Frankly Fantasy Football
The Fantasy Football Podcast. Frankie & Johnny bring you the info you need to win your fantasy football leagues with their in-depth news and hard hitting player analysis. The guys hope to put a smile on your face as well.
Frankly Fantasy Football
Week 9 Fantasy Football Talk - Injury News - Headlines from Week 8 - Starts/Sits - Trade Rumors
Chaos made last week painful, but it also revealed exactly where smart managers can win. We break down the clearest Week Nine edges: high-total matchups to attack, target-heavy receivers to trade for, and running backs whose roles are quietly spiking. From J'Marr Chase’s absurd volume to Jonathan Taylor’s touchdown rampage and James Cook’s historic burst, we highlight the profiles that travel in any game script—and how to buy them without overpaying.
We also get honest about the Bears and what inconsistent quarterback play means for your lineups. You’ll hear how to handle red zone regression, when to stay in the flames for one more matchup, and when to pivot to safer volume. Pittsburgh’s defense is a funnel for fantasy points, so we’re elevating Indianapolis pass catchers and stacking them with Taylor. We call our shots on the Ravens-Dolphins fireworks, Chargers dominance spots, and why you should start preparing for the bye-week crunch by stashing contingency backs on great lines.
Trade season is heating up. We map the best landing spots for Chris Olave, Rasheed Shaheed, David Njoku, and Jacobi Meyers—and how each move could change your roster calculus overnight. Think deep speed paired with a big-armed quarterback, or an athletic tight end unleashed in 12 personnel. Plus, we spotlight Kayshon Boutte’s rise and the Patriots’ backfield shift toward TreVeyon Henderson’s explosiveness, including how to play the snap-share lag while keeping your ceiling intact.
Set smarter lineups, trade for volume, and leverage the schedule. If you enjoy the show, tap follow, share it with a league mate, and drop a quick review. Your next playoff push starts here—what bold move are you making this week?
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All right, guys, I hope you survived the week eight bipocalypse. Hope you got through the Bimagedon here, guys. But it's week nine now, and we've got your back. We're going to get into the news and notes, talk about these injuries, and we're going to talk about some start sits and maybe a few trade rumors going on in the NFL. Let's get you ready for week nine. Let's go. Alright, alright, alright. Welcome to the show. This is the Frankly Fantasy Football Podcast. We are your hosts, Frankie and Johnny. Woo! Bipocalypse, by Mageddon. We had it. It's over. It hurt. How'd you do?
SPEAKER_01:Did you make it through? Oh man, the Bi-Mageddon had me going bipolar, John. Let me tell you. I ended up, listen, I had two really good, two really good uh uh teams, and then you know, you lose to an 0 and 7 team. Shout out Matt McGlone and go fuck yourself. So there you go. You know, hey, it is what it is. How about you?
SPEAKER_00:How did you how'd you end up this week? It's strikes and gutters, man. You win some, you lose some. I tell you what, though, there you want to talk about two active motherfuckers in our fantasy leagues? It's these guys right here, guys. Woo! We put together what six trades between the two of us?
SPEAKER_01:Six trades in one week.
SPEAKER_00:Listen, man, you have to do it. I I had two teams that were two win teams going into last week. And, you know, basically, and you gotta trade your way out of this shit, guys. You can't just sit on your team and go, all right, are they gonna do it this week? This is the week for them to No, you've got to be active. You've got to make changes, you gotta take some chances, take some swings, guys. That's how you win. Have to. I was able to pull, you know, pull together some good teams here, man, and uh be the high point scorer for the week in two leagues that I needed some help. Yeah, I needed some help, man. But that's what you gotta do. A little help from my friends, man. Yeah. Uh all right. This week, guys, we're gonna get into we'll talk a little bit about last week here, uh, but we're gonna get into news and notes. We're gonna get into week nine. We've got some serious games coming up here in week nine. A few more buys to deal with here, guys, and some injuries to talk about as well. But Frankie, let's look at last week. A little bit from last week here. Uh, week eight, a little bit of recap here, Miami versus Atlanta. All I have on this game, Frankie, is nothing means anything anymore. You know, it's like that meme where it's just like buy your pumpkin spice latte, put your fucking Christmas tree up in November, nothing matters any longer. He doesn't. I mean, this is one of those games. I mean, tell me, you analyze, I would consider you a fantasy football analyst. We do a podcast, we talk about this every week. How? How? You see the the pieces lined up on the board, you see, oh well, this move's obviously gonna go here, and this move's gonna go. Nothing went as a way it was supposed to go. What the fuck happened in this game, dude?
SPEAKER_01:A broken clock is right twice a day. That's that's the only way to describe this. I mean, how does Bajan four points?
SPEAKER_00:Four points. Four points. Smash of the smashiest plays of the week. I mean, for sure.
SPEAKER_01:It was crazy. I mean, that was as good of a matchup as you could ask for. And then Tyler Algier gets a touchdown. He Tyler Algier had four rushing yards and gets a touchdown and had more points than Bajon Robinson did. I know, I know, I know. I mean, just okay.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, and then Drake London's first game of the year in our family league because of Bajon Robinson, yes.
SPEAKER_01:But then even more so, you're like, oh, Drake London's out. Okay, sorry for those that have Drake London like myself. That should even more so make Bajan amazing. And it and then all of a sudden, Tua apparently goes from, you know, like borderline autistic at this point in time because he's been hitting the head so many times, to now becoming fucking Rain Man with it in that sense. And like it's just dude, it is it is truly the beautiful thing about the NFL. It is any given Sunday. And as soon as you're taking somebody lightly, you have that other team come out and absolutely just put it to them. I mean, you can look at it in two ways, man. It can be beautiful and awful, and it can also be absolutely painful.
SPEAKER_00:Uh it's more painful, it's way more beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. Yes. Yeah, much like my dating life when I understand. There you go. Uh, still can't figure out the fucking Bears, man. I still can't. Every week, I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna figure this team out. I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna give people some great advice in fantasy football. I still can't figure it out, Frankie. Bears versus the Ravens. The Bears scored touchdowns on six of their first seven red zone possessions in their first three games this season. We're like, oh shit, okay, here we go. This team's going. In their past four games, the Bears have all they're only five for 16 in the red zone, man. What's happening? What do we do with the Bears moving forward? I can't figure it out.
