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Week 6 Matchup Previews with Mike Kashuba || Fantasy Football 2025
01:01:47
In Episode 23 of The Launch Pad, Dave Kluge sits down with Mike Kashuba to discuss some of the most intriguing Week 6 matchups. Become a Footballguys ELITE Subscriber: Follow Dave Kluge on Twitter: Footballguys Instagram: Footballguys...
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- [00:00]
A
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B
Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Launchpad. I'm your host, Dave Kluge, and I'm joined as always by a great football guys guests. Mike Kashuba has been with us since last season. He's an integral part of the rookie guy that we publish, a regular in our roundtable articles and the managing editor at Last Word on Sports. Mike brings a deep knowledge of the NFL and film analysis with a great knack for tying it back to fantasy football. On today's show, we'll discuss six interesting matchups in Week 6, his Steelers fandom, schematic changes around the NFL, and active hobbies. As always, the show would not be possible without you taking the time to listen. Let's dive. Mike Kashuba Wilson well, let me start that over. Mike Kashuba, welcome to the show. How are you doing today, man?
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C
I'm doing well. I know the last name is an Alphabet soup, but I you got it right the second time. I appreciate that.
- [01:14]
B
You know what, I'm just gonna keep it in as is. Why not? You know, we're this, we're professionals, but we still make mistakes here. But as always, you know, this is a really fun show. I've been doing this now this entire season, bringing on some of the newer football guy staffers to help get them, you know, accustomed to our audience and whatnot. So, Mike, we've done some shows in the past, live streams and whatnot, but first time on the launchpad. Welcome. And what we're going to do today is talk about six games this weekend that I think are especially intriguing. And the first one I want to talk about Denver Broncos at New York jets. And I'm not going to talk about anything player specific here, just kind of a overarching question. Do you find yourself tempering expectations for some of these international games? Because to me, it almost feels like they're kind of starting to figure it out. Like it felt like every international game was like a 63 slog and now we're starting to see a little bit of action. Are you putting weight into these games? Are you just looking at it as a normal NFL game?
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C
I'm putting a little bit of weight into it and especially when we talk about what teams are going over there. So if we're talking about the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, those are teams well coached, well prepared, been there, done that. We're talking about the New York jets going over there. I'm a little more concerned. The Broncos do have a bigger time zone difference, which I dug into it. The Vikings started a lot slower in their first week when they were in England, and then second week they were able to start quick, normal Vikings game. They were still close with the Browns, but the offense looked a little less confused to start. I could see both the jets and the Broncos coming out a little bit slow, and that's normal for Justin Fields, but it might be a little different for Broncos fans.
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B
Yeah. Have you seen the splits were like something wild. I don't know the number off the top of my head, but it's like 60% of his production has come in the fourth quarter. Like this guy just does nothing and then it's just a garbage time King turning it on when we need him most. So wouldn't surprise me if we see something like that a little bit. Talk about the Broncos, though, RJ Harvey. You know, we saw the big blow game two weeks ago, but of course that came mostly in the second half of a game where they had a very hefty lead. So what are we doing now? Are we benching R.J. harvey? Are you putting him back in the lineup or are we still taking that kind of wait and see approach here?
- [03:12]
C
Yeah, I think you need to wait and see because you've. If he's on your roster, you've either waited long enough or you've tried to buy low and take some of the opportunity when he started slow. But I went through and I tried to look at his opportunities by week. So seven, week one, seven. Week two, five, week three, 19. In a game where they're up 21 at halftime and then back to seven. So it doesn't look like he's earned any kind of big role in the offense on a consistent basis. So unless you're projecting the Broncos to blow out the jets by a whole bunch, it doesn't look like RJ Harvey's gonna have kind of that. That clear role that we're looking for in order to plug him into a lineup of confidence.
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B
So do you think we need a JK Dobbins? And I don't want to say a JK Dobbins injury. I don't want to wishcast anything like that, but do you think that there is like even a path where RJ Harve usable later in the season? Or do you think J.K. dobbins has just been good enough that this is going to remain his backfield?
- [04:01]
C
I think when we're talking about Sean Payton offensive especially, he's going to want to rotate his backs a little bit more. So maybe Dobbin snap share starts to go a little bit down. His opportunity share start to go a little bit down. What we love is to see RJ Harvey take all of that work and majority of it in the passing game. But right now it's just, it's Dobbins, it's Dobbins, it's Dobbins, and then it's a couple of other guys taking turns giving him breathers, which is not what you want to see as a Harvey manager.
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B
So let's talk about Justin Fields here. We kind of joked about him being this garbage time king, but there's also been a lot of like feasting against bad defenses. We've seen him put up 30 plus points in his plus matchups and the one time he had to face good defense going up against the Buffalo Bills, he did leave the game early, but at that point it was late or left the game, but it was late in the fourth quarter and he really struggled in that one. So now here he is traveling across the pond going up against a good defense. And I know a lot of people are just going to want to say like, Justin Fields is a must start, but do you think maybe we temper expectations due to the matchup?
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C
I think you temper expectations a little bit. If he were in the Bills game, he missed his prime fantasy scoring opportunities. He loves five minutes left in the fourth quarter, down multiple scores. That's when he's going to score all of his fantasy points. But if, if they start slow and we extend that out, like maybe he's just slowed the entire game. My recommendation would be if you have him, you probably don't have a better option where you're staring at, oh yeah, you know, Josh Allen's actually on my bench. Like you're, you're probably staring at the Geno Smiths and the Bryce Youngs of the world. So you just start Justin Fields, you hold your breath and you just don't watch the game.
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B
So can I throw a few names out there and I'll give you the matchups too, to kind of make this a little bit more actionable. We got Justin Fields obviously going up against Denver, but Baker Mayfield, another tough matchup against San Francisco. Would you prefer Baker Mayfield or Justin Fields this week?
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C
Baker Mayfield.
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B
All right, Dak Prescott another a really nice matchup for him going up against Carolina.
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C
Yes, Dak Prescott. But I think those are two guys that if you pick them up you're probably keeping them already.
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B
Right. And, and that's why I want to add this because I think, you know they were late round quarterbacks and a lot of people when they take this late round quarterback approach they do double dip. So the one last one I'll throw out Justin Fields going up against Denver or Drake May, another late round quarterback who's playing the New Orleans Saints. Who would you prefer between those two?
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C
Well now I feel bad because I said start Justin Fields. You probably don't have a better option but I like all three of those options a lot more and I wasn't.
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B
Going deep down the rankings like I was looking at other late round quarterbacks that I think, you know, people might have paired with Justin Fields.
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C
Yeah, I think Drake Mays like coming out party was this last week. So if he continues that against a Saints defense that I don't know how you feel about the Saints, I don't feel great about them. So I expect more of the same from Drake May. So all three of those guys a little bit better.
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B
And that's why I like to ask about specific players just to add some actionable advice to it. But yeah, Drake May, I mean I'm not going to spend too much time on it but lowest fantasy output of the season but one of my biggest risers in rest of season rankings because I'm like that just established himself like he is ready for the big stage. He can go into Buffalo and pull out a win. Like I don't even care what the fantasy production was in that game. Like Drake May just looks legit and I am buying into it at this point. Point. Let's move on to the next game here that I want to talk about. The Seattle Seahawks at Jacksonville Jaguars. We finally saw Sam Darnold in the game script where he was forced to air it out. We saw the underlying metrics that told us he was looking good in the Seattle offense but it had been so low volume and he smashed in fantasy one of the top scoring quarterbacks on the week. So are you looking at him now as a must start quarterback going forward or is he just in that ever ending, never ending churn of streamers.
