On the Gridiron: A Deep Dive into Fantasy Football Tactics

Ever wondered why Travis Kelsey could be the game-changer the Kansas City Chiefs need right now? Or perhaps you're curious about how the Detroit Lions have been stepping up their game with the likes of Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and David Montgomery? Well, you're in the right place. This episode of Vegas Guys Locker Room delves into all these and more as we bring you an in-depth analysis of the latest Thursday night matchup, the weekend prospects, and the crucial injury updates that could tilt the scales in fantasy football.

Making the right fantasy football pick can be the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You definitely don't want to miss our picks and potential busts for the week! Our experts have their eyes on Jordan Love, JK Dobbins, Mike Evans, Tyler Higbee, Joe Burrow, and Najee Harris. Whether you're cheering for the Packers, the Ravens, the Buccaneers, the Rams, or any other team, we have insights and analyses that could set you ahead of the pack. So tune in, be informed, make smarter picks and stand a chance to crush your competition!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

All right, everybody, welcome back to the Vegas guys locker room. We are the show that breaks down fantasy sports Got a great show for you today. We're doing fantasy football. We had football. Football is back, guys. We know we love it, so we got a great show for you today. We're gonna be breaking down the Thursday night matchup. Look at some possible previews for the weekend and some injury updates going on. The league, guys it is week one. Oh, finally, finally, fantasy football is in full force. Drafts are done, lineups are set. Well, mostly everybody's still waiting on some game time decisions, but we will break some of this down, guys. All right, so to start it off, we're gonna break down a Thursday night game and all I can say about that one as the theme of that game was wide receiver lives do matter because the chiefs, wide receiver core Was abysmal. I mean that was awful. A lot of guys had high hopes for sky more Caderious Tony and it. Just it looked bad. I mean it was bad. I don't know about you, but the sky more had the second most routes run on the team and no catches. I mean one carry for four yards. That is sad it's. It's almost like Patrick, my home says not like sky more. I mean he just doesn't like him. He doesn't give him the ball. It's crazy. He threw it to him a couple times. He did have a completion that got called back. But the big one for me was Caderious Tony. Caderious Tony Seems like man. He just doesn't have that burst. He looked slow, he looked slow. We couldn't catch the ball. When they did give him that one, he had the one catch for one yard. He was running and he looked like a man whose knees were gone. And this is a young guy. So this is this. This is scary, for if you're a cheese fan and you are Caderious Tony or a sky more owner, I would be concerned. No, of course Travis Kelsey did not play in this game and and judging by that first week one performance man, kelsey is worth every bit of that first round pick. He was going in in some drafts Because I think he's the only weapon that Kansas City is gonna have this year. I Don't know what do you guys think? Is Kelsey gonna be the whole damn changer when he does come back? Do these wide receivers pick it up? I think the only receiver I'm willing to take a flyer on in this chief's offense would probably be Rishi Rice. I mean, he actually looked like they were interested in getting in the ball. Other big nose, isaiah Pacheco man at the, that was a shocker there, him and Ceeh sharing the backfield. He did lead the team in carries but I mean, come on, eight carries for 23 yards, that's, that's not running the football. And Ceeh was no better. I believe he had seven carries in that game. But Isaiah Pacheco did lead the receiving court with four receptions for 31 yards. That's, that's pretty, pretty sad, pretty sad on that. On that front, it's, it's not looking good. Kansas City owners, you guys are looking a little harsh right now. I know that was a disappointing first week of the season. Patrick my homes pet, patrick my homes, look good. I mean I'm not gonna say he didn't look good, he did look good. He's just his playmakers didn't come through for him. I mean you can't do anything when you're throwing the ball and they can't catch it. They're dropping it. The pick six completely not Patrick my homes fault Goes right off Cadarius, tony, in the hands of the secondary and they take to the house, not on. And I hate it when you hear that stuff Because it makes the quarterback look like it was his fault. It is not that hit him right square in the hands, cadarius, tony just can't pull it in. Very disappointing night for the Kansas City chiefs Lions. On the other hand, very good first drive. Jerry golf Looked fantastic. I'm on. Rob Brown same Browns looked fantastic. He looked dominant in the first half, kind of cooled off. He did have the touchdown on the first drive. After that really really the passing game kind of settled