SPEAKER_01:It's the play by Caleb Williams right now. It is the problem because DeAndre Swift's looking great. It ain't DeAndre Swift. It isn't even the rookie that's backing up DeAndre Swift, being that one-two punch in a Manonga. El Manangai. You know, like it isn't that. And man, I'm just pulling this up because this is what's fascinating. Let's just go back to the last two weeks alone after those four weeks. They had a bye week, then he had a decent team, a decent game against Washington. Ish. He got saved in kind of, you know, whatever by a rushing touchdown. But in week seven against New Orleans, which should have been another smash play. Smash. Caleb Williams, 4.68 fantasy points. What does that mean? He threw the ball 26 times, completed 15 passes for 172 yards and an interception. And it's like, okay, it's okay. He's gonna bounce back. It's totally good against Baltimore. No. QB 20, 38 attempts, 25 completions, 285 yards, no touchdowns, one pick. And yeah, he had 24 rushing yards. Man, I'm telling you right now, this is a Caleb Williams problem. And I don't know what the hell to do about it. It's painful, it makes it miserable. And especially if you have Caleb Williams, can you tell I have him? It's miserable. So yeah, man, I don't know what to do other than we gotta wait and see how this unfolds. You probably gotta look elsewhere from the quarterback position at this point in time. After this week, I think you have to stay in the flames with Caleb Williams. This is just too good of a matchup. Primetime game. Lamar's coming back potentially. And it's like, okay, you got Caleb Williams versus Lamar. There's there's headlines everywhere. It's all about Caleb Williams and his play. He's got to step up.
SPEAKER_00:All right. I let's look at James Cook here, man. I mean, we want to talk about fantasy. We got to celebrate some of these amazing running backs, man. James Cook went apeshit again. I mean, just a huge, what do you have? A 65-yard uh rushing touchdown, just incredible. Smoked everybody. James Cook became just the fourth player in NFL history with 215 plus rushing yards and two plus rushing touchdowns in a game on fewer than 20 carries. The only other three players to do this are Pro Football Hall of Famer, Bobby Mitchell, in case you didn't know that name, 1950 fucking nine.
SPEAKER_02:Love that.
SPEAKER_00:Bo Jackson, 1987, and Derek Henry in 2018. Pretty good company there, I would say.
SPEAKER_01:Insane. Insane. I mean, James Cook is, you know what? We talked about it the other week. We take our lumps when we take them. And I will hand, I will absolutely take that. He's everything that I thought he couldn't be this year again. And he's doing it again.
SPEAKER_00:I didn't think it was sustainable, Frank. I didn't draft him for that purpose. Well, guess what? Johnny traded for his ass last week and picked him up for last week.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, you did. I did.
SPEAKER_00:It was a great trade.
SPEAKER_01:Actually, talk about that trade. Yeah, talk about that for a second.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I wanted to upgrade my receiver position. I needed a better receiver, and I was eyeing DK Metcalf. And I think what I traded was Michael Pittman Jr. for DK Metcalf, Josh Jacobs for uh James Cook. Didn't love giving up Josh Jacobs, but I'm heavy in Josh Jacobs. I've got him in two or three leagues. Wanted to diversify a little bit, and he's banged up going into every single week. I wanted to pick up James Cook, looking at his schedule moving forward and the fact that he is sustaining scoring touchdowns every goddamn week. I had to do it. And you know what? It paid off for me this week. Good trade. Big time. Yeah. Yeah, really worked out. All right, again, Jamar Chase. Welcome back to the top, my friend. There he is at the top of the board. Wide receiver one, Jamar Chase. Frankie, you got to pull up Jamar Chase's stats here, man, because I I had to do a double take when I was looking at it. I thought it was a glitch in the in the sleeper platform, Frank. Um we're looking at uh 54 targets for Jamar Chase in the past three games. 54 targets in three games.
SPEAKER_01:That's not that's not a that's what people get in a sea in a season. He's on pace for like 300 targets this year, which that's that actually like I want to check this out, John, while we're talking, because in the last I mean, it's just insanity. Even looking at last year and what he did. I mean, John, like we're talking it really after the bye week last year, week 12. He had 9, 18, 11, 8, 15, 14 with Joe Flacco at the helm right now, man. In just the last few weeks, he has 12, 23, and 19. The last two weeks are more targets than what he had with Burrow at the best point. Like, that's crazy.
SPEAKER_00:That's crazy. 23 targets in a game. 23 targets in one game. That's crazy. It's more rushing attempts. Like it's more than that's a heavy load of rushing attempts, too. Yeah, yeah. It's absolutely nuts. Welcome back, Jamar Chase. Great to see you, bud. Welcome back, Saquon Barkley. Give Saquon some love here, Frank. Let's hear it. Let's go. No more wiping. We're not wiping right now. Nobody's wiping. You know? We just talked about last week. Is Saquon a trade target? Because he only had one touchdown going into this week. Well, if you did end up trading and getting him, congratulations. Unbelievable performance. Like 175 yards on the ground. Just crazy. All right, JT, let's talk about the real running back hero this year so far, Jonathan Taylor. I mean, dare I say, is he hands down the VP contender right now? MVP really? Or MVP? Is there anybody really in contention with him?
SPEAKER_01:Seriously. Not after week eight. I mean, we thought it was gonna be Baker. We thought it could be Dak. I mean, people were throwing out Drake May, even, you know, but John How do you ignore this?
SPEAKER_00:You can't. You can't. It's crazy. Yeah. Uh fun stat here with three plus touchdowns in four of his eight games this season. Let me just let's pause and absorb that for a second. Yes. Three plus touchdowns in a game in four of the eight games this year. Half of his games are with three fucking touchdowns or more. It's crazy. What? That's insane. So when has this happened before, Frankie? Surely somebody's done this before. Yeah, there have been a couple of people. Gene Roberts, everybody knows Gene Roberts from the 1949 Giants.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, Gene? Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, he tied him, and he's within two games of tying Ladane and Tomlinson in tw uh 2006 with the Chargers for performances of three touchdowns or more in a game. I mean, just bananas, man. I mean, you were talking about Saquon's last year. Dude. Compare that to what JT's put together this year. Because last year that Saquon did was unbelievable. Unbelievable.
