Week 6 Quarterback & Tight End Rankings: Must-Start QBs, Risky Plays & TE Sleepers (Ep. 2265)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
34 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Oct 15, 2026
Published
Thu, October 15, 2026
13
Player insights
7
Players mentioned
Topics
Jalen HurtsTravis KelceBryce YoungColston LovelandBrenton StrangeJalen CokerJameis Winston
Player analysis
Player insights
Brenton Strange
PositiveValue30:49
Strange is ranked at tight end 12 on ECR and is preferred over Colston Loveland this week; the source notes that Trevor Lawrence knows Strange is on the team and will throw him the ball, providing confidence in his target volume and reliability compared to Loveland's inconsistency.
Insight pageBryce Young
PositiveProjection15:15
Young is ranked QB 8 (Erickson) and QB 11 (Fitzmaurice), both higher than consensus QB 12, due to playing lights out with the best start to his NFL career. He is QB 3 in fantasy points per game this season. With Jalen Coker healthy, the Panthers offense averages 9 yards per attempt (second best in NFL). The Eagles defense is overrated, allowing 300+ passing yards in back-to-back games and ranking seventh in passing yards allowed per game. The Eagles are coming off an international game and must play immediately while Carolina had a bye week to prepare.
Insight pagePositiveMatchup17:00
Young has a favorable matchup against the Eagles despite the road game; the Eagles defense is overrated and not the matchup to be feared. The Eagles allow 300+ passing yards in back-to-back games and rank seventh in passing yards allowed per game. Additionally, the Eagles are coming off an international game and must play immediately while Carolina had a bye week to prepare, giving the Panthers' coaching staff (Dave Canales and Idzik) extra time to scheme.
Insight pageColston Loveland
NegativeBust27:36
Loveland has not produced for five weeks despite playing all snaps and running all routes; he is not getting targeted consistently, and even in his one full game with Caleb Williams, he had his worst performance of the year; the source expresses skepticism that Williams' return will be his 'knight in shining armor' and prefers to see production before trusting him again.
Insight pagePositiveProjection27:36
If Caleb Williams returns this week against the Falcons, Loveland is ranked at tight end 10 based on the Falcons' extreme pass funnel defense (highest pass rates in the league at nearly 70% of plays); Loveland played well in late-season games last year and has positive touchdown regression potential with red zone and goal-zone target involvement; however, this ranking is contingent on Williams' availability, and if he does not play, Loveland's ranking would drop significantly.
Insight pageJalen Coker
PositiveRole15:45
With Jalen Coker healthy and on the field, the Panthers offense averages 9 yards per attempt, the second best in the NFL. Coker is expected to cook in the slot against Eagles cornerback Cooper Dejean, who has not been the same in coverage this season. The source notes that having this extra receiver is critical to the Panthers' offensive success.
Insight pageJalen Hurts
NegativeProjection0:32
Hurts has fallen to QB 14-15 range due to significant efficiency decline and loss of rushing upside; completing 57.8% of passes this season (49.3% last two weeks without Devontae Smith), averaging 6.2 yards per attempt (4.7 last two weeks), with only one rushing touchdown and 15.3 rushing yards per game since Week 1 (down from 46 in Week 1). The tush push is gone due to offensive line deterioration (Lane Johnson retired, Cam Jurgens traded, rookies starting), eliminating the 8-9 freebie touchdowns that previously supported his QB1 status. Without that rushing floor and with inefficient passing, he is not a top-10 quarterback.
Insight pageNegativeRole2:18
Hurts' rushing role has collapsed; he is not moving the needle as a runner anymore with only one touchdown run this season and averaging just 15.3 rushing yards per game since Week 1 (down from 46 in Week 1). The Eagles' offensive line deterioration (Lane Johnson retired, Cam Jurgens traded, rookies starting) has eliminated the tush push opportunities that previously generated 8-9 freebie touchdowns annually.
Insight pageNegativeMatchup6:00
Despite Carolina being a favorable matchup, there is nothing encouraging about the Eagles offense this year to suggest Hurts is a smash start even against a defense like Carolina. The source notes that if roster space allows, streaming options like Kirk Cousins (ranked 14 vs Hurts at 13-14) or Jameis Winston may be preferable, though Hurts has upcoming good matchups (Dallas, Washington) that make dropping him risky.
