Ian Allan's answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition: Is it foolish to start two wide receivers from the same team? Grading injured receivers who are due to return. Picking through the scraps for a fill-in tight end. And what is the value (if any) of injured Aaron Rodgers?
Question 1
What is your opinion on starting two wide receivers from the same team? Someone foolishly dropped Amari Cooper before last week’s huge performance. But I also have Crabtree. With Cooper at 7 and Crabtree at 11 in this week’s rankings, should I start both? (My other options are Marvin Jones or Garcon.) I am leaning towards starting both of them but wanted your thoughts on starting two starters at the same position on the same team (for this week and the remainder of the season).
dan renzi (Moorestown, NJ)
I have no problem with starting two from the same team. In a way, I think it should make your team more balanced. If one has a really poor game, that probably means the other one was pretty productive. That is, if Cooper finishes with 2 catches for 23 yards, that probably means Crabtree was pretty busy. Similarly, if Cooper caught 9 passes for 87 yards and 3 TDs, then Crabtree probably wasn’t great. So if the matchup grades out properly, go ahead and use them both. When they have a poor matchup (against Denver, perhaps), then perhaps sit them both. If you’re playing against a really good opponent in your league, where you feel your guys really need to be on, then I would in those weeks be more likely to start receivers from different teams (hoping to get multiple guys hitting). If I were playing against a lesser opponent, I would be more likely to play it safe by doubling up on Raiders. For this particular week, Oakland is at Buffalo. My initial impression was to stay away from Raiders this week, but Buffalo’s secondary seems to be slipping. In their last two, the Bills have allowed 328 yards and a touchdown against Andy Dalton and 384 yards and 3 TDs against Jameis Winston. Oakland might be surprisingly decent in this game.
Question 2
How can Aaron Rodgers currently be rated on your custom projections as the 19th to 20th best QB (for total points) since Green Bay has placed him on IR (and therefore ineligible to return before Dec 17)?
Ken Henrickson (Glenview, IL)
Joe Flacco, Drew Stanton, Mitchell Trubisky and others will pass for more yards and touchdowns in the remaining weeks. But I’m working under the assumption readers are in fantasy leagues with starters and backups. I would rather have Rodgers as a backup, with the possibility he’ll return for Weeks 15-17 and be one of the top few quarterbacks in those weeks. So I’ve added some production to his projection to make him appear artificially higher than what the numbers suggest.
Question 3
I am in a dynasty TD-heavy league. My team was loaded with Packers (Adams, Jones and Bennett). With Rodgers now hurt this changes my thinking about who to keep other then Adams. Bennett is a bust, so my choices to replace are Njoku, Fells, Kroft or Kittle. Leaning toward Kittle due to red-zone targets but both Stafford and Dalton love their TEs. I can also pick up Clay and stash him for a few weeks but that means no points for at least 3 games. Suggestions?
HOWIE FISHMAN (Hermosa Beach, CA)
Let’s start with this week. Tyler Kroft has caught 3 TDs in his last three games and is playing at home against the worst defense in the league. The Colts are allowing 32 points per game, and they’ve allowed touchdown passes to tight ends in four of their last five games. I would go with Kroft, then re-evaluate next week. (Cincinnati’s next three are on the road against Jacksonville, Tennessee and Denver.)
Question 4
Who would be the best WR to stash for later in the year (non dynasty leagues)? At the moment I have Corey Coleman, but I am considering dropping him for Corey Davis.
Jeffrey Martin (Ellington, CT)
I would go with Davis. I expect he’ll be 100 percent coming out of their bye, and he looked like he might be special in their opener, with 6 catches in a part-time role, including one really impressive catch. Rishard Matthews and Eric Decker are both far more experienced and knowledgeable, but Davis might be a lot more dynamic than those guys. So why not bring him in and see what he looks like in Week 9? If you don’t like what you see, you might still be able to switch back. Coleman is out until Week 11, and while he looked pretty impressive in their preseason game down in Tampa Bay, the roster around him looks remarkably awful right now – 1-15 last year, and I will be surprised if they finish any better than 1-15 this season.
Question 5
I use a two TE formation in my league and have already lost Olsen and Clay. I have been using Bennett and Miller with Howard on the bench. Nobody could have seen O.J. blowing up last week but I don't want to leave him inactive if there's a chance he's going to be more involved in weeks to come. This may be a moot point, as I am on the borderline of being eliminated, but I'm going down swinging! Any advice?
