Week 16 Matchups + Injury Concerns, Big Play Big Day

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode: Week 16 Matchups + Injury Concerns, Big Play Big Day
Release Date: December 20, 2019
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Introduction

The Fantasy Footballers kick off Week 16 with a lively discussion covering critical matchups, injury concerns, and strategic fantasy football advice. Hosts Andy Holloway and Melvin Gordon delve deep into the intricacies of the upcoming games, offering insights to help listeners optimize their fantasy lineups.

2. Foot Clan Friday

Winner Announcement:
The segment titled Foot Clan Friday rewarded Taylor Bradford, a Foot Clan supporter from jointhefoot.com, with a $55 gift card to shopballers.com.
Melvin Gordon (02:48):
“Taylor Bradford, Foot Clan supporter from jointhefoot.com you win 55. A $55 gift card to shopballers.com.”

Community Engagement:
Listeners are encouraged to support their champions with Foot Clan merchandise, including T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs—perfect for showcasing league victories.

3. Key News and Injury Updates

Dalvin Cook & Alexander Madison:
Dalvin Cook is not expected to play this week due to injury, casting uncertainty on Alexander Madison’s status.
Melvin Gordon (04:38):
“Dalvin Cook. Not expected to play. Alexander Madison didn't practice on Thursday. ... It looks like a high ankle sprain for Alexander Madison.”

Andy analyzes coach Mike Zimmer’s comments, expressing cautious optimism about Madison’s potential return but advising caution due to inconsistent practice participation.

Julian Edelman’s Status:
Edelman is confirmed to play, but concerns remain about his performance and injury status, impacting his reliability in fantasy lineups.
Melvin Gordon (05:27):
“All week, Julian Edelman will need to perform exceptionally to justify his spot in PPR leagues.”

Gerald Everett Returns:
Everett’s return affects tight end options, prompting a pivot to alternatives like Jacob Hollister for owners relying on lower-tier tight ends for big games.

Joe Mixon’s Calf Injury:
A new calf injury for Joe Mixon introduces risk for his Week 16 performance, especially given his favorable matchup.
Andy Holloway (08:24):
“Joe Mixon is a smash play. ... Anytime it pops up late in the week and it's new, ... those have a tendency to end up with surprise inactives.”

4. Matchup Analysis

A. Steelers vs. Jets

• Record & Favorites:
  Steelers (8-6) are three-point favorites over the Jets (5-9).

• Key Players:
  James Conner remains the primary running back option for Pittsburgh.
  Melvin Gordon (13:44):
  “They put squarely on the shoulders of Connor who is outside the top 12 as a running back to this week.”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Start James Conner and Le'Veon Bell despite Bell’s tough matchup, emphasizing consistency and volume over uncertain alternatives like D.J. Chark.

B. Ravens vs. Browns

• Record & Favorites:
  Baltimore Ravens (12-2) are 10-point favorites over the Cleveland Browns (6-8).

• Key Players:
  Nick Chubb remains a cornerstone for Cleveland despite concerns about the Ravens' run defense.
  Melvin Gordon (17:31):
  “So you're not benching Nick Chubb? He's been a rock star ...”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Start Nick Chubb and Lamar Jackson, leveraging their high performances and favorable matchups. Consider Hollywood Brown for his explosive potential against a vulnerable Browns secondary.

C. Chargers vs. Raiders

• Record & Favorites:
  Los Angeles Chargers (6-8) are seven-point favorites against the Oakland Raiders (5-9).

• Key Players:
  Mike Boone is recommended over Aaron Jones for Cleveland’s matchup due to better matchup prospects.
  Andy Holloway (39:13):
  “If I knew for sure. I have flipped. If I knew for sure. And I feel very confident right now that it's Boone.”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Emphasize Darren Waller over Tyrell Williams due to target distribution changes with Hunter Renfrow’s return. Consider streaming options like Philip Rivers based on defensive weaknesses.

D. Jaguars vs. Falcons

• Record & Favorites:
  Jacksonville Jaguars (5-9) vs. Atlanta Falcons (5-9), with Falcons as 7.5-point favorites.

• Key Players:
  Matt Ryan is highlighted as a prime start, backed by Devonta Freeman.
  Melvin Gordon (28:35):
  “... Matt Ryan is a top wide receiver quarterback and ...”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Start Matt Ryan and Devonta Freeman, leveraging their consistent target volumes and favorable matchups against the struggling Jaguars defense.

E. Cowboys vs. Eagles

• Record & Favorites:
  Dallas Cowboys (7-7) are 1.5-point favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles (7-7).

• Key Players:
  Ezekiel Elliott is a must-start due to his consistent performance and volume.
  Melvin Gordon (52:35):
  “That should have counted. And so another week of health ... I'm Austin Hooper's name.”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Exercise caution with Dak Prescott’s injury status. Start Ezekiel Elliott and consider alternative wide receivers if Prescott’s availability is uncertain. Emphasize high-performing tight ends like Greg Ward.

F. Packers vs. Vikings

• Record & Favorites:
  Green Bay Packers (5-8-1) vs. Minnesota Vikings (10-4-1), with Vikings as five-and-a-half-point favorites.

• Key Players:
  Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen are pivotal for the Vikings against a mediocre Packers run defense.
  Melvin Gordon (64:00):
  “Stefan Diggs... he's... leading the league in yards per target.”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Start Kirk Cousins and Devante Adams, leveraging their target volume and the Vikings' ability to exploit Packers' defensive weaknesses.

G. Chiefs vs. Bears

• Record & Favorites:
  Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) are six-point favorites over the Chicago Bears (7-7).

• Key Players:
  Anthony Miller emerges as a reliable target with consistent snap counts.
  Andy Holloway (59:29):
  “They've been great. So I worry about that.”

• Fantasy Advice:
  Start Anthony Miller and Allen Robinson, considering their high target volumes and the Bears' less formidable pass defense.

5. Fantasy Advice

Start/Bench Recommendations

• Mike Boone vs. DeAndre Washington:
  Andy favors Mike Boone for his consistent matchup potential, though Melvin underscores the complexities of relying solely on Boone due to potential game script changes.
  Melvin Gordon (38:50):
  “... he could see something unexpected from the Chargers’ past D.”

• Kyle Boddy vs. Adam Thielen:
  Both hosts recommend Tyler Boyd over Adam Thielen due to Thielen’s injury concerns and Boyd’s favorable matchup.
  Melvin Gordon (70:30):
  “Tyler Boyd, just 6200...”

Ballers on a Budget Picks

• Andy Holloway's Picks:

  • Justin Watson ($5,700):
    Despite concerns, Andy values Watson’s upside in a game plagued by injuries.
    Andy Holloway (68:43):
    “Hollywood Brown at 5700 is such a good price that I am in for sure.”

  • Tyler Boyd ($6,200):
    Chosen for his cost-effectiveness and strong matchup against Miami’s secondary.
    Melvin Gordon (70:30):
    “... very cheap, very inexpensive compared to the value I think you're going to get.”

• Melvin Gordon's Picks:

  • Hollywood Brown:
    Advocated for his explosive potential in a favorable matchup.
    Melvin Gordon (21:26):
    “... you could be on that. He's in the start worthy category.”

  • Tyler Boyd:
    Highlighted for his affordability and high target volume.
    Melvin Gordon (70:30):
    “Tyler Boyd, just 6200...”

6. Conclusion

The Fantasy Footballers wrap up the episode by reminding listeners to engage with their community via jointhefoot.com and follow them on Twitter for ongoing updates and live sessions. Emphasis is placed on finalizing lineups ahead of crucial Week 16 matchups and preparing for a high-stakes Week 17 and playoff run.

Melvin Gordon (72:01):
“Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.”

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Notable Quotes

• Melvin Gordon (04:38):
  “Alejandro Madison doesn't practice, ... looks like a high ankle sprain.”

• Andy Holloway (08:24):
  “Joe Mixon is a smash play. ... surprise inactives.”

• Melvin Gordon (13:44):
  “That's outside the top 12 as a running back this week.”

• Andy Holloway (17:31):
  “Nick Chubb... a rock star...”

• Melvin Gordon (21:26):
  “... start worthy category.”

• Andy Holloway (38:50):
  “... Chargers’ past D.”

• Melvin Gordon (70:30):
  “Tyler Boyd, just 6200...”

These quotes encapsulate the hosts' key points on player assessments, injury impacts, and strategic lineup decisions essential for maximizing fantasy performance in Week 16.

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Final Thoughts

This Week 16 episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast delivers comprehensive coverage of critical matchups and player updates, essential for any fantasy manager aiming to secure their championship title. By blending analytical insights with actionable advice, the hosts equip listeners with the knowledge needed to navigate the final stretch of the NFL regular season effectively.

Transcript

[Melvin Gordon]

This is Melvin Gordon from the Los Angeles Chargers, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

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

[Melvin Gordon]

Welcome in a special day of the week. Apparently we're on the cusp of Christmas Day. I didn't even. My son told me this morning we were five days away. I said, hahaha.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, hahahaha.

[Melvin Gordon]

Stupid boy.

[Andy Holloway]

Andy, it's ho, ho, ho. Because he's correct. We are five days away.

