Mattek Fantasy FootballSource
Mattek Fantasy Football artwork
VideoFrom Mattek Fantasy Football

Late News Changed Fantasy Lineups (Week 4)

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.

13 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
No date
Published
21
Player insights
21
Players mentioned
Topics
Antonio WilliamsColby ParkinsonDavis AllenDrake MayeDyami BrownEmanuel WilsonGarrett WilsonGeno SmithIsaiah WilliamsJa'Tavion SandersJadarian PriceJohnny WilsonJosh DownsKeenan Allen
Player analysis

Player insights

21

Antonio Williams

PositiveUsage7:06

With Terry McLaurin out, Antonio Williams is projected to receive a full route share for the first time. He is a strong pre-waiver wire stash and a potential start, having shown efficiency in week one and a positive snap trend.

Insight page

Colby Parkinson

NegativeInjury14:00

Colby Parkinson is entering the game banged up and is not expected to serve as the primary receiving tight end, potentially playing a different role or not playing at all.

Insight page

Davis Allen

NegativeDepth Chart15:27

Davis Allen is identified as the primary backup to Colby Parkinson within the Rams' tight end depth chart.

Insight page

Drake Maye

NegativeProjection1:46

Drake Maye is projected to score fewer fantasy points than Geno Smith this week.

Insight page

Dyami Brown

NegativeRole9:55

Dyami Brown is mentioned as a player who might be forced into extra snaps due to the team's injury situation.

Insight page

Emanuel Wilson

PositiveRole2:22

Emanuel Wilson is a recommended waiver pickup projected to be the clear lead back, with an expected workload of 15-18 carries due to his role in short-yardage and red-zone situations.

Insight page

Garrett Wilson

PositiveUsage0:31

Garrett Wilson is considered a high-end wide receiver capable of buoying his quarterback's fantasy performance; his role is expected to be even more critical given the Jets' shift to a pass-heavy approach following Breece Hall's injury.

Insight page

Geno Smith

PositiveProjection0:07

Geno Smith is a recommended sneaky start at quarterback this week due to a favorable matchup against a struggling Chicago Bears defense; he is projected to outscore Drake Maye.

Insight page

Isaiah Williams

NegativeUsage2:03

Isaiah Williams is noted as a depth receiver who would command an 18% target share if he were on the New England Patriots.

Insight page

Ja'Tavion Sanders

PositiveUsage11:43

Gino Smith expects Ja'Tavion Sanders' snap share to increase from the 57% he recorded last week, noting that he has not dropped the tight end in any leagues and believes he has a strong chance to produce a passable fantasy performance.

Insight page

Jadarian Price

NegativeInjury2:25

Jadarian Price is ruled out for the upcoming game due to a chest injury.

Insight page

Johnny Wilson

PositiveUsage10:43

Johnny Wilson is expected to have an opportunity for a full route and snap share, with the coaching staff potentially shifting his usage to be more vertical.

Insight page

Josh Downs

PositiveProjection6:54

Gino Smith feels more confident in Josh Downs' fantasy outlook given the current team injury context.

Insight page

Keenan Allen

NegativeInjury6:45

Keenan Allen has been ruled out for the upcoming game due to a groin injury.

Insight page

Puka Nacua

PositiveUsage15:02

Puka Nacua is returning from injury and is expected to play limited snaps, but he remains a recommended start in all fantasy formats due to his high upside even in a restricted role.

Insight page

Terrance Ferguson

NegativeInjury13:49

Terrence Ferguson is on injured reserve and will miss at least four games, creating a vacancy at the receiving tight end position for the Rams.

Insight page

Terry McLaurin

NegativeInjury6:42

Terry McLaurin has been ruled out for the upcoming game due to a hamstring injury.

Insight page

Treylon Burks

NegativeRole8:25

Treylon Burks is expected to step in and play most of the snaps vacated by Terry McLaurin's absence.

Insight page

Tyler Higbee

PositiveDepth Chart13:38

Tyler Higbee is established as the starting receiving tight end for the Rams, filling the role vacated by the injured Terrence Ferguson. He is highly familiar with the system and is ranked aggressively as the TE17, with potential for further upward movement.

Insight page

Tyler Warren

PositiveProjection6:57

Gino Smith feels significantly better about Tyler Warren's fantasy prospects due to the team's injury situation.

