Should You LOCK IN These Players in Week 7?! | ESPN Fantasy

Daniel, I'm just talking seed, seed, seed, seed, seed. - Seed, seed, piss missiles, Liz. - I'm Liz Lose, and this is Facts versus Feelings, and today's fact is that your first take doesn't have to be your last one. (upbeat music) Daniel, look at, I'm already smiling, even though we're not in the same room anymore, or this week. I miss you, but I'm already so happy to be doing this with you, you bring me so much joy. - Same, my friend, I wish that you were here, and we could do this in person, but I'm super excited we get to do it again this week, dive into a handful of players here in week seven, hopefully get some people some good lineup advice. So with that, let's dive into a quarterback, Liz, that has me tilted. You and I were both in on the CJ Stroud, is not really doing what he's doing, because a couple of weeks ago, he had a rushing touchdown, and we were gonna get to back-to-back games with 20 fantasy points, and then he decided to gaslight us, and do it for a third week in a row. Is there a chance that CJ Stroud is actually legit, and we were wrong? A girl, we have to own this one. I mean, Ross from Rhode Island called in, and was like, hey, why is CJ Stroud burying your rankings? I've been streaming him, and he's been awesome. And we were like, no, no, no, no, no, more on that, by the way, because spoiler, you wanna wait till the end when we get to fantasy there, because Ross from Rhode Island, let's us know. CJ Stroud is quietly putting together a career best season in fantasy football points per game, completion percentage, interception rate, off-target rate in that it's low. And QBR, he's got one interception on the entire season. I mean, he's crushing. Part of this is because the Texans' backfield is a disaster. It continues to struggle. The backfield in Houston averaging 3.6 yards per attempt, that's the fourth lowest in the NFL, and 1.43 yards after contact, the second lowest behind only the Packers in the NFL. As a result, though, CJ Stroud is saling in the ball. I mean, Daniel, I'm just talking seed, seed, seed. Seed, seed, piss missiles, Liz, that's what he's doing out here. To the tune of a 65% pass rate, which ranks ninth in the NFL. Also, this wide receiver core is expanding, right? Tank Dell, back from injury this week. Marvin Harris, in junior, Stroud's former college teammate, added, he has options. It's being bolstered. And when you have another massive injury to the position in Jalenhurtz, and more teams on by, Stroud offers top eight positional appeal. Yeah, he is a streaming option this week. And until things slow down, kind of like the Packers light a little bit with how much they have to throw the ball right now, and their running game isn't very good. But speaking of the Green Bay Packers, actually, Liz, we've had a lot of questions this week. With Josh Jacobs returning to us and our fantasy game, miss the first six games of the season now, likely to play or seemingly likely to play against the Detroit Lions here in week seven. How are we approaching him in week seven for the Lions? Well, let's clear it up that he is eligible to return this week. The NFL did acknowledge that there could be a suspension on the table in the future, but assuming that the team would like to have him back because the backfield has been woefully unproductive and inefficient, it is fair to assume he'll make his 2026 debut this Sunday against your Lions. Now, there's a lot of expectations here, right? That he is going to, in many ways, save this backfield and add stability to a rotation that has just been churn, right? They haven't been good. There hasn't been a star. None of these options of the four or five that have been in rotation have like popped. But I also think we need to like calibrate our expectations of Jacobs, because I do not expect him to be some sort of immediate savior, lifting and stabilizing this backfield from his first snap on the field in his 2026 debut. We have to also look at the fact that over the last six games of 2025, his efficiency and his production dropped drastically. His usage also dropped drastically and he hasn't played ball in a minute so he's gonna have to shake off us as well as the fact that if you are going to face the Lions, you know that the way to beat them is through the air, not via the ground. They are much stingier against the rush than they are through the air. And since Jacobs has been out, while it's been an obvious hurdle for this offense, Jordan Love has found awesome weapons via the air with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, those connections are all clicking. So it seems to me that this is not going to be a Josh Jacobs game that evolution takes time and probably for week seven. You need to consider him on the RB2/RB3 bubble for fantasy purposes. - Moving forward Liz, the show is called Fax versus feelings, just to talk about the feeling side. You