Trending or Ending? + Updated Dynasty Rankings | Dynasty Fantasy Football 2026

0:00Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast with Borg, Betts, and a baller.

0:30Welcome in!

0:34Whoa!

0:35Whoa!

0:36I feel alive today, boys.

0:38I'm back!

0:39Oh.

0:40Alright.

0:42Happy to hear it, man.

0:43Dynasty Podcast.

0:45It's Wednesday, September 30th, and

0:48I'm just happy to be here.

0:50I'm happy to celebrate together

0:52what we're really here for, boys.

0:55What are we here for?

0:56What's that?

0:57What are we here for, Kyle?

0:58We're only going to talk about one player for an entire podcast.

1:00It's very, very clear.

1:03And he is?

1:05It's Tyler Shuck, baby.

1:08Dude.

1:09It has...

1:11Like, it's tough, man.

1:13It is really, really tough when you're in the offseason, and you have to spend...

1:17I mean, people, we want to talk football.

1:19There's, like, there's nothing actually happening, but the market is moving.

1:24It's going up and down based off of vibes, coach speak, moves that a team has made.

1:31And, man, I don't...

1:34Other than...

1:34I mean, Kenneth Walker was like...

1:36That one felt easy, like, for me.

1:37You know, the Kenneth Walker truth through is, holy crap.

1:42The...

1:42When you're in draft season, the only thing you can say is, like, man, it's Kenneth Walker,

1:45so how does it possibly go wrong?

1:47That way, there was no actual...

1:50You can't point to anything and say, this is where it will go wrong for Walker.

1:54But Tyler Shuck, he's got to be right behind in terms of just this podcast gassing him up

2:00into infinity through three weeks feeling pretty, pretty good.

2:08If we could just sim to the end of the season and just assume this is it for the rest of the year,

2:13we will be on cloud nine.

2:14Where are we at?

2:14Are we at, what, QB4?

2:16QB4?

2:17Oh, on the season and fantasy total points?

2:19Yeah.

2:19I haven't looked.

2:20I believe that's correct.

2:21Last I saw, actually, I thought it was quarterback three, but I'll bet that for you.

2:23I thought it was three as well.

2:23Oh, I'm seeing...

2:25I see QB3.

2:26Oh, baby.

2:28QB3?

2:30It has gone quite well on a number of fronts.

2:34And I think I was thinking about this with Drake May, because last season, we were at

2:38the same kind of point where it was like, we like Drake May.

2:41We like the mobile ability.

2:42It was a small sample size.

2:44Yeah, there is a lot of parallels.

2:46For sure.

2:46To the Drake May offseason two years ago, to the Shuck one, this one.

2:49And obviously, this year for Drake May has not gone as well.

2:52But here's the part of the recipe for any player, right?

2:56Like, especially a quarterback, if you run, we're already going to consider you more than

3:01what maybe the consensus does.

3:03And the Saints are one and two.

3:04So it's not like we're saying, like, everything is great about the Saints.

3:07For fantasy purposes, do you run?

3:10Do you get extra plays?

3:12And I think every single week we look up and we go, wow, they got an extra drive.

3:16He got an extra five drop backs.

3:17And when you lead the league in completions and pass attempts, it just adds up over time.

3:21And, like, the yardage wasn't even there this past week.

3:25That's, like, the crazy thing.

3:26Like, for a while, it was like, man, he's in, like, the 150s, but he's throwing, you know, three touchdowns.

3:32So the recipe is there.

3:34Yes.

3:35The recipe is there.

3:36It would be nice if he...

3:37We'd like him to run a little bit more.

3:40Yeah.

3:40We got the huge 36-yard, I guess, nine attempts in week two.

3:45Just didn't get a ton of yardage.

3:47So we're moving.

3:48We're moving a little bit.

3:49Yeah.

3:49Yeah.

3:49Next week, Kyle, I don't want to spoil your host duties here of the...

3:54You love a good tease, you know, when you're like, this is coming next week.

3:57But I am...

3:57That's what a pro does.

3:58I am very excited to talk about the top play callers in the league.

4:02And we're going to do a ranking system of them.

4:04And I don't know the full details yet.

4:05We'll get that figured out.

4:06But just thinking of Kellen Moore, it's like, man, wherever he's been, we've seen great quarterback play.

4:12No matter where.

4:13Obviously, Dak, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Tyler Shuck.

4:18Yeah.

4:18Hurts is the big one of like...

4:21Jason had a fun tweet up.

4:24Because Jason has been a Jalen Hurts truther.

4:27Yeah.

4:27And so he put up a tweet basically saying like, all the anti-Jalen Hurts people, you don't...

4:34You couldn't look more right right now.

4:37Jalen Hurts looks awful, awful through these three weeks.

4:41And he wasn't great last year either.

4:43But like, how do you explain this guy that so many people had no interest in to play a quarterback?

4:51And...

4:52But then the people who liked him, and he goes to two Super Bowls and he wins a Super Bowl.

4:55How do you...

4:56How do you factor in some of that stuff?

4:58You're like, well...

4:59I don't know.

5:00Maybe some Kellen Moore in there.

5:01A little bit.

5:02I mean, play caller matters just so much.

5:04Scheme and play caller matters.

5:07Like, coaching in the NFL matters so much more than any other sport, in my opinion.

5:10Right.

5:10That was on full display on Monday night.

5:13Ben Johnson cooking up an unbelievable game plan with Case Keenum.

5:18Right?

5:18He's like, all right.

5:19Case Keenum.

5:20Case Keenum was balling.

5:21And like, not just like, oh, good for Case Keenum.

5:23Like, he played at an extremely high level in that system.

5:27Yes.

5:27It's like, if Ben Johnson can do that, and the rest of the league is fumbling around with like, middling starters everywhere in the NFL.

5:35It's only week four, by the way.

5:36We already have so many like, quarterbacks out and quarterbacks you can't trust.

5:40Like, it is coaching in scheme and just putting these guys in a good position.

5:44And I think on Hurts, like, when he has been put in a good position, he's good enough to succeed in those schemes.

5:49When it falls on his shoulders, that's when things start to kind of crumble a little bit.

5:53So, yeah, it's a fascinating conversation.

5:55But, man, that was brutal on Monday night.

5:57Case Keenum.

5:58If I'm seeing it right, the last time he started and completed a football game.

6:04It was 2023, I thought.

6:06Was week 15 of 2023, which he had not played the entire year.

6:11Not logged a snap until week 15.

6:13And then he played and beat the Tennessee Titans.

6:15The Philadelphia Eagles.

6:22Ben Johnson.

6:23Ben Johnson is great.

6:25We will be fighting over play callers next week.

6:29And I think giving the dynasty spin on it is if you have players on these teams, you can expect or at least hope that things can change, will change.

6:39So, that'll be next week.

6:40It'll be really, really fun.

6:41On this episode, we will do a weekly rewind.

6:44We will play a little trending or ending, talking about some players through the first couple of weeks, talking about their performances and what you can expect moving forward.

6:52But we do have a fun little announcement.

6:53I would actually say it's a big announcement for what we get to do with FootClan.

6:58We're always trying to improve our tools and everything we have for the FootClan.

7:02But we have updated the way that we do dynasty startup rankings.

7:07And let me just say this at the top.

7:10Whenever we put out rankings, and I almost feel bad for Mike over the years, when people see one ranking, they only think this is the only opinion you can have based on where this player is in a list.

7:21Right?

7:21It's like, well, you have this player at 36, and I have this player at 38.

7:25You must hate this player.

7:27And yet, there's some nuance.

7:29And especially in dynasty, right?

7:30There's so much nuance to where's your team at?

7:33What situation are you in?

7:34Are you trying to compete?

7:35And so, we've kind of upgraded the way that we did that.

7:38Mike, why don't you kind of explain?

7:39Sure.

7:40And I'll just, to further of rankings, of when we put them together for the Ultimate Draft Kit.

7:45And a lot of times, you know, you're not projecting out, like, best case scenario.

7:52You're not projecting the ceiling.

7:53But, you know, a bit of in the middle.

