Week 3 Buy or Sell + Trending or Ending, Beard vs Mustache - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/23

And you have the foundational piece of Stefan Diggs. Trending or ending as, what does this mean? A top three quarterback rest of season? That's a tough ass. Let's say top five. Top five, I think I would go with trending. I think top five is very reasonable. He has a rushing baseline. He has yet to get, you know, those rushing touchdowns. I think he has won in two games. But he's no Cam Newton with four so far, whatever it is. Right.

I'm going to go trending as top five. I don't see how. I mean, I could be fooled here, but I couldn't see any way to say ending because he has the tool sets, the weapons, the team is wanting and giving him the opportunity. If crap hits the fan, then he runs the ball, which is even better for fantasy. I think he dominates the rest of the season. Yeah, I believe looking back to him, I was not in on digs, thought he

Diggs overperformed last year as the best deep ball wide receiver. But looking back, I think I underestimated the mobility of Josh Allen combining that into the deep threat of Stefan Diggs, where Kurt Cousins, if a play blows up because his offensive line can't handle the blocking, Josh Allen can scramble out of some stuff and then find Stefan Diggs deep. I will say this.

The schedule gets really difficult for Josh Allen at the end of the year. Let me read you weeks 13 through 16 at San Francisco, home against Pittsburgh, at Denver, at New England to end the year. Yeah. You're going to, you know. I wouldn't worry about it right now, but. No. But, yeah, that sounds unfortunate. And by the time we get there, he could be dominating so much that you're just going to play him through this, which we'll find out if that's a mistake or not.

to the opposite to try and balance the Josh Allen Love Fest that's happening here. Last year, when he was expected, you're like, oh, Josh Allen's going to have a monster fantasy game, he would. And then when you saw him up against a tougher defense, you go, I don't know if I want to play Josh Allen, you would get that, like, number 10 on the weak output, not this huge ceiling that we're sealing that we're sealing. Sealing that we're sealing. Hooked on a ceiling. Yeah.

Cooper Cup, trending or ending. He's been outside the top 24 for two consecutive weeks. It's concerning. He is the wide receiver 42 through two weeks. Started as week one. He was the wide receiver 60 last week. He had 10 and a half fantasy points, but that put him at 33. It's five for eight. I mean, he has not gotten into the end zone. He had 100 total yards. Yeah, he did. Which kind of shocks me that that equated to wide receiver 33 last week.

I was a bit surprised having seen this. But 86% of snaps. He played 85% of snaps. So he's been on the field. Has Buffalo the Giants, Washington? I'd like to hear your guys' thoughts. Yeah, I want to hear Mike's thoughts first because I know that there was so much talk on this show leading up to the season about the last five games of the Los Angeles Rams, the way that they were using Tyler Higby, the way that they were using Cooper Cup less.

Mike, you are on board of Pro Higbee worried about Cooper Cup. So far, two weeks in, your stance is looking strong, but do you still buy into that from what you've seen on the field? I will say that I believe that I would say ending because I believe that Cooper Cup is better than this. The problem that when I was going through the process of projecting Cooper Cup was he has a legitimate touchdown.

Not thread is the wrong way. Competition. Like before, when you got in the red zone, it was Cooper Cup. This is what's happening. The defense knows this is what's happening. And no one can stop it. Cooper Cup is just a touchdown monster. But now there is, there is Higbeast, who is there as well that can scoop up the touchdowns. Like Higby. Or all three of them, like a selfish jerk. Exactly. But Higby wasn't, his volume wasn't insane.

last week. I think he had five or six targets. He didn't have much yardage, did he? No, but he pulled in the touchdown. So that is the difference is that the touchdown can go somewhere else now. So that is, you have to build that into the variance of Cooper Cup. Five for 81. That's, that's no shameful game by any stretch. So I would say ending. Thanks, Mike. You're welcome. But in upcoming up, you know, the Buffalo matchup, they've been giving up yardage to the slot.