[Melvin Gordon]

It's December 20th.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

I'm feeling a little bit disappointed. Only in a. Like, I didn't soak up enough Christmas, you know what I mean?

[Andy Holloway]

Like I told this, I don't know why it's felt like we've been so busy, but I'm still waiting for the two weeks that are right before Christmas where you go out and look at Christmas lights and watch movies. Yeah, like, I'm looking forward to that time. It's gonna be good.

[Melvin Gordon]

You only got a couple days left. I mean, how early did you guys start celebrating?

[Andy Holloway]

Right after Halloween. Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. You would think that that would have gotten it done.

[Andy Holloway]

Still not enough, Brooks.

[Melvin Gordon]

Maybe that's a problem. Maybe we need to examine our philosophy.

[Andy Holloway]

No. How dare you.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right, Friday, December 20th. Welcome into the show. We got Foot Clan Friday. Today we got the rest of the fantasy forecast. Some news to catch you up on Ballers on a Budget. A big weekend, three Saturday games, a Sunday slate. And then some of you, your title is going to come down to Monday Night Football.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a good game. Green Bay, Minnesota, a lot on the line.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. And you've got the Dalvin Cook to Madison to Boone. Boone likely starting. I mean, Mike Boone's going to.

[Andy Holloway]

Boone will win championship.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

That's. That's the truth. I believe at the end of the day, there will be people who win their championship with Mike Boone.

[Melvin Gordon]

Just like we said at the beginning of the year. Nobody listens.

[Andy Holloway]

We told y'all, pick up Mike Boone. If you're the Dalvin Cook owner, if.

[Melvin Gordon]

You'Re the Alexander Madison owner, because you're the Dalvin Cook owner, pick up Mike Boone.

[Andy Holloway]

Always handcuff your handcuffs.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's one of the big philosophies on this show.

[Andy Holloway]

Super successful.

[Melvin Gordon]

Jay Grizz. Jay Grizz is here as well. It's Friday.

[Andy Holloway]

Foot Clan Friday.

[Melvin Gordon]

Taylor Bradford. Congratulations, Taylor Bradford, Foot clan supporter from jointhefoot.com you win 55. A $55 gift card to shopballers.com Taylor, I hope you're a champion because there is a brand new Foot Clan title T shirt. Actually, there's a hoodie, there's a shirt, there's some mugs, multiple ways to brag.

[Andy Holloway]

If you don't win your championship, you can still buy those things for whoever did.

[Melvin Gordon]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Or you just get yourself like a ballers T shirt.

[Melvin Gordon]

I can't imagine you would ever buy.

[Andy Holloway]

Me something if you beat me in a championship. I can honestly say I would never get you.

[Melvin Gordon]

I have the time hop app on my phone.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Melvin Gordon]

That gives you the whatever happened a year ago, two years ago, one year ago today. Do you know what you did?

[Andy Holloway]

Jason probably celebrated a championship. Oh, was that what I got? Brooks pizza.

[Melvin Gordon]

You bought Brooks a pizza before your matchup with him and delivered it to him in your weird, superstitious way of trying to pre congratulate him for his title in order to win a title yourself.

[Andy Holloway]

Which I did.

[Melvin Gordon]

I love pizza. I was gonna say you accepted the pizza with open arms.

[Andy Holloway]

It's a consolation gift. Congratulations.

[Melvin Gordon]

You can't buy pizza on the website, not our website, but you can buy a Foot Clan title [e-mail] let's talk news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league presented by sleeper.

[Melvin Gordon]

Dalvin Cook. Not expected to play. Alexander Madison didn't practice on Thursday. After the show yesterday morning where I, you know, all but guaranteed Mike Boone starting, there was this Mike Zimmer quote about Alexander Madison, quote, has a chance. How do you interpret that situation?

[Andy Holloway]

I interpret that as he has a chance to do something someday. I mean, when Mike Zimmer talks about his players, you look at the history of what he said about Adam Thielen. Got a lot of people excited for Thielen a whole lot of weeks and it never came to fruition. So there's certain coaches, you know, if Bruce Arian says something, you can usually go with that. If he's like, oh, his hamstring looks bad, he's probably telling the truth. But yeah, with Zimmer, I look at what's going on in the practice field. What the beat reporters that are close by are saying it looks like a high ankle sprain for Alexander Madison. He didn't participate at all last week so far, not at all this week. I will be scared if he gets in a full practice, but even if he's limited on the sidelines or something, I'm not worried about Madison.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. We have confirmation that Julian Edelman will be playing this week. Never the best thing to have a player that needs confirmation like that, that you're counting on. Last week, it was the same type of story, and he had a very bad performance. He's expected to play, but really troubling snap counts last week, an amazing Bill secondary. Really a primary option in Edelman that if you stop him, you slow this offense tremendously. Because we haven't seen a rapport with Mohamed Sanu or Nikhil Harry or Philip Dorsett in recent weeks. Brady's been bad.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, so I heard Brady. Brady had a quote that Edelman like. He's basically almost called Edelman out. He's like, he needs to have a good game this week. The dude is playing through some major. His shoulder, his knee. I'm worried about Edelman, but if you're in a full PPR league and he's who got you here, it's going to be. You're going to have to have a really good option on the wire or on your bench to end up benching Julian Edelman after one bad game.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. Gerald Everett is going to play.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. This is bad news for all of the Higby owners. I think it does have an impact. I would prefer to not play Higby despite the fact that he has been on fire. Now, with Everett back, I would pivot to Jacob Hollister if I was the Higby owner.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. I think there's a big risk because Everett had had, what, eight reception games in the past before going down with the injury. If you're betting on a, you know, lower tier tight end to give you big numbers, I mean, it's Henry Hollister, Hooper, Howard, Cook Howard, probably.

[Andy Holloway]

Wait.

[Melvin Gordon]

Got it.

[Andy Holloway]

Henry Hollister, Hooper, Howard. Do you have to have your name starting with an H to be a championship worthy.

[Melvin Gordon]

Whoa. I'm a tight end. That's what I've always said. Derek Henry didn't practice on Thursday, didn't practice last week. We expect him to be out there. It's not mentioned here, but Dion Lewis is banged up too, so.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And Joe Mixon, this. This is actually, I think, something we have to keep our eyes on because he popped up on the Thursday injury report with a calf issue and this is a new injury. So if he is actually.

[Melvin Gordon]

And it's a great matchup.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, it's so good. I mean, Joe. Joe Mixon is a smash play. He would have been your start of the week. Andy, without a shred of doubt, if it wasn't too obvious that everyone in the world should be starting Joe Mixon. Like it was like, oh, I would have gone, Joe Mixon, he's great. He's just Smash play. But now you have to pay attention. If he is, if he's missing practices with the calf, I mean, there's risk. There's risk.

[Melvin Gordon]

But right now it's preliminary. It's just a brand new injury. And that's what gives you concern.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, because anytime it pops up late in the week and it's new, you didn't get to see it in a game. Those, those have a tendency to end up with surprise inactives.

[Melvin Gordon]

And if that happened, you're in a situation with what Giovanni Bernard against.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I'm not.

[Melvin Gordon]

Why, why wouldn't you.

[Andy Holloway]

Why wouldn't I pivot?

[Melvin Gordon]

Because it makes no sense when you look at like this is the DeAndre Washington argument from yesterday. Here's It's a. We just said it's a Smash matchup. Joe Mixon's a top five running back this week. When Lev Bell went out, people wanted to play Bilal Powell. Okay? Gio Bernard is better than Bilal Powell. When you know, Josh Jacobs goes out, you end up with DeAndre Washington, who has never been able to sniff the field except for injury. But everybody's going to play DeAndre Washington. I don't know why you wouldn't pivot to Bernard in a, in a gorgeous matchup. Myself.

[Andy Holloway]

I think the reason I don't want.

[Melvin Gordon]

To catch his passes, the reason I.

[Andy Holloway]

Don'T want to pivot to Bernard is because he's been so bad this year. He's. He's just been. I mean, he's 3.4 yards of carry behind that line like Joe Mixon was bad. And then they figured out how to make Joe Mixon on this bad team with a bad offensive line. Good. And when you watch the plays, we literally go to yesterday's show. I forget which show because we're doing so many. I said he. That Joe Mixon is making plays that no one else in the league would be able to do and that that's the only reason Joe Mixon's been good. Now, the matchup is great, so maybe GEO could be an option, but I would rather you know all those other names that you just brought up.

[Melvin Gordon]

Bilal Powell was terrible and every. On all of his carries before he had the opportunity. DeAndre Washington has not been good. That's all I'm saying. It's a great match. I would happily play Gio Bernard instantaneously if he had the backfield to himself.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Would you play him over the DeAndre Washington or boons, maybe. I would not. I'm on record.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, you are. All right. Game day alerts jointhefoot.com Sunday live answering your start sick questions one hour before Sunday kickoff. Very likely you'll have a Jason Moore Sunday live experience this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Congratulations.

[Melvin Gordon]

We'll get Mike back in here next week. News and notes is always brought to you by the sleeper app. Let's get back in the forecast.

[Andy Holloway]

Fantasy forecast.

