1. You need a WR and you have a bunch of good RBs. Who would you trade Todd Gurley for in a Half-PPR?

Brandon Funston: I think I’d be trying to get Tyler Lockett, or T.Y. Hilton, being discounted likely because of his current quad issue, or maybe Tyreek Hill, who sounds like he’s just a week or two away from returning. Gurley is being ranked by the industry for the rest of season as RB18. I ranked him similarly in my Big Board this week. Basically, a receiver with a “T” and a “Y” to start his first name works for me.

Emory Hunt: Golden Tate – he will get a good deal of work now that he’s back (for more on this, check out my column from earlier this week)

Eric Moody: I’d trade Todd Gurley for Adam Thielen, Allen Robinson, Kenny Golladay, or Amari Cooper. All four of these WRs have very favorable matchups from now to the end of the season.

Michael Beller: Tyler Lockett? Yeah, Tyler Lockett. That feels like a deal that could realistically go down. I mean, I’d trade Gurley for Julio Jones, too, but something tells me the Jones owner isn’t biting. Lockett feels like a gettable receiver for Gurley, and I want to buy on him while I still can. He’s easily the WR1 for one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Seattle’s offense is still going to run at one of the highest rates in the league, but that doesn’t hurt Lockett as much as it would other receivers, given how clearly he’s atop the team’s depth chart. For my money, Lockett is a top-12 receiver the rest of the way.

Renee Miller: Larry Fitzgerald? Courtland Sutton? Julian Edelman? That’s where I’d be aiming.

Nando Di Fino: I like to play with an eye on the end-game — make my team as strong as possible for Weeks 9-16, so I can squeak into the playoffs and then steamroll everyone; and I hold Gurley in high regard for that strategy, because if they’re conserving him, I think those are the weeks they’ll cut him loose. So he has that value built in, and I’d be asking for Odell Beckham, JuJu Smith-Schuster, or maybe Josh Gordon. I hope after Thursday night and his 15 carries that his value went up a little. We’ll see!

2. Josh Gordon has 18 targets in his last two games, but just 221 yards on the season, and one touchdown. D.J. Chark is 26/19/321/3 on the season. Golden Tate is coming off suspension and has a ton of buzz. Rank them in a PPR league (and feel free to offer some commentary on why)

Funston: Gordon, Chark, Tate — PPR format helps Tate, but not enough to get him in front of either of the others. I want to go Chark here, but I can’t dismiss that Gordon is tied to the best offense, has a big target share expectation with Antonio Brown gone. And he also has what is currently rated as the second-easiest ROS schedule at WR position. He’s playing more like an athletic tight end than the explosive vertical-stretching dynamo of the past, but Tom Brady should have no problem making use of what he is now.

Hunt: Gordon, Tate, Chark… always bet on talent. Talent is huge to me. Because it’s usually consistent and dependable. That’s why I ranked them in that order.

Moody: I’d rank them in the following order: Josh Gordon, Golden Tate, and D.J. Chark. The Patriots haven’t had to go full throttle offensively. New England has one of the top ROS schedules for wide receivers and Gordon is catching passes from the GOAT. The Giants also have a very favorable schedule the rest of the way for WRs which bodes well for Golden Tate. D.J. Chark has emerged as the No. 1 receiver for the Jaguars. He’ll continue to be heavily targeted, but their rest of season schedule is very challenging. You combine this with the Jacksonville being a run-heavy team led me to rank Chark No. 3.

Beller: I’ll go Gordon, Chark, Tate, with Chark closer to Gordon than he is to Tate. Gordon gets the top spot almost by default. New England still doesn’t have an offensive identity it can hang its hat on, but it does have Tom Brady and a two decades long track record of figuring things out. With the run game struggling and the tight end position non-existent, I’ll bet on a guy who is, at worst, the No. 2 option in the passing game.

Chark had what would’ve been his fourth touchdown of the season taken off the board last week on a call that, while correct by the book, had nothing to do with the play (for more on that, check out our new “yards lost to penalties” tool). Whatever, that’s going to happen. The bottom line is that he has been a huge part of Jacksonville’s passing game every week, and is that dubious call away from scoring in all four of the team’s games. As much as I like Tate, give me a guy who clearly has cemented himself as a key part of his team’s offense over a guy who could realistically be the third option in his passing attack, and fourth in the offense once Saquon Barkley returns.

Miller: I’m going to go Gordon, Chark, Tate. I think the functionality of the offense is a big factor, as is strength of schedule.

Di Fino: I’d have Gordon first (I think he’s just too good in a great offense, and his “show me” phase is over now; I’m good, I believe); Chark second (I was a huge Dede Westbrook fan coming into this season, but this DeFilippo offense can carry more than one WR, just like in MIN last year), and then Golden Tate (I think he steps right in and clicks with the offense; I just am girding myself for his typical ups and downs). And all three are close enough where I wouldn’t mind being forced to start one as a WR2 the rest of the year.

