Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Week 5 Waivers, Streams of the Week, Injury News

Summary

Summary of Fantasy Footballers Podcast Episode: Week 5 Waivers, Streams of the Week, Injury News

Release Date: October 4, 2016
Episode Title: Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Week 5 Waivers, Streams of the Week, Injury News
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Opening and Host Interactions

The episode kicks off with the hosts—Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright—welcoming listeners to another insightful episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Early banter sets a lively tone, with Jason humorously commenting on his own enthusiasm (00:45-01:18).

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2. Jason Moore’s Trade Misadventure

Timestamp: 01:00 - 05:02

Jason Moore shares a personal and cautionary tale about a recent trade that went awry. Desiring a comeback in his league, he traded for Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) with the hope of exploiting a favorable matchup against Kyle Rudolph. Confident in Rudolph's defensive matchup, Jason believed OBJ would outperform, allowing him to clinch a narrow victory.

Key Points:

• Initial Situation: Jason was down by 9.5 points against an opponent who fielded OBJ (01:30).
• The Trade: Leveraging a favorable scenario, Jason traded away Wendell Smallwood for OBJ, hoping to flip the script (02:07).
• Outcome: OBJ had his worst game ever, scoring only 3.8 fantasy points, while Rudolph outperformed expectations, leading Jason to lose by two points (04:31).

Notable Quote:

Jason Moore (02:04): “Yesterday I had the single worst fantasy football beat that has ever happened to me and will ever happen.”

This story underscores the unpredictability of Fantasy Football and the risks associated with high-stakes trading.

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3. News and Notes: Injury Updates and Team News

Timestamp: 08:25 - 16:18

The hosts delve into the latest injury reports and team developments that could impact Fantasy Football decisions.

Key Highlights:

• Brian Hoyer’s Role: Bears coach John Fox supports Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback over Jay Cutler, praising Hoyer’s recent performances (09:15-09:34).

• Trevor Siemian’s Injury: Siemian’s shoulder remains injured, with uncertainty about his availability for upcoming games. The Broncos are likely to retain him rather than immediately starting Paxton Lynch (10:06-10:28).

• Ryan Mathews’ Status: Concerns about Mathews’ ankle and his ability to maintain a high workload for the Eagles. The discussion revolves around whether he will continue to be a reliable run option or if his role will diminish (10:32-11:18).

• Carson Palmer’s Availability: Skepticism surrounds Carson Palmer’s chances of playing in Week 5 despite coach Bruce Arians’ optimism. The hosts express doubt based on recent team moves and concussion protocols (13:37-14:40).

• Justin Forsett Release: The Ravens release Justin Forsett in favor of Kenneth Dixon, sparking debate among the hosts about the wisdom of this decision and its implications for Fantasy owners (15:31-16:18).

Notable Quote:

Jason Moore (09:11): “You traded the victory away.”

This segment provides crucial updates that Fantasy managers need to consider when setting their lineups.

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4. Waiver Wire Recommendations: Players to Add and Drop

Timestamp: 17:03 - 32:54

The hosts offer detailed recommendations on players available on the waiver wire, highlighting potential pickups that could provide significant value.

Wide Receivers:

• John Brown and Steve Smith: Both are highlighted as undervalued players available in a substantial percentage of leagues. Their return from injuries makes them prime candidates for pickup.

  Notable Quote:

  Jason Moore (18:59): “He absolutely needs to be a 100% owned player.”

• Michael Thomas: Mentioned as a high-impact player with considerable ownership but still available in a good number of leagues.

• Eddie Royal and Sammy Coates: Recommended for their consistent performances and favorable matchups, making them excellent additions for spot starts.

Tight Ends:

• Jimmy Graham vs. Tyler Eifert: Jason advocates for picking up Jimmy Graham due to his better offensive circumstances, while Mike suggests Zach Ertz as a highly available and valuable option given his chemistry with Carson Wentz.

  Notable Quote:

  Mike Wright (34:15): “Zach Ertz is a guy I want on my team.”

• Hunter Henry and Cameron Brait: Both are noted for their increased involvement in their respective offenses, making them solid choices for tight end spots.

Running Backs:

• Bilal Powell: Suggested as a potential pickup if Matt Forte remains injured, given Powell’s ability to take over the workload effectively.

• Terrence West vs. TJ Yeldon: Jason recommends Terrence West for his recent performances, even if it means temporarily replacing a higher-ranked RB like TJ Yeldon.

Notable Quote:

Jason Moore (21:15): “Bilal Powell is the type of guy that I think would take over.”

This section equips listeners with strategic options to enhance their rosters based on current player performances and team dynamics.

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5. Streaming Options: Defense and Quarterbacks

Timestamp: 32:54 - 40:44

The conversation shifts to strategies for streaming defensive units and quarterback options based on weekly matchups.

Defense Streaming:

• Rams, Bills, and Steelers: These defenses are recommended due to their favorable matchups and recent performances. The hosts analyze each team’s strengths and vulnerabilities to guide Fantasy managers in making informed decisions.

Quarterback Streaming:

• Brian Hoyer: Endorsed as a top streaming option with a favorable matchup against the Colts' secondary.

  Notable Quote:

  Mike Wright (37:14): “Brian Hoyer has started two weeks; look, he is a great fill-in fantasy quarterback.”

• Carson Wentz and Trevor Siemian: Discussed as viable alternatives with positive matchups, emphasizing the importance of selecting quarterbacks based on their opponents’ defensive rankings.