[Melvin Gordon]

We got a lot of shows, a lot of matchups to get through.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, 10 matchups. We're about to cover one breath.

[Melvin Gordon]

One breath for all of them. Yesterday we covered six matchups. Texans, Buccaneers, Bills, Patriots, Rams, 49ers. Those are your Saturday games. Check your lineups. Make sure you get the players out of the flex into the positional spot so you have flexibility. A weird situation like the Joe Mixon one can come up and all of.

[Andy Holloway]

A sudden you want Joe Mixon in your flex.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

While you've got these Saturday players who you know would normally be in your flex. Get them, get them into the RB and the wide receivers. Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Like Mostert or Gurley. And then the Giants, Redskins, Bengals, Dolphins, Saints, Titans. We covered those games yesterday as well. Let's jump into the Steelers jets matchup. The Steelers are 8 and 6, the jets are 5 and 9. Steelers on the road here and just three point favorites in a 37 point over under the Steelers. While, look, they're defined by their defense. Right now they're fighting for a playoff spot, but the truth is they can. They're going to win dirty each and every week and they've done an amazing job coaching their way through. No Big Ben, you know, you've got Duck Hodges behind center. You've had no James Conner, no juju. That'll change this week.

[Andy Holloway]

It looks like it. Juju got full practice yesterday, so it appears he's going to be back on the field.

[Melvin Gordon]

You don't put him in your lineup?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, I'm not starting juju, Smith, Schuster, by any means. But it is good news for Pittsburgh, which is mostly irrelevant because there's only one player on Pittsburgh that you can consider starting, and that's James Conner.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's correct. James Conner, they want to integrate him into every. They want to win with defense and James Conner if they can. If Connor's body allows them to do that. And you know, last week he was.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, well, you saw a major timeshare last week, you know, which is not, you know, you look at the weeks prior when he was healthy, you know, James Conner three weeks ago played like or three games go was 83% of you know, the offensive snaps this last week was 58%. But I still think he's being given the most valuable snaps, the ones that matter. That's when Connor's out there, the goal line, you know, the important passing down.

[Melvin Gordon]

So he's the best pass catching running back and the best between the tackles running back on the team.

[Andy Holloway]

And it's not close.

[Melvin Gordon]

Not even close. No. And so yeah, you're right. That's the only option you're really looking at in this matchup with juju coming back. It devalues James Washington as a dart throw, Deontay Johnson as a dart throw and puts you squarely on the shoulders of Connor who we have outside the, you know, top 12. But as a running back to this.

[Andy Holloway]

Week, I have him ahead one spot over the running back. On the other side of the field, Le'Veon Bell, who has had enough volume to be a fine running back to most weeks for fantasy football. He's not what you drafted, but he's also not the worst. But this is a terrible matchup. And so Lev Bell, the last two times we've seen him, he has not been a running back to is the running back 28 and the running back 32. This is a horrific matchup. Are you scared to start him or are you just starting him with low expectations?

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, I think I have a little bit of apprehension. But know that the volume will be there and if you give him enough volume, you could be on that. He's in the start worthy category. RB2 flex category. Devlin Hodges had four picks last week. Darnold's been playing poorly. Whatever quarterback turns the ball over less wins the game. Maybe. I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's true. Are you going to start any of the receiving options? Robbie Anderson, Jameson Crowder. Oh, you had such a big game. I'm out. I'm out.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, I'm not, I'm. This is not what I want for my title game. I've made that decision in my CBS championship. I'm moving on from Robbie Anderson and I'm, you know, playing John Ross.

[Andy Holloway]

John Ross over Robbie Anderson.

[Melvin Gordon]

I think I am.

[Andy Holloway]

I think you just said it all right there. Do not play Robbie Anderson.

[Melvin Gordon]

Saying that out loud makes me feel dumb. It makes me feel dumb.

[Andy Holloway]

Sound a little dumb to be honest.

[Melvin Gordon]

It makes me sound dumb.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, because you just said you're playing John Ross.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's right. You're going with a gut. I am going with the mentality that I Don't win based on the past. I win based on this week. And this is a terrible matchup for Robbie Anderson, a terrible matchup for Jameson Crowder. I'm not leaning on that situation. I trust that John Ross will have more opportunity against Miami.

[Andy Holloway]

One of those guys.

[Melvin Gordon]

I can't believe I'm doing that.

[Andy Holloway]

One of these guys.

[Melvin Gordon]

Just saying it. Brooks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Probably gets a touchdown here because I think Sam Darnold throws a touchdown. And so it more than likely goes to one of these two guys.

[Melvin Gordon]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

You have no idea who.

[Melvin Gordon]

And without it, it's a bad day.

[Andy Holloway]

It's a terrible day for whoever doesn't get a touchdown. So, yeah, I mean, basically, start James Conner. Start. Love Bell. RB2s moving on.

[Melvin Gordon]

Ravens 12 and 2. Brown 6 and 8. The Ravens are 10 point favorites. It's a 49 point over under. Part of the discussion this week has been the fact that if the Bills beat the Patriots, the Ravens lock up home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which could affect their willingness to stretch the players out for the duration of this game. Maybe, you know, I think a good situation to illustrate that might be Gus Edwards takes just as many carries as Mark Ingram in this game or something of that extent. The other side of the coin is the Patriots are favored to win on Saturday and this is a divisional game against one of the teams, one of the two teams that have defeated the Ravens. The Ravens are heavy favorites and they smash everybody. And you want a part of the smash.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. As of now, while. While you need to be prepared for some kind of weird, bizarre, shocking. They're not going to play Lamar, which we don't expect to happen. Be prepared, but operate as if you're getting these great players, because you probably are.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, absolutely. What are the other big question marks for you in this ballgame? You have, you know, Nick Chubb. You're a little bit concerned because anytime you play the Ravens, you. You worry about the ceiling not being very high. But Nick Chubb just, he's a very good player and he can be stifled for three quarters of the game and bust off a 50 yard run. He's done it over and over again. He had a bunch of chunk plays last week against Arizona in a game that they were destroyed in. So you're not benching Nick Chubb?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no. You're certainly not benching Nick Chubb. He's been a rock star that's gotten you to the playoffs. He's had a couple disappointing games. He certainly hasn't been the player prior to Hunt coming into the Lineup you've got, you know, he was like the running back three or four. Now he's over the last eight weeks, been the running back seven. He's still good.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. Lamar Jackson, you're playing him. You're playing him if he's active under any circumstance from the night before. So if I, if I, if I heard John Harbaugh come out and say, yeah, I'm glad we clenched this, you know, go Bills. We may give him a few plays off today. I'm playing lamar Jackson. Yes, 100%, because I only need a few plays.

[Andy Holloway]

Unless they. If he gets a half. A half of Lamar Jackson, that's fine. Is probably better than whatever other option you could possibly have.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's playing so well that they bench him every game anyway.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. He doesn't score much in the fourth quarter of any of his games. And he's averaging like eight or nine more points per game than the number two quarterback, Jameis Winston, over the last half of the year.

[Melvin Gordon]

But 39% of you know that. That would be the 39% of championship game commissioners or players that have them on the roster. The top five players, as tweeted by Michael Fabiano. Christian McCaffrey at 49% of championship teams. The Patriots D on 42%. Oh, my goodness, Mike's not here. But Darren Waller on 41% of teams, Lamar Jackson on 39% and Austin Eckler, who might called before the season to be a top 10 running back on 32% of teams. Mark Ingram, you're going to play him. What do you do with Hollywood Brown? Saw some flashes last week, but you haven't had yardage to back it up. So he's got to get in the end zone, but that's a decent probability with Lamar Jackson against Cleveland.

[Andy Holloway]

I actually like Hollywood Brown quite a bit in this matchup. This is, you know, you've got a revenge game narrative here. This is one of only two teams that have beat the Ravens. The Ravens are going to want to come out and put their stamp of approval on this game. And I think Hollywood has been excellent. You had this stretch in the middle of the year where he was so banged up they. He would play a few snaps and still be okay because he'd catch a long bomb. But he looks like he's recovered now. And unless, you know, especially if the Patriots win and there's something to play for in this game, I like Hollywood quite a bit. I don't think the Browns secondary can stop a guy with that speed.

[Melvin Gordon]

Would you play Hollywood Brown over somebody like Sterling Shepard playing the roulette with Daniel Jones in New York. I would trusting Lamar a little bit more.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd personally play him over John Ross.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, well, I don't have that option.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, I know, but you're just throwing at that. They're both speedy guys.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

You with decent matchups, but one's got.

[Melvin Gordon]

Lamar Jackson, and one's a number one on the team. Tyler Boyd is my start of the week. So I like Boyd more obviously than Ross, but desperate times, Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

I know.

[Melvin Gordon]

Desperate championship times. Looking at the other side, Kareem Hunt, is he a flex play to you?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, absolutely. Kareem Hunt, since he got back in week 10. Is the running back 15.

[Melvin Gordon]

Would you rather flex Kareem Hunt or Odell Beckham Jr. Kareem Hunt.

