Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition. What is Kareem Hunt's NFL future? Will the Cardinals move on from David Johnson? How could FFI be so wrong on Darius Slayton? Ideal playoff matchups. And more.
Question 1
Kareem Hunt. Any chance he could go back to KC next year? He signed a one-year contract with Cleveland. If he underperforms or gets in trouble again they can release him and cost them very little money. If he performs well he will be a restricted free agent next year, making it easier for Cleveland to re-sign him.
John Brower (Chapel Hill, NC)
Hunt looked good in his debut on Sunday, catching 7 passes and also carrying 4 times for 30 yards. He’s a good back – looks like a starter. He’s signed only through this season, but he’s in his third year, so the Browns are in control of things. He’ll be a restricted free agent, so this isn’t a situation where teams will be breaking the bank to get him. Any team signing Hunt will need to compensate the Browns. They’ll extend him a qualifying offer, and I expect they’ll go one of two routes. Most likely, it will be a second-round tender. That would allow Hunt to negotiate with other teams. Browns would have the right to match any deal or receiver a second-round selection as compensation. They could also go with a original-round tender. That’s similar, but they would be paying Hunt less and receiving less in return if he signed elsewhere (they would get a third-round pick if he signed elsewhere). I don’t think the Browns would put a first-round tender on him. They already have another really good running back (Nick Chubb), and going to that level would scare off other teams – I don’t think any team would be interested in making that kind of investment in a running back who’s had off-field problems. There’s also a right of first refusal level, but that would create the possibility of the Browns losing him without receiving any compensation, and I don’t think there’s any way they would do that. I think Hunt is either coming back to be part of a one-two punch in Cleveland, or they’re getting a second- or third-round pick from another team that wants him as a starter. I would doubt that Hunt or KC would have much interest in getting back together.
Question 2
David Johnson has seen his career fall apart. Not due to talent. Due to coaching and front office. I am in a keeper league and gave Cook, Carson and Mack. DJ has really hurt me this year. I foresee him being a free agent or traded to another team next season. I am thinking maybe a reunion with his coach in TB. DJ desperately needs a new home. What does DJs future look like in your eyes?
Cal Hoskison (Houston, TX)
I wouldn’t say “fall apart”. He’s a capable back. He’s been hurt for the past month, with back and ankle injuries. Johnson averaged 103 yards (50 run, 53 rec) in the first six weeks of the season, with 5 TDs. He’s one of only three running backs in the league with more than 30 catches who’s averaging over 10 yards per catch. But I’m not crazy about his contract. He’s got a $10.2 million base salary next year, and that seems too high. The Cardinals have a pair of other capable backs – Kenyan Drake (though he’ll need to be re-signed) and Chase Edmonds – who look like much better values. So I think it’s possible Johnson is moved in the offseason. I think it’s probably something the Cardinals are considering. The price tag might scare off some teams, and Johnson isn’t a young guy – he’ll be 28 next month. For now, I expect Johnson and Drake will share time. Of the two, I like Drake more. They’re both former third-round picks. Drake has got more speed and elusiveness, and he might fit that system better. In the game last week, they were going with that tandem and Drake played more. Kliff Kingsbury said he didn’t think Johnson was healthy. Drake ended up getting 50 percent more playing time (he was on the field for 45 plays, versus only 30 for Johnson). I expect it will be a one-two punch backfield for the remainder of the 2019 season.
Question 3
I been very happy with your service over the years but you guys really missed it when it came to Darius Slayton this past week. I really liked him and I was debated between him and Jonnu Smith. Unfortunately I went against my gut and played Jonnu. I know it is impossible to get everything right, but you guys didn’t even have him listed in your top 80 WR and TEs. With Engram out and Shepard out and the Jets Defense having some injuries ... I just needed that nudge.
Troy Donaldson (Redondo Beach, CA)
It doesn’t look great. Sorry. I went back and reviewed the ranking. The team forecast was for 230 passing yards and 1.47 TD passes. (That is, if they were playing that game 16 times, I would expect the Giants would throw about 23-24 touchdowns.) I think those numbers look fine. We can see now in hindsight that they’re low, but Daniel Jones had thrown more than one touchdown in only one of his previous six games. He had thrown for more than 225 yards in only one of his previous six games. I had Slayton accounting for only 18 percent of that production. Problem was he had caught only 2, 2 and 1 passes in his previous three games. He caught only 1 pass for 6 yards the previous week (against Dallas). So I had Golden Tate as the clear No. 1 there (accounting for 26 percent of their receiving production). I had two other wide receivers on that roster not far behind Slayton (Bennie Fowler at 13 percent, and Cody Latimer at 9 percent). Rhett Ellison and Saquon Barkley also catch some passes; I had those guys around 15 percent. Following this process for all players on all teams, Slayton graded out between 60th and 66th among wide receivers in the three scoring systems we publish (standard, PPR and TD-only). Looks like in this case, you would have been better off going with your gut.
Question 4
I'm currently 6-3 and on my way to a playoff spot. My playoffs are weeks 14-16. With the trade deadline for our league approaching who are some players at any position you would target for those weeks?
