Week 1 Start or Sit (09/07 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

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Fantasy Football Today (FFT): Week 1 Start or Sit (09/07 Fantasy Football Podcast)

September 7, 2025 | Hosted by Heath Cummings & Heath D (filling in for Adam Aizer)

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on last-minute injury news, game-time decisions, and key Start/Sit advice for Week 1 of fantasy football. Heath Cummings and Heath D deliver actionable insights, answer listener lineup questions, and assess how injury updates should shift your fantasy approach, all in the high-energy, bantering style FFT fans love.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mood & Welcome

• Heath C recognizes the excitement:

  “You have a little pep in your step today. You're pumped up.”
  (02:33)

• Heath D’s tongue-in-cheek optimism for Week 1:

  “There's nothing better than a day full of finding out all the wrong things you said the last six months.”
  (02:36)

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2. Key Injury Updates and Start/Sit Advice

Christian McCaffrey’s Week 1 Status

• Injury Concern: Calf injury; trending toward playing at 4:05 PM ET.

• Risk Assessment:

  • Heath D has downgraded him:

    “He is currently RB11 for me in the projections and the rankings... there's obviously a little bit of risk.”
    (03:41)

  • Recommends starting safer options (RB18/RB19 range like Tony Pollard, James Cook) if you’re risk-averse.
  • Emphasizes the lack of solid backup options if McCaffrey is ruled out after 4 PM.

• Waiver/Trade Suggestion:

  • Heath C:

    “If you're worried about McCaffrey...you could just try to acquire Brian Robinson.”
    (05:40)

  • Recommendation to manage risk by seeking trades for 4 PM/Earlier players.

Start/Sit Semantic: McCaffrey

• Default Advice:
  • “I think most people are probably going to start him.” (03:41)
• Emergency Pickups:
  • Woody Marks, Kyle Menangai, Blake Corum, Ty Johnson (for late games), but minimal upside (04:41)

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Travis Hunter’s Role Update

• Will play “most downs at wide receiver and just a little bit at cornerback” this week (07:12).
• Fantasy implication:
  • Heath D:

    “He's a high upside wide receiver 3. The very definition of it.”
    “Start him over Emeka Egbuka, Jameson Williams, Calvin Ridley for sure.”
    (07:18–07:51)

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RB Landscape: RJ Harvey, TreVeyon Henderson, J.K. Dobbins Impact

• Both RJ Harvey and Henderson face uncertain workloads, but Henderson is seen as a “very low-end RB2 in full PPR” (08:26).
• Harvey “just behind that group.”
• J.K. Dobbins could see early touches, which could cap Harvey’s value (08:47).

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Wide Receiver and Other Injury Notes

• Green Bay Receivers:
  • Jaden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks are questionable (4:25 PM game). If Reed is OUT, Romeo Doubs is a good floor FLEX, otherwise “I don't want to start Reed, whether he plays or not.” (09:49)
• Darnell Mooney (Chicago): Game-time decision, but expectations are low.
  • “I'm not planning on starting Darnell Mooney if he plays.” (10:22)
• Giants LT Andrew Thomas: Doubtful; downgrades for NYG skill positions e.g., Tracy falls behind Henderson (10:40–10:47)

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Backup RB Moves & Waiver Watch

• Cleveland signs Quinshon Judkins (RB): Will NOT play this week. Two-week roster exemption; “wouldn’t expect him to be somebody you want to start before Week 5.” (11:08)
• NYG: Jackson Dart may see the field at QB (small note).
• DET: Jameson Williams gets a big contract extension—not immediate fantasy impact.

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Mailbag / Listener Questions (Selected Q&A with Quick Start/Sit Takes)

• Olave or Travis Etienne (Half PPR)?

  • “Travis Etienne for sure.” (11:38)

• Ridley or Jauan Jennings?

  • “I'm pretty scared of Ridley but I'm going to start him over Jauan Jennings.” (11:49)

• Ingram or Hockenson (TE)?

  • “I think Hockenson’s a must-start tight end for at least the first three weeks.” (11:57)

• If McCaffrey can't go: Pollard or Mason?

  • “I'm counting on the touches with Pollard. I'm starting him.” (12:05)

• 3 WR 2 FLEX: Marvin Mims or Adam Thielen?

  • “Let's go with Marvin Mims.” (12:20)

• QB: JJ McCarthy, Caleb Johnson, Caleb Williams or Tua Tagovailoa?

  • “I'm going with Caleb [Williams].” (12:28)

• RJ Harvey or Matthew Golden (Full PPR)?

