Time now for Fantasy Football Weekly from iHeartRadio, your weekly source for the nation's best fantasy.
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Now along with the guys.
From guete leagues dot com, here's your host, Paul Jarge.
Yet it is a win and in addition of Fantasy Football Weekly Week number fourteen playoffs for next week.
You need a win to get.
In and we're here to help. Scott fish Thor nice Yeah you got any You got any teams that need a win this week?
No? No, no, Ragger already no. I yeah, I had not a great year. I did make it to the playoffs in one league and that's already set. So okay, all right, I'm just enjoying the ride this week.
You know what. I'm enjoying the ride Round three of the Scott Fishball playoffs.
Same here. I didn't think I made it, and then I found out last week I had made it and not set my lineup for two weeks because I thought I was out no way somehow, So you coasted in.
I'm still it makes all that trivializes all my efforts to find a way into round three. Thor, you got any you got any winning in scenarios.
I wouldn't not winning in but I do have to take this opportunity to break about our work. Guillotine League where I was I was the last guy standing with like four hundred and sixty bucks left, and Matthew Berry had been in it, he had like four hundred five dollars.
He gets eliminated last week.
The next highest person, Dwayne, Sorry Dwayne if you're listening, only have fifty So I got to go seven different fifty one.
Dollars beds and just stack up the roster.
I have never had a Guillotine team even close to this, gud.
I am so excited when you get to this stage of the season and every one of your players is a freaking super stud.
Yeah.
It is so much, absolutely and that's a whole new problem.
Like it is, yeah, going through and like deciding which of these studs is the best matchupsack Yeah, yeah, yeah, you.
Know, like I'm debating Chase Brown, who I love this week awesome matchup.
Last night, I started Jremior Gibbs, did not start Montgomery because my roster is just so good, and then they scored about the same amount of points, so I was like, yeah, okay, well we'll see what my replacement guy does.
But yeah, it's so much fun and actually you can still you could start a new eighteen league right now.
Okay, I'll still let you do that.
Leagues dot Com, yep, we're here to help with all of your Week fourteen needs. We know this is an important week for many of you. We're going to break down all the games like we always do Fantasy Football weekly style, with letter grades on all of them. We'll go through and take a chance to me players, three tough questions, and our final week of premature speculation. Guys that you want to pick up this week that other people will be trying to pick up later, but they're
all ready on your team. Let's dive into the matchup Scott with the Jets at the Dolphins. For the Jets, it looks like Breese Hall will not go in this game, and that takes off the board the most compelling of the Jets players.
Possibly possibly so Breese Hall is doubtful. I mean, keep an eye on it, but it sounds like he might not go. If he doesn't go, Braylan Allen is likely your starter. We might see some Isaiah Davis, but over the last eight games, basically two months Braylan Allen's averaged two point eight yards per carry and just five catches, and he's been very, very inefficient with his limited work.
He did have flashes earlier in the season, and he's probably going to be a fifteen touchback if he does get the main role, starting only two backs of top ninety total combo rush receiving yards and it took twenty one and twenty three touches to get there. But the amount of volume that Braylan Allen should see gives me the volume volume ce here. Over to the passing game, I'm a C grade on Aaron Rodgers. It's kind of
the same story as last week. He's averaging barely over two hundred yards per game, but he's got eight multi score games, including four the last five. He leads the NFL and passes in pass attempts inside the five yard line. It's almost like he just wants to know up his passing touchdown numbers, regardless of winning the game or not.
Savage Savage not watching his new series on Netflix.
No, probably not. Probably not. Earlier in the season, we talked about Miami's past being possibly a little over their skis a little overrated due to matchups in the context that teams didn't have to pass a lot to beat them without Tua. Well, they've now allowed multiple scores in to for the last six passers. The first six passers against them one hundred and sixty yard average, the last six two and sixty eight yard average against them, So they're lighting them up a lot more. I have a
se grade on Rogers over to DeVante Adams. He's now scored more Fantasy points than Wilson in four straight five plus catches in all of them, leads them in targets, red zone targets, end zone targets all over Garrett Wilson for those four he's definitely taken over his one A role in that offense. This is a Miami defense as a whole. They're allowing the fewest scorers just seven wide receiver scorers tied with the Jets, and second fewest yards, so they don't allow quite a lot to the wide
receiver position. But Adams bounces around the slot the last two weeks. Did find eighty two yards and two scores over the last two weeks, and mostly he'll be lined up on the outside against storm Duck.
Storm Cuck is storm Duck awesome name for a terrible player.
Yes, who's allowing a one hundred and six passer rating in his coverage. So I have a B grade on Adams and the C grade goes to Garrett Wilson. It's that same tough matchup, but he does have four plus catches in all the games, has had nine plus Fantasy points in all but one game this entire year. So like your floor is basically the nine point level, so C is easy there. It could get to a B.
We'll see. Tyler Conklin. I'm giving a C grade to the tight ends in the last six weeks against Miami six for seventy eight, nine for one zho three in a score, fourteen for one, thirty one in a score, five for thirty four, six for thirty seven in a score, and eleven for one to thirty seven.
All right, Miami's getting rocked by tight ends getting rocked.
Those are Those are team totals. But Tyler Conklin gets mostly everything eighty five percent of the work in this offense, so I'm gonna give him a C grade. The promise he's never had more than three targets, so he need he really needs to show up in this one over to the Miami side. I got a C grade on Tua Techno Di Looa. He's averaged over three hundred yards
and three scores per game over the last three. If the road gets tougher against this top jets passed allowing the fewest passing scores and the second fewest passing yards, so I can only give him a see here they're gaining absolutely tagged on the ground from quarterbacks, but to His highest rushing yard day in his entire career is twenty eight yards, so I can't really count on that.
His dump offs to a Chan and John U or where he gets his two two hundred and fifty yards and you could probably count in a score or two. So I got a C grade there, plus sauces questionable, which you know could should.
Probably downgraded to doubtful.
Doubtful, Yes, he is doubtful. Tyreek Hill, who would have lined up against Sas Gardner most of the time forty percent on that side, he's probably gonna see fifth rounder quantest stiggers quantestiggers. Okay, So definite upgrade there for Tyreek Hill. He's the safer one out of him and Wattle. Five plus catches in three straight twenty three targets in in the last three games where Tua has been lighting it up. Do the Jets allow the fewest receptions and fewest scores,
though third fewest yards to posting wide receivers. So it's just a tough matchup. I'm I'm gonna leave Wattle on the bench. I mean, he had his breakout game in Week twelve, but that was one of only two games this year where he's top fifty five yards. He only has three scores on the season. It's just really tough and against DJ Reid, I just I don't want him in there. John new Smith, though, how we're talking baby one hundred and one yards and two scores eighty seven in a score one thirteen.
Uh.
The last three games, he's he's Tua's wooby with eighteen right an right now, He's got two whoobies out there. Basically, he's throwing fast and he's throwing short. Despite having you know, the deep red and hill. This Jets team is top five and several categories against tight ends, though no tight end is top seventy five yards. Only two have scored, but none really see John Who's volume. So I'm still
gonna give Johnny the CE. You could talk me easily into a B though, and Devon achan Chan I got a B grade on the Jets only allow about one hundred and thirty combo yards per game, but mostard is questionable. And a Chan is a fifteen plus touch guy that's averaging averaging six catches per game.
He's number two with Tua among running backs. He's number two in targets, receptions, and receiving yards and number one in receiving touchdowns.
Yeah, is that overall? That's overall running back? Yeah, his numbers with Tua and six catches per game, that's insane. Scores seven times in the last six games. So B grade there.
Cleveland takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers Store. I'm guessing you and I are going to diverge on this.
You know.
Jameis Winston is the biggest all or nothing quarterback out there.
He's so fun.
He's so fun. We love Jameis Winston, love watching Jameis Winston for the good and the bad and the potential divine intervention.
I if I.
Gotta go on deliver me from Pick six's Dear God, one of the great clotes I've ever heard, it's so good.
Uh.
If I gotta go all or nothing on Jameis Winston against the Steelers, I'm on the nothing side.
I'm closer to the nothing.
So okay, I put a C on Jamis Winston this week against the Steelers Week twelve. Now there is weather, of course, but two hundred and nineteen yards, no touchdowns, an interception. He did have a rushing touchdownd Nope, so no passing touchdowns, thirteen point four fantasy points. Pittsburgh has allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks over the season.
Winston is averaging, to our point before about the Yolo of the Yolo game plans forty seven point eight pass attempts per game in the four non snow games that they played. Any of course, if he has passed for four to ninety seven yards, four touchdowns but three interceptions.
Yeah, he's actually one point three pick sixes per game.
So we're gonna to drop a sea on him in this matchup. Likewise, for Nick Chubb, since returning from his knee injury in Week seven, Chubb is averaging just three yards per carry three flat.
Last week, he plays only.
Thirty four percent of the Snaps had eleven touches for forty five total yards. He did have nineteen PPR points against the Steelers in Week twelve. Now, of course there was the game script stuff with the weather, uh but uh so, Yeah, anyway, I'm gonna give him a ce in this one. The guy's close to shot for sure, but he's gonna get a little volume here, give him a sea. Jerry Judy gonna give him a b Forty point five PPR.
Points against the Broncos. Absolutely insane.
How come the Broncos didn't put Sartan on it?
That's what I kept wondering.
Yeah, it's ridiculous. It's so dumb.
Yeah, honestly, I swear sometimes.
