Fabiano’s Fantasy Focus Volume III

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Each week NFL Network and NFL.com Fantasy Football Editor Michael Fabiano joins Pros2Preps.com’s Brad Cesmat to share his insight on building your fantasy team for success.

Here are some hilights from our most recent conversation with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.

Look for Marshawn Lynch to carry an even heavier workload in Seattle: “Marshawn Lynch to me is still one of the three or five best players in fantasy football. He should be off the board with one of those first five overall picks. He’s 27. He’s still in the prime of his career. His fantasy points have increased in each of the last three seasons and they’re going to utilize him. This is a run-based offense with a great defense and now that Percy Harvin’s out of the mix for a good chunk of the season, if not the whole season, they’re definitely going to lean on Marshawn Lynch. Any questions about that are now gone.”

Carson Palmer or Philip Rivers?: “I like Carson Palmer better and that’s not to just appease the Arizona Cardinals’ fans. Philip Rivers has seen his fantasy production drop in three straight years. The offense of Mike McCoy, maybe that fixes him. I don’t know but I feel like he’s lost some of his arm strength. Carson Palmer just has better weapons around him. Larry Fitzgerald…you’ve got Michael Floyd there who the Cardinals’ coaching staff hopes takes a leap this season. Rob Housler is kind of a deep sleeper-type, a guy who can maybe catch 50 passes in that offense. I’d rather have Carson Palmer but neither of these guys is a one, they’re both two’s.”

Be thorough, always double check the facts before your draft: “Clearly, there are some guys out there dealing with injuries. A guy like Hakeem Nicks who, if he gets on that field, remember he’s in a contract year, could be a really good bargain. You want to keep tabs on this situation in New England. What’s going on with Rob Gronkowski? Keep tabs on backfield situations you’re going to need to know about like in Dallas. DeMarco Murray is the clear-cut number one but he’s injury-prone. Right now they’re talking about Lance Dunbar passing the rookie Joe Randall on the depth chart…these are things you’re going to want to find out.”

Trent Richardson or Jamaal Charles?: “Close call. I’m going to go with Jamaal Charles here but Trent Richardson is a favorite of mine. These guys are going to come off the board very closely in the first-round. Jamaal Charles is a guy to me who is going to be a major, major option in that offense for Andy Reid and Alex Smith. A guy that can catch passes out of the backfield. I can see him going for well over 1,500 scrimmage yards…he is going to be a top-eight pick across the board.”

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