Insight pageJameis Winston
PositiveProjection14:00
Winston is ranked higher than both Jalen Hurts and Tyler Shuck this week; he has thrown three touchdown passes in each of the last two games and is clicking with receivers Malik Nabors and Isaiah Likely (both had 11 catches last week). Against the Saints' pass defense (ranked 27th in DVOA), Winston has a favorable matchup despite the Saints' strong run defense (ranked last in DVOA). The source notes Winston could score 28 points or 6 depending on interceptions, but recent form suggests upside.
Insight pageTravis Kelce
PositiveProjection21:00
Kelce is ranked TE 6 (Fitzmaurice) vs. consensus TE 8, coming off a bye week. The source is evaluating where Kelce fits among sit-and-forget tight ends and whether he remains in the elite tier or drops to the secondary tier with players like Dallas Goddard and Jawan Johnson.
Insight pagePositiveProjection21:03
Coming off the bye week, Kelce is positioned for a bounce-back in target volume due to injuries to pass catchers; Rasheed Rice (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday after the bye and Andy Reid indicated it could be a week or two, suggesting Rice may not play; with Taequann Thornton out for the year, Kelce should see increased targets and solid usage efficiency against the Chargers, who are missing Derwin James to injury; at 37 years old and well-rested, this is expected to be one of Kelce's better games of the season.
Insight pagePositiveRole21:03
Kelce belongs in the core group of set-it-and-forget-it tight ends; he has not done anything to shake confidence despite target volume concerns in three of his first four games (five or fewer targets), with one standout game of nine catches for 101 yards and a touchdown against Indianapolis; the source believes he remains trustworthy and should not require streaming despite recent inconsistency.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Fantasy Pros, this is the Week 6 Quarterback and Tight End Ranks episode.
0:06I'm Chris Welsh, got Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson.
0:09We're going to be looking at the top 12 of both positions, digging a little bit deeper, and trying to get you
0:16guys all locked in for Week 6 on the ranks.
0:19All of that and in between with a couple of my dearest buddies.
0:24And we are going to jump right into this bad boy.
0:27If you guys want to follow along, go to FantasyPros.com slash rankings.
0:31You can check out all the positional ranks, all the different formats from standard to half to full.
0:37You can see Dynasty. You can check the Flex rankings.
0:40Go and peruse it and they will update throughout the week as well, especially for like half PPR for the ranks contest.
0:47But that's what we're going to be referring to today.
0:50And also know that there could be a few changes as the week goes on and more analysts and more experts start to submit their rankings.
0:58All of that done. Let's look at the quarterback big board, gentlemen.
1:02We've got Josh Allen coming in at number one.
1:05Oh, my boy, Brock Purdy coming in at number two.
1:08Coming in at three is Matthew Stafford, followed by Drake May, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott.
1:13The bottom half is Jaden Daniels. Doesn't matter how many arms he has.
1:17He just continues to run. Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurts, Tyler Shuck, Patrick Mahomes, and Bryce Young.
1:22Most of these are, you know, pretty locked in, especially kind of that like top 10 area.
1:28I don't think there's a ton of questions people are dealing with.
1:32But let's actually talk about Jalen Hurts though. Hurts actually moved from 11 a day ago and he's jumped up to nine.
1:39He's got Carolina. Both of you guys have moved Hurts outside of your top 12.
1:43Things have not been good. We speculated on the wide receiver ranks episode, Fitzy, that Daunte Smith might be back and how much that potentially could help.
1:52But Fitzy, you've got him at 14. Erickson's at 13.
1:55Fitzy, why don't you kick off Jalen Hurts not being a QB1 this week?
2:00Hurts is completing 57.8% of his throws this season.
2:02Over the last two weeks, without Devontae Smith, 49.3%.
2:056.2 yards per pass attempt on the season, just 4.7 yards per attempt the last two weeks.
2:11And Jalen Hurts, yeah, he'll get a lift if Devontae Smith is back this week and he had Dallas Goddard come back last week.
