Week 16 Rankings, Sleepers, and Busts || Fantasy Football 2025

Summary

Footballguys Fantasy Football Show

Week 16 Rankings, Sleepers, and Busts || Fantasy Football 2025

Hosts: Alfredo Brown & Dave Kluge
Date: December 19, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Alfredo Brown and Dave Kluge break down their Week 16 fantasy football rankings with an emphasis on start/sit decisions, sleepers, and players to avoid. The tone is lively, insightful, and candid, with both hosts providing actionable advice for listeners heading into the fantasy playoff semifinals. They cover all running backs and wide receivers of note (plus some quarterback and tight end talk), help listeners navigate injury situations, and debate where to take risks or play it safe.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Football Weather” Debate

[01:31–03:20]

• Dave professes his love for bad-weather football (“Give me a snowy game. Give me a wet game. It's just… more fun when they're playing in the elements.”), while Alfredo argues that it often ruins the product for viewers.

  "This is like one of my most boomer takes: I think football weather makes football better. Like, give me a snowy game, give me a wet game." – Dave Kluge [02:18]

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2. Running Back Rankings & Analysis

Tier 1 (RB1–RB7): Must-Starts With Star Potential

• Top Names Discussed: Jameer Gibbs, Devon Achane, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook
• Spotlight: Devon Achane
  • Moved up to RB1 for Dave due to Tua Tagovailoa’s absence ("I expect a lot of handoffs. This is a smash matchup against the Bengals, who are dead last in points allowed to fantasy running backs." [04:56–05:56])
  • Both hosts predict a 30-touch day is possible.

"We haven’t talked since—how are you doing with the Tua benching? Was this a welcomed bit of news for Dolphins fans?" – Dave Kluge [06:21]
"You can't break me now... I honestly, the worst thing that they could have done was go on a winning streak and win like five games in a row. That pissed me off more than anything." – Alfredo Brown [06:30]

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Tier 2 (RB8–RB14): High-End RB2s With Workload Concerns

• Names: Bucky Irving, Javonte Williams, Josh Jacobs (discussion focal point), Travis Etienne, Travion Henderson, Chase Brown, Derrick Henry
• Josh Jacobs Talk ([07:45–09:50])
  • Considered borderline RB1 if healthy but Dave is cautious due to injury/possible pitch count and a tough Bears matchup.
  • If limited, Dave would still play him over Breece Hall but not as a must-start.

"I'm still starting him, but... I'm looking at him as more of a high-end RB2." – Dave Kluge [07:45]

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Other Notable RBs Discussed

• Amarion Hampton: Both expect a 55/45 split with Kamani Vidal due to Greg Roman’s history of a split backfield. Workload should improve but ceiling is capped ([10:02–11:28]).
• Rico Dowdle: Has lost passing work & limited upside due to Chuba Hubbard’s increased efficiency and touch share ([11:28–13:01]).
• Kenneth Gainwell: Emerging as a high-leverage play with both passing down & goal-line work, despite limited touches ([14:05–15:03]).
• Michael Carter: Trending up due to positive reports from coaches. Both hosts like him as a low-end RB2/flex, especially with favorable matchup versus Atlanta ([16:48–17:48]).
• Audric Estime: Volume play only; risky, low-end flex due to uncertainty about his actual share ([19:05–21:01]).

"If you can avoid it, you should. I think there's a lot of wide receivers... that you can flex over either of these guys." – Dave Kluge on the NYJ backfield [19:41]

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3. Wide Receiver Rankings & Key Insights

Tier 1 (WR1–WR8): Elite Options

• Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja’Marr Chase, Nico Collins, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Jameson Williams
• Jameson Williams: Massive opportunity with Sam LaPorta out—offense now consolidated between Amon-Ra, Williams, and running backs. Both are must-starts ([23:27–24:00]).

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Tier 2 (WR9–WR17): High-Volume and Red-Hot Targets

• Drake London: Ranked highly if active. Dave expresses a little concern after seeing him move gingerly in a practice video, but both say you start him if he plays ([24:43–25:41]).
• Mike Evans & Chris Godwin: Both back in must-start territory with Evans returning to health. Godwin is a safe WR2 ([26:07–27:37]).
• Jauan Jennings: Must-start WR2 with high target volume due to injuries to 49ers pass-catchers and great recent production ([27:37–29:27]).
• Courtland Sutton: Continues to rack up targets and PPR points with Bo Nix, even during Denver’s late-season collapses ([30:07–30:37]).
• Pat Bryant vs. Troy Franklin: Bryant is the likely WR2 in Denver, but Sean Payton’s unpredictability makes both risky ([30:37–31:42]).

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Tier 3 (WR18–WR27): Volume, Talent, and QB Woes

• Jalen Waddle: Cautiously ranked as a fringe WR2 due to low ceiling with Tua out (“Volume is there, but don’t expect 150 and a touchdown—could be 5 catches for 25 yards” [33:23–33:50]).
• Darren Waller: Both would start him confidently at TE given Miami's red zone usage and Bengals' defensive struggles ([34:49–35:22]).
• D.J. Moore: A likely auto-start now with Roma Odunze and Luther Burden confirmed out ([36:11–36:54]).
• Ladd McConkey: Possible bounce-back spot against Dallas if Quentin Johnston is ruled out; low-floor, high-upside play if you survived with him this far ([37:25–39:19]).
• Justin Herbert: Skepticism about him being a top-3 QB this week despite industry consensus (“Where’s that wishing gotten us for the last six weeks with Justin Herbert? I’m sick of just putting him in my lineup and saying a prayer.” [39:47–40:13]).

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Tier 4 (WR28–WR38): The “Island of Misfit Toys”

• Michael Wilson: Shows upside, especially in lineups without Marvin Harrison Jr., but both hosts keep him in WR3 range for safety ([41:15–42:17]).
• Brian Thomas Jr.: Still the highest ceiling of the group, but faces professional shadow coverage.
• Adonai Mitchell vs. Emeka Egbuka: Both are close, but the volume play goes to Mitchell; however, the floor is very low ([43:57–44:36]).
• Jaden Reed: Breakout potential with no Christian Watson or strong alternatives for Green Bay—could see 12–15 targets ([46:13–46:57]).

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Final Tier (WR39–WR46): Deep-League Dart Throws

• Jalen Coker: Most preferred deep option—ascending, clear WR2, and benefitting from a late-season QB boost ([48:11–48:49]).
• Xavier Worthy, Ke’Shawn Booty, Jerry Jeudy, etc.: Little to no upside, injuries, or offense has checked out.

