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0:46What's up, friends? Welcome into Fantasy Focus Football alongside Mike Clay and Field Yates.
0:50My name is Daniel Dopp. We are very excited to be here on a Friday.
0:54Forgot to. It's week five. We're getting it. We're getting it there.
0:57Field's taking care of it. While Field's taking care of it, I'll take care of the logistics here.
1:02Very excited. Diving into Thursday night football. That was a heck of a game.
1:06We also got the rest of our week five preview part two, which will be a ton of fun.
1:11And a quick shout out to our friends over at Trophy Smack.
1:15Use the promo code Trophy Week 5, excuse me, over at TrophySmack.com for 10% off your order over there.
1:20I think I've done it. Guys, really quickly. You doing okay?
1:23I think I got it. Yeah. It's week five.
1:25We're still a little rough around the edges. One of the things that we have figured out is that Field, not quite
1:3240 yet, is starting to fall trap to some of the technological advances of our society.
1:36Mike accused me. Actually, he didn't accuse me of anything.
1:39No, he just. He declared me. Yes, he did.
1:41Technology, technological savant before the show? Yeah. You were, because you had reattached the piece of metal to your bar that you broke yesterday.
1:48Yes. Well done. I broke it yesterday, but Daniel actually fixed it today.
1:51Nah, we don't. Anything handy on this show is, I would say, 95% likely to be settled by Daniel.
1:57You used to work on this stuff, though. That's true.
2:00That's why. That's a little bit different. A little bit different.
2:03All right, let's dive into a little bit, and it was really quickly before we get into Thursday night football, guys.
2:08Saquon Barkley has not practiced yet this week. Yeah.
2:11How are we feeling about this? When we talked a little bit about the Eagles game yesterday, and one of the things
2:17that we had said was not feeling good about any of the running backs here.
2:21If there's no Saquon, is there anyone that you would want to feel comfortable rolling with?
2:26Yeah, Mike zeroed out Saquon early in the week for the projections.
2:29I think early in the week it felt like Will Shipley was definitely the guy that you want to roster and potentially play.
2:35That's still the case. However, a little bit of momentum behind Damian Pierce, which I don't think means that Damian Pierce is usable in fantasy this week.
2:43And I don't think that Will Shipley is unusable in fantasy this week, especially given the state of the running back spot.
2:49We have two teams and two notable running backs on a bye this week.
2:53I would just say that Will Shipley feels very much like a middle of, I would say, medium upside player at best this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
3:01Hoping for some receiving game work in this one, maybe a goal line touch.
3:04I'd love five catches for 40 yards to go along with 15 carries.
3:08Right. I got him in a couple leagues on waivers, just throwing claims out for a bunch of guys.
3:13He's the one I got. He's on my bench in all those leagues.
3:17Ideally, I'm not using him, but there's going to be some situations where you're shorthanded, whether it's wide receiver.
3:22There's still injuries to come. We're waiting for some news on guys like Terry McLaurin and DJ Moore and who knows on
3:28Carnell Tate, all these sort of guys. So maybe when Sunday morning comes along, you might throw them in your flex.
3:34Keep in mind, they play at 930 a.m. on Sunday, so Eastern.
3:37So make sure you check your lineup Saturday night this week and make sure he's in there if you need him.
3:43On NFL Network, which is now part of us.
3:46That's right. In the family. Very excited to see that.
3:48Yeah. Hopefully, you actually will be able to leave Will Shipley on your bench because you started Bucky Irving in this Thursday night football game, guys.
3:56Holy smokes, Bucky Irving came alive in this one.
3:58Hey. I mean, it makes sense, though. Like, if you think about this game, going into this game, we knew that the
4:04Buccaneers were starting their $50-plus million per year quarterback, and the Cowboys were their backup quarterback.
4:09So, like, it kind of tracked that the Buccaneers would win this game.
4:12It was the opposite of that. Oh. Oh. Yeah, look.
4:15This game did not go how we expected, but we did say, from a fantasy perspective for the Bucs, it kind of
4:21did, though, because we said one lineup block, it's Bucky Irving.
4:24Yes. Avoid the rest, and that's exactly how it went.
4:27So, once in a while, you get it right, you know?
4:30Emeka Abuka was fine, especially because he got a rushing touchdown.
4:33Oh, yeah. He didn't have fantasy points. I mean, he went six for 38 through the air.
4:38Here's the thing, though. Bucky Irving was unbelievable, and if you started him, I'm just going to throw to this.
4:43We had a fun little thing on SportsCenter last night.
4:46Check this out real quick. Bucky Irving, I got to be one of many people out there to say thank you for the fantasy points.
4:53What a great night you had. What a great win.
4:56Congrats. Hey, hey, make sure you tell all those fantasy people, stay on that side.
5:00You feel me? I will let them know. Bit about it and still about it.
5:04Hey, let them know that. Let them know that.
5:07Appreciate you, Bucky. Congrats again, bro. Thanks, Bucky. I appreciate y'all.
5:10Thanks for having me. Love that. Trevor and Madeline, they're hanging out with Bucky.
5:14Honestly, Bucky Irving was fantastic. I don't know how much of this is going to be Bucky Irving moving forward, but being
5:20able to see him be the guy again. Did you know that last year?
5:24Yeah. Kenny Gainwell helped me win a fantasy championship.
5:26That's not going to happen this year, guys. Not right now.
5:29Yeah. That really is the Bucky show. He was awesome last night.
5:32I mean, he ran the ball extremely effectively. This Cowboys defense is no better, by the way.
5:37What a pathetic excuse of a performance for the Cowboys last night.
5:40Remember this offseason, they fire Matt Eberflus. That might have actually been late last year.
5:45And they hire Christian Parker and all the optimism.
5:47We trade for Rashawn Gary and we draft Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence.
5:51We make some other reinforcements. And Quinton Williams gets a new deal before the season starts.
5:55And this Cowboys defense is going to trend towards league average.
5:58And league average is plenty good enough because this offense is Super Bowl ready.
6:02No, no, and no all the way around. It's just a disaster performance from the Cowboys.
6:07For our purposes, when you're playing the Cowboys, continue to tee off on them.
6:10And if you thought, hey, I've got the Cowboys defense available on waivers.
6:14I can stream them against this undrafted free agent who's making his second career start a hundred hours after he didn't look
6:20that great in his first career start. That was a bad idea as well.
6:24Depending on your scoring format, you got at most one point from that Cowboys defense last night.
6:29Might have been negative scoring. So the Cowboys, they're still awful.
6:32But Bucky was awesome last night. Let's talk about the positive side for the Dallas Cowboys.
6:36Because even though CeeDee Lamb was not great, Javante Williams at least found the end zone.
6:41But one thing was promised to me going into this game.
6:44It was that George Pickens was going to find the end zone.
6:47Yeah, it was. Bang! Someone made that happen. I mean, if there's one positive, and we can talk about all the negatives,
6:53George Pickens did look great in this one. At least the box score, fantastic.
6:57And finding the end zone. I'd be still a couple things here.
7:00Like, I can't give myself too much credit. Come on.
7:03$28 million this year. Finds the end zone. It just felt like it was eventually time.
7:08I thought the Cowboys were trying to get George Pickens into the end zone early in the game.
7:13They had a first and goal from the one.
7:15They targeted George Pickens. Pass breakup. I think it was Zion McCullough.
7:18And then later on, the Cowboys do end up connecting with George Pickens.
7:22Where they're down by 14 points. The game script helped.
7:25They seemed like the beginning of that game. They just weren't running a normal offense.
7:29It was like, first of all, we're going to try to force it to George Pickens.
7:33They just gave him everything. Second drive, they kind of got away from that and just moved the ball around.
7:39But then after the second drive, they're like, whoops, we haven't thrown it to CeeDee Lamb yet.
7:44So now we're going to throw every pass to CeeDee Lamb.
7:47It's like, can you just run a normal offense?
7:49Because now you're losing. Yes. You're falling behind. Then the Bucs started protecting the ball well.
7:54Keeping the ball out of Dak's hands. And they lost.
7:56They fell behind and lost. I mean, it's like, what are you doing?
8:00That was really inaccurate. It just didn't look good.
8:02Yeah, that night could have felt a little different for Dak.
8:06Like if he had just flipped one of those touchdowns, one of those interceptions into a touchdown.
8:10Because he throws for nearly 120 yards. But yes, the accuracy was a problem.
8:14And then we should note that CeeDee Lamb, Mike mentioned, it was a clunker game for CeeDee Lamb.
8:19On top of that for CeeDee Lamb, he was in that of the game and left it late.
8:24He was eventually declared questionable to return. He was on the field for when they went for two to try to make it a six-point game.
8:31The old down eight, do you go for two or one test?