Insight page

Woody Marks

PositiveBreakout4:01

Woody Marks is a recommended sneaky start who is expected to outproduce his current ranking; he is trending toward increased snaps, red-zone usage, and a larger role in the passing game, with the team looking to shift work away from David Montgomery.

Insight page
Full transcript

Episode Transcript

420
0:00A lot of late breaking news this week in
0:02fantasy football, so we're going to
0:03break through some sneaky starts at all
0:05positions in 12 team PPR leagues
0:07beginning with Geno Smith. So, these are
0:09all guys who are not ranked as starters
0:11who I think can have a starting level
0:13game in fantasy football. Geno Smith
0:15actually has a great match up here
0:16against the Chicago Bears. The Chicago
0:18Bears defense, you know, basically if
0:19you throw out the monsoon game against
0:21the Minnesota Vikings, they look like
0:23one of the worst units in the NFL.
0:24Adonai Mitchell not playing in this
0:26game, Omar Cooper Jr. not playing in
0:27this game, Breece Hall not playing in
0:29this game. But, I do think we clearly
0:30saw in that Lions game. First off,
0:32having Garrett Wilson available is just
0:34enough to lean on. I mean, he really is
0:36one of those wide receivers who is so
0:38good, he can buoy his quarterback to a
0:40good fantasy football finish. We also
0:41saw Quez Watkins who I think is going to
0:43have a real uptick in routes this week
0:46be a really meaningful contributor on
0:48their offense. And without having Breece
0:50Hall in the lineup, I just think that is
0:51going to tilt the New York Jets to be a
0:52little bit more pass-heavy. I would
0:54guess they are going to be a positive
0:55pass rate over expectation team this
0:58week. I'm looking at some of my teams
0:59right at bad fantasy football
1:01quarterbacks like I Here's Here's a
1:03crazy one. I think you are totally
1:05reasonable to start Geno Smith over
1:07Drake May in fantasy football this week.
1:09Geno Smith is going to score more
1:10fantasy points than Drake May. There's
1:13one New England Patriots pass catcher
1:15who has created a missed tackle force
1:17this year. It's Hunter Henry. They
1:18basically have the worst wide receiver
1:20room in the NFL.
1:22I mean, Garrett Wilson, Quez Watkins,
1:23Isaiah Williams, these dudes are These
1:25dudes would walk into 25%. Isaiah
1:28Williams would have an 18% target share
1:30on the New England Patriots. And I
1:31frankly just kind of like that game. I I
1:33just think that that Bears-Jets game is
1:35actually one that we can have some real
1:37fantasy points scored in. Moving to the
1:39running back position, we covered this
1:40guy yesterday, but if you have not
1:42grabbed Emmanuel Wilson in your league,
1:44make sure that you pick him up. JaMycal
1:46Hasty is not going to play this week due
1:47to his chest injury. I think that
1:49Emmanuel Wilson is going to be the clear
1:50lead back in this game. I think he's
1:52clearly going to be ahead of George
1:54Kittle. They're 7-point favorites
1:56against the Chargers. They're going to
1:57be playing downhill in this game. I
1:59would imagine that he is going to get
2:01something between 15 to 18 rushes. He
2:03already has eight rushes inside the red
2:05zone. He's already been the
2:07short-yardage back for this team. Maybe
2:10uh you know, some of your other favorite
2:11fantasy football analysts are more on
2:13the Georgia line side, but Alani is
2:14basically a situational long down a
2:17distance two-minute drill guy, and
2:18that's not the guy that you want, in my
2:20opinion, against the Los Angeles
2:22Chargers cuz I don't think the Chargers
2:23have a fastball to go to. I I don't
2:25think the team can rear back and throw
2:27102 miles an hour. I I I think it's
2:30trending towards like McDaniels getting
2:32fired, Harbaugh's getting fired,
2:33everyone's getting fired. You know, the
2:35teams are going to start getting traded.
2:37They're they're going to be down
2:37basically from the jump in this one.
2:40Another running back to think about is a
2:42sneaky start this week, a potential
2:44high-scoring matchup for the Houston
2:45Texans against the Dallas Cowboys. Woody
2:47Marks is 52% rostered basically across
2:50the board. I uh I think there's a very
2:53very strong chance that he outproduces
2:55where everyone on the site has him
2:56ranked. He's up in the 30s basically for
2:58everyone on Flock Fantasy this week. I
3:01think his snaps are going to trend up in
