Fantasy Football Week 6 WR Rankings: Risky Starts, Hidden Gems, & Players to Avoid (Ep. 2264)

0:00 What's up, friendos, and welcome in to Fantasy Pros, the fantasy football podcast.

0:04 This is the week six wide receiver ranks episode. I'm Chris Welsh.

0:08 We've got Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice here for you as we're going to be looking through the top 36 running backs, at least on Fantasy Pros ECR.

0:15 We'll go a little bit beyond. We'll do some debating.

0:18 Hopefully we'll answer some questions that you got in your brain and we'll get you prepped for week six.

0:21 That's what it's all about.

0:23 And gentlemen, wide receivers need us not wait any longer. Let's just jump right into this bad boy. You guys want to follow along, go to fantasypros.com slash rankings. You can see how the rankings adjust throughout the week, right up until kickoff. Obviously we're doing this a little bit earlier, so those might change, but You want to follow along, go to fantasybros.com slash rankings to follow what we are doing and check out all the different formats. Gentlemen, the top 12 is, as such, Pokedekua coming in at number one after his gajillion target game going up against Arizona.

0:56 Can he have a gajillion in two?

0:58 Maybe.

0:59 Jackson Smith and Jigba at two. Christian Watson, Mr. First Touchdown coming in at three. We've got CeeDee Lamb, Drake London, Chris Olave.

1:06 That's your top six.

1:07 The bottom half, Nico Collins, Malik Neighbors, Zay Flowers, Mike Evans, Devante Adams, and Parker Washington.

1:15 Hello, Mike Evans.

1:15 Let's talk about Evans here coming in as wide receiver 10. I have felt a little dicey on him just with all the injuries. And he just like, every time he gets hit, he's just grabbing at everything. And I'm just worried that the snaps are going to go down, but like every week, it doesn't matter. He continues to roll.

1:32 You guys are kind of split on it. I actually want to go to you, Fitzy. I want you to kick us off. Cause you, again, I loosely say negative. You are lower than ECR. You do not have him as a wide receiver one. Clearly you're going out there with him, but you were shaking your head a little bit with that, that injury concern. It's tough when he doesn't start drives or, You know, they're keeping lower snap counts or one hit, he's grabbing at everything.

1:54 But he's like a total gamer right now. And there's nobody else.

1:59 Like literally all the wide receivers are injured right now. So that's a positive. But what's your take pushing him outside the wide receiver ones this week, Fitzy?

2:06 Yeah, total warrior.

2:07 He's obviously feeling it, that rib injury every time he gets hit. Like you can see him just grimace in pain. And a lot of times he checks out for a play, but then checks right back in. Um, I do feel like there's a little bit of recency bias here with him ranked as a wide receiver one last week. Great game against the Seahawks. Tough matchup, um, really does more than his fair share to help the 49ers win that game, upset the Seahawks in Seattle. And, uh, you know, throws on the great gif with checking the back of Trayvon Diggs jersey for his name. I mean, I showed that to my wife and she just died laughing.

2:47 That was spectacular.

2:48 Hall of Fame, like Hall of Fame.

2:50 Absolutely.

2:51 Moment too.

2:51 Just incredible.

2:54 But that was Mike Evans' first game with more than eight targets this season. That was his first game with more than 76 receiving yards. So I know we expect the role to be expanded this week now that Debo Samuel is injured and is going to miss multiple weeks. But I just I do think he's coasting a little bit on the strength of what he did against Seattle last week.

3:17 Micah Parsons, by the way, all Micah Parsons can do is talk right now because he's not doing anything on the field. But he had a really great comment on the Mike Evans thing where he was just like, You just have to throw hands. He's like, a guy does that to you, you've got to immediately start fighting. And of course, you know, again, he's not doing anything, but I love that comment. Mike Evans, for you, Mr. Andrew Erickson, you've got him at six this week, all in on the 49ers matchup against the Washington Commanders. Commanders have been a little bit better defensively, but snaps, targets, like how are you spacing this out? How did you get him to top six?

3:56 Well, if you look at Mike Evans this year, he's averaging a career high 3.3 yards per route run, career high 34% target rate. So although he is taking some snaps off as he battles through this rib injury, which I also talked about on the sell high show where this may not last for Mike Evans. I think that he is a prime sell high candidate ahead of this matchup with the commanders. But if he plays this full game, he's going to be a top 10 wide receiver. No doubt in my mind, because the commander's defense is Mike Sanders still. Might be the worst quarterback in the NFL because whenever he is being covered by a wide receiver, that guy is wide open, has a monster game. Every single time you turn on the commanders play defense, you

4:36 find Mike Sanders still and you target that wide receiver that's on it. So every time Mike Evans goes into the game, he's going to probably be matched up with Sanders still a lot as Kyle Shanahan moves his guys around. Mike Evans has a career high catch rate, 71% this year. 64.7% of his targets travel 10 plus air yards. That is above his career average. On downfield throws this season, the commander's defense has allowed the most touchdowns, 10. Second highest completion percentage over expectation, plus 12%. Like this is slated as the best matchup you could ask for a wide receiver.

