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Ryan Wormley
This is an I Heart podcast.
Honey German
Hi, it's Honey German, and I'm back with season two of my podcast. Gracias. Come again. We got you. When it comes to the latest in music and entertainment, with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition.
Andrew Erickson
No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in, like, over 25 years.
Honey German
Oh, wow. That's a real G talk right there.
Ryan Wormley
Oh, yeah.
Honey German
We'll talk about all that's viral and trending with a little bit of Cheeseman and a whole lot of laughs. And of course, the great beat us you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Dashes. Come again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Ryan Wormley
Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. I am Ryan, warmly joined as I will be every Tuesday all season long, by Andrew Erickson. Erickson, how are you doing, buddy? We are one full slate of games into the 2025 season.
Andrew Erickson
I'm doing pretty good. Worm a lot of action to break down from all the exciting games that had in week six. In week 16. Geez. In week one, of course, my mind is all over the place.
Ryan Wormley
You're ready for it to be week 16 already.
Andrew Erickson
It feels like week 16. That must be what I'm. My. My brain is going through right now. But a lot of just really fun games to watch. It just seemed like rewatching some of these games. Going down to the fourth quarter, going down to the final drive with one team a chance to win, one team a chance to stop the game, winning drive, just a lot of fun action. I know that your favorite game was obviously the Ravens and Bills going head to head. I know that game was a ton of fun to watch, so sorry, just had to mention it. I'm sorry.
Ryan Wormley
You didn't though, is the thing.
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, yeah. No, I didn't. But hey, don't worry, man. My Patriots also didn't win, so it's okay. We're looking forward, but not.
Ryan Wormley
Not in the same way. There's no comparison there. We don't need to talk.
Andrew Erickson
Lost by one score.
Ryan Wormley
So I do want to talk. I do want to talk about one game. I had an obligation last night, so I did not watch any of Vikings, Bears, which. Which I was really disappointed about because I was really curious to see year two of Caleb Williams with Ben Johnson now. And I was really curious to see year technically two, but basically one of JJ McCarthy. So I. I did not get to watch this game. I Wanted to kind of just take a moment here. We will do like a little small Monday Night Football recap most of these weeks I, I basically just want you to kind of tell me like what I should know about this game in terms of fantasy takeaways. I'm looking at the box score right now. I see Caleb Williams rushed for 58 yards in a touchdown. He threw for 210 and one touchdown. So I'm curious how he looked Roma dunes catching a touchdown. I like leading the team in target like as well as somebody who's really high on Roma dun this year. You know, Jefferson just four catches on his seven targets, just 44 yards. So it looks like maybe not a ton of volume and explosiveness from the Vikings g you know, passing game but JJ McCarthy has three total touchdowns it appears so. So I just kind of run into the box score there. What, what were the actual real fantasy takeaways as somebody who watched the game?
Andrew Erickson
Yeah man, I think that well one of the things was that the Vikings offense was like non existent in the first half. You're like wait, what's going on? Like this is like not what we expected necessarily out of the gates from McCarthy but then in the fourth quarter the goo just turned it on and just started throwing touchdowns like left and right. So I think it's just the progression of two young quarterbacks taking that next step in year two. And I mean give credit to McCarthy like again someone that it didn't look like everything was there to start the game. But I don't know, something finally clicked at the end of the game and then he just started dealing, making big plays and using his top receiver. So again Jefferson catching a touchdown, Aaron Jones catching a touchdown. Jordan Mason was the leading rusher. I guess I wouldn't be surprised by that type of box score where yes, Mason should lead this team in rushing yards. Like that shouldn't be the surprise. But at the same time Aaron Jones 44 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown. So both these guys can coexist in this offense. It's not just about well who's going to see most carries. It's not about that. It's both guys are going to be used and deployed in a way and especially with a young quarterback that Deer. The Vikings offense is leaning on these two running backs and both guys. Again Mason didn't find the end zone but he rushed for 68 yards on 15 carries. Like he saw a decent amount of touches where he would have been a viable flex or RB2 play. Caleb Williams again using his legs, he Scored a rushing touchdown on the game's opening drive. DJ Moore was seeing backfield carries like like not just like reverses. Just like DJ Moore is in the backfield lined up at running back like let's hand the ball off to him because it was swift as the bell cow. Again, not Inspiring in any way. 17 carries for 53 yards, 3 point yards per attempt.
Ryan Wormley
The only running back to get a carry though for Chicago it looks like.
Andrew Erickson
So Manung guy played in this game as the RB2 Roshan Johnson was inactive but Manangai he didn't get any carries. He had one catch so and then Odunze like I think the thing with him was always a bet on the touchdowns obviously catching a touchdown this game being a red zone threat. I think I was going back to a rankings debate I had so much trouble with during draft season was Odunze vs Piersol vs Egbuka and they all kind of seem like hits after week one. So you're like right, the answer was all of them. So great, great. You feel good about those three guys where they were being drafted. So yeah, again there's more takeaways. You guys can read the my article that kind of recaps all the games. So I'll have a more in depth analysis of the Bears and Vikings as I kind of get caught up on everything from Monday night. But those are some of my takeaways. But overall a really fun game to really cap off.
Ryan Wormley
Not week 16 worm, but week one rest of season. McCarthy or Caleb?
Andrew Erickson
I will still go with with Caleb Williams. Okay. Both guys are on the up and up.
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, interesting. All right, well let's dive into the show. So the way we're going to open the show, besides maybe like a quick Monday Night Football reaction, you know, depending on the week and how relevant it is, is with some kind of high level strategy advice from Ericsson. This is going to be something that he is thinking about at this point in the season. It can be a strategy that is based on the time of year. It can be strategy based on something he likes to do, you know, every year after week one. These are the archetypes of player that I target, that sort of thing. It can be about a specific player really any direction Erickson wants to take it. This is his segment to kind of, you know, it doesn't have to be like a true monologue but really just kind of share with us his overall trade strategy right now. So this is the first one of the year, coming off of the first actual games we've gotten Heading into week two. Erickson, what are you thinking about trade strategy wise?
Andrew Erickson
So this is actually going to be twofold answer. So the number one thing is I think that the group think has gone too far where now it seems like nobody wants to react to week one at all. It's all just can't overreact.
Ryan Wormley
You can't overreact.