2:18That helps. But he is not moving the needle as a runner anymore.
2:23He has one touchdown run this season. He had 46 rushing yards in week one.
2:27Since then, he's averaged 15.3 rushing yards per game.
2:30And I hate to tell people this, the tush push is gone.
2:34Like, that is not coming back. This Eagles offensive line is a mess.
2:38Lane Johnson retired. Cam Juergens got traded. The Eagles are starting a bunch of rookies.
2:43They cannot do the tush push. You are not going to get eight or nine freebie touchdowns out of Jalen Hurts this year.
2:50And when you don't have that, he is not a good enough pure passer to be a top 10 quarterback.
2:57So, I mean, I've got him QB 14. I think he's playable in the right situation, but I would not want to
3:04be leaning on Jalen Hurts as my QB one the rest of the way.
3:08Erickson, you're kind of co-signing this at QB 13, not as a QB one.
3:13This bill of goods we were sold on like, oh, the offense is going to change and this and that.
3:19And it just, it looks the same inefficient and like, you know, no creativity, but then just add in like one of the worst offensive lines.
3:27So it's like, okay, how can it get much worse?
3:31And that this is culminated into very early on in the season, first third of the season, it started taking him to be a not QB one.
3:39So Erickson talked to us about Hurts this week.
3:42It's also not improving, right? Everything is getting worse for Jalen Hurts as the season progresses when you're thinking, oh, a new offense, things are going to gel.
3:51Things can't gel when every single week you're playing with less to work with.
3:55It's like every single week, oh, we'll lose this offensive line or we'll lose this receiver or what are, what's the big challenge?
4:03His fantasy boys have gone down straight for five straight games.
4:06The rushing is not there. The O-line is broken.
4:09He still needs these weapons back. We still don't know if Devont Smith is going to be playing.
4:15I think the thing that's really interesting the most from this game and what happened last week with Hurts.
4:21So he averaged 2.53 seconds to throw against the Jaguars.
4:24That was the second quickest mark of his career.
4:27Despite that, he was pressured on 55% of his dropbacks.
4:30So the fact that he's getting the ball as quick as humanly possible and he's still getting pressured on half or more
4:37than half of his dropbacks just goes to show like, dude, he's working with everything he can.
4:43So I think that if you're trying to be bold with Hurts, it's like he just runs and you're just hoping that
4:50he turns back the clock a little bit and just starts scrambling a lot.
4:54And that's how he gets his fantasy production. But to Fitz's point, he's not getting the tush push opportunities anymore.
5:00So he's got to be scoring from outside the one yard line on some of these plays.
5:06So that's why I think that he's a top 15 quarterback because I can't just, he can still, he's still capable as
5:13a rusher, even though we didn't see it and it hasn't been there consistently this season.
5:18But the Carolina Panthers aren't the worst defense in the world.
5:22I think it's Hurts really. The debate is, do I play Hurts who I drafted as my fantasy quarterback or I pick up a streamer this week?
5:30Like that is really the debate. And I think that if your roster allows you to pick up a streamer and use
5:37him over Hurts, because Hurts does have some upcoming matchups, I don't necessarily want to drop Hurts because I know that he
5:44has rushing ability and he will be getting some of these guys back and there are good matchups coming up again, Carolina
5:51this week, Dallas, the Nick after the command, like, so I don't want to just like dump them off ahead of some
5:58of these good matchups, but if you have the roster space and you can pivot, I think that's probably the move because
6:05there's nothing encouraging about what we've seen from this Eagles offense this year that suggests, oh yeah, Jalen Hurts smash start, even against a defense like Carolina.
6:14Yeah, I mean, I'm even looking at some of the streamers just to throw out that two streamers come to mind.
6:21You've got Kirk Cousins, who's been like a top 12 fantasy quarterback going against Buffalo and he's ranked 14 and I know
6:28this is lower down there, but like Aaron Rodgers is one we'd have a conversation about.
6:33Would either one of those guys, Erickson, be players you'd be comfortable like trying to pick up and then just sitting Hurts?
