The Fantasy Footballers Podcast Recap for Week 5

Week 5 is here! The Fantasy Footballers Podcast drops every Monday through Friday during the NFL season and this article is a quick recap of this week’s episodes!

Get the full breakdown by listening/watching each episode & Subscribe for year-round content! 

• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube
• Spotify

Monday – Monday Punday, Fantasy Studs & Duds

After starting the show waxing lyrically about the Arizona Cardinals win over the Los Angeles Rams, the guys got sophisticated with #MondayPunday.

Week 4 Studs
After a Week 4 Injury Recap, it is time for Fantasy Studmuffins. QB wise. Patrick Mahomes had a great game, even with a Travis Kelce shockingly average day. Much to the joy of pretty much everyone, Sam Darnold is having great success after losing a 180-pound man (Adam Gase) off his back. Matt Ryan had his first excellent fantasy game of the season, and Jalen Hurts’ rushing baseline makes him a consistent weekly start.

RB studs are highlighted with Cordarrelle Patterson and his insane Week 4 performance. Andy says he is an every-week start, no questions and Jason suggests trading the new hotness for a known commodity.

When it comes to WRs, DJ Moore is clearly now Sam Darnold’s new best friend. Mike says the breakout is real. Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin, and Randall Cobb were also highly successful on Sunday and Mike’s start of the week Dawson Knox looked legit.

Week 4 Duds
Tom Brady had an oddly tough time in Foxborough, but Andy does not seem worried. Dalvin Cook and D’Andre Swift had terrible games, and it seems that Chris Carson’s neck injury that kept him out on Thursday Night Football this week, may have impacted him last week. The guys are concerned about Miles Sanders, Myles Gaskin, and possibly Damien Harris. Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams took a week off, but no one is worried. Conversely, everyone is worried about Allen Robinson. The guys are also concerned about George Kittle, especially with a possible transition to Trey Lance.

Tuesday – Monday Night Recap, Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire, Waivers & Streamers

It’s Waiver Day over on The Fantasy Footballers! We are already heading into Week 5, and the guys remind us that sometimes you must make a move to manufacture wins but remember not to “tilt trade.” Also remember, that even if you have an excellent record, you must stay active. Andy reminds us there is no autopilot in Fantasy Football.

Monday Night Recap
The primary reaction to the Monday Night game was that Josh Jacobs was truly engaged in the offense, and Peyton Barber did very little. Austin Ekeler and Jared Cook had especially great games as well, and Jason’s last takeaway is that the Bryan Edwards experiment is now over.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
We begin with Taylor Heinicke, who has had three straight weeks of success. Jason says “Smoke,” and believes that Heinicke is OK to stream in good matchups. Andy feels that Heinicke is so aggressive that you have to look more at the offensive matchup than the defensive one. Zack Moss is next. Andy believes his recent success is smoke; you are chasing TDs with him. Another RB comes next with James Conner, who has been a top 12 RB with 2 TDs in each of the last two weeks on a team with tons of offense. Jason thinks Conner is a flex consideration, but again, you are chasing TDs. Conner does seem to be the goal-line back on this team. Update: James Conner becomes a must start if Chase Edmonds has to miss the game.

News & Notes
David Montgomery should be sidelined 4-5 weeks, and Joe Mixon is day to day. Gronk is looking to miss this week but might be back the following week, even with fractured ribs.

Week 5 Waiver Wire
Looking first at the hard decisions of WR drop candidates pulled from social media: Allen Robinson, Brandon Aiyuk, and Rondale Moore made the list. Tough choices must be made. Jamison Crowder, Curtis Samuel, Hunter Renfrow, and Randall Cobb are all possible solid adds. When it comes to RBs, it’s Bye-son to Ty’Son Williams, and Mke believes you can still stash A.J. Dillon. Mike also suggests keeping an eye on Kenneth Gainwell. QB Streamers come next. Jason likes Kirk Cousins, Andy believes in Ryan Tannehill, and Mike is team Trey Lance this week.

Wednesday – Buy or Sell, Mailbag, Thursday Night Breakdown

We start the show off dissecting Mike’s new haircut and forehead size because, why not?

Buy or Sell: Week 5
Mike’s streak of success came to a screeching halt, but he hoped to come back strong. The slate includes Damien Harris as a top 24 RB against the Houston Texans. Andy feels that this is a great bounce-back game for Harris. Calvin Ridley with 100 receiving yards (now ruled Out for Week 5) and Terry McLaurin as a top 15 WR closes up the segment.

News & Notes
Tony Jones Jr. will be out for a few weeks, hopefully leading to more Alvin Kamara targets. Jason suggests kicking the tires with Michael Thomas, to see if you can trade for him on the cheap, before this potential return in Week 7.