3:02this game. They've already started using
3:04him in the red zone in more in short
3:06short yardage than they thought they
3:07would. There was a report from Jeremy
3:09Fowler of ESPN this last week that said
3:12the team is looking to shift more of the
3:14work to Woody Marks over David
3:15Montgomery. It would not surprise me if
3:18this week against the Dallas Cowboys we
3:19get something like, you know, between
3:21nine and 13 rushes for Woody Marks, but
3:23he becomes a much bigger part of the
3:25passing game. He did have six targets in
3:27their game against the Cincinnati
3:28Bengals, and this is the sort of game
3:30that you would want to be using Marks in
3:32anyway. Uh a sort of matchup where the
3:35Texans could very easily be trailing. I
3:37mean, this is an 0-3 team already where
3:39we are going to see the pass rate over
3:40expectation be quite high, where we are
3:42going to see C.J. Stroud with 40 or more
3:44dropbacks, a up-back-and-forth style
3:46game. I just kind of have a a sneaking
3:49suspicion that we see Woody Marks used
3:51both in short yardage and on passing
3:53downs this week and those high-leverage
3:55situations are just very good for
3:57fantasy football.
3:58Late-breaking news for the Washington
4:00Commanders and the Indianapolis Colts on
4:02both sides. Terry McLaurin is not going
4:04to play as a result of a hamstring
4:05injury and Keenan Allen has a groin
4:07injury and he has been ruled out. I
4:10actually don't think there's anyone
4:11startable for the Indianapolis Colts,
4:13you know, I wouldn't be starting Nick
4:14Westbrook-Ikin. I mean, it would make me
4:16feel much better about Josh Downs. It
4:17would make me feel way better about
4:19Tyler Warren. It makes me feel better
4:20about the Commanders potentially being
4:22able to hang in this game with Marcus
4:24Mariota starting and Rashad White out.
4:26But with McLaurin out, I would imagine
4:28that Antonio Williams is going to get a
4:30full route share for the first time.
4:32Williams looked like one of the best
4:33players on their offense in week one,
4:35scored a very key touchdown late for the
4:38Washington Commanders in that game.
4:39People forget, he I mean, he was
4:41actually the 71st overall pick, picked
4:43in the third round. He's had at least
4:44three targets in every game for the
4:46team. He's coming off of what was like,
4:48I guess, his worst fantasy football
4:50game, only two receptions for 15 yards
4:52in a win against the Seattle Seahawks,
4:54but that was a game that the team
4:56actually didn't have the ball that much.
4:57His snaps trended up to 28% of the
5:00offensive snaps in that game for the
5:02Commanders against the Seahawks. I would
5:03imagine the most likely thing that's
5:06going to happen is Treylon Burks is
5:08going to come in and play most of the
5:10vacated stuff for Terry McLaurin.
5:12However, there is another avenue that
5:15the team could go down and this has
5:16actually been an avenue that other teams
5:17that have employed Stefon Diggs has
5:19done, which is when the team does shift
5:21into their passing packages, right? So,
5:24when they go into 11 personnel, when
5:26they go into 10 personnel even,
5:29Stefon Diggs shifts to the outside. This
5:32was actually the way that he was used
5:33quite a bit in Minnesota. This was the
5:35way that he was used in Buffalo.
5:37You know, the Patriots did not use him
5:39this way and the Houston Texans did not
5:40use him this way, probably correlated to
5:42Diggs getting a little bit older,
5:43correlating to Diggs' injuries. And I'm
5:45not saying that Diggs is going to have
5:46like a 70% slot rate or anything like
5:49that. But if I'm just thinking about the
5:50most logical thing for a Commanders team
5:52trying to get the win here, what is more
5:54logical? You know, forcing Dyami Brown
5:56and Trey Lance Burks to play a bunch of
5:58extra snaps and trying to get the ball
6:00to those guys, or does it make more
6:02sense to get Antonio Williams on the
6:04field, have him run, you know, 65-70% of
6:06the routes? So, even if you don't start
6:08Antonio Williams this week, I think he
6:10is a good pre-waiver wire guy. I would
6:13be stashing him. Um actually have picked
6:15him up in some leagues kind of as a
6:17pre-emptive stash. I have one fantasy
6:19football league in the Roto World
6:21League, very competitive. You know,
6:22Hayden Winks and RotoPat and Rich Rebar
6:24and a lot of really great players are in
