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Each week NFL Network/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 as we gear up for the regular season opener Thursday night in Denver with the Broncos hosting the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.
Keep your eye on one new starting quarterback this season in the AFC: “A name that people should remember, and a lot of people will probably laugh at this but Terrelle Pryor has the chance to be an awesome fantasy quarterback. Not a top 10 quarterback but a very good fantasy quarterback and here’s the reason why: he can run the football. Terrelle Pryor…behind that offensive line…is going to have to run for his life. So just do the math here: if he throws for 200 yards, not a great game. Eight fantasy points. If he runs for 60 yards that’s six fantasy points. That’s 14 points right there. If he gets you a touchdown that’s another four or six points and that’s on the low end.”
What’s Jimmy Graham’s true draft value heading into the season? “Somewhere in round two. Personally, in my draft stately, I’m not going to take Jimmy Graham because I’m focusing on running backs and wide receivers early. Jimmy Graham will be far gone before I even think about taking a tight end which would probably not come from me until about the fifth round. That doesn’t mean Jimmy Graham isn’t worth a second pick because he is. He’s basically like having another wide receiver in your starting lineup…Jimmy Graham is a star.”
Choose two of these three running backs: Eddie Lacy, Giovani Bernard, Chris Ivory: “I’m going to leave Bernard out of that. I like him. I like his upside. He’s likely going to be in a committee and “The Law Firm” [Bengals’ BenJarvus Green-Ellis] will likely be the goal line guy. Giovani Bernard is not the starter. Eddie Lacy: starter. Stock rising…as for Ivory and I know a lot of people are freaking out about Ivory. Give him a chance. The pre-season didn’t show much but he’s also been a little bit banged up. Assuming he can stay healthy…and that’s a big if…I think he can rush for 1200 yards and eight touchdowns in that [Jets] offense. They don’t have much else. They have a good offensive line and that was proven last year when Shonn Greene was 15th in fantasy points among running backs…I do like Chris Ivory.”
What are your thoughts on the Lions’ backfield heading into the season? “[Reggie] Bush might have more receiving yards than rushing yards this year. He is going to catch so many passes out of that backfield. I would not be shocked if he catches 70 passes this year and I don’t think he’s going to rush for 1,000 yards but he could get up into the eight or nine hundreds in that category and be in the eight or nine hundreds in receiving yards. This offense is just perfect for his skill set. Think Marshall Faulk, just not as good because Marshall Faulk is the king of fantasy football. Reggie Bush could be the second most targeted player in that offense behind Calvin Johnson this year.”
To listen to the entire interview click here.
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Eric Sorenson
A Valley native, Eric has had a passion for the Arizona sports scene since an early age. He has covered some of the biggest events including Super Bowls, national championships and the NBA and MLB playoffs in his near 20 years in local media.