6:40I'm going to guess you probably have Rodgers below Hurts and maybe Kirk Cousins is the answer, but is that like the
6:47range of what you're talking about streaming over Hurts?
6:50Yeah, I think that Kirk Cousins, I'd feel comfortable doing that.
6:53Assuming that I have the bandwidth on my roster.
6:56The thing with me is these guys are so closely ranked that I don't want to necessarily sacrifice a roster spot that
7:03I may value more just for Kirk Cousins to score three more points than Jalen Hurts, right?
7:08Like that necessarily to me isn't enough of a reason to lose an extra roster spot and drop a running back receiver,
7:15et cetera, to pick up a second quarterback or something along those lines when Hurts again, he next week against Dallas, right?
7:22You're going to want to probably play Jalen Hurts next week against the Dallas Cowboys.
7:27So that's why I'm hesitant to just tell people to drop him.
7:31Right. Yeah. Fitzy same, just real quick. Cousins, Winston, Rogers, any of those guys, if you had the space to be able
7:38to pick up another quarterback, would you stream over Hurts this week?
7:42The only one I have higher than Hurts is Winston, one spot higher.
7:46But as Erickson said, like I'm not going to drop a player to make that exchange to go to a quarterback I've ranked one spot higher.
7:54I mean, maybe Devante Smith, if he's back this week, that makes a big difference.
7:59But yeah, it's been pretty gross. Like the Kevin Petillo, Sean Mannion exchange, I keep thinking of the Alex Jones before and
8:06after picture with he looks the same, but just one version is tan and the other is not like it's the same offense, man.
8:14It's terrible. I like that one where it's like the guy standing here and then the after is him just standing behind,
8:21like further back in the house by the glass window.
8:24And it just like that one makes me laugh.
8:27That's a good reference. Tyler Shuck, Tyler Shuck, bad last week.
8:30He comes in as QB 10. He's got the Giants.
8:34You both are also not buying this. Jalen Hurts out.
8:37It looks like Tyler Shuck also kind of an out.
8:40Erickson, why don't you kick this off? I believe you have him at 14 was what we saw last week a little
8:47bit what we're in for because I mean, there was a lot of like past volume stuff and Chuck is a top
8:5410 guy and there was kind of exposed last week and your rank signifies maybe you're worried that that is going to continue.
9:01Yeah. Being compromised on the offensive line has been a big issue for the New Orleans Saints.
9:07Tyler Shuck has been under more pressure and I think they got to try to run the ball somewhat against a defense
9:14that can be beat on the ground with the New York Giants.
9:18We talked about Kendra Miller on the running back show as a top 30 consensus play this week, because I think that
9:25the Giants defense is going to take a play out of the Brian Flores approach here with blitzing.
9:30Since week three, when the Giants lost Brian Burns to a season ending knee injury, the Giants have blitzed on 58% of
9:37the drop back since week four, trailing only the Minnesota Vikings led by Brian Flores, the madman himself.
9:43Tyler Shuck against the blitz has been buns. 5.4 yards per attempt at six lowest, 7% explosive pass play rate.
9:50That's second lowest. So you're not going to be generating these chunk plays when there are defenders in his face from the get-go.
9:57And that has been the case over the last couple of weeks without Calvin Banks.
10:02So I think that this is a fringe spot for Shuck.
10:05Any game with James Winston on the other side in weather, that's, I got to check the forecast because you got to
10:12check all these with all these New York games and commanders games playing in the rain.
10:17The forecast looks good. So there is always a chance that if this game gets fun from a James Winston interceptions, both
10:24teams have, if they're put in certain circumstances, they will drop back to throw a ton.
10:29So I think there is a ceiling case for Shuck if things kind of get wacky.
10:34But in terms of like his meeting projection, I think that he is a little shaky.
10:40And I think QB 10 is really buying more into, oh yeah, he's just going to go back to being the upside
10:47case when I think there is actual risk here with Shuck again.
10:5050, obviously talk on Shuck, but let me ask you, who would you rather start this week?
10:56Tyler Shuck or James Winston? I'd start Winston. I've got him ranked two spots higher.
