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Week 12 Matchups Previews with Colton Dodgson || Fantasy Football 2025
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- [00:00]
Dave Kluge
Oh, hey, welcome to gift wrapping.
- [00:02]
Colton Dodson
Whoa. So is Saldana.
- [00:03]
Jenna Kim Jones
Hey, can you wrap these please?
- [00:05]
Dave Kluge
Wow. IPhone 17s.
- [00:07]
Jenna Kim Jones
You splurged at T Mobile. You can get four iPhone 17s on them. The new center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. It's the perfect gift for everyone.
- [00:15]
Colton Dodson
I'm the worst.
- [00:16]
Dave Kluge
I only got my mom a robe.
- [00:17]
Jenna Kim Jones
Well, it's better than socks.
- [00:19]
Colton Dodson
So I have to trade in my old phone, right?
- [00:21]
Jenna Kim Jones
No AT T Mobile. There's no trade ins needed when you switch. Keep your old phone or give it as a gift.
- [00:26]
Colton Dodson
Incredible.
- [00:27]
Jenna Kim Jones
In fact, wrap up my old phone too for my aunt Rosa. Forget that. Aunt Liz will be jealous.
- [00:32]
Colton Dodson
Sounds like my family drama.
- [00:33]
Jenna Kim Jones
Oh, I got it. I'll give it to my abuela. I'll take reindeer paper with. Hey, where are you going?
- [00:37]
Dave Kluge
To T Mobile. The holidays are better. AT T Mobile get four iPhone 17s on us. No trade in needed when you switch plus four lines for just 25 bucks a line. And now T Mobile is available in US cellular stores with 24 monthly bill credits and 4 eligible board ins on.
- [00:50]
Colton Dodson
Essentials for well qualified customers bought or pay plus taxes fees and $35 device.
- [00:54]
Dave Kluge
Connection charge credits and depends balance due.
- [00:55]
Colton Dodson
If you pay off earlier, cancel contact US Finance Agreement. 256 gigabytes. $830 required.
- [00:59]
Dave Kluge
Visit T mobile.com AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big.
- [01:11]
Colton Dodson
Damage before you even notice.
- [01:14]
Dave Kluge
Rubrik Agent cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation@rubrik.com that's R U B R I K.com thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Launchpad. I'm your host Dave Kluge, as always joined with a great football guy staffer. And today I've got Colton Dodson joining us. Colton is one of the co hosts of the Sunday morning live show. He also writes a weekly article, dreams and nightmares that you can find right here on football guys. He's got his own YouTube channel and podcasts as well. And and today we are going to dive into some Week 12 matchups. Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in today. The show wouldn't be possible without you taking that time to listen. If you enjoy this episode, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple podcasts. Let us know what you think about it. But without further ado, let's dive in and talk about some Week 12 matchups with my buddy Colton. Colton Dodson, welcome to the show. How are you doing today?
- [02:20]
Colton Dodson
I'm good, man. Thanks for having me on. Got the name right too. We rehearsed that a little bit. So there we go.
- [02:26]
Dave Kluge
You know, it's tough because I've been saying Dodgson for such a long time, you know, talking about you on shows, talking about your writing and all that sort of stuff. So now having to like reframe after over a year of mispronouncing it. Colton Dodson, how you doing today, man?
- [02:40]
Colton Dodson
Yes. Yeah, I'm great, man. Can't complain too much. I can't believe we're already in week 11 or, or yeah, week. Week 11 is coming on, right? We're in a week 12. There we go. See, that's how. That's how crazy it is, man. Time is flying. I'm still stuck in the past, but week 12, it. It's wild. We're in the stretch run now, you know, trying to make the playoffs and stuff. So that's, that's what I'm locked in on, man. The job's not finished.
- [03:09]
Dave Kluge
So you're doing the same stuff every single week, like waivers and lineup setting and all this stuff. And then all of a sudden it's just like two weeks ago. It just kind of hits you where it's like, wow, fantasy playoffs are almost here. Like I need to start like mapping out my defenses and special teams through the playoffs and I need to start getting those injury away running backs and like all of a sudden it switches from like who's the guys that we're going to trust early in the season to like we're a few weeks out from the playoffs and here I just. Three weeks left and then fantasy playoffs are here. It's happening.
- [03:36]
Colton Dodson
Yeah. Those guys that you're like, I'll let them just hang out on my bench until they pop and you know, they're still giving you five, six points and you're like, okay, I guess it's just not going to happen. You know, cutting ties and. And figuring out the direct. You said it, man. What directions you're gonna go in and things like that. It's also crazy and it happens so fast. So I'm just enjoying the ride, man. I think that's. That's all we can do.
- [03:56]
Dave Kluge
I mean, I just cut Taj Brooks from a handful of lineups like this season. Like held not that was this guy, man.
- [04:03]
Colton Dodson
I remember you talking about him and yeah, that we'll get to the Bengals. I know it's on the call sheet, but I, I didn't expect that backfield to go down that way, so.
- [04:13]
Dave Kluge
Well, let's. Let's jump into it. The first game. I want to talk about Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears. We've still got. I think the theme of this show is going to be uncertainty. Like, there are so many guys that we don't expect to play that might be playing and guys that we thought would play that might not be playing. So we'll kind of dissect all of that as we're talking through all these matchups. I think Aaron Rodgers is the one, you know, in this one that we still don't know. Like, he said, He's 50. 50. He's practicing in a limited fashion. We'll see what happens to this. But what I want to talk about is Jalen Warren, and that's another one, another question mark. Like, you know, he didn't practice and then he practiced limited and like, we hope he can play. But just for the sake of conversation, let's assume that Jalen Warren is going to play. Should we reel his work back? Like, reel his workload back a little bit? Are you expecting him to get maybe a little fewer touches after what we have seen from Kenneth Gainwell recently?
- [04:57]
Colton Dodson
You know, I, I expected that to an extent after the international game, and there's been so many that I'm like, I can't even. I think it may have been Dublin when, when Kenneth Gainwell had his day, when Jalen Warren missed that game, and I was kind of like, okay, so what is this going to look like now? Are we looking at a 1A and 1B? But I think if you poll fantasy managers on, like, the most frustrating fantasy backfields they've had to deal with this year, and, and maybe a lot of this comes from the Caleb Johnson draft pick and all those things, but I think the, the Steelers backfield would be up there.
- [05:30]
Dave Kluge
The.
- [05:30]
Colton Dodson
The Patriots are probably number one, but the Steelers are, Are. Are up there, too, and we're in that same spot, man. Like when. When Warren is back in the lineup. I think he has also shown that he can be the guy at times this season right there with Kenny Gainwell. Right?
- [05:46]
Dave Kluge
Or.
- [05:46]
Colton Dodson
Or I. Kenneth Gainwell has shown he can be the guy right there with Jalen Warren, and he's kind of been the preference when those guys are both available. But still, even after Warren returned from injury earlier in the season, 51 of the snaps in four straight games, 10 red zone attempts since week six, Gainwell for reference, four red zone attempts, three came against Cincinnati when Warren was banged up. So. And Gainwell has still been the third down preference as well. I, I just think when you're trying to track usage and you're kind of trying to identify like okay, what have these roles looked like? It's been a lot of okay, the Steelers probably trust both of those guys, right? I, I think you see the semi defined roles, right? The third down splits favor Gainwell, but I think that if, if they had to go with one or the other, they would be comfortable with either of those guys leading the, leading the, the charge, so to speak. So I also think both are ranked, they're both solid as pass catchers. I think Warren's a little more efficient, but they're Both ranked top 10 in yardage after the catch. I think getting into the head, this is a long winded way of saying getting into the head of Arthur Smith, right, is, is going to be a tough proposition. I think Gainwell is certainly capable and you said it at the top of the show, it's like there's going to be a lot of question marks this week and it does kind of come down to like how healthy is Warren? Because I think if they're, they're going to try to keep him available and keep him on the field, it makes more sense to get Gain, well, more involved because he's shown he can handle that. But again we're, we're trying to prognosticate Arthur Smith here, which I think could be, can be semi difficult. But I, I do think there is definitely viability with like a 1A 1B sort of split here between these two guys.
- [07:31]
Dave Kluge
You know, you're, you're an Eagles fan, so you know Kenneth Gainwell well and like he struggled early in his career, but he's developed into like a very well rounded back. And I think the thing that really jumps out to me is his pass protection. So especially when Aaron Rodgers is out there. That's why he get so many snaps because he is a phenomenal pass blocker. And then you don't have to worry about a 41 year old Aaron Rodgers getting teed off on when you've got a guy like that out there. So I, I still think like it's going to favor Jalen Warren, but especially coming off of the injury. Now I mean, actionable advice here is at a minimum, Kenneth Gainwell should be rostered in every fantasy league. Like I still see him out there in some waiver wires. We know that this guy has weak winning Upside if Jalen Warren has to miss any time. And Jalen Warren, who is still struggling through practice this week, might not play in week 12. So go out there, check your waiver wires, pick up Kenneth Gate G Gainwell if he is available. Sticking with this game. Another question I have for you, Colton. I've had a lot of start sit questions about DK Metcalf this week. What message would you have for fantasy managers who are thinking about benching DK Metcalf?
- [08:29]
Colton Dodson
Yeah. And when. When I broke this down, I think anybody who rosters DK Metcalf, Metcalf kind of knows, like, how this all goes down, right? He's a very explosive player. He's a downfield type of target. He can also give you a lot of run after the catch per production. But he's also totaled 45 yards after the catch over the last three weeks. Right. Like, it's been pretty brutal. And for a receiver whose value is as predicated on production after the catch, especially in this offense with Aaron Rodgers, is Metcalf, like, that's going to spell trouble. And, and that's kind of what we've seen. But to put into perspective how hot the start was 45 yards after catch over the last three games, and he's still 11th in the NFL among all players in yardage after the catch. So you're looking at. And you're like, okay, he, he had a pretty sensational start. But like, the Steelers have only run 14 red zone plays over the last two weeks. They're 86 red zone plays. That's 24th in the NFL. You're not going to see a whole lot of scoring opportunities from this offense and it has been stuck in the mud a little bit. He's also seen Metcalf in terms of like the, the target floor. He has seen seven targets in three of the last four games. So that's solid, right? That, that's kind of what you want to see. Seven targets of 10 or more air yardage, right? Total of 133 incomplete air. That's not great. So the more you go down the list, the more you're like, okay, so what seems to be happening is the touchdowns and the explosives have really dried up for, for DK Metcalf, and that's become the issue. He still has averaged 12 air yardage or 12 air yards per target over the last two games. So they're trying to push the ball to him. It just hasn't equated to much production. So we're seeing some volume. We're seeing the attempt. And that's why I kind of think like maybe his true value the rest of the way lies somewhere in between what we saw to open the season and the wide receiver. I want to say he was the wide receiver 44 between weeks 9 and 11. Somewhere in between that range where maybe he's like a Boomer bust flex play is, is maybe more where we should be valuing him. I'm sure you know this, Dave, but your Bears good at limiting yardage after the catch. 12th and expected points allowed per pass in the red zone. I don't think this is the get right matchup for, for DK Metcal. I also don't know if it's going to be this bad. Maybe there's going to be a bit of a positive push just based on some of the usage patterns. Yeah.