SPEAKER_01:It was insane. It was it was a Saquon year for the make. I mean, we're remember the backwards hurdle over a fucking defender. We'd never seen anything like that. What he did for the Eagles team. We've not seen that in years. And what he did, I believe it was 15 total touchdowns. Okay, for Saquon for the year. You look at what uh uh James Cook did. James Cook, 18 total touchdowns for the year. Incredible year, right? Led the NFL. We were like, this is uh mind-blowing. This isn't possible to continue to do this next year. Jonathan Taylor through eight games is 14 touchdowns. 14 touchdowns and eight guys, there's seven playable weeks left in the regular season. Okay, like that, like seven playable weeks. Like this is crazy sauce. What we're seeing.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, the sky's he's gonna have 20 plus touchdowns this year, I think. I mean, that would be that would be absurd. If he's healthy, how does he not have over 20 touchdowns? He's got 14.
SPEAKER_01:I dude, it's like what he is do. I think I saw something he's on pace for all like almost 2300 yards. I mean, in a regular season, like you guys, we're not including playoffs here. We're saying like during 18 weeks. Like, this is I mean, dude, I don't know. I know we were hyping up Bake because I truly believe through that first six games, Baker was absolutely the MVP leader. I mean, he was. And then Dak, right? We mentioned it. John, it's really hard to ignore what JT is doing, and then to see his like what he's doing for that offense. It's opening up Danny Dimes, and it's be it's it's truly amazing. I don't know how you don't have him listed as the front runner for MVP at this point.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I really don't. I agree with you as well, man. Uh, last note from this past week Packers are looking great. Uh Jordan Love, Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson back on the field. Guys, we said last week, you got to get this guy on your roster. You got to get him on your team. Moving forward, I think you can start this guy. Until Jaden Reed comes back, I think he's a guy that you have to plug in, especially in really good matchups here. But we'll talk about that as well. Righty, let's get to the news, baby.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely boss.
SPEAKER_00:News and notes. All right, bring out the bell. This one, it almost feels disrespectful to bring out the bell for the man. You know, this broke my heart. Cam Scattaboo, the fucking joggernaut bitch. Yeah, man. One of the most gruesome injuries that I mean, it reminded me of the Nick Chubb knee injury.
SPEAKER_01:It did. It did.
SPEAKER_00:Of of how just gruesome it was, man. I mean, this was that. Yeah, and I'm watching the game and I was trying to like figure out why was everybody freaking out? I thought I saw his knee pop forward. I was like, oh, that is bad. And then I happened to look at his knee or his foot a minute later. I went, oh, his foot is sideways like this, completely just, oh, God, it was so disgusting. Cam Scattaboo, I love you, brother. You're amazing. You did great for us all this year. You just brought fun and energy and just, you know, just that that grit back into football that we need, you know. Fun, yeah, exactly. So looking forward to seeing him next year, but he's done. He's gone for the season, guys. Uh, Tyrone Tracy, what kind of importance are you putting on getting Tyrone Tracy onto your roster and in your starting lineup?
SPEAKER_01:You're making it important. I wouldn't say I'm gonna go absolutely crazy because I mean, guys, Cam Scattaboo was a much better overall back than what Tyrone Tracy was. And with and with that of um Jackson Dart at the helm being a rookie, we gotta wait and see. But it's definitely somebody you want to try to go after to the level of what you're gonna need to go after him with. I don't know how much I'm spending on him, uh, but man, it's just yeah, just sucks. But yeah, try to pick up Tyrone Tracy.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it does. Terry McLaurin uh came back, played well, looked great. It's good to see TMC back on the field. Yeah, real good. And he is so needed on that team. Left the game again with a quad. Doesn't seem to be very serious. You're gonna have to watch practice. Again, we record this on Tuesdays, so we're a little behind on the news here later in the week. Uh, but watch TMC this week. Quinshawn Judkins, sprained shoulder. He's on a buy this week. You're gonna have to monitor when he gets back here, but I I don't see a shoulder keeping Quinshawn out too long here. Uh Kyle Shanahan came out. Too early to say that Brock Purdy plays. I mean, this has just been a nightmare. It's been a nightmare. If you own the receivers and you own Brock Purdy, I mean, this this the past four or five weeks has just been crazy. Terrible. Gonna have to watch again, guys. We're not gonna know here probably till later in the week. Saints making QB change to Tyler Shug. Cool. Sweet. Cool. Yeah, all right. They're probably gonna trade both receivers here before the week's over as well. So there you go. Saquon left the game, did not return with a groin. He's on a buy as well. Uh, one note I have in here, Frank, is Tank Bigsby needs to be owned. Yeah. Big time. He's the backup to uh Saquon. He got in there, he looked pretty good, actually. And running behind this Easter back. He's a good back, and running behind this Eagles offensive line, I could get three, four yards for sure. I mean, I would bet on that. I'll die.
unknown:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:I'll do a little over-under on that.
SPEAKER_00:I'll be like Cam Scattaboo. Let's go, bitch. Come on. Yeah, I would be like Cam Scattaboo. I'd have my fucking leg twisted in half and broken. That's exactly what would happen. All right, where am I? Lost my place. Here we go. Carson Wentz, bring out the bell. Not a big bell because I don't think anybody's really relying that much on Carson Wentz. Uh Carson Wentz is done for the season with a shoulder injury. Uh a little bit, last bit of news here. We've got the uh unimportant signing of the week with MVS Marquez Valdez Scantling. Signing with the Steelers. Oh, what's that? Is that your MVS impression? This is. Just yeah. What am I doing here, Josh? Hey, Marquez, get out there and go to Pittsburgh, run some fucking cardio, buddy.
SPEAKER_01:That's exactly it.
