Week 11 Waivers + Difference Makers, Awesomely Awful - Fantasy Football Podcast for 11/12
01:02:35 Share

This episode is brought to you by Duluth Trading Company.

Just like you won't settle for average with your draft selections, those picks, the same should go for your workwear. Duluth Trading, you can outthink, outsmart, and outdo average with every piece of men's and women's gear that they build. It's why they fabricate fire hose pants to be epically tough, pack their bibs full of pockets, and make sure buck naked underwear feels barely there. It's all about innovating ingenious gear that you won't find anywhere.

anywhere else. Shop online or in store today. Visit DuluthTrading.com.

This episode is brought to you by the all-new reimagined Nissan Kicks. The all-new Nissan Kicks has been totally redesigned to be the ultimate ride for busy city life. With its bold new look, intelligent all-wheel drive, and a Bose Personal Plus sound system, you'll be cruising through city life in style. Drive the all-new reimagined Nissan Kicks today. Head over to NissanUSA to learn more.

Oh, welcome in. Made yourself laugh there. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, there's a little... Dude, it's intense around here. There's a little hiccup in the motor. Sometimes you try to start the engine and... Let me tell you, Mike, what's going on. Please do. And the people. I can't wait. The League of Record, our league that we obsess about too much, which built this Fantasy Footballers podcast. That's where it all came from. Champ. Shut up. Um...

Our trade deadline is this week. We're going into week 11, and so this is a huge week for our league for fantasy football. Everyone has to decide, are you in, are you out? I know about that, yeah. Yeah. Well, so here's what's going on around you. Let me tell you more. Here's what's going on around you in this room.

My team right now is basically a game out of the playoffs, and there's about four teams vying for it. And I have to decide, am I in or am I out? I've dealt with so many injuries.

We've got Josh and the Falcon over in Deucer's Alley who are out. They are just trying to sell and accumulate assets. We've got Jeremy who's in it. He's trying to get assets. And we've got Andy who's trying to figure out what to do with CeeDee Lamb based on the conversations of yesterday. I mean...

All of us in this room right now are vying for trades and we're all afraid of every other person in here and we don't want to get left down. We don't want to get, so it's like, do we want to shop around? Do we want to check the rest of the league? I'm freaking out over here and I don't even know if I'm in or if I'm out.

So I don't know what to do with my life right now. There's just such an undercurrent in the room, Mike. You know, there's some things that happened this morning. Josh is back to his tactics of just condescension and gaslighting. Josh is insufferable. You don't want that player? Let me tell you why he's the best.

That's why when you walked in the office today, Mike, he said, who'd you rather have rest of season Tyree killer Jane Reed. And when you answered the answer, he didn't want to hear. He said, quote, well, you had to think about it, right? Yeah. So that's the world we're living in. But like,

A lot of things I have to think about, you know, just because it's the right thing to do to put some consideration in it. Don't just fly off the handle. That's good life advice. And I got to the right answer. Yeah. And so just because I had to think about it. Right. Well, yeah. No, I know. But I got to the right answer. And your answer is still wrong. We have, I'm sure, more stories this week will take place.

And I expect nothing less. All I know is that last year when two of the three deuces conspired to ruin my team, it led to me winning a title. So this can only be good. This can only be good. We have waivers on today's show to talk about, none of which will help Josh's team. He's got no chance of winning with them. Without them, it doesn't make a difference. Difference makers on today's show, NFL news to talk about, surgeries aplenty.

And I'm sure it'll be fun. The energy is palpable. You can feel it in the room.

And Mike, you're wearing the hoodie today. Yeah. It's nice and chilly outside. It is. It's hoodie season. It's 50 degrees in Arizona. That's crazy. And Jason, have you noticed Jason is slightly colder this year than- Yeah, I have. I've seen him put some sleeves on. He's got less- I'm thinking about these joggers you guys are always talking about. Might need to buy pants for the first time in my life. This is a man who literally wanted to live in a ice castle.

At one point in time. I would still love to live in an ice castle. But a little less insulation built in anymore. Yeah, turns out blubber is a great way to stay warm out there. Those whales, they know what they're doing, man. Oh my gosh. We had a Monday night football game that was weird. It was very weird. It really was a defensive battle. That would be the best way to describe it.

And maybe we should have known what was on the horizon when your first touchdown was Malik Washington on an end around carry that nobody started and not starting players might've been a good technique last night. We got bailed out. Tyreek's game was fine because he caught a one yard touchdown. Kyron didn't get into the end zone, which is strange and weird. And he fumbled. Matthew Stafford was fine.

Not good. It can happen. I was talking about this on Sunday Live. Matthew Stafford is just the strangest quarterback because he has these – I mean, he has two elite wide receivers, and they can still have good games. Puka's 9 for 98. Cooper Cup is 7 for 80. Of course, you always want more, but that's – Those are good games. That's a good game. You're like, oh, Matthew Stafford must have had a strong fantasy game. No. No, he did not. I think they said on the broadcast this was either his –

first or in like hundreds of games where there were no touchdowns, not rushing or receiving the, the Matthew Stafford led Rams did not score a touchdown in this game. And he accumulated a bunch of yards at the end. The last couple of drives with check down after check down after check down, but it was not a good game. Puka was nine for 98 Cooper cup seven for 80. They did benefit from some of those late drives. And then,

Jalen Waddell got involved with the first two passes of the game. Excuse me, Dolphins leading receiver of the night, Jalen Waddell? I mean, it's true. I think one of the storylines is the Tyreek Hill injury. He ends up playing. He only gets 16 yards through the air. Talking about a torn ligament, which is a sprain.

They tied it into his arrest getting thrown down on the ground in the broadcast. Which if that's where this injury came from, that means he's been playing with it the entire season. That was very early. What I read is he got it in training camp and then it was worsened after the arrest situation. Yeah, either way, the point is this isn't a new injury in week 10. This has been 10 weeks of dealing with the injury. You know,

It's tough to know what to do with Tyree Kill. 16 total yards in this game is hashtag bad. Again, he got bailed out with that touchdown. It's so weird. It's been a very, very rough season for Tyree Kill. He still looks just as fast as usual. What is going on? Three games with Tua. We all thought it would be fixed with Tua. In our league, scoring 10 points, 10 points, 10 points. So 72 yards, 80 yards, 16 yards.

