Daniel Dopp and Liz Loza talk life, fantasy football, pop culture and everything in between in a new weekly "fantasy improv" column, which runs every Friday throughout the NFL season. Joe Kaiser serves as the moderator and attempts to keep things on track.
Joe: Some of the best players on my teams right now, like Travis Etienne Jr. and Justin Fields, were unstartable 3-4 weeks ago. Been thinking about the need for patience whenever possible. (Was easier to be patient with Fields, my third QB, than with Etienne, whom I needed to start each week).
Daniel: That's the issue with high investment guys that don't have early returns, right? I benched Etienne at his worst but I never imagined dropping him. Not with how bad RBs are this year. Also, different situation, but Deandre Hopkins is totally delivering for managers who took a guaranteed 0 in one of their valuable bench spots through the first six games. Since his return, he's WR1 in targets (27), receptions (22), yards (262) and FPPG (56.2). That patience has given you a heckuva return on investment.
Liz: Daniel is spot on. Makes sense that investment and commitment are directly proportional. That's why I find the Elijah Moore situation so curious. He was a second-round pick, who many draftnicks touted to have first-round talent. He also produced with Joe Flacco and Mike White! In his final game of 2021, he converted 6 of 12 for 77 yards and 1 TD with Darius Slay following him around the field! Anyway, after NYJ selected Garrett Wilson in the first round, I figured Moore would see more slot snaps, working both outside and inside. But instead Mike LaFleur had him running a ton of go-routes and mostly manning the perimeter before not using him at all.
Moore has recorded 46 snap slots on the season (13.9%, WR76) and is coming off a game in which played 10 (total) snaps and drew 1 target. He's still rostered in 49% of ESPN fantasy leagues (though was dropped in nearly 3%). Is this a player -- one who many believed would take a major leap in his second year -- that we can advise hanging onto even though he didn't get traded? I don't think so.
Joe: On the flip side, if you drafted players late like Isiah Pacheco or Khalil Herbert and let them ride the pine until they saw bigger roles, you really set yourself up nicely. Hopkins is another, as Daniel mentioned.
Liz: And what about the intra-divisonal trade of a first-round pick still on his rookie deal with T.J. Hockenson going to the Vikings? Wild. Minnesota watched Aaron Rodgers average 5.5 yards per attempt on Sunday night and are all-in on winning the dang division. Irv Smith Jr. (who seems perpetually banged up) is expected out for up to 10 weeks with ankle injury. And Johnny Mundt just ain't it (2022: 14 targets, 12 receptions, 76 yards, and 1 TD... versus Arizona). That leaves Hock probably No. 3 in the pecking order. I think he'll likely flirt with 6 looks per game. From the Detroit side of things... it's a nice boost for Amon-Ra St. Brown and D'Andre Swift.
Daniel: Here's the thing about Swift... I'm nervous. He didn't look anywhere close to 100% last week and that's after having more than a month off from playing football. It feels like we're trending towards another oft-injured Lions RB that has shown us glimpses of eliteness, but we haven't seen any consistency because of those injuries. I really hope that I'm wrong, and I'm extra invested as a Lions fan because I personally love the dude and want to see him succeed here in Detroit, but when you're a wounded Lions fan, it's tough not to have these emotions towards Swift as my fantasy RB as well.
Joe: And you saw what coach Campbell had to say about Swift, right?
Daniel: Which part? The "one too many carries last week" comment or the "he's better at this point in the week than he was last week" comment. Or was there something else?
Joe: He said, "He's not back." That says a lot.
Daniel: It was pretty clear he wasn't back. That's part of the concern! It's been over a month and we're still here. Reliability has been an unfortunate issues when it comes to Swift's career. His rookie year was full of hope for what could be, and the next two years have been marred with injuries. Again, this is me, an emotional Lions fan speaking here. Maybe it's not as doom and gloom as I'm making it out to be, but how can you not be emotional about football?
Liz: Green Bay @ Detroit has the second highest over/under (49.5) for the Week 9 slate. Those points are going to have to come from somewhere. Amon-Ra is, obviously, poised for a massive outing (he's the ESPN consensus WR10). But I think Kalif Raymond could be sneaky. Raymond has recorded at least 50 snaps in three straight games and gone over 70 yards in back-to-back outings. He only caught three of four ball in Week 8, but he ran a whopping 36 routes. With Hockenson in Minny and Swift at less than 100%, Raymond could shine. I just moved him inside my top-50 (ahead of Chase Claypool and Alec Pierce).
Joe: Great insight on Raymond. I'm running with it... we touched on some trade reaction already but what player impacted by the NFL trade deadline do you see getting the biggest boost in fantasy value going forward?
Daniel: It's gotta be George Pickens, right Liz? On the flip side, Nyheim Hines' move to Buffalo sucks for everyone there (especially James Cook... my dynasty team is very unhappy).
Liz: Agree 100% with Daniel. Chase Claypool to Chicago is less about the Bears and more about Pickens ascent! Pickens and Kenny Pickett have demonstrated immediate chemistry, which Pittsburgh appears motivated to build on. The fact that Pickens is coming off of a donut game doesn't seem to be an issue. The Steelers now have a bye week to game plan for the rookie wideout. It wouldn't surprise me to see his target share jump by at least 10%.
Daniel: It just feels like more opportunities for this exciting young rookie to shine in this offense. There'll be some ups-and-downs with how bad they are, but he's going to be a major focal point going forward.
Liz: Hines to Buffalo would be a close second for me. The move potentially unlocks pass-catching work for Jonathan Taylor while silencing Cook's year-one drum beat (boo). That said, I just did a Thursday afternoon scrub of my ranks and decided to remove Taylor. He hasn't practiced all week after aggravating his ankle during last Sunday's loss to the Commanders. Plus, the Colts added former fifth-round pick (2018) Jordan Wilkins to the practice quad on Wednesday. It's not looking good for JT (or his fantasy managers). Deon Jackson is a must-add player heading into Week 9. I moved Jackson up in my rankings to RB15 (behind Leonard Fournette and ahead of Raheem Mostert).
Joe: Before we say goodbye for the week, one final thing -- is it okay to put up holiday decorations now or should you should wait until after Thanksgiving?
Liz: Holiday decorations? I know this is going to be even more tilting to people than liking candy corn... but I'm not into it. I do like to cruise the neighborhood and admire other people's decorations (after Thanksgiving) but it's a lot of work for a seemingly small ROI. Before everyone goes calling me a Scrooge please know that I do put up a tree, hang a fresh wreath on the front door, add some pine-scented soaps to the bathrooms, and have the kids place various santa-hatted tchotchkes around the house. Their smiles make me smile... but not enough to buy a generator and light up the street with glowing lawn decor.
Joe: I haven't tilted this much since playing Gilligan's Island pinball back in junior high.
Daniel: I totally understand not putting up holiday decorations. You're spot on about the ROI, it's very small unless you're super into it. That said, I'm very much into people putting up decorations whenever they'd like. I'm not here to police anyone's fun or happiness because even if I wouldn't do Christmas decorations in June, I don't want to take away someone else's joy. Bring on all the decorations!
Follow Liz Loza (@LizLoza_FF), Daniel Dopp (@DanielDopp) and Joe Kaiser (@joekaisersports) on Twitter. Liz Loza and Daniel Dopp's fantasy football rankings appear every week during the season.