7:56And then you kind of call your shots of where you are feeling like a wave will be better or worse.

8:02But a lot of these times, you get the quarterbacks.

8:05And it's like, okay, I got so-and-so QB4.

8:08And this guy's at QB9.

8:09Man, that's a huge difference.

8:11What happens if I give the QB9 one more touchdown?

8:14Boom.

8:15They're the quarterback four.

8:16Like, that's how tight projections can go.

8:19Although, I mean, I still feel like it's the way to go about it of looking at the team at the top level and then kind of filtering things from there.

8:29It's just, but there's nuance.

8:31And then Dynasty is, you have your Dynasty startup rankings.

8:37But the way that you're drafting for a startup team isn't necessarily conducive to a team that's like, I am trying to win right now.

8:44And it's not going to, the rankings won't turn upside down or anything like that.

8:49But there is definitely a world where, so like, Drake May is off the top of my head.

8:56We were discussing the rankings of, he's young.

8:59He was in the MVP race last year.

9:00It looks real bad right now.

9:02They look totally broken.

9:03So, what we have given you is a way to blend our Dynasty startup rankings with our rest of season.

9:10So, the singular year.

9:12And we, of course, in those rest of season, we're starting to fade Drake May a little bit.

9:17It's not looking great.

9:18AJ Brown won't be back for two months.

9:21But that doesn't mean we're throwing Drake May in the garbage for Dynasty purposes.

9:25But so, if you, you know, you hit that blend to go a little bit more of like win now.

9:29Drake May is not nearly as high as he would be in a startup draft.

9:33And like, that makes total sense.

9:34So, we're trying, this is a shout out to Andy.

9:37He was the brainchild of wanting to look at, is there a better way we can look at Dynasty ranking?

9:43So, we're in the mid.

9:44It's testing.

9:45It's near completion.

9:46It should be on the web very, very soon.

9:50And then, it's usually web first.

9:52And then, the app will catch up a little bit after that.

9:55Because you have to go through a little different process to get it in there.

9:58But we're really excited.

9:59I think it's going to be a very useful tool for people.

10:02Super clean.

10:03Yeah.

10:03Like, literally, there's a slider.

10:05You just slide it towards win now versus rebuild or balance wherever you think your team is at.

10:09And it literally adjusts in real time.

10:11You can see the players move.

10:11So, super clean layout.

10:13I think you guys are going to love it.

10:14And I just think it's such a better way to do it.

10:16Because not every team is the same, right?

10:19So, your team should have goals whether you're rebuilding or going for it.

10:22And this tool is going to help you out in terms of those trade targets.

10:25Yeah.

10:25I think we like on this podcast having a nuanced conversation.

10:28Not just saying, here's the player's ranking.

10:31And that's all it will ever be.

10:32When it's like, hey, I have Drake May on a team right now in a super flex league.

10:36I came into the season thinking, he's my quarterback one.

10:40And my team is going to crush.

10:41And I had Jordan Love and Kyler Murray on that team.

10:43And I am struggling in a super flex right now.

10:46Oh, man.

10:47Thinking I had a place of strength.

10:50Yeah.

10:50Going into season, that would have felt like a very strong trio.

10:54I mean, just to talk about this team.

10:57This team had A-chan, so out for the year now.

11:01Loveland, okay, who's felt like he's been out for the year.

11:05Yeah.

11:05Has four elite wide receivers.

11:07And I'm 0-3.

11:08And so, it's one of those things where I went into the season to win now.

11:12And I've gotten some offers on some of these players.

11:14But all of that, you can find jointhefoot.com if you want our dynasty startup rankings.

11:19But let's jump into the film.

11:25Weekly Rewind.

11:29Every week, we rewind the film, talk about a player situation.

11:32And since we've already brought up this player a number of times, Betts, I will let you start off with Drake May, who used to play quarterback for the Patriots.

11:40Now, he mostly does it for the other team.

11:43Okay.

11:43That was uncalled for, Kyle.

11:44That was just mean.

11:46Yeah, look.

11:47This is my guy.

11:47This is my boy.

11:48So, we're down bad.

11:49We're down bad right now.

11:50But I wanted to go back and watch every offensive snap from the Patriots in this game.

11:58Because if you just zoom out, you look at the box where you're like, this is horrendous.

12:02And the last three weeks have been horrendous.

12:04And to the point, the numbers have been really bad.

12:05Since the playoffs last year, he's averaging 7.1 yards per pass attempt.

12:09He's fumbled nine times.

12:11He has turned seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

12:16Dude.

12:16So, it has been worse than maybe, like, you feel like it's bad.

12:22But the numbers say this is, like, historically bad, this stretch that he's on right now.

12:26And so, I just want to highlight a couple things.

12:28First off, from the top down, losing A.J. Brown clearly has affected how this team is operating.

12:33And trading away Kayshawn Booty, I don't know what the conversations were in-house, obviously.

12:39But in hindsight, like, you just need wide receiver depth in the NFL to, like, have a successful season.

12:45And they basically shipped him away for nothing.

12:47So, you lose Booty.

12:49You don't have A.J. Brown.

12:50Stefan Diggs obviously leaves this team.

12:52This is one of the most talented pleaded wide receiver rooms in the league.

12:55Like, no disrespect to Matt Collins.

12:58No disrespect to Pop Douglas.

12:59These guys cannot be every-down players for your offense for it to function and provide explosive plays.

13:04Which is Drake May's calling card.

13:06So, when I'm watching the game, I'm like, how is this team generating any explosive plays with this group of skilled guys?

13:10Like, Hunter Henry.

13:11Like, these kind of bigger, lumbering, older players that are not getting down the field.

13:16They don't have that right now.

13:17And so, you couple that with no run game.

13:21The run game is abysmal.

13:23They are 32nd in rush success rate.

13:25They are 26th in run block win rate.

13:2729th in yards before contact per attempt.

13:29So, when you put all that together and you watch them play, they can't run the ball.

13:34Defenses don't respect the deep ball, which is Drake May's calling card.

13:37And it kind of looks like he looks lost out there because those things aren't happening.

13:42And then he's just trying to force it when it's not there and the confidence is shot.

13:46So, it is bad.

13:49It's not good.

13:49I mean, the only QBs worse in EPA per play right now are Baker, Aaron Rodgers, and Jameis Winston.

13:54So, it is a tricky conversation for Dynasty teams right now.

13:58If you were relying on him, like Kyle was saying.

14:00And in Dino Jr., I have Drake May.

14:01And I was like, okay, we're cooking.

14:02Here we go.

14:03And it's been terrible.

14:04So, he's the perfect guy when we're talking about the Dynasty discussions.

14:08I don't think Drake May all of a sudden became a bad quarterback.

14:11He's making some bad decisions right now with turmoil around him.

14:14I think Drake May has a very bright future.

14:16So, if you are a rebuilding team, I think this window is a nice spot to try to go get him.

14:21But look, if I have him, I'm trying not to play him in fantasy right now.

14:25It doesn't look great.

14:27They're most explosive players.

14:29So, like obviously, A.J. Brown.

14:30They traded one of them to the Texans and they don't care about Kyle Williams.

14:34That's that, like, when you think about, like, what can make the offense explode, it's just not even available to them right now.

14:40Yeah.

14:42Yeah.

14:42Not, like, we don't have access to all the information.

14:47So, the Kyle Williams one feels particularly frustrating.

14:51You're like, you want a player who can give you an explosive play or at least be out there, like, pulling the top off of the defense and making them, like, open up that intermediate range a little bit more?

15:04Kyle Williams is the guy on the team.

15:06He's a preseason hero.

15:08Yes, he absolutely is.

15:10I mean, his offseason was about as stinky as it gets from a reporting of how things are going for him.

15:20So, that's what I mean.

15:21We don't have access to all the information.

15:22But it's like, if it seems like he's a player that you look at your offense and go, we're totally broken.

15:29We have to change something.

15:32Let's get the burner out there and see if anything can correct for us.

15:37But as of so far, they are not doing that.