This broke a touchdown drought of seven games. I wouldn't fundamentally freak out about it because they got a pretty good schedule coming up. Las Vegas, New England, then it's Green Bay, then it's the Jets in Houston. I think Tyreek will be okay, but it's clearly not the pace of last year. And the team having A-Chan in the passing game and John who in the passing game

I don't know. It just seems slightly less Tyreek dependent. Would that be a fair summation? Yeah. The whole Miami offense was weird last night. They have these good running backs who, at least at the beginning of the game, they were not utilizing them. I mean, HN ends with 12 carries.

They were going with Jalen Wright, five carries for three yards. No carries for Mostert. Mostert didn't get a carry. He did have, I think, a couple catches, right? Yeah, two for 34. It was – I don't – the Dolphins looked broken. Yeah, they won the game, but they won it on defense. And I don't – doesn't it seem somewhat strange that they're not utilizing Mostert

A little bit. Everything seems weird. The season that they had last year, some of these design, the pitch plays where Mostert picks a spot and seems really a fit for the offense. I don't know if he's hurting. I don't know what the story is. It's weird. But they did win. And if you're

If you're rooting for the rest of the season, week 11 on as a fantasy player, you should be really happy that the Dolphins won the ballgame. Because if they didn't win this game, they're 2-7. And I think the incentives for injured players to play, even any challenges with Tua's health, you want teams invested. And that division is...

It's the Bills and nothing else. It's a competition for the wild card. The Dolphins needed a win. Yeah, they did. I mean, both teams did, but the Dolphins could have been on their way out already. Now they're still fighting for it. They still have belief as well because they were missing Tua for such a stretch of this season. They don't look at themselves...

indicative of what the record is. They think they are a playoff team and, you know, they still have a chance, but their offense has been broken since the second half of last year. The first, you know, two thirds of last year, they were on fire, beating everyone up, scoring 40 points on the reg. And then this, you know, the end of last year to a playing, I don't know if like NFL defenses have started to figure out this timing offense or whatnot, but I don't think

that McDonald's has adapted yet since the second half of last year. And I'm waiting. And he's got the five fastest players in the NFL. And so you start to look at that and say, hmm.

There has been a lot made about how they beat up bad teams, and that's true. And so I'm looking forward to some Dolphins against some bad teams on the schedule. I believe he hasn't. They haven't won as an underdog. Were they an underdog last night, Kyle? Because I think that would have broken a streak if they were an underdog. I think it was like eight or nine straight losses as an underdog.

Like, to your point, Jason, they beat up bad teams, and then they never show up against good teams. Is Kyle even with us? Is he dead? I heard an uh. Oh. Yes, they were underdogs. Okay. You asked him a question, then you just kept talking. Yeah. My wife says I do that, too. All right. Moving on. Welcome to Difference Makers, presented by Iams Pet Food. Welcome to Difference Makers.

I love our difference makers this week. I really, really do. I think they're going to make a difference. So we're looking at, I mean, look at your trade deadlines. They're right around the corner. I did not know who Mike had pivoted to. I know Mike desperately hoped that he could pick Trey Lance in this segment. I did. Because he believed that the team would make the decision to go with Trey Lance, which of course they didn't. No. Which...

They might next week. I mean, they might, but they didn't. That says something incredible. So, I mean, this is Cooper Rush and Zeke's team. This can't be Trey Lance and Dowdle's team. I've heard they're not living in the past with Zeke. I've heard. And...

I've also heard that Rico Dattle is PFF's highest graded Cowboys offensive player this year. Which, on the surface, sounds amazing. But then I thought of who could beat him, and there was only one name. Now, it is impressive if he's higher graded than CeeDee Lamb. Which he is. But the rest of the team, I'm not surprised. I get both sides of it, but it's more of a... You're the best of the worst. Well...

But he could be very good if the offense was –

If this was last year's offense and you just took Tony Pollard and swapped him for Dowdle and ran the offense, I think Dowdle would be fine. I think he probably would have been close to what Pollard was. And honestly, I feel like you were about to take a huge W. If Dak didn't get injured, if Dak did not get injured, I think this offense does figure it out in clicks. But with Cooper Rush, the scoring opportunities, the total yardage opportunities probably just aren't going to be there for Dowdle. Rico is not in this list. Ha ha ha.

Well, the reason I said all that, Mike, was because the name that you wanted to bring up was a player that I actually made a trade offer for last night because I believe what Juwan Jennings can bring to the table. San Francisco 49er Juwan Jennings. He returned from the injury to a full set of snaps. 11 targets, 7 for 93. I went back and watched every target for Juwan, and it's

It's fun. Their manufacturing touches for him. They're taking huge shots with him. It's Brandon Ayuk. He is. Yes, he is fulfilling the promise that we had for Brandon Ayuk for this year. This is totally what I expected for Brandon.

But he never got it going, and now he's out for the year. And Juwan Jennings is the guy who is taking advantage of that opportunity. He has been absolutely balling out when he's been on the field. And looking at the rest of the season, it's like they have some – They're favored in every game. The matchups, it's not like, oh, baby, it's all green. It's all green.

But they are favored in every single game. They have totals of 47 or more projected through the rest of the season. So these are competitive, higher-scoring matchups. So I think that Juwan, who...

He might still be on your waiver wire. There is a small chance of that. But even so, if he's on the waivers, I'm going really regressive after him. And I think that he is worth trading for. And he's this lower-named guy. He's not a sexy name. Who is going to outproduce what you – oh, Jawan Jennings. Some people know who that is. You can win a championship with Jawan Jennings in your flex for sure. I mean, this is a role that the last two years has been a top 15 fantasy wide receiver.