down. Big news coming out of there, though, was the utilization of David Montgomery 21 carries for 74 yards on a touchdown. He looks like a true workhorse back in that offense. Yeah, they're getting Gibbs involved. He did have seven carries for 42 yards. He looked really good, especially receiving the ball. He may be too quick for his own good. Those who watched the game knows that He'd pretty much tackled himself. It looked like he was in a score. I thought he was going in the end zone with his speed. I was. There's nobody over there. There was, nobody was gonna catch him. He makes a cut and he cut too fast, and it looked like before you made his cut his foot wasn't even on the ground and he just tumbles down. So he did look good, though Maybe a little rookie nerves there. I think it settles down. I think Gibbs, jameer, gibbs, owners, you guys are gonna be just fine. David Montgomery big surprise though, really bell cow workhorse work I For 21 carries. I mean, we talked about it on the show already. The Lions, we thought would would really make their run game stand out. They really wanted to run the ball this year. They came out and they did that. They did that. It came out, ran the ball, played solid defense and man they they looked really good. Looked like a team that people were projecting. People projected them to have Playoff hopes, possibly winning the NFC North, and they looked really, really good. I Know what are your thoughts on the Lions. I know the same brown looked really good. I'm those who you guys were holding on and James and Williams I'm not sure you're gonna get enough. No target share going on there. It it didn't look like they were gonna throw the ball more than that handful of 20, 20 to 30 times a game. You know I'm on raw same browns gonna be involved. You know now that Jameer Gibbs is gonna be involved in that, what's the target share gonna be? Sam the portal look good during that game. Looks like he could be involved. I loved how he was lining up wide a lot. He gets in there. I know that's what the kind of coach Campbell wanted. He wanted somebody could do both. He wanted to get a tight end that could run, block and come out and Catch the ball. Sam, the portal looks like he got a got his wish there. He looks good, definitely lined up on the outside a lot. So I think he'll be involved in the passing game when James and Williams comes back, how is this target share gonna look? That's gonna be my biggest question. If they are so focused and dedicated to the run, how much passing work are you really gonna get out of these receivers and targets, especially with the weapons there? That that might be a little concerning to me, especially if you're Looking for that big blow up for him. James and Williams, you know he's an explosive receiver. You were hoping for big plays out of him. I I'm curious to see how this goes. Of course, only the first week, but it was. It was a, a runfest. It was give the ball to David Montgomery, let him do work. And he was doing work. Great job. I don't. David Montgomery was a very late round picking people's drafts. Kudos to who picked them up, kudos who played him because it was a. It was a good start. He has to some solid numbers, nothing spectacular, but there was good, solid, so solid, good flex play, maybe RB two depending on what your roster situation looks like, but really look good. Not gonna be really concerned overall. Take on the game, not gonna be too concerned with the Chiefs, the Receivers, just man it was. It was brutal watch them. But we'll see what get. What happens with Travis Kelsey in there, maybe everybody trying to do a little too much. Once Kelsey backs in there, what's the Kelsey effect gonna be? Did these guys kind of settle down? Maybe they get a little more wide open looks, maybe more big play, explosive. This Kelsey does more the grind work for everybody. So we'll see. Maybe, if that happens, the Lions, of course we just talked about run game. What's that? What's that target share gonna look like when James Williams comes back? Is this run heavy offense gonna continue? All remains, this we seen. We'll take a look into our injury outlook. All right, so the injury outlook looks like Coming out of Green Bay I know this affects some people. Romeo Dobbs back at practice. Christian Watson out for the game Listen, I know everybody was big that Dobbs might be out. Jaden Reed was gonna step in. Looks like Jaden Reed still gonna step in. It's just gonna be the other guy. That's what. Back in the game, dobbs looks like he's going to play. Watson has been ruled out. The big news coming out Cooper cup, ir. Mmm man, does that hurt, especially guys who took him early. You're now. You're missing him for at least the first four weeks. And listen, he's. You know he's north of 30. We know we saw it last year with Kenan Allen. Hamstring is the serious hamstrings issues. They take time. They take time and how much time is too much time? So definitely gonna have to utilize IR spots. If you do have them in your league, man, it's it. That's a tough blow. That's a tough blow to a lot of people. I think that's a big jump for people like Tyler Higbee, maybe