0:00Oh yes, the Week 4 Waiver Wire is here and it's confusing.
0:04Like what should we do about this Miami Dolphins backfield with Devon A-Chan missing the remainder of the season?
0:09Does it matter? Do both of them matter? Do any of them matter?
0:13We answer that question with Joel Smyth along with the Jets backfield with Brees Hall likely to miss a bit of time
0:20and then Joel throws out, I mean I was shocked, an under the radar potential Waiver Wire gem that you barely have to use any fab dollars from.
0:28So, stick around. Pay attention for this episode of Yahoo Fantasy Football with Josh and Hayden.
0:33Oh, the Week 4 Waiver Wire is here and there's a lot to talk about.
0:37Joel Smith is a perfect person to do it with.
0:40Joel in fantasy football when they're running back injuries, especially to round 1, 2, 3 types, we get condensed backfields.
0:46At least we think. Let's start with the number one name and I would say backfield this week and that's the Miami Dolphins.
0:53Devon A. Chan down for the season with a torn ACL.
0:56So, Joel Oli Gordon stepped up in his place, only rostered in 4% of Yahoo leagues out there, running back 12 on
1:02the week prior to Monday Night Football. We also have to contend with Jalen Wright who missed the Week 3 game with a stinger and a foot injury.
1:11So, what would you advise the people to do in handling this Miami Dolphins backfield?
1:15It's an interesting one because if you look just at the box score from yesterday, it seems pretty straightforward.
1:21But then you bring up Jalen Wright, which makes it a lot more complicated.
1:25I would say you can pick up either of them.
1:28I am not using a lot of my fab dollars on either of these guys.
1:32Because Gordon yesterday, 55 out of 55 snaps for the running backs, 20 out of the 20 touches, 14 and a half points as you said.
1:40But Jalen Wright was listed as the RB2. In the past, it's kind of been them 50-50.
1:45They have been so on A-chain. It's getting every single touch in that backfield.
1:49They didn't really have many other options like Malik Washington they went to a couple times in the backfield.
1:55So, right now, we got two teams that have lower running back fantasy points, even though we have a superstar running back on that team.
2:02It's Green Bay and Tennessee. And we don't want to play Green Bay running backs.
2:07We don't want to play Titans running backs. So, I think they're worth a pickup because it's a running back and they're
2:13valuable, but I wouldn't have too much hope. Yeah.
2:16So, again, a lot to dive into here. And I think this is the first backfield, correct me if I'm wrong, that
2:22we've had a major injury and someone just, we believe, taking the vast majority of it, or that's the hope.
2:28And I don't think that's going to be the case here.
2:32Like you said, Devon A-chain is an underrated superstar.
2:34He is great both between the tackles and outside the tackles.
2:38And that was shown in previous seasons and has been difficult this year.
2:41I mean, the offense ranks 31st in points per game.
2:44The team is 26th in yards. So, Joel, when you split those numbers almost in half with Ollie Gordon, who is more
2:51of, I would say, a bruiser, if you want to put it kindly, or a plotter, if you want to be negative,
2:57he's almost going to rely on short yardage touchdowns for a team that doesn't score a lot of touchdowns.
3:03And then you have Jalen Wright, who, as we know, came from that Mickey Mouse offense, I'll put it, in Tennessee, hasn't necessarily developed fully in the NFL.
3:11We haven't seen a full runway for him to do that.
3:15But yet, he has a speed that has been maximized in the past in this offense.
3:19And I don't know if that type of speed is kind of being weaponized as much as it used to with the Miami Dolphins.
3:26Yeah, they've tried to keep a lot of what Mike McDaniel does.
3:30You see it on tape, just the very creative stuff.
3:33It's like, oh, they're doing that in L.A. right now, just watching the same game.
3:37So, they're doing some of that, but it's not being maximized.
3:41And even if you're talking in the red zone, Malik Willis, they've talked about using him in the tush push when they do get down there.
3:48We haven't really seen it because they're not down there very often.
3:52So, yeah, I don't have too much hope because even with A-chan's lower scoring games, a lot of the points and a
3:58lot of the value going forward, we were hoping, would be in the receiving game.
4:03And I don't think they're going to use him as a receiver.
4:06Yeah, 100%. Like, the main selling point for Devon A-chan is that he's really good at football, and they promised us about
4:1385% of the work, though, that he was in here.
4:16I can't tell you if either of these guys are good at football, and I for sure can't tell you that either
4:22one of them are going to get 85% of the work, even though we already saw Ollie Gordon this past week, again,
4:29scores a running back 12 on 84% of the snaps.
