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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 (November 13th) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
What’s the one thing that jumps out at you heading into Week 11? “There are a lot of very good running backs, some of the elite running backs in the game, that have really good matchups like Todd Gurley, like Kareem Hunt, like Christian McCaffrey and Saquan Barkley. The list goes on and on so fantasy owners who have some of these backs are probably going to get some very good numbers from these guys because the matchups couldn’t be better.”
MNF is scheduled for Mexico City but field conditions are poor. Wait and see before starting Rams and Chiefs players? “The NFL is aware of the situation with the field and to be honest with you, I would be starting my Chiefs and Rams as I normally would unless we hear some report that the game is going to be delayed. I would be shocked that anything happens that’s drastic to the point where the game isn’t played but the NFL isn’t going to put their players in harm’s way, as well. It’s certainly something to watch, especially if you have either of the kickers on those teams. If the conditions aren’t good, it could be hard to kick the football, as well.”
What do you make of Blake Bortles? “He was actually listed as a sleeper for me last week. Why? Because when Leonard Fournette is out on the gridiron he’s the centerpiece of the Jaguars’ offense and Blake Bortles doesn’t need to throw the football as much and that’s good for Blake Bortles because he turns the ball over a lot. Moving forward I can see people starting Bortles this week against Pittsburgh-no question about it. Pittsburgh’s pass defense hasn’t been good this season.”
Philip Rivers or Mitchell Trubisky this week? “Trubisky. I don’t like the matchup with Rivers. He has actually struggled in home games against the Denver Broncos-whether that be in San Diego or Los Angeles. That’s just a better matchup. I get it, Trubisky is playing against the Vikings and it’s a home game. The Vikings have not been as good defensively on the road as they have been at home. Trubisky has had one bad game over his last four or five weeks so I’d stick with him.”
Would you trade James Conner and Josh Gordon for Nuke Hopkins? “It really depends on whether losing James Conner will hurt your backfield depth. Getting Nuke Hopkins is great but, in a situation like that, if losing Conner really hurts what I have in my backfield than I’m not going to do it. Let’s not forget this guy’s a top three running back. Top three. Josh Gordon, although he’s been a bit inconsistent, is starting to see more opportunities in that Patriots’ offense so I’d be a tough trade for me to pull off.”
Better start: Drew Brees against the Eagles or Patrick Mahomes against the Rams? “I’m going with Mahomes here, unless we have an issue with the field conditions as we’ve talked about but it’s a coin toss. These quarterbacks are both elite players who have great matchups.”
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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.