As Jason suffers from a lunchtime decision (Jason’s choice of a Reuben is on my top-3 of sandwiches), Betz and Borg work to carry the show and discuss an exciting Week 7. As Borg previews the feature segment of Keep/Trade/Cut, he cautions that someone labeled as a “cut” in this exercise is not a recommendation to cut them from your dynasty roster. Players can bounce back at any time, and as I like to say, “no player is ever stuck in time.” Borg even recounts some of his own past “cut” considerations, like Kimani Vidal, who now starts on one of his dynasty teams.
Before we get into the Weekly Rewind, remember to listen to The Fantasy Footballers podcast, available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Weekly Rewind
Jaylin Noel
In a struggling Texans offense (a “train wreck” as Betz called it), Noel ran a route on a season-high 46% of dropbacks (a modest number), but earned seven targets. He showed an ability to run high-value “big boy routes” out of the slot (deep outs, crossers), which is a good fit for C.J. Stroud‘s skill set. The challenge for this season is that Stroud doesn’t have a lot of time to take advantage of these routes consistently. Noel’s encouraging usage suggests that next year, when Christian Kirk is gone, he could be a starter in three-wide sets. Borg liked Noel before the NFL Draft, comparing him to Randall Cobb or a “Suped Up version of Christian Kirk“.
Oronde Gadsden II
Jason had his eyes on Gadsden’s breakout game in an absurd game script where the Chargers were trailing heavily. Jason doesn’t see Gadsden as an “outstanding” route runner, but the size and speed, along with his usage, are compelling. His athleticism was on display, running away from defenders. He was used in the slot and out wide, including on deep passes. Coach Harbaugh “loves this guy”. As a rookie tied to Justin Herbert, he is worth a future second-round pick in Dynasty before his value solidifies. I expand more on Gadsden in the Film Deep Dive below.
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Drake Maye
Jason also watched Drake Maye, who has played “excellent” in three straight weeks. He broke the Patriots’ all-time single-game completion percentage record, which means he did something the GOAT never did in his tenure! Jason notes he is showing great pocket feel and making complex, anticipatory throws, not the typical “dink and dunk” down the field normally associated with high completion percentages. Betz notes Drake Maye is elevating his weapons instead of the inverse, meaning Maye is “the Dude” for New England. The team’s easy schedule and strong coaching have led to a projected win total increase to 10.5. Borg poses a “this or that” for Maye vs Joe Burrow, and Betz prefers Maye due to the rushing component, but Jason still prefers Burrow if he were making a startup draft decision.
Rashee Rice
The “this or that” transitioned to a Maye vs Patrick Mahomes discussion, where Jason leans toward Mahomes due to the way he is playing currently, in addition to the estimated future value of Mahomes should his performance continue. Borg stated that Mahomes targeted a slot receiver on 50% of passes in Week 7, which raised the question, “How are defenses supposed to stop Rashee Rice?” Jason highlights the extreme challenge of the two-way go, Mahomes’ quick and accurate passing, and Rice’s YAC ability. Rice only has an ADOT of 1.6, but this works because defenses have to respect the deep speed of Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown. Betz mentions the uniqueness of his role and how his perfect fit in this specific offense overcomes any draft profile deficiencies. The “buy-low” door has slammed shut as Rice rests as a top-15 dynasty WR.
Keep/Trade/Cut
Borg introduces the segment by reminding us that The Footballers have been doing Keep/Trade/Cut for 10 years now. Again, these are not “cut” recommendations, but rather a way of assessing the dynasty value of the players involved. These “decisions” could be looked at in the context of contending (short-term) versus rebuilding (long-term).
QB
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Keep – Bo Nix
Jason loves Bo Nix despite recent inconsistencies. Nix is viewed by Borg as the most stable, long-term asset over the next five years despite having the lowest ceiling of the three. His connection to an established coach (Sean Payton), a well-run franchise, and sufficient rushing ability provide a solid fantasy floor.
Trade – Jaxson Dart
The Ballers believe Dart has the highest trade value right now due to the “new hotness” hype surrounding him. While his rushing provides a high floor (Betz’s argument for keeping in addition to the future return of Malik Nabers), his non-traditional, high-risk play style is seen as unsustainable in contrast to the stability of Nix. Take advantage of Giants fans in your leagues to get the best value for Dart.