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C
I I still think he's stuck in that churn of streamers when we're talking about this last week the highest pass volume it was a team like would you rather run against Vita Ve or would you rather let Sam Darnold air it out? I think it was game script matchup dependent and it's not going to be a predictable week over week kind of thing where you're like, yes, I'm just gonna start him and it's gonna go well or I'm gonna start him and it's gonna go kind of well. It's gonna go. You need a very plus matchup. Let him air it out because I think at the core of this offense they still want to establish the run and pretend that it's 1995 and you know, it's working.
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B
So why change it? Like, you know, I, I get it, it's an old school mentality, but this is what Clint Kubiak does and it's working well for him. So I'm with you. I, I like Sam Darnold and I talked about him as a buy going into last weekend. But yeah, like this is a tougher matchup. We've seen Jacksonville, like they generate a lot of turnovers and this could be one of those games where they start throwing complex, complex blitzes at Sam Darnold and can make it a little bit tough for him. So yeah, definitely going to be benching him in this matchup. Looking at the running backs though, you talk about it like they want to establish the run. That's what they do. They run the ball very heavily. And we see Kenneth Walker doesn't get all the work that we want to see, but he makes up for that with big plays. And then Zach Charbonnet does get the passing down and the goal line work that we want to see, but you know, maybe not the efficiency we want to see, but are we just looking at both of these guys as like plugging them both in your flex spot and just not trying to think about this on a game to game basis?
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C
Yeah, I, it's extremely frustrating week over week and you're not gonna be able to predict who's getting the touchdown, who's getting the big play. But I feel better about starting Walker. If you made, you made me pick between the two on a week over week basis, I'm probably picking Walker because when you look at their advanced metrics, Walker is breakaway at a higher percentage. He's breaking more tackles, he's getting more yards per carry, he's more efficient with the ball in his hands. He's doing all of these things that you want to see. Charbonnet just continues to get 40 to 50 of the work regardless. So start both, pray for a touchdown.
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B
And I think, you know, this is something, Jeff Bell and I, we talk about this all the time. Like they are very different types of running backs and where we don't like Zach Charbonnet for fantasy purposes, looking at the advanced metrics and whatnot, he does a good job as an NFL running back mitigating losses and like just, you know, picking up. He's not going to lose 8 yards dancing in the backfield like Kenneth Walker will. So I think that's why when they get near the goal line and when they're on, you know, you know, short down situations, that's why we see Charbonnet coming out there. And it's infuriating for fantasy managers, but I think that split that we've seen through the first few weeks, when they're both healthy, I think that's what is going to maintain. And Zach Charbonnet, he can be that guy that, you know, gets 35 yards and two touchdowns on any given week. So I think you just need to keep starting him just because of his role in this offense. Let's flip over to the Jacksonville Jaguars and my goodness, it feels like I have to talk about Travis Hunter every single week because, you know, we just see the same thing every single week. Like his routes have been very static. 27 in week one, 27 in week two, 27 in week three, 23 in week four, 26 in week five. Is that just what the dorm is going to be? Do you see any reason that this could potentially change?
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C
Yeah. So I, I actually love this question and putting it as just his routes per game, because when I went back and I looked at how many passes are the Jaguars actually throwing, we saw huge spikes in weeks two and three where it stayed stagnant. It's 27, but as a percentage of routes, it stayed the same there and then it actually increased despite his routes share or his number of routes going down. So 27 versus 26, it sounds like, oh, everything's the same. Trevor Lawrence only attempted 25 passes, so he ran.
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B
We love context.
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C
Every route against the Kansas City Chiefs in a close game where they really wanted to win. So it sounds like when they're in close games that they really want to win. Travis center might be doing a little bit more offense.
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B
And I think the problem too is that he's a really good defender. Not that's a problem for the Jacksonville Jaguars or for Travis Hunter, but for people who drafted him. Just saying, like, this guy's going to be a full time receiver. And I get it. Like I was There like a Liam Cohen offense, James Gladstone building out this offense. These are very offensive minded guys that are putting this team together. I did not expect to see him playing this much on defense, but he's been spectacular so far. I mean I definitely didn't expect to see Travis Hunter coverage on Travis Kelce and doing well in that role, but he did. So I don't see any reason that we're going to see him shift like 100 in either direction. But we will have those games that you mentioned like the Kansas City Chiefs where you know it's a close matchup and they want to rely on his offensive firepower a little bit more. So thank you for adding the context there. Last question I've got regarding the Jacksonville Jaguars, Brian Thomas Jr. What are we doing? Buying, selling, holding. What are we doing here?
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C
Yeah, I mean if you drafted them in Redraft, you just have to hold him and wait for brighter days ahead. I'm not sure who's going to try to buy Brian Thomas Jr. For from you and I'm not sure what they would offer that's even close to what you would probably want if you have Thomas on your roster. So I would just hold the offense is beginning to click a little bit even though Trevor Lawrence is doing it in the funniest way possible. So Maybe Brian Thomas Jr. Remembers how to catch.
- [12:39]
B
It has been ridiculous like that entire game just like throwing the ball past the line of scrimmage and then like the trip and fall and get up and trip and fall and get up again and running for a touchdown. It has been some, some comical football for sure. But got to give it to Liam Cohen, man, I think there's something to be said talked about it in the preseason we see these like awkward introductory press conferences and we saw it with Nick Sirianni, we saw it with Dan Campbell and when Liam Cohen came out like stumbling through his words in the Duvall like I couldn't help but think like this is it. We've got another awkward coach that's going to be awesome and and love to see it transpire through these first few weeks. Got another game that I want to talk about here and had we talked about this game three weeks ago, we would probably would have been looking at like a 14 and a half point spread. But Los Angeles Chargers going to Miami to face against the Dolphins and we've seen the Chargers have been sputtering a little bit these last couple of weeks without Joe Alt, so the right answer is probably neither. But after seeing how Rico Dowdle looked so good against this Miami defense last week. I imagine a lot of people are going to want to get Hassan Haskins or Kamani Vidal into their lineups. What's your recommendation for this week and for the next four weeks while Omarion Hampton is out? We can talk about this one for a little bit because I think everybody's got a strong take here and I don't really have a clear picture of what to expect yet.
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C
Yeah. So I love that you sent this question to me ahead of time because I was panicking looking at it because initial gut reaction, oh, Michigan guy, Haskins going in, he's gonna get the first and second down work. Vidal is going to get the third down work. It's going to be this GROSS Timeshare. When J.K. dobbins missed a month late in the season last year, Haskins stayed in mostly a special teams role and got, you know, a couple of touches here and there and then it was Gus Edwards getting the first and second down, Fadal getting the third down and a little bit of that first and second down work. Only one running back topped 10 fantasy points and that was Gus Edwards. Three times the three weeks he scored touchdowns. So really you're just betting on which one is going to score touchdowns and betting on which one will score rushing touchdowns with alts out. Not ideal. I think I lean Vidal because he has been the one that shows. He gets touches, he gets passing game work. There's some opportunity there. But I agree the right answer is neither. This week I would start Vidal in a, in a pickle. The next four weeks I'm probably just starting neither and just feel bad about it.
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B
So when I look at Jim Harbaugh, who you mentioned the Michigan connection with Hassan Haskins and I look at Greg Roman, they've got a type for a running back. I mean you look back at the Mark ingrams and the J.K. dobbins and the Gus Edwards and the Hassan Haskins and the Naji Harris is like all of the guys that they have tried to make into lead running backs. They've all got this bigger build and I think that's why I lean ever so slightly to Hassan Haskins, a 225 pound guy over commanding Vidal who's a little bit more of a scat back, a pass catcher and whatnot. And, and I think you make a good point about him kind of being relegated to just special team duties last year. But do you think that maybe like am I just big braining this a little bit, maybe thinking that Hassan Haskins is that guy who can get 18, 22 carries in this matchup. And Vidal just kind of comes in for some of the. The passing down stuff.
