Week 14 Waivers + Dart Throws, Difference Makers - Fantasy Football Podcast for 12/3

The Fantasy Footballer Studio is brought to you by Amazon Prime. To the Fantasy Footballers podcast with your host, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright. Oh, welcome in. Tuesday, December 3rd, the Fantasy Footballers podcast back with you. It's Waver Day. It's also in most leagues. The final week of...

The regular season for your fantasy football leagues. Including the Megalabole. Yes. And if you're playing in the Megalabole, it is. I am. Yes. You just have to be in the top half of your league. Top six. Last year it was top three. We're making it more like most leagues. And when I say more like most leagues, waivers will also be open during the playoffs. Unlike in the past, our commissioners are going to look at every drop to make sure things are on the up and up. and keep you safe and sound at night. But the playoffs are upon us. But I do feel like we're burying the lead here. Okay. Of what we got to witness last night. Oh, the Denver Cleveland extravaganza? The seven hours of, I mean, that game, any of your commercial filled football. Is that what it was? I don't know. It was.

It was the longest game I can remember because it started it. I'm sleepy right now because I did not get my beauty. And you're West Coast. Yeah. There were 152 combined plays, which is the most of any game this year. And it didn't go to overtime. Okay. And they were just going. It was awesome. Yeah. That was a really, really fun game. We'll dig into the stats here. I do need to announce our Megalodon giveaway winners. Hashtag. Spatchcock. Hit number nine in trending. Justin with the Breece Hall signed mini helmet, Dan with the Devon A Chan signed jersey, and Robin with the Justin Jefferson signed jersey. And I believe Al Borland, you reached out to these individuals. So if your name is Justin, Dan, and Robin. You already know if you want. You already know. Check your ex. That's right. Okay. And you made contact with all the winners? Right. Your former, your former girlfriend or boyfriend. Yeah.

Okay, so who they know? Which of the three names needs to be on the lookout for your message that hasn't gotten back to you? Do you remember Al? I'm double checking. That would be Robin. Oh, he's probably on a crime. You know what I mean? Is that a Batman Robin? It was an attempt. Probably on a crime? I, you know, fighting crime? Yes. Yeah, like he's been assigned, like he's got to go out and take care of. Batman is not assigned anything. Batman chooses. I got it. You think people are in charge? Boston. Yeah. I feel like Mike would have made that joke. No, I would have landed that thing. Okay. So it was there. It just was the wording. Yeah. Okay. That's all I meant. Yeah, but that's everything about a joke. That's fair. The wording is a big part of the joke. It's the thought that counts, you know? Words slash timing equals joke. Ah, okay. I mean, I stand.

Robin's on a crime right now. I stand corrected. All right. It's not every day you get to make a Robin joke. And I need to put more effort into it. You can find us on X at the FF ballers. The numbers from last night's game. James Winston threw for 497 yards, which included 235 of them to Jerry Judy, 111 of them to Elijah Moore, 52 and 2 for David Najuku. And there you go. Thank you, David. Yeah, no, it was funny. He also threw six touchdowns, four of them to his teammates, two to the others. It was the most James that James can be. I mean, it's why for fantasy football, you've always loved games where he plays because the other team has to score. Oftentimes they get to score with their defense, but then.

The best thing about James is his pick six because it just means he he's out there the next play throwing the ball more. And he tried to throw a seven touchdown at the end of the game. The interception couldn't run it all the way back. One of the things that stood out from the game, the hot hand was Jaliel McLaughlin in this one. 14 for 84. Actually ran well, six a carry. Estimate three carries, Giovante Williams, four carries for one yard and the touchdown. Oh, man. Which you just ignore the touchdown. I don't think you can trust the backfield. They really, truly are a hot hand approach. And I give them credit for that. Now, for fantasy, that stinks. I don't like that. But I give credit because McLaughlin was clearly the best runner. Like he was, he looked great. Yesterday. He looked great. And so they didn't go away from him. They said, hey, let's just keep using the guy who's working against his defense. But that means.