11:01Over the last two games, Tyler Shuck has averaged 5.2 yards per pass attempt with one touchdown pass, two interceptions.
11:07Now, obviously his performance against the Vikings last week, really bad.
11:11He just melted like a grilled cheese sandwich against Brian Flores defense under a hundred passing yards, two interceptions.
11:17But Shuck was not especially good in week four either against a pass funnel Falcons defense that didn't have A.J.
11:23Terrell, their best cornerback. Shuck has 286 yards against the Falcons in that game, but he needed to throw 48 passes to get there.
11:31And I really do think, as Erickson alluded to, the absence of Kelvin Banks, their young stud first round draft pick left
11:38tackle, not having him out with his ankle injury, that's a problem against a team that can get after the passer like the Giants can.
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13:45Oh, Tyler Shuck and oh, Jameis Winston. Jameis Winston also getting multiple shout-outs here.
13:50Real quick, Fitzy, did you want to give any quick nugget?
13:53Because you've mentioned him a couple times. We did have him as a name we might have hit.
13:59But you've mentioned him starting him over Hurts and Shuck.
14:02Yeah, I don't want to get too overexcited about Jameis Winston because we know the drill.
14:07He could get you 28 points or he could get you 6 because he throws 4 interceptions.
14:13But Winston has thrown 3 touchdown passes each of the last 2 games.
14:17And last week, the Giants, after kind of managing him and not letting him be YOLO Jameis, they cut him loose last week.
14:2454 pass attempts. And Jameis has been clicking with Malik Nabors and Isaiah Likely.
14:29Both of those guys had 11 catches last week.
14:32And it's a pretty good matchup against the Saints.
14:34I know the Saints' run defense has been atrocious.
14:37It ranks dead last in DVOA. But the New Orleans pass defense ranks 27th in DVOA.
14:42It's just a bad all-around defense. So wouldn't be surprised if Jameis had another good game this week.
14:48The final quarterback I want to hit here in the top 12 is Bryce Young.
14:53Now, this is a quarterback that you guys have both higher than the consensus.
14:57He comes in at QB 12. He's going against the Eagles in the wide receiver episode.
15:02I think we've kind of broken down some of what that looked like between Jalen Coker and Tedro McMillan and the Eagles defense here.
15:10But Erickson, you've got him at 8. Fitzy's got him at 11.
15:14Erickson, talk to us about Bryce Young here because it's a nice aggressive rank you've got on him.
15:20You kind of liked both of those wide receivers.
15:23And obviously, not only if we stick with the theme, he's starting over Shuck and Jalen Hurts, but you're starting him over quite a few players.
15:31So what's got you positive with Bryce Young against the Eagles?
15:34I mean, Bryce Young has been playing lights out.
15:37The best start to his NFL career. The best ball he's ever played in the NFL with the buy-in.
15:43They're throwing the ball more aggressively under the new play caller.
15:47And when he has Jalen Coker healthy and upright, this Carolina Panthers offense is absolutely cooking.
15:52If you look at with Jalen Coker on the field this season, nine yards per attempt.
15:57Second best in the NFL. So that can't be overstated how much having that extra receiver does for this offense.
16:03They're getting potentially key offensive linemen back this week.
16:06The Eagles are coming off a absolutely embarrassing loss internationally without a buy week against a team coming off of a buy week.
16:14This is one of these things that we look at from a betting perspective where you always bet against that team that
16:21played the international game and has to play immediately the next week, especially when the other team is playing off a buy.
16:28And they actually needed that by week. Now you can make the argument, okay, maybe this will cool off the hot start for Bryce Young.
16:36I don't think so, man. This Eagles defense is so overrated.
16:39300 passing yards allowed back-to-back games. Seventh in passing yards allowed per game this season.
16:44We talked about Coker and how he's going to absolutely cook in the slot against Cooper Dejean, who's just not been the
16:51same type of guy in coverage this season. So Bryce Young, I didn't know if he qualified as a streamer because I
16:58guess he was on a buy week and maybe he got dropped and people are not believing.
17:03I mean, it's real and it's going to continue, especially as he has a good...
17:08I think this is a good matchup for him, honestly.