• Pro Football Focus Insight: Carson Wentz is highlighted as the top-graded quarterback through four weeks, adding credibility to his streaming potential.

Notable Quote:

Jason Moore (40:56): “Zach Ertz fits the mold, I think Simeon fits the mold, and I think Hoyer fits the mold.”

This segment provides actionable advice for optimizing weekly lineups through strategic streaming of positions.

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6. Final Tips and Community Engagement

Timestamp: 40:44 - 42:07

As the episode wraps up, the hosts encourage listener engagement through their website and social media platforms. They emphasize the importance of community interaction and invite listeners to submit questions and share their experiences.

Notable Quote:

Jason Moore (41:09): “If you have a question for tomorrow's show, make sure you go to the website, the FantasyFootballers.com. Submit it over to us.”

Additionally, Jason hints at sharing more personal stories on their YouTube channel, promising deeper insights and entertaining anecdotes for the audience.

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Conclusion

The Week 5 episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast delivers a comprehensive analysis of waiver wire opportunities, streaming strategies, and vital injury updates. Through engaging storytelling and expert advice, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright equip Fantasy Football enthusiasts with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and gain a competitive edge in their leagues.

Whether adjusting your lineup based on Jason’s cautionary trade tale or exploring recommended waiver pickups like John Brown and Zach Ertz, this episode offers valuable insights to enhance your Fantasy Football strategy.

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For more detailed discussions and updates, visit FantasyFootballers.com and join their community at JoinTheFoot.com. Follow them on Twitter @theFFballers for real-time updates and tips.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

Hey, Foot clan. This is a call out to all my bearded brethren out there. I get asked frequently, what do I use for my beard to keep it healthy, keep it shiny, keep it looking good, and I use grave before shave. They got you covered for your beard oils, your beard balms, your beard wash. They have free US shipping, and they're hooking you up right now with 10% off by using the code BALLERS. Go to gravebeforeshave.com and check out what they got.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, coming to you from the fantasyjocks.com studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the podcast. All of my enthusiasm is artificial.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, there's quite a story.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, that's not true. That's not true at all. I'm excited about today's show. We have a waiver show, but I have a sad tale to tell.

You have an amazing, amazing story to tell.

Sometimes things happen that are both sad and amazing.

[Mike Wright]

And this is like Gulliver's Travels. This is a. This will be a classic masterpiece of not literature, but of fantasy lore forever.

[Jason Moore]

We have this question asked all the time over the last few years, like, what's. What's a. What's a terrible trade that you've made? This will be an answer for years to come.

I'm just gonna. I teased it on Twitter because this is the nice thing about having a podcast. We're just like you. We're playing in these leagues. Our hearts and our minds are into these leagues and things happen that really, really, really, really, really stink or are amazing or are amazing if you are on the other end of them. And for me, last night was the single worst fantasy football beat situationally that has ever happened to me and will ever happen, most likely, unless something happens in a championship game like this.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

So I'm just going to tell you what happened.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, we're going right into the story.

[Jason Moore]

Sure. And by the way, today's a waiver wire show. We've got our full stream ahead. We have a good quick question I'm going to ask you guys and we're going to get you hooked up, your fantasy teams hooked up with the players you need to pick up and give you some kind of situational options in terms of like, would you sign this guy and drop this guy? That type of thing. So, but I'm. I'm just going to tell you what happened because it's unbelievable. I need. Yesterday I was going into the Monday night game and I had Kyle Rudolph and my opponent Had a guy named Odell Beckham Jr. Who you may have heard of, and I was already down 9.5 points in our league of records. And I, you know, I asked these guys around the office, I said, what are my odds of winning Rudolph versus Odell Beckham Jr. 1%, half a percent. Right. I mean, this is, I look at all the games this year, there's never a situation where Rudolph outscores him by that many points. And I knew Minnesota's defense is great, but come on, I mean, so I thought to myself, how can I win? I need a win. Like, how do I win tonight? What is the feasible possible, any way that I could possibly win? And I, you know what, the light bulb, it popped on top of my head and I said, I know how I can do it. I'm going to pull off the craziest trade ever. I'm going to trade my opponent for Odell Beckham Jr. Before I have to play him. And like a George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg movie, a perfect storm of scenarios came together where I had Wendell Smallwood, right, he was on by, so I was able to trade him. He had Victor Cruz on his bench so he could trade Odell Beckham Jr. And take the chance with Cruz. All these circumstances, I went out and I offered him a monster trade. I mean, I sold the farm, so to speak, to get Odell Beckham Jr. I'm like, because what's, you know, if I win tonight and I have Odell Beckham Jr. You're back. I'm back. I mean, good. I'm in a very good situation. You know where this is going at this point. Odell Beckham Jr. Goes out last night, has his worst game of his entire career, lowest yardage total, lost his mind again on the field, puts up three and a half points, 3.8 points. Victor Cruz leads the team in receiving, mind you, with only seven fantasy points. And I lose by two and would have won if I had sat pat and just played against Odell Beckham Jr. And I couldn't. It's an income.

You made the trade. You know, a big part of the reason to make the trade was just for glory, secure the victory.

Yeah, that too.

But you actually traded. Yeah, for a loss.

I traded the victory away.

Yeah, you traded the victory.

And all the trickle down implications are tremendous because I traded away draft picks. Now my team is in a worse shape and the draft picks are more valuable. And I blew the entire victory by trading away. Well, this is trading for Oda Beckham Jr. So I could play Victor Cruz.