If you saw this schedule in the peripherals and Brandon Ayuk was on the team and you're like, oh, go get Brandon Ayuk, it would all make sense. Yeah, and you'd have to pay a lot. Which begs the question, did the team make a mistake giving him that money? Obviously, injury notwithstanding, if John Jennings can come and be effective in this offense where Brandon Ayuk went active wasn't,

It does ask – I mean, Jennings just needed an opportunity. Yeah, he did. But, yeah, it's a great name. You guys have mentioned him. This is not really my name. This is just a name from the show. But the opportunity in front of George Pickens the rest of the season, you know, this to me is more about like with Jennings and Pickens, it's taking those two names and elevating their tier to

mid-season, because you're not going to feel as... It's not going to feel as sexy starting those names, but there is a world where...

They're a better name to start than CeeDee Lamb. There's a world where they're a better name to start than some of these other big names. I mean, it's obviously better than DJ Moore, right? Oh, yeah. But DJ Moore at one point probably felt really nice to slide that name into your lineup. Sure. Whereas Jennings and Pickens maybe felt more risky. You have to make those adjustments. Every single year championships are won on the back of names that don't

make you feel great about what you're seeing but they perform yeah I mean Russell Wilson throws a moon ball that is perfect for George Pickens the yardage has been there every single week the touchdowns have been there you know significantly with Russell Wilson the schedule lining up for not just the next month the next month is great but pretty much rest of season

Everything is lining up for George Pickens to be pretty much a must start. I think a wide receiver one rest of season. He is an absolute top tier wide receiver rest of season for me. And to be fair, in the beginning of the season, when he was not doing great for fantasy, he was awesome on film. He had so many incredible catches called back on penalties. So many just barely misses on touchdowns.

For different reasons. So I think this is, it's not something has changed. I believe he's been this good all season. Something changed. I mean, it's the quarterback. Freaking Mike Tomlin. He's good. Does it again. Moves from a team that is winning with Justin Fields. He's like, eh, I'm going to put Russ in here. And now they're the last three weeks, 37 points, 26, 28, three straight wins.

Let's see how Baltimore goes this week. I love Mike Tomlin so much. You do. You are the biggest Tomlin fan. I wish he was my son's father. You know what I mean? Then he had a chance to be a good man. Yeah, exactly. I wish he had a better father like Tomlin. So the last name I want to bring up, this is one that is for anyone trying to make the playoffs. I mean, everyone's trying to make the playoffs. But if you're not necessarily guaranteed yet and you need extra points, you're fighting for that last spot. Here is...

Someone that is going to score a lot of fantasy points up until the playoffs who is available for you. I believe after Waver's run today, 100% of leagues are

They will be available. I'm talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. They just played Kansas City, so they're probably on waivers already. But if not, they're on bye week this week. Like, you can't use them. These are the stashes, and this is the time of year that I think you need to pay attention to this. Because if you need extra points, and you've got to get those Ws,

We've got four weeks left before the most leagues fantasy playoffs start in week 15. So you're going to be on by this week. Pick them up and stash them because the three weeks leading up to playoffs are the juiciest, best matchups you could possibly have. They're playing against the Giants and Daniel Jones, sack a potamus, pick a potamus, probably drew lock, maybe drew lock. Yeah, no, I mean, he,

Even better. Yeah, I mean, I don't care. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Then they go and play against Carolina and the Panthers. And who cares what the quarterback is there? If it's Dalton, I mean, it's not going to be. It looks like it's going to be young. And then the Raiders. So you've got three juicy super plus matchups. Those are the type of matchups you target. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, they're not elite, but they're not bad. This isn't targeting some bad defense against great matchups. This is just...

a good team playing hard football right now trying to make the playoffs still against awesomely awful offenses. So I think that's someone that's going to put you over the top. Awesomely awful. Got it. And so this is the team to help you make the playoffs. I completely agree. I set a reminder in my Slack.

A month ago. Oh, did you? And it reads, and I pasted it to you, Jason. It was a month ago, and it just said, sign Tampa Bay defense. And it was all built around waiting to sign them until now. All right. That was Difference Makers presented by Iams Pet Food. When you choose Iams, you can see the difference in your pet with your own eyes. Healthy energy in five days, healthy digestion in 10 days, and healthy skin and coat in just 25 days. Feed Iams and see a visible difference.

News and notes from around the league. Presented by USAA Insurance. I have to read your comment. I have to read your comment, Mike, because as I'm closing down Difference Makers and I'm talking about healthy energy in five days and digestion in ten days and skin and coat in 25, you write, I need I'ms for people. Dude, healthy gut in ten days? It's not possible.

Oh, man. If they come out with a product that's just called I'm's for people, I'm's for people. And I want 10%. I think you've come up with a great idea. Now, we just got breaking news that the Chiefs, you know, the long-suffering 9-0 Chiefs after two titles,

They're planning to designate as the upper check out to return from IR this week. This is wild. I think it's, it's great news for everyone not named cream hunt. Uh, but this is also the expectation right now of his timeline, his recovery. This is the, the opening window for practice. I,

I fully, 100% expect him to practice a couple weeks before he is – Take the 21? Before he's on the – maybe not 21, maybe 14. Okay. But I don't think he plays active in the game for – certainly not this week. I don't think two weeks. Maybe in three weeks he'll be inactive in the lineup. But the window's open, so it's got to be in the next three weeks for sure. Well, the Chicago Bears, it's been bad. Yeah.

But they have fired Shane Waldron. Shane Waldron is toast. How bad has it been? They've gone 23 consecutive drives without a touchdown. Here's what I will say. There is one negative to this move. I am playing the Packers defense this week, and I really wanted to face Shane Waldron and his ineptitude. The Bears fans are, this is your, he's already dead. It's like they are so demoralized right now.

You had an offseason where you loaded Caleb Williams up with talent. And I can tell you right now, it is the knife twist is how well Jaden Daniels and Cliff Kingsbury are performing. It is always like last year with Bryce Young. Bo Nix? And Bo Nix. Like Bryce Young last year with C.J. Stroud. It would have been bad if Bryce Young was just who he was. It's way worse when C.J. Stroud's having a great year.