- [10:57]
Dave Kluge
And I think there's so much to take away in this game. One, if Aaron Rodgers plays like Aaron Rodgers has just dominated the Bears throughout his entire career. Like Aaron Rodgers could be true, 65 years old in a wheelchair and like I'd still start sweating like he has just had the Bears number since he came into the league. Also, you know, we look and like the Bears, if you look just at the raw numbers, they give up a lot of points to wide receivers, but they have that bend don't break or I'm sorry, they don't have that bend don't break defense that they used to have. Now it is like a very aggressive defense where they're going for turnovers and they're going for sacks which occasionally allow players to get behind them. And if DK Metcalf gets behind you, nobody's catching up to him. The other factor in this game is that Jalen Johnson is potentially coming back after an extended absence. So you know, he can put the clamp on a guy like DK Metcalf. So there are a lot of factors here. I do think that like a guy like DK Metcalf, you just have to keep starting him because we saw early in the season this guy was scoring a touchdown every single week and now he's not getting the touchdowns and that was kind of masking his lack of usage and production. But it does seem like it's DK Metcalf and as soon as you bench him, he's going out for 100 yards and two touchdowns. So he just kind of falls into that cluster of other boom bust wide receiver threes that you're just kind of taking your medicine every single week, putting them in your lineup and hoping for the best. Sticking with this game though, I want to look on the other side of the ball. Luther Burden finally getting a little bit more. More involved. Are you at the point where you think we can put Luther Burden in our fantasy lineups?
- [12:21]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, you know, I think the progression that we've seen post buy has has definitely been promising. He's logged 32 snaps in consecutive games. Season high before that was 19. Right. It's a great sign. Route participation is also ticked up 44.4% in week 10, 61.8 week 11. But I think the value with Burden is going to be predicated on what he can give you without scoring touchdowns. Because I think the big issue for the Bears this year has been when they get into the red zone one, they don't want to throw the ball a whole lot. That's the fourth lowest red zone pass rate in the NFL and then the sixth worst red zone expected points added per pass in the league as well. There's a reason they don't necessarily throw the ball when they get down there. They haven't found a whole lot that works. So considering the scoring opportunities might be rare for Burden, is there going to be enough of a target floor that might warrant flex upside? And you know, he's averaged four targets per game in each of the last two games. Five of his eight targets were deemed, you know, those quick targets where they're early in progressions, get the ball, you know, maybe he's the first or second read and get the ball out to him. So they're trying to maximize that ability after the catch. And I think that's promising because that's kind of been his. His M.O. right. Especially coming out of college was he's really good with the ball in his hands. Also saw some play action usage, right. That's the staple of any Ben Johnson offense. Like the trends are promising. I just think my, my fear and this has kind of been the issue with the Bears offense, right, Is like, okay, one week, you know, you get DJ Moore against the Bengals and then I guess Colston Loughlin against the Bengals, it's the Bengals. I don't want to use that as. As too big of an example. But like, you do get there are a lot of mouths to feed here. And I feel like there's still to an extent figuring out who goes where and that's get. That's gotten a little more stable. And like I said, Luther Burden is starting to carve out a bit of a role. But I do think it might take like 7, 8 targets a game unless he's. He's able to start breaking some of those to. To consistently support flex value. I think he's getting there. For me personally, I might just want to see like a little more in terms of the, the progression.
- [14:26]
Dave Kluge
I'm completely with you too. And I think that he's a good stash because we do see these guys, these rookies, you know, break out over the second half of the season and we're seeing his role grow. But I've made the comp so many times to Amanra St. Brown, who like, there was some promising efficiency metrics early in his career. Early in his rookie. What it took was late in the year, TJ Hawkinson and DeAndre Swift both getting injured and then he exploded. And I think looking at this situation, if Roma Dun or DJ Moore were to miss any time, then we'd feel really good about Luther Burden. So I think he's a stash for now, but it's hard to get him in your lineups. Next question. I want to talk about though, you kind of talked about how once the Bears get inside the red zone, they just abandon the pass. And this isn't all that different from what we saw in Detroit over the last couple of years where it's like they get inside the 20 and they just run, run, run, run, run, run, run until they get the ball in. So that makes me think Caliban Ungai. We know he's got elite upside if DeAndre Swift is to miss anytime, but are we looking at him as a potential flex play in this matchup?
- [15:22]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, I think that's the perfect segue too, right when we're talking about the red zone offense, because that's kind of been his role. I think the fact that the Bears run at the eighth highest clip in the league and Manunga has logged the goal to go carry in each of the last two games, I think that's appealing when they get down there. He seems to have carved out a bit of at least consideration, if not the. The short yardage role. Right. Like that's kind of where we're out. But he has just played a tick under 40% of the snaps in each of the last two weeks after that. That Bengals explosion. Right. The efficiency metrics haven't been great, but I mean, when you're looking at like the. The goal to go guy get. Get the ball in the end zone, maybe, you know, it doesn't. You're not looking at 50, right?
- [16:06]
Dave Kluge
Like. Yeah, exactly. Metrics are terrible because he's plunging in on, you know, trying to get one in two yards at a time.
- [16:13]
Colton Dodson
A hundred percent. Right. So I think when you're looking at that and you're looking at okay, do, do I as a flex play, do I need a guy who's, who's going to score a touchdown flirt with maybe 10 points because he got into the end zone? I think 100. That could be the Kyle Manon guy got like that, that type of role this week. DeAndre Swift is obviously healthy now. He's going to play again this week and we kind of saw that, you know, when Manungai is the guy, the Manung guy, the guy, man, it's, it's too easy. But when Manungai is the guy, there's, there's some elite upside there. I do think he is a viable flex play. I just think he might be a little more touchdown dependent. I don't know. I think the floor is, is pretty low because if he doesn't get into the end zone this week, we, we might see, you know, he's around 25, 30 rushing yards, something like that, then you're looking at whatever your format, you're in for scoring like 22.5, three fantasy points and people are bummed. So I, I would say maybe a little more touchdown dependent but definitely somebody you can consider as a flex option.
- [17:20]
Dave Kluge
And I love guys like this that like, you know, you keep for the contingent upside and you hope you don't have to rely on them. But then you're in a position where all of a sudden like you've got Drake London and Jamar Chase and they're both missing this week and you need somebody your flex spot and you can elevate that guy that you're like stashing for the contingent upside but still has some touchdown upside as well. I mean I don't think we're getting that Jamal Williams 15 touchdown season, but it is starting to feel a lot more like that DeAndre Swift, Jamal Williams backfield. I think I said Jamal Charles. I met Jamal Williams.
- [17:50]
Colton Dodson
I don't know. You said Jamal Williams.
- [17:51]
Dave Kluge
All right, all right, I got it right.
- [17:53]
Colton Dodson
You had it.
- [17:53]
Dave Kluge
But yeah, this is exactly what we saw in Detroit where like DeAndre Swift would get him down the field, he'd come to the bench. When they get inside the 10 yard line, Jamal Williams would punch it in. And I think that's the role for Kyle Manungai here. So you not a guy you feel great about starting, but there's a little bit of appeal there. You talked about the Bengals and how beatable this defense has been so far this year. And I want to talk about this game next. New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals. Where do you have Hunter Henry ranked among tight ends this week?
- [18:21]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, in terms of my ranking, I, I think he's kind of in that fringe tight end one conversation right now in that, you know, tight end 11 to tight end 13. We're going to talk about Stefan Diggs here in a second. I'm sure we will. And, and the storyline that has kind of come with, with Stefan Diggs and even Matt Collins, you know, breaking out a little bit with, with K. Sean booty sidelined. And those guys have kind of garnered some of the headlines over the last couple of weeks. And, and Hunter Henry's just been kind of ho hum about it, right? When you're looking at usage for a tight end, Hunter Henry has continued to be involved, right? Route participation north of 80. Snap percentages have climbed in each of the last three weeks. You do see the patri creative I know they did against the Bills earlier in the season with some jumbo sets and, and obviously that is going to lead to some much higher snap percentages for tight ends and things like that. But he's also got 16 targets over the last three games, predominantly a short target, but he did have the two targets of, of 10 or more air yards against the jets, but only two over the previous two games. So you do see some of that versatility. I, I do like the target floor that he's given you because at this position with, with. With how low the floor can be at tight end, right. A guy who can give you kind of a target floor, at the very least is. Is still valuable. And I, I think we're going to see that with Hunter Henry a little bit. Keisha Booty returned to practice. He should be back in the mix. I don't necessarily see that as like, oh, Kshaan, Booty's gonna get back on the field and demand all of this attention, right? I think it's going to be similar to what we saw from, from Matt Collins. So that. That keeps Hunter Henry in the tight end. One conversation for me. I have him at 11, like I said, over Harold Fannin and Theo Johnson this week.
- [20:05]
Dave Kluge
So maybe I'm just a total sucker. I've got him as my tight end six on the week and like, it's just been one of these, like, you know, when I see the Bengals on the schedule for a tight end, I just circle that matchup. They are giving up the most points to tight ends. But not by like a small margin. They're giving up almost five more points per game to tight ends than any other defense out there. Like we have seen just like week after week, them getting gashed across the middle of the field by the tight end position. So this might be me like way over my skis, but it's just like it, it has helped me a lot this year being an accurate tight end ranker just to like see whoever's playing against the Bengals and just move them up like 10 spots in my rankings.
- [20:40]
Colton Dodson
No, man, I don't blame you at all. If it's not broke, don't fix it. And you watched your guy Colston Loveland boost that number up a little bit too, so I can't blame you at all, man.
- [20:48]
Dave Kluge
Absolutely. And then like right before the Colson love in game two, there was that game against the Steelers where it was like Darnell Washington, John who Smith, Pat Friarmouth, all scoring touchdowns on him. Like that has just been how you beat this Bengals defense. They are just atrocious when it comes to stopping tight ends. Sticking with this game though, and you talked about it a little bit. Stefan Diggs, I mean last week we saw him like finally emerge into this full time role season. Highs and snaps and routes. Maybe this is me just like hoping you're going to tell me what I want to hear. But like Stefan Diggs, league winner. Is that what we're looking at?