This is to let the Foot Clan know. Look, bad beats happen to everybody. Oh, but you're going to come back strong. You always do.

Yeah, we'll see. Here's the thing. You can do everything right on paper and you can still get beat.

[Mike Wright]

Sometimes it happens.

[Jason Moore]

Can still get beat. All right, you can. Quick question of the day, guys. This wide receiver gobbled up 35% of his team's targets this week and 16 total targets to lead the week, which was one better than Julio Jones. Who is he?

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Jason Moore]

16 targets this week? Julio had 15 and 35% of his team's targets this week. And you know what? I will be super surprised if you get it wrong, but if I the.

[Mike Wright]

Only guys, what was that?

[Jason Moore]

Guess. I guess Brandon Marshall.

Okay, Mike, if I'm all hedge for.

[Mike Wright]

Us here, I'm gonna go with AJ Green.

[Jason Moore]

You are both incorrect. Would you like a second guess?

[Mike Wright]

Do you have a. Like a little. A hint? A hinty?

[Jason Moore]

We talked about him yesterday. Okay, so he was in our stud muffins. He will be talked about today. That is your two hands.

Oh, obviously. Oh, Senor Stephen, Steve Smith.

You're both wrong. Come on.

You led us astray.

Your phrase of like, oh, it's so obvious. I cannot believe you didn't bring up his name. Mr. John Brown. Oh, John Brown. 35% of the Cardinals targets, 16 targets total. Incredible week for John Brown.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, it was.

[Jason Moore]

And I remember on the periscope on Sunday and we talked about him last week, but on the periscope, I tuned in for a second. I, you know, turned it on. Mike was on there with that beard all polished up with that gray before.

[Mike Wright]

Shave, looking wide awake because of the.

[Jason Moore]

Freaking 6am and someone said, hey, do I. Do I drop John Brown today and go get this guy? And Mike said, don't do it. He said, hold on. Today's the day that John Brown goes ham were his exact words. And so I give you credit for that.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

And John Brown is definitely. Now that he's healthy, he's.

[Mike Wright]

I think he's the two.

[Jason Moore]

He's the one.

[Mike Wright]

One. Well, I still think that. That Larry will. Him and Larry will flip flop in. In production. Michael Floyd will have his time of. He'll be the highest scoring receiver on the team. But I think we're. We're transferring back to when it was Larry and John Brown were the primary targets.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we're going to get into the news and notes right now, catch you up on injuries and things like that before we do It I want to remind you about our twitter @the ffballers. If you have a question for the show you want to get involved with our we do a Wednesday mailbag. We do a Thursday Foot Clan mailbag show. Go to the fantasy footballers.com click the submit a question button. You can also find all of our rankings. We will be starting the Week 5 rankings today. Those get up around late in the day on Wednesday so we try to balance getting them out early with making sure that our first rendition is as accurate as it can be with practice reports and then we modify those and edit them and check in with them frequently during the week. So you can do all that@the fancyfootballers.com and then obviously check out our [e-mail] if you want that extra episode every single week. We also have a keep trade cut show tomorrow as well. So let's jump into the news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Jason Moore]

How long will I shake my head about what happened last night?

[Mike Wright]

Forever. All right, here's the deal.

[Jason Moore]

Nothing can cheer me up like John Fox. So let's talk about.

[Mike Wright]

I was going to say this, I mean a downward spiral. But if you miss the playoffs by one game, you, you, you, you both.

[Jason Moore]

Realize that it is 100% your fault this happened. Oh, we egged it on because yesterday you said.

[Mike Wright]

I didn't say go trade for Becky.

[Jason Moore]

You know what would be better than you winning is if you lose by the margin difference between Cruz. So you, you willed it into existence.

Take that.

That's the power of your beard, Mike.

Happy to have done it.

I know you were genuinely cheering for me last night, Jason. Bears coach John Fox said Brian Hoyer could keep the team starting job regardless of Jay Cutler's health. Now I think Hoyer last week we had him as Jason's stream of the week. We all liked him, ranked him high against all odds. Right. Brian Hoyer is just finds a way to throw for 300 yards as long.

[Mike Wright]

As it's not the playoffs.

[Jason Moore]

But you have an injured Jeffrey now and you have an injured Kevin White now. I mean can you do it all with Zach Miller and Eddie Royal?

[Mike Wright]

I think he'll be perfectly fine this week.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, he's a fine play. He's got a good matchup. He's going to keep doing it. He doesn't need anything too great because the matchup says it's, it's a winnable matchup.

All right. What's the latest on Trevor Simeon?

[Mike Wright]

Well, it was his non throwing shoulder. It's it's still beat up and Koobs is saying he doesn't know if. If Simeon will be able to play. I heard him talking, heard some sound bites that he hopes he will be able to. So this isn't a situation where the Broncos are trying to pass the guard immediately to Paxton Lynch. They're going to let Simeon come back and keep his job.

[Jason Moore]

What injury is Ryan Matthews considering for this week?

[Mike Wright]

Spin the wheel.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to go ahead and say no injury. I'm going out on a limb here. I think the reason he was shut down the week prior to their buy was because they didn't need him in that game. The way that the game flow happened, their other running backs were doing well. He was still nursing that ankle and they had the bye week. The next week they shut him down. They can remember they went into that last game saying, we're going to really give him the ball. The game before they did.

Right.

He had 22 carries. So now coming out of the buy, I expect him to be the starting running back, to have the workload again. But I do worry as the season goes on about Wendell Smallwood. He's more of their future, whereas Ryan Matthews and his contract, which is very large, probably isn't. So I'm hope I'm looking for a big week this week. I'm hoping for one. And then. And then I'm looking to move him.