are allowed to be on either side of this Josh Jacobs situation. If you want to pass on Josh Jacobs, because you feel like using him in fantasy football just makes it less fun for you, that's okay, go ahead and pass, because that's what it's all about, is you having fun doing this. On the other side, it doesn't mean that you can don't what happened if you do want to use him to play fantasy football. That doesn't mean that you're agreeing with the situation at the end of the day. It is your team and only you manage it, so you should manage your team the way that you want. But Liz, Josh Jacobs is playing my lines like you said, and Jameson Williams feels like he is in a smash spot after starting slow. He's had a couple of good weeks in a row. You think that continues here against the pack? - I don't know, because that is what happens when you utilize the boom bust talents of Jameson Williams. However, if you had the courage to roster him, then you have to have the audacity to flex him in this particular matchup. The last time we saw him out of the buy, he only caught two balls, but both of them were in the end zone. The week before that, massive receiving production on huge volume. I don't know what this week is going to bear, but I do know that against a division opponent, and in a game with a projected total of 53 and a half, the highest of the whole week, you gotta assume that Jameson is going to hit his ceiling more frequently than his basement level floor, right? Also, think about this matchup. The Packers are gonna have to respect the run, because that's what Jameer Gibbs demands. Packers also much stingier against the tight end, then the wide receiver position, and Sam LaPorta, it can be argued has been a consistent thorn in the side of Jameson Williams. But if the Packers are locked in on him, and they are more vulnerable against wide receivers, then hello, Jameo. I feel like this is an incredible opportunity, and I think he could flirt with 16 fantasy points in this game. I would love that. Jameo's one of those guys, where it doesn't take very many touches to be able to make your money with him. So as long as we get the ball in his hands, and it turns out to be the high scoring game that we hope, it seems like it's gonna be potentially a good one here for Jameson Williams. Liz, before we move on, if I can just tell everyone, please don't forget to like and subscribe. It means a lot for us, because it helps other people be able to find the video. Thank you so much for doing that, and make sure that we get your voice mails. We wanna get all of your weak eight line of questions. If you have any questions about life advice, hot takes on players like we've had in the past, give us a phone call, three, two, three, three, nine, one, four, eight, five, five. Are you deaf? No, you is blind. I'm not blind, you blind. That is what I just said. All right, Liz, it's week seven, so we're gonna dive into a new segment that we have. We wanna keep things fresh around here. It's gonna be a start bench cut segment, but it's gonna be a bunch of blind resumes. So I've got three people that I have picked out that you have not known about. To be honest, just so that everyone is aware to pull the curtain back, I'm gonna copy and paste the stats that you're about to hear into a team's chat so that Liz can read them, but our producers didn't trust Liz not to cheat and look stuff up ahead of time. So she has not seen any of the players that we're talking about right now, okay? Just so everyone knows. So Liz, I'm gonna give you the first player in our chat so you can look at it if you want. Tell me who this is. I gotta hold on. I gotta put my glasses. Can I just take notes? Oh my gosh. Elizabeth. Okay. All right, now that you got your glasses on, no, I understand, I understand. All right, so this very first player, I wanna ask, based on where we're at, if you would start, bench or cut them. This is a wide receiver. Okay. The last month of production. Six for 63 and a touchdown on nine targets, that's 18.3 fantasy points. Five for 45 on nine targets for nine and a half fantasy points. Eight for 82 on 11 targets. 16.2 fantasy points had a game missed in there, but three straight games with nine plus targets and an average depth of target of 7.92, which is 62nd amongst 74 qualified wide receivers. That's a little hint that it's a guy that's maybe a little short yardage more than deep shots. Would you start, bench or cut that player based on the stats that you just heard? He's getting like at least nine targets a game and he's only missed one. Is it Jalen Coker? It is not Jalen Coker. Who is he playing this week? Do I know? I will tell you that afterwards. My question is, are you going to start them or not based on the production? Okay, yes. If they're getting nine plus targets a game, then I'm going to start them. Even if they are just a one point PPR league. Hold on. Did you just say you were going to start Keenan