Transcription
Fantasy can be a cruel, cruel game. You do all of this work for 14 weeks to get into the playoffs, and then some of your best players go down with an injury. Well, in today's video, we're going to talk about over 10 names, and we're going to talk about what our panic level is from a one to a 10, and how it impacts the rest of fantasy football and maybe your ability to win a fantasy championship.
The first name that we need to talk about, this is hard to talk about for me as a Chiefs fan, Washington and Chiefs fan. And Patrick Mahomes, uh, yeah, he's done for the year. All right. So, if Patrick Mahomes was your quarterback in fantasy football, you need to find a replacement. I mean, he was such a great draft pick this year. Completely turn the clock back into being that league-winning type of fantasy quarterback. I don't think I, I certainly didn't anticipate that happening this year. And unfortunately, if you're just hearing this now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he was tackled, and it was an awkward tackle, awkward moment where his momentum, the knee kind of popped a little bit to the left. We weren't 100% sure if it was a hyperextension or, you know, what sort of ligaments might have been torn. But unfortunately, it was indeed a torn ACL. It has been confirmed. He will not play again this year, and he won't, he probably won't be available at the beginning of 2026. That's, I mean, for a Chiefs fan, this is, this is a devastating injury. Patrick Mahomes actually talked about it himself. He says, "Don't know why this had to happen." Then he goes on to talk about how he's going to be back and stronger than ever. Uh, so big shout out to Patrick.
Oddly enough, you know, not trying to compare, uh, you know, him to the GOAT. But this is kind of crazy. How is this a coincidence? I don't know. Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes both suffered ACL tears in their ninth seasons. Okay. Uh, both ACL injuries came the year after losing a Super Bowl. Crazy. Crazy the comparisons. Um, I do want to just go ahead and take one quick little second and give some damn respect to Patrick Mahomes. I mean, as a starter in 2018, I mean, all the way to 2025, uh, you know, there, that's one hell of a streak. Missing it in 2025. I think that deserves some flowers. You know, don't, don't let the greats retire before you give them praise. That's how I look at a name like Patrick Mahomes.
But obviously, without Patrick Mahomes, that doesn't just impact him. That impacts the entire offense in Kansas City. It is going to be Gardner Minshew starting. And this is not good news for Rashee Rice. Okay? I don't care which way you want to slice it. Patrick Mahomes has missed two games in his career. Now you've got Rasheed Rice, who is going to be, by the way, uh, in Tennessee next week. That's fine. But then Denver in week 17. So if you make it to the fantasy championship, you're going to have a Denver matchup, okay, with Gardner Minshew trying to throw you the ball. I just, man, this is probably on a level of 1 to 10 for Rasheed Rice. I'm at a strong seven and a half. He's still going to be a startable name. He still should get plenty of opportunities, but it's just, it's just not going to be the same offense without Patrick Mahomes. So, if you're in a smaller league and you have other options, maybe you can look at that. But if you're in a league like me where it's really deep, um, hard to find startable names, you're going to have to put them in there and hope for the best. But this is about worst-case scenario for Rashee Rice, outside of him injuring himself, right? Okay.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but again, if we're looking at the injury bug, well, Davante Adams, who was having one hell of a year, if you guys don't know, a my guy for the 2025 season. He, uh, on this deep ball from Matthew Stafford, he beat his man, and then there was definitely like a pop, uh, you know, he, he, or rather a strain, I guess I should say, of the hamstring. Now, unfortunately, um, this is probably going to make him miss the rest of the fantasy playoffs. I'd be surprised if he comes back. It looked very serious. Uh, we'll see if he can play through it. I, I really doubt it. Even if he plays through it, I mean, we have seen guys like Ameka Egbuka, a younger player, by the way. I mean, he's going to recover quicker than Davante Adams. Adams is not a young pup anymore. It's going to take him longer to recover from an injury like this than Ameka Egbuka. But even Egbuka, like he wasn't the same player coming back from that injury. So, unfortunately, Davante Adams, I mean, I would be absolutely shocked if we see Adams in this game. And by the way, uh, he plays the Rams play on Thursday. I mean, I would genuinely be so shocked, so shocked if the Rams end up activating Davante Adams for this game. He's going to be out. It's Thursday night. Uh, it's an important matchup against the Seahawks, but you're not gonna have him. So, uh, you're gonna have to make alternate plans. No Davante Adams. Uh, obviously no, uh, Patrick Mahomes. Rasheed Rice is going to be hampered. And also, if you own Matthew Stafford, now you have to ask the question, without Davante Adams, you know, how confident am I starting Matthew Stafford in this game against the Seahawks? So, definitely, those were the biggest losses of the week. But an insane day for injuries, by the way. I mean, not only did Patrick Mahomes go down, but also Davante Adams, and you also had Micah Parsons go down with injuries. It's wild. Uh, McVay also said, by the way, he said it didn't look good. Status is in doubt for Thursday. Um, and he said he hurt the same hamstring, so it's, it's going to be a tough uphill battle for Davante Adams. Assume you don't have him for the rest of the year.
