Fantasy Football - Starts of the Week + Week 1 Breakdown, It’s Football Time! - Podcast for 9/4

All right, Jason, Ladd-McConkey, Keenan Allen, Quentin Johnson. Yeah, all three are somewhat in play. Quentin Johnson would just be a dart throw. I would really only start him if you had, you know, Justin Herbert and you're looking for like a stack touchdown. But in week one, you probably don't need to. I believe Keenan Allen is going to be very involved in this offense, especially early in the season. Ladd-Maconke was a breakout sensation last year. You look at... In Brazil last year, that was the Jaden Reed game, right? Where... Everything was broken. Everything was broken. And Reed was so good as that kind of light twitchy guy and people couldn't really get them. Defenders couldn't cut. Exactly. So I'm looking at Ladd McConkey and Xavier Worthy here and just questioning if the field was in a bad condition. Is that kind of like a little extra superpower for those two guys? I mean, Ladd McConkey's in play every single week. Yeah, you're going to start probably either one of them, but I could see a...

slightly more special game for those two players if the field is in the same condition it was last year. A lot of week one matchups are what are we watching for? Yeah. As opposed to giving a bunch of analysis on what to expect? Because McConkey and Allen, what's it going to look like? We haven't seen them play together before. Kansas City gave up the highest percentage of targets to the slot. Is there a lot of Keenan in the slot? I think Glad will still have the slot more than Keenan, but that is exactly what we're going to watch for and find out.

Tampa Bay heading to Atlanta. Mike talked about this game. Vegas line, Tampa minus one and a half. This is in Atlanta. The overrunner is 46 and a half. The line opened up at Tampa two and a half point favorites. Now it's one and a half. Atlanta won both of these games last year. Surprisingly enough when Tampa had the better season. The week five game was the Kirk Cousins 500 yards, very fun game. That was fun. And then Atlanta won 3126 in week eight. We get to see some new stuff here. Michael Pinnock Jr. taking over, starting quarterback. Got all of training camp. You know, Drake London, your start of the week, Mike. Bejohn Robinson, the number one or two or two or two or three pick in a lot of drafts. Darnel Mooney. Is he back out there? Kyle Pitts. It's been all positive about Kyle Pitts. All offseason. Offseasons usually are. Well, let me give you some stats for Mr. Kyle Pitts against Tampa last year. Seven for 88.

Four for 91 and 2. No, that didn't happen. Those are real stat lines. No, they're not. Yep. Sorry, Mike. Kyle Pitts would never do that. And Tampa was really bad against the tight-in position. I think Kyle Pitts is a great start this week. Like I said, this matchup is fascinating of the defenses last year for fantasy purposes were just so bad. So I guess so good for us to play against the fantasy. The bucks were 31st against quarterbacks. The Falcons were 27th against wide receivers. The Bucks were 27th. The Falcons were 29th. So I want pieces. Darnel Mooney is, it feels risky. He was limited on Wednesday with the shoulder. You've got to have a better option with where you drafted Mooney. I agree. But I just, like, he is, he's a player that I have my eye on in this matchup. He going deep against the, the buck secondary.

I think you should expect a couple shots. And if he's playing, I bet he comes down with one of them. One player you may have a start-stit decision with, Emeka Abuka. Start-em. Yep. Well, let's go to the website here. Start-Sit questions that were popular. People have them. Ibuka or Pickens? Oh, gosh. Because Pickens plays tonight. I mean, I would rather play a Bucca myself. I think I'd play a Bucca. I would as well. I think that the... The game script in this one could be a fun game and the Cowboys could be kind of shut down, but it's another one of those. Like if you want to have a guy in opening night, I don't blame you. Jason has never had more, been more overwhelmed with opening night players. I just, because he's so, he's been so obsessed with this game. You are, you are thirsty. Like 90% of your analysis this week has been getting somebody in this game. Just get them in this game. Ricky Pearson. Watch football tonight to have fun. Ricky Pearsall or Ibuka. This is another popular start sit question. Man. Mike.

