Week 3 Fantasy Football Quarterback & Tight End Rankings: Sleepers, Fades, and Must-Starts (Ep. 2214)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
38 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 24, 2026
Published
Thu, September 24, 2026
13
Player insights
12
Players mentioned
Topics
Baker MayfieldBrock BowersBryce YoungColston LovelandDrake MayeIsaiah LikelyJameis WinstonJoe BurrowKyler MurrayMalik WillisPat FreiermuthTravis Kelce
Player analysis
Player insights
Baker Mayfield
NegativeMatchup20:50
Baker Mayfield is considered an outside-the-top-20 quarterback option for Week 3 due to a difficult matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
Insight pageNegativeMatchup35:04
Baker Mayfield is an avoid for week three as he faces the Minnesota Vikings, a defense that has been tough on opposing quarterbacks.
Insight pageBrock Bowers
PositiveProjection22:09
Despite some ranking oddities, the analysts agree Brock Bowers should be started with no hesitation if healthy. He is considered a top-tier tight end, with some ranking him as the TE1 overall, citing his ability to produce immediately upon returning from injury as he did last year.
Insight pageBryce Young
PositiveValue4:07
Bryce Young is the preferred streaming quarterback among available options (under 50% rostered) because the Panthers are throwing at a high rate, ranking fourth in pass rate over expectation. While efficiency may fluctuate, the volume provides a solid fantasy floor.
Insight pageColston Loveland
PositiveRole29:14
Colston Loveland has been a disappointment through two weeks, but the analysts suggest patience. His poor production is attributed to a 'perfect storm' of factors including bad weather, a tough defensive matchup, and Case Keenum starting at quarterback. He remains a buy-low trade target for those looking to the future.
Insight pageDrake Maye
NegativeProjection7:15
Drake Maye is struggling, finishing outside the top 22 quarterbacks in both weeks. While he offers rushing upside, the loss of AJ Brown and a banged-up offensive line are concerns. He is no longer a 'set it and forget it' starter.
Insight pageIsaiah Likely
NegativeUsage22:53
Isaiah Likely's fantasy value is tied to the volatility of Jameis Winston. While the quarterback situation is chaotic, Likely maintains a concentrated target share alongside Malik Nabers, making him a viable start despite potential inefficiency.
Insight pageJameis Winston
NegativeRole1:53
Jameis Winston is thrust into the starting role following Jackson Dart's season-ending injury. While he struggled in his initial appearance, he may benefit from a full week of practice reps. He remains a superflex-only option, though he has the potential for high-variance, high-scoring games.
Insight pageJoe Burrow
NegativeProjection7:23
Joe Burrow is ranked as a mid-tier QB (QB7-QB10) due to tough matchups and a lack of rushing value. He may not need to 'step on the gas' against a Steelers defense that has benefited from weak early-season opponents.
Insight pageKyler Murray
NegativeProjection23:24
Kyler Murray is a mystery box this week coming off a concussion and a massive hit in week one. While he has a favorable matchup against Tampa Bay, there is concern about his willingness to run, making him a riskier start than Malik Willis for some.
Insight pageMalik Willis
PositiveUsage23:24
Malik Willis is a high-upside play due to his rushing ability, though he has seen limited designed runs so far. Analysts expect his rushing production to bounce back, making him a viable start when desperate for quarterback points.
Insight pagePat Freiermuth
PositiveMatchup24:02
Pat Freiermuth is ranked ahead of Isaiah Likely for Week 3 because the Bengals' defense, under Al Golden, has struggled to cover tight ends, as evidenced by Dalton Schultz's performance against them last week.
Insight pageTravis Kelce
PositiveValue26:11
Travis Kelce is considered mispriced and a strong buy-low candidate. Despite concerns about his age and usage, he is coming off a 101-yard performance and faces a Miami secondary that is described as one of the worst in the NFL, making him a high-upside play.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Grainger.com, or stop by.
0:04Grainger, for the ones who get it done. Call 1-800-GRANGING, where you can see the expert consensus rankings positionally, change formats, however you want to see it.
0:13Experts are putting them in there. They're going to kind of change throughout the week as more experts start to put their in.
0:20You might see some of the averages start to change, but if you want to know those valuations, you can do that there.
0:27And you can also use that to follow along in this episode, as that's what we're going to be talking about.
0:34And speaking of big stories and what to talk about when we jump into quarterbacks here, guys, the biggest piece of news
0:41that came down right a little bit before we started up, everyone will know at this point, is we are down another quarterback.
0:48We actually are kind of still waiting on the finality of what's going to happen with Jaden Daniels.