Okay, let's go ahead and talk about Woody Marks. Now, Woody Marks did not play much in this game, okay? He, uh, left early with the injury. He got the touchdown. It was a little bit of a weird play, but DeMeco Ryans said this after the game. And he said, "Woody would have came back into the game, but for where he was, got his ankle tweaked a little bit early in the game. For where he was, felt like Jawar and Dar were doing a really good job. So, just wanted to keep rolling with those guys, make sure Woody is good as we continue to go into the week." That is about as encouraging of a postgame presser a coach could give for an injured player. Um, so I will say for Woody Marks, my panic level is more at a five out of 10, uh, simply because if you're without him next week, then you know obviously you're gonna have to find another option, but, uh, you know, there is a chance that he's able to play. So it could be worse. It certainly could be worse.
Next player we're going to talk about here is R.J. Harvey. It's again, a damn shame. The injuries this week were just brutal. Uh, you know, that is three games in a row with a touchdown. Shout out to him for doing his thing against Green Bay. Had 20 total opportunities, got into the end zone, but he left the game with a rib injury. Okay. And he did not return. So, that rib injury didn't let him come back into the game. Not 100% sure. It was a competitive game against the Packers. So, you might need to look towards the waiver wire if you're an R.J. Harvey owner. Uh, there's quite a few people who might be battling for bodies at the running back position this group. So, or this week. I would put this at more of a six and a half to a seven panic, simply because he didn't come back into the game, and we don't have any indication of if he's going to be healthy for this coming week.
All right, next name we need to talk about here is Mr. Bucky Irving. I know y'all know I love me some Bucky Irving, but after back-to-back weeks of scoring 16.1 fantasy points, his points basically slashed in half. Now, the frustrating part about this is, if you look at the usage for Bucky Irving, he is still their dominant running back. I mean, yes, Rashaad White was out there for 29 snaps, but they gave him two touches. All right, Bucky's out there with 18 touches, and your life is on the line, and then you decide inside the five-yard line, you know what? We're going to feature Sean Tucker, but only when he takes the most valuable opportunities in fantasy, the goal-line touches for a touchdown. Now, obviously, Sean Tucker scores a touchdown. He has four touches. He actually has double the touches to Rashaad White, despite playing just eight snaps. So, this is back-to-back weeks where, you know, this offensive coordinator, Grisard, and and Bulls, they're, they're happy just to ruin Bucky's touchdown equity. It's really frustrating. Uh, but I still think Bucky is a startable name because of the offense that he's a part of, because the amount of times that he touches the ball. Let's just hope that Sean Tucker doesn't, you know, screw us over for the rest of the playoffs. I would put the panic at like a solid four, simply because you can play him and he has gotten into the end zone outside of the goal line. So, that is definitely encouraging.
All right, next thing we need to talk about is Quindell Judkins. And it's just simply because the performances haven't been good enough. Okay? This offense is not good, and he's getting a lot of volume, but it's not turning into any fantasy success. In fact, three out of the last five weeks, he has been a bust. Okay? And now you're going to go into Buffalo next week. It's a good matchup. He should, in theory, be able to run the ball effectively, but at the same time, you're going to be down the entire game. The offense isn't very good. Shedeur Sanders is starting to fall apart. He's had under two yards per carry in back-to-back weeks. All right, versus Tennessee and Chicago. Those were not tough matchups. So now you got a matchup against Buffalo, which is technically good, but he's already had two good matchups that he's failed to have over two yards per carry. The offense isn't good. They're stacking the boxes. I am pretty concerned about Quindell Judkins. I am not labeling him a must-start next week. He will be a flexible, uh, low-end RB2. My panic would be about a six and a half, simply because you just can't, you can't start the guy with any confidence.
Okay, let's go ahead and let's talk about Devin Neal. Devin Neal scored the touchdown and then pretty much immediately left the game with a hamstring injury. He did not return. So, there's a very good chance that you will not have Devin Neal next week with that hamstring injury. The Jets were the next game that was lining up to be another really good matchup for Devin Neal. Uh, maybe Alvonte is back. I'm not 100% sure, but again, you're going to have to be looking at the waiver wire, maybe an Evan Hull, an Audric Estime. Uh, it is, it has been an absolutely brutal day for injuries. Again, my panic level for a guy who didn't come back to the game, hamstring injury, I would say a nine out of 10 panic. And the only reason it's not a 10 out of 10 is because he's not officially been ruled out for next week at this point.
