FFT Express - Biggest Question For Week 1: Hubbard vs Brooks, Steelers Backfield, Colts Pass Catchers, & More! (09/09 Fantasy Football Podcast)

you have questions we have answers that's up next here on fantasy football today express i'm Jamie iceberg that's Dave richer we're gonna see what happens in week one to hopefully get some answers that we've been discussing throughout training camp throughout the pre-season so Dave let's go right to it. A lot of ambiguous backfields will start in Pittsburgh where we have rico doubtel and jalen moron or jalen warren and rico doubtel they're taking on the falcons are we gonna find out who the best stealers running back is by the end of week one. i don't think we'll find out who the best guy is after week one it's gonna be a week to week thing i would expect both of them to play a lot i expect the stealers to play with a lead and that might help rico doubt will get more in terms of carries maybe a slight edge in targets and catches for jalen warren if there's something to appreciate about doubtel it's that he's been better in goal line situations ceilers can probably get to the goal line against atlanta i i think leaning doubtel especially in half and non-ppr makes a lot of sense i just wonder if we get a frustrating situation all season long last year kind of eventually worked out well where you kind of got great ppr production from gain well in jalen warren was still good i'm just hoping that we don't have to oh this week it's this guy this week it's that guy you know you keep picking the wrong player so if you're drafting Tuesday when we're recording this who are you still taking for it's still doubtel for me just as a season long play it's who i'd rather have this might be the easiest matchup in terms of past rush pressure that Aaron Rogers will have all year right because alana is starting the year like they just acquired drvon dexter from chicago he's arguably the best past rusher and he's an interior defensive lineman so it's he should have time to throw down field the the steeler should be able to put up a decent amount of points doubtel salting the game away is certainly one way that this game could end i'm going to go to another ambiguous backfill next and that is in carolina where we thought we may have an open runway for donathan Brooks because tuba hubbert suffered a hamstring injury and then lo and behold we get to the practice reports for the first week of the season as carolina is taking on chicago and Brooks is now missing practice for being limited in practice and hovered is working his way back so if you are drafting Tuesday or coming out of week one who do expect to be the best panthers running back for the season if i'm drafting on Tuesday it's Brooks and coming out of week one assuming that he practices a decent amount by the time friday gets here it's still Brooks i think that's the guy that the panthers want to have as the primary runner in their in their offense tuba will work alongside them i have a hard time believing tuba is even going to get a lot of high value touches we know that Brooks was a great past catcher at texas it's something he can certainly do in the NFL it's something that's been talked about in training camp and then when you get to the goal line i think intuition says that it's tuba but i think they're going to want to reward johnathan Brooks and give him some of those goal line carriers as well i think he's a feel good story for the team and i think they're going to pivot to him being the better back provided that he's healthy let's see what the wednesday practice report says that's the first time the panthers have to actually divulge what's going on with him i wouldn't necessarily discount hovered still being a big factor and big contributor even if Brooks is healthy because who knows how much the panthers want to put on Brooks's shoulders right now knowing that he went through the entirety of training camp and now he's still not feeling right even if it's just something you know discomfort soreness whatever he's still not that guy yet or ready to be that guy yet at least if he's not comfortable or 100% healthy and the fact that we don't know how this would have been discussed if hovered was practicing and getting those chances maybe in limited precies action just how this all would have gone so i'm very curious to see what will happen in week one let me ask you real quick do you have a panthers running back in your top 24 for week one no neither do i no and do you have a stealers running back in your top 24 for week one no again it's just both these guys are in some interesting spots huge upside for maybe one of them good upside potentially for both of them but you know still something to see i i hope by the time we get to let's say week four certainly for Carolina because maybe by that point we get the tackles back and then this offensive line which was really good last year can make one of these guys hopefully a a top 24 running back all right we're gonna take a break when we come back and again into a couple more murky situations that we hope to get some answers for for fantasy managers after week one all right let's go to Indianapolis Day where Alec Pierce coming back from the foot injury we had a lot of questions about will he even play in week one and now we're expecting him to at least be on the field the reports are he may not have his full snap share may not do everything that they hope for him to do but since he's been out at the start of camp Josh Downs in and out of the lineup due to injury as well seemingly fine but they add Keenan Allen so how do you view the Colts receiving core who's your favorite and what are you expecting to see in their first gaming as Baltimore is it taking the cheap way out if I say Tyler Warren is my favorite he's the one that had the highest target for out run rate with Daniel Jones yes we're just talking their receivers okay so i'm gonna go with Josh Downs next Downs is the one provided again that the practice report discloses that Downs is okay and he's going