Starts of the Week + Week 7 Breakdown, Fool’s Gold - Fantasy Football Podcast for 10/17

to the fantasy footballers podcast with your host, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright. Welcome in. It's football time. Oh, yeah. Come on. No. Bub means business. No. Come on. Come on. Let's get a game. If they come through, I'll give them one tomorrow. It's Franklin time. I think that's what you meant, baby. This game. Maybe it'll surprise. I'm there, well, it's not going to surprise. The fact that you're making it about Troy Franklin, it means that this is a novelty game. Yes, this is a novelty game. This is a game that is like, this game is less about fantasy football and more about Sean Payton going back.

to the bayou like that this is the storyline that i want to see and i think that there's like hope because you know he knows that team and that that area well and the the emotion around it that maybe there will be a firework or two that's unexpected but it's really hard to see like Spencer rattler the ones that you throw on the ground right the little popper yeah maybe there'll be some poppers out there but yeah it's it's had their moments against Tampa bay last week without yeah with their receivers now i'm going to watch it the best player in the game

for the Broncos is out. We already know this. Patrick Sertan is out. Very disappointing. That's not disappointing. No, that is outstanding. For this butthole of a game, that's great news. That's well said, Mike. Well, we do, I mean, we get football. Remember those other months where there's no football? There's time where there's not football. So I will be watching just not overly excited about it. Yeah. I mean, we, we could, you never know. Mike, you've got a player in the game. Yeah. You've got Giovante William Jr. lineup. Yeah. Congrats. It's cool, huh? Well, I'm playing you, so it's great. Join thefoot.com. Our community, we have begun testing the mobile version of our updated in-season app, which means that very soon you'll get the ultimate dashboard in the app and all of the premium content there. So I'm not sure exactly when that will hit, but very soon.

And you can learn more at jointhefoot.com. Let's jump right into the news. News and notes from around the league. Presented by USAA insurance. No Chris Olavay, no Rashid Shaheed, no Tayson Hill, who is doubtful. A context on that. Chris Olave, there is optimism that he will only miss this week, which is a little fearful when it's your third concussion. And Rashid Shahid is out because he had surgery. We don't know yet. whether this is a trim or a repair. So this could be season ending or several weeks. Sounds like you're talking about a haircut. Yeah, so it's just got a buzz. Did they trim it or did they've? Well, they're taking that MCL high and tight. You know, that's what they said start with a one and then, you know, see how it goes. We can start with a one. Well, they might have to bick it. You know, there's, you can always go closer than one, Mike, on that MCL. The meniscus, Jason. Oh, yes, minuscus. Sorry.

Taysome Hill, yeah, the rib injury, still waiting. Now, I have a lot of teams with Cooper Cup. Yes, you do. He is trending in the right direction, according to Sean McVeigh, which would be to play this week. That could be very exciting. I think he will play. What do you think? I think he'll play. If you're this early in the week and you're training in the right direction to play, it's an ankle injury. So this is one of those things where usually after the injury, it swells up for a while. And then, you know, unless there is. Unless he rolls it again, totally reagravates, I don't expect it to keep him out. So the fact that he didn't go on IR means that he could play earlier than four games missed, which would be this week. So everything points towards him playing. And I imagine if you have him, you'll put him right back in your lineup. Well, I feel like Mike caused this next injury because he was so insistent about Jalen Warren being valuable. But Najee Harris didn't practice due to a rib injury. He's been getting so much work. It's just, it's Wednesday.

Yeah, you got a monitor. But the thing to note is, Naji did not practice. Jalen Warren had no injury designation. Yeah. So, yeah, I believe on Sunday, Warren also did not have an injury designation. And, well, it was not good. I wanted to mention this yesterday, but I was pretty doubtful about Amari Cooper potentially playing. This is not, like, Devante Adams has known this was going to happen for. long enough to be in the building five minutes after it was announced. Right. Mari Cooper did not. Mari Cooper got into a vehicle and drove to Buffalo. Sean McDermott said there should have flown. I read, I read drive. I'm reporting what I read. Yeah, we're not saying you're wrong. Yeah, we're just saying, it's more Amari Cooper is wrong. Like, why not, why not, you know, hop a quick?

