Risers and Fallers From Every Week 7 Game || Fantasy Football 2025

Summary

Footballguys Fantasy Football Show: Week 7 Risers & Fallers (Oct 20, 2025)

Hosts: Joe (Alfredo Brown) & Dave Kluge
Theme: Rapid-fire, in-depth analysis of notable player "risers" and "fallers" for each NFL Week 7 game, focused on actionable insights for 2025 fantasy football.

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Episode Overview

Joe and Dave break down every Week 7 NFL matchup, highlighting players whose fantasy stock is trending up ("risers") or down ("fallers"), with passionate debate, data-driven observations, and a fair dose of cathartic, fan-fueled rants. The show mixes sharp fantasy advice with the hosts’ signature banter, offering both expert evaluation and emotional connection for every fantasy manager–especially those feeling the pain of disappointing teams.

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Broncos vs. Giants (33-32)

Notables:

• Bo Nix & Cortland Sutton: Big Rally: Denver engineered one of the season's biggest fourth-quarter comebacks. Bo Nix put up a week-best 46.75 fantasy points (Footballguys 6pt settings).
• Giants' Collapse: Missed extra points, defensive meltdowns, and frustration boiling over (Brian Burns upset with play-calling).

Risers

• Tyrone Tracy (DEN):

  • "Seeing him involved, 5.1 yards per touch... had the big touchdown run, of course..." (06:38, Dave)
  • Healthier, more involved. Flex appeal going forward, though still rotational.

• Evan Engram (DEN):

  • "Four straight weeks of six or more targets... offense is still bad... not within the top 12 at tight end, but the role is growing." (07:21, Joe)

Fallers

• R.J. Harvey (NYG):
  • "I can go lower. Yeah, like he's going lower every single week and I just, I don't... there's another rookie running back just like this. I just don't think there's any hope left." (09:06, Joe)
  • Usage and opportunities evaporating.

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Browns vs. Dolphins (31-6)

Notables:

• Cleveland Over Miami Rout: Browns dominated what many saw as a previously "worst-in-NFL" team.
• Dolphins' Fan Meltdown: Joe delivers a flaming, humorous but cathartic vent over years of frustration as a battered Miami fan.
  • "The Dolphins have not won a playoff game the entire time I have been a fan. They have the longest playoff win drought of any team." (15:19, Joe)

Risers

• Harold Fannin (CLE): Remains among targeted options in a surging Browns offense.
• Quinshon Judkins (CLE):
  • "Three actually kind of bad [TDs]. But despite the three touchdowns... that's the thing: you're just firing up any running back against the Dolphins this year." (16:36, Dave)

Fallers

• ALL Miami players:
  • "They are all my followers from this game. I'm. I'm done. I'm done with the Dolphins. I can't do this anymore." (12:22, Joe)

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Chiefs vs. Raiders (31-0)

Notables:

• Rashee Rice Returns:
  • "Absolutely dominated the touches. Patrick Mahomes was so excited to have Rashee Rice back..." (19:01, Joe)
• Notable Quote: "This is a good, good Chiefs team. We haven't seen these explosives in the passing attack in a long time." (19:53, Dave)

Risers

• Rashee Rice (KC): Re-established as clear target leader.
• Patrick Mahomes (KC): Enhanced ceiling with full WR corps.

Fallers

• Xavier Worthy (KC):
  • "He only had four touches in Rashi Rice's first game back... might be going back to just a deep threat role." (21:02, Dave)
• Travis Kelce (KC):
  • "8.8% target share... this is the time that if you are the Travis Kelsey fantasy manager... I'm very, very worried. This is the end." (21:25, Joe)

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Rams vs. Jaguars (35-7)

Notables:

• Jaguars Disarray; Rams Roll
  • "Jaguars are goofy, man. They're goofy. I don't really even know, like, I feel like I've been saying this for a year now. I don't really know that Trevor Lawrence is actually good." (24:55, Joe)

Risers

• Matthew Stafford (LAR):
  • "There’s not many quarterbacks playing better football. I think he belongs in that MVP race." (27:12, Joe)
• Travis Hunter (JAX):
  • "He can just take over games and we saw that...a special, special talent." (28:32, Dave)

Fallers

• Brian Thomas Jr. (JAX):
  • "Obvious faller for both of us, because of just the performance, the injury late in the game..." (24:55, Joe)

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Bears vs. Saints (26-14)

Notables:

• Ugly Bears’ Win, Offensive Shifts

Risers

• DeAndre Swift (CHI):
  • "This is back-to-back really good games now... If you put him behind a bad offensive line, he's not going to do anything at all. But if you can pave the way for him and let him get into the secondary..." (31:14, Dave)
• Colston Loveland (CHI): Emerging tight end value.
• Chris Olave (NO):
  • "Finally got the touchdown regression... while still retaining the same level of target volume..." (32:29, Joe)

Fallers

• Rome Odunze (CHI):
  • "So hot to start the season... I still think that when we're looking at him, he's probably a top 10, top 15 guy rest of season. But...doesn't look like he's going to make that leap." (34:13, Dave)
• Alvin Kamara (NO):
  • "My faller is Alvin Kamara and he kind of sucks, I'm not gonna lie... has not been up to your standard." (36:32, Joe)

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Eagles vs. Vikings (28-22)

Notables:

• Philly's Offensive Identity Change
• Saquon Barkley’s Usage Drops

Risers

• Eagles Receivers (AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith):
  • "The Eagles are now a passing team. Didn’t see that coming." (39:42, Joe)
• Jalen Hurts (PHI):
  • "That's the most passing yards he's had in a game since 2022." (41:12, Dave)

Fallers

• Saquon Barkley (PHI):
  • "Saquon just isn't doing it right now. Haven't scored more than 20 PPR points in a game yet." (41:07, Dave)
• Jordan Mason (MIN): Vikings offense in flux, especially with the QB uncertainty.

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Panthers vs. Jets (13-6)

Notables:

• Low-Scoring, RB Shakeups

Risers

• Rico Dowdle (CAR):
  • "He has, it seems like, just totally established himself as the RB1 despite the split, played better, got more touches..." (47:15, Joe)
• Xavier Legette (CAR): One-week deep flier.

Fallers

• Chuba Hubbard (CAR):
  • "He lost his job...just the obvious one." (49:16, Joe)
• Justin Fields (NYJ):
  • "Benched. And thank God they benched him because...Tyrod Taylor went out there in the second half and threw some really, really just awful ball." (49:51, Dave)

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Patriots vs. Titans (31-13)

Notables:

• Mike Vrabel Revenge-Game Energy

Risers

• Rhamondre Stevenson (NE): Clear bellcow—heavy usage continues.

Fallers

• TreyVeyon Henderson (TEN):
  • "Unprecedented amounts of shade where Trevion Henderson just can’t even get on the field." (53:28, Joe)

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Colts vs. Chargers (38-24)

Risers

• Aronde Gadsden II (LAC):
  • "This is not just a stash play anymore. This is a tight end that you can start every single week." (56:51, Joe)
  • Historical rookie performance: Most rookie TE yards since 1985.

Fallers

• K. Vidal (LAC): Back to earth after one-off best matchup.

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Packers vs. Cardinals (27-23)

Risers

• Romeo Doubs (GB):
  • "He just consistently is getting targeted..." (61:17, Joe)
• Emmanuel Wilson (GB): Clear #2 behind Josh Jacobs.

Fallers

• Michael Carter/Bam Knight (ARI): Both ineffective; entire AZ backfield in limbo.

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Cowboys vs. Commanders (44-22)

Risers

• Jake Ferguson (DAL):
  • "His role feels kind of cemented. I think there is an actual role for him that doesn’t go away by CeeDee Lamb being back." (67:39, Joe)
• Javonte Williams (DAL):
  • "I got Javonte Williams as my RB8 rest of season." (68:46, Dave)

Fallers

• Jaden Daniels (WAS): Injured, concerning times for fantasy prospects.
• George Pickens (DAL):
  • "CD Lamb is the wide receiver 1. George Pickens went back to his role as a wide receiver 2..." (67:22, Dave)

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Falcons vs. 49ers

Risers

• Kyle Pitts (ATL):
  • "You can kind of rely on him now... nine targets in this game." (70:33, Joe)
• Juwan Jennings (SF): Healthier and more involved.

Fallers

• George Kittle (SF):
  • "55 snaps, 24 routes run, two targets. I don’t understand like why, why did he play?" (72:39, Joe)

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Bengals vs. Steelers (Thursday Night)

Notables:

• Old QB Duel a Surprise Shootout
• Bengals Offense Still Humming with Flacco

Risers

• Jalen Warren (PIT):
  • "Just appears to have a very clean hold on the RB1 position here." (75:28, Joe)
• Tee Higgins, Jamar Chase, and others (CIN): Offense remains potent.
• Pat Freiermuth, Andrei Yosivas (CIN): Deeper league consideration.

Fallers

• DK Metcalf (SEA):
  • "Ironic... but DK is not that same guy. You’re just gonna have to ride the roller coaster..." (78:31, Joe)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Dolphins Misery:
  • "I cannot allow this team to control me anymore as a human." (10:18, Joe)
• On Travis Kelce:
  • "The usage has been down. The efficiency has been down. Dropping passes, not breaking tackles. It is mostly over for Travis Kelsey, who's like, what, the fifth option in the offense now?" (22:07, Dave)
• On Kyron/DeAndre Swift Bears Run Game:
  • "This could be more of a split backfield but... the efficiency for both of these guys goes up." (35:51, Dave)

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Rapid-Fire “Lightning Rounds”: Additional Games

For games not fully broken down above, hosts move quickly in the last 30 minutes, focusing on

• Quick analysis of risers/fallers.
• Emphasis on changing usage, injury impacts, stashes, or drop candidates.

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Key Fantasy Takeaways

• Prioritize healthy, versatile playmakers with well-defined roles in evolving offenses (Rashee Rice, DeAndre Swift, Aronde Gadsden II).
• Monitor murky situations: Backfields (ARI, TEN), tight ends (SF, NO).
• Don’t let hope cloud judgment—move on from underused/ineffective fantasy assets (Chuba Hubbard, K. Vidal).
• Ride the momentum: Some guys are just hot (Javonte Williams, Rico Dowdle) and should be started without hesitation.

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Episode Tone

Both insightful and cathartic, with moments of lighthearted despair (Joe’s Dolphins rant), dry humor (“the Icy Hot Bowl”), and deep fantasy geekery (“guardian cap,” target share analysis). Joe brings a fan’s passion to balance Dave’s analyst’s calm, with both eager to provide honest, actionable advice that helps listeners win leagues and keep their fantasy sanity.

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For full insights, including deeper dives and Jovial rants, check out specific timestamps above and listen to the full discussion.

Transcript

[Joe]

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[Dave]

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[Joe]

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[Dave]

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[Dave]

So reminds me of not, not like game play, but just like the type of person that he is. Kind of like a Russell Wilson where like if everything is perfect around him, if he's got a good defense, he's got good playmakers, you know, he can run an offense.