[Andy Holloway]

And it's not close.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right, Jarvis Landry, congratulations. You get to face pro bowler Marlon Humphrey. Odell Beckham, you get to play face Pro bowler Marcus Peters. Congratulations.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm so happy that the industry has finally caught up with Odell Beckham being bad. Like, every week, I have to move him down, like, 10 spots from, you know, where most people are. And this week, he's by default in the low 30s. That's where he should be. Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Nice, nice. In week 16 to catch up.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's about it for the matchup. You're playing Mark Andrews. Want to take a moment thank today's sponsor? This holiday season, you got to immerse yourself those holiday classics with a new home theater system from Sonos. All right, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've got some Sonos around the house. They're great. I went over to my sister's apartment. We hung out, had some dinner. She'd never watched Stranger Things. I turn it on the tv, the sound. I'm telling you, that soundtrack deserves a lot better than what she had going on in there. I'm already planning the Sonos purchase. Hopefully she doesn't hear this so I can surprise her. But look, they have speech enhancement mode. This is something my wife loves. Unique feature. It clarifies the sound of the human voice. If you got kids, you need to hear the voice, but you don't want to jam the volume all the way up. Turn it on the Sonos app. Never miss a moment of the story. And you got five days left. Play those Christmas carols as well. Absolutely. Love my Sonos system. It is one of the best technological pieces of my home. You can go to sonos.com to learn more and complete your holiday shopping. That's sonos.com and Foot Clan.

[Andy Holloway]

In three days, you will be a champion, a fantasy football champion in three days. I'm calling it now. Yes, you. You're like, wait, me? Yes, you. You're going to be a champ in three days and you need to go to fantasychamps.com but Jason. Yes, voice of public opinion.

[Melvin Gordon]

What if I'm not in the championship game?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, then upgrade your league. Upgrade your league with an awesome, you know, 19 year perpetual trophy@ fantasychamps.com but here's the thing. Usually we're like, hey, use the promo code. Ballers. You get 10% off. But we got a much better deal going right now. You use the promo code. Free ring.

[Melvin Gordon]

Innovative. I know what's going to happen next.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. And you will get a championship ring, a $60 one of those super blinged out, like super bowl rings for free when you purchase either a trophy or a belt because it's always the hardship of like, which one do I get? How about both trophy? Do I get a bell? Do I get a ring? Get one. Get the ring for free with free ring at checkout. Check it out.

[Melvin Gordon]

Fantasychamps.com Panthers at 5 and 9 take on the Indianapolis Colts. They're 6 and 8. Both of these teams disappointing seasons, both with some downward momentum. The Colts are heavy home favorites because Will Greer is getting the start. Six and a half points I like them to cover. It's a 46 point over under Jason. You've brought up Marlon Mack's name and your confidence in Marlon Mack and it's been necessary because I had to hear you talk about it, not just on yesterday's show, but I had to hear you talk about it on the SiriusXM show again before it got me, before you got to me. You broke through my icy heart. We made it this holiday season about Marlon Mack because it's been bad. It's been so. It's been a while since he's helped you.

[Andy Holloway]

It's been terrible. And I know, I know for a fact, in fact, one of our writers, Lauren Carpenter, right now in her championship matchup, she has Marlon Mack on the bench. And I'm, you know, and she's going.

[Melvin Gordon]

With her gut call out.

[Andy Holloway]

Right? But I do. Yeah. Because look, Marlon Mack is. He's a home favorite by a large margin against the worst rushing defense in the league. It is a recipe for success for Marlon Mack. That's why he's my start of the week. You know, the only possible scary situation here. I did hear Frank Reich say that they're going to try some new things now that they're out of the playoffs with Jacoby Brissette. That's it. Hey, maybe one of those things is they're going to throw the ball to Marlon Mack a little bit more.

[Melvin Gordon]

I thought maybe, maybe Brissette would try left handed, like throw the ball left.

[Andy Holloway]

It wouldn't be worse than last week.

[Melvin Gordon]

Here's the thing, though. I like the matchup, but you need something to ensure the game script, Right?

[Andy Holloway]

Right. Will Greer ensures it.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, bring him into the picture. You know, both of these teams thought they'd be divisional contenders. The Colts have lost four in a row. The Panthers have lost six in a row. They fired their coach. They're seeing what they got on the bench. Remember the Ryan Finley experiment in Cincinnati? They wanted to see what they had. Yes, and maybe Will Greer will surprise, but I'm not betting on it.

[Andy Holloway]

His best feature is simply being named, like my favorite cheese.

[Melvin Gordon]

Is that your favorite cheese? Oh, are you talking about Gruyere?

[Andy Holloway]

Gruyere cheese.

[Melvin Gordon]

I don't even know if I can say that.

[Andy Holloway]

Nobody knows how to say it. That's why it's so special.

[Melvin Gordon]

Will Gruyere.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Melvin Gordon]

Does Gruyere cheese stink? Is it one of those stinky cheeses?

[Andy Holloway]

No, not. It's not too bad. It's just some of them straight up delicious.

[Melvin Gordon]

We'll see if it stinks this week. Yeah, Jacoby Brissette did not play well last week. You're not. These are not options. These are not quarterback options worth talking about.

[Andy Holloway]

No, but the wide receivers for both teams are the big question marks. Ty Hilton, he 52% of the snaps last week, did not have a good game. Very limited. They talked about getting him more involved this week. And then D.J. moore, Curtis Samuel, all three of these guys have quarterback problems right now.

[Melvin Gordon]

D.J. moore has enough volume and he's done. He's had enough production without touchdowns in the past, you know, eight weeks to where you can play DJ Moore.

[Andy Holloway]

I am confident in DJ Moore at this point.

[Melvin Gordon]

Ty Hilton, on the other hand. Look, I liked the price on FanDuel when I was looking for the Ballers on a budget segment later. The question is, do you trust Ty Hilton? And the answer is, of course not.

[Andy Holloway]

No. Not in your championship week. Not with an injury hobbling him right now. Not with the snap percentages.

[Melvin Gordon]

Not with Jacoby Brissette, not with Frank Reich trying new things. Look, thing number one should be having a healthy Ty Hilton next year, to be honest with you. So outside of DJ Moore. Not a lot of confidence on the wide receiver front. Not really willing to go to the Jack Doyle route myself.

[Andy Holloway]

I am not either. He's. He's been like watching the last few games. I've had him in some lineups and he's just been a step slow. These big heavy linebackers are covering him. No problemo.

[Melvin Gordon]

And then Greg Olson. We've differed on our opinion on whether Greg Olson will be heavily involved in this game, but we haven't really talked like, would you play him? I think you said you wouldn't play him in fantasy. You just expect him out there. Ian Thomas tossed into irrelevance again and Will Greer gives you no confidence across the board.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. You don't know what he's going to do. So you, you know, go with other. Go with the H's this week.

[Melvin Gordon]

Is that what we. The Titans. The H's are the Hoopers and the Howards and the. Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Hollisters.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, that's. That's a good tip.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Melvin Gordon]

Holloway, get them out there. Jackson. No. Jacksonville 5 and 9 taking on the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are 5 and 9. Falcons are 7 and a half point favorites. I would take the Falcons in the, you know, to cover.

[Andy Holloway]

The Jaguars are just imploding. Although they did win last week.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, yeah, we had that. The little.

[Andy Holloway]

The last second.

[Melvin Gordon]

Conley touchdown, 46 and a half point over under Atlanta's at home. Matt Ryan is Jason's start of the week at the quarterback position. He leads the league in pass attempts. He's been pretty darn good and we realized this on the serious show yesterday. He's been a start of the week on this show for three consecutive weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

And the last two times he's been a top 10 wide quarterback.

[Melvin Gordon]

So why not complete the trifecta.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's do three for three.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. And I like Devonta Freeman. Devonta Freeman was my start of the week at the running back position. Six consecutive weeks. Jacksonville's given up top performances to the running back and you're just in a position where, you know Devonta Freeman will get 15 to 19 touches overall. And that has meant a lot when you face Jacksonville.

[Andy Holloway]

Have we, have we vetted this? Is he really leading the league in passing attempts?

[Melvin Gordon]

Are.

[Andy Holloway]

Because he missed three games and if. Or two games. Right. I mean, he missed games. If he's leading the league in passing attempts while missing games. That's a really cool stat.

[Melvin Gordon]

Could be a big lie.

[Andy Holloway]

It could be a really cool lie.

[Melvin Gordon]

But I take a look.

[Andy Holloway]

I will take a little look. See that? Just.

[Melvin Gordon]

We can fire people here. I mean, this doc even says Mike started the week as Devonta Freeman. And that's mine. So this could all be a lie.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on.

[Melvin Gordon]

I mean, from a trust perspective, I blame Mike. I think it's Mike's fault.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not here to defend himself. Jay blames Mike.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, but you can check that. Maybe that's per game basis. But he's obviously, he's throwing the ball a lot. He hasn't had running. You know, Devonta Freeman's missed time this year and Matt Ryan has been able to. It's funny through the first six weeks. You know, Matt Ryan was a top five quarterback during that time.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, so Matt Ryan is 520. The leader is Winston at 554. But on a per game basis, that makes sense.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's number one. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Melvin Gordon]

Gardner Minshew. No, thank you. Leonard Fernet, he's kind of stuck in your lineup, right? I mean, Leonard Fernett is not somebody that you're going to bench. He's had a couple of subpar weeks outside the top 24. But you're going to play him against Atlanta. What are we expecting another Julio Touchdown Jones performance? You put in a call last week. You said Julio, add a middle name.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'm a little worried this week on the touchdown part because he double dipped last week instead of spreading one each week. But no, he's been awesome. 51% of the target or the target share. Last week, more than half of Matt Ryan's passes went his direction. They won the game. They're at home. I think Julio, no, Calvin Ridley should have another monster game here against a team that's, you know. Okay. They're middle of the pack against wide receivers.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, they're. And floundering D.J. chark limited practices Wednesday and Thursday. He's got 44 yards he needs to accumulate to hit 1,000 this year.