Which one would you play? I would play Abuka. Cortland Sutton against Tennessee or Abuka against Atlanta? Okay. So at the running back position, start Bijan, start Bucky, the end, right? Start Mike Gavin, start Drake London, and we broke down the tight ends already. At quarterback Baker, we'll get to see if you can continue the 40-plus touchdown pace he had last year. Yeah, I mean, I will be keeping an eye on Rashad White, Sean Tucker situation. You're not starting them necessarily, but we can't forget Rashad White was, he was an RB2 last year. Caught a lot of passes. And so if he's, if he is involved, this is a pretty banged up. I feel like right now at the beginning of the year, Tristan Worf's, K. Dotten might play. Don't know. Obviously, Chris Godwin won't. McMillan won't. So I'm curious where the ball goes for the Buccaneers.

The Cincinnati Bengals take on the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, since the five and a half point road favorites over under a beautiful 48.5. I will say this. Like I think Burrow, no matter what, will be great in this game. I think Chase Higgins, you start the stars of Cincinnati. But I don't know. Andy's almost upset of the week. That's why I was surprised about the Joe Burroughs start of the week. I think it's cool. I mean, look at the over-under. It's 48 and a half. Bangle's going to bungle. Look, we have, you've got those survivor pools. We've got our picks thing that we do here in the office. This game terrifies me. And it's not, it's not anything to do with Burrow. I think Burrow will be great. I think this will be a high scoring game. I just don't know if at home with Joe Flacco, the Bengals' defense can stop them. I think there's a chance that Joe Flacco.

can do whatever he wants against Cincinnati's defense. You've got to remember, this was a defense that was almost dead last against quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends. Najoku has something to say about that, right? Yes. And Jerry Judy ended the year from weeks 11 through 18, averaging 101 receiving yards of game and 17 fantasy points. If you asked me the RJ Harvey Judy question yesterday, which someone did, I answered Judy because of this matchup. I don't know if, like, if this game was. 34-31 or something. You know what I mean? Something crazy like that. I would not be shocked if it was a full-on offensive explosion. I completely agree. The Browns have a really good defense, but obviously the Bengals are one of those offenses that should be able to overcome that. And if they do, it should be a back and forth affair. I love that this game is in Cleveland. And I want a lot of pieces in there. When it comes to the receiving options for Joe Flacco, Najoku is a must start. I think Jerry Judy is.

basically a must start. I think he's going to get a ton of targets against this bangles. Tillman should be fine. And Tillman, I am absolutely fine starting this week. I look at where I've got him in my rankings. I've got him over a Bateman of a Hollywood Brown, over personally a Josh Downs and Jaden Reed with kind of them coming off being a little bit. I mean, I'm still on the I don't blame you. I think that's all right. I'm still on the Pittman as the number one target, but I know I'm in the minority there. But I do think Cedric Tillman is startable this week.

Yeah, Jason's got Pittman in three leagues. I do. Doesn't feel great, but he was a late bit. Do we even have that anymore? Let me see. Archives. Archives. Look at the cemetery. Yeah. Come on. Do it for the drop. All right, Jamar Chase Higgins, of course, Chase Brown. Let's see. him back out on the field. He was the RB 5 in fantasy from week 9 on last year. It's not a complicated start situation in this game. It's just going to be a fun game, I think. Yep, I agree. And then there are situations. There are leagues out there where Jerome Ford. Again, I talked about not. Would you play Ford or Samson? I think I lean forward right now. But again, I would love to get some clarity. If you don't get any clarity, then I would just... You like Dobbins more than those two guys?

Oh, man. This week. I'm thinking of all the ambiguous situation. You like Warren more than those guys. I assume. Jalen Warren. Yeah, I think so. Echler more than those geese. Yes, for sure. Those geese? I don't know what that means. Um, okay. So Ford, do you like a little more than Samson? Yeah. All right. All right. Yeah, we're going to see what happens. Uh, still no word on Judkins, right? No, no word on Judkins. I, I saw several reports saying that a deal was basically imminent. They were all from people that have. him on their fantasy team no no but they they were just all from people that did not really have a following and i i i didn't view any of them as a trusted source whatsoever so i'm just kind of ignoring it but it was in the back of my what i loved about the quote was he could sign a contract as soon as next week like i think i think the understanding is he could sign at any day because they drafted him so yeah he could sign his

He could be signed right now when you're listening to this. He might sign him four weeks. Who knows? Yeah, there's not a lot of like accountability or worry with a report like that. Yeah. I need to do some of that stuff. I need to find like 10 or 12 phrases that are like if it goes right, it looks good for me. And if it goes wrong, it doesn't matter. Like Joe Burrow could throw as many or more as five passes this week. Or I need to get one of those Pellasero deals and make some cash. Oh, man. Just have the agents slide you a little. Yeah.

