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Week 9 Lineup Advice: Starts, Sits, Player Debates, and TD Calls (Ep. 1809)
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A
Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. I'm Ryan, warmly joined as I am every Thursday by Pat Fitzmaurice. I'm not entirely sure who I'm joined by on the other side here. Is it Jake Seeley from the Athletic? Is it somebody else? Who is to say, Jake, how you doing here, man?
- [00:53]
B
I wish I could do the voice right now, like. And the running back that goes down at the one yard line who gets vultured for the touchdown. I can't do it. But it's Darkling is here today, not Jake. I'm filling in. They haven't done my reboot yet, so I figured I gotta find some side work. That's what it is.
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A
We, we have Darkwing Jake on the show with us today. For anybody watching on YouTube, you can see Jake dressed up. We were getting on the recording before we started actually, you know, recording the episode. He was like, oh, you didn't dress up? And I was, well, I do have a show actually on Halloween, so I'll save my, my costume for that. Fitz will, will be able to talk into, talk him into it as well. But it is funny with you wearing the mask. Like I was thinking, you know, I won't be able to read any, you know, body language. Like if it says something that you totally disagree with, I'll have no idea. I won't be able to. To hop on that. So I guess, Fitz, you better be on your best behavior today so we can. We don't have to worry about any reactions here from Jake.
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C
Yeah, Jake will just have to use his words instead of his expressions to show his disapproval of my opinions.
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B
The funny thing was you couldn't even see me laughing at Fitz laughing when we started the show.
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A
We're gonna have some fun here. Today's the day before Halloween, so if you are listening to this, anybody on Halloween, maybe you didn't get to this episode on Thursday. Happy early Halloween. Hope everybody enjoys it. I think we are Legally obligated to do a very quick what's your favorite Halloween candy? Discussion here. So we. We won't take too much time on that, but let's give 30 seconds to it. Fitz, what's your number one goat hall of fame candy?
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C
I'm always good with either the single recessed peanut butter cup or the mini Kit Kat.
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A
Okay. I. I don't know if I go, like single or mini. I. I think double and full size is better, but I. I agree with Reese's and KitKats kind of tier one.
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C
Just to round out the metal stand, I'll. I'll throw out a more controversial one. I. I love Whoppers, and I know they're not.
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A
Wow.
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C
But I'm a big, big Whoppers guy.
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A
Yeah, I don't. I don't feel very strongly about Whoppers. I don't hate them, but I wouldn't say I really particularly love them either. Jake, what about you? Who's. Who's your tier one?
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B
Since 2020, when they first came out, and I found these before anybody else, Mina Kynes included. But kudos to Mina because she's the one that got everybody on board.
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A
It's nerd.
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B
It's gonna be clusters, and it's not even a close second. It's those. But. And then if you wanted second until those came around, it was the Reese's holiday shapes because the holiday shapes are a better texture, better ratio, better everything.
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A
The re. The Easter Easter eggs, me. The Reese's Easter eggs, I think are the best holiday shapes.
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B
All of the holiday shapes, the pumpkins, only they just have that little extra piece. They're bas. I will say that the trees look like somebody grabbed some poop out of the toilet. Unfortunately.
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A
Yeah. For me, tier white is. It's basically the same as fits. It's Reese's and KitKats, and like everything else, is just fighting for third. What I find to be third place kind of depends on my mood or the time of year. It's always got to be chocolate driven, though. I'm definitely a chocolate candy guy over a fruity or sour candy guy, so that's me. Let us know in the comments what you think. We'll ask DBRO the same thing tomorrow since it'll actually be on Halloween. See what he says too. But let us know in the comments what. What candies you guys like as your favorite, and let us know what your least favorite is, even if it is Whoppers. This is our week nine must starts, must sits, waiver ads, and touchdown calls. Show we fit in a bunch into this episode every single week. Quick reminder for everybody that all of our 2025 consensus rankings and tiers can be found at fantasypros.com rankings. Guys, we are through week eight. We survived the bipocalypse somehow, hopefully kind of we're on to a little bit of an easier week. There are still four teams on by, not quite as bad as six, but obviously there are some good players who are not playing this week. Let's dive into the popular waiver ads of the week and ask are we starting or sitting these guys right away here in week nine? Fitz, I'll start with you. Kareem Hunt is the first name I have on the list. He's not the most popular waiver ad. I'm saving that guy for last in this segment for a reason. But the number one that we're talking about here is Kareem Hunt. And you know there's some injury concerns with Isaiah Pacheco. Clearly Hunt is the goal line back and has been scoring the touchdowns for this high powered offense with four teams on by and injuries aplenty. Is Kareem Hunt somebody that you are considering starting in week nine?
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C
Yeah, I think so. I think you're probably playing him. I have him ranked running back 21 for the week and Pacheco we're not sure how long he's going to miss with the sprained mcl, but he's not playing this week. So Hunt is likely to be the lead back for the Chiefs with a little bit of Rashard Smith mixed into and I think Hunt is more like the co goal line back worm and really it's Rasheed Rice as the other goal line back in a wide receiver role. But yeah, Hunt is probably a good bet for double digit touches against a not very good Bills run defense and he was already their goal lineback even before the Pacheco injury. And so I think the odds of Kareem Hunt getting into the end zone are pretty good in a game with a Vegas Total of 52 and a half.
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A
Do you think that we'll see Kareem Hunt's usage go up Jake, you know, with Pacheco out? Or do you think it'll largely stay where it is? It's just maybe even extra more likely to get some of those goal line touches?
- [06:06]
B
I think it'll go up a little bit and hopefully my naughty and the hat shaking. That was good to tell you that I was agreeing with Pence so far. I actually do think it goes up and it's not that I don't like Burchard Smith. I actually think Rashard Smith is a nice talent. I actually compared him to Jerick McKinnon in the draft and it was funny that he ended up with the Chiefs. But the difference is I don't think he is 100% McKinnon with the Chiefs. And the fact that McKinnon got touches inside the 10 and inside the 5 and even had some rushing touchdowns when he was putting up those RB2 numbers. They don't trust Burchard Smith in like pass blocking and they haven't really looked to trust him that much running the bowl in tight spaces like that. So I do think this will probably be more of a 60, 40, maybe even 65, 35 if you want to include as he as Fitz said, with Reese Rashid Rice taking part of that, that's part of it as well. But I do think I have hunt at RB19 and he's in front of Rico Daddle, which I know a lot of people are excited to start, but going against the packers, that's just a time tie break and then what? We hope this to be a shootout against the Bills.
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C
Yeah. Worm, can I just add one thing real quick about Rashad Smith? Just I know a lot of people are excited about Burchard Smith and he's an interesting talent. We like running backs who catch passes, but I think the pass catching back for the Chiefs might be a little less busy than the pass catching back on other teams because Rasheed Rice is there and he just dominates the short area targets. Like I don't. I think people are chasing something with Brashard Smith that might not really be there.