[Joe]

He's an orchid. If he gets the right sunlight and the right water and there's nothing diminishing the the environment around him, he can be good.

[Dave]

It's a cloudy day and he's wilting.

[Joe]

That's the NFL man. Like I don't understand how, how decision makers don't look at that. Like you see Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Jackson Dart. Like I know a lot of the two of those guys lost this last weekend, so like I get it, but there's just so many quarterbacks like they are good because they can make things happen because they're not these orchid quarterbacks.

[Dave]

The Jackson dart stuff, I tweeted yesterday that it almost feels like angels in the outfield. Like he throws a ball right to a defender. And it just, like, bounces up in the air and then, like, his guy catches it and runs it in for a touchdown. It's like, I've seen this one before.

[Joe]

That was. It was a wacky game. It was a wacky game. This was actually the most, like, goofy football I've seen, I think, ever. Like, the Jaguars are just a goofy team. Like, everyone is just slipping and falling, and Trevor Lawrence just doesn't. I don't think he realizes that the defense has 11 players on the field. Like, I think he only sees the. The five that are dropped back in coverage. And then, like, he just does, like, totally blind to all the other players rushing him.

[Dave]

Yeah, those overseas games are always weird, though. Like, the turf is just so different and, like, I don't know if there's any reasoning behind this, but, like, it looks like they're playing in, like, the rough at St. Andrews. Like, it is just like thick, thick grass and they're, like, ripping up chunks of it. Like, it is not the same. Like, very fast pace. Like, it almost feels like the Rams were perfectly fine.

[Joe]

Old Matt Stafford and old Devonte Adams were perfectly fine.

[Dave]

Yeah. Yeah, they did look good.

[Joe]

Olds. The olds can do it, man. Week seven is coming. Gone. We had some. Some crazy games, some goofy games, some games that have broken me as a person. Dave Kluge, we're going to talk about that. Today was our week seven risers and fallers and players that are just on the right trajectory going into Week eight of fantasy football. Dave, your Bears won. Congrats. Cool. Whatever. You know what? Start us off something positive. Start us off with something positive. Say something cool about week seven. Say something nice about Week seven.

[Dave]

Something cool about week seven.

[Joe]

I don't know.

[Dave]

I mean, it seems like the, The. The Giants are more than just like this fluky thing that happens at home. I know that they lost, but, I mean, they were going up against the. One of the best defenses in the league on the road in Denver, like, a very, very tough one. And I know, I mean, that. That fourth quarter meltdown, blowing a 19 point lead, three points in the fourth quarter doesn't feel good. But up until then, they were hanging in it. And I feel like, you know, that's one of those moral victories. Even if, like, it absolutely crushed the locker room, it was kind of cool to see Jackson Dart and Cam Scatterboo and these guys that we weren't really sure if they were real or not going into a very tough environment and at least holding their own.

[Joe]

So I tell you to start us off with something good. And you start off with the. One of the biggest meltdowns in NFL history in a fourth quarter. Insane. Let's talk about that.

[Dave]

You put me on the spot. We could also talk about Thursday Night Football, you know, Joe.

[Joe]

No, no, no.

[Dave]

There's a lot that's good to take away from the week.

[Joe]

We'll. We'll get there. We'll get. Let's start off with that one, though. Let's start with the Broncos versus the Giants. Broncos defeat the Giants 33 to 32 in what is I, I, one of the biggest, greatest, best comebacks in NFL history. Scoring that many points in the fourth quarter. Absolutely insane. Missing extra points for the Giants. And like the defense, Brian Burns was livid after that game, complaining that they're dropping eight players in coverage and just allowing the Broncos to do whatever they want through three quarters. We looked at Bo Nix and said, this is not a good quarterback. This, this guy has regressed so far. And then all of a sudden, fourth quarter, he and Cortland Sutton connecting the team was looking like just totally different. And the Giants just kept stepping on their own foot feet as this game went on.

[Dave]

Yeah, I mean, it was, it was a tough one, but it was good to see Knicks kind of go back to the player that I think a lot of people drafted him to be. You know, this guy was going off the board. It's like the QB7, QB8, QB9, and we finally got like that huge blow up performance. I've looked in a few different scorings, but like the, the football guys standard scoring 6 point touchdowns, 46.75 fantasy points. That is by far the best performance of the season. And you talk about it like, you know, we got Cortland Sutton going a little bit later, but targets were split kind of all over the place. We saw 10 targets going Sutton's way, we saw seven going Marvin Mims way, 10 going to Troy Franklin, and then eight to Evan Ingram, who's steadily been warming up as well. So I think this is what the Broncos needed because, like, they haven't had a normal game this year, and this definitely wasn't a normal game. But I think this kind of gives them that mojo to feel like, you know, no matter how bad it is, no matter how much they are up against a wall, like they could still crawl out of any game that they need to.

[Joe]

Well, we do this whole episode to do the risers and followers. Who, who's your riser from this game?

[Dave]

Oh, I did the same thing I did last week. And I forgot to pull it up, but I'm looking at my notes.

[Joe]

Okay.

[Dave]

Tyrone Tracy. Yeah, I think Tyrone Tracy, seeing him involved 5.1 yards per touch, we like that had the big touchdown run, of course, and that's where the majority of his yardage came from. But I think a lot of people just thought that it was going to be like 100 Camp Scatter Boo. Like, we'd see like two touches going to Tracy, one touch going to Devin Singletary, and now Singletary. You know, he's still a little bit involved. But Tyrone Tracy, now weak remove from his return from that shoulder injury. It was good to see him getting a little bit more work. So I don't think there's enough that we should be concerned about Cam Scaboo. I think given how he plays, you know, just getting some time off in between drives every now and then might. Might be good for him. But I think that Tyrone Tracy, we know he's kind of that injury wastach, but also might have some flex appeal as well.

[Joe]

I was not sure who to put as the riser here because a lot of the guys that had good games have already been having good games throughout the season. Like, the only guy that I really found that is kind of a riser, but I don't even know how much it matter. Evan Ingram. Who? Dave. It's been four straight weeks of six or more targets. This week was the highest. Eight targets, five receptions, 42 yards. The problem is that he's not within the top 12 of fantasy tight ends throughout these weeks. So it's like the role is growing. The offense is still bad. The, the, the. The catches are all by. By the line of scrimmage, which is what we've seen throughout Evan Ingram's career, which is what we figured would happen here with Sean Payton. And it's just not turning into anything like, there's. There's not really. There's not the touchdowns that we want to see either with this team or with. With Evan Ingram. But I still put him as a riser because I think there's like, some small bit of hope there with how bad the tight end position is. Let's go to the following.

[Dave]

He was my riser last week just because, like, it's just that, like, just being somewhat involved is enough to, like, peak interest as a tight end out here. And I think he's only playing. They don't have the. The info ready yet, but it's like somewhere between like 60 and 65% of the snaps, so still very much so. A part time player that if we can see him get up to like a 70, 80, 90% sn and he can maintain this sort of usage, then we're looking at a guy that we do feel good about as a tight end. One.

[Joe]

Yeah, he, he's out. He was at his highest snapshare of the season so far. Just taking a look at it here. 45 out of 81 snaps. So do the math. Just a little over 50. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I mean it's, it's his highest of the season. It's good. It's. He's a riser. Don't know how much it matters for fantasy right now. Let's take a look at the fallers here. Dave.

[Dave]

Bold.

[Joe]

You put none.

[Dave]

I don't think there was really anybody that you can like say was a faller in this R.J. hardy.

[Joe]

I think he can keep. It's the, the Dennis from Always Sunny meme. I can go lower. Yeah, like he's going lower every single week and I just, I don't. There's another rookie running back just like this. I just don't think there's any hope left.

[Dave]

Yeah. And I mean like looking at my rest of season rankings, I wanted to move him down because it was a bad performance, but I've been moving him down all season and like the guys I have directly behind him, Bashal Tutin, Woody Marks, Blake Corum, Tyrone Tracy, like I can't move him behind those guys, I don't think because the upside is still there. So yeah, probably a faller in the, the respect that like you aren't starting him. But I don't think many people were starting him going into this game anyway. So I think this is one where there was like enough good scoring and there's a couple games like that where it was just like these high scoring games that you can't really say anybody was like a big time faller. I guess RJ Harvey probably makes the most sense. But even that like he falls from like not caught a touchdown and I'm.

[Joe]

Like, I'm still not into it.

[Dave]

Yeah, exactly.

[Joe]

Yeah. He's getting like six opportunities a game. I'm not even talking six carries, six opportunities. It's just, it's just not there for him. It's not there for him. Sean Payton hates fantasy football. You get, you get all, you get all the boogies out.

[Dave]

Oh, dude. Fighting for my life out here.

[Joe]

It's rough. I appreciate you fighting through. Okay. I need to get this out of the way. I need to, I need to Talk about this game because it's hurting my soul, and I can't allow this team to control me anymore as a human.

[Dave]

Dave.

[Joe]

The Miami Dolphins lose to The Cleveland Browns 31 to 6.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Is there a. I put this out on Twitter. I do believe the Miami Dolphins are the worst franchise in the NFL right now, despite what jets fans might say. Despite what anyone else might say. The Miami Dolphins lost to a team that we all thought might have been the worst in the NFL, 31 to 6.

[Dave]

Not just lost, like, beat down.

[Joe]

Beat down. It has never been so over for the Miami Dolphins. For Tua Tungavailoa, for Mike McDaniel, for Chris Greer, for everyone. And I thought. I thought, stupid me for just having fandom. I thought that if I went into fantasy football, I'd stop being a fan and I could move on. I could separate the two. No, no. And they gaslit me into having hope that. Oh, you know What? They scored 70 points that one game against the Broncos a few years ago. They had a comeback against the Ravens a few years ago. Oh, we made the playoffs only to be embarrassed every single year. Dave Tilteka by LOA. Fifteen turnovers in his last seven games. It's insane. He has the most two plus interception games in the NFL since 2022 with 12 of them. He has the most three plus interception games in the NFL Since 2022 with six of them. Over 79 million, potentially 99 million. I've seen in other reports in Dead cap. The team cannot get rid of him. The team can't do anything. They're holding on to the same coach. They're holding on to the same gm. I cannot imagine that this team, the players, the production, any of it gets better. They are all my followers from this game. I'm. I'm done. I'm done with the Dolphins. I can't do this anymore.

[Dave]

Yeah, I mean, it looks like you got to ride this through at least 20, 26. 140 million if they move on this year, 100 million if they move on the year after that. I mean, it's bad. Like, they gave him a $212 million contract. Oh, are you. Are you cutting it up?

[Joe]

Yeah, I'm doing it.

[Dave]

I'm doing it.

[Joe]

It's over. I. I said I would never do the demonstrative nonsense. I'm done. I'm done. It's. It's just. I can't let them hurt me anymore, Dave. I can't let. I have to get out for my own mental health and my sanity. It's Just. It's not great. It's not great. It's not great. Keep saying things.

[Dave]

Was a couple of years ago, wild card weekend, we were all in Vegas watching the game together, and you showed up in your. Your TU Tug of I low jersey, and I just, like, slowly start to slump more and more.