17:11So I get you see Eagles on the road and you think, oh man, it's kind of like a tough spot.
17:18I don't think so. Like from what we've seen from the Eagles defense and the Panthers offense this year, I'm giving the
17:25advantage all to Bryce Young in Carolina. So I like Bryce.
17:29That's why I have him to be eight. So, Fizzy, what do you think about that offensive defensive adjustment here of the
17:36old Eagles defense being great, not looking good and giving the lean to the Carolina offense?
17:41What do you think about Bryce Young? You've got him at 11, one spot higher than ECR.
17:46Yeah. And I feel like I should almost be up where Erickson is.
17:50But the crazy thing is, Walsh, if you would have asked me two months ago, six weeks ago on the eve of
17:57the season, where I thought I would have Bryce Young ranked in week six against the Eagles in Philadelphia, I would have
18:04said, how many teams on by that week? Four?
18:07Yeah, probably 26th or 28th. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now I've got him, I'm like trying to figure out ways to get him inside the top 10.
18:16Yeah, the Eagles just aren't a matchup to be feared like we thought they would be.
18:21I thought this would be one of the best defenses in the NFL and it's not anything close to that.
18:27And otherwise just co-assign everything Erickson said. Like he's QB three right now in fantasy points per game.
18:33And, you know, they've had Dave Kanellis and Idzik have had a week to prepare, an extra week to prepare with the
18:40bye going against a team that is coming off an international game.
18:44So, yeah, I totally agree with what Erickson said.
18:47And I think I need to get my ranking of Bryce Young up closer to where Erickson has him.
18:53All right, quarterback ranks. You guys can check out the full scope over on Fantasy Pros, type in Fantasy Pros ranks.
18:59And you can see all of them, especially if you're in Superflex and some of the names you might be looking at streamers.
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20:40Tight end ranks. Let's look at the big board.
20:43The big board top 12. We've got Brock Bowers at one.
20:46Of course, George Kittle comes in at two. Trey McBride at three.
20:50Isaiah Likely up at four. Tyler Warren and Tucker Craft.
20:53That's your top six. The bottom half, Dalton Kincaid, Travis Kelsey, Dallas Goddard, Jawan Johnson, Harold Fannin, and Brenton Strange.
20:59Let's talk about Travis Kelsey coming off of the bye.
21:03He comes in at tight end eight. Fitzy, you've got him at six.
21:07Erickson, you've got him right at ECR at eight.
21:10Fitzy, talk to us about Travis Kelsey coming off the bye and expectations.
21:14He's just kind of right back into a good start.
21:17And you know what I'm really curious about in talking about this?
21:21Where does Travis Kelsey fit along the line of like, sit it and forget it type of tight ends?
21:27Is he the last line? And then it goes to guys like Goddard and Johnson, or there are a few under Kelsey
21:34that are the core tight ends that you just feel about good about every single week.
21:39I think he's in the set it and forget it range just because he has not done anything enough to shake your confidence in him yet.
21:47If you drafted him and hasn't like, had you thinking about streaming?
21:51Well, until last week, until you maybe picked up a tight end.
21:55But then I, I don't know. I think you just go right back to Travis Kelsey.
22:00And I realized Kelsey has had five or fewer targets in three of his first four games.
22:05So the target volume hasn't been great. He did have the one big game where he had, um, what nine catches for
22:12101 yards and a touchdown against Indianapolis. And the Colts do get battered around by tight ends.
22:18So, um, I just, Taequann Thornton out for the year.
22:21Rasheed Rice tweaked his hamstring in week four. I'm not sure what his status is going to be.
22:27Did not practice Wednesday. Did not practice Wednesday. So there you go.
22:31I mean, that's kind of why I was anticipating when I first did rankings and haven't really changed Kelsey since I first
22:38did rankings, but knowing that Rasheed Rice might not be himself or might not even play this week.
22:43I think that the target outlook for Travis Kelsey is pretty good.
22:47Erickson, what do you think about Kelsey and that line of like, does he belong in the core tight end group or does he follow along?
22:56Cause you know, there's like the core guys. You just, it's like, great.
23:00Then there's that next group. I kind of think Juwan Johnson fits in that next group where you're like, we're cool.