"The appeal with Worthy is always that he can catch a deep ball from Patrick Mahomes. With no Patrick Mahomes, what is the upside here? He can get peppered with a bunch of inefficient targets... I don't really care about that all that much." – Dave Kluge [50:56]

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4. How to Make (and Live With) Tough Start/Sit Calls

(Adonai Mitchell vs. Egbuka and Other “Heartbreak” Decisions)

• Both advise emotional detachment; make calls based on current usage and ceiling, not past performance. Dave’s tongue-in-cheek advice: “Join 100 leagues and you’ll stop caring quite as much.” ([45:21–46:01])

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5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Fantasy Playoffs:

  "Win, go to the championship. People just want to know who to start. That's it." – Alfredo Brown [03:39]

• On playing through late-season injuries and ambiguity:

  "If you can avoid it, you should." – Dave Kluge on starting NYJ RBs [19:41]

• On taking emotion out of start/sit choices:

  “At a certain point, you just have to kind of release all of the emotion that is tied to fantasy football... easier said than done.” – Dave Kluge [45:27]

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Section Timestamps Guide

| Segment | Timestamps | Focus | |------------------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------------| | Football Weather Debate | 01:31–03:20 | Bad-weather games & football nostalgia | | RB Rankings (Tier 1 & 2) | 03:39–09:50 | Top backs, workload shifts, injuries | | Running Back Sleepers/DPs | 09:50–19:41 | Deep dives, up-and-down options | | WR Tiers and Must-Starts | 23:27–30:07 | Elite WRs & opportunity | | WR2/3 (Start/Sit Dilemmas) | 30:07–46:13 | Risky plays, volume vs. upside | | Sleeper/Dart Throw WRs | 48:11–51:20 | Deep leagues, desperate starts | | How to Handle Start/Sit Fear | 45:06–46:13 | Emotional detachment |

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QUICK HITS – Week 16 Insights

• Devon Achane: RB1 upside with Tua out, great Cincy matchup.
• Josh Jacobs: Still a flex/RB2 unless ruled out or announced as 100% healthy.
• Amarion Hampton/Rico Dowdle/Kenneth Gainwell: Volume, but ceilings limited by committee/role changes.
• Michael Carter: Strong flex value this week, low-risk RB2.
• WRs: Jameson Williams & Amon-Ra St. Brown are league-winners with LaPorta out.
• Mike Evans/Chris Godwin are back in business; Jauan Jennings is a must-start.
• Mid-tier Flexes: Jalen Waddle (low ceiling), DJ Moore (auto-start with injuries to teammates), Ladd McConkey (deep league upside).
• Desperation WRs: Jalen Coker > Xavier Worthy > Ke’Shawn Booty/Jerry Jeudy.
• Start/Sit Mentality: Prioritize ceiling and projections, not past emotional ties.

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CONCLUSION

This penultimate “start/sit, sleepers & busts” episode for 2025 walks through every meaningful RB/WR scenario for Week 16, offering context-heavy, decisive rankings and rationale. If you need straightforward, tiered advice for semifinals week—whether playing favorites or taking a leap on the unknown—Alfredo and Dave provide the tools (and therapy) to make your best calls.

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Notable Quote to Close:

"At a certain point, you just have to kind of release all of the emotion that is tied to fantasy football. Easier said than done." – Dave Kluge [45:27]

Transcript

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[B]

Can you. Can you. Can you say that again? As sultry as you said it before?

[A]

What did I say sultry about it? Pouring rain in Seattle.

[B]

You're like, ooh, it's pouring rain in Seattle.

[A]

I mean, I am a sucker for weather games. Like snow on the field, pouring rain, mud.

[B]

Like, I understand that's your romantasy novel.

[A]

I. I do.

[B]

I just.

[A]

I love those types of games. I don't know what it is. Like, I want to be at soldier field week 18. It's probably going to be about negative 15 degrees out, but might get some snow, might get some ice. I don't know what it is. Like football. I. I know like a lot of the new people that like football. Like all the games should be indoors, no elements. The younger, the younger crowds. I don't know, man. This is like One of my most boomer takes is that, like, I think football weather makes football better. Like, give me a snowy game. Give me a wet game. Like, it's just. It's more fun when they're playing in the elements.

[B]

I feel like it's more fun to actually play in those games, but watching kind of sucks. Just the product is like, it's like dudes slipping all over the place. Like, that's not fun to watch.

[A]

How did this become.

[B]

How did this become your, like, your. Your dirty little secret?

[A]

I think it's because I'm from Chicago, where we're just really used to inclement weather. I've been to Chicago Bears ticket holder, season ticket holder since I was, like, a little child. And all of my best memories are, like, you know, when it's pouring rain or snowy. Like, those are the. Like, yeah, you know, I've got some normal warm weather memories from early in the season. Mitch Trubisky torching the Bucks for six touchdowns. But I don't know, man. Something about, like, the. The snowy weather, like, it was like, three, four, five weeks ago. I forget what it was, but, like, I flipped over to the Bears game and there was just, like, gentle flurries coming down, and it just made my heart flutter. I'm like, this is it. This is it, man. Like, this is the aesthetic. Like snow in Soldier Field. It doesn't get better than that.

[B]

I just love how romantic you are about it. All right, let's go ruin that romance now with some Week 16 rankings.

[A]

Let's do it.

[B]

Well, it's week 16, and we're taking a look at the players that you can actually put into your lineup. There's a lot of the obvious ones out there, but we're going to go deep into our rankings, go through the tiers here, and we are going to give you guys our favorite sleepers this week. Welcome into the football guys fantasy football show. Alfredo Brown joined, as always, for Dave Kluge. And, Dave, listen, we are at the point of the season where it's just win, go to the championship. People just. They just want to know who to start. Like, that's it.

[A]

Yeah. If they're healthy, start them. That's kind of the theme for the week.

[B]

Yep. Not that it's any different from week one. Like, it's. They want to know who to start then, too. But, like, now it's just. It feels so. Like, just business. Like, so. You know what? Let's. Let's just do it. Let's just. Let's just do the damn thing, right? Let's go into it. So, running backs, let's start there. Like always, we take our consensus rankings, put them together, make a consensus rank and then put tiers into this. So let's go into tier one and it's going to be running backs one through seven. Right here we've got Jameer Gibbs, Devon Achan, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, James Cook. Now, I don't want to harp on this list too long, but Devon Hn, how did he move in your rankings when we got the Tua Tunga By Loa News, because he is your running back one this week. So I'm not going to ask how far did you move him down? I'm going to ask what made you put him at RB1.

[A]

Actually moved him up a spot because I don't trust Quinn Ewers to push the ball downfield. I expect a lot of handoffs to Devon Hn. This is a smash matchup going up against the Cincinnati Bengals. They are top five in points allowed to fantasy running backs. We don't need to spend too much time here. You're starting Devon Hn if you've got him. But I love this matchup and I think that without Tua Tuga By Loa being out there, they are just going to get the ball in A Chan's hands as much as they possibly can.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I think we have a potential 30 touch game incoming for Devon HN. I think the only thing is that it is going to really come down to him making a lot of plays, him being the one to catch a lot of those short passes, which is very, very real. This is in no way me saying not to start Divine Hn or not to play him, no matter what.

[A]

I actually undersold it when I said Bengals were top five in points allowed. They are number one in points of allowed and they give up an average of 3 points more than the next closest. So I mean, the Bengals, your tight ends, your running backs, they're going up against the Bengals, just start them and sometimes it's that simple.

[B]

We'll talk about this probably a little bit more when we get to Jalen Waddle, but I think with guys like Achan, Jalen Waddle, Darren Waller, it depends on the position. Right. For example, I'd say for the past catchers, you're maybe moving them down a little bit because of the change at quarterback. But with Devon Hin and what he does between like catching the ball and running and what a good matchup it is for him. I. I get it. I get you putting him at one. I've got him as my running back, four on the week, so I'm not far behind. We haven't.

[A]

We haven't talked since. How are you doing with the two of Benjing? Was this a welcomed bit of news for Dolphins fans? I don't know how Dolphins fans want to react here.

[B]

You can't break me now. Like, I cut a Dolphin's hat with scissors on camera. Like, mid season. I honestly, the worst thing that they could have done was go on a winning streak and win like five games in a row. Like, that pissed me off more than anything. Also, we can just go right back to where we started. Like, this is. It's just textbook Dolphins. I will say I've seen a lot of people doing the whole, like, what franchise is worse, Dolphins or Browns? It's still the Browns.

[A]

Like, I'm sorry.

[B]

Yeah, Cleveland, it's still you.

[A]

At least you've got that going for you Dolphins fans. You're better than the Browns.