0:54You had the Caleb Williams situation, but the big one fresh off.
0:58Jackson Dart not only got hurt, but all the lip reading was for naught of, was it four to six weeks and is it better?
1:06Well, it turns out everything looked bad. And according to Ian Rapoport, Jackson Dart is going to have surgery ending his 2026 season.
1:13And that kind of thrust Jameis Winston into this role.
1:16Fitzy, any overarching concern about the rest of the positional player?
1:19I mean, I don't think Jameis Winston is more than a super flex grab at this point, but like what type of
1:26downgrade are you anticipating for the Giants overall players without Jackson Dart?
1:30It could conceivably be an upgrade depending on what sort of Jameis Winston we get going forward, just because, yeah, he was
1:37awful on Monday night, but he also came in ice cold.
1:41Let's see what he looks like after a full week of practice reps and preparation for this game.
1:46And maybe it looks like the Jameis Winston who, granted, there are always a lot of turnover worthy throws and actual turnovers with Jameis Winston, a quarterback.
1:55But he has gone nuclear at times in recent years when he's had these little starting stints.
2:00He made Jerry Judy and David Njoku look like superstars when he was in Cleveland for a while.
2:06We might get a 360 yard game from Jameis this week with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
2:11Like it's wild. So this could conceivably be good for some of the guys he plays with.
2:17Erickson, just as an aside real quick, if somebody lost Jackson Dart and like, do you think if you're doing in the
2:23standard 12 team, let's say there's like 15 to 16 quarterbacks that are taken.
2:28Are you going to advocate to play more streamers, assuming a majority of the under 50 percent guys are just kind of readily available?
2:35Or do you think it would lock into somebody?
2:38And I will give you some names looking on fantasy pros at the consensus rank, which is like a Yahoo ESPN combination under 50 percent quarterbacks.
2:47You have Bryce Young, CJ Stroud. Those are your top two.
2:50Darnold is still floating out there, but then Malik Willis, Daniel Jones.
2:54I think those are kind of your top four quarterbacks that would probably be readily available under 50 percent.
3:00Would you advocate and lock into one of those players or knowing that those four are out there?
3:05Would you just try to play musical chairs with a streaming quarterback position?
3:10Well, I think the important thing to remember is the goal isn't to stream quarterbacks every single week.
3:15The goal is to find a quarterback that you can use every single week.
3:20And then if that doesn't work, then you stream.
3:22So of those guys, I think Bryce Young is probably the one that I would gravitate towards the most.
3:28Like I get this matchup isn't as good in week three, but week four lines to like you're like he's going to
3:35be the top option for streamers in week four.
3:38So I think Bryce Young, especially if this Panthers offense continues to throw the ball at a really high rate, fourth and
3:45pass rate over expectations I talked about in the wide receiver show, then yeah, the Panthers are letting Bryce Young throw the football.
3:52And that means fantasy points are coming, even if he's not always going to be as efficient as he's been the first two weeks of the season.
4:01Some alternatives if you're dealing with the Jackson Darts situation, and that'll take us to looking at what the quarterbacks are for this week.
4:08So again, fantasypros.com slash rankings. That's where we're going to be looking.
4:12And here's the quarterback big board for week three.
4:15We've got Josh Allen back at the top spot.
4:18Of course, with number one, Lamar Jackson coming in at number two, Jalen Hurts.
4:22No big surprises here. Brock Purdy jumping up to four.
4:26Patrick Mahomes at five. Dak Prescott at six. Your bottom half, Joe Burrow.
4:30Once again, not cracking that, you know, top five lately because of some of these matchups at seven.
4:35Jared Goff jumps to eight. Trevor Lawrence at nine and Drake may attend Jordan Love at 11 and then Tyler Shuck at 12.
4:43So interesting list. And let's talk about Joe Burrow for a second.
4:46And I put a little caveat here. I have like a Joe Burrow versus Drake may situation.
4:52Overall, Joe Burrow comes in at seven. You guys are lower.
4:55Drake may is got the Jags, which from a matchup perspective, they're making a little bit higher, but really it's been bad.
5:02It has not looked good. I had somebody ask me, like, would you trade Drake may to get Trevor Lawrence?
5:08And it was just like, I mean, I guess it's a space that people are in right now.
5:14But really, this is kind of about like Joe Burrow and these tough matchups versus Drake may and just the lack of like awesome production.
5:22And Erickson, to start with you, you have Burrow at 10.
5:25So I'm very curious of Burrow versus May for you this week.
5:29I'm pretty torn on it, to be honest. That's just not because I'm a Patriots fan.
5:34It's because I watched Drake may the first two weeks of the season and it has not been good for him.