  • “Golden is right behind that Hunter Ibuka group. I've got him projected for just a little bit more than Harvey.” (12:40)

• Ridley, PierSall, Harvey, Jalen Warren (start two, Half PPR)?

  • “I would start the running backs [Harvey, Warren].” 12:57
  • “With Jennings back, I don't want to start [PierSall].” (12:57–13:08)

• JMO (Jameson Williams) or Jalen Warren?

  • “I'll go with Warren. I'm pretty excited about him. He's a top 20 running back for me.” (13:21)

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Memorable Quotes & Fun Banter

• On Start/Sit Pressure:
  Heath D:

  “There's nothing better than a day full of finding out all the wrong things you said the last six months.”
  (02:36)

• On Fantasy Anxiety:
  Heath D:

  “Even if he [McCaffrey] plays this week, we just got a week one scare and reminder that this is one of the scariest players to roster.”
  (06:26)

• On Travis Hunter:
  Heath D:

  “He’s a high upside wide receiver 3. The very definition of it.”
  (07:51)

• On Risk Management:
  Heath C:

  “That doesn't necessarily mitigate the risk...Even if he plays this week, we just got a week one scare.”
  (06:25)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:07 - Episode Kicks Off (Hosts check in, mood/vibes)
• 03:08 - Christian McCaffrey Injury Update and Strategic Advice
• 04:41 - Emergency Planning: Late-Game RB Pickups
• 05:40 - Trade Strategy for Insurance
• 07:12 - Travis Hunter Role and Start/Sit Impact
• 08:26 - RB2/Flex Rankings: Harvey, Henderson, Dobbins
• 09:49 - Packers WR Room: Reed/Wicks Status
• 10:22 - Darnell Mooney Update
• 10:40 - Giants Injury Update: Andrew Thomas
• 11:08 - Waiver Alert: Cleveland RB Room
• 11:38–13:25 - Listener Start/Sit Mailbag (Rapid-Fire Q&A)
• 13:30 - Endnotes on WR/CB Matchups

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Takeaways for Week 1 Fantasy Football Lineups

• Monitor Final Injury Reports: Particularly for late window games (4 PM/primetime), keep insurance options handy.
• Christian McCaffrey’s Status: Lean toward starting but have a backup plan; riskier than usual.
• Flex RB/WR Tiers: Upside plays (Travis Hunter, Jalen Warren, Marvin Mims) are favored in several toss-ups.
• Start/Sit Philosophy: Play it safer with early-game, healthy players unless you have true upside subs for late injuries.

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This fast-paced, information-packed Week 1 Start/Sit episode arms you with all the key facts, trends, and last-minute takes you need to win your matchups. For deeper dives, join FFT’s team for their live Sunday streams and tune in for post-game recaps. Good luck this week!

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Transcript

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[Heath C]

And sits right now on FFT Express Guard there. What's up, Heath? Good morning.

[Heath D]

No, I was just trying to wait for the stream to start so I could retweet the link on Twitter so people can come ask us some. Some lineup questions. And you know, I thought I should probably look at the camera while you were talking for at least one second. It's week one. You.

[Heath C]

You have a little pep in your step today. You're pumped up.

[Heath D]

It's. It's very exciting. It's. There's nothing better than a day full of finding out all the wrong things you said the last six months.

[Heath C]

It didn't take a day for me. It took, it didn't even have to wait till Sunday. For me it was Friday night was just crushing.

[Heath D]

Yeah, I was, I, I told my, I told my wife. I was actually hoping after the Christian McCaffrey has a calf injury. Isaiah Pacheco is a trap back. We need a good tyree kill game today. Let's, let's, let's help Adam out.

[Heath C]

We could use that. Yeah. All right. I'll lament more about Isaiah Pacheco on our show tonight at 7:30 ish. We really cat. We'll recap the Sunday action also, 11:30am Eastern. Hang out with us at YouTube.com/ fantasy football today and we're live for an hour and a half answering your questions. It's a lot of fun. All right, so we start with Christian McAffrey, who of course has to be playing at 4 o' clock today Eastern. 4:05. The reports are he's trending toward playing and what do you, what do you do here?