- [21:21]
Colton Dodson
Absolutely not. I'm just kidding. It is, man. You, you, you wish casted it and I'm gonna give you exactly what you want to hear. I think you have to feel really good about his chances. And, and the show sheet said league winner and I was like, yes, I am feeling it. I'm with you. But you have to feel really good about his chances. I think this, the schedule, the schedule has been such a big narrative for the Patriots this year. Right. But it continues to shape up, up semi favorably. Right. You'd still get the Bills one more time, but other than that is it is still kind of a soft schedule with some soft matchups which bodes extremely well. But beyond even that, there's, there's nothing really about what Stefan Diggs has done to this point and even recently because it has kind of been a progression from, from lower usage to now. He's incredibly involved in all of those things. But you can go down the list, right? Oh, somebody might say case on booty's been out. That's led to more targets. But like Mac Hollins has logged five or more targets and Three of the last five games. Like it's not a situation where they're force feeding digs because some of the other options aren't available. Favorable game scripts. The Patriots have run the second most plays of the lead this season. Right. You're not going to be in a situation where like oh, they're, they're throwing the ball a ton because they're in close games. No, they have had the soft schedule and to their credit they've dominated it. And then the one part where you know, we talk about touchdowns being, you know, the, the, the stat that isn't super sticky when it comes to prognosticating future fantasy production. He has scored touchdowns in, in three of the last four games and that's a little shaky because he didn't score one until week eight. But, but you said it that the role has evolved into a full time type of receiver. The target share has been pretty elite the last couple of weeks. He's been at 2020 +% in four of the last five games. There's a healthy share of the air yardage. He's been efficient too. The yards per out run metrics are solid. I think last week, week even showed you against the jets that he can be a guy without scoring too. Right. He didn't get into the end zone but he did have 10 catches in that game. So it's, he's attached to a pretty good. I can we say he's attached to an elite quarterback. Are you comfortable?
- [23:25]
Dave Kluge
Yeah, yeah, I think so. I mean like we're talking about this guy's potential QB1 in Dynasty right now. I think we can use the term elite pretty comfortably. Talking about Drake May for sure man.
- [23:34]
Colton Dodson
And he's attached to him. Right. It's clear that he's become like, like early in progressions if not the number one read on a lot of these pass plays. So I, I, it's tough to not like his outlook here and it's tough to not like the, the progression arc that he's been on. It's weird to say that about a 31 year old receiver but you know.
- [23:55]
Dave Kluge
It'S all new to him.
- [23:56]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, yeah, let's, let's ease him in, let's let him learn it. No, but he, he's been great. He bounced back from the injury and now we're kind of seeing like okay, the ramp up is over at the time that you need him the most too. I actually just acquired him in a dynasty league so I'm, I'm excited about Diggs. I'm right There with you.
- [24:15]
Dave Kluge
Yeah. Jeff Bell and I talked about Stefan Diggs is like one of the best buys in dynasty leagues. If you're contending right now because everyone sees the age and they think that he's on borrowed time. But like you're looking at a guy that could realistically give us top 5, top 10 numbers down the stretch here. The one thing I'll, I'll correct you on is you said that the yards per route run metrics have been good. They have been elite. Like I think you totally sold that Colton. He is fourth in the league in yards per route run. It's Jackson, Smith, Najigba, Puka, Dakua, Drake, London and then Stefan Diggs. So this is what we've been hoping for all year is that like we know on a per route run basis he's been elite and it's just like imagine if he could run more routes. Well, last year or last week he led the Patriots in routes run while still maintaining this elite efficiency. So yeah, I'm hoping that this injury is in his rear view. He can be this full time receiver and be the same guy that he was for Josh Allen when Josh Allen and had this massive breakout five years ago. Sticking with this game, I only have one more question for you. Is there still reason to worry about Chase Brown? Because the first half of the season, man, it was, it was rough out here for people who drafted Chase Brown.
- [25:17]
Colton Dodson
Yeah. And you know, admittedly I was a little bit of a skeptic coming into the season just because he was as good as he was down that stretch run with something like 24 opportunities a game. And I'm like, how can any running back hold up with that level of.
- [25:31]
Dave Kluge
Usage and 97% opportunity share there? That is ludicrous. Like they brought Khalil Herbert in for one play, he fumbled and then Chase Brown had every touch for like the rest of the season.
- [25:42]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, I remember breaking down that backfield and it's like, okay, Travion Williams, Khalil Herbert. I'm like, who are, who are these guys? You know? But no, Khalil Herbert, Bears legend. I can't discredit him too much, but he, I, I, I was skeptical about the usage and how he would hold up, but it doesn't seem like, like he'll need to hold up because it started in when Samaji P. Ryan went down in week eight. And, and truthfully I thought they found something with the split between P. Ryan and Brown and P. Ryan dominating third down snaps. I was like, okay, this might lead to a more efficient version of Chase Brown where they're not going to run them into the ground, but they can kind of play them off of each other. And, and we saw in that jets game, he. He looked good that win, right? And. And. And in that Steelers game as well. So there were some signs of. Of progress even before P. Ryan went down. And now it's like, okay, we got the 2024 version back where. Where he is just dominating snap share and, and. But it didn't get north of 74 until P. Ryan was down. And, and then, you know, since then, Chase Brown has logged 22 targets in two games. With Joe Flacco, 51 opportunities over that span. That's like, that's exactly what people were looking for when they probably selected him. I would guess somewhere in the two to three turn range, right? Like that, that's kind of what they were hoping for. So I think the bar that the offensive line set early in the season was an incredibly low bar. Like, there was a point in time where, on average, Chase Brown or whoever was carrying the ball was contacted like a half yard behind the line of script, right? Like, it was brutal. And. And they've kind of right. Righted the ship a little bit. They've gotten back on track a little bit. We're also seeing some. Some 13 missed tackles forced. Right. Like, Chase Brown has just been awesome. And, and that's part of it where it's like, oh, okay. So even if the offensive line lets him down, you know, on occasion, whatever it may be, we're seeing some of that physicality and that ability to make guys miss and the yards after contact and stuff like that that I think could. Could hold him up a little bit. I. I think Joe Burrow might be a bit of a variable. Like, he. He's.
- [27:55]
Dave Kluge
It's like he's back this week. Like, back to back 100 practices. Yeah, we're looking at Joker. And to beat this feels so.
- [28:01]
Colton Dodson
Yeah.
- [28:01]
Dave Kluge
Reminiscent of last year, right? Like, where the Bengals down the stretch, they're just like backs up against the wall, fighting and clawing their way for a playoff spot. And they just, like, don't try to mess around with the other guys. It's just like, all right, like, we're gonna get Joe Burrow out here. We're gonna force the ball to Jabar, Chase T. Higgins and Chase Brown. Like, those are the only three guys we care about in this offense. And it kind of feels like that's what we're trending to again down the stretch in 2025, 100, man.
- [28:25]
Colton Dodson
And it's crazy that he's, he's. He's already back on the field practicing. You hope he, he's not pushing it, right. Like, we kind of saw that with Brock Purdy early in the year. I think it's a similar injury, but, you know, you. It's funny, it's ironic because this is what the Bengals wanted to avoid, right? They wanted to get off to the hot start so that they didn't miss the playoffs by a game down the stretch again. And this was entirely out of their control. But it's like Zach Taylor just, just can't avoid it. So I, I'd like Chase Brown a ton. The one thing is, like, early in the season, the targets weren't there a ton for Chase Brown, but we've seen it over the course of last year. I, I would expect that to get back on track a little bit. I, I'm not gonna like rain on the Chase Brown parade at all. I don't think there is a reason to enjoy this. And, and he'll hopefully continue to be the guy who drafted him to be down the stretch because it's when you need him the most. Right?
- [29:16]
Dave Kluge
Right. And that Jake Browning offense was just so broken. I mean, that's when we like, had that metric about like, you know, him getting contacted on average behind the line of scrimmage because there was no threat of a passing game and they were just loading 9, 10 guys in the box on almost every single play. And just like they, they knew that Jake Browning couldn't throw the ball and Jamar Chase was giving up on routes because he knew Jake Browning couldn't get the ball to him. So I feel like, you know, we're going to look back at Chase Brown's career at some point. Like, I just want to take, take those, like, whatever it was, four or five games that he played with Jake Browning and just like remove them from the sample entirely and be like, this wasn't even real football. This was like an XFL team going out there, like, just trying their best in the NFL.
- [29:53]
Colton Dodson
Like that.
- [29:53]
Dave Kluge
That just wasn't a real NFL team for those few weeks. Let's move on to the next game, though. New York Giants at Detroit Lions. This is the first game that we are going to see Jackson dart playing with Mike Kafka as the head coach. Now, Kafka was the play caller earlier, but Brian Dable is the one that got the heat beat for these Jackson dart hits to the head and design runs and all that stuff. So do you think that we could lose out on some of the Jackson Dart rushing now that Mike Kafka is going to be the one steering the ship?
- [30:21]
Colton Dodson
You know, I, I think there's always going to be concern when it comes to protecting, you know, young quarterbacks. And, and we've continued to see those narratives, you know, around the league. Look at Jaden Daniels. Why was he in the game, right? Is. Does he have, you know, the, the frame to hold up with all the contact, that sort of thing, right? Like, we'll continue to see, see this narrative around the offensive lines when you draft a quarterback, invest in keeping him upright, all of those things. So we've seen it manifest in so many different conversations. But it's tough with, with Jackson Dart especially, you know, because not only does he run the ball and run the ball effectively, but he kind of invites contact, right? Like he, he's almost out there, like, like, you know, inviting the contact and laying the extra hit and that sort of thing. And I think there's a fine line between letting a guy, you know, be who he is and eliminating that in the interest of, like, protecting him from himself. We saw a lot of the designed runs with, with Brian Dable, right? Especially in the red zone. That Bears game, he ran for two touchdowns. One of them was, you know, a QB trap power concept where he's the ball carrier the whole way, right? So, like, it's encouraging that Kafka has been on the staff part of the game planning that sort of thing. Like, this isn't some outside voice who, who's got to get used to what Jackson Dart does. He's kind of been there from the beginning, but, you know, there's been a lot made of how often Jackson Dart has been evaluated for concussions this year. And it's fair to say, like, hey, how does this evolve? Does there need to be any sort of evolution when it comes to protecting, protecting Jackson Dart? Does that lead to fewer designed run calls, especially in the red zone? What. And how does that affect. Affect the fantasy value? So I think it's a huge variable, but I do think Kafka needs to find the balance between, you know, making defenses respect what Dart can do as a runner and, and keeping him out of harm's way, because that is still a, a weapon, right? That's still something the Giants can utilize to effectively run the ball, and I think they need to do that. So it's going to be a balancing act. But, you know, I, I would hope, and I'm sure a lot of other fans Would hope that they can find a way to strike that balance without eliminating.