[Andy Holloway]

What? Yeah, he's a thousand yard receiver.

[Melvin Gordon]

How are you surprised?

[Andy Holloway]

That's a great question. But I just feel like he hasn't done.

[Melvin Gordon]

I thought your surprise was literally just that he hasn't done it already. I mean, he's been gobbling up yardage, especially at the front end of the season. Dealing with injury now. But even in a, you know, injury shortened game, he had a ton.

[Andy Holloway]

Wait, oh, DJ Chark.

[Melvin Gordon]

Correct. The name I said.

[Andy Holloway]

That makes. That makes 100. I'm like, that can't be true again.

[Melvin Gordon]

What did you hear?

[Andy Holloway]

You were talking about Chris Conley.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's a different name and person.

[Andy Holloway]

And he is not that close. To 1,000 yards.

[Melvin Gordon]

That is correct. Yeah. Honestly, if you sub in a different name for any of these stats, Nick always wrong.

[Andy Holloway]

Close to 1,000 yards. That can't be true.

[Melvin Gordon]

But no, DJ Chark is.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, that makes complete sense.

[Melvin Gordon]

I think he's going to be back out there. But then you look at that situation and you cannot play Westbrook and Conley.

[Andy Holloway]

No, but the question is, can you play dj chark if he's active?

[Melvin Gordon]

Would you play dj chark if he'S active or Robbie Anderson in that matchup? And for me, I'd go Chark.

[Andy Holloway]

I would go Chark there because Robbie is like in the 40s for me. And while I'm probably going to be lower on Chark than most people, I don't think it's going to be that low.

[Melvin Gordon]

I was pretty confident that Chark would have a nice game if he could get back out there last week, just with the propensity of Gardner Minshew to just. He just heavily targets Shark. So if he's out there, I'm okay with that. Austin Hooper. I've been super bummed out the last two weeks. He's back, but is he. Yeah, he's back, but he kind of.

[Andy Holloway]

Like three weeks back from this injury. He should be. He should be fully healed, ready to go full strength. Last week he had a touchdown. That was then, you know, the ball touched the ground a little and there's debate.

[Melvin Gordon]

That should have counted.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it should have. Whatever. But the point is, you wouldn't have been disappointed last week if that call was not overturned. And so another week of health at home in a dome. I'm Austin Hooper's name.

[Melvin Gordon]

H name.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. Raiders at six and eight take on the five and nine Chargers. Chargers are seven point favorites. It's a 45 and a half point over under. Chargers were absolutely destroyed last week. When you look at these two teams, Chargers being seven point favorites, they have a worse record than the Raiders, but I expect them to get it done at home.

[Andy Holloway]

That is weird. A 7 point favorite and they're on the road because, make no mistake, this will be a home game for the Raiders in Los Angeles. That crowd will 100% be Oakland Raider fans.

[Melvin Gordon]

This is a. I don't feel like that. I feel like the Chargers are going to cover this spread.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

The Raiders, in your defense, have not done much to say we can score or stop people from scoring lately. They lost to the Jaguars at home.

[Melvin Gordon]

Let's face off in some of these fantasy decisions from this game because I think there is opportunity here, but you haven't been able to rely on options. You will get Hunter Renfrow back out there. So talk to me about Darren Waller. Is his ceiling. Captain Hunter Renfrow is back out there this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. As soon as Hunter Renfro has been on the field soaking up targets. Once he got that start, a couple of weeks into the season, you saw an exact dip of Darren Waller's targets. And then Hunter Renfro goes out and Waller is back. So now if Hunter Renfro is expected to be out there, I expect more of those targets to go his way than Waller's way. So it's not to say you can't start Waller or you shouldn't start Waller. Waller was still startable while Hunter Renfro was out there, you know, multiple weeks. But I do think his ceiling is capped. What you saw last week, you know, we're. We got to the championship in League one. Waller is on that roster. It was great. So many targets going his way. I don't, I don't think that happens in this game.

[Melvin Gordon]

Okay, and then are you taking a shot? Are you willing to stream Philip Rivers? I know you have problems with him on a deep psychological, emotional, personal level. But when you look at the matchup, the Raiders give up 22.1 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position. That's second worst in the league. Philip Rivers is at home. Mike Williams, Austin Eckler, Keenan Allen. They can overcome what has been Philip Rivers this year in this matchup. I really believe they can. I think Rivers has a shot at a top 12 week.

[Andy Holloway]

Can I interest you in 207 passing yards?

[Melvin Gordon]

It's not enough.

[Andy Holloway]

What about if I added three interceptions?

[Melvin Gordon]

You're going back in time?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going back five weeks to when they played the Oakland Raiders. And the Smash matchup seems so good that Philip Rivers and all these weapons could overcome.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, but remember, they had to travel so far to get to Oakland. Yeah, they're on the road.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I can't do it. But you know, if you're in a two quarterback league, the matchup does say, and the Weapons do say, that he should have a good game. But this has been the year. This is the end of Philip Rivers. He's looked.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's certainly the end of your Philip Rivers experience. Yes, but I've gotten off the ride.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's the end of the Chargers Rivers experience. I think that they will be looking to replace him. They already are looking to replace him. They have to.

[Melvin Gordon]

Melvin Gordon, Austin Eckler, we have them at RB 11 and 14 on the week. This is a great opportunity matchup. Before last week's dud from Elvin Gordon, he had been a top 24 running back seven consecutive weeks. Austin Eckler needs no explanation. He's the RB6 on the season and just too integral to the offense. I've looked Mike Williams way a few times this week. He's been on fire. He's finally getting into the end zone. Not quite start of the week category, but he's hanging out at the same, like outside the club.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's definitely start a bowl while he's not necessarily the start of the week. If you look at the last three weeks and you take a look at the Chargers and you go, okay, you know, obviously Keenan Allen's going to start, but can you start Mike Williams? Well, Mike Williams has been better than Keenan Allen the last three weeks, being a top 24 wide receiver each of those weeks for Mike Williams. And that's not to say Keenan Allen has been bad. They're both. I mean, Mike Williams has been the wide receiver 13 and Keenan Allen the wide receiver 18 over the last three weeks. It's a good matchup. But it's to illustrate your point that we talked about this off air the other day. The gap between these two is monumental. Usually in our rankings we look at just putting and then we. And then we second guess ourselves, say why. Why is. Why are we saying Keenan is a must start and Mike Williams is like in a pinch when the targets and the depth of target and the yardage is kind of being spread out evenly between these guys.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. And Tyrell. You can't play Tyrell Williams. You cannot do it. The Chargers cornerbacks allowing the third fewest fantasy points and Oakland wide receivers not reliable at this point. The. You know, Darren Waller is a much better play than Tyrell Williams.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Melvin Gordon]

I still think Waller has a very solid game for us in League one because I gave him a call. I said, darren, touchdown Waller. You see what I'm saying?

[Andy Holloway]

Play it.

[Melvin Gordon]

He was a PPR guy last week.

[Andy Holloway]

Play the drop. Come on. Goo goo get you. The clan needs you, Darren.

[Melvin Gordon]

And before we move on the DeAndre Washington situation, we know Jacobs is out. People want to know where Washington is. Would you play Washington or Mike Boone this week if Boone is secured as the starter on Monday Night Football? Washington or Boone?

[Andy Holloway]

If I knew for sure. I have flipped. If I knew for sure. And I feel very confident right now that it's Boone. Boone is ahead in my rankings. As of now. But I really like Washington as well. I think that, you know, about the running back. 20 is a good spot. The Chargers have such a good past D. And I don't think that Derek Carr and Hunter Renfro and even Darren Waller are going to be able to do enough to, you know, matter against the Chargers past D. But they don't have a good run D. And So I think DeAndre Washington is going to be able to succeed here.

[Melvin Gordon]

The Lions at 3, 10 and 1 take on the Denver Broncos. In Denver Broncos are 5 and 9. This game has a very low over under of 37 and a half points, but the Broncos are heavy favorites. So the implied point total for Denver, 22 points. Just 15.5 points for the Lions. That's why I am all in on the Broncos defense this week. They're starting in my championship matchup over good options like Atlanta. I think Atlanta is a good defensive streaming, you know, off the waiver pickup. This week I'm playing them. I'm playing the Broncos over that one. What question marks do you have in this game, though? I mean, Mike has brought up Cortland Sutton as a start of the week and I get it. The Lions defense gives up 33 points a game to wide receivers and Courtland Sutton is the wide receiving core.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Melvin Gordon]

And they're at home. So I don't see how you, you.