Andrew Erickson
You can't overreact. So, so, so we're just not going to react at all to anything we saw in week one. Like I think that's wrong. Like we have to react somewhat now. I, I agree that we shouldn't overreact to everything like, oh, the Bengals offense is going to be terrible every single week. Like, no, like this happens every single year with the Bengals. They always suck against the Browns. It was early in the season. They're going to bounce back. They're going to be fine. So I think that it is maybe more advantageous now to maybe take a little bit more from what we actually did see in week one instead of just not reacting on pretending everything is fine. You know, for example, like the Miami Dolphins, right. It seems like that is going to head south and I feel like that's not going to get any better. It's probably just going to get worse for that Dolphins franchise. So those are potential sell low type of propositions. That's kind of what I'm thinking when it comes to those types of teams. And the other thing I would think about is, well, what was your expectation of some of these players that disappointed in week one? Was that your expectation going in? Because like I had a couple players in mind that I was expecting games where they would kind of flop. So when they flop in week one, I'm not viewing them in any different way than I did during redraft season. You know, the perfect example being Calvin really. We talked about him ad nauseam. We loved him long term outlook. But we just pointed like week one's probably going to be rough at Denver and what was it rough? And I mean he got the Shatan treatment. He was basically not used at all in the first three quarters of the game and when he even had opportunities, he was dropping passes did not look good. But I didn't see anything from Cam Ward that suggested to me, okay, like this guy's not ready for the prime time. Like, no, he is. If anything it's Callahan that's holding him back, his head coach in the play calling. So I think that. And as we'll talk about our buys and sells for week one or coming out of week one, adjusting your expectations from what you were looking for these players to do and if they disappointed you but you were expecting disappointment, it's really easy to go out and buy those players because hey, I didn't really expect a lot from this player and vice versa. If you were expecting a player to hit and they hit, I don't think you nearly need to adjust me, like, oh, I need to sell high on this player. Like if you like Javante, like you don't need to jump off the bandwagon after he had looked good in his first game, scored two touchdowns. Like I think that's the immediate thing we think is like, oh man, this guy that I got late did good. It must be a trap. It's like, no, like you may have just gotten a really good value on a player that was undervalued in draft season and you take that to the bank and you profit. So those are two things I'm kind of thinking about as I look at the landscape for week one and doing some buys and sells.
Ryan Wormley
We're going to get into Calvin Ridley Moore. He was the first name you sent me to put in the sheet. You basically sent me his name in July when we figured out we were doing the show together. So we're going to get to him in a moment to kick things off. I think Javante is a really good example though, the point you're trying to make. I really liked Javante this year. You, you, me and dbro. I was funny when he had his two touchdowns on the opening night game. I went back and I found it. In late May, the three of us had a seven and a half minute conversation on a show where we were imploring people to draft Javante Wheelers. We weren't saying take him in the top 20, we were saying RB 37 was just too low. And one of the reasons that I felt that way was because I was like this is, this is too low for a guy who has a real shot at double digit touchdowns this year because of the opportunity in this offense. It's not because I thought he was going to set the on fire. It's not because I thought he was going to rewrite the history books. It's because the exact game we saw play out against Philly is the type of thing that I thought was in his outcomes for this season. You know, a few times. He's not going to have two touchdowns every game. But like at some point in the year that that could happen. So just because it looked inefficient and he's not going to get two touchdowns every week. Doesn't mean he's an auto sell. Now. If you can get the right thing for him, you can consider it. Right? I'm not saying that he's an auto hold either. He we're actually going to talk about him briefly later on in the show, but I think he's a good example of the point you're trying to make, which is if somebody did something that you were kind of buying into in either direction in draft season, you don't have to just assume regression is coming.
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, you can. Again, we spend all off season trying to make the right calls and make the right decisions. And when the things work out in week one, it doesn't necessarily mean oh I got lucky, I should pivot off of my take from all the off season. I mean you can be right and be confirmed that you were right after week one. And there's also circumstances where maybe you're adjusting your priors. I think that you should be open to changing your opinions on certain things after we see what happened in week one, especially if it was something that you didn't see coming where you expected a player to be used like X and then they end up being used like Y or you expected this backfill to be a committee and then end up not being or vice versa. So I really try to take in, well, what did we see in week one that was actually new information that we would use to again construct our rest of season rankings where it just essentially is okay, if we were going to draft again, how would we draft these players? And obviously a guy like Javante, well, we feel more confident that he is the cut, clear cut RB1 for the Dallas Cowboys ahead of Miles Sanders, ahead of Jaden Blue. So he would be ranked higher than he was when drafts close around outside the top 30 running backs.
Ryan Wormley
Before we get to Calvin Ridley, if you want a chance to win the crown jewel of any fantasy football league, the perpetual fantasy football trophy, courtesy of our good friends at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your shot. This gorgeous black trophy comes with a perpetual base so you can engrave your league champion year after year. It's not just a prize, it's a legacy piece. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to The Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now and drop a comment below on any of our videos. That is it. We will be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so be sure to turn on those notifications so you don't miss your chance to, to claim your prize. All right, Erickson, Clear. I'm clearing the paint here. Players to buy Calvin Ridley right off the bat. We've been talking about it for months. This is the moment like I've been waiting for this, like I said for about eight weeks here. Why should you buy Calvin Ridley?
Andrew Erickson
Because the matchup against the Denver Broncos, we knew it was going to be brutal. We didn't want to play in this week and predictably so he got shut down. Just four catches but he saw a season high or a team high, 8 targets, 28% target share. Again, he was locked down by Sir Tan for most of that game and he did have a drop. So even when he had opportunities, he just didn't really deliver. I, I wouldn't read too much into the I Manor targets. I think that was a, a relationship between certain doing so much on Ridley that it really opened up opportunities for IU manor. The rookie, I do like him long term, but I think that still right now Ridley is the guy you want to buy here. I mean Tyler Lockett was a ghost in that game. Like I barely even noticed that he was like playing. So really I think it's still the clear cut number one. I think the schedule is going to lighten up for the Tennessee Titans. I didn't think Cam Ward can show. I think he's shown that he can be an elevator for wide receivers. The fact that he was willing his way against, I mean the guy almost covered against the Denver Broncos on the road with a Rookie, a Day 3 rookie receiver as his leading receiver in the game, like that's what he was working with his JC Latham got hurt one of his starting tackles, hostile environment. So I don't think the moment's too big for Cam Warren. I think that Ridley is going to be a bounce back candidate and for all the reasons we talked about him during draft season, why we liked him so much, those are all still apparent. So you don't need to write them off. After just one bad week when it was arguably the worst matchup you could ask for for a receiver in week.
Ryan Wormley
One, I thought Cam Ward really passed the eye test. For me not saying that he's going to be a super duper megastar, but just like this is a going to be a capable NFL quarterback like, like that it is a question, right? Like until you actually see it in a real NFL game, you can't know for sure even for the number one overall pick. And again you look at the stat line, it's like 12 of 28, 112 yards, no touchdowns, no pit like that doesn't look very good. But watching the game, I felt like he just really looked poised and like he belonged and like the type of guy who if he's giving Calvin Ridley eight targets most weeks, we're going to be really happy with that. Like he can support a receiver in that way. And I just, I just came away more impressed than I expected to. Especially like I said, given the stat line and yeah, like, I can't imagine Ridley has a tougher matchup on the slate the rest of the season.
