Starts of the Week + Week 5 Games, Smooshed! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 10/8

This episode mixes NFL news reaction with a full slate of Week 5 start/sit calls, built around the idea that several offenses are entering fork-in-the-road moments — Pickens vs. CeeDee, Eagles' receiver room, Packers' backfield, Bengals' receivers — where the hosts have to pick a side with real roster stakes. The through-line is that volume and target share, not name value, should drive start decisions this week.

The arguments

George Pickens remains a legitimate weekly start even after a quiet Week 4, because his role is volume-driven, not touchdown-driven. Jason and Andy point out that from Week 7 last season on, Pickens was a top-five wide receiver finisher three times despite several games outside the top 27, which they attribute to his boom-bust "big play" archetype rather than disappearance from the offense. Mike pushes back that last week's CeeDee-dominant game raises real doubt, but the others maintain Dallas' offense is generating enough volume for both receivers to matter.

Jacoby Brissett is a legitimate streaming option against Detroit, not just a desperation move. Jason built the case on Detroit allowing over 300 passing yards per game and several quarterbacks (Josh Allen, Geno Smith, Bryce Young) notching top-five finishes against them; Mike confirms he actually rostered Brissett across his own leagues on this basis rather than just recommending it.

Sean Payton is expected to fully reclaim play-calling this week, and that's a tailwind for Bo Nix. The hosts interpret Ian Rapoport's "collaborative" framing as a prelude to Payton taking over outright, predicting he hands it back to Davis Webb next week for a tougher Seattle matchup. Combined with a leaky Chargers defense (24th in pressure rate, 25th in yards per attempt) and checkdown-friendly usage, they view Nix as a solid Week 5 play.

The Eagles' passing offense is in disarray, and Jalen Hurts is barely startable in single-QB formats. Andy and Jason are blunt that Hurts' passing-yard projection (193.5) is his lowest of the season and that without short-yardage scoring chances, his fantasy value craters. They flag Makai Lemon as criminally underused given his route tree and argue Hurts simply isn't looking his way, while debating a confusing hierarchy among Dontayvion Wicks, Darius Cooper, and Lemon for anyone forced to start an Eagles receiver.

The Bears backfield (Monangai/Swift) and Packers backfield (Lloyd/Johnson) are both startable against each other, but for different reasons. Jason prefers Tyrone Monangai in a given-one-choice scenario given his practice-report edge over Swift's hamstring, while acknowledging Swift's receiving-work versatility; separately, they note Green Bay's run defense is dead last schedule-adjusted, making either Bears back playable, while conceding Green Bay's own backfield (Lloyd/Johnson) is close to unstartable given a bench-for-fumbles rule the coaching staff reportedly enforces.

Target competition undermines several popular waiver names this week. TJ Hawkinson becomes a bench candidate if Justin Jefferson plays, since the hosts expect volume to revert to Jefferson; similarly, they're split on Dante Myers if Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both sit, with Jason more confident than Mike, who notes Cincinnati's offense historically needs only a half of real passing volume against Miami.

Several boring-but-steady veteran backs deserve more respect than their names suggest. Aaron Jones is highlighted as a top-24 back in all four weeks for Minnesota despite a middling passing game, and Ashton Jeanty is framed as a true three-down, high-target back (8 targets last week, 102-target pace) benefiting from an improved Raiders offensive line.

What it means for your roster

• Keep starting George Pickens in all formats — his volume-driven role survives a quiet CeeDee-dominant week, per Jason/Andy; Mike remains the lone skeptic.
• Stream Jacoby Brissett this week if you're missing a quarterback to bye/injury — both hosts rostered him based on Detroit's pass-funnel defense.
• Start Bo Nix with confidence against the Chargers; the expected Sean Payton play-calling takeover plus a leaky Chargers pass defense raises his floor.
• Bench or heavily downgrade Jalen Hurts in single-QB leagues this week against Jacksonville; if forced into an Eagles pass-catcher, the hosts' order was Wicks, then Cooper, then Lemon, despite preferring Lemon on talent.
• Start Monangai over Swift if choosing one Bears back, and feel fine deploying either Chicago back against Green Bay's run defense; avoid both Packers backs (Lloyd/Johnson) beyond desperation flex plays.
• Bench or downgrade TJ Hawkinson if Justin Jefferson is active; flip to Hawkinson as a must-start only if Jefferson sits. If both Chase and Higgins are out for Cincinnati, Dante Myers is a speculative DFS-type play rather than a confident lineup lock — risk is higher than it initially looked.
• Hold/start Aaron Jones and Ashton Jeanty as steady weekly RB2 plays — Jones due to Minnesota's defense controlling games, Jeanty due to a true every-down, pass-catching role in Las Vegas's improved offensive structure.