So I have to, for the sake of our listeners, come out and tell you how wrong I think you are.

Okay.

It's very important to me for you to understand that. I don't see any scenario where Ryan Matthews, after missing this time and that level of workload and the success that Philadelphia just had with Smallwood and Sprols and a platoon, I don't see there's any way his workload is big this week. I think he would be a terrible play.

I think he'll get 15 carries.

Oh.

[Andy Holloway]

Water bet.

[Jason Moore]

That was the water bet.

Just easy. I mean, wetness coming your way. So Ron Rivera says he has no idea about Cam Newton's Week five status. He does have an extra day with Monday Night Football. That is a blessing and a curse for fantasy owners because he has an extra day to recover and you have less options at the quarterback position. So, you know, I would expect Cam Newton to play. He's. He's a strong guy. He finds his way on the field. But if you don't pass the test, you don't pass the test. What are your, what are your kind of possibilities as a Cam Newton owner this week with that matchup in the situation on Monday night, if worse comes.

[Mike Wright]

To worse, I would just pick up Derek Anderson and play him against the Bucks.

[Jason Moore]

What about would you rather play Derek Anderson against the Bucks or have Jameis Winston at home against Carolina? Because I would rather have Winston.

[Mike Wright]

It's in Carolina.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would still, right?

[Mike Wright]

Am I right?

[Jason Moore]

Yes. No, it is in Carolina.

You're right. It is in Carolina.

Both of those are good options. I think Derek Anderson has shown that he can be productive for fantasy when Cam is out, so he's a good backup plan. Jameis Winston is owned in most leagues. I would say, look, if you are playing against the Cam Newton opponent and James Winston is owned already by a team, I would personally, I would go pick up Derek Anderson.

Let me give you guys a those listening in this situation because you know tons of Cam Newton owners, if you grab that quote unquote quarterback handcuff whether it's Winston or Derek Anderson, because you have to. Right in the waiver wire situation today and tomorrow. If you do that, bear in mind the fact that if you get good news about Cam, let's say Monday morning, you can still drop that guy and sign a Cameron Brait or somebody else in the game that night so that you can put somebody else on your roster and you're not stuck with a quarterback.

Good strategy.

Zach Ertz's MRI has come back clear. He plans to play. He'll be in the lineup against the Lions. Another weapon for wince.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

Bruce Arians is optimistic about Palmer for Thursday.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we'll see.

[Jason Moore]

He is the opposite situation though, of Cam. If you don't get Carson Palmer back on Thursday, then, well, you know, ahead of time and you've got a lot of other options. You could just bench him and sign somebody else.

That being said, the Cardinals did move up a guy from their practice squad and signed him to their roster at quarterback. That is a very, very telling sign. The optimism can be there, but the coach does not control the concussion protocol. They're being smart in having a backup there. But it says there is a real strong possibility he misses this week. So all the optimism in the world from Arians, it doesn't do it for me. I don't believe that he plays this week. I hope he does. I'm a Carson Palmer owner and we.

Are just start him so opposite today. I think Carson Palmer definitely plays and I think you have no choice but to bring up a practice squad guy because of the short week.

Yeah, well, you have no choice but the Opposite.

Next thing you're going to tell me is that Charles Sims is healthy.

Charles Sims workload will decrease going forward.

Well, it helps because he has a. He has a right knee injury. So we agree. Yeah. Charles Sims is. Was not at practice today and is dealing with the right knee injury. Doug Martin is unlikely to play this week. And so I don't know if it's going to be the Jacquiz Rogers show against Carolina in Carolina, but I think.

[Mike Wright]

I think this is a motivational thing in. Dirk Cutter also came out, said he's very concerned about Jameis Winston. He said Winston's going to throw less. So if Winston's going to throw less, Charles Sims isn't going to play running back. Basically, the Buccaneers are just going to play defense.

[Jason Moore]

Jason, take this next one, this next one here. The Baltimore sun reports.

Well, it's already official, by the way.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, it happened.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

The Ravens have moved on from Justin for sets now. I don't know why I'm doing the sad music because late in the year I believe we flip flopped on this position. And so I'm really excited about Kenneth Dixon.

You know what you didn't flip flop on. And the reason you're doing this.

What?

It's because you flip flopped on his, like the prognostication of him. But you spent half of your summer telling me how good Justin for Said is. And that's what you've never retracted. You've never told me.

[Mike Wright]

You've never retracted.

[Jason Moore]

I got it.

I got it. So here. No, here's the thing. Here's the true apology. Here's the true apology.

How is it ridiculous and he got released.

I apologize to you for fully convincing you and having you come on board.

I came on board to the opportunity. I never came on board to the talent.

We really are opposites today. We are.

And we're not all. Not animus. This is a. I mean, just friends disagreeing, one person being right, one person being wrong.

[Mike Wright]

That's bananas.

[Jason Moore]

What's bananas?

He's.

[Mike Wright]

He has stunk this year. This year.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

But I think that Justin for Said stinks, though. Like, he's been great his entire career. This year's. But, I mean, it's gone.

[Jason Moore]

You could say he stinks. You could say he stunked. You could say he stunks. All of those are true for this year. He was just released after he was just paid four weeks ago. He got paid, resigned, and paid. You have to stink bad to do this.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I mean, I don't know what the actual Restructuring of the contract was. I'm sure. It was very performance based.

