Eric Sorenson
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Every week during the season NFL Network and NFL.com Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano joins Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat to share his insight on building and developing your fantasy team for success.
Here are some hi-lights from our most recent conversation (August 27th) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
What do you make of the former Cardinal Adrian Peterson landing with the Redskins? “It’s crazy, Brad. I thought that this was it. I thought last season when we saw him play a few games, have a couple good stat lines but overall you could tell he was a 33-year-old running back who averaged fewer than four yards a carry. But all of a sudden, he looked good in one pre-season game and saw a lot of snaps with the first-team offense which to me means he’s got a shot to start. Now, with that being said, this is not the Adrian Peterson from 8-10 years ago. We’re talking about a guy who’s clearly past his prime. He’s going to be drafted now but he shouldn’t be drafted until late and at best he’s in a committee.”
Can you please make sense of the Brown’s backfield situation…or at least try to? “This is a dart throw every week. Carlos Hyde looks like the best player to draft in standard leagues. Duke Johnson in PPR. Nick Chubb is third in both. But, this could end up being a week-to-week situation where Hue Jackson rides the hot hand so maybe one week it’s Carlos Hyde, maybe one week it’s Duke Johnson. Maybe Chubb has a big week. This is a backfield to avoid unless maybe you’re drafting Duke Johnson as an RB3 or RB4…I think it’s going to be confusing every single week so avoid it if you possibly can.”
Odell Beckham got paid. Where does he stack up against the NFL’s elite fantasy wide receivers? “One of the three wideouts worth a first-round pick including Antonio Brown and Nuke Hopkins. You’ll see OBJ coming draft boards likely towards the end of the first-round, early part of the second. I will say this, I do believe there’s a little risk with OBJ in terms of the touchdown department because the Giants added some huge weapons. You have Saquon Barkley who is going to see his touches, likely 325-350 for the rookie. He will be the centerpiece of this offense to go right alongside OBJ. Double-digit touchdowns I don’t think is a guarantee for OBJ this season but he’s still a fantasy star.”
With Marqise Lee out for the year who do you see picking up the slack in Jacksonville? “Keelan Cole is the first guy that comes to mind. I actually liked him before Lee went down. Dede Westbrook is another guy whose values goes up, as well. Those are the two guys that I feel move up the most on the Jaguars. If you’re looking for somebody outside of Jacksonville, Chris Godwin is somebody that’s really looked good in the pre-season and someone that you should target. If you’ve had your drafts already he could potentially be available on the waiver wire.”
I can keep two in a PPR league: Odell, Michael Thomas, Dalvin Cook. Who’s the odd-man-out? “Boy, that’s a tough one because all three of those are extremely keep-able. I don’t know if that’s a word (laughing). I would keep two wide receivers because it’s a PPR league but I do love Dalvin Cook.”
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