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 (December 8) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
After his impressive showing over the weekend, what do you make of Baker Mayfield right now? “He’s been good. He’s had six touchdowns and no picks in his last two games. Now the matchups haven’t been great. Let’s not get it twisted. He’s got the Ravens this week on Monday night. I’m not playing him. If I am in a 2QB league, okay that’s fine. But in a traditional redraft, I’m not playing him. He’s been very good lately, but let me see him do it against a good defense. If he does it against Baltimore, I’ll give him all the credit in the world. Is he rosterable? I think he is but I wouldn’t play him until week 16 and that assumes that you get there. He’s got Baltimore, the Giants with a defense that is playing pretty well, and then he’s got the Jets in week 16 and they stink.”
Corey Davis or A.J. Brown in Tennessee. Which receiver do you prefer? “Definitely A.J. Brown. He’s a more talented guy, but Corey Davis, I loved him last week and I love him this week. Corey Davis has kind of been like Cole Beasley and been under the radar good. He doesn’t put up monster numbers typically, but his floor has been decent with usually 12 to 13 points. He’s a very good start this week. A.J. Brown is more of a must start than Corey Davis, but Davis has been good. Davis is legitimately within a point of Brown in terms of their points per game average.”
Do you trust starting Jonathan Taylor with the Colts? “This week I do. In his last two games, and keep in mind he missed a game because he on the COVID list, he led the Colts backfield in snaps and touches. They’ve got the Raiders this week and the Raiders defense is terrible. I like Taylor as a high RB2.”
In deeper leagues, who are some wide receivers to look at off the waiver wire? “Laviska Shenault, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Chad Hansen in deeper leagues because there’s not a lot to like out there in competitive fantasy leagues out there on the waiver wire at this point. Those are a few players where if you’ve got a dead spot on your roster and you’re looking for a player who could pop for you at some point in the playoffs, they are worth an add. They most likely aren’t startable in most fantasy leagues at this point, though.”
What do you make of Logan Thomas and how consistent he’s been during a year where tight ends have struggled overall? “Logan Thomas, he was good against the Steelers. He’s slowly risen to near TE1 levels. He was impressive against Pittsburgh, he really was. Anthony Firkser and Logan Thomas are the top two tight end options, but tight end overall is not good.”
Who are some waiver wire options at running back? “Cam Akers, who we talked about last week and is still available in a lot of leagues. Darrell Henderson had a decent stat line last week and the matchup is good this week against New England. New England has been very tough on quarterbacks lately, but they can be had with running backs so Akers is on that flex starter radar. If D’Andre Swift comes back, he’s an obvious must start against Green Bay, but Adrian Peterson has had four touchdowns in his last two games. Peterson is on the radar as a flex if Swift is unable to go. There’s also Ty Johnson. Frank Gore had a concussion and I don’t know if he’s going to be back considering he’s 37-years-old. If Ty Johnson starts, he’s worth a roll the dice in a 12 or 14-team league. He’s got Seattle and their defense hasn’t been great against running backs. I don’t know if I’d trust him in the first round of the fantasy playoffs, but I’d add him for depth purposes if I needed help at running back.”
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