Should teams be aiming for the number two pick? Trying to not get that first. What happens if Cliff comes to Chicago? I do want to know, how much of it is Waldron's absolute grotesque, like you can't do worse.

If you didn't know how to play football. No, we talked about this from the offseason and through the season. I think the clearest indication of how Shane Waldron was was the interview with JSN. Oh, yes. And we talked about this a lot less in the context of Caleb Williams because we weren't excited for a rookie quarterback here with a lot of targets to split up anyways.

But we were excited about the possibilities for the Seattle offense with Grubb's system coming in because Waldron was leaving. And JSN was asked, I think it was on Super Bowl week, to kind of the Bears fans about, hey, what can we expect from our new coordinator coming over from Seattle? And he was like, is this live? Yeah.

He goes, uh... His first comment is, yeah, good luck to y'all. The first comment was, is this live? And then he says, good luck to y'all. And then he says, he's a good person. It's like...

The system is outdated, old, and can't work in today's NFL. So this is great news for the Bears, but I don't expect it to make an immediate impact. You can't implement a completely different system overnight in the NFL for a rookie. Against Green Bay. Yeah, I mean, this isn't going to be something where everything is turned around right now. It is wonderful that...

Going into next year, honestly, I feel like if you are a Bears fan, you're probably hoping that Eberflus is going to. Oh, he's got to go. Because you want one of the predominant, great up-and-coming offensive minds to want this job. I mean, you've got weapons here. If I'm a coach and I'm picking my job,

The Bears look appealing. You've got a good defense. You've got a lot of weapons. I don't know if they do. I don't know if Dave Canales...

Dave Kanellis had his opportunity with Bryce Young. It's scary. Oh, I'm not saying that it is a guarantee that it is a good job, but you have pieces. Yeah, you would want a potential franchise quarterback. Through nine starts, Caleb Williams has 100 more yards than Bryce had last year. Same touchdowns, 2% lower completion percentage, slightly higher passer rating, taking two more sacks. The Patriots, I believe, had 16 or 14 sacks on the year. They sacked him nine times. Oh, my God.

So I'm not trying to twist. I hope it gets better. I like Caleb. I want the team to succeed. It looked like they were getting on the right track. They don't have the right leadership. But this is a turnstile of play callers since 2018. Nagy, Bill Lazor, Nagy, Lazor, Getzey, Waldron. Here we go. Let's try it again. We'll take a quick break, get back into the news, and then we've got your waiver wire for this week.

This episode is brought to you by Abbott. Let's talk about a small thing that can make a big difference if you have diabetes, the Freestyle Libre 3 Plus Sensor. It's amazing how the sensor gives you real-time glucose readings so that you can see the impact of every meal and activity to make better choices.

The Freestyle Libre 3 Plus Sensor can help you live life with diabetes on your terms. This is progress. You can try it for free at FreestyleLibre.us. Offer available for people who qualify. Visit MyFreestyle.us to see all terms and conditions. Certain exclusions apply. For prescription only. Safety info found at FreestyleLibre.us.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. It's the month of gratitude, and after this wild year, there's plenty to be thankful for. I'm thankful for my health, for my family, for this work, for these crazy knuckleheads that I get to hang out with at work every day. They aren't the only ones who should get thanks this year. In fact, there's someone you probably overlook every year who deserves it just as much.

yourself. So here's a reminder to take it easy and give yourself a pat on the back. But if that's something you struggle with, therapy is a great place to start and a nice way to treat yourself.

I am a huge supporter of talk therapy. Some problems, they're just too big. Sometimes they just, they got to get out of your brain and you got to talk to a professional. You can give therapy a try and check out BetterHelp. It's a convenient, flexible, easy way to get connected with a therapist. And if that therapist isn't a good match, no sweat. You can switch at any time for any reason.

for no additional charge. Let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash footballers today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash footballers. The Giants, Mike, they're evaluating things when deciding whether Daniel Jones will continue starting. Will they be using any film? Daniel Jones hopes not. The Giants,

The situation, if you're not up to speed, is Daniel Jones, his contract situation is should he get hurt right now and be unable to pass a physical, it's sometimes in the early offseason. I can't recall what the date is. But that triggers next year's money for Daniel Jones to be fully guaranteed. This is something we've seen a couple times. I think we saw it with Derek Carr.

Carr might have had that happen when he got benched. Russell Wilson had it happen. The team knows we're out. We're not winning. We're not going to the playoffs. We're not making any noise. Is Daniel Jones the future of this team? Who has the number one overall pick? Do you want to lock up or risk locking up a bunch of money to Daniel Jones? The

I think the appropriate thing for the team to do is you put Drew Locke in. Yeah, so they're going into a week 11 bye. Coming out of that, if you had to put a dollar bet, I think you're betting on Drew Locke right now. Yeah, so if you're in, Drew Locke is a guy who probably should be rostered already in Superflex because we've known about this stuff. But if you're in a Superflex right now, I would move Drew Locke up the list should you need a quarterback.

Jameis Winston is the team's QB1 heading into week 11. Joe Flacco going to remain the quarterback one until Steichen says otherwise. He will still get asked every week. The Jameis one is so weird to me. He started two games. He beat the Baltimore Ravens, and then he played terrible against the Chargers. Like, it's been two games. Why are we asking that? We're going to ask because it gives you really cool...

like media things to talk about. Weird. Cooper Rush is going to stick with, or the Cowboys are sticking with Cooper Rush. That one's a fair question, but they're going with Cooper Rush. How bad is Trey Lance? Oh, so bad. I mean, genuinely, like you traded a fourth round pick for him. He's a top three NFL draft pick who hasn't really got the opportunity to start. And you can't overcome Cooper Rush after not being able to throw for like 60 yards. Yeah.

What are they seeing in practice from Trey Lance where it's like, dude, we can't do that. We can't go to him. I don't know. It blows my mind. I don't know. Yeah, because you could make the argument that Trey Lance doesn't have to throw and he'd be better off than Cooper Rush. Yeah, that is the argument. Tee Higgins, day to day. Hey, that's better than week to week. I think it's year to year, man. Tee Higgins is...

