Every summer leading into and throughout the NFL season, Sports Illustrated and SI.com Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano joins Sports360AZ.com to share his insight on building and developing your fantasy team for success.
Here are some highlights from our most recent conversation (November 24) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
How should the Ravens running game be handled with Mark Ingram and JK Dobbins both on the COVID-19 reserve list? “Dobbins probably would have been the top add in fantasy this week, but now it’s probably going to be Gus Edwards. Gus had a good game against Pittsburgh earlier on in the season. I know Pittsburgh’s defense is good against the run, but there have been situations where running backs have had good games against them. Edwards is going to be in the RB2 conversation for sure this week. Dobbins should still be added because he’s the best back in Baltimore, but unfortunately we’re going to have to wait here another week and a half before we find out if he’s going to remain a featured back, which he was for one week.”
You mentioned Gus Edwards. What’s his stock going to be like? “Anybody who is getting touches and who’s got no competition because the other two guys aren’t going to play, if he gives you 50 and a touchdown, you’ll take that for your RB2 flex. He is going to be ranked among my top 20-25 running backs for the week.”
Taysom Hill no longer has tight end eligibility. Do you consider him to have quarterback value? “He does. He was good last week. He scored over 24 points and rushed for two touchdowns. Rushing quarterbacks, it doesn’t matter if they can’t throw the ball. They are going to have value. Remember Terrelle Pryor who played receiver for a lot of his time in the NFL? He played quarterback for the Raiders for part of a season and had a couple of really good games. It’s not because he was a great quarterback, but it’s because he could run with the football. Taysom Hill needs to be added across the board. He was about 82 percent owned on ESPN because of the tight end eligibility. Yahoo, he was about 42 percent owned. That number needs to rise.”
Should Tua owners be worried after he was benched last week? “Denver’s defense played really well but typically they haven’t done that well against quarterbacks. But Tua’s back and he’s got the Jets this week. If you want to play a team where you can get right, it’s the Jets. They haven’t won a game all season and it’s very likely they aren’t going to win a game all season. I’d still play him in a 2-QB league. In 2-QB and super flex leagues, I’d absolutely play him.”
Nelson Agholor has earned criticism in the past. Why should fantasy owners consider giving him a shot? “I know it’s Nelson Agholor and people are like, ‘ugh’, but this guy has been scoring touchdowns like crazy and Derek Carr trusts him. I know they drafted Henry Ruggs, they drafted Bryan Edwards, Hunter Renfrow is in the mix. It doesn’t matter. Derek Carr trusts Nelson Agholor and they’ve got Atlanta this week. Atlanta’s defense stinks. I’d play Agholor as a WR3 or flex this week and I wouldn’t trust any others Raiders wide receivers, at least not right now.”
With Sony Michel active on the Patriots and Rex Burkhead out, how does this affect Damien Harris? “Here’s where I worry about it. You lose Rex Burkhead. This week you’ve got the Cardinals. Their offense is awesome and you aren’t going to be able to keep up with the Cardinals by running the football. Harris, who’s not averaging a ton of touches every week, he doesn’t do anything in the passing game. If he averages 14-16 carries and Sony Michel is suddenly active and takes away three or four touches, that’s huge. And is Harris going to be the goal line back? I actually think James White might be the best fantasy running back for New England this week based on the matchup.”
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