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C
Yeah, I think I appreciate pushing back because there's always. Greg Roman's gonna do whatever the heck he wants. He doesn't care about our fantasy teams. That's very clear. But I like calling out Mark Ingram. So very different skill sets. And we talk about Vidalis the smaller kind of scat back, but he's still a beefy boy. Like 5, 8, 2, 15. Yeah, I just googled it because this. This came to mind when you brought up Mark Ingram. What is Mark Ingram's height and weight?
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B
I. I would have guessed about 5, 10, 225, but I'm guessing he's a little closer to 5, 8, 2, 15.
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C
5, 9, 215, according to my real quick Wikipedia search. So, yeah, I mean, Vidal is a little shorter. And, you know, maybe that's good, maybe that's bad. But because of his skill set, we think about him as this guy that he's. He's just running around catching passes. Like, Christian McCaffrey tells jokes that people thought that he was like, 5, 6, 180 because he had to stand next to Cam Newton. Like, Kamani Vidal looks tiny because he said to stand next to Gus Edwards, and then now he's standing next to Naji Harrison. Omarion Hampton, like, Yeah, I. I'm 6, 3, 2, 20. I would look small next to Naji Harris. So I think Gardner Minchu's thing last.
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B
Year where Max Crosby kept calling him little boy, and then they had him miked up on the sidelines, and he was like, I might be little on a field, but I'm like, big in real life.
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C
When I'm. When I'm going to the supermarket, I look huge.
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B
Yeah. I remember the first NFL player I ever met in real life. I was probably, like 9 years old at the time, and it was Rex Grossman. And I remember just looking up at him being like, that's the biggest man I've ever seen in my life. There was a Bears training camp. Following him came Brian Erlacher, and I was like, all right, well, that's the biggest guy I've ever seen in my life. And then the offensive line followed Erlacher, and I was just like, is there more? Like, are they just going to keep getting bigger?
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C
I mean, these.
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B
These guys are big guys, and they think you make a. A good point there. We're not going to nitpick. £10 between commodity Vidal and Hassan haskins but I want to stick with this game and I want to stick with the Chargers. I don't even know if you can accurately do this, but I'm just going to make you do it anyway. Can you rank the Chargers wide receivers in this matchup? Quentin Johnson, Keenan Allen and lad McConkey. How do you have them ranked?
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C
Yeah, so when I was looking at this, I. There's no way to guess right, and I'm sure I'm going to guess wrong. I think Quentin Johnston has the best skill set to score touchdowns run after the catch. And the Dolphins want nothing to do with tackling after receiver catches the ball. So I have him number one. I think Lad, he might not be the squeaky wheel that we're talking about. Like, A.J. brown is like crying for targets, but I'm sure lads like, hey guys, be cool if I could score a touchdown. So I think Lad might have a little bit of a bounce back this week. The. The right answer is that I think all three of them, you're starting them and you're hoping for the best, but this is a fantastic matchup with a great quarterback against a terrible defense. You're better off. Like, I play a lot of Dungeons and dragons, like roll 3D 20s and like, assign them to each player and like, that's how you should rank them because they're all gonna eat.
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B
I don't understand the reference, but I think I'm picking up what you're putting down and understand, yeah, you're just like hoping the best for all of these guys. I mean, I've got them right now. Quentin Johnson, wide receiver, 17. Keenan Allen, wide receiver, 18. Lad McConkey, wide receiver, 26. So all very, very tight rankings. And I could look Foolish having Lad McConkey third in this group. I think, like, talent wise, I think that he is the best of the bunch. But it does kind of feel like his versatility has been used as a function to get the other guys open to do what they do best. Like, they can line him up all over the field and you pull him in this direction and then Quentin Johnson's wide open on the opposite side of the field. Or you go deep with lad McConkey and there's Keenan Allen underneath. It almost feels like they've been using him as just kind of like clear out and decoy routes, which is frustrating to see. But it's only a matter of time before Lad Bikanki reminds us of who he is real quick with that.
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C
The worst thing about that is even when he's running Those decoy routes, like, you see Jameson Williams run a decoy route, it's just there's a safety in a corner, like trying to catch him. Lads running these decoy routes, and he still has like 8 yards of separation deep down the field, both hands up, just running all alone. Just come on, just, just give them two of those a week. Just throw a couple.
- [19:51]
B
And Jeff and I, we talked about this on the Dynasty show. And you know, fantasy football people never really talk about like offensive line, but losing Joe Alt was huge. Like they, they had to overcome the Rashawn Slater hurdle and they did that. But like having to overcome come the Rashawn Slater and the Joe Alt hurdle that might just be a little bit too high to clear. So I think I'm also just kind of like tempering expectations for the offense as a whole for the next couple of weeks until Alt gets back up there. Because I think he just gets everything clicking. You know, the run game's working, the past production's working. When you've got a guy like Alt out there. Next one, not really a question. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna throw a takeout to you and I just want you to react to it. Darren Waller, top 12 tight end rest of season. What are your thoughts?
- [20:31]
C
I copied and pasted the show notes and I wrote with no research, no deep dive you, but probably. Right.
- [20:40]
B
That's a, that's pretty succinctly accurate.
- [20:43]
C
Yeah, like I, he. He's not going to score touchdowns every week. But I mean, Tyreek Hill's out. The offense needs a second or third option there. Darren Waller can run routes still after his infamous rap career. Like, yeah, he could be top 12 tight end, but are you saying difference maker, where he's like tight end four, tight end five, he's part of the reason you won your championship. Or tight end 11, where the difference between title 11 and tight end 22 was like, negligible.
- [21:15]
B
And that's probably the real answer there. And you realize that because, you know, you, you pay attention to this all the time. There's like four difference making tight ends this year. And I think we know or like every year, and I think I know who those are. This year it's going to be Jake Ferguson and Trey McBride and Tucker Kraft and Brock Bowers if he can get healthy. And that's kind of the end of the list there. And then everybody else is going to be Tyler Warren. Tyler Warren. Of course. I knew I was forgetting somebody.
- [21:36]
C
You're breaking the heart.
- [21:37]
B
Yes. Tight End 3 Rest of season in my rankings I was spitballing off the top of my head. But yes, Tyler Warren, absolutely. So you got those five and then it's just kind of like everybody else. We're gonna have those random like two touchdown games from Dallas Goddard, we're gonna have these random blow up spots from Darren Waller. But I do want to say like I, I dug into the film from the the last two games and I love the usage that he's been getting. I mean it's been very minimal. Like he's not even playing 50 of the snaps yet. But like the deep post, deep downfield, I love that because we know Tua can hit that throw consistently. That's the route that used to be Tyree Hills and now it's going to Darren Waller. They're drawing him up screens, they're getting them goal line looks as well. So I think there is a lot to be excited about here. But I think that you're right that like he might be the tight end six, he might be the tight end eight, he might be the tight end 12. But really he's just another tight end that we're hoping can fall into the end zone on any given week. So we know that this Miami offense has always been very consolidated with where the targets go and it seems like right now it's Darren Waller, Jalen Waddle and Devon Hn. Is there even another rosterable player in this Miami offense right now?
- [22:39]
C
I mean for this week to start them, probably not. But when we're talking about, you know, if they get plus matchups or you get a little more excited there, we can throw around the ideas of maybe a Malik Washington in a deeper league, maybe in a DFS player throwing in a Nick Westbrook akine to hope for a touchdown spike but found a predictable I need them on my roster. They're going to be a part of the reason I want a championship. Probably not.
- [23:03]
B
Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at as well. And Malik Washington, we were hoping his role would row but then I think what happened is Darren Waller kind of came in and I was doing all the stuff. I mean I can't say like Darren Waller and Tyreek Hill are comparable, but they are running similar routes and doing similar things and Malik Washington is still doing what Malik Washington was doing before the Tyree Hill injury. So like yeah, maybe we see an extra like half target per game over the course of the season but it just doesn't seem like he's going to step up into this Huge role like we had hoped for.
