Week 4 Fantasy Football WR, QB, and TE Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 2231)
74m 2s
The podcast features a detailed analysis of NFL wide receiver rankings, focusing on the impact of inconsistent quarterback performance and volatile matchups. Zay Flowers stands out as a high-efficiency, heavily targeted slot receiver with a strong potential in his upcoming game against Tennessee, though some analysts caution about the Titans’ defense. Parker Washington is viewed as a reliable floor game option against the Bengals due to favorable game dynamics and recent performance. Malik Neighbors remains a risky pick due to limited usage and poor recent results under James Winston, making his value uncertain. Michael Wilson is positioned as a top-tier Arizona receiver due to high volume and a clear shift in target distribution, despite inefficiency. Josh Downs is gaining traction with more downfield targets, though production remains inconsistent. Denzel Boston emerges as a breakout rookie with strong performance and a favorable matchup, outperforming DK Metcalf, who is seen as inefficient and vulnerable to defensive coverage. Romeo Dobs is considered a high-variance, low-ceiling option with inconsistent production and minimal targets, though a big play could shift his value. The discussion emphasizes the importance of matchup analysis, volume, and offensive chemistry in determining fantasy value, with the hosts agreeing on the need for flexibility and caution in player selection amid volatile conditions.
This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of Scam Goddess Podcasts. The True Crime Comedy Podcasts, all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on an amazing guest. Ooh, I scammed them. What? I could talk to you for an hour. You're a generational yapper, like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. Start listening to Scam Goddess on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Let's get out of this. Welcome into Fantasy Pros. This is the Fantasy Football Podcast. This is the wide receivers, rank episode, terror robberts here, filling in for Chris Welch on the ranking shows this week. And I've got Pat Fitzmorris and Andrew Erickson with me, as always. Before we dive in, again, just a reminder that you can find our expert rankings at fantasyproves.com/rankings. Now, guys, Fitz, are you finding the wide receiver rankings challenging this year with all of the erratic quarterback play? Because it doesn't seem it's like it's not them. But what do we do when you don't have all of these quarterbacks that we thought we could rely on? It has been a little tougher. And sometimes especially when it's a good receiver tethered to maybe a quarterback who's not playing well, what do you do with all Drake May's guys? Are there any patriots? Wide receivers you can trust. And maybe we'll hit on that at some point during this show. Erickson, how about you? It's tough, for sure. Trying to figure out how to dock certain wide receivers, especially when you get someone like Malik neighbors, where what version of James Winston are we going to get? What kind of weather are we going to be playing with James Winston? How do you make that type of call? Tampa Bay, Jalen Daniels. Not Jalen Daniels. Jalen Daniel will be starting for the Bucket Ears offense. That was already bad with Baker Rayfield. Now you're having an undrafted rookie for agent entering as a starting quarterback. And you're going to see potential narratives where it's like, well, Baker was terrible for a Buka. Could this actually be good for a Buka? Because that would not surprise me at all that you could see a Buka potentially bounce back. Now, necessarily, I don't think my rankings will reflect that just because of the Daniels profile. But yeah, a lot of moving pieces here. So that's why I'm always happy. Again, when I do these ranks and do these shows, I'm always interested to see why Fizzi has players ranked in certain positions, because sometimes I'm not strongly feeling in one way or another. So I like coming on this show and learning from both of you guys and Welsh as well about how you feel and also coming out smarter and educated about where my rankings are. My rankings, I feel, always better after we do these shows. That's what makes this show perfect. Yeah, I love that you mentioned a Buka. I had people asking the drop question, are we dropping? I'm like, hold on, people, hold on. Let's not make that move quite yet. Let's go ahead and dive into where we know he won't be. Unfortunately, the top 12 wide receiver rankings pretty standard up top. We've got Jackson Smith in Jigba at number one. Then we've got tomorrow chase. I'm in our Saint Brown, Chris O'Lave, holding it down there in New Orleans versus Atlanta. Could be a very positive matchup. Then we've got CD Lamb or Difficult Matchup at Houston Drake London. Come to life. Welcome back, Michael Pinnix. That was so wonderful to see in a matchup this week against New Orleans. And we've got Garrett Wilson coming off a strong week. Zay Flowers. Welcome back. He had a surprise he played in that game. Now he's got a good matchup, probably a full capacity against Tennessee. We'll get Devonte Adams. It'll be interesting to see how these end up varying if we do get Pukinacua back. Then Devonte Smith, Christian Watson, and then Parker Washington rounding it out at wide receiver 12. We want to pull two names out of this grouping here. Zay Flowers surprised us as the game time decision got out there on the shaky field in Brazil and did in fact come out healthy. So we are welcoming him back here in a matchup this week versus Tennessee back on the mainland. Thank goodness for that. ECR has him at wide receiver eight. Fits your slightly higher at wide receiver seven. Erickson, a little bit lower at wide receiver 10. Fits, why don't you start us off here with Zay Flowers? Yeah, Zay questionable last week with a hamstring injury. And was limited to 21 offensive snaps. He still had five catches for 84 yards against the Cowboys and was very impactful. And so basically Zay has played pretty much the equivalent of one game because he got pulled early in week one limited snaps because the Ravens were just blowing the cold stores off in that game. Didn't play in week two. But what we have seen from Zay Flowers, he has been targeted on 48% of his routes. He is averaging 19.5 yards per target and 9.66 yards per route run. Those are cartoon loony tunes numbers. It's not always gonna be this good, but the usage has been splendid. Like Declan Doyle has been using Zay Flowers as a slot guy. He's been in the slot 76% of the time. And Flowers is just so quick that he is almost uncoverable from the slot. If Flowers can stay healthy, he is going of a monster season. - Yeah, I feel like this was a, I feel like this was a Zay positive group in draft season from what I can recall. So we're just, we're loving this. We're reaping the benefits on this one and we're happy to have him back and healthy. Erickson, how are you feeling about Zay Flowers this week? - Love Zay Flowers this week, facing a Tennessee Duttins that defense that nobody should fear the Ravens are back at home. So I think that he's again locked in a loaded fantasy wide receiver one, my only hesitation with putting him as high as ECR and Fitzhazim as it's Derek Henry against Tennessee Titans. They're gonna get this man his touchdowns. So that is my one callback on like, is it Zay Flowers for your touchdown game? Probably more like a Derek Henry through your touchdown game. Now I know I'm talking a lot about these revenge narratives this week, but I thought Warren brought up a really good point on our the betting pro show where we're looking at these early look ahead lines about the fact that this is the first time Derek Henry's gonna be facing his old team. And as a leader in that locker room, they're playing at home. I could see Zay Flowers in the Ravens passing game maybe kind of taking the foot off the gas a little bit here against, are the Titans gonna have a chance? And like how are the Ravens what, like 12 point favorites at home here? I just don't think it's going to be in the third fourth quarter. Oh, 40 pass attempts for Lamar Jackson or something like along those lines. So Zay Flowers might be able to just get 100 yards, six catches in the first half, and you're gonna be happy that you started them of course, but I do think that Derek Henry's in for a monster monster game. Yeah, it's a valid argument. I know it's not a statistical thing, but we just saw, and we know that Lamar would be thinking this way as well. We literally just saw Trevor Lawrence kneel at the one to have his running back to get a touchdown. So these are things that do in fact come into play. So it still is, it sounds guys. This is a revenge game narrative is valid. So we could still get that massive volume because of the great matchup, but yeah, maybe the touchdowns just do tilt a little bit towards Derek Henry. So let's talk about another player from this rankings range. We'll pull out the one that is listed last, that is Parker Washington, Parker Washington, Wide Receiver 12, you guys are, if it's your on par with Wide Receiver 12 as you're ranking, and then Erickson, a little bit higher at Wide Receiver 9, he's been giving us these, what I call these floor games, right? And we've got to match up against the Cincinnati defense that came apart at the seams last week. So Erickson talked to us about, feeling a little bit more positive about Parker Washington this week. - Yeah, if I had to make a decision between starting Parker Washington and Zay flowers this week, I would start Parker Washington. And that's not to say, 'cause you're gonna start both guys, no matter what unless you're playing in a 14 league, which again, whatever you wanna do to play fantasy, I won't judge. But with Washington, I look at this game script as we could get a back and forth shoot out here between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals, whereas I don't think that's the case whatsoever when the Ravens are facing the Tennessee Titans that are 3 and 17 in Cam War's career. I just don't think the Titans are gonna put up much of a fight. So this game though is back and forth and could be really fun for fantasy purposes. So Washington to your point has had some floor games, three for five last week for 40 yards, had a really great touchdown catch. You actually had two touchdowns, but one of them was called back. Still, he ended up scoring and doing excellent for your fantasy line. I've even had a tougher match up, getting matched up a little bit more with Christian Gonzalez. So I think that Jaguars Bengals last time when these teams faced last year early in the season, it was a game where Joe Burrow actually got hurt. The totals still hit 58 points. The teams combined for 750 yards of total offense. And when you look at the way the Bengals have their second area, it's they have one lockdown guy named DJ Turner and he's gonna find Brian Thomas Jr. Well, depending on Brian Thomas Jr.'s on the field or not, he's gonna lock down the perimeter guy and you're gonna see Parker Washington just eat out of the slot 'cause they just move him around so much around the formation. He always finds ways. So in a game where the Jacksonville Jaguars this season have played a lot of really weird games where they played in two games where they just blew out the other team and then they played on the road at Denver where they kind of had like a weird like second half collapse. This is a game where you could actually see the Jaguars pushed, which has not happened up to this point. And I think that's why we haven't seen the Parker Washington ceiling game yet because we haven't seen the Jaguars pushed. This is a game where they get pushed and this is where Parker Washington just goes nuke. - Yeah, Fitz, are you feeling the same way about Parker Washington this week? - Yeah, I hate that I feel like a funny dutty being this low on him relative to Ericsson. But yeah, fourth in Ariard share, fifth in target share, eighth in yards per route run, Parker Washington's wide receiver ten in fantasy scoring. The usage has been great and he's just a really good football player. - Yeah, if it helps you, you're not the low one. - I apparently have him at a wide receiver 13, I guess just because I was feeling a little bit