Cut – Caleb Williams
Williams is looking great on his 4-game win streak, and Jason admits he could potentially be the best of these QBs in the future. However, the combination of two years of erratic play and the state of the franchise introduces doubt. He benefits from the stability of the Ben Johnson/Bears offense, which could make him a future QB4 in fantasy. Trade him to a Bears fan in your league to maximize his emotional value.
RB
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Keep – Cam Skattebo
Despite being a Day 3 draft pick, Scataboo has produced the most fantasy points for a Day 3 RB through seven career games in the last decade. Jason believes he is the Giants’ locked-in starter and a Dynasty RB1 who will defy his draft capital. Despite concerns over the combine performance and translation of his featured skill set, Skattebo’s skills have translated well to the NFL. The toughness has translated, confirmed by the damage on his game-worn facemask that Jason has seen in person.
Trade – Breece Hall
Hall (24 years old in a contract year) is likely the most valuable trade asset in this group right now. He has only one red zone rushing TD in his last 22 games and is not expected to re-sign with the Jets, meaning his team situation will change next year.
Cut – TreVeyon Henderson
Do not overreact to his slow rookie start. Betz likes him as a strong trade-for target for non-contenders. Borg sees Henderson following a career path similar to Derrick Henry or James Cook, who started slow but had high draft capital. Jason reminds us that really good coaches are focused on winning, which may impede early opportunities for rookies.
WR
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Keep – Jordan Addison
Borg sees Addison as highly productive despite being forgotten as Minnesota’s WR2, with a consistency score very close to Justin Jefferson‘s. His current three-game pace is over 1,600 yards despite having Carson Wentz at QB. Jason makes the comparison to Devonta Smith, who plays alongside A.J. Brown, as a high-end WR2 that will continue to benefit from Jefferson’s presence. The Ballers agree that Addison’s “under-the-radar” status is worth targeting in a trade at a mid-late first-round pick.
Trade – Quentin Johnston
Johnston is a physical freak tied to Justin Herbert in a Chargers offense that is supporting three Top 24 WRs. The debate is whether to keep him for his upside or trade him right now. Jason still prefers to keep Quge over Addison due to the weight bias he admittedly continues to carry.
Cut – Zay Flowers
Despite a 29% target share, Flowers has only one Top 24 finish. Jason likes Flowers as a “trade-for” in redraft, but in dynasty, he is a “between-the-20s guy” who is a frustrating flex option and is unlikely to win you a championship.
TE
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Keep – Jake Ferguson
Ferguson is a confident starter who just got paid and is locked into a high-volume offense through 2027. Betz sees an opportunity with Ferguson at peak dynasty value, making him a strong candidate to trade away for younger upside. Jason wants to answer the question, “Which of these has the most fantasy points over the next three years?” and Ferguson appears to be the answer, given the team and contract context.
Trade – Tucker Kraft
Kraft is an “absolute monster” after the catch and is just scratching the surface of his potential. The arrow is pointing up, and there’s a possibility he becomes the focal point of the Packers’ pass game. Kraft has room to develop into a Trey McBride/Brock Bowers-level asset, which convinces Borg to keep him over Ferguson.
Cut – Colston Loveland
Loveland (21.5 years old) is the youngest player, representing the “what if” factor (Jason’s argument for keeping). The counter-argument is that he could be one of the many TEs who will be irrelevant for fantasy. He is viewed as a full rebuild target and a good buying opportunity.
Week 7 Film Deep Dive
This week, I took a look at Chicago RB2 Kyle Monangai, who had a spike in usage up to 13 carries in Week 7, and Chargers TE Oronde Gadsden II.
Kyle Monangai
Kyle Monangai has quickly capitalized on the opportunity created by Roschon Johnson‘s injury, carving out a significant relief role behind D’Andre Swift. His usage is trending up, most recently earning a 44.9% snap share (15 touches for 94 yards and a TD) and averaging 4.9 fantasy points per game (FFPG) across his limited 126 snaps.
