Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition. Adrian Peterson's return (or why he should away). Tampa Bay's up-and-coming tight end. Explosive Taylor Gabriel. And players who'll come on late in the year.
Question 1
Was wondering if its time to start giving Cameron Brate some love? He's been pretty low in the rankings week to week and I'm banging my head up against the wall with my partner who uses your rankings to justify his arguments every week. Considering all the attention Evans draws, seems like a legitimate threat in the red zone.
Sherif Elmazi (Hong Kong)
Brate is good. He’s got good pass-catching skills. He was a wide receiver at Harvard. Since they gave up on Austin Seferian-Jenkins and put Brate in the starting lineup, he has averaged 47 yards, with 5 TDs in seven games. He’s scored three weeks in a row. I will keep an eye open for possibly ranking him too low. He’s been very good around the goal line. Inside the 10, he’s caught more touchdowns than any other tight end. He’s also caught 86 percent of the passes thrown his way in that part of the field. That’s better than any of the other 15 tight ends with at least 4 targets in that part of the field.
| TIGHT ENDS INSIDE THE 10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Rec | Pct | TD |
| C.Brate, T.B. | 7 | 6 | 85.7% | 5 |
| Z.Miller, Chi. | 5 | 4 | 80.0% | 3 |
| D.Allen, Ind. | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | 2 |
| J.Doyle, Ind. | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | 2 |
| J.Thomas, Jac. | 4 | 3 | 75.0% | 3 |
| J.James, Pitt. | 6 | 4 | 66.7% | 3 |
| J.Tamme, Atl. | 6 | 4 | 66.7% | 1 |
| A.Gates, S.D. | 5 | 3 | 60.0% | 3 |
| D.Walker, Tenn. | 5 | 3 | 60.0% | 3 |
| K.Rudolph, Minn. | 5 | 3 | 60.0% | 3 |
| H.Henry, S.D. | 7 | 4 | 57.1% | 3 |
| T.Kelce, K.C. | 7 | 4 | 57.1% | 2 |
| G.Olsen, Car. | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | 2 |
| J.Reed, Wash. | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | 2 |
| R.Gronkowski, N.E. | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | 1 |
| L.Kendricks, L.A. | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | 0 |
Question 2
In your last mailbag, you had mentioned that Adrian Peterson is a good stash as he could return within the next few weeks. I haven't been able to find any other information stating that he is close to a return. Are you hearing anything that leads you to believe that the Vikings will use the designated to return tag on him? As always, thank you.
Kyle Wells (Lynnwood, WA)
Mike Zimmer said early in the week that he doesn’t know if Peterson will return this year. But Peterson is doing some light running now. A return in Week 13 or 14 is possible. The Vikings host Dallas in a Thursday night game in Week 13. They’re at Jacksonville the next week. Trouble is, their offensive line is a disaster, with both their starting left and right tackles out for the year. They signed Jake Long to be a replacement, and he’s gone for the year as well. With poor blocking, the Vikings are averaging 2.7 yards per carry on run plays right now, the lowest of any team in the last 20 years. Unlikely, I think, that we’ll see Peterson run for 80-plus yards in any of the team’s remaining games. If he plays in five games, I would think he would score 1-2 TDs.
Question 3
You mentioned Taylor Gabriel favorably in an article a couple of weeks ago and he has scored in three straight games. But I do not see him ranked in the Redrafter. With Jacob Tamme out, what do you see him doing rest of season?
BOB MCKINLAY (Casselberry, FL)
They seem to like him. Earlier in the year, they were rotating a bunch of other wide receivers – Justin Hardy, Aldrick Robinson – now they have settled on Gabriel as their No. 3 receiver. He’ll be out there for about half of their plays, and this is a really good offense. They’ve posted the 2nd-best passing numbers in the league so far, averaging 325 yards per game, with 24 TDs. Gabriel caught a touchdown bomb against the Packers. He got onto my radar the next week, when he caught 5 passes for 52 yards at Tampa Bay, with a touchdown on an end-around. He didn’t make much of an impact at Philadelphia, catching only 1 of the 5 passes thrown his way, but he scored on a 76-yard play in the second half. Gabriel is really small (5-8, 165) but he’s really fast – looks like he probably runs under 4.35. So he’s got a lot more big-play ability than Mohamed Sanu. Sanu will catch more passes, but he’s working underneath routes. Gabriel can hit on those long touchdowns. With the way that offense is humming along, I expect Gabriel will outperform some starting receivers and the vast majority of other No. 3 receivers around the league. Not affected, however, by the Jacob Tamme injury. With his size and playing style, Gabriel isn’t a guy they’re looking to use around the goal line (where Tamme does his best work). Gabriel hasn’t been the intended target on any pass plays inside the 10. If you use him, it’s with the hope he hits on a long touchdown.