8:35Analytically, it makes a lot of sense to go for two.
8:38CeeDee Lamb has a quad injury, which he has been playing through.
8:41They now have three extra days before they play next Sunday night.
8:44This is the first of three straight primetime games for the Cowboys next Sunday versus Green Bay.
8:49Today, the very, very early indications are that CeeDee Lamb's quad injury is not going to impact his availability for next week.
8:55But put it on that long injury list that we will monitor.
8:58Yeah, he was limping a little bit, but he did come back on the field that last drive, too, when they were working their way downfield.
9:06So that's a good sign. Gives me, as someone very invested in CeeDee Lamb, who's off to a slow start this week
9:12when the league's ended up Bucky Irving. I feel optimistic he'll be back in 10 days, but let's hope.
9:17We'll see. Purely from a what does each team need?
9:20I wonder if the Cowboys, because, you know, they still stink defensively.
9:23Yes. I think there are a lot of reasons why I could talk myself out of this deal, especially from the Raiders' side.
9:30But a George Pickens for Max Crosby just from, like, one team's need to the other team's needs, kind of an interesting deal.
9:36Now, I think Max probably feels better about being in Las Vegas.
9:39They're 3-1. They're playing legit good football. Yeah. If they win on Sunday against the Patriots, that would further cement them as
9:45a team to be reckoned with in the AFC.
9:48But just an interesting thought is the Cowboys continue to stink on defense.
9:51And the Raiders, this weekend, might be trotting out Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers as their top two wide receivers.
9:57Yes. I'll be surprised if, to your point, I'll be surprised if Matt gets traded at this point just because, unless they
10:03just go on a big losing streak until the deadline.
10:06The schedule gets tougher. I'm with you. I was thinking about, like, how do the Cowboys dig their way out of this hole?
10:12And they've got to sort of balance the roster more, offense for defense.
10:16And the most obvious trade player on offense is the guy that's in a contract here in Georgia.
10:21Their defensive plan has been, I mean, really on both sides of the ball, is like, we're just going to trade or
10:27acquire as many former first-round picks as possible. And maybe there's a reason those other teams are trading them because it's not working.
10:33It looks great on paper. It's flashy. But they cannot seem to figure it out.
10:37It's wild. All right, let's look ahead to the rest of Week 5 here, guys.
10:42A couple of storylines we're going to start with.
10:44Bears and Packers, a matchup of these two NFC North teams.
10:47Some lineup locks in this one. DeAndre Swift and Luther Burden III.
10:50Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. It actually feels like both of these wide receivers have made their way into the lineup lock with the volume.
10:57Phil, let's start with you. Bears, big three pass catchers.
11:00Only one of them shows up on that list.
11:03That's Luther Burden. I don't see Roma Dunze. I don't see Colson Loveland.
11:06Doesn't mean you can't start him, but let's talk about those guys.
11:10Wow. A disrespect. Let me give you my ranks here.
11:12I've got Colson Loveland as tight end 8 this week.
11:15Roma Dunze as wide receiver 23, and Luther Burden III as wide receiver 24.
11:19I think they're basically a coin flip, and I think that's where they're going to be most weeks in the ranks.
11:25The most encouraging thing from last week is we can break down the individual targets, but the three of these guys had
11:31a combined target share of 65% last week with Tyson Bajan making his first start.
11:35I would say that the number in an ideal world hovers a little closer to 70 or 75 for these three guys
11:41going forward, but 65 is a massive step forward.
11:44It was nine targets for Colson Loveland, seven for Roma Dunze, six for Luther Burden III, and I think, well, I don't
11:50want to say we should all agree. I thought Roma Dunze played one of his best real-life football games that we've seen in quite some time.
11:57I agree with you on that. Running great routes, creating separation, really encouraging to see that from Roma.
12:02Because you've got three guys who are a factor, because you've got a backup quarterback, harder to rank any of those guys
12:08higher than where we have them right now, but I think all three of these guys could find their way back into lineups this Sunday.
12:15Yeah, no doubt about it. Dunze certainly startable, especially with a couple teams on a bye and all these injuries, but I
12:21don't think he's done enough yet to quite, like if you have him, you're not like auto-start.
12:26Like he hasn't done enough yet. Sure, but he's a flex option.
12:29I think all of them are in that conversation.
12:32I was going to ask, my question was going to be, I raised my hand there for a moment, as you said, Dunze certainly startable.
12:39I thought, but I had seen he was not a lineup lock on the screen.
12:43So you feel, obviously you feel, there's a difference between usable, but not locked in.
12:47Yeah. Burden's done enough. More body of work this year.
12:50More production. And the next one, Kyle Manungai, Michael.
12:52I wanted you to team me up. I could tell that.
12:55Yep. I wanted that. Yes. I feel wanted and needed.
12:58Yes. Okay. That's good. That's good. That's good. Let's talk about Kyle Manungai.
13:02What do we do with him? Yeah. What do we do with him after the big game?
13:06They ran 89 offensive snaps. The Jets ran 32.
13:09Oh my gosh. 89 to 32. 89 to 32.
13:11That's crazy. That's insane. So he ended up getting the hot handy out.
13:15Snap Swift 40 to 32 in this game. But keep in mind, weeks one through three, he was way behind Swift.
13:21And he was basically doubled up in snaps, about doubled up in carries, more than doubled up in targets.
13:26It was clearly the Swift show the first three games, much like last season.
13:30In those games, Manungai had exactly 10 carries in all three.
13:33He's not that involved in the passing game. It's just five targets in four games this season.
13:38And he's the two big games guys with 20 plus fantasy points.
13:41But he's also been under eight points in the other two games.
13:44So he's running well. Good old line. Good matchup here against the Packers.
13:48They've allowed eight touchdowns to running back so far.
13:50But I think he's no more than a boom bust flex.
13:54I mean, it still should be DeAndre Swift. That's assuming he actually plays.
13:57Correct. Yeah. Yeah. So Jeremy Fowler reported yesterday, and I'll read the tweet.
14:01This is at 5, 10 p.m. Kyle Manungai is dealing with a turf toe injury, placing uncertainty around his availability over the
14:07next one to two weeks, though he's hoping to play through.
14:10And the team and the player are still managing the situation.
14:13Even if he does play, which right now feels uncertain at best, there's no way the Bears are going to lean too heavily on Kyle Manungai.
14:20They've got two excellent running backs, DeAndre Swift being the starter here.
14:23So Manungai is a fade for me this week in the unlikely event that he does play.
14:28He's still in the projections for right now, Mike.
14:31Yeah, he's in there for now. But Swift still projects as the lead back here.
14:35Yep. I'm with you on that. I had a few weeks ago.
14:38I think it was maybe week two or three.
14:41I can't remember what it was. Oh, actually week three, because the Bears played Monday night football week three, I believe.
14:46Right? Okay. Yes, they did. The Bears played the Eagles on Monday night football week three.
14:51Accurate. And I was in a matchup where I was up by, I think, 28 points, almost exactly in-house.
14:56And the only person my opponent had left was Kyle Manungai.
14:59And I was doing the math, and I was like, I don't even have to look at that box score of my
15:05fantasy matchup, because there's just no world in which Kyle Manungai gets to 28 fantasy points.
15:10PPR league, he would have to score probably three touchdowns and rush for 100 yards, because he's hardly involved in the passing game.
15:16What happened? He did not. I mean, thankfully he didn't.
15:19This was a week later, though. A week later, he scores 28 points, and I was like, you know what?
15:24I have never taken a thing for granted ever again in fantasy football.
15:28I was able to squeak by, well, he ended up scoring like three fantasy points that night.
15:33I was fine that week, but never count chickens before they hatch in the world of fantasy football.
15:38That's right. Can't believe how bad the Packers have looked this year, even with Tyson Bajant under center guys.
15:43I'm going to take the Chicago Bears to win this one.
15:46I'm taking the Bears as well. I am taking, I believe, the Bears.
15:50The producers. Oh, and the producers going with the Packers.
15:52Shout out to Q. Yeah. This is a potential statement game for the Bears, by the way.
15:57Ben. Or both teams, right? Johnson. Yeah, but I think for Ben, well, fair.
16:01Ben Johnson and the Bears, it's no mystery how they feel about the Packers.
16:05Matt on the floor, I don't think, feels much better about the Bears.
16:09Yes. But it seems like the animosity is more apparent from the Bears side.
16:12Yeah. And they can bury the Packers, basically, this weekend.
16:15Yeah. You know, they go to 4-1. Without Caleb.
16:18Yep. Improved to 3-0 without Caleb Williams. Huge. And the Packers will be 2-3.
16:22And they are not a particularly inspiring 2-3 so far, right?