6:26that league. I actually I made this
6:28move. You guys can tell me if this is
6:29stupid or not. I just dropped Keenan
6:30Allen in that league. It's a short bench
6:32league, only five bench slots. I
6:33actually just dropped him for Antonio
6:35Williams. And there's a chance when we
6:37get to Sunday morning that I just decide
6:38I want to start Antonio Williams. I
6:41don't know how sneaky this one is, but
6:43Quez Watkins is going to have a chance
6:44to get a full route and snap share for
6:47the Philadelphia Eagles in this game
6:49against the Rams. But furthermore, I
6:51think there's going to be a real
6:52intentional shift from the coaching
6:54staff of the Philadelphia Eagles to use
6:56Quez Watkins in a slightly different
6:58way. I think they're going to use him
6:59further down the field. Right now, he is
7:01averaging 3.8 yards of separation on his
7:05routes that are further than 10 yards
7:07down the field. That is kind of a fancy
7:08stat, but it says exactly what you think
7:11it says, which is when they're not using
7:13him behind the line of scrimmage. I
7:14mean, he's literally had one of these
7:16awful screens thrown to him in every
7:17single game.
7:19When they are using him as a real wide
7:20receiver, similar to the way that he was
7:22used at USC, he is winning on those
7:24routes. The ball just has not
7:25necessarily found him in all of those
7:27games. I think that Quez Watkins I'm
7:29calling it right now. I think he has a
7:31good game against the Los Angeles Rams.
7:33And I think the fact that DeVonta Smith
7:35did not practice all week, so didn't
7:36practice Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday,
7:38when they're installing the game plan,
7:40when they're thinking about, okay, how
7:41are we going to try and win this game
7:43against the Rams? Which is a a big game.
7:45I mean, these are all big games in some
7:47way, but like the Philadelphia Eagles
7:48are a team that comes into a season
7:50thinking, hey, like
7:52we are we won a Super Bowl, like we've
7:53been to the Super Bowl, like this is a
7:55we need to get back on on the winning
7:57track. We fired Kevin Petulo for a
7:59reason. I think that we are going to see
8:01a clear concerted effort by the Eagles
8:04to get Makai Lemon involved. I mean, Wix
8:06is like a fine start as well, but I I
8:08think that we see like six to nine
8:10targets here for Makai Lemon. And I
8:12think he scores his first NFL touchdown
8:14here against the Rams as well.
8:17Moving to the tight end position, it's
8:19really interesting. So, Tyler Higbee is
8:21going to I think
8:23No, I'm pretty sure actually that he is
8:24going to be the starting receiving tight
8:26end for the Los Angeles Rams. He's
8:28coming off a game where he replaced
8:29Terrance Ferguson, ended up with 20.2
8:32PPR points, 71% of his snaps, 11
8:35targets, eight receptions, 62 yards and
8:37a touchdown, only 1.4 yards per route
8:40run. Colby Parkinson is also coming into
8:42this game banged up. Terrance Ferguson
8:44is on the IR, so he's going to miss at
8:45least four games. Obviously, the thing
8:47that we know about the Rams is no team
8:50is more committed to their heavy
8:51personnel than the Rams. So, 12
8:53personnel, 13 personnel. The entire
8:55conceit behind the offense that the Rams
8:58used this offseason that they've been
9:00installing was having at least two tight
9:02ends on the field, if not three. Puka
9:04Nacua is going to be back for this game,
9:06but according to reports again, he's
9:08going to be playing limited snaps. I'm
9:09still starting Puka in all the leagues
9:11where I have him because I think he will
9:12do great on limited snaps. But, there's
9:15clearly a role for a receiving tight
9:17end. I don't think it's going to be
9:18Colby Parkinson. I think Parkinson is
9:19either not going to play or basically
9:21plays a different position. Like, Higbee
9:23seems to me like he is Terrance
9:25Ferguson's direct positional backup. And
9:27then Davis Allen seems like the backup
9:29to Parkinson. I don't think we'll see
9:30very much of second-round pick
9:32He'll be active in this game. He'll
9:34probably have a chance to run a couple
9:35routes in this game, but I don't think
9:37he's going to be treated as a starting
9:38player yet. Very similar to how Terrance
9:40Ferguson was brought along slowly. He
9:41was a second round pick last year, was
9:43an inactive to start the season, was
9:45activated for the first time in a game