- [07:32]
A
You guys are both ahead of consensus on Kareem Hunt. He's RB23 in ECR and half PPR scoring for the week. So not by like a crazy wide margin, but you know, two spots for Fitz, four spots for Jake. You guys are definitely in the start Kareem Hunt range and and like Fitz mentioned, you know, a decent matchup as well going up against the Bills run defense and and you would this is the highest. Actually it's not the highest total of the week. I believe Cardinals Cowboys is a couple higher on Hard Rock Bet, but it's one of the highest totals of the week. There are five games over 50 for the total this week. This is one of them. So you would expect there'd be scoring and we think if they're coming up close Hunt is as likely as anybody to get them. So definitely a a startable guy this week let's go to wide receiver Kayshawn Booty. He's been in this segment before, but he's not so rostered that he's not eligible. Right. He has kind of remained on that fringe roster spot waiver pickup for a lot of the season. But the, you know, Drake may continues to be really good. Jake, the Pat's, you know, passing game, you know, they continue to be on a roll in general like winning all these games and Booty continues to get work and to score touchdowns. So is he somebody that again in a, in a four team bye week, you are willing to start here in week nine?
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B
I am, but I don't really think the recent success has changed much in my opinion on Booty. So Booty is right there in my rankings behind Quinton Johnston barely. And if you want to start him over Johnston, I have no problem with that. But also with Jameson Williams, Rashid Shahid, you get the idea of the names I'm mentioning. Alec Pierce, even to go one spot even further higher than that to bring into the conversation is like. No, I said Alec Pierce. I was going to say Troy Franklin a little bit behind them because I don't love the matchup for them. But all these wide receivers being that fringe wide receiver 3, 4, which can turn two receptions into 80 yards and a touchdown, but also have the risk that it just doesn't hit that game. And that's really. These type of wide receivers where I need that potential ceiling, I'm going to go for it. If I understand that their downside is that it's pretty bad. Like their downside is 2, 3, 4 points. Quentin Johnston a zero. That's the risk with these type of wide receivers. So I feel better about them than some of the others. Like I have Booty in front of Shahid in front of Alec Pierce even though there's a shot per game seemingly that they always hit, but he's in that range where yeah, you could definitely start him. You just have to understand that you can't get frustrated if I'll actually take it one step further. It's curious if you see the same way fits. I'm starting them every single week unless I'm just at like this plethora of wide receiver options because I don't want to try to pick the good and the bad because they're so unpredictable and miss the good ones.
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C
Yeah. So I agree with that. I've got him ranked a little lower than you do, probably. Jake. I've got Booty ranked like wide receiver 39, which makes him A borderline.
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B
You hate him.
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C
But that. That's. I hate him. Exactly. Your point's great, though. Like, if you try to pick and choose your spot with Kshaan Booty, you risk just being really wrong and getting the worst of it and missing out on the best of it. And that's kind of the thing. He's been insanely efficient on. Not a lot of targets. There's only been one of Keisha and Booty's eight games in which he's seen more than five targets. So the floor is not safe at all. But like, Booty has been Drake May's primary downfield guy, and Drake May has been freaking awesome this year. So As a result, 18.7 yards per catch and 14.4 yards per target for Keisha and Booty. High efficiency. Considering that his average depth of target has been 17 yards. Like, he is a lid lifter. I would feel better about playing cash on Booty if I were an underdog than if I were a favorite. Yeah, like, he is a guy who can land a haymaker for you. And if you're the favorite, you just might want someone with a little bit sturdier flora a clearer path to, like, three, four, five catches.
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A
One more name here on the popular waiver ad segment. This is the number one most popular waiver ad segment segment. Excuse me. The name that people probably were expecting to hear at the top. The reason I saved it is because Jake, this is also your plant, your flag player. So I want to transition into that conversation as well. But It's Tyrone Tracy Jr. So this is somebody who obviously, like, the case is very simple. Cam scattered, we out for the season. Tracy steps into the starting role. Like, it's very obvious why he is the top waiver pickup of the week. That's somebody that you guys talked about on your show earlier this week fits. But why is he for you, Jake, not just a guy that you're willing to start, but a guy that you want to plant your flag on this week?
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B
Because I see people concerned about the Devin Singletary getting first team touches and honestly, am I going to say that's a non zero chance to happen? Absolutely not. But if that happens, just fire Dable on the spot. Just. Just. There's no. There's no reason for that. And we're all wrong. Like, I don't know anybody out there in the world that's saying, oh, Singletary is going to be the lead. But I go back to Tracy, who even as somebody and we talked earlier in the season and I did rookie talk with Fitz and stuff like that. Somebody who was on Scatterbo and said that he was coming for Tracy's job and people are like ah, Tracy was so good last year. And I say that to say like haha, not I was right. But let's remember how excited some people were, deservedly so, of what Tracy did last year. Like don't lose that appeal. And if you look at last year, every single game he had at least double digit touches in, he only had one where he didn't score seven points and he averaged 12 and a half. 12 and a half puts him inside the top 20 running backs every single year on a points per game basis. So that's what we're looking at is probably going to get even more. Some of those games were only 11 or 12 touches, but probably around 15 who need them and they need them in the passing game. That's one thing we don't have to worry about Singletary taking. Maybe Singletary takes the goal line opportunities. But again I referenced that and those numbers are only with five touchdowns in about I think it was eight or nine games. So it's not like it was a huge touchdown rate either. It's just you can trust Tracy and I trust him. So much so that like I know I've been pushing and pushing and pushing that J.K. dobbins deserves more respect. But I'll take Tracy against the 49ers over J.K. dobbins against the Texans.
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A
Okay, Tracy's RB16 in ECR for this week for what it's worth. So Fitz, do you see him? I mean obviously you don't have him as your flag plant, but do you also agree with him as like a pretty strong start?
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C
I do. And like Jake, I have Tyrone Tracy ranked ahead of J.K. dobbins this week and Tracy we saw what he could do as the lead guy for the Giants last year from from week five on he was pretty much their lead guy. And from week five on he averaged 13.2 PPR points per game which put him squarely in running back two territory. And now with the Giants so shorthanded at wide receiver, Tracy just seems destined to be pretty heavily involved. We saw before the game where he got hurt. Cam Scatter Boo had averaged 22 touches a game over his previous four games. So maybe Tracy doesn't get quite that much work. Maybe there is a little bit of Devin's Singletary involvement. He is sort of Brian Dabel's mascot. They were together in Buffalo. But like Tracy does figure to be just a weekly fantasy starter the rest of the way.
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A
I think he's one spot behind an ECR this week. Ashton Genti. Does that feel right to you Jake, like picking between Genti and Tracy or do you see a gap there?
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B
I mean I think that's an argument worth having. I mean Genti in that offensive line. I think the only thing we're knowing is that we know Genti is going to get his volume. That's the one thing we don't know, that the offensive line is going to be any better. Even after the buy. Jaguars aren't the toughest matchup. I think that's the only reason that we're sitting here having that conversation is that we have Jenty guaranteed touches and we just have. You never know what Dale might do. You brought up the Singletary from the Bills days and they just, they haven't moved on from them. That's the only risk we have here.
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A
What do you think Genti or Tracy fits?
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C
I like ecr, have Tracy one spot behind Genti.
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A
Okay, let's go to your plant your flag player. Fitz, who do you have?