5:41He's been outside the top 22 quarterbacks in weekly finishes.
5:44Losing AJ Brown has obviously been a major detriment to his type of fantasy production.
5:49The Jaguars are more of a team that is a past model.
5:53We talked about how their run defense has been really the superior of their two units.
5:58So you're expecting volume here. I'm expecting the Jaguars to put up points against this Patriots defense.
6:03So you could see Drake may in negative game script throwing them all a lot, running with his legs, which is something
6:10that he's probably have to do more. But the offensive line is banged up and yeah, it's concerning.
6:16But then on the other side with Burrow, it's he doesn't have any value as a rusher.
6:21You always have to respect a AFC North divisional matchup, especially on the road against Pittsburgh Steelers, who I'm not going to
6:28say their defense is bad, but I'm not going to say that it's number one in terms of EPA per pass attempt.
6:35Like it has been through the first two weeks when you face the Atlanta Falcons, which is a gimme.
6:41And then you face Drake may without his top receivers and missing offensive linemen.
6:45So I think that the Bengals, this is definitely the toughest team that they have faced offensively for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
6:52So I'm pretty torn. So Fitz, I'm not sure if you are leaning in a stronger direction between Burrow.
6:58And I guess like my default is always like, well, may runs.
7:02So like that usually is my default to give him the edge here.
7:06But I think it's really close and I'm interested to hear what you have to say, Fitz.
7:11Yeah, I've got May ranked higher. Part of it is the running.
7:15And part of it is just, yeah, I know a lot of the people on Twitter and on Discord who have asked me lineup questions this week.
7:23I can sense the Drake may panic. But in week one, Drake may played the Seattle Seahawks and their past defense is just on another level.
7:32The Seahawks didn't allow the Cardinals to complete a pass of 10 or more yards last year or last week.
7:38That has not happened since the strike season of 1987, where I forget which team completed three passes against the New Orleans
7:45Saints for 11 yards and still won the game.
7:48But like that's how tough the Seattle past defense is.
7:51And then week two, to Erickson's point, like Pittsburgh, not a skull and crossbones matchup for quarterbacks, but they can really get after the passer.
7:59They're top 10 in pressure rates. They've got TJ Watt raising hell every week.
8:03So May is going to be fine. And like Erickson said, Jaguars are kind of a pass funnel defense.
8:09With Burrow, it's not so much the matchup, but maybe Joe Burrow doesn't need to have a big game against the Steelers,
8:16whose passing game has looked so impotent so far this season.
8:20Like I just don't think Joe Burrow is going to have to step on the gas in this game.
8:25I think one of the things you can look at, too, because, again, people need to remember this is a ranks episode.
8:32So we're talking rank versus rank and where it is.
8:36But the real question kind of becomes about like, are these guys now non must starts?
8:41And I think like I can appreciate some of the optimism of Drake May, but I think he's moved away from sit
8:48it and forget it quarterback to maybe you do need to start thinking about it more.
8:53And I think a prime example of that could be in Tyler Shuck.
8:57Now, I don't think this is going to work with Fitz because I can see Shucks rank for Fitz.
9:03But Erickson, you've got Tyler Shuck at eight on your list.
9:06So Drake May or Tyler Shuck for you? I think I'm going Tyler Shuck because.
9:11So that's the range. Yeah. The proof of concept with Shuck has been he's been a top eight quarterback through two games.
9:18The Saints lead the NFL in passing yards. He also adds rushing juice, which he has done through two weeks.
9:24And this is his first game at home. Like he's been on the road in two tough spots.
9:30Now, the Lions, we were expecting fireworks. I was not high on Tyler Shuck in week two playing on the road against Baltimore.
9:37And he made me pay. That's why my week two rankings were buns because I was clearly too low on Tyler Shuck.
9:44And I was afraid of starting him against the Baltimore Ravens.
9:47And he proved me wrong because he delivered a really strong performance better than even the overtime game, just in terms of how he actually played.
9:5627, 34, 252 yards and a touchdown, nine carries, 23 yards and a rushing score.
10:00So I think that Shuck at home, the Raiders, I'm not afraid of the Raiders defense at all.
10:06I know that they've been generating pressure and the Saints are coming without banks as one of their starting tackles.
10:12So that is the one concern. But Shuck can move like he's not an immobile guy.
10:17Like so if there is pressure coming down on him, he can escape out of the pocket and pick up yards with
10:24his legs, creating more opportunities for fantasy points. Also, the Raiders are down two of their starting defensive backs.
10:30Darian Porter, trade on Stukes, both got banged up last week.
10:34So I think that the Saints are ready to let the fireworks at home in the dome.