Andrew Erickson
No, I don't think that he does. I think, I mean, when you're facing the reigning defensive player of the year, like you're just going to get locked out. Even on the broadcast they were talking about, well, basically 10 on 10 because certain just took Ridley out of the game.
Ryan Wormley
So. So what, what would you trade for Ridley then? Like what specifically would you be looking to move for him? It doesn't need to be a name. It can be like kind of an archetype of player.
Andrew Erickson
I think any of these receivers that just kind of popped off in week one that you probably drafted significantly later than Calvin Ridley, again, I don't think in my rest of season rankings, I don't think I really moved him down substantially from where I was drafting him. So I think that he was inside my top 30 receivers. I think that looking at any of these players where maybe they're going to be facing more target competition in the future with guys returning to the starting lineup if guys are benefiting from injuries, I just think that Ridley's probably going to be the guy, the number one receiver for the rest of the season for the Tennessee Titans. So again, check out the rest season rankings if you're looking for potential trade names because you'll get okay around this area. It's this particular player that you can get for a guy like Calvin Ridley. But again, I'm just not willing to write him off after just a absolutely brutal match because again, if it, if it had not been Calvin Ridley that was sacrificing week one, it wouldn't someone else that had to draw the certain matchup. It would have been really disappointing.
Ryan Wormley
We're all in agreement on Calvin Ridley. You, me, everybody, fans, everybody in the world. So great, great call there. Can't argue with it. An obvious name that we couldn't not include. Let's go to your second player to buy.
Andrew Erickson
Going with Travion Henderson, running back for the New England Patriots. My New England Patriots. So Henderson led the Patriots in rushing yards in week one. He had five carries for 25 yards and he ended up leading the team in rushing. Ramondre Stevenson looked like he was running with cement shoes. Not a great look for Stevenson. Yes, the snaps were very much in favor of Ramondre at 65% versus Henderson's 35%. But you could just clearly tell that the Patriots offense just move so much better when Henderson was on the field. First drive, he doesn't play at all. They go three and out and then immediately comes in on the second drive and they are able to move the ball effectively. So he still caught six passes where he's offering you a floor in these PPR half PPR formats that you don't always get from rookie running backs out of the get go or right out of the gate. So I think that there's a floor there with the receiving that he's being involved a lot. Mean six catches for a rookie in his debut as a running back. That's significant. So I don't want to overlook that. And we're going to get a bounce back effort from this Patriots offense I think because they're playing the Dolphins in Week 2 again. So Patriots did not look great collectively in Week one. But you know who looked worse? The Miami Dolphins. The entire team.
Ryan Wormley
I can't believe how bad Miami looks.
Andrew Erickson
They looked really bad.
Ryan Wormley
I actually was, was fading the narrative a bit because it was a lot of like vibes in Miami are really bad. Like this thing could really like completely fall off the rails. And I was like, you know what? Like they still have Jaylen Waddle, they still have Tyree Kill Tua is healthy right now. They have Devon HN, Mike McDaniel like can design offense especially when he's like been in the lab all summer. I was like, I'm going to kind of go against this. I picked them in my survivor pool for week one because I was like, I was like, well they face the Colts who are bad. And I was like they're healthy right now. They might not be healthy in October, but they're healthy now. And I think everybody's way overreacting to this and boy did I look like a fool. I mean that was, that could hardly have gone worse and I knew it was a risk picking them. It wasn't like I had a ton of confidence and you try and game the system and find teams that other people aren't picking but holy cow, I, I that is the most like this team quit halfway through week one that I can recall seeing in A long time.
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, the, the vibes again. Sometimes we're right about this stuff with vibes with the Dolphins. Yeah, bad vibes entering the year and so far bad vibes coming out of week one. But on the other side of the coin, Jets, I would say the jets also had kind of bad vibes around them and then they came out and just like gangbusters. So that was the other point of sometimes the vibes is right, sometimes it's wrong. But is it going to get better in week two? I, I, I, I just, I'm not as optimistic about that for Miami sake. So that's why I want to buy into this Patriots offense getting a bounce back here. I think that Henderson is the best player on the Patriots offense. He's like one of the few guys that has a ton of juice. I think that they have to realize that they want to start winning games, they have to keep him more involved and yes he's always going to be on some type of snap count to an extent just so they don't overload him but as long as he's getting high value opportunities also too it was a wet field that they were playing on in New England in week one, so not as many opportunities I think to generate as many explosive plays. Now I know the Raiders had no problem with that, but I think the Patriots office is in for a bounce back. I think Henderson, again, a guy that we're really excited about, just kind of put up a lackluster week one. He's still a really talented rookie from a strong rookie class that there's a buying window that might get close shut if he puts him up in game in Miami. So I want to try to get.
Ryan Wormley
Ahead of that by the way just because we're not talking about him and we're in this game right now. Ashton Genti, like 19 for 38, he did get a touchdown but you know, averaging two yards per carry. I would also consider him a by candidate just because he's very talented and that was just his first ever NFL game. And like I'm not saying I would give up like the house for him but I would see if maybe there's an opportunity to buy coming off of a his debut as this you really ballyhooed prospect under 40 yards rushing. I would, I would see what your opportunity is there. Let's go to your next player to.
Andrew Erickson
Buy another receiver that I wasn't necessarily super high on entering just week one and it was George Pickens. So again lackluster debut with the Dallas Cowboys. I Didn't like the matchup playing against the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, I probably would have changed my tune if I knew that Jalen Carr was going to get ejected on the first game. I also would have told people not to bench Dak Prescott, but it ended up kind of working out. This is one of those things where it's like, was the process right? Did I just get lucky with the results? Because Dak looked fantastic, right? But he just didn't score any fantasy points. So sometimes you get lucky with, with with calls like that. But that being said, George Pickens did not put up a good stat line, just 3 for 30 on four targets. However, I still think that from the involvement standpoint, I mean, he played basically every single down. He ran around on 90% of the dropbacks. I want receivers attached to Dak Prescott if this office is going to be throwing the ball a ton. And Dak just looked really good. Like he looked healthy. He looked like he was moving around in the pocket really well making plays off structure. So yeah, those are reasons why I want to buy in George Pickens, who a lot of people bought into. We like the upside with him. The upside case still exists with him, except now it's at a fraction of the cost because he just disappointed in week one. So again, this is where I'm looking for angles this week is who just disappointed week one where the, the bet hasn't really changed. The bet on George Pickens hasn't really changed. Again, it was his first game ever with Dak Prescott. So I think that this is only going to get better as the season progresses. And now that he's significantly cheaper, I think to acquire, I'm willing to take it on because I feel like there's way less risk. Like the same amount of risk is still baked in, but it just doesn't cost nearly as much to try to acquire a guy like George Pickens. And again, I didn't like that matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road. So Pickens for me would be another guy to buy after just a meh week one.
