← FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Week 16 Fantasy Football Quarterback and Tight End Rankings: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1906)
00:28:06
Loading summary
Transcript59 lines
- [00:00]
Podcast Host / Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
- [00:05]
Fantasy Pros Sponsor Announcer
Fantasy Pro's fantasy football podcast is brought to you by Grainger. If you work as a maintenance manager, your facility is your home turf and your home field advantage is having a partner like Grainger. They offer trusted professional grade products for every industry from lighting and electrical to safety and everything in between, plus next day delivery. Which is why they always come through in the clutch. Just like you. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [00:36]
Chris Welsh
Hello, friends and welcome into Fantasy Pros, the Week 16 quarterback and tight end ranks episodes. We're going through the top 12 quarterbacks, maybe a little bit more. Top 12 tight ends, maybe a smidge more. We'll be going through some of the top plays for you. Joining me, I'm Chris Welsh, that is Pat Fitzmorrison and Andrew Erickson. We will combine both of these bad boys into a show. And, and little did you know that you might be like, should I really start and stream Tyler Schuck because I lost Patrick Mahomes. Should I pick up Colby Parkinson and play him over Tyler Warren? The answer to those might be yes, to be honest with you. And those are some of the things we're going to have to deal with. Did you think that's where we were headed, Erickson? You think that was the land we were going to be living in?
- [01:19]
Andrew Erickson
No, I really did not. But that's what makes fantasy football so fun. You never know. And this always happens because you log back into your fantasy league after the season ends. You start the new season and you look at your team, you're like, who are half these players? Yeah, like, like what?
- [01:33]
Pat Fitzmorrison
Who is this running back?
- [01:34]
Andrew Erickson
Because you know the war of attrition that football season is. Guys have to be put into certain situations, have to step up and, and make opportunities to make plays. So yeah, Ready to break it down?
- [01:45]
Chris Welsh
Yeah. Fitzy. We, we are like a banged up Herbert. We just lost Patrick Mahomes for the season. Tua Tang Viola was bench for Quinn Ewers. Like there's some significant quarterback questions floating around here. The core guys are still kind of like the core dudes, but there are playoff teams that could still be alive, specifically that just lost Patrick Mahomes and those are the ones that are going to be reeling. Hopefully Tyler Shook is not the thing they have to pivot to or like a Kirk Cousins and they've got a better option, but there are some that won't.
- [02:18]
Pat Fitzmorrison
Yeah. Fantasy football takes some unpredictable turns and it might be Tyler Schuck leading some people of fantasy championships. And who could have imagined that it would be week 16 in 2025 and I would be ranking Michael Wilson a dozen spots higher than Justin Jefferson this week. Like if you would have told me that in August, you could have knocked me over with a feather. So, yeah, fantasy football's a weird game sometimes.
- [02:45]
Chris Welsh
Who could have thought we could have made a really, really good, compelling case to start Jacoby Brissette over Lamar Jackson. Well, you can this week and that's the world that we live in. We're going to talk about quarterbacks to start here, going through the top 12 and we've even got one quarterback that's not in that has got some nice rank adjustment between you guys before we do start. Little giveaway action because you guys love some giveaways and we love to hook you guys up, as does trophy smack because we partner with trophy smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware to give away the teeny tiner loser mini belt, the ultimate prize for fantasy football failure. The pint sized belt is the perfect reminder of your dumpster fire season. It's hilarious, it's humiliating, and it's a must have for every league that takes last place punishments seriously. To enter, all you've got to do is subscribe to The Fantasy Pros YouTube channel. Do it right now. If you haven't, drop a comment below like on this video or any video this month and that's it and you're hooked up. We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel. So make sure to turn on notifications because you don't want to miss your chance to claim this awesome championship belt and flex it on the rest of your league. All right. The ranks fantasypros.com rankings if you guys want to follow along for quarterbacks and tight ends all the way up until kickoff, any of the adjustments as rankers shout out to our boy Dbro for finishing number one this week. Any of the rankers that are going to, you know, be coming in late or whatever are going to have adjustments. So if you want to follow along in the show or up until kickoff, go to fantasypros.com rankings quarterbacks. Gentlemen, let's go to the big board. We've got Josh Allen as your number one quarterback for the week with a tough matchup. By the way, Jalen Hurts coming in at two with a great matchup. Drake May, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy at 5, Dak Prescott at 6. And then your bottom half is Lamar Jackson at 7, aforementioned Jacoby Brissette at 8, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love. The top five I think is pretty chalk. There probably is a conversation that could be had about Brock Purdy being so high, but it's a solid matchup. But how about Dak Prescott? Because Dak was a dis. That's a disappointment. Like we need those big stats. Frankly, Dak killed me in a league in the, in the flex leagues. I went into the championship, I went into the UP having Dak Ferguson and Justin Jefferson and I was down 30 and I lost by 10 and those guys did absolutely nothing for me. And Dak is supposed to be the chalk play. It's a one star graded matchup. The worst of the grouping of these top 12 quarterbacks. Kind of a bomb out last week that worked with George Pickens. There's a little element of probably feeling dicey about it and you guys both kind of agree you do have them as a QB1. Hard to not have Dak as a QB1, but you are lower than consensus. Fitzy, why don't we start with you? You've got him at 8. Not crazy low, but I'm also curious in any concerns you have about him like who do you have right above him?
