Starts of the Week + Week 4 Breakdown, Steel Underpants - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/29

Over Gerald Everett, I would do that too, I think. Yeah, I mean, they're pretty similar, and we haven't seen Everett take over a game. Just tell me which guy's going to score, Mike. No. Okay. Kyle Pitts. If you want to know, make sure you hit me up on Twitter. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, great. Save it my best material. At FF Hitman, yeah. Amari Cooper, Drake, London. Amari Cooper is in your lineup. Yes. They both are. If I had to pick, which would, that's, I mean, a. a wild situation. I'd go with Amari Cooper. As would I. But Drake London is an every week guy. All right, quick break. Back with some more matchups. The Washington Commanders. Manders. Yes, thank you. I was waiting for it. I don't respond to... Prompts? No, I don't respond to their improper name. Okay. You just ignore it. At the Dallas Cowboys, who are two and one, commanders one and two, Draft King Sportsbook line, Dallas minus three. The overrunner is just 41.

Very different situations right now for these two teams. Last week was, it was rather disgusting for the commander's offense. Carson Wentz, nine sacks, held under the ball, and yet the Eagles defense could be a top five defense. Sure, but you saw pretty good weeks from Carson wins the previous two weeks, but Dallas is defense. That's where I was going to say. If you take nine sacks, like the Eagles are better defense to the Cowboys, but the Cowboys, like their ability to get after the quarterback is not bad. So I would expect Carson Wentz will be on the ground quite a few times. Yeah, I'm not.

I'm not in on Carson Wins on the road in Dallas. Agreed. I would rather play Cooper Rush. It just makes it more difficult to kind of make that decision. In a bad matchup for Carson Wins, you no longer are in that, well, I'm just playing McLaren. I'm just playing Curtis Samuel. I'm just playing John Donson. It feels more like only one of these guys is going to have a game that you appreciate for fantasy. So I guess my question is, are you trying to avoid them? They're all outside our top 24 this week. I'm not going to avoid Curtis Samuel's 13 opportunities a game. He's the guy. He doesn't have the explosive plays like McLaren and Dotson, but he is the number one target for Carson Went. So I would go after that. I'm still fine playing McLaurin because each and every week he can hit that huge play. Dotson, man, he.

He has the ability. We've already seen it. But like wide receiver, wow, wide receiver 94 this past week. He did see eight targets, which was 19% of the targets. So let me, let me try and find some names here for the Jahan Dotson experiment. So let's go. You're going to chase what Robert Woods did? No. Sorry, did it? Was there more to that? No. No, there was, there really wasn't. No, I'm going to play the rookie. The Dorch against Carolina. No, I'm going to play the rookie. Okay. The aforementioned Adam Thielen. I'll play Thielen. Okay. Yeah. You found the line. But it's risky because the risk of being, like, we know the opportunities are going to be higher for Samuel, and we know that McLaurin is going to get them as well. So you're looking at, you need a big play. You need one big player. You could end up at that wide receiver.

90 something like you said. Yep. Antonio Gibson, Mike, we talked about panic button players on Spotify live yesterday. You mentioned Antonio Gibson and I don't know if you have the stat in front of you, but just the opportunities per game reduction for Gibson. So Antonio Gibson has gone 64% of the snaps to 54% of the snaps to 44% of the snaps. Okay. I mean, I'm no mathematician, but. That sounds like 34% of the snaps coming up, but not joking, the opportunities for Antonio Gibson have gone down. They have correlated with the snaps going down. This matchup on the road against Dallas, I expect them to be trailing, which is that's not a good situation for Gibson, which means that if you are in, if you're in a tight spot with the running back position, Jady McKissick, Mr. Smooches himself.

Thank you. That was quick. I mean, when the script is negative, he gets a bunch of targets. And when he's getting targets and Tony Gibson's on the bench. So on the other side, Mike, give me your reaction to last week and the Ezekiel Elliott situation. Because I think hopes of Zeke being healthy enough to kind of take Tony Pollard out of the equation have not come true. It's going to be. Pretty close to a 50-50 timeshare, but the scoring upside still remains with Zeke. Pollard far more likely to hit a 40-yard touchdown, but, I mean, banking on a 40-yard rushing touchdown is, I mean, that's a fool's errand. So I do think that there are going to be scoring opportunities for the Cowboys. I'd put the touchdown opportunity for Zeke pretty high this week. So I would be playing Zeke. Pollard is a, he.