16:25Yeah. Isn't it? They've beaten the Dolphins and the Bucs last week with Jalen Daniels.
16:29I'm not mistaken. So, does that really inspire a lot of confidence if you're Green Bay and you go to 2-3 with
16:35your only two wins being against teams that have one win combined?
16:38Nope. It doesn't feel great. All right. Let's talk Browns and Jets.
16:42Next one up here. Lineup locks in this one.
16:44There's a handful of them. And by handful, I mean two.
16:47Quinch on Judkins worked his way back into the lineup lock conversation.
16:50Garrett Wilson, also definitely a lineup lock. This is not a two-for team.
16:54It's a two-for game. It's a two-for game. That's right.
16:57Why are we laughing at Judkins? Because I said there's a couple of them.
17:01I led into this as though there might be more than just two.
17:04Yeah, you did. Okay. There is no Kenyon Sadiq as a lineup lock in this one.
17:09There is no other pass catcher. Aidy Mitchell going to be out in this one as well.
17:13Reese Hall pulled from the projections, Mike. Yeah, he was said to be doubtful or week-to-week.
17:18Still week-to-week according to Aaron Glenn. All right. All right.
17:21So then I'm going to... You want some water?
17:23I have some right here. I'm going to wait until I'm off camera.
17:27All right. I'm going to... How about I start with the Browns?
17:30Yeah, Daniel. Let's do that. Can you please tell me about whether you should start a Browns wide receiver in your flex spot?
17:36I think that they're both at least in the conversation.
17:39Okay. I think Denzel Boston is more of a 10-team flex conversation.
17:43Casey Concepcion probably a little bit deeper. Even though Casey Concepcion is getting a ton of targets.
17:47Here's the thing. Denzel Boston leads the Browns in receiving yards and touchdowns.
17:51Casey Concepcion reads the team in targets and receptions.
17:53Boston has three end zone targets. He's the one that looks the best right now with Deshaun Watson.
17:58Even though Casey Concepcion is wide receiver 17 this year in targets, he's actually getting a good amount of volume.
18:04He just hasn't gotten the same kind of production that we have seen from Denzel Boston.
18:08So if I had to pick one, even though I've seen the volume and usually volume is what we default to, I'm
18:14going to go with the one that's just looked better on the field right now, and that would be Denzel Boston.
18:20I don't have a Denzel Boston comparison on the Tampa Bay roster, but for those that watched the game last night, the
18:26way in which Emeka Abuka was utilized is kind of what you're seeing from Casey Concepcion.
18:31It's like three yard speed outs where Emeka Abuka catches the football and they get six yards, and it basically just makes second down more manageable.
18:38It's not like a ton of deep work down the field for Abuka.
18:42Meanwhile, Denzel Boston has the fourth highest ADOT amongst wide receivers in the NFL.
18:45Really happy for him. I continue to think that that guy has already proved a lot of the critics wrong that followed him during the pre-trap.
18:53Concepcion is an interesting one because a lot of the problems, the reason he hasn't turned all that volume into production is
18:59the connection with Deshaun Watson is just not there yet.
19:02But inaccurate passes galore with those two. So if they could figure that out and complete an extra two a game, it's
19:08going to make a huge difference for his fantasy output.
19:10Okay, so the good news is he doesn't only have to throw the football to Casey Concepcion.
19:15So was Deshaun Watson accurate enough elsewhere, Mike, that you would consider him a streaming option?
19:20I wouldn't. I would say a borderline streaming option.
19:22Maybe. I probably wouldn't go that far just yet, but this is the highest we've had him ranked this season by far.
19:28Believe it or not, he is 13th at quarterback in fantasy points this season.
19:32The problem is he doesn't have a ceiling. He has zero top tens.
19:36So he's 13th without a single top ten so far this season.
19:39If there is no ceiling, that means the ceiling is huge.
19:42The ceiling is the roof. It's an old Michael Jordan saying.
19:45Wow. Do you know him? You know what? I never thought through that expression.
19:49NASCAR legend. Yes. Michael Jordan. Do you know him in that context?
19:52That's the context you know. Oh, he used to play basketball?
19:55No. Oh. Okay. I know him as a NASCAR owner.
19:58I didn't know that. Someone told me recently Joe Gibbs was involved with football too.
20:02I've never heard of that guy. Another owner in NASCAR?
20:05Yes. See, all the smart people, all the legends that go from these other sports, they dominate and then they're like, they pick the best sport.
20:12They go to NASCAR. I can't wait for the at Mike Clay NFL NASCAR car in 10 years.
20:17At Mike Clay NASCAR? Yes. Do we have a NASCAR digital show here at ESPN?
20:21No. We don't have, NASCAR used to be prominent on ESPN.
20:24It's not on right now. Is our producer Christina a big NASCAR?
20:28Christina is a big NASCAR fan. Yeah, absolutely. I didn't know that either.
20:31We'll have to chat. We'll do a pod or something.
20:34Yes. We'll do a pod, Christina. All right. I can already see this one.
20:38Anyway, more on Watson here. He has yet to clear 268 passing yards in a game, just a total of six touchdowns
20:44in four games, but he's been delivering with his legs.
20:47That's been the difference maker this year. 31 carries, 127 rushing yards.
20:50Both of those are top three at quarterback. So if they can unlock more of the passing, there's a chance he could get into streaming territory.
20:57I'm not going to use him this week against the Jets.
21:01They've quietly been okay defensively. Fifth fewest fantasy points allowed to quarterback so far.
21:04Light competition, yes, but none have gotten to 20 fantasy points.
21:07And again, I don't think we're putting Watson on a list of like hard competition.
21:12This is Mahomes or Lamar or Josh Allen. So not yet guys, but he is trending the right way.
21:17It's a guy to keep an eye on. Certainly in super, certainly in super flex.
21:21Tell you what guys, both of these teams have been feisty this year.
21:25The Browns and the Jets. Not so much last week.
21:27Not so much last week. Yes, but they have been more than I thought they would be.
21:32Who are you going to take in this one field?
21:35I'm taking the Browns. I am taking the Jets at home in this one.
21:39And I'm going to take the Browns as well.
21:41Even split. Yeah. Look at that. Producers taking the Jets as well.
21:45The Browns four and one. That would be something.
21:47If they win this. Oh my God. The most amazing story of the season.
21:51Almost as amazing as the Bucs winning that game last night.
21:54Which I'm still scratching my head over. Football's the best sport ever.
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22:59Subject to availability or to select in-stock items at 4 p.m.
23:03Restriction and fees apply. Bengals and the Dolphins here, guys.
23:05I wonder how many lineup locks we're going to have on the Dolphins side of this one.
23:10None. Joe Burrow, Chase Brown, Jamar Chase, and Tee Higgins, though we've got to have a couple of conversations here.
23:16Field, if Chase plays, because obviously he's still going through the concussion protocol.
23:19If Chase plays, you're playing him. If Chase plays and Tee Higgins plays, is there anyone else you're going to start other than Tee?
23:26If Chase and Tee Higgins both play, then both good to go, obviously.
23:29There, Jamar Chase was limited yesterday. He has made it to at least step three of the five-step concussion recovery protocol.
23:35Hopefully he's available on Sunday. Seems like he's got a real shot.
23:39Tee Higgins is the bigger question mark right now.
23:41Mike has temporarily removed him from the... Maybe temporarily.
23:44Maybe not temporarily. Yes. He has, for now, removed him from the projection to see as a DNP in back-to-back days.
23:49It's an adductor and a neck issue for Tee Higgins.
23:52He's been out there rehabbing, and I don't know this.
23:55I just, my gut tells me that Tee has played in the past with just one practice under his belt.
24:00So we'll see whether he's back on the field at practice today.
24:04Well, let's talk through a world in which Tee Higgins does not play on Sunday.
24:08Because it feels like, as of this moment, if one of them isn't going to play, it's more likely to be Tee Higgins than Jamar Chase.
24:15Can anybody else be started? Well, maybe. Dante Myers might get a bump here.
24:19He has creeped up the rankings, not inside the top 30 yet.
24:22But we're noted that Myers, who had seven catches last week, played a ton amidst a chaotic game for Cincinnati.
24:28Jamar Chase got hurt early, and Dante Myers ran 42 routes.
24:31That was the second most on the team. Just one fewer than Tee Higgins.
24:35Now, there are some that are wondering, all right, if Jamar Chase is in, but Tee Higgins is out, will Dante Myers
24:41still play as many snaps with no Tee Higgins?
24:43But yes, Jamar Chase, I think probably. I mean, I don't think he's going to be, maybe he doesn't play the same number of snaps as Jamar Chase.
24:51But I don't think he drops from wide receiver two to wide receiver four.
24:55I think Dante Myers still has a real role here.