- [05:36]
Pat Fitzmorrison
So right above him I have.
- [05:38]
Chris Welsh
You have him at nine?
- [05:39]
Pat Fitzmorrison
I'm sorry I said, yeah, I have him at nine. Right above him. Jacoby Brissette at eight, Jared Goff at seven, Brock Purdy at six.
- [05:47]
Chris Welsh
Okay, so Jacoby Brissette over Dak Prescott. And where are your concerns lie after that? That last game?
- [05:53]
Pat Fitzmorrison
Matchup? Chargers. Chargers have allowed the second fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Lowest opponent passer rating in the league. They've given up 12 touchdown passes this season, fewest in the league. Less than one a game on average. They're only giving up 6.3 yards per 10. So it's a really tough matchup and maybe Dak can overcome it. I mean he's got two outstanding receivers in CD Lamb and George Pickens and some other useful weapons like Jake Ferguson and the surging Ryan Flournoy. But I do think it's reasonable to lower expectations for Deck even though he's been terrific. QB3 and fantasy points per game. Only that since week 10. Coming out of the buy like he's been fantastic since then. Only Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence have scored more fantasy points per game at the QB position since week 11.
- [06:45]
Chris Welsh
Eric, so this is a tough one because it's like he has been great and then he had this Great matchup and it bombed and it was a big failure. And then you're staring at a really bad matchup and you're like, how does he bounce back if you're still viable in the playoffs? So what's your take? You've got him at 8. You're lower than consensus on deck. This is the season as a whole and the volume passer has been great versus a bad week last week. Put up against a really horrific matchup this week.
- [07:13]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, I think with Dak. And again, I'm lower versus consensus. I don't really feel that way because I think if people ask me, do I start Dak or Tyler Shock, I'm just going to say I'm starting Dak Prescott. Wow.
- [07:25]
Chris Welsh
Is that really a question, though? But what about Jared Goff versus Dak Prescott?
- [07:29]
Andrew Erickson
Yes, that's a better question. So I have golf ahead. So we just look at some of the implied team totals. Like the Cowboys are behind the lines in the 49ers. Right. So looking at, okay, Brock Purdy, not necessarily like a strict pocket passer, adds a little value with his legs, but mostly getting his points through the arm. Jared Goff, we know, doesn't run, so he's getting his points through his arm. I'd rather want to bet on the total in that game. The Lions are playing at home in Detroit. You know, Jared Goff can score a ton of points in that type of environment, but with Dak Prescott, they're also playing at home. This has the highest total on the slate. So when you look at the defensive match, if you're thinking, man, he's facing the number one defense or number two defense in terms of fantasy points, a lot of quarterbacks. But this game also has the highest total on the slate. So I think the Cowboys just kind of create this game environment where it kind of doesn't matter who they're playing. I mean, he's played the Chiefs, he was QB6, he's faced the Eagles. He was QB3 at home. So when you play in Jerry world, you have a ceiling that I think a player like Dak Prescott can definitely overcome. That being said, I am lower than ECR just because I do like Purdy Jared Goff, and I'm not going to knock anyone. If you want to start Jacoby Brissette, who we'll get into here as well, I might even move each Cobra set head of Dak Prescott as well, just because, I mean, that guy's match approved. I mean, he's the reason why I finished 158th in quarterback rankings last week because I buried Jacoby Brissette against the Houston Texans and mean what, he was QB10, QB11 on the week because he just finds a way to get it done. And I think that Jacoby is, is gonna find a way to again be another QB one. So if you are kind of like concerned about the Dak matchup. I'm not like, overly concerned about it. I mean, you can't go wrong with Jacoby. Brusette has shown that. You literally cannot go wrong starting this guy basically over anybody.