If next week it's Estimate or the next week it's Giovante, you know, the other guy's got fresher legs. It is hard to throw a Denver running back into your lineup. We're going into one of the biggest, if not the biggest, bi-week situation ever for the final week of the fantasy season. I think if you just play whoever did the best the game before, if you need one, that's what I do. Yeah, that's probably what most people would do. Because they'll probably get the first chance at hot hand and just. Maybe they stay hot. If you need the dart throw, that's what I'd give a go. He did look very good, and McLaughlin should be on a lot of waivers. So it's definitely a name worth picking up, but man. I don't understand why Giovante keeps getting to be the starter. Loyalty. It's respect. It's so strange to me. Is that what you considered him in this game? You're saying first snap? Yeah. Whatever. But I was like first snap. Well, it's if you're going hot hand, you get the first try. Yeah. And.

Luckily, his hands were as cold as ice. Luckily, but not for the Broncos, and they should know this. Like, I'm fine with McLaughlin. Yeah, great. He got the hot hand, but like, it's not Giovante. Put Estimate out there and just see what happens if it's estimated McLaughlin. You're saying that he shouldn't get the first carry. Like, for instance, last year when he, or last week when he had eight carries for negative two total yards. Right. Um, they should have been like, he's, he's got 12, his last 12 carries has, have gained negative one yards. That is correct. Over two weeks. Like I said, he has, what are we doing here? Negative one yards. Those are frost. Frost bitten hands. Yeah. On 12 carries with a touchdown though. Cortland Sutton 6 for 102. By the way, Jerry Judy could be pulling the Amari Cooper of last year with, you know, Flacco came in, made Amari Cooper a league winning, uh, player.

Jerry Judy at this point, just hot magma, obviously on the same page with James. And a lot of this is he wins downfield a lot. And James is willing to chuck it. Whereas, you know, a lot of where he was winning before Deshaun Watson can't do that. So, you know, James Winston becomes interesting for fantasy playoffs. Absolutely. He absolutely does the, like against Denver, I didn't have. the courage to play him or recommend him. Clearly that was wrong. Almost 500 passing yards and four touchdowns will take that. But it gives you just more confidence of, I was talking about it with you guys in Slack of James has now started what? We got five games. He has been over 330 passing yards in three of five. Like this dude is. That's a lot.

Yeah, that's not like, you know, saying, oh, that's a good game. You've got 250. 330 as your barometer. And he's getting that most of the time. He can throw three six, three pick sixes and still get you what he did last night. 46 fantasy points in our league. Here's the thing. Jerry Judy, since the James Winston takeover, he is. And keep in mind, they had a buy week. And they had a snowball game. Since that time, he is the wide receiver three behind only Jamar Chase. And shockingly, Cortland Sutton. Yeah, yeah, who had a good game in this one. It's rare that your defense can give up 500 plus yards the way Denver did and still score a bunch of fancy points. But two touchdowns will do that. And three sacks on the night. And that was your game. It was a fun one. It was exciting. Marvin Mims taking over the...

Throne. I've got it on now. The Marvin Mims throne over Troy Franklin is 52.2 to 45. Waring that throne. Yeah. It took a- Did I say throne? Took a 93-yard touchdown. You said you're wearing it. And then you even did the action of pulling. You want to put that throne on your head, you know, to keep them shoulders real strong. So mix that with the Robin joke and we're off to a good start. So I'll push this button. Welcome to Difference Makers, presented by I'm's pet food. Do you see all those thrones we were wearing in that video clip there? Pretty, pretty neat. It's a crown. That's the word. That's the word. That's where the crown's where the king sits. Yes. I don't think you want to sit on the crown. No, you don't. Yikes. Heavy as the butt. That sits on the crown. See, that's how you do it. Swish. That's how you do it. The timing, the word choice. It matters, man. All right.

Today's difference makers, we will focus on the headline name in the waiver section of today's show, which is we got. Jordan Mason. No, no, we got huge news yesterday. Wait, what happened? We got the news that Christian McCaffrey was placed on IR. That was not surprising after the rumors. What was surprising is in the midst of our very competitive fun pickaball match, we also got a text that. Jordan Mason had suffered a high ankle sprain in the same snow game and was now being placed on IR. Now there was some rejoicing in the Pickle Palace by Al Borland and myself because we thought that the kind of favored in League of Record standing in the way of Al Borland's championship and my potential repeat had just picked up Jordan Mason who was looking like, you know, Jordan Mason's been, you know, first four weeks of the season was like one of the best running backs in football.