- [32:31]
Dave Kluge
And one other thing I want to mention is that Jackson Dart has just been on such a heater with touchdowns and like we, we love when rushing quarterbacks rush the ball and score touchdowns, like that's where their points come from. But like we haven't really seen a floor game yet because he scored a rushing touchdown every single week. So I think there is kind of a floor here that we aren't like we just see like QB one production week after week after week after week. If they just cut the design runs in half, like shave off 30% of the design runs that could end up making a difference. And like you said, the design runs near the goal line, especially where he's forced to take on a defensive tackle head on at the goal line. That is not what you want your young quarterback doing. So still starting him but like you know where, where I was starting to move him up like QB4, QB5, QB6 into my rankings this week he falls in at QB11. So still, you know, a startable quarterback but more of a back end QB1 until I can see what he looks like with Kafka at head coach. Another question I have for you about the Giants and, and I can't believe I'm asking this because like we were so not, I don't want to say excited when Cam Scatter Boo went down. That. That sounds terrible. But there was excitement for Tyrone Tracy's opportunity when Cam Scatter Boo went down and frankly the production just hasn't been there. So I'm asking a tough question that I don't even have an answer to. I want your honest opinion here. Is Tyrone Tracy even startable at this point?
- [33:45]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, you know, I'm looking back on kind of the off season and some of the I guess takes and opinions that I, I sort of like identified and I just, just. I haven't been a huge Tyrone Tracy fan. It. I felt like the, the fantasy narrative and this might sound crazy, man, and, and it's not a one for one comparison but I was like man, some of the discussion around Tyrone Tracy reminds me a little bit of. And they're not the same player but it reminds me a little bit of like how we talked about Zemir White a little bit in, in 2024, man. Like it struck me as sort of it. Yeah, exactly. Antonio Gibson, my comp for that. This is going to be a whole or like a departure. But anyway I'm gonna stay on track here. It reminded me of that dialogue a little bit. Where to his credit he had a great end of, of 2024 right or stretch run. You know, once he took that job and ran with it, it looked pretty solid. But it struck me as more of a like okay, this is the best of a bad situation option than like a true breakout. Like they have found a guy who can lead this backfield. And I think when, when Scat hurt his hamstring in the off season, I was like, okay, you know, maybe we need to scale the, the Scat excitement back a little bit. Maybe this is still Tyrone Tracy's backfield. And then it just the opposite happened.
- [35:05]
Dave Kluge
Right.
- [35:05]
Colton Dodson
I think from week two on it kind of felt like this was Scott's backfield. But I will say like my anti Tyrone Tracy feel like it looked very wrong in week 11 and, and Kafka's first game. Chilo and JC handled 23 opportunities in this, this game. Four targets and, and obviously the 19 carries. He caught all four targets for 51 yards, 4.6 yards per carry. That was 0.6 over expected. Like that's the part with Tyrone Tracy where last year some of the metrics were like, oh man, he's, he's, he's getting you way less than he's supposed to. The receiving metrics aren't great, all of those things, but in this game he, he did look solid. He did only face a stacked Fox on 10.5% of his carries, but he was far more efficient than Singletary with his opportunities. But at the same time, Devin Singletary was, was clearly the goal line and third down option.
- [35:56]
Dave Kluge
Right.
- [35:57]
Colton Dodson
Because of the, you know, they, they wanted to use him when they got into those goal to go situations. So six goal line attempts more than any running back in week 11. 64.3% of third downs. Like, it is very clear that there's a bit of a role distinction here. He did have two goal line attempts in week. Week 10 2. So a bit of a tick up. But that was also Brian Dable's final game. So I, I do think with Tyrone Tracy the touchdown upside might be capped by, by the Singletary role a little bit. But if he can continue to look explosive. And this is against the packers, right. They, they've looked a little more gettable I guess over the last couple of weeks. They did really clamp down on Saquon Barkley, but this is still a solid. Which we'll get to. But this is still a really solid defensive group. And, and it's not like they're out here running against the Bengals and doing all of this. So I do think the usage in Week 11 might give him a floor best suited for like a reasonable flex option. But in my eyes, man, like, I, I still think it feels crazy saying this, but Tyrone Tracy might still be startable.
- [36:58]
Dave Kluge
Yeah.
- [36:59]
Colton Dodson
At this point.
- [37:00]
Dave Kluge
And I think a lot of people are going to be blinded by Devin Singletary scoring the two touchdowns last week thinking that, like, he is the guy here. But Tyrone Tracy still had the majority of the touches in this backfield. And I think when you see the Detroit Lions, you always get a little bit scared for your running backs. Like the Detroit Lions are giving up fewer fantasy points to opposing running backs than any other team out there. But, you know, this could be a game script that works in his favor. You talk about catching all four of his targets. I'd hope he catches the targets. He's a converted wide receiver. Like that's, you know, what he was doing full time just a couple of years ago. So I think like the, the, the running back position, it's still coming to him as well. Like he's only played running back for a couple of seasons, so I think he's still learning. That's why we see maybe a little bit better play this year than we saw last year and maybe even next year we see better play because it's still a new to him position. So I think it hit the nail on the head. Like he just kind of falls into that flex consideration. Any hope that he would just be like a plug and play RB1 doing the same thing Cam Scatter Boo was doing? That's just not going to happen. Like they, they trusted Scatter Boo with a much bigger workload than I think they're going to trust any other running back with. Last question I have regarding this game is of course Jameson Williams. I can't talk about the Lions without talking about Jameson Williams. It's really easy to go out there and say like trade Jameson Williams, but I want to ask you make it a little more actionable for the people listening. Who are some players you would trade away to get Jameson Williams in return?
- [38:17]
Colton Dodson
Man, there's, there's going to be some wild names mentioned here, but I, I talked about jmo. I really dove in on JMO this week on my Dreams and Nightmares weekly piece that I write for for footballguys.com not sure who reads it, but check it out because I'd love to keep writing it.
- [38:32]
Dave Kluge
You come out with that article on Monday night too. Do I also do an article on Monday night? Well, you submit it on Monday night, it gets published Tuesday morning. I don't think people realize how hard it is to have an article ready by Monday night. Like you are taking in, you are drinking out of a fire hose, trying to write an article here and you're doing an awesome job with that. I was gonna plug it at the end of the show, but absolutely, like, if you haven't checked that out, Colton's Dreams and Nightmares is a fantastic article over at football guys.
- [38:56]
Colton Dodson
I appreciate that man, that means a lot. But I, I dove in on, on JMO a ton this, this week because the shift we've seen since Dan Campbell put his readers on with Jameson Williams, man, has, has been absurd. So like since the bye week it's been he's, he's early in progressions, right. His standing in, in Jared Goff's, you know, progression hierarchy is, is skyrocketed. Right. There's so many numbers that he put together over the, the previous three weeks that like either matched or surpassed his season to that point. Right. So five missed tackles forced over the last three weeks that matched his total from Detroit's first seven games. And that's because they're actually getting him in space now a little bit. They're actually letting him make plays with the ball in his hand and, and he's maintained still that it hasn't come at the cost necessarily of like pushing the ball downfield from time to time. Aerial share of at least 25 in each of the last three games. Like I could go on and on here, but it really has been a, a, a, a tweak here with, with Dan Campbell that has treated him as less of like an air yardage burner and more of a let's get him in space. The production after the catch has steadied. Totaled at least 40 yards after the catch in each of the last two games. 40 yards after catch twice in the first eight games. Right. So like we have really seen a more well rounded approach here. And, and when I tried to sit down and you, you mentioned the actionable advice and, and who, who would I give up to acquire Jameson Williams at this point? And man, I try to resist recency bias as much as I can, but like when I dove in on these numbers, it was pretty exciting. And it's over a three game sample, right? We're not looking at one game and I'll take. Okay, he broke.
- [40:38]
Dave Kluge
I could say more than a three game sample. If you look from week six until now, Jameson Williams is outscoring a Monroe St. Brown, like, it is unbelievable how productive this guy has been. And I don't think a lot of people are really catching on to it because in that sample he has one game where he scored zero points and people are like, oh, exactly. But like, he has been phenomenal for the last month and a half and especially over the last two weeks.
- [41:00]
Colton Dodson
You're 100 right, man. He's since we, since the week eight by. He's the wide receiver too, in half PPR scoring.
- [41:06]
Dave Kluge
Yep.
- [41:06]
Colton Dodson
Like, it's, it's absurd what he has done with, with this shift in the role. Right. And I think at this point, like, if I'm acquiring Williams and I don't think like, like you'll need to give up and maybe, maybe somebody is, maybe somebody in your league is kind of like, oh, okay, he's arrived. He's. I'm viewing him as, as favorably as like you might be, but I do think there might still be some people that view him as like, oh, he's just the shot play guy. This is kind of a blip. This is a couple spike weeks, whatever, and, and you could get him lower than, than maybe you should be able to get him. But like, at this point I started writing down names that I, I wouldn't trade trade him for because I felt like that would be easy. Like I, I, I sat down because I was like, my list was growing, man. And I'm like, okay, who would I realistically not trade him for right now in a redraft league, right? Like, I'm looking at jsn, I'm looking at Puka, I'm looking at Jamar. And then it gets really interesting with Amon Ra Saint Brown because like you said, man, like he is outscored Almond Raw as of late. I, I think I'm holding on to the Sun God, but it gets, it's very compelling, man. Like, that would probably be my list in a vacuum. Is, is those three and then potentially I'm on Ross St. Brown. Like, I think every trade is nuanced, but those are the big four for me. Like, you throw a name out beyond those guys and I'm like, I probably, yeah, that's where I'm out on, on Jameson Williams.
- [42:29]
Dave Kluge
And the nice thing right now is if you're making trades and like, let's just say that like you don't have to trade away Amon Ross St. Brown for Jameson Williams, but what you can probably do is trade away Amon Ross St. Brown and get in return Jameson Williams and a handcuff running back or another flex play, something like that. Because I don't think people have caught on to what's really happening yet. And this is something Alfredo Brown and I talked about it a lot. Jeff Bell and I talked about it a lot in this preseason that you don't need. Like, Jameson Williams isn't a guy who needs a 30% target share to be a top five wide receiver. Like, you shave one target per game away from Amon Ross St. Brown and you push that in Jameson Williams direction. This guy was already the wide receiver 19 last year. Year. And if you just give him another one target per game, that's the difference between him being, you know, what he was last year, which was a middling wide receiver, too, and being a top five wide receiver. And Dan Campbell knows that. That's why when he started calling plays, he said, we need to get the ball to Jameson Williams. So, you know, I think a lot of people might hear us talking about this and say we're both a little over our skis. But like we talked about Stefan Diggs as a league winner, I think Jameson Williams, like, I'm ready to put that label on him as well. If they keep working ways to get him the ball and these crossing routes where he can create after the catch, it's unguardable. Like Jared Goff said it himself, it is in an unguardable play. And they are scheming up opportunities for him to just do what he does, which is rip off these big plays and score touchdowns.