- [09:07]
Chris Welsh
Yeah, you guys are flipped in your ranks on Brissette, where and where you are with Dak. So erickson, you've got Dakota 8, you've got Brissette at 9. Currently Fitz, he's got Brissette at 8 where he had Dak at 9. What about the Brissette versus, like, Lamar situation? Because I think this is a. It's a median matchup. Brissette has got the Falcons. He's going to sling the ball. There's a questionable running game that's out there that could get them throwing the ball a little bit more. It's going to be McBride and Wilson. We don't, I don't at this moment know the status of Marvin Harrison, but what do you think about that Brissette vs. Lamar Jackson thing, Erickson? Is it just easy, Lamar vs. The Patriots, or do you think this is a question which Kobe.
- [09:45]
Andrew Erickson
It's still Lamar for me. The thing with the Patriots defense, and this is one of their, this is their Achilles heel essentially and really hasn't been exposed against bad quarterbacks. They have the worst red defense in the NFL. We saw Lamar Jackson throw two touchdowns on eight completions last week. He's going to throw for multiple touchdowns against the New England Patriots because they're going to score and be efficient in the red zone. And that's what all you need from Lamar, like, that's what he's traditionally been so great at, is being uber efficient. And I don't think that's going to change against the Patriots at home. So still going to be Lamar for me.
- [10:17]
Chris Welsh
Fitzy, what do you think? You've got Jacoby one spot higher than Dak. I'm going to guess you probably got Lamar right above. But how close do you think Brissette vs. Lamar is in your comfortability of starting Jacoby this week?
- [10:29]
Pat Fitzmorrison
Yeah, I mean, I've got Lamar ranked fifth. Like I, I just. Yeah, I want the rushing potential and. But Brissette, like in his nine games as a starter for the Cardinals Jacoby Brissette is averaging 42.8 pass attempts, 28.4 completions and 300.9 passing yards a game. Oh, and two touchdown passes a game. And Brissette has had at least 40 pass attempts in all but two of those nine starts for Arizona. He's QB4 in fantasy points per game since taking over as the starter in place of Kyler Murray, which is just crazy. And last week against the Texans, toughest matchup you can possibly get. QB12. And now he gets the Falcons a neutral matchup at worst. And the Cardinals, with all their injuries at the running back position, they're probably going to throw 40 plus passes again. I just think Brissette's a great start. I'm in one league where I had Patrick Mahomes. I was lucky enough to have Brissette as my backup and I don't even feel like it's a downgraded quarterback.
- [11:31]
Chris Welsh
Completely agree. Lots of spots are probably starting Brissette over big. I do think of the top 12 quarterbacks. Dak maybe has like one of the bigger questions, but I think the biggest question is sitting right at Matthew Stafford. Matthew Stafford comes in at 10. He had been forming at a top 12. Two negatives for this week. No Devonte Adams and the Seattle Seahawks defense. Bad matchup, one big impact wide receiver and that puts serious questions into the viability of him now might not have options. You know, if it's Matthew Stafford and you know, whoever you know, Tyler Schuck even. I don't even know if you could like shy away from Matthew Stafford. But I do think there are some big questions around him and your ranks both exemplify that. So Vitzi, you don't, you don't have a rank change. You are at ecr. So you're saying that Matthew Stafford is still a QB one, but you did sigh when I said his name. So I feel like you do have some, some overall concerns. Like you're kind of blind. They're closing your eyes with the rank of Stafford because of how good that offense has been.
- [12:34]
Pat Fitzmorrison
It would be really hard to bench a guy who has had multiple touchdown passes in eight straight games and could still conceivably get to 50 for the season. And those touchdown, that streak of multiple touchdown games is what gives me some hope here. And the last time he played the Seahawks, Matthew Stafford had a season low 130 passing yards. But he did have multiple touchdown passes. He threw two TDs in that game. But yeah, it's a tough matchup and he doesn't have Devonte Adams. So I'm there's a chance I'm going to be closer to Erickson than ECR by the time we kick off on Sunday.