15:39I mean, this is the team also not throwing the ball to Travion Henderson.

15:43Yeah.

15:43Which seems not a coach.

15:48That feels really moronic to me.

15:50To looking around the NFL, what other coaches are doing with their running backs who excel in catching the ball and are, like, yards after contact.

16:02You know, Henderson is not Jameer Gibbs.

16:04But speed-wise, it's not that different.

16:08Like, Henderson is a very shifty, very fast guy.

16:11At least, you know, for how bad Henderson has been, you know, and on the advanced metrics and everything, he still has ripped off a ton of 50-yard touchdowns because he's so fast.

16:23So, it seems like they're doing some head-scratching things up in New England.

16:29I just looked at the – I was curious because, like, I mentioned everything feels like it's so congested right now.

16:34They can't run the ball and they don't have a deep threat.

16:36I was looking at the ADOTs for the full-time players on the team.

16:39Like, who's leading the team?

16:40They're targeting Romeo Dobbs on average through three weeks 17 yards down the field.

16:44Yeah.

16:44He's the deep ball guy now.

16:46But that's not really his game, right?

16:47So, like, that doesn't make any sense to me.

16:49So, it just looks like an offense that's kind of searching right now.

16:52Another thing with Drake May, like, there's times where it looks like he's just trying to, like – when he throws, it doesn't look natural.

16:57Like, he's trying to, like, force it into a tight window or he's trying to aim it in there.

17:01It's just kind of like if you've played baseball before or if you've played sports, like, you got the yips.

17:04Like, it feels like that to me when I watch him.

17:06So, better days are ahead.

17:08I mean, Rabel is a good coach.

17:09Drake May is a good quarterback.

17:10But right now, it's a really rough stretch.

17:12And so, if I'm a rebuilding team, to me, Drake May is a target.

17:16If I'm trying to win right now, I'm thinking about, like, what kind of boring veteran can I get to kind of fill the gaps for the next two months, three months, whatever it is, however long the stretch goes.

17:25I'm thinking about this in a super flex league to, like, help me get over the hump because right now, it feels so shaky with him in your lineup.

17:31It feels so tough when it – like, when we were talking about our rankings earlier, it's like, man, Drake May, startup draft, quarterback two.

17:37I could not in good confidence tell someone right now, value Drake May as the quarterback two.

17:43Right.

17:43And because nobody in your league feels that unless they're, like, blindly following startup rankings.

17:48So, I like the way that you're able to kind of see it in ours and kind of slide through right now.

17:53Mike, tell me good things about my boy, Colson Loveland, you know?

17:58So, I wanted to watch – the unfortunate part about the Chicago Bears season so far is we just – we don't have real answers yet.

18:10But week one was – I mean, if you want to say, like, week one was the most normal of games, it wasn't really, though.

18:20It was, what, like, 59 to the high thirds.

18:22I mean, it was a crazy high-scoring game.

18:24The running backs, both Swift and Monunga, had a bajillion fantasy points.

18:28And Colson Loveland had nothing.

18:33Absolutely, like, just a couple – a missed end zone target.

18:37And I was like, this is really weird for the player that, you know, Ben Johnson was really, really pushing, Colson Loveland and Luther Burden.

18:48And then it ends up week one, like, it's Kalief Raymond?

18:52This is happening?

18:53We're getting Zaccheaus again?

18:55Then week two, it's the storm game.

18:59And Caleb Williams, their franchise guy, goes out with a hamstring injury.

19:02So, now we're in week three.

19:03It's the backup – to the backup.

19:05So, there's not really a – like, this isn't a real version of the Chicago Bears of what to expect moving forward.

19:13But I just wanted to see, you know, get eyes on him every play.

19:17They're moving him all over the place.

19:19Like, Ben Johnson, this isn't – they got boring and they're like – they didn't want to involve Loveland.

19:27And he's in line.

19:29He's out wide.

19:29He's in the slot.

19:30He really is all over the place.

19:32We had a couple easy targets drawn up for him.

19:35You know, we're one – not even stretch your arms out.

19:39Like, literally just sort of extend them.

19:41And he would have had a touchdown and we'd feel so much better about him moving forward.

19:48But my take from that week three was the game plan is get this ball out fast.

19:54Real, real fast.

19:56And for – and Case Keenum just felt more comfortable throwing it to the wide receivers.

20:01You know, like Luther Burden, they get 11 targets.

20:04So that was at least nice to see.

20:06And I think Luther Burden – let me – I'll try and verify it real quick.

20:10I think Luther had the most routes of the wide receiver position.

20:15Let me just double.

20:16So he was at 77 – well, actually, Rome was at the top, then Luther.

20:21And Raymond was 3% under Luther Burden.

20:24So, hey, hey, at least we got that, right?

20:28But it just – the way that it looked with Case Keenum and his decision-making,

20:34this wasn't a Colston Loveland thing in my opinion.

20:37So I just bring all that up to say take a breath.

20:42An L of this magnitude for this type of a player feels extremely bad.

20:49I mean, if you took him in your redraft league, it feels awful.

20:54He's a my guy.

20:54But I still believe that things will eventually balance out.

20:59The question just becomes, do we ever get a true ceiling in year two for Loveland

21:05with how dysfunctional these games have gone for the Chicago Bears?

21:09And when is Caleb back?

21:10So I'm more sketchy on that as a realistic outcome of we get him back

21:18and, you know, he's a top eight type of a tight end,

21:21which you didn't draft him to be that.

21:22You drafted Loveland to hopefully be the tight end one at the end of the year.

21:27I don't – that doesn't feel like that's on its way with the way that they were

21:32moving the ball around the offense.

21:34But better days are still – they're on the way.

21:38Nothing has changed about him skill-wise.

21:41I want to be, like, very clear.

21:42That's, like, the part – Ben Johnson is one of those guys,

21:46I think we would say, Sean McVay, or even, like,

21:49Kyle Shanahan is a perfect example of this.

21:51There are games where it used to be that's an IU game or you go –

21:54Yes.

21:54That's a D-bo game.

21:55And you just tip your hat to, like, you are the best at this in terms of scheming it up.

22:00And so far, his first read target share is kind of just middling.

22:07Like, it's just –

22:08Yes.

22:08Even, like, going back and watching that game, he had three first read targets.

22:12That's what Fantasy Points had.

22:13And I think you could have argued for four.

22:16But regardless, it's like they figured out a way with the offense to be effective.

22:21And I think that's the part with Fantasy that we have such a hard time to –

22:25Like, we're just like, Loveland's great.

22:26Why is he not great for Fantasy right now?

22:29And it's just the way that they've drawn it up.

22:30So an 8% target share, that's not going to stick.

22:33And what you're saying about the first reads is, like, watching Keenum,

22:37we're not working through progressions.

22:39Right.

22:39Like, we're going – this is the play.

22:42This is the read.

22:43If it's there, we take it.

22:45And we're trying to get the ball out fast.

22:47We don't want you to get hit.

22:49You know, a lot of things.

22:50So just, again, to be through three weeks and not have a true understanding

22:55of what the Chicago Bears are is frustrating.

23:00Yeah, I don't have too much to add.

23:01I kind of agree with everything you guys are saying in regards to the small

23:04sample size, the rain game, the Keenum game.

23:07And I think the comp to the Niners is actually kind of interesting.

23:11I've never really thought about it that way.

23:12But, like, you know, great teams can win in a multitude of ways.

23:18And I think the Bears' offense is great.

23:20With Ben Johnson, it is great.

23:21They can have games where they just dominate in the run game,

23:23and that's going to happen.

23:24There's going to be games where they get into a shootout,

23:26and you're going to have big games from all three of their big pieces

23:29and, I guess, Cleve Raymond too.

23:30But you're going to have those ups and downs.

23:32And like you said with Kittle, there'll be so many weeks where it's like,

23:35ah, two catches for 24 yards.

23:36Okay.

23:37Four catches for 50 yards.

23:39Fine.

23:39Then all of a sudden, nine for 100 and a touchdown.

23:41Like, those are probably going to happen,

23:43but it might be a little bit more of a kind of up and down ping pong effect,

23:47depending on game script and things like that.