It's like, would you play Tony Pollard or Jady McKissick? I'd play Pollard. As would I. Okay. What about Tony Pollard or Devin Singletary? Oh, man. I'd chase the, I'd chase the volume. And I want to be in that Ravens matchup with the bills. So I'll go Singertory. What about Rashop Penny, whom I have, you know, he kind of wrestled snaps back last week? I think I'll go Pollard. Ramandre? Remandre. Okay. CD Lamb, 33% target share this year. Wow. We're going to talk about Noah Brown later. We are. Okay. Okay. You've been watching Noah Brown closely. I'm just, I'm trying to give people some deeper options. That's great. Seattle, at one and two, they take on the Detroit Lions at one and two in Detroit, the Draft King Sportsbook line here, Detroit minus four. The over under is 48. The total opened up at 50, but Detroit, the injury situation, DeAndre Swift, is going to miss this game most likely. I guess he hasn't been ruled out yet.

Not yet. That just makes it really annoying for fantasy players who have DeAndre Swift because they can't put him in the IR. Yes. And then Jamal Williams, we expect to get the start at running back at home and is set up this week against a Seattle defense giving up 24.8 points per game to opposing fantasy running backs. The question mark, the other injury that's kind of involved here is the Alman Ross St. Brown injury. So if he's out, is DJ Chark a real start for you? Because I think he'll be fine. Yeah, he becomes, he becomes interesting because he should be safe for targets. Looking at the way that offenses have gone after Seattle, though, it's been, you know, scoring on the ground. 29th, like you said, against running backs, but seventh, giving up only 23 points to fantasy-wide receivers because they're just, they're bleeding out on the ground. And Detroit is a very high-tee team, and they want to, like, that's.

They'd prefer to take it to a team that way. So DJ Chark, I'm not expecting him to all of a sudden elevate into like an eight plus target player, but big playability should see five targets or so. So he's in consideration for a flex. I liked the necessary T.J. Hawkinson situation in Detroit this week. Yes. But the injury. He's also banged up. And so. I feel like, you know, at the tight-in position, if I could play an Injoku, a Tunian, an Everett, I'm playing those guys over Hawkinson despite the opportunity. Really? Really? I'm worried. I totally get it. We still have a couple days, though. Yes. Okay. Well, then let me not say that definitively. Thank you. Let me say that if he's still limited at practice, missing practices, I guess I'm scared to commit.

If he is, as long as he practices on Friday, I would play him with full confidence. Okay. Over Injoku? Yes. Okay. All right, Mike. All right. You love Hawk. You love Hawkinson. I like Hawkinson when Amon Ross St. Brown is not playing. On the other side, Rashad Penny, is he a sneaky start this week? If you look at the lion's defense, 30th against quarterbacks, 32nd against running backs, 26 against wide receivers, 24th against tight ends. Like, they're giving up 20 plus points to Seattle. That's happening. And Seattle's not a good offense, but they're going to give up 20 points. It's hard for me not to see Penny being involved in that. Rashad Penny in this matchup against Detroit or Cam Acres against San Francisco. Well, don't ask me questions. I'm the host. Not right now. You're not. Jay? Jay Gris says he would go with. He went Khalil Herbert. Of course. But who'd you play? Cam Acres, who?

No, I'm either looks good or the Cardinals made him look good. No, San Francisco's defense is too good. I'm playing Rashad Penny in the plus matchup. J.K. Dobbins in his second appearance back or Rashad Penny. Penny. Penny, until Dobbins proves something to me. Okay. Tony Pollard. Penny. Okay. Yeah. So. E, man. That's that. Hey, man. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Okay. Mackaf. Why did we Fonzie? I don't know. Because it's just me and you, Mike. Hey. D.K. Metcalf, I think you saw a commitment to giving him opportunities last week. It paid off, and Detroit's not going to stop that. Although, they've got a good young cornerback. Yes, they do. Akuta, right? Yes. So not big enough, though. It's to stop D.K. Metcalf from doing the kinds of things that give him fantasy points, in my opinion. Yeah, we'll see. The wide receiver twos have done pretty well.

What's Tyler Lockett? Those aren't his numbers. That's what he's in the last two weeks. Really? What? Why aren't we paying attention to Tyler Lockett? Are you looking at 2021? I'll look right now. Yeah, no. So the numbers, ladies and gentlemen, 11 targets. So 11 targets each of the last two weeks has turned into 9 for 107 and 9 for 76. I. And I just said, you know, the wide receiver twos are doing all right against the Detroit Lions. That makes Tyler Lockett. A flex play. It's interesting. Boy, I've tried not to look at the Seattle offense with my eyeballs. Wow. They've tried to make you look away too. Noah Fant should be good for four for 24 in this game. Do not play Noah Fant. If you want four for 24, though, what if you need that? I would play Big Montana over Noah Fant. Who would you play?