Ryan Wormley
I was really high during draft season on the idea of the Cowboys being the poor man's Bengals. And and then I also felt that way about the Panthers being kind of the poor man's Cowboys. The Panthers side maybe doesn't look quite as good, but the Cowboys won. Like, I think was spot on. I wasn't the only one saying it. I'm not trying to say like I deserve all the credit in the world for that, but like I was in strong agreement on that point and I think it looks really clear. So the fact that Pickens didn't have a huge game, I don't care about. I really do think he's going to be the T. Higgins in this offense and this is going to be an off. I know they only scored 20 points, but the, the Eagles are a very good team. Even, you know, with Jalen Carter not in there. Like, I think in most weeks, this is going to be the team that scores like closer to 30. And I think Lamb, Pickens and Javante, as long as he's getting all the workload he can get. And then Dak, I think those four again are going to be the equivalent poor man's version. Burrow, Chase Higgins and Chase Brown and I'd be looking to buy any of them now. CD Lamb's gonna cost a ton, so that's a lot harder. But Dak, coming off a bad game, Javante, Williams, if somebody is looking to sell, you know, because they think he's going to regress and isn't looking for that much. And then Pickens, like, I think all these guys are really good buys, honestly.
Andrew Erickson
I think too with Pickens, I believe that he picked up a deep pass interference call. If he just catches that instead of getting a PI, then you kind of feel it looks way different. Yeah, you just look, you feel way different about the box. Sc. And so much of this too, with buying players, selling players is did they catch the touchdown or not catch the touchdown? Because it just moves the needle so significantly between a player having a great game and a player having a meh game when it's just because he caught a touchdown this week doesn't mean he won't catch one next week. And so, yeah, it's really, it's really simple.
Ryan Wormley
I sometimes wonder if the best strategy in fantasy football is just target the guys who like drew a lot of defensive pass interference calls. Because if those yards counted, their stats would look so much better.
Andrew Erickson
Like, it's not. I mean, you're definitely onto something here. It's, it's really because just because you get like, you hot touchdowns last week doesn't necessarily mean like, touchdowns aren't necessarily predictive. It's really just the touchdown opportunities that are really more predictive of future touchdowns.
Ryan Wormley
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Marcus Grant and Michael F. Florio
I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael F. Florio and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Fantasy season is here and the question is, are you ready to dominate your league? Because if you're not locked in with us, the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, you're already playing from behind. Every episode, we're breaking down the biggest fantasy headlines, injury updates you need before kickoff, and matchups you can exploit to bury your competition. We're talking sleeper picks, breakout stars, and the players you can't afford to bench. Whether it's rookies making noise or veterans keeping their value, we cover it all. Whether you're drafting for the first time or chasing another championship, we'll give you the edge, the insight and the confidence to make every move count. Weekly analysis, hot takes, and insider knowledge all in one place. So what's it gonna be? Another just okay season or total fantasy domination? Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dan. He's Ty.
Andrew Erickson
Hello.
Marcus Grant and Michael F. Florio
And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast. College football season is here and you know what that means. Your team is going to break your heart three times, probably before Halloween.
Andrew Erickson
Uh huh.
Marcus Grant and Michael F. Florio
But fear not. The solid verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback. Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport. Whether you're a diehard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan. We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it. Listen to the solid verbal college football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game. From scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. Is the kind of conversation that connects the dots. From college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow, we break down the draft, analyze matchups and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig into coaching strategies, roster construction and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a die hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ryan Wormley
Erickson let's get to the players to sell. Who do you have for us?
Andrew Erickson
Debo Samuel this is my wide receiver cell and going back to what were my expectations going in for week one. I was high on Deebo for week one, rankings above ECR just because I thought he's been there the entire training camp for the commanders. Terry McLaurin was holding out. So I really felt that Debo's healthy right now. They're going to involve him from the jump and that's exactly what we saw. He had a monster game. 10 targets, 7 catches, 77 yards. He also had a 19 yard rushing touchdown. But this is why I also thought it's going to make him a perfect sell high candidate to start the year. Because you can get a lot for Debo right now because, oh, is he the new number one? I don't think so. I mean, remember Terry McLaurin? He played all the snaps in this game, but I don't think that he was probably 100. I think that if he told people that he was probably lying to them. He missed so much of training camp. We see this with guys Coming off of holdouts with their contracts, they don't hit the ground running until a couple weeks into the year. Even Jamar Chase, as great as he was in 2024, the Triple Crown winner, he was not good in Week one. He was not a good part in that Bengals offense. So I presume that we're going to get McLaurin up to speed and he's going to start to see more targets in this offense, be more involved, be more productive, attached to Jaden Daniels. So I just think right now that the peak hype with Deebo is so high that you can get a lot for him. When we know that. Look, Deebo, he's not built to last. He's got a long injury track record. And we saw last year how things really fell off when he started to get banged up. I think that's probably going to end up happening again for Samuel. So, again, we talked about a lot of these receivers already. We were drafting, I think, Pickens and Ridley ahead of Debo Samuel pretty consistently. Maybe that was right, maybe that was wrong. But now you could probably get one of those guys plus something else for a player like Adibo Samuel.
Ryan Wormley
I can't sell Debo Samuel because I don't have him anywhere. I. I was kind of fading him. I didn't really trust, like, it's not that I didn't trust him. I guess I didn't trust. Trust Cliff Kingsbury to use him in unique and interesting ways the way he was in San Francisco. I did feel like eventually Terry McLaurin would be like the clear number one in this offense early on. I'm not surprised to see it be Debo Samuel, given all the other stuff you just said, hold out and everything. And, you know, Daniels did miss a long one to McLaren. That could have made his stat line look a lot better, too, but. But as the season goes on, I expect it to be more McLaurin than Debo. That might have been an overreaction, honestly. Like, I. I came away from this game thinking like, I, maybe I was too low on. On Devo during the off season and I was like, weighing him down too heavily for, like, you know, he had pneumonia and just kind of like a lost. You know, I just looked at D. VA and I was like, the ceiling has really only been there one season in his career. And, like, he's pretty old for a guy that you can say that about. So I just didn't want to really mess with it and take the chance on a new team. And I watched this game thinking maybe I was wrong about that. But I would, if I did have him, I would be interested in selling. I do think, like, I need to see more to be totally convinced I was wrong. So if I can get something like, real significant asset back. If you could trade Diva Samuel for Calvin Ridley, I. I'm like sprinting to do that.