23:06He's not like the best. And then there's the group of just like, oh God, you know, is Kelsey in that core
23:13group or does he, does he belong closer to the Juwan Johnson's of the world?
23:18I think he's in that core group specifically for this spot.
23:22I mean, I think Fitz hit the nail on the head talking about, he hasn't really done anything where you would kind of lose confidence him.
23:30The targets have not been there the last couple of weeks, but now you have a reason to believe they'll bounce back.
23:37If the receivers don't play the fact that rushy rice isn't practicing after a bi-week, this dude's not playing right?
23:43Like this is like so classic. If they don't play on Wednesday or practice on Wednesday, when they had a full week
23:50off, they're probably not going to play. So unless we see any more information about it.
23:55So you can obviously make that decision, but right now I would move Kelsey up probably closer where Fitz has him at
24:03six, just because the targets will now be there due to the lack of wide receivers chargers.
24:08Derwin James is not a he's hurt right now.
24:11So that would be the only reason you look at this maybe as a bad matchup.
24:16Well, he's not playing. So Travis Kelsey should see solid usage efficiency.
24:20He's not always going to rip off a lot of big plays after the catch like he's done for most of the season.
24:27But as an older guy, 37 years old coming off a bi-week, he'll be fresh.
24:32So I think that this will probably be one of Kelsey's better games.
24:36Just given the opportunity for targets, he's fresh, well rested, and it's a good matchup.
24:41The note, by the way, I see is not only did he not practice to the hamstring, this is from sleeper chiefs
24:48that Andy Reid said it could be a week.
24:51It could be two when talking about the hamstring issue.
24:54So that's less than optimistic. A hundred percent. Speaking of that, like next group where, you know, there's still they're good, but
25:01there's a little bit of level of uncomfortability. Harold Fannin, he comes in at tight end 11.
25:06You guys are both higher. This is a four star graded matchup against Baltimore.
25:11And Erickson, why don't you kick us off? Harold Fannin disappeared a little bit, gets going with Watson, disappears again.
25:17Like where are you at on the Baltimore matchup and Fannin for this week?
25:22So Fannin is one of the tight ends that he doesn't feel like he's in the super trust tree, right?
25:28Because it has been a little bit up and down type of performance with Deshaun Watson as his quarterback.
25:34But he has paid off in some circumstances with the touchdowns.
25:38We know his role is elite, right? He plays all the snaps.
25:41He runs all the routes. He has one of the highest route participations among tight ends, which is honestly sometimes just enough for them to be productive.
25:50But now you have an avenue for him to actually see an uptick in targets because I find it very unlikely that
25:57Casey Concepcion plays in this game after suffering a brutal concussion last week.
26:01And what does that open up in the offense underneath targets for Harold Fannin?
26:06If you look at the average depth of target, both Fannin and Casey Concepcion this season, they're nearly identical.
26:12So I think Fannin absorbs a lot of those short to intermediate looks that Concepcion was getting.
26:17And this matchup is perfect for that. Teams don't throw the ball downfield against the Ravens.
26:22League low 4.1% of opponents passing attempts have traveled at least 20 air yards against the Baltimore Ravens.
26:28I mean, Kyle Pitts was productive against the Ravens.
26:31If he could do it, then so could Harold Fannin.
26:34So I'm right at ECR, but I would not be surprised if he outdoes tight end 11.
26:39And I think Fitz agrees with me because he has him higher.
26:43Yeah, Fitz, you got him at 8. So talk to us about your thoughts on Harold Fannin this week.
26:49Yeah, so I'm a little conflicted here about the matchup.
26:53On one hand, it seems like it would benefit Fannin to not have Casey Concepcion in the lineup and have that enhanced Fannin's target outlook.
27:01The one thing I worry about is that, you know, the Ravens have ace safety slash slot cornerback Kyle Hamilton.
27:07And I wonder if maybe with no Concepcion, the Ravens just kind of have Hamilton on Fannin for a lot of this game.
27:14You know, and obviously there are a lot of things you can do with Fannin to try to move him or unmotion
27:21him or, you know, have him in a stack with some one of the receivers.