He's gone. He's just gone. It was like, I mean, I want him to be well and, you know, get healthy, but also it was a miracle. When it was that, that little blip in the back of the head when like, because Mason came in, it was running really well. And then he was out. And then he was gone. And it was all garendo. And in my head, I'm like, it's because it was a blowout. It's because it was a blowout. And it was. No, it's because he blew out his ankle. Yeah, he had a high ankle sprain. Now he is gone. And so now we are going to talk about Isaac Garindo as the number one waiver pickup of the week. Which he should absolutely be. He should be. I don't care if you're loaded at running back. You have to stop people from getting Garindo. Yes, you do. I mean, whoever has the waiver priority, whoever, if you're in a waiver priority league, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas and also you must put in that claim. Whoever has the most fab?

Put in that claim. Look at your league. Look at who has how much fab. And spend a dollar more than everyone else or spend it all in your hopes that other people don't do this. This is not a guarantee that Isaac Garando is going to be a league winner in and of himself. But there's a percentage chance that he is a significant part of the playoff run. When he had opportunities this year, week eight, 63% of snaps, 14 for 85 and a touchdown. And the key there for Isaac Grendo, if you watch him play, he is not the runner by any stretch that McCaffrey is, nor Mason. Both are much better running backs. What Isaac Grendo has is opportunity and elite speed. A hundredth percentile speed score. Yeah, it's one big play. It's a C.J. Spiller-esque opportunity to run the football. Now they play Chicago.

Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit for the next four weeks. And no matter what, to Jason's point about defending against, even if you weren't going to play him, he has the possibility, if it may be at 10%, be at 20% to be an RB1. I put the poll out this morning to get the opinion from the foot clan. I said, Isaac Grindle will be an RB what the rest of the way in RB1, 2 or 3, 64% of you think he'll be an RB2. and then it's basically split between RB1 and RB3. Now, this is a team that is not playing good football. They're not moving the ball the way they want to. They're not winning ball games. They are dealing with injuries at the quarterback position, wide receiver position, linemen, all of it. Yeah, you could see them start shutting players down. You know, as we approach. No, they're not at all. I'm just saying that that could be a potential letdown for Garindo going forward.

But if you're a long-time listener, if you listen during the draft season, you know, when we're getting and we're scouting prospects, I talk about it all the time. There is a combination that almost always works for fantasy football. That is a 220-pound running back who can run sub-4-4. That's what, you know, my Flintstone character, you know, set me apart. Why can't Isaiah Pacheco? Oh, Isaiah Pacheco hit that bar. I couldn't help you, man. I'm sorry. And yeah, give me the, give me the, there where it is. But Isaac Garando is 221 pounds, ran 433. So, Mike, you're talking about the 100 percentile speed score. It just doesn't get better than that. So that size speed combo usually works. You also have what usually works is just the scheme, the Shanahan scheme. You look at end of season running backs, Matt Burrito. Burrito.

Weeks 10 to 15 back in 2018. He had 15.4 fantasy points per game. Rahim Moster was a league winner. Jeff Wilson was a league winner. Elijah Mitchell was a league winner. This year, Jordan Mason, whoever it is. They do well. And I'm not saying this is a top five back. I don't think that. I don't think that's what's going to happen. They don't throw the ball to the running back as much when Christian McCaffrey isn't there. This is a... A weekly starter on the waivers right now. It's a big opportunity. And the O line for San Francisco is still ranked number one in PFFs, run blocking grades. I would say the, we're not going to project him to be top five, but that would not be surprising. No, it's not impossible for him to be an RB1 rest of the way. Yeah, the next three weeks all the way up until championship week. They have the 10th easiest schedule adjusted for running back. Now, they won't, we won't know who else is involved.

until we get to see a game plan without McCaffrey and Mason. Mason's injuries this year, he like, he like missed some time in a game. Then he came back and played, you know, is Patrick Taylor going to be involved? Right. What's the workload going to be like? Is Debo Samuel going to get more involved in the running game? Those are all possibilities, but he's got a bottom third running matchup. So good matchups for him for three straight weeks. before you get Detroit in week 17 and who knows how healthy they'll be. So you need to pick them up if you can afford to do so, whether you're going to play him or not. He's a great opportunity for your team and it's a wild card that just shows up last minute for the playoffs. That was difference makers presented by IMS pet food. When you choose IMS, you can see a difference in your pet with your own eyes, healthy energy in five days, healthy digestion in 10 days and healthy skin and coat in just 25 days.