positive about go ahead and shoving an injured player hopefully into the rankings but same concept there. I'm 100% with you guys. This is a great setup for Parker Washington. Before we move on to our wide receiver 13 through 24, just a reminder about the who should I start tool. If you are not sure who to start get fast free start or sit advice with the fantasy pros, who should I start tool? Compare your players and get instant recommendations powered by more than 150 fantasy experts set your best lineup today at fantasyproves.com/start. All right, moving on to 13 through 24 at 13. We're kicking off with George Pickens who has been a little underwhelming compared to last season. Not a great matchup against Houston this week. Then we've got Tedero McMillan who is interesting to see how we might see movement with him with Jalen co-curve dealing with the injury. I mean, with a down game last week but a matchup against Detroit you cannot argue with that in any way shape or form. Then we've got T Higgins, Rashee Rice, Matthew Golden and the volume that we have been seeing. We saw that Jalen read about unfortunately was put on IR so hefty target fondles through him and Christian Watson. Then we've got Jalen Waddle, Malik Neighbors at 19, DJ Moore, Lad Mcconkey still hanging in there, Michael Wilson moving up in the rankings, Josh Downes moving up in the rankings, and then closing things out at 24 with Djibault Samuel, moving up in the rankings. This is a fun little group right here. Yeah, I get into it. I mean, I could talk about all of them with you guys. We might have to talk about all of them post show because I know we can't hold everyone here for this long so we're just going to pull out a few of them. Let's pull out the first one here and talking about one that is definitely one that fantasy managers are going to be so concerned about this week because of the two poor games we've seen in a row from James Winston. We got the trade of JJ McCarthy. We're not going to see JJ McCarthy but maybe he can bring some morale that nine spirit to the locker room. ECR has Malik Neighbors at wide receiver 19. You guys are a little separated on this fits. You are at wide receiver 17. Erickson, you're at wide receiver 22. Erickson, talk to us about being just a little bit more skeptical on Malik Neighbors this week. I have no idea what to do with this guy. Yeah. I really just kind of throw my hands up trying to figure out where rank I may just end up putting it at ECR because I don't really feel comfortable having a strong stance with neighbors where I still don't know what version James Winston we're going to get but all the T-leaves are suggesting to me that the guy that was so fun in Tampa Bay and at times in Cleveland is not going to be taking the field for the Giants in week four where they're just going to let him sling the ball around and be wild and throwing receptions but throw for a ton of area yards and that would originally be such a great case for a player like Malik Neighbors but I'm also trying to remember that the last two games are really hard to use as his sample size moving forward when thrown in when Jackson Art goes down and then playing in bad weather against the Tennessee Titans right last week for neighbors he averaged point nine area yards per target against the Tennessee Titans so he had five catches for 26 yards like just like like like the Wandoe Robinson type we used as we saw last year in the Giants offense or two years ago in the Giants offense where the guy is not being used downfield at all so is this like him being rushy rice becoming this now PPR's merchant underneath in a mat naggy called offense so that concerns me about the usage now the targets have obviously been there for neighbors 28.6 percent target shares they'll lead the Giants so that's obviously good you're not afraid to match up against the Arizona Cardinals I just don't know what to expect from the Giants passing game overall so fits is obviously higher on neighbors is a matter of just like hey dude like it's Malik Neighbors he's free like I don't care and that too it's like when are we actually gonna see like the neighbors that one offensive rookie of the year or the neighbors from 2024 like when is that guy going to come back and I feel like if I keep ranking him like he's gonna come back this week he's gonna come back this week and and maybe I'll be a week too late which I don't want to be but maybe that's where you're a little bit more optimistic fits just because we know Malik Neighbors is such a talented player yeah fits how are you approaching this one yeah that's it we just don't know like could we still see the Yolo James Winston who rips throws 25 yards down field in a double coverage doesn't care winds up throwing for 350 and three touchdowns um certainly the last two weeks would not suggest that we're gonna see that James Winston but he came into the game ice cold in week one after the Jackson Dart injury in week two we played in wet windy conditions where it was just impossible offense was so hard in that game the Titans had one first down in the first half of that game against the Giants um I do like this matchup for the the Giants in the passing game the Cardinals have given up the second most fantasy points to wide receivers six touchdown catches to wide receivers in three games they've allowed 17.3 yards per catch to receivers and what if you would think that a John Harbaugh team is maybe not gonna let James Winston fly his freak flag in this game and and throw 40 plus passes but what if there's no choice the Giants just lost Brian Burns and it's not a great defense to begin with we've seen this secondary just torched what if they have no choice but to get into a shootout with the Cardinals and um you know sounds weird to look at a Giants Cardinals game as a potential high scoring affair I think it could be and maybe if we see the better version of James Winston like Malik neighbors could dramatically outkick expectations do you guys think that with the additional Jason McCarthy Winston may feel more to be like well I got nothing to lose right like they've already kind of looked at like they're gonna add another quarterback anyway like Winston to me seems like a guy was like I really want to hold on to the job I really got to be careful versus like dude I don't care man like I'm just gonna go out because that's what we talked about last week too and the weather really kind of nuked any type of appeal with neighbors because I talked about it I feel like kind of more glowingly last week about hey it's the Titans defense like you still gonna believe in leak neighbors the target chair is still there wins the game in cold weather obviously nuked it so is it just a matter of just throw out those first two games and we just go back see what neighbors was in week one obviously it's not Jackson Dirt that's on our center but a James Winston that's maybe a little bit more familiar with the offense and and full yola man dude I'm convincing myself yeah I love it I love it especially because this is perfect because the next player that we're gonna talk about is Michael Wilson so yeah maybe we maybe we see James Winston look across the field at the at kind of like are they like you know kindred spirits there would you call me percent of somebody who just loves to throw like more career our unfortunately we've turned into career backups now we're at that point in the stage they call for us and we we we're needed we put up that aggressive crazy volume so yeah Jacobi percent push and volume and inspiring James to be that core James Winston and they just go back and forth I could see it happen from a game script I mean we are seeing Michael Wilson coming off a game with 17 targets pure pure Jacobi percent vibes there so let's talk about Michael Wilson ECR 23 as he ascends as the clear wide receiver one there's no question now anymore he is the wide receiver one for the Arizona Cardinals you guys a little bit further back a little bit more apprehensive than ECR Erickson you've got him at wide receiver 25 fits at wide receiver 28 how are you approaching this is a skepticism around the match up because we do have some you know additional new young bodies there in New York so maybe we get you know a decent match up here or is it just skepticism around the fact that again you know ultimately the first look at this offense is trademark bride anyway so that's how are you approaching this with Michael Wilson yeah this show is like rankings therapy because just as Erickson was worried about maybe having Malik neighbors too low in case we see the James Winston-involved like I'm worried I'm too low on Michael Wilson like all right get a lot of some of this statistical weirdness for Michael Wilson so far he has a 95.2% route share which is second only behind Jamar Chase he has a 25.6 target 25.6 percent target share ranks 11 theory ranks 11th in ariard share at 42.6 percent but then in efficiency yards per route run 1.38 he ranks 83rd yards per target 5.43 he ranks 112 so in the case of Michael Wilson he's been more busy than good but the Cardinals totally need him to be busy because Marvin Harrison Jr. has just he's catastrophically bad now like Marvin Harrison Jr. is averaging 0.7 yards per route run and I think we're going to keep seeing these high target numbers for Michael Wilson because you almost can't play Marvin Harrison he's been so bad and then it's just journeyman Kendrick born behind him so man I might have to come up on Wilson just because I think he's going to keep seeing the target volume even though maybe Michael Wilson doesn't warrant this sort of target volume. Yeah surprise guys I'm the high man out here I've already got Michael Wilson at 21 I'm feeling it I'm feeling the vibes in terms of just pure volume and Marvin Harrison Jr. out there running cardio unfortunately Wilson hasn't been as efficient but yeah
