Hello everyone. The voices behind this column and our podcasts are Ben Horwitz, Aaron Stalkfleet and Jacob Williamson. We are current seniors, and involved in various things (and sports) at City. Our shared love of football and aggressive competitiveness is what initially inspired this column. Each week we plan to put out a different fantasy football prediction/analysis for the next NFL week. We appreciate your support and will be competing to see who has the best analysis.

This week we are doing a Boom/Bust analysis. We randomly pick the players below for this week’s games, and we each get to predict whether we think they will go above (Boom) or below (Bust) their ESPN fantasy projections. We each pick two players from each position group. We make picks based on matchups, personal opinion, and player projection. After the first week, we will be keeping track of our personal records of our predictions throughout the season. 

OUR RECORDS THROUGH 7 WEEKS

Ben: 27-22

Aaron: 24-27

Jacob: 23-26

This weeks (8) possible choices:

(All based on ESPN projections)

QB Jalen Hurts 23.6 pts

QB Daniel Jones 19.9 pts

QB Carson Wentz 17.3 pts

QB Tom Brady 21.4 pts

RB Najee Harris 21.4 pts

RB D’andre Swift 19.1 pts

RB James Robinson 17.5 pts
RB Ezekiel Elliot 16.1 pts

WR Justin Jefferson 18.9 pts

WR Stefon Diggs 18.3 pts

WR Ja’marr Chase 16.7 pts

WR DK Metcalf 15.4 pts

TE Noah Fant 11.4 pts

TE T.J. Hockenson 11.7 pts

TE Rob Gronkowski 11.4 pts

TE Tyler Conklin 7.9 pts

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Aaron’s Picks Week 8

(Total Record 24-27)

I went 1-7 this past week dropping my record to under .500 at 24-27. I sit at 2nd only behind Ben and in front of Jacob. My worst performance by far. I hope to bounce back this week with a new clean slate of 8 player projections. 

QB Jalen Hurts 23.6 pts – BOOM

I like Jalen Hurts to boom this week against a terrible Lions Defense. It is funny that Hurts has had a really nice year but has got a lot of his points in “garbage time.” I don’t see the Eagles losing this week so “garbage time points” might be out of the question. Regardless, Hurts booms because of the favorable matchup. 

QB Tom Brady 21.4 pts – BUST

The Bucs travel to face NFC South rival New Orleans in the Superdome. The Saints are coming off an ugly win in Seattle. Despite that, their Defense played amazing and held the Seahawks to 10 points. I like the Saints Defense to prevail and hold old Tom to under 21.4 points. This selection is of lower confidence. 

RB Najee Harris 21.4 pts – BOOM

Najee Harris and the Steelers travel to Cleveland to face the Browns in an AFC North showdown. I like Najee Harris in this one and frankly, he will need to step up and play big in order for the Steelers to go on the road and get a win. Najee, all year long, has proved doubters wrong and has had a stellar rookie campaign. That also makes me more confident he can boom his projection week in and week out.

RB Ezekiel Elliot 16.1 pts – BOOM
Dallas travels to Minneapolis this week to play the Vikings. Like Najee, I like Elliott to boom. I like this matchup for the Cowboys and Elliott. There is nothing overly complex with this analysis but this selection is of high confidence. 

WR Ja’marr Chase 16.7 pts – BOOM

Ja’marr has been one of the best WRs in the NFL this year. Part of the reason the Bengals have a 5-2 record is directly because of Chase. This week, the Bengals have one of the most favorable matchups in the league in the Jets. Expect Chase to have a big game and continue to lead the charge for one of the NFLs most surprising teams of 2021.   

WR DK Metcalf 15.4 pts – BOOM

DK and the Seahawks have a favorable matchup this week against the Jaguars and I think 15.4 seems reasonable. Expect the Seahawks to bounce back from a tough loss on MNF and I think DK has a lot to do with that.

TE Tyler Conklin 7.9 pts – BOOM

I see Conklin booming this week, but TE’s are always tricky. 7.9 is certainly within reach but whether he gets the opportunities to make plays is another story. Bottom line, this is a low confident bet with a lot of opportunity for it to succeed. 

TE Noah Fant 11.4 pts – BUST

Fant busts. There is no reasoning behind this other than the fact that he is a TE. TE projections are tricky!

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Jacob’s Picks Week 8

(Total Record 23-26)

Not the week that I was hoping for with going 3-4. Excited for this week’s round of picks. Two players of which are former LSU players and are both having great seasons so far. Overall I really like this week’s boom/bust predictions and looking to get to an above 500 average record.

QB Tom Brady 21.4 pts – BOOM

The Buccaneers have been a Super Bowl Contender all year and show no signs of slowing down. Under center is the seemingly ageless Tom Brady who is continuing to average almost 4 touchdowns a game. I continue to see the Buccaneers and Tom Brady getting the job done this week even against a very good Saints defense.  