[Joe]

You mean this one? You mean this one? This stupid thing?

[Dave]

That one up, too? Yeah. I mean, it's.

[Joe]

Scissors aren't strong enough for that.

[Dave]

And I think the problem, like, you can talk about all the on field stuff, but it's so much more of a bigger issue than what's happening on the field. Like, Mike McDaniel two tug of Iloa. They seem to hate each other, and they're just, like, constantly throwing shade and pointing.

[Joe]

Maybe it's you, bro. Maybe it's you, Tua, when. When Brian Flores doesn't like you and Mike McDaniel doesn't like you and your teammates don't like you. And now the f. I'm crashing out. I'm sorry. Keep going.

[Dave]

So we talked a little bit about this last week, and I think the problem with TUA is, like, you can be different types of people, and I think that you can find success anyway. Like, you look at Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins is like, I'm spending Saturdays with my family. You know, I'm a family man. I'm going to shop at Kohl's. I'm going to do all these things. And that's fine because he plays well on the field. And then you've got, like, the Tom Brady archetype that it's just like, I live and breathe football, and I will lose my wife to win a game. And then you've got Tua who kind of like every couple of days flip flops back and forth between the two, where he's like, oh, I'm a dad. You know, this stuff is bigger than football, and I'm going to be happy regardless of win or lose. And then you've got him, like, calling out his teammates for accountability and showing up late the very next day. And, like, you can't have it both ways. And I think that's the problem with TUA is he doesn't know who he is. Like, he can't be the accountability guy while also saying that you don't care if you win or lose because of your family. You got to pick a camp. And I. I just don't think Tua knows where he is. It sounds like he's, like, trying to do something that, like, a life coach is telling him to do you know, apologize and accountability. But he doesn't mean it. And I don't think he even understands the importance of the things that he's trying to say on the podium.

[Joe]

I'm sad.

[Dave]

I'm sorry.

[Joe]

I don't want to hear your rationale.

[Dave]

Yeah, I don't have.

[Joe]

You sound. You sound way too normal talking about this, which, which lets me know that you haven't been hurt like this from the Dolphins. You have. You have your Bears. You have your Bears. But you have hope. You have hope right now, Dave.

[Dave]

I do, but I. My fandom. I say this all the time, like fandom should be a pleasant experience. I relatively. And I'm able to just dissociate from the losses. Like when you know it's an abusive.

[Joe]

Relationship that you can't leave. Dave. It's an abusive relationship. The Dolphins have not won a playoff game the entire time I have been a fan. They have the longest playoff win drought of any team. The Raiders, the Browns. So many other crappy teams. The Lions went winless and they still win playoff games. Yeah, I can't.

[Dave]

But it's been a while since the Bears have won a playoff game. I mean, it was just a few years ago. I remember like Mitch Trubisky throwing a game winning pass to Javon Wims, like hitting him in the hands in the end zone and him just dropping it. Losing the game. And I mean, like when it happens, it sucks. But you know what? I just go about my day, eat lunch, get over it. It's tough. And maybe it's because the Bears have been such a bad franchise too. I feel like you're getting to this point where eventually you're just numb to losses. Like if the Bears win a Super Bowl. I thought I was partying in the street, but when they lose, it is what it is.

[Joe]

I thought I was. I said they can't hurt me anymore. Turns out they can. I was wrong. I was wrong. This stupid team and their stupid faces, they. They're all, they're all followers from this risers were Cleveland Browns players. Harold Fannin. It's one of the only good parts of this team still getting targets. Dave, you said Quin. Sean Judkins. Yeah.

[Dave]

Quit shot judging Sue. Not even his best game, but, you know, punched in three.

[Joe]

Three actually kind of bad.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Like, I mean, despite the three touchdowns. Right. Like it's, it's. Which I know is a crazy statement. He had the one really long run, but other than that, like, it was.

[Dave]

Just kind of ugly.

[Joe]

But that's.

[Dave]

I said the same thing about Devontae Williams like or Devonte Adams like was it now you're picking up players touchdowns Devonte Williams. But yeah, Quinton John Judkins, I mean fired him up. As you know we talked about it like he was just like a must start top three running back this week and I think that we've seen enough now what you know, Quinton Judkins did to him with this week, Rico Dowdle two weeks ago, Kamani Vidal last week. I mean you just, you're just firing up any running back against the Dolphins this year.

[Joe]

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Get 20% off your first order with code [e-mail] that's 20% off your first order at american-giant.com with code STAPLE20. Chiefs beat the Raiders 31 0. Welcome back. Rashee Rice absolutely dominated, dominated the touches. Patrick Mahomes was so excited to have Rasheed Rice back, he just continued to look his way.

[Dave]

Or not look his way. You saw that. No look pass, right?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. But like even in the end zone, man, like everything, they're back to doing their quick flips to Rasheed Rice. It's like even when Rashid's not open, he's still trying to force the ball to him. And so like that's, that's my big winner from this game. It was the, the targets were just coming in immediately. Also just big winner in general for them. The State Farm commercials, you know, the, the acting in those commercials paying off. Did you see the Patrick Mahomes moment where they're trying to, they're trying to fake throw the defense off sides. He drops a lovely, a lovely F bomb. He said this never effing works. And they just go for was incredible moment. Incredible moment. That was super cool to see. Dave, you also have Rasheed Rice as a riser for you and Patrick Mahomes.

[Dave]

Yeah, I mean this whole Chiefs offense looks so, so good and it's awesome that we finally get this trio together. Like I wrote this big long think piece last off season about like how fun it would be to have Rashi Rice and Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown all on the field together. We didn't see it once and now we finally get a little taste of it. And I mean it's just, this is a good, good Chiefs team. We haven't seen these explosives in the Chiefs passing attack in a long time. We've also got Patrick Mahomes rushing all over the place. My follower is Xavier Worthy and like not panicking by any means, but like he was getting all of the work, all of the short targets, the little, like you say, the little flip passes, the end around the jet sweeps. All the things that we love about Rashi Rice. We're going Xavier Worthy's way. He only had four touches in Rashi Rice's first game back. And what we saw last year when Xavier Worthy and granted like it was very early in his career, but Rashi Rice was the guy that was kind of operating as that wide receiver 1 and Xavier Worthy was only running deep routes. So I do wonder if we see him going back into that role which would make him like a Jameson Williams on a better offense. Like you'll have some boom games, you'll have some bus games, but I think, you know, looking at him as this guy who's kind of creeping into like low end wide receiver one status, I think this kind of pushes him down those rankings a little bit.

[Joe]

I think he stays around wide receiver 3 status like this is, you could, sure you could throw him in the lineup and he's kind of one of those high upside flex plays. I don't think he's a wide receiver too. Rest of season here. I think the target share is, is Dave looking at it right now? 11.8% target share in this first game with Rasheed Rice, I'm sure that moves around, but same as Marquis Brown, and my faller was even lower. It's Travis Kelsey.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Joe]

At an 8.8% target share. Three targets, three receptions. He had one of the long receptions down the sideline. But, like, other than that broken play there, there really wasn't much from Travis Kelsey. And I think, like, this is the time that if you are the Travis Kelsey fantasy manager and you're saying, okay, I still have a big name at tight end, I'm looking to probably trade him. Just cash in on this. On this. I. I guess, big game. Sure, if we want to call it that. Move around, man. There's so many other options you can have at tight end. A Rondi Gadsden, Harold Fannin. Not that. Not that they're available readily to you, but there are just other options, man. Like, I'm Travis Kelsey. I'm very, very worried. This is. This is the end.

[Dave]

Yeah. And we saw the same thing in week one, too, where he had, like, that one big broken play. And I guess that's the silver lining here for Travis Kelsey, if we can find one. Is that, like, defenses just don't care about him anymore. So you'll get, like, that random pop play. Yeah, I mean, that's it. Like, every now and then, he's gonna have that one play where it's like, oh, yeah, forgot Travis Kelsey was out there and he just picked up 40 yards on us. But, yeah, the usage has been down. The efficiency has been down. Dropping passes, not breaking tackles. It is mostly over for Travis Kelsey, who's like, what, the. The fifth option in the offense now?

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's not great. Like, Rashad Smith is out here catching plenty of passes.

[Dave]

It's a lot of that came in garbage.

[Joe]

Sure.

[Dave]

Do you like to see it? Do like to see it?

[Joe]

I like that's. I think that's the thing is, like, you want to see these. These young guys get involved because that means that their role can grow and expand. It just gets. Gets the trust there. And, like, that's the thing is you just have. You have more targets that are coming into this offense.

[Dave]

And if there's one thing to take away from Burchard Smith, it is kind of reminiscent of Rashi Rice's rookie season. Remember, we're like, we were saying, like, if this guy could just get more snaps, he would just break fantasy football. And now we're kind of seeing the same thing from Rashard Smith. I mean, he is 3.13 yards per route run leads all running backs. He's pulling a target on 46 of his routes, leading all targets. So of course the issue is like he's been like a 20 snap player all year. Got up to 35 this season. Season. But if you can maintain that efficiency on a bigger role, Prashard Smith could seriously just like break fantasy football late in the year.

[Joe]

I mean, that's what these coaches do, right? Like a lot of times they can't just throw a rookie into the big pressure starting situations because if they make a mistake, it totally unravels the offense. But what you do like when you're up, yeah, let's go get him some snaps. Let's get him some confidence. Let's let us see as a coaching staff that he can handle the things he needs to handle on a weekly basis. So yeah, that like to me shows shard. Smith could be growing here. Let's go to that London game. Rams beat the Jaguars 35 to 7. Just an absolute dog walking. Jaguars are goofy, man. They're goofy. I don't really even know, like, I feel like I've been saying this for a year now. I don't really know that Trevor Lawrence is actually good. I think he is talented. Sure, he's Carson Wentz. He's Carson Wentz. He's got, he's got traits. He can win some games. I don't think that he is a playoff or super bowl quarterback. I don't think that the team wins the game because of him. He manages the game and I think that's probably what we're going to end up seeing from Trevor Lawrence over the next few years where I don't, I don't see a guy that's taking the step. I didn't even put him as my follower here. I think the obvious follower for both of us was Brian Thomas Jr. Because of just the performance, the injury late in the game, which I don't want to speculate. Dave, did it, did it seem weird to you?

[Dave]

Yeah, there was like nothing like it was just like a regular little, like just a quick little chip. Like they just kind of collided and then he like grabbed his shoulder and then he grabbed his elbow.

[Joe]

It was, there was.

[Dave]

Yeah, he's just like something hurt. Get me off this field. I don't want to be here anymore.

[Joe]

It's like, it's like when a little kid gets hurt and then you ask him like, where does it hurt?

[Dave]

Everywhere.

[Joe]

Yeah, like, you know, you cut your finger like you're good.

[Dave]

I know he's been dealing with that wrist injury all year. And I wonder if that was it. Like just like when he like jammed up with the defender, if maybe he did something to his wrist. But it didn't even look like it.