10:39I think he just has so many outs in his projection, which we've seen where it's like he can suck for three quarters.
10:46He still finds a way to come back because he's going to be chucking the ball.
10:52The Saints can't run the football either. Like they've been very ineffective against the run and the Raiders have actually been number
10:58one EPA per rush allowed this season against run plays.
11:02So I think it's going to be more pass attempts for Tyler Shuck.
11:06And again, last year, I was way too slow to come around to the Jacoby Brissett.
11:11Like, dude, this guy's just going to be a fantasy savant and you just got to play him.
11:16It's like it's not always going to be perfect, but he's going to score so many fantasy points.
11:22So I'm not trying to do that again here with Tyler Shuck when two weeks in, it seems like this guy's just
11:29going to be a top 10 fantasy quarterback every single week.
11:32Like Fitzy, that whole time I can only think about you because like you've got him at 13, but you love you some Chris Olave.
11:40Five might not be high enough for you. In the wide receiver episode, you built up Devon Vele.
11:46They can't run. They've got receiving options. We haven't talked about tight ends yet.
11:50I'm not sure. Do you feel maybe that Tyler Shuck should be closer to Drake May Burrow, like that general range?
11:57Like where are you at? Because you got him at QB 13, but I feel like you love all the pieces around
12:04him right now, but maybe not like I don't want to say you're not heavy advocate.
12:09You got him at 13. He's 12. But like I just feel like with you, this would be maybe even a higher
12:16quarterback and maybe because I feel like I'm going to get that Tyler Shuck versus Drake May question on Sunday morning.
12:23I feel like we're all going to see that like 30 times.
12:26And do you think we should give more thought to it?
12:30Yeah, I'm a little conflicted on Shuck. I mean, he is leading the NFL in passing yards.
12:35662. 662. But that is so juiced by the perfect storm that he had against the Lions in week one, playing this
12:42terrible pass defense, which doesn't have its two stud safeties, Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph.
12:47And Shuck fell into a 21-0 hole in that game.
12:50So Kellen Moore always likes to push pace anyway, which is something in Shuck's favor.
12:55He really stepped on the gas in week one and Shuck threw almost 60 passes in that game.
13:00So it was just I feel like the stats are a little misleading for Tyler Shuck.
13:06And the Raiders pass defense has played pretty well so far.
13:09I will have to knock down or excuse me, move up Shuck in my rankings a bit if Porter and Stooks are out for the Raiders.
13:17But yeah, I mean, it's just a little juice so far with the Tyler Shuck results.
13:22I just we'll see. Plus, they're a touchdown favorite.
13:25Maybe they don't have to keep their foot on the gas as much this game.
13:30But I do feel like I might be a little lower on him than I should be.
13:35To an interesting quarterback situation, we're just battle these last two because that's your top 12.
13:40I mean, there might be some discussion in the Jordan Love thing.
13:44Jordan Love and Shuck kind of like jump into this.
13:47We built that around the tough quarterbacks. I think your top six are core.
13:52You start to have some questions defensively, maybe against like Lawrence Burrow May.
13:56And then that's where guys like Shuck come in.
13:59But if you're looking for two deeper quarterbacks, this actually flipped in between us recording here.
14:04At one point, Kyler Murray was around quarterback 20 on a list.
14:07And Malik Willis was, I think, 17 or so.
14:10That is flipped. And Kyler Murray has now jumped as more rankers have put into quarterback 17.
14:16Malik Willis is 18. You guys are in complete agreement.
14:19But you guys both agree it's Malik Willis. And you've almost you got Willis as a top 14 quarterback.
14:25You have him at 14 each. And you've got Kyler Murray at 16.
14:29So Fitzy, love to get your take on Willis versus Murray.
14:32My disappointment, and I think a couple people have cited this, just rushing is down for quarterbacks right now, like from an overall perspective.
14:40And that's so heavy into what we've been projecting with Malik Willis.
14:44And it's just not quite there as that team is trying to find itself that I'm hesitant.
14:49I would lean Kyler Murray on this. And now ECR leans Kyler Murray over Willis.
14:54But you both don't. You have Willis at 14.
14:57So talk to us about Willis versus Murray. Yeah, I think part of it is because running quarterbacks are such a cheat code.
15:04And while we haven't gotten the rushing bonanza we were hoping for from Malik Willis, eight rushing attempts, 45 yards, one touchdown so far.
15:11I think there's only been one designed run. So hopefully there are more designed runs coming from Dolphins play caller Bobby Slowick.
15:18Like, what are you doing, man? You've got Malik Willis, who is probably the second best running quarterback in the game behind Lamar Jackson.
