Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall-of-Fame member Bob Harris and Gary Davenport have well over 40 years of experience as fantasy football analysts and three Football Writer of the Year Awards between them. They know their stuff—or at least that's what they tell themselves.
Each week during the 2025 season, Harris and Davenport are going to come together here at Footballguys to answer five of that week's biggest fantasy questions.
The questions two weeks into the 2025 season are deeply unnerving—and mostly straightforward. Can the surprise stars of the early-going keep piling up fantasy points? Will slumbering slumpers awake from their naps and start helping managers win instead of just giving them indigestion?
And who decided to start calling Davenport an "expert?" At what? Being annoying?
Carnage Under Center
Well, it was quite a week at quarterback—more than a few clipboard-holders will be starting under center in Week 3, and some will be for a while.
Assuming that Washington's Jayden Daniels is scratched, which of those backups is the best bet as a one-week band-aid? And which fringe fantasy quarterback should managers be looking for as a longer-term solution?
Daniel Jones is not fringe. He is a golden god, and we must bow before him.
Harris: The easy answer here is Jake Browning, and I'm happy to steal it from you, Gary. We've seen this movie before. In 2023, Browning took over when Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury. As the Bengals' starter from Weeks 11 through 18, Browning was QB7.
Browning benefits from the presence of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown.
Browning finished 21-of-31 passing for 241 yards, two TDs, and three INTs for a 69.9 passer rating in his two and a half quarters of play against the Jaguars. Chase came through with 14 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. Tee Higgins broke free on a 42-yard score to tie the game late in the third quarter.
While Burrow's injury is horrible for the Bengals, having a backup with some moxie was the silver lining. This translates to your fantasy team as well.
As our Footballguys colleague Sigmund Bloom said of Browning this week: "He's an aggressive, even reckless passer, and he'll courageously pull the ball down and run even though he's not a supreme athlete, especially when the goal line is in sight. Think of him as a discount Baker Mayfield."
I'll take that in a pinch this week -- and going forward if need be.
Davenport: We're in lockstep on Browning. Marcus Mariota could be a suitable replacement for Daniels, and Tyrod Taylor has some rushing upside in New York (even at 54 years old). But it would take a braver (or more desperate) soul than this one to trot out Carson Wentz of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The Vikings could be starting a third-string left tackle against 2024 sack king Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals, and Wentz has the mobility of a traffic cone.
Assuming that "fringe" quarterback means someone on the outside of this week's top-25 at the position, C.J. Stroud (QB31) of the Houston Texans should be a solid stopgap—at least in Week 3. Stroud's off to a slow start this season—he barely cracked 200 passing yards last week and has just one touchdown pass. But thankfully, the Jacksonville Jaguars are here to save the day. The Jags were dead last in the league in pass defense last year, and after watching Browning carve Jacksonville up in Week 2, they don't appear markedly better in 2025.
The Wizard of Oz
Not that long ago (like five days), more than a few fantasy managers (and pundits) were willing to cast Ken Walker III aside and anoint King Zach (Charbonnet) I, the benevolent ruler of Seattle's backfield. Apparently, Walker didn't get the memo—it was his turn in Week 2.
Each of you has to take a side. Wisdom before Gary. Which back will emerge as the high-scorer in the Emerald City in 2025?
Throw in a Week 3 value play at running back, too. Play nice.
Harris: I've been Team Walker since Klint Kubiak was introduced as the Seahawks' offensive coordinator in February, and said, "Our identity is going to be a running team. We're going to get the ball to our best runners -- and that's [Walker]."
Walker is arguably the Seahawks' best big-play threat, with seven of his 26 career touchdowns coming from 20 or more yards out, and three on plays of at least 60 yards.
Seattle finished 28th in rushing in 2024, prompting the firing of Grubb. Enter Kubiak, fresh off reviving Alvin Kamara in New Orleans, where the veteran halfback racked up 1,493 scrimmage yards.
Availability has been an issue for Walker.
He missed six games last year but still averaged 16.5 points per game -- 12th among RBs -- despite finishing as RB27 overall. In 11 games together, Walker handled 68 percent of carries and 14 percent of targets, compared to your guy Charbonnet's 19 percent and 8 percent. Charbonnet averaged 6.5 fantasy points per game in those weeks.
Also, Charbonnet missed the first practice this week with a foot injury. Talk about the worm turning.
As for a value, I think this is the week our guy Bill, the great Jacory Croskey-Merritt, finally gets an opportunity to show us what all the offseason and training camp hype was about. With Austin Ekeler suffering a season-ending torn Achilles last week and, assuming Daniels is out, the door will be open for a more robust role for Croskey-Merritt. His Footballguys Week 3 Projection has him finishing as RB31.
I think he'll outperform that number this week.
Davenport: What's the old saying about the best ability being availability? If Charbonnet sits in Week 3, it will give Walker an opportunity to strengthen his grip on the Seattle backfield. But if the first four years of Walker's career are any indication, it's less a matter of if he'll miss time than when and how much.
Poor worm's going to get vertigo.
Is Walker more talented? Yes. More explosive? Yep. But it can be argued that Charbonnet's one-cut running style is a better schematic fit for Kubiak's offense. While Charbonnet's per-carry average against the Steelers was, in the words of the great philosopher Charles Barkley, turrible, he actually had more totes than Walker for the second time in as many weeks.
I tend to agree that Walker will win this battle. But if he misses significant time, Charbonnet could seize that opportunity and follow the yellow brick road in the Emerald City.
What a world. What a world.
Since Harris is apparently hell-bent on stealing all my guys this week, I'll go back to the Houston Texans well in the backfield with what's left of Nick Chubb. Chubb is nowhere near the force he was running the ball in Cleveland, but he's averaging over a dozen touches a game, found the end zone last week, and faces a Jacksonville Jaguars defense in Week 3 that, um, sucks.