Yeah, just pure volume is getting there. Erickson, how are you feeling about him this week? Dude, Marvin losing all that muscle he put on the last couple of seasons, just going away. He's felt the cardio. So I mean, Michael Wilson, just, yes, clearly the number one wide receiver. That's something that I was definitely wrong about during draft season last year when Marvin Harrison Jr. was healthy. Michael Wilson was not targeted. But when he was out of the lineup, Michael Wilson got fed. And now we're just seeing that carry over. Even with Marvin Harrison Jr. healthy in the lineup. So 18 targets actually last week when you include one that he got eliminated from a penalty. But 99 incomplete ariards, 50% ariard share, five red zone targets. He's actually only three targets behind Tramac ride on the season. So in the lead's Arizona this year with a 41% ariard share that's top 12 in the NFL. I would say that he usually has really big games against 49ers. So I talked about this last week because Michael Wilson was actually like my sneaky wide receiver play that was going outside the top 36 because you look at the box score against the 49ers. He absolutely cooks in garbage time against the services of 49ers. So going back to the game script here, negative game script against San Francisco 49ers is very different than playing the New York Giants on the road. So even if he's seeing the similar share of the pass attempts in this offense, it's probably not going to be this type of level of usage. But still, I mean, if he gets 10 targets, like you're going to be happy playing that guy as a top 24 wide receiver against a giant secondary that I'm not particularly afraid of. And I think the thing to point out to about how involved he is with this offense, Wilson is 7th in the NFL and first read target share at 35%. So we heard mumblings this off season that Puka Nukuia or excuse me that the Michael Wilson was going to be in the Puka Nukuia role, which is obviously always seen a very high first read target share. And that has been correct through the first three games of the season. So concentrated target share between Tramac ride and Michael Wilson. Yeah, I think that there is a ceiling play for him here, not to the extent that it was last week. So that's the only thing I would push back on. Just don't chase or don't expect like 17 targets again, but still eight to nine targets. And even before this last game, he still have been seeing pretty strong usage. Yeah. Let's talk about one more wide receiver in this range, Josh Downs, moving on up, seeing a lot of targets. But unfortunately, not giving the level of fantasy production that we would hope for the amount of usage that he's seeing. But let's talk it through. We've got ECR as wide receiver 22. You guys are the bread and the sandwich fits. You've got him at wide receiver 21. Erickson at wide receiver 23 fits. Talk to us about Josh Downs. Yeah. He hasn't made the most out of all the targets the last couple of weeks, 20 targets over his last two games, seven catches, 72 yards, no touchdowns against the chiefs, five catches, 70, 70 yards, no touchdowns against the Texans in those two games. But it was the chiefs in the Texans, two pretty tough defenses. So I guess I like that Downs role seems to be changing with Alec Pierce out due to this heel injury. Mainly he's being used further downfield. He had an average depth of target of seven point two yards or lower in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. Downs average depth of target. So far this year, seven point five yards. And last year, he averaged 9.8 yards per catch this year, 13.3 yards per catch. So a lot of targets. He's getting more valuable targets further downfield. And you know, not bad stat lines the last two years against really tough defenses. Like he's so important to the Colts passing game, which has just been, you know, the Alec Pierce injury and losing that downfield dimension. I think they have to make Josh Downs a little bit more vertical. And that's going to make him more valuable. Yeah, you mentioned the matchups. I mean, the targets have been there, but we can make the excuse again. It's so you know about finding the right excuse as we talked about the Giants for why things have been a little underwhelming. And the matchups have been difficult. And now you can a Washington matchup where we have seen, you know, hey, Sony styles looks incredible. But overall, it's not a good defense. And they're still struggling to get on track. You same thing with Indian
apolis. We've got Daniel Jones who continues to push. Despite the fact that he's not look particularly great, right? Still pushing aggressive volume, you know, over 30 attempts in every single game. So you know, there's a certain guarantee in volume. And finally, you got a nice easy matchup where I think this one is going to hit the over. So yeah, this seems like a very appropriate space to put him in and, you know, have a little bit more faith that we're finally going to get some more yardage and touchdowns here. Erickson, how are you feeling about him? This is all we ever want to write was Josh Downs in a full-time role that wasn't always just all the underneath targets. And I get the production has been kind of lackluster. But I think that he's just checking the boxes. I'm okay. It's going to happen, right? He's seeing volume. He's seeing downfield usage. He just needs to find the end zone and needs to start capitalizing on all the opportunities that he's getting in the offense. He leads the team in target share through three games 25.5%. That ranks 11th among all wide receivers, also 7th among all wide receivers in terms of a yard share at 44%. Both of those would be career highs. So I think that if you have Downs, obviously you were expecting more through the last couple weeks, but it's coming. And I think that we all kind of talked about how this commander's defense you tack it through the air. Fitz mentioned on the running back show how the commander's run defense hasn't nearly been as bad as we expected. And during the season, which suggests to me that maybe more of a tough day sliding for Jonathan Taylor and a big game for this passing attack between guys like Josh Downs Tyler Warren should be in a smash spot here because the commander's been also really bad against tight ends. So and I'm just not necessarily buying that key to now is going to be seen double the targets every single week. And I think Downs is going to capitalize on the opportunity he's been getting because he's good. Like he's a very good, well, I receive or always been a high target type of player, great inseparation score. Now he's just got to put it all together. I think that happens. The London people are going to be treated well to Josh Downs this week. Yeah, yeah. We've sent some good offences over now because you have Marcus Mario does hold it down. And we got the resurgence of Terry McClure. And so we can have some nice offensive firepower there in the international game this week moving on to our next grouping of rankings wide receivers 25 through 36. We have got James and Williams at Carolina, which is interesting, right? Because we've got Jameson, who has really been struggling in Carolina that has traditionally been very tough against the past. But unfortunately, they're just beat up so bad that maybe this is just another lighted up scenario for Detroit. Maybe James can finally Jameson can finally push through DK Metcalf after that. Terry McClure and bouncing back last week against Seattle tough matchup Jordan Madison against Miami. We talked about that one, Luther Burton, Devon Valle, Stefan Diggs at 31, a mecca, a buka, unfortunately falling back there. We talked about that a little bit earlier. Then we've got Dinsel Boston, Nico Collins, Romeo Dobs, and then Carnell Tate closing it out at wide receiver 36. All right, we got a good little group to talk about here because this is a range where a lot of start-set questions come from. And we'll start off with one who is very questionable in DK Metcalf, who did get the touch down last week, but still looked a little bit sketchy. So you guys are pretty separated on this one. So I'm ready to hear the arguments because I too am very torn on what to do with DK Metcalf, especially in this short week here. ECR has him at wide receiver 26, fits your just slightly above at wide receiver 25 and Ericsson further back at wide receiver 31 fits. Should we should we feel more comfortable with DK Metcalf this week? I'm not sure. And I'm not sure I'm ready to go full bore into a debate with Ericsson here because I see why Ericsson might be reluctant. Like the efficiency has been really poor for Metcalf so far 4.1 yards per target 0.82 yards per out run. And DK Metcalf keeps running in a good cornerbacks. Christian Gonzalez, DJ Turner, now he's going to run into Denzel Ward this week. But he is averaging eight targets a game. Said at least three catches in every game. Erics 22nd among receivers in ariard share. And the Browns have given up the seventh most fantasy points to wide receiver. So I guess you're you're just betting on the volume here and hoping that DK Metcalf this contested catch specialist can pluck a few and maybe get in the end zone again. Hi this is highly breakman, Angel Jaretana, Jeremy Colhane, Patrick McDonald, and we're the hosts of the artists on artists on artists on artists podcast. The improvised character comedy podcast where each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of wellness influencers. What I try to do is foe journal. I don't know if you guys heard of foe journaling. Yeah it's reading. It's called reading. So you're so we don't like to use that word anymore. Okay a panel of New Yorker cartoonists. Have you guys done Terry Gross's Peloton class? No! I've been dying too. I'm so sorry. I'm seeing a reading of Sadako in the Thousand Paper Cranes by Auderman Donald at the Wonderland bookstore 14. That's crazy. I went to the Wonderland bookstore yesterday and I heard you know our Jones duo reading of Zero Doc 30. No way! Patrick of the last bookstore though, Kim Catrol is reading the guitar tabs of yesterday. A panel of Eurovision participants. And we do a little Halloween sometimes. Does the pope dress up? He winks on Halloween. He gets right up next to the microphone. I hear he'll get almost here. The eyelashes hit each other. You've never seen Italy so quiet as when the pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen!