5:10 And the fact that he did last week, seven catches for 113 yards in a bad matchup against the Seahawks, I'm salivating to play Mike Evans this week. So again, I still think he's a sell high, but I want a King's ransom because I think that he's going to have a monster performance here against the Commanders.

5:26 Oh, those Niners right now.

5:28 I was at, I live in Arizona, Arizona Fall League. Football people aren't going to care about that, but it's a collection of like all the baseball's top prospects. And I had a Niner hat on last night and one of the Royals pitchers is Steven Soback, his name. He just looked over as he walked by and he just went bang, bang. And I was like, Five and oh, baby.

5:46 So hopefully not setting myself up, but it has been a good run for the Niners. And this is a solid matchup. Let me ask you guys a side question to this wide receiver ones real quick. Erickson, I'll start with you and we'll go to Fitzy. Who, and you don't have to go into crazy big analysis or whatever, but who of these top 12 do you feel the most squirrely about? Whether it is their specific rank, like a Christian Watson coming in at number three, Someone that jumps in that you just feel shouldn't. I mean, this is like a core group here, but there's a few names that might feel a little bit dicey. Erickson, who is the most squirrely of the top 12 wide receivers for you this week?

6:21 Can you read the list again? One more time?

6:23 Absolutely, I can.

6:24 Pukunuku at one, Jason at two, Christian Watson, C.D. Lamb at four, Drake Lennon at five, Olave at six. Then you've got Collins at seven, Neighbors at eight, Zay Flowers at nine, Evans, Adams, and Parker Washington.

6:37 It's a tough list.

6:40 Maybe Adams just because do the Rams need Adam? I mean, he didn't have that many targets last week. I mean, he scored the touchdowns obviously. So will he be another top 12 wide receiver? I mean, maybe Adams, but to your point, it's a really strong list. Nico Collins, maybe if does Marv play a bigger role in this game, but the Jaguars are a defense that is more of a pass funnel. So you think that Nico is going to be involved a lot. So yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's a really strong list top for a reason.

7:10 So, well, cause I was.

7:12 Also thinking like, you know, Malik neighbors would have been one of the fun ones, but just not after last week or anything.

7:16 Fitzy again, it is a loose thing.

7:18 We don't have to go deep into it, but is there anybody that fits the criteria of maybe a little bit squirrely of their rank or wide receiver ones of this group?

7:26 I mean, Adams is playing with the guy who got 21 targets last week.

7:29 Okay, yeah.

7:30 So it's got to be Adams. He needs the touchdowns to get over, and he does score the touchdowns. He had a freakish rate of touchdowns per target, touchdowns per reception last year, and that's carrying over to this year.

7:46 That's just who he is.

7:47 I mean, he's an amazing, one of the best red zone, green zone players receivers of our generation. He's just amazing when you get close to the end zone.

7:59 And I think that was the name, by the way. I think that's good because the names we're going to talk about in a second with the wide receiver, too, is like I see a handful where, you know, easily you can justify volume and everything. It's just maybe, you know, rankers are looking at them going against the Cardinals. But in the same token, like I think they're going to be able to run all over the Cardinals. It's just kind of it's strictly and solely going to have to be about Great red zone touchdown catching. And I think he could easily be bumped down a little bit. And we'll talk about those guys in a second. But if you want a chance to give your fantasy league the ultimate championship upgrade, courtesy of our friends over at Trophy Smack,

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9:08 We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so be sure to turn on notifications, Don't miss your chance to claim this prize. Wide receiver twos, the big board. We've got George Pickens at 13, followed by Garrett Wilson, Matthew Golden, Tedaro McMillan, Michael Wilson, Jalen Coker, the bottom half at 19, Luther Burden, Denzel Boston, DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Josh Downs, and Carnell Tate. Quick aside, just following up on that Devante Adams thing, just for one second, Erickson How far do you think legitimately you could justify bumping Adams down versus this other group? Like what would be the line where you're like, oh, I'm totally cool with Adams being under Michael Wilson or Coker. Is that the

9:48 general space you think the line of where he could drop down is?

9:53 I think he should be behind Matthew Golden. I feel pretty confident.

9:56 Yeah, we're going to talk about Golden, but this is just like how far, what would be the line? number?

10:01 16, 17, 18?

10:02 Do you think you could?