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C
For us it's Alec Pierce and our guy Derek Brown. DBRO pays close attention to coverage matchups and he has pointed out that Alec Pierce has been terrific against single high safety coverage. When opponents play single high, Pierce has nearly a 30% target share and averages about 4 yards per route run, which is just insane. And Pierce is going against the Steelers this week and the Steelers use single high at the second highest rate in the league. And I suspect that the Steelers are going to use a lot of single high this week because it gives you more bodies up front to stop the run and Pittsburgh is probably going to want those bodies to help stop Jonathan Taylor. And just generally the Steelers past defense has been poor. Pittsburgh has allowed the most catches and most receiving yards to wide receivers.
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A
What do you think Jake? Did the kind of coverage discussion make you want to bump up Alec Pierce in your rankings or did you already have him pretty high?
- [16:14]
B
I feel like having him that conversation where I was talking earlier with k' Sean Booty is decently high because you run the risk with Alec Pierce is that just, you know, similar to the booties of the world that it's a low game. But the one thing I've always been a proponent with Fitz, I feel like on this is that I actually prefer Pitts week in and week out over Booty because it's not only potentially two or three, there's usually more like four or five and that doesn't sound like a huge number. But it is when you're going as that big of a play threat and Daniel Jones looks to his looks his way at least three, four, five times a game. And if you have that many, as we see, like when was the last time they didn't connect on at least one. So getting that little boost with the coverage on top of it. Yeah, that gives him kind of like I want to put it everybody out there, this is not coming for Debro. And I think he, I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I think he would say the same thing. Like that's an extra piece. Don't let that be the determining factor. Like if somebody dominates man and struggles against zone and it's a man heavy team, like, yeah, that tie breaks, it doesn't make a move up 15 spots. And I don't think that's what Fitz or Deebro are saying. But yeah, it moves Pierce from being that like, hey, you know what, there's probably like a 5050 risk at wide receiver 4 to you know what, it's probably only more like a 30% risk. And he deserves to be in the Wide Receiver 3 conversation this week.
- [17:26]
C
Correct. Yeah, because it's just we're talking about like percentage points higher that a team plays one coverage over. I should also mention Josh Downs missed practice on Wednesday and if he's out, that kind of further enhances the target outlook for Pierce.
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B
Hey, dark wings smart. Smarter than that Jake guy.
- [17:44]
A
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- [21:09]
B
Well, so we have two split backfields. We've been talking about these backfields actually when it happened and Hubbard came back I drew and there was a lot of comparisons to the Seahawks backfield and said I like them even a little bit more. Well, Rico Daddle has vastly outplayed chuba hubbard in two games and now maybe chuba hubbard's not 100%. Whatever it might be, I don't want to go too far into that. Be like, oh, Daddle is definitively the much better running back. But when you have Dave Canales admitting what we've all seen is that, hey, Dowdle deserves a little bit more of what happened while Hubbard was out, and now on top of it, when Hubbard's been back again, it might be an injury situation. I know it's the packers, but Kenneth Walker is essentially losing all the goal line work to Charbonnet, where Dallas can still have that. So if I'm going with split backfields and I'm going with one that we were already thinking it could be a toss up before we had this, and now Canalis is acknowledging the fact that Dowel deserves more, I'm going to give Dowdle the edge. I would go Dowdle over Kenneth Walker by two or three spots this week.
- [22:05]
A
Okay. By a few spots. Fitz, what do you think?
- [22:09]
C
I have to take Kenneth Walker, even though I think Rico Dowdle is probably going to get a greater percentage of backfield touches than Walker will. The Panthers had been rotating Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard in the two games they played since Chuba came back from his calf injury. But Dowdle has been far more effective than Chuba. And Dave Canela has basically said this week that he just can't ignore the numbers Rico has been putting up. Meanwhile, Walker, Charbonnet, that. That split has been really messy. Charbonnet has played 202 snaps, Walker 185. So it's just totally split backfield. But Walker has this, you know, perfectly playable matchup against the Commanders. And the Seahawks are getting fullback Robbie Uts back from injury, which could maybe help the running game a little bit. I just. I don't want to play Rico Doddle against the packers this week. The packers have given up the third fewest fantasy points and fourth fewest rushing yards to running backs. And how well do we really think Bryce Young is going to do against Micah Parsons in the Green Bay pass defense coming back from an injury? Like, if Bryce can't keep the chains moving, it's not going to matter that Rico Dowdle is getting more carries than Chuba Hubbard, because more carries might be like eight or nine.
- [23:22]
B
I mean, to be fair, Andy Dalton barely kept the chains moving last week.
- [23:26]
C
He did. No. I mean, I don't think there's a quarterback on the roster for the Panthers who is going to, like, move the ball consistently against this Packer defense in Green Bay and the Panthers like their offensive line is pretty banged up too. So that's another concern. I just, I think it's a terrible spot for Rico this week.
- [23:46]
A
Do you Jake? I know we talk often about like rookie these are guys aren't rookies but like rookie wide receivers coming out of the by, like that's an opportunity for teams to kind of reset and change their usage. Do we see anything similar with split backfields? Does it become maybe more clear with like the Seahawks coming out of the buy or do you anticipate that it's still going to be pretty messy between Walker and Charbonnet?
- [24:09]
B
So we all want it to be Walker and I'll admit that like the Walker situation, I mean you can. This is similar to Jalen Warren with Naja Harris last year. Like whether you objectively or subjectively look at this, watch it or look at the stats, Walker outplays sharpening in every facet and like we want Walker like he is top 10 and like some of the most explosive plays and upside and all that. So we want it to happen and sometimes it will, but I will. It's funny you asked that because I did it on the Discord this morning and it wasn't this question. The question was actually about rookies coming out of buys and seeing the rookie bump and I put that in quotes. And the thing is the rookie bump is real. What you're talking about, the change in usage is real contract years, you know, revenge games. The problem is it's only real one third of the time. I've done studies on this, it's 1/3 they do better, 1/3 they do worse, 1/3 they do the exact same. But because of who we are as humans, similar to the Madden curse, we only remember when it mattered. We only remember the good in these outcomes. So if Walker does get that boost, which we can hope, and I hope it gets a little bit more shared to your question Worm is this isn't going to be something where like oh God, somebody's coming up on a buy in week 11. The workload's going to change. Like sometimes look at the Texans. It didn't change for Woody Marks.
- [25:20]
A
Well, let's use that to transition to our next.
- [25:23]
B
Yeah, there you go. See, I gave you that one.
- [25:24]
A
There's a couple of rookies. Yeah, I appreciate that. Woody Marks or Kyle Menungai? Fitz, I'll start with you on this one. Who would you rather start this week? Obviously Manangai gets interesting matchup against the Bengals though he still does have, you know, Deandre Swift, There's Marks is somebody that we've wanted to see take over more and it's like happened in spurts here and there. Who do you prefer this week, Marks or Manangai?