[Jason Moore]

I'm sure. All right, I think that does it for our news. You guys want to talk waivers?

Yep.

Jason, you want to argue waivers?

Apparently. I would just say this for people listening. I will say this. Please go with my advice.

[Andy Holloway]

Put me in. Coach.

[Jason Moore]

Not on grammar.

I want a water bet on Carson Palmer. You take that, too.

[Andy Holloway]

Water bet.

[Jason Moore]

Such a stupid bet that he'll play. It is a stupid bet because it's just random because we don't.

[Mike Wright]

We don't know whether he's going to.

[Jason Moore]

Well, the nice thing about this is as. As Arizona locals, if he plays, I'm happy. Now, if he doesn't play, I get something for it.

Cardinals coach Breeze Arian says that Carson Palmer will be cleared in time for Thursday's game against the 49ers.

[Mike Wright]

You're making that up.

[Jason Moore]

I am making that up. He said there's a chance he'll be cleared.

Yeah, there's a chance that he'll be.

[Mike Wright]

Cleared, which means he's not going to be cleared.

[Jason Moore]

Well, wait, why does it mean that he won't be cleared if there's a chance?

Well, when you say that there's a chance something happens, that means the expectation is the opposite of that. So if I say yeah, there's a chance that she'll say yes. When I ask her, I'll give it up. The assumption there is. She's probably not going to say yes.

So, like, there's a chance Jason will win these water bets. Is that what you like? That type of a. All right, waiver wire pickups this week. Week number five. We've got a number of guys to bring to your attention. What I'm going to try to do is give you scenarios and players that you would have to drop and make decisions about for these guys. You guys can start bringing them up with me as well. But let's start with kind of the headliners at the wide receiver position. There are a few guys that are owned in more than 50% of leagues that we still want to bring to your attention because of how well they performed and what we think of them going forward. Steve Smith is the headliner there. 61% owned, but that means, you know, 39% not owned.

Yeah, he absolutely needs to be a 100% owned player. I would also throw John Brown into the mix here because he's also available in about 35% of leagues. Those two guys have a track record of being proven fantasy assets. They're on teams that pass the ball. They're very talented wide receivers and it's taken a couple of weeks for both of them to get back because of their injuries. But now you saw from this last week they are ready to go. I mean, there are very few middle tier wide receivers I would want on my roster more than a Steve Smith or a John Brown going forward once Carson Palmer gets back.

[Mike Wright]

Steve Smith has had 11 targets the last two weeks. And you go back last year through the first six weeks, he was eighth in average fantasy points per game for the wide receiver position before going down with the Achilles and everything on the the old eyeballs. Watch as Steve Smith says that he is returning to form.

[Jason Moore]

Steve Smith, Mike Wallace, rest of season.

[Mike Wright]

Smith.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Smith not close.

Yeah, I just had to make sure Michael Thomas takes on San Diego this week. He's owned at 57% of leagues.

[Mike Wright]

New Orleans, Mike Thomas.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

Yeah, I mean the only one, you're the only one anybody's aware of, you know, Michael Thomas needs to be considered the big name. To me, you know, only 40% owned right now. Quincy and Unwa. Eric Decker is up against it.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

With this shoulder injury, he's already come out and said that he's basically not going to be healthy this year. That the only scenario for him outside of surgery is to play through tremendous discomfort at some point. I don't think he'll play this week. I think Anunwa, you know, at Pittsburgh, the way Pittsburgh played at home this past week, a lot of passing opportunities for Anunwa. I think he's a great spot start. You already have your bye week starting this week, Right. Seattle, Kansas City. So if you have a Macklin, if you have a Baldwin, I think Anunois a guy you can start.

Yeah. I mean, Eric Decker. With Eric Decker playing so far in the majority of the games this year, Quincy Annun has, I mean he's, he's right behind Amari Cooper right now in fantasy production. Now you take Eric Decker out and he's definitely a guy that can start and is available in most leagues.

[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

I use grave beforeshave.com.

[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

Awesome. And we also want to thank another of today's sponsors. You've heard me talk about them before. I'm a proud owner of a Casper mattress. So we thank Casper for supporting this podcast. Look, the Casper is an obsessively engineered mattress. And the thing about that is it comes at a shockingly fair price. Listen to this. You can get, instead of paying, you know, mattresses well over $1,500. My wife and I, we were looking for mattresses like half a year ago. Instead, Casper's cost 500 bucks for a twin size mattress, 600 for a twin XL, 750 for a full, $850 for a queen, $950 for a king. And this is a comfortable mattress. My wife was complaining about her mattress forever, and now we've got a Casper. And she loves it. Obsessively engineered combines springy latex with supportive memory foam. Creates an award winning sleep service with just the right sync, the right bounce. Time magazine named it one of the best inventions of 2015. And free shipping and returns. You get a 100 night trial in your home. So if you don't like the way it feels, if you don't trust me, try it for 100 days. If you don't love it, they pick it up, they refund you everything. And this is a Made in America Mattress. So get $50 towards any mattress purchase right now by visiting Casper.comfootballers and using the code footballers. All right, all right.

Let me talk about the wide receiver that I would be picking up if I need a spot start. We kind of talked about him already, but that would be Eddie Royal. Yeah, Eddie Royal is available. Okay. He's, he's, he's on your waiver wire right now. In the vast majority, yeah.

He's only owned in like 9% of leagues right now.