10:03 Yeah, I think I have him at 15. I think he's in that range because again, you got to count that he does score touchdowns and that's a really easy way to surge up the ranking. So although he doesn't get as many targets, it's, I mean, the Cardinals defense is not necessarily a imposing matchup where you're thinking, oh no, like, He won't score touchdowns just because he doesn't get the ball thrown his way, not because he's not capable of doing it. So I think you have to give him that type of grace when you're ranking him. But when he doesn't have locked in volume, I have trouble getting him in my top 12 for sure.

10:35 Fitzy, when you look at this list, where's the line? And again, because we're going to move to the next player, but where would you slot him or like what grouping does he belong in? Is he clearly in the same grouping as Wilson and Tedderall McMillan?

10:46 Should he be higher? Can he be lower? What's your thought?

10:49 For me, it's higher.

10:50 Like I said, I feel squirrely about him because the volume you can't trust. But man, he's a touchdown machine going against a bad Cardinals pass defense.

10:59 I can't not have him in the top 12.

11:01 Okay, well, let's see where maybe Matthew Golden lines up here. I mean, you just said it, so he's out of that grouping. Speaking of 12, Erickson, you have Matthew Golden at 12. He's ECR 15 of the group. Fitzy, you've got him at 17. Fitz, why don't you give us.

11:14 Maybe a slightly negative-ish take? It's not really.

11:17 You're only two spots lower, but you guys have a big gap of five wide receivers between. Fitz, you got him at wide receiver 17 this week.

11:25 Yeah, I don't want to be too negative on Matthew Golden because Lord knows I have to issue a mea culpa here. I did not like the Matthew Golden draft pick for the Packers when they made it. I thought the production profile in college was a little light for him to be a first-rounder. Looks like I'm totally wrong about that. He has been really good for Green Bay.

11:43 And it's great that the Packers have such a concentrated target distribution with basically.

11:49 Just Watson, Golden, and Kraft, and that's it. So... Good outlook for him.

11:54 And while you were kind of talking about comparing buckets of receivers here, well, I've got golden wide receiver 17. I've got him right behind Tedderow, McMillan, George Pickens, Michael Wilson. And I mean, I'm probably going to move him ahead of Michael Wilson, I think, just because the Cardinals... passing game, like it puts up numbers, but it just looks so ugly doing it sometimes. And so much of that comes in garbage time. But like you could kind of argue McMillan, Pickens and Golden any which way. And I just happen to have Golden at the bottom of that pile right now.

12:28 Now, Erickson, you are higher. You've got Matthew Golden as a wide receiver one this week, number 12.

12:35 So talk to us about Golden.

12:37 The matchup is obviously divine. against the Dallas Cowboys. I don't need to sell anybody on that. The fact that Jordan Love, I think, is ECR quarterback four this week kind of tells you the whole story. The last time these two teams faced off 80 points total and a 40 to 40 tie on Sunday night football. So clearly the ceiling play for all these receivers in this game is extremely high. And I just want to point out again, we're worried about Devonta Adams getting targets. Matthew Golden has seven plus targets in every game this season. He has more targets than Christian Watson does. Like if you're just looking at the target share of these Packers receivers, technically speaking, Matthew Golden is the number one wide receiver on the Packers.

13:13 Now I'm not ranking it that way. I'm not because production obviously matters in terms of how much yards you get. Watson is obviously targeted downfield. He obviously sees more red zone opportunities than Matthew Golden, but I think Golden still sees a lot of these high value ops. Like he still does see a lot of downfield usage, despite the fact he also has a 24% target share this season compared to Watson, who's at 21.6%. And last week, six for seven targets, 123 yards, he caught a two point conversion, hundreds of eight yards came in the second half. He also had three red zone targets, but didn't score, right?

13:45 So if we go back and listen to what we talked about last week, Marshawn Lloyd in week four had a bunch of red zone opportunities, didn't score. Week five, finds the end zone twice. So I think Matthew Golden is going to find the end zone against the Dallas Cowboys because of the red zone usage he saw last week.

13:59 The fact that he does see more targets than Christian Watson, and that's going to make him a top 12 wide receiver. And why I feel way more confident playing him over a guy like Devontae Adams, where does he see five targets against the Arizona Cardinals? And then he scores. I think Golden can score, go over 100 yards, and see double-digit targets against the Cowboys.

14:16 I like it.

14:17 There's an interesting situation in these mid-teens here with the Panthers wide receivers. We kind of talked about Tedaro McMillan, but Jalen Coker comes in at ECR 18.

14:26 Once again, you guys are kind of split on this.

14:28 But Erickson, we'll start with you. You're the high guy. You're one spot higher at 17. I obviously want you to talk about Coker, but also like, are you comfortable with both McMillan and Coker coexisting two spots next to each other on ECR going up against the Eagles?