Feed IMS and see a visible difference. News and notes from around the league. Presented by USAA Insurance. You know, what's ironic is that the 49ers could use some of the IMS for people product that you were thinking about, Mike, because healthy is not how I described that team. No. Into the news, we said it. Mason and McCaffrey to IR, Taysam Hill, out for the year, torn ACL, plus additional damage out for the season. not going to be a difference maker for you. John Harbaugh said Rashad Bateman's knee injury is not considered long term. They're going into the bye week. And he also had comments on Deontay Johnson that were, you brought up some, but. Yeah, this was the second time he sounded horrible. Oh, that was a new one? Yeah, that's not the first time. I thought that was the first one. No, there was another thing where it's like they got to figure things out. Something is off there.

Like, I don't know if Deontze Johnson plays another snap for the Ravens. Oh, I don't think he does. Or turns into like, you know, they figure it out. I don't know. I think my sources tell me he took a dump in the locker room. And that was a no-no. It was a no-no. Was this the head coaching locker room? No, no, no. This was just on the bench, like near the players. No, nobody likes this guy. It's weird, man. And the reason Baltimore made the trade was that they're going to get a compensatory pick for him. That's better than the one they traded away anyways.

So they're not smart. They're not, the quote from John Harbaugh, at this time, I'm going to have to wait. This is regarding comment. There are moving parts we're going to have to figure out and explore. That's not a normal thing. There's not a, there's not moving parts to, here's another answer. Yeah, Deonté is going to be a big role rest of the season, especially with Bateman's injury. Injury. Yeah, Deontay, we're just going to try to continue to get him up to speed and see what he can do for this team. Moving parts is we're trying to figure out which U-Haul to put his stuff in so he can head out the door. Yeah, you just be like, I respect that question. Thank you for asking. I'm not going to answer it. Yeah. Tomorrow will be I don't answer questions about players not on the team. Josh Downs, Shane Steichen said he's unsure he'll return after the buy. Shoulder injury. That's going to be really up in the air.

Dallas Goddard's knee injury, likely to sideline him on a week-to-week basis. And so he's not going to be an option if, like, Devante Smith can't go, which is his really only opportunistic situation. And Romeo Dobbs returned to a limited practice for the Packers. That one matters. It does. Mostly to me, because Dantavian Wicks was actually kind of involved. He had this highest snap count on the year with Dobbs out. He had four catches, I think. It was only for 30 yards. But if Dobbs had been projected to be out yet again for Thursday, I would have actually been looking at Wix as a dart throw. Sure. It is a short week, so he'll have to, he'll clear soon if he's going to be able to go Thursday. We'll have information early this week. And so we still have no news or updates on Chris Olave, who's eligible in week 15 to come back. Yeah, I've heard nothing. Yeah. It's not great.

It's not great. All right, that was today's news and notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. We'll take a break. We'll hit the waiver wire. All right. Let's jump in. Come to the waiver wire. All right. We have waiver wire names to talk about because we've got the Broncos, Colts, commanders, Ravens, Patriots, and Texans, all on by. No Lamar, no Nico Collins, no mixing. No Bo Nix, no Sutton, no Anthony Richardson. No Romandre. No Jaden Daniels. No Terry McLaurin. Oh, your Remandre one was a joke. Yeah, because, I mean, have we even had Remandre? Yeah. A little bit. Yeah, we've had him. A little bit. He feels gross because that team feels gross right now. And because his play has been gross. If you are skipping ahead to the waiver wire section, we talked extensively about Isaac Garando in the difference makers segment.

I was like a few minutes ago. TLDR, get them. Spend it all. Number one. Burn your priority. And he's not rostered in almost any league of relevance. Behind Isaac Garindo is a world of running back dart through. It's worth saying he is out there on some dynasty waivers. So dynasty you might not usually go to the waiver wire. And he'll be rostered in far more of the dynasty leagues. There could be an important asset in certain dynasty leagues. To me, there are two categories of running backs if you go beyond Garindo. And you guys can tell me if you agree, disagree. There is the boring bin theirs and the what if maybes. To me, the what if maybes are Jaliel McLaughlin with the 14 carries. Unfortunately, he's on by though. Right, right. But I mean, if you're looking to the playoffs. Yeah, yeah.