- [43:44]
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- [45:10]
Dave Kluge
I want to move on to the next game here. This is the the dumpster fire of week 12, but I think there's a couple things to talk about here. Cleveland Browns at Las Vegas Raiders. My actionable advice that I'll say before even asking any questions. Pick up your Browns defenses. Pick up your Raiders defenses. I'm streaming both of them in a lot of matchups because this could end up being a pretty sloppy game. Let me just ask this question. It sounds like Shador Sanders is going to be starting. Can we rely on any Browns pass catchers? Because, you know, we were looking at Jerry Judy is a flex play and Harold Fannin and David Najoku is tight end ones. Are you okay just saying, like, hey, just let's bench all of our Browns in this matchup.
- [45:45]
Jenna Kim Jones
Yep.
- [45:46]
Colton Dodson
Dave. The only way I'm cool with it is if he treats every pass like his against all odds completion.
- [45:52]
Dave Kluge
Oh, my gosh. Yes. Alfredo and I talked about that one a couple days ago. Yeah.
- [45:58]
Colton Dodson
Man, that was like, I'm glad Josina Anderson loved it. But I actually went back because I wanted to get a better feel for kind of like what Shador looked like in, you know, in. In to contextualize everything. This was kind of like released beef, right? This, that you always want to plan like you're the starter. You hear guys say that all the time. But, like, when you're a backup, you never really know when it's going to happen. And that showed up when I went back and watched some of those reps last week is, is he kind of just looked overwhelmed. Right. And with a week of game planning, that could completely change. And. And when we're looking at this as like, okay, could he look a little more competent or a little more settled or a little more like just comfortable in general as the starter? I think that's what it's all going to come down to. And I, I just don't know, man. Like, he looked. It's certainly within the possibility, but he also looked like when he was working through his progressions, if he had to get to anything beyond the first read or, or make Decisions like as a response to what the defense showed him, right. Like maybe somebody drops and he gets to a secondary read. It was just like if he can't get to the first read it the play was over. Right. Like that's just what jumped out. To me the decisions looked questionable. There were plays he made where he just like there were plays to be made. It just seemed like he didn't trust himself to make one. There's one particularly that sticks out where I think it may have been. Cedric Tillman breaks open on an in breaking route in the intermediate and because the, the slot corner drops on. Maybe it was Harold Fannin or there was two linebackers that collapsed on Harold Fannin. He goes to Fanon. But Cedric Tillman is wide open on the end breaker. And it's like just things like that getting to the secondary reads and, and not honing in on okay, I have this and then I'm under siege. Sort of like he just seemed very uncomfortable late on times. Like he saw windows and threw the ball after the window closed, that type of stuff. So you wonder like how much of that can sort of be alleviated by a week of game planning. Is it going to take longer than that? Because if you look looked the way he did against Baltimore against any NFL defense, I, I just. The floor is like, you know, the, the, the ceiling is the roof, whatever the opposite of that is, is where we're at with, with the Browns pass catching Florida. Exactly. The, the floor is the basement. If Shador looks the way he did against Baltimore. But that, that was just kind of my read on it. And going back and watching him a little bit, it. Yeah.
- [48:29]
Dave Kluge
And it's tough. I mean I feel like so much we saw a huge change in offensive philosophy when Dylan Gabriel took over where they just said hey, every target's going to Harold Fannin did David Dejoku. And I wonder how much of that is like hey, you know, Dylan Gabriel being a smaller guy, let's allow him to throw to these big massive targets that he can clearly see through traffic. And I don't know what the game plan is going to look like in this one. So I think I'm okay just kind of like taking a wait and see approach. I don't want to bench Harold Fannin because he's been spectacular this year, but I've got him this week as my wide receiver by tight end 17 which kind kind of puts him in that streaming discussion that I don't feel very great about. But the real reason I wanted to talk about this Game. It's not even about this game. I just have a question that I think would be, like, blasphemous to have asked in the preseason, but I think it's a legitimate question now. Who would you prefer over the rest of the season, Ashton Jinty or Quinton Judkins?
- [49:19]
Colton Dodson
You're right, man. Preseason. I like. I loved Genty coming into this year, and it has been. The fact that he is stuck on the Raiders right now is. Is tragic because when you watch him play, there are one to two plays in every game. Most games, there are some times where it's just like, the ship has sailed. He's not getting going. We have to accept that in this specific game. But there are times where, like, he, you know, runs somebody over or makes somebody miss, like, week two. I want to say, when he. When he put that move on, where.
- [49:51]
Dave Kluge
He hit him with that.
- [49:52]
Colton Dodson
Yeah.
- [49:52]
Dave Kluge
Exact shiver and just, like, buried a linebacker.
- [49:54]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, 100%. And you see that. And it sucks that he is surrounded by this level of dysfunction right now. Like, 27.4% of the Raiders rushing attempts this season have been stuffed. That is, like, by far the biggest number in the league. He's running behind one of the worst, if not the worst, offensive lines in football. The system, Chip Kelly's system doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Like, you don't really know what this offense is. And there are times where Ashton Genti kind of seems like an afterthought, and it's like, why aren't game plans centered around this guy? And. And it's brutal. Because I don't necessarily think my answer to this question is a reflection of Genti. It's a reflection of the situation. And it's like, how much better is that situation going to get? Are we gonna get to enjoy what Ashton Genti should be at any point? And obviously that's, you know, a philosophical discussion. Right. But, like, it's brutal. And he. They. The Raiders have gotten me so down that I'm just kind of like, man, free. Gently. Genty. Like, we gotta. I. I just need to see him in a better situation. But, like, all of that to say. I. I think that's where I'm leaning. Quin. Sean Judkins. I. I think you look at Ashton Genti's season, right? He's still got Denver. He's still got the Eagles. Since that Jalen Phillips deal, they've. They've tightened up a little bit. Jameer Gibbs led the lines in receiving, but that's Jameer Gibbs. Whatever. But The Eagles have tightened up against running backs. Houston still on the schedule. Like there are some brutal matchups ups for Ashton Genti the rest of the way. And that's not even that's outside of Cleveland this week, which is one of the best run defenses in the league. They got shredded last week by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, but everybody does, right? So I'm looking at this and I'm like Quinn. Sean Judkins volume has been solid. He's running behind an offensive line that's still being allowing a 20.2% stuff rate. He does seed work on third downs, but he's averaging 17.4 carries per game, 0.6 rushing yards over expected. Like at this point point he's in a position to do more in the position that he's in, if that makes sense than than Ashton Genti is. And I think his role is more suited to like positive scripts because of as little as he does as a receiver. But Tennessee is still on the schedule. Buffalo's still on the schedule. I think even if the Browns struggle to find that stability that we talked about at quarterback, Judkins is is still the preference for me, even though I kind of hate it a little bit bit.
- [52:17]
Dave Kluge
And I think that's like the main thing that really has me keeping a light on for Quinn. John Judkins, even though he's been a little disappointing over these last few weeks, it's just that playoff schedule, it is so juicy. He's got so many nice matchups there where you're just hoping he can absolutely smash. All right, next game. I want to talk about here. Colton Jacksonville Jaguars going to Arizona to face off against the Cardinals. I don't even want to talk about Brian Thomas because we don't know what's going on with him, whether he's playing or not. But let's talk about the other two receivers that we know are going to be active this week. Week. Jacoby Myers or Parker Washington. Who do you prefer this week between the two?
- [52:48]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, I think first of all, when you look at the matchup and you kind of look at like hey, could the Cardinals be exploitable? They are getting a little healthier in the secondary, right? They had Max Melton back last week. Will Johnson is going to be back. Garrett or he's at least limited. He's missed the last two games. Garrett Williams limited today as well or in practice this week. So it seems like they're going to be healthier there, which does impact the matchup. But still Jacoby Myers snapshare there since he was acquired, jumped to 63.8 in his second game with the team. A 23 point or 27.3 target share. Last week too. He's averaging 3.3 yards per outrun across two games. Route participation jumped up to 81.8%. Like he, he's early in progressions. Everything you look at, it's like, okay, Jacoby Myers is not only involved, he looked like he was kind of a focus of this passing game last week.
- [53:40]
Dave Kluge
Week.
- [53:40]
Colton Dodson
Right. And, and that kind of coincided with the, the spike for Myers coincided a little bit with a drop for, for Parker Washington. I mean he still played 75.4% of the snaps, 90.9 route participation like he was still on the field. He was still involved, but he was only targeted twice. That was a 9.1% share. He was north of 25 in each of the previous games. But the fact that the drop that significant coincided with the spike for Myers and even four targets, targets for Tim Patrick as well. He was at a 56.6 snapshare. That's what's troubling. Obviously you mentioned Brian Thomas Jr. His involvement probably kicks Tim Patrick out of the mix. But like Myers looked good after the catch. He was targeted once in the red zone. I don't want to ignore the trend that I've seen with Myers in Jacksonville. So I think I'm going with him. I, I do think he's kind of pushed Parker Washington a little bit.
- [54:31]
Dave Kluge
I'm 100 there with you. And I think it was a very intentional move for them to go out and bring in Jacoby Myers and like legit draft capital too. Like triggered a fourth and a fifth round pick for Jacoby Myers. That's not something you give up just to have somebody watch from the sidelines. And the Seleum Cohen offense, if we know anything about it from last year, it's that they need that guy that can catch the ball across the middle of the field, the guy who can play out of the slot, the guy that can catch the ball through traffic, the guy who can create after the catch, and that was Chris Godwin. Last year when Chris Godwin was giving us top two fantasy production, that's exactly what Jacoby Myers is doing now. We saw him playing a little bit more outside in the first game there and then last week we saw him move into the slot a little bit more. And this is what this offense needs, I think, to unlock everything else. So Parker Washington was kind of playing that role out of necessity and he was okay in it. But now we are seeing Jacoby Myers excel in that role. The last thing I'll say, you know, I said we weren't going to talk about Brian Thomas, but I'm totally lying here. I think that having Jacoby Myers there playing that role, they were trying to get Travis Hunter doing that, they were trying to get Parker Washington, Diami Brown, Brian Thomas and none of those guys were able to play that role. And I think that's why they went out and traded for Myers. And now I think with Myers finding success in that role, it opens up room for the shots on the outside, the shots downfield, what we saw Mike Evans doing last year. And I think that if and when Brian Thomas does return, you could potentially be looking at somebody who is going to look much better over the second half of the season than they did over the first half of the season. Other question I have for you, and this is another like this or this player because we're seeing just non stop movement in Jacksonville. And Andrew Cooper, he was on the show last week and we talked about it. This has been one of the most fun offenses to talk about from a content perspective because they give us something to talk about every single week. Like thank you Liam Cohen for giving us so much to talk about on a weekly basis. We saw Bashaw Tootin kind of take over the backfield last week, for lack of a better term, and it sounds like he's trending towards being active this week. So crazy question to be asking, but who do you prefer, Bayshole Tootin or Travis Etienne? Because a lot of people drafted both hoping they could just lock up the backfield. And if you're sitting there looking at both of these guys in your lineup, who are you putting in as a starter?