23:49But bottom line is, on this show, with Dynasty, still buying the talent,

23:53I've not really changed anything just from a basically one-and-a-half game

23:57sample with Caleb Williams, one of which was in the ring.

23:59For the people who were in the knife fight of Colson Loveland versus Tyler Warren,

24:06the good news for us Loveland truthers is Warren has really not done much.

24:12Like, week three was better, but it's like that whole situation over there feels weird as well,

24:18especially with Alec Pierce out.

24:19You're like, why is Tyler Warren not just hogging all of these targets?

24:24Yeah.

24:24I think we talked about them last week.

24:27I did some film work on them, and it's like, I feel like they have this weird flag football offense

24:31where it's like, Warren doesn't really get up to speed in time.

24:34He gets tackled.

24:36Downs is great for, like, his role.

24:38Keenan can still be his veteran third-down self,

24:42but it's like this offense doesn't feel explosive at all with Pierce out of the picture.

24:47So we'll see about that.

24:49But I watched a lot of Michael Wilson because the dude just runs so many routes and 17 targets.

24:57What I noticed really quickly, I was like, wow, this dude is being put in motion the way

25:01that we were always like, man, why is Marv just always on the outside and just stagnant?

25:06And I just kept noticing them when I was putting my notes, and then I looked at the stats.

25:09He was in motion on 10 routes, which only Josh Downs had more in week three.

25:15And when he was, that's where he got his touchdown, and you saw the air yards too.

25:19It's like, the coolest thing about Michael Wilson is if you would have told me two years ago

25:23this dude would be able to run the full route tree, I'd be like, no way.

25:26This dude, we know what he is.

25:28And it's really the dynasty conversation where we go, how do players like this,

25:33who are basically should be left for dead, him, Parker Washington, those types,

25:37become legitimate players that you have to start every single week

25:43that get contract extensions and Washington will get his.

25:47It's just not normal.

25:49And normally I'd bet against that, but Betts and I were joking earlier.

25:52We're like, if you just would have bet against what everybody thought

25:56after the 2024 class, Neighbors, Marv, Brian Thomas Jr., Ladd, Xavier Worthy,

26:04that whole group, just bet against them and then find the diamonds in the rough,

26:07you'd be doing great right now.

26:09It's so opposite.

26:10Which is absurd.

26:11Yeah.

26:12That hurts to even think about.

26:13It's, it's, it's, it's, outliers are really hard to handle.

26:17I mean, it, like even, um, it sounds ridiculous now, but like Puka went from

26:25people's dynasty waiver wire because the drum beat of the off season kind of got

26:29loud of this.

26:30Who's this fifth rounder?

26:31Immediately.

26:32It's like, Oh, we, we have something here.

26:34And by the end of the year, you're like, okay, this, this is a real wide receiver,

26:39but he still had the brand of, I'm a fifth rounder.

26:44And it was like, how high are you really willing to put Puka Nakua in startup rankings?

26:50Cause he seems like he deserves to be a top three wide receiver, but you're like, ah,

26:55he's a fifth rounder.

26:57I like, is this real?

26:59Can this keep going?

27:00That, I mean, of course that's gone now, but those were real and very fair conversations

27:05at the time.

27:05So it's trying to, when an outlier becomes a reality, it's real difficult.

27:12Cause if you, if you bet more on outliers, you're going to get roasted and your team

27:17will, will fall apart, but you got to take some of them because they do exist.

27:23So it's difficult to know, like Michael Wilson is a very, very hard case of, is there, are

27:32we real?

27:32Cause the first couple of weeks for Michael Wilson, not great, but then we went to 17

27:36targets.

27:37Yes.

27:37I will just say watching the film, he is not the cleanest of players.

27:41Like he has so many routes where he's going after it and he's attacking the ball.

27:44I'll give him credit.

27:45The dude wants to attack the ball in the air.

27:47He doesn't wait for it to get there, but it's not always clean.

27:51There was either, there was some drops.

27:53There was also some plays where it's like, they're not on the same page, but when you

27:56get 17 targets, um, he has a 35% first read target share this year, which is like top 10

28:02numbers.

28:03Do you know what McBride's had?

28:05McBride's, uh, higher than him.

28:06I think he was at 41%.

28:07So, uh, that's wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

28:10So 76% of the first reads are just, are either Wilson or McBride and born's basically the underneath

28:18man who's not the primary read, but can still get open.

28:22Like he's serviceable as a three.

28:24Then there's the top five pick.

28:25He's on the team somewhere.

28:27I didn't want to mention him, but whoops.

28:31Yeah.

28:32With Wilson, it's like, you just, I think you have a white, I think you have a low and

28:38wide receiver too, that every single week you're going to be playing in that wide receiver

28:41too to flex range.

28:42And you're going to keep getting game scripts where he's going to see the targets, which

28:47is pretty cool.

28:48I think that's, that's totally fair.

28:50It's crazy, but this is where we're at.

28:51Um, and while you're talking like referencing this class with Marv's class of the guys that

28:58we think are right now, at least looking like they can play and are going to stick around

29:01like the types that right now are struggling specifically in the early round.

29:07Um, well, early ish rounds, Marv, BTJ, Keon Coleman has had a nice little resurgence this

29:13year, but in general, Keon Coleman, like the guys that have played on the outside that

29:19don't really move, they don't fit in today's league.

29:22And like, I'm thinking like the best ride receivers right now outside of like the elite

29:26of JSN and, you know, chase and all these guys, but like the guys that have kind of had

29:31a nice come up here are the guys that can work the middle of the field, move into the

29:35slot, get put in motion because that's what wins in today's league.

29:38That might not win in five years, but it wins right now with these kind of, you know, two

29:43high shells, take away the deep ball, that type of stuff.

29:45That's not what this game is anymore.

29:47And so like Parker Washington fits today's NFL perfectly five years ago, probably not

29:52in five years, maybe not.

29:54But, um, I'm just thinking about that from like a prospect thing, as far as like, when

29:58we get into this stuff next year, thinking about these guys that can take this year to

30:01leap in the right scheme in the right system, you've got to have a perfect fit of your skills

30:06set with your play caller and then the talent to go with it.

30:09It's, it's tricky to figure out these guys that are going to fail, but yeah, that's, it's

30:14tough with Marv.

30:14He feels like he's stuck in the wrong arrow right now.

30:17Yeah.

30:18That, that makes me just that whole conversation makes me feel bullish about what McKay Lemon

30:23can be moving forward.

30:25Maybe not like, I don't know the offense, but his skillset is one of those players that doesn't

30:30have to be pigeonholed in just one role.

30:32Like he can win all over the field.

30:34If they can.

30:34I thought, I thought Lemon looked great on Monday.

30:38I mean, very limited touches because somehow Jalen hurts in a game where all he had to

30:44do was throw against the Chicago Bears.

30:46Couldn't get it done.

30:47But I mean, McKay Lemon had one, one route in particular.

30:50I think he forced like three missed tackles because he just, he's so slithers, man.

30:56He's a serpentine, but he's a good player.

31:00It, oh, that's frustrating in Philly.

31:02Yeah.

31:03He'll be fine.

31:03Let's take a quick break.

31:05We'll be right back.

31:11All right.

31:14We are through three weeks.

31:16And so we're going to be playing a little game here today, talking about some players

31:20to see if they are trending or ending.

31:26We're going to do a little bit of a rapid fire.

31:33So I'm going to list a player, maybe what they've done so far through three weeks.

31:37We can kind of muse on the stats, but really, you know, it's tough at this point to say,

31:41Hey, just sell this player off of what they're doing.

31:44But in terms of the dynasty valuation, let's kind of check in on those vibes.

31:49So the first name is Brock Purdy, who is on fire and Betsy were looking up MVP odds right

31:54before he's right behind Josh Allen.

31:56Correct.

31:57He's right there.

31:57Number two right now.

31:58Okay.

31:59Quarterback 11, quarterback six, quarterback two so far.