[Joe]

Was a hard jam. Like, it just, I know it, it quit. Quite literally looked like a touch, like a tap and then the shoulder was grabbed. It was, it was very strange. I'm not trying to insinuate that there's not an injury, but it was just a very strange look where even the broadcasters were like, I don't, I don't know what happened to him.

[Dave]

Yeah. And Alfredo, you go to the gym, you know, like when you're like doing a pressing exercise and you just like can't get that last rep out, what do you always do? You sit back in the chair and kind of massage your shoulder and you're like, oh, yeah, that didn't feel right. You got to let everybody know, like, I could normally do this, but I'm just not 100 today. And after every Brian Thomas missing play and drop past yesterday, he was at the wrist and holding on to it and looking like, oh yeah, that hurts a little. Like we, we know what's going on here. Like, I, I don't. I've been saying it all season that this is just a square peg in a round hole. Like I never in my life ever, ever again want to see Brian Thomas Jr. Going across the middle of the field catching a ball through traffic. I think he is physically incapable of doing it. Like, gets a short little alligator arms, like, doesn't go after the ball. He's afraid of contact, which is fine. There are a lot of NFL players that can't play in that role. But stop making him do it like it's benefiting nobody to ask him to do. He can't do successfully. Keep him outside, keep him on the boundary, let him ride the rail, let him run those nine routes. That's what he does best. And now you know that Travis Hunter, after seeing that big blow up game from him, he can do those things across the middle of the field. He can make defenders miss. He can catch the ball through traffic. We have been talking about this since April. Like exactly what this offense should look like. And it just seems like they haven't been able to figure it out. They just like, well, you know, Brian Thomas Jr. Can't do these things. So we'll just phase him out and we'll get Parker Washington doing them instead. No, Brian Thomas Jr. Is a good outside receiver, but keep him in that role. Don't ask him to do things he can't do.

[Joe]

My riser from this game was Matthew Stafford. And I think this is more football based than fantasy based. But I think it's just like it's going to remind us that the Rams offense is really good and that these guys like Kyron Devonte, Puka, like, let's never sleep, never sleep on him again with Matthew Stafford at quarterback. And, and I know that I don't want it to feel like it's a recency bias but, but there's not many quarterbacks playing better football than Matthew Stafford. I think he belongs in that MVP race. It's Matthew Stafford. Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes is playing really well right now. Dave. I think those would be my top three candidates for MVP right now, which it's weird to not have. Okay.

[Dave]

I mean it's been a lot of, a lot of Jonathan Taylor, but Daniel Jones, man, he's, he's been balling out there this year, I think.

[Joe]

I mean is he, would he not be comeback player of the year? Would he be the first player to win comeback player of the year twice? Didn't you win it before? Like how many times can you come back, man? Like it's at some point maybe you're just a volatile player.

[Dave]

Yeah. And that's what it is. And he's in a good environment right now.

[Joe]

Yeah. So Matthew Stafford, I mean the Rams are just playing awesome football. I don't think there's even much more to add to that. Just it's fantastic football from the Rams. Dave, your riser, Travis Hunter.

[Dave]

Yeah. I mean we saw it like nothing going into halftime and then finishes the game with 101 yards and a touchdown.

[Joe]

First touchdown, his career.

[Dave]

First touchdown of his career. Right. And he can just take over games and we saw that, you know, it didn't lead to a win. They were just playing from way too far behind. But like he's a special, special talent and we finally saw the offensive role grow.67 of 77 offensive snaps. They're still using him a little bit on defense here and there. But I think they know like the Jaguars have a good defense and Trev's Hunter was a part of that good defense. But they remove him from the defense still.

[Joe]

That's the thing. Secondary is rough and he had a really nice rep on devonte Adams where he was able to stop it. I, I like, I know that we want him to be a wide receiver more and maybe with a Brian Thomas Jr. Injury, he does play more wide receiver.

[Dave]

I think that's it.

[Joe]

Yeah, but like, the Jags do have to figure some stuff out and Travis Hunter is one of their better, maybe even best defensive back that they have in the corner room.

[Dave]

Right. I just think that a wide receiver is more valuable, especially if, like the main initiative here with an offensive minded coach, an offensive minded gm, is to get Trevor Lawrence playing his best football. I don't think you want him out there throwing the ball to Parker Washington and diami brown 25 times a game. Like, you want to get Travis Hunter involved. So we'll see what happens with this Brian Thomas Jr. Injury. Like, would it surprise me if he, if he plays again next week and just, you know, wanted to, wanted to get to the locker room a little bit early on Sunday? Yeah, we'll, we'll see what happens. But at the end of the day, Travis Hunter looked good. And If Brian Thomas Jr. Does have to miss time, Travis Hunter is going to be in my top 20 next week.

[Joe]

What's crazy is that like, Travis Hunter plays both of the positions where the Jaguars have the most struggles, right? And they, they're still struggling because they're just like not using him enough. Like, they just have him running routes but not always targeting him. They have him playing some corner but not enough corner where he's really, truly making an impact. It's just the, you used, you moved mountains to go and get this guy as the number two overall pick and you're just not using him. Like, screw it, go all in. Like, use him on corner, use him at corner. Use him at wide receiver. Give him 70, 80 of the snaps there. Just at this point, like, what do you have to lose? You drafted this player for a reason. Like the team.

[Dave]

I want to see one game where they just do like 100 on both sides of the ball and just like.

[Joe]

Just let him do it.

[Dave]

He can do it. Let's see what happens.

[Joe]

He says he can do it. Just, just let him do it. I don't, I don't understand it. Let's go to the next game. This one should make you happy. I think it was actually a weird game. It didn't even feel like a good win for the Bears, but Bears defeat the Saints 26 to 14. It was one of those, like ugly wins where you got to see some of the weaknesses of the Bears. The offense was like a little up and down. It was, it was just a very low volume passing game. From Caleb, who's your, your biggest riser from this game?

[Dave]

Dave. I've had two DeAndre Swift and Colson Loveland, I mean, DeAndre Swift. This is back to back really good games now that we have seen from DeAndre Swift and I remember talking to him about him as a buy low after the first weeks of the season because the opportunities were there, the expected fantasy points were there. He just wasn't scoring touchdowns and he wasn't hitting the big plays. But this offensive line, since coming out of the buy, you know, we know they invested a ton of money up front in that interior offensive line. Joe Tuni, Drew dman, Jonah Jackson, and they're all playing well now and this is what DeAndre Swift needs. If you put him behind a bad offensive line, he's not going to do anything at all. But if you can pave the way for him and let him get into the secondary with a full head of steam, he's tough to bring down and he's got that ability to just change direction without losing speed at all. And now we're starting to see those big plays from DeAndre Swift. So a big riser for me, a guy that I'm looking at is like a middling, the high end RB2 going forward. Then also Colson Loveland. We did get the Cole Commet injury, but even going into this week, last week Cole Comet had more routes, more targets and more receptions than Cole Comet. He looked good in this opportunity. We're seeing him getting trusted as a blocker. You know, they're using him as that swing blocker who's kind of going out as the lead man out on some of these outside zone runs. He has steadily looked better and better and better. Not ready to put him in fantasy lineups yet, but I think even in your shallower leagues he's worth a pickup in a stash.

[Joe]

My riser from this one, Crystal Lave, because we finally got the touchdown regression that we've been searching for. And yes, is regression. Anything that regresses to the mean of where it should be is regression. Look it up. Don't leave angry comments on this, but he finally gets two touchdowns in this game, Dave, while still retaining the same level of target volume that he's had. I don't want to say that Spencer Rattler looked good because he still had some Spencer Rattler moments, but he just looks very competent as a quarterback and I think that's all we really need for this season is to allow Chris Olave to keep being a good fantasy starter. I think he's just a wide receiver 2 rest of the season because of volume, because of where he's at. I Don't think we're going to get the crazy touchdowns like this every week. But, I mean, Dave, it's. Even against tough opponents, Olavi's been fine. Like, the volume just kind of cures all.

[Dave]

Yeah, I believe he's leading the league in targets. If not, he's, you know, way up there. Like, he's just been getting a ton. And Rattler, it's kind of funny, you know, this team moved on from Jameis Winston, and for so long we wanted James Winston to be the starter in New Orleans. And I feel like there is a little bit of James Winston in Spencer Rattler's game. Like, he's just gonna rip it downfield and let his guys make plays. And that is great for a guy like Chris Olave who can make those plays. So, yeah, I mean, definitely a riser just because we finally saw him getting the touchdowns. But yeah, Olave, you know, just a plug and play wide receiver, too.

[Joe]

Yeah. Chris Olave. Yeah. No, it looks like after this week, Jamar Chase will be leading.

[Dave]

That makes sense.

[Joe]

But that's because Jamar Chase, crazy game. Yeah, Wild. Just absolutely wild. But, yeah, he's like. I think he's one spot behind Jamar Chase, second in the league in targets. Dave, who's your follower from this game? I. I think. I know. I mean, I see it, but I figured this would be your follower.

[Dave]

Yeah. And Ramadoon Day, I mean, just so hot to start the season, like scoring a touchdown every single week since the body's cooled off a little bit and there have been some near misses here. But I know, you know, there are a lot of people and. And I was one of them talking about how, like, hey, maybe Roma Dunes is taking that ascension and we're going to look at him as like an elite plug and play wide receiver one. And I still think that when we're looking at him, he's probably a top 10, top 15 guy rest of season. But I think people saw, you know, an improved offense. Caleb Williams taking that step in year two, a top ten pick kind of being the wide receiver one on the team. But the reality is this ball does get spread around so much. Like, DJ Moore still involved, Zakis is still involved. Burden, Colston, Loveland, Comet, like, all of these guys are getting looks. So Roma Dunes, you're still putting them in your lineup Every a low wide receiver 1, high end wide receiver 2. But I don't think he's going to be somebody that, you know, we were hopeful about. Like, maybe he can be into that. Like Jamar Chase Amanda St. Brown, Justin Jefferson tier after the season and it doesn't look like he's going to make that leap.

[Joe]

It's been a lot. I think it's been less about a dunesday and it's been more about the actual pass volume for the Bears offense. That just feels like it keeps going down and so much of that is coming out of the buy. The Bears have been able to run so much better. Like their, their, their zone running actually looks like, looks great. Like DeAndre Swift looks like a legit good NFL running back which he does this and I promise you Dave, he does this every year where he's got like four games, four games where he's like really good. And I think we're on that. I think we're, we just finished game number two. So he's got like two more weeks here where he's going to be really good. Oh, and look at that next two opponents. Baltimore Cincy, oh three games and the Giants. Three teams that give up a ton of points to running backs. This is going to be the five week streak for DeAndre Swift and then a, it's, it's just all going to fall off a cliff.

[Dave]

And I think lost in the DeAndre Swift huge game because you know he had 124 yards on the ground, had another 14 through the air. But Kapanong guy was very involved as well too, averaging over six yards per carry. So you know, it's good to see. We talk about this all the time. You know that that post buy bump and Manungai has come out of the buy getting a little bit more action. This could be more of a split backfield but I think now we're seeing that when they split the backfield, the efficiency for both of these guys goes up and they have such nice complementary skill sets. This is what I'd to see more, more of what we saw on Sunday. I'd like to see going forward for the Bears. Just good run blocking up front and then two running backs with good complimentary skill sets, both being efficient in their roles.