Kevin O'Connell feels good about having Aaron Jones for the week 11 game against the Titans. That's good. He says he's sore, but he's good. It was a ribs injury. DK Metcalf expected to practice on Wednesday. Hopefully we see that and he'll be back. They had the buy. Sam Laporta, Dan Campbell's hopeful will play. We'll keep an eye on that. And then Keon Coleman's already out for week 11 against the Chiefs where the bills are.

Really? They are. Fantastic. That'll be a great, great game. I can't wait to see how the refs win it for the Chiefs. I can't wait to see what weird thing happens. And the Bengals also signed Gary Brightwell to the practice squad, which means that Leonard Fournette at 29 was not going to get onto the practice squad. I don't.

The guy couldn't get on the field for the bills last year. Yeah, it's over. It's over. Leonard Fournette had a pretty good career. For the last time, guys. I could see him getting a workout next year. We salute you. You get paid for the workout?

Maybe. That's a good question. I'll bet they pay your flights at least. They better. Put you up somewhere. That would be so NFL. If you can get here by tomorrow at 4 p.m., you can work out. I'll bet that's what it is, man. Okay. Here's a couple hotel recommendations. Look them up. That was today's News and Notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance.

Welcome to the waiver wire presented by NFL Sunday ticket on YouTube TV. Well, here we go. We got a playoff primer tomorrow. We're going to get you ready for the playoffs. Keep an eye on that trade deadline. And then remember this week, the Browns, Packers, Raiders, and Seahawks come on back from the bye and the Bucks, Giants, Cardinals, and Panthers head out.

for a much-needed rest. And then next week we've got five, no, six teams. Yeah, this is... On by week 12, by apocalypse. You may be looking at your team, looking at you like, oh, I'm all good for this week. You should be planning for week 12 when six teams are gone. Yeah. Just saying, like, don't look at your waiver wire and be like, oh, I don't have to do anything. No, you probably do have to do something. And those are not just...

Not just like bad teams. You've got a lot of fantasy assets on the Bills, Bengals, Falcons that you're going to be missing an incredible amount of normal starters. We'll start at the running back position for the waiver wire. And the name at the top of my list right now is Audrick Estimé. Yeah, there's two guys this week. And Estimé is the number one name for a couple of reasons. Number one, he's available in about 93% of leagues.

He had 14 carries last week in their near win over Kansas City. And more importantly, Javante Williams, one carry. So the team seems eager to make a transition away from Javante and simply needed to get Estimate to the point where they had some confidence. So Estimate, to me, looks like a potential starter sitting out on the waiver wire, which...

And it didn't take an injury ahead of him. That's so great. Like, you know, usually the running back waiver wire is, is it either stinks, there's

There's nobody to pick up because everyone was healthy, or it stinks because someone got hurt and now there's a big pickup. But Audrick Estimé should be the starter ahead of Javante going forward the rest of the season. This is a team playing for this season as well, but really, Peyton has come out and talked about it. This is a team that needs to get their young guys involved. They're a young team playing for the future. Estimé will be around, and Javante won't. So, yeah, get him work. The...

Javante still ran more routes than him. That's not like a... Just making sure you have all the information. This estimate is going to be

A grinder on the ground. I believe he has zero targets. Since the day they drafted him, every time that Peyton has been asked what they think of him, first and second down back. That's just how he refers to him. This is not a guy that's going to catch a lot of passes. So this isn't a great ceiling play, a dump all your fab. This is if you are desperate for someone that can be a starter this week,

Audrick Estime should be startable against Atlanta. They are two-and-a-half-point home favorites, so the predicted game script would be that Estime will get a bunch of touches. Gus and Jalen Warren are other names on our list. Warren has been hanging out here. It looked like Najee Harris went down injured last week, and I was thinking, oh, boy, like all of the kind of –

maybe ads of Jalen Warren are going to pay off here. But he did have 14 carries for 66 yards last week. And two catches for 29. I mean, he was a top 24 play. Is he the second name you were going to mention? Yes. Okay. Yeah, it's estimated in Jalen Warren. I've been kind of pushing Jalen Warren. He's not an insurance back. He's the flex back who has benefits. If Najee had gone down,

Last week, unfortunately, it would have been, holy crap, you need to go spend everything on Jalen Warren. We're not there yet, but he is a usable player who is...

working his way back into shape and the especially the last two weeks has looked much much better looked more like Jalen Warren yeah and I would personally put Gus Edwards in the same tier if you're looking for someone this week and both Jalen Warren and Gus Edwards were available I would rather play Gus Edwards just because of matchup Warren against Baltimore Gus Edwards gets Cincinnati at home really I'm I'd be way on the Warren side Gus looked so good

against a tough Tennessee run defense now that he's recovered from the injury. J.K. Dobbins looks like he's fading. He has not been very efficient. And this is a team that really wants to run the ball. If they have the opportunity to run the ball, they will. So touchdown opportunities for Gus Edwards I think will be there more than Jalen Warren. If

This is just a rest of season play. There's a lot of tough matchups coming up for the Chargers on the run deep, so I would go on the Warren side. Plus, I prefer pass catchers, but I have them in the same tier to me. It's Estimay first, and then pick your poison in Jalen Warren and Gus Edwards, but Gus Edwards is widely available. Warren is probably gone in your league. Warren and Edwards and Algier are all players that if you needed a spot start on a given week, you could get lucky. You could get the week you wanted. Eckler was in that category when Robinson was healthy.

Akers was near the top of the list. Now that I see that Aaron Jones is feeling a little better, he has a priority add for the Jones manager. He is the insurance back there. If you were still running with Ty, that's not the guy. Cam Akers is the number two back now.

Then you've got all the insurance backs like Braylon Allen, Blake Corum, Trey Benson. It's worth noting Trey Benson's name. They're going into the bye week. The last two weeks he's been really, really good, which is surprising from what we saw to start his career. But the Arizona Cardinals back up.