David Hogshire (Plymouth, MN)
I would put Howard in there. They have a bunch of other targets, including Cameron Brate, who’s a more polished receiver. But Howard is a really athletic tight end, and I think they want to start getting him more involved. He’s a lot faster than most tight ends; he showed that on Sunday on his 33-yard tight end, and he got loose for a 58-yard touchdown on a similar play against the Giants. I think he’s your top guy. I am tired of watching Martellus Bennett. He’s been remarkably unproductive over the last years – and that’s been primarily with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers throwing to him. Zach Miller might be your most productive tight end. He’s caught 7 passes for 93 yards and 2 TDs in the last three games, and that’s despite the team not really passing the ball. Mitchell Trubisky has finished under 130 passing yards in every game. As Trubisky gets more comfortable and they start throwing it more (maybe he’s averaging 200 yards a month from now) Miller might become more of a top-10 tight end.
Question 6
Two ppr-centric RBs I'd like your opinion on: Duke Johnson and Christian McCaffrey. Johnson, especially, is a hard case to figure. Is he for dynasty and holding? Would you want him on a middle-of-the-road 15-man roster? How often can you really start/use him? Is he a player that a team fighting for the playoffs at 3-4 should pick up? Is he a luxury for a solid team that expects to make the playoffs at 5-2? ... With McCaffrey, my question is really asking for your crystal ball. Will he rise from these numbers a click in the second half, or can you just safely project his current pace (250 rush yds, 750 rec yds, 100 rec (!), 5 total TDs)? Or do you see a regression from what he's profiled so far?
Vin Kmetz ()
McCaffrey is the much safer and more entrenched player. He’s a huge part of that passing game, and I believe they’ll continue to pump balls in his direction. He’ll catch 85-plus passes. And I think they’ll start getting him more carries. Either Jonathan Stewart will get hurt, or they’ll simply decide they want to see McCaffrey run it more. He’s been under 20 rushing yards six games in a row, and that’s a travesty. If they stick him back there and give him some carries, he’ll pop some long runs. I saw that potential on a few carries in the preseason. As a runner, he could be pretty similar to LeSean McCoy, Dalvin Cook and Kareem Hunt. At some point, somebody will point that out to offensive coordinator Mike Shula. With Duke Johnson, he’s a similar type of player, but the cast around him in a disaster. That’s the league’s worst team, and when everyone gets fired in January, what will the new regime think of him? Most likely he’ll either be a third-down back or a slot wide receiver. Like Ty Montgomery, he’s a player whose role could change so much he could change his jersey number.
Question 7
If Smith-Schuster misses Week 8 due to a concussion and Bryant is inactive because of coach decision, who would start opposite Brown? Heyward-Bey or Hunter?
BOB MCKINLAY (Casselberry, FL)
Smith-Schuster and Bryant don’t play the same position. Bryant is an outside receiver, running mostly vertical routes. The Steelers will put Justin Hunter in that spot, and I would expect him to hit on a long touchdown once in a blue moon. Smith-Schuster plays in the slot; if he misses the Detroit game, the Steelers will plug Eli Rogers into that role.
Question 8
I’m in a 10-team half PPR league. Last week I scored a trade for Julio Jones. So now I have Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and a pretty strong bench WR corps. Problem is I suck at RB. My top RB is the Duke Johnson and I’ve the likes of Orleans Darkwa, Alfred Morris and Bilal Powell on bench. We start 1 RB, 2 WR and a flex so I’m of the opinion that WR is more valuable in this format. So my question is should I try to trade for a top tier RB, like maybe Julio for Jordan Howard or something along those lines?
Brian Brady (Vienna, WV)
I wouldn’t. I would operate under the assumption that I would be starting three receivers and just one running back each week. So the running back spot can really be considered the No. 4 spot. You just need a body to plug in there who’ll give you a little something. Player need not be a superstar. Johnson-Darkwa-Powell should be fine. The six-game suspension for Ezekiel Elliott could kick in next week, and then you might have a back who’s better than all of them.
Question 9
I need to drop a player to add a TE. I currently have Walker on a bye. I’m leaning towards dropping Hurns and adding Jared Cook. Is this my best option?
Ted Adams (Walker, LA)
Maybe. I don’t know who’s available in your league, and I don’t know what the scoring system is. I’ve got Cook as a middle-of-the-pack tight end this week. He’s averaging 45 yards so far, with one touchdown in seven games. I might instead go with Tyler Kroft, who’s caught 3 TDs in the last three weeks, and I would be kicking the tires on Nick O’Leary – looks like he’ll be filling in for Charles Clay again this week.