- [13:15]
Chris Welsh
And that's the giveaway. Erickson, you are 17 on him. So you are out on Matthew Stafford. Want to hear why you're out? But also I'd love to hear like the two quarterbacks that you have higher than Matthew Stafford right now to give people perspective.
- [13:29]
Andrew Erickson
So I have Caleb Williams ahead of Matthew Stafford against a Micah Parsons list Green Bay packers defense and I had Baker Mayfield ahead of Matthew Stafford because he has Mike Evans back and I like the ceiling perspective, I guess for me. Does this scream like a Matthew Stafford ceiling performance? I don't think so. We saw him play Seattle already this year. He was QB16 on the week to Fitz's point. Season low in passing yardage again. He can throw two touchdowns in this game and make Kobe Parkinson managers happy, make Kyron Williams or play core managers happy if they catch a receiving touchdown. But because he adds no value with his legs, two passing touchdowns doesn't guarantee that you're a fantasy quarterback stud. It just doesn't. So without demonte Adams, who has been a red zone, a monster all season long, we also might see them, hey, we're not going to force it here with Matthew Stafford in the red zone. We are just going to hand it off to Kyron or to Blake Corum and that hurts Matthew Stafford too. So Matthew Stafford on the season as a whole. Yes. He throws like two passing touchdowns every single week. I remember seeing his prop last week was over two and it was his passing touchdowns was at two and a half passing touchdowns.
- [14:32]
Chris Welsh
It's been like that for like 10 weeks. It's been like that for 10 weeks.
- [14:35]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, which, which you just don't usually see. It's usually one and a half passing touchdowns is like the standard for a quarterback player prop. But Stafford's obviously kind of broken that the norm there. But he's been outside the top 12 quarterbacks in half of his games this season. So half the games because he doesn't add any value as a rusher. And of the games that he actually has fallen outside that top 12 range, four of them have been outdoor road games. That's exactly what you're looking at here is outdoor on the road against Seattle. Divisional matchup. We've seen divisional underdogs just perform well above expectation on Thursday nights without Devonte. I just don't think this is a ceiling spot for Stafford. So yeah, I think that he's someone that you can do better than in week 16.
- [15:17]
Chris Welsh
All right, last one. We can kind of hit it quick. One of the quarterbacks that you have decided you can do better on is Jackson Darts. Jackson Dart is 15 on ECR and Erickson you've got him at 12. Fitzyou are lower, quite a bit lower. So you guys are on the opposite spectrum. Just a quick breakdown of you have Jackson dart over Stafford, so that is the direction you would go.
- [15:35]
Andrew Erickson
Yes, because he is a mobile quarterback and I've basically been wrong about Jackson Dart every single week because I haven't valued his rushing enough. And even though he keeps going into the blue tent to get concussion protocol check, he continues to run. And even though they took away the design runs, he just says, you know what, whatever, I'll just scramble on my own anyway. So that's really it. It's just the rushing equity with him. And the Vikings do have a couple injuries on their defense, so I know that they shut down Dak Prescott last week, but if you're a mobile quarterback, sometimes it just doesn't necessarily matter. So Dart for me I think could be a low NQB one, which is basically what he has been since he took over as the Giants starting quarterback.
- [16:09]
Chris Welsh
Fitz, you got him at 19, quite a bit lower on Jackson Dart. So where's your hesitation?
- [16:13]
Pat Fitzmorrison
A few minutes ago I referred to the Texans as the toughest possible matchup a quarterback could have. In recent weeks it's actually been the they have been just a hellacious matchup for quarterbacks. They have not given up a touchdown pass since Lamar Jackson had one against them on November 9th. Five straight games without giving up a touchdown pass. And up until last week when Dak Prescott broke the streak against them, they'd held opposing quarterbacks under 200 passing yards in five straight games. Like Brian Flores has been in his bag, man, he is dialing up some exotic stuff to shut down quarterbacks. I know the Vikings do have some injuries on defense, but man, I do not want to start a quarterback against the Vikings right now.
- [16:57]
Podcast Host / Announcer
Love the Night Reach for Zinn After Dark, a limited cocktail inspired series for those who get up when the sun goes down. Try Zinn's Mojito Spiced Cider and Espresso Martini Nicotine pouches. Find them at select retailers available while supplies last Zyn After Dark Bring on the night. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
- [17:26]
Snapdragon Sponsor Announcer
PCs powered by Snapdragon X Elite processors are made to go the distance with blazing fast performance. Next level efficiency. Snapdragon processors are built to tackle it all, from highlight reel editing to intense player research making it all feel effortless. And with multi day battery life, you got true freedom all right without being tethered to an outlet. So from long video calls to all day fantasy drafts, your laptop stays ready so you can be at the top of your game. It's the kind of performance your lifestyle demands, so make sure your next PC is powered by Snapdragon. Learn more at snapdragon.com laptops Snapdragon the heart of your PC. Battery life varies significantly based on devices, setup, usage and other factors.