They're getting him more involved, and this team is running so well that should something happen to James Conner, Trey Benson will be the priority add of the week. And if you say, well, maybe nothing happens to James Conner the rest of the season. He's been a workhorse. This will be the first year of James Conner's career if he plays a full season. Right.

And if we keep saying it every week, hopefully he will. Hopefully he finally will. I hope he does. No, Benson has been on my roster as a Connor manager when I desperately need flex options. I've prioritized him clogging a spot because I just can't be caught with my pants down. No, no, no. Heading into the playoffs. Don't want that. You should have Benson. And I want to throw out the name Tajay Spears from the Tennessee Titans. It had...

It had been the Tony Pollard show. It had been awesome. He's this later round running back who's been an RB2 for your team.

But he's been dealing with this injury now for multiple weeks while Tajay Spears couldn't get back on the field. Spears got back on the field, and Tony's snaps dropped from the high 80s down to 54%, just nine carries for Tony Pollard, and Tajay Spears had seven. So this is – and three catches, only four yards. But he got three passes. So I think that Spears is in this weird nebulous range that you might want to stash him and see –

If that timeshare gets to be what they said it was going to be during the offseason, with all of the injuries, I think there's a chance that they're more of a 50-50. Yeah, and we've got a lot more names on the website as well and in the app. We've got our in-season app that's fully out there for iOS and Android now. All of the waiver wire pickups, deeper names.

Lots of names that you might forget, like Marshawn Lloyd, that's like, oh, hey, he's eligible to return this week. His practice window's been open. He's coming off by. I think there are a lot of names, and you can look at it for your league specifically because you might be listening and be like, oh, all these guys are talking about, they're taken. Well, you plug that in at jointhefoot.com, and you can just take a look at your leagues and who's available.

The number one drop candidate question, and it's important with all the names you brought up, Estimay, Warren, Edwards in particular, he received 5% of the snaps and one carry. His name is Jordan Mason. If you don't have Christian McCaffrey,

Are you more willing to drop him to pick up Estimé, Warner, Edwards? Yes. I mean, I was dead wrong that I thought this guy was going to get that carry. The reporter from San Francisco that thought it would be 55-40? Yeah, I told you, don't trust San Francisco beat reporters. Those guys, they're not good. Too trustworthy. Yeah, 5% of snaps, one carry for Jordan Mason. Did you say yes to that question? Yeah, for those three, I would. But, I mean, Jordan Mason's –

He's in line with like a Braylon Allen of if the starter misses time, then Jordan Mason would be, again, the priority pickup. And we already know he can succeed. Wide receiver. There are four names that are heavily rostered that are near the top of our list. Quentin Johnston, 59% rostered, scored again.

It was a tough matchup, but he got into the end zone. Juwan Jennings, we mentioned. If he's out there somehow, go and make sure. He'd be the priority of all of them. He would be for me, too. Ricky Pearsall, 4 for 73, 56% rostered. If Pearsall's out there, are you making him a high priority? Would you Pearsall or Quinton?

I would go Quinton over Pearsall. I've got Pearsall just a smidge behind Juwan Jennings. Juwan should be better. But there's a first-round rookie wide receiver who has looked good a couple weeks. His opportunities should only grow. So he's a must-add as well. But more than likely, all those guys are gone in your league. So give me some names that are in the lower roster percentage. And I want to tease Adonai Mitchell because Reggie Wayne, their wide receiver coach, came out and said –

That the snaps were going to come up a couple weeks ago. They hadn't. This past week, six targets, six catches, 71 yards. And you know Michael Pittman. Yeah. So is he of interest to you, Adonai Mitchell? I think so. The concern for me is – I mean, he's playing the Jets next week. It was the – 94% of snaps after 9%. Right. But was that a –

Was that what the coaches said, or was that simply Michael Pittman was out, and now all of a sudden Pittman practices and he's good to go? That's the hesitation there. Because if Pittman is out, then Adonai Mitchell, I think, he moves into a must-add. But right now he's just kind of a speculation. When he's been on the field this year, he's been targeted on 30% of his rounds. That's a great number.

Give me some other names that are in the sub-20% rostered category. Yeah, there's not a ton of guys that you're excited about, but I'll throw three names out there that they have pathways and teams to have a little bit of success. Mack Hollins with the injury to Keon Coleman. He's on the field. He gets some deep shots. John Meche for the Houston Texans has been a little bit more involved. Five for 74 and a touchdown this last week. And against Dallas this week,

This coming week is a pretty good matchup. And then MBS. I don't want to say it out loud. You have to talk about it. You got to say MBS because you do have Derek Carr who takes these deep shots from time to time. Has he? It's about the only good thing he's done all year. Yes. He even scored a not deep shot in this game, which was even more bewildering to arrive in New Orleans. That tells you exactly what we've been saying. They have no one.

They have no one at wide receiver. You have to mention MVS because they have no one. Mason Tipton is not a thing. Bud Means is on IR. The fact I had that sentence, that sentence matters. Tells you everything. Like, no Olave, no Shahid. MVS will not get less playing time after what he did. Shahid...

you know, was good for every couple of weeks, a bomb touchdown, you know, and that's the role that MBS is going to be in now. He just got it. So it's probably not going to happen. I mean, this isn't a player who hasn't been on the field. He has been on the field for, you know, 40% of snaps and we've seen a career of him having a big game and then disappearing for half a season. So, you know, this is like, if you're in a tough matchup, you have no one to play. You, you, you're, you're taking a prayer on a, on a bomb touchdown. Um,

Okay. Other names? Anybody else? I mean, it's been thin. Christian Watson. Okay. Christian Watson is a name that we should bring up because he's available in more than half of leagues.

Obviously, it's been a very disappointing season. He's dealt with an injury. He's dealt with injuries to Jordan Love. But when he came back, he was getting more and more work back from the injury. And now they'll be off their bye week. It's not a great matchup. But, I mean, you could do worse than Christian Watson. Do you see him differently than Dontavion Wicks? Because their snap count seems similar. Their performances seem similar. Neither of them have been. I think it's more of a just see if one of them actually takes the job.