9:47that Puka Nacua missed, had a good game
9:48in the game that Puka Nacua missed, but
9:50was not a full-time player until
9:51basically the last four games of the
9:53season. Higbee obviously knows the
9:56system. He's been around for I mean, I
9:57think this is literally his eighth
9:59season as a member of the Los Angeles
10:01Rams. Um no, even more. Even more. He's
10:03been a Los Angeles Ram for a decade. No
10:06one is going to know this offense better
10:08than Tyler Higbee. I have Tyler Higbee
10:10ranked
10:11like fairly aggressively. I mean, the
10:13tight end 17 is pretty aggressive for
10:15this guy. I might move him up even a
10:17little bit closer as we get to Sunday.
10:20And another guy that I can't believe I'm
10:22holding the light on for this guy.
10:23Basically, the deal with Arondé Gadson
10:25has to just be he cannot grasp the
10:27nuances of NFL football very well
10:29because when you watch him run routes,
10:31when you watch him with the ball in your
10:32hands, you're like, "Man, if I was an
10:34NFL coach, I would throw the ball to
10:36Gadson so much more often than I would
10:38throw it to Quinton Johnston, so much
10:39more often than I would even throw it to
10:40Trey Harris. Like, why would I even sign
10:42Charlie Kolar and David Njoku when I
10:44have Arondé Gadson? And then, if you
10:47keep watching and you keep watching, you
10:48realize, "Oh, Herbert's having to tell
10:50this guy where to go before the snap."
10:52And Gadson is like make He's like bad
10:54drops and all this, which doesn't sound
10:56like a very kind way to describe someone
10:58that I am saying is a sneaky start. But
11:00basically, you know, there What's the
11:02old saying? There are There are no
11:04atheists in a foxhole. That's kind of
11:06how I feel about the Los Angeles
11:07Chargers right now. They just have to
11:09start throwing stuff against the wall
11:10and hoping it sticks because if they
11:12start their season Owen four, I mean,
11:14I've already talked about the Chargers a
11:15ton on this channel, but basically, you
11:16start your season Owen four, heads are
11:19starting to roll. Guys are getting
11:20fired. You are going to get OCs fired.
11:22We're going to get quarterback coaches
11:23fired. We're And then pretty soon, we're
11:25going to start having some uncomfortable
11:26conversations about head coaches, about
11:28trading star players, about like, "Hey,
11:30man, why am I spending so much money on
11:32this team that absolutely stinks?
11:34I know for a fact that Rondale Gadsden
11:37is a good receiving tight end. He has
11:39the best ever rookie season from a day
11:41three tight end ever, ever. So, any way
11:43you want to filter it, targets,
11:44receptions, yards, fantasy points, best
11:47ever rookie season from a day three
11:49tight end. I think there's a strong,
11:50strong chance that Rondale Gadsden has a
11:53very passable fantasy football game
11:55here. I any league where I acquired
11:57Rondale Gadsden, I did not drop him. I
11:59think his snaps honestly are going to
12:01trend up from the 57% that he had last
12:04week. And then a little sneaky one for
12:06you guys here, the Detroit Lions.
12:08They're playing away, they're three and
12:09a half point favorites against Carolina
12:11Panthers. I know that I'm in some of
12:12these leagues where I forgot to make
12:14defense and kicker moves this week. The
12:16Detroit Lions are going to be facing the
12:17Carolina Panthers without their two
12:19starting offensive corners. I think
12:21there's every chance in a 51 total game
12:23that we get like 45 dropbacks from Bryce
12:26Young. And you guys are smart, you know
12:27the deal in fantasy football is it
12:29doesn't really matter the points
12:30allowed. We would love to have a defense
12:32that gave up, you know, 28 points if
12:34they got four sacks, an interception, a
12:36fumble return, a punt return for a
12:37touchdown. And I think the Lions are in
12:39a very good spot to do that. Hey, make
12:42sure you like the video, make sure
12:43you're subscribed to the channel, and
12:44then head on over to flockfantasy.com.
12:46If you sign up over there using code
12:48Davis, you can ask me a start/sit
12:50question, you can ask me a a team
12:52review, you can get a trade review,
12:53whatever, whatever you want. But sign up
12:55over there on flockfantasy using code
12:57Davis, and I'll be back with you guys
12:59tomorrow.

More episodes from Mattek Fantasy Football

6