Allen against the Minnesota Vikings this week or is? Oh my gosh. You're doing to me. Are you serious? against Minnesota. Okay, so let's talk about what - You didn't tell me Minnesota. - Well, that's sort of, yes, you're right, I didn't, I didn't. But he was really good recently, he had a lot of volume recently, but we know the reason why, right? Josh Downs has not been the guy, there's been no Alec Pierce last week. Tyler Warren was out, so he's just seen a bunch of volume. But this week against Minnesota, in spite of all of that, I don't feel confident and Keenan Allen, even though the box scores have looked really good. Do you think he's even a flex consideration for you this week? Not because of the matchup. No, because I don't think Daniel Jones, oh, wait, Tyler Warren has been beat up. Is he playing this week? We're still monitoring all the practice reports so that's something you'll have to just keep watching. I can't tell you that. I will say if Tyler Warren is out, then yes, I would consider Keenan Allen because you have to imagine that Flores is going to blitz at an incredible rate, and Keenan Allen is going to be the safety valve to an even larger extent with Warren out in this matchup. So yes, I could flex him in a one point PPR league given the matchup because of the pressure that Jones will feel assuming Warren is absent. Okay, all right. I like that. I like that. But assuming that Tyler Warren is in there, he feels a little less fun from a flex consideration which they got back. All right, here's the next one that we have bringing to the table is it is another wide receiver. Here's what they've done so far this year. Five fantasy points, 6.9 fantasy points, 7.2 fantasy points, 7.3 fantasy points, 7.4 fantasy points, and 15.4 fantasy points. That's not an order. That's just what they've done so far this year. So one game with more than three receptions this season and one game with more than 55 receiving yards, five of those six games have been under eight fantasy points. Start, bench, or cut this player. This seems like a player who got lucky with a touchdown and is probably attached to like a crappy quarterback. I don't know, it's giving Carl Tate, but I don't want to guess. I am probably going to using up. I mean, based on these stats, I'm going to sit in. Based on the game, I'm probably going to start him, but tell me who it is. So yes, I'm benching him. I agree with you on the quarterback thing. Roman Dunesay. (laughing) Gotty. Gotty. (laughing) Oh no. Liz Lose, your bear's wide receiver. I mean, you're the one that said Caleb believes is crappy. Not me. I don't even know what to say. This is a tough one though, 'cause Roman Dunesay just has not been getting lucky. Obviously a lot of issues, but when there have been wide receivers that have smacked or pass catchers, it feels like it's more Lutheran burden or last week it was Colson Loveland. Roman Dunesay really has only had that one game. At this point, if you have Rome, you're either selling cheap or you just have to keep holding, right? There's nothing else you can do to see if maybe he can get to that point once Caleb is fully back to doing all the things we expect, right? Well, he's definitely not ascended to the alpha level that we have been anticipating since he was drafted, right? And the connection, the two of them, he and Williams in the same draft class that we thought would immediately gel, also hasn't really come to fruition. I agree with you that Luther burden is probably the most consistent producer, even if he doesn't have the same spike weeks as the other two. So yes. And I would, probably in this matchup venture. Yes, the Patriots. Yeah. Yeah. All right, so I'm with you on that. I got one more I'm gonna bring to the table. Liz Losa, you've been a real sport with this game too. By the way, I really appreciate it. Thank you. Chad, right here. Plays along like Liz Losa. OK. This one is, well, Lady Liz Fortune plays along pretty well to running back for this one. This is the running backs last four games. OK. Nine fantasy points, three fantasy points, nine fantasy points, two fantasy points, 182 Russian yards and four catches for eight yards over that span. And this running back had two carries inside the five for negative one Russian yard over that month. I got to guess this guy or I just-- You don't have to. You can just tell me if you want to start bench or cut him, based on what you believe. He had negative rushing yards this season. Inside the five. He's got two carries inside the five. Not a lot of goal line work. Two carries he has gotten has resulted in negative one yard. Yeah, and why would I start? No, I'm not starting this guy. OK. Would you bench him or would you cut him? I mean, I would bench him mostly because I'm nervous that running backs are things that you-- Oh, my God. Is this Omarian Hampton? Oh, my God. Daniel, did you just do it? You just did. It's Omarian Hampton, isn't it? It's