[Andy Holloway]

Should not bench Cortland Sutton. Last week he had 10 targets. You give him 10 targets against Detroit, it's going to work out well.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, absolutely. So he's in your lineup. Kerryon Johnson might be able to play. He expects to be able to play. He hopes to be able to play.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you're not going to. Oh, yeah. You could give me the drop.

[Melvin Gordon]

It's been a while. You want the drop?

[Andy Holloway]

I do want the drop.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's not an appropriate drop.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Melvin Gordon]

For somebody that has been injured for the majority of the season. Are you trying to say that super fast because you didn't want me to like, jump in with disappointing or anything of that nature. You just want it to be marked by injury.

[Andy Holloway]

I think the injury is the major mark. Okay. I mean, really do.

[Melvin Gordon]

Which year? Last year or this year?

[Andy Holloway]

I think career.

[Melvin Gordon]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

I would say career.

[Melvin Gordon]

It's making that point.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

I wouldn't be tempted in Denver. This is not a good situation. If he's back, he might be back with a Bo Scarborough, some Ty Johnson and a whole lot of David Blau.

[Andy Holloway]

The Broncos defense is good from top to bottom. There's. They don't really have a weakness. The way that the Chargers are great against the pass and weak against the run. This isn't a great spot and you can't imagine that they're going to come in and give carry on Johnson some major workload on his first game back from being injured often. So, you know, carry on Johnson.

[Melvin Gordon]

No, thanks.

[Andy Holloway]

No, thanks.

[Melvin Gordon]

Pass Kenny Golladay.

[Andy Holloway]

Is he going to play great? Kenny, carry on. Play great. Carry on. I just want him to show, show out. I want him to be great. Okay. It's a broken man.

[Melvin Gordon]

Broken man. Philip Lindsey. We have him as the RB18 this week. It's a plus matchup. They're at home. The game script should favor running back.

[Andy Holloway]

The Lions are bad from top to bottom. You might say they're not really strong against anything.

[Melvin Gordon]

Correct.

[Andy Holloway]

Opposite defense.

[Melvin Gordon]

So Lindsay confident this week?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's done everything he can to not make Fantasy owners confident. RB31 over the last five games. That's bad.

[Andy Holloway]

It is. It is bad. I mean, you've got a guy who looks good on film but doesn't get enough carries, doesn't get enough targets, doesn't get the goal line work necessarily. And at the end of those three things, the fantasy points aren't there. So he's a. He's someone that I think is a flex option in a good matchup. But you're worried. I mean, you just. If he doesn't get a touchdown, his games have been bad. And this is a game with a 37 and a half point over under where you don't expect a ton of points to be had. You don't expect a ton of yards in this game back and forth. So he's. He's not someone I'm excited about.

[Melvin Gordon]

When you went back to beckon Kerryon Johnson for a good game, for some reason we were beginning to talk about Kenny Golladay and that situation there. I'm trying to find a player to play over Kenny Golladay this week. Makes sense because the realistic outcomes in this match up on the road for David Blau is that Kenny Golladay catches one bomb type of play. He's moved categorically into that big play or touchdown required with David Blau. Would you agree with that?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

So smooth routes. Are we expecting them this week? Let me give you some options.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Melvin Gordon]

Are you playing. You're playing Sutton over Galladay this exact matchup?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Melvin Gordon]

Are you playing somebody like DK Metcalf over Galladay? I am.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not.

[Melvin Gordon]

Okay. Are you playing Jarvis Landry?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man. Jarvis. Kenny Galladay Jarvis has been so good, such bad matchup. I will not play Jarvis over Kenny Golladay.

[Melvin Gordon]

Last one, Michael Gallup.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh man, this one. This goes for my want to be start of the week Michael Gallup. I'm, you know, I'm a worry wart. I can't, can't ever say it the.

[Melvin Gordon]

Second time today that you've been some sort of.

[Andy Holloway]

The reality is I don't trust Dax shoulder right now. So I'm going to go Kenny G there. I still trust Kenny Golladay's talent. It's not a good matchup. It's a low over under and it's not a good quarterback. But I mean you've had a stretch run of those type of situations where Golladay has still been okay. I mean what week did Matthew Stafford go out? Because if you. And it hasn't all been blau.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. Driscoll supplied some production.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but it's not like Driscoll is some great quarterback either. My point is since week eight, where's Kenny Gollady? What wide receiver rank do you think?

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, I mean he's been ping ponging.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Since week eight.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

I don't know. Fifteen, five.

[Andy Holloway]

He's just super talented. It's hard to sit a guy that's that talented.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, but you've faced that same situation with Sutton many times this year where confidence is tough in certain matchups. Yeah, but. But you illustrated it with the players that you would and wouldn't start over him. The Cardinals at 4, 9 and 1 travel to Seattle. The Seahawks at 11 and three Seahawks 10 point favorites at 51 point over under Russell Wilson. My start of the week here at home battling for that one seed Kyla Murray. Are you willing to play him in this game, Jason?

[Andy Holloway]

100%. I am willing to play Kyler Murray in this game. The Seattle's defense ranks 31st in passing touchdown rate. You know, so Kyler last week had a great game but four touchdowns with.

[Melvin Gordon]

The Kenyan Drake direction.

[Andy Holloway]

Drake. And so I am fine with Kyler Murray. I think he's a good start this week.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. Kenyon Drake, you just mentioned him. Steve Keim just came out this morning said they want to resign him if they can bring him back. He's up to the RB20 on the year Seahawks defense. You know, Drake has to be an RB2 to RB3 this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. You're not chasing four touchdowns. He hasn't been that great for fantasy outside of two games where he was phenomenal for fantasy. So you don't Want to lose out on that, but he is the clear starter and this is a decent matchup. Seahawks are middle of the pack as far as the defense goes. Now, this is in Seattle, but, yeah, I would say an RB2 play for.

[Melvin Gordon]

Kenyan Drake, pretty impossible to bench. A guy that just probably got you to the title on four touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

I mean, you're.

[Andy Holloway]

He's going to be in most people's.

[Melvin Gordon]

Lineup and he clearly is the running back that will get the opportunity on the goal line because three of those touchdowns came right there at the goal line. Christian Kirk, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf. Kirk has missed some time this week. I'm not super excited about him on the road here, to be honest. He averages a ton of targets, but him missing some more time this week tells me he's not quite back from what's been ailing him. Tyler Lockett seemed back last week, week 15, eight for 120 and a touchdown. He gets a rookie in Byron Murphy for the majority of this game. I think Tyler Lockett is a league winner.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Tyler Lockett is a good play. DK Metcalf is fine. He's, you know, this is the type of matchup where you go, okay, this is good. Unless the touchdowns go Hollister's way, which against Arizona could very well happen. You know, I'm not. Even though I say Kyler's fine because it's rushing, I'm not sure who, as an Arizona pass catcher, I would really want to start. Larry hasn't been great. Kirk hasn't been great. You know, he's spreading the ball around. You've got the postman. The postman is back. Dan Arnold, remember him at tight end? Seattle's been terrible against tight end. Dan Arnold caught a touchdown last week. Maybe Dan Arnold gets another touchdown. Kyler would be fine. Larry and Kirk, not so. Not so great.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, yeah. So Hollister, we've talked about him quite a bit this week. A great tight end option, not only because his name begins with H but because he plays Arizona Cardinals. Cowboys at 7 and 7, take on the Eagles at 7 and 7.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, what a game.

[Melvin Gordon]

It's exciting. It's fun. We've got the Dak Prescott shoulder headache to sort through. Got word this morning that it's trending positively for Delaine Johnson to be back out there for Philadelphia.

[Andy Holloway]

Fantastic.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's a big deal for Carson Wentz. It's a big deal for Miles Sanders and just the offense moving the chains, something they've struggled to be able to do over the last Two weeks only to piece it together at the very end of those matchups. Who do you like? Who do you like to win this game? The Cowboys are one and a half point favorites.

[Andy Holloway]

The Cowboys coming into this week were definitely the team I was picking, but I, you know, I've said it. I am worried about the shoulder issue and if it acts up and Dak can't be the Dak, you know, here's the range of outcomes for Dak. Either his shoulder's fine and he's great. This is a very good matchup. He's, you know, a number six, number seven quarterback on the week, has a solid week and the Cowboys come out and win. Or Dax shoulder isn't good and he's either missing throws or they've got a game plan to run with Ezekiel Elliott. And, you know, Gallup and Cooper take a major hit because they're not throwing the ball downfield and the game slows down and it's a slug fest in division. And so both of those being within the realistic range of outcomes to me makes me want to pivot off of Cowboy options. If I have good replacements, I'm coming.

[Melvin Gordon]

Around on like, I think Dallas wins the football game and I'm coming around on Dak being okay. We went through this.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you play Dak in your championship match?

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, I'd be willing to, yeah. Yeah. I mean, we went through this a little bit last week with Lamar, and Lamar is a different, you know, a different category. But all week long, there was worry about the quad, worry about whether he'd run his team. Dax team expects him to be out there. You can't run on Philadelphia. You might choose to. You might choose to do it. You just can't do it very well. And certainly they're going to put. Put it on Dak to beat them. Their secondary very beatable. I think Dak in this game with what's on the line, I think he steps up. And I don't have any reason to believe today more than yesterday that he's, you know, more severely hurt or not going to be available, not going to be out there. He played the majority of that game last week with the injury, and I'm just trending more in the positive direction for Dak in general.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, he.