All right, the next thing we need to talk about here is Bam Knight. He left the game after one touch. He was actually carted off the field. And after that time, Michael Carter ended up being the bell cow for the Arizona Cardinals. He had an almost 80% backfield carry share, 10% target rate, got the only carry inside the 10-yard line. So, Bam Knight, you know, with that ankle, I don't expect him to play again in the fantasy playoffs. I don't think I expect him to play again this year, to be honest with you guys. He was the most reliable, you know, low-end flex for the Cardinals, considering Trey Benson's out for the year, but they've just dealt with so many injuries in that backfield. I do not anticipate you having Bam Knight for the rest of the year. So, this is a solid 10 out of 10 panic.
The next name I just want to briefly talk about is Stefon Diggs, because Stefon Diggs is just a different player for fantasy football when this team is with Josh Allen than when they're without Josh Allen. I, I know that sounds silly, but these games where he, you know, really won your weeks like week 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, where he's getting 12, 15, 19 fantasy points, those are games where Josh Allen wasn't healthy. When Josh Allen comes back, his snap share goes down around that 50% uh opportunity mark. He also has only had four targets in the last three games. Okay, four targets per game in the past three games. Not a single game over six fantasy points. He played Buffalo. Every narrative you could think of in the book, revenge game, they still didn't focus on him. And by the way, they lost the game. So it's not like they were just up and they could afford just not to use Stefon Diggs at this point. It is truly a merry-go-round with this wide receiver room. It's a rushing roulette. It's basically the Green Bay Packers 2.0. So, I mean, I, I'm pretty concerned because I don't know how you have any confidence in Stefon Diggs at this point with three weeks of bust, bust, bust. Uh, I would say this is a solid 8.6 out of 10 panic meter for me, and he is not someone that you have to put in your lineups moving forward.
Okay, the next thing that we're going to talk about here is Mr. Christian Watson. He came back and was having one hell of a season. Unfortunately, on this deep ball on Sunday, he lands pretty hard on his shoulder. He also takes all of the weight of Jaire Alexander, who made an incredible play for that interception, but it's looking like a collarbone injury, maybe AC joint, clavicle. I'm not 100% sure. This looks like a similar injury that Bucky Irving dealt with. Uh, I think Jayden Reed also injured his shoulder earlier in the year, if I'm not mistaken. So, I mean, I was saying it throughout the week, this feels like potential bust territory for Christian Watson. Of course, he goes down with the injury, so I can't, I'm not victory lapping that, by the way. I never could have guessed that, but it ended up being a bust game, and I don't think you're going to have him for the rest of the year. So, if he is in your flex and you were relying on him, again, another name you're going to have to look towards other options this week.
All right, next name we're going to talk about here is Laquon. Laquon didn't get injured, thank God, but he had one of his worst days in fantasy this year. In fact, this was his third worst day in fantasy this year. Four fantasy points. They played the Kansas City Chiefs. Here's the good news. They get the Dallas Cowboys next week. All right. He is going to be a fine flex option against the Dallas Cowboys. The best matchup for your fantasy wide receivers. Uh, so my panic level is like a two and a half out of 10. It's a great matchup for him to bounce back in.
Okay, how about Romeo Doubs? This was such a weird situation on Sunday. So before the game, we were told that Romeo Doubs was active and ready to go. Okay. And then out of nowhere, Romeo Doubs, who was ruled active, decided, you know, last minute he couldn't play because of an aggravated foot injury. I think during warm-ups, the fresh stress fracture he had in his foot was reaggravated, and then he ended up not being able to play the game. So some of you guys would have had him in your lineup. If you were in a tough spot and you got zero, you might have gotten zero if you played him anyway, but I mean, you were guaranteed to get a zero at that point. Yahoo tweeted out that 82% of people were able to get him to their bench in time, but that's 18% who probably their fantasy dreams are over because of a last-minute, uh, designation. And let's be real, if you're starting Romeo Doubs, you probably weren't going to go to the championship anyway. But Romeo Doubs, uh, I would say a solid nine out of 10 panic. Wasn't sure if he was going to play again this year. If he reaggravated that injury, he's probably gonna miss some time, guys. Probably gonna miss some time.