SPEAKER_00:I'm running cardio. All right. Ready? Next play. MVS. I want you to run 50 yards down the field. Take the safety award. We're definitely not throwing it to you. Got it, Aaron. Thank you. I'll do that. Okay. All right, some players to watch here, guys. This is a long list, but you know who they are. You're looking at your fantasy teams, and there's a big queue next to these guys. They're questionable. Uh, you're gonna have to watch throughout the week with some of these guys. Not a lot of news here coming on Tuesday morning, but uh Puka Nakua, the good news is, is going to practice. Looks like he is going to play, so you should get Puka Nakua back on your team. That's great news. Brock Bauer should play this week as well. Watch those practice reports with him. Uh Isaiah Pacheco. Isaiah Pacheco, running back for the uh Kansas City Chiefs, week to week with an MCL sprain. Now, when you hear week to week, to me, that means you're definitely missing this week and maybe next week. We'll see how it goes. Uh so Frankie, what are we looking at with um Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith in that backfield? Great matchup this week with Buffalo. Big overunder, big. There's going to be some value with these guys. What are you doing with them?
SPEAKER_01:Guys, what's crazy is I would have never thought that I would be choosing actually Kareem Hunt over Brashard Smith. But what we saw when Pacheco got hurt, I mean, Kareem Hunt looked great. He looked fabulous on Monday night against the Washington Commanders. So for me, guys, I think both are options, both are totally playable, assuming Pacheco's out. I might lean Hunt a little bit more because I think he's going to do a little bit more of the groundwork and we'll obviously get some work in the passing game. But both are quality options if Pacheco are out.
SPEAKER_00:Pick up Brashard Smith. We talked about this last week. Uh, hopefully you got ahead of it, guys, but pick him up. This could be somebody who could help you down the stretch or in your playoff uh uh hunt here. All right, Lamar Jackson, the drama continues here. Participated in the walkthrough on Monday, is expected to play on Thursday night as of right now. He practiced on Tuesday. That's great news. They messed with us a little bit last week, I know, but it's looking pretty positive for Lamar Jackson this week. So that's great news. All right, guys, I've got a list of guys here. You're just gonna have to watch. No status, gonna have to see what's gonna happen here. So watch towards the end of the week and also go to Instagram or TikTok. You'll be able to see Frankly Fantasy Football Fridays with Frankie. Frankie's gonna give you updates on who's in, who's out, any last-minute changes you might have to make to your team before the weekend. Let's go down the list here. Jaden Daniels, hamstring. Kyler Murray, foot. He plays on Monday night, guys. So you're gonna have to make plans for that if you don't see him practicing. JJ McCarthy, ankle. Michael Penix Jr., knee, Bryce Young, ankle. Basically every quarterback in the NFL. Literally. Yeah. Nico Collins, concussion. He should get out of the protocol this week, but pay attention. Drake London, last minute out on Sunday with a hip injury. Gonna have to monitor that as well. Brian Thomas Jr. with a shoulder, Calvin Ridley with a hamstring, Jacoby Myers with a knee. Hopefully to get back this week for the Raiders. Ricky Pearsall trying to get back on that practice field. So you're gonna have to watch 49ers practice for Brock Purdy and for Ricky Pearsall here. All right, guys, football season. It's in full swing, baby. Here we go. Underdog is the best place to get in on all the action. Playing underdog, it's so easy, guys. Frankie and I do it every single week. It's so much fun. Just pick whether your favorite players are gonna go higher or lower on all kinds of stats like rushing yards, receptions, touchdowns, all kinds of stuff. Frankie, do we have any special pick'ems for this week for our listeners?
SPEAKER_01:You got it, Johnny. This week on underdog, I'll tell you what, we're looking at two different players. We're number one is gonna be JT at that of Pittsburgh. We're taking higher than 0.5 total touchdowns for JT. Seems pretty sweet. We're gonna pair that then with Trevor Lawrence, the Jacksonville Jaguars at that of Las Vegas Raiders. Trevor Lawrence is gonna have higher than that of 229 and a half passing yards.
SPEAKER_00:I love it, man. Let's go, baby. Download the app today and sign up with promo code Frankly to score$100 in bonus funds or bonus entries when you play your first$5. That's promo code Frankly. Underdog. Make picks, win money. Must be 18 plus. 19 plus in Alabama, Nebraska, 19 plus in Colorado for some games, 21 plus in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Virginia. And present in a state where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms applied. See assets.underdogfantasy.com slash web slash play and get terms underscore DFS underscore.html for details. Offer not valid in Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Concerned with your play, call 1-800-GAML or visit www.ncpgambling.org. In New York, call the 24-7 Hope Line at 1877-8 Hope NY or text Hope NY to 467-369. All right, Frankie, let's look at week nine. Let's look at the week ahead here, man. Get into the bread and butter of what's going on this week. All right, this week on buys, we've got the Browns, the Jets, the Eagles, and the Bucks all taking a rest this week. Frankie, some really interesting games here this week, man. I want to talk about a few and just hear your thoughts on some of these. A couple of big over-unders this week, man. And a couple of huge spreads.
SPEAKER_02:Huge spreads, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I haven't seen spreads like this in quite a while, man. Let's Thursday game, first of all. This was a game typically you'd look to avoid. You've got two really bad defenses, it seems. Baltimore Ravens at the Miami Dolphins. Vegas thinks there's going to be some fireworks here, Frankie. I don't know how short the fuse is on these fireworks, but 50 and a half overunder in this game. The Ravens favored by seven and a half. Where's the fantasy coming from in this game, man? There's obviously going to be points scored.
SPEAKER_01:Totally. Guys, listen, it's absolutely going to be from the Ravens' perspective. If Lamar's back in, I expect a big game from Lamar. I expect a big comeback game from Lamar. And then on top of that, man, uh it's Derrick Henry's show. And we just said this about Bajan Robinson and how, right, he got outscored by Tyler Algier because of Tyler Algier's touchdown. Had that not happened, it would be zero points and four points. Okay. But this is the king. This is Derrick Henry. Okay. And so for me, man, they're going down to Miami. It's beautiful weather. I just foresee the King Henry show with Lamar Jackson. Now, the other thing to keep in mind from the Dolphins standpoint, I mean, it's looking pretty so if Tua can replicate what he did, man. Devon A Chan is a smash start. And then so is Jalen Waddell. As crazy as that sounds, both of those guys are smash starts.