32:02And if you go all the way back to week 15 last year in the fantasy season, he's basically

32:07been the quarterback one since then.

32:10So he's, he's been awesome and he's crushing it so far.

32:15His TD rate right now, 10.8%.

32:17Oh, which even the most efficient quarterbacks in the world are going to come off of that.

32:23So he will cool off sometime soon-ish, maybe in two weeks against Seattle.

32:29But I know you guys talked about this on the main show.

32:31Like there are certain players where you expect that touchdown rate to be north of six, six

32:36and a half percent.

32:36And like Purdy is one of those guys, but 10 is unbelievable.

32:39Yeah.

32:40Agreed.

32:40I'm looking at, this is a fun little stat, but players since 2010 that had a 10% TD rate

32:46and over nine YPA through the first three weeks.

32:49Carson Palmer in that awesome 2015 season where he, he could have won MVP that year.

32:55And he should have.

32:56Yeah.

32:56Is that the ACL year?

32:57Yeah.

32:57No, that was the year that he, he didn't win it and he played, I thought all the way through.

33:02Oh, okay.

33:03Um, Mahomes.

33:04Couldn't remember.

33:04In 2018 when he.

33:06Of course.

33:07Went nuts.

33:07And then Lamar last year.

33:09So to get out a hot start.

33:11And then also he hasn't been sacked yet, which only quarterback in the NFL, not to have that

33:17yet lowest pressure rate.

33:18So that, that will change over time.

33:19But I think as a whole.

33:21Didn't Trent Williams get banged up?

33:23He had a stinger.

33:24Yeah.

33:24Last week's game.

33:25Okay.

33:26Would you say that Purdy, or at least our conversation this summer, when we talked about super flex

33:31ranks, we were like, man, this guy feels undervalued in dynasty leagues.

33:36We want to buy this player.

33:37And then it hasn't really changed other than his performance.

33:40So I wouldn't say you could buy Brock Purdy right now because he's hot, but trending or

33:45ending of just the 49ers offense, which they are running out of dudes and yet still operating

33:50at a crazy level.

33:52They, they definitely continue to be ridiculously injured.

33:57Uh, you know, you, you do have to factor in schedule.

34:01You had, uh, I mean, he played great against the Rams, but that was also not the Rams.

34:08Uh, as we've seen two more weeks of that defense that they were mere whispers of, of who they

34:16are in that week one in Australia, then Miami, then Arizona.

34:20So pretty cupcake matchups there for, for Brock.

34:24But I, I mean, I would, I would say trending 10% is ridiculous, but Brock Purdy is to go

34:31to what you just said, Betts.

34:33He is the perfect player for the perfect play caller in that perfect scheme.

34:38Like he, he just happens to fit everything that Kyle Shanahan needs.

34:45And that's not an argument saying Brock Purdy isn't also great.

34:49Clearly he is.

34:50Would he be this great on every single other team?

34:54I don't know.

34:55It didn't, honestly, it doesn't really matter other than a thought experiment.

34:58If you're trying to rank quarterbacks, but Denver next week should be fine.

35:04Seattle is tough, but then Washington, Atlanta throws like through the bi-week.

35:08I would expect Brock Purdy MVP odds to at least stay at number two, if not tighten the gap

35:16between him and Josh Allen.

35:17Yeah.

35:17Just to kind of wrap up Purdy here, I'd say trending as far as like, we believe in the

35:21player and obviously the scheme and everything with Shanahan.

35:23I do worry to some degree that like at some point these wide receiver injuries might matter.

35:29Like they literally don't have wide receivers left anymore at this point.

35:32But, um, in, in easy matchups, he will deliver massive fantasy games in tough matchups.

35:39He's probably like quarterback 10 to 15, like he'll follow somewhere in that bucket.

35:42So no, he's never going to be a top five guy every single week, of course, but in the

35:47right matchups, he will deliver high end points.

35:49And he's a stable, if you got him as a quarterback to stable plug and play every week.

35:54And even in those tough matchups, we'll give you the floor.

35:56So I guess in all trending for me.

35:59Yeah.

35:59He's quarterback 10.

36:01If you're looking at Mike startup rankings, if you're doing win now, you're the highest

36:04Mike, you have him around quarterback seven.

36:06So I think he's just in a great spot.

36:09Uh, the next name though.

36:11Oh, we talked about what it's Tyler.

36:14You know what time it is.

36:15I'm never going back to the past.

36:18I mean, quarterback four, quarterback eight, quarterback seven so far.

36:24And the plays that's the plays.

36:27It might not show up in fantasy points where you're looking at your league and you're like,

36:30Oh, how many did I get this week?

36:31But if you just look every single week, you go, man, I've got so many more opportunities

36:36than whoever else I'm going up against.

36:38They just get so many more drives that they're here to stay despite probably losing Travis

36:44HN for, I don't know, a couple of weeks, but they're going to get Tyson back.

36:48Did they really have him?

36:50Oh.

36:50The way they were using him throughout this year.

36:53I mean, he was a part-time guy.

36:55Kendrick Miller could be a part-time guy.

36:57But he was not paid like it.

36:59No, no, no, no.

37:03Betts, you want to tell me about where is he at injury wise?

37:08Who?

37:08HN?

37:09Yeah.

37:10I mean, they haven't given a definitive timeline, but because it was a, he was on

37:13the injury report and then left, pulled up, obviously grabbing his left hamstring.

37:17I think it's probably going to be three to four weeks.

37:20Like a decent chunk here.

37:21And then the tricky thing about these hamstring injuries is like, okay, when he comes back,

37:25does he come back to what he was pre-injury?

37:27And in this version, that was already a part-time player.

37:29And if you have a player coming off injury, are you going to be like, okay, now is the

37:33week to give him 25 touches?

37:34Probably not.

37:35Right?

37:35So yeah.

37:36I mean, like talking through that lens of it, it's like what you've seen, if you're

37:40Kala Moore, who I trust and I think is a great play caller and a good coach, you're going

37:45to build around the strength of the team right now.

37:46And the strength of the team is the pass game, right?

37:49Like giving Ava Kamara 15 carries up the middle is probably not advantageous.

37:54So I think I'm buying this obviously.

37:57And we were all were before season.

37:58And I will say the only thing on him that I would say is a slight concern is the pressure

38:04to sack ratio hasn't been awesome.

38:06And they did just lose their stud left tackle, Kelvin Banks, to a high ankle sprain, who's

38:10going to miss a decent chunk of the year here.

38:12So that's the only thing that I'm concerned about.

38:14But other than that, I mean, you have to obviously be so happy with the return you've

38:19gotten, especially considering where he went and redraft.

38:21And if you got him on dynasty, it was like a joke to pick him up off waivers last year,

38:24you know?

38:25Yeah.

38:25Juwanson is having a very, very strong start to his season.

38:31Chris Olave looks like an elite wide receiver.

38:34And my favorite part of this is week five, he's eligible.

38:41We don't know if he will be back in week five.

38:44There's a top 10 wide receiver, top 10 NFL draft player coming to this offense who is

38:51a dynamic playmaking wide receiver.

38:55We can't make any proclamations about will Jordan Tyson work in the NFL.

38:59You just, you have to make an assumption based off of where he was drafted.

39:04But it's like, if he is, if he is just like a above average player and now it's Olave,

39:13Vele, Tyson, Juwanson.

39:16Like that is good Lord, man.

39:19Like that's a, that is a great group.

39:21And because, and they'll play it that way.

39:23Like our, our, our guy, Bryce Lance has been out there just running wind sprints and getting

39:29his cardio in.

39:30So if you put a player in that position, who's actually going to command targets as well or

39:35to threaten the defense, man, I am, I'm very, very excited for when Jordan Tyson comes back.

39:42Yeah.

39:42We, we might not have even seen the fully evolved form of the shuck daddy.

39:46It's not even my final form.

39:48He just turned 27 the other day, you know, which is really old.

39:54It's already this prime.

39:55Yeah.

39:56I mean, just to be clear, like his profile usually does not work in the NFL.

40:01No, no, no, no, no.

40:03This should not be working at all.