And artist on artist on artist on artist on the IHIRD radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, stand-up comedian, creator, and host of SCAM Goddess Podcast. The True Crime Comedy Podcast, all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on incredible guests like Conan O'Brien, Iowa Deppery, Lamor and Morris and Nicole Byer. Ooh, I scammed them. What? It's a generational yapper, like me. And the scams run the gamut. I'm talking about scams from the 1800s, all the way up to today. I also warn you and keep you safe against scammers. Call your grandparents, tell your parents to stop clicking on links, please. If there's a scam, I'm here to protect you. And I'm also here to laugh with you. Oh, if you like fun, if you like comedy, and you like learning, and protecting yourself from criminals, start listening to SCAM Goddess on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. SCAM Goddess! Hey, what's up? I'm Tony Gonzalez. And I'm October Gonzalez. But you can call me Toby. We want you to join us on our new podcast No Safe Words with October in Tony Gonzalez. We get real about marriage, parenthood, sex, divorce, and all the nitty gritty stuff we all think about, but just don't say out loud. I hate that job. You're probably just going to meet some rich guy and he's going to whisk you away and I'll never see you again. Oh. This is awesome. Would you say a delus actor? D? I don't even know, there's the such thing as D. No, no, no. I mean, like, I don't even get on the sea list. Like, I'm not even average. I'm not even passing. I'm failing. Listen to No Safe Words with October in Tony Gonzalez, part of Michael Tour Podcast Network. Available on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Britt Coleman. And I'm Trevor Sikama. Have you ever watched a game and wondered what really made the difference beyond the final score? That's exactly why we created NFL Pro. Bro, it got a man wide open. Touchdown! Stay locked! Every week we use exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content to break down the biggest stories, matchups, and moments from around the league. We go beyond the box score to uncover the numbers, the tendencies, and details that help explain what actually happened on the field. And don't worry, this isn't just a show for stats experts. We use advanced analytics to help tell the story behind the game, turning the numbers into insights that every fan can understand and enjoy. So whether you're a casual fan learning more about football or a hardcore fan who can't get enough analysis, our goal is to help you see the game. If you've ever wanted to know why a playwork, how a matchup was won, or what most fans missed on Sunday, NFL Pro delivers insights you simply can't get anywhere else. Listen to NFL Pro on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah, the Ericsson talk us out of this one, please, because I mean, I thought it's been so bad that I thought Aaron Rogers was just going to look DK Metcalf in the face and say no more targets for you, bud. Two for five for 31 yards and the touchdown last week, so that kind of saved him for fantasy football purposes, but he was getting locked down by DJ Turner, basically all game. I expect that to be similar this week against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night against Denzel Ward, because you look at the Browns defense, they're slot funnel defense. I think that the expectation for Metcalf is going to be the team act that box box score from last week, where I think it was like two for five for 30 yards and does Metcalf find the ends are not because if he doesn't score, I think that he's probably going to be a bust on Thursday night, just giving the fact that the Browns are giving up way more production to slot receivers than perimeter receivers and defending Metcalf is really easy for bozing givets is because they don't move around. He has been in motion on 0.6% of his snaps. There's the lowest rate among all wider receivers this season and the lowest of his career. So it's basically so easy for the Browns to be like, okay, we're taking Metcalf. Okay, Denzel, where you go there and then he's out of the play, right? Because Metcalf is not winning in any of these one on one scenarios against these top to your cornerbacks, like Fitz mentioned, and it's that's just how it's been for him. Now, it's not all as fault like you don't get to pick who your opponents are, but he's not winning in man-to-man coverage, which is why his efficiency has been so poor. You saw his targets also fall off last week, not just because of the matchup because Michael Pittman Jr. was also back in line. Michael Pittman Jr. almost has as many yards as Metcalf does and he's played one last game and has significantly less target volume. So the fact that it's even close and Aaron Rogers seemingly hates Michael Pittman Jr. Like, to me, this is just I don't want to start my fantasy week with a dud and DK Metcalf seems like destined to put up a dud performance. Like in the same game, I start Denzel Boston. I think that he's in a much better spot. You look at the Browns here this year, Bayview's man coverage on 41% of opponent drop-backs. That is the highest rate in the NFL. Metcalf's Yarp Routrun against man coverage has declined in each season since 2021. I just talked about how he's not winning against man coverage this year. Yeah. Yeah. I completely agree on that. Touchdown dependent, Crosser fingers and just outside of that. The yardage might not be there this week. Let's talk about someone who the touchdown did show up for and God bless, Case Keena and Luther Burton brought back to life. ECR, Wide Receiver 29 and you guys are super far apart on this one. So this one will be a lot of fun. Ericsson has him all the way up at Wide Receiver 20 in Case Keena, which trust maybe. And then Fitz has him at Wide Receiver 31. That is a big gap. I'll give you the chance to bring a little bit of skepticism around this one. So it was encouraging usage for Burton on Monday night against the Eagles. He had played 61% and 57% of the offense of snaps in the Bears first two games. Snapshare was up to 73% in week three. But I guess it's still Case Keenum and as well as he played in week three, I'm not sure we get the encore in week four. And the Bears supporting cast members are getting an annoying number of targets. Guys are Calif Raymond and Xavier Thomas and Sam Roush. So it's just the production is being chopped up more ways than I think we thought it was going to be chopped up for the Bears this season. So it just seems like although we did get them leaning in the Luther burden with 11 targets on Monday. I'm not totally confident in a repeat of that against the Jeths. Yeah. I mean, Erickson talked to us about it. How like, okay, make us, make us believe that this is the new version of Luther Burton that we are going to be seeing. Well, despite all the turmoil that the Bears past catchers have been for us in fantasy this season through three weeks Luther Burton obviously gets the boost from the last game they played, but he leads the team with a 25.3% target share. So he actually has been the most consistent aside from Calif Raymond of the Bears catchers we actually drafted in fantasy and actually been starting in our lineups. I know I was wrong about Luther Burton last week in my social short. I thought that I said to Ben Chim for Adam, I Mitchell, which obviously you could not do because I by Mitchell didn't end up playing. So hopefully you release able to slide Luther Burton in the last second, but monster performance and he was involved from the jump. It was so clear and obvious from the first drive that this was going to be a big Luther Burton game and kind of attacking the Philadelphia slot. Cooper D'Gene hasn't really played up to his normal level this season, has been struggling a little bit defending the slot. So you saw seven of Luther Burton's 11 targets come in first half and considering how successful it was, I don't think they're going to go away from featuring him as both a receiver and a rusher. I mean, the fact that they gave him a rushing attempt on that pop pass type of play and then he had to pushing into the end zone like that's really encouraging and then you will look at guys like Loveland and Roma Dunes, a who just came short of falling into the end zone on their opportunities. So the Jets defense also not afraid whatsoever. Fourth worst team versus slot receivers this season. Fourth best matchup for receivers overall, Burton hasn't been just pigeonholed into the slot this year. It's been close to like a 40, 60 split because obviously Khalif Ravens and playing in the slot as well. And I'm also intrigued by the Ben Johnson versus Aaron Glenn type of matchup here. But I got to give the credit in advance to Ben Johnson, dude. Like if you asked him, you know, under a live detective test, who should be on the Madden cover, he probably say himself, right? He's like, no, I deserve to be on the Madden cover Ben Johnson. He's going to be the one that brings back NFL coach again that's been defunct since like 2006. Ben Johnson is going to be like, no, when you're doing back NFL GM or NFL coach the video game and Ben Johnson is going to be on the cover in 2027. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, in your defense, I think, you know, your conservative play on Burton last week in the Mitchell. If he had not just that little finger that had happened when I saw the picture of his hand. Yeah. Okay. Like this is not going to happen. Yeah. And no player needed to hand injury less than ad than I mentioned. Who barely has hands as it is. It was the right call. I mean, we were in, we were in for 10 targets. I know that was coming. But let's talk about Denzel Boston, you know, Erickson, you've mentioned that you would start Denzel Boston over DK Metcalf. I'm on board with that thought process. I mean, when we're, when we're looking at Denzel Boston and the way he has made the most out of his opportunities, it's been a lot more impressive. It's been a lot more impressive than the lack of efficiency we've seen from DK Metcalf. Boston further back in ECR though, wide receiver 33, Erickson, you've got him at wide receiver 30 and fits at wide receiver 34. So we are being a little bit more cautious here with him because again, you know, match up one short week, one in Dishon Watson, you know, three, I think I added up there wrong. But