to to be out there i i like the roll change for him i know he's gonna lose some of those easy targets those layup targets to Keenan Allen but we saw it last year with Daniel Jones he had a 22.5 percent target for out run rate against zone coverage i'm expecting zone coverage from Baltimore that's just a staple with what Jesse mentor does Pierce was actually fourth pitman also had 22 percent that actually encourages me with Downs because i think Downs will take some of that pitman role whereas Keenan Allen is going to be that short area target that we've seen him be he runs around makes a cut gets a target that's it Pierce was at 17.9 percent he was their man beater last year and i don't see the Ravens doing a lot of that and even if they do they've got some solid corners that can line up with Pierce and in contend for those jump balls down field Pierce isn't 100 percent i think this is an easy week to leave Pierce on the bench Downs would be my favorite of the three but the only one i'm starting with superior confidence is Warren two more receiving cores that may be relevant to fantasy managers at some point this season we'll go to Miami first where we didn't expect Chris Bell to maybe even play in week one and got off the public and the reports have been very positive Caleb Douglas at the start of camp was getting rave reviews and Malik Washington seems to be the third option and the at least pecking order right now how do you view the three receivers from Miami and is there one that you're trying to get on your roster the one that i'm trying to get on my roster is Bell but it's with the idea that i'm stashing him for the first month of the season to see what happens and if he can actually break out i'm not discouraged by Malik Willis the thrower i saw enough on film last year where i felt like Malik Willis can do a decent job reading coverages and then still get the ball on time with anticipation to his receivers down the field if you're looking for a cheat code in ppr it's Washington i think he's gonna end up getting in the neighborhood of six or seven targets every single week he can catch most of those he's kind of doing that thing that Josh Downs did last year Chris Bell is more of the down field targets so is Caleb Douglas i'm sorry Chris did i say Chris Bell that's right okay finally uh Chris Bell is the one that i would stash i think he's got the most upside both short term and long term i'm looking to see what his roster ship is right now and see best sports he's available in 77% of leagues so you might have drafted some bum with your third to last pick before you took your defense in your kicker you can drop that bum if it's not somebody that you want to see more from who's obviously healthier than Chris Bell but you can stash Chris Bell and see how it goes in week one against Las Vegas that's a fairly favorable matchup i will this is obviously going to have to get the ball out quick because of max crossbe being opposite him but there could be some good opportunities in this game for Chris Bell i'm especially interested to see if he just plays a lot let's see which wide receiver plays the most for Miami in this game and if Bell's route rate is high then that's simply going to be an encouraging side i don't really want to start any of these guys and i don't think you have to others out of the ball in that same game we have the Raiders receiving core where you got trade Tucker getting some mid camp positive reports jalen nailer really hadn't gotten any sort of buzz which is unfortunate and then you have jack bash and maybe malik Benson you know the rookie that they drafted so how you viewing the Raiders and is there anybody you want to have on your roster from that Tucker is another stash and i think i'd rather have Tucker than Bell to begin the year if it's like a keeper league or some sort of long term format i'd flip that i'd rather have Bell and Tucker's out there and 46% of CBS sports league so he's another interesting that stash i think he's going to be the number two target getter for Vegas this year and it took me a little while to come around on that i was thinking that nailer would be that guy but after seeing him practice and understanding how he's tried to change his game this offseason where he's trying to just be a better have a better understanding of the coverages they see and being on the same pages as quarterbacks and knowing that his quarterbacks are better this year i think that there's room for trade Tucker to certainly see a lot of playing time to see his target share go up and to be a factor maybe not a huge factor but a factor nonetheless for Las Vegas so if there's a player that i'm going to stash and this is an idea you can start the year with Tucker instead of Bell and then if after week one There's better science for better. than Tucker, you make the switch. If not, you stick with Tucker until you find another wide receiver or another player at any position that you can use on that roster spot, and you get rid of Tucker, and that's if Tucker doesn't impress to begin the year. Because there's a chance that he does, I think most games for Las Vegas, this week might not be one of them, but most weeks for Las Vegas, they're going to be chasing points. They're going to have to put the ball in the air. And Tucker will certainly benefit because teams are going to be focused on Bowers. Tucker feels like his ceiling is more limited than Bells. Bells floor is probably worse than Tucker. So depending on your roster build and what you need and what you're hoping for a long term, that's going to probably determine which player you like the best or it could just be, hey, look at Caleb Douglas. He's awesome or look at Jack Besch. Maybe he's the best receiver for the Raiders. We'll find out. That's what we're waiting to see in week one. Some of the questions we've been talking about or trying to figure out, hopefully get the answers for after we see live game action. For Day Richard, I'm Jamie Eisenberg. Thanks for watching and listening to Fantasy football today.