Right, exactly. So 91% of the leagues. You can have him. He has been great this season so far. He has put up double digit touchdowns in half point PPR format or touchdowns. Double digit fantasy points. At three out of four weeks.

I want double digit touchdowns now.

You have. At the very least, at the very least, you have a hobbled Alshon Jeffrey and a hobbled Kevin White. You might be missing one of those two guys. And they're going up against the Colts now, the Colts secondary. I mean, we joke about this on Sundays when we're watching the game this year. How many times have we texted each other like there's another Colt DB down on the ground. Just unbelievable. So I believe. And the nice thing is with, with the Colts is that they put up a lot of points. Andrew Luck is going to be able to score on the Bears and so Eddie Royal should be able to get it done. And if you're in any kind of return yardage league, it's just an extra bonus.

[Mike Wright]

The couple names I want to throw out, I've talked about him for a few weeks. Chris Hogan, I think he's a great stash with Tom Brady coming back. We've seen, we've seen Brandon lefell be successful in that year or in that position when he was in New England. And Sammy Coates is on the rise for me. He's looked better. He's getting far more involved. He had eight targets last week and he gets to play the jets, which are a very beatable secondary right now. And Coates is just, he's going downfield. He a ton of passes over 20 yards, 20 plus yards. And he's just, he has surpassed, I think all the other backup receivers besides Brown. You had Marcus Wheaton got benched for Darius Hayward Bay and then Hayward Bay went out and of course Wheaton got his touchdown. But Sammy Coates is now the wide receiver to kind of officially for the Steelers.

[Jason Moore]

I do want to pause for one second to address something. We had a couple of people talk to us yesterday thinking we were making light of the concussion by Cam Newton, as though we were actually, you know, happy that he got hurt. I think we were pretty clear on the show. The fact that, you know, J Mike, you came out and said that you weren't happy and you know, I said for a fact that I think it was a little bit less showboating. He looked to the left, thought the guy was away, took to the right, then he Slowed down. And so we were joking about that. It's not. I don't think I want to make it clear that we're not saying we're happy he got injured. Jason was making the point. Comparing it to ufc. Ufc and the fact that when somebody lets their guard down on purpose, on.

Purpose to egg on getting hit.

Right. It was the fact that he had to pay a price for that. Not necessarily got hurt. Right, right.

I don't. I'm certainly not happy. Got her. I would love for Cam to be in there. I really am a Cam fan.

Right.

But when you're saying, hey, try to hit me, I hope you get hit.

Well, there's a big difference between, you know, there's a lot of sensitivity around camera now because he keeps taking hits in the pocket that aren't getting flagged. And I think that's ridiculous.

Yeah, it's not fair.

But in that situation, as a runner slowing up, I mean, he should have protected himself. He's accountable to his own decision making on that play. And the hit was appropriate. He was trying to keep him out of the end zone.

He could have just jogged in and this wouldn't have been an issue at all.

All right, running back, waiver wire. It's time to talk big names here. Everybody needs a running back. And you know, you have Chris Michael on by this week. You've got the Kansas City Chiefs running backs on by. Who is the headliner that you want to talk about?

[Mike Wright]

Well, Jordan Howard is. He's not widely available, but if he is, you need to pick him up. He looks like a legit running back, a legitimate three down workhorse running back. And John Fox has said as much. The big guy, the big headliner this week is Terrence West. The aforementioned Justin for set is no longer in town. Buck Allen was the backup and the clear backup to Terrence West. Now, west is not a pass catching running back. So this was a product of the game flow that he was able to bang out. He had 21 carries for 111 yards or 20. Yeah, 113 yards. Sorry. And so he's. He's definitely worth picking up. But on the same token is Kenneth Dixon, who. Wow. Terrence west has kind of thrown some cold water on the quick emergence of Kenneth Dixon. If Terrence west can play well, Dixon will still eat into his workload. I think he can take over the passing role of Buck Allen quickly. But if west continues to play well, then you're not going to see Dixon just usurp him immediately. Why Dixon, I think, is A great stash is because he could. He could outperform west and play his way into the starting role. Unlike a lot of backups where it takes an injury. I mean, Dixon can. Dixon can do it himself.

[Jason Moore]

Are you guys dropping Cameron Artist Pain for Terrence West?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would. I think Cameron Artist Pain is going to be fine. In games where they are ahead and, you know, the game script is run the ball. What. What we saw last week was shockingly, that Carolina was way down and they had to throw the ball. That's why Fozzie Whitaker got so involved. I believe he was their leading receiver.

He was.

And he was a running back, so he. I mean, Whitaker should be looked at as well. But for me, if I'm out there on the waiver wire and I had to make this decision last week, so this shows that I actually, I. I liked him before any news came out of possible injury to Matt Forte. But that's Bilal Powell. That's a guy, I think that really needs to be picked up right now because he has been great on the season. You watch every single snap where he's touched the ball and he's done something special with it. He's a very talented running back. The team really likes him. They paid him. But they brought in Matt Forte, and Matt Forte got 77% of the touches of the snaps in weeks one and two. In weeks three and four, he had 56%. It's starting to change. And now if there is that rumored injury to Matt Forte, Bilal Powell is the type of guy that I think would take over. He's not going to get, you know, 100% of what Matt Forte got in week one and two, but he would be a good fantasy option.

Would you. Would you drop TJ Yelden for Terrence West?

[Mike Wright]

I would.

[Jason Moore]

Even though you have a very. You just talked about Kenneth Dixon, so you're talking about very temporary situation. I'm saying Terrence west versus a more permanent one for TJ Yelden. And for the record, Yelden looked much better than Ivory this past week. Yelden was well over five a carry and had a bunch of really impressive runs, catches.