Van Jefferson. So hopefully you guys snagged those up, especially with the news coming about the hamstring issue and what was lingering very odd Situation there. So Cooper cup likely going on the IR we will see, wait and see what happens with that, but I would not be shocked to see him be placed on the IR. Other big news, the biggest one was Ramon J Stephen. Ramon J Stevenson, mrs Practice on Friday. No real world word on why that was so kind of mysterious. I mean, week week one game time decision Looks like maybe if you have Zeke Elliott, if you handcuff these guys, maybe you look like playing in Zeke Elliott in there. You know, stevenson, even if he does come back, rumor is it's an illness. If he's not a hundred percent You're probably gonna see a lot more as he could. Elit. And then you wanted Reminders, stevenson, though, listen, it's tough. It's a tough situation in New England. Patriots are a tough situation for running backs. Talk to a few people before we were talking about one was the last time you saw a New England running back rush for a thousand yards in consecutive seasons. And surprise answer is it is Curtis Martin. I mean, that's that's a long time ago, guys, that is a long time ago. Belichick just does not like one. What Belkow Running back, he just likes to spread it out. So We'll see what happens with. Steve is in now with the supposed illness. See if he gets back in a lineup. Hopefully it doesn't take too much. Hopefully he gets back at it and Saves your rosters for this weekend. Guys, george kiddo Questionable again. I mean, is there? Is there any other situation where George kiddo is not questionable? I think he's questionable on every week. I think that's just a weekly report. I don't think he has a cue next to his name permanently, it's just embedded. You should get that tattooed on his arm. Questionable he's always questionable. So We'll be back with our starts the week. All right, now we're gonna look at our starts of the week, possible guys that can blow up and listen I break this down. I'm not looking at the guys that you draft them every single week. That's not what this is about. Looking at some possible guys where you're making decisions on them, whether or not to place them in your lineup, maybe due to injury Concerns, somebody being missing a week. We're just trying to set your best lineup like listen, there's a. There's a lot of deep leagues out there, so I'm gonna break down my starts of the week based on, you know, some of those guys you took later and then in and also in the middle of your your draft. I'm gonna break it down by position. My starts of the week at the quarterback Position. I really like Jordan love this week. He's playing the Bears. They give up the seven most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Yes, christian Watson is not playing, but there are so many weapons now on that Green Bay offense. Romeo Dobbs is back in the lineup. You have that new rookie, jaden Reed, and you also have Luke Musgrave, the rookie tight end. I think he plays a role, like Sam La Porta did in the Thursday night game, and he could have a huge effect on the game. So I would not be shocked to see Jordan love do well against the Bears defense who gives up a lot of fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks Running back situation. Really, really love this one. Jk Dobbins, I think is gonna be Amazing. The Texans give up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs. Houston is not too talented. I don't think you're gonna have to really throw the ball a whole lot for for Lamar Jackson. I Think this game is is over rather quickly. I could see JK Dobbins having a Tremendous game coming back off of injury. I know he had the knee, the ACL Second year back from that. I think he's fully healthy. I think he's ready to roll and I really like JK Dobbins this week Wide receiver if you're looking for somebody to place in your wide receiver court. You know, listen, there's some guys missing time. Maybe you have a Three wide receiver set. You need to plan for looking for that one extra piece. One guy I would recommend would be Mike Evans of Tampa Bay. They are playing Minnesota. Minnesota was the worst against fantasy wide in fantasy against wide receivers last year. The one good thing that Baker Mayfield does is he throws a heck of a deep ball. Mike Evans could benefit from that. Listen, the man has finished every season with a thousand yards. Everybody's in question. Now there's no Tom Brady. What is this offense gonna look like? Baker Mayfield is still gonna want to throw the ball downfield. He's still gonna want to stretch out that defense. Mike Evans can benefit from that. And especially with a weak secondary like Minnesota, who gives it the most to wide receivers? They didn't improve this year. I don't think they improved their secondary over the offseason. I think they actually got worse. You so look for Mike Evans to possibly have a good game in week one. If you're looking for another receiver to play, mike Evans should be your man. Tight end this should be no surprise. No, cooper Cup Van Jefferson is, you know, a stretch at number two. He