24:58So, not a big enough role that he should be a 10-team consideration, but interesting DFS play and definitely a deeper league target for this week.
25:05Yeah, agreed. Well said. Do you know where your adductors are?
25:08I just looked it up on the internet. I believe your adductor is somewhere in your midsection.
25:13Oh, never mind. It's basically your groin. Yeah. Your groin area?
25:16That's not good. I did not know that. I didn't either.
25:19If that's what Tee Higgins is dealing with, then I'm a little bit more nervous than I thought I was.
25:24And the neck, too? Yeah, between those two things.
25:27You've got it all over the place. They are mantis.
25:30That doesn't feel good if you're on both sides there.
25:33How about on the other side of this one?
25:35Mike, are you starting or streaming Ollie Gordon this week?
25:38I mean, I guess you have to feel a little more optimistic after what we saw last week.
25:43It was a very low-volume game for this Miami offense, much like the Jets last week.
25:47But Gordon doubled up Jalen Wright in snaps 22-11.
25:50Doubled him up in carries. Crushed him in the passing game workload.
25:53Nine routes to just two. Had two targets. Jalen Wright was not targeted in this game.
25:57And look, he ran. He only had nine carries.
26:00Turned it into 100 yards and a touchdown in that game.
26:03Remember, he also was productive in week three with 55 yards and a touchdown on 20 touches.
26:08There was no Jalen Wright, of course, in that game.
26:11Jalen Wright also started last week. Played the first three snaps of the game.
26:14Then it was kind of a hot-hand approach. He went Ollie Gordon.
26:18The comments from the coach this week are that Jalen Wright will have more and more of a role.
26:23So that makes this a little bit risky if you're investing in Ollie Gordon.
26:27They're playing Cincinnati this week. I'd consider that basically a neutral matchup.
26:30They haven't faced a lot of running back volumes so far this season.
26:34So, again, this is much like Will Shipley, who we talked about earlier.
26:37If you're in a tough spot in the flex, you can take a shot and hope Gordon has a big player, too, and finds the end zone.
26:45But there's a lot of risk here, especially because we don't know for sure who's going to lead this backfield.
26:50If Jalen Wright starts again and gets hot early, he might be the guy that plays double the snaps.
26:56So we just don't know. So definitely a risky play.
26:58Who are you guys taking in this one? I have the Bengals.
27:02Bengals. You're my eliminator pick for the weekend. I think I've decided I'm just going to ride the Miami Dolphins opponent.
27:08Agreed. The wheels fall off. I'm with you on that one.
27:11Or maybe if they start to play more competitive and they play, I don't know, if they play Tennessee or somebody up coming up.
27:17They had a very tough, for that offense anyway, because we were talking about this with fantasy, very tough schedule to start.
27:23Lightens up a lot going forward. So maybe that'll help Malik Willis get going a little bit.
27:28Hopefully. All right. Colts and Steelers. Guys, lineup locks in this one.
27:31Feeling a little tough. Oh, look at this. There's so many more on this one than I saw.
27:36A handful. Now we're cooking. All right. Jonathan Taylor, I agree with.
27:40Josh Downs, we can have a conversation about. Tyler Warren, I agree with.
27:43Jalen Warren and DK Metcalf on the other side of this one.
27:47There is no Michael Pittman Jr. He is officially out.
27:50To be honest, he's hardly been a factor for the team since he has.
27:53Been here. Let's start about the Steelers field. Rico Dowdle.
27:56Back at practice. Back at practice. Back to back days.
27:59He's been a limited participant. Sounds like he's got a real shot to play on Sunday.
28:03So I just wanted to bring up the value in Jalen Warren that we have seen with and without Rico.
28:09And whether Rico plays, whether or not, should you be playing Jalen Warren?
28:13So there's been two games with Jalen Warren and Rico Dowdle.
28:16Two games without Rico Dowdle on the field. In the two games that Rico was available, Jalen Warren had 21 total carries.
28:22So 10 in one, 11 in the other. And then he had 10 targets in those two games.
28:27I think it was six in one and four in the other.
28:30The big change when Rico Dowdle has been out is that Jalen Warren went from 10.5 carries per game to exactly 17 in back-to-back games.
28:37Love that. Without Rico Dowdle, he actually had exactly 10 targets as well.
28:41So the passing game role has not been influenced at all by Rico Dowdle's presence or lack thereof.
28:46But the rushing volume certainly goes way up. But here's the other dynamic that's in play right now is, yes, Rico Dowdle is back.
28:52And yes, it's a long season. The Steelers offense has been a little better of late, but not great, right?
28:58They weren't good enough against the Browns last Thursday night.
29:00So I think Jalen Warren has earned the opportunity to be more decidedly RB1 for Pittsburgh than he was when Rico was
29:07on the field in weeks one and two. So along those lines, Jalen Warren still inside our top 15 for running backs.
29:13Mike had him as a lineup block, and I agree with that, even if Rico returns.
29:17Agreed. Well articulated, unlike what I just said. Yes, no, I agree.
29:20It was good. Can I ask you a question?
29:23And this isn't a conversation that we have in here, but you have Josh Downs as a lineup block.
29:28I do. What is it that you've seen from Josh Downs in this Colts offense that makes you feel like he should have started?
29:35A heavy volume, obviously dud last week. But remember, the two weeks before, he had 20 total targets in those games.
29:41It was productive from a fantasy standpoint, 70 plus yards in both.
29:44Not a guy that's going to put up big touchdown numbers, but he should have more.
29:48He should have a score or two based on his usage so far this season.
29:53He's generally going to score four or five a year.
29:55So that'll come. And obviously, if you think about the dynamic of this Colts offense, they have to use him.
30:01I mean, what are we going to do? Are you going to feature Laquan Treadwell?
30:05Like Tyler Warren fixed targets last year. I knew you featured Tyler Warren.
30:09Well, there's room for Tyler Warren and Josh Downs in this offense.
30:12Some Keenan Allen. And of course, you're going to run the running game through Jonathan Taylor.
30:16But there's plenty here for Josh Downs to push for seven or eight or nine, maybe even 10 targets spending on game script in this one.
30:24So that's enough for me to fire up Josh Downs.
30:26I think he should certainly be in lineups. Before we pick this game, I got to tell you, I was looking ahead
30:33in a league where I've got kind of a quarterback quandary.
30:36It's a league, a deep league, 16 teams, and I lost Jackson Dart.
30:39So I've been really impacted and limited at quarterback as a result of that.
30:43And I was looking ahead and some matchups for next week, and you're like, oh, that's exploitable.
30:48And Daniel Jones has some opportunities coming up where you're like, wow, he draws the whatever.
30:52He draws the Cowboys. That seems awesome. What a disappointing start for Daniel Jones.
30:56Yeah, he is. And I know that Mike has reminded us time and again that while he was getting some good opportunistic
31:02goal line rushing attempts last year, Daniel Jones was thriving as a top 12 fantasy quarterback in part because he was throwing
31:08the football all over the yard and doing so really effectively.
31:11That has not been the case so far this season.
31:14And while I get it, Alec Pierce has been out, and I know they traded away Michael Pittman Jr.
31:19I don't think we felt like Daniel Jones last year was throwing to, you know, Randy Moss and Chris Carter back in the day, right?
31:26This was an okay, an okay wide receiver room last year, and he was cooking.
31:30This year it's probably less than okay, but still, you know, whatever.
31:34Not dramatically worse than where they were last year, and he is just a non-factor in fantasy.
31:39Yeah, it's just a reminder sometimes that teams will, everything will come together for a half a season.
31:44They'll just be lighting it up, and then you're just like, I don't know if they could sustain this.
31:49They don't necessarily have the roster talent, and we're seeing that.
31:52It's rare that teams can just keep it up for several seasons in a row.
31:56Actually, your Lions are a good example of a team that has.
31:59They continually average over three touchdowns a game. The Bills, even the Chiefs fell off.
32:03I mean, it's just so hard to do in this league, but you always have these batches where teams just continue to
32:10light it up, and the Colts are an example of that.
32:13Last year and now back to earth here in 2026.
32:15Yep. Doesn't feel great, though. I feel like I want to be able to see the Daniel Jones that was QB7 last
32:22year out there running and slinging it with this offense.
32:24That Colts team was so much fun to be able to see for a while.
32:28That Alec Pierce contract feels so weird to me now, right?
32:31Well, we'll see. When he comes back healthy, that could be a different thing.
32:35Fingers crossed. Let's hope so. Who are you guys going to take in this one?
32:40Mike, where are you going? I'm going Steelers. The team is in Pittsburgh.
32:43I don't like that all of us are on the Steelers.
32:46Yeah. Wow. And obviously our producer, Christina, is a big Steelers fan, so that's great.