[B]

We're not Ohio. Put it on the state flag. All right, let's go to the second tier here. It's gonna be running backs eight through 14. At eight, we got Bucky Irving and Javante Williams. Josh Jacobs, who? We'll talk about him for a little bit. Travis etn, Trevian Henderson, Chase Brown, Derrick Henry, Dave. Josh Jacobs right now considered questionable. Anyone who knows the Josh Jacobs situation knows he is an ironman and plays pretty much every single game that he can. It does look like the reports are leaning towards him playing this week, but something you and I talked about prior to this is that he might be limited. So how does that worry you going into this matchup?

[A]

You know, I've got a bit of fade on Josh Jacobs compared to the consensus this week. And, like, I'm still starting him. I've got him at RB13, so, like, technically just outside of the RB1 tier. But. But yeah, I do expect him to be limited because that's what a lot of people are saying and not just the national media. You know, we got that report from Ian Rapaport earlier today, but also some of the Green Bay B reporters. But on top of that, the Bears have quietly been really good against running backs over the last four weeks. They're giving up the fourth fewest amount of points to fantasy running backs, just 16.48 points per game. So if we're expecting Josh Jacobs to be limited in a tough matchup, and we know that the team trusts and likes Emmanuel Wilson, you're still starting Josh Jacobs, but where he was just like a plug and play top six guy every single week. This week I'm looking at him as more of a high end RB2.

[B]

So let's say we get the news that he is going to be on a pitch count. What does that do for you? Like around let's, let's play a little game. Josh Jacobs on a pitch count or Breece Hall?

[A]

Josh Jacobs on a pitch count. I'm ranking it as if he will be on this pitch count, but I think that his out would be that they're going to trust him with the high leverage opportunities. So I think that if there's any goal line touches, those are still going. Josh Jacobs away. I don't think we're getting a 25 touch game here by any means, but I do still like his likelihood of falling into the end zone even if he is limited.

[B]

Okay, so just to give the context, you have him as your running back 13. Now with the consideration that he would be on a pitch count, you have him ahead of Derek Henry, Kyron Williams, Tyrone tracy, Amarian Hampton, R.J. harvey, DeAndre Swift. I think that that gives the full picture to, to the audience there and.

[A]

If they come out and they say like hey, Josh Jacobs, right responded really well, he's 100%. There's going to be no limitations. Then I would bump him up ahead of Travion Henderson and get him in as my RB9 on the week. So I'm not expecting like even if there is a pitch count per se, if he's going to be a little bit limited, I expect most of those touches that he will be seeding to Emmanuel Wilson or Chris Brooks. If he's active, I expect those to be those kind of low calorie touches in between the twenties. So not overly concerned about limitations. But yeah, like I said, a high end RB2 this week.

[B]

Amari and Hampton is another guy that's in this tier that I already got a question about him earlier this week. Someone, one of my friends asking me should I start Omarion Hampton or Marvin Harrison Jr. In the flex spot.

[A]

Ask me on Saturday.

[B]

Yeah, right. I said, well, I'm leaning Omarion Hampton, but Dave, with him coming back, we saw a little bit Kamani Vidal. The confidence is much higher for both of us this week. We have him. You have him at running back 17, I've got him at running back 20. We're a little bit more comfortable with Amari and Hampton this week. I think we both just assume the workload should grow for him as he returns.

[A]

Exactly. And I think there was like, you know, I. I still think that he's the better running back than Commandeel, and I think that he is going to get those big opportunities and the big plays and they're going to use him near the goal line. But there's really been a split over the last couple of weeks. Like, if we're looking at, like, you know, a hundred percent share. Last week the touches were split 52, 48. The week before that, 55, 45. So, like, Kamani Bidal has been way more involved than I think people realize, and I think it's in Greg Roman's DNA to have this split backfield. We've seen him do that every step along the way. Najee Harris was supposed to be the guy early in the season. When he went down, they were kind of scrambling and they just gave Omari HAMPTON this massive 85% work share alongside Hassan Haskins. But I think, well, Hampton was out. Kamani Vidal earned the trust of the staff, and I think we're going to continue seeing this kind of 55, 45 split. Oh, Hampton can catch passes, he can rip off big plays, he could score touchdowns, and that's why you're still starting him as an RB2. But I think when he first went down, we were talking about Omarion Hampton before that injury is like a top five rest of season back. I don't think he has that ceiling anymore with Kamani Vidal there.

[B]

Another guy in here, last guy in this tier. Rico Dowdle. We've been kind of up and down with him. Does seem like this is a week you can start Rico Dowdle. You and I both have him as the running back. 24. Exactly. So that puts him ahead of. Just taking a look at our rankings. Puts him ahead of Ashton Jinty for both of us. Kenneth Gainwell for both of us. Ken Walker for both of us. Rico Dowdle. What's the confidence level here? Because it's not a. It's not a great matchup, but it's also not a terrible matchup.

[A]

Yeah, this is another one that has been much more split than I think people realize over the last two weeks. It is a 43, 57 split in favor of Rico Dowdle. So Chuba Hubbard is pushing for close to a 50, 50 split here, and he's looked like much better player those first couple of games back from that calf injury. He did not look like himself. It seems like he's got his burst and he's got his explosion back and over those two games where it is a 43, 57 split, as I mentioned, Chuba Hubbard has 5.8 yards per touch compared to Rico Doddle's 3.6. So we saw that, like, Rico Dowdle was being very, very efficient with his touches when he was the lead back. But now Chuba Hubbard is starting to press for more work and be a little bit more efficient with those opportunities.

[B]

I think the biggest thing for me too is seeing that Rico Dowdle's been losing passing work. Like it's just almost non existent at this point. He gets lucky last week with a touchdown, but he's just kind of lost all. It's weird. He's. He burned bright and burned fast and that was it. We. We got our three, four games from him and it's. It's just. It's kind of all melted down at this point.

[A]

Right.

[B]

All right, let's go. Next tier here is going to be running backs 24 through 32. It's got Jalen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Ashton Ginty. That's very strange to say. Ashton Ginty at running back 26, but here we are. Fam 27, Michael Carter. 28, Ken Walker, 29, Tony Pollard, 30, Chuba Hubbard, 31, Kyle Menung Guy and 32, David Montgomery. Well, Dave, you and I both really like Kenneth Gainwell this week. I've got him as running back 26. You've got him at running back 25. It's what seems to be, when you first look at it, a brutal matchup against Detroit on paper. But then you remember, oh, it's Detroit. Like, there's a potential here for a lot of points to be scored. And there's going to be plenty of passing that's going to have to happen here if Detroit gets ahead against Pittsburgh. Kenneth Gainwell, I mean, Aaron Rodgers does not look like he has the juice to keep plays alive for very long or throw the ball more than 15, 20 yards here at any given time. Kenneth Gainwell has been a primary target for him out of the backfield.

[A]

Yeah, averaging over five targets per game over the last five weeks. And I think that's the thing here. This is still Jalen Warren's backfield. Like, he still has the chimney of.

[B]

The touches, like burgundy.

[A]

He's getting 60 to 70% of the touches. But the problem is all of the high value. Well, not all of the high value.

[B]

He's Rico Dowdle almost. Yeah, he's getting Rico Donald here.