40:04No.

40:04But if you run, it's Kellen Moore and you have weapons and you get plays.

40:08We love it.

40:09So, uh, and he's accurate.

40:11I will say the, the window, since they play on Monday night, everybody will be watching

40:14that game.

40:15If you haven't been watching Saints games, you will be watching on Monday night.

40:18Um, the window will probably close of any sort of buying window.

40:21So yeah, it'll, it'll close.

40:23It might reopen after week five.

40:26Cause that is the Minnesota Vikings.

40:27I was going to say these next couple of matchups, not this week, but Minnesota in week five,

40:31Pittsburgh in week seven.

40:32I am really interested to see what he does in those games.

40:35Yeah.

40:36And like, no matter how much I love a quarterback, I'm not excited to see them matched up against

40:42Minnesota.

40:43No.

40:43That is death.

40:45Um, let's talk about a running back that it's eerily similar to what it was last year

40:51with Chase Brown of the Bengals, where it was a very slow start and he's been trending

40:56the wrong way so far.

40:57If you're looking at fantasy finishes, RB 14, RB 22, RB 28.

41:01We have gotten some performances from the Bengals offense where you kind of look up and you

41:05go, he's just not getting the touchdowns, right?

41:08I think he has one on the season.

41:10And yet it's not like the usage has been bad.

41:14He's ninth in total opportunities, eighth in targets.

41:16So the hardest part about Chase Brown is that we were hoping for a contract extension.

41:23We were waiting.

41:24They didn't really add in the draft.

41:26They've kind of stayed with the same Samaj P Ryan, and yet we're still kind of stuck here.

41:30So in dynasty, I feel like we played this game for the third year in a row of like, okay,

41:35we're waiting and we're still playing around even middle season to figure out like what he

41:40is.

41:41So what's y'all's read on Chase Brown?

41:44So I would be, I'm, I would be buying, I'm going to, I'm buying the usage.

41:50I'm buying that for whatever reason, the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow, just, they can't start

41:56hot.

41:57It, it makes absolutely no sense, but it has been kind of the career arc of, of Burrow and

42:05company, you know, 62 opportunities for Brown to 17 for Samaj P Ryan.

42:12This is a workhorse.

42:14And I think we're just in a weird blip.

42:18The, uh, especially when it comes to the, the receiving work of the last two weeks, we

42:24are at, uh, three receptions for two yards and two for eight the past two weeks.

42:31Like that's not normal for, for Chase Brown.

42:35And there, he, he looks great.

42:38I think that the Bengals are, they're going to be on their way very, very soon.

42:41So I would be taking this as a chance.

42:45Dynasty is difficult of what to do with Chase Brown because he is the player where if, if

42:51Chase Brown goes to market, gets in an argument with the Bengals would not be weird because

42:56that's what the Cincinnati Bengals tend to do with their players.

43:00Chase Brown on a different team is nowhere close to the value of Chase Brown on the Cincinnati

43:07Bengals.

43:07Maybe a couple spots, like one or two perfect storms happen.

43:11Like Kenneth Walker going to Kansas city.

43:13I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but for the most part, you're the, if

43:18when you're looking at longterm, I would be concerned.

43:23My lean right now is they'll get it figured out and they'll get him a, a team friendly

43:27ish, uh, contract.

43:30But I, that's, that's not a for sure thing by any means.

43:34Yeah.

43:34He's, he's the perfect running back right now, in my opinion, that works for both builds

43:38in dynasty.

43:39If you are a rebuilding team, he's the perfect trade away candidate because he is so much

43:44value as a workhorse for a great offense, but there's no longterm stability.

43:48He's 26, which isn't old, but you know, once you get to 28, we start to have those question

43:52marks on the non elite guys.

43:54And then if you're a contender, it's like, yeah, you, you can still get this guy.

43:57You can't get Gibbs, Bijon, the elite of the elites, but you can get, I don't know, the

44:03running back 10 in rankings, right?

44:05Like that, that's a great trade target.

44:07So he fits both ends of the spectrum.

44:10So he's one of those guys, if I am a contender, I'm willing to go get him.

44:13If I, if I think I need one more running back to put me over the top.

44:15And then if I am any middling to rebuilding team, you know, go get a first for this guy.

44:20It's interesting when I look at some of the running backs in our rankings and some of the

44:25guys that do not feel like a player I want on my team.

44:28And yet I could convince somebody else who's in a rebuild to say, Hey, do you want to flip

44:32Quinchon Judkins?

44:33And they're going to look at those two players and go like, okay, I'm going to build long

44:37term.

44:37I don't know what Chase Brown is beyond this year.

44:40And if I'm winning now, I want Chase Brown on my team, right?

44:43I think we all view him as a top 10 running back and it'll hit.

44:47So I'm with you guys there.

44:48Um, I don't know what to do with this player.

44:52It's a mech egg Buka or as we called him in Monday, Punday egg big poo is what he's been

44:58called.

44:58His fantasy points this year in half point have been 8.8, 8.8 and 8.7.

45:04So if consistency is, yeah, if that's what you need, that's great.

45:09We have the Baker injury right now.

45:11So you're not going to, you're not going to get the value out of any trade.

45:18If he's on your team, I think you're still, you're probably still holding most value of

45:24that.

45:24He came into the season with at least I I'm, I'm with you, man.

45:29I'm, I'm starting to, I'm starting to get a little bit of the shakes of, is this a Marv?

45:35You know, like it is, is this a Marv of a first rounder who just really thrived in the

45:42college situation, uh, due to his, not, not that he's not saying he's bad, but like he

45:49was in a perfect situation for him.

45:51I mean, he's a wide, I guess either LSU or Ohio, you'd say that's wide receiver university

45:55because everyone who goes there just, they put up numbers and for the most part, they've

46:00been great for the NFL.

46:01But with Marv faltering, I, it's hard to not have that be one of the various, one of my

46:10inputs as I'm, uh, evaluating a Mecca booker to be like, well, it's not impossible to come

46:16from that school as a first rounder and not turn into what we hoped you're going to turn

46:22into.

46:22Uh, with, with the way that him and Baker just can't seem to figure out how to get a

46:31pass connected.

46:32It's, it's very, very weird.

46:35You know, the, I don't want to, I'm not going to try to derail us, but it's like the, what's

46:40going on with Herbert in LA is like, what is going on?

46:45Like this doesn't make sense, right?

46:47Like everything should be there.

46:50And yet something very, something very valuable in whatever the formula needs to be is not

46:56there for the chargers.

46:57And that's how it's more and more feeling like me for a Buka that there's just, there's

47:03something that I don't know if I'll ever be able to put my finger on it, but something's

47:07not working.

47:08And I don't know if that corrects itself and a Buka becomes elite at any point.

47:15Yeah.

47:15I think on a Buka, it's tricky because the first five weeks last year were so unbelievable

47:21that we are tied to like, that could happen with this player.

47:25But to put that in context, that was historic when he did in the first five games last year

47:30before things kind of went South.

47:32So now we have to ask ourselves, where's the truth in this player?

47:36I don't think it's what we've seen.

47:37I think he's too talented for this output.

47:40And I don't think he is a true alpha elite player that we saw in the first five weeks

47:45of last year.

47:46So he's probably a wide receiver, two to three fringe-ish type of guy for fantasy, in my opinion,

47:52in the most likely range of outcomes here moving forward.

47:55Not right now with the current quarterback situation, but in general for his career is

47:59how I see this player turning out.

48:01So I still believe in the talent, but I will say the Bucks feel insanely fragile right

48:07now.

48:07Just obviously with the Baker injury and maybe it's only two starts, maybe it's three,

48:12four, whatever.

48:12But still, you have a UDFA coming in here to play quarterback.

48:17I think the offense could just be anemic for a month straight and his value will slowly

48:22get lower and lower and lower.

48:23And what if the Bucks happen to lose three of these next four games or heaven forbid all

48:28four?

48:28Like, is Todd Bull still the head coach?

48:30So now you have this turnover happening within the organization.

