Evan Oscherwitz
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 (Nov. 30), we discussed the plethora of running back injuries that took place in week 12 and who you should pick up to fill in for your injured starters. Here is what the Hall-of-Famer had to say:
This Year, Managers Who Drafted Backup RBs In The Middle Rounds Were Rewarded Handsomely. Do You Think This Tactic Will Become More Common?
Alexander Mattison set up to make at least the fifth NFL start of his career and his third versus the Lions.
Previous two:
24 touches for 145 yards 2 TD
32 touches for 143 yards 1 TD https://t.co/mXyYkfJXmF— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) November 29, 2021
“Handcuffing running backs has always been something that people do, just not this early. Getting these guys in the middle rounds is just what you have to do now, especially if you have Dalvin Cook or Christian McCaffrey. You have to have Alexander Mattison or Chuba Hubbard, even if that means drafting them a couple of rounds early. Until Dalvin Cook comes back, which could be two weeks or more, suddenly Mattison could be a guy who gets you into the playoffs because he’s that good of a backup. Make sure that you get them. Tony Pollard as well.”
Speaking Of Tony Pollard, He May Be In For A Big Role This Week Because Of Ezekiel Elliott’s Nagging Knee Injury. Do You Play Him?
TONY POLLARD 100-YARD KICKOFF RETURN TD
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/pA1p1PLQKn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 26, 2021
“Pollard is one of the most explosive backups in the NFL. Elliott practiced this week on Monday but we don’t know if he’s going to get a full workload against New Orleans with his knee problem. Pollard has stand-alone value.”
Dontrell Hilliard Turned A Lot Of Heads With His Long TD Run Last Week. Is He Startable Once The Titans Get Back From Their Bye?
DONTRELL HILLIARD. 68 YARDS! @D_Hilliard26 #Titans
📺: #TENvsNE on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/2i9wk9EoIu— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2021
“If he’s out there, you can grab him and sit on him. It looks like Hilliard and D’Onta Foreman have the keys to that backfield but we don’t know how Jeremy McNichols is going to factor in once he returns from injury. If this ends up being a three-headed monster, that would be somewhat of a nightmare. Regardless, the biggest adds at running back this week are going to be Chuba Hubbard and Jamaal Williams.”
It Looks Like Taysom Hill Will Finally Make His First Start Of The Year Against Dallas On Thursday. Is He A QB1?
New QB1?
Taysom Hill is taking first-team QB reps for the Saints, per @RapSheet
Trevor Siemian is with the No. 2s pic.twitter.com/o46RZyqOfG
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) November 29, 2021
“If he’s out there, go get him. When he started in relief of Drew Brees last season, he was averaging around 20 points per game. He’s a mobile quarterback with a big arm, so he needs to be added across the board. I have no idea why they went with Trevor Siemian in the first place, but my guess is that Taysom wasn’t 100% until right now.”