They say from Ohio to Buffalo, one of the most beautiful drives in the country. It's only a three-hour drive. For real? That crazy United States. For real. Man, my geography is terrible. What would you have guessed? I would have guessed two days. I don't know. At least a full day. Yeah, no, that's just next. Dude, I would drive that. Good job. Good job, Cooper. Three hours? Undecided whether. Very economical. Amari Cooper will play in week seven is the story. Yeah, and if he does play again, this is going to be just a, you know, a couple of packages. It really is a pretty drive. It's right. It's lakeside, Lake Erie. It's a lake drive. Three hours on the lake to get to Buffalo. Our, our northeastern United States geography living here in Arizona, not the best. No, but, sorry, you were saying something?

About Amari Cooper? Would you play him if he was active? I'm going to try to avoid him. He's still, I think we said this immediately when the trade happened. He's still a player who can come in for a package and get a 40-yard touchdown. And so if you've got to put him in over a crap player, fine. But I expect him to be very limited week one. And so, yeah, this is not a player. I'm excited to start right now. And hopefully, genuinely, like for fantasy, hopefully he doesn't play this week. You know, give him that extra week to. get installed into the offense where you don't have to make that I mean people I don't want to play him people just traded for Amari Cooper yeah those they're not going to trade for him and if he's active not play him they're going to have him in a lineup and that could be a that could be a pretty big mistake all right we have some other injury news giants players devon singletary was limited malik neighbors limited trend it's we at least got some positive news on malik neighbors yes trending towards being able to play

Darius Slayton. Oh, is he on the groin index? Yeah. Wondale Robinson ankle injury. Jordan Mason Limited. John Jennings didn't practice. Ricky Pearsall returned to practice. So the Mason one is, I think is interesting that he was already positive. Yeah, that he was already limited. To me, you know, it's always just speculation of you don't know exactly what the injury is, but when it happened, I expected that this was probably a couple weeks. So he may be playing this week. I just checked groin index, and I did not know Deonta Foreman is dealing with the groin. But he's on growing index. The groin index knows about everyone's groin. Yeah, it's like x-ray vision. We'll get into it in the matchup, but the running back situation in Cleveland is one that I'm having a hard time digging through because we don't know how much work Chubb's going to get. Foreman seems hurt. Pierce Strong as just a compliment is questionable. Yeah, there you go.

What else do we have? Mike Williams of the Jets might be finding a new home with the Chargers, Steelers, Saints who have inquired about a trade. And that was today's news. Notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. Starts of the week. All right, our confidence plays for week seven, the players that we have a great deal of optimism about. Why don't I hand it off to Jason? You can start with your quarterback. All right. I'm going to start with my quarterback. Laser Mayfield, baby. Pew, pew, pew. Mayfield leads the NFL right now. 15 passing touchdowns. He has been a top eight fantasy quarterback in five of six weeks. He's currently the number two quarterback. You know, you've got to change the narrative of like he is, you know, a mediocre average. He was his careers over. Like he's just been a great quarterback.

And now he's got the Ravens at home, and the Ravens are a good defense. But they are a true, maybe the truest of all pass funnel defenses. They're very difficult to run on. They're 30th in Schedule Adjustive Fantasy Points allowed to quarterbacks. They're 31st in total passing yards allowed. They are 32nd in percentage of 15 plus pass plays allowed. So I think things line up well for Baker at home. It does not appear. Whenever I see Baker at home in Tampa, I worry about weather does not appear. Weather's going to be a huge issue. So I think this is a player that should be started this week. I mean, if you've started him all season, you're happy. So this matchup is not one I am scared about, even though the Ravens are a great team. You have, you've made the point that maybe Jaden Daniels season levels out a little bit. Baker Mayfield at number two, Kyler Murray at number nine right now. If you had to lock one in rest of season, I did want to ask the question. Oh, man.

You know, I want to go Kyler because of the rushing baseline. But Baker's rushing is what has been really surprising. Like Baker is not a pocket passer solely. He has been putting yards on the ground. And sometimes 2942, the last two games. Yeah, I mean, on the course of the season right now, on the course of the season, Baker is trending for 385 rushing yards. We'll take that. All right. I'm going with Gino Smith. The Seahawks number one in pass rate. Gino is number one in passing yards. It's just been a really unlucky stretch here with touchdowns. His touchdown rate is only at 2.4% despite leading the league in passing yards. Like the over under against Atlanta's 51 points. Atlanta's alignment with the highest completion rate in the NFL. This is like this Seahawks Atlanta game. I am very excited for.

all the pieces in this game. I totally disagree. I'm going Kirk Cousins in the same game. Taking on Seattle at home in a dome with a 50 plus total. Let's go. Falcons, number one in neutral pace. Yeah, the pace for both, that's what's great. The pace for both of these teams, like there's going to be so many extra plays compared to all the other games this week. It's awesome. And I'm looking forward to, so I'm going to go Kirk Cousins there. I love it. At running back, I'm going with J.K. Dobbins. Yes, sir. The Dobbins is against Arizona on Monday night football. He is the clear lead back with Gus Edwards on IR. Last week, season high, 73% of snaps. 27 opportunities. He's been a top 12 back at three or five games. And the matchup against the Cardinals is pretty much exactly what Harbaugh's high-te approach requires, requests, delights in. Arizona's opponents are running the ball at the third highest rate in the NFL.