- [18:08]
Total Wireless Sponsor Announcer
This podcast is sponsored by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of ufc. When you're streaming the fight or sharing those takedown highlights, you need a wireless provider that keeps you close to the action. With Total Wireless, you're covered by the Verizon 5G network, so you don't have to worry about your connection being knocked out at the biggest moments. It's not something you can usually say about a wireless provider, but Total Wireless really does have your back. They're in your corner every second of the day, so you never miss a thing. Visit totalwireless.com or visit your local Total Wireless store to learn more about how Total Wireless can be in your corner. 5G access requires a 5G capable device and a 5G service area. Additional terms apply. See website for details.
- [18:59]
Chris Welsh
There you go quarterbacks. Check out more fantasybros.com rankings if you want to dig a little bit deeper. Obviously we got the Q&As to help you out. Let's go over to tight ends. We got a couple big discussions to hit the top 12 tight end board. You've got Trey McBride coming in at number one, George Kittle at two, Kyle Pitts at three over Brock Bowers who's at four Dallas Goddard and Harold Fannin. That's your top six. Number seven, Colby Parkinson over Travis Kelsey followed by Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller, Tyler Warren all the way down at 11 and Dalton Kincaid. Probably the going to be top one to two of most asked questions for this week should be about Colby Parkinson because I mean he comes in at seven, he's over some huge names. He's probably one of the top waiver wire guys. People are going to be asking to flex him out. He is tight end seven and man to both of you guys. Co sign on it. Fitz, he's at 6, Erickson's at 7. Fitzy, why don't you start us off here. I love Colby Parkinson in this spot. I think I would Take him over Fannin. At this point I don't know if you're in that same range but what do you think about Parkinson for this week and just how much do you want to co sign of him as a strong starter?
- [20:07]
Pat Fitzmorrison
The only reason I don't think he's going to be one of the most asked about players this week, Walsh is because he plays on Thursday night and people are going to have two and a half less days to ask questions about it.
- [20:17]
Chris Welsh
You are correct about that. Yes, that was not registering in my brain. Yes you are correct. You know what? He's not the most asked about player because it's over.
- [20:24]
Andrew Erickson
It's done.
- [20:25]
Pat Fitzmorrison
Exactly. He's a very vexing player. Six touchdown catches though over his last six games and last week he had a season high five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions. Parkinson could be heavily involved this week with Devonte Adams out for the Rams. And as good as the Seattle pass defense has been, the Seahawks are actually sneaky bad against tight ends. They've allowed the second most receptions and fourth most receiving yards to the position. So I think Colby Parkinson is going to be used pretty heavily unless what Erickson hinted about in a different ranking show comes to fruition and it's the Terrance Ferguson game that no one is expecting.
- [21:05]
Chris Welsh
Yeah, I will say though that Thursday livestream we have is before Thursday Night Football. I guarantee you every question was that one. The volume will be there. But yeah, I wasn't even thinking about Thursday Night Football. Erickson, same thing. You can be quicker if you want on it. You got Parkinson at 6, we're up on there. Everyone kind of just is a big buy on the play.
