Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition: Tyrone Tracy's dynasty value. Trading away Justin Jefferson in a 2-for-1. Are bad calls on the rise? And more.
Question 1
In a FFPC Dynasty league, I've been offered Tyrone Tracy and a second-round pick next year for McCaffrey. I am not competitive this year so this is all about being better in the future. Thoughts?
Scott Behiel (Angels Camp, CA)
I like the look of Tracy. I think he’s going to be starting for the Giants for the next few years. I would be tempted to take that, with the extra bonus of a second-round pick, over what you might get from 29-year-old Christian McCaffrey next year. At the same time, the name of the game in fantasy leagues tends to be getting difference makers, and there’s a decent chance McCaffrey might be a top-5 running back next year. He’ll be 29, but Alvin Kamara is playing effectively at 29 right now, and Derrick Henry is 30. With Tracy, he’s got more career left, but there’s no guarantee he’ll ever progress beyond being a top-15 back. Also note that Tracy is an older rookie (he’ll be 25 later this month).
Question 2
I got offered Deebo Samuel, Chris Olave, and Malik Nabers for my guys. Justin Jefferson and Jaleel McLaughlin.
Michael Staffaroni (Trumbull, CT)
That’s certainly a blockbuster. I think we can simplify it down to Jefferson for Samuel and Nabers. With Olave having suffered multiple concussion recently and the Saints falling apart, I don’t think he would be playing for you. Similarly, Jaleel McLaughlin isn’t going to get on the field. Question, then, becomes whether you’re better off with Deebo and Nabers, or whether you can get more production from Jefferson and a receiver you find on the waiver wire. In PPR scoring, I’ve got Jefferson averaging 3 more points per week than Nabers. So can you find an available receiver each week who lands within 3 points of Deebo. Probably some weeks you can; guys are also turning him. But I don’t see a guy within 3 points of Deebo right now that I would expect to be available in a typical leagues. It’s a fair trade offer. I don’t think this is a case where somebody is floating a lopsided deal, hoping to find a sucker who will bite.
Question 3
Is it just me, or are the penalties worse than usual this year? And by worse than normal, I'm not necessarily referring to the amount of penalties (although that may be true, as well), but more so what penalties are called. It's pretty frustrating as a football fan when a team rips off a nice 17-yard run, and they throw a flag for an extremely ticky-tack holding call.
Roland Deschain (IL)
Seems a little worse than usual. I was most bothered by that Week 1 game between Baltimore and Kansas City, when Ronnie Stanley was flagged 3 times on the first drive for lining up too deep. It was as if they were trying to send a message to the league. Then Jawaan Taylor on the next drive and throughout the game was lining up even deeper, with no calls. Taylor got away with a key false start on the overtime drive on Monday night. There was a huge ticky tacky call on a fourth down in the red zone early in the fourth quarter of the Jets-Texans game last Thursday. There was nothing significant there, but instead of Houston having the ball, the officials gave the Jets a new set of downs in the red zone, allowing them to take the lead.
Question 4
Need help. I have to drop either Waddle or Chubb. My WR are Chase, Flowers, Collins, Dell, D.Smith. At RB, Hall, Montgomery, Cook, Hunt. Thinking Waddle as Hunt's usage might change when Pacheco returns.
Robert Green (San Francisco, CA)
The plan is for Isiah Pacheco to return in late November, so I think you’re getting three more full, usable games out of Hunt. After that point, you’ll probably be down to three usable backs. So some slight chance, I suppose that Chubb progresses to the point where you might be able to put him on the field as a replacement starter in Week 16 or 17 against the Bengals or Dolphins. With Waddle, the selling point is the possibility of a Tyreek Hill injury. If Hill breaks down, Waddle at that point might go into some games looking more promising than what you have.