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The Circle of Trust (Week 15)

December 9, 2025

Our Circle of Trust features players failing to meet expectations or those that are inconsistent and making their managers a little uneasy.

Quarterbacks

Tyler Shough, Saints

Shough just slayed the mighty Bucs who are fighting for the division. It may not have been the most impressive game from passing yardage standpoint, but punching in two scores on the ground is another great way to ensure both of your real and fantasy teams get the victory. He’s earning a place.

Caleb Williams, Bears

The numbers are there, but I just don’t feel good starting Caleb Williams. Maybe it’s just a me thing! The endzone interception against Green Bay is what I envision happening every time he throws the ball because it feels like he does it all the time. But prior to week 13, he hadn’t thrown an int since week 8. He was down Rome Odunze, no problem. He found a way to feed up and comer Luther Burden who’s growing into a bigger role on offense. If he checks it down late or makes the throw sooner, it’s a touchdown and we’re talking about a huge game.

Running Backs

David Montgomery, Lions

Don’t be fooled by the game against the Cowboys! While David Montgomery certainly isn’t as washed as his numbers indicate this season, the Lions have leaned heavily on Gibbs who will more than likely break Barry Sanders’ record this week. Knuckles broke a touchdown on an incredible run but only received 7 touches on the day. Most weeks you’ll be disappointed by his production. Only start if you’re truly out of options.

RJ Harvey, Broncos

Harvey has been a bit of a tough one to figure out. He started the year out clearly behind Dobbins but would show his talent nearly any time he got the ball. Once Dobbins was lost for the year, it took him a game and a bye week to get rolling, but he’s been great the last two weeks with three trips to the endzone in total. The backfield has been clearly his with an occasional carry going to someone else further down in the order. I do trust Harvey the player, but I’m a little nervous trusting this offense over the next few weeks as the Broncos still have a bit of a ..fraud feel to them, do they not?

Wide Receivers

DK Metcalf, Steelers

DK Metcalf went OFF with 7 grabs for 148 yards against the Ravens. Baltimore has been a bit leaky to the passing game and DK took advantage of it. The issue with this is that the season has been so up and down for the Metcalf/Rodgers connection. Truthfully, it has been mostly down. A juicy matchup with Miami awaits, Detroit could be interesting but I’d avoid the week 17 game in Cleveland.

Chris Olave, Saints

Olave is a tricky case because the Saints are a team that need to pass the ball quite a bit in order to stay in games. Their next opponent is a divisional game against a Panther team who’s average against the pass. Olave went off for 5 grabs, 104 yards and a touchdown in their matchup against the Panthers in week 9. Though he’s coming off a meh game in week 14, I have no problem trusting him if you need him.

Emeka Egbuka, Buccaneers

After a smoldering hot start to his rookie campaign, Egbuka has cooled off in a big way since week 11. The targets have not reached lower than 8 which tells us the opportunity is still there, but it just hasn’t been translating to big points like earlier in the year. The Bucs struggled mightily against New Orleans and Baker Mayfield has not looked great since injuring his shoulder against the Rams a few weeks ago. They’ll be playing on a short week next week against Atlanta in a matchup where I trust they’ll get back on track, or at least put up more respectable numbers. Egbuka had a huge game in week 1 against the Falcons and they’re an even worse team now.

Tight Ends

Dalton Kincaid, Bills

Kincaid finally stepped back into the lineup for Buffalo and contributed 41 yards and a touchdown on 5 targets. Dawson Knox led the team with 93 yards on 7 targets and remained Josh Allen’s go to guy. Even when we’ve seen both tight ends healthy, Knox will always play a big role making it unpredictable on those random games where Kincaid gets some action. If you’ve been waiting on him, you probably need him. But I don’t feel great about the playoff schedule and the usage.

Keith, Author

Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.