Look, I found money. Our Twitter accounts are available for reporting for low-end players. Not yours, Mike. Not yours. You stand on, you're a man of principle. Journalistic integrity. Yeah. Until I see this money. Miami. Taking on the Indianapolis Colts. We talked about this game earlier. Vegas line indie minus one and a half. So it's a close one. Over unders 47 and a half. Right out of the gate before I get into the breakdown. I'm just curious who you think will win the game. The Colts? I did pick the Colts, yeah. Yeah, I'm with you. I think it's going to be the Colts. Both of these coaches are on the proverbial hot seat. You know, McDaniel is, they're running out of patience there. And if the Colts don't get it going after what happened with Richardson, Shane Steichen could be in the same boat. In fact, the first NFL coach fired odds. I have them. Okay. Mike McDaniel's number one.

Brian Dable number two, Shane Stuyken three, Canales, four, Stafonsky, five. I know it's football. It's a hardcore business. And we talk about guys getting fired. And in fact, celebrate some guys getting fired. But this just seems mean. Right. Yeah. Like, you could bet money on who's going to lose their job. Is that a form of hedge for the coach themselves? Oh, what if they put half their salary on them getting fired? I mean, the way McDaniel. I guess they get paid no matter what, right? They don't have no time playtime incentive. I mean, the fired coach money, that's good money. I do. Yeah, really. I do love this game for fantasy purposes. I do as well. You look at the Colts defense last year, atrocious against almost every position. And while the Dolphins defense was pretty good last year and they are getting some pieces back on the D line, their secondary.

It just got decimated this off season. They don't have one. They got rid of Jalen Ramsey. So I think that you're going to have a back and forth affair here where whoever's going to win this game is going to score a lot of points. And so you look at if you do like Josh Downs, if you're not worried at all about the health or Pittman, Tyler Warren's start of the week, Tyreek Waddle, there's a lot of pieces here that I think you can play. Biggest reason for loving Warren with the announcement of Jones being quarterback is the fact that over the last couple of years, nobody targets the short area of the field more than Daniel Jones. It's just his. He doesn't throw it deep. He doesn't have a great deep ball. 51% of his pass attempts within nine yards. That's the highest rate of any quarterback over the last two years. I think that's where Tyler Warren's going to like really, really excel. And I honestly think.

There are going to be times this year that Jonathan Taylor owners are very upset. Because I think Tyler Warren is going to get push opportunities multiple times this year instead of Jonathan Taylor getting the ball on the goal line because he's that good at, you know, taking the ball from behind center. Maybe he'll throw the ball once. Yeah, hopefully it's made up for, oh, I hope not. He's a lefty. I hate watching lefties throw. Well, let's talk about Tua then. Weird, man. Weird. Weird. Tua is 4-0 in week once. So he's never lost a week one. The dolphins usually do get off to a hotter start and then kind of fold later in the season, this version of the dolphins. Tua being healthy is good. I think they've got better offensive pieces. You just said you hate lefties throwing?

You just don't like the way it looks. And when I was a receiver, I hated catching the backwards spin. He's an armist. Yeah. And I'm left-handed. So it's like, you know. Michael Vic, too? I just didn't like the, yeah. I would say run it. Mike, Vic threw the prettiest pass in the history of the national football league. Once it's out of his hand. Yeah, if you're just looking at the ball on the camera, beautiful ball. I mean, it's spinning the wrong way. Jason watches all of the Dolphins games in a mirror. So weird. Just to assuage his troubles. All right.

Tua's not been a, like a stat consideration or a fantasy consideration by anybody at all. On this week's Dynasty Pod, we were breaking down, you know, like, do you need to tear? Yeah, what hand do you write with, Jason? Left. Okay. We were breaking down, like, do you need to tear up your quarterback? And you're talking about QB2s? And it was like, I brought up Tua because he is just, the public opinion on Tua is so soured when. You know, we're not that far removed from. Tool was the hotness. And last year... Didn't I trade him to you last year? Or was it two years ago? That was two years ago. Okay. Yeah, he was the quarterback nine. He was the hotness. I mean, he has, yes, he has the concussion worries and concerns. But it's like when he played, you know, week one last year, too, it was fine. And then he gets hurt and comes back and he had like a month stretch where he was just dominating for fantasy purposes. So I'm, this is not a...