14:44 It does feel like a hedge a little bit because it feels like only one of them is going to deliver in this range, but we're not sure who it will be. So you kind of just rank them back to back and be like, play both guys. One of them will be really good. One of them will be okay. And you just kind of live with it. However, when you just look at schematically speaking, Jalen Coker has the better matchup here against the Philadelphia Eagles and how bad they've been against slot receivers, 108 yards per game to slot targets. That is the third worst in the NFL second, most slot targets face. So there is always the argument to Coker is coming off an injury. that will he be a hundred percent? Now they are, Panthers are also

15:17 coming off a bye week. So you do feel a little bit better. I mean, when Coker has been on the field, three healthy games, he's wide receiver 11 and points per game, wide receiver 14 expected points per game. So again, we love these concentrated passing attacks. It is the Panthers two top wide outs, and then a tight end occasionally gets involved in the red zone. So I think Jalen Coker, if he is practicing in full this week, I think that he is full go and a really strong start. And Honestly, if I have him ranked so closely to TMAC, it might just make sense for this particular matchup just to flip them and be like, look, I get long-term rest of season. I think TMAC is the better player, but given this specific matchup and how

15:53 great it's been to just target this Eagles defense with slot receivers that Jalen Coker just makes more sense. I also like the Panthers passing attack overall against the Philadelphia Eagles. You have the Panthers getting back some of their starting offensive linemen and And then from like a larger view of this matchup, it's really advantageous to take advantage of these teams that are coming off the international games without a bye week against the team that's coming off a bye week. Right. Like the rest advantage is so in favor of the Panthers here, even though they are playing on the road, that this could be really tough sledding for this Eagles defense that I think has been very underwhelming this year.

16:32 Fitzy, you have a little bit less of a hedge, I think, going on based on your ranks. You've got Coker a little bit lower, but do you think both of them can coexist positively against this kind of underwhelming Eagles defense?

16:45 I do.

16:46 And I was frankly pretty surprised to see that I was behind ECR on Coker because I felt like I was ranking him aggressively, knowing that, as Erickson just pointed out, the Eagles have this slot funnel defense. But You know, I think we were reminded about how good Tedaro McMillan is when he completely eviscerated the Lions in week four right before the bye. 14 catches, 192 yards, two touchdowns in that game, but no Jalen Coker.

17:16 And there have been a lot of games, well, some games.

17:19 This year where Coker has just flat out outproduced McMillan, draft capital be damned. So, Yeah, both guys, I think, can beat this team. I'm glad Erickson pointed out the rest advantage, which I know we haven't seen mentioned probably since Warren Sharp did his big rest advantage thing. He always does a great job with the schedule analysis right after that comes out. So, yeah, this is kind of a bad spot for the Eagles. I wouldn't be surprised if both Panthers receivers had good games.

17:48 Carnell Tate comes in as wide receiver 24 on this list with solid matchup for Spurs. four to five star graded matchup against Indianapolis Colts, wide receiver 24. And you guys are both negative, but like you guys get real negative and rightfully so two weeks ago, it's a big explosive game. Then he disappears again. He's more often than not, not good on that team. But that doesn't really, it's not really reflective of the ranks this week. Erickson's at 29, but Fitzy, you dropped them all the way down to 36.

18:19 So he is just clinging to a wide receiver three spot.

18:22 Barely.

18:23 Fitzy, talk to us about Carnell Tate and really doesn't look like you're buying into the couple week ago solid performance.

18:31 He has had one game this season where he has made the people who started him happy. He had that big game against the Ravens in week four, and that was pretty much it. I guess against the Giants, six catches for 58 and a PPR, that's not a bad output. But man, this Titans passing game, like I have no confidence whatsoever in this passing game. And it's great that Tate is kind of asserting himself as the alpha in this.

18:56 And he showed us in week four how good he can be. I just hate the ecosystem for him and just do not want to really. I'm flexing him in a league this week. I don't feel great about it. Like I would rather be starting someone else. And I think I would be if I didn't have other people on by in that league. So, yeah, I'm definitely out on him this week if I can afford to be.

19:18 Erickson, you've got him at 29, so you're kind of in that general same space. Bi-weeks probably end up pushing him up. What's your vibe on Tate? Do you think this can start to turn around more, or are we kind of one and done on those big performances?

19:32 I think that in this particular game, I would rather play Wandel Robinson. All right, going back to how do offenses attack these specific defenses, Colts are another one of these teams that through the first five weeks slot funnel, right? Their slot cornerback, Justin Wally, I think is his name. That's the guy that gets picked on with Sauce Gardener locking up with the number one wide receiver. I know we talked about sauce last week and he helped keep DK Metcalf in check and who popped off and had a mountain monster game. Jeremy Bernard, the guy that was operating out of the slot. So this is how you attack this defense. Carl Tate isn't a strict perimeter player.

