Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition. Whatever happened to Sam LaPorta? What's wrong with Breece Hall? With Jonathon Brooks send Chuba Hubbard packing? And more.
Question 1
Do you believe the final verdict is out on Sam LaPorta this year? I picked him up in the early rounds and it’s hurting me now. Any thoughts would be appreciated thanks.
Tom Clark (Suffern, NY)
I believe LaPorta will come around and be a top-5 tight end for the duration. I believe in the player, and that’s a streamlined offense, with only three notable pass catchers – LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. He caught 10 of the team’s 30 touchdown passes last year. He’s 0 of 5 to start the year, but there’s plenty of ball left to play. If they throw 24 touchdowns in their remaining games, I would expect he’ll catch 6-8 of them. At the same time, I’ll concede that it’s always easier to preach patience with players who aren’t on your teams. There’s a psychological toll when a player is in your lineup, playing a role in losses that could have been wins. Goff has attempted 8 passes inside the 10-yard line and LaPorta has been the intended target on only one of them (an incompletion). I’m not crazy about that. LaPorta was the target on 10 of 40 such plays last year. But stay the course, I say.
Question 2
After Sunday’s game, it’s looking more like the Jets are moving towards a more equal timeshare for Hall and Allen. Hall is still getting his touches, but after that fiasco at the goal line, he doesn’t appear to be their preferred choice for short TDs. I’m tired of hearing about “youngest player and oldest player on the field”! Breece is still high on the Redrafter sheet, so how do you see this playing out? Cut and run if I can, or hold and hope they find a way to get him back to what he’s shown? Their O line sucks!
Robert Cummings (Los Angeles, CA)
Breece Hall is one of the top few running backs in the league. We saw that last year, when he had 7 plays of 35-plus yards. He’s a unique talent. And, while it’s early, Braelon Allen might be the best 2nd-string running back. So it’s shocking and inexplicable that the Jets rank last in rushing. They’re averaging 80 yards per games. The blame, I think, can be laid at the feet of the offensive coordinator. That’s some combination of Nathaniel Hackett and Aaron Rodgers. The head coach oversees everything, so you can throw Robert Saleh in there if you want, but Rodgers is one of those Brady-Manning quarterbacks who ultimately has control of the offense. The blocking hasn’t been good enough, but that’s probably due more to play calling and the structure of the offense, rather than the players simply not being good enough. The system might be too static and predictable. I would think that if Matt LaFLeur or Kyle Shanahan was given that roster, they’d be putting up top-5 rushing numbers. I agree with your point on a timeshare. I’ve noticed that the last few weeks. Allen is too good to keep on the bench. He’s averaged more yards per carry than Hall in every game.
Question 3
I've got Jonathon Brooks in a PPR league. Have you considered that, as the Panthers fall further out of the playoff race, and Brooks gets closer to being ready, they may trade Hubbard to a contender in need, opening things up for their 2nd rounder? They need a lot of help player wise, meaning they need draft picks.
Theodore Gaskell (Jacksonville, FL)
Hubbard is in a contract year, so I’m sure the Panthers would love to dish him off. But is there a team willing to give up more than a bag of chips for him? In the past five years, I see three notable in-season trades involving running backs similar to Hubbard. Jeff Wilson went for a fifth-round pick, Kenyan Drake cost a sixth, and Mark Ingram went for a seventh. Hubbard is better than all of those guys. I would think the Panthers will be interested in keeping Hubbard around, along them to patiently bring along Brooks, ensuring there’s no setback prior to the more-important 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Question 4
With Nico Collins on the IR where do you see Tank Dell’s value for the next 4 weeks?
Jacob Collins (Orlando, FL)
I’m a big Tank Dell fan. He’s got a lot more ability than Stefon Diggs to get downfield. That’s part of that system. Collins has averaged 16.6 yards per catch the last two years. Dell can fill some of that void; he averaged 15.1 per catch last year. Dell at times last year looked like he might be even better than Collins. He averaged 5.1 catches and 84 run-rec yards in his eight full games, with 7 TDs. He weighs only 165, making durability a concern, but I think we’re going to see him go on a nice little run over the next month.
Question 5
Tutu Atwell did not make your most recent redrafter list. Was this an oversight?
Jacob Collins (Orlando, FL)
They’re expecting Cooper Kupp back for their next game. That downgrades Atwell into a situation where we’re wondering whether he or Jordan Whittington is the team’s 2nd-best receiver. Puca Nacua should be back shortly after, extinguishing any interest in those guys.
Question 6
What’s your take on Deebo Samuel? Since coming back from injury, he has a total of only 8 targets (4 catches) and 5 carries in the past two weeks. That’s way down from Weeks 1 and 2. I’ve managed to win the last two weeks despite the lack of production from Samuel, but I’m concerned about the future.
Eric Pryne (Vashon, WA)
We’re talking about one game, I think. He caught 3 passes for 58 yards against the Patriots, with an additional 14 yards on 2 carries. That falls short of triggering any alarm bells. Samuel caught only one pass against the Cardinals, and that I can’t explain. But I expect we’ll be seeing him do big things again before long.
Question 7
Justin Fields or Jalen Hurts? Both going against subpar defenses.
Brian Wood (Lenox, IA)
Fields was pretty putrid against the Cowboys. He’s in the territory now where I think it’s fair to worry about Russell Wilson taking over at halftime of a game.