And Harbaugh's sitting here being like, I don't want to be third highest. I want to be highest. I want to just run the ball. So this is perfect. And over the last four weeks, Arizona's 24th and schedule adjusted fantasy points to running backs. If you've got Dobbins, force him in the lineup. I did notice Gus Edwards on IR. His snap count went down to zero last week. Yeah, he didn't even get on the field. No, no. Yeah, of Vidal Sassoon. I don't look. I'm not in that, I'm not in his hive. I'm not on that part of draft Twitter. Some people love him.

I don't know if J.K. Dobbins can hold up to this. The work he's about to get over the next couple of weeks. You think Dobbins can get injured? Is that what you're saying here? That is, in fact, what I am saying. So I think that if you have Dobbins, I think Vidal is a pretty high priority insurance running back to put on your bench. So just throwing that out there. Yeah, I mean, just speaking of that, so Mike and I, we've got our champ, champ, champ team. Yes. And we've got Dobbins. And we're like, Dobbins is a monster rest of season. But we both know, like, that's until he gets in. Like we're just waiting for the shoe to drop on the end. Is that your champ, champ, champ, champ, not champ team? Yes, it is. It's our champ, champ, champ, not champ, about to be champ. Okay, just making sure. I'm making a call here with Ramondre Stevenson missing last week and missing practice on Wednesday. If that holds up.

Antonio Gibson versus the Jacksonville Jaguars is my start of the week at the running back position. Obviously changes. Do you have a boo button? What are you? Antonio Gibson. Now, this is you, not me, right? Yeah. All right. Okay. That's fine. With Remandre out last week, he was the clear lead back. He saw 30% of the team's total rush attempts and targets. That is an elite percentage. Jacksonville is hashtag bad at everything. Like the starts of the week, Could literally just be all skill players who are playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars these days. They're awful. But Gibson, the work will be there. The targets should be there. And I think that the Patriots can put up points against the Jaguars. 13 for 19 last week? That didn't concern you? 1.46 a carry in that role? It's a Jacksonville story, isn't it? Yes. It's 100% the matchup and targets. Carolina?

Their defense against the run is atrocious. I'm going double barrel. Austin Echler, Brian Robinson, Washington running backs against Carolina. Echler in particular has been number one in the NFL and yards per touch. Brian Robinson's supposed to be back so you can play him. He's probably going to score. But Echler has looked electric and I think both guys deserve to be in your lineup. Echler's been so good. I really want him to get the opportunity to just be the dude. Like Brian Robbins has been injured, but he comes in on the goal line or whatever. It's like if you gave Echler a game where you said, hey, you're going to get the carries, you're going to get the passing yardage, you're just in every down back. He would dominate. At wide receiver, my start of the week, Deontay Johnson, who has been a revelation with Andy Dalton. Since Andy Dalton became the quarterback, he's averaging 11 targets per game, and he's been a top 12 wide receiver in three of four weeks.

He actually leads the entire NFL in in-zone targets despite having two weeks with clipboard holder named checking notes. Bryce Young. I don't remember him. Why you got to do that? We've moved on. Well, I've moved so far on that I don't even remember who that is. But on the matchup side, Washington is another defense you want to target. Their offense has been scoring points. You're going to have to keep up. They're allowing the fifth highest yards per attempt, and they rank dead last an explosive play. rate allowed on the year. So Deonti Johnson should have targets, catches, receptions, yards, and good chance at a touchdown. Catches and receptions? Yeah, he's going to double up. Well, sometimes he'll like bobble it to himself. Okay. That's a catch and a reception. Okay. Sure. I'm going to a confidence play of Jordan Addison against the Detroit Lions. This is a another matchup thing of you can't run on Detroit. They're probably going to be without Aaron Jones. At least that's the way it is trending right now. And it's just.