20:06 He does sometimes move into the slot, but if it's a numbers game and you're already kind of just feeling not great about this passing attack overall, then you've got to take the guy who's going to run 75% of his routes in a positive matchup, which is one Dale in this case. So I have one doggy ahead of carnal Tate here because I think his matchup is better.

20:23 And we never really talk about cam ward on the quarterbacks show because I mean, You're never going to be playing.

20:29 Exactly.

20:30 Why would we? But his performance against this type of defense matters for those that are wondering, should I play Carnell Tate? The Colts have played man coverage on 34% of their drop packs this season. Cover one, they've called on 25% of their plays, sixth highest in the NFL. Cam Ward has averaged a whopping 3.7 yards per attempt against man coverage this season. That is the second worst among all quarterbacks. 3.8 yards per attempt against cover one.

20:55 That is the fewest in the league. So against this particular scheme, Cam Moore does not rise above. And that would suggest that Colonel Tate is also going to continue to struggle here. So I think we're going to see more of what we saw last week and not two weeks ago, even though I feel like a dome setting against a bad Colts defense, you think, okay, maybe take kind of pop off here, but I mean, look, sauce guard or play much better than he had done in previous weeks. And most of the time drawing his type of coverage is not good for a wide receiver, especially a rookie like Colonel Tate. So, uh, I think I agree with Fitz, right? I think people are going to ask you questions about Tate. It's like, you don't really

21:33 want to start him. But again, with bye weeks, sometimes you're going to be forced to, you know, he's going to run all the routes. He's going to be out there. And, you know, he is used downfield. So he could always come away with a big play.

21:43 Just to piggyback on what Erickson was saying, like, I do think Justin Wally has become like, he is in the Elante Taylor zone, like Elante Taylor was early in his career with the Saints, where it's like, Who is going up against Elante Taylor this week? I want to start that guy in DFS. Justin Wally is in that spot right now. He is just getting destroyed on a weekly basis. And why would you challenge Sauce Gardner when you can pick on this guy?

22:11 And I know the.

22:12 Colts were high on Wally going into the season. They thought they had a fine with this guy, but he has taken his lumps.

22:20 When we are looking at some of the wide receivers that you were going to be starting over, there's a nice big heavy group in the wide receiver three range that are going to feel better. But before we jump into them, if you're not sure who to start, if you have a Carnell Tate issue and we don't happen to be there for you, well, guess what? You can get fast and free starter set advice with fantasy pros.

22:38 Who should I start tool?

22:40 Compare your players and get instant recommendations powered by more than 150 fantasy experts. Set your best lineup today. at fantasypros.com slash start. That's fantasypros.com slash start. So a bunch of wide receivers that are probably going to be better than Carnell Tate. Coming in on the big board for wide receiver threes at 25 is Roma Dunzey, followed by Jalen Waddell, Devon Vele, 28 Romeo Dobbs, Emeka Egbuka, Jeremy Bernard at 30, and then we've got Trey Tucker, Wando Robinson at 32, Devante Dontavian-Wicks, Jacoby Myers, Keenan Allen, and Khalil Shakir. Gentlemen, can you justifiably start Jalen Waddell? Now, you've got to start him if you don't have a choice, but if you've got a choice here, are you better

23:28 throwing caution to the wind with guys like Jeremy Bernard or a Wondell Robinson at this point? Because, as Erickson would say, Bun City with Jalen Waddell so far this season, and the change to Peyton really didn't help.

23:43 He's ECR 26th.

23:45 You guys are slightly lower, nothing crazy. Erickson, I got to get your take on it. Obviously, there's going to be situations where you're just not going to have a choice, but should you be attempting at all best cost to move away from Jalen Waddell or will this turn around?

24:00 Will it turn around with Bo Nix facing the Seahawks defense? I remain very skeptical that that will be a reality that we are coming away with after we watch this Thursday night matchup. I think it's a spot where you're trying to get away from Waddell. I think that the optimistic case would be, well, he did have seven targets last week. Again, only five in the box score, but he had two that were erased by pass interference calls.

24:24 So there was some intent to get him the football in some capacity. Again, he did lead the team in targets with those seven true targets on 40 snaps played, but the efficiency is just not there with how bad Bo Nix is playing. And the fact that Bo Nix is just so trigger shy, right? Like he is not attacking downfield. And when you face a Seahawks defense, if you think that you're going to be able to meticulously drive down the field on 15 play drives, it's not going to happen. Like you have to generate some explosive play.