[A]

The only difference is Rico Dowdle still gets the goal line work. Kenneth Gainwell not only gets the passing down work, but he also gets the goal line work. So he's a scary player to start because, you know, he could only be getting 10 or 12 touches. But if five of those touches are through the air and three of them are within the five yard line, it doesn't matter how few touches he's getting. Like, he is getting the high leverage opportunities in this backfield. So this is one that, like, definitely feels sketchier than the rest of the guys in this tier. I don't have a ton of faith there, but his role as somebody who just keeps catching passes, keeps scoring touchdowns, that's what you want in fantasy.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I love that. I love that it's going to be a game in Detroit, in the Dome. You're potentially getting good Jared Goff, right? You're not. You're not getting bad Jared Goff. You end up in a game script where a lot of passing has to take place. That's why I kind of like DK Metcalf this week as well. Passing is going to be necessary. Also. Arthur Smith, you freak. I love it. Just him putting Kenneth Gainwell as the goal line back. He's like, all right, who's the smallest running back? We got you. We're going to do this now. Let's go. Go line back. Dave, anyone else from this tier that stands out to you?

[A]

You know, you talked about Ash and Ginty, how weird it is seeing him in this tier. But my goodness, like that offensive line going up against the Houston pass rush. I don't have a lot of faith about Vegas looking very good here. We might be getting a Geno Smith return, which I guess would be okay for the offense. But yeah, this just, this could be an absolute disaster going up against Houston. Like the way that they are able to get pressure behind the line of scrimmage, that's been the biggest problem so far as Ash and Jinzi can't get to the second level. I don't expect that to change this week. The one other name. You know, I change my stances sometimes throughout the week. Early in the week when he did our waiver show, I was very, I want to say anti Michael Carter, but I was saying, like, I expect there to be a lot more Amari De Mercado than I think a lot of people expect. But throughout, throughout the week, Jonathan Gannon has just been singing praises for Michael Carter, saying that he trusts him to be the guy. You know, the Cardinals fans seem to really like Michael Carter. Not a lot of explosive plays here. You know I'd like to see some of the, the big chunk plays but if he's a guy that can keep the offense on schedule, mitigate losses, keep piles moving, all of that stuff that coaches love, it seems like he is going to be getting the majority of the backfield here. So a guy who I wasn't crazy about when we were doing our waiver show but has just been slowly creeping up as I hear more and more good news out of Arizona.

[B]

Yeah, I'm pretty bullish on Michael Carter this week. I've got him ahead of Jalen Warren, Tony Pollard, Ken Walker, Kyle Menungai, Dave Montgomery. I, I just, I, I like not only the opportunity that could be here, he still does. I know that Mario D. Mercado coming in who has a pass catching skill set, he's going to come in and take some of those targets. But Michael Carter still has the ability to be out there on passing down. So I do like that. I like that there's potential for a goal line opportunity. And there's also going to be a lot of unscripted plays too. Like Jacoby Brissette is going to have to passes when it's unscripted as well. Also, running backs against the Falcons have actually been smashing lately. It's the Falcons defense like change throughout the season as it's gone on. They used to be this defense that was actually pretty solid. They were getting rush on the passer and they were able to stop the pass like now they're not really able to stop a whole lot of nothing. So I do look at Michael Carter this week as a low end RB2 slash flex play. So if you have two running backs that are legitimately better, I'm starting them. But Michael Carter, I like him in the flex this week.

[A]

Yeah, starting him in quite a few leagues. I am infamous for squirreling my fab until the fantasy playoffs. And you know, it's a, it's a blessing and a curse. The blessing is you get the players you want. The curse is that you end up with Michael Carter on almost all of your teams in the semifinals.

[B]

Who's laughing now? I spent 89 a fab on Michael Carter. Look at me.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

All right, final tier here. That's going to be running backs 33 through 40. Got Blake Corum who's been on a hot streak lately, Ramandre Stevenson who has not. Kamani Vidal, Kareem Hunt, Audric Estimate, Chris Rodriguez, Tyler Algier, Zach Charbonnet. I'm going to assume one of the guys that we need to talk about here is going to be Audric estimate who we have as a consensus rank running back 37. Dave, how do you feel about Audric estimate this week? Because I. I know with Devin Neal and Alvin Kamara have already been ruled out. Right. This is a very good matchup going up against the New York Jets. Running backs against the jets have hit 13 and a half PPR points seven times over recent games. We've got something here where a player can score. I just don't know how good the player is and I just don't know what the workload is going to be. So what's your comfortability level with him?

[A]

There's no comfort. And I think that's why we both kind of have him ranked as like a high end RB4. This is the guy that we expect to get the work. But also Evan Hull was the guy who is just a couple of weeks ago seemed like he was the RB2. So we see Audrey estimate kind of break out in this game last week when Devin Neal went down. I don't know with a week to regroup if they're gonna split touches a little bit more between Audric estimate. Evan Hall. I prefer estimate ever so slightly. I've got a few spots ahead of hall, but man, I think this is one of those backfields. Like if you can avoid it, you should. I think there's a lot of wide receivers that you can probably find on waivers that you can flex over either of these guys.

[B]

That was going to be my question. I kind of want to play that game with you really quick here. Just rapid fire. I'm going to go with some pretty low end wide receivers and see how you feel about them. Or Audric estimate here. Okay, so let's go with Rashid Shahid or Roger Customer.

[A]

Ah, see Rashid, he did finally out route Cooper cup last week, but I think I'm going estimate there.

[B]

So I went too far. Damn, I overshot it. Okay, let's go. Let's reel it in. Reel it in. Khalil Shakir or Roger Custom?

[A]

Khalil Shakir in that one? Yeah.

[B]

All right. Adonai Mitchell.

[A]

Adonai Mitchell.

[B]

All right, Keenan Allen.

[A]

Keenan Allen. Only because it sounds like Quentin Johnson. I think he's officially declared out at this point. Right. I don't know if we have official word, but if there's no Quentin Johnson, I'd prefer Keenan Allen.

[B]

All right, Jalen Coker.

[A]

I think we're getting a little deep there again. He's been hot for the last couple of Weeks. Yeah. My line that I kind of drew in my wide receiver rankings ahead like that. I would prefer to Audrey estimate Jaden Higgins, Mecca Buka, Keenan Allen, Romeo Dubs, Khalil's career ad and I, Mitchell, Debo Samuel. And then below the guys that I take Audric estimate ahead of Keisha Booty, Rashid Shahid, Jerry Judy, Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Pat Bryant. So do with that what you will. It's. It's not an easy decision to make if you're. You're sitting at Audrey estimate as a potential start this week.

[B]

The Mike Boonification of the fantasy football playoffs is here. I'll just never forget about it. I'll never forget about it. Just sitting for like 15 minutes talking about Mike Boone and he put up.

[A]

Like what, 6.2 points or something that week too. Like, didn't even pan out. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Welcome to fantasy football, everybody. All right?

[A]

Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T mobile and save up to 20 versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is in US cellular stores. Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits. Plan features and tax and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines.

[B]

Qualifying credit required. I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod. Say hi, Dan.

[A]

Hey.

[B]

How's it going today? It's going good, man. Tell us who you are and what you do. I'm Dan Morgan. I'm an attorney and a managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law firm. That's pretty awesome. Why do you guys think you win so many cases? The insurance companies and other companies that.

[A]

We go against know that we're going.

[B]

To take it to the end that we believe in the case.

[A]

So we fight for every dollar. And we're not afraid to go that extra mile for our clients.

[B]

Are insurance companies, like, actually afraid of you guys?

[A]

We don't bluff. We take it to trial. And we are not strangers of getting very, very, very large verdicts. Awesome.

[B]

So how does someone get in contact with Morgan and Morgan? What would I do if I got into an accident?

[A]

Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's £529 from your cell phone. Our call center is always waiting to take your call. 24. 7. Wow.

[B]

Dan Morgan from Morgan and Morgan, America's large injury law firm. Thanks for Coming by the show.

[A]

Thanks for having me. Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you.