Eric's and talk to us about trust levels with Denzel Boston this week. He's been great as a rookie in his first three games with the Sean Watson as his quarterback. He's played a full-time role in this offense and I think that unless there's any arguments has he not been the best rookie wide receiver so far in this class through the first three games this season. I don't think that's really up for debate from a statistical standpoint, from just looking at how well he's played on the field, taking over as that extra receiver. That's not an easy job. If you've seen a lot of receivers fail being put right into that X spot from day one to the great. You need to be the number one receiver on our team. You're going to draw the number one coverage and Denzel Boston has delivered more often than not. I know last week it was more about getting Casey Concepcion involved seeing a boat load of targets, but Concepcion kind of airball, right? He was brutally inefficient last week and if I'm a coach, I don't see that and think we got to get Concepcion more involved. That doesn't mean that he's going to be totally phased out of the offense, but I think he also means like, "Hey man, let's get back to Boston." Dude, that's been working for us. I know coming off a down game compared to weeks one and two, just two catches for 41 yards on four targets, but he still caught the two-blink conversion so we know that he has red zone equity and he actually had another catch for 23 yards that was taken off by a holding penalty. Really, when you look at his true receiving line, three catches for 64 yards, that is kind of what his baseline has been through the first three weeks of the season. When we look at the matchup, the Steelers defense has given up almost all of its production to wide receivers on the perimeter. 91% has gone to the outside, which is exactly where Denzel Boston lines up, fifth most fantasy points per game to perimeter wide receivers. 247 receiving yards on downfield throws to wide receivers aligned out wide, that is ninth most in the NFL. That is like, this is like Denzel Boston's bread and butter. How bad the matchup is for DK MegaF is how good the matchup is for Denzel Boston, so I'm going to ride the rookie here entering his fourth game and I think that a lot of people are going to be like, man, why did he fall to the second round? Why did the 49ers not take this guy and it took to stront's dribbling instead, but I think that he's going to show everyone like, hey, I should have been a first round pick and the Browns got to steal with him falling to round two. Yeah, honestly, maybe it works out if Denver, or if the Browns turn things around because he has an opportunity to be the wide receiver one, whereas maybe he could have ended up pigeonholed there, taken where Omar Cooper Jr. was taken by the Jets. Maybe it'll work out at the end of the day, Fitz talked to us about Denzel Boston. Yeah, and the buzz was great around Denzel Boston, like all the way going back to training camp, where all the beatwriters for the Browns seem to be like, oh yeah, this guy's going to be a star. A key was definitively good. And to Sean Watson has not wrecked the fantasy value of his past catchers, the way maybe we expected was going to be the case going into this season. So I'm nothing bad to say about Denzel Boston. I'm starting him in two leagues this week. I'm mad that Erickson has me outflanked on him. He's averaging 2.27 yards per round, around 13 yards per target. He's been fantastic. Don't hesitate to fire him up this week if you're on the fence with him. One guy that you guys are both on the fence about and further back compared to ECR is Romeo Dobs. ECR, wide receiver, 35, and both of you have him at wide receiver, 38. I believe I am in agreement with you guys in terms of the skepticism around this. I don't even have to ask if it's the skepticism around Romeo Dobs himself or Drake May, just because it's probably a combination of all of that. So Erickson talked to us about Romeo Dobs. Too hot, too cold. Just right. I like with Romeo Dobs at wide receiver, 38, and I guess this is how it feels fits to have Romeo Dobs as your team's number one wide receiver for a couple of certain weeks. It's not a really fun experience, a lot of up and downs and a lot of potential. We're like, okay, like you can kind of see it coming to fruition like, okay, this could be a good play. And then Dobs just kind of always leaves you wanting just a little bit more even this last game. He and Drake May had a chance to connect on a big play in the red zone, but they were not on the same page. So Dobs has kind of put up mediocre production. He did have that one big playing week too, but this past week, three for four for four nine yards. He did have another target, but it was raised by a penalty on his own. So 13 yards wiped off. So we could have had a bigger game, five targets for 62 yards. Target Cherison kind of steady week over week. Matt Collins outdid him this past week, but the week before it was Romeo Dobs that was more involved. So these are kind of the top two projected receivers from the Patriots. Matt Collins seems to have more trust of Drake May, but I don't know if my Collins is actually better than Romeo Dobs, just because Matt Collins, I think, is a low ceiling type of player and really only gets more involved when the attention is put on other players in a offense, kind of like what we see him from the Patriots. So Dobs obviously is getting more coverage toward his way because there is no AJ Brown or expecting negative GameScript playing in Buffalo. So it's just a matter of his jobs. Make that big play or catch the touchdown, made a big playing week two, didn't do it in week three. So wide receiver three flex dobs, take it away if it's, yeah, I just, he hasn't had more than four targets in a game this season. So is he the number one receiver without AJ Brown around? I don't know. He's kind of a co-number one with Matt Collins. Dobs had that 63 yard catch Erickson mentioned in week two. I play a counter for 43.4% of Dobs receiving yardage thus far. Yeah, and I, the only reason I've got Romeo Dobs inside the top 40 and I'm already behind what five spots in ECR is because the bills might not have Christian Benford. They're very good outside cornerback for this game. He had some sort of foot injury last week spotted in a walking boot after the game. My guess is anyone in a walking boot immediately after a game, probably not playing the next week. And that was kind of big dobs has lined up outside on 86.5% of his snaps. Probably would have been running a lot of his routes into the coverage of Christian Benford. So maybe this gives dobs a chance to maybe hit on another big play that can make his day. Yeah, it needs to be a big play because we were seeing in real time why they traded for AJ Brown after they made that big contract investment into Romeo Dobs. Once wrapped things up here with some deeper plays, Ericsson's got one that it's fun because we talk about the Miami offense and the Miami team, the Miami defense, but they do put out flex worthy wide receivers because they do have to throw because they often play from behind Malik Washington wide receiver 41 in ECR. You've got him as wide receiver in that 39 Ericsson talked to us about Malik Washington. Well, digit targets last week for Malik Washington caught just five of them for 56 yards. However, he did have a touch on that was called back. So he's being the number one wide receiver in the Dolphins offense. The obviously lost a chance. So there are targets and opportunities to be had in this offense. I think that Chris Bell is going to continue to be involved. He's looked pretty good, especially if we don't get Caleb Douglas for another week. I'm expecting Malik Washington potentially to flirt with another double digit targets. I think it's pretty interesting when you look at what happens to these Dolphins receivers when Malik Willis has been blitzed. So according to the fantasy points data suite, Malik Washington has a 32% target share when Malik Willis has been blitzed so far this season, what do we know about Brian Flores? 80% blitz rate is coming down in week four. So yeah, I'm confident Washington's going to get targets. I don't know how efficient he's going to be. He has not been efficient really at all this season with all the volume that he has gotten because he has gotten a lot of opportunities. But as a deeper play, I think that's the process I'm willing to follow here against the Minnesota Viking. So don't know if he's going to score a touchdown. Obviously, I like this a lot more of Caleb Douglas is also inactive, but coaching staff seem kind of lukewarm on whether he was going to be able to play in week four, at least early in the week. So also another cap to his feather. He got two carries last week, too. So although all he Gordon will kind of bogart the majority of backfield touches if there is no jailing, right? Malik Washington, again, as a guy that's really good after the catch, he might get a couple handoffs as well. Really good point on that one. And look, I'm a Chris Bell truth or, but we should not step in the long term, right? But we shouldn't step over production that we're getting right now just because we love someone long term. So I'm with you on this one, Pat, talk to us about yours. You've got a trade Tucker and a little higher than ECR. He's at wide receiver 30 for 43 in ECR and you've got him at wide receiver 38. Yeah, he had the big week and week two, over 100 yards in a touchdown, a little quieter in week three with the return of Brock Bowers, a kind of dominated receiving production for the Raiders. But I kind of think the return of Bowers ultimately helps trade Tucker. It just gives the gives defenses a something else to think about and obviously defenses are going to be very concerned trying to bottle up Brock Bowers in impossible task. But they're playing the Raiders or the Raiders are playing the chiefs this week, figure with the way the chiefs offense has been humming. They might force the Raiders to throw to keep up. Good situation there, potentially. And I believe Kirk Cousins right now is leading the NFL and touchdown passes. He is. He is putting up touchdowns at a miraculous clip. We've got a three and a Raider, so a matchup of two undefeated teams. I'm with you on this one. So perhaps might have to see a little bit more pass volume in this one, as the Raiders defend their undefeated start. This is the quarterbacks and tightens rank episode terror Roberts here filling in for Chris Walsh. And we're doing the ranking shows this week.