SPEAKER_00:That's it for the Miami Dolphins. That's it, right? Yeah, I mean, that's what you're looking at. That should be where most of the points accumulate as well. So yeah, I love that, man. All right, let's take a look at uh a couple of other games here. Another one with a big spread here, 50 and a half points. Indianapolis at Pittsburgh. Should be a good fantasy game, right? A lot of fantasy options there, man. I mean, I I see JT absolutely repeating and scoring again like he does. Uh, what else in this game? I mean, I'm really opening up to I I've been starting a lot in my leagues, Alec Pierce. The guy's yes, the guy's good for a 50-yard bomb. Yes. Once a game, it seems, man. I think he's a he's a boom bus guy, but he to me, he's one of the safer boom bus guys that you can have on your squad.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. John, I'll throw in another one there. How about the number six receiver on the year?
SPEAKER_00:Number six receiver on the year?
SPEAKER_01:Michael Pittman Jr. Guys, he is right now in full PPR number six receiver on the year. Guys, what we've seen from the Pittsburgh Steelers is that their secondary is struggling right now. That it's just the reality. They're there. I mean, you look at what the Packers did, you look at what some of these other teams have been able to do against that defense, they're getting cooked. I mean, look at what Flacco did. Flacco cooked them. You know what I'm saying? So it doesn't have to be even a dominant type of uh quarterback at the helm. I mean, you put Danny dimes with that of Jonathan Taylor, who's totally gonna open this up. Man, I completely agree. I love the call out of Alec Pierce. In my opinion, I think he is truly, and I know I'm gonna get some shit for this, but I think he's superseding that or supplanting that of Josh Downs as receiver, too. I just like Alex Pierce. Daniel Jones is throwing it up and giving him opportunities, and it's working. And then you have Michael Pittman Jr. coming over the top. That's just looking insanely good. So, and then don't forget the rookie tight end who's been an absolute sensation with that of Warren. So for me, man, I'm firing up when we talk about fantasy implications. This is the game I actually have circled. I'm super excited to see this for the Colts. I'm super excited to see this for J Jalen Warren to continue to do what he's been doing. Yeah, and to see how is Aaron Rodgers going to distribute the ball. We've seen him certainly get DK Metcalf involved, but we saw Roman Wilson last week. Welcome back, man. We saw a couple weeks before that Darnell uh Washington, big 6'7, 300 pound, scoring a touchdown, Friar Mewtwo two touchdowns, Johnu Smith scoring here and there. Who is going to be that second guy behind DK Metcalf? And that's what I'm excited to see from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
SPEAKER_00:Maybe it's going to be MVS. Hey. Could be. Let's go. Uh, Pittsburgh Steelers 32nd, dead last in passing defense, by the way. Yep. Start your Indiana Jones, my friends. Yes, sir. Oh, yeah. All right, uh, the Chargers, man. This is a big one. Nine and a half favored the Chargers over the Tennessee Titans. Start your Chargers, guys. Start your Chargers. Gotta love that. All right, Frankie, here's another one. Very similar to the Baltimore Miami situation. You've got the Chicago Bears at the Cincinnati Bengals. Bears favored by two and a half, 52.5 point overunder. We were just talking about it. What are we doing with the Bears, man? This is against a bottom three defense with a 52 and a half point over-under. Where are all the points going to come from?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, you look at what Justin Fields, who was benched, what he was able to do against this defense. This defense is terrible. Like it is very, very, very bad. So for me, man, you're firing up everybody. Everybody on really both sides of the ball. Meaning like Cincinnati and for the Bears. I mean, Roma Dunze, DJ Moore should be getting more involved now. I mean, DeAndre Swift's a smash start. We talked about that in the beginning. He should be a smash start. And then certainly, man, Menungai, I mean, he looks good. And so if you're in a deep league and you have maybe Quinshawn Judkins or you have Rashad White or you have Brees Hall, and they're on a bye, he might be an okay play. This throw a dart, see what happens. You know what I mean? So for me, that's really cool. But certainly on the flip side, man, I mean, Jamar and T. Higgins, I mean, shit. They look good. And so here's an interesting one, John, and I actually want your opinion on this. What about Samanjay P. Ryan? This is a guy in a deep league who looked really solid last week, and he actually supplemented a lot of what Chase Brown did. Is this somebody that's even viable in in 14, 16 team leagues?