Andrew Erickson
I think you probably can. That's the thing with, with Debo is after one week, people will be sold. Oh, yeah, he's back. Like, this is the guy that we're super excited about. And I felt like. And I had to move him up my ranking substantially because again, similar to you, I was really low on him out of the Gates 2025 rankings. But then I started to just accept that, okay, well, Samuel's going to probably start the season pretty good because he's going to be healthy. McLaren's going to be coming back slowly and he's still in an offense attached to Jaden Daniels where there's still not a lot of weapons in this offense behind Terry McLaurin. So I kind of felt, okay, he's going to offer a lot of early season value, but you have to be strategic and smart about using Debo. Take advantage of what he does early in the year, but then cash out sooner rather than later because we've seen him break down in the second half of seasons consistently. And I think that's going to probably coincide with McLaurin coming back full speed into the lineup. So we'll see what he does on a short week. They're playing on Thursday night, so maybe if you can't get a deal done today or this week, but something just kind of keep in the back of your mind, and a lot of the players, too, we talk about today. You don't necessarily need to sell them, like right now. It's just something to kind of keep in mind with. Okay, this type of player, he has a sell type of profile. You have to keep that in mind if a deal arises. Okay, maybe I should move this player.
Ryan Wormley
Let's go to your next sell.
Andrew Erickson
Going with J.K. dobbins, the starting running back for the Broncos in Week one. So he was the volume leader, the snap leader for the Broncos, 16 carries, 63 yards, 3.9 yards per carry. He also scored a red zone rushing touchdown. However, we had a three running back committee here in Denver. Sean Payton up to his shenanigans once again. Tyler Beatty, excuse me, Tyler Bidet getting six targets out of the backfield again. Jalen Carter getting ejected on the first play was not on my bingo card. Neither was Tyler Bidet getting six targets in the first game for the Denver Broncos. Jillian McLaughlin was ruled and active before the game. I'm thinking okay, like Harvey Dobbins right two headed monster here. I like this Sean Payton consolidating the backfield. No, no no, no no no. The Tyler Bidet love has gone back from last season. He got him involved again. So that's one concern with Dobbins is now is this morphed into a three headed backfield. I think Harvey looked really good on the touches that he did get. He had a 50 yard rush again he played less snaps than JK Dobbins but I don't think that's going to last the rest of the season. I think that Harvey is going to continue to get more and more involved. He's a super talented running back that they drafted real life draft capital into. So I think he's going to continue to eat into Dobbins workload. I would say that Dobbins looked okay. His rushing success rate wasn't anything spectacular in week one. Again average under four yards per carry. Yes he scored the touchdown but I think that's why you can get some value for a J.K. dobbins who again going back to a player like Deebo. What was the first player we talked about last year on the sell high after week one? It was J.K. dobbins and we're like I don't want to do this because we like J.K. dobbins so much but what ended up being the right call was selling JK Dobbins after week one because we know he's not built to last like JK Dobbins. Love the man. He's not built to last for the long haul for a 17 game season. So based on him being the RB1 for week one I would try to sell high off the touchdown, off the 60 plus rushing yards.
Ryan Wormley
I don't have anything to add. I, I just, I totally agree.
Andrew Erickson
Yes.
Ryan Wormley
I mean we basically had the conversation last year, right? Only last year there wasn't an RJ Harvey sitting there waiting to take over. This year it's the same situation but there's an actual obvious like pivot point for them to make to say this is Harvey's backfield. Now at some point maybe it won't happen. It is Sean Payton that we're talking about. Maybe the opportunity will force itself on him if Dobbins gets hurt which we're not hoping for. But yeah, like I, I feel very similarly to last year if not stronger because Dobbins is another year older and more importantly, Harvey's there so. And, and now bidet apparently also.
Andrew Erickson
So.
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, I, I totally agree. I think we can move on from Dobbins go to James Connor is your last player to sell.
Andrew Erickson
Yeah. So this one is tough for me because I liked James Conner a lot in draft season as a draft value wasn't a must have target for me, but someone that I thought was undervalued and now I'm starting to try to change my opinion. So going back to, are you changing your expectation for players based on new information? And I think that how this backfield was deployed in week one I think is changing my outlook for James Conner because this wasn't him clear cut workhorse like we saw mostly all of last year when Trey Benson was a rookie. This year it was more of Trey Benson. So Trey Benson played 33% of the snaps while James Conner played 65. Trey Benson's 33% snap share, that was tied for the highest that he saw his entire year as a rookie. So, and I believe in that game, last year's rookie where he played 33% of snaps, it was in a blowout where James Conner wasn't being used. So in a closer back and forth game, the Cardinals were open to using Benson more. He obviously delivered because he had a big explosive run, which we know that at this point in his career that's not really James Conner's game. So if they're open to doing more of a thunder and lightning type of approach, well, that means that that's going to hurt the bottom line for James Conner. Just if he's seeing less volume overall, again, 16 touches overall for him. Trey Benson had nine. And I think that with Connor you have to be this one's tough because they're playing the Carolina Pandas in week two. So do you want to sell him before they play the Carolina Panthers? Who. It's obviously a great matchup. James Connor is probably going to be top 10 running back this week, but after that you have the 49ers and Seahawks, two teams that when they played head to head there was not a lot of running room against either of those teams. So those are two tougher matchups. So maybe you can sell James Conner in the idea that hey, he's playing the Panthers this week, so you can get a lot for him or you can try to sell him after he plays the Panthers and has a really good game. But you know, the main point is I think that Benson is going to be more involved than he was last season. That's something that I didn't necessarily think heading into the year. But after week one, I'm probably changing my opinion on and I'm kind of lowering Conor and I think that.
Ryan Wormley
Do you think Benson's a buy, by the way?
Andrew Erickson
Yes, I think that Benson is still kind of like a waiver wire guy. I think that he's still available on some waivers. I would say Benson is a buy candidate. We've seen this before with some guys where they take that next step in year two. I thought maybe it could be like a Blake Corm or something like that. That's obviously not the case after his usage in week one. But Trey Benson, okay, maybe you see this year's like Tank Bigsby type of player where again, really absent as a rookie. But then, okay, week one shows something. Okay, maybe he does eat a little bit more into James Connor's workload, which is what we saw in Week one. And Connor, he looked okay. I would say that it was against the Saints and the Saints defensive line is not good. So the fact that Connor didn't necessarily pop off the page. 12 carries for 39 yards. Again, Connor got there because he scored a receiving touchdown, caught four targets for five yards. So I think the value with Connor is still there to still get something really strong for return him, especially because he's playing the Panthers this week. But I think you want to get out of the Conner business sooner rather than later because I think that Trey Benson is going to remain a factor in this backfield moving forward.
Ryan Wormley
Trey Benson is 39 rostered on Yahoo, 53 roster on ESPN. Just to give a sense of where he is, where he's rostered.
Andrew Erickson
I. Well, I want to ask you, Worm, just about the Panthers situation. So do you think you can wait after he plays the Panthers to sell him again again, assuming he has a pretty good game and then two tougher matchups coming up after that? Or do you not risk it because you want to be able to move him in and kind of entice the other manager? Hey, he's playing the Panthers this week. You should buy James Connor for me. Like, how would you approach it? Because I'm trying to figure out what would work for me to get the most of return while also not trying to give up a potential smash week from. From James Connor.