15:26Right now he's got one fewer rushing attempt than Kirk Cousins.
15:29Although in fairness, I think some of those Cousins runs were kneeled down since Cousins has minus five rushing yards.
15:36But yeah, it's the running ability with Malik Willis that has me and presumably Erickson above consensus.
15:41And you figure they're probably going to be in a game script where they need Willis to do something to run around
15:48and throw because they're playing the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs offense is firing on all cylinders right now.
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17:39That's Minky, M-I-N-K-Y, Couture, C-O-U-T-U-R-E.com. Maybe there's some hesitation in Kyler Murray also from him moving and getting slammed out of the game.
17:46He's back in it. Erickson, same thing. You are Willis over Kyler Murray.
17:51We've seen an ECR flip. I'd love for you to break down Murray a little bit more there as well, because I
17:58think the Willis thing is pretty well said. And I think everybody's hoping there's going to be some more designed runs.
18:04It's not a big powerhouse offense. But why do you feel more comfortable about Willis over Murray?
18:10Well, I think a point that you made last week, I don't remember which, because we do a million shows together.
18:16We do. Me and Welsh. You made the point that Willis isn't going to run because Fred Warner.
18:22And he's going to spy. And what happened? Two carries for six yards.
18:26Yeah. So I think that the ECR is just copying, pasting what happened last week.
18:31Oh, he's not going to run anymore. When week one, he was fine.
18:35Like he had almost 40 rushing yards. He had a rushing touchdown.
18:39So I agree that his rushing is going to bounce back here.
18:42So that's why Willis to me is a player.
18:45It's like, I'm panicked. I don't know what to do with quarterback.
18:49Just throw him in there and he'll give you a good enough game because he has the rushing.
18:55But when I look at Kyler and I look at, okay, more of a mystery box type of projection this week.
19:01Tampa Bay just gave up Deshaun Watson's best game as a Brown.
19:05Like, so that's why I think that there is a, you should have a little bit of, I'll call it blind optimism, but this team is just unraveling.
19:14So Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And I think that we should attack them through all facets.
19:19And that includes all the Minnesota Vikings players. Furthermore, if you're debating on who should I pick up, right?
19:25I got a spot start between Willis and Murray.
19:27Who do I pick up this week in a vacuum?
19:31Again, I have Willis higher because I'm more confident he's going to run.
19:35Whereas Kyler coming back from a concussion, maybe not so opting to run around after he just took a massive hit in week one against the Packers.
19:43But in week four, Kyler Murray plays the Miami Dolphins.
19:46So if he looks anywhere good against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he's going to be the number one guy we're talking about
19:53on waivers because he's placing Miami in week four.
19:56So that's kind of how I would describe it again.
19:59If I have both guys on my roster ready, I would start Willis because I'm more confident about his rushing.
20:06But if I'm looking to pick somebody up, it's close enough in the ranking where I would beside on the point of,
20:13OK, well, I can use Kyler another week as well versus Willis, who probably don't want to start against a Brian Flores defense.
20:20Because so far, those guys, quarterbacks against Minnesota has been not good.
20:24It's been it's been tough sledding. So that's kind of the way I kind of see it.
20:29Only thing that's going to keep us off of Kyler is just going to be how much he's rostered.
20:35So that might be another reason if you want to get ahead of it.
20:39If you're in that world of kind of, you know, turning quarterbacks a little bit, like to have Kyler this week, I
20:46think it's a good setup and I think it's a good matchup.
20:50And I'm still a little bit concerned about Willis.
20:53All right. Those are your quarterbacks. You guys want to check out more?
20:57Definitely go fantasypros.com slash rankings. You can see all the quarterbacks this week as some of those adjustments start to come into play.
21:04You'll see where guys like Bo Nix, Bryce Young, how far does Baker move down?
21:09Baker's got Minnesota this week, so no thanks. That's going to be an outside the 20 option.
21:14So quarterback's a little fluid there. Let's jump over to tight ends.
21:18So we're going to talk about the top 12, our big board.
21:22We've got Trey McBride going up against the Niners at number one.
21:26Dalton Kincaid jumps up as number two. Sam Laporta at three.
21:29Tucker Craft at four. Brock Bowers is really interesting and we'll actually talk about that in just one second.
21:35Tyler Warren at six. George Kittle at seven. Isaiah Likely at eight.
21:39We've got Kelsey, Schultz, Johnson, Colson Loveland all the way down at 12 for this week.
21:44Just a quick thing with Bowers. It's looking like he is going to play.
21:48Fitzy, do you think this is a hedge rank or is this appropriate?