[Joe]

My follower from this game is Alvin Camara and he kind of sucks, I'm not gonna lie. Like, he's just kind of not good at football anymore and it's, it's like it stinks to watch such talented players and I, I listen and Alvin, if you're watching, I'm sorry, that sounded way more harsh than it was. You're a fantastic football player. The performances have not been up to your standard. I think you would agree to that. Please like and subscribe Leave a comment down below. But it just, it hasn't been up to the standard that we normally see and we kind of like we flirt with this every year that the running efficiency is getting worse and getting worse. And you know what? It's like it's finally reared its ugly head where he can't really run the ball anymore and he's not getting targeted the way that we've seen in the past. There's so many other pass catchers on this team that are getting target and Spencer Rattler's not really shown to be the dump off kind of guy. Like he is looking to extend plays, go for the big, the big play downfield. And that's what we're seeing a lot of. And so Alvin Kamara, he's actually one of the most dangerous kind of players in fantasy football because you have to keep starting him because he is a starter for his team. He has touchdown upside, he has reception upside. But then he gets you eight fantasy points a week and that's what kills you more than anything. To me, Alvin Camara is actually one of the most dangerous players in fantasy fantasy football right now.

[Dave]

Yeah. And I'd exercise a little bit of patience with Camaro just because Kendrick Miller went down with a knee injury that like immediately declared out. So we don't like that. So if Kendrick Miller misses any time, at least the volume is going to be there. And I look at the next few matchups coming up, you got the Buccaneers, that's going to push them into a negative game script where they are going to have to throw the ball. I, I believe same thing with the Rams and they've got a soft matchup against Carolina so I can at least see like enough volume if Kendra Miller has to miss some time to make Alvin Camara, you know, a guy you're relying on as an RB2 over the next few weeks. But once Kendra Miller comes back. Yeah, I mean if they're splitting touches, I, I don't want an aging running back with poor efficiency on a bad offense who's splitting touches. But if Kendra Miller is not in the lineup and he's getting all of the workload, at least there's enough volume there that I can talk myself into continuing to start him.

[Joe]

Yeah, I'll need to look in because I know obviously these next three opponents, actually Tampa Bay, the Rams and the Panthers, are actually really good against the Rock run. What I want to look at is how they are against pass catching backs. And so that'll be interesting because the thing Is like, yeah, this is why I say he's the most dangerous, right? Is because he can get this target volume. But three catches on six targets for 12 yards, like just isn't helping anyone. It's a PPR scam that still only gets you maybe double digit points. If you can get there with 10 points. Like that's not what you drafted the guy to be. So like that's why I get when there's not even, even a, a good game where you can say like, ah, good, you could finally sell on him because there just haven't been the touchdowns. There hasn't been Dave, one touchdown on the season.

[Dave]

It was in week one.

[Joe]

Like it's, it's, it's rough sledding out here and I know that the Saints lost, but like they're just, they're weirdly not playing all that terrible.

[Dave]

Yeah, the Bucks next week. Third most fantasy points allowed to running backs through the air. So maybe, maybe next week we see something there. Yeah, it's just because teams are always trailing against the Bucks and they have to throw the ball to running backs often late in the game. So we'll see how that one works out. But yeah, not relent to willing to completely panic on Alvin Camaro quite yet.

[Joe]

Taysom Hill time, baby. Taste some hill. All right, next game on here. Eagles beat the Vikings 28 to 22. Can we stop talking about A.J. brown and the targets he wants and how unhappy he is and devonte Smith? It's just the Eagles have totally flipped around. I'm just going to say both my riser and faller here because the risers are the receivers. The Eagles are now a passing team. Didn't see that coming. And the faller, Saquon Barkley, because they just don't run the ball anymore. When they do, it's not even that efficient. So yeah, I mean, Jalen hurts looking like one of the best deep ball passers in the leagues in the league. Excuse me. A.J. brown, Devonte Smith, they're getting volume. They're incredibly efficient, patient. A.J. brown is out there making just insane plays. He just, he looks like a bulldozer with a rocket strapped to his back. Like when he's out there going up against the secondary, it's just nuts. Like I'm watching him go up, he's double cup, double covered. He's catching the ball and then still breaking tackles as he keeps going. It was a play towards the end of the game where he was just like, you know what it was? It's like gold member when Michael Caine looks at one of the henchmen. He's like, you don't even have a name tag. Just fall down. And like, that's kind of what like A.J. brown, he's like, you know what? Like, I. I'm tired. I'm just gonna fall down. Like, I'm just gonna let the game end here. And like, that's. The Eagles were just toying.

[Dave]

Did see it seemed like he was about to go superhuman. Like he was breaking tackles, throwing defenders around, and it's like he's about to have like, you know, a career defining touchdown. And then he was just like, nah, game's over.

[Joe]

He pulled the forest Gump where he's like, I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now. Like, he was just done, dude.

[Dave]

Exactly what it was. Yeah. And I'm with you. I mean, my risers. I'll. I'll throw. Jalen hurts in there as well. I mean, 326 yards, that's the most passing yards he's had in the game since 2022. 2. Like, we have seen this offense has just focused so hard on establishing the run and Saquon just isn't doing it right now. I mean, it's just every single week, the efficiency numbers get worse. I talked about it a couple weeks ago that, like, you know, he was averaging a 20 plus yard rush on one in 22 attempts last year. He's got over 100 rushing attempts this year. Hasn't had a single one go for more than 20 yards yet. And it's just, you know, the volume's there, but he hasn't scored more than 20 PPR points in a game yet this year. He's not ripping off the big plays. It's pretty, pretty bad. So they're going to keep giving him the ball. But I. It wouldn't surprise me if as we get deeper into the year, we start seeing more AJ Dillon, more Tank Bigsby, more Will Shipley if we start to see a little bit of a rotation here because there just isn't that burst from Saquon that we have grown to be accustomed to.

[Joe]

Yeah, I mean, Will shipley is hurt. A.J. dillon, I believe was a healthy scratcher, got demoted to running back three.

[Dave]

And then we saw Bigsby come out with his, like, one good touch.

[Joe]

Yeah, Tank Bigsby was, I guess, the other guy. Like, I don't, I don't think I want to suggest that we're going to see some sort of a timeshare. I actually think that the Eagles just still don't know what they are. I think the Eagles really don't know what they are. This offensive coordinator has not really set things up where they could go into a game and have a consistent game plan. They went from being run heavy to pass heavy. I think they're going to fall somewhere in between because I don't think you keep going two, three more weeks with, hey, let's keep giving Saquon eight to 10 touches in a game like, that's, that's just insane for what they're going to do. I, I just, I think, I think they are confused, if I'm going to be quite honest here. Yeah, Dave, the Vikings are also kind of confusing. Like, we've got good performances from Jordan Addison, who's one of your risers, but one of your followers. Also Jordan Mason, who was one of mine too. I didn't write it here, but, but I have a hard time looking at the Vikings and saying that they're anything right now because everything is happening with Carson Wentz. Like, I just think we don't know what's going to happen with this team or their players when JJ McCarthy comes back and Aaron Jones comes see how.

[Dave]

Adam Schefter is kind of rewriting history. Did you see he got community noted the other day? Because when he was the one that, you know, it's Adam Chef, he breaks all the stories. And when, and when J.J. mcCarthy first injured his ankle, Michael, he said two to four week absence. And then yesterday he was on TV and he shared a clip where he's like, you know, just as we said when JJ McCarthy first got hurt, we're expecting about a six game absence here and got hit with the community note. Like, actually, Adam, you reported that it was a two to four week absence. So I am starting, you know, I, I totally brushed off the soft benching narrative when that first came out. But I don't know, man. Like, we're, we're heading like over a month away from this sprained ankle now and it sounds like we're still getting Carson Wentz again next week. This might be a soft bench, but like they're losing.

[Joe]

That's, that's where I, that's where I.

[Dave]

How bad is JJ McCarthy if they'd rather continue putting Carson Wentz out there, like, they're seeing this up close every day. We aren't. But like, clearly there's something wrong with JJ McCarthy if they're willing to just keep putting this version of Carson Wentz on the field week after week.

[Joe]

I AM Full on, Mr. Conspiracy Theorist. I love it like, I'm tinfoil hat. I'm.

[Dave]

I'm. I'm there.

[Joe]

I don't think that this one is it. Like, they're losing consistently with Carson Wentz. A soft benching would be like, let's have him sit for a couple games and bring him back when the team is losing so that he can be the savior. They're losing. This would be the time to bring him back. So if they keep him on the bench, I don't. That doesn't help them. It doesn't help anyone. Like, and maybe this is a little too narrative. Like, I just don't think Kevin. Kevin o' Connell is that kind of guy. Like, he hasn't shown that. Like, he's been like, screw it, we'll start Daniel Jones. We're gonna win games anyways, right? We'll start Josh Dobbs, we'll do whatever it takes to win games, and we're gonna start whoever it is at quarterback. So I don't. I don't know, man. Like, it. Maybe the injury is worse than we thought, but once. I think this is such a weird game because these are two teams that I think don't know who they are, and, like, someone had to win. And the Eagles, honestly, honestly, passing game.

[Dave]

Looked fantastic, and I just don't see when you, like, comfortably put J.J. mcCarthy back in the lineup. Their schedule is brutal. And we know this. Like, every NFC north team has a tough schedule this year, but the next matches coming up, they've got the Chargers, the Lions, the Ravens, the Bears, the packers, the Seahawks. Like, these are all very good defenses. And I don't know if, like, you want to. McCarthy, who's struggling with some confidence issues right now, you know, coming back from an ankle could be limited with his mobility. Like, I don't know how you feel good about plugging him to any of those matchups.

[Joe]

Yeah, Like, I don't. I don't know if you can start in Week 8 against the Chargers. Maybe you can after you've just seen how. How Daniel Jones can play against them. And you say, okay, there. There's a formula. And then we've got Detroit light defense, Baltimore light defense, Chicago.

[Dave]

Sorry.

[Joe]

You know, they're. They're getting better. They're playing better. Dude, it's so weird. It's so weird. It's just going to be one of those things to track. That's why, like, I can't get on board, like, the Jordan Addison train right now. Now, where it's like, man, looked good, had some great production. How does that Fall off.

[Dave]

That's the thing. I feel good about Jordan Addison now. I mean, Justin Jefferson, you're still plugging him as a wide receiver one. But like, when McCarthy comes back, I think we do need to, like, reshape how we feel about all of these pass catchers.

[Joe]

Let's go to the next game because we are, we're running way behind. We're going to have to lightning, lightning speed through these. Panthers beat the jets 13 to 6 in the pillow fight of the week. Riser Rico Dowdle, who has, it seems like just totally established himself as the RB one despite the split, played better, got more touches and yeah, like, I just think Rico Dowdle a plug and play RB2 every single week for the rest of the season. Unless we find out otherwise. Dave, who's your riser?

