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 (Dec. 14), we discussed some of the best waiver wire additions heading into round one of the fantasy playoffs. Here is what the Hall-of-Famer had to say:
Rashaad Penny Finally Had His Breakout Performance Last Week Against The Texans. Is He A Must-Start In Week One Of Playoffs?
Quite the day for the Penny brothers: Seahawks’ RB Rashaad Penny sets a career-high in rushing yards and scores a TD, while older brother and Giants’ FB Elijhaa Penny just caught a TD.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 12, 2021
“No, and I’ve got to be honest with you, how many must-starts are there in the league right now? We’ve gotten to the point where the top running backs and wide receivers are must-plays, but Rashaad Penny isn’t one of them. He had a good game last week, but he is a brittle player – a fragile player – and he’s got a bad matchup against the Rams this week. So no, not a must-start, but he is a must-add if you can get him.”
Lamar Jackson Exited With An Ankle Injury Last Week And Tyler Huntley Arguably Ran The Offense Better Than He Did Afterwards. Do You Start Huntley If Lamar Can’t Go This Week?
Tyler Huntley doing his best Lamar Jackson impression 🤧pic.twitter.com/aB1P7mwP0W
— PFF (@PFF) December 12, 2021
“If you’re in a two-QB or super flex league, then yeah, pick up Tyler Huntley. He’s a mobile quarterback, and even though the matchup against Green Bay is not great on paper, Justin Fields just put up points against the Packers on Monday night. So yeah, Huntley’s a guy who if you need a QB2 in a super flex league, you should consider picking up.”
While We’re On The Subject Of Injured Quarterbacks, Josh Allen Came Down With A Case Of Turf Toe Against The Buccaneers. Do You Pick Up Mitch Trubisky?
Mitch Trubisky will be getting reps with Josh Allen limited. McDermott won’t say much else about the situation other than the team is taking it day to day.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 15, 2021
“It depends on the size of your league. In most leagues, you can probably do better than Trubisky on the waiver wire. Tua Tagovailoa is floating around out there and you might want to take a chance on him instead of picking up Trubisky. The Bills play Carolina this week and their defense has been pretty tough, on paper at least.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Seems To Have Established Himself As The Number One Receiver On A Depleted Lions Team. Is He Worth A Play This Week?
In a PPR league, I would probably start Amon-Ra St. Brown over DK Metcalf this week, we on board ⁉️
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) December 14, 2021
“Yes, because they’ve finally started getting him the football, which is nice. He could put up five catches for 60, 70, maybe 80 yards against Arizona this week. He’s coming off of a pretty good game against the Broncos on the road, an emotional Broncos team following the unfortunate death of Demaryius Thomas. If he’s out there, I’d certainly be trying to pick him up.”
If Given The Choice Between Melvin Gordon III and Chuba Hubbard, Who Do You Start This Week?
Melvin Gordon: “We’ve got two No. 1 backs here.” pic.twitter.com/3XQyU7GMvm
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) December 9, 2021
“Melvin Gordon III was really good last week, as was his backfield partner Javonte Williams. They’ve got the Bengals this week, which should be a fun matchup, whereas Hubbard has the Bills, who are not as good of a matchup. The Panthers have also been using Ameer Abdullah in the passing game, so I’m siding with Gordon III on this one.