But you can pass on them before the last week's dud by Dallas. Detroit was 30th and scheduled Justin points to the two wide receivers. And like I, he should see lots of one and one opportunities because Justin Jefferson is there. And the A dot, 17.3. That is Jordan Edison's average depth of target. That is a, it just takes a couple shots to make an entire week for fantasy. And it's a rare thing when I want to throw this guy into my lineup, but Zay Flowers against Tampa Bay. He has gotten it going the last two weeks, seven for 111, 9 for 132, 32% of the team's targets in that span. The Buccaneers, you just mentioned it, Baker Mayfield. They're going to be able to put up points. Sorry, who? Laser, Mayfield. You got to pepper it in. You can't hammer it over the head. If you say his name, I hit that button. You have to let the laser charge up. You know what I mean?

The what? Zay Flowers against the Buccaneers defense that is 29th in schedule adjusted fantasy points given up to wide receivers, which you can go look at the strength of schedule tool inside of the Foot Clan tools and take a look at these numbers. 26th in percentage of 15 plus pass yards allowed. It's not Andrews. It's not likely. It's Zay. Which. I'm still sad for Mark Andrews, but the fact that how good I've, you know, going back to last year of just how good I think Zay Flowers can be, and then it was just, it was a lot of gimmicky crap of like, hey, let's short area. Let's let him be so twitchy and he'll do everything. Like his involvement the last two weeks is very excited because he is an immensely talented player. So if we're actually getting him good targets that are intermediate and everything,

That's excellent news for thankful hours. Lamar is on pace for 4,300 passing yards. So that, I mean, that's what you dream of. Josh Allen, 3,200. Gross. I'll see if Amari Cooper changes things there. But Amari Cooper changes things here. My start of the week at tight end is David Najoku. I know Mike is worried because he, hey, process says this should be fantastic. This is good, right? Last week, he already had a 30% target share. Now you delete Amari Cooper out. I think he's the number one target in this offense. He's close to the line of scrimmage. Voldemort should be able to get the ball to him. Also, the matchup is great. Since he ranks 24th in Schedule adjusted fantasy points to tight in. But it's not just this year. If you look back at last year, they were 30th. So this is like we're a year and a half into knowing that this is a team that you beat at the tight end position. And David Najoku is the number one target in this offense or at worst, the number two of Judy steps up. So I think he is a.

startable asset that I saw, you know, ranked really low in, in some places. I think he should be started this week. And I'm going to do it. It's Kyle Pitts against the Seattle Seahawks. Like I said, I almost did it. You did you? I almost did it, but no joke who was there. Just because of the matchup? I want pieces of this game. I already said that 51 point over under. Atlanta's pass rate is skyrocketing. He is quietly the tight end eight on the season. Seattle allowing the seventh most catches and third most receiving yards to the tight end position. We're talking 70 yards last week, 88 yards the week before. The, the Falcons are opening it up. And in this tight end economy, Kyle Pitts, I think is a pretty strong play. I'm going to go with Sam Laporta, the one catch man. One catch. Last week, he finally got on board, 52 yard touchdown. You've got to throw against Minnesota, but the pass rush and the defense is very good. I think Sam Laporta is going to fit right into this.

high over under. Minnesota, you know, coming off the by week, they've seen the third most total pass attempts from their opponents of any team. So I think they're going to throw the ball a ton. I think it's time to get on board with Sam Laporta. All right, we're going to take a break and we'll get back into our breakdowns for this week's games. It's time for Fantasy Forecast, presented by Draft King Sportsbook. If there was a reason to wake up, This ain't it. The New England Patriots 1 in 5 taking on the 1 in 5 Jacksonville Jaguars. Oh, catch the second here. I'll be up. I'm always here. I'll be watching. But the Draft King Sportsbook line here, Jacksonville, I mean, it's at home, guys. For Jacksonville, it kind of is. I was going to say, this is a legitimate home game for Jacksonville. Last week was not necessarily. They're obviously on the other side of the.

Earth, so they're not in their home stadium. However, it's actually a three hour drive from Ohio. What? Yeah. Dude, my geography is wrecked. Straight into London. That's incredible. But here's the thing. The New England Patriots are one in five. This is not the type of team where their fans are going, we got to go to London to watch this game. So I, Jacksonville's been there two weeks in a row. I think this will be mostly a home game for Jacksonville. Well, they're one in five as well. They're five and a half point favorites. The overrunners 42 and a half. It gives them 24 points, New England, 18 and a half. Drake May did get an MRI on his knee, something to monitor.