- [23:30]
C
Yeah.
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B
As I always do on the show. Yeah, go ahead.
- [23:32]
C
I was going to say he's also just like there's a lot of empty calorie targets. It's the this year's Wondale Robinson. I saw somebody making that joke. Like it's a bunch of targets, not a lot of yards, zero touchdowns. It's gross.
- [23:44]
B
Yeah. Like if you need a desperation PPR play in your flex spot, there's some value there. But if you're starting Malik Washington, some things probably have gone pretty wrong with your fantasy management so far. So every week when I have somebody on the show, you know we're all fans of football and I like to talk about the games of the guests that they are fans of. Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers Mike, you are a unabashed Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so I want to talk about this one a little bit. Let's start with the Cleveland Browns actually, then we'll get to the Steelers. Isaiah Bond is the guy that I want to talk about first though, because the usage has been very promising. Like he's pulling more targets every single week. But the production has been pretty mad so far. So are you stashing him, are you starting him or are you just saying like I don't even want any part of this Browns passing attack? Which I think is a perfectly fine answer.
- [24:31]
C
I think it depends on I, I hate this cop out answer. But like it depends on your league settings. If you're in a deep dynasty league like I am and there's, you know, three wide receivers, four flex spots, a super flex spot. Like, yeah, I'm probably starting Isaiah Bond as my wide receiver seven and I feel great about it. If I'm in a two wide receiver, one flex league, Isaiah Bond should probably still be on waivers. It's a rookie wide receiver tied to a rookie quarterback with no hope of, oh, this quarterback's waiting in the winds and is going to save this offense. It's a couple of guys that don't really move the needle that much or we haven't seen them move the needle and don't expect them to this year. So yeah, the targets will be there. Maybe he'll connect on a couple of them and it'll be a cool spike week. But I think the real takeaway for Isaiah Bond is dynasty leagues. He was an absolute steal. Like he looks like the player that we thought he would be before all of the pre draft process took off. So I'm excited if you have Isaiah Bond. I think there's brighter days Ahead in dynasty leagues, in redraft leagues. It's probably just a gross Cleveland offense. Like, you could probably just recycle that clip for the last 25 years.
- [25:40]
B
Seriously. And you talk about Isaiah Bond being, like, a great discount in drafts, and this is, like, a touchy subject because it opens up like a whole conversation on morality. But, like, when you're looking for these day three wide receivers that hit, there's kind of two buckets that they fall into. It's either guys with injury histories and they fall because of those injuries, or it's guys that have character concerns. And that's what we saw with Antonio Brown and Tyreek Hill and Stefan Diggs and, of course, Isaiah Bond as well. So, again, like, it's a morality thing, and I don't want to get into that whole conversation. But, like, when you're in round five of your rookie draft and you're looking for a guy to target, like, don't get that safe guy who you hope is going, like, just swing for the fences on these guys with the character issues. Nine times out of ten, they're gonna end up being nothing. But every once in a while, you can stumble across gold. And I don't think Isaiah Bond is there yet, but we've seen enough through the first month of the season that there's promise and there's reason to get excited. The other thing I want to talk about in this passing attack is the tight ends, because we saw with Dylan Gabriel, they were just hyper targeting tight ends. Do you think that was just a bit fluky, or do you think that there's something to be said about, like, a young rookie quarterback just wanting to get the ball to his biggest targets?
- [26:47]
C
Yeah, I think there's something to say about young quarterback trying to find his safety blankets in both Najoku and Fan. And there's also something to be said about. I don't like to put quarterbacks into buckets this early in their career, but if I were to put him into a bucket this early in his career, Dylan Gabriel is a little undersized. Not that strong of an arm. Not hitting. That's part of the reason Isaiah Bond has seven targets last week and two receptions. He's not hitting the deep throws. He's hitting the Joku on a shallow crosser. He's hitting Fanon on a quick screen pass. Those are the throws that he can make, and he can make them in rhythm, and he can see the field there. He's probably not reading what guys are doing over top of his guards because can't see it.
- [27:32]
B
Yeah. And maybe he can get there eventually. Like, we saw Drew Brees adapted by learning to play on his tiptoes. And we've seen that guys like Kyler Murray can adapt with their willingness to just like bootleg everything outside of the top, outside of the pocket. But I think we're a few years away from that developmental path from Dylan Gabriel. So again, this is another. Like when I look at David Ajoku and Harold Fannin, I think I lumped them right in with Darren Waller and kind of that like back end, tight end one, high end, tight end two. Like you're starting these guys because you probably don't have a better option. And when they score a touchdown, you feel like a genius. And when they don't, you're looking at 3.4 points in your tight end spots. And why did I think I could start the tight end two on the Browns?
- [28:13]
C
Well, sometimes the Titan two on the Browns is falling in the end zone, so that's nice.
- [28:18]
B
So let's talk about the Steelers. As I mentioned, you are a Steelers fan and I always think that, like, you can get extra information from people who are paying attention because, you know, I'm paying attention to 32 teams. But as a Bears fan, I pay closer attention to the Bears and I'm sure you as a Steelers fan pay a little bit closer attention to the Steelers. So do you think Kenneth Gainwell has earned a role? Like, it looks like Jalen Warren is probably coming back this week, but my goodness, Kenneth Gainwell looked incredible before that bye week. Do you think there will be more of a split? I mean, there was a little bit of a split, but it's still clearly in the favor of Gainwell. Do you think that tightens up a little bit now coming out of the buy?
- [28:52]
C
Yeah, I think there's going to be like right now there's two different camps among both Steelers fans and Steelers beat reporters. There's some that are saying that it is going to be closer to a 5050 split with Warren still getting the lead but like 6040 and Gainwell getting more passing down work, which would be hilarious because that's what Jalen Warren has done for five years. And then there's the other camp that Warren's back. It's his backfield. That's what Tomlin said coming into the season. Tomlin's always true to his word, which I tend to believe that camp because when Tomlin says we're going to run our offense through Jalen Warren, the young Bucks need to prove it and gain well's a nice piece we have. I believe him. So I think it's going to be the Jalen Warren show. This week specifically. We could see a closer split just because they're trying to bring him back from injury smartly. But I think when we're Talking about week 10, 11, 12, I think it's going to return to being the Jalen Warren show.
- [29:43]
B
So you talk about that Mike Tomlin being true to his word. Do you think that last year, and I'm totally like going off on a tangent here, but last year like Justin Fields was winning games and like, sure it wasn't pretty, but like he looked okay. But when Russ Wilson was healthy, like Mike Tomlin said that, like Russ Wilson, we said that he was the starter and there was a lot of talk about like, you know, Mike Tomlin is the coach that isn't going to let a guy lose his spot to an injury. So am I making a connection here that you think like I might be onto something? Is that, is that why you're kind of leaning towards Warren?
- [30:12]
C
That's a common trend. It's been going on in Pittsburgh since Mike Tomlin took over. When he says this guy is the starter, you can believe that. True and true. And he loves one running back that does the majority of things. I mean, we saw Arthur Smith turned Bijan and Alier into a terrifying two headed backfield where both of them take turns. Tomlin reeled that in. He's like, nope, Warren's getting career levels of touches and then Warren ends up getting hurt because, you know, maybe that doesn't work out the way that it's supposed to. But Warren's gonna come back and Tomlin's gonna go, nope, I said he's the starter, he's the starter.