[B]

Let's go over to the wide receivers. We'll hit that top tier first. And this is wide receivers one through eight. And remember, with a lot of these players, especially if there is injury tracking that's going on here, if it looks like they're playing, we're going to rank them as if they are. If it looks like they're not, we're going to rank them as if they are not. So let's start with tier number one. At number one, we got Puka Nakua, Jackson, Smith and Jigba. Amanra St. Brown, Jamar Chase, Nico Collins, CD Lamb, AJ Brown, Jameson Williams. Very cool. Jameson Williams up in the top tier for us. We've got two Lions players in here, but man, it's not only because Lions are at home, but it's because that Pittsburgh Steelers secondary is Cheeks.

[A]

And Sam Laporta too. Like ever since Sam Laporta has been out, Jameson Williams has been a wide receiver one every single week. So you know this was already a very consolidated offense just to Amadou St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam Laporta. You take one of those guys out of the equation, they don't trust Khalif Raymond or Isaac Tisla or Brock Wright or anybody else to step in there. We'll see like the occasional Ross Dwelly target. But like, no. This entire passing game now, it's just a high low offense with Amanra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. These guys are combining for like 20 plus targets every single week.

[B]

Yeah, I mean it's. I don't think we need to spend much time on it, but Lions wide receivers, if you got them, stardom smoke Michigan situation. Yeah, yeah, let's go to the second tier here. That's going to be wide receivers nine through 17. We got Drake London. This is that example of a player who we're not sure yet, but it's tracking that he will play. So we've got him up high in the rankings. Then attend Chris Olave, Mike Evans, George Pickens, Teterom McMillan, Zay Flowers, Joanne Jennings, DK Metcalf, Courtland Sutton, now Drake London. I know there's going to be a little bit of concern of like what does he look like when he comes back? Are you with. Are you in the same camp as me that if he's active, you're just saying I'm starting him. There's very few players that I would sit Drake London for. Yeah.

[A]

And I mean like, if we knew he was going to be a hundred percent with no limitations. He'd be my wide receiver five on the week. The only concern is that like, I don't know if you saw the video that went out there was like a video and maybe it was just warm ups, but he looked like he was moving a little bit slow, wasn't really cutting on that knee the way that I'd like to see. And I think that's the fear here is we have seen.

[B]

Get those annoying videos though out of context, man. It's always just like.

[A]

That's why I said he might have been running a warm up.

[B]

Yeah, I know. And I like that you did that. It's very, it's very, very, very strong.

[A]

I don't want to overreact and be like, oh my God, look at Drake London. You know, that's, that's not what I want to do. But I saw that video and I was like, that doesn't look like the Drake London I want to see. But also just the history of the PCL injury. Like we saw Ricky Pierce all was able to come back from injury. He was terrible for three weeks. Like Brock Bowers played through this injury and he was terrible as well. So I think they have taken the more conservative approach by just sh. Drake London down for the last three or four weeks, but still, you know, have a little bit concern about him.

[B]

Being at 100% another guy from this tier who. Someone that we are. Excuse me. I talked about last week because I got a question from a friend about this who had Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Michael Wilson. And he asked me who do I start? And I said, man, it's, it's hard to bet against Michael Wilson here. Just, you know, keep, keep putting them out there. And he's like, you sure, man? I really want to start Mike Evans.

[A]

And I'm like texting you at halftime, calling you an idiot.

[B]

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And it was like, you sure, man? I really want to start him. And I'm just like, you can if you want. You know, like first week back, you know, there's. I'm just, I'm not excited. I don't love the matchup. And of course 12 targets, six receptions, 132 yards, touchdown. Like everything just goes really well for him. I, I'm all back in on everything. Mike Evans. And I think the rankings reflect that for both of us this week. There's zero trepidation for him. And really, I mean, where do we have Chris Godwin?

[A]

I don't want to Speak up. The rankings too.

[B]

Yeah, you've got him at wide receiver 23. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm like, I'm pretty good with, with the Bucks receivers right now, except for Mecca Buka.

[A]

I'm trying to think I went. How deep did I go? I want 100 wide receivers deep this week. Tess Johnson did not make my top 100. I mean this is just like you look at what this team, this Bucks team was forced to do in the middle of the season, making a Mecca Buka their primary receiver like Tez Johnson, the number two, the, the rotted out husk of Sterling Shepard getting a full time workload like it was a disaster for the Bucks. And I think now that they have a healthy ish Mike Evans and Chris Godwin back, they're like, these are our guys. Let's just go back to what has worked for us over the last few years. And yeah, I think that it is back to Mike Evans being a wide receiver one, Chris Godwin being a wide receiver too. And then Abuka unfortunately is the one that kind of falls into this like deep flex consideration. You know, he was very close to that Audrick estimate line that we were talking about a few minutes ago.

[B]

Man. The other guy on here, Juwan Jennings. This is a really good matchup against Indy. Ricky Pearsall, pour one out, guys. He is looking like he is going to be out again.

[A]

Can't have nice things.

[B]

No, we can't. No, we can't. But Juwan Jennings is a guy that both of us have ranked pretty highly this week. I've got him at wide receiver 17. Dave, you're a little bit higher. Wide receiver 14. He is, I mean he's in must start territory for you if you have him on your team.

[A]

Absolutely. And there's so much like pre season discourse about who the wide receiver one would be and like can you really draft Juwan Jennings because like Ricky Piersoll is gonna come up and Brandon Ayuk is going to return at some point. Well, Brandon Ayuk, I didn't even know this was a thing the, the left squad team, like I'd never seen that before.

[B]

Like never heard of her.

[A]

Abandoned his team. And I mean just crazy stuff happening with Brian, Brandon Iuk and then Ricky Pierce on Outback. So all that preseason discourse, it doesn't matter now. Like Juwan Jennings is the clear wide receiver 1. George Kittle's gonna get his. Juwan Jennings gonna get his. CMC is gonna get his. I don't think there's much left over for anyone else in the offense. So, yeah, I'm firing Juwan Jennings up as like a must start wide receiver too.

[B]

And the ceiling is there for Juan Jennings. He's had a touchdown at five. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's all there, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's so like, I'll look last week, for example, and it's just five targets, but it's two touchdowns in the game. And then you look three straight games with a touchdown and then it's five of six. Five of six games with a touchdown here. Like, Juwan Jennings continues to have this high ceiling. And that's just what you get with the 49ers offense. And now, like you mentioned, the high floor because there's no Ricky Piersol. You have to assume the target volume is going to be there. So the only thing where, like, I get a little trepidation is like, okay, what if the Colts are getting absolutely smoked, but with Philip Rivers there, like, I don't know, man, like, they're feisty.

[A]

Like, it's a better matchup this week than it was last week against Seattle. I have faith in Philip Rivers eclipsing 100 yards or 150 yards this week. But the other thing with Juwan Jennings, too is like, if you look at his whole body of work this season, it doesn't look great. But we have to remember there was a point in time when he had like four different things on the injury report. He was dealing with like a calf. He said he had two sprained ankles, a shoulder injury.

[B]

Like, this guy can't have three sprained ankles.

[A]

So, yeah, I mean, he was just like, so banged up that like a lot of what we saw early in the season where he was, you know, getting outplayed by Kendrick Bourne and just kind of like running these decoy routes. He seems healthy enough now that he is back to just being the wide receiver. 1.

[B]

One last guy in the tier, Cortland Sutton, he's just been locked in with Bo Nicks over the last few games. Here. 26 targets of the last three games. 12 plus PPR points in three straight games. Cortland Sutton. This is usually about the time Cortland Sutton and the Broncos take a big, steamy dump on our fantasy football team. But it's a game against the Jaguars. It's a bad secondary. It's a hot Jaguars offense right now. I'm assuming we are going to continue to get good Cortland Sutton for the time being.