SPEAKER_00:He might only be viable when they're scoring 38 points. Sure. Sure, fair. You know, I mean, possibly. Uh I think it's a guy you should own, certainly. Um, but yeah, I I don't know. I mean, I just don't stick with the big three. Yeah, stick with the big three, and and even that, Chase Brown still makes me nervous. You know, I mean, it's only when they're scoring points and they're up in games like they were last week that Chase Brown's gonna get a ton of play. You know, and in a really competitive game, I'm I'm just not sure. This week might be okay. I think you can play him. We're not talking about, you know, the defense, you know, being lights out or anything, so he should be okay. But long term, I don't know. I don't think so. I think it's a guy he's he's basically a handcuff at this point in my mind. Uh DeAndre Swift, though, is one of my starts of the week. There's no question about that. At Cincinnati, he's had double digit points in every single week, except for week one, where he had nine and a half. So, I mean, the guy's actually been very solid. Uh, not a guy I'm typically all over either. All right, this could be the aspect. Of the week, Frankie. According to Vegas, it should be. It should be. We've got the New Orleans Saints going into the LA Rams. 14 points is what the Rams are feeling. Have you ever seen a 14 point over-under? Never. And we're Browns fans. Yeah. Okay. We're Browns fans. Correct. All right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You're starting your Rams, guys. This should be beautiful and enjoy it. Absolutely, man. All right, Frankie, let's look at a couple. We've got some trade watches here going. A lot of rumors going around. We're, you know, the trade deadline, I think, is next week, I believe, is the trade deadline. Yep. Um, so when we're looking at some of these guys that are rumored, it looks like the New Orleans Saints could do a fire sale here. They could move some guys, specifically Chris, uh Chris Olave and Rasheed Shahid. Yeah. What are you thinking with these two guys? What are some good landing spots? What are you hearing? And and what are your thoughts on should we be picking these guys up in case they do get traded to a good situation?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, great question. Guys, there's really for me, there's three, and then an honorable mention team that I could totally see that these players going to. The first three, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and the Patriots. Guys, the reason being is because Pittsburgh desperately is seeking a receiver too. Desperately. Maybe Roman Wilson comes around. I don't know. I don't really see it. I think he would be a great three. Calvin Austin has been banged up. Again, he's more of like your Brandon Cook's super light, just you know, get burner down the field. So for me, man, the Pittsburgh Steelers desperately need a true receiver too. Buffalo, on the other hand, is actually looking for a great complement to their now receiver one, which is Khalil Shakur. And I think uh Chris Olave would be a perfect piece for that. For or or even more so, actually, I think Rasheed Shaheed, because of his deep threat capability, because you have kind of that short medium route with Shakur already buttoned up and Kincaid. Kincaid's been really solid as well. So to have somebody who can take off the top of that defense and has been really good all year, man, on a really shitty team, has been Shaheed. And then the Patriots, man, listen, I get it. I know Booty has been doing really well, and I understand they have Stefan Diggs. But what we have historically seen is the Patriots need additional receiver help. And I think one of these cats could be really good. And the last one, the honorable mention, is Seattle. Listen, when I we I took a lot of shit for saying, you know, draft time, I was salivating at the ADP for that of Cooper Cup. Listen, Cooper Cup has been more boom bust um this particular year than anything, and he's been actually more bust than boom. So the Seattle Seahawks desperately need knowing they're going, they're they're a top-tier team in the NFL at this point, especially in the NFC West. You gotta have another piece. So they could certainly look to add one of those other guys.
SPEAKER_00:I like Rashid Shahid in Buffalo. I really do. I know obviously, giving Chris Olave is a very good receiver, I think he'd be excellent with Josh Allen. Don't get me wrong. Totally. But for the actual need of taking the top off the defense, they need it that. Have you ever seen Josh Allen throw a deep ball, by the way? It's fucking beautiful.
SPEAKER_01:To Gabe Davis, for those of you who remember, it's stunning.
SPEAKER_00:Right. No one else has been able to make Gabe Davis relevant but Josh Allen. That's what I mean. Look at Rasheed Shahid's doing in New Orleans with this garbage quarterback situation. Give him Josh Allen. This guy could be a top 20 receiver.
SPEAKER_01:Could you imagine? That's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_00:I'm gonna make a move and try to trade for uh Shaheed.
SPEAKER_01:I think it's a good move.
SPEAKER_00:I traded for Olave already because of his value and what he's already produced in New Orleans. If he gets traded, I think it's gonna be a great spot for him, hopefully. But Shahid, the same thing. I'm going after him because I want to see what could be if he does go. Uh Jacoby Myers, another guy on the block here. I mean, certainly seems like he's gonna get traded. He was he's been asking for it. He hasn't really performed um you know in Las Vegas. Any ideas and some landing spots? Where would you like to see him go?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, he could also be a phenomenal option for that of the Pittsburgh Steelers to pair another big guy alongside that of DK, I think makes a ton, a ton of sense, man. And here's the thing with Jacoby Myers and what's interesting about the situation, they just signed Tyler Lockett, right? And I get it. Tyler Lockett's not a guy that's gonna come in and steal a ton of targets. But in a Pete Carroll kind of situation, maybe that's the piece that you know Gino Smith needs to just have a relevant, a reminder of the past, something along those lines, type of player that can jog or bring out the best of Gino. I'm not saying Tyler Lockett's gonna be a game breaker. That's not what I'm saying. But I think it could be a piece that they add in order to get, you know, kind of maybe to cover for Jacoby. So, but for me, man, I think the Steelers could be very, very interesting here. And I definitely think, again, this could be an interesting play for Seattle. It's a different style receiver than anything that they really have. And so if that is the case to pair with a Jackson Smith and Jigba, and then you have Jacoby Myers kind of the bigger body, that could be really, really nice.
SPEAKER_00:I think Seattle's a good fit for Jacoby Myers. I I do think so. And I think the fact that they picked up Tyler Lockett is them saying goodbye to uh to um uh Jacoby Myers. Yeah, I mean Tyler Lockett's it's he's Jacoby Myers just left left out on the counter like a banana too long. I mean, it's they're the same guys. He's just older and and crustier at this point.
SPEAKER_01:Well, then you think for the Raiders, they drafted Jack Beck. They also have uh uh the other rookie in Thornton. And so for me, man, I mean, they're they want to probably start seeing what they got out of these guys because the Raiders aren't gonna be relevant this year and probably not next year. And it's gonna take some time with this rookie class. So I think to get a couple uh good maybe draft assets from that of Jacoby Myers, I think would be super solid for them.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, here's another guy who is certainly going to be moved. Uh, we're we're in it with the Browns, and you know, we we pay attention to them. That's our team. Yep. David and Njoku, the chief. We love him. He's amazing. Just physical specimen. You want to talk about he's the guy second to you know, let's get it. Yeah, let's get a little gay for a second. How I want to lick DK's, you know, chest and sure. Uh David Njoku's right there. He's right up there. He's a little too big for me.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not gonna lie, but like as in like his pecs or two bit, you would prefer like more of a C cup instead of a D cup type of thing. Okay, I just okay. I get it. An athletic B. Yeah. You like the little blonde hair with it. I get it. The little half blonde part, yeah. Just you know.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, we're definitely getting demonetized on YouTube for this one, guys. Great job, Frankie. Okay. David and Joku, landing spots, and how do you feel about it?
