As promised in my Tweet last week, I need to make my argument for hot honey being the 1.01 of pizza toppings. I will tackle that in the closing, after opening with a tease. That’s how we do it these days: we must entice readers to keep reading!
It was the week of the quarterbacks on the college side, and suddenly, options are plentiful if your college squad needed QB help. Injuries continued to plague NFL fantasy teams, and most likely, you’ve got teams that are disappointing or surprisingly winning.
The Beat will shift even more to strategy each week, and this week, we will look more at what to do with your teams. It’s becoming time to commit – are your teams in or out? But we don’t have to panic yet fully.
The College Beat
Bye weeks are hitting hard this week and will all the way into playoffs. These weeks will test your depth, and finding help with waivers may be more critical. If you have leagues with limited waivers, you are most likely at or near your first waiver runs.
Waiver Madness
As teased above, there are some QBs to target if you need help. Blave Horvath has vaulted into the top three for fantasy scoring on the season. Service academy players can be tricky, but it’s tough not to love someone averaging 40 points a league.
Emmett Brown, the San Jose State QB, isn’t averaging as much a game but faces a great schedule after this week’s bye. And Alonza Barnett had a monster game this week versus North Carolina, and the James Madison QB is someone to target.
The only other skill player I am mentioning is Michigan’s RB1, Kalel Mullings. He’s averaging eight yards a tote, and Michigan is realizing they need someone to “lead” the backfield. And Donovan Edwards ain’t it.
As I typically do, I will defer to our own Jared Palmgren and his weekly CFF waiver article if you need more help beyond this.
Limited Waiver Advice
If your league waits until Week 4 or 5 for its first waiver run, there are likely incredibly enticing options on the waiver wire. I have two leagues that employ this strategy. Let’s look at how to tackle these situations.
These are the top 15 QBs available in one such league I am in. The options are plentiful if you have a position at need, and targeting one is tough. Both of my leagues also employ FAAB, which is the only way to do it, in my opinion.
Quarterback was a need for me, and I put a massive bid on John Mateer; he’s got a great schedule and the upside to put up 50+ points on any week. Then I targeted Horvath, Brown, Devon Dampier, Barnett, Billy Edwards, Brendan Sorsby, Bryson Daily, and Jake Retzlaff in descending order for bids. If I don’t win Mateer, I am happy with any of the other guys.
Running backs are a little more challenging. We just had Desmond Reid miss time and are unsure of his future. I bid strongly on Brashard Smith, who’s been strong this season, and Anthony Tyus, who is now going into his MAC schedule. I also bid on Fluff Bothwell. I love his name, and he’s looked great—plus he’s a freshman. I put in a strong bid on Mullings and Braedon Sloan, too.
If you need a running back, throwing 75% of your budget toward one is okay, but I would rather bid that strong on a wideout, as you will see why.
As much as I needed a quarterback, I also needed a wide receiver who scored over 40 points a game. Nick Nash received a bid of over 80% of my budget. He’s the bell of the ball if he’s available in your leagues.
Tai Felton is a damn good consolation prize if you can’t get Nash; he’s been balling as well but faces a tougher schedule in the future. Devonte Ross and Mac Dalena also received strong bids from me, as I love their conference schedules, and both have been consistently producing.
Tight ends: if you can find anyone producing, throw a small bid on them, but if you have limited waiver spots, it’s tough to target the position.
Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s offense, particularly Jackson Arnold, has had an uneven start to the season. He’s thrown for just over 500 yards in four games, with seven scores and three picks. Oklahoma QBs historically have thrown nearly 500 yards in one game against the first three non-conference teams they faced.
Arnold is currently, but not for long, our QB13 for C2C and QB10 in Devy Rankings. He was a Tier 2 prospect in our 2024 Devy Guide and the QB4 overall in that publication. I wrote Arnold’s profile, and the talent was there in my scouting. In limited duty, I loved his ability to push the ball; he has a great arm. He was firmly a Tier 2 guy for all of us.
BREAKING: Brent Venables announces true freshman QB Michael Hawkins will start over Jackson Arnold against Auburn.https://t.co/WxJUhCdcCd pic.twitter.com/VIkzfokO4y
— On3 (@On3sports) September 24, 2024
Then, the Oklahoma Sooners named true freshman Michael Hawkins the Week 5 starter. He came in to relieve Arnold in the loss to Tennessee, and the coaching staff loves him. This feels eerily reminiscent of the situation between Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams in 2021. Could Hawkins be “the man” and force Arnold to transfer?
It appears to be likely, and if Hawkins somehow made it through your Supplemental Draft, you need to grab him off the wire. He’s rostered in only 8% of leagues on Fantrax, and I would be willing to bet all those teams are Campus2Canton teams.
It’s Week 5, Baby!
Key Teams on Bye: Arizona State, Cal, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Iowa, Jacksonville St., Missouri, Nevada, Northwestern, Oregon State, Pitt, San Jose State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Toledo, Utah State, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia
Deadline to Set Auto-Substitutions: Thursday @ 7:30 EST
This NCAA section has already been pretty wordy; I won’t spend a ton of time on it. Army at Temple starts off the week and should be a fun one, especially if Evan Simon can lead the Owls on scoring drives to keep up with Bryson Daily and Army.
The conference schedule is here, and they highlight the schedule for me. Oklahoma State takes on Kansas State in a ranked matchup, but the Wildcats are reeling a little. Louisville travels to South Bend and will test the Fighting Irish. Illinois takes on Penn State, and it’s a big test for a fun Illini team.