24:50 So can Sean Payton like drill it into Bo Nix's head? Like, dude, you actually need to throw the ball downfield because Jalen Waddle is running go routes. Like he is out there downfield, sometimes open and Bo Nix is just not firing. So that's what has to change. So- I think that's possible where they could take an explosive shot with Jalen Waddle.

25:08 I mean, they went and got him for a reason. Maybe last week was the JK Dobbins game, one of Sean Payton's guys. And this can be the Jalen Waddle game where another one of Sean Payton's guys, as he is calling the plays. So that's why I'm hesitant to like bury him outside, like the top 36, even though I could see an argument for that because of how bad the matchup is. So that's why I got him like tentatively that mid wide receiver three range, just because he does play full compliment to snaps. We did see Mike Evans have a pretty good productive game against the Seahawks defense last week. But it's one of those where you kind of plug your nose and be like, I'm just going to do or die with Jalen Waddle. I mean,

25:43 he's our guy, right? Well, Jalen Waddle, we just do or die with him all the time. So, yeah, I don't know. Fitz, do you have any better feelings about Waddle?

25:50 I want to throw in for Fitzy.

25:52 As the great Michael Clark Duncan said, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.

25:57 That's about where we're at.

25:58 With Jalen Waddell at this point. Yeah, please, Fitzy, can you spread some optimism? Because you don't look good in the Jalen Waddell streets.

26:06 No, Welsh, and leave it to you to find the one guy I probably feel worst about how I have him ranked this week and pick.

26:12 On that scab.

26:14 Yeah, like I'm looking at the wide receiver 27 ranking in a matchup against Seattle, and I'm thinking, how can I possibly have him this high? Oh, wait, there are four teams on by, which is why he's inside the top 30. And even then, Bo Nix is averaging 5.8 yards per attempt this season.

26:32 He has been so bad. But we have.

26:35 Proof of concept that Jalen Waddell has been good in his career. We weren't imagining that he started his career with three straight 1,000-yard seasons and that he averages better than nine yards per target for his career and that he's capable of making his quota for a given week in fantasy with one play. And we just saw Mike Evans have a really good game against Seattle, but Bo Nix is not.

27:01 Brock Purdy. That's the problem here.

27:03 So, yeah, I mean, wide receiver 27 does feel too high.

27:09 I can't argue with that.

27:11 And I know people are going to be asking me this week, like Jeremy Bernard or Jalen Waddell. I'm going to be like, oh, man, I have Jalen Waddell ranked higher, but trust your gut, buddy, because I don't know what else to tell you.

27:23 Yeah.

27:24 Hold on to your butts, Samuel Jackson. Hold on to your butts. You're going to hate it, too. You said wide receiver 27. He's wide receiver 26 right now, so even worse. The new wide receiver 27, let me ask you this, Fitzy. Is Devon Bailey ranked too high? He's got a great matchup on paper, five-star against the New York Giants, but both you and Erickson are lower in rank.

27:46 Talk to us about Devon Bailey. Is he ranked too high this week, or is he an appropriate wide receiver three?

27:53 Where did you say that ECR has him?

27:55 He's 27 because Waddle moved up to 26 from yesterday and Valle moved up to 27.

28:00 I think he's a little too high.

28:04 And maybe the Saints passing game gets it back on track this week, but it's kind of been off the rails the last two weeks. And we knew it was going to be bad against Minnesota last week. They are a really tough matchup, but it was not great. the previous week against the Falcons, who are a pass funnel defense, who didn't have A.J.

28:25 Terrell for that game.

28:26 And the Saints did have 286 yards, or Tyler Shuck did, but he needed 48 passes to get there. I feel like the Saints offense is just not working that well without Kelvin Banks, their stud left tackle. So I'm just, I don't want to be above consensus on any Saints on offense right now.

28:45 Erickson, is Devon Valle ranked too high this week and an untrustworthy start?

28:50 I think that he is ranked pretty aggressively as a top 30 locked in loaded wide receiver when his production has kind of tailed off since the start of the season. I think that he's the clear number three in this offense that has struggled the last couple of weeks, the passing game with Tyler Shuck. Shuck's also dealing with this like hand injury thing that I think is also potentially playing a factor in how bad that he has been the last two games. So I do think this is a spot where they maybe run the football a little bit or try to against a bad Giants run defense.

29:19 And I'll talk about this on the quarterback show, but the Giants have been dialing up more blitzes and you better believe they're going to look at what Flores did against the blitz last week and be like, yeah, let's do that again. Because Tyler Shuck could do nothing moving the ball through the air against a blitz happy defense, which I think he's going to see again in New York.

