Ray_T

my largest concern with him was all the crap that goes on off the field. its a bit of a gong show. I was less concered about what he actually brings on the field. And the fact he slid in the draft likely actually made him more likely to make it as a pro. if he was a first round pick the guys ego would have been almost unbearable. so he had a kick in his complacency (arguably) at the time he needed it the most. I dont bear the kid any ill will. but If I was a coach I dont know that Id want his old man questioning my coaching decisions with respect to his son. (which feels like a very real possibility for whoever coaches this kid) but talent wise, I had him rated as a 2nd round player (which likely means as a QB that he should go in the last half of round 1) but that's not the way it played out. Likely due to the off field thing and perhaps some of the arrogance shown in the interviews. To me, that likely meant he actually deserved that slide in the draft. but he owned it and has performed at a level where he could be a viable pro. its still too early to say but based on what I have seen, the potential is there. its up to him to make the most of it. whether he has what it takes remains to be seen but if I had him on my roster in a dynasty league, I'd likely find a way to hold him just to see if he pans out as a player.

so far it looks like the boys have stacked the box to discourage the run, and force Johnson to throw a lot. good strategy. if they stop the run, then it becomes Dak vs Johnson and thats a battle Dak should win every time. Deebo looking good tonight. and Johnson not looking bad. Id suggest hes looked better than what i've seen of Mariota so far. admittedly the sample size of plays I've watched has been small. but he just has a better presence. seems more dangerous as a passer than Mariota.

he had a subpar rookie season, but I mentioned that there are things I saw that I liked. one is that he looks after the football better than a lot of your typical busts. he still has things to work on but its now starting to look like the game is slowing down for him a bit. I think next year we will see a statistical jump for him.

I've got a feeling those days are mostly done for Lamar. hes still a good qb, but I dont think he can play that way anymore

yeah I guess the full guarantee makes cousins a tougher contract to move. either way both contracts are not highly desireable. There is no question about that

hes one hit from being an invalid. I dont know that anyone takes that risk on the salary given that situation. I dont deny it could happen. I just dont think it highly likely. I've no doubt they will try. Cousins in his situation last year was a far lower risk(in my opinion) and there were no takers on his contract. I guess we will see.

ok I looked it up. 99 mil dead cap in 2026. the first year where his buyout is reasonable is 2027 where the dead cap hit is like 35 mil. so I think they need him to stay one more year.

true. this thread is about players you can pickup who will help you right now. presumably for a playoff run. in dynasty you can afford to play the long game. so the way you play in that format is completely different from the way you would play in a redraft format. not saying anyone here is right or wrong, but when complaring players you need to compare apples to apples. a good player in dynasty for your roster may not be a good player in redraft (and possibly vice versa depending on situation)

yeah, while its possible one of the teams behind them goes on an unexpected win streak, the best pick I'd expect is somewhere in the #7 or #8 range but everything would need to go just right for that to play out. (it probably wont) but this kind of tank wont likely get them a new QB. in my opinion the move to make is to draft an O lineman. it will help the existing offense, and if they do have to move on from Tua, you will need the O line support for the new QB. also, if Tua can become productive behind a better line it will prolong his career some as he is prone to concussions as we all know. given the massive and stupid contract they gave Tua, I dont think its realistic to move on from him (yet) so getting the pieces in place for the Next QB would be a logical move right now.

I would say that close to half of the viable starters in the NFL are viable because they play behind a good O line. Andy Dalton was a good starter until the line went south. and once that line became subpar, so did Daltons stats. there are likely a lot of other examples and you and I have only touched on a few. it is only the truly elite QB's who can still perform behind a subpar line. and not many of those actually exist.

That is my thought as well. it is actually unusual for a QB to come in as a rookie and light the world on fire. it does happen, but its more common for a kid to take a year or two to get their NFL footing under them. to those who had the patience to hang onto him, congrats. the last few games hes shown some signs he can play against some pretty decent defenses. at this point I'd say there is an 80% chance that he will be a viable fantasy starter in the forseeable future.

there is only one stat that truly matters at this time of year. How many wins do you have. come playoff time its did you win the last game of the NFL season? (ie. did u win the superbowl) those are the most important stats. the rest only allow us to play fantasy football, but are not nearly as important

I'd rather go with Rivers than Newton and its not even close. for this game I'm predicting like 200- 220 yards and maybe a TD. personally I'd expect they would keep to the ground once inside the 5 yard line as Rivers may know the base offense but the red zone offense may be a different story.

yeah he had the one good game and then disappeared again.

Mahomes has been good for long enough that hes earned himself a little leniency. Caleb some are still questioning if he has what it takes to be a pro QB. personally I thought he had a solid performance against a good defense with bad weather. These are never fantasy shootouts. the fact he put up quasi reasonable numbers is (in my opinion) a positive. he kept his team in the game right up to that last drive. while he wasnt able to get that tying TD at the end, he was overall decent. he will learn from this. I've no doubt about that.