4:32But I do want to add that 12 of his 18 carries went for three yards or less, you know?
4:38So it's just one that, again, in fantasy football, we want to attack running back insurance or handcuff type players when they
4:44get the entire workload, and that's not the case in this one.
4:48And, Joel, you brought up the name Malik Washington.
4:51I am workshopping a take here for the fantasy football waiver wire in week four that I understand he's not a running
4:57back, but I would rather have Malik Washington on my roster moving forward than Ollie Gordon and then Jalen Wright.
5:03I mean, the guy's had three backfield carries over the last two weeks.
5:07He's had two more backfield targets. He's kind of been Wandale Robinson-ish in this offense in that they get him in motion, out in space.
5:14It's a bad team. He's the easiest person to get the football to, plus he's playing about 86% of the snaps.
5:20Again, I know wide receiver, there's a lot of names, even if there's not a lot of good ones.
5:26He was wide receiver 40 on the week, and a lot of you might be suffering at the running back spot, and Washington doesn't play that.
5:34But still, just overall, I think Malik Washington is going to outscore one of these running backs moving forward.
5:39I wouldn't be shocked by that at all. Better in PPR leagues, for sure, I would say, and more of the floor versus ceiling guy.
5:47So I had 10 targets this week when they were kind of a little bit more pass-heavy without Achan.
5:52So it has some potential. We'll see when Douglas comes back and Chris Belgen a little bit more work now.
5:58So PPR for sure. There's going to be people in your league that probably spend about 20% of their fab on Ollie Gordon.
6:05I would hold off on that. Joel, I might be closer to, I don't know, 8% and 5% for Ollie Gordon and Jalen Wright.
6:12And so I might end up with more Jalen Wright than Ollie Gordon in leagues this week.
6:17What about you? Any change in those numbers that I'm throwing out there?
6:21No, not really. I think I would almost be targeting Wright more just because I think he'll cost a little bit less.
6:28I think people will be less on Jalen Wright and more on the obvious target of Ollie Gordon.
6:33We just saw it. Then, oh, Jalen Wright probably has the same exact odds of being usable and a lot cheaper.
6:39Let's talk Jets backfield. So Breece Hall is week to week with a thigh injury.
6:44Maybe Wednesday is when Aaron Glenn said we might find out a bit more information here.
6:48Braylon Allen is the name that stepped in. He's only rostered in 19% of Yahoo leagues out there.
6:54Isaiah Davis is also lingering. Let's say we haven't seen a lot of Isaiah Davis lately.
6:59I'll say this about this Jets backfield, Joel. Their run blocking has been rough.
7:0385 carries as a team so far this season, only equaling 277 yards and three touchdowns.
7:07But the area where Brees Hall has benefited the most is that he's caught all 10 of his targets for 102 yards, albeit no touchdowns.
7:15So talk me through how you're viewing Graylon Allen versus Isaiah Davis.
7:18I'd much rather have him than either of the Dolphins guys.
7:22I'm sure you would agree. Yeah, a little bit better of an offense.
7:25They haven't been bad this year. And looking at this game yesterday, once Hall went out, he had 17 out of the
7:3217 snaps, but all three touches for the running backs.
7:35I do think Isaiah Davis is going to work in here.
7:38They were even talking like the three-headed monster. It wasn't a two-headed monster.
7:42It was a three-headed monster. So I think Isaiah Davis will play a little bit.
7:47We don't really have much of a sample. Only one game from like 2024 when it was a 50-50 split.
7:52So I think it'll be a split, but I think Braylon Allen will be the lead guy.
7:57I was going to ask you, which of these names would you rather have most?
8:02And I think I would rather have three weeks of Braylon Allen than like 13 weeks of one of the Dolphins running backs.
8:09That might sound crazy. That might look foolish when we look back on it.
8:13But I'm to that point because the Jets infrastructure, just in terms of scoring points and week-to-week consistency, is just much more
8:19conducive to fantasy points than the Dolphins are right now.
8:22Fair? Yeah, totally fair. Isaiah Davis, though, is the one that would play the passing down work, I believe.
8:28And again, that's where like kind of Brie Saul has been his most effective on a per-touch basis.
8:33So it's one of these like brain split type things.
8:36But yes, Braylon Allen, I would prioritize the most out of all four of those names.
8:41And then we're probably in Jalen Wright as number two.
8:44Interesting. Okay, let's talk about the Jets tied in.
8:47This might actually be the biggest story of the week.
8:50Kenny and Sadiq, round one pick, 19% rostered out there on Yahoo.
8:53He is tied in four on the week as of this moment.
8:57Seven catches, 105 yards, one touchdown. What should the people know?