21:52Because I can be honest with you, I just moved him back up to two.
21:57If he's healthy, he's back. I assume they're going to roll.
22:01They said it looks like he's going to go here.
22:04I don't know where you are on Bowers. I didn't think to talk about it, but like I don't think anyone should
22:11have any hesitation on playing Bowers if he's healthy.
22:14But this rank just seems a little weird for him.
22:17Yeah, he's tight end one for me. Walsh. Oh, yeah.
22:20Okay. So you agree. Erickson, same thing. Yeah, I'm tight end two.
22:24So I know hesitation. He did this last year and I think he was tight end one on the week.
22:30Huge week when he came back from injury last year.
22:33That was the three touchdown game, right? Yeah. So don't.
22:36Yeah, I just want to point that out because if someone had Sam Laporta, like I'm starting just Sam Laporta and Dalton Kincaid are above Bowers.
22:44I'm not setting Bowers in any situation. Not that I even think anybody really would, but just five was just kind of an oddity or whatever.
22:53Kincaid really high up there. Let's talk about Isaiah Likely.
22:56This is one. He comes in at tight end eight.
22:59You guys have pushed him down into the double digits.
23:02We've got 10 for Erickson, 11 for Fitzy. Fitzy is this.
23:06I'm curious, like, did this relate at all to the injury as well?
23:10Like in, you know, maybe do we not think Winston is going to be targeting Likely, the chaos of it, Jackson Dart situation?
23:17Like talk to us about Likely moving down a tiny bit.
23:20I think I was doing my tight end rankings during the Monday night game.
23:25So I was watching Jameis Winston look completely awful and dirt, all these throws.
23:29And, you know, but again, maybe Jameis is cooked or maybe Jameis is going to come back and do Jameis things where
23:36he throws for huge yardage numbers, throws a bunch of touchdowns, throws a bunch of interceptions.
23:41But if you have Isaiah Likely, you don't care about the interceptions that much.
23:46And we saw a gonzo David Njoku run a few years ago when Jameis was in Cleveland, where David Njoku was just
23:53lighting fantasy football on fire, catching passes from Jameis Winston.
23:56Maybe we get that again. And I'm probably going to have to move up Likely at least one more spot.
24:02Right now, I've got him behind Pat Friermuth. And I'm doing that because with Al Golden as the Bengals defensive coordinator, they cannot cover tight ends.
24:10And their defenses look better, but they still got destroyed by Dalton Schultz last week.
24:15So that's why I've got Friermuth ahead of Likely right now.
24:18I'm probably going to put Likely back ahead of Friermuth.
24:22But if we get the Jameis Winston we saw on Monday, it's not going to be a good night for Isaiah Likely.
24:29A good game. I think they're playing during the day this week.
24:32Yeah, Eric, you talked about kind of maybe in the wide receiver episode, maybe wanting to go all in on neighbors and
24:39just thinking maybe Winston can fix it and da-da-da.
24:42Where does Likely fit into that role for you?
24:45I don't know if this was your initial rank and then you kind of came to terms with that while we were on the episode.
24:53Does that make you want to move Likely up as well?
24:56Yeah, because I think you want to lean into the upside case that we could get a good version of Jameis Winston for fantasy football purposes.
25:05Because if Likely just goes out and does what he did again, five catch for 33 yards, well, that's most tight end stat line anyway, right?
25:13Yeah. That's most likely what you're going to get from a fantasy tight end unless they smash, which Likely showed he had 10 targets, right?
25:21He's got any volume from Jameis Winston. He's brutally inefficient, but he still was getting volume.
25:26You have a concentrated target share between Likely and Malik neighbors.
25:29So I think those are going to be the most featured pieces.
25:33You're not afraid of the matchup for the Tennessee Titans.
25:36I think that's the biggest thing with tight ends is just you got to take a shot on someone that could have a difference making performance.
25:44And if it's not, then it's just like every other tight end.
25:48So I think that Likely is still someone that I want to start in most cases, not someone that I want to sit.
25:55Obviously, we can have this conversation again because of its back-to-back turds from Jameis Winston, especially against the Titans.
26:01Then, OK, we can kind of sound the panic alarm.
26:04But for now, I'm leaning into some blind optimism or some just being a little bit more optimistic about Likely.
26:11I think one of the most mispriced tight ends, because I'm in a complete agreement, I moved it up with Fitz, is Travis Kelsey.
26:18Travis Kelsey comes in at 9 after – I mean, we're just seeing vintage Kelsey right now.
26:24And he's going against the Dolphins where Kittle ripped them up.
26:27So I don't understand. Again, this is like people are going to start them and whatever.