29:36 So I think when you look at him versus Waddle, I make. who's the better player, right? Shannon Waddle. I don't think that's even close. So given that this Giants matchup again, not when you're afraid of, but I don't look at it and think this is the Dallas Cowboys is the Washington commanders. Like the Giants have some guys that can rush the passer and given the injury to banks, like Fitz talked about the Saints passing game has not been nearly as good since they lost their stud tackle.

29:59 So I think Bailey's fine, but I think that he's more like low-end wide receiver three than in this middle near 27.

30:06 One of the top waiver picks from this week, maybe the top if Woody Marks wasn't available, Jeremy Bernard comes in at 30 going up against Tampa Bay. Aaron Rodgers is a popular streamer this week because of this Tampa Bay matchup. No Roman Wilson. There was an extensive amount of targets for Jeremy Bernard. He comes in at 30.

30:22 This is another one of the situations, though, that you guys are both just kind of lower. Erickson, you've got him at 36 fits. You've actually kicked him out of the wide receiver threes. Erickson, talk to us about Jeremy Bernard. You don't seem super optimistic about him versus Tampa Bay this week.

30:35 Well, I still got him ranked as a wide receiver three. So it's definitely someone that you can still start. Now, maybe I am lagging a little bit behind the ECR here, given that he's coming off a game where he saw close to a 30% target share, 29.4%, which is a big leap from week four when it was only at 5%.

30:52 because of the injuries to Michael Pittman and Roman Wilson, right? Really opening things up for Jeremy Bernard. So it's never a given where a rookie wide receiver actually steps into a bigger role and actually delivers. Like we've done this for a couple of weeks with Makai Lemon now, where he's given more opportunities to step up without Devante Smith.

31:10 And although the Eagles offense has their own issues, Makai Lemon hasn't produced for fantasy like we would have liked. Whereas Jeremy Bernard, last week he stepped up and even against my Patriots a couple of weeks ago in week two, Michael Pittman Jr. did not play in that game. And Jeremy Bernard was making plays against Christian Gonzalez. Like I remember watching that very closely and thinking like, man, this guy's showing me something. So the fact that he can deliver from out of the slot, we've seen slot receivers be very, very good for fantasy and Mike McCarthy led offenses.

31:36 And the biggest thing that matters is he's got Aaron Rodgers trust, right? Like that is like the number one hurdle for these younger players and Steelers receiving weapons is do they have the trust of Aaron Rodgers? Because if they don't, then you're not getting the rock or the ball whatsoever. So against Tampa Bay, you have a pass funnel defense because they sell out to stop the run.

31:54 I do think that maybe I am a little bit too low on Bernard and man, I'm going to have to just I'm going to have to do some practice about these Jalen Waddle versus Jeremy Bernard questions because to Fitz's point, they are coming hot and heavy.

32:07 Well, because you said an important thing is like Rodgers has to have your trust and all he's been doing is talking about Bernard. And now Bernard's getting that opportunity. So get ready for those questions. Fitzy, now you bumped him out of a top 36. So he's in like a three wide receiver with a flex potential option. So your thoughts on Bernard for week six.

32:26 He has Aaron Rodgers' trust until he's five blades of grass away from where he should be on an out route. And Aaron Rodgers decides he's going to freeze him out for the next two and a half quarters. No, I'm probably too low on Jeremy Bernard, considering that, I mean, the Steelers are down to DK Metcalf and Jeremy Bernard.

32:44 And I think Caden Weijan, their rookie kick returner from Iowa, is like the third. Because everyone else, Roman Wilson out, Michael Pittman out, Ben Skoranek out. I don't know who they could promote to the practice squad this week, but it's pretty bleak. The only thing is, you know that they're going to involve Pat Friermuth and Darnell Washington. Jalen Warren has been getting a ton of targets. So I don't know that all these wide receiver injuries necessarily equate to an eight or ten target game for Bernard. But I probably should work him back inside wide receiver three range.

33:20 I would say, so I just make a comment because I know we were just talking about Justin Wally. Like he's not facing Justin Wally this week.

33:26 Right.

33:26 So I don't know exactly where the Buccaneers slate up in terms of them being a slot funnel defense. That doesn't really pop out to me in the matchups that I've looked at. I know that there are more of a pass funnel defense because of how good they are against the run. But I think that this might I think that expecting this performance back to back weeks is probably too aggressive for Jeremy Bernard unless he finds the end zone in terms of his production, just because last week was a really, really good spot for Jeremy Barr, especially with Roman Wilson getting hurt in the middle of the game. So I just want to add that point in.

33:57 Yeah, I think I would add to that, though, is if the expectation of last week carrying over would him being ranked as a wide receiver, too.

34:04 So I think I think some of.

