Starts of the Week + Week 6 Breakdown, Smell Tests - Fantasy Football Podcast for 10/15

And maybe I'm a big Travis Fulgum fan. Maybe the Fulgum breakout is a real thing. What do you guys think in this one? It could be. I went back and I watched every single reception of his last week. He was getting open on some place. And on some place he was just making really difficult catches in traffic. He looked fully legit. Fulgum. Fulgum. I thought it was there. No.

I've been looking for a Fulgum pun of some sort for a while, and I have not found it. No. So, Fook Clan. Help. Help. Help. Yeah, no, he did. He looked good. He looked better to me than Greg Ward has looked when thrust into that role. But it's a very, very small sample sites. I mean, we've got a game and a half here of Fulgum relevance. The nice thing is, even though this matchup is terrible for him, so was last week's breakout. Yeah, I mean, they're going to have to throw the football off there.

seven and a half point home underdogs and Baltimore's got a lead or at least that's how Vegas sees it. Confidence level though with Miles Sanders in this matchup against the tough, tough Ravens defensive front. It's the same as last week. Same as last week. It's irrelevant. Your confidence level is irrelevant. He's in your lineup. That's a good way to put it. You just go. Now Mike, if you look up at the matchup screen on our back wall, there's a player. There's a player up there.

They got Mark Andrews on one side, and then you've got a superstar on the other side, Mike. Do you want to have a conversation about this young man? So, Zachary. Up on our match preview, we have Mark Andrews great tight end, superstar tight end. And then someone who is, I can say this, he is really clean. He smells good because he is washed. Oh, right. Mike is 86 and number 86. I'm out. I'm out.

Austin Hooper is in my lineup, baby. Is this a new rule 86? Yes. Oh, man. If he's in the lineup, he's out of your fantasy lineup? I don't know what's going on, Mr. Ertz, but I don't like it. Zach Ertz to be resuscitated in this game or Evan Engram, Mike. Evan Engram. Jason, do you have, I mean, Mike has stolen the show in terms of.

strong takes about Zachert's being washed and very clean and smelling wonderfully. Yeah, look, that's what I, he smells great. It's a perk. He smells great. But Jason, I don't know what you believe. You said you thought about trading for him, but then you didn't because you said to yourself, well,

Maybe he is lost. I respect Mike's opinion, and I know what happens unconsciously, accidentally, or on purpose, when we are rostering a player and watching very closely. I know Mike is watching all of these routes and seeing if it's, you know, he'll scream at the quarterback when his guy is open every single time. Like throw him the ball! Yes. He's screaming at the player not getting open. So I tend to...

Like my normal analysis, when I look at the opportunity, the age, the history, I'm not off of Zacherts. This matchup, look, the Ravens are top ten against quarterback, against running back, against wide receiver. You want to know where you beat the Ravens? At tight end, they're middle of the pack. This is a Zachert's game. They need him, and my analysis would usually be, I would start Zach Hertz over Evan Ingraham. But I trust a little bit of Mike's gut here. He's, I mean, look,

He does this for a living. I don't know if we know that, but he's... I've never paid him. So I am hesitant with Zach Ertz. Mike has stolen the show with the Earts hate, but for maybe just cause, because I was opposed and then last week happened. And I'm like, oh, my goodness, he could just be flat out right. And I think this week will be the telling week. If it happens this week, it's got to be DU in. Metrics wines, just to look at it.

He's still out there for the same, you know, great portion of the snaps. His yards per catch, though, you know, after his entire career, he's been in the double digits. This year it's at 7.2. So even the good game, and I'm putting that in kind of quotes from three weeks ago, it was like 7 for 70. Like he's not going to make big play. So if he doesn't get into the end zone, this is more of like a witten hope based on the numbers. So I'm pulling up his...

PFF grade. 42. 42 at the tight end position is the current. Is that out of 42? No, there's a couple guys behind him. But even just his receiving grade is, it's bad. Who's at the top of the tight end list on the PFF grades? Fug. Gigantor. Is it really? You're darn right. It is because Gigantor is dominating. Give this man some opportunity. Well, I, Mo Allie Cox from the Indianapolis. When PFF.

does their grading, though. They do have a size grade. And so he automatically gets a bump up because he's ginormous. He took that 200. All right. Lamar Jackson, you're going to play him. Hollywood, I think you definitely should play him. He was my start of the week. I was between two guys. He's not anymore, but absolutely he should be played this matchup. But the running backs, that's difficult right now. I don't think you really want to play any of them.

No, you do not. Would you rather start Mark Ingram or Devonta Freeman? Freeman. I am Freeman for sure. Ingram or Lindsay? That's certainly closer. I do think that the touch, like I think the baseline is actually higher for Lindsay, but the probability of a touchdown is there for Ingram. Okay. All right, the Cleveland Browns at 4 and 1, Mark Andrews playing. The Cleveland Browns at 4 and 1 taking on the 4 and 0 Pittsburgh Steelers. This is an exciting game. I'm looking forward to this one. Very. Very.

The Steelers are three-point favorites. It's a 51 point over-under. You have a really a battle of disciplines here. Like the Browns are a fantastic, wonderful running football team with one of the most talented running backs in the game in Cream Hunt, a pure workhorse, got so much opportunity. And then you have this staunch running defense for the Steelers. Something's got to give. Jason, do that voice for me again?

Something's got to give. Perfect. Mike play the guitar over it. Something's got to give. So what side do you, can both sides win in this one because of Cream Hunt's involvement in the passing game? Like, Cream Hunt, you're not benching him. No, you're not benching Cream Hunt. Cream Hunt is absolutely a good start.

