NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Starts of the Week, Hot Takes, and Fantasy Receipts

0:10 It's a fresh week, which means maybe a new sense of optimism, unless you don't have a win so far this season. Hopefully that's not the case, and if it is, you haven't been hanging out with us. So welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Show by Cam. My guy Trevor Sykema is with me, as he is every single week.

0:26 Matt Akata, our friend from NFL.com. Another fresh edition of Start Sits just.

0:30 Around the corner. But we got injury news. We got quarterback changes. The whole thing, Trevor.

0:35 I actually want to start with the New York Giants here because J.J. McCarthy, we just got word of this. He is going to be starting this week. It felt like it was trending in this direction, man. We saw some darts from him all over the place. By the way, no pun intended with Jackson Dart, his teammate not playing.

0:49 I just meant he was firing. There were dots everywhere. We'll use another term the kids like to throw out there.

0:54 Yeah, you said J.J.

0:56 McCarthy, and I wasn't sure who you were thinking of, but you meant 18. 18 is who you were thinking of. And obviously, he comes into the game and absolutely lights it up. He looks like a human flamethrower out there. And so, man, if he's playing that free, I know the game was kind of over and the script was very advantageous for him to throw the football a lot.

1:12 But look, when you're playing that free and you're looking that far down the field, that's fantasy points, baby. That's what we're looking for. So however you get them. We're cool with him here on this show.

1:21 And by the way, we're going to be talking about some of the Giants because Malik Nabors with wide receiver number one.

1:25 We'll have more news on him coming up in just a bit.

1:27 And my guy, Cam Scadavu, not a great performance, not great usage, which we will get to in just a bit. Time for a little say less. And because of some of these changes and because of some of the injuries that are out there, some replacement options, Trevor, according to you, who could find their way into the starting lineup.

1:45 Kick me off.

1:46 Yeah, so I think that Jalen Coker, the wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, probably went into the year. You know, you go through your fantasy drafts, and he's not somebody that you're drafting to say, okay, I'm starting him every single week. I'd probably tell you he's got to be at that point at least a flex option for you because— You talk about him and Ted McMillan as a duo here for the Carolina Panthers. The way that Bryce Young is playing, anytime you have a quarterback who's playing that well and a receiver he has that good of chemistry with, you've got to think about putting this guy in the lineup.

2:12 So Coker's been fantastic through six weeks, and I'd really think about having him as a main starter for you moving forward.

2:18 I like it.

2:19 Now, there was another wide receiver who found his way into the end zone for the very first time in his career.

2:24 Bernard, you like him for at least this week?

2:28 I do, and when it comes to Jeremy Bernard... I liked this landing spot of him with the draft because where there were other receivers in the draft that were maybe more explosive than Bernard was, he was so rock solid for the Alabama Crimson Tide. I mean, he got more targets than Ryan Coleman Williams at one point, but just because of how reliable he was. And I knew that with Aaron Rodgers wanting to get the ball out of his hands quickly, it was only a matter of time before this guy was getting a ton of targets.

2:52 Nine targets two weeks ago, 12 targets last week. He's coming into the fold. He's going to be Aaron Rodgers' guy, I think, moving forward. And so I like Jeremy Bernard. as somebody in the short term that you feel pretty good about.

3:03 You know, Trevor, I spent a lot of time covering basketball as well, and there's this phrase that people use, and it's like, how do you affect winning? We don't use that as much in football, but Omar Cooper, to me, is an example of that. Geno Smith, the perfect passer rating when targeting him.

3:16 Yeah, you have to love what you've seen from Omar Cooper Jr. this season because he missed a little bit of time due to injury, but you even go back to what we saw in week one from him.

3:26 One target, one catch. What was it for? 30 yards.

3:28 He's their big play guy. They want to go to him in those explosive situations. He got seven targets last week in his first game back from injury. Very clearly, they think this guy's a major part of the offense, especially with A.D. Mitchell being a little bit banged up as well. So I think that Omar Cooper Jr., he was drafted for a reason. And I think that reason is explosive plays. And Geno Smith loves to feed those types of players.

3:53 Yeah, we'll find out if the Jets are going to be able to find some momentum and rhythm.

3:57 The rest of this season, especially on the offensive side. Good to see Cooper out there.

4:01 Time for the ones of week number six. By the way, I don't own any of these players. I still was able to win, but my God, it was an ugly week for my fantasy team. I wish I had Trevor Lawrence with 27 points. Better than that, Christian McCaffrey leading the way for the running backs. Malik Nabors, hello, 28.5 fantasy points. Isaiah likely not getting nearly enough love and attention, at least in my mind, at that tight end spot, but he was the leading tight end. Chad Ryland, and, of course, the Titans defense. Welcome to the fantasy party if you are a Tennessee Titans fan.