I've got Pat Fitzmoreus and Andrew Erickson and this is going to be super fun. I'm very excited for this conversation because with all the sad quarterback performances that we have gotten from guys who are supposed to be are weekly, reliable elite Cubes. We have now accepted that it is time to move on and we've got fresh faces in the top 12, same kind of deal for Titans as well as guys making moves. And by the way, if you're looking for all of the rankings, you can find all the expert rankings at fantasyproves.com/rankings. Erickson, what has been your approach to dealing with all of these chaotic quarterbacks? Have you been more of a starcher studs or are you willing to take a little bit of risk? - Is Tyler Schuck a risk anymore? - I think that that's just been a default wear. If you were able to scoop him up after strong week one, heading into week two, he has really been the savior for a lot of these teams that if you invested in Drake May or Justin Herbert, Caleb Williams, the waiver wire has had a couple of guys, namely, like a Tyler Schuck. I know I stream Geno Smith in a couple spots after Fitz talked about all the NFC North matchup he had. Geno Smith, QB3 last week. So that's kind of my play. Luckily the Trevor Lawrence pick, he was my other highest draft the quarterback during draft season. He's paned out, but my other two highest draft the guys, Caleb Williams obviously hurt and Justin Herbert just ultra bust and he's basically even dropped because he's facing the Seattle Sea OX this week. So that's kind of my own approach when it comes to the quarterback isn't it? - Yeah, streaming has been fun. Fitz, what about you? - Yeah, it's been pretty tough. I kind of spread my bats around. So I've got, you know, my share of Brock Pretty, Patrick Mahomes even spent up for Lamar Jackson and a spotter too, but then other spots, it's been Kyler Murray or Bonix or Drake May and things have been disappointing. So it's not a bad week or a bad year to stream so far. There have been some quarterbacks coming through like lesser regarded quarterbacks playing in good matchups who have popped like Geno Smith last week against the Lions. So sometimes if you pick the right matchup, you can get a surprisingly good week from a quarterback, people maybe aren't excited about. - Yeah, I completely agree on that one. Let's go ahead and dive in to talk about our quarterbacks. Let me give you guys the top 12 quarterbacks. We've got, of course, Josh Allen, that's never a question, followed up by Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes coming in strong off of the ACL. Erickson's guy, and my guy too, as well, a lot of guys. Erick, our Trevor Lawrence at QB4 has been just overall, very steady. Then we've got Jared Goff, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hertz, Brock Pretty, who has been just lighting it up, Tyler Schott, who is again, now he's not a streaming option. This is our reliable weekly starter people, followed by Dak Prescott at 10. Bryce Jung, we're looking for the bounce back here, as he popped up as a streaming option last week, better performance and a better opportunity in terms of matchup this week. And then we've got Jordan Love rounding things out. And I think we're also gonna talk about one more, who was originally in the top 12, but unfortunately fell out there, and falling back in rankings. We're gonna talk about just how far he is falling back. But let's start off positive with Brock Pretty, who has been absolutely lighting it up, despite the fact that the 49ers just continue to be completely depleted, unfortunately. And we've got this matchup against Denver, who is traditionally a tough matchup, but not impenetrable, especially for a guy like Brock Pretty, who could go several different routes. So Brock Pretty coming in here at QB8 and ECR, and it's funny, 'cause you guys are on two completely different spectrums. Ericsson, not remotely afraid of that Denver defense. He is ready to attack it with reckless abandon, with Brock Pretty at QB3. And then Fitz, just a little bit more conservative, still very startable. We're not fading Brock Pretty because of the matchup, but you've got him at QB10. I agree with this approach from both of you as well, in terms of just making sure that we are, we're starting him. We're not taking any risk, because he's been so reliable. So Ericsson, talk to us about why we are going all in this week on Brock Pretty. - 'Cause Brock Pretty's playing like an MVP right now, through the first three weeks of the season. You look at his MVP as I think that he is the second shortest behind only Josh Allen in the MVP voting, in terms of the betting odds. And that's because he's been absolutely balling out. If you look at him since week 15 of last year, no quarterback has scored more fantasy points than Brock Pretty. Coming off another game, or he was absolutely fantastic, 297 yards, four touchdowns, also had two carries for 34 yards. I think that's what's actually being under sole with Brock Pretty is he is a dual threat quarterback, not in the form of like a Jalen Hurts or Lamar Jackson, but this dude is adding value with his legs every single week. He actually had a 45 yard scramble touchdown last week that got called back due to holding penalty. So he can score from anywhere in terms of rushing, in terms of throwing the football, and the Denver Broncos defense, yeah, not as elite at what's been in the past. They've given up QB nine finishes to both Matthew Stafford and Patrick Mahomes the season. And I would argue that Brock Pretty's playing better than both of those guys. They're also not playing at Denver. They're playing at home against the Denver Broncos. So I think that Brock Pretty is still, I locked him low to top 10 quarterback. I didn't move him down initially. I think I had him up at like QB3 earlier when we first put the show sheet together. So I did just like pump the break slightly on that because I did want to consider that he has face basically the hungover Rams and then the Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins, who are probably two of the worst defensive secondaries. But that's because they're playing the 49ers offense. That is right now operating at one of the highest levels in the NFL. So I just want to stay in the flames with Brock Pretty. I don't want to mess around with like Brock Pretty, Jared, got like, I just want to keep playing the guys playing at MVP level. - I like it. I've got him at QB seven. I wanted to go as aggressively as you. I just the only fear I had was like, okay, do we have, do we have Mike Evans? So maybe my rankings will address once we get the final news on him. Is he still day-to-day with that rib injury? Fets, you've got him at QB 10. - Yeah, and so the Broncos past events hasn't been great so far this year, although they have gone against Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence, and Matt Stafford. But those guys did score points against the Broncos. So I think it's still a very good past defense and I may be docking Brock Pretty a little bit for matchup. Denver is still 10th in DVOA against the past. But I think I'm more concerned about the possibility that he's going to have to play without Mike Evans, who has this rib injury. And Dejon Stribling has hurt. And DeMarcus Robinson has hurt. And if Evans can't play, the 49ers top three receivers are probably going to be Debo Samuel, Jordan Watkins and Jacob Cowling. So granted, there will be passes thrown to George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey too. But we're running out of bodies here and we don't know for sure that Trent Williams is going to play. He got a stinger last week. I think the news is positive and they expect him to play this week. I'm probably going to move Pretty down another couple of spots if Trent Williams doesn't play the all world left tackle. So I just worry that Pretty is running out of wide receivers. And I do think it's a pretty tough matchup. So at QB 10, I feel like that's not being disrespectful, but I'm a little bearish on Purdy this year or this week, relative to what he's been this year or so far. - Yeah, very understandable, great point about the offensive line situation. So guys, just make sure that you keep your eyes on that one. Now, of course, we're going to talk about Tyler Schuck, but we not, ECR, QB 9, Erickson, QB 6, Fitz, QB 7, and I got you guys beat. I'm at QB 5, I am drinking the Tyler Schuck, who laid and I will not stop on that one. Erickson, talk to us about Tyler Schuck this week in the matchup against an Atlanta secondary that is unfortunately struggling due to injury. - Don't have AJ Terrell after he was placed on IRB for the Packers game and the Packers writers, he was had no issues getting yardage against this Falcon secondary. The Falcons are the quintessential pass funnel defense. It's actually crazy how little yardages are giving up on the ground versus how many yards are giving up through the air. Like, that's how you attack these teams. And then when you get a matchup against the Saints who can't run the ball anyway, it's like Tyler Schuck, buckle up baby, 50 dropbacks coming on Monday night in the dome. So this game is, it's going to be fun on Monday night. And again, NSC South shootouts, this doesn't happen so often, but we're finally getting some young quarterbacks, some offensive play callers that are ready to let things loose. And I think it's just going to be more of the same from what we've seen from Tyler Schuck, where he's been 250 passing yards, three straight games, two or more total touchdowns, 22 or more fans points in each of his first three games this season. They really should be no hesitation to look at Tyler Schuck as top six, top five quarterback. I thought it was interesting. I didn't mention it last week when we were talking about Tyler Schuck. I did rank him above consensus last week. And I thought it was interesting because in the projections, he was QB five, it's just QB six. You know what he's in the projections this week? QB five. Like, just like believe, like this is real. Like in terms of his fantasy production, this is not going to stop. He is a flurry of weapons that throw through. Grizzolave, John Johnson, Devon Bailey. And dude, if they get Jordan Tyson back, like, oh my God. Like there's a chance like the Saints could really go on a tear offensively because of all the weapons he has to work from the pace that they play with in a dome. Just, yeah, keep playing Tyler Schuck. Yeah, you mentioned that pace. Call him more, likes to keep that pace going consistently. If there's one thing we know about him, it is coming through.
