Week 3 Matchups + Packers in Peril, Wheel of Shame! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/25

This is the Friday matchups show, covering leftover Week 3 previews after Thursday night's Falcons-Packers blowout kicked things off. The hosts spend most of the episode grinding through seven additional games, flagging injury news, and building start/sit calls around backfield committees and receiver target shares — the throughline being that offensive-line and health chaos (Green Bay, San Francisco, Tampa Bay) is driving as many fantasy outcomes right now as talent is.

The arguments

Green Bay's offense is a genuine disaster, and it's not on Jordan Love. Love was sacked more than any quarterback through three weeks and threw 53 times because the run game produced 17 yards on eight carries combined from Marshawn Lloyd and Caleb Johnson. Andy and Mike agreed Tucker Kraft got plenty of volume (eight targets) but caught only four for 26 yards, including a lateral-style tipped ball, and dropped two passes — evidence he's still not physically right. The group's read: the Packers need Josh Jacobs back badly, and they should be 0-3 if not for a lucky Jets comeback.

The Falcons' offensive outburst validates Atlanta as a real fantasy environment, not a fluke. Bijan Robinson (194 rushing yards) and Drake London (194 receiving yards) both went off, alongside Matthew Golden (101 yards) and Christian Watson (96 yards, a touchdown). The hosts noted this reverses any doubt from Atlanta's first two weeks and reinforced Jason's earlier Kyle Pitts-for-London trade as a clear win.

Patriots-Jaguars splits the hosts on quarterback preference despite matchup difficulty. Mike and Jason both said they'd rather start Trevor Lawrence than Drake May even though Lawrence draws the tougher matchup, since May has nobody to throw to after losing Diggs, Boutte, and now A.J. Brown. On TreVeyon Henderson, the crew flagged zero targets on 16 carries as a real usage problem, though Mike expects volume to grow once game scripts stop being blowouts. Jason broke from Mike on Brian Thomas Jr., calling him a legitimate sneaky start against a Patriots defense that lets receiver twos feed off shadow coverage; Mike was skeptical given BTJ's poor catch rate last week.

Brock Purdy is now a locked-in must-start over Shedeur Sanders hype, and Jeremiah Love is a buy-low. Mike said he'd take Purdy over Shedeur the rest of the season outright, citing a touchdown rate over 7% that the crew doesn't view as regression-bound. On Arizona's backfield, the hosts agreed Jeremiah Love (58.5 combined yards on PrizePicks) is undervalued relative to Tyler Allgeier (64% snaps last week) and pushed buying him now, before he takes over the job, comparing the timeline to Bijan Robinson's slow rookie start. They also noted George Kittle producing (4/80/TD) on fewer snaps and preferred him over Kraft's low-value volume, while flagging Mike Evans (DNP Thursday) as a game-time call they'd still start if active.

Emeka Egbuka's target share is a real red flag, not just a bad-matchup blip. Jason and Mike pointed to Egbuka sitting at 17-18% target share, worse than Ted Hurst's snap share on the same team, and noted he hasn't hit 10 fantasy points since Week 10 of last year — a 10-game stretch coinciding with a 2-9 Buccaneers record. They pinned the blame more on Baker Mayfield's collapse (30th in EPA/play, missing deep shots) than on Egbuka, and said they'd still rather start Egbuka than Josh Downs this week, but view better Jalen Coker/Jameson Williams-tier options as preferable to Egbuka going forward. Bucky Irving remains a start despite the tough Minnesota matchup.

In Brazil, Rashod Bateman becomes a must-play if Zay Flowers sits, and Javonte Williams stays a must-start. The hosts said Bateman jumps their rankings the moment Flowers is officially out, and called Mark Andrews a viable tight end spot-start given 6-7 targets in recent weeks. Despite growing concern about a long-term Javonte Williams timeshare (with Chuba Hubbard preferred in a rest-of-season, apples-to-apples comparison), they were unanimous that Javonte remains a must-play this week as Dallas's workhorse in a high-scoring setup.

The Raiders are a live upset pick over the Saints, and touching Saints running backs is a trap. Mike called the Raiders' defense and Kubiak's coaching legitimate, projecting Las Vegas to win outright behind ball control and a return from Brock Bowers, while noting the sample size (Chargers, Dolphins) hasn't tested them yet. On the other side, the crew said Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, and Devin Neal form an unpredictable committee not worth rostering, with only Chris Olave and Brandin Cooks/Vele as reliable plays.

What it means for your roster

• Fade Green Bay pass-catchers for now, especially Tucker Kraft as a touchdown-or-bust play — he's not fully healthy and the offensive line issues won't resolve quickly; the Packers need Josh Jacobs to stabilize the run game.
• Start Trevor Lawrence over Drake May in any close streaming decision, and treat TreVeyon Henderson as a wait-and-see hold rather than a confident start until targets show up.
• Buy low on Jeremiah Love now, before he clearly overtakes Tyler Allgeier — the hosts said they'd still trade for him even after a big Chuba Hubbard week, viewing this as a Bijan-Allgeier-style transition still in progress.
• Prioritize Brock Purdy as a locked weekly starter over Shedeur Sanders in any dynasty or redraft quarterback debate; also start George Kittle over Tucker Kraft in any Packers/49ers tight end choice.
• Treat Emeka Egbuka as a start-with-caution flex, still ahead of Josh Downs this week, but the hosts flagged him as a sell-high/downgrade candidate given the 17% target share and Baker Mayfield's collapse.
• Add Rashod Bateman and Terrence Ferguson off waivers immediately — Bateman if Zay Flowers is ruled out, and Ferguson as a must-roster tight end with Puka Nacua sidelined again; avoid Broncos and Saints backfield committees entirely this week.