Ryan Wormley
I think. I think it depends on the league you're in. Really. Really. What it depends on, honestly for me is less like convincing them about James Conner and more about like if Trey Benson has a better week again. Then I think that will be the like, even if Conor has a good week, but Benson has a great week because of the matchup, then to me that is the scarier proposition of like missing out on the window to sell Connor because that, because I think people are always excited and optimistic about like the young guy breakout. Like you want to be right about that. It's fun to be right about Trey Benson. So. So if he has a big second week, to me that impacts Conor's value more than what Conor does.
Andrew Erickson
No, that's a really good point. Like that.
Ryan Wormley
All right, let's go to the quarterbacks and tight ends. We're going to kind of, you know, loop these guys together. There's fewer names to be working with, so there's less to really talk about here. So one, one buy for you amongst this, you know, pair of positions and one sell. What's your buy?
Andrew Erickson
Justin Herbert, quarterback by I think, man, he looked good. He looked fantastic. And the thing that I noticed the most was he was just running so much in this Greg Roman offense and he set career highs in rushing last year despite entering the season with the foot injury. So we had heard rumblings this offseason, okay, Justin Herbert's gonna run more. It's like, okay, like let's wait to see it. And then from the jump against the Chiefs on Friday on YouTube, he's basically running all over the place, just making plays. And we know Justin Herbert is a super talented quarterback. What he saw in the beginning of his career, now he's kind of fallen off a little bit in terms of fantasy the last couple seasons. But maybe it's the fact that he's running more, the fact that Keenan Allen is back in on the roster. He has McConkey in year two and Quentin Johnson. I mean look, I don't know how reliable that guy is, but he got just touchdowns, most of the touchdowns. So I think Herbert is just slated to be a, an absolute monster at the fantasy quarterback. The position this year. He has all the recipe, all the ingredients to be that league winning quarterback. And because he was going so late in drafts this year, maybe you can still acquire him with your quarterback plus a skill position player. Yeah, I would be trying to send deals for, for Justin Herbert and I, I'm trying to rank him aggressively in the rest of season rankings because I was so impressed by what he did against the Chiefs and just what his season long outlook can be.
Ryan Wormley
And remember so he 7 for 32 yards. But this is one where you had to have watched the game because like he had like a 23 or 24 yarder yard rush that was called back due to penalty. That would have put him, you know, over 50 rushing yards in the game. And, and just watching him even when he wasn't scrambling and actually, you know, on his seven rushing attempts, even aside from those, he just looked really mobile to me. Like, I, I, I'm sure you had the same reaction. Like I thought, I thought eye test wise, that was the best game I saw. I mean, besides Lamar versus Allen, because those guys are on a different level from pretty much everybody else. I thought that was the best game a quarterback played besides those two. This, this whole week one, like, he just looked insane, honestly. Like, and the stats backed it up. It's not like it's just an eye test thing, but the stats plus the eye test. I came away thinking like every year there's like a quote unquote pocket passer who ends up like running hot on touchdowns and is like, you know, QB4 on the season. I think Herbert could be that and also run a bit more. Like I'm, it's just one week. So again, we don't want to like totally overreact, but that's a good defense. It wasn't at home and he just looked awesome. So I'm fully in agreement. I would buy high. And by the way, I didn't say buy low, right? I said buy because you can buy high and still like that. To me, buying high and selling low is sneaky, like the most important skill you can have because it's very easy to find opportunities to buy low and sell high. And we still want to talk about them. I'm not diminishing those conversations, but buying high and selling low to me is like kind of the best way to differentiate yourself from your, from your league mates and your opponents. And I think buying high on Justin Herbert is very smart.
Andrew Erickson
Would you try, would you trade Tyree Kill for Justin Herbert?
Ryan Wormley
In a heartbeat. I was also, I also don't have a lot of Tyree Kill because I was feeding him.
Andrew Erickson
And that proved early on, unfortunately, I don't think Waddle's gonna get it done for me.
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, bye. Justin Herbert. Who are you selling?
Andrew Erickson
So same game I'm selling Travis Kelsey. I just was not inspired whatsoever in terms of the lack of targets that he was getting in that week one game. No Rashi Rice. Travis Kelsey knocks out Xavier worthy, first drive of the game. And yet he only puts up a 10.3% target share despite running a route on 81% of the drop back. So I know that he scored the perfectly schemed up touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes, but I'm just not optimistic that Kelsey's going to take full advantage of this window where all these Chase receivers are hurt. And yet who who is leading the team in targets? It's not Travis Kelsey. Like if it didn't happen in Week 1 against the Chargers, in a game that the Chiefs were trailing, they were trying to catch up. It wasn't Kelsey that was stepping up and commanding this high amount of targets in this offense. It was Marquis Brown that was making plays, juju Smith Schuster out there commanding targets, Tecuan Thornton seeing downfield looks, not Travis Kelsey. So I was worried about Kelsey entering the season just after the dramatic fall off from last year. And even if he does have a boost in production in this time period where Worthy is out, Rice is out, those guys are going to come back at some point. So I, I don't want any part of Kelsey if he's going to fall off in the second half of the season when I need his production the most. So I think I'm trying to sell high on the idea that, hey, he's going to see a boatload of targets over the next couple of weeks when we just saw week one play out and that was not the case whatsoever. And just continuing the trend of downward production from Kelsey. And I'm hoping that I can move him off of the touchdown and off of the idea that he's going to see a lot of targets just because I'm not that optimistic that's going to be the case.
Ryan Wormley
Let's go to our buy, sell or hold segment. I'm going to throw some trios your way and you're going to tell me pick one of them to buy, one of them to sell, one of them to hold. This can be thinking about it like in terms of head to head to head against the names themselves, but it could also be like in a vacuum. Even if I'm ranking like a guy that you are ranking ahead of the other two names that I give you, you can still say a sell if you just think they kind of fit that category best, if that makes sense. So it does. Saying that you're selling doesn't mean he's your least favorite guy. It just means you think he fits that answer best. But these are intended to be names that are roughly in the same range rest of season. Normally you will see these ahead of time. I did kind of come up with these very last second just due to Some scheduling stuff and prepping for the show. So this will be you shooting from the hip here. We'll see how it goes. Buy, sell or hold. I got two running trios and two receiver trios. First at running back, Omarion Hampton, Bree Hall, Kenneth Walker.