we should continue to see aggressive past volume from this team. Fits continue to sell us on Tyler Schocker. The perfect storm for past volume and I'm probably too low at QB7 considering that Schock is averaging 44 passing attempts per game and the Falcons are giving up 43.4 pass attempts per game. So yes, past funnel indeed, Schock averaging over 300 passing yards again. He's averaging 30 completions, completions again. So in quarterbacks don't average that many pass attempts again. I think Bryce Young last year half this starts was like 25 or fewer pass attempts and Schock is completing 30 passes again. So yes, start Tyler Schock this week. Yes, you mentioned Bryce Young, Erickson, you mentioned the NFC South. Everyone pulling through not Baker Mayfield. Who knew he would be the odd man out in this one? Bryce Young, ECR, QB11, Fits, QB11, Erickson, QB11, 11/11/11. I think that's some kind of lucky number thing or something for people. So maybe that's a sign that we are getting the Bryce Young bounce back this week for all his struggles that he had and what was clearly his most difficult matchup last week. He did still put up nearly 300 yards, even with the Jalen Kocher injury. So yeah, Erickson, talk to us about Bryce Young. Rich Rebar had this stat before week one about Bryce Young playing in games with high game totals. And I thought it was just so fascinating. So Young has started seven career games with a game total of 47 or higher points. In those games, he averages nearly 22 fantasy points per game. Do you know what the total is for Lions and Panthers? Sunday football. It's above 50 points. So one way or another, Bryce Young is going to find a way to get over 22 fantasy points because that's just what he does when the market is projecting him to play in a shootout. And it's because Bryce Young has so far delivered when they've let him throw the ball more. And that's what they're doing in this offense under Bradded Zick, calling the plays no longer Dave Canales is, dude, they let this guy cook and they should be because they got to figure out, can he be our franchise quarterback or not? Because him just handing the ball off doesn't help us figure that out. So I know that is disappointing potentially that they may not have Jalen Coker is generally a quad injury. Damien Lewis, one of their offensive guards is also a little bit banged up. But dude, like almost don't even care because it's the Detroit Lions defense that until they get their safeties back, like their secondary is just so bad all over the place. And the Panthers are playing at home. So I think that does also give them a little bit of an advantage. So I think that he is a back end fantasy QB one. Maybe he gets docked a little bit. He doesn't have Coker, but I'm expecting big things from Tedaroa this week. Darren Waller, who we're going to talk about. I think those guys can handle load against this defense that can't stop and those bleed. Yeah, you mentioned you hit on the two key things there for me. One, the fact that Detroit is the most lighted up attack it in every single scenario from a fantasy perspective. From our past our passers to our past catchers consistently. And then the second one there, I was very skeptical of Bryce Young and Tedaroa McMillan heading into the season because of the way that the Panthers had just helped Bryce Young on such a tight leash, despite the fact that he has done well when throwing for volume. So Colormy shopped on this one to see this level of start in terms of volume for him. Very encouraging and so happy. They're finally actually letting him shine. Fits talk to us more about British. My only concern is that the Panthers offensive line which struggled against the Browns last week might not be able to hold up against Aiden Hutchinson and the Lions Pass rush. But as far as the Lions defense in the back end, oh boy, they have given up 979 passing yards and nine touchdown passes. Lions have allowed 104 more passing yards than any other team. Commanders the next most. And Bryce Young is thrown for at least 287 yards in each of his first three games. So yeah, it stinks that you might not or definitely won't have Jaylen Coker, but still a good spot for Bryce. Erickson mentioned that Vegas total of 51 and a half points. This is a really good spot for Bryce Young. Yeah. And he does have some additional pass catchers there. You know, Hey, Darren Waller is healthy as of right now. Brighten remain man. That's yeah, I'm thinking about adding him to our auction team because we need juice and remains got the juice. Dan Morgan the Panthers GM loves tall pass catchers. Tremayna's 64 Teteromic Millen's 65 Darren Waller's what six five also. I mean, it Bryce Young is throwing the willow trees this week. Yeah. The ends. The ends. Dude, he's playing point guard, man. That's what he's, that's what they brought him into new. Get into these big ballers. That's what he's doing. They're went up to the big bodies 100% on that one. And then let's go to someone who was unfortunately out of out of and he was falling last week, but he continues to fall. Unfortunately, Drake may falling to QB 14 in ECR fits. You're a little bit more in. I can't wait to hear this out at QB 12. And then Erickson, you're a bit further back, QB 19. I won't tell you guys how far I pushed him back. I'm not going to lie. I'm skeptical. But you know what, matchup is interesting. So it fits. Is it matchup that is maybe pushing you to have him a little bit more trust in him still? That's part of it. I mean, you know, Josh Allen is going to put up points and force the Patriots to at least try to keep pace. And as mentioned before in the wide receivers show the bills are not probably not going to have Christian Benford their top cornerback. So we know Drake may as capable of being a really good passer. We haven't seen it early this season yet. I mean, things have just gone. The run out has been terrible for me. At a 21 yard touchdown run wiped out by a penalty last week. I just he's going to have to step on the gas this week with the bills. It's a matchup that's going to demand it. And I don't think a QB 12 ranking is too crazy for a guy who showed as much as we saw from Drake May last season. I'm still believer. I hear you. Maybe I should believe a little bit more this week. Maybe this is the skepticism coming in just a little bit too hard. But let's move on and talk about the tidings. But before we move on to talk about the tidings, I want to talk to you guys about the start assist assistant. Start sit assistant. Take the guesswork out of your start sit decisions with the fantasy pros. Start sit assistant. Instantly see your optimal lineup based on your roster scoring settings and advice from more than a hundred fantasy experts. You can even set your lineup with one click. Get started at fantasy pros dot com slash start sit. All right, let's go into the tight ends. Top 12 tight end rankings a little bit more traditional up top is not hard guys is Brock Bauer's Tremac bride and George Kiddell at the top three. Then it gets interesting, right? Because we've got Donkin Cade who have been strong, but we need a little bounce back here. Then Travis Kelsey who is holding on strong at the ripe age of a little bit older. I won't give his exact age. I'll give him some dignity there. Tyler Warren at tight end six. Sam Laporta. Do you want Johnson holding on strong in that electric New Orleans offense against Atlanta again that we just talked about Tucker craft falling a little bit back there in rankings. Isaiah likely at number 10, Harold Fanon Jr. bouncing back after the slow start and Kenyans City closing it out at tight in 12 after the fantastic beautiful break out game and another potentially strong match up here. Let's talk about pay pap. Let's let's talk about Tucker craft. Let's talk about it. Titan nine in ECR. Erickson on par with ECR fits. You're a little bit lower. I totally get that and I'm there with you. Titan 11. There's just a lot of guys that have popped up and been putting up numbers and unfortunately craft hasn't been putting up the numbers we expected. So talk to us about fits. Talk to us about Tucker craft. Yeah, it's been a let down Tara. Nine catches 106 yards. No touched on on 17 targets. And I am terrified that Tucker craft's route share is going to come down because the Packers need him to help block. I got and I'm really terrified about that happening this week against the Buccaneers because we know Todd Bolz is going to blitz Jordan love like crazy and really test this Green Bay offensive line, which is in such a bad state that I think the Packers have signed three guards this week who didn't have jobs, Lake and Tomlinson, Mackay backed in and Kevin Zitler. Like the Packers offensive line is a disaster. And I really fear that Tucker craft is going to be asked to stay in more often instead of running routes and that the Roucher comes down and it's just going to be bad for his overall receiving production. Yeah, I have that exact same fear. It's that, you know, I think hopefully, you know, we know that he's been on the ramp up coming off the injury. But to your point, the fear is him being used more as a blocker because they have to have that extra protection. Erickson, you're on par with ECR. How are you feeling about Tucker craft this week? I guess I'm thinking more of this from a craft type of like redemption type of game where definitely played the worst game that we've seen from him in a while this past week against the Atlanta Falcon. He dropped multiple passes and then when they asked him in the press conference afterwards when they were getting boot, he's like, that doesn't make us better. So like clearly, he was very affected by the last week's game. Like obviously very just point just four for 26 despite having eight targets, multiple drops. I think we're just going to see a bounce back from him. And I think that the concerns that you guys bring.
up for this matchup against the Buccaneers makes a lot of sense, especially against the Blitz, having him in to hold. I also think, but on the other side of the coin, well, who's going to be the number one underneath option? They don't have Jane Reed as that guy that they can do these quick passes to, could it be Tucker Kraft creating an opportunity where, if you're not going to get the ball quick because the offensive line can't block, well, maybe it's Kraft more underneath, get him more and get him involved, get him going after stitches disappointing week last week. So I know that the Packers pay attention to, we know what happens in the media and the coaching staff and they're usually that type of team that features some of their players after some of these bad games. And I think Kraft's going to be really motivated, particularly in this matchup. So 65 yards in week one against the Minnesota Vikings, another very Blitz happy team, that's his receiving yards high for the year. And the fact that he has been ramping up, the snaps at least been to the last two games, I think maybe we get a bounce back effort from Kraft. I agree. But no, no love for Skymore underneath the resurgence of Skymore. I'm kidding. I know there's some people that are happy to see it. We'll talk another Titan, Isaiah likely, which ultimately this just comes down to the James Winston of it all. ECR, Titan 11, Fitz, you have got him at Titan 10, Erickson, Titan 13, I mean, really right around that same area, we saw him get off to that amazing start. But how much can we trust James or James Williams, Erickson, talk to us about it? Yeah. I think it's just kind of similar we talked about with the league neighbors where what James Winston are you expecting? And I think that I was convinced during that conversation that we should at least see the best from James Winston compared to the last two weeks when it was thrown in ice cold. And then last week was the weather against the Tennessee Titans against Arizona Cardinals at home, assuming that the weather holds up and isn't a crappy New York Sunday day, then you could see likely bouncing back and still seeing targets, still seeing solid uses in terms of how many routes he's running in the offense, 88% raw participation with a very concentrated target share in the Giants offense, it's