Big Montana, aka Will Disley. Yeah, baby. There he is. The Disney's looking Montana strong these days. Bigger plays from a bigger man. It doesn't get old. Not for me. Maybe for the listeners. The Titans at 1 and 2 take on the 1-1-1-1 Colts. You've got a battle between the best two running backs in football, I think. Nick Chubb takes a... takes offense to that comment. Yes, he does. But you had Derek Henry come out today and say, you know, Jonathan Taylor's one of, if not the best running back in the game. Henry last week bounced back, averaging 25 rush attempts a game. So both of those players are always in your lineup. Nice to see the bounce back game from Henry. Both of these offenses need these guys. They're just too crucial to what they do on offense. I think we see the bounce back from Jonathan Taylor, assuming that he's healthy.

One can hope. Yes. And then, yeah, the Titans defense, my goodness. 27th against quarterbacks, running backs, 29th against wide receivers. It's a good way to start one and two on the season. And this game's in Indianapolis. That's not easy to do. Oh, man, English is stupid. In Indianapolis, the Draft King Sportsbook line is Indianapolis minus three here. So they're favored. The overrunners just 43. I think we're waiting for the big game from Traylen Berks. I don't know if it's going to come this week. Elijah Moore or Traylon Burks. I mean, I'm not going. I'll go Trailing Berks. Trailing Berks or Zayette Jones against Philadelphia Eagles? That one's tougher, but I'll go Traylin Berks. This is, you named players I'm betting on who's going to score and I'm just, it's going to come for Traylin Berks at some point here soon. Would you trade Alan Robinson for Traylen Berks right now?

was that an answer does that suffice it was we heard it um so my answer would be if i am two and one or three and oh yes okay if i am one and two or winless no i think in the short term robinson is probably a safer probably Probably a safer floor for a few weeks. Just saying, I, probably maybe. We all like Birx and we're all trying to figure out how to get him. I think that's a, I think that could go through. I, you know, we talked about it on Spotify Live, like the panic button player for me and for Jason was Alan Robinson. So, I mean, we're three weeks into the season. And it's probably worth a two second sidebar on Alan Robinson because he was my, my guy. This was a player that was drafted, not just.

through, you know, by me in a lot of leagues, but by fantasy players everywhere. This was a kind of a third round pick, right? I mean, Al Rob is... Not that high, but like... Fifth. Okay. Yeah. But, I mean, he was highly drafted. And so you expected more, and right now it's that the target totals are just... They're throwing cold water. They're making them a touchdown dependent outside wide receiver. And so could it get better? Yeah, I'm just... I'm nervous. So Traylen Berks is somebody that I think will be getting more and more opportunities. They don't have anybody physically gifted like him on this offense other than, you know, Robert Woods isn't going to get it done. Kyle Phillips is not going to get it done. So Austin Hooper, no, it's going to be up to Traylen Berks to change this offense. And Derek Henry being looking himself should give him more opportunities. Sure. Michael Pittman? Yep. You starred him? Yep. Alec Pierce. I want to mention his name because he came in last week.

was instantly the number two in the offense. Paris Campbell's offered nothing. They haven't had big games from Ashton Doolin. So Alec Pierce is another rookie who highly touted. Frank Reich loves him. And like he could be a Pittman light if this offense gets going. It was, it was encouraging. 61 yards last week. Yeah. So he was three for 61, had five targets and played 45% of the snaps on his way back from the. the injury. So he is a very interesting name, especially in a deeper league to stash before the weekend. And then it's just not predictable right now at the tight end position for Indianapolis. Because Mojali Cox, Kylan Granson, and then last week it was Jayloni Woods. He's real big. Yeah, I mean, I don't know what we do with Gigantor because they got a bigger one. Jolani Woods is six, seven. I mean, the,

The thought, and watch him. I mean, you can't guard that. So that's why he scored twice last week. Yeah. And the, the funny thing is, is the thought process to me of like, you have Moe Alley Cox and your team, and you think to yourself in the draft, right? I don't remember what round. It was the third round. Woods was a third round. Third round pick because you wanted more gigantic tight ends. So. Yeah, I mean. It really... Mo Alley's still listed at 6.5, though, not his true height. Right, yeah. Of 8.3. 83 is what we have him down for. The Bears at 2-1 take on the... No, go back. Go back. Do it again. What did I miss? You didn't read the Chicago Bears again. Oh, gosh. The Bears at 2-1. The Bears are 2-1. Well, this game's perfect because it's against the 2-1 Giants. One of these teams... Yeah, one of them's going to be 3-1. 3.1. Well, maybe. They could tie.