9:00I think the main thing here is, yes, there was injuries and he had the opportunities because of injuries.
9:06But he's also a super talented first-round rookie. Those injury opportunities can lead to real opportunities down the line.
9:11Like, yes, no A.D. Mitchell, no Mason Taylor, Cooper on IR right now.
9:15But Sadiq is a very talented player. We know that especially as a receiver.
9:19And he has had a couple of good weeks now.
9:22They've been using him and they need him right now.
9:25So I really like picking up Sadiq. And I know you talked about it a lot recently.
9:30He could be a flex play too. If he starts playing well, you can slide him in a flex over some of those receivers.
9:37This is something that I'll repeat, you know, multiple times this week.
9:41But right now, the tight end 17 in fantasy football per game is averaging more than the wide receiver 33 and running
9:47back 25 on the season by 0.3 and 0.6 points per contest.
9:51That is not something I can ever point back to.
9:54And yes, it's a three-game sample. But, Joel, that is something that it's a league trend that is turning to a fantasy trend, right?
10:01More heavier personnel. These guys become the second or third best pass catcher on their team.
10:06That means more targets are funneled to them versus, again, the Cole Beasley.
10:10Sorry for always bringing up his name, but the Cole Beasley-like wide receivers out there.
10:14I don't want to pour cold water on the Kenyon Sadiq stuff.
10:18I'm going to do it a little bit, okay?
10:2058% snaps in this breakout performance. So his yards per target and his yards per route run are fantastic.
10:26Still just 57% of routes. Now, he got banged up a little bit there.
10:30But I also think that the Jets, with Mason Taylor out, are still not going to view Kenyon Sadiq as their every-down-in-line type.
10:37And he's still more of a receiving weapon, which is good.
10:40Like, when he's in the game, he's really going to be targeted and is going to be a featured player.
10:46But I don't know if this is going to be someone that we view consistently as a top-10 rest-of-season guy once Mason Taylor comes back.
10:53But at the same time, it's difficult to put the special sauce back in the bottle once we see it on these
11:00over-routes, once he maintains the step that he has in defensive backs, once he makes these off-frame catches, all that type of stuff.
11:07But he is definitely being used more as, like, an offensive weapon, offensive receiver than every-down-in-line type.
11:12And those can have a bit more variance to us.
11:15Yeah, that touchdown catch was insane. That was beautiful.
11:17I think the positive with him is we can probably guess a little bit easier when the Jets are going to go a little more pass-heavy.
11:25Result injury might affect that a little bit. And running back targets are pretty obsolete.
11:30The exact opposite is tight ends. So when running back targets go down, tight end targets go up, or a little slot work.
11:36But when we're looking at this team over the next three weeks, or in some of these matchups against really good offenses,
11:43then we can have a lot of passing work for Kenyon Sadiq in a game like Gino just had, where he has
11:49a lot of passing attempts and yards. Yeah, and look, I was critical of Frank Reich heading into the season.
11:55He hasn't been perfect at all. Again, he's part of the running game and why it's kind of been some of a disaster so far.
12:03But he did really good stuff with Kenyon Sadiq in terms of getting him free releases and motioning him into stacks and
12:09giving him room to run and all that type of stuff.
12:13So one of the worst hurdle attempts you'll ever see from an athletic tight end.
12:17But Kenyon Sadiq was a lot of fun, a lot of fun to watch in week three.
12:22What percent of your fab budget when you spin on him?
12:25Like, again, we talk about tight ends a lot.
12:28But if you drafted, I don't know, Mark Andrews as your starting tight end, and he's out there as like the tight end 27 at this point.
12:36Tucker Kraft is the tight end 35 right now.
12:39Would you want to go up to 20 plus percent on Kenyon Sadiq, even higher or less?
12:44I would go a little bit less than 20 percent.
12:47I still think it's more of a wait and see at the moment, unless you're in a really good matchup and they have some of those injuries.
12:55So I would say closer to 15 percent, depending on your tight end situation and depending are you 0-3, are you 3-0.
13:01I'd almost rather have him on a team where I'm already really good and can like wait and see on Sadiq, let
13:08him take some time, let him get that snap share up and all that.
13:12I know I mentioned Keaton Mitchell on the drop list last week.
13:15Obviously, then Joel, he goes on and has their running back 14 performance.
13:19He's still rostered in only 32 percent of Yahoo leagues out there.
13:23The reason I want to bring up his name is he played 38 percent of the snaps in this week three contest.
13:29Amarn Hampton down to 42 percent. Kamani Vidal 25 percent.