[Dave]

My riser in this one, Xavier Legate. You know, I don't know if I'm really buying into it. Like, this does seem a little bit fluky, but had a huge game in this outing and, and like to see that. And this is so funny too, because, like, this should have been just the Legat bust week. Like, he hasn't done anything this season.

[Joe]

Like, you think it gets relegated back to the bench, right?

[Dave]

And then of course, like, you know, I'm the guy who tells my wife Monday morning, she goes, hey, can you take a look at my fantasy lineup? And I was like, baby, you don't want Xavier Legat in your lineup. Like, don't, don't do that. Like, find somebody else. And, and of course, I caught a lot of flack for telling her to bench Xavier Legette, but, like, who was, who started Xavier Leggette this week? Like, if you started Xavier Leggett, good for you. You know, I don't even know how you came to that conclusion, but, yeah, it just felt like such a potential letdown week for Legat and then he comes out and smashes. So like to see that maybe it was just that, like, you know, the, the, the offense was focusing on the other weapons there. Sauce Gardner, you know, covering Tedro McMillan before he went out with the injury. But we saw almost nothing from Jalen Coker. So good for Leggette. He's a riser, but I'm not putting him back in lineups next week.

[Joe]

Yeah, I think this was definitely more game specific and situational. Like, it's the same, it's the same reason that we all, all thought Jalen Coker might have a big game.

[Dave]

Right?

[Joe]

Panthers don't have anyone else besides Ted McMillan. He's going to get the sauce treatment. But all these things just happened. Instead of it being. Because had it been Jalen Coker getting peppered with 10 targets, we're saying, see, told you. But the fact that it was Xavier Legate, we're like, oh, well, that's. That's weird. So once again, I, I think it's a. It's a team that doesn't quite know what their hierarchy is at wide receiver, except for Tedroa McMillan being the top guy guy. So I'm just going to chalk this up to being the game. My follower from the. Actually, both of us have the exact same followers. It's Justin Fields and Chuba Hubbard. And Chuba, I think, is just the obvious one. Right? Like, it's just. He lost his job. He got Wally pipped. He lost his job, and he'll. He'll be a rotational guy. Which, by the way, it's not crazy to say, like, maybe Chuba Hubbard should be one of the guys that gets traded to one of these teams.

[Dave]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Joe]

Chuba Hubbard and the Chiefs feels like it makes some, some sense.

[Dave]

Team captain, you don't see that often. And I know that's like, what a lot of people have been holding on to is that Chuba is one of the captains there, but it's also a backup right now. I mean, Dowdle is just playing out of his mind.

[Joe]

We. This is what we do, man. Fantasy football. We wish cast things. And I know we're going to get so many people. You don't trade him. He's a good running back. You need to have two in the end. I get it. I get it. Guys, it's a podcast. We. This is what we're supposed to do. Say stupid things into a mic for interview tape and we're just, we're just dancing monkeys. Justin Fields, though.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Benched.

[Dave]

And thank God they benched him because, you know, Tyrod Taylor went out there in the second half and threw some really, really just awful ball. Like, what is the plan here? Like, what does Tyrod Taylor bring to this team? Like, Justin Fields is bad too, don't get me wrong. But like, it's not like, I just don't understand what the plan is here. Like, Tyrod Daler might be worse than Justin Fields.

[Joe]

I just. They both suck and like, but like, with Tyrod, you kind of understood it and you know what? He is like, he can keep drives alive a little bit longer. He's not getting sacked as often. This is also a game. Like, if I'm. I'm not mistaken, Dave. Right. Like, we didn't have Garrett Wilson here, so, like, we're not seeing the best of this offense. I had to like, my brain was playing tricks on me, so I. We were all gassing up. Mason Taylor. Mason Taylor. Mason Taylor. Josh Reynolds could get some deep shots here, right? Got the targets, but it just. It's a bad team. It's a bad team, but at least with them. The reason I say the Dolphins are the worst team in the NFL, because Dolphins are like so strapped for their cash and they're just tied to so many people. The jets can just hit reset again and like, I know that just hurts jets fans and it hurts the players. But like, you've got an asset. You can, you could trade Breeze hall, get yourself some picks. You can start over at quarterback with the number one or number two pick this year. You can fire Aaron Glenn, get a brand new head coach to work with that quarterback, whatever it is. Like, there's so many things you can do differently. So, yeah, like, while I think it sucks for the jets that it's a wash like Justin Fields, I think this was the risk that you assumed when picking him for your fantasy team is that like, he might not make it through the season. Whether that was. And we've seen it in years past, whether it's through injury or back, like this has happened. This is not something new. But however, like, when he is in there, we know he has the rushing upside.

[Dave]

Shout out to the jets, though. I love that. After that cheap shot that he took on the slide, did you see like the entire jets team just sort of like stomping the dude that did that to him? Which, like, you know, good. I like to see that. Like, I saw a lot of.

[Joe]

Gotta say, my TV was not flashing over to the 13 to 6 Jets Panthers game a whole lot.

[Dave]

Yeah, he went for a slide, took a shot to the head and they had to evaluate him for concussion. But like immediately like he took that hit and like six jets players just ran over and just started stomping the guy that put a hit on him. Which, you know, we don't see a lot of that in today's NFL. Like, stick it up for your quarterback. So. So I, I was excited to see that.

[Joe]

Yeah. Promote the stomping of other players. Next game. Patriots defeat the Titans 31 to 13. You and I both have the same riser, same follower. It's from Andre Stevenson as the riser, Trayvon Henderson as the faller. The vibes have never been worse. Like, it's Just they continue to deteriorate. We jokingly said this in the. The tears and rankings episode for the running backs and wide receivers that we did on Thursday where Mike Vrabel could absolutely just. It's a Micrabel revenge game against the Titans. He could just go full variable and give Ramandre all the touches. And that's exactly what he did.

[Dave]

Elevating a guy the day before the game from the practice squad and then giving him three times as many touches as Travion Henderson. It's never been more over what happened. And of course now that we say that Trayvon Henderson is going to explode, but like, yeah, we saw the preseason, like, first touch of his career. He goes for like 100 yard touchdown. Like, we know this guy has so much juice. And I don't know, like, I, I was reading my article last night and I was like, I. I think the only reasonable explanation is that Trayvon Henderson, like insulted Mike Brable in a team meeting and hurt his face. What else is happening?

[Joe]

Like, this is. This is just unprecedented amounts of shade where Trevion Henderson just like can't even get on the field. Not even to. It'd be one thing if they said, okay, we're just relegating him to a pass catching rope. Like, that's not even happening, Dave. It's not happening. Zero targets in this game. Like, it's just not happening. I, I don't understand it. I don't get it. I don't understand the premise behind drafting a player early in the NFL draft, a near first round pick and then just saying, you know what? We don't want to use him and we're going to keep using the guy that's fumbling. Granted, from Andre, Big game this week and honestly, I, I think he has to stay as a starter in fantasy where he's probably a flex player week in and week out for you. I wouldn't say quite an RB2, but he's a flex player. And Trevion Henderson, I know you can't start him anymore. Obviously, I don't think you ever really could. Even though we were all holding out hope for that big game. I think the bigger question for a lot of people now is can you just drop him? I wouldn't because he's one of those stash guys you want to hold on to. But I get it in deep in, in shallow leagues where people are saying, I, I just need to clear some bench space and get someone who can actually produce for me.

[Dave]

Yeah, it's funny too, like the, the reports from around the draft is like all these teams were calling the Patriots, like, trying to trade up for Trayvon Henderson, and the Patriots were like, no, like, we got big plans for this guy. I don't know what's going on. This could just be like old school hard coaching, trying to bring out greatness in somebody that they think has it. I mean, we. We've seen Bill Belichick and McDaniels and Rabel. Like, all these guys kind of have this like, weird coaching philosophy. That could be what this is. But yeah, like you said, like Tribon Henderson, nowhere near a starting lineup right now. I think you're holding on to him as a stash, but yeah, absolutely, you know, droppable in shallow formats and, and. And not worth a look in lineups in any formats.

[Joe]

Are, are. Is this too big brain here that maybe with the Patriots being a team that is contending for the AFC east and they're one of the better teams in the afc, do you think they are saving him for a late season run? A playoff run? Like, this seems like the most big brain thing ever. Right. But it's just like as soon as other teams have you figured out, boom, we're going to add this new wrinkle that seems like something that a guy like Rabel could be doing. Be like, man, just wait till the rest of the league sees this. You know, it could.

[Dave]

But also like, outside of that first touch in the preseason that went for 100 yards, Trayvon hasn't really done anything impressive this year. Like, you know, you go back and you watch these guys. Yeah. I mean, and I'd say, like, Ramadri Stevenson has broken tackles and he's made some nice downfield catches and plays after the catch and after contact and those things. But like, Trevon Henderson, when you watch him, like, every time he gets a carry, it seems like he's just. Just goes three, four yards downfield, gets hit by a defender, falls over, and maybe that's it is like they know that he has more that he just hasn't been showcasing. And Rodri Stevenson definitely hasn't been great. I mean, a handful of nice plays because he's got more opportunities, but he's also had fumbles and he's had a lot of losses and drops as well. I. I don't know what's going on here, to be honest. But yeah, I think, you know, like you said Rodri Stevenson, you're putting him in your lineup and you're benching Trayon Henderson.

[Joe]

Yeah, yeah. I think that's where we're at all right. Colts Defeat the Chargers 38 24. Both of us have a, the same riser. Arande Gadsden ii. Dave who. This is not just a stash play anymore. This is not just a spot start anymore. This is a tight end that you can start every single week. The performance was incredible this week.

[Dave]

Yeah, I mean, 55 pass attempts definitely helps because we saw Quentin Johnson get a touchdown. We saw Keenan Allen get the touchdowns, we saw lad McConkey involved, we saw Rhonda Gadsden involved. Involved. I don't think you can count on that every single week. Like, you know, a, a normal passing attack probably isn't going to support four fantasy relevant players. But I was really interested to see how he would look when Quentin Johnson was back because so much of his week six opportunities were just said. Yeah, you know, he was kind of plugged into that Quentin Johnson role as an outside receiver. But even with Quentin Johnson back with Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkey out there, he was still very much so a full time player. So I will say it feels like every single time we feel like we have like a, a sure thing. Pick this guy up off of waivers and put him in your lineup. Tight end. It has not worked out once this year, but maybe this time will be different. Maybe this is the guy that actually does.

[Joe]

Did it work for those people? No, it never does, but it can work.

[Dave]

Like every single time we see a tight end, it's like, oh my gosh, juwan Johnson, like 28 targets over the last two weeks and then he gives you a dud. And then Like Mason Taylor, 23 targets over the last week and a dud. But Gatson, you know, this is a guy with NFL bloodlines, obviously a very, very good athlete.

[Joe]

Dolphin bloodlines, lines.

[Dave]

Yes, exactly. His entire career, his dad's entire career was with the Dolphins. And yeah, I mean, I, I think you're putting him in lineups next week. But also we, we, we, we, we've done this song and dance a handful of times already this year.