- [30:46]
B
And I gotta give it to Jalen Warren. Like I had my concerns because we see this all the time. Like the third down back that has the, the eye popping efficiency and then they get into a bigger role and like it rarely works out. But I gotta give it to Jalen Warren, man, through those first three weeks before he got hurt, he looks spectacular. And I think that he does deserve that role going forward. So I tend to lean with you a little bit. That Kenneth Gainwell, we know that he's got elite, like truly elite injury away contingent upside. Like you want to keep him stashed on your benches because if Jalen Warren misses any time, you know that Kenneth Gainwell is just going to go out there and get all the touches. But I do think like you do that. Jalen Warren is going to take that role back. Now the next question I have. You know, we've seen a lot of weird personnel usage and then some of this might be Mike Tomlin. I think a lot of it more so is Arthur Smith. We see like Pat Friermuth looking good in the beginning of the season and then just completely out of the picture last week or two weeks ago. John who Smith has kind of had his ups and downs. Calvin Austin, you know, we love the air yard share, but they haven't been a lot of air yards in this offense, so I don't know how much you can put into that. So brings me to my next question. Is any pass catcher besides DK Metcalf even startable right now?
- [31:50]
C
Startle big, big question mark. But when we talk about. I, I like that you talked about Tyreek Hill missing time and then Darren Waller randomly takes those things. Calvin Austin is currently. We're recording this a little beforehand, but Calvin Austin is trending to miss this week. If Calvin Austin misses this week, Johnny Smith turns into their deep intermediate guy. Clear out routes, deep posts, like getting across the field and getting the ball in space. The yak guy, like, he becomes all those things that Calvin Austin is in order to complement DK Metcalf. So if Calvin Austin misses this week and your tight end is gross, Johnny Smith is worth. Worth a peak. Not a smash start, but a peak.
- [32:32]
B
So I didn't put this one on the show sheet because I want your honest, guttural reaction to this one on an A through F grade. What would you give the Aaron Rodgers experience to the first month of the season?
- [32:43]
C
Oh, man, I'm gonna say a B because I, I went back and I looked. I think Aaron Rodgers had our first four touchdown passing game since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
- [32:59]
B
Yeah.
- [32:59]
C
And it's been five years for that. So that, that was exciting. The Vikings game was terrifying for the end of the way that we handled it, but watching DK Metcalf in space was electric. So I'm gonna say a B because the highs have been pretty high and I haven't felt those as a Steelers fan in a while watching an offense. But it's also like, I don't know if I want to be winning games right now. Like, we're this. This team clearly isn't going to win a Super bowl. So it'd be cool if we could win one playoff game.
- [33:29]
B
Yeah, I mean, like, who knows? There could always be a splashy addition before the trade deadline. Something else that can you know, kick this team into a second gear, but they're not just. It's been weird, like, this guy, his whole career, he's been a gunslinger, like, ripping the ball downfield. And I think it was a game against Minnesota that he didn't have a single pass attempt that even went more than 15 yards downfield. But it's been working for him. Like, it is just this dink and dunk offense, but, like, you need somebody to put a ball on a player 10 yards away. Aaron Rodgers isn't going to miss those throws. And, like, he has been very efficient with the ball. So, you know, I. I know there were a lot of strong opinions about Aaron Rodgers from Steelers fans coming into this year, but I've been pleasantly surprised. I mean, he looks much better this year than he did anytime during the New York Jets 100.
- [34:09]
C
And I will say he gets an A plus for when he tried to run, got 15 yards, got tackled so hard the ball went flying backwards to Broderick Jones. And then saw that our guy got it started, signaling for a first down even though he just got rocked. That's A plus. Cinema. Roll the credits. I don't need to see anything else.
- [34:30]
B
It was fun. Yeah, he must be doing some good conditioning because he is older than I am, and if I took a hit like that, my insides would turn to soup. I would just be, like, stretchered off the field and I'd probably never talk another word in my life. So, yeah, Aaron Rodgers out here. You know, at 41, 42 years old, I forget exact, but still looking pretty darn good. Cincinnati Bengals at Green Bay Packers. Another game that we definitely need to talk about here. Jamar Chase, T. Higgins. Chase Brown. They're saved, right? Like, Joe Flacco is here. The savior has arrived. I'm being a little sarcastic. What's your take here?
- [35:02]
C
Yeah, I mean, I. I saw this stat somewhere. I'm sorry if I'm ripping it off of someone, but EPA per play. Worst quarterback in the league was Jake Browning. Second worst in the league was Joe Flacco. Joe Flacco is another. We'll call him an elder statesman, and he's going from one of the worst offensive lines in the league to the worst offensive line in the league. So I think maybe Jamar Chase gets hyper targeted like Joe Flacco likes to do to his number one receiver. But no one is saved by this. It's just maybe slightly less gross.
- [35:35]
B
So I will have a little bit of a different opinion here because, yeah, like, that offensive line in Cleveland was terrible. But I was kind of surprised when I looked. And Joe Flacco was below the league average in sack rate. And if you think about why, I mean, we saw Dylan Sampson getting like eight targets per game in this offense. So I think that he does at least have the, the veteran savviness. Like, rather than scrambling around frantically like Jake Browning would do, taking these sacks, forcing the ball into triple coverage. He is a little bit better at getting through his progressions and checking down. So I think Jamar Chase is the guy. Like, we've seen what Amari Cooper did a couple of years ago in Cleveland, and I don't know if that Joe Flacco still exists at this point, but he is willing to rip it downfield to his number one guy. We've also seen that he's willing to check down, which is something that we haven't seen at all for Chase Brown so far. So I think those are the two guys that I'm most excited about are Jamar Chase and Chase Brown. I don't know if there's going to be enough for T. Higgins to get back up there. I mean, it's been a rough season so far for T. Higgins and I think he could still have the occasional boom game. But you know, those that were hoping that he could be a top 15 wide receiver alongside Chase, I don't see that happening. I think Chase Brown is probably the biggest winner from here, though, just based on what we saw from Dylan Sampson and his role with Joe Flacco.
- [36:45]
C
Yeah, I think I would support that. I was a certified Chase Brown hater for the last couple of years, but at this point, if he just keeps getting check down targets like those, the clips of, you know, two guys scoring 1.1 PPR points and one of them is just a guy getting a check down and getting absolutely nailed, and one of them's Omarion Hampton carrying ten dudes like Chase Brown's going to be in a lot of those for the next couple of weeks.
- [37:08]
B
Yeah. And I know, you know, you were a big part of the magazine that we did this off season and we did our fades or what do we call them, Sleepers and bus is what we called them. And I had a write up about Chase Brown being a bust and then we sent it off to the publisher and then I kind of had like a change of horror. I'm like, wait, you know, maybe he actually will be okay. And I kind of like regretted that in the magazine. But now through the first five weeks, I mean, weird means to get there, but yeah, it kind of worked out. Now he's showing like again like I keep going back to shows that I've done with Jeff because he's just such a poignant analysts and make these great points. But like the Bengals built themselves to like to. To work only with Joe Burrow and nobody else. Like no offensive line superstar receivers. But they were able to overcome those because they had a guy who just had amazing pocket awareness and can push the ball downfield and put it on these receivers 40, 50 yards downfield. And I think without Joe Burrow, everything falls apart and that's what we're seeing right now. So I think Flacco could maybe keep them afloat and get the ball to the playmakers. But you know, like the, the top three, top five upside that people were hoping for with Chase Brown, I think that's gone. I think that we're looking at him is now just kind of like a volume based high end, middling RB2.
- [38:15]
C
Yeah, I think we're looking at like an Alvin Camara from the last couple of years where yeah, he scored 15 PPR points. But it's eight catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns because the Saints offense is bad.
- [38:28]
B
And I think that's pretty spot on. Like Derek Carr last year, Joe Flacco this year, I think there's going to be like similar tendencies to how they play. So I like that comp a lot. Don't be surprised by steal that from you on a show within the next week or so.
- [38:40]
C
Can't wait.