13:32So we don't always love talking about a three-person backfield, but is there just a little bit more optimism than Keaton Mitchell
13:39stuff this week compared to last week? A little bit.
13:42He's still just like full on handcuff for me, and I think there are better handcuff options.
13:47But in those 12-team, 14-team leagues where you're just looking for some value on the waivers, I think he can be a nice handcuff for you.
13:54The Vidal part is a little tough because week one, Vidal wasn't playing at all.
13:59And then week three, week two a little bit more.
14:02And now week three, he had 37 percent of the routes.
14:05We were on our running backs at 50-plus percent of the routes.
14:09So Mitchell was still only at 37 percent. Vidal was at 31 percent.
14:12So that receiving even is a little split, too.
14:15Yeah. To me, it just stands out that they are willing to already offload some of the work from Amarn Hampton over
14:22to even Kamani Vidal and some of the snaps there.
14:25And then Keaton Mitchell is really only getting these edge runs, and those are very hit or miss, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
14:32They obviously did some push pass, you know, like the reception that he got for a touchdown.
14:37But the Amarn Hampton, again, why people took him at the one-two turn was because we were expecting 70-plus percent of the workload.
14:44And he's not getting that any more than that among other players in that area.
14:49It's kind of a disaster selection. Let's talk Woody Marks.
14:5252 percent rostered in Yahoo Leagues out there. But I did want to bring this up because this is notable for me.
14:58Dave Montgomery, as we know, fell into the end zone three times in week one.
15:03But since then, he has looked very dead zone-y.
15:05The lowest percent of carries to go for five-plus yards in the NFL among 42 running backs at 18.9%.
15:11His yards per carry in three games, 3.0, 1.7, 3.0.
15:14On 37 attempts so far this season, Joel, Dave Montgomery has four carries, only four that have gone for over five yards.
15:20On 23 attempts, Woody Marks has six carries to go for over five yards.
15:24We know Woody scored in week three because he owned the scoring drive, played all seven snaps, stayed on the field for the goal line touchdown.
15:32They didn't bring DeMont in. So, Joel, again, this is a split backfield behind an offensive line.
15:37That sucks. But I'm a bit optimistic about Woody Marks moving forward compared to Dave Montgomery when we factor in where both were drafted.
15:44Yeah, it is kind of like these last two weeks, a 60-40 split.
15:48And you said, like, the goal line carry, it was from the one, which I think is a lot worse than having
15:55Woody Marks take the carry from the five. Like, you have a pounding running back like Dave Montgomery at the one-yard line
16:01and you're running Woody Marks in for the touchdown.
16:04It just makes the split a lot worse when we're talking that.
16:07And Montgomery's getting hit behind the line a ton.
16:10So it's not like the perfect situation for Marks.
16:13But Marks has gotten a lot better year to year, and they love him.
16:17Like, that's everything the coaching staff has said is like, oh, Marks has had an amazing summer.
16:22He's looked really good. He's a different running back.
16:25So I am optimistic on Woody Marks as well, but it's still split backfield, waiting for an injury to happen, one of those typos.
16:32Woody just looks more explosive, too. And when you have offensive line penetration and, you know, hits in the backfield, someone like
16:38Dave Montgomery can look a bit slower in that regard.
16:41And so I think it does stand out when Woody Marks gets a carry and can kind of bypass that a lot quicker.
16:48So just something to note or even trade for in your leagues, I think.
16:52Finally, in this big group, let's talk Alvin Kamara, because Travis Achan tried to go through this game with being on the
16:59injury report with a hamstring, and he re-aggravated it.
17:01So, Joel, again, we have a running back down that was, I guess, quote, unquote, the starter.
17:06But even that is debatable. How are you handling the Saints backfield right now?
17:10It's a little bit better for Kamara, but only a little bit, I would say.
17:15After the ETN injury, he had four of the 11 snaps, one of the three carries.
17:20It was kind of split between him and Kendrick Miller, with Donaldson also getting some extra snaps in there as well.
17:26So I think when we're looking at the last couple of weeks with Kamara, around 12 opportunities, I think it stays around
17:32that in an offense that he hasn't really been great in.
17:36So the ETN injury does give him more opportunities, and I would say he'd be the number one running back if I had to choose between those three.
17:44But it's not making me, like, super optimistic going forward.
17:47Yeah, the backfield was still split three ways when Travis Achan went down, with Alvin Kamara doing his thing, C.J.
17:53Donaldson in pass pro, and then Kendrick Miller coming in as, like, a true grinder ball carrier type.
17:58So it hasn't been great, and they've even lost, you know, their first-round pick left tackle.
18:03And so I'm not assuming anyone's going to be a standout player from this.