32:50All right. Christina, our producer, is a big fan of NASCAR and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
32:55Yes. All right. Accurate. Steel City. And she's a Kentucky grad, so she'd go Wildcats.
32:59That's right. Wildcats play some good ball these days.
33:01Let's dive into our mailbag here. Shout out to our friend Eric Moody.
33:05Follow him on social media at EricNMoody. Dude is always hanging out, helping everybody get their lineups figured out.
33:10We have a question here from Michael Smith. Nice.
33:13Numbers never lie. Christian Watson, Devontae Adams, or Luther Burden?
33:15I'd have a hard time not playing Devontae Adams.
33:18Agreed. How about you two? I think so. Yeah, it goes Adams, then Watson, then Burden.
33:22Yep. But really, really good options. If those are either your wide receiver two or flex options, that's a very, very good team.
33:29Devontae obviously has been cooking throughout much of this year, and this is a great matchup on Monday night.
33:34At home against the Bills. All-time good matchup? Yep.
33:36I don't know about all-time good matchup, but this is a really good matchup for Devontae.
33:41I'm really hoping that that person has both of those other two people on the bench, because it just feels great when
33:47you have, like, two legitimate options on your bench behind your flex option.
33:51Unless your guy busts and those two go off.
33:53Yeah. You're staring at 40 points on your bench.
33:56That's fair. Okay. All right, Michael. Well, no, but good problem now for sure.
33:59Negative Michael over here. Jaja Jackson wants to know, need help, guys!
34:03That was an exclamation point. Yeah, that was all-time.
34:05Who should I play in my flex? J-Mo, Romeo Dobbs, or Malik Washington?
34:09I would roll J-Mo. I got J-Mo as well.
34:11J-Mo and Dobbs are back-to-back here. Really? Interesting one.
34:14J-Mo gets Arizona, Dobbs gets Vegas, so that's probably enough to break that tie.
34:18I do have J-Mo higher, so I'm going to go J-Mo against Arizona.
34:21I think J-Mo is a big game on Sunday.
34:24Yeah. Remember, Dobbs was busy last week, had two touchdowns, no Matt Collins, Mays playing better at home.
34:29Raiders should be exploitable. I know they've been good so far, but, I mean, there's plenty to like there in terms of
34:35him being a starting or a wide receiver three or a flex option this week, but I agree with the matchup.
34:41Got to go, Williams. Mike's really... Oh, okay. Never mind.
34:43I was going to say, Mike's really endearing himself to our Michigan men chat, saying all these nice things about why Romeo
34:50Dobbs is a great play this week. I still picked J-Mo.
34:53I felt like you guys were just like... You were kind of shocked.
34:56We were more just any Dobbs optimism, but after last week...
34:59I feel that. One more question here from our chat.
35:02Daniel wants to know, is this a fair trade?
35:05Tyler Shuck and Ashton Gentie for... Oh, sorry. Tyler Shuck, Ashton Gentie, and Monty for Brock Purdy and Bijan.
35:10Purdy and Bijan side. For sure, if you ask me.
35:13I think you're getting the better quarterback. Oh, definitely with Purdy over Shuck.
35:16I mean, they've both been good, but I'd pick Purdy.
35:19You're getting the better running back. Yes. Going from Gentie to Bijan.
35:22And Monty... I could have answered this question for you guys because I know how you feel about...
35:27Yeah. If Monty, that third position, doesn't have enough value to overcome what you're losing at the other two spots.
35:33Yeah. He's replaceable. It's not like... If it was more of a...
35:36I'm trying to think of a really good comp for this.
35:39Like, Love or... One of those guys in sort of...
35:42Running back is so gross, I'm like, I don't even know what I'm...
35:46Yeah. Yeah, like... Yeah, exactly. Chase Brown. Then it's more...
35:48Then it probably leans back the other direction, but it's just not...
35:52Montgomery you can replace. Like, probably with a receiver even, then you're flexed.
35:55I think this is important to note when you see a trade proposal like this, which we...
36:00You agree with Mike and I? Yes, I do.
36:03Okay. So we all would say that this is an imbalanced trade.
36:06The people... The person who's getting Bijan and Brock Purdy win pretty decidedly is that there's, of course, a world in which
36:12that trade, from a results standpoint, flips the other way.
36:15Bijan could get banged up. Ashton Gentry could really take off.
36:18And those... We acknowledge those outcomes or that outcome is possible.
36:21But I would say from a process standpoint, like just make this...
36:24You know, this... You have a $100 bill in your hand.
36:27That is Bijan Robinson and Brock Purdy. You are getting back $70 in this trade, somewhere in that range?
36:32Probably. So, but even if... But if the person who has the $100 bill walks down the street, loses the $100 bill,
36:39the person who has 70 bucks is richer, this is kind of a weird way of describing it.
36:44But the point is that that trade could work out in the favor of the Ashton Gentry side, but you could extract more right now.
36:50So I wouldn't be making that deal under those terms.
36:53Are you me? Like, what's happening here? Yeah. Like, you used some stats or some advanced stats earlier and now you're like, process over results.
37:00And like, wow. Well said. Wow. Well done. Yeah, that's exactly right.
37:04That's... But you're always criticizing... Well, not criticizing, but giving me a hard time because I'm so...
37:08As long as you're, you know, blinders, like process is fine.
37:11Like, don't think about all the other stuff that could happen.
37:14And it's like, is this the right move or not?
37:17Like, that's more... What you're saying, though, would be more of an emotional response of like, oh, your guy gets hurt.
37:23I shouldn't have done that trade. Like, no, the process was correct.
37:26You should have... We're like in the opposite shoes here.
37:29The only thing I'll say is I don't feel like I criticize nor give you a hard time.
37:34I always say I'm like, I'm just amazed at how incredibly compartmentalized your brain is.
37:38But that's a take I would have as my point.
37:41So yeah, I agree. I mean, that's... You're 100% right.
37:44Thank you. This is why we're worried about the guardrail surrounding Clay Eye because it's clearly spreading and we have no way to be able to keep it.
37:51I know. Keep it in control right now. All right, let's dive into the next one, guys.
37:56Broncos and Chargers here. Lineup blocks for this game.
37:59An entire slate of nothing. Yeah, hold on. Before...
38:01Are we live? Because we still have producers we forgot to update the graphic.
38:05Big old nothing burger on this one. Which is...
38:08You know what's funny about this? I texted you guys on what, Monday?
38:11Yeah. And you think about this? And I was like, guys, Broncos, Chargers next week.
38:15I don't think there's a single lineup block. And that's...
38:18If I told you that before week one, you'd be like, you're fired.
38:22Like, there's no way. Yep. There's no way. There's got to be at least a couple of these guys.
38:27Think about it. Waddle, Sutton, the running backs, one of the running backs in Denver.
38:31Maybe J.K. Dobbins is on that list. Bo Nix, Justin Herbert, O'Marion Hampton, Ladd McConkie.
38:35That's probably it. But maybe one of the tight ends for the Chargers.
38:39I mean, there's so many possibilities for there to be zero at this point is shocking.
38:43It's unbelievable. So, Mike kind of went through it, but Justin Herbert, we're not going to start him.
38:48O'Marion Hampton has become a committee running back in kind of a dead zone now with the way that they've been talking
38:54and utilizing Keaton Mitchell in the backfield and Kamani Vidal, to be honest.
38:58Doesn't feel great. I still think he's the one with the most talent, but I don't think he's a lineup block either.
39:04At the wide receiver spot, Ladd McConkie. Back-to-back DMPs, there's a serious chance he doesn't even play.
39:09You might not even have to make the decision, which might make it easier for your life because you don't have to worry about that.
39:16There is nobody from this Chargers squad right now that I feel comfortable starting.
39:20If there was someone that either of you were going to throw a dart at, I would probably throw it at Trey
39:26Harris if I had to in the deepest of deep leagues.
39:29Is there anyone that you would want to throw a dart at?
39:32This is the classic Quentin Johnson spot, isn't it?
39:35Of course. Could be. Although it seems like it should be, so it won't be.
39:39Then next week when Ladd comes back, he'll go for like six for 120 and two touchdowns.
39:43It'll be interesting to see the Broncos are going to almost assuredly be without both Pat Sertan II and Riley Moss, their top two corners.
39:50Can the Chargers or the Seahawks next week, assuming those guys are both out next week as well, move the football at all through the air?
39:58The Broncos obviously very talented secondary. We'll see here.
40:00You know, one of the things about call it Tuesday through Friday of the week is that I sort of get to like level set with my emotions.
40:08Sunday and Monday, you're agonizing over decisions. You wish you had done differently and whether you're going to win or lose these high stakes matchups.