[A]

Yeah, I think Cortland Sutton is the one we can kind of gloss over. Looking at this Broncos receiver Room. The Pat Bryant, Troy Franklin discussion is, I think, where things get really, really interesting, because over the last few weeks, Pat Bryant had taken the role from Troy Franklin like he was the very clear wide receiver, too. He was running more routes, he was drawing more targets. He was a guy who was pushing himself into fantasy consideration. Pep Bryant misses last week, and then Troy Franklin just immediately comes back, places that wide receiver, too. Score. Touchdown. So now I see a lot of people saying, like, hey, I want to get Troy Franklin back in my Week 16 lineups, but with Pat Bryant expected to return, I don't know what's going to happen. I have Pat Bryant ranked ahead of Troy Franklin in my rankings, but I think, yeah, because, I mean, it seemed to me like Sean Payton showed us his cards a month ago when he said, we prefer Pat Bryant to Troy Franklin. And now I think with Bryant back, they probably go back to that route. But this is one that, like, I think if you can afford to bench Troy Sutton or Troy Franklin or Pat Bryant, like, I kind of want to bench them both this week just because I don't know who that number two is going to be.

[B]

Yes. And I was just about to compliment you on some incredible word gymnastics as you were going back and forth through all those names and all the similar sounds. And then there was the, you know, to 9.5 from the Troy Sutton. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And honestly, you said, like, that you joke that, you know, Sean Payton kind of showed us his cards. I think he's just playing a totally different game. Like, we're expecting. That's him. We're looking at it and like, oh, okay, he's got pocket aces, and he's just like, actually, we're playing blackjack. Like, it's just a totally different game here. We're not playing poker like, him showing us stuff. I've just come to. To realize it doesn't mean anything with Sean Payton.

[A]

12 targets going to Evan Ingram this week.

[B]

Book it. Tyler Bday. All right, let's go to the next tier. Wide receivers 18 through 27. Here we've got Jalen Waddle, Devonte Smith, Terry McLaurin, D.J. moore, Marvin Harrison Jr. Wandell Robinson, Jacoby Myers, Justin Jefferson, Lad McConkey and Chris Godwin. Jalen Waddle up at the top of this. I think this is where a lot of people are going to have that question. Do I start him with Tua Tango by Loa Out. Dave. My thought process with this is that this is a game that's going to require a lot of throwing because it's going, they're going up against the Bengals. And this is an offense that has a very consolidated target funnel to three players, essentially. Achan, Waddle, Waller. Now I will say this. You go in with the expectation that these targets will not be high value targets and the odds of touchdowns are very, very low. So you could be looking at a five catch, 25 yard game from Jalen Waddle and be ready for a seven, eight point PPR output from him.

[A]

And I think that's my fear is that we know the volume is going to be there, but like, is there any ceiling at all? Like, I don't think Jalen waddle is going for 150 and a touchdown this week. Like, it would be a miracle if that happens. So I think that's like the major fear here is that like putting him in there because you know the volume is going to be there. But I just really do worry about the upside. Like, it feels like you just like market in pen that he's getting somewhere between like 7 and 12 half PBR points this week.

[B]

Yeah. You know, I think that just because of Mike McDaniel and because of Jalen Waddle's ability, it's hard for me to rule out a ceiling. But my confidence levels are really, really low in what we could see like last. It's hard to judge because last time that Quinn yours was thrown into a game, everything was quick slants. Everything was quick slants. Get the ball out of his hands as quickly as we can. It was drop the ball into the flats, the Devon Hn. It was just quick moves. And then he had a couple of times where he wasn't afraid to throw the ball downfield. So I mean, I think it can happen. I think it can work. I'd be lying if I told you exactly what was going to happen. We have no idea here.

[A]

Yeah, I think like in a vacuum, I expect Jalen Waddle to outscore Darren Waller. But yeah, more confidence with Darren Waller in my tight end spot than I think I would with Jalen Waddle in my wide receiver slot.

[B]

I would say that I think the ceiling is going to be higher for.

[A]

For.

[B]

Man, I really almost messed that up.

[A]

Waller. Yeah. And because I think he's gonna be the red zone target. Right? Yeah. I think once, like if I'm Quinn Ewers and I'm getting down into the red zone, like I'm gonna throw the ball up to that 6 foot 6 basketball player that can come down with it. Like, I think Waller is the guy who has the touchdown equity Here where I do get a little bit concerned.

[B]

About, yeah, Bengals are the worst in the league. Defending the tight end and allowing the most fantasy points to them. Waller has been the red zone target for the Dolphins. And I don't think it's just a TUA thing. I think it's. They just get down there. They don't have a lot of other big bodies.

[A]

I'm kind of glad that TUA isn't starting because in my first round of rankings I had Darren Waller as my tight end four on the week and two are getting benched back a little bit more responsible and bump him all the way down. But like, I've still got Wallers by tight end seven this week. Like I'm, I'm starting him wherever I've got him.

[B]

Yeah, I'm at tight end 11 with Waller. Just the touchdown possibilities. There another guy to talk about here because we got the news today. Roma Dunes and Luther Burden are going to be out. I know it's. This is a Thursday night game, right? So it doesn't even help to talk about Saturday. Excuse me. There we go. See my brain. So it does help good. We get the news that both Roma Dunes, Luther Burton are going to be out. DJ Moore becomes, dare I say, an auto start. It's hard to not.

[A]

I think you kind of got to. But this is also one where I.

[B]

Love how you said yeah.

[A]

I mean, yeah, like you start projecting the numbers and the targets and where they're going. But like this team has just been so dominant on the ground since that bye week. Like they found out how to run the ball and they're just like spamming runs over and over and over and it's working. So I don't know if we're gonna see a ton of past volume here. Loveland, you know, kind of similar. What we were just like, you know, I, I think I prefer the tight end in this situation. Like I. Moore probably scores more points, but I like Lublin better as a tight end than I like DJ Moore as a wide receiver. In your point per drop leagues. Get a lot of keys in there because he's gonna get 12 targets and eight drops this week, I'm sure.

[B]

Oh, man. Colson Loveland, by the way, I'm, I'm, I'm good with that. I got him as my tight end 12 this week. Where do you have him?

[A]

Tight end nine. So, okay, just a couple spots below Waller, but both, both inside my top 10. Joey Wright and I actually one of our, the teams that we drafted over on NFC one of Those high stakes leagues is still alive in the running for a quarter of a million dollars. And we have Travis Kelsey and we are flexing Colson Loveland this week. So hoping for a big game, hoping open he can, you know, draw, draw some more targets than he has.

[B]

All right, I dig it. Another guy that's in this tier to talk about. You know, you mentioned him. I don't remember if it was in a show or off camera, but Ladd McConkey is a guy who has been just freezing cold as of late. But if Quentin Johnston is going to be out, you've got the best possible matchup for the Chargers. Going up against Dallas in a game that could be a shootout, a secondary that's banged up not playing well, you've had so many wide receivers be able to hit not just double digit points but like a high PPR output. Could this be the actual bounce back play for lad McConkey? I'm surprised if you made the fantasy playoffs and you've gone this far with lad McConkey considering he was such a high pick. But this also might be a guy that you have to throw in there this week as a wide receiver two or flex play.