not. It's not. I would never do that to you, girl. I don't know. Who is it? No. It's just a future Hall of Famer known as Seikwan Barkley. Oh. I don't know what you do here. Like the Eagles have been so bad, Liz. Now they unfortunately have Tanner McKee under center. So it's just not going to be an offense operating to its fullest potential. We don't think the offensive line has been really tough. The idea that Seikwan Barkley, in a season in which Jalen Hertz is not getting goal line touches with the push push, still only has two carries inside the five for negative one yards and no rushing touchdowns and only one catch per game. Oh, you said no rushing touchdowns. I should have queued me in that it's not Omarian Hampton. Sorry. Continue. He can't, like, we're only starting him because his name is Seikwan Barkley. Everything else about how he's played is like, nope. I have no reason to want to start this guy in fantasy football. Wait. But last week I had to start Damian Pierce because, like, buys, injuries, et cetera, were really limiting my team. You're right. You're right. And Damian Pierce got me 15 fantasy points. So, like, I don't think you can just cut a running back unless, and this is a little narrative street eat. Like, unless the Eagles decide to shut Barkley down for the year because they know the way it's going to go. Oh, yeah. I don't think that happens. I mean, that could happen. I would be shocked. I guess if it did. Not to, like, Thanksgiving, right? Yeah. We'd get a little deeper into the season before we did it now. But that's a tough one because Seikwan, I think, is still an RB2 just given how thin the running back position is and if he falls in the end zone, he can maybe do some things here for you. Also a little sliver of optimism, right? There's no regaining what Barkley, like, there's no regaining the draft capital spent on Barkley. He's not going to, you know, finish where you drafted him. He's not going to finish as like a top 10 or a top 12 producer at the position. Let's assume that, right? He was the RB 15 overall last year. He'll probably be below that this year. But Tanner McKee did target Pierce through the air quite a bit. He used that running back as a safety valve and we do know that Barkley has that skill set in his, in his avail, right? Yeah. Now, Jalen Hertz hadn't been doing that much this season, but if we have a new quarterback and McKee is willing to use the running back as a safety valve, then maybe that portion of Barkley's game can be unlocked and we can make up some fantasy ground that way. Save a little bit of the season going that route. I would love it if that happens, Liz. So just to quickly go through this, you would bench future Hall of Famers sake one, Parkley, even though he's a starter this week, you think that Roma Dunes A has a crappy quarterback and you would start Keenan Allen against the Vikings. That's just like your first thoughts. But then, you know what, Liz? The whole point is your first take doesn't have to be your last take. So. Whoever wrote that was brilliant. This is a safe place, a place where we can feel free sharing our feelings. Well, Daniel, after that segment, particularly the Rome O Dunes A portion of it, I'm going to need some therapy, but hey, let's be experts and try to answer our listeners questions. That's what we do best, Liz. We be experts. Yes. So we're going to take this first one, Rex, from my favorite mitten. Oh. Hi, Liz. I'm Rex from Michigan. I'm an attend team PPR Lee. Should I start journey Bernard or car now, take in my flex for week seven. Thank you. First of all, Rex, thank you for listening. I love this question because it is incredibly difficult to choose between these two players. I have them very closely ranked in my rankings. Both getting incredible target share matchups are kind of even here, but I think I'm going to have to lean towards Bernard, because both Michael Pittman and Roman Wilson are on IR. And wow, as much as it pains me to say this, I trust Aaron Rogers more than Cam Ward. I am with you surprisingly, Liz, loads that it's all about the volume that he is getting right now. And I'm just going to keep following that. All right. Next voice mail. Jamie Ann wants to talk about the G man. Liz. And I'm just calling in to say I want for the glazed the giant like boost them up to on schedule, though, but glazed the giant, please. All right. So. Jonathan, the J man followed the assignment because really it is fantasy therapy. And he is telling us that he is hurting right now. I mean, okay, I will say that the big apple has been able to do something that Minnesota couldn't, which is make JJ McCarthy look good and productive. That's true. Absolutely. Yeah. News. week seven is the JJ McCarthy is going to start. He stole that job away from perhaps the most entertaining backup in the entire league. That's something. Yeah. I still feel like when you talk about a guy that had 35 targets over