- [25:46]
C
So this one's close and it's kind of fluid. I might be changing ranks on Manangai this week depending on how things shake out. I'll get to that in a second. But I'm mainly giving Marks the slight edge just because he catches passes over his last four games. 11 catches, 119 yards and two touchdowns. And Manangai is absolutely playable against a Bengals defense that has given up the most fantasy points to running backs by a pretty wide margin. But I don't think Manangai is an especially safe play. There's only been one game this year where he's had more than seven carries and he's not really a pass catcher. So we liked the matchup against the Ravens last week and Manangai had seven carries for 24 yards. But Chicago's wide receiver situation, Bears watching. Whoop. See what I did there. Chicago Bears. I didn't even mean that. Anyway, none of the Bears receivers practiced on Wednesday. Not Roma, Dunes A, not DJ Moore, not Alamina Zacchaeus and not Luther Burton who's almost certainly going to be out with a concussion. If we get a situation where all of these guys, three of the four are out, then maybe we can feel a little bit better about Manangai's chances of getting double digit touches because the Bears would probably have to lean into their running backs a little more and I would then push Woody, push Manangai past Woody Marks.
- [27:07]
A
What do you think Jake? I mean Woody Marks obviously like has some of the past catching. Here is three of the last four games that Woody Marks has played. He's been RB6, RB18, RB18. The other one of course was just RB41. That was a weird game. So you know, feels like maybe there's a bit more of a floor and possibly more of a ceiling but at the same time like the matchup is against Denver for Woody Marks and I could see this Houston offense like just totally falling apart and doing nothing this week. That feels like a very on the table outcome here. Whereas Manangai you would imagine like if the Bears bounce back at all then there will be opportunities here to run against the Bengals team that maybe might not even have Joe Flacco. We don't know what that's going to look like yet. So who do you like better? Marksman guy.
- [27:50]
B
So you can't See, I just smiled because I actually thought that's where Fitz was going with this as I was leaning into when he said, well, more on that in a second. I have Manangai currently one spot in front of Marks, so I'm different than Fitz on that. But I was going to bring up the Joe Flacco thing where I would go the opposite direction. Like I actually think that if there is no Joe Flacco, I would downgrade Menangai because it would downgrade the output for this entire game. And that's kind of why I was looking at it. So more opportunities for Menangai to be on the field, more snaps for that field. And I do agree with everything you said about the wide receivers, which is why I kind of feel about Managai as a I have an RB32, I have marks at 33. The really big part there is looking at consensus. I'm way down on Marks and it just comes down to what you said. Split backfield. They still keep going to Chubb. Chubb actually had more touches last week again, but it was also because Agumbawale got factored in Ogumba Walley's back and he's being used on passing downs. It's not a huge number, but it's enough that you just added another piece taking away opportunities from who should be getting the most, as we've seen is Marks. But the Texans keep doing Texans things like using their second and third round picks only if 17 guys are hurt. So against the Broncos I'm just going to give the slight edge to Manon Guy. But like I said, I actually will. The difference being is I'll push him down if there is no Joe Flacco because I'm worried about that game as a whole.
- [29:07]
C
Yeah, you know what though? Like if maybe even Jake Browning could work in that game. Jake because the Bears Last week the Bears didn't have their top three cornerbacks and that's true. Jalen Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Tyreek Stevenson. All outs and I think two of them the best two, Johnson and Gordon are both on ir so Stevenson is the only one who could possibly come back this week. Maybe even Jake Browning could complete passes against the Bears. I will say we're dealing with I.
- [29:35]
B
Mentioned this on the discord too. Like I wonder and it's not like I'm trying to like make apologies. Like the Browning call earlier this year went completely haywire wrong. But maybe we see more of 2 years ago Browning which 2 years ago Browning was like he had confidence and didn't care. Like maybe he got that back because he's the one. He admitted he felt terrible, like he had no confidence out there. And just maybe being out this point where it's like, hey, you know what? Even if I go out there and have a terrible game, it's fine. They're going to go Joe Flacco anyway, so maybe there's just a more capable play by him. Fitz. Which I'm kind of hoping for. That helps as well.
- [30:11]
C
Yeah, I buy that.
- [30:12]
A
Let's be honest, shopping, not my thing. I can't stand walking through aisle after aisle trying to figure out what will fit, what I'll look good in, changing in those tiny dressing rooms, just all of it. And that's without even getting into my, shall we say, somewhat lacking sense of fashion. Honestly, I'd rather someone just tell me what to wear. If you're tired of wasting time trying to figure out your style, Stitch Fix has you covered. You just take a quick style quiz, share your size, your vibe, your budget, and boom, you're matched with a real human stylist who handles the rest. They send you a fix box with clothes that actually fit and make sense for your life. Work, weekends, whatever. It saves you time, you look great and you don't even have to think about it. It's no risk, all style. Try it all on in the comfort of your own home. Keep what works, send the rest back. Free shipping and returns always and no subscription required. Plus get a free try on for your first fix. Get started today at stitch fix.com fantasypro to get $20 off your first order and they'll waive your styling fee. That's stitch fix.com fantasypros let's go to some receivers here. Jake Jordan Addison or Cortland Sutton. And I'm, I'm particular. I'm, I'm curious what you think about both guys, but I'm particularly interested to talk about Jordan Addison with you guys just because this will be the first time we have seen him on the field with J.J. mcCarthy that has not happened in an NFL game before. So I'm, I'm really kind of fascinated to see your take on it. But who do you prefer between these guys? Addison or.
- [31:47]
B
This is like a straight toss up for me and if I want the safer play and he's had some really bad games, it is Sutton. Just because even in that matchup, I just feel like they're gonna have to use them but at the same time, yeah, like I'm not. I'm calling this much safer because what you bring up is why I have some hesitancy. The thing I love is they get to go to Detroit, they face Detroit and I know they have some pieces getting healthier, but if that's gonna be a shootout between these two games, the Broncos defense versus Texans defense, the Broncos, even without certain and going against Houston versus Minnesota Detroit, we're all going to take Minnesota Detroit as the more high scoring potential. So I'm hoping JJ McCarthy learn more sitting and watching because as we saw it was one good quarter, really one amazing quarter. But just the concern is that does he use Addison like Carson Wentz was using Addison? Does he completely get left out? Does he target Jefferson a ton? Does he go back to Hawkins like whatever it might be? The risk is what is JJ McCarthy and that's why I have him as a toss up. If it was Wentz, I'd actually solidly go Jordan addison.
- [32:51]
A
There's a six spot gap between these guys in ECR. Cortland Sutton is wide receiver 23, Jordan Addison wide receiver 29. But Sutton does have that really tough matchup fits against Houston in general. So who do you like better?
- [33:05]
C
Yeah, maybe it's not the sharp bit of analysis to go with the guy who's in the game with the Vegas total of under 40 instead of the one that has a Vegas total of almost 50, but I'm, I'm going to do that. I do have Sutton ranked higher and both of these guys have obstacles. Sutton's obstacle is the possibility of shadow coverage From Derek Stingley Jr. One of the best cover corners in the league. Houston's past defense is just generally tough, but I don't know. Stingley is allowed 305 receiving yards on throws into his coverage this season, according to pff. So Stingley isn't completely smothering the guys he faces. And I'm not sure how often Stingley was on Sutton when the Broncos played the Texans two years ago. But Sutton had 77 yards and a touchdown in that game. Although in fairness he did that on only two catches. Whereas Addison's obstacle is it's the quarterback. Like you said, a worm. Addison and McCarthy have never played together in an NFL game and we have no idea what things are going to look like with J.J. mcCarthy, who we haven't seen since week two and basically he had one decent half in two games and looked terrible otherwise. So yeah, I just. The lion secondary, it's been banged up, but they do get Terry and Arnold back this week. So I don't know, just a slight edge towards Sutton But I would not feel bad at all about playing Addison, even though the quarterback thing is kind of a mystery.