position and so I think that Cooper Cup can have a bounceback week. It's easy to say ending based on the first two weeks, but everything you said is true. Everything you said is accurate. And there is, he's been a player that needs to score. I mean, he was a double digit touch, one of the few double digit touchdown players last season. That is kind of one of the linchpins of Cooper Cup is he needs, you know, he's had some big touchdown plays. Both Cooper Cup and Robert Woods did not have

huge weeks last week. And it used to be you could count on it. You can't touchdowns go back and forth. You never really know who's going to be, they're going to keep their touchdown totals or lose them. But there are a handful of players, you know, like Devante Adams. I'm banking on the touchdowns coming. Calvin Ridley. Cooper Cup was one of those guys, but you saw such a.

a shift at the end of last year that there was reason for concern. Let me ask you this. Highest percentage of his career this year so far. So, see, that's why you got to say ending. If he's on the field. Now, T.Y. Hilton, we know if you were to target him in a trade, he's going to cost you nothing, or he could cost you nothing because he's been outright terrible. This last week, 100 total yards for Cooper Cup. Would you target him because you guys are saying that you think there's a bounce back? Or are you worried enough where it's like, I don't want to, I don't want to.

pay for Cooper Cup in case, you know, his touchdowns in the season at five. I don't want to trade like a known fantasy football, like someone who's really contributing to my team, and I know I can rely on them for the possible upside of what Cooper Cup has been in previous years. But I would be real happy to go to the manager of Cooper Cup with some, with the fancy new waiver wire edition.

Someone who's been crushing and be like, hey, you're interested? And let's make this trade. All right. Let's go to Calvin Ridley, trending or ending as a top five wide receiver. He was number two in week one, number one in week two, 12 targets, 10 targets, 16 catches on the year, 239 yards, four total touchdowns, second most air yards in football. We already know baked into Atlanta is Matt Ryan and

300-400-yard games. You know, a top-five wide receiver? Yeah, I'm going to take them. I'm going to take it, too. This is trending. Calvin Ridley is... It's tough when the touchdowns have been at two a week. Yeah, he will not get two touchdowns a week, but what we know is that in his shorter career, Calvin Ridley catches touchdowns. He, double-digit touchdowns as a rookie, if I'm remembering that correctly.

Calvin Ridley, we don't want to say it, but I'll just say it. Calvin Ridley is what you want Julio Jones to be. Oh, mercy. I totally get what you're saying. I feel like that's the kind of thing that Julio hears and then drops 39 targets, 27 recepts and 650 yards. This is not saying Julio Jones isn't still a top 10 wide receiver. I'm saying Calvin Ridley gets the air yards, gets the targets that Julio does.

But then he has the connection in the end zone with Matt Ryan. I'm bitter. Okay. I'm bitter because I went and I tried very hard to get Calvin Ridley before this season. And that would have just been. So now you're calling for a pox? No, I'm not. A plague on your house. I didn't say it was ending. I just said it's hard because of the touchdown totals. Top five is it. It's a high bar. Here's an exercise we can play to figure out where we would put him.

Would you rather have DeAndre Hopkins or Calvin Ridley? I'd rather have DeAndre Hopkins. I would as well. There's one. Conte Adams. I would rather have Adams. Here's an interesting name. Michael Thomas. Calvin Ridley. I'd take Michael Thomas. Easily. He might play this week. You would take Calvin Ridley and trade him for Michael Thomas? Yeah. Okay. All right. Oh, yeah.

And Mike, would you take Michael Thomas and trade him for Calvin Ridley? I would. Okay. I get it. Maybe he plays this week. You're going to be able to get a lot more than Calvin Ridley, Michael Thomas. Tyree Kill. We're three in and we're already having. Tyree Kill. hesitation. Okay. I'm not. Here's the most fun one, obviously. Julio Jones. Yeah, I knew that one was coming. I mean, I'm sticking with Julio Jones. Oh, gosh.