18:07Okay, Joel, before we go on to the deep cuts, I'm going to ask you to rank your top three waiver pickups this week.
18:14Now, obviously, there are different formats. You know, every roster is different.
18:180-3, 3-0, different deficiencies. But just, again, in a vacuum, your favorite three.
18:22I'll go first so you have some time to think.
18:25Okay? I'm going to go, assuming Braylon Allen has three to four weeks with Brees Hall sideline.
18:30I'm going to go Braylon Allen 1, Kenyon Sadiq 2, and Malik Washington 3.
18:34You can be very different than that if you want to.
18:37Go ahead. Braylon Allen 1, Kenyon Sadiq 2. Clear top two for me.
18:41Number three is a toss-up. I think it's between Malik Washington still and maybe a deeper one of Jordan Watkins.
18:47I just love the potential of going for the moon.
18:50I think a lot of these guys, I think it's like, oh, pick them up.
18:54Hope for the best. Probably not going to work.
18:57With Jordan Watkins, it's a lower version of that, but I think the ceiling is higher.
19:02Where I like picking up Jordan Watkins because of the offense and the injuries and the opportunities.
19:07Okay. This dives into the deep cuts because we have Mike Evans who suffered an injury.
19:11I believe got carted off and we'll see how big of a hip injury or whatever this is moving forward.
19:17But we know everything that happened during training camp.
19:20And he said that that was all part of the plan with the quad and the groin and so on and so forth.
19:27But we know his age. We know his history.
19:29We haven't even gotten to the hamstrings yet with Mike Evans.
19:33So, Joel, I just want to put that in perspective because people might not even know which team Jordan Watkins plays for.
19:39Jordan Watkins plays for the San Francisco 49ers who have already had injuries to Ricky Pearsall and my boy Deshaun Stripling and Demarcus Robinson on top of it.
19:47To the point where Debo Samuel is playing, you know, 75% of snaps looking like an absolute stud on a flea flick.
19:54Not a flea flicker, but a hook and lateral, all that type of stuff.
19:58So, after that, we got Kaderil Hodge playing 56% of snaps.
20:01Jacob Cowling playing 31% of snaps. And then Jordan Watkins out of Ole Miss playing 28% of snaps.
20:07And yet, Watkins, by far, Jordan Watkins, the highest producer with two catches per 60 yards.
20:11So, you think that this is an avenue for him to either be highly efficient on his opportunities because of how good
20:18this 49ers team is or maybe emerge as that second wide receiver on the team?
20:22Yeah, I think it's just the best hope for a ceiling, like I was saying.
20:27We have six pass catchers on this team that are hurt.
20:30Six of them. So, when we're looking at the other options, like amazing for Kittle's production going forward.
20:35Debo, even though, had zero targets. Even with that, had zero targets.
20:39Like, he is more of that gadget role type of guy right now.
20:43And even before this week, Kubiak said like three different times he's going to have more opportunities because of the injuries before the Mike Evans injury.
20:51Shanahan said he would have been active week one if it was just based on receiving the ability.
20:56But, wasn't, but now with the injuries, he's going to have his opportunities and he has to step up.
21:02So, I think it is going to be a little bit of a mess.
21:06But if I had to choose one to take a shot at in this offense that we love targeting receivers or anybody
21:12in this offense with Brock Purdy playing lights out right now, it would be him.
21:17I would throw out like potentially an ugly one would be like Brandon Cooks that they brought in last week.
21:23So, it's going to be messy, but I think Jordan Watkins is my best shot in the dark.
21:28I like that because we're talking about other players who are on bottom tiered offenses versus one that's a mystery box, but
21:34on an offense that we want more pieces of that now are incredibly expensive to get other than someone that can step into a potential larger role.
21:42So, I like that. Maybe targeting the best teams and hopefully you can find someone that actually is usable for you versus,
21:49hey, maybe more of a known quantity on truly horrific offenses that we've talked about so far.
21:54Okay, that leads us into deep cuts moving forward.
21:57Let's first talk Trey Harris. He's actually led the Chargers in receiving in each of the last two games.
22:02Six for 76 this past weekend. One for 53 prior to that.
22:06Yet, he's clearly wide receiver three in snaps. This week, just 58% compared to QJ's 87% with a horrific drop, I should say.
22:13And then Ladd at 88%. Any thoughts on Trey Harris?
22:16The hope is that he can just like overtake QJ with time.
22:19He's been getting like the same amount of targets, which is nice.
22:23His route share is still a little bit lower, as he said.
22:26But especially with these tight end injuries, potentially going to more three receiver sets going forward can be nice for him.