can't break out. He's got talent. The running game there Cam Acres. I mean, after the drama last year. He's on the team, he's off the team. We don't want him anymore. Okay, we love you. You're back. Who knows what's gonna look like. But I think Tyler Higbee is a huge pickup for a tight end. Seattle gives up the most opposing tight ends. That's just not what they do. If you have a receiving tight end, you can do some damage and I think that's where they go. I think you you can find Higbee in the end zone. I think he has a great week and those four of my four starts of the week guys, listen, like I said, this is not your top guys, it's not your guys. You're gonna plug in every day and are every week, but these are some flyers that maybe, if you're looking to make some moves and you need to play somebody, these are some possibilities you might be able to pick up Some guys I probably would stay away from this week. The bust portion of this. This is the bust segment, starting at quarterback. Be careful of playing Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow is playing Cleveland. They were number three versus QB's and fantasy last year and Burrow listen, he's had the calf injury. He hasn't been out there. Timing could be a little off. The Cleveland defense is still a decent defense. Okay, they have a decent pass rush. Their secondary is is solid. Be careful playing Joe Burrow. He could have some mistakes. Listen to time and when. When you're off in timing, that could be. That could be huge. Look for maybe an interception or two from Joe Burrow Wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't have a great game. I think you'll still have a solid game, but I don't think he's gonna have the numbers you're looking for. So be careful. Playing Joe Burrow at the running back, it's got to be Najee Harris. Najee Harris Listen, we already talked about that on the show. It's gonna be a time share with him. 64. Do we believe it's gonna be? And they're playing San Francisco the? No, they were number one against running backs and fantasy last year. Not a good matchup. Not a good matchup. Listen, I know that the offensive line has gotten a lot better in Pittsburgh since Najee's rookie year, but I still just don't know if they're that good enough to dominate like they have in the past. Najee Harris is kind of a risky play. Not only he's not gonna be getting the bell cow running back snaps, and You're playing the number one defense. Probably a good way. If you can't avoid Najee Harris, or if you have a better option or second another option, maybe you want to go that route. But some people may have the choice. But don't be surprised if Najee Harris does not have a big week at wide receiver. I'm weary. On Stefan digs, they're playing the Jets on Monday night. Listen, it's week one. Everybody's a little rusty. You already know. You already seen it. We've seen it in the Thursday night game. It's not gonna be clean play. They're playing the Jets. Jets are number one. They were number one last year against wide receivers and fantasy. I'm it's weary. It's gonna be weary to play digs in that first week. Listen, I know everybody saw Scott. Or saw Scott or does not travel the first, the number one receiver. He doesn't travel. We know that. But you, that secondary in New York is legit and they have good corners there. Stefan digs could struggle. I wouldn't be shocked if you were just let down by digs this week. Tight end, really, really scared on this one. It would be the walrus there in Waller playing against Dallas, who was number two against tight ends last year and when Waller had with some health concerns, what's new? He's like George Kittle and himself or always on the entry report, who knows how healthy is. I know reports out of the camp. So they love throwing the waller reports saying that they had to take waller out of the game because they wanted to Force down your girls and throw somebody else. I Just it's, it's. I would just be weary that Darren Waller could highly, highly disappoint this week in fantasy. So, guys, those are my picks. Let me know what you think. I'm sure I'm gonna get some feedback on that. And listen, guys, week one Football is back, so excited. One little thing we want to do on our shows, that we're trying to do on Friday, friday or Saturday, is Give up our Thursday night toilet bowl award winner and this week's award winner for our toilet bowl award for a Thursday night football is going to be sky, more, sky, more. You ran the second most routes on the chief's offense. You had three targets, zero catches, one run for four yards. Listen, you are now the new age, alan Robinson, welcome to the all cardio team, welcome Thursday night toilet bowl award winner. All right, guys, listen, that's all we I got. I got this week. Thanks for joining the show. Please Give us a rating, subscribe, get notified when we have new shows coming out, sometimes gonna be a little worried with schedules, but we will get you a show every week, guys, listen. Guys, thanks for joining me on Vegas, guys locker room, and we will see you on the next show. Have a great first week, guys. Football is back you.