He's fine. It's not a great matchup similar to what we were just talking about with Miles Sanders. There's no way that you bench Cream Hunt. He should be fine. I have more confidence, though, in Cream Hunt and the blocking for the Cleveland Browns than I had last week for Miles Sanders. Sure, because this is what they do, right? Yeah. However, Pittsburgh 2.06 yards per carry allowed if you don't. And that's on the year if you take away that Miles Sanders run. But Cream Hunt, he's just going to get a ton of work. James Connor.

The opportunities have been there, 18, 21, 18 in the last three weeks. You're going to play James Connor. Mike, you like Big Ben in this game. I really like Big Ben, and I like the pass catchers for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Put them in order. Oh, that's great. What a great hosting job. Putting them in order. Great for me, hard for you. Easy for me. Honestly, the...

it might be Juju at the top of the list. The Cleveland Browns have been absolutely eviscerated from the slot position, and that's Juju's role on this team. Juju has not been getting it done for fantasy purposes, but this is a scenario where I am playing him with full confidence. Did he miss practice again this week? I know they've been doing that, but I like, I do wonder if.

He's got something we don't know about. Lingering? Possible. The other two guys, though, like Deontay and Claypool, it's difficult to go with those guys because I don't know the status of Deontay Johnson. I don't know how healthy he actually is. But I'm saying my expectation for the Steelers pass catchers and the probability of multiple good games here, let's say Deontay Johnson is out. If you're in a deep league,

You want to start James Washington? I am absolutely for that. I think that that can work out. I believe he had the second most routes run last week. He did. Even, you know, in. He did. What we don't know is, as after the Chase Claypool breakout, what is the, what shifts for this offense. What seems difficult is I totally buy, like the recipe is there for a great game by the Steelers wide receiving core.

Right? The Browns have struggled against opposing fantasy wide receivers. They give up almost 40 fantasy points a game. But I'm not sure that anything that you said made me feel more comfortable, comfortable about which one to play. That's fine. It's easy. You know, it's like Juju has been real bad. I mean, he's not had a game over 70 yards. He hasn't had a game over 50 yards in three weeks. It's easy for Jason, though. So I want to hear what he has to say. It's easy for me in the sense that you play all three. That's...

If I had Juju, he's in my lineup. If I've got Deonté Johnson, assuming he's back of practice and active for the game. I mean, that's kind of a prerequisite. Which he's supposed to be. Yes, he's in my lineup. And if I've got Chase Claypool in this matchup based on last week and the matchup, he's in my lineup. Now, the order, assuming Deonti Johnson is healthy, I might put him at the top, then Juju, then Chase Claypool, but don't hear what I'm not saying. This is not an anti-the-ability to start Chase Claypool. The Browns have just been torched.

through the air. Their run defense has been great, but through the air, whether it's tight end or wide receiver, wide receiver one, wide receiver two, they've just, they've given up a lot of fantasy points to all of them. So the Cleveland Browns, they were fine against wide receivers last week, but, you know, hashtag Colts. But before, week one, the 12th most points to the wide receiver, ninth most, 12th most, the most, again, in that Dallas Cowboy game. And so,

I wanted to point out the Cleveland Brown's ranking is not just because of the stat stuffing that happened against the Dallas Cowboys. They were hemorrhaging points those first three weeks before they got to that matchup. Well, and maybe because of their rushing defense, but the Steelers give up a ton of points to opposing wide receivers too. And this is a game where they're going to have to throw the ball. It's a 51 point over under. I would take the over in this game. Beckham.

Greater sign Fulgum, and Fulgum blew this team up last week. Sure. So it does make, it makes the shootout possible in terms of Beckham's involvement, in terms of Landry. He showed some signs of life last week, even Kareem Hunt out of the backfield. You know, I don't know if I play Baker on the road here, but. We got a little blurb here from our producer, Owl Borland. Owl, you're saying the Browns sent Beckham home today due to illness?

Yeah, just hit that head coach Kevin Stephansky said that. Steven Cofansky. Steven Cofansky. St. O'Dell Beckham Jr. home with an illness today. Okay. All right. Well, that's something to monitor, although assuming it's not the illness, we should be okay with a lead time here to Sunday. Agreed. All right. But Baker, avoiding Baker, he has just not been. Even his good game seemed like.

They aren't good fantasy games. And they aren't necessarily great Baker games either. They are winning kind of in spite of Baker. Last week, last week they won the game. And O'Dell Beckham had a good game. And Baker was overthrowing everybody. It was like I was, I was, at the beginning of that game, I was actually listening to it on the radio as driving. And the announcers were asking, and this is the.

Brown's announcers were asking if Baker had too much coffee because he's just he's too energetic, too excited, and airmailing everybody. Does that look good? And he's got a rib issue. I mean, Mike, you brought this up earlier in the week. He had x-rays. So a little bit of caution there. Anybody else on this game, Austin Hooper, Mike? You said you're playing over Zach Ertz. I will be. I hope that the nation will join me.

as we stand together united against Zach Ertz. And then just the quick note on Deerness Johnson. No way. You can't play him. Yeah. You can't. I get the hopes and the dreams and the waiver priorities and the fab that were spent. Me, I have in our League of Record, I ended up getting him. And that feels like burnt money now. Yeah, it doesn't seem worse. Last game, the only reps he had was when. Clean up.

Well, it was clean up because of a cramped cream hunt when he came off the field. Right. He still looked good in those carries and had an important one to help seal the game win, but you can't play him because he wasn't involved. And this is a matchup where they're going to need hunt. This is difficult. You know, if the following week and some easier matchups where you think maybe they'll split the load and give Cream Hunt a break, maybe, but not this week. Starts of the week.