Fantasy Football - Week 1 Start/Sit + TNF Preview, Super Bowl Picks - Podcast for 9/3

at least month. Excited. Maybe more. Excited about this one. Titans have listed Epic Iommanner as wide receiver two ahead of Van Jefferson to start the year. That would be Alec Iio Manor. And he is the rookie wide receiver for the Titans that I'm paying the most attention to. I have every single draft in our Dynasty League. Not that he will have some incredible season, but there is the opportunity for him to establish it's a rookie quarterback. It's Cam Ward. It's a team that's going to be playing from behind a lot. It's Calvin Ridley and Jack's squad. They need another receiver. And so if, if. And they drafted Jack Squad in the sixth, was it? Right. And yeah, and then Restrepo, they signed undrafted. So it was just Epic. And, and D.K. As the, I think Epic is the primary wide receiver two in the, you know, from week one. And if he's good, that's the question. Like, if he's actually good. And he looked good in preseason. And in college. Yeah.

Do you care? I care a little bit. Yeah, because Cam Ward can actually be something special. So if Cam Ward is... Yes, he can. Hmm. Okay. Bank. Oh, we got booed. You didn't call Swiss. That's true. So there you go. I'm the... I have no problem with the player. I just have a... I'm the cold bucket of water for the situation. It's fair. Rookie quarterbacks can barely support one top wide receiver. And that's back in the 90s. No, no, also the odds. Yeah. Yeah. So it's also the tens. But like if you're in, if you're in a deep league, sure. Like he's at least he'll be on the field. Also, I believe, and I don't see it on here, but I believe Dante Thornton is also listed as a starter. Yeah. For the. And he's been a starter from the first second of training camp through preseason.

Throw some cold water on my Dante Thornton because I have him everywhere. I believe he can be the one right out of the gate in Las Vegas. I believe he could be not the one because that's Brock, not the two because Jacoby is good. And I don't, are they, he's interesting because he's a size speed freak. I have, I have questions if it will actually work in the NFL. Once true NFL defenses are playing against him, like can he handle? the can he handle the press and get you know actually get open we are so close to our first like the new york times yeah yeah what is happening today we are so close to our thursday night preview guys naji harris practiced in full mike rabel said stephan digs will play in week one isaiah likely not expected to play in week one where like we gave davis to the practice squad of the bills we have mark andrews has really not been discussed

much at all. Where are you guys with Andrews? I think he should get off to a fine start. I mean, week one, at least Buffalo, a high over under, no likely on the field. You're going to score points. So him and Kelsey are... It's so frustrating, but we all know Mark Andrews will be like the number one tied in in week one. Yeah, I mean, I think both of those old guys are going to have a real strong start to the season because... their competition is going to be absent for the first couple weeks. All right. We have a Thursday night preview to get to. That was News and Note, sponsored by Progressive Insurance Quote Today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and third party insurers, not available in all states or situations, coverage subject to policy terms, limits, and conditions. Football! It's finally time. Thursday night breakdown.

Well, Jerry's been spending that Micah Parsons money on some other players. Dallas at Philadelphia. I just, I cannot with that guy. Philly is now eight and a half point favorites at home. The overrunners 47.5. That gives, uh, oh, by the way, we got some new, we got some new graphics up on the YouTube. Oh. We got some new matchup graphics up on the YouTube. Very nice. And they look real nice. But, uh, Philly 28 implied points, Dallas 19 and a half. Before the Parsons trade, Philly was seven point favorite, so it's moved a point and a half. And here we go. You know, no Michael Parsons, Philly coming off of the Super Bowl victory. Like I said yesterday, this would be the greatest statement game ever.

for Jerry Jones and company and for the Cowboys fans. If they came out in one in Philly in week one, you know that generally the defenses are a little bit ahead of the offenses sometimes when the season starts. Sure. So they probably could have used Michael Parsons. The fact that it is a, this is a divisional game and the Cowboys are eight and a half point dogs. Like, divisional games are usually like if you're a, I'm. We're favored by three. Like, oh, okay. Are you sure? But eight and a half points is just, it would be. It would be a miracle. This is the beginning of, you know, DAC plus CD plus George. Yes. When Dallas has had DAC as their starting quarterback offensively, they've been fifth in plays per game, seventh and red zone plays per game, fifth and points per game, you know, it's been a minute.