4:31 Look into that crystal ball for me, Trevor. Give me a quarterback.

4:35 Give me a running back that you think will be on that full screen of the ones next week.

4:40 Yeah, I do have Malik Navers in our league, so I loved seeing him on that graphic there. Look, the QB1 that I have going into this week, though, I think is Drake May. I think he's got a really great matchup this week where he could take advantage of things with his arm and his leg. He's playing the Chicago Bears in You look at how Chicago played specifically against Jordan Love and the Packers a couple weeks ago.

5:00 Those safeties did not play well.

5:02 And if you don't play well on the back end against Drake May, he has the most de-completions in the NFL. He's going to make you pay. And so I think this is a ripe matchup advantage for him because we know how Chicago can light up the scoreboard. I think the Patriots are going to have to keep pace, and Drake May is going to be a stat monster this week. RB1, Christian McCaffrey was RB1 last week. I'm going with him again for RB1 this week because I like the matchup for him against the Atlanta Falcons. I don't love the Falcons coverage options at the second level, those linebackers and safeties that they like more on the back end than they do covering those running backs. And so instead I'm looking at those linebackers and I just don't love the

5:42 matchup there, especially if Mike Evans is very limited in this game. Even if he goes out there, I think it's just going to be a lot of the Christian McCaffrey show and specifically in the receiving game. So If you're in a PPR league, you got to really love the matchup here for Christian McCaffrey.

5:55 So I think he's going to be the RB1 this week.

5:58 Yeah, CMC having a terrific season. I think there was a few of us. I'll raise my hand.

6:02 That was a little concerned about Christian.

6:04 McCaffrey based off of all the touches last season, but he is paying dividends right now for the San Francisco 49ers, a perfect Niner squad.

6:12 Meanwhile, pass catchers, give me a wide receiver.

6:15 Yeah, I just mentioned the Green Bay Packers.

6:17 And one of the guys who's really taking advantage of those bad Chicago secondary players a couple weeks ago was Matthew Golden. And I got him as the wide receiver one this week. They're going up against the Detroit Lions. And boy, you want to talk about teams that struggle against the pass. Detroit's the worst in the NFL right now.

6:33 Matthew Golden, he had 13 targets. over 100 yards, a touchdown last week. I mean, he was just absolutely fantastic. They are going to him, not just on those deep pass opportunities, but also over the middle of the field. So where Christian Watson gets his deep down the field, Matthew Golden seems to be the intermediate receiver with a lot of targets as well, giving Matthew Golden the B-wide receiver one. And then for tight end one, I'm just going to go with Brock Bowers. You know, I think Brock Bowers got an opportunity to be tight end every single week. And he's going against the Los Angeles Rams who, as much as I think the Rams, their linebackers can be good and run defense. I'm questioning how well they're

7:07 going to be able to defend Bowers over the middle of the field. You're seeing on the screen right now, they can use him anywhere, the middle of the field, the in-breaking stuff, the out-breaking stuff towards the sideline. I mean, covering Bowers is just such a difficult task, not just because of how good he is as a talent, but also how versatile he is and where he can line up.

7:26 So give me Brock Bowers to be that tight end one this week.

7:29 Two items here.

7:30 Number one, Brock Bowers, 11 points fantasy last week. That was a season low for the tight end. And number two, I think you're just trying to speak that into existence. You mentioned Malik Neighbors on your fantasy team. I know you own Brock Bowers. By the way, I do that too on the show. Sometimes I'm just like, hey, we need to verbalize this.

7:46 Trevor, I'm one of a few. You got a manifest.

7:48 Exactly.

7:49 I'm not a big vision board guy, but at least on this fantasy show, I'll throw some claims out there and keep my fingers crossed that it comes to fruition. Trevor, more from you in just a moment here, but we get an opportunity to hang out with our buddy, Matt Acata from NFL.com. A full, complete list of the start sits that are out there. I know we just scratched the surface with some of the players that he does a deep dive in.

8:08 Matt, I'd love to get your take.

8:10 The quarterbacks right now that you think could have some success?