Did you see? Not that any of us want to go backwards into the Jacoby Brissette era. I was looking that up this morning because I was curious with Antonio Gibson start of the week. Like, you know, they said there's absolutely no concern with Drake made this morning. He was spotted walking without a limp, without a brace, without a rap. I mean. You don't get an MRI for no reason. No, no, no, no. You get an MRI because you have a scare. There are certain times. Post MRI, there's no worry. Post MRI, they said that there's no concern. And this morning he was there without a limp or a rap or anything on his knee. So I do think it's okay. The report I saw was so weird. It was the team is not concerned at all about Drake May's knee, but they're going to allow him to go to get an MRI. Here's the deal. They're the worst offensive line in terms of giving up pressure.

And the risk of Drake May getting hurt at any given week. I mean, Jacoby Brissette, not mobile, Drake May, more mobile. The pressure rate's still number one in football. And that is a major issue. It's almost 50% of the time they're giving up major pressure on the quarterback. The nice thing is that the Jacksonville Jaguars don't bring a lot of pressure, despite having Josh Allen hyphen whatever. on the Jags. They have not been getting up for the quarterback. So hopefully Drake May has a second or two to throw because the offensive line is trash. The problem is, do you have any confidence in playing anybody that he would be throwing too? Hunter Henry got into the end zone. Pop Douglas broke out for a big game, but that is not necessarily prescriptive. Mike mentioned Antonio Gibson because the Jacksonville matchup is very, very good. And if they give him opportunity, he'll probably be better than the one point.

five a carry from last week. I actually, you know, I can see that. I do think Hunter Henry is one of those guys where if you're looking for a waiver start this week, personally in League of Record, that's what I did. I picked up Hunter Henry. He had five targets last week in his first matchup. And this is a really, really good, like 30th on the season giving up fantasy points to tight ends is Jacksonville. So it matches up well enough. On the other side, Brian Thomas Jr. dropped the touchdown last week as DK receiving lines at. He's still got the ninth most receiving yards in the NFL. I love him and I love Evan Ingram. And then I'm pretty nervous about every other starting option on the Jacksonville side, including Tank Bigsby. Because, you know, the snap count, the snap percentage, it was worrisome last week. The fact that in a game where ETN missed, he could only get seven.

opportunities on the ground and no targets tells you that the floor in a game like this, it's a little lower than you'd like. The floor in a game like this is lower, but I don't believe it's going to be a problem. I am actually like, there is risk. Don't hear that there's not risk, but I'm bullish on Tank Bigsby this week. I think it's a good matchup for him. And I really think it's kind of a game script thing. Last week, Chicago went to London and just. humiliated Jacksonville. Caleb looked great through four touchdowns, and then they had to pass. And the passing work does go to Deerness Johnson. That's not, Tank can get involved in the passing game, but when they're in like the two minute drill type of offense, that's going to be de earnest. I just can't see New England popping out to a two touchdown lead and forcing Jacksonville to have to throw the ball so much in that style of an offense to keep Bigsby off the field.

Yeah, I mean, it's kind of one of those things where if we're going to sit here and say that Jacksonville's defense is the worst in football and Drake May put up a good fantasy week last week. The possibility of that happening is not zero. Like, no, they moved the football well last week with Drake May at times and they're playing a much worse defense. Sure, but I mean, Chicago's four and two versus a one and five Patriots team that has looked pretty happy. I mean, it was also. Who do you have winning the ball game then? I've got Jacksonville winning. I've got New England covering the spread. Jacksonville dropped, what, four touchdowns? Like, that's not a normal thing. That's pretty normal for them. I mean, like, at this point, it's actually kind of normal. More than other teams, but four in a week, it, like, you just, you bring in some of those touchdowns and the game looks so much different. I'm just not excited about this game. That's fine. Oh, who is?

because I don't know if the personnel on New England can take advantage of the bad defense, and I don't know if the offense of Jacksonville can, you know, be consistent enough over long drives without Travis E.T.N. to get it done. Yeah, I mean, the only thing, obviously Brian Thomas is great, Evan Ingram is great, but I do think Tank Biggsby. The matchup, New England's got a decent defense, but they're more of a run funnel. It's going to be hard to throw on them, so I think Tank Biggsby, who has looked outstanding on a per-touch basis this year. I mean, From my team, I'm starting Alexander Madison. I will trade. If someone's out there and they will trade me, take Bigsbee. I'm in. Seattle at 3 and 3 takes on the Atlanta Falcons who are 4 and 2. And the drafting sportsbook line here, Atlanta minus 3, the overrunner is 51. I want this game. Yeah. 51 points. So. There's, there's two games this week that I think most fantasy players are very, very excited about. This one. And the, um,