All right, last name I want to quickly talk about is Mr. Alec Pierce. When we heard news that Tyrod Taylor was going to be the starter for the Colts, my biggest concern of any weapon for the Colts was Alec Pierce. Why did I say that? I said that because Tyrod Taylor is a really good deep ball thrower. He just is. He has been throughout the majority of his career. And that is where Alec Pierce thrives. That's where he makes an impact for this team. That's where he gets his fantasy points. He's a big play threat down the field, aerial guy, one-on-one ball winner, right? He is just that type of dude. Great athlete down the field, good contested catch guy, can beat you down the field, stack the the quarterback. Now, my concern was with Tyrod Taylor being a grandpa, 44 years old, there is going to be very little time. He's not going to extend the plays. He doesn't have a very good arm throwing down the field at this point. My concern was with his age, they're probably not going to be throwing the ball very high. Like the average depth of target is going to be very low. And you saw that throughout this entire game. In fact, Tyler Warren led the way with targets. He didn't have a good fantasy day. Ended up with 4.9 fantasy points. But even Michael Pittman only had 5.6 points, three catches, 26 yards. Josh Downs got into the end zone. I mean, let's be so for real right now. The Colts offense did not look good. Jonathan Taylor had a bajillion touches in the first half. And that's really it was coaching that kept them in the game. They were managing the game well against Seattle. Uh, so for Alec Pierce, I said this before the week. I said he's not startable. I now I feel even more confidence in that. You can't start Alec Pierce. In fact, you could probably drop Alec Pierce if you want to pick up a defense for a future week and kind of plan ahead or, you know, think through weeks 15, uh, 16, 17, maybe 18 if for some reason you're out there within 18, uh, fantasy day.
Well, how is your fantasy league looking at this point? Did you make it past round one? There was a particular matchup that was incredibly close for me in one of my dynasty leagues. I won by 0.06 points on the last CeeDee Lamb catch. Insanity. Having a pretty good year in fantasy. Honestly, I think I made the playoffs in, I think, 75% of my leagues. Super happy with the year so far. Obviously, the Flock league didn't work out, but I want to hear how your year is going. And if you're not having a good year, then let me tell you, you can still play fantasy football. In fact, Fast Draft has a contest for week 16 specifically where basically all you got to do is choose six non-quarterbacks and then set your boosters. You can play against me. You're drafting, uh, whatever kind of players that you want to draft into a pool, and then the highest scoring, uh, roster ends up winning the most money. Download the Fast Draft app, use the promo code LAND, and I'll match your deposit up to $50, and then you can come compete against me in the Super Slam contest. All right, you don't have to stop playing fantasy if you got eliminated from the playoffs.
All right, last two names we're going to talk about here are tight ends. And they are tight ends that a lot of people were streaming this week. Starting off with Brenton Strange. Brenton Strange, my concern in this game was that the Jags were going to dominate, and they weren't going to need Brenton Strange at all. Well, that's pretty much what happened. He had one catch for 26 yards, three targets. Uh, he gets Denver in week 16. The good news is he gets Indianapolis in week 17. That's a pretty good matchup. But I mean, he is a low, low, low-end, mid-mid tight end too, I would say, at this point, right? Like each week he's going to be around tight end 13 to 16 in your rankings. Not a guy that you can rely on. Um, depends on matchup.
Speaking of matchups, Isaiah Likely, I mean, just complete bomb. How in the world? Like, genuinely, I'm so confused. Isaiah Likely, who from week five onwards, every single game he has a target. Every single game. And then the one matchup that looks like the best possible matchup in fantasy football for your tight ends. I mean, I think you guys understand tight ends have been historically great against Cincinnati this year. And Isaiah Likely doesn't even get a single target. Not a single target. Are you kidding me? The amount of people who streamed Isaiah Likely with confidence this week was sky high. And it made sense because every single team in the NFL were using multiple tight ends and dominating this defense with their tight ends. I, I, I'm shocked. I'm genuinely shocked by this. But it is fantasy football, to a team. Okay, that is just the way things go sometimes. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Uh, it's a game that we play on paper, but the NFL doesn't play it on paper, unfortunately.
Guys, I appreciate you watching the video. Do me a favor, hit the like button and show some love. Subscribe if you like the content, and I'll post my start sits tomorrow. And of course, if you need help setting your lineup, you can check out the Flock Fantasy website with the link below, uh, where I will be answering questions all week. Nothing below. Draft with me every night this week on the Fast Draft app, where there are thousands of dollars to be won weekly. Getting started is easy. Download the Fast Draft app. Use the promo code LAND at signup to get your deposit match up to $50. That's up to 10 free entries on us. And when you finish your first DFS contest, I'll send you my weekly rankings completely free. Check out the link in the pinned comment to start drafting today.