Question 4
Our league is overall points and runs all 17 weeks. So I'm looking for players that might play more in week 16 and 17. Alfred Morris comes to mind. The Cowboys could have nothing to play for in week 16 and 17 and I'm thinking they may rest Elliott (getting him ready for playoffs). Is there anyone else you can think of who might get more playing time in those last couple weeks?
Rick Cwik (Lemont, IL)
There are some injured veteran running backs who could return. Charles Sims and Adrian Peterson for sure, but also C.J. Anderson, Eddie Lacy and Shane Vereen. Anderson and Lacy are eligible to come off injured reserve after Week 15. The Giants aren’t ruling out Vereen, who might return earlier. Dirk Koetter says Sims will return, and he’s a good pass-catching back. A few weeks back Ryan Pace says Kevin White will return for the Bears, but I don’t envision White making much of an impact. There are a couple of rookie running backs – Kenneth Dixon and Paul Perkins – who might be starting those last few weeks.
Question 5
You ranked both Ty Montgomery and Randall Cobb in the top 15 last week, yet ranked Allen Robinson 36th? I've subscribed to your service for many years, but it seems to me that your research that many of us count on has lost its edge.
KRIS KELLER (Palatine, IL)
Those picks didn’t turn out very well. Robinson caught 9 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. I didn’t see that coming. He’s struggled for most of year, with five straight games under 60 yards at one point. Houston has the league’s No. 1 pass defense statistically. They were allowing an average of 203 passing yards entering Week 10, with 6 TDs in eight games. Given that information, I believe the correct decision in the vast majority of weeks is to not start Robinson. With Montgomery, I got caught on a lineup change. He’s officially a wide receiver, but he was their starting, featured running back in each of his two previous games, averaging 57 rushing and 52 receiving yards in those games. If used in that role, it’s a slam dunk to start him over the vast majority of wide receivers. I was aware the Packers were getting James Starks back, but I didn’t him to play much. He looked pretty dreadful earlier in the year, averaging under 2 yards per carry – a lesser 30-year-old who probably shouldn’t even be in the league anymore (I thought). I’m still not confident that Starks will be on an NFL roster in 2017. But they went with him as their main back on Sunday, blowing up my Week 10 forecasting model. Sorry, but it happens sometimes.
Question 6
Are the current Fantasy Index Open point totals available to look at now or do we have to wait until the end of the season?
Johnny Bazzano (Santa Rosa, CA)
Maybe in the future those will be set up so the standings can be tracked all along. Right now, they’re just sitting on the side. The entire contest gets scored in the middle of January.
Question 7
I am in a TD-heavy keeper league and can only keep two wideouts. I have my choice of Sammy Watkins, Davante Adams and Jamison Crowder. Which two would you recommend?
HOWIE FISHMAN (Hermosa Beach, CA)
Watkins for sure. The name of the game is finding special, difference-making players. He’s one of those guys when he’s right physically. He was the No. 4 wide receiver on my board until he broke his foot last spring. And I will go with Adams with the other spot. He’s been coming on, with 35 catches and 3 TDs in his last four games. Both of the other two main receivers in that offense seem to be slipping – Randall Cobb has had some down games, and Jordy Nelson is a 31-year-old who hasn’t regained the deep speed he had prior to his knee surgery. Crowder is having a good year; he’s caught 23 passes and 3 TDs in his last four games. But his future might be as more of a slot receiver. He’s small (5-8, 182), and I expect Josh Doctson will be ready to move into a big role in that offense in 2017.
Question 8
I am having some major lineup troubles. Especially at WR and the flex. I am in a PPR league, and my receivers are Kelvin Benjamin, Allen Robinson, Steve Smith Sr., Donte Moncrief, and Davante Adams. For RBs I have LeSean McCoy, Melvin Gordon, Devontae Booker, Isaiah Crowell, Doug Martin, and James Starks. We are a league with 2 RB slots, 3 WR slots, and 1 flex. So I guess what I'm asking is who do I play and who stays on the bench? Starks is more of a bench stash, but I think all of the other players listed are startable players. I am 9-1 at this point so I can afford to take a couple risks.
John Williams ()
What’s the trouble? Looks like all you need to do is roll out the ball and win a bunch of games. Keep in mind, however, that when you have a talented bench, it increases the likelihood that you’ll make some lineup errors. That is, if you have a player like Moncrief, Adams or Smith on your bench, there definitely will be weeks that you start the wrong guys. Martin looks like a key guy. He was pretty dreadful against Chicago, but if he’s healthy and dialed in, I expect he’ll come up big in at least one of those two upcoming games against the Saints.