He looked like the vintage Alabama Jerry Judy in that game, the way he was zooming around the field like it was. It was just good to see. Jameis Winston is his muse apparently for mister Judy. And speaking of that, Judy scored thirteen plus PPR points in all five starts with Jamis Winston. This is, of course a tough matchup. The Steelers are number nine and fewest Fantasy points allowed to
opposing receivers and to your guys. You know you guys were mentioning the thing last week about certain in the previous matchup against the Steelers, Judy only saw Joey Porter Junior on thirty thirty six percent. I'm sorry of his routes, and Cleveland does cool stuff with Judy where they'll have him on the boundary, they'll move them into the slot,
they'll move them all around the formation. So it's really difficult for the opposing team to be able to just shadow because of that, and so you would expect a similar percentage of covers looks from Porter, but probably not more than half. Elijah Moore, I'm gonna give him a c. Since Week eight, wide receiver thirty five and fantasy point thirty five and fantasy points per game. The Steelers in general are good against opposing slot receivers. However, I found
this interesting. Pittsburgh runs single high coverage at the NFL's highest rate more against single high since Week a two point twenty one yards per route run and almost twenty four percent first read share. More does really good against
single high. So even though the Steeers have a good pass defense, even though they're good against opposing slots, the coverage look should be advantageous for him, so we're gonna give more a. Seeds gonna give David and Joko an A. Nine catches for fifty two yards and two touchdowns on seventeen count them seventeen targets last week, and Djoko has scored nineteen plus PPR points two of his last three games.
This is also a decent matchup for him. Tight ends have scored at least ten PPR points against Pittsburgh in six straight games. So I love and Joco. We're giving them an A. On the other side, with the Steelers, Russell Wilson, give him a B. Three for four hundred fourteen yards and three touchdowns last week. You go back two weeks ago when they played these same Browns two hundred and seventy yards and a touchdown Cleveland. Though, however, now is dealing with injuries to both Grant Delpit and
Denzel Ward, so you have the compromise secondary. Wilson should do better this time. The Browns last week against Bonex, my boy gave up two hundred ninety four yards and a touchdown. I love that to miss their next so we're giving him a B. We're also given Najre Harris a b naj RB twenty five and Fantasy points per game, averaging nineteen point seven touchdows and a bit over eighty nine total yards per game. This is a good matchup
for him. Since Week eight, Cleveland has allowed the second highest explosive run rate and the fourth highest misstackle and has done the fourth highest misstackle rate. Jalen Warren, I'm gonna give him a C. He scored ten point four plus PPR points three games in a row. Week twelve at Cleveland was his best game of the season fifteen point four PPR points. He did have this a season high snap share in that game, but his workload diminished last week. That's something you want to keep an eye on.
The Browns, however, have allowed eight rushing touchdowns their last four games, so a good matchup for him. Three running backs over that span scored at least thirteen PPR points against Cleveland. George Pickens is an A and a must start. He is Pat Fryarmouth I'm gonna give him a beef. Four catches for fifty nine yards on four targets in Week twelve against these Cleveland Browns. The last two games, pat Ryermuth leads the Steelers in receptions of receiving yards, and.
Early the first three games with Russell Wilson, he wasn't getting any action.
Yeah is now Yeah, And we had talked like heading in when they made that swap of how Russell Wilson traditionally hadn't looked for tight ends over his career as much. I don't know if friar Mouth is, you know, he's like closing up to him like at the team meals and stuff. But Russell Wilson has clearly started to look his way more h and that has led to ten plus PPR points three or four games for Pat Fryarmuth.
This is an okay matchup for him. Of course, Browns have allowed three tight ends to score eight plus PPR points last three games.
All right, let's take a break. When we come back, Falcons taking on the Vikings Bjon Robinson in a bough.
Kirk Cousins revenge and the Kirk Cousins Revenge jangle.
We'll talk that through along with the nine players upon whom you can take a chance when we return to Fantasy Football Weekly.
Nine winners who are not only start.
Many of these guys available on the way for Why, yes, you can get at the quarterback position and stuff it.
Yeah, I'm going with Aid O'Connell, something I didn't think I would say this season. We just saw O'Connell go for three hundred and forty yards and two scores against a much better pass defense than the one they faced this week in the Bucks, who allowed the third most passing yards on their way to allowing the most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Five of the last six quarterbacks to face them had multiple scores. That was sixteen total QB scores over the last six weeks.
I like it and I need that in scott Fish Bowl. Yeah, by three starting quarterbacks.
Your six dollars bid we probably he popped up with an illness this week.
That scared me and then they already stated hill placement ritter. But yeah, he's gonna go.
All right, he's gonna go.
You take a chance at me. Quarterback Tour.
I'm going with Cooper Rush against the Bengals. And when I was doing my research on this, I started gett nostalgic for the twenty fourteen Bahamas ball Central Michigan against Western Kentucky, Okay, where Central Michigan led by this Cooper Rush had one of the wildest fourth quarter comebacks that you'll ever see.
Last twelve minutes of the game, they see him.
You scored five unanswered touchdowns, what to get within one point of WKU and they scored the last one with.
No time left on the clock.
They sent Cooper Rush back out for the two point conversion to potentially win by one, and the ball.
Got knocked away.
They came up here short on the most epic Yeah, come back up all the time.
You gonna come up just short this week.
Not for your fantasy teams out there. Since Week eleven, Cooper Rush quarterback twenty five four fantasy points per game. But Rush scored eighteen plus fantasy points in two of his last three games, and this is a very very good matchup for him. In the last three games that the Bengals have played, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Russell Wilson we just talked about have all scored twenty eight
point four plus fantasy points against the Bengals. You go back to Week eight with the Bengals, Cincinnati's allowed the second highest yards per attempt in the NFL and the highest passer rating in the NFL.
Like Cooper rush.
This week, Bengals might be the worst pass defense in the NFL. Right this minute, He's gonna feel.
Like he's playing WKU again in the fourth quarter.
Last week I used Will Lovis. This week, I'm gonna use Will Lovis. Yeah, last week we got two touchdowns and now he's got Jacksonville. So as a reminder, over the last month, Will Lovis quarterback eleven in fantasy football points. Wow, fantasy points. That makes him starter worthy in typically sized leagues. Here's some metrics to back up his improved play again
this over the last month. Passer rating eight touchdowns, eighth best, touchdown to interception ratio tenth best, yards per pass fourth best. And that's the thing I like the most. He's still throwing the ball down field. He's a strong arm quarterback. And it's not like they've just said we need you to dink and dunk your way to confidence, Will Levis. He's still throwing down field and he's completing these passes. On the season, Jacksonville has allowed the most fantasy points
to quarterbacks. They've improved slightly over the last five weeks, nudging from dead last to twenty seventh in fantasy points allowed. Let's go to the running back position, Scott.
Yeah, so I'm going with hear me out here, I'm going with Kenneth Gainwell back.
Up sell me the backup to Saquon Barkley.
The Panthers have played twelve games, sixteen running backs have double digit fantasy points against them, So backups they're getting played. They allow the most fantasy points to backs, most yards, and most scores. They are just dreadful. This might be a blowout where the Eagles are twelve and a half point favorites and he gets work. In previous blowouts against the Giants, he got fourteen touches on thirty plus naps.
Two weeks ago, the seventeen point win over the Rams, he got thirty plus naps and got a score in that one. I think it's a blowout where he gets work at the end, gets just enough to make it worth it, all right? On a week with six teams on.
Body, sure, right, we gotta go a little deeper than normal, all right, Scott, your Scott, sorry, thor your take a chance on me running back Bobby Fish for this.
One, thinks a compliment.
Yeah, I'm gonna go at Seahawks running back Zach Sharboney against the Cardinals.
Charboney is still available in more than.
Half of the Yahoo leagues, and depending on how the news that we get in the lead up to kickoff, might be a must start in this game. With the status of Kenneth Walker. But speaking to Sharboney, two catches, forty one scrimmage yards and a touchdown last week, he played in forty four percent of the snaps in that one, and you go back to the last five games, he's
had multiple catches in four of those games. The Cardinals have allowed the fifteenth most fantasy points to opposing running backs this year, and the Cardinals have allowed the seventh more yards per carry. If Kenneth Walker doesn't play, and Kenneth Walker did not participate in Thursday's practice, he has been labeled the game time decision, Charburney would become a
must start. But even if Kenneth Walker does play, he will clearly not be one hundred percent, and I would expect Cherburney's usage to rise this week.
In what is a good matchup.
Hillary Rico Dowdell plays the Bengals. Is it possible Rico Dowdell is league winner? Good? Yeah, Uncle Rico all ready to go league winner, but I like him this week. Dowdell last week against the Giants twenty two carries, a touchdown, three catches for eleven yards, career high twenty five total touches for Rico Dowdell. And last week against the Bengals, Najie Harris, Jalen Warden, Corderell Patterson combined for one hundred rushing yards and a touchdown thirteen catches for one hundred
and forty six yards. Dowdell's facing the Bengals. As I mentioned, the middle of the pack defense that's allowed rushing touchdowns are one hundred yard games in a whopping Get this, The Bengals have allowed rushing touchdowns are one hundred yard games in nine straight games.
Wow, jeez, nine times.
And just go to the wide receiver position.
Yeah, I'm gonna go with my take a chance on me quarterbacks wide receiver at least one of them. Trey Tucker again trying to dig deep for people here.
Did DJ Turner get knocked out last week? Maybe? All right, keep going anyway.
It's just a great matchup for a guy who had a fifty eight yard score last week and seven for eighty two the week before, he plays over ninety percent of the snaps. The Bucks allowed the sixth most explosive plays with thirty nine plays over twenty yards and seven plays over forty yards, and they allow the fourth most fantasy points to perimeter receivers. I think it's a good spot for him.
It is, and explosive plays are what he's.
All about exactly. That's why I mentioned that, Yep, let's go to.
Thor your take a chance on me receiver.
I am also, like my friend Scott Fish, going to stack a receiver with my take a chance on me quarterback, and I'm going with Cowboys wide receiver Brandon Cooks against the Bengals. Cooks last week returned from a seven game knee absence against the Giants three catches, sixteen yards and a touchdown. He had a fifty one point four percent route share in that game. That should spike in this matchup now that he's been back, been ingratiated back and
closer to one hundred percent. And the matchup is ideal as we all gang up on the Bengals defense in this thing. But the Bengals have allowed the tenth most fantasy points to appuzzing wide receivers, and they've been getting worse. Cincinnati has allowed six touchdowns to receivers in the past four games, and you go back to Week eight, since he has allowed the third most fantasy points per game to the wide receiver position, like Brandon Cooks.