[A]

Yeah, this, this is such a weird one. And like I almost sent a message in base camp today just to be like, what am I missing? Like I, I know Dallas has been a pretty good matchup for most of the year, but like I see our consensus quarterback rankings have Justin Herbert at QB3. I want to say I was looking at fantasy pros as well and they've got him inside the top six. Justin Herbert has been terrible and like if there's one thing this Cowboys defense does well as of late they have been putting pressure on quarterbacks ever since they added Quinn Williams there especially. So you're looking at a bad banged up Chargers offensive line against a Dallas defense that for its flaws can still generate a pass rush here against a quarterback who's been hit more than any quarterback in the league. Like I'm still tempering expectations for this entire Chargers offense. You know, I've kind of got lad McConkey in that wide receiver three range where if you need to start him in, you can. But this is one where like it seems like the entire industry this week just said, yep, this is the bounce back game for Justin Herbert and the Chargers fire them all up. And I'm just like, I don't know, like he scored 11 points last week. What are we doing here?

[B]

I got him at my quarterback eight. I, I don't, I Don't understand the. The quarterback three. I mean, that's. And we're talking. We're not trying to badmouth, but we're talking about all of our own. There we go.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I like it in games without Joe Walt.

[A]

He's been the per game QB31. And this week everyone's just like, yeah, he's a QB1. And I'm like, I don't know.

[B]

Like, it's not just that people are saying QB1, they're saying like, he is game changer, game winner, elite. Yeah, all that. I don't, I don't. I'm not there.

[A]

My spicy take of the week. Looking at my rankings, I. I landed with JJ McCarthy one spot ahead of Justin Herbert this week. Oh, I am doing that in a league. I am starting JJ McCarthy ahead of Justin Herbert. Like, we can wish all we want, but where's that wishing gotten us for the last six weeks with Justin Herbert? Like, I'm sick of just putting him in my lineup and saying a prayer. Like, I'm gonna go with JJ McCarthy, who looked okay last week and did do well against a bad defense.

[B]

You dirty, dirty boy. Yeah, I'm not quite.

[A]

I don't think you're there. Most people aren't. But.

[B]

No, no, I, I will say this. I'm getting weird with Tyler Schuck, though.

[A]

Yeah, I'm same.

[B]

I'm starting to move him up, up. I think I got him at quarterback. Yeah. Quarterback 16. Right now I'm flirting with getting him closer and closer to quarterback 12.

[A]

I've got Chuck two spots behind Justin Herbert. So. Yeah, another guy that I would, you know, be considering if, If I'm rostering Justin Herbert. But, you know, I, I hope Justin Herbert goes out for 45 points this week because I do still have him on a lot of basketball rosters that I don't have to.

[B]

Benjamin Tyler Shuck in familiar, familiar territory right behind Justin Herbert.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

For all you don't know, he was his backup at Oregon. So there you go. Tyler Schuck's 47 years old. Next year, wide receivers, 28 through 38. Here we got Michael Wilson, Jaden Reed, Brian Thomas Jr. Stefan Diggs, Debo Samuel, Michael Pittman, Jordan Addison, Adonai, Mitchell, Mecca, Abuka, Khalil, Shakir, Keenan Allen, Dave. Who stands out to you on this list?

[A]

This is just the island of misfit toys right here. This is just a gross, gross receiver.

[B]

3 of infinite sadness, as Chris Harris would say.

[A]

Absolutely. Yeah. That's where we are. And I mean, I think Michael Wilson is the guy to talk about because, I mean, we have seen, like, the. The contingency with and without Marvin Harrison is just so impossible to ignore that, like, you want to get him in your lineups, but I think that we're doing the responsible thing here by kind of pushing him down into that wide receiver three territory. But did you see today, Alfredo, at Cardinals practice, Michael Wilson was getting first reps in drills, so make of that what you will, but, you know, he is clearly won the trust of the coaching staff, and Jacoby Brissette just absolutely loves him. I'm ranking Marvin Harrison ahead of him, as are you this week, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Michael Wilson just has another, like, 12 targets, 100 yards and a touchdown, because, you know, we. We expect him to just fall off the cliff with Marvin Harrison Jr. Because that happened a couple of weeks ago. But I don't know, this is one where, like, of all of the players in this tier, I think that he still has the most upside.

[B]

You know, I want to agree with you. I really want to agree with you that he has the most upside. But you're talking about the splits and you're talking about what it looks like when Marvin Harrison Jr. Is in the lineup. And I think that's what still worries me. If I had to pick who has the most upside out of our group, I'm still gonna just, like always, lean Brian Thomas Jr. Here. Despite what we've seen with Trevor Lawrence being as hot as he is and going and throwing six touchdowns in a game and BTJ being the kind of, you know, deep threat that he is, I think I would lean there. But. But Michael Wilson, let's. I mean, let's take a look at where.

[A]

Yeah, scary. Because you don't know. I. I assume they're both scary.

[B]

This whole tier sucks. It's scary.

[A]

Sir Tan could shut him down for zero this week. And I think that's the fears we have seen. Sir Tan, like, he doesn't take the wide receiver one. He takes the most athletic, the big play wide receiver. So this could be one of those games where Brian Thomas Jr. Is completely shut down and Jacoby Myers is the one that ends up popping off.

[B]

It's very possible. What I've. I've seen with them more lately in Jacksonville is they've been able to. They've been more willing to move Brian Thomas Jr. Around, which has been very important, and it's been like, the reason that the Jaguars offense is playing a little bit better instead of keeping them so Static. Anyone else from this list? I think it's, it's weird that we both have Adonai Mitchell ahead of a Mecca Buka. And, and we need to talk about that because AD Mitchell being where he is, you got Brady Cook starting. Starting again. I think we have it right where I've got him at wide receiver 33 and you've got him at wide receiver 35. But honestly, I think the floor is like wide receiver 60, something. Like, it could just be a big nothing burger again.

[A]

I mean, still at nine targets and a touchdown last week, which was way better than what I expected. And I mean, you're looking at the, this is the classic, like, like, what do you want, the wide receiver one on a really bad team or the wide receiver three on a really good team? That's the AD And I Mitchell Mecca Buka discussion right now. And I, I prefer Adonai Mitchell. The guy's been getting a lot of targets and prove that he can still, you know, catch some targets and, and score a touchdown with Brady Cook. I saw enough last week that, like, you know, I think we're pumping the brakes a little bit when we were talking about AD and I Mitchell as like a top 24, top 20 guy when he was looking really good with Rod Taylor. But I think he still kind of warrants that Wide Receiver 3 streaming consideration.

[B]

I don't know that I have the, the Seboyas to put Adonai Mitchell in my lineup over Emeka Abuca. If I was looking at that in my. On my roster, I think it comes down to that. Like, can you. What can you live with? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I drafted a Mecca Buka. I had this amazing season with him. He's been great for most of the season. Not so great now, but we talked about this last week. You can't. You have to be willing to adjust. Dave.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

How do you, how, how do you do the mental gymnastics there? We won't go and stay on this too long, but I know that our listeners go through this same thing. You look at the lineup and you say, but, but this guy, he, he did so many things for me throughout the season. How do you go through that mental gymnastics?

[A]

I'm not going to have good advice for the listeners here. Like, don't take my advice. I just, like, detach.

[B]

I was going to say all emotion, objective.

[A]

Yeah. And that's it. Like, I, you know, it's funny. Sigmund Bloom and I, we talked about this recently that, like, at a certain Point. You just have to kind of like release all of the emotion that is tied to fantasy football. Easier said than done. Like, we are in positions where we're in so many fantasy leagues that you can do that. And I know you, the listener, you might just be in one league and like you might just want to beat Jim this week and that's all that matters to you. And like, you are very emotionally invested in this matchup. So I don't really have good advice. Become a content creator, join 100 leagues and then he'll stop caring quite as much.