[Mike Wright]

See, I didn't see. The way I saw the game was the Colts were just letting him run.

[Jason Moore]

But they didn't let Ivory run.

[Mike Wright]

Ivory had a couple good runs, but I just. That's what I saw. We can.

[Jason Moore]

What about. What about the statistics?

[Mike Wright]

Maybe overall, Ivory was not as strong of statistically as Ivory or as Yelden. But I felt like when I was watching Yelden, he was just getting these wide open lanes from the Colts, which he's not going to get, and he hasn't gotten up until that point. So I'm still not on team Yelden.

[Jason Moore]

Well, you don't have to be on team Yelden. I would rather have west for a couple weeks.

I think when. When you're talking about guys like that right where you. You're not necessarily going to start either, but you might need to start one on a given week. This would be a good time. I mean, obviously we haven't brought this up, but we got by weeks. This week. TJ Yeldin is on by and so if you needed to drop a TJ Yelden who's on by for a Terrence west who can play, I'm absolutely fine with that. As far as who I think is better rest of season, I think rest of season, Yelden's role is more secure because I do think Dixon takes on. But for the next couple of weeks, I would rather have West.

Yelden is the number 24 ranked running back. There's no chance you drop that. How do you drop the 24 ranked running back?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's. That's a fair point.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's talk about a couple other guys. Orleans Dark was scored again last night. We don't know how long Rashad Jennings is going to be out or not involved. To be honest, I was more impressed with Bobby Rainey in that game. Rainey ran hard. He was more elusive. Love Bobby Rainey caught a bunch of passes. He will. He only earned himself more playing time. So I'm not super excited about Dark.

We saw the flash from Paul Perkins, their only large play of the game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's a mess there. I'm not, I'm not touching any of these New York running backs right now.

[Jason Moore]

All right. And then Wendell Smallwood. We talked about Ryan Matthews. Smallwood last week was 17 for 79 and a touchdown. He's only owned in 9.9% of leagues. You must add him if you have a. If you have the opportunity to add Smallwood, you know some of these rookies and see what they become. DeAndre Washington. I like having those on my bench. Unless you're desperate. Unless you have a bunch of buys and you have to unload these guys. So. All right, let's move on to tight ends. Who are the tight ends you're looking to pick up this week? There are a lot of guys that are, you know, probably one of these names is available in your league.

[Mike Wright]

The biggest, those three guys of Kyle Rudolph Tyler Ifert and Jimmy Graham. I mean, these guys are mostly owned, but we just want to throw the names out there just in case they happen to be available.

[Jason Moore]

25% of leagues that are available. So that's why I'm saying one of them might be, you know, in your league.

Let's say all three are available. Who are you? Who are you going after? Rudolph, I for or Graham. Which three of Rudolph and Graham? Let's say they're all available. Who are you grabbing?

Me, personally, I'm grabbing Jimmy Graham.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Better offense, better circumstances. Rudolph has flashed before and I know it's four weeks and the target numbers are there, so it might not change, but there is still scenarios where that defense is so darn good that he seems to get shut down. Jimmy Graham seems to be like the one, like one B on the reads.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

This is another one of those practical situations where you have to look and say, you know, I don't want to. Personally, I don't like rostering two tight ends. I very rarely do it unless I was holding on to like an effort for injury reasons. Jimmy Graham is on by this week, so if you're picking him up, you're kind of burning that second roster spot for a tight end. For that reason, I would take Rudolph, but I agree that Graham is probably more assured. I am really impressed with Graham. I can't believe he was able to come back from that type of an injury.

[Mike Wright]

So the guys who are more widely available. My target would be Zach Ertz. He was dropped in a good bit of leagues. He's available in almost 40% of ESPN leagues. He had a great week one. I mean, he. You saw the rapport, the instant rapport with, with Carson Wentz and moving forward, I think he's the second best option, the second best pass catcher on the team. Behind you have Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz. Zach Ertz had seven targets. He was 6 for 58 in week one. And the biggest news of that story is Carson Wentz looks like a capable quarterback. And if you have a capable quarterback and the number two target is your tight end, that's a guy I want on my team.

[Jason Moore]

I'll go with another Zach, I think Zach Miller, you know, you have. We talked about the two injured, you know, Kevin White and Alison Jeffrey, who, by the way, I think they're going to do that thing where you, you know how you like to tie your legs together and you become one player like you.

[Mike Wright]

Three legged race.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, three legged race. I think they're going to do that. Become One wide receiver, Zach Miller. You know, another touchdown this past week and Hoyer has looked to him in the red zone. Not a lot of other options.

[Mike Wright]

I think it's good.

[Jason Moore]

I think another guy very much worth picking up. He's only owned in 9% of leagues. He is among the league leaders in red zone targets. Targets inside inside the 20. He's total targets at the tight end goal line targets. And that's Cameron Brait. Cameron Brait has more top 12 fantasy weeks this year than Austin's Ferrian Jenkins had last year. And we're in week four.

Love the targets. I mean he, he's looking to him.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah, no, that's.

[Jason Moore]

And he looked to him against Denver. A tough matchup.

[Mike Wright]

That's a great name. And Hunter Henry has. As long as Antonio Gates is out, Hunter Henry has shown more than capable of and not just hoping that it gets a touchdown. I mean you're getting good yardage out of him as well.