40:15And then you kind of wake up on Tuesday and you're like, there's nothing I can do behind me.
40:20Let's get excited about the upcoming week ahead. And Sunday, the Chargers especially can be very frustrating.
40:25When Mike McDaniel addresses the media on Thursday, which is his weekly time to address local reporters in Los Angeles, and this
40:31is nothing personal towards Mike, it's just when they ask him questions, Mike has a very unique sort of roundabout way of discussing topics.
40:38And the running backs come up every week. And it's just like triggering every single Thursday where it's like, here we go
40:44again, thinking about how these running backs are being completely oddly utilized.
40:47And yeah, why did I draft any Chargers this year?
40:50What was the point of this? If Ladd McConkie does for some reason play, I'm still not going to start him.
40:56I think I have better options right now. Even I'm not dropping him.
40:59I wouldn't cut Ladd McConkie. I still think he's talented enough to be on my bench.
41:04Yeah, I agree. I think a healthy Ladd McConkie will be a serviceable fantasy starter, even if it's less than what we expected.
41:10Especially with wide receivers or a flex. Yep. But he just hasn't been healthy.
41:14I think that's the main issue with him right now.
41:17So just add another disappointment to this offense. And again, not necessarily his fault.
41:21He just can't stay healthy. It's unfortunate. I'm sure there's probably other Broncos fans or maybe the Broncos coaching staff would feel differently about this.
41:27The Broncos have too many useful players on offense.
41:30Yeah, that's been a staple of Sean Payton. It's just like too many of them that, you know, like I was thinking
41:36about this yesterday because they made the change to Sean Payton as their new play caller.
41:41Why? And it's like, well, they haven't gotten enough out of every player on the roster.
41:45In the backfield, it's like RJ Harvey. He does his thing, which is sort of like the change of pace runner and the pass catcher.
41:52Tyler Bidet, who's like the pass protector when they go into speed it up or two minute mode.
41:57J.K. Dobbins on early obvious running situations, trying to pound between the tackles.
42:00Pat Bryant, who's hurt, but still Pat Bryant, he has his role.
42:04Lil Jordan Humphrey is going to come in and play 15% of the snaps for some reason.
42:09Marvin Nims and Troy Franklin both. Yeah, right. They're going to get their like random four targets combined in a game and
42:15then it's like, oh, Cortland Sutton, who now makes $23 million a year and Jalen Wadden, who makes $27 million a year,
42:21are just being misutilized by this team. Crazy. Crazy.
42:23They could be an awesome team. They hosted the AFC championship game last year.
42:27I'm just, I think for our purposes, they have too many useful players.
42:31Yeah, I think if you want some hope here, maybe Sean Payton taking over the play calling will move the needle a little bit.
42:37Maybe like, so Corlin Sutton waved on a lot of fantasy leagues.
42:41Throw him on the end of a couple benches.
42:43We'll see. Maybe Sean Payton's first job here is, I'm going to get seven targets to Corlin Sutton this week.
42:4914 the ball. Yeah, might be. So, by the way, on RJ Harvey, obviously coming off a game last week with 10
42:55targets and running back being in a tough spot, you might be wondering if you should utilize him in fantasy.
43:00I'm not going to go that far. His receiving workload has been pretty good.
43:04He's actually missed a game so far. He missed week two and he's still six or better in targets catches and receiving yards among running backs this season.
43:12So, he's been busy in that department. The problem, guys, is usually when you're involved that much as a pass catcher, you'll get decent production as a rusher.
43:20That's not the case for RJ Harvey. He's just not a factor.
43:23He's 12 carries for 49 yards across his three games so far this season.
43:27To your point, they use three running backs every single game.
43:30I'd consider this a neutral matchup. I mean, the Chargers did give up 27 points to Emmanuel Wilson last week, but otherwise, they've been fine.
43:37So, not getting carried away on this one. I think Harvey just doesn't have enough of a ceiling to make him an appealing start.
43:44Doff mine eyes deceive me, Field? No, they don't.
43:46Let's throw up who our picks are for this game.
43:49I'm taking the Broncos. Mike Clay's taking the Broncos.
43:51Come on now. Field Yates and the producers are going with the Chargers?
43:55This, whatever this is, this needle, it's actually just a pen.
43:58Yeah, it's a ballpoint pen. But it's a ballpoint pen that is made up of the will and the guts and the fortitude of the Los Angeles Chargers.
44:06I'm gonna inject it right into my veins, baby!
44:08The Chargers get the first win of the season.
44:11Wow! The field has not been deterred by the Chargers slow start.
44:14This was your Chargers energy before this season. That's right, yes.
44:17And then you went down, you went like this and now you're coming back.
44:21He's on the way back up. This is the panicked, the panic love.
44:25You're like, it has to work out, right? It has to work out.
44:28This is the week. They can't go 0-5, right?
44:31You gotta, like, you gotta make some. You gotta make some.
44:34You gotta zig. Yes! You gotta zig when you guys are zagging.
44:37What's odd about this game, though, too, is you're like, the Chargers can't go 0-5, right?
44:42They have to get a win at some point, but also, like, the Broncos have to get going, too.
44:47It's like, they're both in the same boat. Even though they're 2-2, the Broncos have been uninspiring so far.
44:52A press conference where someone asked if it was a rebuilding season made me chuckle.
44:56Jim Harbaugh? Yeah? I don't think he knows what the word rebuilding means.
45:00And he didn't chuckle. I chuckled. He did not think it was funny at all.
45:04Of course not. No, not at all. But I thought it was a funny moment.
45:08All right. 49ers and Seahawks, guys. This one feels a little bit better here.
45:12Lineup blocks in this one. JSN. You always feel great about that.
45:15Christian McCaffrey continues to roll. Mike Evans and George Kittle.
45:18Wait. Where's Brock Purdy? Where's Brock Purdy? Where is Brock Purdy?
45:21Interesting. Who are they playing this week, guys? Brock Purdy, the Seattle Seahawks.
45:25Yeah. All right. So, this is my topic. So, I want to throw some trivia to you guys.
45:30Oh, interesting. I'm really bad at trivia, but I love it.
45:33You are. I watch Jeopardy every day and get one right.
45:36Since the start, well, at least you are consistent.
45:38Uh-huh. You're right. Since the start of last season, they're like, this is, and he's like, Jeopardy!
45:43And that's the one that he gets right. That's all I get.
45:46I'll give you guys a hint. That's wrong, because it's what is Jeopardy.
45:50Since the start of last season, Brock Purdy has just two games under 150 passing yards.
45:54Okay. Playoffs included. One of them was against the Seahawks.
45:57Mm-hmm. Can you guess the other opponent for the under 150 passing yards?
46:01I'm going to say the Seahawks. No, it was the Miami Dolphins this year.
46:05Yep, so got a trivia right. Twice under 150 passing yards.
46:08He also, since the start of last season, has just two games with zero touchdown passes.
46:12Not one. Okay. Once again, one of them was against Seattle.
46:15The other was against, and here's the curveball. Miami Dolphins.
46:18Nope. The, um, Cardinals. The Seahawks again. What? You said it was a curveball.
46:22You lied. I was trying to get you off the fence.
46:25They struck you out with a curveball. A curveball was a curveball.
46:28Yeah, exactly. So just noting, that like, Brock Purdy is incredibly unlikely to throw a fantasy dud many times during the course of a fantasy season.
46:36Yep. But if ever there was a game and what you say to yourself, could it be happening?
46:41This might be it. Yep. I don't have the stones to bench Brock Purdy.
46:44Me either. I just don't, and even Jacoby Brissett, who I think is in an awesome spot, I'd have a hard time pushing the button.
46:51Jacoby Brissett, starter, Brock Purdy, bench. So what am I, from an action standpoint, I'm not telling you to do a thing.
46:57I just want us to all hold steady in our confidence in Brock Purdy and hope that he can deliver on Sunday.
47:04But if he gets you 9.7 fantasy points, we all collectively agree in advance that we have been mentally prepared for this,
47:10so we're not going to be frustrated. If he gets you 9.7 fantasy points, he will be right in line with the
47:16other three quarterbacks that have scored under 10 fantasy points against this team because only one quarterback has scored more than 10 fantasy points.
47:22Maybe this is the emotional versus clay-eye debate we have all the time.
47:26I mean, I don't think I would be... I would not be upset at all about starting Goff or Brissett over Brock Purdy.
47:32I would do that in a heartbeat. Like, I just, the match is substantially better.
47:37And I'm nervous about this one. He doesn't even know what a heartbeat is.
47:40I mean, I'm at 9 on him, so I'm not, you know, I'm not crushing him in the rankings, but like, I
47:47would definitely stream over him if I had a good option.