- [34:33]
A
Where do you have them ranked? Like I mentioned, Sutton wide receiver 23, Addison wide receiver 29. You said you had them pretty close. Is that the right range?
- [34:41]
C
I have got Sutton ranked. Oh, I can't find him. 22 and Addison 26.
- [34:50]
A
Okay. Is that similar range for you? Jake, I know you said you have this as a toss up, but is that like the area we're looking at?
- [34:56]
B
So Cortland Sutton's the same but Jordan Nassen's right with him. So back to back versus that gap and then this really comes down to. And you know they haven't. They've actually faced 50, 50 good quarterbacks versus really trash quarterbacks, that being the Texans. But they also haven't allowed more than 245 yards passing and they've only given up more than one touchdown passing twice. And both of those were two.
- [35:21]
A
Let's go to another wide receiver debate here. Travis Hunter coming off of his bye or Xavier Worthy. Fitz, I'll start with you on this one. Hunter or Worthy this week, who do you have ranked higher?
- [35:33]
C
I have Worthy ranked higher. I'm not blaming anyone who wants to start Hunter this week over Worthy now that the Jaguars are using him as a full time receiver. Hunter had only been playing somewhere between a half and two thirds of Jacksonville's offensive snaps early in the season, but his snapchairs the last two games, 78% and 87%. And Hunter had a really nice stat line in that last game. Eight catches, 101 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets. But that was with the Rams blowing out the Jaguars and the Jaguars in chase mode in that ugly 35 to 7 game in London. So I just ideally I want to get one more prove it game out of Hunter before I start him. But I realize in a 14 bye week maybe some fantasy managers don't have the luxury of waiting for another prove it game. So I get it. Rishi Rice's return. Obviously it's diminished the outlook for Xavier Worthy, no question. But Worthy is still a fast, dangerous playmaker for Patrick Mahomes. And that's kind of the appeal for me that he's tied to Patrick Mahomes whereas got Travis Hunter tied to Trevor Lawrence who I just don't have all that much confidence in and Chief spills major shootout potential in this game. So give me the guy tied to the better quarterback and in the better offensive environment.
- [36:52]
A
Yeah, Jake, these are. These guys are basically back to back in the expert consensus rankings, Travis Hunter, his second best performance of the season is under eight fantasy points. Right? Like this week seven explosion against the Rams is the real outlier in his rookie season so far. But you just kind of hit on the post, you know, bi week rookie bump as as a theory in general, you know earlier in this conversation. So is Travis Hunter for you somebody that you want to play ahead of a guy like Worthy or are you maybe dialing back a bit on the opposite?
- [37:24]
B
Well so I'm glad you brought up the points because like this is Xavier Worthy and not throwing out the first game with the injury. 14.6, 8.1, 9.6, 6.3, 7.8 and those last two games obviously was she Rice. It's like Xavier Worthy has basically been DJ Moore like floor play. And I don't disagree with the big plays but the one thing the Bills despite not having a great defense this year, they've actually limited a lot big play wise. A lot of what Ben has given up is slot a lot of like consecutive targets, big target, double digit target wide receivers and it's just been volume that's kind of been killing them. So I'm actually going to be like I know Fitz said he's not going to argue back much with me and I have him back to back. I have Travis Hunter one spot in front of Xavier Worthy, but I am going Hunter mostly because of that because it's not even like I think Brian Thomas Jr. Is a great buy low right now. Assuming that again he gets through this health issue. He left the game twice and they already said limited on Wednesday. You like to see more practice coming back from a buy than a limited on Wednesday. But maybe we find out more. But I think Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter can both be top 25 wide receivers. My concern for Xavier Worthy is that it's going to take a touchdown at this point and of course if he scores a touchdown, Travis Hunter gets six for 80. Like of course that's probably going to be a bigger day for Worthy which is why I have him back to back. But similar to Fitz's endgame here is that if you want to argue for Worthy, I'm not going to be like oh my God, I'm coming for you. I would just go Hunter barely over Worthy basically for what a lot Fitz said. It's just I wanted to echo some of the other parts of it.
- [38:53]
C
I'm super excited about Hunter this week. Like I, I just can't wait to see what it looks like with him in a full time role this week.
- [39:00]
A
Sorry, did you say fits where you have him ranked?
- [39:02]
C
Yeah, I did not. I have got worthy at wide receiver 29. Hunter wide receiver 31. So very close.
- [39:13]
A
Okay, where do you have Hunter Jake?
- [39:16]
B
I went back but I have Hunter at 28, Worthy at 29. So I will say also as a complete sidebar, if he has a big game I would actually put him in my sell highs as if if he has a big game because then he goes to Houston and then I know the Colts are sometimes scary, sometimes not but Colts, jets, whatever. Denver Colts again to finish out the season. So the Jaguars might be like it might be a Trevor Lawrence issue is why they're struggling at the end of the season too.
- [39:42]
A
Okay, that's a good point. Let's do some more rapid fire start sit decisions here. Got another running back one for you. Another one where I put two rookie running backs head to head about RJ Harvey and Travion Henderson largely been disappointments in terms of where these guys were drafted this season. Harvey coming off a three touchdown game. Trayvon Henderson coming off a game where he actually got some work. Radre Stevenson, you know has an injury designation at least as of the last time I looked for this week. So obviously I don't think we're like over the moon about either of these guys quite yet but maybe some signs of life here for both of these rookies that folks are really excited about. Jake, I'll start with you. Who do you like better this week between Harvey and Henderson?
- [40:23]
B
Travion Henderson because he fumbled so now he's going to get 20 touches. That's what's going to happen. Like I, I have Travy on a decent chunk in front of RJ Harvey. The thing is with RJ Harvey is that his usage didn't change. He just went Nick Westbrook aquina on them. Three touchdowns on eight touches. He had eight touches, he had 25. The opportunities just like he's always had for the rest of the year. So also gets Houston. Travion Henderson at least had double digit carries for the second time this year has slowly been creeping in. Maybe it's the injury, maybe it's the fact that hey we spent a second rounder on this talented running back. Maybe we use him instead of going to the trade market to add another piece, whatever it might be. But Atlanta's not the best but they look more vulnerable as of late. But I'm going to go Henderson because at least I know his share is more like 30 to 40% consistently RJ Harvey's was just the same. It just happened to be insane touchdown rate there.
- [41:16]
A
What do you think, Fitz? Harvey is a few spots ahead in ECR. He's RB 34. Henderson is RB 38. So folks who have been. That's the gap I have by Henderson are not, are not coming around.
- [41:25]
B
I actually have him reversed to answer your question before you ask it.
- [41:28]
A
Yeah, gotcha.
- [41:30]
C
So right now it's Henderson for me, mainly because of that Ramon Ray Stevenson injury designation and toe injuries of Stevenson missed practice on Wednesday. Even if he plays, maybe the injury means a little less work for Ramon Dre, a little more for Henderson. I'm also kind of excited that finally Josh McDaniels got Henderson out wide on some runs last week, which is where he does his best work. So let's see more of that, please. Josh. Thank you. And I think Henderson's matchup with Atlanta is maybe a little friendlier than Harvey's matchup with Houston.