[Jason Moore]

What's the latest on Gates? You expect him to play this week?

[Mike Wright]

I don't think so. I can, I can look and see if there's been an update.

[Jason Moore]

All right, streaming defensive options this week. I love the Rams and the Bills and the Bills and the Rams. Okay, so like I don't know which of those two options I would choose. The Bills are going on the road to la so I guess I would take the home option. The Steelers are taking on the jets and the Steelers at home look great last week. Plus Ryan Fitzpatrick is good for at least two interceptions.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So maybe I take one back to the house.

I'm going to continue rolling. I know a lot of people right now who played the Patriots defense this last week. They were had to have been very disappointed. I'm going to roll them again. I think that Bill Belichick gets that ship righted. You come back, you've got Cleveland at home. I think that's another great option.

[Mike Wright]

Great option.

[Jason Moore]

All right, you guys ready to move on?

[Mike Wright]

Let's do it.

[Andy Holloway]

Full stream ahead.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's talk streaming quarterback options.

[Mike Wright]

I'll jump in.

[Jason Moore]

You going back to the well, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

I absolutely am. I'm going with Brian Hoyer who is 3.9% owned. Look, Brian Hoyer has started two weeks. Brian Hoyer has been a quarterback one for two weeks. I mean look he's. We saw him last year in Houston was a more than capable fill in fantasy quarterback. He got it done with the under Hopkins and he has weapons.

[Jason Moore]

Say Hopkins must miss him.

[Mike Wright]

He probably does. And for Hoyer I will, I will throw this caveat out. If for some reason you're looking at Alshon and Kevin White are not going, I would probably pull back on Brian Hoyer, but as long as one of those guys is in there with Eddie Royal and Zach Miller and Jordan Howard, who is great in the receiving game, Brian Hoyer, I think is a great option. Again, he just is. Like I said, as long as it's not the playoffs, Brian Hoyer can perform for you.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Jason, who's your streaming quarterback option?

My streaming quarterback option was Brian Hoyer.

[Mike Wright]

And then, sorry, he takes on the Colts.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. By the way, which is, as I mentioned, a great matchup here. Unfortunately, he was taken. So then I went to pick another guy and a little spoiler alert, Andy had picked him. So my third option, if you, if you don't have Mike's or Andy's available, is Trevor Simeon. Trevor Simeon. Look, he obviously you don't want to.

Just go with quarterback of the Broncos. Do you want to just do that?

I don't know that you would play.

I would, yeah.

I will. We'll see as the practice reports come out. And I will change Trevor Simeon. If he's not going to be the starter, I will pick a different guy. For now, I think that because it's, you know, it's an injury in his off shoulder, in his left shoulder. They've said they're going to give him every chance to play. I expect Trevor Simeon to play and if he does, he's going up against Atlanta. He's at home. And if you don't know what Atlanta has done, because look, they are a very surprising team. Matt, Matt Ryan has been amazing, but they have given up. Here's how many touchdowns they gave up. Week one, four, Week two, three. Week three, three. Week four, three. That's freaking nonsense.

Thirteen.

That's just, that's just through the air. Not rushing touchdowns, not total touchdowns, just.

13 passing touchdowns in four weeks.

So I'm going to take pretty much anybody. If you're an NFL quarterback and you're playing against Atlanta right now, I can stream you. So, yeah, I guess that does say Pax and Lynch.

You got there.

Yeah, I got.

So moments before Jason chose his streaming quarterback this morning, I chose Carson wentz against Detroit, 23% owned. I know the hype around him is exciting. He's a fun option for people who are Philly fans, that's for sure. But the guy has a great matchup this week. He's going up against the 31st ranked pass defense, a team that has given up 46, 23, 36 and 26 against the quarterbacks they faced. I think Wentz, with Ertz back into the fold, the option he has out of the backfield with Smallwood and Sprouls and Ryan Matthews. And Ryan Matthews, maybe. Look, they're playing well. They're playing very well. So I think Wentz is a guy. Each week we choose starting quarterback streaming quarterback options that are available in your league. So if you are going into this week without a great matchup, these are options for you. I think Wentz fits the mold, I think Simeon fits the mold and I think Hoyer fits the mold. So.

So just out of curiosity, Pro Football Focus through four weeks, their gradings on quarterbacks. You want to take a guess who the number one graded quarterback is?

Oh, gosh, don't tell me.

[Mike Wright]

I want to know.

[Jason Moore]

It's Carson Wentz.

[Mike Wright]

What? Wow. Oh, man. And also Joe Flacco at home is against Washington. It's another decent option to agree.

[Jason Moore]

All right, well, look, if you have a question for tomorrow's show, make sure you go to the website, the Fancy Footballers.com. submit it over to us. If you have words of encouragement for me after that bad beat last night, please send them over cookies, flowers, whatever it takes. I. That was a tough one.

We need a story time with Andy Drop like we have with story time with Jason because I believe we are about to do another story time with Andy.

Yeah.

On our YouTube show after.

It's been a rough week.

[Mike Wright]

Get your life together.

[Jason Moore]

It's been a rough week. You vacation. I'm going on vacation. That's very smart. After today's show. We're doing the show after the show on YouTube and I'm going to tell you my other stupid story. So make sure you tune in on. Tune in on YouTube.

[Mike Wright]

Fantasyjocks.com Thank you so much for sponsoring the studio. I got all your trophy and winner [e-mail] with the promo code footballers.

[Jason Moore]

They got anything for sad people like me?

They do.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you. Forcing this episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.