34:05 The like bring down like, is he trustworthy to receive targets enough? And that's what wide receiver three represents. And I think that's kind of where he is and why he should be ranked here. Now there are quite a few wide receiver injuries and there's quite a few names that could end up playing that were not on this rank list. I did want to ask you guys about one before we get your deep play. Cause the news happened like 20 minutes before we started recording in that, uh, AJ Brown has officially been designated to return by the Patriots.

34:31 And it looks like he is practicing on Wednesday. Okay. That gives no necessary guarantee that he's going to play this week on the designation, but it sure does sound and kind of seem like it. So the question is, Erickson, if he is active for the game, you're going to have to take all your speculative, I'm not sure, but where would you rank him? Knowing that there could be a snap count issue, maybe they unleash him, what would be your process here and where are.

34:56 You going to rank A.J.

34:56 Brown if he is active for week six?

34:59 Probably as a wide receiver too, I think. And I would just bump down all the other teams or something. Yeah, I'd say probably top 20. Again, especially with all the teams on bye weeks. Again, I'm doing this off the cuff, so I don't know exactly.

35:10 Yeah, yeah, 100% ranked.

35:11 But I guess anyone that I have any hesitation about, whether it's due to matchup or anything along those lines, I would probably rank AJ Brown ahead of. But anyone that I feel really good about still, I would probably rank and rank A.J. Brown behind those types of players. Because again, a guy coming off an injury, like you never know, you don't know what his workload would be like and we'll get reports that will probably end up not being right about, he's on a pitch count and then he plays all the snaps or he's full go and then he's on a pitch count because that's literally what always happens with tons of these wide receivers in terms of the reporting. So, I mean, it's the Jets, it's Drake May, it's A.J.

35:46 Brown.

35:47 So like, again, if he's out there, man, like my teams can't afford to keep him on the bench.

35:51 Michael Wilson or A.J.

35:52 Brown for you.

35:55 Who will you pick?

35:58 Michael Wilson was a big disappointment last week. He really hurt a lot of people.

36:01 He didn't seem happy with him.

36:03 No, not happy with Michael Wilson.

36:04 He seems pretty happy talking about A.J. Brown.

36:07 I'm going to start A.J. Brown over Michael Wilson.

36:09 There we go. I was trying to get that. Fitzy, where would you put A.J.

36:12 Brown if active, knowing that there's all the contingencies of snaps and.

36:17 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah?

36:18 All right, I'm looking at my rankings right now.

36:20 I've got Matthew Golden, 17, Devontae Smith, who I'm tentatively expecting to return, 18, and DK Metcalf, 19. It's just a matter of whether I would have A.J. Brown ahead of or behind Devontae Smith because I would have A.J. Brown behind Matthew Golden but ahead of DK Metcalf.

36:37 Okay. Obviously, A.J.

36:38 Brown's a super big talent. I think most people listening would be like, where do I start? But, you know, to know and to have that balance of some of those players and like, where would you put him and some of the players that end up jumping up? And is there an uncomfortable level? Because there are teams out there that might have gotten Michael Wilson and Jalen Coker and you're placing those together. Top 20 wide receiver, I think, puts you guys in a good spot.

36:59 All right.

36:59 Final thing there. Just wanted to cover that.

37:01 Is your deep play for this week. Fitzy, why don't you kick us with a deeper play wide receiver that you want to potentially try to get out there?

37:08 Kendrick Bourne, I've got inside my top 40. As much as the Cardinals sling it around, and it's not always pretty, it's Jacoby Brissett. At least for now, until they give Carson back his audition, which is coming, folks.

37:19 It's coming soon. I would be willing to play Kendrick Bourne.

37:23 They got to move.

37:24 I've just been waiting to trade Jacoby Brissett to any quarterback hungry team and let Minshew and Beck be the guy that people are screaming out here in Arizona for Carson Beck. I mean, there might be screaming once he's in games too, but everybody loves the backup quarterback. Erickson, your deeper play wide receiver for the week.

37:42 I mentioned him earlier when we're breaking down Carnell Tate, but Wanda Robinson, all paths lead to attacking the Colts slot funnel defense. Second, most yards allowed to slot players this season.

37:54 Boom.

37:54 There you go.

37:55 Wide receivers, top 36. A couple deeper plays, some injuries out there. We know there's going to be more questions. That's why we got you covered here on Fantasy Pros with tons and tons of more shows. We've got live streams. We've even got the live stream right before Sunday kickoff with your start and sit. Or, you know, you can download the app, make sure the Who Should I Be Playing tool. You can check out the injuries. We have so many tools to help you kind of get locked in.

38:17 But these were the ranks, fantasypros.com slash rankings. If you want to check out how they adjust throughout the week when guys become active, follow that along. But thank you so much for hanging out with us. For Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice, I'm Chris Welsh. We'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.

38:31 Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast.

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