Andrew Erickson
What an elite running back to start with. So gotta buy Breeze Hall. I just thought that the guy looked absolutely fantastic in week one. I thought schematically he fit what the jets were trying to do offensively. And yeah, so I. I'm all the way back in. It took me one week. But yes, Breece hall would be the buy for me. I think Hampton. Hampton and Ken Walker are tougher because I didn't think Hampton necessarily looked that great in week one. I thought that he was fine. He is also a rookie, so I'm trying to kind of keep that in mind. And I don't think that I necessarily want to just write him off after one game. So I think. But at the same time, you can't sell Ken Walker right now because you're not going to get anything for him. So I think I would probably sell Hampton just because you can still get a lot for him. And in the back of my mind is Worm's voice talking to me about Greg Roman. Doesn't use a bell cow. Najee Harris could get more involved now that he's kind of getting back his legs back underneath him. So I think Hampton probably. Just. Because I think you can probably get, like. I would trade Hampton to get Breeze hall to be like, as an example.
Ryan Wormley
Okay.
Andrew Erickson
So if we're. If we're talking about.
Ryan Wormley
I don't know if everybody would do that. That's an interesting point to make. I. I don't know if everybody out there would make that choice.
Andrew Erickson
I just.
Ryan Wormley
Just after one week.
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, I just. I mean, I just really wanted to see. Because I know Bruce Hall's talented guy. Like, that was never my hesitation. It was, okay, is this offense going to be. Is this going to be a disaster? And week one, it wasn't. And they just used him in the exact way I hoped that they would. Whereas Hampton, he didn't really jump off the page to me. I thought that he was fine. So I think that I would make that move for Breece hall to. From Omarion Hampton. And then with Walker, I think he's a hold for me. I. I want to see how this backfield plays out in week two. Now, it looked like Charbonnet was the guy in week one, but was that because Walker was coming back from, you know, so much time off. He didn't really play in the preseason. Maybe they were just kind of easing him in. And Walker started the game still. And the thing that was interesting was Walker had all the targets in the backfield sharpened. I had zero targets so I thought that was kind of peculiar too. Where yes, Charbonnet looked better as a rusher, got the more red zone score, the red zone rushing touchdown. But Walker had three targets so not ready to completely write him off. I do want to see another week of it but if we come on week two or entering week three and it's just like the Charbonnet show again, well it's like well got to take the L on Walker. After two weeks it's clearly Charbonnet is the guy. So I will hold Walker just because those are two. If you trade Walker now, you're not going to get. I mean if someone sends you a Walker for sharpening deal, are they accepting it? That's kind of where I feel. I think they're just going to press the reject button and move on.
Ryan Wormley
Well, Breece hall at least seems like a strong buy. You can use the trade analyzer@fantasypros.com MyPlaybook or on the My Playbook app to instantly evaluate how any trade will affect your team for this week, the rest of the season or even in Dynasty. Our other running back trio here, Erickson, Isaiah Pacheco, Bill Crosby, Merritt and Javante Williams.
Andrew Erickson
Okay, so Javante talked about already he's a hold. I think that you just you ride it out. I think it was a good pick. You don't need to trade him. You don't need to sell him. Just have him on your team. Be happy that you picked him. Pacheco would be the sell for me. Just more of the committee usage, not the pre injury usage that we saw from Pacheco. I don't think that Pacheco necessarily was bad but the Chiefs are just using a running back. My committee, they like using Kareem Hunt especially at the goal line which is really annoying for a guy like Pacheco. And right now the vibes again talking about vibes about the Dolphins Chiefs vibes. Not, not great. Super bowl hangover maybe a little bit that's a little bit concerning with the Chiefs. So I think I'm cool with fading Pacheco. So I'm willing to be wrong or be wrong about Pacheco and his upside this year. And then the who's the last guy? That's the guy I want to buy. Bill. Bill. Oh yeah, Bill. You got to Bill Yes. You got to buy Bill Crosky Merritt, dude. He. The minute that Chris Rodriguez is mainly active is like, oh, baby. Wheels up for Jakari Crosky Merritt, he checked off all the boxes, dude. Week one again against a fierce Giants defensive line was not held back. I think he's got a top 24 floor again. They view him as Brian Robinson plus Juice. Brian Robinson was a locked and loaded top 24 running back. He felt good about starting. He's got touchdown upside. And I think that in this scheme with Daniels, he's going to benefit from so many favorable looks where because there's the mobility of the quarterback, you're getting the linebackers put in uncomfortable positions. And Jacob Kraski Merit is taking full advantage of that. Average over 8 yards per carry in the first game looked explosive. So I think it's kind of off to the races for Bill and I think that he might be undervalued. So what his actual ceiling can be, which I think is much closer to top 24 top 20 running back now that we feel secure about his role and if. If Austin Eckler is really the only clear competition for touches. I mean, Eckler is an older player past his prime. So I think it's really wheels up sky high for Mr. Bill.
Ryan Wormley
We'll go quicker on the receivers just because I gotta get going here first. Wide receiver trio. Zay Flowers, Ricky Pearsall, Emeka Igbuka.
Andrew Erickson
Oh, man.
Ryan Wormley
Okay, so let's Pearsall and Ibuka I really wanted to put together because I had them together like basically throughout draft season, at least by the end of it. And they also are coming off of good games in their own respective ways. And so I was trying to find a good third receiver to include with them, but that was. Those are. The first two names I wrote down were Pierce Sol, Nick Buka.
Andrew Erickson
Okay, so let's see. I think that you have to. You got to hold Egg Buka. I think that the guy's just too talented and too good. And the fact that he does it as his first game ever, I think that just shows you the type of ceiling he has. And even when Chris Godwin comes back, I don't. I don't know if how much of a factor he's going to be. So I will hold on to Egg Buka. I mean, are you guys ready to say flowers? I know everyone did not, like, say flowers a lot in fantasy, so it's like, man, this guy's really good. Like, no, let.
Ryan Wormley
Let me, let me answer this one. You're Correct about holding Ibuka by Pierce all I think like he's gonna be awesome this year and sell Zay Flowers. Zay Flowers is a very good receiver, but he is particularly good against the type of defensive coverages that the Bills throw your way. That was a big reason why they lost in the playoffs last year. And so I'm not surprised he had a big game against the Bill. I mean the Ravens in that game. Sam Hoppin, our former coworker, posted an explosive play, kind of like rankings of everybody. The Ravens had an explosive play in that game, 23.5% of their plays which was first by a mile. The gap between them and second place was the same between the gap between second place and 13th place in week one. That that's an out. Like the Ravens I think are probably if healthy going to be the best offense in football this year. It's not going to be by that kind of outlier and it's not going to be where all of the passing game production goes to Zay Flowers. So if anybody is believing that he is like a league winner because of that first game, like I would sell him by like I said, Pierce all in holding Booker.