QB Daniel Jones 19.9 pts – BOOM

This pick is definitely a tough one to say the least. Daniel Jones has not been good, and he is on a Giants team that is one of the worst in the league. The sole reason for this boom projection is because of how horrendous the Chiefs defense is. 

RB D’andre Swift 19.1 pts – BOOM

Swift has been a great option this year for fantasy owners due to the amount of volume he sees on a weekly basis. Having multiple touchdowns this year both receiving and rushing has been a huge plus as well. His team might not win this week, but I see this being an offensive shootout as the lions look to get into the win column this week against the Eagles.

RB Najee Harris 21.4 pts – BUST

Although Najee is one of the only bright spots on this steelers offense, he has struggled heavily to get in the endzone against good defenses. With the Steelers facing the Browns and their run defense this week, Najee will have a hard time finding the endzone. While Najee might get lots of touches this week, I don’t see him going over the 21.4 threshold.

WR Ja’marr Chase 16.7 pts – BOOM

Chase has been unbelievable this season. The Bengals are having a great year so far led by two young former LSU studs in Burrow and Chase. With the connection between the two continuing to give defense problems, I see no reason as to why Chase isn’t a boom this week. Look for Chase to continue his historic rookie wide receiver campaign this week against the always terrible Jets defense.

WR Justin Jefferson 18.9 pts – BOOM

The Vikings are playing the red hot Cowboys this week. In order for the Vikings to keep up with the Cowboys offensively, Jefferson will need to get touches. I see this game becoming an offensive shootout, and because of that. Jefferson should go over his projection.

TE Noah Fant 11.4 pts – BUST

The Broncos have been struggling to say the least as of late. They play the Washington Football Team who is looking for a comeback win after last week’s loss to the Packers. Expect the Broncos to continue to struggle this week and because of this, Fant will as well.

TE Rob Gronkowski 11.4 pts – BUST

Although I have Brady booming this week, Gronk in my opinion is a different story. The Saints have a great defense, and tight ends all season have had trouble getting their fantasy owners points against the Saints. I’m basing this pick solely due to the Saints defense. 

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Ben’s Picks Week 8

(Total Record 27-22)

An even 3-3 record last week, somewhat of a redemption from an ugly previous week of picks. Two of my players ended up on the injury list which we don’t count in our record, so I only ended up with 6 picks. We hope for another good week of football, and another fun week of Boom/Bust predictions.

QB Jalen Hurts 23.6 pts – BOOM

Hurts is a perfect model for a fantasy QB. Seemingly every week he starts with 6-7 points in the first half, and somehow scores garbage time rushing TD’s to bring his total above 20. He plays for an abysmal Lions team who has yet to win a game, and with Hurts as such an end zone threat, I find it hard to worry about him not performing. 

QB Carson Wentz 17.3 pts – BUST

Wentz is just the opposite of Hurts. He does not score a lot of TD’s though he usually racks up a good amount of yards. He actually has performed really well for a Colts team that is gaining momentum with each week. I just think that with Tennessee’s powerful offense the Colts are going to have to get the run game going to keep up. Wentz could easily go over, just my gut feeling for this week. 

RB D’andre Swift 19.1 pts – BOOM

Swift is exceedingly all expectations this year. He has been taking a huge workload, and gets tons of receptions which makes him a great fantasy asset. They play a bottom 5 defense in the Eagles, and with his recent production he can easily surpass his projection. 

RB Ezekiel Elliot 16.1 pts – BOOM

The Cowboys are rolling. Since their loss in week 1, they are 5-0, and look to have one of the most powerful offenses in the league. Don’t bet against Zeke, as he is such a massive part of the offense. When the run game isn’t working, he is running routes like a WR, and he is a huge TD threat. Against the Vikings, look for a strong run game from the Cowboys. 

WR WR Stefon Diggs 18.3 pts – BOOM

I had to change this one, but I still refuse to bet against a player that plays the Dolphins. The Bills and Dolphins last matchup ended in a 35-0 win for Buffalo, and I don’t think Miami has a chance at all this week. Let’s hope Diggs finds the ball quite a few times against such a struggling defense. 

WR Ja’marr Chase 16.7 pts – BOOM

Wow. That’s how all NFL fans’ reaction should be after Chase’s performance against the Ravens last week. He broke 200 yards with one TD in the Bengals huge win over Baltimore. He is on pace to have the best rookie receiving season of all time, and against the Jets he might put on a show. He is seemingly proficient at every aspect of the game, and against one of the worst franchises in the league, he will succeed.

TE Noah Fant 11.4 pts – BUST

Some games, Fant looks like he is on his way to becoming a top 5 TE. He certainly has the frame and game sense to make it happen. His team situation worries me, and this week I just don’t feel great about him. Gut feeling.

TE T.J. Hockenson 11.7 pts – BOOM

Hockenson has been pretty disappointing as of late. Luckily for his fantasy owners, he plays a horrible Eagles defense who gave up 18.0 pts to a backup tight end last week. Look for him to get involved and have a solid game.