[Heath D]

So I lowered his projection just a little bit because, like, even if he is playing, there's obviously a little bit of risk. He has a calf injury and maybe they take a couple of touches off his plate. He is currently RB11 for me in the projections and the rankings. So that's behind Derrick Henry, it's behind Bucky Irving, it's behind Ashton Genty. For me, it's behind Kyron Williams. I've been the high guy on him, just ahead of Chase Brown, Alvin Camara, James Connor and those guys all play at one. So I think if you're in one of those situations where you just like to be safe, you, if you have one of those guys, you just start him. In fact, I'd probably go down. There's a pretty big drop off around RB18, 19 that James Paul, Tony Paul or James Cook range. And like those guys are probably all safer than McAffrey this week, but I think most people are probably going to start them.

[Heath C]

Yeah, if, if you need someone who plays at 4 or later that is available and will get you more than zero, but maybe not much more than zero. The only two players I could think of were Woody Marks and Kyle Menangai that are, you know, that are widely available that you can just pick up. Right now there's, there's six games that begin at 4:00 or later, including Sunday night and Monday night. Obviously most of these guys are going to be rostered, but yeah, I don't know who else you would go with. Blake Corum, maybe like a. That's it. I mean, Ty Johnson, get like a couple catches or something. But if you, if you play McCaffrey and he's out, you don't really have a lot of options after that. So it's obviously a risk. And another thing, you could do that. I tried to do that. Heath. I mean, I'm going to bring this up. I offered you in our podcast league where I have. McCaffrey offered you Caleb Johnson for Brian Robinson, which, you know, which I think.

[Nationwide Narrator]

Is a fair trade.

[Heath C]

So that's, you know, if you're worried about McCaffrey and you're getting trade offers, you could. Instead of trying to sell McCaffrey, you could just try to acquire Brian Robinson. Because right now it looks like McCaffrey is going to play. The Brian Robinson manager might be thinking, this is my chance to get something good for him. Caleb Johnson, someone I was drafting, way ahead of Brian Robinson. It's a risk for me. You're going to take that deal or what?

[Heath D]

Probably not. I'm still angry that I didn't start Javante Williams in that league and you were brilliant enough to start both Javante Williams and Quentin Johnston against me in one league. And so I, I don't really want to make you feel good this morning. I'd like for you to sweat, but no, it's. It's. That's. That's the type of trade offer I would be making and may. It might be easier to get done now because they're talking like Christian McCaffrey is going to play.

[Heath C]

Exactly. Exactly. All right, that doesn't.

[Heath D]

But. But what I would say is like, that. That doesn't necessarily mitigate the risk that Christian McCaffrey was. Even if he plays this week. We just got a week one scare and reminder that this is one of the scariest place players to roster.

[Heath C]

Yeah. And I guess I've. I have started Quentin Johnson to get he against Heath in multiple leagues this week. What a stroke of luck that was.

[Heath D]

That's what happens when you draft really well and you or your team's so bad that you have to start Quentin Johnston and then he is. Great.

[Heath C]

All right, next news item, because we really don't have a lot in terms of injuries today is Travis Hunter. He's reportedly going to play most downs at wide receiver and just a little bit, you know, a little bit of cornerback. That's not necessarily going to be the.

[Nationwide Narrator]

Case every week, but this week that's.

[Heath C]

The plan for Hunter against the Panthers. Mostly wide receiver, little bit at corner.

[Heath D]

So I already had Travis Hunter, I think maybe just a little bit higher than most people did. He was my wide receiver 34 with a 19 target share. I've bumped him up to a 20% target share. He's wide receiver 30. Wish I hadn't started Devonte Smith over him. I would start him over a mecca Buka. I would start him over Jameson Williams. I would start him over Calvin Ridley for sure. He's. He's a high upside wide receiver 3. The very definition of it.

[Heath C]

What about guys like RJ Harvey and Travion Henderson?

[Heath D]

You know, it's really interesting because I, I talked quite a bit about Omarion Hampton's totals over unders for carries and yards and he smashed the carries and I think he may have gone under the yards because he wasn't very efficient as a rusher. But all three of these guys had kind of lower expectations when you looked at betting odds than they had in most people's rankings and projections. I think it's best to view Henderson as a very low end RB2 and full PPR. I've got him behind Aaron Jones and Jalen Warren, ahead of Tyrone Tracy ahead of Jerome Ford and Harvey's just behind that group. I'm a little bit more concerned that J.K. dobbins could get the first few touches in week one and actually be good with them. And then what's that?

[Heath C]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[Heath D]

And I'm not as concerned that Ramondre Stevenson is going to do that based on what we've seen from him recently. So. And I think Henderson's better.

[Heath C]

Sure. Okay, we're take a quick break and come back. We got some more news items for you. We'll answer your questions on FFT Express. We'll be right back.

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[Heath D]

And Manning.