[B]

And then people will still tell you.

[A]

That you're an idiot.

[B]

It's, it's really, it's a great time. You're going to devote your whole life to it. Do it year round. It's going to be awesome. You'll still get angry. YouTube comments. It's great. Trust me. Yeah.

[A]

Jaden Reed, I think is. Oh, go. Go ahead with.

[B]

No, no, no, you go. Go with talk. Let's talk. Jane Reed.

[A]

I was just gonna say Jaden Reed is another guy, you know, off the cuff. I said that. I think, think Michael Wilson has the most upside. But, you know, looking through this list again, I think it could actually be Jaden Reed with no Christian Watson. Because we've seen Jaden Reed, he can win all over the field. Like, he can get those short, manufactured touches and create after the catch. He could also catch the ball 50 yards downfield. So I think he is kind of that chess piece right now that, that queen, I should say on a chessboard for Matt LaFleur where he can move him all over the place. He can ask him to do a lot of different things. You know, if we're looking at a, a hobbled Josh Jacobs, we're looking at no Christian Watson. Matthew golden has just kind of been apparition for the last couple of months. I think Jaden Reed is the guy who, like, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he ends up getting 12, 15 targets in this game.

[B]

Well, and they're gonna, they can get unique with Jaden Reed too. Like, that's the thing is, is if the offense is stalling out for any. Because it's not just that they're not going to have Christian Watson or they don't have Tucker Kraft. It's that Josh Jacobs kind of has, you know, issues going on right now too. There's. Matthew golden is not a very reliable player at this point. You, like you said, Dave, it could absolutely be a Jaden Reed 1012 Target Type of game here. Let's go to the final tier and this is gonna be wide receivers 39 through 46. We've got Romeo Dobbs, Jaden Higgins, Rashid Shahid, Xavier Worthy, Jalen Coker, Darius Slayton, K. Shawn Booty, and Jerry Judy. That's fun. I did not intend for that to rhyme, but it did. Lots of fun there. You mentioned Keisha Booty and a couple of these guys earlier as players that you would start over a running back like Audric estimate. Let's look at the bottom of this list. I'm sure there is some league somewhere. A 16 team league, a 14 team league. Someone's been decimated with injuries at wide receiver and they are having to make this decision. Do I start? Jalen Coker, Darius Slayton, Kayshawn, Booty. How. How is this working out for you? Who do you see as the best upside between? Let's go with those three specific guys.

[A]

I mean, I've got a very, very close in my rankings, but that's why I'm asking. Yeah. Because I, I do prefer Jalen Coker just because we've seen him getting steadily more involved. We know he's the, the number two here, but we, we kind of joked about this earlier in the week. Like, Bryce Young just turns it on at the end of the season and he has looked good for the last few weeks. So I expect him to just kind of maintain that momentum. Coker is the obvious number two guy here that can come down with a touchdown. But these are all pretty good shaky starts, of course. But I want to say Booty, but he has been so inconsistent and over the last couple of weeks, we're just seeing Jalen Coker a bit more involved than Booty's been.

[B]

Yeah. And I actually get worried in a game like this going up against Baltimore, where this ends up being a game where there's not a whole lot of throwing that has to happen and it becomes sort of the smash mouth, ground and pound type of game. Like you mentioned, it's been really inconsistent, consistent. For Booty, it's been inconsistent. I'm just gonna throw in another name that was there. Jerry Judy as well. Darius Slayton. We don't know what type of Jackson dart we're gonna get or how long he's even going to be in the game at this point. So, yeah, I think like when you start to get deeper and deeper into this, it's Jalen Coker. Xavier Worthy is a guy that you have ranked pretty low at wide receiver. 46 beneath all of those guys. So Jalen Coker or Xavier Worthy? It seems like it's a clear Jalen Coker for.

[A]

For you. It is for me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I don't know, maybe I'm overreacting here, but I. I've kind of been one of the Xavier Worthy haters for back, of lack of a better term. You know, I just, like, wasn't drafted in this off season, didn't really understand what everybody else saw. And this year it's been quiet again. And I know he's dealt with some injuries, but, like, this guy, still, his best game of the season was 83 yards, like 83 scoreless yards. This guy just has not displayed any sort of ceiling. And now we're looking at a Gardner Minchu start. You know, with Rashi Rice out, I could probably move him up a few spots, but this is one where I just expect Gardner Minshew to just like, force the ball to Travis Kelsey. I think juju Smith Schuster is going to get involved in a lot of those short, quick catches where he can just, you know, catch those slants. And like, I just, I don't have a lot of faith in this Chief's offense right now. It seems to me like a lot of these guys already checked out. Did you hear the. The recent interview with Travis Kelsey where he went into. Wouldn't refer to the team as we. He kept saying the Chiefs. Like, oh, yeah, I'm sure the Chiefs really want to get Patrick Mahomes back. Like, Travis Kelsey's checked out.

[B]

Done.

[A]

Yeah, it's just, it's over for the Chiefs. Like, we haven't seen the Chiefs in this position. We're late in the season, they're eliminated from the playoffs with no Patrick Mahomes. Like, I think to start any of these Chiefs players this week, you would need to be pretty desperate.

[B]

So if there's no Rasheed Rice, Xavier Worthy, does he move up for you? And if he does, how far?

[A]

I mean, I ranked it without Rashi Rice rankings, and that's still where I've got Worthy. Like, I, you know, the appeal with Worthy is always that he can catch a deep ball from Patrick Mahomes. With no Patrick Mahomes, what is the upside here? Like, he can get peppered with a bunch of inefficient targets where he's gonna pick up 2, 3 yards at a time. Like, I don't really care about that all that much. It's just, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wide receiver, five for me.

[B]

We're both there. We're both there. I've got him as my wide receiver 37 at the moment. And honestly, just as I'm looking at it, I'm like, well, I'd start. And this is always the good litmus test too, for us as making rankings is, well, I'd start this guy over him, so I should rank him higher, right? Like, that's kind of how you. You need to do it regardless of what your projections say. Like, I'd go Keenan Allen over Troy over. Over Xavier Worthy. At this point, I'd go Khalil Shakir over Xavier Worthy.

[A]

At this point, I've still got Kelsey as kind of a back end, tight end one, but, like, I don't feel good about that either. Like, like I said, he just seems checked out. Like he's ready to go right off into the sunset with his billionaire pop star girlfriend and not have to take this toll that his body has taken for the last decade. So, like, good for him. I'm happy for Travis, Kelsey.

[B]

Is he dating someone? I wasn't.

[A]

Yeah, I'll let you Google that.

[B]

Okay, well, anyways, I guess I'll. I'll spend the weekend looking that up. Dave, we did it. We went through, I mean, sheesh, like, 90 players this week.

[A]

We went and we talked. Some quarterbacks and tight ends sprinkled in.

[B]

You're welcome, America.

[A]

We cleared a hundred. We cleared 100.

[B]

For those of an episode to. To close out the season here, this is going to be our last starts at sleepers episode because the next week it's going to be Christmas time, man, and that's going to be you guys in the championship. We are going to be back again next week though, however, to do one final waiver wire episode for week 17. Hopefully get you guys a league winner in there. This has been a phenomenal season. It's been so great to have all of you watching, listening, supporting, commenting. It just means the absolute world to us. And if you do make it this far to the end of the show and you want to give us a real legit Christmas present here, a review for the podcast would be a great Christmas presentation present for us. It would mean the absolute world for us to continue to grow the show and to continue to do what we love to do as our job and to help you guys win your fantasy football championships. As always, want to thank you all for watching or listening all the way through, for myself and for Dave. We'll see you next time. Adios.