- [38:41]
B
Green Bay Packers. This is. You know, I didn't think I'd have to have this conversation, but there's been a lot of polarizing online discussion about Tucker Kraft. I mean like I thought the guy was just like really good and we were looking at him as a top five tight end rest of season. But I feel like I need to ask the question because of some of the discourse I've seen. Is Tucker Craft to buy a seller a hold?
- [39:02]
C
Yeah, I didn't write any notes for this question because I was like, why is this on here? If you can buy him, buy him. If you have him him, don't sell him. Hashtag good at football.
- [39:12]
B
That right.
- [39:14]
C
I don't know what else to say about it. He's breaking tackles, he's involved in the offense. He's like their first option when all of their receivers and him are on the field like they want to run the offense through. Josh Jacobs running it a bunch and Tucker Kraft seam routes and out routes where he gets his yak afterwards. That sounds Like a tight end that I want on my team. So I. Why would somebody want to sell Tucker Craft?
- [39:36]
B
I don't know, but apparently that's a thing. And like, I look at him and I see like a screaming by. I see a guy who, like, should be the overall tight end one in fantasy right now, but he went down to the one yard line twice last time he played and like, the difference there, you had an extra 12 points to his total and he's the per game tight end one in fantasy, ahead of Jake Ferguson, ahead of Tyler Warren, ahead of everybody. But there is this, you know, the. The nits that I've heard picked about Tucker Kraft, I don't think matter. Like, you know, he can't beat press coverage. He's not a smooth route runner. Well, guess what? I think Matt LaFleur knows those things. They're not putting him out wide and asking him to beat press coverage. They're like schematically drawing up plays where they clear out everybody. Tucker Craft catches the ball, nobody's within 15 yards of him. And by the time he's fully up to speed, nobody's taking him down. Like, he's just a runaway freight train out there. Like, this is the usage I want to see from a tight end. He's also a good blocker, too. So, like, he could really sell it in the play action where he's able to, like, you know, throw the block. But it's not just like the quick little chip block and then out to the flat. Like he fully engages his blocker and then he releases and like somehow it works every single time. He's just wide open out there. So I think, like, he is getting perfect usage. I. I'm with you. I mean, I'm in a guillotine league right now where I thought I was real slick in the draft. I walked away with Evan Ingram and Colson Loveland, you know, shout out Andrew Cooper. A good yin yang tight end strategy, right? Felt great about it and still alive in the guillotine league, but not because of my tight ends. Tucker Kraft hit this week as by players often do in the guillotine leagues. I outpit the next person by like 100 bucks, and I didn't even care. I'm like, good, I've got my tight end problem solved now. Like, he doesn't have a bye week. I've got a plug and play tight end. Like, I'm looking at this guy as top three tight end, and I'm shocked that everybody else is in.
- [41:14]
C
Yeah, I think there's a Lot of similarities with early George Kittle and then like current Tucker Craft and projecting what Tyler Warren will continue to be like. They're not the prettiest route runners, but I don't need you to be a pretty route runner when you're 6, 5, 2, 40 and you run like a freight train. Like, I think I comped Tucker Craft to a bull in China shop for a scouting report a couple years ago. He's just, he's just a big boy that likes to be a bully with the ball in his hands. And those are the tight ends that I love.
- [41:42]
B
Yep, I am completely with you. Big fan of Tucker Craft. Love what we've seen from him so far this year. I got another question. This one feels kind of like mean spirited, almost like when I asked you to rank the Chargers wide receivers, but I don't think that there's a right answer. I just kind of want your opinion here. From now through the end of the season, who will be the top three wide receivers in scoring for the Packers?
- [42:02]
C
Yeah, this was very mean, but I do have a photo going around. Every time Romeo Dobbs scores a touchdown, I'm gonna make his guardian cap a little bit bigger.
- [42:14]
B
Yes.
- [42:15]
C
I started that during his two touchdown games. So that will continue for the rest of the season. So I actually, I have Dobbs number one, because I think he, he is the X in this offense. Like, as much as we like to make fun and be like, oh, Matthew Golden's going to take over Don Tavian Wicks, like, Christian Watson's coming back. Dobbs is the guy that Jordan love trusts and they trust him in the red zone and he keeps scoring touchdowns. So thank you.
- [42:37]
B
Because I prefer Dobbs above the rest. I don't think there's a single other person in the industry that I would have talked to that would have provided that answer. So thank you. Because that's where I was going to go with. Yeah, this, this guy, like he has been the number one receiver for years, but people get so bogged down with like the per route run efficiency that they don't realize that he's just like a sound blocker and that keeps him on the field. He doesn't come off in two wide receiver sets. And like you said, he has the trust of Jordan Love and that's why we see these touchdowns and like at a certain point it stops becoming fluky and it just starts becoming something that they're intentionally trying to do.
- [43:07]
C
Yeah, I call me crazy, I like the receiver that stays on the field for the good offense.
- [43:14]
B
Wow. Mind blowing analysis there. I'm gonna, I'm gonna make that into a graphic and share it on Twitter tomorrow.
- [43:19]
C
Perfect. I do need to update my dynasty ranks though, because I have been one of those guys that was like the route, the per routes are bad and all of these things are bad and I don't think he's a good receiver. He can be easily replaced, but they haven't replaced him yet and it doesn't look like they will anytime soon. Number two, I have Matthew golden and I think if one of them overtakes Dobbs, it will be Golden. He can separate. It will good. After the catch, I still think his 42940 wasn't real, but he's, he's still, he's still quick. So I have him at 2 and then don Tavian Wicks. When we talk about Dobbs being terrible per route, Wicks is electric per route. He started catching the ball this year. So that's, that's a win for us. And I just, I think once you get past golden, the rest of them are desperation flex plays, DFS kind of guys. It's not, you're not plugging Wicks into your lineup. I mean, like, man, I got a wide receiver too this week. I'm ready.
- [44:16]
B
Yeah. And I'm kind of shocked to see Christian Watson. It looks like he's already like, I don't know if they've officially. I could be misspeaking here. I don't think they've officially opened his 21 day practice window yet. But like the fact that I even see clips of Christian Watson in cleats and pads on a field, I mean that was a week 17 ACL injury and like he's already getting back out there, trying to, trying to get back on the field. So I don't have a lot of expectations just because of how late in the year that came, but I think that can muddy things up a little bit too. Like if he's up to speed late in the year that pushes Don Tavian Wicks out, then we're looking at a potential late season return for Jaden Reed as well. So I'm 100 with you that I think like the only two guys that really matter here are Romeo Dubs, Matthew Golden. We could maybe like I just checked my rest of season rankings projections. I prefer Romeo Dubs rankings. I prefer Matthew golden. And you know, there is that difference there because like, if Matthew golden does figure it out and take that next step, he's the type of guy that can give you top 10 upside where I don't think you're ever getting that sort of upside with Romeo Dubs.
- [45:14]
C
I concur.
- [45:16]
B
All right, let's see Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders. The last one that we're going to talk about here, and this is a very self indulgent. I want to talk about this game. First of all, I can't believe that they're doing this after what happened week seven last year. Like this is what caused the entire franchise to just like unravel over the next three weeks. And they're like, hey, let's, let's make this the Monday night prime time game. And I'm sure I tweeted out today the, the over under of them showing Tyreek Stevenson baiting the crowd. Eight and a half. That's what I'm thinking from like from pre game through post game. I think we see that clip about eight and a half times during the broadcast.
- [45:53]
C
I'll. I'll take the under but very barely. I think it's gonna be over five.
- [45:58]
B
It's, it's gonna be a heavy talking point for sure. But the main thing I want to talk about here is these rookies for the Bears. Like two highly drafted guys. Colson Loveland in the top 10, Luther Burton with an early second round pick. And we just haven't seen anything from them so far. But we often hear that rookies get unleashed after the buy and that's what everyone says. Like wait until after the buy before you say any declarative statements about the rookies. Do you think that we see that this week that these guys get opened up a little bit and we get to see them playing a little bit more?