- [42:03]
A
I want to, I want to ask like rest of season, like forgetting about just this week, do you what is your belief level in these guys as folks who could become consistent impact fantasy options? Because that was the hope for if you where you drafted these guys and what you know, a lot of analysts were talking about before the season. The hope was these would be impactful every week starters by a certain point this season. So now that we are halfway through the season again looking beyond just week nine, Fitz, I'll start with you, Harvey and Henderson. Who do you have more confidence in getting to that point this year? And I will allow you to say neither if that's the answer.
- [42:40]
C
Maybe a little more in Harvey just because he's been fairly. His usage has been pretty consistent and he's getting used as a pass catcher which and I think there's room to grow in that regard because like Sean Payton's offense is always funnel a lot of targets to the running backs. Although it's not really happening as much this year with this installment of the Broncos. But maybe it does a little more down the stretch and with Henderson, I mean, you guys have heard the rumors about the Patriots possibly being interested in trading for a running back. And as it is, Henderson's had a hard time getting a foothold in this offense. So yeah, just it doesn't seem like they're really trying to get Henderson more involved. Like the proactive usage of him has just not been there.
- [43:29]
A
What do you think, Jake?
- [43:30]
B
Yeah, I'm still actually going to lean slightly Henderson, though I will say one thing, I wonder if the trade and I was even the one that brought it up is maybe just special teams with the loss of Gibson and like that's just we see yeah we see running back and like all of a sudden like oh my God it's somebody that's a non factor anyway like they trade for a goomba lolly to give you an example. But the difference here is that like Henderson's been working in but I will say like this is where I actually agree with Fitz on so I say Henderson as it's basically just them too. Harvey. We still have Bidet who gets worked in and this is just what Sean Payton does. But if we saw Stevenson and Dobbins both get hurt I would actually go Harvey over Henderson because I believe more that Harvey would be thrust into a position where Sean Payton would use him. Where I still see the Patriots going oh yeah, we still got to add somebody else. It can't be all Henderson. Like so that's to give you the difference is if everybody's healthy I'll take Henderson. If both got hurt I would actually take RJ Hart Derby I love how.
- [44:26]
C
Jake keeps working in references to my fellow Marquette University high school graduate Dari Agumba Wall who would have thought twice on one show.
- [44:36]
A
Yeah seriously, that's probably more than the first eight weeks combined his career wide receiver yeah wide receiver DJ Moore or Jameson Williams this week Fitz jmo.
- [44:48]
C
And that's assuming DJ Moore even plays. He missed practice on Wednesday although it was probably just a maintenance thing like Moore has been dealing with some sort of hip slash groin injury. So if Moore plays good matchup against the Bengals. And I would vault more past Jameson Williams if Roma Dunes is out because he too missed practice on Wednesday. But D.J. moore is one touchdown this season. He's had fewer than 50 receiving yards and all but two of the seven games he's played and he and Caleb Williams have just never really had any chemistry together. I know things have been bad for Jameson Williams this season. He's just not getting a lot of targets like averaging about four a game. I would like to think that the Lions offensive coaches spent the bye week hatching plans to get Jameson Williams more involved in the offense because he's just too dangerous a playmaker to stay quiet for this long. And you know JMO's a guy who can make his fantasy quota with just one big play.
- [45:46]
B
Jake we agree so the thing that the Morton's been ruining is Morton's turned Jameson Williams back into two years ago Jameson Williams and sending them on go routes and posts and you know, fly plate. Like everything's just been downfield. Like it just makes no sense. They stopped what Ben Johnson did last year, which unlocked Jameson Williams is using them across the middle of the field too for yards after the catch. So that's where I 100% agree with Fitz is maybe they're like, hey, maybe get our head straight. This is what was working last year. Why did we go away from it? Well, Morten, why did you go away from it? But here's the good part of it too. I said in my column, I said like you want, I know nobody wants to hear it, but you want one final sliver of hope for Jameson Williams. Here's the good news. Goff targets him 17.8 percentage points more when he's pressured than when he's not. And the Vikings have the highest QB pressure with just four rushers, the fifth highest with five plus. And he actually targets him more than Monron State Brown on their rap, 30.8% to 26.9% when pressured. The Vikings get all that pressure and the reason why is to go back to my whole point about Jameson Williams. If you watch a lot of the times when Jared Goff is pressured, he's throwing it before Jameson Williams is getting to the spot. He's kind of just heaving it 15, 20 yards because he knows Jameson can like go get it. Which again doesn't really support my like get him used over the middle field. But this is an aspect where he does look for Jameson Williams is when that pressure is coming.
- [47:08]
A
Let's do some flex start sit decisions here Jake, starting with you, Travis Etn or Tetaroa McMillan this week.
- [47:16]
B
So like I'm going to give it a little like grace to ETN because he started off so hot. Everybody's frustrated heading to the buy. Some of it was also matchup dependent is what they faced. And I will say like there is risk. This is also coming from somebody who said make sure Tutin is rostered. Make sure. Because to your point about the rookie bump, maybe they give him 50 50, maybe this turns into Tajie Spears. Maybe Tootin's coming for his job because they're just tired of etn. Again, all that being said, I'm willing, like I said, I'm willing to still give ETN a little bit of grace. I have him inside my top 20 running backs so unless I need that just I need to shoot for the ceiling because I'm down guys, my opponent has a stud lineup and I need to go for broke then, then I Can see it but Otherwise I'm going ETN Fitz ETN.
- [48:01]
C
He hasn't been great lately but he's still averaging 15.9 touches a game this season. And I think the world of McMillan but Bryce Young is going to struggle to get to 200 passing yards in Green Bay this week.
- [48:15]
A
You don't think Fitz is a chance for any like just garbage time like you know, catching up in the fourth quarter.
- [48:23]
C
I'm never chasing the garbage time narrative. It just like that is just an empty vessel, you know.
- [48:29]
B
Well look at the Panthers earlier this year then when they shocked everybody winning 30 to nothing. There was no garbage time for them because it was all right. Right?
- [48:37]
C
Yeah. I mean you always, there's always a chance of that in a game where some team is a double digit dog. But like I'm never baking that into my start set decisions.
- [48:46]
A
That's not the biggest line of the week. Right. It's Ram. Saints is bigger. There's. There's two that are over 13 this week.
- [48:53]
C
Yeah, I think Rams Saints got up to well it was oscillating between like 14 and 13 and a half. So they might both be 13 and a half. I haven't checked lately.
- [49:02]
A
Yeah, when I looked yesterday I think it was 14 for the Rams and 13 and a half for the Packers. All right, let's go to another flex question. You're speaking of the Saints. Alvin Camara or Debo Samuel FITZ With.
- [49:15]
C
Terry McLaurin back on the shelf after re injuring his quad. Give me Debo A Camara is just man it has been bad with Camara. 31 or fewer rushing yards in four straight games. So only had one game with 30 or more receiving yards and Camara has not scored a touchdown since Week 1. Oh, and the Saints lost center Eric McCoy was pretty much the linchpin in their offensive line. Season ending injury for him. He tore his bicep. So I just. There's no hope for Camara.
- [49:43]
A
What do you think Jake?
