “Saying the sentence gives me the heebie jeebies, but I'm going to say it anyway: We can hope that Juwan Johnson can be a top 12 tight end rest of season.” —Dave [12:19]
   • “20 targets through two games… Production was there at the end of last season, too.” —Jamie [13:17]

3. On Streaming QBs:

   • “There’s so many guys in the startable mix, you know, that it could just, it could be this way every week where you could go to the waiver wire and find a quarterback you like just based on the matchup.” —Adam [57:57]

4. On FAB Bidding:

   • “Juwan Johnson is worthy of a 15 to 20 percent fab drop.” —Dave [11:49]
   • “If you need a quarterback, then yes, Daniel Jones should be added...” —Jamie [28:46]
   • “Jake Browning in superflex... you’re probably starting in the 70 range.” —Jamie [16:39]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Top 3 Waiver Priorities (Jamie/Dave): [01:48–05:16]
• Troy Franklin deep-dive: [03:16–06:13]
• Quinshon Judkins suspension speculation: [06:24–09:08]
• Cincinnati QBs/FAB spending for Browning: [09:13–11:39]
• FAB Bidding Discussion: [11:39–17:52]
• Quarterback Position Talk/Streaming: [21:16–32:02]
• Packers WRs Analysis: [23:53, 34:15–36:15]
• Wide Receiver Debates (Wando, Tillman, Wicks/Dobbs): [33:57–36:15, 63:19–67:55]
• Running Back Priorities: [32:19, 60:03–61:33]
• Tight End Analysis: [13:43, 45:35–47:55, 70:01–71:47]
• DST/Kicker Streamers: [37:52–39:59]
• Drop-O-Meter: [48:58–52:35]
• Shallow & Deep League Roundups: [41:29, 46:05]

Tone & Dynamic

• Energetic, humorous, practical: Banter around “the heebie jeebies” of trusting Juwan Johnson, deep-league pivots, and the unpredictability of the waiver wire this season.
• Interactive, engaging: Regularly attribute advice to “your league,” FAB considerations, positional flexibility, and creative pivots for different roster builds.
• Evidence-based: Frequent use of specific stats, projections, and snapshot decision points for various player archetypes.

Conclusion

This episode is a comprehensive, actionable guide for Week 3 waiver wire strategy, specifically tuned for a season rocked by injuries and shifting depth charts. The crew lays out clear priorities, navigates the nuance of FAB spending, and arms listeners with differentiated plans for both standard and deep leagues.

Memorable advice:
“We can hope that Juwan Johnson can be a top 12 tight end rest of season.” —Dave [12:19]
“Daniel Jones… just needs to be rostered.” —Jamie [28:46]
“I try to, we try to run the show, but I try to in the column…give you from 10 team leagues to 16 team leagues…we make a good priority of doing.” —Jamie [08:38]

For listeners:
Whether you lost Joe Burrow, need immediate TE help, or are hunting that next Flex play, the show covers every angle. If your league is deep, don’t despair—there are viable long-shots discussed throughout, with risk/reward profiles fully explained.