22:32Those opportunities need to be more and his offense needs to be a little bit better.
22:37So, there's not too much faith in the short term, especially when you look at their schedule.
22:42But long-term end of a season, I could see a guy that makes an impact.
22:47Yeah, I'll be more interested if they just minimize QJ's role and if Trey Harris got that.
22:52If that happens, I'll be in. But until that happens, it's tough to be in with the way that the Chargers offense is going right now.
22:59Kanata Mumfield of the LA Rams with Puka Nakua hurt and the unknown of when he is returning.
23:05And then T. Ferg playing just a handful of snaps because of an injury.
23:09Kanata Mumfield, they actually played more two wide receiver sets and he played 73% of the snaps.
23:14Popped up for four for 93-1. We know about the nice touchdown that he had on top of it.
23:20Any thoughts here? Or is this just a cool Sunday night football story?
23:23And then we'll see because, you know, he hasn't made that much of an impact so far.
23:28I think if Nakua and Ferguson were both out next week, then he becomes an option.
23:33If Ferguson is back, then I wouldn't worry about it.
23:36If Nakua is back, I wouldn't worry about it.
23:39But a fine flyer, if we get to Sunday and your receiver is questionable game time decision and you have to pick
23:45up another guy, I think he's that type of player if both of those guys are out.
23:50And it kind of goes to the same thing as the 49ers.
23:54We want pieces of the Rams offense. And again, a pathway can be there if injuries just allow for it.
24:00So that's a better shot than trying to guess on a worse team.
24:04Let's talk Roman Wilson. I'm not sure what to make of the Steelers.
24:08I mean, Mike McCarthy called an awesome game in week three, but they've been tragic in the opening two weeks throwing the football.
24:14Roman Wilson pops up three for 60 and one touchdown.
24:17However, he played just 39% of the snaps with Michael Pittman back.
24:21And this was a good note by ETR's Jack Miller that Roman Wilson played 20 snaps to Jeremy Bernard's two.
24:27And then he had a drop that turned into an interception.
24:30And then Roman Wilson only played five snaps compared to Jeremy Bernard's 15.
24:34So maybe Aaron Rodgers made a bit of a call there to sit Roman on the bench after that.
24:40Yeah, I think I'll pass on Roman. Just first game back, lowest route share of the season with Pittman back in the lineup.
24:46Can I interest you in a Ted Hurst? He had a 40-yard touchdown, his only catch in the game.
24:52But he is still playing 75% of the snaps in three straight games.
24:56The Bucs offense was absolutely horrible against the Minnesota Vikings.
24:59They were swarmed. However, if you go back and watch their game against the Cleveland Browns, there was a bunch of nearly big plays with Ted Hurst.
25:07Big downfield patterns. It's kind of high variance, a tightrope act to walk.
25:11He's between like the sacrificial acts and athletic acts to kind of clear out space for everyone else.
25:16But I do wonder, maybe this can lead into our Jalen Daniels conversation, if that type of quarterback can make Ted Hurst
25:22a bit more useful for us, especially as a rookie growing into the league coming out of Georgia State.
25:28I believe he had seven targets versus Cleveland, which is positive for last week.
25:32I don't have as much faith without Baker there.
25:35And Mayfield hasn't played great. But compared to a rookie quarterback coming in and him being, I would say, still the third
25:41option in this receiving game, I don't have too much faith, especially short term.
25:46Long term, there's a shot, especially if one of those two receivers will go down like his touchdown upside is just like
25:52pretty high for the type of receiver he is.
25:55But right now I'm not spending much fab on it.
25:58Let's talk Jalen Daniels then, who is now going to be the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Bucs.
26:03He was an undrafted free agent. He earned the quarterback two job in camp.
26:08That is incredibly uncommon. Baker is out at least three weeks.
26:11The dislocated thumb, it might be more. When I went back and watched Jalen Daniels from the preseason, to me, Joel, he had a strong arm.
26:18He'll stand in the pocket and deliver. We know he has, you know, some athleticism to him as well.
26:24But even over the middle of the field, he was throwing the tight windows on top of it.
26:29Baker has been horrible. And so maybe famous last words, but I wonder how much worse can it get with Jalen Daniels in there?
26:37And for Superflex leagues, I'm actually slightly intrigued because of that.
26:40Yeah. Superflex. I always love picking up new starting quarterbacks that can be surprises.
26:44There is usually a couple of year where we're going to get like we've seen already with backup quarterbacks that have come in.
26:51And it's like, all right, we don't need to pick up Jameis Winston.