since we've got to see that level of Dak City. And because it wasn't quite cooking to start deer last year. And then DAC went down. Or the year prior when they did finish as the number one duo. Yeah, it was off to a slow start. Yeah, the first four weeks. But that was, was that when Kellan Moore was still there? Believe so. Two years ago. I guess I bring that up because he, like, he didn't go well without him to start last year. Then we didn't see the rest of it. And we have Brian Schottenheimer. it is something to watch what they do with those two guys. I saw them talking about each other and saying it's, you know, it's not a one and a two situation. It's one and one on both sides. That's the way the wide receivers talked about it. But, um, let's start with, wait, CD is saying that CD, yeah, CD. That's real nice of him. Yeah, it was super nice. We all did wink. We like George, but, come on, William. It's something you say. You know what I mean?

Speaking of which, on this show, it's like one and one and one. Yeah. We're all ones here. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. All right, Giovante Williams and company. That's what I'm going to say about the Cowboys when the season starts. Philadelphia was the second best defense against fantasy running backs last year. How were they against wide receivers? Were they number one? No, they were top five. But what about quarterbacks? Top five. Really good. So maybe I'll start for Dallas. Yeah, I mean, this was the, so I am, I am very, very in on Dak Prescott, on George, on Seedy. The passing game here for the Cowboys, I'm fully in on this season. But the opening schedule is really tough. If you went and drafted Dak, if you went and got George, I, you're going to need to do one of two things, have resolve and stay the course, or.

Look at other options to start the year. Like, DAC, if you drafted DAC, I don't mind if you're out there and you say, you know what? Trevor Lawrence is sitting on waivers. I would rather play Trevor Lawrence Week 1. I have DAC several places. I am not personally doing that. But I could tell you if this was a Sunday morning game, I mean, you're going to have. I can't, I can't possibly watch opening night football and, and not have the DAC points. Dak, Dak will. So they play Philly. Then they play the Giants. Then they play the Bears. Then they play Michael Parsons and the Packers. The Giants of Bears. Then they play the Jets in New York. Giants of Bears might not sound like difficult matchups, but literally the bears were like 32nd last year. Like they were the toughest matchup for quarterbacks. And the Giants' offense is bad, but their defense is very good. Maybe the best defensive line in football.

So I am, you're going to have to show me how strong you are. My resolve, yeah, a month from now and be sweating. I don't believe in the offense, and I believe it'll be a bad start, and I don't think I'll be buying in, but maybe, maybe you have to, you know, and maybe that defense will be so bad that you have the NFC Bengals to deal with. That is the real hope. That is the real hope. Dak is a good player. We know C.D. Lam is an elite top five wide receiver in the NFL. You're not going to just.

be able to stop them all the time and their defense stinks and they can't run the ball. So they will be throwing. It's just really tough to do here week one against the Eagles. You would play Dak or Justin Fields, Mike. Justin Fields plays Pittsburgh in week one. Oh my gosh. I think I'll still go with Dak. So Dak, I'm looking at the game log last year. So he was the quarterback 22, 15, 1, 11, 12, 28, 18, and 22 before the injury. Dak or Trevor Lawrence, we'd answer it, Dak or Drake May in week one. I'd stick with Dak. And then Giovante. Are you just not playing Giovante? Oh, goodness, me, no. The only, I mean, the path.

Thankfully, Javante was not in an area where you have to play him unless you were like, I'm going zero RB and Javante is my hero. What if you had no second through six round picks? Then maybe you drafted Javentay? No, I don't. No, I don't. But I would, I would love to have out of him. That's where I was. The path is the path forward for Javante is he's a good pass protector. He was a keeper. For Josh. Oh, no. Oh, Papa Josh. Look at him. Look at him. Javante's biggest fan. The pathboard is he will, he should be on the field because I expect them to be trailing. And then you, if you get four receptions, then you'll be like four for five yards. Yeah. Yeah. Jake Ferguson, you're okay in week one. This, I like Jake Ferguson for the season, but I would prefer not to play him this week. AJ Brown.