- [56:34]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, I think you look at the game right and a lot of people are going to look at, you know, the final score. They go, this was a blowout, mop up duty, all of those things. But like that was a one score game for, for a game against the Chargers that was a one score game until, you know, the second half. Like that's what was so crazy about the Herbert performance. And, and things like that is, is that actually didn't become a blowout until much later in the game. So we're looking at it and it's like, okay, so, so maybe this isn't like a throwaway mop up duty type of split when we, when we look at the usage and, and Baal Tootin looked really good with the extended run, 4.4 yards after contact per attempt on 15 carries that's particularly impressive, right? You don't necessarily see the numbers that high with, with that amount of usage. So that correlated seven missed tackles as well. He almost, he forced almost a half missed tackle every attempt or crazy or every opportunity which is like he's, he's showing what we all that, that explosion coupled with that physicality that, that made him so exciting coming into the season and made him one of those guys where like obviously everybody was making the Bucky Irving comps because of Liam Cohen. But like could he follow a similar trajectory as that guy who breaks out down the second half, right? Three carries of 10 or more yards. All of those things I think conventional wisdom would tell you. And I say conventional wisdom because it's like we're, we are trying to get into the head of, of NFL head coaches, right? And offensive play callers like it can be futile sometimes. But when we're looking at this it's like yeah, he has earned more reps. I, I think the splits ETN still out snapped him 4 to 1 in gold to go situations. You zoom out a little further. I think the split was still 9 to 4 in the red zone. And then LA Quinn Allen is kind of the forgotten guy but he still paced both in in third down percentage. Like he still has a bit of a role to play too. So I, I, I think Travis ETN right now I, I'm still, it's, it's getting closer. It is getting way closer. But I, I do want the sample to grow maybe a little bit more and, and I think as close as this was, I think ETN's role in that, the goal to go situations last week, maybe they shift that up and, and I'm behind on it. But I do think I'm, I'm leaning ETN a little bit more just this week and then we'll kind of see what happens. But I don't think the takeover is that far off if it hasn't happened already.
- [58:58]
Dave Kluge
And I think this is like why I wanted to ask you this question because I know you are a smart guy who stays grounded and there's so much hype right now where it's just like the Tootin takeover is here and like of course that's what people want because it's found money that they got in round 10 to their draft or maybe they even got mid season off of the waiver wire. But yes, I still prefer Travis ETN as well. We might see that flip happen at some point. But I think for the time being we still got to Lean towards Travis Etien. But the actionable advice here would be that Bashal Tutin, if he's healthy, he moves into RB2 territory for me. So you're starting both of them, I think at this point, hoping they can catch some passes, score a touchdown. But there's going to be enough volume and they're both good enough explosive players that Even on a 50% roll, they can still pay off in fantasy. Sticking with this game. Game, we've got news that no, Marvin Harrison Jr. Again this week. So we saw Michael Wilson. You're in Arizona, right, Colton?
- [59:49]
Colton Dodson
Yes, sir. I'm actually going to be at this game, man. Boots on the ground. Oh, all right. Yeah, there we go.
- [59:55]
Dave Kluge
Until then. But I mean, like, this is like, you look at the Cardinals history, DeAndre Hopkins, Anquan Bolden, Larry Fitzgerald, and now we've just got like Michael Wilson holding on to all of these single game records for the Arizona Cardinals. Like, it was just unbelievable last week. So. So with no Marvin Harrison Jr. How high are you willing to rank Michael Wilson this week?
- [60:17]
Colton Dodson
Man, I feel like we get a new indictment on, on Kyler Murray each week. But like Michael Wilson's work this past week on, on the intermediate, deep breaking routes, some of the contested catch stuff we saw, like, some of the nuance too. He. He works back to the ball. He makes difficult catches look relatively easy. Like, he just looked, looked so polished in this game. And it's like, why has this dude been. Been hidden, right? And it's like, okay, we, we start to, you know, fill in the gaps a little bit. Cue the, the Brian Windhorst meme. But like, you're looking at it and it. You're. You're looking at Arizona on a. On, you know, a more macro scale. And it's like, okay, they could genuinely have A nice one. A1B with Marvin Harrison Jr. And Michael Wilson with an all world tight end, right? And like, we never would have known. It's like what we've seen from Brissette, and maybe that's an element to this too, is they're throwing the ball a ton with Jacoby Brissett. He's averaging like the fifth most passing attempts per game in the NFL right now, and obviously just broke the record for completions in a game. But you also look at what he's been able to do that Kyler Murray didn't necessarily do. He's extended plays, he's extended drives. I should say with third downs and things like that. He's hung in the pocket. It worked. The middle of the field, utilized play action, all of these things. Like, we didn't see those with Kyler Murray. And I feel like without Marvin Harrison Jr. I think Wilson could be a thing when Marvin Harrison Jr. Comes back. But like, without Marvin Harrison Jr. Wilson's ability is kind of a top two read type of receiver that we saw last week. I think that warrants top 12 to 16 consideration this week, and I think he could climb even higher.
- [62:01]
Dave Kluge
Yeah, I know that sounds crazy to a lot of people, but like this Arizona team, they want to throw the ball a lot when they've got Jacoby preset under center. So I'm a little bit more cautious. You know, I've got him at RB21 right now. But like we talked about DK Metcalf earlier in the show, I have Michael Wilson ranked one spot ahead of DK Metcalf, which is pretty crazy to say, but like, based on what we saw last week, Michael Wilson looked good. And this has been a Jeff Bell favorite since he came into the league. And I remember Jeff Bell, like pounding the table for Michael Wilson as a rookie and, and hasn't really happened, but as Jeff often is, you know, never wrong, just, just sometimes a little bit early because Michael Wilson out here looking like a dude last week. Last question I have about this game and then we will move on to the final game of the slate that I want to talk about. But Trey Benson, 21 day practice window has opened. If and when he returns, do you expect him to just immediately take over as the lead back here?
- [62:54]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, man, I, you know, I was going to answer this question with a question. All right, so if, if or when I get back on any sort of field in my life and try to run with burst in any capacity, do you expect my hamstring to pop immediately?
- [63:10]
Dave Kluge
I mean, you're talking about Trey Benson's or.
- [63:13]
Colton Dodson
No, I'm talking about me. I mean, yeah, present state. Yeah, it could happen, probably.
- [63:17]
Dave Kluge
Yeah, it happens to the best of us. Like you hit 25 years old, like, start popping.
- [63:24]
Colton Dodson
It will pop immediately. It's. There's no question. And I know the listeners can't see me right now, but I'd like to think that they know the answer. Like, I've got three chins, man. I'm not, I'm not in great shape. My, my calf, my hamstring, they're popping immediately. Like it's a certainty. And that's kind of the answer should be yes. Like, that's kind of how I feel about this Trey Benson return too. Is it's like man. Michael Carter, Amari dmercad, Bam Knight. Like none of these guys, I mean we had Jonathan Gannon have to issue an apology for, for like hitting Amar D. Mercado. Life without Trey Benson has been hell for the Cardinals running game. Right. And, and I don't even know. I just think that like the incumbents are at such a level that like how much better does Trey Benson really even need to be for him to come in and immediately be the preference reference as, as the guy. Right. Like there's probably going to be a bit of a ramp up period. Like he's been on the shelf for a while. But I, I don't see any scenario where you've seen anything from Bam Knight, Michael Carter, Amari D. Mercado, who's, who's hurt right now. Amari D. Mercado is not even going to play. But like that would lead to the conclusion that, I mean you have to see what you have in Trey Benson. It's kind of a lost season. And I'm also looking at this as like the Cardinals last year were top 12 in run rate. They don't want to be an offensive that's throwing the ball 35 times a game that kind of runs counter to what we've seen from them, but they just haven't been able to do it right. You got to wonder with that maybe.
- [64:55]
Dave Kluge
Run rate, how much was that them just trying to like protect Kyler Murray too. Like just taking the air out of the ball as much as possible.
- [65:01]
Colton Dodson
Because this looks like a completely different Drew Petzing offense. And I feel like Drew Petsing you.
- [65:07]
Dave Kluge
Had these receivers this whole time, like.
- [65:08]
Colton Dodson
You guys could do this, man. And it's kind of like it. I don't want to go too crazy here, but it kind of feels vindicating for, for Drew Petzing to an extent. Like how much of this did he take on where it was like, okay, maybe this wasn't necessarily him. Maybe he was calling a game to try to protect the quarterback who couldn't execute what he actually wanted to call. And obviously that's going to lead to, to some less than ideal situations. I, I think maybe what we've seen from the Cardinals offense is probably a product of game script trips. But is it also a product of personnel? Could running backs be a little more involved? It's possible and I think the truth is somewhere between the two. But I, I do think this is a classic like wait and see how the roles play out before you leap type of situation. I don't Want the, the cautious nature to be a, a running theme here. Right? But I, I do want to be cautious with Trey Benson and, and maybe after the, the one week ramp up or whatever it is is it's like, okay, we kind of know how this is going to look with, with him back in the mix and then you can go from there. But I do think this will probably be his job when he gets back.
- [66:15]
Dave Kluge
And I think the actionable advice here is even if there is a ramp up, like right now we're looking at Bam Knight and, and Michael Carter as like desperation disgusting flex plays. If we really need somebody or scouring the waiver wire, we're dealing with injuries or whatever. And I think that once Trey Benson is back, even if you want to wait to see what he looks like, you're definitely not starting Bam Knight or Michael Carter in any game where Trey Benson is out there. And then we kind of wait and see. Ye talk about this being like vindicating for true Betsic. It's also vindicating for Jonathan Gannon because we're finally seeing the, the explosives in this offense that he promised us when he took the job. Speaking of Jonathan Gannon, I know we talked about you are based in Arizona, but you are an Eagles fan. So last game I, I do this every single time. Like when I have a guest on, I want to talk about the team that they are a fan. I actually almost reached out to you the week that the Eagles were on by and I was like, no, I'm not gonna have Colton on and not talk about the Eagles. That's just mean. Like I can't do that. So here we are today, and this is a big NFC east matchup. First question I have for you, should we take AJ Brown's advice and drop him in fantasy?
- [67:18]
Colton Dodson
Man, with a question like that, I wish you would have had me on during the buy.
- [67:22]
Dave Kluge
I don't know. I'm sorry.