47:50I don't mind streaming over him, but I also don't mind starting him.
47:53Should we just do a three-way board bet for kicks here?
47:56Yes. Which is, you get Jared Goff, you get Brissett, and I get Brock Purdy.
48:00I'll do it for fun. I do have Goff ahead of Brissett, but I think it's a toss-up, so let's do it.
48:06Okay, well, is it whoever loses or do you get, is it like two wins or is it more important just to not lose?
48:13Is it points above projection? How can you just make it simple?
48:16No, the projections are perfect. All right, here we go.
48:19I say Brock Purdy, and this is a really weird thing to say, given that I just made the anti-Brock Purdy case,
48:25but for the purposes of entertainment, I say Brock Purdy outscores both Jared Goff and Jacoby Brissett in Week 5.
48:31I say Jacoby Brissett will outscore Brock Purdy and your guy on your jersey right there, Jared Goff, here in Week 5.
48:37And I say my guy, Jared Goff, will outscore Jacoby Brissett and Brock Purdy here in Week 5.
48:42Put it on the board! Nice job, guys. There's no, I mean, whatever.
48:46I don't have to spin the wheel if I lose, do I?
48:49I think we're all, I think they all finish as top 10 quarterbacks this week.
48:53Oh, wow. I think we all win, to be honest.
48:56That'd be cool. I hope that happens. Maybe. I don't think Purdy, well, I think Purdy will be close.
49:01Well, you've got him at 9, Michael. I know, but we already took out Dak, and I had Jalen Daniels really high.
49:07Okay, that's me. We might have to rank him higher the way he's playing.
49:11Let's talk about, oh, who are you taking in this one?
49:14Hold on, hold on, hold on. Oh, sorry, I didn't realize, I forgot.
49:18We had so much fun. Having too much fun.
49:20We have to talk about Emmanuel Wilson because this is one of the risers in fantasy over the last couple of weeks.
49:2621 carries last week, 81 yards and a touchdown, also had three for 39, a touchdown on four targets.
49:32He was productive. 25 opportunities, especially with the state of the RB2 situation right now, puts this guy squarely on the fantasy radar.
49:38Price is, or Wilson, this hasn't been just a one-week thing.
49:41He's handled over half of their carries in three straight games.
49:44Remember, he had 92 yards and 21 carries back in week two as well.
49:48At some point, he's going to lose his shot, presumably, with Charbonnet back and eventually Jadarian Price, but for now, he is
49:54their lead back, and the Niners have allowed the eighth most fantasy points to running back so far this season.
50:00A running back has at least 19 points and two straight against them.
50:03Jeremiah Love and RJ Harvey. So, Emmanuel Wilson very much in the mid-RB2 territory this week against the 49ers.
50:08Like that? Who are you taking in this one, Michael?
50:11Seahawks. They're at home. They get this done. I'm taking the Seahawks as well because they're at home and I think they get this done.
50:18I'm taking the Niners. Whoa! I don't know why.
50:21They'd be 5-0. Seahawks would drop to 3-2 in that case.
50:24And the Rams, at best, would be 3-2. Producers go with the 49ers as well.
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51:45Call 1-800-GRAINGER, clickgrainger.com, or just stop by. Next one, Lions and Cardinals.
51:48We can rip through these last... This has got to be a huge lineup lock game.
51:53Jared Goff, Jameer Gibbs, Amon Ross, St. Brown, Sam Laporta all on the Lions side.
51:57On the other side, Jacoby Brissett, Jeremiah Love, Michael Wilson, and Trey McBride.
52:01I would even put J-Mo in the lineup, the flex lock conversation for me.
52:04Maybe not a lineup lock, but a flex lock.
52:07He's had one good game, so it's hard to really say you're cementing this guy in right now, but in this matchup, you'd be hard-pressed to bench him.
52:15It'd be tough, yeah. I think... I just want to say this, Sam Laporta has looked awesome to start this season.
52:20Unbelievable. And now just going up against the fun of his offensive coordinator going up against his former team.
52:26Is there any way that we just see Sam Laporta go off and have a great time in this one?
52:31I don't have a lot to talk about because you're just starting everyone as far as I'm concerned.
52:36Even, I think, both of the quarterbacks. Yeah, it's funny.
52:39We just talked about these guys, so this is seamless, but...
52:42And we've been talking about them all week. You never want to start Jared Goff.
52:46If you're wondering... I know I don't, but this week I do because they're playing Arizona.
52:51And by the way, he's playing well. 19-plus fantasy points in three straight games.
52:55And Arizona's allowed the most passing touchdowns with 11 so far this season.
52:58And Goff, we know, he has to... He's not going to do anything with his legs.
53:03And it's going to have to be elite passing production.
53:05And we're getting that so far. He also has zero interceptions.
53:08So you're not even losing points for that so far this year.
53:12So he's a great play. Jacoby Presetta has two spots after him.
53:15But this guy now has 31 total touchdowns in 16 games since taking over for Kyler Murray last season.
53:20And similar to Arizona, Detroit is allowed the most yards, touchdowns, and fantasy points to quarterbacks.
53:25So both of these are excellent plays here in week five.
53:28Yep. Love them both. I'm going to go with the Lions in this one.
53:32Same. Lions. All right. We got one more game we're going to talk.
53:35We got two more games we're going to talk about.
53:38Just wanted to make sure across the board. Across the board.
53:41Yeah, yes. Across the board. Ravens and Falcons here, my friends.
53:44This one, we don't have much to talk about.
53:47No, there really isn't. Derek Henry's a flowers on one side.
53:50On the other side, B. John Robinson and Drake London.
53:53Seems like no Lamar Jackson. We'll see. Yes. We rule Lamar Jackson out for Sunday night, but he has not yet practiced.
53:59Obviously, if he is out, that's as big of a fantasy injury as we have this week.
54:03Lamar, one of the great players in this league.
54:06If Lamar Jackson, he's one of the guys that even if he doesn't play all week and then they are like, all
54:12right, yeah, he's going to roll this week. I would put him out there and start him almost over anybody.
54:17Well, also, if there's ambiguity and Sunday night football, which is when this game is being played, is still hours away.
54:23You have to make a choice on like a Jacoby Brissett or a Jared Goff.
54:27That's a totally reasonable enough stream option in favor of Lamar Jackson, but definitely have Tyler Huntley available as a pivot.
54:33Yeah, absolutely. And just keep in mind, if you're in a tough spot, maybe Mahomes is on a bye in a deep
54:39league and you're thinking, all right, I'm just going to fire up Tyler Huntley because he'll run the ball.
54:45What you don't want to have happen is you get to whatever, 6.50 p.m.
54:49Eastern and Lamar's active and you're like, I don't have a quarterback now.
54:52So make sure you have another option or just don't use Huntley because there's definitely a chance that Jackson will play in this one.
54:59So I went back and looked at some of the numbers with Tyler Huntley under center and Zay Flowers and in some
55:05ways they mean something to me and other ways they don't because we've seen this new version of Zay Flowers this year.
55:11We would all agree this is the best version we have ever seen of Zay, but averaging about four plus, actually averaging
55:17over four catches, just about 60 yards and he has four touchdowns in nine games with Tyler Huntley.
55:22Bottom line, period, is this. Whether Zay Flowers has Tyler Huntley or Lamar Jackson under center, he's played well enough that the
55:28discount doesn't move him from top eight wide receiver to wide receiver 32.
55:32You're still playing Zay Flowers. It doesn't move him from your starting lineup to your bench.
55:36He's staying in my starting lineup no matter what.
55:39I think he's graduated that territory of being good enough.
55:41This is not like what Drake London dealt with when he went to a completely inoperable offense.
55:46This offense will be fine. We just certainly prefer Lamar Jackson out there under center.
55:50Yep. Kind of like you had just said with Brock Purdy.
55:53Maybe just lowering expectations a little bit. Yep. All right.
55:56Who are you going to take in this one, guys?
55:59Who would have thought this three weeks ago? Yeah.
56:01Falcons. Wow, a clean sweep for the Falcons. I reserve the right to change to Baltimore if Lamar plays.
56:07No. No? No. You have to choose now. No.
56:09All right, well, and I picked the Falcons. Okay.
56:12All right. Sounds good. Game in Atlanta. Bills and the Rams, guys.
56:15Here we go. Last one. This is going to be a great Monday night football game.
56:19It should be a great Monday night football game.
56:22On the Bills side, Josh Allen, James Cook, DJ Moore.
56:25On the Rams side, Kyron Williams, Pugan Akua, and Devontae Adams.
56:28Quick update on DJ Moore did not practice on Wednesday.
56:31We will see what, excuse me, on Thursday, that was their first practice of the week with it being a Monday night football game.