- [49:44]
B
Not much to add. I'm going with Debo too. Camara has been hovering in the RB 30s for what he's producing every single week. And you know we were talking about well maybe he gets bell cowed and Devin Neal doesn't get the Kendry Miller workload that went out the window so. And shuck him for anything that you know has been saying that then I'm actually not that we're talking about it but it might be a concern for him and Olave because he might take more shots downfield to Shahid or there's other options. So there's just a concern of what is Shuck going to be in this offense? Is it going to be the same which has basically only been floor for Camara.
- [50:18]
A
Yeah, quite. Yeah, go ahead.
- [50:21]
C
In our company Survivor League, my the weak spot in my starting lineup was Alvin Camara. I spent a boatload to get Bijan. Like I was not letting anyone else.
- [50:30]
A
Oh, and our Guillotine League.
- [50:32]
C
Yes. What did I say?
- [50:33]
A
You said the Survivor. I got eliminated in Survivor week one, so I don't know what you're talking about, but yeah, Guillotine. I'm still with you there. Yeah, yeah. I, I mean Chimera, this is, it happens to every great fantasy player. You kind of hit the cliff and some of it is the situation around him. But yeah, there's, you know, a whole lot of floor this season. Like, like Jake put it. Let's go to another flex here. Zach Charbonnet. We already talked about Ken Ken Walker earlier this episode. Zach Charbonnet or Quentin Johnston fits all right.
- [51:08]
C
So in a vacuum, I'll say Charbonnet because I think the floor is safer. He's had double digit touches in every game this season. And, and obviously the emergence of Arande Gadsden the second has really diminished the outlook for Quentin Johnston. Like, you just don't know how many targets he's going to get in any given week when he has to share with lad McConkey, Keenan Allen and, and now Gadsden. Justin Herbert only had to throw 25 passes against the Vikings last week because the Chargers won big and QJ finished with zero targets. But QJ does still have that big play potential. So if I had this decision and my team was a decided underdog in my matchup, I'd probably try to throw the haymaker with QJ rather than take the safe floor of Charbonnet.
- [51:53]
A
What do you think, Jake?
- [51:54]
B
I think that's they're both touchdown dependent, so that's really what you have to look for here. As a complete aside, you know, this is what happened. Lad McConkey disappeared at the beginning of the season, Keenan Allen disappeared and then it's now Quinton Johnson's turn. And could it turn on its head again this week? Absolutely. So you're looking at both being touchdowns or bust. And to avoid like what we talked about earlier, there is that risk that maybe Seattle woke up and sees what everybody else does. Like, I, I get all that, but the Commanders have so many injuries right now, especially on the defensive front, that I'm going to lean slightly. Charbonnet but I think it's just going to come down to which of the two scores the touchdown.
- [52:30]
A
Fitz just like thinking about Quentin Johnston, like zero target game. That's. I get that that's probably not going to repeat itself, but that's, that's hard to look past when you're talking about a guy that the Seahawks are likely going to win and it's their goal line running back. I feel like that's maybe a little more appealing. I get it.
- [52:46]
C
By the way. By the way, I'm agreeing with this Darkwing character much more than I agree with Jake Seeley.
- [52:53]
B
I told you he's smarter than Jake. Jake's an idiot.
- [52:56]
A
One more flex here, we'll go to Darkwing Aaron Jones or Juwan Jennings this week.
- [53:02]
B
So I like I'm going to lean slightly with Aaron Jones and here's why. Juwan Jennings with or without, like we've talked about in the past, and I'm one of the people who echoed it and said, you know, Juwan Jennings went healthy, has been the one. The question is like, is it he's not been the one this year because he's so hurt and he did outperform Kendrick Bourne. But there's just so many options there and maybe this is reading too much into what happened. But, and I know J.J. mcCarthy is at quarterback now. Well, likely at quarterback now. But Aaron Jones, that game went haywire. Like we can't take a lot. You can almost just ball up and throw that Vikings game out the window. But the one thing we did see is that in his first game back, Aaron Jones had the first touches, the first plural touches before they went to Jordan Mason. Which tells me like hey, we were expecting potentially a 50, 50 split with what Jordan Mason can do. I What if it's 55, 45, 60, 40? It kind of goes to the Seahawks situation and similar to why we have Kenneth Walker over Charbonnet is because we take the lead. Everything pointed to again, you can throw the game out the window, but that Aaron Jones is the lead when healthy. So that's why I give him the slight edge over Jennings.
- [54:07]
C
Fitz agree with Dark Wings take on that, but cannot agree with him on the on the choice of player here. I'm gonna go with Jennings.
- [54:16]
B
Yeah, we disagree.
- [54:19]
C
Brock Purdy is Jennings boy. Like Mac Jones was not Jennings boy. It was not Mac Jones fault that Jennings dropped what should have been about a 50 yard touchdown last week. So there just didn't seem to be as much chemistry between Jennings and Mac Jones as there is between Jennings and Purdy. And with Purdy back from the turf toe injury, Jennings has a pretty good chance to get back on track against a sketchy Giants pass defense. I just, I kind of don't want to play either of the Vikings running backs when they're splitting work and going up against a pretty nasty Lions run defense. But maybe if it is, I don't know, the Vikings are big underdogs in that one. If they do fall into a hole, maybe Jones can kind of get there for the week with his pass catching. But it's still kind of an uphill struggle, I think for the Vikings running backs this week.
- [55:09]
A
Let's do a quarterback one here. Fitz, sticking with you, Jordan Love or Sam Darnold this week I have Love.
- [55:15]
C
Ranked a little higher and I know the fear is that the packers jump out to a big lead at home against the Panthers and Love doesn't have to throw all that much. There are only three teams in the league that have been run heavier than the Green Bay packers this season, but one of those teams, the Seattle Seahawks. So Jordan Love averaging 30.4 pass attempts per game, Sam Darnold 27.4 pass attempts per game and Darnold is on the road this week against the Commanders. Give me, give me Jordan Love at home.
- [55:46]
B
Jake Darkling starting to disagree a little bit and it's slightly like this is earlier in the show. If you want to argue the other direction. I'm not going to call you crazy for this one. I just kind of go to what talking about the matchups and that fact that Panther secondary is okay, it's better than their run defense but maybe they don't need Love. Where I go back to how many pieces Washington's been losing, they're not quite as bad as the 49ers or anybody like that, but it is enough of a concern. Whereas say Sam Darnold for that slight edge of matchups of what probably needs to be done with also Jaden Daniels back and hopefully pushing the game scoring as well gives Sam Darnold the slightest of edges. I mean we're almost back to back back.
- [56:26]
A
Yeah, tight end here. There weren't a lot of the borderline startable tight ends that I felt like made for a good conversation. So I went with two guys that are clearly in the startable range. You guys are ranking these guys highly, but it's very possible you would have both on your team because one of them was, you know, drafted much later, if not drafted at all in a lot of leagues. So Jake Ferguson or Arande Gadsden Jake, who do you prefer, Ferguson or Gadsden?
- [56:52]
B
I'm going back to Ferguson. His first non top 10 performance since week one against Philly where he still had 5 for 23. We don't like to see the 23, but he did have 6 targets, 5 receptions. With or without Ceedee Lamb, he gets volume. With or without CD Lamb, he gets red zone targets. And I know a lot of his high scores in this top three or four were based on getting touchdowns. But against Arizona versus Denver last week, I'm giving him a little bit of pass pass. I love Gadson too. I have Gads in one spot behind him but I'm going back to Ferguson.
