ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Who should fantasy teams just give up on?
DAVID DOREY
So many… So many… I’d have to say all 49ers and Vikings wide receivers (zero reliability). It appears the Cardinals are in that grouping now as well. The 49ers just employ a highly diverse passing attack that doesn’t favor anyone. The Vikings plan to focus on rushing has apparently meant that the passing game is ignored and unusable when it is needed. The Cardinals were going to go through growing pains with a rookie QB, but that offensive line has been as bad as feared and Kyler Murray just doesn’t have time to get the job done.
Dorey has been dealing out all the rankings and projections for The Huddle since 1997 and wrote up a preview of every game for the last 21 years. His specialty is schedule strength and he’s been in countless magazines, podcasts, and radio shows. He is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level.
JUSTIN ELEFF
I dropped Cam Newton in one league over the weekend, and I did it to add an extra handcuff running back (Tony Pollard) despite not owning the corresponding stud (Zeke Elliott), so I guess that looks like giving up. But really there is no answer. If I had an extra roster spot in that league I would still be waiting for Superman’s foot to heal, and the various other disappointments and hard-luck cases around the league could all land on my teams eventually. That was the big lesson of Week 4, no? The same Cleveland Browns everyone was trashing last week now lead the AFC North. Just when we’re sure this league is one thing, it morphs into another.
Eleff hosts the Fantasy Index Podcast, available in the iTunes Store now. He has worked for Fantasy Index off and on all century.
SAM HENDRICKS
Obviously Antonio Brown comes to mind instantly. He is droppable in all formats including dynasty as he will never play again in the NFL in my opinion and you cannot afford to waste bench space (no matter how deep) to keep him on the off chance he does someday get his act together. Now moving past the obvious....A.J. Green is my pick. He could prove me wrong and be back around week 7 or 8, or be held out until after the Bengals week 9 bye (back week 10) or.... He is in the last year of his contract and, well, you know what might happen.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 25-year fantasy football veteran who participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
IAN ALLAN
I don’t think Cam Newton has any chance of getting back to being a top-10 type quarterback in 2019. I don’t think he’s going to be able to get his foot right to where he’s both healthy and confident being used much as a runner. With defenses not having to worry much about that running ability, I don’t think Newton can put up above-average passing numbers.
Allan co-founded Fantasy Football Index in 1987. He and fellow journalism student Bruce Taylor launched the first newsstand fantasy football magazine as a class project at the University of Washington. For more than three decades, Allan has written and edited most of the content published in the magazines, newsletters and at www.fantasyindex.com. An exhaustive researcher, he may be the only person in the country who has watched at least some of every preseason football game played since the early 1990s. Allan is a member of the FSTA Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
MICHAEL NEASE
When I think of noteworthy players I have given up on this season, Kirk Cousins quickly comes to mind. I must admit though that I am in a quandary as to who is to blame. In the first game of the season he only threw 10 passes, as the coaches wanted to establish the run. Last week he was ravaged by a Bears defense that has been destroying offensive game plans in all four of their games. Whether it's game plans or a lack of talent, one thing is for sure. Right now Cousins is not a viable QB1. Yet, when I see virtually unknown players like Kyle Allen and Gardner Minshew completely outplaying him week after week, I see no alternative but to move on. Even Daniel Jones is a better starting option. When you realize that a player is not performing, you have to accept the new reality and make a move.
Nease is a member of the FSWA and has been playing the game since 1985, while also writing about it since 2001. He is a writer for Big Guy Fantasy Sports. Over the years he has sampled about all the playing scenarios that fantasy football offers, including re-drafter, keeper, dynasty, auction, IDP and salary cap leagues. You can contact Mike at mnease23@yahoo.com anytime and during the football season follow him @mike-insights.
ALAN SATTERLEE
It may not be high-profile, but I’ll say Jared Cook. There was a fair amount of good vibes coming from Cook over the summer with the Saints, but he’s done about nothing through one quarter of the season - on pace for 32 receptions and 360 yards, without a single score. He has fewer fantasy points than Oakland’s Foster Moreau for some context. Losing Drew Brees is a tough hit, though Michael Thomas is still the No. 7 receiver on the season. Cook owners could use a good game to maybe re-capture his name value for a trade add-in and move on.
Satterlee is the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast. Satterlee first started playing fantasy football in 1990.
SCOTT SACHS
The Falcons are floundering, not flying. Matt Ryan has not been anywhere near elite. As far as the running game, Devonta Freeman, previously a top-10 running back, has been a total bust through 4 games. How low has Freeman sunk? It was Ito Smith, rather than Freeman, who was called upon to vulture a 1-yard TD in the 1st quarter this past week. Granted, it's only been 4 games, but Freeman needs to be benched.
Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering LIVE Talk & Text consulting. He has multiple league championships including two perfect seasons. Sachs is a past winner of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll and a 2-time winner of the Experts Auction League.
ANDY RICHARDSON
The writing was on the wall for Sony Michel the day the Patriots drafted Damien Harris. He's not the back they were looking for. He's their starter now and will have the occasional decent game or two against terrible opponents like Miami. But I'm continuing to stash Harris on benches under the belief that come November, when they really want to work the run with a featured back, Michel will be either hurt or on the bench and Harris will be their main runner.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.