[Joe]

Yeah, it's so. It's like, it's different though. It's. You kind of have to take notice when guys have unprecedented or historic performances. Dave, looking at this here. Most yards by a Chargers rookie tight end in a game. Most yards by a rookie tight end in the NFL in a game since 1985. 5. Third most receiving yards for a rookie tight end in a game ever. Some catches. 164 yards and a touchdown. It's just, it's the fluidity it's everything that you like about his athletic profile when he was coming out in the NFL draft. He's a former wide receiver. Like, it there. There's a lot of just Darren Waller to how he runs. Like, you mentioned Joanne Johnson. It's easy to get romantic about this kind of player. Like, it just. It really, really is. You see how they play. You're like, like, oh, yeah, guy's a superstar. The problem is, like, how consistent will that be? I do think just with the way that tight end is just in disarray.

[Dave]

Like you're.

[Joe]

You're. You're looking each week and saying, like, okay, am I starting Kyle Pitts or Ronde Gads in the second? And with just how up and down. I know Kyle Pitts has been good.

[Dave]

I was gonna say, I think I might be going bits. Right.

[Joe]

But, like, that's where we're at. Is like, that neither of these guys were considered starters a few weeks ago.

[Dave]

Ago. Yeah. I mean, I'll put it this way. The. The tight end landscape is bad enough that in my rest of season rankings, I moved him up to tight end 13. I mean, like, it'll probably be starting in most lineups, but, you know, it wasn't also all that long ago that Mason Taylor was right around that spot as well. So things change quick for these rookie tight ends, but this is a different offense. A good talent on a good offense, right?

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Joe]

All right, next game on here. Oh, sorry. Faller from this game was from both of us could money Vidal. And we kind of obviously not to pat the back like we predicted this. We said it.

[Dave]

It's just like doesn't get to play Miami every week.

[Joe]

Right? Exactly. I think we'll keep that simple. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Morning, Zoe. Got donuts. Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage? Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you. Teach me. So, Dana. Oh, no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate program camera system.

[Dave]

Wow, impressive.

[Joe]

Let me try.

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[Joe]

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[Joe]

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[Dave]

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[Joe]

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[Dave]

Yeah, just.

[Joe]

He just consistently is getting targeted. And Dave, you, you. You won't know this meme, but it's like Dr. Manhattan, this is from Watchmen Comics where he's just like, just like sitting on. I can't remember if it's the moon or whatever. And it's just like the year is whatever. And I am still waiting for xyz, right? Like it just keeps the. The year. It's. It's week 11 and I'm still waiting for the Matthew golden breakout. And like maybe it's just not gonna happen. Maybe it does happen, but regardless of whether that happens or not, Romeo Dobbs just continues to get targeted over and over and over. And I still think it's the, it's the, it's the, the guardian cap, it's the great gazoo hat that he's got that makes him so easy to be seen. But yeah, man, like he's got to be a riser for this team. Dave, who's your riser from this game?

[Dave]

My riser in this one is Emmanuel Wilson. Just because we saw that he is the very clear number two here and he was involved in a game where Josh Jacobs was a little bit limited. And I don't know why. It's just like I randomly get infatuated with certain players in certain weeks. And last week it was like Emmanuel Wilson and Trey Tucker when I'm just like digging deep in all my leagues trying to see if there's some gold available. And you know, he got picked up in a handful of leagues before the game on Sunday. But, but like going into Sunday morning, he was available in 97 of leagues, still available in 75% of leagues out there. And this is a guy who if Josh Jacobs does have to miss time, would be a top 10, top 15 weekly play. I don't understand why he's still available in so many leagues. In the preseason, there was a lot of, is it going to be Marshawn Lloyd? Is it going to be Chris Brooks? Is it going to be Emmanuel Wilson? And I think halfway through the season now nearly, we have a pretty clear idea that it's going to be Emmanuel Wilson, but still, for whatever reason, available in a lot of leagues and worth the pickup.

[Joe]

Yeah, I mean, with Marshawn Lloyd, the thing is he's on IR and so, like, we don't know exactly when he's going to be back. It could potentially be soon. I'm trying to look at the reports here, and a lot of it is just like, soon. We should get him back soon. We. We just don't know. So I want to go back.

[Dave]

Romeo Dubs, you. You talked about him real quickly. I do want to go back to this. The target share, his is obscene this year, and I don't think people realize he's got a higher target share than lad McConkey, Ricky Piersoll, Chris Godwin, Khalil Shakir, Kelvin Ridley, Josh Downs, T. Higgins. He's got a higher target share than CD Lamb. Obviously skewed by the one game that he left with injury. But, like, Josh Dobbs is out here, like, actually drawing targets like an NFL wide receiver one this year, and people just want to keep writing it off for whatever reason.

[Joe]

I'm sorry, I just. Sadness just struck me. Ian Rapaport saying on the Miami Dolphins, no changes are expected at this time, I'm told. Just.

[Dave]

Sorry.

[Joe]

Totally. Just totally unserious franchise. Just the totally unserious franchise.

[Dave]

Oh, my goodness.

[Joe]

I just. Life has no meaning. All right? The followers from that game, we both put the Cardinals.

[Dave]

We each picked a different one, each.

[Joe]

Of them, like, it's just awful. From both.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Joe]

Michael Carter, Bam Knight, like, Michael Corter. Leo was like, oh, you know, there's some. There's a passing opportunity here, right? Like, he can catch some passes. And no, doesn't. Doesn't matter. And they're both.

[Dave]

Would you trade these guys for. For Trey Benson?

[Joe]

What do you mean, trade these guys for Trey Benson?

[Dave]

Like, if you're in a fantasy league and you've got Michael Carter or Bam Knight, set an offer out for Trey Benson. Is that something you think might get accepted? Because I'd rather just take like, the zero for the next few weeks and hope to get Trey Benson back. Because, like, these guys are both just awful.

[Joe]

I mean, Benson should be back soon. No, like, We're, I know we're going into.

[Dave]

Yeah, he'll miss two more games and then he can come back. And that's what I'm saying. Like, I think I'd prefer just taking Benson over the second half of the season than even worrying about what these guys are going to do over the next couple of weeks.

[Joe]

Well, yeah, but I don't think anyone's taking that trade. So Benson has missed three games. They have the buy in a week eight. He'll miss the week nine Dallas game. So he's back in, in week ten and some. But you were taking a, you were taking a zero this upcoming week anyways. It's, it's week eight, so I don't, I don't think anyone has Trey Benson and they're saying, oh, thank God I can go and grab Bam Knight to, to give me the one game against Dallas. So, yeah, I mean, I'd make that trade if someone in my league is doing it. Sure. I mean, I think regardless, you should be going out and looking for Trey Benson anyways, especially with the team on by. He's on ir. Go, go make your moves. But yeah, both these running backs, they kind of just stink. They're just not very good at football. It's not very good for fantasy. They're going into a buy. It's just, it's just an awful time for the Cardinals backfield. Let's go to the next game. Cowboys beat the commanders 44, 22. Commanders look kind of broken, Dave. There was a lot of excitement for Jacoi Crosky, Merit or for Devo Samuel for so many different parts of this team and this offense. And I know Debo didn't play, neither did Terry McLaurin. But Jaden Daniels leaves this game with an injury and it's. I, I know there's going to be all over like a lot of the, the football shows, you know, on tv. Is he injury prone? This is what we were worried about with his thin frame when he was coming into the league. I think we can just skip over that stuff. I think it's just a natural faller right now because he's going to be out out and like. And that. And the offense as a whole just doesn't look great right now.

[Dave]

Yeah, and already got that big bulky knee brace on his left knee as he's been coming back from that knee sprain. And now he's got an injury to his right hamstring as well. So much of Jaden Daniels fantasy production comes through from his abilities as a rusher so if that is impacted whatsoever, that really takes the. The ceiling off of Jaden Daniel. So, yeah, pretty big follower for me as well. George Pickens also another follower. Like you're still plugging him in your lineup as a wide receiver too. Like, he still makes these spectacular plays. But CD Lamb showed up and I think there was a lot of talk about like, hey, Maybe it's like a 1A 1B type of situation. No, CD Lamb is the wide receiver. 1. George Pickens went back to his role as a wide receiver. 2. Just four catches on the game makes for a solid wide receiver too, that you're plugging into your lineup every single week. But that top three pace we were looking at without CD Lamb isn't going to last while he's there.

[Joe]

No. And we thought that, I will say, like the target, there wasn't a big disparity in targets. Some of that is maybe easing CD Lamb back into the game himself. CD Lamb did have less snaps than. Than Pickens, but he ran more routes, got one more target, and he had the big play.

[Dave]

Right.

[Joe]

I actually think for me, the big like the winner from this game, the riser is Jake Ferguson is that his role is. Feels kind of cemented. I know there was like a big thing on TV about them saying Jake Ferguson war Dak Prescott High School uniform jersey coming into the game. And it's like, okay, yeah, sure. I just think there is an actual role for him that doesn't go away by CD Lamb being back. They just play such different positions out there where it's. I do think like there's a possibility where all three of these players, CD Lamb, George Pickens and Jake Ferguson can all do three different things and the Cowboys pass enough where they can all be relevant. And I think that's the big takeaway is like all three of these guys can be fantasy starters week in, week, week out.

[Dave]

Yeah. I mean, it's. It's tough for me like to, to actually raise Jake Ferguson because I've had him as my tight end three for the last month now.

[Joe]

Oh, yeah. Wow. Okay.

[Dave]

Yeah. I can't McBride, I can't put him ahead of Tyler Warren. But I mean, I guess you can argue that like, he and Tyler Warren are really, really close. But yeah, Jake Ferguson, I mean, he's just been unbelievable this year. Maybe one of the best. I mean, I feel like so many of the best values that you got in fantasy drafts. Cowboys. Yeah.

[Joe]

I didn't want in fantasy football right now.

[Dave]

Now.

[Joe]

Yeah.

[Dave]

And then also Javante Williams was falling to, like, round 10 in fantasy drafts. And I mean, I, I moved him ahead in this week's bass batch of rest of season rankings. I got Javante Williams ahead of Saquon Barkley. I don't care. He has been better than Saquon Barkley. Like, he is career best in every single efficiency metric. Most broken tackles of his career, most breakaway runs of his career, most yards after contact of his career. This guy's 25 years old, playing unbelievable football with no competition for touches on a good offense. I, I don't. Like, I'm toying with putting him ahead of Josh Jacobs and I can't get there. But right now, I got Javante Williams as my RB8 rest of season.

[Joe]

I think at some point, like, the way we felt in the preseason doesn't matter anymore. The way we felt after one or two weeks doesn't matter anymore. Fantasy football and the NFL is very much, what have you done for me lately? Sure, Javante had a down week in the week prior, but we've seen a big enough sample size here. We're just like, oh, he's good. Like, it's not just a Cowboys thing. It's not an opponent's thing. He is good. This guy needs to be a top 12 running back rest of season. Like, that's. That's just where he needs to be. All right, two games left here, Dave. Let's go to the Falcons and 49ers game. Who is your riser from this one?