- [21:23]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah. And to be honest I kind of wanted to come on here and pull cold water on Parkinson because when I first did my rankings I did not have him anywhere near this range. But then as I kind of thought about it more going through, okay, what are we expecting from this Rams offense? And just like Parkinson said as a player too because when I think about him, he kind of falls into the category of okay, catch the ball, fall down type of tight end. But that really hasn't been what he's done this year. Among tight ends, fifth in yards per outrun, seventh in yards out to the catch per reception. It's also revenge game for him against the Seattle Seahawks who he used to play for and when you look at what does his offense, what do we expect from his offense without Devonte Adams? Again this is the first game that Adams is going to miss but we saw them play without Puka Nakua in that game against the Jaguars in London. And what do they do? They used 13 personnel at one of the highest rates in the NFL. So using all three tight ends. So that suggests that Parkinson is going to be heavily involved along with the other tight ends. He led the team in cat in yards in that particular contest. He had three catches for 47 yards. He only had three targets, but Tyler Higby was still active in that game. Higby actually led the team with six targets in that particular contest. So. And he also. He didn't score a touchdown. But obviously, we know the touchdown upside is there with Kobe Parkinson. That's what he's been doing the last six games, even with Devonte Adams healthy and in the lineup. So, yeah, I think I went in trying to really overanalyze and try to figure out a way, like, is this just. Is this not going to work? But I couldn't really find a reason for this not to work where it's just like, dude, they take out the guy that gets all the touchdowns and put in some other guy that catches the second most touchdowns. Good matchup overall. I know that Julian Love is going to be back and healthy for this game as well. So that's just one thing to kind of note as one of the Seahawks safeties. But, yeah, I really can't think of a reason. So I think to make it simple is just like, hey, like, start Kobe Parkinson on Thursday.
- [23:14]
Chris Welsh
I think maybe then one of the more popular questions that has more legs to it is, can I start Tyler Warren? And a lot of people are down on Tyler Warren. And this isn't about actually Tyler Warren, but this is a move that Erickson, you are making over him pretty dramatically. He is one spot higher than Warren in the ecr. It's Darren Waller, and you've got Darren Waller at tight end eight this week. This is that, you know, shame on us for the Ravens tight ends. But it's like, you look at the Bengals matchup, and you're just like, yep, like, you just got to go. And it didn't work out last week in a big, embarrassing failure. It looks like you are kind of back in on, like, you know, the quarterback change, you know, the waddle situation, Waller getting targets, horrifically bad defense against tight end. I mean, did I just kind of like, lay out the Darren Waller side? You have him at 8 this week.
- [24:03]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, I got to move them down, though, because it was more when Tua was still the quarterback. And again, I'm not super high on waddle this week with Quinn Ewers under center and it's just again, we want to try to bet on things that we are confident in. Obviously we're confident in the matchup for the Bengals, but never seen Quinn Ewers again. Shouldn't say never. See he did play a little bit in that Browns game for the Dolphins earlier this year, but haven't, haven't seen him play with Darren Waller. So it feels more like a leap of faith to like, oh yeah, I'm going to like roll the dice on Darren Waller against the Bengals with a quarterback that we haven't really seen him play with. So that's, that's a concern. So he's going to move down a little bit probably behind some of these other players that have also flashed a type of ceiling. He'll probably end up like in that 14 to 15 range where yeah, he's a streamable tight end, but rather go with Parkinson. I don't think I would move him ahead of like a guy like Harold Fannin. And to back to the I know you mentioned this earlier, but I also would do Parkinson over Harold Fannin. I'm, I'm brutally terrified of the spills matchup and again going back to try to like dive into the lab like oh well, Harold Fannin can overcome this Bills matchup because of X, Y and Z and I could not find any reason why that would be the case. He had 14 targets last week and was barely a tight end one. So even a fan is seeing all this volume against Buffalo. Odds are it's still not going to be enough to warrant him as like a smash start given that he's probably going to have a very low efficiency type of game because of how good the Bills are defending tight ends.
- [25:26]
Chris Welsh
Fitz, you've got Waller at 14. Looks like you may probably already built in the Quinn Ewers his starting situation. What do you think on Waller?
- [25:33]
Pat Fitzmorrison
I did and he has six touchdowns in seven games this season, but that was all with Tua. And how does this work with Quinn Ewers? And even with all those touchdowns, Waller's average 2.9 catches and 34.7 receiving yards a game. So it's not like he's getting a lot of volume. And I don't even know if the Bengals tight end thing applies to Waller because really he's not like a real tight end. He's really more like an X receiver. So I just, I mean, do the Bengals maybe stick DJ Turner on him in the red zone? I don't know. So like I would. I'm not necessarily all in on Waller this week just because of the matchup.
- [26:14]
Chris Welsh
All right, final one here. This is just a really interesting one. He is not a top 12 tight end. He comes in at 13. He has been a smash of void for quite some time. It's around a Gadsden. You're going to understand why the talk here is. But Fitzy, let's start with you because you've got him at easier. I'll be honest with you, even see him at 13 seems kind of a surprise. So talk to us about the ECR value of Gadsden and then we're going to jump into Erickson who seems to be all in on Gadsden this week.