- [46:26]
C
I like. So the question says unleashed and then now what you're saying just a little bit? I think a little, a little bit. 100%. Let's get a couple more snaps and there are a couple more routes, a little more involved in the offense. And what we want to see is we want to see a positive trend from here moving forward because with an early buy, these rookies haven't had a lot of time to begin showing that trend. What's nice guys, with buys in like week nine, week ten, you begin to see a little bit of a ramp up, then the buy hits and all of a sudden it's a huge spike. But because it's so early in the season, we haven't seen that little ramp up yet. So now you want to see is there a plan to bring them along? Are they beginning to do a little bit better? I think Luther Burden could Be one of those guys. Because every vibe around DJ Moore is just horrifying. Like, nobody has anything nice to say about DJ Moore in Chicago. Maybe the fans do, but the coaching staff certainly does not.
- [47:21]
B
No.
- [47:23]
C
So, yeah, maybe Luther Burden can get.
- [47:25]
B
Into that role a little bit more.
- [47:26]
C
But Cole Comet is playing well. He's. He's a good tight end. He blocks well. He does what he's supposed to. He's good with the ball in his hands. He's open when he's supposed to be. So I think Colson Loveland's at a position that takes a little bit more to break out. We've been absolutely spoiled with the Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren this year, Sam Laporta. This used to be a position where you're talking about years and years and years of development. Like, maybe the year three breakout for wide receivers is the year three that tight ends begin to become a little relevant. I think Colson Loveland may be closer to that timeline, especially with the roadblocks in front of him.
- [48:04]
B
And I think when you look at a guy like Tyler Warren, comparing him to Colson Loveland, he's almost four years older, and you look at him like he just looks like an older man. Like, he's got a thicker frame, he's got bigger arms. Like, colson Loveland still 21 years old, like. Like, very clearly growing into his body. He doesn't look like an NFL tight end yet. Like, he's got that kind of early career Kyle Pitts build where he's, like, very slender. And that's not what you want from a tight end in the NFL. And we got to remember, he was also recovering from shoulder surgery for the majority of this off season. So a lot of guys are really hitting the weights hard. He wasn't able to do that because he was recovering from this surgery. So Cole Comet at this point, like, he's one of those guys that fantasy people just can't stand for whatever reason. And I don't get it. Like, he was an early second round pick out of Notre Dame. He is a good tight end. Like, he's got a top six season under his belt, but for whatever reason, like, people are just waiting for him to just turn into a pumpkin after, like, six years in the league now. And I think he's a good tight end, and I think that maybe we can see Colson Loveland become a part of the offense a little bit more. But, you know, with Roma, Dunes A there, Cole Comet there, DJ Moore there, for now, it is hard to envision a World where Luther Burton and Colson Loveland can come in and do anything splashy without injuries or trades ahead of that. Him.
- [49:13]
C
I can't stand Colcomett because I bumped him up into like, I think I had him tight end six, tight end seven. And then the draft rolls around and they're like, by the way, here's one of your favorite tight ends in the draft. I went, man, now they're both gonna stick. And that's kind of how it's been so far. Like, Cole Comet's probably not going to be the same difference maker that he was back in the day. And Colson Lovin's going to come along a little slower and they're both going to be like we wish they were to Joku Fanon, but instead they're just kind of hanging out.
- [49:42]
B
You know, I had, and I think just about everybody had Tyler Warren ahead of Colson Loveland in pre draft rankings. And then because of the landing spot and because of the draft capital, I made that switch after the draft and I really like talked myself into a room. Just like, you know, actually if you look at the, the production per team pass attempts, you know, Colson Loveland was pretty good last year. And then it's just one of those things. It's like, how did you not take Tyler Warren? Like how look at what he's doing right now. He immediately looks like one of the best tight ends in the league. And like, I can't even imagine how fun this offense would be with Cole Caveat and Tyler Warren out there. But I digress. I will not put on the fan goggles too much on this show. One other question that I have for you though, regarding the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams, currently the per game QB6 in fantasy. What are we looking at here? Is this the year two breakout or is he just a regression candidate?
- [50:31]
C
Yeah, if we're saying breakout as in like real life, keeping the offense on schedule, clearly showing the people that are saying he's a bust are wrong. Heck yeah. Breakouts here. Breakout is in. He's gonna finish the season as the QB6. Probably not. He's not gonna get the Dallas Cowboys every week. There is like a juicy stretch there in the middle where he could, you know, pad the stats a little bit, but it's, it's not a lot of rushing upside. There's a little bit there. It's really how efficient this offense is and the efficiency metrics are being bumped up by playing the worst passing defense in the league. So I expect a little bit of a, of A comeback down, but I still think he'll finish in the top 10. It just won't be quarterbacks. Very similar to tight end. There's like, two or three difference makers, then a bunch of guys that you can kind of fit in there. He's probably going to finish in a bunch of guys. And.
- [51:22]
B
And it's been a weird season because you look through the first two weeks, the passing wasn't there, and we saw this, like, uncharacteristic rushing where he was just, like, running like a chicken with his head cut off out of the field. Like, I had never seen Caleb Williams move like that before. Then he settles down a little bit in Dallas, gets to follow that up with a game against the Raiders. Another very bad defense where he felt some pressure from Max Crosby, but was able to navigate around it and had himself another big game. But it does feel a little bit fake right now. Like, I think finishing inside the top 10, finishing inside the top 12, I think is very, you know, something that he can reach. I don't think that's out of question, but I don't think that this top six player that we've seen through the first month of the season is going to maintain either. Let's talk about the Washington Commanders here. Corey Crosby, Merit. Is he here to stay?
- [52:08]
C
Short answer, yes. Long answer. Like a mentor of mine in the industry. Like a guy that kind of took me under his wing when I was first starting out. Jetpack Galileo. We did, like, a filled film breakdown. Talked about some guys that we really enjoyed. Jacori Crosky. Merit popped up and we were just like, dude, dude, this guy can play. And then he goes to the Commanders. I'm probably the biggest Brian Robinson supporter in the league. Like, in the industry. Like, I. I think he's a good running back. He's just a good running back that we hate because he's good at the little things. And then the Commanders decided, nope, get him out of there. I think Jacori Crosby Merritt could be the kind of guy that he has the job. He keeps the job. He continues to keep the job, and he's just going to continue to be the lead back in this offense.
- [52:55]
B
Yeah. Check out the Dynasty show with Jeff Bell if you haven't. Because we had a long conversation about Jacori Crosby Merit, and I have this, like, hunch that what we're seeing with, like, some of the best running backs in the NFL, it's when they get paired up with a mobile quarterback. And it used to be, like, that wasn't a Good thing because the mobile quarterbacks were stealing touches and they were stealing goal line opportunities. But now with just the change in how defenses are playing, trying so hard to stop the big play by playing this too high shell that now that you've got these lighter boxes, when you've got a defense watching Jaden Daniels and Jakory Grosky Merit and they don't know who's going to take off with the ball, you know, all it takes is like one quick bite from one of these guys and the other one can get behind you in a, in the blink of an eye. So we saw it last year with Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, you know, in their respective offenses with mobile quarterbacks just completely breaking fantasy football. And I think now, you know, I, I don't, I didn't really like what I saw from the Commander's run game when they were out there with Marcus Mariota, but it just looked like a completely revamped run game last week. And I think a lot of that is because of the threat of Jaden Daniels as a rusher. So I'd kind of made some jokes about Jacori Crosky Merit, you know, being like a short term thing like in Dynasty. He's not a guy I want to go out and aggressively buy because we see this often with these day three backs. You know, I can't help but think about James Robinson and Jordan Howard and Damien Pierce, these guys that come out their rookie year look really good and then just kind of fizzle out over time. That is typically the way that a day three running back goes. But I think like in redraft leagues or you know, even a keeper league, you know, you can kind of play it from here. But I, I think that he's a guy that you should be going out to try to get because he looks worlds better than every other running back in that Commander's offense.