Yeah, just start your Eagles. Devonte Smith, Sequin, Barclay, Jalen Hertz. What about Goddard? Goddard's interesting. Boy, that's the first time his name's been mentioned in three months. Yon. Yeah, I mean, he's had a 19% target share each of the last four years. That's a great number. That's impossible. If you look at this, I think this is the matchup, right? Like, if you've got Ferguson and Goddard is out on waivers, who would you rather have in this specific game? Feel like I'd rather have the team that's going to win. Last year, Dallas lost 34 to 6, 41 to 7 in the two games against Philadelphia. They were, I think they're both DACLUS. Neither one was DAC, yeah. Is that the, yeah, okay. When he does the play, that's what they call it. Yes, yes, they do. All right, we'll take a break. We'll jump into the mailbag. This episode is brought to you by prize picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on prize picks, being right can get you paid.

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That's right, football fans. Watch your local NFL game every Sunday on CBS and Paramount Plus all season long. This year's schedule is absolutely stacked with rivalries and revenge games, including the next chapter of the epic Bill's Chiefs saga. That'll be fun. So stay connected all year on any device at home or on the go. Visit paramountplus.com slash NFL to get started today and count on Sundays for another must-see season of the NFL on CBS. and Paramount Plus. All right. It's time to answer some of your questions. Into the mailbag we go. Mailbag. Presented by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. All righty. We are into the mailbag. We got a voicemail to start it off. If you have a question, you can go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com. Click to submit a question button or dial the voicemail hotline 302464 TFFB. Here we go.

Hey, ballers. This is Anthony from New Jersey, huge fan of the show. My question to you guys is, who would you rather start this week in the flex? Full Point PPR, Tyrone Tracy Jr. or Jerome Ford? Thanks, guys. I would play Tyrone Tracy. Man. By a lot. Really? Yes. I think it's difficult. I would love to play a running back against the Cincinnati Bengals. That sounds like a real good time in week one. I think the only issue is... They'll be down by 40 by the time he gets a second carry. Well, it's the reporting, you know, of like... I think the last thing we heard was Mary Kay was like, no, Jerome Ford is expected to be the starter. But then there's like weird back channels. They're like, don't be shocked if Dylan Sams is the starter. So that's the only thing that scares me off of Jerome Ford is that...

You put them in there. You love the matchup. The game comes up and they're introducing the starters and it's Dylan Samson. And then you're going to have a full panic attack. Yeah, I mean, both of these players have a day three running back to compete with, whether it's Dylan Samson or whether it's Cam Scataboo. I look at the matchup and I love the matchup against the Bengals. I like the fact that Jerome Ford, you know, has had a season of 63 targets. This is a full PPR league. You're going to be down against the bangles. I think Jerome Ford ends up, you know, with three or four or five receptions in this game. Little checkdowns from Flacco. So I actually lean the Ford side. It's a good debate, but the past catching work, we're not sure if that's going to be Cam Scada but who was great at that in college or Tyrone Tracy. I would, honestly. Tracy had 53 targets last year, so he can catch the football. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's not that he can't.

The scataboo factor is real where Tracy didn't really have anybody to worry about. I would take this to Sunday. And if you get, if I got the full clearance that Jerome Ford is definitely starting, I would play Ford. Otherwise I would probably just put Tracy in there. All right. We got our first mailbag question here. Reveal your Super Bowl picks for the 2025 season. No better time than now right before the season kicks off to give a final word on who you think is going to win. It was, I didn't, you guys already had your Zen and I didn't want to be boring. Jason just reacted very. So I went with one where it's like, no, I can, I can see it happening. All right. So, so then I'll, I'll be more boring. I gave this some thought. I think the NFC is, it may be easier than. I checked the odds, the top two teams. Oh, are they? Yes. I did not check the odds, but it makes sense. I like, I like Green Bay in the NFC. I like Detroit.

but I don't like them as much as Philadelphia. So I have Philadelphia repeating and beating Baltimore in the Super Bowl. I have Baltimore in the Super Bowl as well, but not Philly. I have the Micah Parsons led Packers, unfortunately, Jeremy, losing to the Baltimore Ravens and the Super Bowl. Yeah, it's really hard for me to not see it being Baltimore as the pick, but to throw a contrarian idea out there. I went with the Denver Broncos over the Detroit Lions. I think that the Bo Nix with the 10 and 7 record as a rookie year two with the Broncos defense is ferocious and the Lions defense will be back to being healthy. It'll be so good for my Bo Nix rookie cards, Mike. You know what I mean? Yeah, no, I do. We really, I appreciate that.