The game of the week is Georgia traveling to Tuscaloosa to take on the Tide. Both teams will likely be in the playoffs and seem likely to collide in the SEC Championship unless Ole Miss can keep rolling. This game is always great, and they have the prime slot on ABC Saturday night.
The NFL Beat
Pizza topping time? Nay, not yet, young padawan. We’ve got to dive into the goings-on in the NFL and try to figure out what to do with our teams. This season has been incredibly odd. The Vikings are 3-0, the Bengals are 0-3, and Malik Nabers is your WR2 in fantasy points per game, even with Daniel Jones delivering the ball.
Waivers? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Waivers!
As you know, waivers in Campus2Canton leagues can be incredibly shallow, and the pickings are slim.
Andy Dalton and Tyler Huntley are available in some leagues, but Dalton was likely added last week. Huntley has been handed the keys to an explosive offense and showed some fantasy relevance by filling in for Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. I am trying to add him to help through the bye weeks and injuries.
Roschon Johnson looked decent while relieving D’Andre Swift, who has looked like a steaming bag of dog poop. Caleb Williams showed signs of life, and Rome Odunze balled out. If that continues, you want the running back in what could be a fun offense.
Calvin Austin III had a strong game this week, and the offense is searching for a playmaker beyond George Pickens. With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua out, Tutu Atwell has been the Rams receiver to have. Both Austin and Atwell will be on some teams, and I don’t see many options worth going for on the NFL side beyond that duo.
Bengals, Titans, Jaguars, and Your Fantasy Team
What do these four teams have in common? All four think they are better than their record! The problem is that two of the first three are likely not better than their record. Where does your fantasy team fall, then?
Obviously, If you are barely losing and scoring well, don’t panic. With 13-14 games, you have a good part of the season to recover and easily win most of the next ten or so games. But most likely, that isn’t the case.
Selling off veteran players in Campus2Canton leagues is so much fun, and you have SO many options for moving them. Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, and Dallas Goedert will hold massive value to the contending teams.
Here’s where the options come in. They can be moved for rookies, injured young players like Kenneth Walker or Puka Nacua, and then there is the college side. I love moving vets for college players close to the NFL, like Devin Neal, Tet McMillan, or TreVeyon Henderson. I love getting supplemental picks and even college producers. NFL rookie picks in Campus2Canton are immensely devalued, and I don’t target them. They are worth nothing more than a throw-in.
Let’s explore a few trades I would make if I were moving Barkley.
- Barkley for Walker and an early 2025 supplemental pick.
- Barkley and Kupp/Diggs/Adams for Nacua and a young, hopeful NFL back like Tyrone Tracy or Ray Davis.
- Barkley for TreVeyon Henderson and an early supplemental pick
- Barkley for an early supplemental pick, Dylan Sampson/RJ Harvey/Ja’Quinden Jackson, or even two of those NCAA production backs. Or one and a receiver like Nick Nash/Tai Felton/Xavier Restrepo. NOTE: If I can get production to win the college side, I would move Barkley in a heartbeat. But don’t move it just for the sake of moving, as all those NCAA players don’t have the most promise heading to the NFL. That’s basically throwing away Barkley!
Those are a few I would explore. Obviously, you need to find the right trade partner, like someone who was relying on Christian McCaffrey. And if they aren’t competing on the college side, they are more willing to move those college assets.
You don’t have to be 0-3 to explore these; now is the time to take a step back and access your NFL squad. You can be 2-1 or 1-2 and limping to victories, beating players struggling to set lineups.
Fantasy owners get squirrely early, and overreactions can lead to rash decisions. Watch out for the warning signs; they are typically easy to spot. Putting players on the trade block is one of the obvious ones. But watch the message board; they are the owners who are grumpy about every little thing. They love to make excuses and snarky comments. They will make one really stupid trade, showing their lack of love for their team and signaling the end for them.
Then, it’s Shark Week time. Smell the blood in the water and strike.
Week 4 Preview
It’s our last week without byes, and then it gets messy. Dallas and New York lead off the week on Thursday night, and the ‘Boys are flailing. Will the Giants smell blood and strike, or will Dak attack and get the team a much-needed win?
Minnesota travels to Green Bay, and both teams are playing well; it’s always fun when the NFC North clashes. The Eagles will need to score to hold off the Bucs unless Baker and Co. pitch another clunker. The Red Rifle meets his former team, and the Bengals BADLY need a win.
Buffalo travels to Baltimore on Sunday night, and it’s the Game of the Week. The NFL has another double-header on Monday night, forcing us to choose between watching Tennessee at Miami or Seattle at Detroit. I can’t wait until that ends; I don’t want to choose, NFL!
The 1.01
Alright, enough of the tease. It’s time to deliver. A small caveat: I am a meat pizza type of guy, I often have some vegetables but have never had a pizza that was only vegetables. So, my favorite topping may not work well with only rabbit food toppings.
Hot honey has blown my mind with how it elevates a pizza. It works phenomenally when you have a few meats, like pepperoni and/or sausage, and some veggies, like green peppers, onions, or jalapenos. Hot honey takes that pizza to an amazing level.
But I have tried it on many pizzas, and it adds a lethal, flavorful punch. Just pepperoni, BAM. A deluxe with sausage and veggies, BAM. Chicken, bacon, and ranch, BAM. It works better with spicier pizzas, but hot honey adds flavor and kicks your pizza up another level.
Yeah, I’m crazy. It’s hard to say it’s the 1.01 over pepperoni or pickles, so maybe this is the one time you can accuse me of clickbait. That’s it.
Good luck this week in your NCAA and NFL matchups, and I will talk to you next week!