3. Stefon Diggs O/U 100-yard games the rest of the season: 3.5

Funston: UNDER — Even back in the Adam Thielen/Diggs heyday, back when Minnesota didn’t loathe throwing the ball, Diggs’ 100-yard game high water mark was four. That means that if he hits the OVER number here, he’d finish the year with a career-best number of 100-yard games. Not happening!

Hunt: OVER. Hard to keep a talented player down. I feel as though the Vikings will make a conscious effort to get the WRs involved.

Moody: I’m taking the over. The Vikings have the most favorable WR schedule based on the methodology I use for strength of schedule analysis. Defenses are going to force Kirk Cousins to beat them when they go all out to contain Dalvin Cook. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen will benefit.

Beller: Under. Nineteen receivers had four or more 100-yard games last year. This question asks Diggs to do that in three-quarters of a season. I’m not buying, especially with the Vikings committed to, and capable of, winning on the strength of their run game and defense.

Miller: Under.

Di Fino: I’m going with the under. I think this is one of those situations where we have to separate real football from fantasy, and they are getting it done with their run-heavy approach. Unless this is some kind of rope-a-dope, where they suddenly switch strategies in Week 6 and go full-on Air Raid…which I don’t see happening (but it would be very cool). Even if Diggs gets traded, I still think you get a few weeks to learn the offense, a couple 100-yard game outbursts, and then 65-80 yard performances the rest of the way.

4. Someone offers you Miles Sanders for Jordan Howard. Are you accepting this deal in a Half-PPR?

Funston: Yes, I’ll accept. I have to believe in talent winning out in the end. And I have to believe that Doug Pederson doesn’t really believe it makes sense to throw it to Howard more than Sanders. Grrr, this question is getting me riled up.

Hunt: Yes! Because at the end of the day, Sanders gives you more of a complete game than Howard. And as he grows in the pass pro department, he’ll steal time away from Howard.

Moody: I’d accept the trade. Sanders is more talented and athletically gifted than Howard. He’s still seeing opportunities in the Eagles backfield. Sanders still has the potential, in my opinion, to be a league winner in the second half of the season.

Beller: Absolutely. In fact, I’m hanging up the phone, deleting the email, or responding to the text in disgust. Howard isn’t going anywhere, and he deserves credit for how well he played against the Packers. But Sanders remains the more talented back, and even though he has had some bad moments this season, he also racked up 198 yards from scrimmage on 26 touches the last two weeks. The breakout is coming.

Miller: I’m not a big fan of either right now, but I guess I would accept. Sanders has more carries, more targets, and has been effective. The difference is the touchdowns. Given that Sanders is the future of this backfield, it stands to reason that his usage will increase as the season wears on. Howard isn’t going to be that spectacular every week.

Di Fino: I would do it. Staying consistent with the end-game strategy, I think Sanders just kind of slowly picks up more of the market share as the season goes along, and by Week 12 we’re looking at a consistent 6-7 targets a game, with 12 carries. While Howard has shut up all his haters and has been an astute pass-catcher, Sanders is just a little better at it.

5. You’re in a PPR league with Damien Williams, Jimmy Graham, and Jaylen Samuels on your bench. You’e been ravaged by injury and drafting Antonio Brown. Who do you start at FLEX this week of this trio?

Funston: Samuels — It’s injury contingent. If no James Conner (ankle) this week, it’s all Samuels, even if Damien Williams (knee) plays. If Williams and Conner both play, I’ll lean Conner. If Conner plays and Williams doesn’t play, I’ll still go Samuels over Graham, hoping we see the tandem backfield for Pittsburgh that we saw against Cincy last week.

Hunt: I would start Samuels. Pittsburgh has shown a commitment to getting him involved in the offense.

Moody: I’d start Jaylen Samuels out of this trio. The Steelers have been vague about the nature of James Conner’s ankle injury. Samuels should still opportunities whether Conner misses time or not in Week 5.

Beller: If Williams plays, he’s the obvious answer. If he doesn’t, I’ll go Samuels. What we saw from the Steelers last week wasn’t a one-week strategy based on the opponent, though, to be clear, Cincinnati is terrible against the run. Still, with Mason Rudolph at the helm, the Steelers can’t run the Ben Roethlisberger offense. Samuels will be a fixture the rest of the season, and that keeps him on the flex radar every week.

Miller: Samuels. I know his MNF performance was gimmicky, but the Steelers need to adapt to being without Big Ben. Samuels’ versatility is a big asset, and the Ravens’ defense isn’t impenetrable.

Di Fino: I have Jaylen Samuels on a lot of teams, thanks to Mark Kaboly having written this about him in the preseason and then subsequently mentioning Samuels in a bunch of the beatwriter roundups and on Podcast By Committee. The first three weeks were kind of annoying, but I think he finally clicked in Week 4. And regardless of Conner’s health, Samuels is likely going to be a big part of the passing game going forward.

