Fabiano’s Fantasy Focus: Week Three Vol. II

Every week during the NFL season, Sports Illustrated Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano joins Sports360AZ’s Brad Cesmat to share his insight on building and developing your fantasy team for success.

In our most recent conversation with Michael (Sep. 21), we discussed the possibility of teams gravitating towards running back committees in light of the longer schedule, and what fantasy implications that might have, as well as various injury news from across the league. Here is what the Hall of Famer told us:

We Saw A Few Teams With Big-Name Running Backs Take A Tandem Approach This Past Week? Do You Expect That To Continue?

“You have to remember that there’s 17 games this season, so when you see Tony Pollard come in and get the same number of carries as Ezekiel Elliott, you can’t shake your head and be like ‘oh, this is going to be a committee.’ All these teams have to keep their running backs at least somewhat fresh for the stretch run but ultimately, there are going to be games where the backup is hot like Pollard was against the Chargers, and the starters don’t see as many touches. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more and more committee situations.”

Your Prediction Of Darrell Henderson, Jr. Getting Injured Came True Earlier Than Expected. Is Sony Michel A Must-Start This Week?

“From a volume perspective, yeah. Michel is a volume play, if Henderson is out, mind you. If Henderson is active this week, I wouldn’t play [Michel]. This is the Buccaneers they’re playing, so if Henderson plays it’s a horrible matchup and Michel isn’t getting 100% of the carries. Beware.”

Antonio Brown Is Likely Out For That Game On The Tampa Side. What’s Your Outlook On Him When He Returns?

“In week one he ended up being a stud. He and Chris Godwin had good games, Mike Evans didn’t and I almost feel like they self-corrected in getting the ball to Evans more this past week against Atlanta. In a regular week, you’re probably starting all three because at any time, any one of these three guys could blow up. Antonio Brown imploded last week. He didn’t have a ton of targets and he didn’t get the stats that we were hoping for, but Evans did and Godwin was good again. I think Godwin will end up being the most reliable of the three, and it’s going to be hard to decipher who will be the top receiver behind him.”