This week, Kean Coleman, We're hoping he's going to come back from his wrist injury. He's really fallen out of memory cause he hasn't played him five weeks, but a reminder, in the two games before getting hurt in Week nine, Kean Coleman posted one hundred and twenty five yards and then he came back with a five catch, seventy yard one touchdown game and a target rate of twenty four percent and twenty five percent. He was just.
Ascending, Keon Coleman.
Was when he hit this wrist injury. Hopefully comes back here because it's a juicy matchup with the Rams. They've given up a wide receiver touchdown in six straight games, and rems outside cornerback Kobe Durant and Darius Williams aren't great. They rank his Pro Football focuses eighty fifth and sixty second coverage cornerbacks. They're just guys. To this point, a
Mary Cooper total non factor. All of those wide all of the wide receivers that went down in the trade deadline, none of it really doing much of anything, including DeAndre Hopkins, who's been the best of a bunch of those guys. Continue with our matchups, including Falcons and the Vikings. It's the revenge game for Kirk Cousins, and he enters the game ice cold. Over the past three games, he's thrown
zero touchdown six interceptions. The Vikings lead the league in blitz rate at thirty seven percent, and cousins immobility will be tested for sure. Teams have had success against Minnesota by throwing fast with first read passes. Kirk can read the play fast enough, but on that arm, it just doesn't have the zip on it anymore. No, I don't know. And plus you know, if the Vikings blitz and they start to get through, Cousins does not have the mobility.
He never had a lot of mobility. He used to be able to like slide a little bit or step up in a pocket just to gain half a beat. That's gone. This is a brutal game for Kirk Cousins and potentially and I've got a bench grade on him. As for his receivers, let's go to Drake London and Darnell Mooney, who have got B grades.
For me.
Vikings likely without starting cornerback Stephan Gilmour, which opens up a very exploitable matchup. Gilmore's replacement, Fabian Moreau, got roasted last week, including allowing a touchdown. Moreau is on his fifth team in five years. He was Pro Football Focus's eighth worst ranked cornerback last year. Minnesota's been yielding to receivers all year and that has not changed recently. Even the inconsistent receivers on Arizona, Chicago and Tennessee the last
three weeks have posted good games against Minnesota. Mooney and London get B grades. Even though I don't love the quarterbacking here. Kyle Pitts is a tough call.
Now.
Normally the tough calls just should I drop him or not? This week it's should I potentially start Pits. He's been invisible in the past two games. He's only scored two games all year, but the Vikings have struggled with tight ends, including recently. Two games ago. Cole Kmet came out of a deep slump and put up a seven catch game on the Vikings and then last week Trey mcbridewold berserk on the Vikings twelve targets twelve catches. So Kyle Pitts comes in with a C grade. Bijon Robinson gets a
B grade in this one. Minnesota will be his toughest challenge. Only two runners have scored on the ground against the Vikings since way back in Week two, and good runners like Josh Jacobs, David Montgomery, Jonathan Taylor, DeAndre Swift, and last week James Connor all held to sixty eight scoreless yards or less on the ground. Minnesota ranks number one and run defense success rate. They ranked number one in run defense EPA, and the Vikings are pretty good against
pass catchers as well. Nobody's top forty four yards through the air all year and most don't come getting We're close to the forty four yards on average. Opposing teams average twenty two air yards against the Vikings. Be John Robinson make get most of that, but it's still not a lot, and just to be great for him and for all those reasons, Tyler Algiers on the bench, even though he's a good player, not getting used a lot right now, by the way, which is a little odd.
Let's go to the Viking side, beginning with the running game, where Aaron Jones comes in with only a SEA. He might be one fumble away from a protracted benching, which actually he had last week he had a one quarter benching. It could be worse than that if he fumbles here. Hopefully it won't be the case, but either way, Atlanta a sneaky good run defense. No runner has hit one hundred yards all year, none of top fifty nine yards or scored against Atlanta in a month. When did Atlanta's
run defense get so good? Falcons have allowed a league leading three rushing touchdowns all year. Aaron Jones, I can only get you to a sea and I strongly considered a bench here. As for the receivers for the Vikings, let's start with Jordan Addison, who comes in with a C. He's posted Fantasy relevant output in four of the past five weeks, which corresponds to Justin Jefferson scoring drought which
goes back six games. He's got a neutral match up against cornerback Clark Phillips, who allows US seventy four percent catch rate, but it's given up just one score this year. Addison remains a C grade because of his low volume, which creates a little bit of risk.
Here, less risk is.
Justin Jefferson his scoring drought, as I mentioned six games, but could find the end zone against the secondary that's only got one really good cornerback and that's aj Terrell. But Terrell doesn't usually shadow, so Jefferson's going to have going to hit all of the cornerbacks. So the Falcons and most of them really just aren't that good. I already mentioned Clark, Phillips, d Alford also not great.
Clear cut number one.
Receivers almost always farewell against the Falcons, and that is obviously Justin Jefferson.
TJ.
Howkinson comes in with a B grade here. The Falcons look like an elite tight end defense on paper, but they face some of the league's crappiest set.
Of tight ends.
But if you go back four and five weeks ago, the Falcons faced Jake Ferguson and Ky Dootton, two of the best tight ends they've faced all year. Those guys combined for twenty targets, sixteen catches, one hundred and fifty two yards, and two touchdowns. So we'll try Hawkinson here
and then Sam Donald b great on him. I'll credit the Falcons secondary for an unexpectedly good game last week against the Chargers, but this is a much tougher matchup, and the Falcons are a reliably yielding pass defense and Donald playing at a very high level right now. I've given his receivers A B and C grades and that settles Sam Donald into that B range right in the middle.
Falcons allow the fourth highest completion percentage on passes more than ten yards downfield, and Sam Donald is the fifth best completion percentage on passes of ten or more yards, so we could see some downfield aerial attacks for him in this game. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we've got another set of matchups for you, including the Los Angeles sorry, Las Vegas Raiders at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Scott Fish, you already told us you
like Aiden O'Connell. We'll find out about Jacoby Myers potentially when we come back as well. Is he somebody you dare start. He's been a big part of this passing game.
We'll find out too.
And Miley's banged up right now too. We'll find out when we returned the Fantasy.
Football Week with.
Welcome back Fantasy Football Weekly Paul Chargy and Scott Fish and thorn Eystrom with you block a matchups beginning with the Raiders at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Scott, you've already told us about two Raiders and you take a chance on me segment that you do like you did not yet mention Jacoby Meyers. No our favorites on this show. We love the way he plays, we love the usage. He's been pretty fantasy reliable. What do you like about him?
If anything? This week? I think you like him this week, I do.
It's just a terrible pass defense and there's a lot of shootouts with the Bucks, especially recently. I mentioned in the last segment the Bucks allow the sixth most fantasy points to wide receivers, including fourthmost to the perimeter. It's also Jacoby Myers. He moves around a little, but he's coming in with a bit of an injury. He's questionable, but they said he will play, so I'm gonna trust
him on that in a good matchup. He's got five plus catches in seven of his last eight, and his three games with O'Connell seven for sixty two in a score, six for fifty two in a score and six for ninety seven plays almost every snap. Twenty six targets in the last two games. Somehow more targets than Bowers in the last two games, which is hard to do, really really hard to do. Who I have an a grade on the league leader in receptions against a team allowing
the fourth most yards to tight ends. Let's go over to the running game now, where Alexander Mann has been practicing on a limited basis and it's starting to look like he will go, which put makes me want to put Sincere McCormick and a mirror dula on the bench. If there is a dart throw, if Madison plays, I have him on the bench. If Madison doesn't play, I have a little bit of a dart throw on a mirror Abdullah. There are six teams on buy a lot of good players on buy. Bucks are tenth easiest matchup
for running backs, but it's nuanced. Their ninth fewest rushing yard, sixth fewest rushing score. They're good there, but they've allowed the most receiving yards. Yeah, the third most receptions and the sixth most receiving scores. They get torched in that area, four different backs of scores, seven different ones over thirty yards, fourteen different packs with at least three catches. I think he can get you there in the past game work, and I think it's a game script. They might be
behind her in a shootout where he's playing. So let me ask you about Sincere McCarthy.
At this time last year, Zamir White got all the work down the stretch for Antonio Pierce.
And here still's excited about it.
Debuted effectively. David put himself in a position debut for the next year. Yes, right, I don't know dave is quite the right word, but now is since Here McCormick, perhaps in that spot where Antonio Pierce gives him a long look to see why.
I absolutely think that there was word. He was getting a good amount of work in practice this week, but of course the mere White and Alexander Madison have been limited. Emir Abdulla still is more than tripling him in routes run even last week with that extended run. So it's just a matchup where they're tough against the run, they're bad against the past. That's why I have the dart throw on Abdullah. But I do like picking up mccure mack in case of what you're saying. Yeah, yeah, over
the Tampa side. Yeah, on the Tampa side. I have a Oh I think I have a B grade on Baker Mayfield. Yeah, I have a B grade on Baker Mayfield. I wrote, see, but I had to be Five straight quarterbacks have scored multiple times or hit three hundred yards against the Raiders. In fact, eight of twelve times over the course of the season, a lot of quarterback points against the Raiders. Mayfield himself has five straight multiple score games and just in the middle of the season. Sorry,
he had five. I have straight multiple score games in the middle of the season, but over the last three games just one score in each. Because what changed is the running backs are amassing two hundred and nine total yards per game. They're running an absolute ton. This is a defensive backfield, however, that is missing two starters. It's it's missing Nate Hobbs and Jakoorin Bennett. So Decameron Richardson
is going to be on Mike Evans. Richardson has allowed two hundred and forty three yards in the last three games, and he's allowed two scores in the last four. Evans is coming in a little injured. But he didn't practice on Wednesday and Thursday limited practice on Friday. He's going to play, He'll go, Yeah, he'll play with that calf injury and you know, whatever's left of the hamstring injury. The last couple weeks five for sixty eight, six for
one hundred, and we're not really worried about him. I got a B grade on Evans over to Kate Aughten. I know that every time we seem to prop him up, he doesn't really respond the bold strategy. I love him in this man, I do too. It's the Raiders are bottom five in receptions, yards and scores allowed to tight ends. Kelsey and Gray combined for one hundred and twenty six last week. Johnu a couple weeks ago had one hundred and one and two scores since either week before that
had one hundred and fifty plus and three scores. The week before that Kelsey had ninety in a score. They give up a ton. I'm giving a B to Kate Otten. I just think it's a good matchup for him, especially because he's the loan tight and he gets a ton of targets eighteen target Yeah, ton of targets over to the running game. Bucky Irvin's coming in questionable. He has been limited and missing a lot of practice time.