27:26I just I worry about that matchup a little bit.
27:29Ultimately, it comes down to me thinking that Fannin is just awesome at football and I want him inside my top 10.
27:36Not so awesome at football, at least this year, is the final tight end we're going to talk about.
27:42One you don't see on the top 12. Colson Loveland.
27:45Erickson has been rolling over the touchdowns for Jameer Gibbs on BP and it's been a really fun thing.
27:52If you've rolled over, this is the week for Colson Loveland to break out.
27:56You're going to continue having to roll it over and the payoff has not been there.
28:01Will it ever be there? He is ECR 14 this week.
28:05Fitzy, you are the optimistic share with the head shake.
28:08You got him at 10, but it doesn't happen.
28:11It's just not happening. It's not a thing. Colson Loveland has not been a thing for five weeks.
28:16You have him at tight end 10. So is week six finally the Colson Loveland week?
28:22Yeah, I feel like I have to play back some of the highlights from late last season to remind myself how good
28:29Colson Loveland was in those games that I wasn't just hallucinating him catching all these passes and just rampaging through secondaries over
28:36the latter part of the Bears schedule. So I'm ranking him in the top 10 at tight end 10 based on the
28:43assumption that Caleb Williams is back this week against the Falcons in their extreme pass funnel defense.
28:48The Falcons are still facing the highest pass rates of any team.
28:52Basically, offense is throwing on the Falcons nearly 70% of the time.
28:56If Caleb is not back, I'm probably going to have Loveland ranked more where Erickson has him because, you know, we saw
29:03last week any the pretense about Tyson Baygent being one of the top 32 quarterbacks in the league.
29:08Probably not true. I think we can dismiss that little myth after what we saw in Green Bay last week.
29:15But yeah, if Caleb's back, though, I still am going to have Loveland inside the circle of trust this week.
29:21Erickson, he is not in your circle of trust.
29:24He is 14. So talk to us. Obviously, there doesn't seem to be a lot of optimism here.
29:30And let me ask you this. He's 14 too high for Colson Loveland.
29:34Not with four teams on by and the fact that he does play all the snaps, runs all the routes, because that's
29:41sometimes all you need a tight end. And he is a positive touchdown regression candidate, right?
29:46There are so many times you can be tackled at the one yard line and be so close to a touchdown and then it gets reversed.
29:54He's seeing a decent chunk of red zone targets and head zone targets.
29:59So it is very possible that he could bail you out with a touchdown.
30:03I think that's more likely to happen with Caleb Williams under center.
30:07I'm just less optimistic about Caleb Williams actually playing in this game, especially when the Patriots or excuse me, the Bears have a quick turnaround.
30:15They have to play on Thursday night, I believe, against the Patriots.
30:19So I think that they're going to hold Caleb Williams out for one more week and maybe Loveland can turn around there.
30:26But I want to see it first, man. Like it's been bad.
30:29Like and he's played. It's not for a lack of snaps or routes.
30:34It's he's not getting targeted. And the one game that he played in full with Caleb Williams, that was arguably his worst
30:41game of the year when he did absolutely when he did absolutely nothing.
30:45So I'm not so sure Caleb Williams will be his knight in shining armor.
30:49Erickson, Brenton Strange is ranked 12 on ECR, not with a great matchup.
30:53Do you co-sign starting Brenton Strange over Colston Loveland?
30:56Yes, because Trevor Lawrence knows Brenton Strange is on the team and will throw him the ball.
31:02There you go. There's your Colston Loveland. There's your tight ends.
31:05There's your quarterbacks. Those are the ranks. Go to Fantasy Pros.
31:09Download the app. Get locked in. And, you know, you've got questions that maybe we're not live for.
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31:31And hopefully this gets you guys set up. We've got more for you from live streams on the start and sit all
31:38the way up until Sunday before kickoff. We got you covered for some of the start and sit.
31:44So make sure you come and hang out with us.
31:47That's going to do it, though, for the quarterback and tight end ranks episode for Pat Fitzmorris and Andrew Erickson.
31:53I'm Chris Welsh. Good luck this week. And we'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.
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