[Dave]

Juwan Jennings. Just because he looked somewhat healthy last night. I mean, this guy, like, what is it that he's dealing with? Like, broken ribs, high ankle sprain, low ankle sprain, shoulder injury. Like, you know, sounded like this guy was just completely falling apart out there. But he looked better last night. He was, you know, a little bit more agile and nimble than he looked a couple of weeks ago. Kind of took over that wide receiver. One roll from Kendrick Bourne again. So, you know, he's a riser just on the simple fact that he appears to be somewhat healthy for the first time this year.

[Joe]

My riser from this one, Kyle Pitts, who, like I was alluding to earlier, it's. You can kind of rely on him now, like, as, As a tight end, like, week in and week out, nine targets in this game. And I know there's. There's some frustration, right? Drake, London, managers. He's not. The Falcons have been kind of up and down with this offense, and it's. I don't know. I feel like Michael Penix is a little bit Like Trevor Lawrence where you don't quite know if he's good but you know that he can be a game manager if he just gets the ball to his best players. Then it does seem like that's what he's doing. Like it does seem like there is a chemistry here where he's just like, oh, Kyle Pitts is open. Okay, let me hit him. And like that it's happening more often than not lately. And that's just something that stood out to me in this game.

[Dave]

You talk about Trevor Lawrence earlier and I feel like that's so much what I see with Michael Pennix, like where he's got some of the athletic things that get us excited but then, then also have these plays where it's like Bijan Robinson wide open in the flat. Like all you got to do is just like put the ball on him and he's just like skips it to his feet and it's like he misses some of the easiest throws and makes some boneheaded decisions. But then every once in a while he makes a throw where you're just like slack jawed. Like how did he fit that ball into that window? And I think that's just, you know, a common thing for young quarterbacks. But I see a lot of Trevor Lawrence in Pennix's game.

[Joe]

Dude, Kyle Pitt's schedule over the next like six weeks here. Yeah, Miami, New England, Indy, Carolina, New Orleans, New York Jets. Actually let's go even further. Seattle, all of them are in the bottom 15 in points allowed to tight ends. A lot of top five matchups there for Kyle Pitts. This is, this is, this is a good, could be a really good stretch for Kyle Pitts here as long as Michael Penix doesn't poop to bed. Speaking of time, Titans, my follower from this game, George Kittle. I, I don't know what happened. This was so weird, Dave. 55 snaps, 24 routes, run two targets. I don't understand like why, why did he play? Why, why put it out there?

[Dave]

I think they needed a win like you know, they just needed like a moral victory. I think so. But also like I think it's easier to come back and block than it is to come back and run a ton of routes and make plays after the catch like he normally does. And we saw him like he was still mauling in the run game yesterday, doing exactly what he always does, kind of playing as like that sixth lineman. We just didn't see him getting too involved as a pass catcher. And I think that's just because they knew that they could just confidently keep giving the ball to Christian McCaffrey and he would just pick up six yards every single time he touched the ball. And that worked for him. I'm not panicking on. On George Kittle. I think this is just not panicking.

[Joe]

But it definitely, like, it does raise some concerns. How healthy is he really, like, going into next week? You don't know if you can really start him.

[Dave]

Yeah. And I mean, I've got this. When you look at my rest of season rankings, it's Trey McBride, Tyler Warren, Jake Ferguson, Tucker Kraft. Those guys are like the healthy elite guys. And then I still prefer Brock Bowers and George Kittle against the rest of the guys just because if they do get healthy, their upside is so much higher. They're kind of like breaking that up for me. And then behind Bowers and Kittle, that's where I've got laporta Goddard, Pitts, Kincaid, Fannin, Gadsden. Those guys. I still think, think that both Bowers, who's got the buy next week and hopefully will return after that, and Kittle, who's only going to get healthier as he gets further away from this injury. I still think these guys could have that league tilting upside late in the year and you can have those big games from other tight ends. But I'm still going out and trying to acquire Bowers and Kittle where I can.

[Joe]

All right, let's go to our last game on here. Bengals beat the Steelers and what was, I think the most fun game of the week, like, despite the comeback Broncos.

[Dave]

I love Thursday Night Football.

[Joe]

What a turnaround. Comeback. Comeback game of, like, come back just, like, entity for NFL, right? Because Thursday Night Football used to be this thing that we all hated. We dreaded. It was a short week. It was ugly football.

[Dave]

Here we're going to give you the Titans and Texans and you're going to enjoy it. Like, it was just always the worst matchups of the week, too.

[Joe]

It's. It's like Bengals, Steelers. Having Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco go up against each other was like watching Patrick Ewing on the Magic vs Hakeem Olajuwon on the Raptors. Like, this was just old dudes that probably shouldn't be out there anymore on the wrong teams. And that's what you think going into it. And then they just give you this amazing game. The Bengals are so much fun to watch. Joe Flacco looks fantastic. My riser from this game is actually none of those guys that I mentioned. It's Jalen Warren, who just appears to have a very clean hold on the RB1 position here. Caleb Johnson went back to a zero in. In. In the stat sheet. Kenneth Gainwell does not really seem to be taking any more like this. I know this was going up against the Bengals, who have a bad run defense, but Dave Jalen Warren was a big winner for me this week.

[Dave]

Yeah, my. Whatever document we're sharing this on is frozen right now, and I can't see it, but I'm looking at my notes.

[Joe]

Your. Your risers were T. Higgins and Charles Chase Brown.

[Dave]

Yes. And. And my full list of risers from. From my notes. Jamar Chase, T. Higgins, Chase Brown, Aaron Rogers, Pat Friarmouth, Andre Yosavash and Jalen Warren. I mean, this is just like we. I. I feel like you have to have some faith in both of these offenses now. Like, yeah, these. These dudes are old. The Icy Hot Bowl. I love that that's what they were calling this one. Yeah. But they can keep their offenses afloat, and I think that, you know, there's just reason to be excited about both of these teams and the playmakers on them. I don't have any followers from this game because when both offenses are firing the way that they are, it's hard to draw a faller from this matchup. But, yeah, you know, Jabar, Chase, top three wide receiver rest of season. We know T. Higgins. You know, I was doubting a little bit going into last week what he could look like, but he showed up with a huge outing as well. Jaylen Warren maintaining his role just like Mike Tomlin told us he would. Andre Yosavash getting a decent amount of targets and some big plays in there. This isn't the Joe Burrow led Bengals, but, like, still, look at the Joe. Yeah, like, Joe Burrow.

[Joe]

That's.

[Dave]

That's the Bengals at 100%. With Jake Browning, we saw that dip to, like, maybe 35, 40. And I feel like with Joe Flacco, there's still, like, around 85, 90 of.

[Joe]

What they would say. Yeah, this is. I saw the. The signs from the Bengals fans, Joe 2.0. Because, yeah, he's just keeping it going, man. Oh, gosh.

[Dave]

They start calling him, like, Joe Burr or, like something like a play off of his name. But the one play that jumped out, to me, that was, like, crazier than anything else that happened. Like, we saw all the big points in the production and all that stuff that we get excited about, but there was one place specifically where Jamar Chase was running. It was like a weird Route that I don't even know what the name of it is, but it was like a slant and then he, like, whipped outside to the sideline. Whip route. Yeah, that's what it was. But.

[Joe]

You got there.

[Dave]

I got there. But, yeah, like, Joe Flacco, he put the ball up in the air before he was still breaking in. Yeah, like, it looked like Joe, like Jamar Chase was running a slap plant, and Joe Burrow just like. Or Joe Burrow. There you go, making the mistake. Joe Flacco just, like, lofts one up to the sidelines. And it's like, to have that sort of chemistry, like, four days after showing up to a team gets me really excited about what this team's gonna look like two, three, four, five weeks from now.

[Joe]

So what's crazy is, like, you see that often, at least now with some of these older quarterbacks who, like, they can figure out timings of players pretty fast. And especially these guys that are good route runners. Runners. The good route runners know where they need to be. And the quarterbacks can kind of feel, okay, this is how many steps he's going to take. This is when he's going to do his break. I can see where his head is at. I can see the DB's hips, which direction they're pointed, like, all of it. And they kind of know they can figure it out. Like, that's why Matt Stafford and Devonte Adams have meshed so well. It's ironic because I'm going to say that my follow from this game was DK Metcalf. And it's, It's. It's, you know, it's veteran quarterback and good receiver. Receiver. But DK is not that same guy. And I think it doesn't make him a faller or a, like, yes, faller, but it doesn't make him a bad fantasy wide receiver. I think what you need to do here is put in context that you're just gonna have to ride the roller coaster with DK Metcalf. This isn't even one of those where you're gonna say, like, oh, good matchup, good fantasy production. Because we saw in this game it wasn't the case. Right. Like, it's a lot of. It's just going to be touchdown based. And this was the. The sixth weakness from Arthur Smith here and Aaron Rodgers, where we had three different tight ends score in this game. Maybe we're not going to have the DK Metcalf touchdown every week, and we probably shouldn't. But, I mean, the target volume's just not typically There, Dave. The receptions have been extremely low. Like we're talking about four catches a game. I think you're just kind of riding that wave. Like he's a guy you're just going to put as your flex every week.

[Dave]

Yeah. And it's disappointing to see him coming off of like back to back big games with, with a lot of yardage and scoring touchdowns to come crashing back down to earth. But this is the type of player DK Metcalf is. I heard so many comps to like oh like Aaron Rodgers got his new devonte Adams and it's like these could not be more different players. Like DK Metcalf is not a devonte Adams. He's not a guy who has that sort of technical prowess in his route running. He's not a guy who's going to be able to hit on those timing routes. He is a freak athlete. He's a 6 foot 3, 260 pound Desean Jackson and every once in a while he's going to have those, those huge games where he can, you know, rip off the 80 yard touchdown. But when those aren't hitting, you get a dangerous floor there. And I think that you know, this is just who DK Metcalf has always been and I didn't expect him to take this like massive step forward this year.

[Joe]

Yeah, outside of those two big games he's been a wide receiver three in fantasy and I just, I think that's just where you keep him. Wide receiver three with upside. He's right along with like Jameson Williams, Xavier Worthy, a bunch of these other guys. You're like oh he can make it. Jordan Addison, like wide receiver three. They can make a big play play. They can win me my week but you know, be ready for eight points. That's, that's just where it is. Dave, we did it. This was another one of these long episodes man. But they are fun to go back through the whole week and discuss our risers and fallers. We're back again tomorrow with our waiver wire picks for the upcoming week of fantasy football. Dave, we're, we're gonna need to get you healthy man. You might have to go on IR for a little bit of a little bit of time here Playthrough everyone in the comments it yeah, wish, wish Dave all the health in the world. As always want to thank everybody for watching or listening all the way through for myself, for Dave. We'll see you next time. Adios. Marketing is hard but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now and it's great.

[Dave]

You love the host. You seek it out and download it.

[Joe]

You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad.

[Dave]

Did I get your attention?

[Joe]

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