- [67:25]
Colton Dodson
This team, this team, man, is like the most heartbreaking 8 and 2 team that you could possibly envision. Like, it's. They're off of a Super bowl, they're 8 and 2 and we're still talking about should they trade. You know, they're all world receiver and obviously those conversations have, have calmed down since the trade deadline is over. But like, I'm gonna get to that in a second because I was incredibly against the whole like are they gonna trade AJ Brown thing and it just didn't make sense financially, all those things. But like, like, I think the question is particularly brutal because of what we just saw in the Lions game, like, I made him my start of the week on. On Sunday Morning Live. I was feeling it. And it wasn't just like the process of. There we go. That's what I love to say. Right. The process is. Right. It. It's like it wasn't even strictly off of like the, The. The squeaky wheel thing or anything like that. Obviously, whenever you can get a good narrative, that's great too. But when we're looking at this, this Lions defense, it. It didn't equate to a big day, but the Lions defense runs a ton of man coverage. They run a ton of single high looks, and that's kind of been A.J. brown's bread and butter. And they were also missing some key pieces of their secondary in that game. Right? So, like, you go back and you watch what happened, and it's like, oh, okay.
- [68:45]
Dave Kluge
So.
- [68:46]
Colton Dodson
So these reserve corners and, and obviously they play, you know, their roles and things like that, but these. These guys who probably aren't playing if The Lions are 100% are actively shutting down AJ Brown on some of these reps, because they were. And it's like, okay, so. So maybe this isn't just a situation where. And it feels like every week there is a new. There's a new rep that everybody zooms in on is like, oh, AJ Brown stopped running here, or, oh, AJ Brown didn't finish this play. And it's like, man, you, You. You're tweeting out, they're using me, but they're not using me. And then you're like, you're. You're giving everybody this. This ammo. It just doesn't make any sense. And I, I try to avoid being too dramatic. Dave, you know me, man, I'm not a dramatic guy. But like, given the week to week nature of the league especially, this was a classic. Like, if it doesn't happen here, it might not happen. And I didn't think I was ever going to get to that point. I mean, it was windy in Philly, sure. If I'm sitting here trying to make excuses, it was windy, it was cold, all of those things, right? Like, Jalen Hurts wasn't his best either. He had some good reps, he had some not so good reps. But like, we've seen Spike games with A.J. brown, so I don't think dropping altogether is something I do. But like, at the same time, I've come around to the idea that we might really be watching the end of a pretty productive fantasy era, and it's going out with a whimper in Philly. And, and this current version of Brown for me projects is more of like a boomer buzz trust, low end wide receiver too. I don't know how you can trust him as more than that. Like, this was the matchup. I loved this matchup. And, and they came out and targeted him something like eight times in the first half.
- [70:27]
Dave Kluge
Oh, eight times in the first half.
- [70:28]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was clearly like, okay, he is. And beforehand the reporting was he's going to be a big part of the game plan. He was. But that turned into something like, you know, 47 yards or whatever. It was like, it was just more like, how valuable are these targets actually? Are they just like, are these appease AJ Brown targets or are these like, let's actually get him involved? And I have no idea how they'll make, yeah, I have no idea how they'll make this trade work financially. But like, and especially when you consider the context of like, this is a team in a Super bowl window who might not be that psyched about eating a ton of dead money after they just extended AJ Brown and now they have all these other massive extensions coming up with like Jalen Carter and some of their young guys. So I, I think the Lions game really shook my confidence in the Eagles figuring this out. This was kind of a rant by me. You, you opened Pandora's box a little bit. I'm sorry, but to answer the original question, I don't think you can drop him. Just lower your expectations significantly and kind of accept the fact that maybe this was not the best pick. It cost.
- [71:34]
Dave Kluge
You know, I, I, I purposely worded the question to try to elicit a bit of an emotional response out of you. Well, you got the red I wanted here because, yeah, I don't think you're dropping A.J. brown, but like, the squeaky wheel got the grease last week. Like, that's what we were hoping for and it just, it wasn't good. Like, the entire offense looked like it was sputtering when they were trying to force the ball to A.J. brown. Like season highs in targets, season highs in receptions, and like vintage A.J. brown, if he's catching eight of 11 balls, you're expecting 180 yards and two touchdowns with that, not 47 scoreless yards. So, I mean, I, I don't know. I, I think that there's still an injury here. And you know, we, this is something Jeff Bell and I talk about all the time. It's not just an, an injured and healthy. There is a spectrum there and, and and you know, he's out there and he's playing, but like we clearly saw in week one that he was like limping around. He dealt with this. I, I should know this off the top of my head. I think it was a hamstring, right? Not a quad. I think it was a hamstring injury that he picked up in the preseason.
- [72:33]
Colton Dodson
Either way, like, I think you're right with the hamstrings and I think it's.
- [72:36]
Dave Kluge
Just limited him all year. Like, he doesn't have the speed that we're used to seeing. Like he's not having those big explosive plays. He's not making the plays after the catch. He's not getting behind defenses. So, you know, I think, yeah, you can look at this as like, you know, a career defining season and then like he's tailing off. But we don't typically see that from guys at this age. Like, I think there's still another three to five years of prime A.J. brown in there. And I think this could be one of those seasons where he's just, just not feeling 100 and he keeps playing through it and it is impacting his play. So for fantasy purposes, I think you just gotta ride with him and, you know, keep starting him and hope that he can have those boom games. But it has been frustrating.
- [73:13]
Colton Dodson
Yeah. Just to be clear too, I still think A.J. brown has some, some solid years left. I just, my, my reference to the, the end of the era was more so like in Philly.
- [73:24]
Dave Kluge
Right.
- [73:24]
Colton Dodson
I, I don't know. And again, the money is so weird here. I don't know how it's all going to happen. I just, just. I'm coming around to the idea that he could be playing somewhere else.
- [73:34]
Dave Kluge
Yeah, we just never see the guys like, and this isn't a one off year. This isn't like a Kenny Galladay who had like one big year and then fell off. Like, A.J. brown has been a superstar since coming into the league since his rookie season. Still 28 years old. We never see guys just fall off the age cliff like this. Like, this is something that happens 30, 31, 32, 33. So, you know, like for dynasty managers out there, if you can go out and buy low on AJ Brown, I think you're doing that, that. But for this season, I think we might just see him continuing to be hamstrung by this injury that has been plaguing him since the preseason. Let's ask a more positive question here. We'll get back on track with some, some positivity about the Eagles. Saquon Barkley seems to be back. He had that game against the Giants. Whether it was the revenge narrative or a soft defense, I don't know what it was. But we got his first big explosive play. And since then, it's not just the explosive play, it's also the tackle breaking the yards after contact. Like all of his efficiency metrics have bounced back to what we expect to see from Saquon Barkley. So give me the full list of running backs that you would prefer ahead of Saquon Barkley for the rest of the season.
- [74:38]
Colton Dodson
Man, I don't know if this is just me. Like I said, this is the weirdest 8 and 2 team in the world because all of the energy around it is so negative. And when I watch this team every week, week this, I'm gonna stay nervous about Saquon. And he's had some rough, like, matchups, right? This Eagles schedule is insane. But I'm gonna be a little nervous about Saquon until this offensive line can play together for longer than a quarter. Because it's like Cam Juergens comes back, oh, he's concussed. Lane Johnson comes back. Oh, he's got a Liz Frank. He's gonna miss a month. Landon Dickerson hurts his knee in the off season. Is he back? Who knows? He's playing. Tyler Steen is, is kind of a big run blocking downgrade from what they got when, when they signed Makai Becton last year. And, and you watch the, this offensive line play and every time Saquon is contacted behind the line of scrimmage and if, I mean, if you want to talk about a bigger discussion, I think that's why the Eagles offense has struggled so badly because they are behind schedule on every 70% of their drives, right? Like, first and second down are going backwards because Grant Calcatero whiffs on a run block on, on, you know, a trap scheme that saquon took for 60 yards last year. Like, it, it's just from top to bottom. And I think it all starts with the offensive line. And now Lane Johnson's missing a month, right? Like, I think Fred Johnson is fine, but he's not Lane Johnson. So I think you see all of this translate to missed blocking assignments and Saquon being hit behind the line of scrimmage. The timing has just been so off on a run blocking for a run blocking team, so predicated on that timing and so predicated on the continuity and being concise and all those things. So like you look at it, the explosives have almost Vanished. He had the nice game against New York. I think I, I saw on the Sunday Night football broadcast it's 1720 plus yard carries last year at this point.
- [76:39]
Dave Kluge
He didn't have one going into that giants game. Yeah, 19 yards going into that game.
- [76:46]
Colton Dodson
100% you're. It was brutal. So like. And then there's a weird wrinkle to this where Tank Bigsby, who at the beginning of the season was the most expensive kick returner who couldn't kick return that I have ever seen acquired is now when he gets the ball, it's like, who is this? Like he, he's going to. And I'm like, man, why, why aren't we seeing this with Saquon? Is it just the, the style in which the run. What is happening here in terms of the plays that are being called for Tank Bigsby and how Tank Bigsby looks? There's a weird disconnect here. So I, I still feel like, and this is just maybe the skeptic in me, right. It's probably a little better than I perceive it to be, but there is something way wrong with this offense of an 8 and 2 team. And it all starts with the offensive line. And, and so when I was making this list, I kind of considered that. So he's still an RB one. I'm not going crazy here. Like he's still in the top 12 options, right? But Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Jameer Gibbs, Devon H, and those are the four that were like no brainers for me. And then I started thinking about it and the guys that I'm leaning yes on, I'm probably still leaning yes on Bijan.
- [78:02]
Dave Kluge
On.
- [78:03]
Colton Dodson
It would be a no brainer, but I think there's a Kirk Cousins variable there. We kind of saw what that looked like when Michael Penix missed that other game. I, I still think I'm leaning James Cook, Josh Jacobs and Javante Williams, which was the crazy one. I just wanted to get through that. I've got Javante Williams out of my, out of my mouth because I wasn't sure if I was gonna have the courage to say it. But Javante Williams, man, like say Quan Barkley right now, he would be my RB9. The, the rest of the rest of the way, he's still going to be an RB1. That's not what I'm worried about and it's not even a reflection on him. I just think this offense is in such a rough spot right now and I don't know what the path looks like without Lane Johnson to get it back on track.