8:16 Yeah, listen, Yammer, my vision board, it's all Honolulu Blue because the Lions defense, oh my goodness, do we love playing. I mean, Trevor just talked about it. I'm starting with Jordan Love as my start of the week at quarterback. This team, this defense, has allowed 27.4 fantasy points per game to this position, Yammer. That's absurd. And in particular, and Trevor kind of hit on this too, they're dead last in EPA per dropback against deep throws. Love leads the league in deep attempts. This is a perfect matchup for him, for Golden, for Watson. Plus, he's topped 18 fantasy points in four of six games and scored more than 45 over the last two weeks combined. Stick around for my bullet prediction later. I hit on this even more,

9:01 but I really like him as a QB1 this week. And then I'm going to Dak Prescott. I've actually had him as a sit a few times recently. I'm filing him as a start in Week 7. Listen, he's had some bad interception luck that has led to some bad touchdown luck, but he is averaging 293 passing yards per game since Week 2, and he's thrown 40-plus passes in four straight games. It is volume here in Dallas. Plus...

9:27 The Eagles have allowed more than 17 fantasy points to five of the six quarterbacks they faced this year. I think Dak tops 20 on Monday night and is an excellent QB1 play.

9:38 Yeah, Matt, it's kind of wild, man.

9:39 You think about this Philadelphia Eagles team, their opponent. I mean, this is tough sledding. Injuries continue to mount up. There's a potential here for Dak to absolutely feast.

9:48 I'm surprised. Patrick Mahomes, this is another week, back-to-back weeks, if I'm not mistaken. You're parking him on the bench?

9:54 It is back-to-back weeks. And listen, he's a great player, but the way things are going in Kansas City right now, it's very heavy on Kansas. Walker and the matchup. Put those two things together, I don't feel great. And Mahomes just scored 10.48 fantasy points against Los Angeles. So it worked out then. I think it works out again here.

10:11 He hasn't scored more than 17 since week two. And this Seahawks defense, Yammer, fewest passing yards per game, under 157. Fewest yards per attempt, 5.2. Fewest yards after catch per game, which is where Mahomes' production has been very heavy this year. He's not must-sit because he's Mahomes, but I'd stream a lot of guys over him. Unfortunately, Tyler Shuck is not one of them. He is my other sit. After averaging more than 300 yards per game through Week 4, Shuck has thrown for just 240 over the past two weeks combined.

10:43 And the touchdowns have been kind of spotty all year, which means the ceiling is hard to determine for Shuck. The Steelers have been pretty good. They've held five of six QBs they've faced to fewer than 13 fantasy points. He's kind of near the fringe like Mahomes because he's shown some promise, but I prefer to stream guys like Kyler Murray or Aaron Rodgers in Paris over Shuck. I'm going to try to bench him this week.

11:04 Steelers, you kind of alluded to it, and just to put some context around it, the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed the fourth fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, just for context there. Speaking of the Steelers playing in Paris, there's a running back on that roster that you like.

11:19 Yeah, let's start. The running back starts with Jalen Warren against the Saints defense. Listen, I targeted this defense with my start of the week last week, and we will get to that in a minute. But I did it because they're a disaster against running backs, Yammer. They've allowed nearly 30 fantasy points per game, more than one point per opportunity to the position. That's both the most in the league. And even though Rico Dowdle's return kind of does lower Warren's ceiling... He's had 14 plus opportunities in every game this year, including the three that Dowdle played.

11:50 So I think his floor is 14 fantasy points and his ceiling is comfortably in the 20s. I really like him this week against the Saints. And then this is a little bit of a deeper cut, but give me Ollie Gordon. Believe it or not, he has rushed for 229 yards on 44 carries in the three games since taking over for Devon Achan. And he's actually been analytically great. 29.5% missed tackle rate. 18% explosive run rate. Both of those are well above average for running backs. And on the other side of the ball, the Jets have allowed the sixth most rushing yards per game to running backs. And I think in terms of an RB-friendly opponent and game script, this is about as good as it's going to get for Miami. So I like Gordon as an RB2 this week.

12:34 Yeah, by the way, I think this is the first time we've talked about Gordon on the show. So you're right, digging a little bit deep here. I thought with the sits, this could go one way or another, and it's going the way that I was hoping it wouldn't go. Cam Scadaboo, zero touches on six snaps.

12:50 Message sent.

12:50 I thought you might say, hey, maybe there's a rebound here, but you're like, no, no, no, park him against the Texans.

12:56 I mean, look, Yammer, there is a chance that there is a rebound because we don't know what the heck Harbaugh's going to do. Because not only did he basically bench Scadaboo last week, zero touches in this punishment for his fumbles thing. But then the guys that he played and gave a few touches in Skadaboo's stead did basically nothing.