The overrunner is just 39 and a half. And the Draft King Sportsbook line here at the Giants minus 3. That is fun. But yeah, at the end of this week, we'll go into matchups next week and we'll say the 3-1 Giants or the 3-1 Bears. So if you're a fan of 80s football, get ready. These two teams, it's not been pretty on the offensive side of the ball. The defenses have been keeping them in the game. You don't start Justin Fields or Daniel Jones. Well, you start Justin Fields if you're super cool with 99 passing yards because that's what he's putting up. Somebody told me about negative fantasy football leagues. Have you ever heard about this? Where you're drafting players to put up the lowest points? You're trying to draft players to fail. Man. You know, interceptions, taking sacks, completion percentage. I've heard it. This game would be perfect for that. It would. David Montgomery.

Day-to-day was what I heard yesterday for his injury status. Khalil Herbert, he's going to have an opportunity against the Giants defense that's 24th against the run. So if David Montgomery is back, because it's been day-to-day, I presume that you're just going to put David Montgomery in. Certainly. The question is, with the performance, massive performance from Herbert last week and David Montgomery recovering from an injury, how do you see that split? shaking out is like is it Herbert still in play even if Montgomery's active he would be a flex play in the category of just above like a Melvin Gordon to me okay so when you look at committee situations of that of that kind you know I'm not putting them above an AJ Dylan I'm going to put him above a Melvin Gordon Darrell Henderson yep above that okay um because Monty could get knocked right out of the game again and the matchups really good like last week we loved Monty because the matchup was great and the Herbert

smashed and it's good again. Sequin, Sequin's the real deal. I mean, he looks 100% back, the burst on every touch. You feel, what made Sequin wonderful in his early years was every touch, you just felt like he could take it to the house. Because he could. And he can now. So he is always in your lineup. Mooney, no thank you. Commette. No thank you. Yeah, we're not talking about that. Daniel Bellinger. His targets, his snaps, the rookie tight end for the Giants, increasing every week. I still think you need to keep your eyes on him. Sure. They don't have pass-catching weapons. Sterling Shepard out for the year. Kenny Gulliday, out for his career. Cadarius, Tony Wondale Robinson, both hurt. Don't know if they're back this week. Even if they're back, you don't play them. So spot start Richie James, if they both miss. I mean, I guess. 20% target share for Richie James. I think you can. I mean, David Sills, those are both.

dart throws in GPPs. Sure. I don't want to talk about this game anymore. Let's go. Move on. Jacksonville, two and one, taking on the Eagles at three and a one of two undefeated teams remaining. Drafking Sportsbook line here, Philadelphia minus six and a half. The overrunner is 46 points that gives Philly an implied point total of 26.3. I believe they've been at 24, two weeks in a row and just ignored the second half scoring wise. Is that right? Is that final scores? Their defense has been really, really good. And that doesn't mean they haven't given up any fantasy points over the course of the game. Like they've given up almost 27 to wide receivers that's middle of the pack, middle of the pack against tight ends, actually bottom third against running backs. But they are making plays. And they are getting after the quarterback and they are getting turnovers. So.

You know, and they haven't been able, they haven't been given up points to the opposing fantasy quarterback. So I don't like Jacksonville as a young team having to go on the road and try to do something here against this defense. And neither does do the sports books. Yeah, I was talking to a friend about Trevor Lawrence versus Russell Wilson this week. And I'm like, that is a, that is a tough situation of Trevor Lawrence and the Jags. They look like, they look for real. But. Going on the road against this Philadelphia Eagles defense. Meanwhile, Russ, they look real, as in real bad. So can you play Russ in a juicy matchup against the Raiders or Trevor Lawrence? I lean going Russ in that situation. But this is a, when you're looking at the future of Russ for the season and the future of Lawrence for the season, this is a huge week. Yeah, I agree. And, you know, you do have the.

returning to Philadelphia Doug Peterson situation. Oh, revenge game. I think the discipline we've seen from the Jacksonville offense has been impressive. I don't think that you can turn away from players that have produced. I agree. So James Robinson, Christian Kirk, are the two locks? I am concerned for Robinson this week. Upsidewise? Yes. Yeah, well. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about you. And he has, everyone who has bet against James Robinson has had to empty their pockets. I know. And feel like a fool. I play him over Miles Sanders in the game. The wild thing for James Robinson this year is he is feast or famine right now. And that's insane for Robinson off the Achilles and never really had.