[Melvin Gordon]

Not without risk, but just. I'm just giving you my opinion.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. Dak got injured in the first quarter, so the vast. He didn't leave the game the whole game. He played with that injury. But that's where you had Amari Cooper with 19 yards Gallup, I think with 6 yards and Randall Cobb with negative 3 yards and Dak didn't really do much. It was all Zeke. And yes, it's very difficult to run on Philly. It has been the whole year. But I mean, they, they ran on, they have a special offensive line. I mean, Ezekiel Elliott was 20, 20 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown the last two times these teams played. Granted, that was in Dallas. Maybe that makes a difference, but I think they're going to be able to run better than we expect.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. Zeke, by the way, the only running back to be in the top 24 every single week this year. It sounds very Zeke like, yeah, he.

[Andy Holloway]

Is exactly where he was drafted. Adp, that's where he's ranking right now on the season. So he's been fine. But you hoped he would be better.

[Melvin Gordon]

You hoped you'd have more weak winning. Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Carson Wentz, where are you at with him this week? You messing around with Carson Wentz?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm trying to not mess around with Carson Wentz. You know, I've got Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz in one of my championship rosters. It's an easy Matt Ryan for me. The, this game could be an ugly, you know, scrap and claw and fight type of game. I don't, I don't think this is going to turn into a high scoring barn burner.

[Melvin Gordon]

You hear desean Jackson might be back for the playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

What playoffs?

[Melvin Gordon]

I saw the future.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that's right.

[Melvin Gordon]

Now that's the funny thing about me picking the Cowboys here is it would be better for my, you know, super bowl prediction. Yeah. My sooth. Seeing if the Eagles fought their way into the playoffs. But thanks D. Jacks. I could have used you the entire year, but the playoffs is. That's great. That's great, man. Miles Sanders, Mike start of the week at running back. He's just been so heavily involved ever since Jordan Howard's gone out. Nothing's changed with Jordan Howard. Boston Scott still getting snaps in the backfield involved in the passing game. It's high risk, but I don't have a problem flexing Boston Scott in this matchup. The options are limited for Carson Wentz.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're in a full ppr, I completely agree because he's going to have six or seven catches.

[Melvin Gordon]

Would you flex Boston Scott in this game or would you flex Anthony Miller against Kansas City?

[Andy Holloway]

I would go Anthony Miller. Anthony Miller has been too involved. It's not the greatest matchup, but I'm not going to go away from someone who's like, up near the league lead and targets for a running back who's pretty much had two weeks in the NFL is what it seems like.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right, and then you brought them up. Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, confidence. Those seem to be directly connected to your view on Dak. So you're finding options outside of them, if possible. I think that they are both risky with the situation and with how they've been producing a big dud last week for Gallup, and then Cooper's just struggled. He went from the wide receiver 3 over the first seven weeks of the season to the wide receiver 33 over the remainder. So that moves him out of the you have to start him under any circumstance category. We're certainly going Devonte Parker in our league, one league over Amari Cooper, and he's going to find his way to the bench, which gives Mike incredible joy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, these guys are high risk, but high reward. If, if. If you're right, if Dak shoulder's fine and Dak is out there just playing average DAC football against this Eagles secondary. Michael Gallup and even Cooper, Cooper's been fine. He doesn't look like the early season self and he's been worse on the road and yada, yada. But he. This Eagle secondary has given it up to just about everybody. Haskins may, you know.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, Haskins was a top quarterback against.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. And that's where, like on the Sirius XM show, we said, what is the player or situation that is the very hardest for you to. To weed through, Set the. That's a. That's a phrase, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

We can go with that for this particular week. And I think the Dallas situation is a hard one. Not, you know, because there is such potential upside in the matchup. Because if Dak is fine and look, if last week you could have given him a week off between the first and second quarter and the game script was different. He's probably throwing the football quite a bit more than he was. And they have some. They have some methods in these locker rooms to get a guy ready and get a guy able to go. So there's a lot on the line in the call in this game. So it's all about the options you have elsewhere, how it affects your risk. But I'm more confident than you are this week, at least here on Friday.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Zach Ertz, you playing?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I agree.

[Melvin Gordon]

Now, Dallas Goddard last name does not begin with the letter H, but it's close. Obviously it's close in the Alphabet.

[Andy Holloway]

G. H, they're right next to each other.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, they're right. So he'll probably perform right next to some of those H names.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So he's going to be the tight end 13 this week. Not top 12.

[Melvin Gordon]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

But he's close.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. Four for 69 and a touchdown against Dallas in week seven.

[Andy Holloway]

Dallas has not been good against tight end Gasicki.

[Melvin Gordon]

Another G. Gasicki or Goddard?

[Andy Holloway]

I would go Goddard because of the combination of the Cowboys not being great against tight end along with the Eagles not having any, you know, options to pass the ball to that aren't tight end. I mean, you've got. You see that jj, Are they. Whiteside is now injured.

[Melvin Gordon]

Well, he did get banged up last week and now he's injured in practice.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he was. He was missing practice. So, you know, if he's out and Aguilar's out and Alshon Jeffries out and, you know, maybe you can take a look at that makes Greg Ward.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. A better option. Greg Ward is a desperation play. Greg Ward or John Ross, It's a lot of silence. That's a man who's somehow been twisted up by a middling wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

For question, I would go Greg Ward there I would go Greg Ward. I would take the number one wide receiver in a more difficult matchup.

[Melvin Gordon]

Interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

Still some weather concerns for the Tampa game.

[Melvin Gordon]

I have to consider my trust of your analysis, which to date, I mean, on this show, a lot of it's been alphabetical, but I have to consider that a little bit with my John Ross. John Ross decision.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. Sunday night football. Chiefs 10 and 4. Bears 7 and 7. Chiefs 6 point favorites on the road in Chicago. Chicago's defense, believe it or not, has not been a top 10 defense in fantasy football since week four. So they have been solid but not special on the defensive side. Kansas City, on the other hand, is trending up. Oh, in a big way. In a way that can get you a Super Bowl.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, for sure. I mean, the Chiefs defense is a strength now and it's amazing work because they were a huge weakness. And we've seen this before, specifically with Andy Reid teams where the first half of the year, the defense is bad and he figures out his personnel and he gets them clicking and they become a very solid defense. So this is, you know, you look at Anthony Miller, who's been on fire, a lot of targets, very reliable now that Gabriel's been out. And then you think about the Chiefs and Pat Mahomes, you go, oh, this is going to be a high Scoring game. They're going to need to air it out. This is perfect. But it just hasn't actually been that way, in truth because the chief secondary with the Honey Badger has been much improved. He's been phenomenal. They've been great. So I worry about that. I don't worry about Alan Robinson.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. You had a shocking revelation yesterday.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I was looking at, I think.

[Melvin Gordon]

It was week four.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think it was since week four. I was looking up the numbers for Devonte Parker and he, you know, that was where you had the first three weeks were Josh Rosen. So I want to see from week four. And lo and behold, Devonte Parker was the wide receiver five. But since week four, Allen Robinson is the wide receiver four. He has been awesome. Just so consistent. And that's on the back of massive target volume. Over the last four weeks, Allen Robinson has more targets than Michael Thomas. So Alan Robinson I'm confident in. He is an extremely talented player. And when you get the league leading targets, I'm cool with you.

[Melvin Gordon]

And then Anthony Miller, the targets have been there for a while. Since week 11, I think he's the wide receiver 8. In that span, he's averaged 10 plus targets a game. I love trusting targets above all other things. Right. It's not, you're not looking at touchdown variants. You're looking at. These are the two guys playing wide receiver on this team. Very possible that there, there's a deficit to be overcome. Even in, even in as far as the Chiefs defense being so good. Look, you play a deep, you play a different defensive strategy. In the fourth quarter of a game you're down three scores. So there's always opportunity when these two guys are running routes on each and every play of the game. I don't think Anthony Miller is a bad play this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean I totally, I totally understand that and I don't think he's a terrible play. But I, you know, he has been really good. I'm just thinking back to. It's not just targets, it's been play. He has looked good. He's taken, he's a, he's a second year wide receiver who's taken that leap forward to look like what they were hoping they drafted. The same way that Cortland Sutton has.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, he's getting more trust of the coaching staff, more plays drawn up for him and making those plays. It's, you know, Kansas City's defense has been good, but the volume has been there for the Bears in every matchup. That's all I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I get that.

[Melvin Gordon]

So we've got him. He's obviously not on the Allen Robinson level of trust, but, you know, he's in the wide receiver 30 range right now for us, consensus wise. If you like pain, disappointment and kind of slowly rising to mediocrity numbers. David Montgomery is an option for you this week.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't.

[Melvin Gordon]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't like those things. He hasn't been special on the field. It's taken really, really plus matchups for me to like him. He needs a touchdown to be successful and, you know, I'm not very confident in him in this game.

[Melvin Gordon]

You always play tyree kill.