SPEAKER_01:Oh man, I I with David Njoku, there are totally a few key areas to where I think he could be going. Number one, guys, would certainly be that of the Patriots. I think if you pair Njoku with that of Drake May, I don't think Hunter Henry is the full thing at tight end. The the the there's there's better assets that can be paired with him. I'm not saying to replace him, I'm saying to maximize his value as well as that of an additional tight end piece. Like we, you know, I think that that could be that's the number one spot. You could also look at the Bucs. The Buccaneers are interesting. Yes, they have Kate Otten, but it's very similar to that of what we're seeing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And knowing that Mike Evans is out, knowing that some of their other receivers are banged up, like a Mecca Ibuka, like Chris Godwin is still working to get back to have another piece if you were to be in a 12th personnel, makes a ton of sense for that of the Buccaneers. And then, John, I don't know. I uh before these last two weeks, I would have said the Chargers. I would have said the Chargers. Now, I don't know. I mean, Gadson looks good. Am I crazy? Like he looks he looks great, fabulous.
SPEAKER_00:I picked him up off the waivers in the past two weeks. He's been a stud, but amazing. He's also a rookie tight end. Yeah, and you want to talk about a team that runs a ton of 12 and 13 personnel, it's the fucking Chargers. Yep. So I could totally see the Chargers having two uh tight ends on the field like that. And adding David Njoku to that passing off. Listen, the Browns were never able to unlock David Njoku. David Njoku is an amazing receiving tight end. And if he goes to a team with a quarterback like a Drake May, uh with a quarterback, you know, like a Justin Herbert, dude, it could be wheels up for David Njoku. Could be insane, you know? Could be insane. Yeah, so really interesting. He's going somewhere, we're just not sure where. Frankie, any other rumors of any trades that you're hearing? Any other guys that you think could be a possibility?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yep. We got three that I don't know if it's gonna happen, but there are some rumors swirling. Brees Hall, Alvin Kamara, and Brian Thomas Jr. Now, with the last one, I get it. I get it. Liam Cohen came out and he said there is no chance that they're looking to trade Brian Thomas Jr. I don't know. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:It's just they teams say that though. They say that until they start getting offers.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, exactly. Until you start getting offers. And boy oh boy, man. I mean, uh, it could be interesting, but dude, for me, I think out of those three, I just have Brees Hall circled. I just he's being wasted. He's in a contract year. You can get him to sign a three-year extension for not a shit ton, but a good, you know, a decent amount, but nothing crazy, not Saquon Barkley money or anything like that. And he could go to a serious ass team. I mean, dude, I even think the Chiefs, the commanders, I really think the commanders could be interesting as well. Yeah. I mean, but dude, I don't know, man. We've been saying the Chiefs for a minute, and I just it would be a match made in heaven.
SPEAKER_00:It would be. It would, especially with Isaiah Pacheco being banged up.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You are you're not going to roll into the playoffs like they did last year with everybody banged up with Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith. They're not going to. They have to do something. And the Jets would be foolish to not trade Brees Hall. What are they going to do? Just not sign him and not get anything for him at all at the end of the year? That would be a travesty for New York Jets fans. No question. I agree. They've got to get something for him. So that's that would be amazing. All right, let's look at uh let's look at a few starts and sits, Frankie. What are some guys we love? I talked about DeAndre Swift. I absolutely love him this week at Cincinnati. Uh, we talked about some of the Chargers here as well. Huge spread favored by 12 points. That's crazy. Um, deep sleeper with the Chargers guys that I think you should look at. I'm not saying to play this guy, but I think he does need to be rostered. Jarrett Patterson, he's the backup to Kamani Videll. If the Chargers, who are certainly in need of a running back, if they don't make a move for somebody like Brees Hall or Alvin Kamara, get Jarrett Patterson on your bench. We've seen what's happened so far. This team does love to run the ball, could be an asset for you. Uh, are you believing in Kamani Videl, Frankie?
SPEAKER_01:John, I think it's hard to not believe in him right now. And here's why, guys. I mean, when you start breaking this down, I mean, over the last two out of the last three weeks, he's finished RB9 and RB8 and has two touchdowns. And then you're like, okay, well, what's his overall total production? Well, John, we're talking right now, he has over 250 plus rushing yards in the last three weeks. And then you start looking at his receiving end, man. He has right now 11 targets in the last three weeks and eight receptions for almost 40 yards and a touchdown. I mean, this dude has really been a gold mine hit for the Chargers when, hey, they were ready, they were Brees Hall uh, you know, potential uh buyers at the time. And now it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, we might not need to give up what we think. We can wait for Omari and Hampton to come back potentially after week 12, because of what Videll's been doing. And then to your point, Jared Patterson, for those of you who don't know him, I mean, he was a stud in college. I mean, I believe it was Buffalo where he came from, and my God, did he look amazing? And now he's uh you know backing up over that of Hasana Haskins. Guys, I think that the we're cooling off on potentially the Chargers making a big splash trade for a running back now that Videll's looking pretty damn good.
SPEAKER_00:So, yes, I'm firing him up this week, actually. Love it, man. T. Higgins, we said to move him. I did move him. I think I think it was the right move. However, he's a smash start this week, right? Smash.
SPEAKER_01:Smash start, man. Last two weeks, receiver 11, receiver 15, good matchup against the Bears. Flacco is going wacko right now for Jamar Chase and that of T. Higgins, you're firing him up, baby.
SPEAKER_00:Let's go. And then a smash starter running back. You got Derrick Henry, the king.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, we talked about it.
SPEAKER_00:You talked about it. You talked about the king, man. All right, what are we gonna? Let's go to the Patriots. I a couple more things. I know we've talked a lot about the Patriots, but man, it's a really fascinating team. It it is, yeah. Uh K Sean Booty, first of all, he can't be ignored anymore, man. I mean, it's three straight games with 50 plus yards and a touchdown. At this point, you have to continue playing him until they get another receiver on that team, right? Right. 100%.
SPEAKER_01:You need to pick, you need to pick. He's got to be in your flex at this point, right? 100%. And what's crazy to me, man, is is like what we've seen from the development of him. Like, again, he should have been years ago, and I'm you know, in 2023, he ended up being a sixth-round pick. He should have been probably a day two pick um from out of LSU. And man, what we're seeing is finally development. They're giving him time, they have the quarterback, and why not pair him alongside that of Diggs, who, you know, has been pretty solid. So, man, yes, buy into Kaisan Booty.