6. A fun question we stole from Jake’s comment section: Nick B. asks: OJ Howard is still not in dumpsville? What are we waiting for? He did nothing against the Giants (good matchup) and nothing against the Rams (massive yards and points, of which he got basically zilch). Would you drop Howard, and for whom?

Funston: There’s at least 10 tight ends I’d rather bet on rest of season than Howard at this point: Kelce, Kittle, Ertz, Engram, Waller, Andrews, Hooper — those are seven slam-dunks that I’d take over Howard. Then I’d say Dissly, Olsen and Walker are probables. Howard or Herndon is where I get to an impasse. So basically, Howard is the back-endiest TE1 for me at this point.

Hunt: Jimmy Graham. I feel as though as we move closer to the middle of the season, Graham will become more of a factor inside the red zone.

Moody: Hope is not a viable fantasy football winning strategy. I’d drop O.J. Howard for Chris Herndon.

Beller: In general, I’m not dropping Howard. At worst, he’s a streamable tight end with a top-five ceiling every time he takes the field. At best, he and Bruce Arians figure things out, and he puts up top-five numbers at the position the rest of the season. Most Howard drafters aren’t likely to have acted fast enough to get someone like Darren Waller, and they definitely shouldn’t have drafted a second tight end. That means that Howard is their best choice in nine out of every 10 cases.

Miller: So many questions. Are you still starting Howard? Who’s available? I’d drop him if he was on my bench (e.g. I had a viable TE to start) for any position player that could help me. If I was dropping him for another TE I had to start, I’d consider Dawson Knox or Tyler Eifert (especially this week).

Di Fino: I wouldn’t. The second I drop him, he’ll go bananas. I drafted Howard and Engram on a lot of teams this season, so I at least have the luxury of benching Howard until he rights the ship enough to get into the FLEX spot as the heavy bye weeks creep up. Ask me this question again in Week 8 and if the crap season continues, I’d be wiling to make the move then. I realize this is very specific to my teams where I can bench him, so how about this: If he’s your only TE, I’m giving him until Week 6. Then I’m just resigning myself to streaming the position and hoping there’s someone out there every week who will give me more than five points.

BONUS: It’s October! Which three movies will you absolutely be watching this month as you get in the Halloween mood?

Funston:

• Beetlejuice — this one is No. 1 with a bullet for me, you can’t do Halloween without at least one Tim Burton offering
• Coraline — This is always a suggestion on the tip of my 15-year-old daughter’s tongue. So I nominate it because I know I’ll be watching it at some point in the next few weeks and because it’s becoming a tradition, it pretty much makes me feel Halloween-y
• The Shining — I’m a wimp when it comes to horror movies, but not with The Shining. I started thinking it was high time I watch it again after last week’s roundtable asked about best Stephen King movies. With Halloween on the horizon, it’s another prod for me in the direction of The Shining.
• Honorable mention – ET. Not scary, but it’s set around Halloween, and they go out trick-or-treating. And because I’m a child of the 80s, it takes me back on a nostalgic wave to a time when I was a candy-motivated kid around this time of year.

Hunt: House Party 2; Class Act; Who’s the Man

Moody: I’ll provide three choices for a family movie night and three for an adults only movie night. For family friendly viewing I’d watch Hocus Pocus, Hotel Transylvania, and Casper. For an adults only movie night I’d watch Halloween, Child’s Play, and Beetlejuice.

Beller: The first one that came to mind was The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is equal parts Christmas and Halloween movie. I’ll throw that in here. I couldn’t really think of too many other Halloween movies so I consulted Google, and the internet seems to believe that any scary movie qualifies as a Halloween movie, no matter the time of year it’s set. If that’s the case, then I feel I can go off script. I’ll say Ghostbusters at No. 2, and The Crucible at No. 3. Hey, if any scary movie counts, then so, too, should one about the Salem Witch Trials. Plus, the play is an American classic. And as my own bonus, I’ll add an anthology of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror episodes.

Miller: I really don’t like Halloween as an adult. Candy is good, and I love my glass pumpkins, but that’s pretty much it for me. I’ll watch Halloween Wars on Food Network, though 🙂

Jake Ciely cameo: It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, which is the only one I’ve seen and will watch again. I rarely watch horror/thriller movies a second time because the majority of the fun (not knowing what to expect) is gone, so my next two picks are ones I haven’t seen yet. Ma and Trick R Treat (lots of people are recommending that second one for some reason). I do wish It Chapter Two was out of video before January.

Di Fino:

1. Transylvania 6-5000, every year, forever and ever.
2. I found a bootleg of “Disney’s Halloween Treat” a few years ago and I protect that DVD like nothing else.
3. This really cool not-quite-Halloween movie called Coherence. Strongly recommended!

(Top photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)