26:55But then you have another one where it's like a new starter, a Tyler Shuck last season that ends up being extremely usable in Superflex.
27:02So not that I'm like super confident that Daniels is going to have like this huge breakout performance, but he's a quarterback in Superflex.
27:09You should pick him up. Does that also relate to J.J.
27:12McCarthy, who is now a member of the New York Giants, traded for a fifth round pick?
27:17By the way, the Giants only have five picks remaining in the 2027 NFL draft after this, which is a questionable move
27:24when everyone else is trying to gather as many picks in this draft class.
27:28Anyways, depending on who you read, it sounds like per Jordan Schultz that J.J.
27:32McCarthy is coming in to be a backup and the plan is for Jameis Winston to still start.
27:38I question that, Joel. What about you? I do question.
27:41I've seen that. And it makes me like not want to pick him up because you don't want you don't really want J.J.
27:47McCarthy in your lineup anyways. But especially as a backup quarterback, he's not even playing.
27:52Like, how long are we waiting? So I do think that McCarthy will eventually take over this Giants offense.
27:57But for fantasy right now, I will be more aggressive on Jalen Daniels, I would say, over McCarthy.
28:03J.J. McCarthy will start games this year. I mean, I'm I question why they decided to pay Jameis Winston an extra two
28:09and a half million dollars out of the kindness of their heart.
28:13If after. And by the way, these rumors of them going out and acquiring more quarterbacks happened before the week three game.
28:19You heard them all last week that it wasn't just one quarterback.
28:23They might be adding two. And they the insiders directly said on Monday they will be adding a quarterback.
28:29So it is not to me a response to Jameis Winston's week three.
28:32It's more of, hey, maybe Jameis could stand in there as like a spot starter, a glue guy.
28:38But for the entire season with still the playoffs in mind, they probably believe at some point J.J.
28:43McCarthy is going to get a starting job here.
28:46Do you think that they acquire another quarterback? Oh, man.
28:49I mean, I think maybe if it was on a different tier and they weren't spending a fifth round pick, then they might have double dipped here.
28:57But Jameis has been objectively bad, which by the way, J.J.
29:00McCarthy in his spot starts and starting jobs have also been objectively bad in the NFL so far, too.
29:06So I just don't think Harbaugh has it in him to punt the season despite losing Jackson Dart and Brian Burns and
29:12some other players so far that he still wants to elicit this competitive nature.
29:16And he doesn't want to wave the white flag.
29:19But I don't know, man. J.J. McCarthy is the only quarterback that Justin Jefferson has not been productive with.
29:24That's pretty good to me. Just those three giants that are valuable in fantasy or like we want them to be valuable in fantasy.
29:32Yes. I think this McCarthy trade is really bad for him, not just because McCarthy coming in, but because it makes me
29:38think that they're not going to bring in a different quarterback.
29:41And if it's just those two, then I'm really worried.
29:44Can I throw you my deep, deep, deep, deep sleeper?
29:47I've talked about the tight end stuff. Mike Kosicki is still intriguing to me.
29:51Okay. Andre Yoshibas is on injured reserve. The Bengals, shockingly, after week two, and I'm sure once we get to week three,
29:58lead the NFL in 12 personnel snaps. Now they are doing that with three different players.
30:03Like Drew Sample is playing 51% of snaps. Mike Kosicki is playing 51% of snaps.
30:07Eric all is playing 21%, all that type of stuff.
30:10But in an era that, you know, we can feel good about starting these tight ends in our flexes.
30:16I know Mike Kosicki bottomed out in, in week two with zero points, but he's the tight end 12 and points per game right now.
30:23So it's, it's, he is basically their slot wide receiver.
30:26He's a jumbo slot wide receiver. Um, so Kosicki is someone that again, all of us picking up random tight ends.
30:32I don't think he's gotten enough love out there.
30:35Yeah. If he was labeled as the wide super three for the Bengals, then maybe like people would pick him up a little bit more.
30:42And we've seen in the past, if either chase or Higgins is out of game, he is that wide receiver too.
30:49And gets seven, eight targets a game without one of those two on the field.
30:53So I don't, don't mind it. Sample and all are inline blockers, extra offensive lineman added all that type of stuff.
30:59And Mike Kosicki is a wide receiver just labeled as, as a tight end.
31:03Uh, I really don't have many others. I mean, I was going to bring up Juwan Jennings.
31:08He played 80% snaps without Justin Jefferson. Tell me if you saw Juwan Jennings on the field at all, because I didn't
31:15know there's 80%, but I know Ian Rappaport just reported as we're recording this, that the imaging on Justin Jefferson's ankle is actually good.
31:22And he might even play this week. So bye-bye Juwan.