Sports fan 101 writing in, can I trust Amarian Hampton enough to start him in week one? Chargers are three-point underdogs against Kansas City. It's the Brazil game, so they're not really in Kansas City or at home. They're just in Brazil. Kansas City was the best team against fantasy running backs last year. I don't know how you, you know, who you drafted on your roster, where he was going by draft time. You know, he's a third round pick, so. Need to take advantage of any lack of nausea as well. Well, I think Najee's going to play. But now, it can't be much. No, no. If he hasn't taken a practice nap until today. The line on Hampton, I think it opened at 48.5 rushing yards, and it's already down. So the matchup stinks, but I think I'm with Jason of. You took him to be a starter, and I don't think I would get cute. You also believe in the system that Harbaugh is running to.

If any team is going to execute it, execute it against the Chiefs, it's going to be them. And it's Brazil. If they didn't fix the turf, then there's going to be a lot of points. I would say the only players that you might have where I'd go, okay, I would play James Connor. Oh, I'd play James Connor for sure. Yeah, James Connor and Alvin Camara in the same game against each other. Okay, that's fair. If you had those guys where you got to decide between them and Hampton, okay, otherwise, I'm plugging in the rookie. Euro writes in on X. Hey, ballerinos. Do you guys have any first Sunday of football rituals or traditions to break in for the new year? Do we have any first Sunday football rituals? Other than the sit my lineups. The chanting, the candles. Right. I mean, other than that. But that's who doesn't have. Yeah, there's just regular pants. Regular old stuff. Yeah, Mike doesn't wear pants week one. That's, you know. Well, we get. We'll see.

The first Trayvion Henderson. So you're wearing tearaways. Of course. Okay. All right. I probably need like multiples. Oh, that's a good idea. Just layer it up. See if, see if you can put the pants store out of business. I would prefer him to layer it up. Yes. Yeah. All right. What is the vibe check right now? Zach wants to know Instagram question. What's a vibe check on Colston Loveland? Who, you know, Loveland, you want to talk about another depth chart. reaction type of situation. I mean, Cole Comed is very clearly the starter there right now. Colson Loveland did get some time in the last preseason game where he caught, I think, the first pass and has obviously been drafted to be an explosive weapon. I think it's really hard when it's DJ Moore, Roma Dunzei Luther Burden, DeAndre Swift, Colson Loveland, and this whole myriad of options with a quarterback he may or may not trust.

Yeah, I mean, that's why he was a late round draft pick. However, in the NFL, he was a super high draft pick that every team wanted and people were trying to trade up for. So there's been plenty of leagues where I take, I take Colson Loveland, like with my last pick as a second tight end. Not to start week one, but just to see what if, just to see, you know, if there's another breakout. I agree with you, Andy. The pathway for him is very difficult. That's why I was right after the NFL draft, I was much lower on. Loveland than Tyler Warren because the path is so much more clear, I believe, for Warren. The most popular start sit question right now on the website so far are two rookie wide receivers that are both my guys. My guy versus my guy. That are facing defenses ranked 29th and 31st last year against the pass against wide receivers. Emeka, Bucca at Atlanta, Tetaro and McMillan at Jacksonville. Man, this is an easy Tet to me. Is it? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. I mean, this, I feel like it's more like, you know, Tetaroa is in the Mike Evans role here. Yeah. He's the one for his team right off the bat. Whereas Emeka-Buka is going to be on the field. I'm not saying he couldn't have the better game, but I feel like he is still the two for this team behind Mike Evans. I am very excited for seeing what Tetaroa can do. Both of these matchups are close enough to equal where it's not like, you know, it's not like one of these is great and the other is terrible for Tet.