SPEAKER_00:All right, well, talk to me about the running backs. Frankie, we we've been we've been talking about uh the Patriots running backs here for a little while. It seems as if some of the things you and I have been saying are starting to come to fruition, but talk to me, break down that backfield for me, man. What are we doing here?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, guys, last week was not a great matchup. We called that against the Browns, and it's not because we're Browns fans, it's literally because this defense is nasty for the Browns. And here's what was fascinating Ramondre Stevenson, right, rushes for 14 rushes and 34 yards. Terrible. But what happened with I mean, Trevion Henderson, he had 10 carries for 77 yards last week and looked damn good. I mean, he he had like two carries for 31 yards at one point and just looked incredible. And man, like before that, before last week, Trevion Henderson had 17 carries in the past three weeks. 17 carries in the past three weeks, and all of a sudden, against the Cleveland Browns, he has 10 carries. And it was not because they were blowing them out, he was a part of the game plan early on. I don't know if this is because Vrabel having inside uh insider information, having come from the Browns last year, being the consultant on multiple different facets, even helped out, you know, the offensive line and all that good stuff, and and and certainly was a consultant for the defense as well. And so I don't know if it's because he knew that that's the way that they had the best path to beating them um with switching gears, or if this is now the trajectory that we're gonna start seeing is to hey, we have a super stud, superstar stud at running back that we drafted in the second round. It's time to start giving him the rock. And so for me, man, I'm actually not gonna be starting Ramondre Stevenson. And I'm not necessarily yet starting Trevion. I'm actually benching both of them, but in the next few weeks, I think I'm gonna put my money where Trevion Henderson is.
SPEAKER_00:It's what we talked about. I think I'm still going to be right saying that Trevion Henderson's going to be the guy in the stretch. Towards the end of the season when you're making your playoff push, Trevion Henderson's gonna be the man. I think now we're in that transition period where, you know, it's it's you don't want Ramondre because Trevion's coming on, but Trevion isn't getting enough to really, he needs a score to get you there. Uh, but 10 carries for 77 yards, I mean 7.7 yards a carry. Hell yeah. Solid. We'll take that. Listen, he's he's just a much better running back, man. He is. Keep him on your team if you can't, if you don't feel like starting him, which I think you can. I mean, he'll give you a, I think, a safe floor, but his upside-ish, you know, yeah, floor-ish. But his upside, we saw him break a couple. He had a 27-yard run, he had like an 18-yard run. That's what he does, man. Give me that first 50-yard touchdown that he breaks out, and it's gonna be crazy with him. I guarantee it.
SPEAKER_01:The thing that scares me with Trevion is his snap share still. And that's what's crazy. 21% this past week. Like, and that's up from 14, down from 30, certainly down from 50 the week before. But it's just like this dude is doing this in a 20, 21% snap share, 10 carries for 77 yards. What are we missing? Yeah, like you know what I mean. I know. So I agree, man. I think that he's definitely got to be the guy long.
SPEAKER_00:You have to hope he gets a bullshit touchdown or pops a big one. You can't go by the volume alone. It's not enough to give me confidence to say, oh, you gotta start him. He's amazing. Yes, he's amazing. He's not getting the opportunity yet, but it's getting there. He's getting more and more opportunity. So hold strong, guys. Better, better days ahead for sure. Uh, all right, Frankie, let's uh let's end on a little would you rather here, okay? We talked about this. This goes right into what we were talking about here. Would you rather this week, Brashard Smith, running back for the uh Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo or Trevion Henderson this week. We just talked about it. These are not guys where you're like, oh, I've got the best running backs in football. Which one do I start? This is so difficult. This is hard because it's hard, guys.
SPEAKER_01:It's it's hard because it's hard. If Pacheco is out, let's assume Pacheco's out. I'm gonna lean Brashard Smith this week. And I'll tell you why. Because they're playing Buffalo, and there's just something in Andy Reid's brain that is gonna come up with something creative because this is a rivalry game. They both hate each other. You got the battle of the top quarterbacks, in my opinion, in the AFC next to Lamar as well. But Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, we've seen this play out. We've also seen scoring to be crazy between these two teams. So, what I want is I want a little bit of peace of Brashard Smith knowing he's gonna be cooking up something incredible if that of Pacheco is not playing. The other, the other key pieces with Henderson is that they're playing the Falcons. And that defense makes me nervous against this type of number one total defense.
SPEAKER_00:But then Miami had their way with him last week. How about that?
SPEAKER_01:So for me, man, I'm leaning Brashard Smith this week due to the matchup. But if let me say this, if Henderson pops off this week, let's just say he truly pops off another 10 carries, 77 yards, and he gets him a tutty. I think moving forward you need to be starting Henderson. But this week I want to see it.
SPEAKER_00:I'm with you. I think it's Brashad Smith as Brashard Smith as well. Yeah. And and I think the main reason is just goal line.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I think you're gonna see the the the you're gonna you're gonna see the uh the Chiefs in the in the red zone much more often. So I just think it's gonna have more opportunity to get your points. Yes, is the main thing. Yeah. And you can run on that Buffalo defense, by the way. You can. Yeah, absolutely. All right, guys, that is the show for the day. Thank you for sticking around. We love you. This is great. Week nine. I can't believe we're going into week nine already. Crazy, man. Guys, don't forget, please follow us on social media. Frankie's a maniac on social media. It's amazing. Give you a lot of shit to laugh about. We'll give you updates and news as well. It's Frankly Fantasy Football, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube Reels as well. And don't forget, like, share, subscribe, hit that notification bell on YouTube. Guys, it's gonna tell you every week when our episodes come out. Frankie, what are you gonna be putting out this week?
SPEAKER_01:Ooh, guys, here we go. We're gonna be doing some waiver wire. Who are the top waiver wire pickups? Check it out. I'll be dropping that. In addition, guys, please continue to check out Fridays with Frankie. Listen, it's a quick reel, it's fantastic. I'm giving you guys quick five, the top five things you need to know heading into this week. And it's not gonna be people on by. It's gonna be are these dudes in and they're playing based on if they're injured or not? Or do we need to look elsewhere and who might be a smash start? I'm giving you the top five things you need to know. Tune in, and that's dropping every Friday.
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