By the way I had, I can, I just yeah. Last week at this time I called the Bucky Irving breakout game and gave him an A.
Yeah.
We got twenty five touches from Lucky Irving and he freaking rocked.
Yeah.
Last week.
Yep, the last two to fifteen plus touchbacks against the Raiders. Both went over one hundred and both scored. Obviously, Bucky Irvin's doing what he's doing on a hundred fifty plus total yards. Last week, he finally out snapped, out, touched, out routed uh Rashad White, so he gets the A grade here. I still think there's gonna be enough for Rashad White, who's gained enough pass game work and enough snaps.
He's still kind of splitting the snaps, just one less than Irving last week, and he was still double digit touches even in the last three weeks when Bucky Irvin's come on.
Right, we love Bucky Irving. Yeah, Rashad White's not bad. Ten different back listening. We still like your guy. Yeah, it's not about Rashad White. No, it's fine. No, ten different backing is awesome.
Yep. Ten different backs have scored against the Raiders. And if Bucky Irving somehow doesn't go or come is more limited because of the injury, then White's gonna get more. So I have a C grade on Rashad White.
All right, let's go to the Saints taking on the Giants.
Store.
I've got Alvin kamer Way up at running back two this week. He's an auto start, right, yeah, yeah, fast spot sure.
Is yeah, I must start on him. The passing game maybe not quite as attractive for the Saints. I'm gonna give Derek Karrasi though, since we on car is quarterback eighteen and fantasy points per game. But the Giants have a horrible pass defense, a really really bad one, and they are particularly susceptible to deep passing. Will return to that car is only a few dingers away from being startable in fantasy, so I'm gonna give him a CEE.
And speaking of that, the deep ball.
Thing, Marcus Valdez Scantling, We're gonna give him a C as well. Now Taysom Hill is out for the season, He's joining all the other guys who are out for the season that pass catching corps. MVS get this, This is the best statphoned all week. MVS has four touchdowns in the past three games. You know how many he scored with the Chiefs in thirty three games?
Three four three?
Oh okay, yeah wow, yeah, some more in the last three games. And he had it as a Chief period eighteen point one fantasy points per game since Week ten. The Giants, for their part, have allowed the eleventh fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, but they have allowed the fifth most deep passing yards per game. MVS is your dinger guy, so he might be able to get loose deep. Keep the other receivers on your bench. I will give Juwan Johnson a see bigger roles coming with
Taysom out for the year. This isn't the best matchup though the Giants, despite having the rans to pass defense.
This is the one thing organizationally, Yeah it stopped.
Yeh, It's put the clamps on tight ends they've allowed this season. They've allowed the second view is fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. Moving over to the Giants, of course, here keeping mister Drew lock on the bench. He was sacked six times last week. He lost the fumball, he threw up pick six. We got the full drew locked experience. He did have fifty seven rushing yards and a run touchdown to get him to quarterback twenty one.
But it did help. But yeah, keep him on the bench.
Tyrone Tracy my former Iowahawkeye boy, giving him a B. Tracy has scored fourteen point five plus PPR fantasy points in two of the last three games, and this is a good matchup against the Saints. New Orleans has allowed the seventh most fantasy points to opposing running backs. You go back to Week five, eight running backs have scored seventeen plus PPR points against New Orleans. I'm also given
a B to Molik Neighbors. He ranks number ten amongst NFL receivers in PFF grade and this is a good matchup for an against this in flux New Orleans secondary. When Neighbors is on the outside, he'll be paired up against Alante Taylor. The Saints moved Taylor to the boundary recently. Taylor is dead last in the NFL and both the yards allowed per coverage snap and also explosive play rate against in the last three games.
Wow.
So if there's a time for neighbors to get loose, but you're you're meeting the guy who's gonna facilitate it.
He just to know what he is questionable. He has didn't practice Thursday or Friday, so but he should he should go his question.
Yeah, I mean that's I'm thinking he's gonna play. But I mean it is a good point, Neighbors, and then you know, speaking to his situation. Since Daniel Jones got bench, Neighbors hasn't seen hasn't seen one target of twenty plus air yards bomber. Yeah, I mean it's uh yeah, the Dink and Dunk Show. Hopefully we can get Drew locked to air it out in this one. Neighbors averaging only thirteen point nine Fantasy points per game during that span.
Since since Jones's bench, Ken the Giants get him rolling here. If he plays, we'll find out. Wandale Robinson. I did give him a seed. Tyron Matthew the honey Badger. He is expected to play, but he's less than one hundred percent injured his shoulder Week thirteen. Matthew hasn't been good in coverage this season. Even when he is fully healthy. Fifty eight point four PFF coverage grade. No team has allowed more PPR points to wide receivers than the Saints
since Dennis Allen was fired. So I'm gonna I'm gonna speculatively give mister Wandale to see.
All right, Just to note Malik Neighbors, Let's say he does miss He's missed two games this year, and Darius Slayton got eleven targets in each of those two games.
Yeah, that's a great point.
That'd be a pivot.
That would be your pivot.
All right.
One more matchup for this segment, Jacksonville taking on the Tennessee Titans. There's not a lot to like on the side for Jacksonville with Mac Jones at the helm, but we are going to cobble together a couple of C grades. Brian Thomas. I love his game and he's gonna have a great career, but this is not a great spot. He did score last week, but he also got underthrown for a touchdown and overthrown for a touchdown on.
Wide open bombs.
Had those connected, Brian Thomas would have had like a two hundred yard three touchdown game. He posted fantasy relevant stats in the two of mac Jones's three games in which mac Jones played significant reps. So there is that. So there is a little bit of history of success with Brian Thomas and mac Jones.
In my Missed Connections fantasy league. He's gonna be a.
Touch twice right league winner right there because he runs from every spot on the field. Brian Thomas can find positive matchups, including against struggling cornerback Jarvis Browne, who we talked about last week as a liability against Terry mcclaurin, and that worked out great. Brownley's allowed a touchdown in back to back games and could give up one to Brian Thomas here. Evan Ingram comes in with a C grade.
In three games with protracted mac Jones play, Evans is well depressingly quiet, failing to top forty one yards andy scored in none of those three. The Titans have allowed tight end touchdowns and consecutive games zach Ertz cade Stover, But in totality, the Titans have been a good tight end defense, ranking tenth best in fantasy points allowed. With
six teams on buy. I don't know how you could bench Evan Ingram I've got a C grade on him, and speaking of the bench, that's where I've got Travis Etn and Tank Bigsby.
Pains me to say it, because you know how I feel about Dank.
Etn was the hot hand last week, but the snap counts were almost identical. In an easier matchup, you could start ATN. But the Titans are pretty good run defense, ranking top ten in yards per carry allowed defensive run EPA run defense success rate. Last week, Washington got up early and ran copiously and with success against Tennessee. But I don't trust the Jaguars offense to get ahead and run the ball. So I'm leaving Etn and Tank bigs
beyond the bench in this game. Parker Washington's coming off his best game of his career, but it's a total aberration, and I'm not going to chase last week's months on that.
You like him, he was my prespect it's like four weeks ago.
Yeah, well it came together in week thirteen. Yeah, yeah, I think if I recall correctly last week third last week was twelve targets. In the week before was like one catch something like that. Yeah, yeah, all right, let's go over to Tennessee. So with Tony Pollard, Taja Spears active last week but only saw one touch So you want to watch this development because Pollard has been averaging roughly half his fantasy points when Spears plays, So you have to base a little bit of your thinking on
with Pollard on spears activity level. Either way, this matchup is very favorable. So you'll start Pollard no matter what. And some way, somehow, opposing runners always get paid against the Jaguars. It's touchdowns or yardage or receiving or all that. The Jaguars ranked twenty fourth in run defense success rate. They ranked nineteenth and run defense EPA and sixteenth in misstackle rate, twenty fifth in yards before contact. It's a lot of positives for Tony Pollard. If Tadj Spears does
not play, then well he's gonna play. So we'll just leave it at a beet for Tony Pollard. I mentioned earlier Will Lebis might take a chance at me quarterback. Let's talk about Calvin Ridley. It's a revenge game for
Kevin Ridley. Jaguars are ranked thirty second in defensive dropback EPA and could be without number one cornerback Tyson Campbell in this game, and since DeAndre Hopkins was traded away, Ridley has a ninety five percent route rate and a very healthy twenty nine percent target share on the season. Jaguars allowing the third most fantasy points to wide out, So Ridley comes in with a B and that just leaves us with Nick Westproo. Kakine Im probably is scored in seven of the last eight games.
On twenty receptions.
Two catches per game.
That's mathematically impossible. Unreal, it's all deep bombs. He's averaging eighteen yards per reception. Normally I hate these all or nothing, low volume players. But again, if the top corner for the Jaguars, Tyson Campbell is out, and by the way, top safety Darnold Savage might not play in this game either.
In that case, let's give it a shot. The Jags allow the most twenty plus yard plays in the most forty yard plus.