the last two weeks, Malik neighbors is unbelievable. I say likely might be the biggest like tight end breakout that we've seen in, I don't know, the last five years. Maybe it's because we all thought this could happen with Isaiah likely if the Ravens just ever used him the way they were supposed to. But no, they had to keep playing Mark Andrews. So seeing these two guys, it's freaking amazing. We got a phone call here from Steve, our producer, Quintin's father. Daddy Thorne, let's go. They live in Daniel. This is Steve Thorne. I'm wondering what to do with Marvin Harrison's you and you're still. I have him on my bench. And now that he's accused him, Texan, should I reconsider bringing him back to the starting lineup? I look forward to hearing your response. And you can reach me at sp Thorne underscore SJC by Instagram. Thanks so much. Thank you so much. Oh, Daddy Thorne Instagram girl. Wait to slide into these DMs. Oh my goodness. Baby Q is gonna. Oh wow. Also like not a very patient man. No, Daddy Thorne, right? He was like, what am I doing with this? What what is happening? And I feel like we need to. Yeah. So the answer is nothing just yet because I think there is optimism. We're seeing movement. But right now, MHJ is better for stride than stride is elevating MHJ. Yes. I think right now, ladies, if I could put it in context that daddy Thorne would understand, I think we're still in the four play stages of Marvin Ayers in junior. We have not taken a deep dive yet. I will say his three catches on just 12 snaps is promising. Like it does. Well, that that Ohio State connection can be rebuilt. Also worth mentioning that the Texans go on by and we gate and then they get the chargers in week nine. So I think that is when we can realistically expect some production that will translate into fantasy worthiness and relevance. But until then Daddy Thorne just have to be patient two weeks, baby. That's right. Chill out, smoke show. We love Daddy Thorne for what it's worth. All right. This next one, Liz. Yes. This is from Charlie. Is it possible? This is the famous Charlie from Charlie bit my finger back when we were going up. It is possible. We have not ruled it out, but have not also confirmed it. But this is the question. Hey, guys, Charlie here. Listen to you guys there a week. I want to say thank you for everything you do. I have a pretty serious question here though. I got offered a trade for he's on Robinson and Jalen Waddle for Justin Jefferson, Jameson Williams, and Amari and Hampton. I'm definitely struggling at the wide receiver position and my other running bags are Truba Hubbard and Jeremiah Love with Woody Marx and Josh Jacobs on the bench. Just too many names because it doesn't seem like a horrible idea, but I don't know about losing Bejon. Thank you guys. Daniel, is the trade basically he's giving Bejon for Justin Jefferson? There's a bunch of ancillary pieces, but at the core of it, that's the swap. So because that's what you're doing, but the running back you're getting back is a running back that you can't even really use in Amari and Hampton right now, which means you've got to have two guys on your bench that you're definitely using and he's got Truba Hubbard and Jeremiah Love and Woody Marx and Josh Jacobs. So there's a chance in the future he could get there, but I don't know how hard it is to lose a guy like Bejon Robinson and Fantasy Football. I mean, also if we're just like distilling the trade down to Bejon for Justin Jefferson, like those are the crown jewels that are being exchanged, Bejon Robinson is averaging more fantasy points per game than Justin Jefferson. Yes. Bejon Robinson is averaging 21 fantasy points per game. Jefferson's averaging 16 fantasy points per game. Now that does it mean that Justin Jefferson now that he's back to health and noting that Kyler Murray has the easiest strength of schedule for the position through the end of the season can't improve those numbers, but also the reason you took Bejon first or second overall is because he and Jameer are in a tier by themselves, which Justin Jefferson is not in and also can't really get to. Yeah. By virtue of the position he plays, right? Right. I think that I would keep Bejon Robinson and roll with Jalen Waddle with the hopes that that offense gets back on track rather than feeling like what the upgrade that I'm getting is worth it at the wide receiver spot. I don't know. I love Justin Jefferson. I love Jameo. Maureen Hampton is a potential trade candidate. I talked about it on the show earlier this week. I understand the reasoning, but I don't want to give up Bejon to make that happen. I think I'm out because it's Bejon. I think so. I'm with you on that one. All right. This next one is the aforementioned Ross from Providence, given us a callback. Happy week to everyone. It's Ross from Providence again calling. I called last week, touching for CJ Stroud as a QB1. Sure did. I hope that that customer