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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 (December 9th) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
Who are some quarterbacks to stay away from this weekend? “I’ll be honest with you, Matt Ryan deserves to be on the waiver wire right now. There are too many good quarterbacks to even roster him. I don’t like Philip Rivers in Kansas City. Derek Carr has a tough match up against the Denver Broncos so you may want to temper your expectations or bench Carr this week.
Are you expecting another big game from David Johnson on TNF against Minnesota? “Minnesota’s defense is all banged up. David Johnson could be one of those late-season heroes for fantasy owners because he’s going to be the featured guy. Clearly Bruce Arians does not like using a committee, bless his heart…Johnson’s a good play. He’s a really good play.”
I’ve got Ryan Fitzpatrick or Tyrod Taylor this week: which has the better match up? “Boy. I like both but I’m going Tyrod because the Eagles defense is terrible but Fitzpatrick is a really good play, too.”
Jeremy Maclin or Michael Floyd? “Maclin. I wasn’t really big on Maclin and then when Jamaal Charles went down I sort of eased up on that because I knew he was going to be a little more targeted in the passing game and in the offense. Although he’s had a bunch of bad weeks, lately he’s been very good and San Diego…let’s just say, that team is a dumpster fire right now.”
What running backs need to played? “Lamar Miller. I’m playing him against the Giants. Thomas Rawls bad match up, don’t care. It’s about opportunities. Jonathan Stewart, T.J. Yeldon, David Johnson all good starts at running back. Beware of Eddie Lacy. He could have a really good game this week or he could get five carries. No clue, especially after what happened last week.”
James White or Darren Sproles off the waiver wire? “Whew! I’d probably go James White but I’ll tell you right now there’s no promises with that backfield because once Dion Lewis got hurt, “Beli-tricks” came back. We all thought it was going to LaGarrette Blount but James White has actually had three touchdowns in the last three weeks and he’s put up double-digits in two of those three games. I can’t sit here and tell you I know what Belichick is going to do. Nobody knows what Belichick is going to do except for Belichick but with Ryan Mathews coming back to practice this week, I don’t know if there’s going to be enough touches for Sproles, Mathews and DeMarco [Murray].”
Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota this week? “Winston. Great match up. Very good match up there against a really, really bad Saints defense. You will not see many Buccaneers, if any, on my Sit ‘Em list this week. In fact, I’d start all of them.”
Winston or Carson Palmer? “Carson. Can’t bench him. He’s too good. You want to talk about arguably the best draft bargain in fantasy football, he’s right there at the top of that list, if not at the top.”
Is Scott Chandler a plug-and-play in New England? “Play him. The tight end position is terrible right now. It’s so thin. Gronk is out. Graham is out for the season. It is a mess and Chandler has one huge advantage: Tom Brady throws him the football. Chandler, to me, unless you have Kelsey—or maybe you have Eifert (assuming he comes back) or Gary Barnage, how do you not play Chandler right now? You’re playing the match ups every single week and Chadler’s catching passes from Brady so it’s hard not to like him.”
Who are some starts this week at quarterback? “Start Carson Palmer. Andy Dalton has been very good at home this year, start him. Tyrod Taylor, Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick all very good starts.”
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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.