Past perfect Yeah see Gray, Yeah, Westboro, kakine why not when we come back? Three tough questions you'll want to play along?
See if you can go.
Three and oh, As our panel of experts do their bestity code some of the toughest questions in the fantasy football landscape be right back our number two Fantasy football weekly, Paul Georchi and Scott Fish and thorn icerom with us. You can follow us on x I'm at Paul Gearchi and Scott is at Scott Fish twenty four and thorn icetrom is at thor k U. Rock Yard is a game we call three tough questions.
Tough question number one next.
Year, what round will Bucky Irving be drafted in? We begin with Scott Fish.
Yeah, so guys like Barkley Mix and Henry Gibbs, Byjon Bauers and others might make their way into the first with your normal wide receivers like Chase Jefferson, a Monra, maybe Limb. I don't know guys like that. And unless he fully takes over for Rushad White at the end of the year here, we're going to have slight question
marks on him. But my answer is still going to be second round, kind of where I was reaching to take a Chan, only I feel a little more secure with Bucky knowing that he can take a full workload if he's the fall back, He's got that same possible receiving prowess, Maybe not as much as a Chan, but I think second round is where people are going to start to take shots at him.
Okay, thor next year? What round will Bucky Irving be drafted in?
So you have to consider the Rashad White thing. Rashad White has one year left on his deal. He is not happy with his role. He recently fired his agent and I didn't know that. I believe that Rashad White is going to push for a trade this offseason with that one year left on his deal.
We'll see if he's successful or not. But this is the way that I parse it.
If White is still there, I would say early round three for Irving, if he's not late round two and maybe or I'm sorry, early round two or maybe even late round one, depending on what we see down the stretch.
Here correct to answer late round one for Bucky Irving middle and that's this reminds me of Bejon Robinson from last year. We knew Beijon wasn't going to be a workhorse back, but his talent was so good we didn't care and we just wanted to get Bjon Robinson on our teams. And I think that's where we're gonna fly where this is going to roll this time too, now.
Last week, as we alluded to earlier in this show, Bucks offensive coordinator Liam Cohen, I think he just succumbed to the awesomeness of Bucky Irving and just like I gotta get him on the field. The Buccaneers are six and six, tied for first place. They can't mess around. They got to get their best players on the field, and that's Bucky Irving. And what's going to happen over
the offseason. These people are going to start catching up to how good Bucky Irving is statistically metrically, and we're gonna be like, Wow, he is a top five talent in the NFL and he's gonna end up getting drafted in at the end of the first round.
Tough question number two.
Rest of season. San Francisco running back Isaac Garndo will most often be a running back one, a running back two, flex or bench thor you get to start this one.
I'm gonna go with RB two.
Garendo very boom or bust type playing style, and I think he's going to be the same for fantasy owners where they need the explosive plays out of him. And I don't know, maybe I'm crazy. I don't think he is guaranteed to finish the year as the starter. He is a frustrating player who frequently frustrated as college coaches. He was stuck behind brayln Allen at Wisconsin, but part of the reason why is because of the lack of vision.
And then he goes to Louisville's last year, he was competing against Juar Jordan, who does not have NFL ability. George Jordan played ahead of him the entire last season. It's why Girndo fell down. Now, Girndo is the SI speed freak four three three forty yard dash two hundred twenty one pounds. He almost had the perfect ten RAS score, but you do have some of that stuff where I wonder if Shanahan could get frustrated with him.
But I settled on.
RB two RB two after all that, RB two Okay Scott. Rest of season, Isaac Garndo will most often be an RB one, RB two flex or bench.
Yeah. I was debating RB two and flex just because RB two is like thirteen through twenty four. He's a starting calver running back with the San Francisco forty nine ers. So I ended up love landing on RB two as well, although you could talk me into bench. Part of the thing is he's got a bunch of he's got like four ten plus runs and very short like he's got that explosive ability in him.
He's like Dave Kingman, you know, go back to it's the three true outcomes. He's hitting a ding er, he's striking out.
Adam done? Was that?
Adam John Adams done?
Love it?
Yeah? Yeah.
And the game where CMC was out and Mason left early, he ran seventeen routes, caught three or four targets, went fourteen for eighty five on the route on the ground, including two explosives. So I can see if he's getting fourteen fifteen touch volume and he's running the routes at that level. RB two seems well within range. Isaac Grendos.
You mentioned converted wide out twenty two receptions last year Louisville, so he can catch a little bit. It's the sprinter speed on that frame.
Yeah.
You sort of blew through the numbers quickly.
Four scrolled down four to three. Three.
Yes, forty yard legitimate world class athlete, and he is skilled. I mean, like you mentioned earlier in his college career, he was the receiver. They converted him over to running back at Wisconsin.
Right we've seen him get Isaac Grendo gets significant work in two games this year where Jordan Mason got knocked out early. In those games, he averaged seven point seven yards per carry. But it is a little all or nothing. If he gets that crease, he's gone, and that's you know, you're hoping that those happen some games. It may not, but I think there's probably enough opportunity here. Patrick Taylor,
you know, Izzy about Akanda just joined the team. I don't know how quickly he could even get up to speed if they wanted him to. Schedule's pretty positive. I like him against Chicago this week Rams Miami Lions. Lions are normally a tough run defense, but if they're still this injured a week seventeen, anything to go here. I think if I if I were to end up grading Isaac Grendo the rest of these games, and I've got him this week, I'm going to give him a bee
this week. I think it's going to be a bee most weeks, and so we'll go RB two for Isaac Grendo going forward.
Tough Question number three.
This comes from brock Timmian on Twitter, Hi, Rock, should teams that have locked in their playoff seed be required to set the best possible lineup? So here to this week fourteen, you already know you are the one seed, or you're the two seed, or you're locked into the three seed, whatever, Should you be required to set the the best winning lineup that you can?
Scott this is this is right.
This is a Scott Fish natural kind of question. What do you think here?
Yeah, and this is honestly one. I can definitely see both sides on. Brian Johnson, our co host, replied to it you know on Twitter and said he can probably do it as there's probably not there. The guy replied that there's no by law on it, so you can probably do it, but maybe fix that rule in the future. I'm kind of with that. If he can, if this site allows him to do it and there's no by law, that's probably fair game. I'm generally in the camp of
the team of no tanking. Uh. In fact, I won a game in a homely in my home league against you when you were we were fighting for the one oh one, and I won it because I will not tank, but did not tank to be clear, but neither did I. Okay, no, we fought we fought out. We're making moves to actually play it play three though, even though we want the number one pick. But here's the difference here. The argument here is not dropping the kipper kicker. You're trying to
give yourself a better chance to win the championship. And it's kind of under the lines of strategy. So the absence of bylaws against it and the site allowing to do it, and it is a legitimate strategy, I think I'm fine with it in this case.
All right? So, or should teams that have locked in their playoff seed be required to set the best possible lineup?
No, they absolutely should not. First of all, the were best qualify our best. It's subjective. You can't force a paying owners lineup decisions if you don't like that owner that much and what he's doing.
Dan schneiderm over the off season.
Well, that is true. That is the biggest mistake, the single biggest mistake fantasy leagues make. Yes, they don't get rid of bad on get rid.
Of bad owners.
I mean, if someone's doing something that's hurting the competitive integrity of the league, get rid of the owner.
In the off season. You could.
Make it a rule of any lineup that isn't fully filled out is invalid, you know, because that's that was a part of this thing. Although that could open up the possibility that folks are intentional taking an invalid lineup if they thought that that helped their playoff chances. I just think you can't stop people from seeing to their own interests and you should not try.
You should always play to win your games. Intentionally losing to win the game baby, is never okay. Intentionally losing is never okay to me, as even if you prefer that your opponent wins, you should not just be handing out free victory.
It is.
It is.
It is.
The integrity of the league is at stake, and you can't do that now. So that's there's just beween intentionally losing and things like this.
But if you think it helps your playoff matchup to punt the last regular season game, you wouldn't do it.
No, I would last.
Last week, you had this exact question in an Empire league where you didn't want to cut someone.
That's right, that's right.
Now.
Let's say it's this week, six teams are on by and you your kicker is on buy. You don't want to drop some valuable player to go pick up a kicker. I'm totally fine with that. You're not artificially, You're not. You're harming yourself. I don't want you to harm yourself and harm your own team by dropping a player you need.
But I can't see my way to tank purposely losing games because you would like to have your opponent win so they have a better chance of getting the playoffs, because you think you can beat them later.
Whatever this was, because you don't want to drop anyone else.
Because you don't want to drop somebody else, you don't have to make that move.
All right, Let's get back to the matchups.
Carolina Panthers taking on the Philadelphia Eagles. Panthers should have won last week. They could have won the week before that. They did win the two games before that. Carolina's turned into a middle of the pack team. It's they've had some really nice games. They have talk to me about Bryce Young, who's playing awfully well right now.
Yes, back to back solid games. But again, both of those pass defenses were bottom twelve.
That face, Yeah, the Eagles are not the Eagles.
Fourth ranked Eagles passed allows just two hundred yards per game and just thirteen passing scores in twelve games.
And since the week six when Cooper dejan moved to the slot starting slot their number one against them.
I was gonna get there, but I will, I wake up rutting. I'll let you have that. So I have the entire passing game on the bench. Xavier Legatt is basically a three to four catch guy, but it's thirty three yards a game and sixty six is his season high. He doesn't really score. He scored four times though, so but I have him on the bench. Adam Thielen four targets in his return, saw ten last week, going eight
for nine, nine to one. He's becoming Bryce Young's will be once again like he was at the start of last season. So if there is a play here, it's him, But he is getting Cooper de Jon in the slot, who has really stepped up recently. So your hope is maybe Thielan on a dart throw with everybody else on by Cocher injured may or may not play, probably not going to play. But the big problem with the running game over here Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Brooks. They split everything.