Are you? I am. I am. It's two weeks in. And it's the Sepsicon hamstring? So that's a strong point, Mike. That means that, Andy, I believe that's five players. So that puts Calvin Ridley at least at six. I don't think he finishes as a top five wide receiver. I guess that's what I just decided. I think because of the fact that he's got four touchdowns in two weeks, he probably will. The same way that Michael Thomas won't finish as a top five wide receiver on the season.

But from this point out, from here on out, you're saying you don't believe that he will be a top five wide receiver. Yeah. And I, you know, I feel like I'm in the minority here and I'm getting piled up on. But here's what Michael Thomas doesn't have to deal with. Julio Jones. Sure. On the other side of the field. And we're two weeks in. We have 14 weeks left. Michael Thomas, let's say he misses this week. Michael Thomas for the remainder of the year with what we saw.

Drew Brees needing? No, I get it. I would take Michael Thomas rest of the season over Calvin Ridley. The, the concern for me on, put it on the board then. Okay. The, go ahead. Waterbed. The concern for Michael Thomas from my side is not Michael Thomas. It's sure, he plays this week. He had a high ankle sprain. I've seen that song and dance enough that.

that the probability of him needing multiple weeks to really return to being Michael Thomas. Can he backpedal to his average depth of target, Mike, where Michael Thomas is? Does he need his ankles at all? I don't know. Okay. Well, that's a fun water bet. That's not one of those Derek Carr-Mitchtribisky water bets. Well, and obviously... This is a Calvin Ridley Michael Thomas waterbed. Yeah, and baked into this is the unknown...

injury timeline. So I guess, and you're hoping Michael Thomas gets back quick. The injury timeline. Yeah, that was a, that part's unfortunate in the bet. But I, I like it. You want to do points per game? Uh, look, the bet already happened. That's a nice attempt. I just thought maybe Mike would go spirit of the spirit of the bat. You can't go up to the bookie and be like, look, I know we already, we already made this bet. I think that is the spirit of the bet, though, is total points, not points per game. Because if Michael Thomas was healthy,

And active right now. The trade right now has his injury baked in. So that's fine. Thanks, Jason. I hate you. You're welcome. And it is another piece of it to me is the Saints defense is solid. The Falca's defense are going to allow lots of points to everybody. I'm just going to remind people if they are piling onto me at home. Chris Godwin started the year last year on just massive fire. And yes, he...

He did, and where did he finish? Yeah, I know, I know. But from that point on, there were a lot of players that you would have wanted other than Chris Godwin over the back half of the year. So maybe this would be like the Russell Wilson bet, where you're right, but yet from this point on, Michael Thomas may average more.

but really might finish ahead of him. I'm glad you brought up Godwin, Godwin, because that is a, I mean, it's a comp that's been made all off season and now makes a lot of sense in season. He finished as the wide receiver two. He was phenomenal in the beginning of the year. But the second half of the year, Chris Godwin was the wide receiver 22. Do you hear that? 22. Yeah. And where did he finish on the year? Like two. Wide receiver two. This is why I said.

He'll probably end up there. He's going to finish as a water tree for five. And Matt Ryan, much better, much more consistent quarterback than James Winston. He likes throwing into Julio, though, man. And Chris Godman. And that's enough Chris Godwin. You mean Calvin, Calvin. Or Calvin Ridley, yeah. All right, I got something for you. Breaking news. Two bits of news. One, Christian McCaffrey has been put on short-term IR. He is out at least the next three weeks. So those that speculated, he would try to get back early.

He could still try because four to six weeks is, you know. I think this is for the best for fantasy football knowledge. You know McCaffrey's out three weeks. Davis is going to be the guy for three weeks. There is nothing more infuriating than a guy who you know isn't playing who's listed as questionable or doubtful and you can't place in your IR and make a waiver transaction. I can't stand that. So this is actually, I agree. Great news because now you know what to do and you're not going to have to play that.