26:32But from a rank perspective, someone's asking me, I'm Kelsey over Likely.
26:36I'm Kelsey over Kittle. I'm Kelsey over Warren at this point.
26:39And Fitz, you kind of agree. You got him at tight end 5.
26:44I think you're a little bit lower, Erickson. So actually, let's jump to Erickson.
26:48What's your take on having him just at ECR?
26:51Do you not buy vintage Kelsey through two weeks and then against the Dolphins defense?
26:56So I think that eventually Travis Kelsey is not going to be able to rip off 60 yards after the catch in every single game he plays.
27:04Is it going to be against this Dolphins team where that doesn't happen?
27:08I mean, it's really hot in Miami. That's all I'm saying.
27:12And he's an older guy. I'm just saying. So with Kelsey, again, he's ran for 67 yards after the catch, which was
27:19the second game in a row that he's done that in week two.
27:23He's gone over 60 yards after the catch in two straight games, something that he has not done since 2021.
27:29You pointed out what George Kittle was able to do against the Dolphins.
27:33Interesting stat from NFL Next Gen stat. So the Dolphins allowed 13.3 yards per attempt to receivers not aligned in wide positions
27:40in the week to match up against the 49ers.
27:43Eighth most in the game since 2025. They were vulnerable to tight ends aligned receivers.
27:48So 105 yards, 78 yards to George Kittle loan, seventh, fourth highest yard tallies over the last two seasons.
27:54But the thing with Kelsey is he's not doing his damage from an inline position.
27:58So he's actually lined up at the tight end role, 10%, 12% through two weeks, which is by far the lowest in
28:05the Mahomes era, which has been 21% since 2018.
28:08So all I'm saying is where Kelsey has been his most productive has not actually been where the Dolphins have been more susceptible to yards.
28:16So for those reasons and the fact that it's going to be a lot hotter in Miami, he's an older guy.
28:23Yeah, my bet is he's going to have under 60 yards after the catch in week three.
28:28Fitzy, get him. Get him. Tied in five. I'm telling you, man, don't worry about splits with this Miami secondary.
28:34It is the worst in the NFL by a wide margin and one of the worst in recent memory.
28:40Wide receivers and tight ends alike are going to pick their teeth with this secondary all season.
28:46I know it's going to seem like chasing last week's stats after Kelsey had nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown last week.
28:53It's not, man. This Miami secondary is so bad.
28:56Kittle averaged 20 yards per target against them last week.
28:59He had 80 yards on four targets. And that long touchdown.
29:03Like Kelsey is going to roll again this week.
29:05Get him. All right. Final one. Colson Loveland. It is a tough pill to swallow that you took a tight end in the top four rounds.
29:14The guy that, you know, it's like, hey, when you can't get Bowers and McBride, you can get Loveland.
29:20And now we're starting waiver wire tight ends above him.
29:23It's a tough pill to swallow. And this week it's coming to terms with that where he shows up at 12.
29:29That's a bad matchup against Philly. And you guys are in relative agreement here that he is not a top tight end right now.
29:37So did everybody mess up long term or is this very specific to this week?
29:42Because we said like, hey, to buy opportunity. And then last week it was nothing because he was running routes.
29:48It's two weeks of absolute duds. 11 for Erickson, 13 for Fitz.
29:52Fitz, did people mess up with Loveland? No. Be patient with Loveland.
29:56He will get back on track eventually in a Ben Johnson offense with Caleb Williams at quarterback.
30:01Things are going to be fine. But I don't think this is the week he gets back on track with Case Keenum
30:08at quarterback for the Bears against the Eagles defense.
30:11So I think starting or sitting Loveland, perfectly viable decision this week, even though you drafted him in the third round.
30:17And if you have Travis Kelsey after this week, after Travis Kelsey goes off for a second straight week, takes advantage of
30:24a second straight excellent matchup, offer someone, offer the Colston Loveland stakeholder, Travis Kelsey straight up for Colston Loveland.
30:30Go out and make that trade after this week.
30:33That's a good trade option. Erickson, you like around a Gadsden this week.
30:37You have like 13. You've got Loveland around here.
30:40Do you think there's a part of you that would maybe want to make a sit for someone you're a little bit
30:47higher on based on what's going on in this matchup?
30:50And then the big question is like, did people screw up with Loveland?
30:54Which, by the way, I just want to have one little extra caveat.
30:58I can appreciate that we say, no, he's not.
31:01We can buy him. But having three weeks of absolutely no production, there's a lot of flowers you're going to have to
31:08come home with to be sleeping back in the bedroom if you're Colston Loveland, if this relationship.