Yeah, I mean, the last week it was pretty split between them. I see them very, very similar. Dontavian Wicks has a real catching the ball problem. Christian Watson, I would put him ahead of Dontavian Wicks, but basically it's like a 1A, 1B or 3A, 3B. Are you dropping DJ Moore at this point, or are you now renewed by the hope that the offense fixes it? I'd be renewed to trade him.

Yeah, you could always try to package. You would want to trade him or trade for him? Trade him away. He's a big name, so you put him in a package deal with another player, and it sounds better than it really is. And you have something that's happened for the Bears that could potentially move the market, make someone interested in him. I mean, D.J. Moore was my trade-away guy like a month ago. I mean, D.J. Moore is someone that if there was a Jawan Jennings out there, sure, I would drop him for that. I would rather have Jawan Jennings. I'm confident I could put him in my lineup.

DJ Moore, though, we're bringing up names like MVS. DJ Moore can get a bomb touchdown just like MVS can. Oh, yeah, I'd much rather play him than MVS. Yeah, and so he's not a must-drop. A package trade is good. A drop for someone that is important, great. Otherwise, you're probably just holding on. Over the last two weeks, Xavier Worthy has one catch for 11 yards over the last two weeks. Are you saying goodbye to Xavier Worthy? I'd say goodbye for Adonai. Yeah, I would say goodbye.

Jameson Williams. What's the story with Jameson Williams at this point in time? 3-4, 53 last week. No, I'm not dropping him. Deontay Johnson, Jordan Addison, fine saying goodbye to those guys. I would be. Deontay is droppable, yeah. Yeah, there's just no – the path from here to greatness or even goodness? It's a weird expression. Goodness, greatness. It's such a distance. Busted. And Bateman has been good.

So I just don't know how Deontay gets to the point where you'd start him in a game. I don't either. What do you do at tight end this week? Who are your spot pickups for the – you know, Dalton Kincaid just went out hurt. Laporta, we don't know for sure if he'll be back. You do get Tucker Kraft back from the bye. Is it a Gasicki, Johnnie Smith, Hunter Henry world? I guess people are going to be real gun shy for Mike Gasicki

But he did have nine targets. So it wasn't like a... Nine? Yeah. That's a good number. He only caught four for 30. So production wasn't there, but involvement was. And that's, of course, if Tee Higgins remains year to year like he has been

Yeah, his route participation snap counts were through the roof. It was in line with what we expected. Just didn't get the production. I mean, Taysom Hill, you know, we're talking about MVS. Taysom had a...

Something like an 80-yard touchdown that got mostly called back on, I think it was a holding call. It was a weak holding. Was it a reception? Yes. So it was a reception that he took 80 yards for a touchdown, and about halfway down the field there was a call on the offense for a holding there that brought it halfway back. So since all the injuries, he's playing –

about mid forties of the snaps for, for the saints. So he is,

You can break the glass for Taysom. And this is a week you've got injuries and you've got bye weeks where you're going to need to pick up some of these players or trade for a tight end. I'm going to throw Hunter Henry's name back out there. I know it was a very down week. He only had one reception for 14 yards. That stinks. It was Austin Hooper's week. It was Tanner Hudson's week. For Gacicki and Henry, it went the other direction. Exactly right. But Hunter Henry, I still think is –

I do the one or the two as far as target order in this offense. The matchup is good. Twenty seventh against tight ends coming up. So I think of most of the list, like if if we knew that T Higgins was out, I would still be rolling with sticky with sticky, sticky. And then, you know, Hunter Henry would probably be my next man up. Are you dropping Dalton Kincaid? Is that too emotional?

I don't think I would drop Dalton Kincaid. He's still serviceable in a good offense. It's tough, though, because you know you're not going to have him for two weeks. Because he's gone this week, I would imagine, and then by week. Yeah, so maybe just put him in kind of a bigger trade deal where maybe some other guys are getting moved around and stuff. Yeah, some people...

want a lot more than nothing out of their players though so yeah no that makes sense uh we'll take a break we gotta hide him pretty good hit the trade yeah no i don't want him out front

This episode is brought to you by Indeed. Every good athlete has something in common. They're always constantly looking for ways to improve. But it's not just athletes that should be doing this. It's always a good idea to try and do better. Like when it comes to hiring, I know how much of a struggle the hiring process can be for everyone. So make it better with Indeed. It's a hiring platform that receives millions of visitors a month.

and its matching engine helps you find candidates fast. You can even use Indeed to schedule, screen, message, and connect with candidates you like. I think the best part of Indeed, though, is the quality candidates it finds for you. According to a recent Indeed survey, 93% of employers agree that Indeed delivers the highest quality matches ever.

So join the more than three and a half million businesses worldwide that use Indeed to hire great talent fast. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash footballers. Just go to Indeed.com slash footballers right now to support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. That's Indeed.com slash footballers.

Footballers, terms and conditions apply. You need to hire. You need it indeed.

This episode is brought to you by Vitamin Water. So much of what the world is obsessed with starts out in New York City. It's a place full of style and character that has something for everyone. With a range of flavors to meet any kind of taste, it's no wonder Vitamin Water was born there. Colorful, flavorful, anything but boring, Vitamin Water injects a daily dose of vibrancy into a watered-down life. Grab a Vitamin Water today. Vitamin Water is a registered trademark of Glasso.

All right, let's get into the defensive options this week. There are actually quite a few. You've got Detroit against Jacksonville, but they're heavily rostered. You get Houston against Cooper Rush. You get the Green Bay Packers against Caleb Williams, the sack machine. You get Cleveland against New Orleans, which seems nice. You get Minnesota against Tennessee, which seems nice. You get Miami, who just had a big week.

Against Las Vegas at home, needing a win. And then New England the following week. Miami's a good pickup for a couple of weeks. Even the Saints at home against Jameis coming back to New Orleans. That'll be a fun one. All revenge game. Yeah, I mean, there are no shortage of good defenses this week. And I'll remind you if you happen to skip over the beginning, if you're looking for from now until the playoffs,

The next three weeks after they're back from bye, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an important pickup. All right, we will talk quarterbacks momentarily. That was today's Waver Wire brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. We're excited to announce that right now you can get NFL Sunday Ticket for the rest of the regular season for $209. Visit youtube.com slash fantasyfootballers to sign up today. Terms and embargoes apply. No cancellations. Full stream ahead.