13:15 And then he cut one of them in Najee Harris on Tuesday. I don't know what we're doing here. I do think Skadaboo could bounce back. But we just can't trust him in a starting fantasy lineup. If there's a chance that Harbaugh's going to continue this punishment, continue to give him very limited, maybe zero touches... I hope that Scadaboo bounces back. I'm excited to get him back in my lineup at some point, but I'm not willing to do it until we see that he's got his role back and is out of the doghouse. And then I've got one that's a little less personal here, Yammer. It's Tony Pollard. He's had too many chances and done too little with them to continue cracking our fantasy lineups. He's averaging.

13:55 54 fantasy points per touch this year. That is dead last among 39 running backs with at least 50 touches. just one touchdown all season, simply no upside in what is, I think, honestly, the league's least threatening offense right now. You can keep him on your bench as an emergency play, maybe during buys later in the year, but I don't think he should be starting right now outside of the most dire of circumstances.

14:21 Yeah, certainly a buzzkill, but from a positive perspective, real football, not fantasy football, Tennessee Titans getting win number one on the season.

14:28 We weren't sure if that was going to happen. So, Maybe it's not necessarily.

14:32 Smooth sailing, but good, favorable winds maybe on the horizon for that squad. Matt, more from you coming up in just a bit here as we get your take on what potentially could happen at the wide receiver spot. Matt Akata back with us. Start sits, which you can catch on NFL.com. You gave us some other positions in terms of the quarterbacks and the running backs.

14:54 Wide receivers, man, kick me off.

14:57 Yeah, let's start with Devontae Smith. To everybody who sat him last week with this Tanner McKee takeover quarterback, do not do it again. He scored more than 20 fantasy points on 14 targets in McKee's debut. And I don't think losing Jalen Hurts is going to affect his fantasy value much at all, Yammer. I looked into the numbers.

15:18 He's averaged 1.9 career fantasy points per target on throws from Hurts. and 2.0 points per target on throws from everyone else in his career. And on Monday night, he gets the Cowboys, who are allowing the fifth most fantasy points. So start him up. And then I'm going to go to his old teammate, A.J. Brown, now in New England.

15:38 And look, he was very rusty last Sunday. Just caught three of his ten targets credited with two drops. But he saw ten targets. And that's encouraging. The rust is going to fall off. He's clearly a focal point in this offense. I think that he takes over soon. And this Bears defense is allowing 15.1 yards per target on downfield throws. That is the highest in the league. Both Drake May and A.J. Brown thrive in that area. I love A.J. Brown this week.

16:04 By the way, Trevor told us earlier, Drake May, he thinks is going to be the number one fantasy quarterback this week.

16:08 Who are you sitting?

16:12 Okay, disclaimer, Garrett Wilson isn't a must-sit, but I think he's much lower in the rankings than normal, and I don't think he's going to have a great week. Listen, he was quieted two weeks ago by Chicago. He was quieted last week by Christian Gonzalez, and now he faces the Dolphins, who allow the third-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Yeah, but not necessarily because of their defense, but because opposing wideouts have averaged just 13.4 targets per game and essentially five straight blowouts against Miami that teams just don't need to pass against the Dolphins. So I think Wilson's floor and ceiling are both much lower than normal and you have better options potentially either on your bench,

16:53 maybe even on the waiver wire. Guys, you've been flexing.

16:55 I think you can sit, Wilson.

16:57 OK, an interesting name to throw out there. And that's not the first time that's happened on the show as we bring Trevor back.

17:04 Last week, you.

17:05 Guys on opposite ends of the spectrum with one prominent wide receiver named DK Metcalf. Oh, we're keeping receipts here on the Fantasy Football Show. And just in case you're wondering, DK Metcalf, top 10 wide receiver, checking in at number nine.

17:21 So look, it happens. It happens. Matt, you tell me, man. What do you have to say for yourself?

17:28 Well, first of all, my career might be over. I might just need to take off here. Look, he saw 15 targets. That was a career high for him. He turned into like prime Michael Thomas all of a sudden. I did not expect it. I don't really expect it again, but it was unbelievable for him and the Steelers.

17:45 Yeah, unfortunately, Matt, I feel bad because you entered a disadvantage there. I've had to watch terrible Buccaneers football for too long to where I knew this matchup could have been ripe for the taking for DK. I looked at those corners, and I think last week I said, if it's not Jacob Parrish, whom among them is going to want to tackle DK Metcalf? And the answer to that was kind of nobody because he did. He ended up having 43 yards after the.

18:11 Catch, and so.