31:25You're in and out for us. Um, Caleb Johnson.
31:28I think we should bring up like the Packers cannot run the ball.
31:32They're running back stink. Their offensive line stinks, but Marshawn Lloyd played just 23% of the snaps.
31:37Caleb Johnson up to 36% on Thursday night football.
31:39Unfortunately with the defense as well, they're probably going to be trailing a lot.
31:43And that means Chris Brooks in pass protection. But I did want to throw out the idea that Caleb Johnson has just
31:50surpassed Marshawn Lloyd as a runner in his office.
31:53Yeah, I think Lloyd's droppable. I'd rather probably have Caleb Johnson.
31:56Just don't really have much faith in this offensive line.
31:59Yeah. And then for their third wide receiver without Jane Reed, it was sky more, but it's also just pointless.
32:05Like don't, don't go into that and invest in that at all.
32:08Um, and then I'll mention the Panthers wide receivers because Jalen Coker is dealing with a quad injury.
32:14Xavier Lee get might not play in week four on top of it.
32:17Uh, the wide receiver that stepped up was Bryson Tremaine, who is a special teamer.
32:22He then led this team in snaps. He's big athletic, kind of a boundary type.
32:26But, um, I wonder if they'll try to make a move and maybe like David Moore steps up into that wide receiver
32:33two spot on Sunday night football instead. Anyone else?
32:36Or should we just go straight to the droplets, Joel?
32:39I think Chris Bell's the only other one that I had listed as just like, we've talked about him, but still not
32:45close to being on a 50% of leagues. So he's solid.
32:48So it's tough to repeat yourself week after week, but we talked about Chris Bell when we brought up Caleb Douglas and
32:55we've already talked about the running backs on top of it.
32:58But yeah, to me, it's just amazing that Chris Bell's out there playing a high percent of snaps already in week through
33:05the NFL season after Terry's ACL so late last year.
33:08But, um, I'm, I'm just a bit nervous that this whole Miami Dolphins thing is going to not matter for the entire season.
33:14Yeah. Okay. Let's go on the drop list. Uh, the first name for me is Brian Thomas Jr.
33:20All right. This was shocking when I looked it up, but it makes sense when you watch the games, his snap counts
33:26in three games so far this year. Joel 35%, 54% and 37%.
33:30BTJ is the wide receiver 77 in points per game.
33:33At this point, he's being outscored by his running mate in Josh Cameron, who only has what?
33:38Like two or three catches all season long because they scored touchdowns.
33:41Brian Thomas Jr. Is just a role player at this point.
33:45Uh, and barely a factor and barely playing. He is completely droppable.
33:48Yeah. Zero snaps and two receiver sets this week, the next three games, no good matchups and then the bi-week.
33:54So you're not really going to use them till week eight at minimum is like what I'm thinking.
33:59So I'm fine with it. Yeah. And Josh Cameron is doing all the dirty work as a blocker on top of it.
34:06Uh, Devin Singletary was a healthy inactive this past week, which is notable because I think after week one, some people might've
34:12picked him up after, you know, he caught four dump offs in the flats and took one for a touchdown.
34:18But, uh, it seems like he is firmly behind scataboo, Najee Harris and Tyrone Tracy.
34:23Yeah. Wouldn't have much investment into that John's backfield right now.
34:26So, and then I'll quickly run through some that we've already talked about previously.
34:30Uh, Marshawn Lloyd is the running back 46 right now, but again, we just talked about Caleb Johnson replacing him.
34:36Kenny Gainwell is, has 7.3 total points on the season.
34:39Uh, he's the running back 68 and he's still rostering like 70% of Yahoo leagues out there.
34:44Marvin Harrison jr. Is the wide receiver one Oh three right now with 9.3 fancy points in the season.
34:50Quentin Sutton is another name. And then, uh, Quentin Johnson, a wide receiver 95, uh, 95 at 10.1 fancy points.
34:56And again, I wouldn't be surprised if he loses some work for Trey Harris.
35:00Any other names you want to bring up? Uh, I mean, I was this close to Drake may and I had this
35:06big issue in our experts league with Drake. Yeah, that one's a little bit rough, but no, not the top of my head.
35:13No more. Okay. Well, that does it. Let us know in the comments.
35:17Uh, if we missed anyone, I'll go back, read through those and, uh, give some thoughts.
35:22If you bring up a good name or, or a fault, or we'll just talk about it in stats versus film on Tuesday.
35:29Thank you all for watching. Go and support Joel and all the social media videos that he puts out.
35:34Those are linked in the description down below. We'll see you guys tomorrow.