Play Tua, even though the matchup is an area where I think you'd end up being okay. But it's just keep an eye on the dolphins. They are a team that are, they're a must watch team for week one of what do they look like? Do they do the same garbage they were doing last year where they, it's just everything is a check down to A-chan and whoever the tight end is, which Darren Waller, the Walleris still. apparently ramping up because he didn't practice on Wednesday. But it's not impossible that this team tears everything up from last year and they go back and they're just chucking it downfield. Well, H.N.'s in your lineup. John the Taylor's in your lineup. Tyreek and Waddle, I imagine you're playing them. Tyreek dropped in a lot of our drafts. I think people are just afraid of the range of outcomes for Tyreek Hill. But again, if he, you know, he's not a captain anymore, he says he's got to prove himself again.

And we'll see if he's interested in doing that or fading away into, you know, retirement. Yep. And then Tyler Warren started the week. Downs and Pittman, you know, you said like the game, I'm a much bigger fan of downs. So I'm very comfortable flexing downs in this one. But I'm probably a little bit hesitant where you drafted these guys compared to other players. Like are you starting downs or Debo? I'd probably go Debo. Debo. Downs are golden? I'd probably take the shot on Golden. Yeah, I want that week one. A dunzee. I'd probably go with a dunes. I'd play downs over a dunz. Yeah, I think I lean on that side as well. Interesting. And just for leagues that need it, Olly Gordon, if he wasn't drafted, is he is a priority stash for week one to just see what happens. He could be playing every play or none of the plays.

Yeah, no, if Ollie Gordon is undrafted in any of your leagues before kickoff, absolutely he should be rostered. And I also think Devon A-chan is going to get 10 targets this game. Okay. Yeah, it's nice that he's back and hopefully he can stay healthy as he was banged up. So we'll take a break and jump into some more matchups. Foot Clan, draft day is on the way. You got your rankings. You got those sleepers. You got you can't miss picks. But you know what? You need sometimes. a backup because well even the best fantasy football team in the world doesn't go according to plan sometimes those starters they don't show up wouldn't it be great if you could have the same peace of mind everywhere else with progressive you get more than just a policy you get a playbook full of coverage options you can count on for your home and for your auto want to customize your protection no problem you can build your coverage just like your fantasy team making sure that you have the right players in every position and a backup when you need it most

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Okay, Josh McDaniel's back in New England, former head coach of the Raiders. Both of these offenses, one of the things that was troubling and a problem for fantasy last year was not having production at wide receiver. Once Devante Adams departed, it was always hard to predict. Jacobi Myers was the most reliable receiver for the Raiders last year. You can't really name a wide receiver in New England that was reliable. You are supposed to see Stefan Diggs out there. I just got. I'll start the question around Stefan Diggs for week one. And my biggest worry about Diggs in week one is just if he gets a full allotment of snaps. Because they've kind of equivocated on his availability. He said he hopes he's not. Yeah, he's coming back. I like, would you play Diggs or Keenan? Would you play Diggs or Jerome Ford? I like Keenon. I like Ford there. I like Downs as well. Simply. More than Diggs. More than Diggs. Diggs is great.

he is someone that i would love to have pieces of and and maybe he is a hundred percent of the whole thing nice um but the the issue here you know there was a big question the whole off season will he be ready week one right and it seemed like he should be and if he is full go full allotment of snaps i think week two and on we're going to be playing him every single week but you're right andy there's there's questions to whether or not he will be limited game plan wise and i just I don't want to take that shot week one. All right. Well, Drake May, are you comfortable playing Drake May in this game? It's interesting because with Diggs being kind of questionable, and then it's Demerio Douglas, it's Matt Collins, it's Kyle Williams, it's Hunter Henry, it's Trayvion Henderson. There we go. It seems like Drake May could be good, but we might not know the weapons. If Diggs plays half of the snaps, that's still an upgrade for, you know, the times he's on the field for Drake May. Trayvion Henderson's going to be great.

