Four things this morning. First, Rashee Rice is back. How much will he play? Who knows. But the opposing Raiders are yielding the sixth-most WR fantasy points per game, and Patrick Mahomes has been largely on fire without his #1 wideout.
On my podcast a few weeks ago, I raised the question of whether Rice will return as the #1, or if a lot has changed since his breakout rookie campaign. Xavier Worthy's development, as well as Mahomes' growing chemistry with guys like Hollywood Brown and even Tyquan Thornton, put this passing attack well ahead of where it was in 2023, when K.C.'s top WRs (in terms of receiving yards) were Rice, then Justin Watson, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, and Mecole Hardman.
Second, is Rico Dowdle now a must-start RB, or will he share Carolina's backfield with the returning Chuba Hubbard? It's reasonable to expect that Dowdle's floor is significantly higher than Hubbard's, at least today. But as I discussed on the podcast last week, Dowdle just obliterated two of the league's worst run defenses. In a few weeks, his schedule turns absolutely brutal.
Third, I'll be offline starting around 10:00am Eastern. If you want to bounce anything around with me, please reach out before then. Or comment here and, as often happens (one of my favorite things about this page), someone will probably jump in and give her/his two cents.
Fourth, a reminder that the daily Fantasy Football for Winners podcast features roughly 8-to-10-minute episodes on topics that are not covered on the blog. Sometimes what's expressed is concrete -- like why historical data points to long-term fantasy irrelevance for Tyrone Tracy (episode 79), or why Dowdle is a bigger sell-high RB than most managers realize (#83).
The podcast also raises questions -- like how confident should we feel about Matthew Stafford's hot start (#73), and how do we size up Joe Flacco's ceiling if he's never thrown to a receiver as talented as Ja'Marr Chase (#78).
If you like fantasy podcasts, give this one a listen and see what you think.
Good luck today.
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