31:13Because like you're going to have to do a lot to recoup that value.
31:18And burning three weeks doesn't feel super great. So did people screw up?
31:22And would you even consider someone like Gadsden over Loveland this week?
31:26I, well, obviously people screwed up because he has done nothing through two games.
31:30So if you're going to spend a round four, round three pick on a player that has one catch, that has less
31:37production than Greg Dulcich, and that's your elite tight end, of course you're going to feel pretty bad about who you ended up drafting.
31:45So although the Greg Dulcich pick in our auction league looks horrible, Fitz, it's still better than the Colston Loveland pick through two games.
31:52Just saying, for the record. Now, week one, we talked about Loveland, how the role was still there, and he was a buy low.
32:00He didn't really move in the ECR ranks. Remember when we talked about it?
32:04I was like, nope, Mulligan, whatever, forget about it.
32:07And then this next week comes by, and it's the Flores defense, it's bad weather, and now he's getting really punished.
32:14So I was actually curious to ask you guys, is he being punished more because of a bad week two, or the
32:21fact that it's the Eagles and Case Keenum this week?
32:24Like, what if it was Caleb Williams? Like, would you feel as bad about, like, benching Loveland outright?
32:29No, probably not, right? Right. No. It's absolutely Case Keenum related.
32:33Yeah. So that's one thing I wanted to kind of allude to with, like, coming off the bad week.
32:39I mean, everyone was bad on the Bears last week because of the Brian Flores defense and because the weather wasn't great.
32:46So, again, you hate to keep giving guys mulligans and making excuses, but it is somewhat viable because when a team blitzes
32:53you at 80% rate, like, your offense is just not going to function the same in other matchups.
32:58So keeping Loveland more into block, I think, was just by necessity, and that's why he ran less routes and obviously wasn't a target.
33:06So I agree. Loveland is probably not in the best shape to perform this week.
33:11And when it comes to Orande Gadsden, I mean, the planets are kind of aligning for him to maybe be a spark that the Chargers offense needs, right?
33:20There's no Charlie Kolar. There's no David Njoku. Gadsden flashed early last year as a rookie, made big-time plays, especially earlier in the season.
33:27And the Bills defense under Jim Leonard, 84% of zone coverage this season, one of 14 defenses that has played 80% or higher of zone coverage.
33:35Who eats against zone? It's tight ends. It's tight ends underneath.
33:39So I think that if Mike McDaniel is going to— I mean, he's got to do something different because clearly what he's
33:46been doing on offense has not been working. Maybe Gadsden, in a more featured role as a receiver, can help get this Chargers offense off the ground.
33:54Plus the Chargers are going to have to keep up with the Bills in Buffalo.
33:59Yeah, that's a really good point. On the Loveland thing, it's like—it's a test question.
34:04It's, is it Case Keenum? Is it Week 2 performance?
34:07Is it the Eagles? Or D, all of the above?
34:10Chuck, all of the above. It's all the issues.
34:13When Erickson said, like, the weather less than ideal, my dogs did not want to go out here in the Chicago area last Sunday.
34:20Like, it was bad. And then in Week 1, I mean, he had the highest route participation of any tight end and somehow finished without a catch.
34:29And now he's going to get Case Keenum'd in Week 3.
34:32So it's like this perfect storm of bad things for Colston Loveland.
34:36But I'm telling you, things are going to get better.
34:39Like, this is the time to trade for him.
34:42Where are you guys at on Colston Loveland? Drop it in the comments below.
34:47Love to see it. Also gives you opportunities to win great things.
34:50So make sure you're subscribed on the YouTube. If you listen on the podcast, feel free to come over to the YouTube.
34:57Make comments while you're subscribed. You can win cool stuff.
35:01But love to hear where are you guys at on Colston Loveland?
35:04Are you buying? Are you holding? Are you freaking out?
35:07I don't know. Drop in the comments. We'll see where it's at.
35:11There you go. Those are the quarterback and tight end ranks.
35:15Go over to fantasypros.com slash rankings. If you want to check out all the updates throughout the week, make sure you got
35:22the Fantasy Pros app because that is going to be your number one assistant all week long for your fantasy football week, especially if we're not around.
35:30But make sure you're dialed into the YouTube channel, youtube.com slash fantasypros because we got lots of great offerings for you from
35:37lives to videos to help you out. That is going to do it for us here on the ranks for the week.
35:44That's Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice. I'm Chris Welsh.
35:47Good luck this week. And we will talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.
35:52Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast.
35:55If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at fantasypros.com slash review or on Spotify.
36:04Follow us on X, Instagram, and TikTok at Fantasy Pros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com slash fantasypros.
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