The high end speed of like a Sequin Barclay, who's like, Barclay can also be that feast famine where he's running for two, runs for two, runs for two, 40-yard touchdown. Like that's what Robinson has been doing on the year. And it's, it's sustained him through three weeks. When you get enough opportunities, 19.3 a game, inevitably good players make a good play. And that's kind of what it's added up to. Would you play him over Miles Sanders? I... There's no way I would play Miles Sanders over Robinson. No, I would... I'd still go with Robinson, but I'm concerned. Kirk, you keep playing him. Devante Smith. After last week's game... Absolutely. You have to play him. The last two weeks. Yeah, AJ Brown, of course. Dallas Goddard, yes. I mean, there's a lot of yeses in this Philadelphia side. Travis E.T.N., Zay Jones, you know, it's hard to chase Zay Jones in this matchup under 20-point projection, but you could probably do worse. Would you play Zay Jones or Dobbs? Oh, I...

We need to hear the status of Christian Watson because I might want to go with the upside of the rookie. But the usage for Zay Jones has been fine. I mean, 24% of the targets week one, 29% last week. Zay Jones is a pretty safe floor play. The rankings, all of them, the Sarts It tool on the website, the Fantasy Footballers.com, more matchups tomorrow. But before we end this show, we've got our starts. Starts of the week. So, Mike, I'm going to let you kick it off at the quarterback position. We'll share Jason starts of the week as well. I'm putting on the steel underpants this week, ladies and gentlemen, Russell Wilson. Oh, boy. With the whisper of perhaps for the last time. Limited. Like I said, this is, this will be very telling for the Denver Broncos and Russ. They are taking on the Raiders who have given up a top eight.

or stronger fantasy quarterback play each of the three weeks. Russ hasn't thrown a red zone touchdown just yet, and that should turn around, like just the positive regression overall for this team in this matchup against the Raiders. I'm going with Russ. Are you getting yourself one of them Danger Witches? Oh. That hasn't come up on the show yet, has it? No. The sandwich commercial. No. He's pretty troubling. Is he a robot? You want me to tell you about it? Oh, no. That's too dangerous. Too dangerous. Got to eat the Danger Witch. Jason started the week. Did he call it the Danger Witch? Oh, you bet he did. Yeah, I'm seeing nods everywhere. Jason started the week at quarterback is Joe Burrow against Miami tonight. I like it. And then mine is going to be. Do we have the drop? Of course we do. He's the king. Can you hit that drop there, Al? It's King Goffrey. Someone hit him. Yeah, there you.

Jared golf against Seattle, seven touchdown passes through three games, five of those inside the red zone, throwing at a much higher rate inside the 20. We need Al Monra back out there. All right. Starts to get sketched without Al Munra. The Steel Underpants Tour of the week continues. Okay. I'm going Breece Hall. Wow. Against the Steelers, only two defense. You did have a danger witch. Only two teams have given up top 12 running back production every single week. That is the Steelers and the Lions. It looks like it's possible that the shift is beginning for Michael Carter and Brees Hall. We had more snaps. We had more targets. Do they try and establish the run a little bit more with Zach Wilson trying to shake off the rust? The matchup is there for Brees Hall to be a top 24 play this week.

Jason's start of the week. He's calling for the Alvin Camara bounceback against Minnesota in London. It makes sense. They've allowed the fourth most fancy points to opposing running backs. I'm going with Khalil Herbert against the Giants. All right. Just ran for 157 last week. 4.9 yards per attempt in his career. And 22 opportunities, 97 yards per game with Montgomery out. So he has a smash play if we don't see Montgomery on the field. And he is a flex play if we do. What's delightful about Khalil Herbert. is this isn't just chasing volume and matchup. He's good. Like at this point, Khalil Herbert is a very, very good running back. So that it's a perfect situation for him. Underpants, steal up my wide receiver start of the week. You wild man. Noah Brown of the Dallas Cowboys, 21% of the targets on the season. The Manders.

So far are the third worst team against fantasy wide receivers. I think that if you are struggling to find someone to play, because we got listeners in 14 teamers. I think Noah Brown is in play. I guess week one, five for 68, five for 91 in a touchdown, five for 54. I think he's going to catch five passes. That is a 555. That is called a safe floor with the chance of some upside. Isn't there like an Arby's meal? Oh, the five for five for five? Heck, yeah. They don't do that anymore, do they? No, now it's like. Inflation. It's like one for five. Yeah. Yeah, they would like the five for five. That was legitimate diarrhea right there. Oh, I mean, but it was a great time. It was, it was at Christmas. They would have the people singing jingle bells and talking about the five for five. Hey, Jason. Bring it back, you cowards. I dare you. I dare you to take a loss on every sale. I dare you. Gabe Davis is Jason started the week at the wide receiver position. Oh, he would be.