Mailbag!
A Laviska Shenault versus Allen Robinson conundrum starts us off. Mike is adamant about keeping Robinson on the bench until you get proof of life. The following question centers around possibly trading CeeDee Lamb and Jason mentions he is targeting Lamb all over the place. Another listener wants to know what the Ballers think about Jeff Wilson Jr. once he returns to the Niners. Spoiler alert, even with a run-heavy team– no one knows. Trade-wise, someone questions whether you should trade Deebo Samuel for Calvin Ridley. The guys agree that this is a fair trade. Piggybacking on to this, is an excellent question about how to encourage more trading in your league. The key, Jason says, is communication. If that does not work next year, hop on to FootclanLeagues.com.

Thursday – Never Not Working, Fantasy Forecast, Starts of the Week, Boom Boom Kicker

Never Not Working
We are four weeks into the season so let’s check in on the rookie WRs and TEs. Ja’Marr Chase and De’Vonta Smith are having great seasons so far, and Kyle Pitts has yet to breakout, which hopefully will happen soon. Mike suggests stashing Elijah Moore in that he is on the cusp of signs of life, and Andy believes in Kadarius Toney for a sneaky stash.

News & Notes
Matt Nagy announces that Justin Fields will be the starter for the Bears. With the constant onslaught of injuries, remember that Matthew Betz drops the Injury Blitz podcast every Friday!

Fantasy Forecast
The Jets head across the pond to London to take on the Falcons, and all eyes are on Cordarrelle Patterson, who has a great matchup coming off a monster performance. The Packers take on the Bengals on Sunday and you can play your primary Packers, and possibly even Randall Cobb. The Lions head to Minnesota to play the Vikings, so get those Vikings ready to go, Tyler Conklin included. Detroit-wise, you might be limited to only D’Andre Swift and TJ Hockenson (if he plays). The Broncos play the Steelers with a crazy low over/under total. Mike says Diontae Johnson and Najee Harris are the only two Steelers he would play. With the Broncos, Noah Fant might be your only option. In a Florida battle, Miami vs Tampa Bay, very few Dolphins are startable. Conversely, fire up all those Buccaneers.

Starts of the Week
Andy’s picks include James Robinson and Kyle Pitts. Jason is a fan of Damian Williams and Mike Gesicki, among others. Finally, Mike says to start Leonard Fournette and Daniel Jones. Here’s a full recap of the Starts of the Week. We end the episode with a fan favorite segment… Jason’s Boom Boom Kicker of the Week.

Friday –  FootClan Friday, Thursday Night Recap, Fantasy Forecast, Fantasy Faceoff & Wheel of Shame

Happy Friday, FootClan! Let’s start with the Thursday Night Recap.

Thursday Night Recap: Rams at Seahawks
The first half was slow for these two high-powered offenses. The second half was more exciting – Tyler Lockett almost had a monster game, and unfortunately, Russell Wilson sprained a finger and had to come out of the game. Enter Geno Smith, who had a decent game, but the guys say to adjust expectations for Seattle pass-catchers moving forward. Rams wise, Darrell Henderson had a great game and Robert Woods is apparently now coming to breakfast (14 targets). Even with 385 passing yards, Matthew Stafford was somewhat inconsistent, as he dealt with a finger injury of his own, but was able to play through it.

Injury News
Calvin Ridley will not travel to London for the game, hopefully leading to a big Pitts/Patterson game. A.J. Brown practiced in full and should be back this weekend, but Julio still did not practice. It’s Dalvin Cook watch again this week, so do not drop Alexander Mattison. In shocking news, T.J. Hockenson has a “chance to play” this week. Make backup plans. It also looks like Trey Lance will be the starter against the Cardinals this week.

Fantasy Forecast Part Two
The Eagles head to Carolina to play the Panthers. Andy thinks the Panthers are legit, and while there was optimism McCaffrey might be back, the latest news says he’s is doubtful. Jason is not starting Miles Sanders. The Patriots play the Texans with a very low over/under. Andy says do not start a Texans player, including Brandin Cooks. Damien Harris should be a good start for the Pats. Next comes the Bears at the Raiders, with Justin Fields at the helm. That combined with no David Montgomery, it will be interesting to see how the Bears offense looks. Hunter Renfrow might be the safest PPR option on the Raiders side. The Browns take on the Chargers in what should be a great game, and Jason says to start all your Chargers but manage your expectations against the Browns defense. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are auto starts for the Browns. The Giants play the Cowboys, and Andy is excited for this matchup with a myriad of fantasy start options. The 49ers are at the (undefeated) Cardinals. Trey Lance is a great streaming option, but Andy does not want to mess with the San Francisco backfield. This might be the DeAndre Hopkins bounce-back game.

Fantasy Faceoff
Fantasy Faceoff is the weekly DFS segment where Andy, Mike, and Jason battle it out each week with a new lineup on DraftKings! The winner basks in glory while the loser spins the Wheel of Shame.

Back-to-back weeks with Jason spinning the *Wheel of Shame* during the Fantasy Faceoff segment presented by @DraftKings!

Watch the full segment with our Week 5 lineups: https://t.co/BBD3UxLLBr

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— Fantasy Footballers (@TheFFBallers) October 8, 2021