Andrew Erickson
No, I think that you're right. It just feels bad because you know, like it shows just the ceiling that Flowers has in an offense that imagine if he did get double digit targets every single week. Right. Like how? Because he's such a good player. Like he's such a fun player. He's so good after the catch. He's dynamic. But to your point, Mark Andrews always sucks against the Bills no matter what it is. He just doesn't do anything against that team. He's not going to see one target every single week. That's going to flatten out a little bit. So I would agree with you. You can get a lot for especially in a prime time game. I mean like we're coming on the show and it's like oh man, I gotta sell Zay Flowers. But to your point, you can get a lot for him and then Slick Rick. I mean to the moon even with Mac Jones.
Ryan Wormley
Yeah. All right, last wide receiver trio. I do have to go quickly on this one. Roma Dunes a Michael Pittman Jr. Or Keenan Allen.
Andrew Erickson
Okay, so I'm going to hold Roma Dunes A you know, second year player showing potential with Caleb Williams. I like that. So I'm going to hold on to A Dunes A Michael Pittman. I probably sell. I, I think that the Colts receiver room is still pretty crowded where maybe he's not going to give you the biggest return long term, and I know that he scored touchdowns. I don't think Daniel Jones is going to necessarily play that well. He's also playing the Broncos in week two. So what did we just talk about with Sir Tan? Who's he going to be on? It's probably going to be on Michael Pittman. So that's not a matchup that you like. So I think that it is time to just, you know, sell high on Michael Pittman, take the profit and then the who's the last guy again, where. I'm so bad at this.
Ryan Wormley
It's okay. Normally you would have these in front of you. This was kind of thrown together. It was a dunes a Pittman and Keenan Allen.
Andrew Erickson
Oh, yeah. So then I would, I would, would. I would buy Keenan out. Right, because he's probably the cheapest player that you can acquire just because he was drafted so late. But what do you see? He's Justin Herbert's one of his best buddies now. I, I think maybe if you could flip Pittman to get Keenan out right now, they could probably do that.
Ryan Wormley
We'll wrap things up with one mailbag question here from the Twitter audience. We'll be posting those every week. So if you have any trade questions of your own, feel free to respond to that tweet and we will, you know, talk about it on the show here each week. We've got one for you today. Should I trade T.J. hawkinson? And if so, what should I respect? What should I expect? Excuse me. For compensation?
Andrew Erickson
Well, I believe that Hawkinson is not coming off the greatest game. Yeah, he only had three catch for 15 yards on four targets. So I don't know if you're gonna be able to get a lot for Hawkinson. I think you might need to wait a week just to see him pop off a little bit again. Obviously, McCarthy showed, hey, he can be a good quarterback for Fantasy. It took him a little bit of time. So I think that you want to wait on. I think he's a hole for me, especially with Addison out for the next couple weeks. I think we could see Hawkinson bounce back and then I would probably try to sell before Addison returns to the lineup. So I would, I would wait and then maybe try to get a. Another tight end either coming off a poor performance or some of the bye players we talked about on today. Maybe like a Calvin Ridley, another receiver. If you need a receiver. Maybe Calvin Ridley's a target that you use Hawkinson to try to acquire. If that team also needs a tight end.
Ryan Wormley
We'll go ahead and wrap things up there for Erickson. I'm Ryan Wormley. Thanks everybody for tuning in. We'll be with you every Tuesday all season long. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple podcasts@fantasypros.com review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok Antasypros and subscribers subscribe to our YouTube channel@YouTube.com fantasypros.
Honey German
Hi, it's Honey German and I'm back with season two of my podcast. Gracias. Come again. We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition.
Andrew Erickson
No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned like over 25 years.
Honey German
Oh, wow. That's a real G talk right there.
Andrew Erickson
Oh, yeah.
Honey German
We'll talk about all that's viral and trending with a little bit of Cheeseman and a whole lot of laughs. And of course, the great Bibras you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Gracias. Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
Marcus Grant and Michael F. Florio
I'm Dan. He's Ty.
Andrew Erickson
Hello.
Marcus Grant and Michael F. Florio
And we're the Solid Verbal College Football Podcast. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan. Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport. Listen to the Solid Verbal College Football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael F. Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ryan Wormley
This is an iHeart podcast.
Date: September 9, 2025
Host: Ryan Wormley
Expert Guest: Andrew Erickson
This episode dives deep into early-season fantasy football strategy, focusing on actionable Week 2 buy low and sell high targets. Andrew Erickson joins Ryan Wormley to share immediate takeaways from Week 1 games (including a Monday Night Football recap), strategic trade advice, and a detailed look at specific players to move for or away from right now. The conversation is practical, analytic, and rooted in both film review and data, with a candid and entertaining tone.
(01:45–05:15)
“I think it's just the progression of two young quarterbacks taking that next step in year two.” – Andrew Erickson (02:50)
(06:13–10:16)
“If you can get the right thing [in trade], consider it. But just because a guy did what you expected doesn’t mean regression is coming.” – Ryan Wormley (09:50)
1. Calvin Ridley (WR, TEN)
2. Travion Henderson (RB, NE)
3. George Pickens (WR, DAL)
1. Deebo Samuel (WR, WAS)
2. J.K. Dobbins (RB, DEN)
3. James Conner (RB, ARI)
Buy: Justin Herbert (QB, LAC)
Sell: Travis Kelce (TE, KC)
(44:46–54:27)
Each trio: select one to buy, sell, and hold, with justification (quick picks, highlights only):
RB Trio 1: Omarion Hampton, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker
RB Trio 2: Isaiah Pacheco, Bill Croskey Merritt, Javonte Williams
WR Trio 1: Zay Flowers, Ricky Pearsall, Emeka Egbuka
WR Trio 2: Rome Odunze, Michael Pittman Jr., Keenan Allen
“I think you should be open to changing your opinions on certain things after we see what happened in week one, especially if it was something that you didn't see coming.” – Andrew Erickson (10:16)
“For all the reasons we talked about him during draft season, why we liked him so much, those are all still apparent.” – Andrew Erickson (13:20)
“We know he's not built to last... Love the man. He's not built to last for the long haul for a 17 game season.” – Andrew Erickson (34:34)
“This is where I'm looking for angles this week—is who just disappointed week one, where the bet hasn't really changed.” – Andrew Erickson (21:26)
“That's an outlier. The Ravens I think are probably, if healthy, going to be the best offense in football this year... It's not going to be where all of the passing game production goes to Zay Flowers.” – Ryan Wormley (51:34)
Q: Should I trade T.J. Hockenson? If so, what should I expect in return?
A: Hold for now; wait for a bounce back game with Addison sidelined, then consider trading for a need like WR (ideally a struggling but high-upside option like Calvin Ridley).
“I think he's a hold for me, especially with Addison out for the next couple weeks.” – Andrew Erickson (54:48)
This episode gave fantasy football managers a data-driven, nuanced approach to trade strategies and immediate actionable moves for Week 2. With a strong push to react (not overreact) to new info while trusting preseason analysis when appropriate, Erickson and Wormley stress the value of moving decisively on players before groupthink settles in and the “buy” and “sell” windows close.