- [26:41]
Pat Fitzmorrison
Yeah, he burned brightly like a comet for a little while and then boy did did that comet get extinguished in a hurry. But you know, so it had been a really quiet four game stretch for Ronda Gadsden and then he sort of resurfaced last week with four catches for 61 yards against the Chiefs on five targets. It, it's just, it is hard to confidently start Gadsden when Justin Herbert has thrown for 220 or fewer yards in five straight games and only has five touchdown passes over that stretch. So just not a lot of yardage or TDs to go around.
- [27:15]
Chris Welsh
Erickson, tight end 6 for Gadsden. We haven't seen that in God knows how long. Where is that blind or analytical optimism putting you to get Gadson at 6?
- [27:29]
Andrew Erickson
So I did adjust it slightly. He's at 8 now, so I had to do some maneuvering with Parkinson and obviously Travis Kelsey too. I had to move him back up because it doesn't seem like or chance that Rashi Rice doesn't play based on him being in the concussion protocol. But with Gadsden it's again, it's been not good. But we've seen him flash a really high ceiling at points where he could win you your week based on a really high end performance. And against Dallas, man, you gotta sometimes throw out the past game logs out the window because things can just get crazy in these types of environments where the Chargers can have a plan that yeah, we're gonna do X, Y and Z. And then the Dallas Cowboys score a bunch of points on them and they have to throw the football. So Gadsden, I think that it's not a coincidence that he had his best game in a long time when Johnston wasn't active last week. So if Johnston misses again, you're seeing Gadsden deployed as okay, here's a guy that could potentially lead the team in routes run because we know that's not going to be Keenan Allen. Kind of to the similar point of why I want to chase the upside with lad McConkey, even though I know it's a scary floor. Because there's a chance that a Chargers player could win your week against the Dallas Cowboys this week and I don't want to miss that type of opportunity, especially at tight end when you know that most Titans are going to be putting up that 4 for 40 stat line anyway. So why not try to shoot for the moon here with a guy like Gadsden who has flash and again, it's been a while, but the optics of this particular matchup could suggest, hey, he could have a big game here. So that's why I want to be a little bit more aggressive on him versus like the Jake Ferguson's or the Dalton Schultz's Kincaid's where you got. They have a floor with them. I mean, would you do Fannin over Gadsden? Like who has a higher ceiling this week?
- [29:07]
Chris Welsh
Yeah, well, I mean, you want to pretend that Gadsden does. It's just been so bad. I mean, I don't know, I gotta be honest with you. 14 targets, it might still be phantom, but I know what you're saying. I know what you're saying here. Yeah, your logic makes sense. And that's a big thing. Upside versus the floor. You're gonna have to make those decisions in the playoff. Sometimes that shines even brighter. And in the tight end position this week it seems like there's a little bit more of a hyper focus on the upside than it is some of those floor plays that are out there. You guys know where to find us. If there are more tight end or quarterback questions. Lots of different outlets and we are here for you and we'll be here for you next week as well. A little bit earlier. There's a Christmas, obviously crazy schedule that's going on, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to have all the great episodes. And we'll be recording a little bit earlier, so we'll get you set up for your championship week. Good luck this week. Be here next so we can guide you through the championship. For Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson, I'm Chris Welsh. Good luck and we'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.
- [30:01]
Fantasy Pros Sponsor Announcer
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 subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.
- [30:44]
Sophie Cunningham
This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, or osa, in adults with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snored loudly, or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability and concentration issues, it may be due to osa. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more at don'tsleep on OSA.com this information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company.
- [31:22]
Zyn Nicotine Pouches Announcer
What are you reaching for? If you're a smoker or dipper, you could be reaching for so much more with Zyn Nicotine Pouches. When you reach for Zyn, you're reaching for 10 satisfying varieties in two strengths for a smoke free and spit free experience that lets you lean in for chances to break free from your routine and a unique nationwide community. Whatever you're reaching for, reach for it with America's number one nicotine pouch brand. Find your Zyn. Wherever nicotine products are sold near you, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
- [31:52]
Podcast Host / Announcer
At cvs, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and, yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit us@cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.
- [32:28]
Coca Cola Announcer
What a matchup we got y'.
- [32:29]
Andrew Erickson
All.
- [32:30]
Coca Cola Announcer
This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit the chance at the drum beat. Everybody showing that school pride Game like this. Yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there. Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime. And just like that we're back at it. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere, adding ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo, no matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going.
- [33:14]
Podcast Host / Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.