- [54:30]
C
Yeah, and the, we talk about the impact of a mobile quarterback, it's not just like, you know, there's these one offs were like, yeah, Saquon Barkley good at football. He's going to continue to be good at football. We see the explosive run rate for guys where they're paired with a mobile quarterback. In the last couple of years, it's begun to skyrocket because OCS are beginning to allow their mobile quarterback. It's not just scrambling, they're designed rushes. It's putting the defense in unwinnable situations. So yeah, there's, there's like math that backs that up and the Idea that they're just stealing goal line touches is gone. And I love that. It's good for Bruce hall, too. He's having the highest nice breakaway rush rate I think, since his rookie year. It might be a little bit higher through the first five weeks.
- [55:10]
B
And if you also look, his best games have come with Justin Fields. When Tyrod Daler was out there, not a bubble quarterback, we saw Breece hall dipping in efficiency. So, yeah, I mean, it's. It's so fun talking about, like, this schematics of football and how things are constantly changing. And now we're starting to see these like, jumbo packages where teams are playing in 13 personnel with a mobile quarterback and a running back out there and running this kind of like, you know, just play off of, like, options. It's just, it's really fun watching how this is changing right now. And I, I think that's something going into next year that I'm going to be pretty cognizant of is like trying to target the running backs in backfields that have mobile quarterbacks as well. Last question I have, though, and I want to stick here on the Washington Commanders. How freaking good is that Debo Samuel, man? I mean, he is just. He's been looking real good this year. We forget about it. Like, he had pneumonia last year, lost a few pounds, and I just hand up, I forgot how good Debo is.
- [56:00]
C
Yeah, he's. He's freaking good, dude. But the, the fat Debo memes are. Are down so bad. Like the, the running routes on air where it's like, man, he kind of looks a little slow. I will say, I wrote in a roundtable this week. I do think there could be a little bit of a trap door here where, yes, he's good and he's a fantastic pick and you should continue to start him. Maybe, maybe he's not going to finish as a wide receiver.
- [56:25]
B
7.
- [56:25]
C
Maybe he's not going to score. He has four touchdowns through five weeks. If, if you think he's going to score 15 touchdowns, I would love that. I don't know if that's gonna happen.
- [56:35]
B
Yeah. It just seems like he's such a good fit for this offense, though, because they have all of these downfield receivers and yeah, I know a lot of them are banged up or whatever, but like Terry McLaurin, Luke McCaffrey, Noah Brown, these guys aren't running short and intermediate routes. They're getting deep downfield and stretching defenses vertically. And then you've got the rushing threat of Jaden Daniels, and it just Seems like Debo Samuel is just like always there, five yards off the line of scrimmage, just ready to run through any defender that can gets near him. I'm very happy to see the resurgence. I've been a long time Debo Samuel fan and I like to see that he is out here with his second team, you know, finding success in his second act. But last question I have for you, Mike and I asked this question to everybody to close out the show. This could be football related or otherwise. What is a hill that you are willing to die on?
- [57:17]
C
Yeah, I thought long and hard about this one. The rest of them I was like, ah, it's football, you know, I got it. This one I sat around and I thought like, like what is really important to me and I think that I want to chat about. I think everybody, like regardless of your fitness level, what's going on in your life, like should have some kind of active hobby. And that's going to sound vastly different for different people. If you love just going out and like walking with your dogs, like that's an active hobby, that counts. If you like doing push ups when your favorite football team scores, like that counts. That's an active hobby. If you like, you know, men's league sport, if you like going on runs, CrossFit, lifting, just find something that makes fitness fun. Because when you say get in shape by running, a whole bunch, a lot of people, the back of their head, they're like, that sounds awful, I'm not going to do that. But then you say, hey man, you want to go play pickup basketball? They're like, oh dude, sounds great. Next thing you know, they look down at their apple watch, they ran six miles by accident. So just find a way to make fitness fun and then it becomes a lifetime and a lifestyle of things rather than just, man, I really got to go for a run today. I packed on some football weight.
- [58:31]
B
I think that is perfect. And you know, I've talked a lot about my fitness journey over the last couple of years and I think like my, my story was so much like similar to what other people experience. Like, you know, high school athlete, you know, got out of high school and I was still playing pickup basketball and staying fit. And then I hit my mid-20s and you know, got a little pouchy and then hit my late 20s and started feeling aches and pains. And then it was like in my early 30s. I was like, I just need to change this. And what started for me was hiking. Like I'm lucky enough to live out in Colorado and That was kind of like the first active hobby that I had. And then hiking turned into rock climbing, and rock climbing turned into white water rafting. And then before I know it, it's like, wait, I'm getting in pretty good shape and I'm starting to feel good now. I'm going to nurture this by getting in the gym so I could enjoy my hobbies even more. And now it's just like, every single day, like, there's something active. But that started because I just enjoyed it. Hiking. And, like, truth be told, I was hiking so I could get up to the top of the mountain because I thought beer tasted better at 14,000ft.
- [59:22]
C
And that's how there's science there.
- [59:25]
B
It does. It does. Yeah. If you've Never climbed a 14,000foot mountain and drank a beer, put it on your bucket list and do it. It's an amazing experience. But, yeah, I think having something that you enjoy, whether it be pickleball or, like you said, just walking the dog, it is so, so important. I love that one.
- [59:40]
C
Yeah, I recently. So I stepped away. I had an independent podcast that I've been doing for two and a half years, and I realized, you know, Tuesday nights, Thursday nights, Saturday mornings, like, I was spending all this time and just sitting here drinking a beer, talking ball. And it's fantastic and I love it, but it was at the same time as rugby practice in my local town, so I was not going to go do the thing that I would like to do so that I could just talk football. I say, well, sitting here and talking football, I. I stepped away from that so I could start rugby back up. So I'm getting in the swing of things. I'm trying to. To find a way to actually live through this. And I hope if somebody listening goes, you know what, like, yeah, I'm gonna go play rugby or I'm gonna go play soccer. Yeah, I should walk my dogs more. I love doing that. Just find something that makes staying in shape fun and pursue it.
- [60:30]
B
Could not agree with more that that's one of the. The favorite answers I've had to this question so far since I fired the show back up. So thanks for that, Mike. Before I start off, first of all, I want to thank you for. For joining the football guy staff. It's been almost a year now. Just an absolute pleasure having you. For anybody who doesn't know, Mike is a huge part of the rookie guy that we put together every single year. Last year was me, Jeff Bell, Alfredo Brown, and then Mike just stepping in like brand new, like two months on staff and I was just like, hey Mike, how do you, how do you feel about doing like 50 scouting reports and like it just wasn't too big for you. It knocked it out of the park. Also helping with the magazine writing, doing all that stuff. But Mike, let everyone know where they can find all of your written content, podcasts, social media, all that good stuff.
- [61:08]
C
Yeah, so best place is just head over to, you know, Twitter X, whatever you want to call it at ff. Mike Cash. That's cash with a K. I write at football, guys. I'm a manager over. At last we're on sports for the fantasy department over there. And then, yeah, check out the rookie guide because it's going to be awesome this year. I cannot wait to write 400 words on an undrafted free agent. I still think Andrew Armstrong can be good. Someone please just give him a shot. But yeah, no. Thanks so much for having me. This is a fun show.
- [61:37]
B
You're holding out for Andrew Armstrong and I'm still holding out for Nick Nash. We've all got our guys that we hope can find a path some way or another. But I want to thank everybody so much for taking the time to tune in today. I'll be back next week with Julia Papworth as we look ahead at some Week 7 matchups here. As always, thank you for tuning in and I will see you next week.
- [62:06]
A
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