Last week, Jonathan Brooks had no nine touches, Cuba had twelve. Jonathan Brooks got three receptions on three targets. Cuba lost the pass game work and their snaps really started to come back up. Brooks still below him in snaps, but it seems like that trend line is Brooks taking over and in this matchup, a tough matchup for the run I just think that they're going to monopolize each other. So I got them both on the bench over on
the Philly side. Jalen Hurts Man, this is this is a story for running game quarterback, rushing quarterbacks because he's averaging barely over two hundred yards a game, but all these rushing scars and all this rushing yards is really doing it for him. I still have an A grade on him. For the last six quarterbacks against Carolina had fifty plus yards and or a score on the ground,
So that's going to help him right there. And their bottom ten against the pass anyway, so it's a good spot A grade for Jalen Hurts as well as AJ Brown, who may see shadow treatment from J. C. Horn according to make Mike Clay, but in the last two shadow games for j C. Horn five for twenty five and one to DeAndre Hopkins eight for one hundred and eighteen and one to Mike Evans.
Wow.
So no fear of that really.
Yeah, And they're giving the fifth most fantasy points up to the perimeter, So I have to see a secret on DeVonta Smith. In the two games prior to his injury, they were not very good, but Goddard was playing. And we've talked about this a lot of the last three years.
They've monopolize each other. It's one or the other. Goddard is out for this game that the four games got it missed three for sixty four and one one for two in that Giants blowout where hurts only three four hundred and fourteen yards, But that's six for eighty five and a score, and four for eighty seven in a score, so like sixty ninety yards in a score. So I'm in with Dallas Goddard out. Grant Calcatara is gonna get in here with one of the best tight end matchups
you can get. Carolina's allowed nine tight end scores in twelve games. That's nine times if you want to throw that button on there, and the eighth most yards to the position. I thought about it, take a chance on me here, but I'm just gonna give him a ce. He plays over ninety percent the snaps when Goddard is out. He had eight plus fantasy points in three of those four games without Goddard. So it's okay. Spot a grade on Saquon Barkley. I don't really need to go over
it because it's an awesome matchup. And that's why Kenneth Gainwell was might take a chance on me player in a backup role at the end of that game.
Speaking of take a chance on me players, you mentioned Zach Scharbonay earlier or for the Seattle Seahawks. If Kenneth Walker is able to go, do you like him.
Here, Kenneth Walker or Sharbone Kenneth Walker, Kenneth Walk, Yes, Yes, I yes, I to me, he'd be a must start a if Kenneth Walker does end up going. He was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, didn't practice Thursday with the ankle and calf injuries. He has been deemed a game time decision, officially questionable on the injury report RB eleven and average Fantasy points, but has said to RB twenty seven over the past five weeks.
He looks run down, and yes he does.
During that span three point nine yards per carry. The play is clearly regret He might need a week off.
Honestly, he might.
I ques your A grade here. I think he feels like more like a B grade with the injury to the potential of aggravation to the injury a unkload reduction.
I'm gonna toggle it to a bee.
Okay, yeah, yeah, because I do think you know, I mentioned this during the sharp and anything that if Walker goes, I do expect less usage for Walker more for sure. Okay, yeah, So we're gonna go down to a bee. Going to the passing game there with the Seahawks, I'm gonna bench keep Geno Smith on the bench. Gino only scored fourteen point six fantasy points in Week twelve against the same Arizona Cardinals. He only has four games all season over
twenty fantasy points. And then the Cardinals. They've allowed just four quarterbacks all season to go over twenty fantasy points. I don't think Gino gonna get there this week. Sam Darnold last week was the first quarterback in six weeks to get more than sixteen fantasy points against the Cardinals. Dk metcalf taken off the injury report on Friday, so he is gonna go. Of course, he had dinged up
his knee week thirteen against against the Jets. He has a shoulder injury as well, but again he's going to play. Scored ten point five PPR points or less in the last two games. The Cardinals have only allowed one touchdown to a wide receiver in the past six games.
So the.
Rounding, yeah, yeah, it is. It's turning quite good.
Sure is.
So we're gonna give DK a b We're also going to give JSN a B Smith and Jigbait wide receiver sixteen fantasy points per game.
This is a better matchup for him.
I feel like since Week ten, Arizona has run the highest too high coverage in the entire NFL.
JSN leads the Seahawks.
With a twenty one percent target share against too high. Which makes sense. He beats you in the intermediate range, you keep the two guys back, you have less guys there to defend him. Last time against the Cardinals, JSN was wide receiver thirteen for the week with almost twenty PPR points. Tyler Lockett and Noah fan, I would suggest that you bench them. Yes, keep them on the bench. Moving over to the Cardinals. Kyler Murray great of C ten point three fantasy points at Seattle in Week twelve.
That was good for or bad for? I guess quarterback twenty three.
He's been held under twenty fantasy points three of the past four games Seattle.
The last three.
Games so the Seahawks pass defense allowed only eight passing touchdowns in his intercepted the ball seven times.
Wow.
Yeah, so they've been they've been playing better.
James Connor, I'm gonna give him a b RB seventeen fantasy points per game. The Seahawks shut down Connor two weeks ago, but overall, Seattle has a middle of the pack run defense, and Seattle's interestingly struggles against gap runs, which why I was surprising they shut down Connor last time. Fourth highs yards after contact per attempt against gap runs.
That's the Seahawks run defense.
Connor seventy one percent of his carries are gap concepts. I'm gonna give him a be I think he bounds it back this time. Tray Benson, I'm gonna give him a bench. I did think about a speculative see here in sort of the desperation flex van only seven carries total the last couple of weeks, and Emery de Mercado was on the field more last week against the Vikings, but at Benson snaps were to go up in this game.
I do think that he could do a little damage himself on some of those gap concepts against the Seattle defense.
Marvin Harrison. Gonna give him a see.
The Seahawks shutdown Harrison Junior last time that they played. Harrison's yards per route run fall all the way to one point four to five against Too High, which it's the Seahawks have been running a ton of since Week ten. During that span, since the Seahawks have gone more to this predominant too high look, the Seattle has held perimeter wide receivers of the six fewest PPR points per target and the lowest yards per game the entire NFL. But I will give him a see. I'm going to advise
a bench for Michael Wilson. This is a bad matchup for Wilson. Seattle's pass defense ranks first in EPA allowed per play. Seattle ranks number four in yards allowed per cover snap to opposing wide receiver as well mentioned that they've been doing better recently, so benjam and then Trey McBride, my boy who is a part of my hall in the Guillotine League, the Afrementary Guillotine League.
When I got my pick at seven guys, Trey McBride is one of them. Are that great? A must start love Trey McBride.
Does he gonna score a touchdown? Yet?
You're gonna score a touchdown in this.
Ge Josh Allen has a receiving touchdown and no catches.
On no catches, He's got to receiving touchdown.
And we're at like seventy catches right now for Trey McBride without a score, which is I'm calling.
It this week.
That is hard to fall all right, tell you shot, I like it. I meant when we come back Chicago taking on the San Francisco forty nine Ers, Chicago's offense getting a little bit better, We'll tell you whether or not you can start Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen.
When we returned to Fantasy Football.
Weekly, Welcome back Fantasy Football Weekly.
The block of matchups for you, beginning with the Bears at the forty nine Ers. I'm gonna start with the running game and DeAndre Swift Roshan Johnson's out and that that helps DeAndre Swists prospects quite a bit because Johnson have been housing all the goal line.
With Whi's questionable too. Now she should go that I mention should go.
So now if you can't go, then Travis Homer would be your pivot guy in this game. And it's a late afternoon game, so you might just want to pick up Travis Homer just in case you need to make that last minute pivot. The Niners are a shockingly soft run defense that's allowed rushing touchdowns in seven straight games. The past two opponents have run for one hundred and fifty eight yards and one hundred and ninety eight yards against the forty nine Ers. DeAndre Swift a B grade
in this one. Let's go over to the passing game. I'm gonna start with Keenan Allen, who gets my highest grade of the week, because slot receivers are killing the forty nine ers even in Buffalo's blizzard conditions. Last week, Khalil Shakir led the Bills in receiving decent. Recent slot performances against the Niners include Jackson Smith and Jigba ten catches, Ceedee Lamb thirteen catches. So I like Keenan Allen, here's coming on strong lately with a B grade. DJ Moore
has got a quad injury. You're gonna want to watch that, and even if even if he plays, quad's reinjured, So be careful here. He's become pretty bankable of late as the primary beneficiary of Caleb Williams improved play. He's had seven or eight catches in three straight games. He runs overwhelmingly from the left side of the field and that puts him on cornerback Ronardo Green.
A neutral matchup.
He's allowing a sixty seven percent completion rate and a couple of scores over the course of the season. But Green is a skinny kid and DJ Moore a little more physical, and he could beat him that way potentially. But let me note that you should know this since Thomas Brown took over for the Bears offense. DJ Moore's a dot. His average distance of target is three yards.
Oh my gosh, three that's it. I did not expect that, and.
That's why he's a C grade. Roma Dunesay's on the bench. His role is starting to come into focus as the team's down field receiver, but that also makes him the least reliable of the group, and he's got the toughest matchup against Shaveria's Ward and then Latt leaves us with oh, I just mentioned Cole kmet forty nine ers a lead tight end defense, So do not play him. We'll keep
him on the bench. Caleb Williams, I've got BC's and two bench grades on his receiving options, so I don't love him here, but he is playing way better lately. Hasn't thrown a touchdown in six games, which is a rookie quarterbacking record all time, and his rushing brings up his floor a little bit here. So Niners have allowed four quarterback rushing touchdowns in the last eight games, so you might get a little something done with his legs.