56:37We'll see what his practice is like today. If he goes back-to-back DMPs, I'll feel a little bit more worried, but just
56:43something you want to monitor with DJ Moore. Obviously, though, if he is healthy, you'll have him in your starting lineup.
56:49I thought Joe Brady said something yesterday that made it seem like he was unlikely to play.
56:54I'll be honest with you. I was reading between the lines.
56:57It was like, DJ's going to do everything he can to give himself a chance to play.
57:02That's top short of what we expect to have him out there.
57:05Yeah, well, hopefully we'll get some news on that.
57:07It'd be nice considering it's Monday night football if he's ruled out today or tomorrow.
57:12Well, they have till tomorrow to do that. But then Keon Coleman becomes interesting.
57:15I was just going to say. As a flex option.
57:18He's been good. He's had two bad games, two good games.
57:21The two good games are when DJ Moore has left the game of hurt.
57:25So definitely have him on a couple benches kind of waiting to see what happens with Moore.
57:30Yep. If he does roll, we'll start DJ Moore.
57:32How are you feeling, though, about Dalton Kincaid in this?
57:35I don't feel great. He's got trending the wrong direction.
57:38Had five for 130 in week one, then seven for 95 and a touchdown against your Lions in week two.
57:44So you're feeling great. But weeks three and four, just three catches for 45 yards total.
57:48Not average on five targets. Snapshare and route participation have progressively gone down like perfectly down.
57:52It hasn't been like this. It's been straight down all four games.
57:56So that's not great, obviously. And by the way, they're playing the Rams who have allowed the fewest yards with just 85
58:02and the second fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season.
58:05No tight end has reached nine fantasy points. 85 yards per game?
58:08Nope. 85 total yards. 85 total yards against the Rams in four games so far this season.
58:13So it's concerning for me. I don't feel great starting him.
58:16I won't be starting him where I can avoid it this week.
58:19People that have Brock Bowers and Brock Bowers if you have him it's not even a conversation for a millisecond.
58:25But there might be a few tight ends that we drafted as like, hey, these guys, they're not sexy but potentially usable tight ends.
58:31I have a good example. Oh yeah, I was going to say Warren and Loveland.
58:36Those are, I think that becomes a conversation here.
58:38That's what I'm dealing with. Warren versus Kincaid in a couple of weeks.
58:42I lean towards Warren and Loveland there is where I would go personally.
58:45I'm trying to think of guys that thread that needle a little bit better.
58:49You know what's tough? Okay, so let's walk through that, just the draft list really quickly.
58:54Warren and Loveland and then you had Laporta, Kyle Pitts who's not even on rosters anymore.
58:58Kittle. If you had Kyle Pitts you would play Dalton Kincaid.
59:01Oh yes, I would. Kyle Pitts is dropable. Yeah, by the way, if Moore is out that's going to move Kincaid up
59:07a little bit more you would imagine they'll try to feature him a little bit, get some more into the, makes him a little more palatable.
59:14Fingers crossed. But man, it's just, this is one of the biggest head scratchers in fantasy right now because this guy could
59:21be, the way he was playing weeks one and two he could lead the position in fantasy points but it's just going the wrong direction again inexplicably.
59:28A Tuesday headline on Friday is like Dalton Kincaid much to our surprise balls out for Buffalo on Monday Night Football and
59:34I think at that point we say, alright, Dalton Kincaid is what Jamison Williams is, what Mike Williams was back in the
59:40day, what any of these kind of infuriating players are.
59:43You're either in or you're out and you just deal with it.
59:46He might be the player we chase the most in fantasy football this year where it's like, nope, I'm out, I'm out,
59:52I'm out and then he does well and then it's like, I'm back in and then I play him and then he
59:59sucks again and then I bench him and then he plays well again in two weeks and anyways.
60:04It's like what we do with Kyle Pitts over, not this year, but in the past.
60:08This year we're just out. It's like, tight ends man, tight ends.
60:11Who are you guys taking in this one? I'm going to go with the Rams.
60:15Yeah, Rams too. Wait, Mike, you have the Bills.
60:18I have the Bills. You and the Doosers are on the Bills.
60:21I will not have all my fantasy matchups concluded by Monday night but I hope that they are concluded enough where it's
60:27like, I'm up by 50 and my opponent only has one player left or whatever.
60:32I'm down by, actually I don't want to be down by anything.
60:35I want this game to be one that I can enjoy just through a real life football lens.
60:40And by the way, I'll be doing the Monday Night Football Playbook on Monday.
60:44All right. So if you guys want to watch over on NFL Network, me, Lewis Riddick and Chase Daniel will be calling the game which would be fun.
60:51That would be fun. I'm our only man, Chase Daniel.
60:54Yes. It was one of his favorite things he's ever done.
60:57He just became a man this week. He turned 40.
61:00He did. Good for him. Good for him. All right, let's dive into the starts of the week, my friend.
61:06In case you guys were wondering, Mike's paying off his punishment by doing absolutely nothing.
61:10He had a horrible lineup and the only thing that he gets is public shame for setting a bad lineup and that's it.
61:16Hey, I'm not complaining literally at all. I know you're not complaining.
61:20Obviously, you're not complaining. Again, that was the fantasy gods rewarding me for doing a good job setting a lineup and things didn't go my way.
61:27That's all. I have committed to every bit and the fantasy gods don't like any more than they used to.
61:32They're saying is sandpaper right now. Come on. You know what the football guys are saying in Fields' words from earlier?
61:38Just good process, Mike. Oh, that's cool. Why don't you give your lineup first then?
61:42I'm going to let you go first. All right.
61:45My lineup's going to get back on track, although, again, the matchups are outstanding again and it did not work for me last week.
61:51We're going to see if we do a better job here.
61:54Jacoby Brissett is my quarterback against the Lions. Was that your number one overall pick this week?
61:59Was he my first pick? I think he was.
62:02I think he was my first pick this week.
62:04Most fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks for Detroit. I'm going to stick in that game with my tight end, Sam Laporte, on the other side.
62:11Arizona's a lot of the third most fantasy points to tight ends.
62:14My running back is Aaron Jones. I'm just chasing that massive volume from the last couple of weeks and the Saints have
62:21a lot of the most fantasy points to running backs and then my wide receiver is playing on that Monday night game.
62:27So this could come down to Monday night as I have Devontae Adams against the Bills who are the third most fantasy points to receivers.
62:34So two weeks in a row, it's all about the matchups.
62:37All right. On to me here, my quarterback is Jordan Love.
62:40You know, the Bears over the past three weeks have really tightened the screws on defense.
62:44I think some of that is schedule related. They have not exactly played an onslaught of offensive talent.
62:49The Packers cannot run the ball whatsoever. Big game at home against the Bears at Lambeau Field.
62:54He is my quarterback. My running back, Bucky Irving, got me 31 and a half last night, so that's a good start there obviously for Bucky.
63:01And my wide receiver, George Pickens. So I've already got 59 and a half.
63:05That's amazing. Good for you. Oh, weird. That's not what it says here on the screen.
63:09Oh, weird. That's tough. Is that a clerical error?
63:12Must be. Must be. Jordan Love is actually my quarterback.
63:15Quinchon Judkins is my running back. I think the Browns can control the game script against the Jets.
63:20Michael Wilson is my wide receiver. He plays Daniels Lions.
63:22I wanted him. Yeah. He was almost my first pick.
63:25Jawan Johnson is my tight end. The Vikings, a good defense, but Jawan Johnson just continually getting the football in that New Orleans passing game.
63:32Yes, he is. My lineup here, I took Jared Goff.
63:35Our first three picks in this draft for this week were Jacoby Brissette, Michael Wilson, and Jared Goff.
63:40In case you're wondering how we feel about that game, I got Jared Goff at running back.
63:45I went with DeAndre Swift, which is helping. Yep.
63:47Helping with the Kyle Manungai situation right now. Malik Neighbors.
63:50Future Lion. In a great spot. And then Mike Isiki.
63:53I decided if there was a week for me to start someone, potentially we have a couple of wide receivers out and they're taking on the Dolphins.
64:00We're going to be Lion. That's field minister, Yates.
64:03My gosh. Now we'd have to make a Malik Neighbors trade happen.
64:06Yes. Not going to happen. We'll all come together.
64:08It's going to be fun. All right. Hey, come hang out with us on Sunday.
64:13Fantasy Focus Countdown. We're going to be on ESPN 2 or News.
64:16We're going to be on ESPN sometime this week.
64:18We'll be on the team. At 10 a.m. Eastern, which is always fun.
64:22Come hang out with us. We love you guys.
64:24Don't forget to love each other and be kind to yourself.
64:27You deserve it. Bye, everybody. We'll see you guys this weekend.
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