- [57:25]
C
Fitz so I have Gadsden one spot had a Ferguson.
- [57:29]
A
Wow.
- [57:29]
C
I just I I think Gadsden has arrived and Ferguson has been terrific this year. But when CD Lamb and George Pickens are both playing, Fergie's usage is not quite as fergalicious as it is when Lamb is out. So in the the three games that CD Lamb missed, plus the one game where Lamb only played seven snaps before he got hurt, Ferguson averaged 8.3 targets, 7.5 catches, 51 receiving yards and a full touchdown per game. That's with Lamb out with Lamb playing 6.5 targets, 5.3 catches, 32.5 yards and half a touchdown per game. Or I could have just made this easier and said no. Lamb 14.9 fantasy points per game, half point PPR with Lamb 8.9. Big difference. So Lamb's playing I'm I'm taking Gadsden over Ferguson.
- [58:22]
A
Say goodbye to Start Sit Dilemmas with Fantasy Pro's Start Sit Assistant within seconds, you'll know exactly who to play for optimal results each and every week. Leveraging insights from numerous experts, the Start Sit Assistant aligns your lineup decisions with the top minds and fans. Fantasy Football Giving you a competitive edge. Maximize your lineup's potential with just a few clicks at a fantasyprose.com myplaybook or download the Fantasy Pros app and make winning decisions in no time. We're about to get to our touchdown calls for the week, but first join our free Touchdown Calls contest in the Fantasy Pros discord each week, pick four players you think will score with a bonus flex worth double weekly winners get a 25 Fantasy Pros gift card and the season champ takes home a signed Bijan Robinson jersey. Play now by going to fantasypros.com chat and heading to the Touchdown Calls channel. Fitz, you are on running back this week.
- [59:09]
C
Bam. Knights gets into the end zone for the Cardinals on Monday night against the Swiss cheese Dallas defense. And I find it funny that that game, as you mentioned earlier, Worm has the highest Vegas total on the board when it really has nothing to do whatsoever with the Arizona Cardinals. I don't think they really move the needle on Vegas totals one way or the other. But it's all about the Cowboys who have just a dynamic offense and a terrible defense.
- [59:34]
A
Yeah, perfect storm for scoring for sure. I am on wide receiver this week. You kind of talked about it fits. This guy basically is their. One of their goal line backs in Kansas City. Rashid Rice. I. I'm not messing around. I sometimes try like I went with Tyler Alier last week, you know, trying to, you know, play it, you know, cool. Which, which, you know, it ended up being okay. But like I, I go with the sleeper here and there. I want to go with the big name this week, Rasheed Rice with the Chiefs. It's going to be a lot of scoring in this 1/2 highest total of the week. You're picking game from the highest total and he gets their goal line, you know, touches a lot of the time. So bam. Night for fits Rasheed Rice for me. Jake, you have the misfortune of being the tight end guy this week.
- [60:15]
B
One for two. I got it last time and I.
- [60:17]
A
Felt like let's see if maybe, maybe Darkwing will be there.
- [60:19]
B
You go one for one. Like look, I was tempted to go super easy with this and say like oh, I'm going Tucker Kraft or you know, obviously going with the that matchup with the Cardinals and Cowboys, you'd be like, oh, well that's the obvious one with McBride. So like let's maybe slightly less obvious because you see Pittsburgh and you might be concerned about Tyler Warren, but a lot of times when you see defenses, there's ravens of past years and stuff like that is their vulnerabilities sometimes over the middle and with tight ends and I think that you've seen so far is if you look at the Steelers game log and look what's been happening is a lot of it's over the middle field and tight ends have done some damage damage against them. So I'm gonna go for Tyler Warren. It is still a big name but if you look Darkling will give you the super like deeper one. Everybody's chasing them. I'll give you the if you want to chase Colston Loveland, no Cole commit against the Bengals who like and maybe we could even score against the Bengals at tight end. Then there's Your super, super deep one if you want to, but I feel like a lot of people are like waiting for, like have like Colston. Love them. It's almost like a smash spot this week.
- [61:19]
A
Yeah.
- [61:20]
C
All those wide receiver injuries for the person might be be. Yeah.
- [61:24]
A
So we have Bam Knight at running back from Fitz, Rashi Rice from Worm at a receiver. Jake picks, Tyler Warren Dark wing is picking.
- [61:32]
B
Is that okay? I'm good with that.
- [61:36]
A
Yeah. Dominate your fantasy football league with Fantasy Pros Premium now available free for six months when you deposit and place your first wager on one of our partner sportsbooks. This is the easiest way to get full access to our top fantasy fantasy tools all season long. Go to fantasypros.com premium to get started. We are out of time, so we're gonna get going. But now that we are out of time and there's no chance to discuss this further, I will tell you, Jake, I did not know who you were dressed as until you said it. I have never seen Darkwing Duck at all. It was totally not on my Rolodex.
- [62:08]
C
Even I knew this one.
- [62:11]
A
Okay. To be fair, it didn't come out like before I was born, I'm pretty sure. So I just have. Yeah, it was 1991 and 1992. I was born in 92, so.
- [62:20]
C
Well, I mean, like Elmer Fudd cartoons were before I was born. And I still know who Elmer Fud is.
- [62:25]
A
That's true. But that's a, he's a little bit more iconic than Darkwing Duck, right?
- [62:28]
B
I mean, not you seen Star Wars. Star wars started before I was like, like, like what the hell conversation. Like, I don't watch this stuff.
- [62:35]
A
I, I, I knew I couldn't bring it up earlier because it would derail us, so I figured I'd bring it.
- [62:38]
B
Up now in the history doesn't exist in the worm household.
- [62:43]
A
For Darkwing and Jake Edfitz, I'm Ryan Warrenley. Thanks for tuning in. Best of luck in week nine and happy Halloween, everybody. 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, at fantasypros.com review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok antasypros and and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.
- [63:33]
C
AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big.
- [63:44]
B
Damage before you even notice.
- [63:46]
C
Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R-I K.com Join me Danny Trejo.
- [64:06]
A
In Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows, an anthology of modern day horror stories inspired.
- [64:16]
B
By the legends and lore of Latin America.
- [64:21]
A
Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadow on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podsco, or wherever you get your podcast. Greatness doesn't just show up. It's built One shot, one choice, one moment at a time.
- [64:40]
C
From NBA champion Stephen Curry comes Shot Ready, a powerful, never before seen look at the mindset that changed the game.
- [64:47]
A
I fell in love with the grind. You have to find joy in the.
- [64:51]
B
Work you do when no one else is around. Success is not an accident. I'm passing the ball to you. Let's go.
- [64:59]
C
Steph Curry redefined basketball. Now he's rewriting what it means to succeed. Shot Ready isn't just a memoir, it's a playbook. For anyone chasing their potential, discover stories, strategies and over 100 never before seen photos. Order shot ready now at stephencurrybook.com don't miss Stephen Curry's New York Times bestseller Shot Ready available now.
- [65:23]
A
This is an I heart podcast.