I was, my wife was out of town, so I was watching the kids this week, and I was not down here on our 9TV setup, so I did the build your own multi-view for the first time at the house. Spectacular. Watched the entire Sunday. The afternoon was just three games. Yeah, the afternoon is so nice to do that. All right, streaming quarterback options.

Oh, I didn't know what your pick was. I wasn't looking at the doc, but I saw you reach over to hit a button and I was so afraid it was sitting in the car. Don't push it. It's Jared Goffel. He was bad last week. Five picks. He's at home. He's against Jacksonville. So check one, check two. Week winner. Who was? Jared Goff.

You're saying he won. I understand. Don't gloss over the ridiculousness that is a five interception win. They have a 30-point implied point total. Jacksonville's not only been the worst team against quarterbacks on the year, but they're the second worst in the last five weeks, so they're not really fixing it. This is just a matchup play. Get him at home, in the dome.

It should be easy sledding. You just have to get the touchdowns early because you know that they will be up and running the ball easily, successfully. Great news. They now play Jameer Gibbs on the second play. Shut up, Mike. I need Monty. I need Monty in there. No, I do think he's a good play. I'm going to say for my streaming candidate this week, and honestly, going forward, this is someone that should be rostered and should be in your weekly flex considerations.

is Bo Nix. Bo Nix. Bo Nix has been very good for fantasy. I'm having fun watching him play football. It's cool, man. He's averaging 29 rushing yards per game, which is a good baseline. In his last six starts, he's been a quarterback one in four of them. Now he plays Atlanta, their two-and-a-half point home favorites.

The Falcons are 25th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to the quarterback position, and he's throwing touchdowns. So it's not just, I mean, at the beginning of the year, the first month, he was really struggling. Couldn't throw the ball downfield, couldn't connect around the end zone. If you get rid of that last month, that's the last six games where he has been very good. He's been on pace for 25 touchdowns, which would be near the quarterback rookie record. 500 rushing yards.

3,700 passing yards and a good matchup. I think he's just someone you can play in the right matchups. I'm going with Mr. Unlimited, baby. I actually really, really like this pick. It's the time. Unlimited. It's Russell Wilson. He is taking on the Baltimore Ravens. He's been a top 10 quarterback in two of three starts. He's averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. This is... I mean, this is...

Old school Russ is what we're getting, is an efficient quarterback who's giving us deep shots. The connection with George Pickens seems like it's already there. And Baltimore is the pass funnel. They're 31st in schedule adjusted points to the quarterback. You love it. They're going to score on Pittsburgh. It's going to be a fun game. I think they will. If you have Kyla Murray going on the bye, target yourself some Russell Wilson this week. It's a good pickup. I love it. Are you –

saying goodbye to these two drop candidates, Tua and CJ Stroud? Stroud? No. Because I'm assuming, which you know what that means, I'm assuming that Nico is back.

next week, which that's a huge upgrade for Stroud. Tua is like, I don't know what in the world is going on. They're not throwing the ball down the field. They're just not. Yeah, I think both of these players are streaming options. Stroud has a pretty good matchup in Dallas. Good weather-controlled environment other than the sun. And so...

Where's the sun? Where's the moon? Mike, did you see the press conference yesterday in Dallas? Oh, yeah. Unbelievable. Did you already sound like Mike McCarthy? Yes. Unbelievable. They have a beautiful room for their press conferences. These big glass windows at the building. But the sun was coming in directly. Just like a laser. So they set up a shade to...

give the podium the ability to see. It was like, are you kidding me right now? He's 82. He's confused.

He's a confused 82-year-old man. He refuses to admit he's wrong here when he doesn't know up from down the moon from the sun. He has no idea he's being mocked. And so I'm happy for him. He doesn't know that he's the butt of the jokes right now. Oh, gosh. That's a Monday night football game. We get Dallas on Monday night. We get camera throws to the box with Jerry Jones in them.

So Monday night, the sun will not be a problem. Jerry Jones will celebrate and say, I told you so. He'll put up shades for the moon, okay? He'll put up moon shades. I guess Houston playing on Monday, hopefully you get the Nico news sooner than later. The Nico news is terrifying. Yeah, I do think that they were exercising extreme caution from my boots on the ground there. You got boots on the ground in Houston?

A little bit of boots on the ground. He does. He told me about it earlier. He can't reveal his sources. Well, yeah, it's boots on the ground. It's a pair of boots. It is also like...

But regardless, extreme caution, the fact that that's necessary, this many weeks removed from an injury you thought was week to week, that became IR, that became we activate you, that became we're not playing you. It is still a pattern of concern to me. And it's not like they didn't need to win the game against Detroit. You would think they'd want all hands on deck against Detroit, and they still...

Sat him down. He only had the one day of limited practice. Yeah, but he could have had more if he had been healthier. Sure. That's all I'm saying. Hungry for more on tomorrow's episode, the TNF preview, the playoff primer. You don't want to miss tomorrow's episode. Very, very important for getting your team ready for the playoff run. We're in a couple of leagues where it kind of seems like the playoffs are getting figured out earlier than normal.

And at this point, it's all preparation for the big weeks, which we cover on tomorrow's episode of the show. Jason mentioned it earlier. Go pick up the brand new in-season app. Search the fantasy footballers on iOS or the Google Play Store. Pick it up.

The Foot Clan tools are inside there, a custom waiver wire for every league, a lineup optimizer, and a bunch of premium tools now available on the app for the very first time. So you can check those out. Or you can go to jointhefoot.com if you want to sign up that way and see all of what we have to offer. All right, that is it for today's show. I was told Al Borland would walk out if a trade happened mid-show. It did not happen. I'm still here. We'll wait for tomorrow. Goodbye.

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.