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[Heath C]

Nationwide Investment Services Corporation Ember Finra, Columbus, Ohio. All right, welcome back. So Jaden Reed and Don Tavian Wicks are questionable. This game is against Detroit at 1 o'. Clock. 2 4. Nope. 4:25. Pardon me. Big game on CBS Detroit at green Bay. And yeah, I don't know if that's really going to change anything.

[Heath D]

I mean I think the thing that it may change certainly if Reed was out Romeo Dobbs probably becomes a good flex right now I've got him around wide receiver 40 I think he's a decent floor flex and would expect him to be their second best wide receiver behind Matthew Golden. I don't want to start Reed whether he plays or not and Wicks is a complete dart throw if reads out.

[Heath C]

Darnell Mooney is a game time decision and that one thankfully is at 1 o'. Clock.

[Heath D]

I'm just making sure I I'm not planning on starting Darnell Mooney if he plays.

[Heath C]

It's a shame because what a couple of shootouts last year and he had.

[Heath D]

He had some upside like if you just need to throw a a potential firework in your flex spot he could be that but I I need this. I'd like to see him at full speed.

[Heath C]

Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas is doubtful. Did you downgrade Tracy or anything like that?

[Heath D]

Just a Tracy one spot ahead of Henderson before that news and he's behind Henderson now. It's a lot more risk with this offense.

[Heath C]

Yeah Cleveland signed running back Quinch on Judkins to a contract so he's not going to play this week. Maybe he'll play next week at Baltimore but that could be a very short ride for Jerome Ford and Dylan Sampson.

[Heath D]

Yeah I think that what I was they said was they gave the Browns a two week roster exemption so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't play the first two weeks and I wouldn't expect him to be somebody you want.

[Heath C]

To start before week five and Jackson Dart could play a little for the Giants. The lion signed Jameson Williams to a three year extension that could be worth up to 83 million. Pittsburgh gave Cameron Hayward some incentives in his contract and Micah Parsons is going to play for the packers today. He's not going to play a full snap share so let's read some questions here. Olave or ETN Half ppr?

[Heath D]

Travis ETN for sure.

[Heath C]

For me the Saints are another team missing a starting offensive lineman and Trevor Penning today. Ridley or Juwan Jennings?

[Heath D]

Yeah, I I'm pretty scared of Ridley but I'm going to start him over.

[Heath C]

Juwan Jennings, Ingram or Hawkinson?

[Heath D]

I I think Hawkinson's a must start tight end for at least the first three weeks.

[Heath C]

It's him if McCaffrey can't go Pollard or Jordan Mason.

[Heath D]

I'm counting on the touches with Pollard. I'm starting him.

[Heath C]

3. Wide Receiver 2 Flex Marvin Mims or Adam Thielen.

[Heath D]

Woof. I'm gonna have to scroll down in the projections just a little bit more.

[Heath C]

Let's go with Marvin Mims, J.J. mcCarthy, Caleb Johnson or Caleb Williams or to a tongue of Iloa.

[Heath D]

I'm. I'm going with Caleb.

[Heath C]

Really?

[Heath D]

Yeah.

[Heath C]

Oh, I thought we were gonna go with two of there. Okay. R.J. harvey or Matthew golden.

[Heath D]

Say full PPR.

[Heath C]

It does.

[Heath D]

So that's going to be a very, very close one. Golden is right behind that Hunter Ibuka group. I've got him projected for just a little bit more than Harvey.

[Heath C]

Okay, let's do a couple more. Ridley, Pierce, all Harvey, Jalen Warren start two and half ppr.

[Heath D]

I would start the running backs. I think Dave and Jamie would definitely tell you to start Ricky Pearsall. I'm just. I think with Jennings back, I don't want to start him. But that target disparity was so big last year that I don't want to just trust that Pierce Soul is the number one wide receiver.

[Heath C]

And JMO or Jalen Warren.

[Heath D]

I'll go with Warren. I'm pretty excited about him. He's a top 20 running back for me.

[Heath C]

Okay, that's it for this show. Start Tedro McMillan over Pierce.

[Heath D]

All right.

[Heath C]

I didn't mention this, but the fact that Travis Hunter is reportedly not going to play a lot of cornerback could only be good news for Teddy Roll McMillan. That was probably the only concern I had for McMillan other than, you know, first game. But of Hunter potentially shadowing him, not gonna happen. All right, so we'll talk to you at 11:30am Eastern. YouTube.com fantasy football today. Good luck, everybody. See ya.

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[Heath D]

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