Monangai warrants attention for two primary reasons: injury upside and the potential for a stable workload. As veteran fantasy managers know, he offers an immediate, replacement-value floor should Swift miss time. We also need to assess if this increased usage could solidify a permanent, valuable 1B complement role, similar to David Montgomery.
Monangai is best described as a serviceable RB as a change-of-pace to Swift. His game centers on play strength and contact balance—he is a thumper who consistently falls forward and grinds out production. While he demonstrates solid vision to hit the holes created for him, he lacks high-end burst, quickness, and change-of-direction ability to create yards on his own, especially against above-average run defenses.
Fortunately, the offensive line is helping to maximize his skill set. Currently 12th in PFF run-blocking grade, the line consistently produces gaps, which highlights Monangai’s best trait: his decisiveness. When the blocking is on point, he presses the line of attack well to force linebacker decisions, maximizing his burst within the designed play (play below). Ultimately, he projects as an excellent injury floor play, but should not be expected to permanently seize a high-volume 1B role to Swift’s 1A despite a 15:20 touch ratio in Week 7.
Kyle Monangai got 13 carries in Wk 7, but is it an indicator of an eventual elevation to a 1B?
I don’t think we are there yet, but he should be a serviceable handcuff to the oft-injured Swift. He shows solid vision, good processing speed, and good use of space w/ good blocks pic.twitter.com/4XTDlN4TDP
— Vernon Meighan (@FFB_Vern) October 22, 2025
The tape lacks the evidence to trust Monangai as more than a handcuff; there just aren’t enough indicators that he will develop into a true “1B.” I do not recommend spending more than a ‘26 third-round pick to get him as a team that has Swift or a contender with razor-thin RB depth. He is definitely worth a stash in case of a Swift injury. Draft Sharks rates Swift as a “very high risk” for injury.
Oronde Gadsden II: The “Move” TE You Need
As Jason mentioned in the episode, Coach Harbaugh “loves this guy,” and I do too! We took a peek at him last week, but Oronde Gadsden asked us to look again in Week 7. The 6’5”, 236lb TE put up seven receptions, 164 yards, and a TD on nine targets against the Colts. Some may look at the Colts’ season-long performance against TEs (30th in PAE) and throw water on this performance, but the tape is showing some great indicators of the next desirable “Move” TE.
As was identified by Betz last week, Gadsden is not being used to do any real blocking. This is good because there is a higher chance he is part of the passing game on any given snap. This is demonstrated in his rising route rate, which reached 77.6% in Week 7, including two more valuable red zone targets.
On the other hand, does his presence project run vs pass? The tape of his run-blocking indicates that he isn’t a real threat in run-blocking. This can limit the effectiveness of play-action schemes where he presents as a run-blocker with the intention to leak out on a checkdown or a screen.
With that said, his blocking limitations are overshadowed by his ability in the passing game. Last week, I mentioned how he looked similar to Mason Taylor in providing an outlet that gains YAC with efficient turns upfield. This week, we saw multiple occasions of Gadsden being used downfield. This first play shows body control, sideline awareness, and football IQ. He displays an understanding of the safety’s positional leverage and knows Herbert should throw to the outside back shoulder.
You don’t see many TEs run Out-and-Ups, let alone get this kind of YAC afterwards…
Good play strength on display to work through defensive holding. pic.twitter.com/2sBZX5v0vl
— Vernon Meighan (@FFB_Vern) October 21, 2025
On the second play, we see very good execution of this Out-and-Up. Upon identifying the safety assigned to him in Man coverage, he paces his route perfectly to impact the safety’s closing angle. Upon turning upfield, we see the benefit of his 236-lb frame in his play strength to work through defensive holding and stack the safety. Finally, we see Gadsden with good hands on the run and open-field vision to gain massive YAC.
Given what we see in his volume, on-field ability, and the offense surrounding him, Gadsden is an immediate “buy” in Dynasty. This is the type of skill set that has staying power in the NFL and fantasy production for us. The Ballers recommended a second-round pick, but a late first isn’t unreasonable given what we have seen. We have a better idea of what Gadsden is right now compared to whatever that late ‘26 first may turn into.