Sincere McCormick. Yeah. Who? Who? Who? No. You don't, you don't remember that name coming through? I do. I do. I'm just saying that people are hearing that for the first time. And they're not sure if you're saying that this McCormick guy is like really heartfelt. Yeah. He's he is sincere. His name is sincere, which is kind of a cool name. It's pretty neat. Sincere McCormick. Uh, 12 for 64 on the ground. He was the predominant running back. Derailed my. Amir Dula was exclusively kind of third down dude and special teams. He's a rookie undrafted free agent. To me, it's just like, we've been around the block with Gus Edwards on the waiver wire. He has been a name mentioned more often than not. And that has led to 6 for 32 against Atlanta and minimal. He is not a pass catcher, right?

So he has to make a big play, and he has done none of that this year. Yeah. He is like a plodder. He has not even getting opportunities necessarily around the goal line. This week against Kansas City, it's a very tough matchup. I do think Gus Edwards is still rosterable. He's going to be, you know, the starting running back for a good Chargers team. But I really want to play the matchups. And, you know, two of the next three weeks for him. Denver and Kansas City are not exciting matchups at all. You're not winning your playoffs with Gus. I would much rather pick up Vidal says soon. Yeah, Kamani Vidal, who only four opportunities, but... You can't start him right now, but just saying over this next month, I mean, if he would be primed to take over. That's what you want to find here, in my opinion. Unless you are just plugging a hole with four points.

That's what you want to try to find. And your opportunities there, you had bigger games from players that you didn't expect. Chris Rodriguez was 13 for 94 in a touchdown. Austin Echler is not back. This team runs the ball a ton and they blow people out of ton. Now he's on by. But just keep him in the back of your mind. The same thing goes with McLaughlin. The same thing goes with sincere McCormick. And then there's the insurance guys, the guys we talk about it every single week. You know, like how we were telling you, make sure you're rostering Jordan Mason. Sometimes things get crazy, but you do want those backups rostered. The two guys that stand out to me personally are Blake Corum, who was getting more involved, had his most workload of the season this last week. And Braylon Allen, as, you know, Brees has dealt with his stuff. And we've talked about what a good running back schedule the Jets have down the stretch.

Those two guys are like I'm still blown away. Tank Biggsby in that category just in case something happens with the ETN or they are looking to just mix it up. Yeah, if Trevor Lawrence was healthy and active, I would be far more excited about Tank, but I think the Mack Jones lead version of the Jaguars. I'm not sure how much you can get, but yeah, I mean, he's in that conversation. You could throw Ray Davis in that conversation, Kenneth Gainwell in that conversation. The deep league player that. Look, this is deep league. But we're back. Kendrae Miller of the New Orleans Saints. Oh, my gosh. Is he? Is he back? That is the appropriate response to just simply chuckle and remember, yes. Coach Riz of the Saints has said that he's going to be designated to return. Remember the story of he was banished to the IR with an injury that was not IR worthy. At least that's what the report was.

by former head coach Dennis Allen, who hated Kendra Miller. Which means he's healthier than we even expect. Mike, this is a great name. That's the whole point is I think he's healthier than someone who's just normally coming off of the IR and moving forward. This team is fully committed to Alvin Camara. This year and next year. That's fantastic. Good for them. But at some point, this team will be officially. not in the running, and then how do you run out? Alvin Camaro. Who's your future next year? Right. Who's old and potentially wearing him down or even hurting him. So I think that Kendri Miller could be worked in over the next few weeks. You had Jamal Williams play. I think you got one carry this last week while Camara's getting 23. He's toast. Williams is toast. And then you have Tayson Hill, who is a really important running back with. That was one of the issues early in the season when we were talking about Kendrae Miller's upside.

was the goal line work might go to Tase him. Well, it won't now. So I think that's the fact that Riz has talked up, Kendra Miller, instead of been the guy just, well, yeah, he didn't talk him up. I mean, I watched the press conference. He just said that he doesn't have a dog house and that it's going to be about consistency and staying healthy. I'm comparing it to former head coach. Yeah. Who's like, how do you think of, what do you think of Kendra Miller? He's like, I. hate that guy. I have no idea. Why did we draft him? He sucks. I hate him. Oh, he's got a little boo-boo. I'm putting him on IR. So, yeah, the Riz loves Kendrae Miller. Compared to Alan, yes. Yeah, but Kendra's been talented. So, yeah, it's a deeper league, but he should be available everywhere. I didn't realize he was eligible this week. I am of the opinion that you can drop Gus Edwards. I think so, too. He's one of the drop candidates. People want an answer about Kareem Hunt. I also think it doesn't