Plus, where you drafted them? I mean, this is an easy, for me, Tetra week. They're both great starts, but I would go Tet as well. I would. I just don't call it an easy one. But at the end of day, I'm starting McDonald's. But there are additional eggbuka questions coming in, including Jamieson Williams against Green Bay or Emeka Eggbuka. My guy versus my guy. Oh, yeah, so I can't answer. I'd start them both. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, just start them both. That's a great answer. I like it. Bench whoever else you have. Right. Yeah. No, I mean, if I had to choose between those two, I mean, we just talked about the matchup. Igbuka, not a lot of options. If Otten doesn't play, if McMillan's not there, if Godwin's not there, you know, does Bucky Irving get it done on the ground against Atlanta? Probably. Jameson's going to be on the road in Green Bay. I'll take a Ibuka week one. I think I would as well. All right. They, uh, I think the over under is tied right now. And.

Let's see, Tampa is implied for 25 and the Lions are at 22 and a half. I think I'd just, yeah, I'd start Jameson Williams. Eddie and Rhode Island writes in, who is the better stash at the end of a 10-team PPR bench? Ollie Gordon or Braylon Allen? I do not have A. Chan or Hall on my team. So you're looking at just blindly adding one of these for upside. For me, it's Olly Gordon. Oh, for me is Braille and Alice. I think I'm going with Olly Gordon. I don't think I'm going to be surprised in week one that Olly Gordon is like, he's, I can be surprised and Braylin can be the starter for New York. Braylin could get more work. He could. And be establishing. So that's where I lean, like if I'm going to stash one and I learn something new, I'm not going to learn something new in Miami.

in terms of the hierarchy of running backs, but I will potentially learn something new in New York, so that's why I would pick Allen. I think you very well could end up learning something new on Ollie Gordon. Not that he would be the lion share over A-chan, but if he gets into that Mostert role, if he gets the goal line work, if he is really the more involved than you think he is, and he's not just some backup to A-chan, but he's actually splitting with A-chan. I expect all that already. I think he's a better player than Braylin Allen. Oh, I don't. And I expect all the things you just said. Like if that doesn't happen in week one Farley Gordon, then I would be. Then you would learn something. I would be surprised. Like, we, he should be, right? I mean, they don't just use a chance. Ollie's the only guy they got. He should do all that stuff. It's just to me a lot of it's just offense versus offense. Sure. Whether you want, you know, who's going to have more touchdown opportunities, the Jets or the Dolphins?

Yeah, and the dolphins are historically the worst goal line team with Jalen Wright and with Devon H.N. So if Ali Gordon somehow had success, that would be relevant like Moster did a couple of years ago. Who do I target in the Bears' backfield? Xavier wants to know on X behind DeAndre Swift. Who do I target in the Bears' backfield behind DeAndre Swift? I think it is. I think it's Kyle Monongai, which it This year, this year is wild. Talking about all these day three running backs is hurting my brain of just like play of odds and history of what has happened. Day three running backs are irrelevant. But the way that they've talked about Monongai, I think he is the RB2. And it could honestly be nobody. It could be Swift gets a whole bunch of action between the 20s and Monongai is the backup.

And then as soon as they're inside the five, it's Roshan Johnson. I think Swift is underrated. I think Swift is underrated for drafts. I think nobody ever wants to draft them, and I think that's dumb. I think there's a, I don't know that it's dumb, but I think there's a chance that he is. I mean, Ben Johnson should, if Ben Johnson succeeds, you have to carry that out to its implications for every position group. Sure. And we haven't done that with Swift. We've done it for all the wide receivers and the tight ends. I don't feel like we've said, hey, you know, we literally can't decide if it's Roshan who's been bad.

or Monongai who's never played. But we're sitting here with DeAndre Swift and it's like you could be a really, really valuable piece. He looked great in the preseason. And Ben Johnson, if you carried out to its end, I feel like DeAndre Swift is a steal. Well, it comes down to of like we've seen Ben Johnson with DeAndre Swift before. And I'm trying to pull up. Swift was good per touch. Yes, for touch. Just didn't get as much. Per touch he was. The thing is. When he was with the lions. Yes. When he was with the lions. The thing about that year, though, is Jamal Williams had 262 carries and 17 rushing touchdowns. That's the issue with Swift. To DeAndre Swift's 99 carries, but he did miss a few games. So DeAndre Swift, he played 14. The funny thing about him is, no matter what the path is, he's played on three teams. His points per game, 12-8, 13-7, 11-9, 11-2, 11-4. He can't keep getting away with it, Andy. He's 11 plus a game.