performance gets a chance to come around on him as a line-up block. Daniel wanted me to ask a question. Oh, okay. Okay. My question is out of all the rookie receivers, who do you think has the best chance to be a wide receiver one next year? It's a pretty deep clouds as well. It's been paid. Jeremy Bernard, even guys like Omar Cooper Jr. have been pretty productive. So just want to see who you guys think has a chance to be a first or second, even maybe third round pick next year. Thank you guys. I like Ross. I mean, I like it. Ross, like also go ahead and take a bow, right? He deserves it. I led, Ross, I also want you to know that I was so impressed by you and willing to own my own takes and be self-aware and responsible that I led my facts versus feelings for week seven column on the dot com available to read right now with your voice mail. I mentioned it. So like you got Ross by Ross from Rhode Island mentioned in the column. So this is also, can we also say that this is kind of why we have this segment? Like this is community. This is fantasy. This is what it's all about. So please, if you have those sort of takes in your remain respectful the way Ross was, then call in with them. Tense your question. Like none of these receivers, there is a chance that none of them end up with the quarterbacks that they're currently attached to know. Yeah. We would expect the Browns at Denzel Boston or Casey Concepcion to have a different quarterback than to Sean Watson. There's at least a chance that the Titans have to look at things with Cam Ward if they continue this way this season. Geno Smith and Aaron Rogers is the other two options and you would think those teams are wanting to find the replacements for both of those guys. We already think Aaron Rogers is going to retire. So yeah, that's a really great question heading into next year. It's almost going to be one of those who develops the most down the end, like the down the stretch here and their rookie season that gives us that bump heading into next year. I would say assuming the quarterbacks all shift, Cam Ward being the one least likely to, then it's about polish and level of like route awareness, which would lead me to believe carnault date. I would think that even though I really like Denzel Boston, they've still got Harold Fan Jr. there. They've got Casey Concepcion. They want to run the football with Quinchon Judkins. Jimmy Bernard has a bunch of pieces in that offense that he's sharing with as well. Omar Cooper is only the wide receiver too. And they also added in the tight end this year. Yeah. So carnault date has a way. Yeah. Can you see the carnault date has way less competition. It feels like to be able to take his game to the next step as well. All right, Liz. I got one. Actually, do you mind if I bring a little fantasy therapy for me? I've been struggling. Let's go. All right. This last week, I played the Miz in our fantasy focus countdown week. I am famously unwinned and he is famously very good and vocal about it. Much to my chagrin, he has brought a video to the table every single week for every manager that he's played so far up until this last week. He will talk smack, talk about why he's better than you, how good his lineup is, and all of those things up until last week, Liz. No video, no taunt, no smack talk, no nothing. And it's been an especially tough week for me because if I were to just play Tyler Shuck over Jayden Daniels, I would have got my first win of the season, Liz. The guy straight up alpha dog me by not sending in a video. And I feel like I'm too much of a to even be worth his time. I don't see that. How do I bounce back from this Liz Lose like did you win the match? No, I didn't win. No. I mean, I don't, I think it's a new week. It's a new week. And you don't have to deal with the Miz in week seven. That was a week six calamity. And you can put it behind you and just focus on the present and fixing your team moving forward. And you don't have to face him again. I don't think my team does need to be fixed. I don't, I don't think I will have to because I probably don't make the playoffs. So that's good. Well, you've done a great job making me feel better. Good job. You're good at this. I think you should just focus on what's in front of you. And it's not that is. Yeah. Today we learned that if you had the courage to draft Jameson Williams, you need to employ the audacity to fall. flex him in week 7. That Daniel Dopp is a sneaky peat who tricked me into trolling my own quarterback and that your first take does not have to be your last take because as more data becomes available, you are in fact allowed to change your mind. Be sure to check out my week 7 edition of Facts vs Feelings The Column, which is currently live on the dot com and remember, you can leave us a voicemail. The number to call is 323-391-4855. Until next time, may your facts be solid, your feelings be right, and your bus be someone else's problem.