48:33I don't know who the hot names are for next year's hiring cycle, but like, it feels like

48:37Baker and this offense need the next great play caller to kind of get things stabilized.

48:41And I don't know if that guy's out there, but as of right now, I just don't feel great

48:46about the systemic situation.

48:47I do believe Emeka Ibuka is talented, but I don't think we're getting the year two breakout

48:52we thought we were going to get.

48:54His usage is weird.

48:55He doesn't even have a screen target or route in my notes, which is just shocking.

49:01Like, I want layup targets for him.

49:03And I kind of leaning towards where Mike is, like, he feels like one of those players that

49:08will be more valued in Dynasty Leagues than his production will match.

49:11Like, and I'm playing it that way.

49:14So I don't know.

49:15I just look at some of the other wide receivers in that range.

49:17It's like, would I rather have Parker Washington or Emeka?

49:22Who?

49:22Parker Washington does not have a contract for next year.

49:25Remember.

49:25Yeah, he will.

49:27He will.

49:27Okay.

49:28So who would you rather have?

49:29Dude, this is what I mean of the-

49:31Or who looks better on the football field?

49:34When it's a player who really is an outlier and Parker Washington is an outlier.

49:38Was he a fifth rounder?

49:39I don't remember the exact round, but he was day three.

49:42I want to say it was fifth, but I'll get it right in front.

49:44Okay.

49:44Yeah.

49:44Day three and-

49:46Six.

49:46I mean, a couple-

49:47Sixth round.

49:48A couple splashes here or there.

49:51I remember him being on waiver shows, you know, during, throughout the years.

49:55But then it never turned into anything.

49:58So, I mean, field eye test right now, you would much rather have Parker Washington.

50:05Like, he's connected to a top-tier offense.

50:07He is the featured guy.

50:10He's actually putting up fantasy points.

50:12He has been.

50:14Emeka Buka, I don't know.

50:16I'm trying to work this out, so I don't know if I have a positive or negative statement,

50:20so just follow me.

50:21The beginning of that year, last year, was so similar to Roma Dunze in terms of that they

50:30both ran nuclear hot with touchdowns, looked like you had a bona fide star, and then everything

50:36fell apart.

50:36Now, I know Rome had his injury stuff that he was dealing with.

50:40But where I started thinking of, because I was willing to quickly go out on Rome, I guess

50:48because, you know, it was confirming my priors.

50:51I didn't really love Rome as a top-ten guy.

50:54But you have to at least go with the numbers of he's a first-rounder and then follow all

51:01of that stuff.

51:02But I was so quick to move out of Rome because of Luther Burden, because there was another

51:09guy there who I was like, that guy's better.

51:11But there's no one on Tampa Bay who's better.

51:13So I think the fact that we don't have that yet, and what if that's coming?

51:22What if next year they take a second-rounder and you're like, oh man, that's a sexy wide

51:27receiver to have gotten in the second round.

51:30So I don't know.

51:32He feels...

51:34It's hard to bail on a first-round wide receiver this fast in their career.

51:39But if I had to put my chips somewhere, they would be on the negative side.

51:45Any final thoughts, Betts?

51:47I'm just thinking about the conversation in the offseason on this offense with Zach Robinson.

51:51And a lot of it was like, you know, Ibuka's going to be the move piece in the offense and

51:57get him on the underneath stuff and get him the easy button things that they used to do

52:00with Drake London.

52:00Remember that in the slot in the red zone?

52:02They used to do that all the time with Drake London.

52:04He does have the toe thing, though.

52:05Now, I'm just remembering that he came into the season with a toe.

52:08Was that ever confirmed to be turf toe?

52:12I feel very confident it was.

52:14Okay.

52:16That matters?

52:17It does.

52:17Yeah, it does.

52:18It does.

52:19Oh, man.

52:20Brutal.

52:21Maybe just hold.

52:22The usage has not suggested that he is the focal point, which is the frustrating part.

52:27I talked last week.

52:29It was an offense that was really predictable the week before.

52:33And last week, you know, the stat I gave is they didn't run a single snap with multiple

52:38tight ends on the field.

52:39And in today's NFL, this just seems just dumbfounding that you wouldn't be able to create that way.

52:47So I don't want to paint the overall negative picture.

52:50This player somehow is bad at the game.

52:51It's just when you add in the situation and a lack of layup targets and, you know, changing quarterback.

52:58Like it's it's not trending the right way.

53:00So that's the main thing we're trying to share on the show.

53:02Let's take a quick break.

53:03We'll talk about a couple more.

53:04All right.

53:14We're going on the other end of the spectrum with wide receiver because.

53:18Rasheed Rice has slowly been getting more and more involved in the offense.

53:22If you would have said after week one, like, oh, gosh, it's it's over.

53:25Like it's genuinely the first week he was targeted on 7% of his routes.

53:30And the offense looks so good with Kenneth Walker that you're like, well, they're past that, dude.

53:34And this past week in week three, he was targeted on 50% of his routes.

53:40That's a massive usage jump.

53:43He was the wide receiver, 23, 12 fantasy points.

53:46It was Miami.

53:47So a JV squad.

53:48But it will be interesting this week with the Chiefs playing the Raiders to three and O teams should be a fun matchup for the NFL.

53:55But he's such a tough player.

53:58He feels like a ticking time bomb knowing his contract situation and what he is.

54:03Because I think our refrain has been outside of the Chiefs.

54:07I have no clue what this dude is if he's on a different team.

54:10So.

54:11If you're using those win now rebuild kind of rankings for us, he's a win now player.

54:18Right.

54:18There's there's no question about it.

54:21Yeah.

54:23Maybe.

54:24This is a, this is a really, really difficult one to, to analyze here of the first two weeks being so lackluster for, from what we've been accustomed to for Rasheed Rice of how he's going to be the focal point of the passing attack.

54:44But may I, and then to the targets of this past week, maybe just the overall team environment though, of Travis Kelsey looking sprite and, and obviously Walker fixing the running game that they have not had at all for a couple of years.

55:02Maybe there's, there's hope that he can, you know, we are not going to get back into that top five type of a player, but you know, maybe, maybe we still got some, some use here.

55:14Yeah.

55:15I think the, the conversation for me on him hasn't really changed at all.

55:18I still think as long as he was on the Chiefs, he will have some valuable fantasy games.

55:24The tricky thing is that last year and the year prior when he was healthy, he was the offense.

55:30You can count on it.

55:31You can count on the volume, the targets, the PPR receptions, everything in the red zone.

55:35That is now less reliable.

55:37And so like in the right game script, he will be fine for fantasy, but there will be games where Ken Walker dominates and takes over and it's not the Rishi Rice week.

55:46And he will be the wide receiver 45 on the week.

55:49Like that is going to happen.

55:50So to me, he's like a volatile wide receiver three for this year is kind of how I feel about him.

55:56But beyond this year, I still am terrified.

55:58Because the injury history, the off the field stuff, no contract.

56:03And at some point, like you think the Chiefs have given him enough chances to like get your act together one more slip up.

56:09And I think they're just done.

56:10So to me, he is still a trade away candidate.

56:14If you are not, are not a contender, even if you are like, if somebody else is more of a fan than you are, I wouldn't fault you at all.

56:20Could you flip, and this is going to sound stupid.

56:23Could you flip one of Brian Thomas Jr. or Marv to a rebuilding team and get Rishi Rice?

56:35No.

56:35Who would you rather have rest of season?

56:38Of those three?

56:39Rice, BTJ, and Marv.

56:41Rishi Rice.

56:42Okay.

56:43By a lot.

56:44So would the rebuilding team not want a shot at what BTJ and Marv is?

56:50I'm trying to think about it.

56:52If I were there, I would think I could get better value somewhere else.

56:58The whole entire reason to trade for Brian Thomas is that you hope he gets traded.

57:03Like, it's not working.

57:05Oh, for sure.

57:06It's not working with what Jacksonville is doing.

57:09And we're in year three.

57:12So, like, contract-wise, they can have him for two more years after this one.

57:16That is forever.

57:18So, no, I would be trying to trade Rishi Rice if I were a rebuilder, but that's too low.