really neighbors, it's as a likely and then nobody else is really being featured other than the running backs in the passing game. So I think that likely is just one of these Titans when I'm ranking him, it's okay, once I feel like there's no other waiver guy or streamer that I feel any semblance of confidence, that's where I'm going to put likely it's like, okay, because he plays a full time rolling offense that in itself is usually enough to get some fantasy production out of a Titan should known as well Arizona is a good matchup for Titan. So far, the season top five fantasy matchups. So I'm not willing to drop likely to add Darren Waller to one of those things. So I don't think that the margin is that drastic. But if I had another Titan that I maybe like a little bit more, I don't have a problem benching likely this week waiting to see it from James Winston versus, you know, sticking him out there and then getting another bad game when I had a viable option already on my bench. Would you start a Ken Yann Cedic over Isaiah likely? Cedic popped up in the injury report this week, but if he was playing and good to go, then yeah, because I think Adda Mitchell is definitely not going to play another week. Yeah. Same. Fits, talk to us more about Isaiah likely. Really it's all about whether we're still holding out any hope for James Winston who, if you're going to make excuses, came and cold off the bench in week two and in week three, not wet and rainy, nor Easter conditions against the Titans. Cardinals have given up the fifth most fantasy points to tight ends, so it's not a bad matchup for likely. So far 15 catches, yeah, 15 catches, 124 yards, two touchdowns on 23 targets. Most of that damage in week one, only seven catches for 46 yards the last two weeks. And again, though, under adverse circumstances, the 15 targets the last two weeks is what kind of jumps out. So I don't want to forget completely that a couple of years ago in Cleveland, James Winston made David Nijoku look like Tony Gonzalez. Like he totally turned Nijoku in a monster for like a six game stretch. And maybe if we get some of that, James Winston, Isaiah likely could really pop. Good point. We just need the two years ago, just original original of James Winston to come. Through not the version we've seen for the next two weeks. Let's talk one more tight end. We have talked a little bit about the actually we've talked a lot about this one here. The Carolina fan thers we talked about the past catcher situation, Bryce, we know we got the injury to Jalen cocker to deal with. So there is Darren Waller who is creepin up in ECR of a coming a streaming option. If you're struggling at tight end or hey, maybe you're struggling at flex and you need to go a double tied in situation, Erickson is feeling the love with Darren Waller at tight in 12 and fits remaining a little bit more conservative, but still above ECR at tight in 15. So Erickson talked to us about Darren Waller. Waller the baller is back in our fantasy lineups this week. Dare I say start of the week, Darren Waller last week caught five of eight targets, 51 yards, 16% target share, massive jump in terms of his target share from week two. We're only saw three targets. What changed? Jalen cocker got hurt in that game. If Jalen cocker doesn't play. I think it's not crazy to look at Darren Waller as the number two receiver on this team behind team Mac. Yes, he doesn't not play all the snaps because he is an older, why older tight end, but this matchup is like so beyond salibate. The lines are allowing 28.5 points per game to tight ends. The next closest team is the commanders at 19 points per game. The how bad this team is without Kirby Joseph without Brian Branch at defending tight ends, it's a joke. Coming up six receiving touchdowns to tight ends. That's two per game, six different tight ends have caught a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. Darren Waller, that's all he's good for is catching touchdowns and he has three touchdowns on the season. One of them was removed by a penalty because he had offensive PI because that's what stair wall rolls and he's just a big body to red zone target. And I think that he's going to score on Sunday night football. So if you look at tight ends and if they score touchdown over the last three weeks, 70% of tight ends that score touchdown finished as a fantasy tight end one. If you give me those odds of war scoring, I think he's going to find paydirt. So give me Waller top 12 tight end in week four. I like it. And we could get more volume as well. I mean, he had five receptions on eight targets. We typically don't see that version of him, but with Teteromic Millen being the only healthy guy in Jalen Coker, you know, again, Bryson Trimay and we hope he comes through. But yeah, we might have to see a higher volume version of Darren Waller again in this matchup against Detroit offense that just can't be stopped. Fitz, talk to us about, are you in? Is that a Tyler? Is that a streaming option for you this weekend, Darren Waller? Yes. And I'm going to move up Waller and my ranking. So I'm closer to where Ericsson is. So not only Jalen Coker absent, but Xavier Legat missed week three with the knee injury. Not sure about his status for week four tight end Mitchell Evans left Sunday's game last week with an arm injury for the Panthers. So down another tight end, perhaps. And yeah, Waller five catches for 51 yards on eight targets against the Browns last week. And it was only the second time in the 12 games Darren Waller's played since ending his brief retirement that he has had more than five targets in a game. I think we could see another like eight targets this week against the Lions and Ericsson mentioned this matchup. I mean, they're not just letting good tight end score. Juan Johnson, Dalton, Concaid, Kenan Sedeque of Ed Touchdowns. So have no offense, Dawson, Knox and Jeremy Rockett against the Lions this year. So yeah, like Waller eight touchdowns over the 12 games since he ended his retirement. Good bet for a touchdown this week. And I think there's more than just touchdown potential here. I actually think he could have a decent yardage day too. I like it. Er, maybe top streaming option at tight end this week, but that wraps things up for the show. Before we head out, again, make sure that you like this video. If you're watching on YouTube and that you're subscribed to fantasy pros YouTube channel and the podcast as well. So do you do not miss out on any of the fantasy football content and tools that we got going on here as well for Pat Fitzmorris and Andrew Ericsson. I'm Tara Roberts. Thank you for tuning in, and we will see you next time. Thanks for listening to the fantasy pros fantasy football podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple podcasts at fantasyproze.com/review or on Spotify. Follow us on X, Instagram, and TikTok @fantasyproze and subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/fantasyproze. Each week, I bring on an amazing guess. Ooh, I scam them. What? You're a generational yapper. Like me. I'm listening to scam goddess on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. ♪ I've got this ♪ Hi, this is Kylie Breakman, Angel Jaretana. Jeremy Cole, Hank Paschic McDonald. And we're the hosts of the artists on artists on artists on artists podcast. The improvised character comedy podcast were each week a new panel of artists discuss their craft. Join us for a panel of Eurovision participants. Ha, he winks on Halloween. It's right up next to the microphone. You get up, I hear you get almost here. You never seen Italy so quiet.
as when the Pope gets up to wink on Halloween. Listen to artists on artists on artists on artists every Thursday on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? I'm Tony Gonzalez. And I'm October Gonzalez, but you can call me Toby. We want you to join us on our new podcast, No Safe Words with October and Tony Gonzalez, where we get real about marriage, parenthood, sex, divorce, and all the nitty gritty stuff we all think about, but just don't say out loud. You're probably just going to be some rich guy and he's going to whisk you away. Well, listen to No Safe Words with October and Tony Gonzalez on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Brett Coleman and I'm Trevor Sikama. If you love football and want to understand what's really happening on the field, check out our show, NFL Pro. Every week, we break down the biggest plays, trends, and matchups using exclusive next-gen stats insights and NFL content you will not find anywhere else. Whether you're new to football, a fantasy football finag or a die-hard fan, NFL Pro will help you analyze the game like a pro. Listen to NFL Pro on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The podcast discusses wide receiver rankings amid erratic quarterback performance and unpredictable game scripts.
Zay Flowers is highly ranked due to high target volume, slot usage, and strong efficiency, though some caution exists about his matchup against the Titans.
Parker Washington is seen as a floor game candidate with a strong matchup against Cincinnati, especially given the Jaguars’ potential push in a close game.
Malik Neighbors remains a high-risk pick due to inconsistent usage and two poor games under James Winston, with skepticism about his role in the Giants’ offense.
Michael Wilson is projected as a top-tier receiver for Arizona due to high target volume and a growing role, despite efficiency concerns.
Josh Downs is gaining value with increased downfield usage, though production has been lackluster, and matchups are seen as favorable.
Denzel Boston is highlighted as a breakout rookie with strong performance and a favorable matchup against the Steelers, outperforming DK Metcalf.
Romeo Dobs is viewed as a high-variance, low-ceiling option with inconsistent production and limited targets, though a potential big play could elevate his value.
Summary:
The podcast features a detailed analysis of NFL wide receiver rankings, focusing on the impact of inconsistent quarterback performance and volatile matchups. Zay Flowers stands out as a high-efficiency, heavily targeted slot receiver with a strong potential in his upcoming game against Tennessee, though some analysts caution about the Titans’ defense. Parker Washington is viewed as a reliable floor game option against the Bengals due to favorable game dynamics and recent performance.
Malik Neighbors remains a risky pick due to limited usage and poor recent results under James Winston, making his value uncertain. Michael Wilson is positioned as a top-tier Arizona receiver due to high volume and a clear shift in target distribution, despite inefficiency. Josh Downs is gaining traction with more downfield targets, though production remains inconsistent.
Denzel Boston emerges as a breakout rookie with strong performance and a favorable matchup, outperforming DK Metcalf, who is seen as inefficient and vulnerable to defensive coverage. Romeo Dobs is considered a high-variance, low-ceiling option with inconsistent production and minimal targets, though a big play could shift his value. The discussion emphasizes the importance of matchup analysis, volume, and offensive chemistry in determining fantasy value, with the hosts agreeing on the need for flexibility and caution in player selection amid volatile conditions.
FAQs
Lacey Mosley is the host of the Scam Goddess podcast.
The podcast covers true crime, fraud, robbery, and scams from the 1800s to modern times, with a focus on educating listeners about how to protect themselves from scammers.
You can listen to the Scam Goddess podcast on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Fantasy Pros podcast provides expert fantasy football rankings, matchup analysis, and advice on who to start in fantasy leagues.
The Fantasy Pros podcast is hosted by Pat Fitzmorris, Andrew Erickson, and Terror Roberts, who provide weekly rankings and insights.
Fantasy Pros offers a 'Who Should I Start' tool that provides instant lineup recommendations based on over 150 fantasy experts and real-time matchup data.
Chat with AI
Loading...
Pro features
Go deeper with this episode
Unlock creator-grade tools that turn any transcript into show notes and subtitle files.