[Andy Holloway]

Always 100%. It doesn't matter the matchup, it doesn't matter the weather. It doesn't matter anything. Play Tyree Kill.

[Melvin Gordon]

And Mahomes is in your lineup. Do you mess around with any running back options in Kansas City?

[Andy Holloway]

Not one. There is nobody I would put in the lineup with any kind of confidence. We've named people this episode that are much better. I mean, Adrian Peterson smashes all of these guys.

[Melvin Gordon]

Also, one positive note on Sammy Watkins for you.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's been nominated for a footy.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, fantastic.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's got the Lizard King. That's a great nickname of the year.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a great nickname. Maybe he can do something.

[Melvin Gordon]

By the way, if you want to submit some nominations for the footie awards, you can go. Hey, Brooks, is it pinned on our Twitter account at the FF Ballers? Yes, sir. Nicknames and favorite show moment of the year. Okay. All right. Very prestigious, very prestigious Footy awards coming very soon. Packers, Vikings. Monday Night Football. Vikings, five and a half point home favorites.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, did you know that before the Vikings play this game, they can clinch the playoffs?

[Melvin Gordon]

That would be if the Rams lost on Saturday.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. The Rams lose the day before. The Vikings are clenched. Now that's. There's still something to play for here because they're playing the Packers. I think they can still win the division.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's true.

[Andy Holloway]

So that's. That's good news. But I just worry like they're going to play. It's a division match.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. And look, the Vikings, they've turned this season around. They had a slow start. Bunch of question marks, weird passing volume. Here they are with 10 wins favored at home against Green Bay. I like the Vikings to win this game.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you?

[Melvin Gordon]

I do. You're going to have to overcome having no Dalvin Cook and he's integral, but Adam Thielen's back out there. Stefan Diggs and Kirk Cousins. I think they can get the job done. It's going to be very fun. There are some very, very exciting. The Bills Patriots game, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Melvin Gordon]

This Packers Vikings game and then the Dallas Philadelphia game.

[Andy Holloway]

Those three are just such good.

[Melvin Gordon]

The league must have really strategically done this. I mean, you also have RAMS, 49ers, which there's not anything on the line, but there could have been in a, you know.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, they always put those, those important divisional games at the end of the year to make moments like this happen for you and for me.

[Melvin Gordon]

Championship moments. Kirk Cousins, we have him as the quarterback, 10 by consensus ranking this week.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not a good matchup, but he has been pretty solid. I think you can, I think you can roll with him, especially now that he has Adam Thielen back.

[Melvin Gordon]

He's so good at home.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think Adam Thielen is going to be limited anymore. He seems like he's back, back.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah. Kirk cousins at home, 80% of his passes. That's what he's completing. That's a good number. That's pretty good number.

[Andy Holloway]

Pretty good.

[Melvin Gordon]

Aaron Rodgers, we know the story with Aaron. It's more, more often than not you're happy if you didn't play him and you played somebody else. He hasn't. This is crazy. He hasn't thrown for more than 215 passing yards in Minnesota. So on the road in Minnesota in five years and they, they play in Minnesota each and every year. I mean, this is the definition of what happens when you're in a situation like this. You know, divisional game, everything on the line. The Vikings only giving up 16.1 fantasy points per game on the year to quarterbacks.

[Andy Holloway]

The Vikings are very exposed specifically to wide receivers and wide receivers beating them deep. But they haven't given up a ton to the quarterback because they locked down the pass catching for running backs. They locked down tight ends pretty well. So I don't think this is a good matchup for Aaron Rodgers. I'm not going to play Aaron Rodgers. The wide receiving core that can take advantage of this. I'm not trusting. When you talk about the core. Not trusting.

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, you play Devonte Adams and that's it.

[Andy Holloway]

That's it.

[Melvin Gordon]

Aaron Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, you, you probably have to.

[Melvin Gordon]

Always in your lineup.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's in your lineup. His highs are too high to not have the chance to get. But this isn't a great matchup for him.

[Melvin Gordon]

And then Jamal Williams is that. He's more of a pivot option. If you run into trouble with, you know, suddenly Alexander Madison's active and you're a Mike Boone owner and you're wanting to count on that big Monday game. Well, at least you could maybe pick up a guy like Jamal Williams off a waiver wire and pivot to him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we've talked a lot about Boone, but this question was posed to me this morning. I just want to see your answer. Would you play Mike Boone in a good matchup at home, favored against a very beatable. I mean, they're. The Green bay Packers are 25th against the run. Or would you play Aaron Jones?

[Melvin Gordon]

Oh, Aaron Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

[Melvin Gordon]

Thank you for waiting a long time to get to the point.

[Andy Holloway]

I wanted to build it up to get you to say Mike Boone.

[Melvin Gordon]

No. And because here's the. It gets. It gets complicated in these situations sometimes where you just kind of hand the roll off to a player and you forget that you also have Amir Abdullah there and Mike Boone could miss a blitz pickup.

[Andy Holloway]

Or CJ could take the passing word.

[Melvin Gordon]

Exactly. There are variables beyond. Just like Dalvin Cook is out, Madison gets 100% of everything. Madison's out, Boone gets 100. That's not how it works. I mean, they want to win the football game, and if Boone messes up or they get a goal line opportunity and Boone fails twice, you could see somebody else next time. That's all I'm saying. It's like, he's not Aaron Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

I hear you. Start. Amir Abdullah. That's.

[Melvin Gordon]

Oh, come on. And Haskins. Right, Haskins and Abdullah.

[Andy Holloway]

Choo choo.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right, anything else from this game that you want to touch on? Stefan Diggs. We have at 15 on the week leading the league in yards per target. He always needs a big play to kind of give you a big day. Big play, Big day.

[Andy Holloway]

Big play. Big day. I'm not starting any tight ends in this matchup. If I had to, it would be Rudolph. I would never touch Jimmy Graham.

[Melvin Gordon]

You would. You wouldn't even. Like. You took a restraining order out on yourself.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right.

[Melvin Gordon]

To not come within 100 yards of Jimmy Graham.

[Andy Holloway]

Ballers on a budget presented by fanduel.

[Melvin Gordon]

I like yours better, dude.

[Andy Holloway]

Mine's awesome.

[Melvin Gordon]

That's the real price, huh, Mike?

[Andy Holloway]

I couldn't believe it. So here, I'll start. How about that?

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. By the way, reminding. Reminding our listeners, you can go to fanduel.comballers to participate this week, the Fantasy Footballers Leaderboard series. We've got our budget picks today. This is a couple of juicy ones.

[Andy Holloway]

This is the best week. Look, if you're Listening and you haven't gotten in yet. @fanduel.com Ballers this is the best week because there will probably be the fewest amount of people that you are competing against to win. So go to fanduel.com ballers have that chance to, you know, win the grand prize, come out here, all expense paid. Trip should be a good time. So I went on genuinely to probably pick Justin Watson because while there are major concerns, you know, the fact that he has only one good game in his career, his short career, and that required everyone being injured in front of him, the reality is everybody is injured in front of him and he should. If Jameis is going to have a good game. I can't see Watson not having at least five for 50. And I assumed his price would be so low that he's a good play to get in. And so when I went to pick him and I found out his price was only 5,700, I was like, all right, what is this? At $5,700, Marquis Hollywood Brown is the same price as Justin Superstar Watson. I'm taking the guy that's already three times been a top 12 quarterback with the MVP as his top 12 wide receiver with the MVP as a quarterback. Hollywood Brown at 5700 is such a good price that I am in for sure.

[Melvin Gordon]

Over the fake superstar.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Over the fake Justin, fake superstar Watson.

[Melvin Gordon]

Thank you. No, I love that Hollywood Brown. Great upside at that price. I also love the price on my start of the week. Tyler Boyd, just 6200. You got to pay more for Adam Thielen going up against Green Bay without confidence in his hamstring and what that game's going to look like. And Boyd gets to play Miami in that secondary that look, somebody's going to put up a big game against them. The odds are that it's Tyler Boyd, the guy who leads the team in targets over a John Ross Boyd at 6200. Very cheap, very inexpensive compared to the value I think you're going to get from him. So our two ballers on a budget picks.

[Andy Holloway]

I like it.

[Melvin Gordon]

All right. We want to thank our studio sponsor, Pristine Auction. A Kenny Golladay Signed Jersey, $68.80 [e-mail] make sure you sign up. When you do, let them know the fantasy footballers sent you. You can do that by putting in the code ballers. That'll get you $5 towards a sports memorabilia purchase. But otherwise, good luck to you. Join us an hour before game time. Twitter at the ffballers YouTube.com Fantasy footballers and join us for Sunday Live. Good luck this week. It's been a fun week. Let's get those titles.

[Andy Holloway]

Buh. Bye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.

[Melvin Gordon]

And a reminder, this holiday season, immerse yourself in all of your favorite holiday classics with a new home theater system from Sonos. Think about that person that you'd love to gift Sonos to. I've got my sister on the list to get her that great sound for watching television or listening to her favorite albums. And Sonos is just a great technology. Everybody who gets it as a gift, you're not getting something cheap. You're getting something that's, you know, well made and will add to your life. So check them out, go to sonos.com, learn more, and complete your holiday shopping.