57:25That's too low of a target.

57:26I think I can get better.

57:27That is so sad that that's where we're at with BTJ.

57:30We are where we are, Kyle.

57:32Oh, man.

57:34That's...

57:34I mean, it's just...

57:35Imagine telling someone that conversation of saying, hey, by the way, this player will

57:40basically be worthless.

57:43So...

57:43Unless we can get...

57:45If we can get Brian Thomas to wherever Mac Jones ends up signing next year, then maybe

57:54we can get cooking.

57:56Yeah.

57:56So...

57:57I got two more tight ends that I want to finish up.

58:00Very different edges of the career spectrum.

58:02Right?

58:03It's George Kittle, who the last two weeks has looked unstoppable.

58:08And then Kenyon Sadiq, who was one of my favorite players this past week of, like, okay, we...

58:14I know it's Mason Taylor.

58:15It's not a big deal.

58:16But, like, out of the way, we get a, you know, at least hopefully more usage.

58:20And he was targeted a lot more this past week.

58:23He still wasn't a full-time player, by the way.

58:25Like, you still see a lot of Jeremy Ruckert in the mixed with the Jets.

58:31But talk to me about Kittle, who...

58:34If you had told me in Dynasty he's a player that I want to trade for right now, I would

58:37have been like, what?

58:38But he's been awesome.

58:39And then Sadiq on the other side, who's, like, looking really good.

58:44Hopefully he's going to show more athleticism.

58:46So, Betts, where are you at with Kittle?

58:48Yeah, I mean, just to speak to the ramp-up here, like, it was a slow start, obviously,

58:52from a playing time standpoint.

58:5346, 48, 85% of the snaps.

58:57Very quick ramp-up in Week 3.

58:59Route share, 47, 52%, 89%.

59:01And now, looking at the wide receiver room, they don't have another choice.

59:06They don't have another choice.

59:07So, I'm always, like...

59:09The Niners are so high-risk, high-reward.

59:11Like, Shanahan is full sicko mode.

59:13He doesn't care.

59:13Like, you know, the years of Christian McCaffrey, where he'd be like, you know, he just had

59:1725 touches on Sunday.

59:18Let's give him another 30 on Thursday night.

59:19Like, he does not care at all about this stuff.

59:22And given what's happened at the wide receiver room, you know, the volatile Kittle years,

59:27because of target competition, in my opinion, are kind of not a thing right now, because

59:32of the fact that he is, by default, A, an excellent player, but also, B, just the state

59:37of the room.

59:38So, they need him.

59:39I buy this, and we buy Purdy.

59:41So, I'm with it.

59:42And then on Sadiq, you know, it's tricky.

59:45Like, obviously, you got a 99th percentile outcome here in his first real chance, but

59:49he was a guy that we were all skeptical on from his production profile, but at least from

59:54the athleticism standpoint, which we know matters so much at tight end, he checks that

59:57box.

59:58Obviously, he's one of the most athletic guys ever at the Combine at tight end, and you

1:00:03saw that a little bit in this game with his yards after the catch ability.

1:00:07That throw from Geno on his touchdown was awesome, and his diving catch was great.

1:00:11So, I believe he can play in this league.

1:00:13It's just a matter of, like, you know, expecting this on the short route share and playing time

1:00:19is not going to be sustainable.

1:00:20So, I don't buy that Kenan Sadiq is here to stay as a top five, top eight guy right now,

1:00:25but what you saw, you've got to be really encouraged, obviously.

1:00:28So, I buy Kittle trending.

1:00:30I do not buy Kenan Sadiq trending at this level we saw recently.

1:00:35George Kittle is, he's a till the wheels fall off player who, I'm not trying to cash out

1:00:42on George because I don't know when it will be.

1:00:44Is it next year?

1:00:46Is it three years from now?

1:00:48I just don't know.

1:00:49But until that happens, he's just, he's going to be awesome for fantasy football.

1:00:56Sadiq, I buy it more than Betts does in terms of, you know, a player that slowly worked in

1:01:04because of missing so much of training camp, had his, I think he had a core injury.

1:01:08I can't remember off the top of my head.

1:01:09Yeah, core muscle repair.

1:01:10So, like he had some stuff going on, but the biggest part of where I was, you know,

1:01:21kind of lower on Sadiq than the consensus, well, I mean, first off is they drafted a first

1:01:27round wide receiver who immediately got hurt.

1:01:30Like he's out of the way right now.

1:01:32So that's a pretty big deal in terms of an availability of where the targets have to go.

1:01:38And then the worst quarterback in the NFL last year is completing 75% of his passes at 7.7 yards per attempt.

1:01:50Like his touchdown rate's low for now.

1:01:55But, you know, aside, I guess, from Jason Moore on the main fantasy footballers,

1:02:01there was no one really like pounded the table like, guys, no, Gino's going to,

1:02:06we're going to bounce back.

1:02:08We're going to get the Gino from a couple years ago when his career looked like it was just really tailing off at the end of Seattle

1:02:14to a disaster in Vegas.

1:02:19And now he seems reborn.

1:02:21So if you had told me Sadiq was going to have a competent quarterback,

1:02:25I would have been much more interested in him for the short term.

1:02:29Long term, got to figure it out.

1:02:31But I'm more bought in than Betts.

1:02:34I think that the work, I think you go from that performance to we just start building more and more on that.

1:02:40And if Mason Taylor is who I have to be worried about for target competition at the tight end,

1:02:46consider me unworried.

1:02:48Oh, I've gone from finding any stat possible to make fun of this man to now I feel bad.

1:02:57That's where I'm at now.

1:02:57We did it.

1:02:58We did it.

1:02:58We tore him down.

1:03:00And now we'll try and rebuild him, except there's nothing to rebuild with.

1:03:03I'm actually like rooting for him to break a tackle.

1:03:06I'm still rooting for it.

1:03:07That's one of the things I check every single week out of all the stats is he's still going to do it one day.

1:03:12We need the, are you aware of the, there's a Twitter account, did Zachary break a tackle?

1:03:16It's back.

1:03:18And it got to, yeah, it got to be back.

1:03:19They got to tweet yet again, which the answer was no.

1:03:23So, I mean, we could spin one of those up for Mason Taylor.

1:03:26Yeah.

1:03:27Is Mason still a little baby?

1:03:28You know?

1:03:29Is he just a little wimp out there?

1:03:31Oh, man.

1:03:31That's too mean.

1:03:33I picked these two players.

1:03:35Especially coming from us.

1:03:36Yeah.

1:03:36I know.

1:03:37I know.

1:03:37Us nerds.

1:03:39I picked Kittle and Sadiq.

1:03:40Who would just break in half on the field.

1:03:41They are back to back in a lot of startup rankings and they feel very different, obviously, based on.

1:03:48Who is that?

1:03:48When now.

1:03:49Kittle and Sadiq.

1:03:51Oh, yeah, yeah.

1:03:51For sure.

1:03:52Where you're at.

1:03:53And so, I just say that to kind of end the show and say, our rankings, hopefully you can kind of customize them based on where your team is at.

1:04:00We have a trade analyzer, which is obviously a really good tool, but it's another thing to look at the rankings to be able to adjust and say, hey, here's where Mike is higher on a player if you're in a win now situation.

1:04:11So, there's nuance to Dynasty.

1:04:13We're not just going to say, Kittle's better.

1:04:15Like, yes, Kittle's been better.

1:04:17But Sadiq was 32.

1:04:18Yeah.

1:04:19And it's very, very different.

1:04:20So, there's a lot of nuance to it.

1:04:21We will be back next week, as Betts alluded to, talking top 12 play callers in the NFL and how you can adjust for Dynasty.

1:04:32What a show.

1:04:33Go Braves.

1:04:35Oh, get out of here, baseball.

1:04:36Goodbye.

1:04:41Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast.

1:04:45If you want to take your Dynasty skills to the next level, check out thefantasyfootballers.com.

1:04:51Hey.

1:05:20Bye.

1:05:20Bye.

1:05:21Bye.