- [78:42]
Dave Kluge
Well, let me give you. First of all, I'm spot on. I think the only one is Josh Jacobs, and that's because I was a little bit concerned with the injury. But if Josh Jacobs. So I've got him like RB7, RB8, rest of season. But I did pull some numbers. That should help inspire some hope here. First of all, you talk about the offensive line. Line, that was a weird thing. Like, I remember watching film early in the season, like Jordan Mylata just like blocking nobody as like defenders were just running past him and he's like nailing Saquon. And I'm like, this is not the Eagles offense I've watched for the last few years. Just weird stuff happening. But breaking the season in half, right? 10 games played so far for Saquon. First five games of the season, he had two runs of 15 plus yards. Last five games, he's had five. So he's averaging one rush of 15 plus yards per game. Game missed tackles. That was the other thing that, like, we used to see Saquon Barkley breaking tackles like a machine. Like, that's what he does. He gets into the second level, breaks tackles. First five games of the season, he had six missed tackles, forced awful. Last five games, he's had 21 missed tackles for. Okay, so it seems like something happened over the last five weeks, and I don't know if that was just facing up and that of course, like the last five weeks that started with the Giants game. Game. So I almost wonder again, like, I keep talking about Jeff Bell. Jeff Bell's a smart guy. Pay attention to Jeff Bell. Yeah, what he says. But he talks a lot. A lot of times when you see these guys that are in a rut, it's kind of like a basketball player who is missing shot after shot after shot after shot. And they just need to see that one go in the hoop. And then it's like they could take that sigh of relief and then everything falls into place and they start hitting shots again. I almost wonder if that's what Saquon Barkley needed. Like, he was at the precipice of. Of so many big plays. And then he'd get tripped up by a safety or he wouldn't be able to break that tackle on the cornerback. And then he finally has that one big breakaway run at the start of the Giants game. And since then he's looked like Saquon Barkley again. So I wonder if it was just as simple as that. Just like he had to have that breakaway run. He had to feel it and now he's back.
- [80:34]
Colton Dodson
I hope so, man. I hope so. I. Those numbers made me feel a little better. If they, if the Eagles would cut out the negative first and second down plays because of, you know, pre snap penalties or procedural penalties or whatever it is, I think it transforms this offense. I think it really does. Their, their scripts have been so horrendous because they're off schedule early in drives that it's like that is what so much of this comes down to. So I'm with you. I, I think there is some optimism. I just want to see this offense get back on track in terms of like doing the easy things and then I think we'll see some better days ahead.
- [81:10]
Dave Kluge
So let's go ahead and talk about the Cowboys before we wrap up here. George Pickens has been coming on really strong over the last few weeks, even with CD Lamb back. So do we have to reframe how we're viewing CD Lamb in fantasy football now that we're seeing this George Pickens breakout?
- [81:25]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, I think coming into the season there was a perception that like, he could potentially be a top five overall guy. CD Lamb, right, He. He was drafted as one of those receivers with not only the wide receiver one ceiling, but like a truly elite ceiling that few guys could, could touch. And I think we were looking at a lot of like. And it's kind of come to fruition a lot of the skepticism with, with Dak Prescott was centered around how will Brian Schottenheimer run this offense? Will they really commit to the run? And we have seen that Javante Williams has been great, but they're still throwing on 60% of their plays and the defense is horrendous. So like that part of the equation has, has come to fruition a little bit and we'll see what the defense looks like with the new pieces. Like, maybe they figure that out a little bit. But in terms of all of that, I, I do think the upside is still there, but because of, you know, George Pickens and what he is able to do with the ball in his hands, right? Like getting, watching George Pickens, it's almost like, okay, he's running backwards, just, just fall forward, just get yards, right? And like that is. He is not that player at all for like the best possible reasons, right? Like he's jumping back and he's making guys miss and he's doing all this.
- [82:35]
Dave Kluge
Stuff and then he picks up 25 yards like what should be a 10 exact loss turns into a 25 yard gain.
- [82:39]
Colton Dodson
Exactly. When you're watching the broadcast, it's like there's no angle there. And then he's just running up the sideline and he. That has sort of created a situation. I don't want to cut you off to be involved.
- [82:49]
Dave Kluge
I was writing during the game the other night and there was that play, I know you probably know which one I'm talking about. Recuttle little in breaking route and then he runs to the sideline and hits like three defenders. And I was writing at the time, so I'm watching the play, I see him run to the sideline and then I've turned down to my computer and keep typing and then I hear him just like. And there goes. And I have to look back up and I'm like, how, like he was bottled up at the sideline.
- [83:08]
Colton Dodson
I think we were talking about the.
- [83:09]
Dave Kluge
Same turning up field and running again.
- [83:12]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, it's, it's great. I think we were talking about the exact same play. But yeah, you know, he. And we focus on that because we've seen that a lot. But he's still doing the down the field stuff where he's making the contested catches and he's, he's doing all of that. So like there has to be a concerted effort to get him the ball. But at the same time he, CD Lamb has still seen at least 25% of Dallas's targets in three of the last four games. Right. And, and he's been efficient in the games in which he's handled a snapshare 25 or higher 2.7 yards per route run. The week 11 game was secondary to Pickens. But like if Dak Prescott hits him on that fourth down own right, that's an extra eight and a half fantasy points. And we're talking about like two massive games by both of these guys or a massive game by both of these guys. So like I, I think that was impressive in, in what was a largely non competitive game too. I mean, you know, it. The Raiders looked admirable in the beginning. I, I said admirable and I immediately regretted it. But you get what I'm trying to say. I think Pickens is like the most productive running mate that, that, that CD Lamb has had since Amari Cooper. Right. And Jake Ferguson still has his role, but Dallas throwing at the clip that they are. I think both guys have wide receiver one ceilings and, and wide receiver two floors because of how much Dallas throws the ball and because of their, their piece of the whole equation.
- [84:34]
Dave Kluge
You know, I was just looking over the four games that they have played together since CD Lamb has come back from injury. Just raw fantasy production. They are the wide receiver 10 and wide receiver 11 in per game, scoring 14.4 and 14.3 points per game. So, like, we talk about these like 1a 1b situations all the time. I don't know if there's a clear example of this. And you know, like, I think with a lot of these 1A 1B situations, there's a little bit of a gap. Like, we prefer Puka Dakua to Devonte Adams. We prefer Jabbar Chase to T. Higgins. I don't even know if you're at a place that you can say you prefer one of these guys or the other. They play very different roles that accumulate fantasy points in very different ways. But I think we're just looking at both of these guys. It's kind of, you know, right at the fringe of like wide receiver one wide receiver too. Last question I have for you, Colton. Last football question I have for you. Why isn't Malik Davis rostered in more leagues?
- [85:26]
Colton Dodson
Well, Dave, my guess is that Brian Schottenheimer is just enamored with Javante Williams. So like, I, I don't know if, if there's the upside for a standalone role, but I do want to acknowledge that like the snap percentage jumping up to 18.5 against the Raiders, it doesn't feel like a lot, but it's still a pretty significant jump from where he was in the previous two weeks. So that tells me with Miles Sanders going down and Jaden Blue, whatever's going on there, like right now, Malik Davis is the preference at RB2. So I do think there's intriguing handcuff value there, especially given how much much Javante Williams has been used. Right. So like it's interesting. It's still very clearly like, okay, Javante Williams is. Feels like a workhorse in this, in this offense when they are leaning on, you know, the run, when they do lean on the run. So it's interesting. I don't know if there's a standalone value there, but certainly intriguing handcuff value. And that's depending that can be a valuable role and I think it could be in this offense and for me.
- [86:27]
Dave Kluge
It'S as simple as that. Like I am always looking for these guys that have the injury away contingent upside. Like it is cuffing season. This is the time where you are trying to fill your bench up with all of these guys that could be league winners down the stretch. I don't think you're looking at Malik Davis as Anybody who has any sort of standalone value but Javante Williams, if he misses a game or two, like think about how many people which you know now might end up being totally frivolous but how many people like blue 30, 40, 50% of their fab on Emmanuel Wilson this week so they can get one or two games from him him when if you just picked him up and stashed him for free two, three weeks ago, you've got a guy that you would want to plug in as an RB2. And that's kind of my thought process with Malik Davis. Yeah, this guy is a twisted angle away from being a plug and play RBD and he's still available according to sleeper in 100 of leagues. That's a lie because I've got him rostered in a bunch of leagues but he's out there right now in your fantasy league. You could pick him up. Last question I have for you, Colton, and this is the same question I close every single episode of the launch pad with with. This could be football related or otherwise. What is a hill you are willing to die on?
- [87:28]
Colton Dodson
All right, I'm going to keep this one as. As concise as possible. I know I. I can talk for a while so I'm going to get. I I got you said die on football related or otherwise. So I'm going. Two quick ones. My this is kind of a new stance for me. I was always cool with like the renegade go for it on fourth down mentality. But like take the points you employ. Guys who kick the ball, all use them. I think it reached a boiling point this past week with The O for five from Dan Campbell. The inexplicable decision by Mike McDaniel to. To go for. I can't even like put into words what he could have even been thinking there. It was just so perplexing. Three points. It's still three points. It's not as good as six or seven points but like points are points. Take the points you employ guys who kick the ball, use them. I think that's as concise as I could get that one. And then in terms of otherwise the hill that I'm willing to die on in terms of just like life in general is I think it's way easier to be a decent person than it is to not be. And so many people choose to not be. And that takes so much more effort than it does to just be a decent person. I think that's how. How so many people are wired anyway. Like we want to be decent people. I think we fight our nature sometimes when we're not. So it's like, I think treating people right and owning your L's in all facets right are two of the most admirable qualities a person could have. And I don't think we see either enough. So I, I'd like to see some more of that in, in all facets.
- [89:02]
Dave Kluge
Of life, some sage wisdom there and something that I wish I took to heart when I was like 18 years old rather than, like finding out a little bit later in adulthood. But yeah, like, it's just life is better when you treat people right and like, yeah, that's just, you know, a simple, good way to live your life and a good way to close the show. But before we close out here, Colton, let everyone know where they can find you on social media. The articles you're writing for football guys podcast, YouTube channel, all that good stuff.
- [89:27]
Colton Dodson
Yeah, man. You can find me on Twitter @FFC Dodd. I'm on all the social media platforms as well. Working on something new in the next next. It's coming out in the next couple of weeks, a little project I've been working on, retooling, kind of my approach to content, my podcast stream, stuff like that. So keep an eye out. I'll be announcing all that stuff. I'm, I'm excited about it. I've been putting a lot into it the last couple of weeks, so hopefully it, it, you know, it resonates and everybody kind of likes what I've come up with. And then beyond that, all my stuff at football Guys as well. I'm writing my, my weekly piece, weekly column, however you want to categorize it. It's called fantasy dreams and nightmares. Going over all of the good and bad from the previous week of fantasy football. And you can also see me on Sunday morning live with Joey Wright, Adam Hutchinson and the great Jeff Bell. So check me out over there as well and I'll, I'll be around. Not too far. I'm not hard to find every Sunday morning.
- [90:25]
Dave Kluge
Be sure to check that out. The football guys live channel. Colton's on there for the first half of that show answering all of your start sit questions. Colton, great job today. Thank you so much for making the time. I will be back next week looking at some Week 13 matchups. As always, thank you so much for taking the time to tune in today and I will see you next week. 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. You love the host, you seek it out and download it. 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. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ad Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows. To reach your target audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn Ads, go to libsynads. Com. That's L, I B S Y N Ads. Com. Today.