Brian Boyd (Maple Grove, MN)
For Week 14, a few games come to mind. Cincinnati is at Cleveland and Miami is at the Jets. The Browns and Jets have had their problems this year, but those are two awfully soft defenses. Could have some value that week. Will be a surprise if Nick Chubb isn’t one of the top few rushers that week. Also that week, the Colts and Titans are playing at the two pirate franchises. Neither of those teams have great, dynamic passing offenses, but with the leakiness of those secondaries, there could be some value to tap into. For Week 15, I see Patriots at Cincinnati; New England can either run or pass – I think that will be a run week. Bucs are at Detroit, and with both of those teams having terrible pass defenses, I expect that game will be a wild aerial shootout. Giants host Miami that weak; they’ve had problems getting Saquon Barkley going this year, but I expect he’ll be big in that one. Cleveland is playing at Arizona, which has allowed more touchdown passes than anyone else. In Week 16, maybe the two worst defenses go against each other – Bengals-Dolphins – removing the possibility of better offenses putting up huge rushing numbers against those teams.
Question 5
I'm sure this has been brought up, but it would be great if there'd be a way to get info on waiver moves with the re-drafter. My league waiver process starts tonight and I sometimes lose out on guys cause I wait for the weekly on Wednesday. For instance, this week I lost Hooper and Engram and don't know a TE to grab for this week.
Bill Petilli (Harrison, NY)
We try and hit on those in the Redrafter. We have a paragraph on each team, and in there try to hit on guys who might be available as free agents in your league. In the most recent version, two of the prominently listed waiver possibilities were tight ends – Ross Dwelley and Jacob Hollister. We had a brief run-down on those guys in that Tuesday product. (They then get discussed in more detail on Wednesday). In the Tuesday product, you also get revised overall rankings, showing how we would rank the top 50 tight ends if you were walking into a draft today. The intention is that you will scroll down that list, using it to identify the top few tight ends you might want to sign.
Question 6
What to do with JuJu? I'm in a 12-team PPR league where we start one flex and have only 3 bench spots. I dropped Parker this week to stream Carr with Wilson on bye so QB is sorted but the Hooper injury is a big problem for me. I can stream Dwelley (if Kittle sits) or Fant this week and plan to pick up Hollister next week once I drop Carr. Crowder is also available as a free agent and shows highly in this week's rankings. The problem is that I'll need to drop either Hooper or JuJu just to play an active TE this week and I would need to drop them both to pick up Crowder and a TE. Would you drop Juju? How about Hooper? Drop them both?
Jake Frack (Brooklyn, NY)
I’m not opposed to making bold moves. You’ve got to plan for what you think is going to happen. It doesn’t matter what you thought was going to happen back in August. Look forward. If I were walking into a draft today, I would select Crowder and DeVante Parker before Smith-Schuster. The Steelers have a lesser, pedestrian passing game, and their two other young receivers have been coming on – both Diontae Johnson and James Washington look like viable, long-term receivers. In that offense (this year) Smith-Schuster isn’t going to get back to being an 80-catch kind of receiver. Crowder and Parker are also on lesser teams, of course, but they’re getting a lot of balls pumped their way. Crowder has caught 40 passes in the six games Sam Darnold has started. Since Ryan Fitzpatrick took over at quarterback, Parker has caught 20 passes in four games (he’s also scored in four of his last six). I would be leery of letting Hollister sit available on the waiver wire for a week. He’s caught 3 TDs in his last two games, and he caught 8 balls at San Francisco. Russell Wilson likes using his tight ends in the red zone (Will Dissly caught 4 TDs in the first four weeks). I’m thinking Hollister might be a top-10 tight end the rest of the way, and I would take that rather than hoping Hooper can get healthy and maybe be slightly better.
Question 7
I have several questions for you, first in my opinion this has not been one of your better years, would you agree? I won't mention specific players because it doesn't matter. Your job is a challenging one, with lots of variables out of your control, yet we still pay you for your insight, analysis and projections. Do you grade yourself from year to year? Have you ever been asked to participate in the FantasyPros Projections where they grade and rank analysts from year to year? If so, why haven't you participated?
Jay Harding (Oregon City, OR)
I’m not sure how the picks will grade out for 2019. I look at some of that stuff in January, but it’s a subjective process. I don’t think readers want to hear about it, and I don’t think it helps what you’re doing in 2020. For now, I tend to go off the feedback I’m getting from readers (is there a pick they’re all complaining about or one that we got right?). In that regard, I don’t think this season has been unusual. I have gotten a lot of thank you notes for Austin Hooper, but he’s now out for the year. (To be honest, I didn’t think my ranking of Hooper was unusual – I didn’t realize he was a guy we had ranked higher than others.) I am aware of FantasyPros. I’ve talked to those guys. I have chosen not to participate. I am not comfortable giving away our rankings and content for free to the readers of FantasyPros while at the same time asking our readers to pay for it.
Question 8
What do you think of this trade. I get DJ Moore. He gets AJ Green. I've held onto Green this long, should I kept him on the roster or pull the trigger on Moore. Thanks for the advice.
Darren VITBERG (Niagara Falls, NY)
I would take Moore, and I would do it quickly. Green isn’t playing again this week. Even when he’s back and 100 percent, what exactly are you getting? Will he even be the best wide receiver on his own team? Tyler Boyd is pretty good and was pretty similar to Green last year. (These are the 0-9 Bengals, right?) Moore is on pace to finish the season with 96 catches for 1,216 yards. He hasn’t been a big scorer (just one touchdown) but I like him a lot more than Green.
Question 9
Week 11 bye concerns at rb2. Fill in choices are Hyde, Eckler, Sanders. Standard scoring system. Any thoughts or picks??
Jim Venettis (Farmington, MI)
Looks like you’ve got some nice options. I’ve got all three of those guys just inside my top 30 for the week. Hyde is currently on pace for over 1,200 rushing yards. Ekeler and Sanders are both heavily as pass catchers.