Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition. Does the Jeff Wilson injury set up DeVon Achane for greatness? Valuing Travis Kelce. Auction strategies. Defensive strength of schedule. Picking Jonathan Taylor. And more.
Question 1
Hello. Looooong time listener. In a rare slipup I was not aware of Jeff Wilson's injury status. Now I'm kicking myself for not drafting Achane. I could still make a waiver claim for him but who do I drop? At running back I have Conner, Brian Robinson, Charbonnet and Perine.
Donald DeKeyser (Green Bay, WI)
I wasn’t wowed by Achane in the preseason. Started with a speedy looking 38-yard kickoff return, but he averaged about 3 yards per carry. I’m not sure he’ll be more productive than Ahmed. I would not release any of those four backs listed to hope to hit on Achane. I'm a lot more excited about Mostert rather than Achane.
Question 2
Hi, wondering how you figure out your overall rankings? Under my league's custom settings, Kelce projects 60 points higher than the next closest TE. That gap is far wider than any I can see at any other position. First glance says he should be the top overall pick. Yet you have him at #8, behind 5 RB's and 2 QB's. What am I missing?
Michael Kessler (Waunakee, WI)
Kelce now is dealing with a sprained knee. I doubt he’ll play in Week 1. But let’s set aside that issue and look at the original issue. The question isn’t how much better is Kelce than the next-best player at his position. The question is, how much better is Kelce than the tight end you would take at some later point in the draft. Fast forward to the 10th round (or perhaps the 12th; different people pick different points). At that point, what is the best available tight end? Look at that guy (perhaps Jake Ferguson) and measure how much extra production you get by picking Kelce. Now do the same with the other positions. Compare Chase to the best 10th-round receiver and Ekeler to the best 10th-round running back. That’s how we’re formulating our board.
Question 3
I'm in the middle of a loooong best ball draft. First time I've tried this format. Jonathan Taylor has been on my do not draft list even before he ended up staying in Indy and out for four weeks, but it looks like he will still be available with picks 8-12/9-1 I had planned on taking Warren to back up Harris. But with Akers and Pacheco as my other RBs, I'm thinking Taylor instead? If he falls that far it feels like a "too good to be true" moment.
David Livingston (Shawnee, KS)
He's going to play football this year, and he’s really good. That’s what I always say. And except for that one year with LeVeon Bell, that’s the way it’s always played out.
Question 4
Do you have Defensive teams strength of Schedule
Stephen Burch (Liverpool, NY)
There’s a variety of strength of schedule charts on the website. Look in the “In-Depth” area. There’s one from July that’s geared not to offenses but to Defensive Strength of Schedule.
Question 5
Ian, hello. My name is Curt Thompson from Castle Rock Colorado. I've been an avid supporter of The Index since 1992. I was fortunate enough to team up with Tom Stewart back in 2000 and win your Experts Poll, something to this day that we are both still very proud of. One of the main reasons I'm such a fan of The Index is that you're the only source I know that still does TD-Only rankings. I'm a proud member of a 33-year-old TD-only league. We've always been TD Only and will never deviate, as it mirrors an actual NFL game closer than any other format. Do you think even 5% of the leagues out there are TD-Only these days?
CURT THOMPSON (Castle Rock, CO)
Good to hear from a former champion. You'll always have that title belt. I’m in a TD-only league. I like that format. I understand that most like to try to count every stat, but there’s something special about putting the ball in the end zone. I don’t know how many are playing that way. As for what percentage of the market plays TD-only, I’m not sure (probably a higher percentage on our website).
Question 6
My 10 team auction league is now 15 teams. In past I waited out big spenders then swooped in to get solid team. How should I adjust strategy with 5 new teams?
CHRIS CARMOSINO (Flowery Branch, GA)
I think you still want good deals. You want to collect value. In typical auctions (using my style) I don’t buy any of the first dozen players. If I do, it’s not a player I target but a guy who ended up being a good deal. Following this approach, there’s a point where things flip and it makes sense to start buying. And I usually ended up with a lot more players ranked between 15th and 50th. I tend to wind up with a balanced deep team, rather than a stars-and-scrubs outfit.
Question 7
Had a few minutes of dropped connection during a 10 Team, 0.5 PPPR, salary cap draft. I had already acquired Kelce, the auto-draft got me M. Andrews. Since it’s 10 team, everyone is content with their TE’s. Should I hold both & use in flex or would 2 TEs not be my best option? I have Deon Jackson, R. Doubs and eventually J. Taylor on my bench.
Rich Micheli (Washington, DC)
It seemed like a bad break at the time. Now it’s looking like the fantasy gods above were smiling on you.
Question 8
I'm in a 2 QB league, however we need to fill 1 Rb, 2 WR/TE, and 5 (yes 5) flex. I have the third pick and most likely going Chase. Would your strategy be to fill the first couple rounds with RB/WR or stack a couple top-end QBs? Which talent pool do you think is deeper (QB or Flex)?
Ryan Klein (Tinley Park, IL)
In Superflex or 2-QB leagues, it’s always nice to have a couple of them. They’ll be going quick. If I were in your league, I’d probably be pulling out the 2021 and 2022 drafts to use as a guide for who might be available in those first six rounds.