So you expect Henderson to hit the ground running in week one? I think Henderson's going to be great whenever he receives a pass. And so that will go to Drake May. You know, if Henderson ends up with four receptions for, you know, 55 yards. You're the one who made up the number. Yeah. That's why. You know, all that goes to Drake May. And Drake May runs the ball a lot. This isn't a super scary defense. You've got Max Crosby, but it's, you know, the last year, if you look at it, the, you know, the Raiders were ranked 22nd against quarterback, so it's not too scary and their favorite. Drake May or Dak tonight? It's over tonight, baby. Okay, but who scores more points? You asked the wrong person. Yeah, who's, I'm still going to go deck. But who scores more points? Drake May or Trevor Lawrence against Carolina. I like.

that Trevor Lawrence game. So I'm going to go to T-Law. Okay. Well, we'll get to see Vrable first game as the Patriots head coach. It could be a lot of the running game. Trayvion Anderson, though, you feel comfortable with RB3 on the roster, Mike? Yeah, you're, I think things could definitely start slower, but the fact that he is a receiving specialist helps the, it helps the fantasy situation. If he doesn't get 10 plus carries, it's not. a disaster because he could get four receptions. I do think Henderson is someone that could get off to a slow start. So he'll be good in the receiving game, but how many carries do you think he gets? Genuinely. Seven? Seven. Yeah. And that's scary to me for, you know, a player that, like, I would rather play Tony Pollard, who you drafted later in week one without.

You know, without Taj. Yeah, I understand. Ashton Genti, first time we get to see Ashton Genti on an NFL field. Expectations for this one. A lot of volume. Yeah, the matchup isn't too scary. The Patriots defense is improved from last year, but they were terrible last year, so they could still be improved and bad. Genti, the issue here is just, do the Raiders score enough? This is what we were saying when you were taking them at the end of the first round. Do they score enough most weeks any week? It was only 43.5 point over under to where you're happy with touchdown opportunities. Other receiving options for the Raiders, Jacoby Myers has been unhappy. Seemed like they were. She's his quote? Yes, that was so good. I did not. He was asked like what, you know, everything, how did it go? You're back to the team. He's like, yeah, I asked for the trade and they said no. That's just right. He was just like defeated? Yeah.

Just like so, I'm here. He was just doing a last second, proud money grab. I actually think, you know, he could be a trade candidate mid-season. He could. They, if they like what they see from Amari Cooper, from. They won't. Dante Thornton, Jr., who I'm really excited about. They could. And then Jack Besch could get worked in, and they might be done with Jacoby Myers at some point. Jacoby is playable, though. He's a wide receiver three type. All right. Any, you know, play Brock Bowers, please. Cardinals are going to take on the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Cardinals six and a half point road favorites. The overrunners just 43, giving Arizona 25 points. The Saints just 18 and a half. Dome game. Very rare to have a spread of six and a half for a road team. It is the largest week one.

spread for Arizona since 1994. They are not expected to be a juggernaut. This is not an Arizona Cardinal spread. This is a Saints spread. This is like start your Cardinals DST, start your running backs against the Saints every week. I don't see how the Saints can really be very competitive this season. Yeah, I always get scared saying stuff like that out loud because it's the way it looks right now. But you also... If you want a different direction, then you talk about Kellyn Moore, the way a team plays for their head coach for the very first time, first start. At home, you know, at the Superdome, with the crowd, a lot of momentum, a lot of noise. Pace of play. Yeah. I think there are some ways that this game is more competitive than we'd expect because the NFL, it bends on a player or two. But at least on paper, it looks like Arizona is going to be in the...

in a good position here. Kyler, then, you know, the Saints defense was pretty bad last year. You'd mention how much they struggled against the run, so James Connor, of course. But, you know, Kyler's greatest purpose this year, in my mind and fantasy is providing for Marvin Harrison and Tray McBride. Yep. And so we'd love to see Marvin Harrison get off to a really strong start, more layup type of targets, not everything downfield. But we know Tray McBride is going to get his... What is the reception lines at six and a half? Whoa! So those are the players of note for Arizona. Yeah, it's not much to question on the Arizona side. You're going to be watching to see the split between James Connor Trey Benson. There's been some reports that it's going to be more of a 1A, B type of situation. It wasn't last year. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still not this year, but you'll keep your eyes open for that.