18:13 I just, Matt, I want to let you know, I didn't put the team up to that.

18:17 That was not my idea.

18:18 But hey, good job, guys.

18:20 Good job. Good job on that little.

18:21 I'll survive, I think.

18:24 I just want to let you guys know, for you, Trevor, our producer, Tom Osberg, he is going out of pocket.

18:30 He's sending you the DK jersey.

18:32 So.

18:32 I just want to let you know that is in the mail. It is coming your way. So congratulations to you. By the way, Matt's like, yo, career high targets. You're right.

18:41 I don't know how many people would have saw it coming other than Trevor in this one. So you guys keep swinging for the fences here and go bold all the way. By the way, one of the starts and the reason why you had him, Trevor, I don't remember if he was actually a sick flex for you. But the reality is there's some fantasy owners that are sitting there going, hey, like, do we have an opportunity to try to get things going?

19:01 Right now. Let's take a closer look at some of the players that you do like. Start with the running back for me. Yeah, sure.

19:08 Chuba Hubbard is somebody that I really like because the last couple of weeks have been incredibly encouraging from him. I mean, he's had a lot of volume when it comes to the backfield and obviously as a receiver as well, they get him involved at 28 carries last week. I mean, like they're giving this guy the lion's share of everything out of the backfield, especially with Jonathan Brooks being hurt.

19:28 So I don't, it depends on what your running back lineup looks like, but certainly I think he is a flex at worst given how much volume he has here.

19:37 Dallas Goddard's another guy that you got your eye on for Monday Night Football.

19:41 Yeah, obviously the Jalen Hurts situation is a mess, but while he is out, I think that with Tanner McKee in there or whoever is going to start over the next couple of weeks for the Philadelphia Eagles, I think Goddard's going to be a security blanket for them. He had eight targets a couple weeks ago, nine targets last week, and I just think that he is going to be in a role where they're going to want to get more in-breaking routes than Jalen Hurts likes to go to with whoever is going to be at quarterback, and I think Dallas Goddard is somebody who's going to be on the receiving end of a lot of that.

20:12 Jacoby Lane, good to see this dude healthy. You feel like maybe there's some buzz against Cincinnati?

20:17 I do, and I wonder if it's going to be less volume overall in the passing game against Cincinnati and maybe more of those chunk plays, those explosives. But when you look at Jacoby Lane, I mean, they want to get this guy on the field. He was a training camp darling for them, and so they just spoke so highly of him. He played more than 50% of the snaps last week. And so, again, I don't know how heavy of a passing game script it's going to be for the Ravens this week, but I think he is going to be somebody who's been a high target share player for them. If they go to that, he's going to be the benefact.

20:48 There's a part of me that's just kind of expecting a little bit of a shootout. There's a dogfight right now inside this division. All right, once again, another opportunity for you guys to go bold. Matt, give me the prediction for the week.

21:02 Listen, we talked about at the top of the show, both Trevor and I, this Packers-Lions game, I'm saying Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, Trevor's number one, score 30 fantasy points apiece against Detroit. They have both been revelations for fantasy this season, and especially lately with Jordan Love playing hot.

21:23 And this Lions secondary is a treasure trope. They've allowed a league-high EPA per dropback of. 87 on downfield throws. They were torched by guys like Ted McMillan, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson. I think they both top 100 yards. They snag a few touchdowns between the two of them, and they finish as, honestly, wide receiver one, wide receiver two on the week.

21:45 I like it.

21:46 Trevor?

21:46 Your pick?

21:47 All right, so I was told that Derrick Henry two touchdowns is not bold enough, so we're upping it. Derrick Henry three touchdowns against Cincinnati. Like I said, even if Lamar Jackson plays, I'm not sure how heavy the pass script is going to be.

21:59 Let's go big Derrick Henry day. Three touchdowns. Count them all. One, two, three against the Bengals.

22:04 I love what our takes. We feel are bold. And then Mossy, our producer, says, no, not spicy enough. I'm going to go with Bo Nix as my guy. And I know there's been some struggles for this offense, but this could be his first 300-yard passing game of the season. And I'm going to go three touchdowns, by the way.

22:19 That's a Mossy pick. Against an Arizona team. By the way, we didn't see that coming. I think that's an anomaly of what we saw against the Rams. So I think that he balls out against the Cardinals. By the way, DK Metcalf starts it.

22:33 Matt, what do you got?

22:35 That's it.

22:36 Trevor.

22:37 Start.

22:38 Let's keep the rivalry going, baby.

22:40 I love it. He's the player of our show.