But I see like a two hundred yard one touchdown passing performance and only a C grade on Caleb Williams On the Niner side, George Kittle obvious a Isaac Grendo. Well, actually, I'll stay with the receivers. Juwan Jennings back to back bummer games for Jennings. First was the Brandon Allen start two weeks ago. That was no good. Then he got the Blizzard game that was no good. This time, the force of nature he's going to be dealing with is
star cornerback Jalen Johnson. Johnson only lows two catches for twenty six yards per game in his coverage. He's not allowed more than two catches in his coverage all year long. Now my hope is with Matty Eberflu's gone, the Bears are gonna let Johnson play more man coverage, which they almost never do. And I think it's moronic because he's
the perfect guy to put on Juwan Jennings. And I've only got a C grade on Jennings on the assumption that they're going to let Jalen Johnson cover him more often. But I still love Jennings as a receiver, and you could talk me into a bee if you had to. Deebo Samuel C grade. He's been an epic disappointment, in part because it doesn't run the ball at all, But maybe the loss of CMC and Jordan Mason means that he will start running more often. Grendo's backup is Izziabanaconde.
He's been with the team for four days so I don't think he's going to be a factor here. I think we might get a few extra runs out of Deebo Samuel And honestly, it's the only reason I've even got the C grade on him. And that brings us to Brock Purdy in the passing game. He's off the injury report with his shoulder injury. But Perty's only posted explosive output in three games this year, and they were all against easy yielding defenses. That's a little tribute to.
Matt Yeah, I was, I was londering if it was it was.
That's the opposite of what Chicago is. They are a tough defense. They were giving up zero point nine passing touchdowns per game. I've got an A and two C grades on his receiver, so I've only got the C grade on Rock Perty in this one. And as I alluded to earlier in the show, Isaac Grendo absolutely startable. Hottest Waiver Wire pickup of the week, and this is a great opportunity. The way you beat Chicago is on the ground. Last week, the Lions runners combined for two
hundred and twenty eight combo yards against Chicago. Week before that, Aaron Jones snapped a month long funk against Chicago, and the week before that, Josh Jacobs put up one hundred and thirty four total yards. That's your opportunity for Isaiah Garendo A grade.
Wow.
I like Girndo a lot in this matchup. He's my running back eleven at this moment. All right, let's go over to the Buffalo Bills taking me on the Los Angeles Rams Scott Fish. Yeah, in the Snow Bowl last week, we got the scoring oddity. Yeah, rushing a lot of rushing yards. What do you think in this one?
Yeah, for a lot of this, I might throw some of that out. It was, It's it's not as attributable here. Josh Allen is gonna get the A grade. Probably just deserves an automatic. He's got multiple scores in almost every single week. Rams middle of the pack, two hundred and thirty four yards per game. Half their game's multiple scores. Josh gets the rushing and sometimes receiving value. H Keon Coleman,
was you take a chance on me wide receiver? The only Yeah, The only other starter I had was Khalil Shakir. Last week is snow game, and he still managed to get seven Fantasy somehow. He's uh the leading target getter, has scored in three straight against the Rams. Fourteen different wide receivers have scored against them total. Khalil doesn't score often, but he does get six plus catches, seven plus targets and fifty plus yards in most games, including the five
before that snowball snow Bowl. Amari Cooper, you can't really start snowballs. Yeah, snowballs when they score touchdowns. That was awesome. Yeah, yeah, Amari Cooper. I'm not gonna start until he gets more than half the snaps.
That would be nice.
Dalton Concaine shed the non contact injury vest. He might he might return this week, but he's still gonna split with knocks and only one tight end. His top forty five yards in the last six weeks against the Rams, and it took being targeted nine times to get there. I don't think that's going to be in the cards for either of them. James Cook. Cook has scored in all but three games this year, including seven of the last eight. His yardagen had been dipping down recently one
hundred plus last week. Over the last two weeks, the Rams have given up three hundred and two yards to total yards to Barkley one hundred and nineteen to Kamara. They're getting crushed by runners right now. So I got an A grade on Cook. Ray Davis got a bunch of quality work in that blizzardy blowout, but that was his highest total of the season. Before that, he wasn't getting much, so he's on the bench. Over to the Rams side, I have a B grade on Matthew Stafford,
who's been really hot lately. Multiple scores in five the last six, eight scores in just the last three weeks. Likely to trail here. You know, they're five point underdogs. It's supposedly going to be a blowout of Corn to Vegas, but the Bills. Bills have given up multiple scores in three straight prior to the Blizzard game, but only three quarterbacks have topped the super low bar of two hundred
and fifteen passing yards. So I'm not sure how much we can fully expect out of Stafford, but I have a B grade there, and he hyper targets his two main guys, Cooper Cup and Pooka Nikua. Nikua has ninety eight plus yards and or a score and also sixteen plus Fantasy games in every game that he's played over thirty five percent of the snaps, like he came out that one, so I'm gonna push it to the side.
So he's basically an ottaway Cooper Cup Rough week for Cup last week in that snow game, or rough not in the Snow game, but before that, he was on a five week absolute tear, scoring four times in those five games, fifteen plus in all of thomse game script should be in his favor. I know that it's a tougher Bills matchup.
I still but.
Taron Johnson in the slot has really really dropped off. He used to be great. That's an exploitable matchup for Cooper Cup. I think he bounces back nicely here.
Sure. Sure.
And for Nick Westbrookakine West DeMarcus Robinson another three target game last week, another score. Who would be East? Who would be the East version?
If well, that's that's Nick Westbrookakina, Well.
I mean Tennessee's. I suppose it seems pretty centimes. Yeah, yeah, sure, the matchup is tough. Regression should happen, but six teams on by and based on Nick and him, just ride it till bucks you. I'll give him a dart throw. I don't love it. Though I don't love it at all. Karen Williams gets an A grade fifteen plus touches last week notching you had another score, and he had another one hundred plus game yard game, scoring in back to back eleven touchdowns in twelve games, basically a lock for
seventy to one hundred every week. The only thing that was starting to worry me he had eleven catches in the in weeks eight through eleven. He's only had one catch in the last three weeks. If that disappears, I don't know, I'm gonna worry a little bit. The Bills are bottom three against backs in the passing game, so maybe this is the rebound game for him. Korm got some workload last week, but I think it's more of a fluke, so.
Yeah, probably yeah, Bench, all right, when we come back.
I think we can do it. I think we're nine minutes in. You think so, are we?
All right, Let's do a Laurent. Let's work in one more Cincinnati takes on Dallas store points everywhere. We already are already identified all the cowboys that we love, and take a chance on me. Let's go to the Bengals side first. It start everybody. I've got Chase Brown at running back four this week?
All right, yeah, and I could definitely see that he a for me. Brown has gotten over eighty percent of the snaps in every single game since Zach Moscott hurt. This is an awesome matchup for him with a game total pushing fifty against a bottom three run defense in Dallas.
Giving him a name.
Joe Jamar, Chase t Higgins are all a's and must starts.
Mike kis sick. I'm gonna give him a bench and the only reason I bring him up.
Last week five catch at fifty three yards against Pittsburgh. That was the first time all season Kasiki has scored double digit PPR points with t Higgins on the field. I'd assume that Kasiki's production returns to its previous mediocre levels in this game.
Go over to the Dallas side.
Cooper Rushers might take a chance on me, guy ric o'dowdell with Chargers take a chance and Brandon Cooks was another one of my take a chance on me guys. Ceedee Lamb is an A and a must start if he plays a questionable he said.
That he's gonna play, so I trust him.
Jalen Tilvert, he's a bench unless Ceedee Lamb was lying to us with that shoulder injury. But yeah, CD said on Thursday that he was going to play. So and then lastly Jake Ferguson, who is questionable. Gonna give him a be It looks like he'll be back this week. Before his Week eleven concussion, Ferguson had at least seven
targets in five of seven games. Cincinnati's allowed thirteen plus half point PPR points to seven tight ends in the last eight games, and the Bengals have allowed the fourth highest catch ade to opposing tight ends.
All right, we like Ferguson in this one, we do?
Yeah, Bergie Ferd Yeah, good to have him back, sure is Yeah, we love the Schooner mocker. Yeah, it'll be good to have Jake back.
Would we come back?
We'll jump into Fantasy Football Weekly time machine. As we go back in time, find out who you want to do this week that everybody else will be trying to pick up next week when we return to hand a final set of matchups. Fantasy Football Weekly. Final segment of Fantasy Football Weekly for this week Scott Fish Fantasy Cares. Yes, you've got you've done a lot of shopping lately for kids. It's so such a great it's such a great it's
got to feel really good. It does work all year for this time of year so that you can make the big donation for toys for tots.
Yeah, it's it's it's quite incredible. This year, we're probably going to spend about one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars in twenty five to thirty different cities. I spent fifteen thousand here at the Toys r US at Malve America this last weekend. I brought my family, my wife, my two kids, and my parents came because they came into town.
US is still a thing.
It is and it's not like a national court like it's they got the name, but it's it's locally owned that Toys r US and the Mall of America had no idea. Yeah, the woman I work with there, she's a part owner of it. Oh, she's awesome. And yeah, we spent fifteen thousand dollars. And it's fun to watch your kids get it understand what we're doing, Like this is the first year my six year old truly understand
what we're doing and he's going and picking toys. He's like, I I like this, so other kids are going to like this and like, yeah.
That's special.
It's wonderful. What But really, to the listeners and the people in the fantasy community that and you and like the the whole team here that has made this, made this possible and help promote and support it, We've done a lot of good with it.
So thank you for that, and thank you listen for everything that you've done with Fantasy Cares, growing it out of your basement into it just a freaking juggernaut and it's you know now, it's it is the charitable event of the fantasy football community. It's unbelievable what you've built. It's time jump football Weekly Talk. Jane for pregnanture speculation for who would you like to talk about? For premature speculation, Scott was.
Just talking about charity.
The forty nine ers got some this week by claiming israel lebonaat for free from the New York Jets.
He is my prespect this week.
So I think Abana Conda is a really good fit for the forty nine ers system. I mean, in some ways Grindo is too, and Abana Conda not as physically talented as Grendo. He has better vision, right, and it's the same thing of the guy who's looking for the crease to hit the dinger.
They're both home run hitters.
So I don't think it's out of the question that Abona Conda, he's in the building there for a couple of weeks, that they could start to maybe get frustrated by Grendo's lack of vision. Maybe maybe they end up giving a Bona Conde shot Bonaconda fifth round pick in twenty twenty three out of Pittsburgh. Like I said, home run hit or four four five speed at two hundred and sixteen pounds, ninety eighth percentile, vertical ninety six percentile,
brought nine to six one ras. Overall, that means he's a ninety six percentile athlete when compared to every other running backs entered the NFL since like the eighties, with the jets of Bonaconda average four point one yards rushing outside only two point eight inside the tackles, which again just underscores the home run hitting thing which the forty nine ers system facilitates, right, I mean they sort of they facilitate that, so so I think a Bonicicona is
a really good fit, and that's a guy that you could look to go out and get in the dumpster and pick up for free.
Okay, this year's up, Tim high Tower or Ronde maybe.
Potentially Ron Day shutout Ron Dan, Yeah, no kidding, Yeah, great, Dan?
All right, Scott your premire speculation player.
Yeah, I'm gonna break rules again, and I'm going to go two of them. The first one was our last week of doing this, so you should Okay, Well, it's really only one and a half, So Braylan Allen is twenty to forty percent roster, depend depending on where you are are playing. But I think with two and a half three weeks now of Brice Hall dealing with this knee injury, it's possible they're eliminated from the playoffs as
of last week. Maybe he gets shot down and Braylan Allen takes the workload for the rest of the season and you've got a starting running back. The other one is a player I didn't mention in the Buccaneers in the Buccaneers breakdown earlier because I don't have any kind of grade on him. But it's Sean Tucker. If Bucky Irving doesn't play. He missed Wednesday and Thursday, and he
was limited on Friday. If Bucky Irving doesn't play, Sean Tucker might get a role this weekend, so possible pick up there.
There was some I forgot to mention with mine if I can just jump in quickly, which was I found this quote from Kyle Shanna hand really interesting about a bonaconda after they made that claim, so I just wanted to circle back really quick. Kyle Shanahan quote. I liked him coming out of college. I haven't studied him a ton in the NFL, but he was a guy that I had good notes on coming out of college and liked, and I know our scouting department thought he was the
best guy out there being available. So in our situation, I'm especially glad to get him in here.
All right, Well that's promising. You know what else is promising? Will Lovis. I already mentioned him once in the show and.
You Love Will You Love the mail Man?
By way, I'm so far off of Will Levis in the preseason do not draft, do not draft, do not draft, And for half a year that was the right decision. But you have to be able to say I'm wrong, and Will Levis has just gotten better. He's just gotten back to the point that even though the Titans are going to be sitting in the top like seven of the draft, I don't know they're going quarterback that pick. Wow, Levis has done enough. This thing is this thing is
looking a little interesting. So, as I already mentioned earlier in the show, vastly and proved he's quarterback eleven over the past four weeks. But here's the best part, easiest remaining schedule against the pass Will Levis. You get Jacksonville twice and Cincinnati Woods and then a neutral matchup with Indy.
Pretty good. It's all great day, pretty good.
You know this was this was my prespect on Ta Jay Spears last week. Just the matchups are so good.
I my take a chance on me. Quarterback for the rest of the year is Will love for the rest.
Of your life. Will loves baby.
My son was confused this last weekend why he had MAO commercials? Why does Will Livis get commercials? Because I had to expect?
And why does he eat bananas with the peel. There's so many questions about Will Levis and will never be answered.
It's Perry never be answered.
We've got one matchup we do get too. Let's let's talk it through Chargers Kansas City to the Sunday night game.
These met.
These teams met in a low scoring game back in Week four. On the Chargers side, not a lot lot to love here. Lad McConkie has got an AC injury that could knock him out on any tackle. You have to be really careful. Remember Jordan Mason earlier this year was trying to play through his AC injury and he got knocked out twice. So you have to be a little bit careful there. And we saw McConkie plays on
Sunday night. You'll want to watch his status up until then, and you might want to pick up Quintin Johnston as an emergency pivot if you need to. He's been great, He's coming on strong, lots of catches and yards. He's only scored in three games this year and not at all since Week eight, and that's the only real knock against him here. Chiefs secondary has been more yielding of Yate late. Of the past five games, the Chiefs have
allowed the fourth most yards to wide receivers. So Lad mcconakee comes in with a b grade the other guy in sneaky fashion. You could start Will Disley even though he had zero catches last week, but startable here because.
You just like guys name Will Well that.
Yeah, there is that. I guess I do. I didn't know that, but I do. Chiefs have allowed the fourth most fantasy points the tight ends. Brock Bauers just hammered the Chiefs for ten catches one hundred and forty yards at a touchdown. Disley seeing the vast majority of tight end snaps and routes for the Chargers. His route rate the past two games is seventy one percent in each, which is very good by tight end standards.
Let's go to our Let's go to clear bear.
Justinart, it feels like a low upside game for Herbert, who only threw for one hundred and seventy nine yards in one touchdown in the earlier meeting with Kansas City. If Lad mcconcky were healthier, I'd bump up Herbert to a B. But as it stands, it's a C. Because that wide receiver depth chart is so thin for the Chargers. I worry there just aren't enough quality targets to go around against a decent but slightly shakier lately. Kansas City secondary so c grade on Justin Herbert Gus Edwards, who
even with JK. Dobbins out last week, Gus only saw five carries in a close game. The last three weeks, Gus has totaled thirty two yards, eleven yards and twenty seven yards. He doesn't catch. He's got two receptions on the year. Kansas City is an excellent run defense. They ranked number one in yards per carry, tenth in run defense EPA, second in yards after contact, seventh in yards before contact. Gus Edwards is on your bench?
What about command Kamani vidals so soon? Well, we're watching my boy.
We're watching because the Amani gorvad there, but we're not We're watching him, but we're not.
Starting love Kimani all.
Right now, Kansas City side people are are reading this so wrong with Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco. Hunt Pacheco came in last week and Andy Reid had said that he was on a snap count of about twenty snaps. He's made no such declaration this time, and Hunt is going to get obliterated by Pacheco now here. It is last week Pachecko and when the two ran last week, but Checko ran for six yards per Carrie Hunt ran for two, and Hunt had turned four targets into zero catches.
This thing is over. Pachecko's going to run away with this job, and I love him in this matchup because the Chargers, while they are a good run defense, listen to what teams are doing against them. To beat this Chargers team, they're using workhorsebacks against them, and it's working. Three weeks ago, Chase Brown twenty seven touches against the Chargers, one hundred and forty three yards. Two weeks ago, Derrick
Henry twenty four touches, one hundred and forty yards. Last week, Fijon Robinson thirty two touches, one hundred and thirty five combo yards. The way you beat the Chargers is with work horse backs and repetition, and it's going to be Isaiah Pacheco for an A grade in this matchup. Oh boy, let's go to the passing game. And by the way, Hunt on the bench, Travis Kelcey B grade, Noah Gray
is turning into a problem. Is it's a problem. He's ciphoning off five targets per game over the last three weeks, still Kelsey getting enough work with at least eight targets in five of the last six games where Kelsey's not getting anywhere end zone. He's been targeted in the end zone only five times all year. Travis Kelcey Noah Gray four times this year.
I'm the one to blame for no Gray because after I finally gave up and dropped him from all my Dynasty teams.
That's when he took off as good. The Chargers have been giving up just one touchdown, have given up just one touchdown to tight ends all year, so I expect Kelsey to do the same thing he's been doing. He's going to give you plenty of catches in yards, but he is not going to be able to help you in terms of touchdowns. In all probability, Let's go to
the other receivers. Andre Hopkins remains the Chiefs wide receiver leader in utilization and is the only Kansas City receiver you can hope to get any kind of reliable production from. He's coming off consecutive serviceable Fantasy games for the first time this year with either of his two teams. Hopkins runs from the left, the right, and the slot but the Chargers have got good cornerbacks at all three spots, so I don't love his individual matchups at any of them.
Hopkins wins contested catches a lot with his size, but you know, the Charges cornerbacks are all bigger guys. They're all over six foot. I can only get you to a C grade on DeAndre Hopkins. Xavier Worthy. Last three games have represented a nice uptick in usage. We spent the first half of the season where like Xavier Worthy needs to score on two touches and that's not gonna happen most times. Now last three weeks four four and five receptions for Xavier Worthy, so that's a huge improvement.
Chargers cornerbacks play physical defense, which either means for a guy like Worthy who's just straight speed, he's either gonna get like bumped off his routes and it's gonna be a disaster, or he's just gonna run by these physical Charger receivers and make a big play. So I've got a C grade on Xavier Worthy as an all or nothing play, high risk, high reward. That brings us to Patrick Mahomes, the final chief to discuss here. I've got b's and c's on his receiving options. I've got a
B grade on Mahomes. The Chargers smoked Kirk Cousins last week, but had been uncharacteristically yielding in the two games before that. Along the season, the Chargers are a very improved secondary, allowing just one touchdown pass per game. Mahomes threw for two hundred and forty five yards and a score in the earlier matchup. That feels about right here. Maybe gets to two touchdowns, but I don't see it. I don't see an explosive game coming for Patrick Mahomes. Hey, we're
so forming new guarantee leagues at leagues dot com. Yeah, to know that the season four team gets.
Maybe my coworkers should get in one of those, because our league is over.
It's over.
Yeah, you're gonna get to see give me that crown to be the last man standing at the Guillotine League, and they will never hear the end of it. I promise you that.
I hope that's the case. I hope that's the case. If you want all of Thorne Neistrum's premium college content for the Bowl run, you can use promo code f f W twenty at fantasylife dot com.
Oh yeah, we're getting deep on those balls.
Oh I love it at this seasons of the year, twenty percent off the premium content at Fantasy Life, Fantasy Life Plus. Thanks for listening, everybody. Best of luck in the all in week of Fantasy foot well and we'll head into the playoffs and get you ready for that next week