Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. Special Thanksgiving edition. Is Trey Benson coming back? Why don't the Commanders use Chris Rodriguez more? A two-man fantasy football league. Starting Brissett over Lamar. And more.

Question 1

Monty was a no-show last week but with Gibbs having the hot hand I guess it was to be expected. Now I have to decide between Monty and Bam Knight or is Trey Benson coming back?

David Hogshire (Plymouth, MN)

I would want to start Trey Benson. As Wednesday draws to a close, it’s up in the air whether he’ll be back. He was a limited participant at practice today. If you want to use Montgomery, you would need to make that call before Arizona practices tomorrow. To me, Bam Knight is close enough in value to Montgomery that I would hold off, picking one of the Arizona backs at the end of the week.

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Question 2

What gives with Chris Rodriguez? The guy comes on the second-half of every season, averaging 4.8, 4.9 and 4.7 ypc in his three seasons. And every year he's pushed down to 2nd and usually 3rd string at the start of the year. I get that he doesn't catch many passes, though I'm not sure if that is just how they use him but if you move the rock 5 yards every time you touch it who cares? He's certainly big enough to be an every-down back at 224 and 5'11".

Jeff Zwiers (Bellingham, WA)

Good points. He’s got some limitations in pass protection and as a receiver, but when they’ve put him on the field, he’s been productive. Over the last three years, 64 running backs have logged at least 150 carries, and only seven of those guys have averaged more yards per carry. So I would think they would be using him more. Instead, Washington has waived him twice.

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Question 3

I have a hole at TE (i had Kraft) and now I’m using Otton. I was offered Brock for Jefferson and JJ McCarthy (it doesn’t look like he's improving). I feel like starting Jaylen Warren as my flex instead of Jefferson is like a 3 to 4 pt loss, but a 5 to 6 pt gain of Bowers over Otton. Should I accept the trade?

Edward Shin (Tustin, CA)

I would rather have Bowers than Jefferson. I have a lot more confidence that the Raiders will be pumping him a lot of balls, with Bowers able to outproduce the vast majority of tight ends despite being in a lesser situation. With the Vikings, the passing game seems to be simply broken. The wild card there, I suppose, is free agent rookie Max Brosmer. Kevin O’Connell has had a lot of success putting together productive passing games, even with lesser quarterbacks. (Think of the numbers they put up with Nick Mullens two years ago). It sounds crazy, but maybe Brosmer is simply better than McCarthy (at least for now), and he’s the guy to spark the Vikings up to middle-of-the-pack passing numbers. Having played his college ball at the University of Minnesota, Brosmer has a lot more experience than McCarthy at operating under adverse conditions, without as much around him.

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Question 4

Lamar burned me bad the last 2 weeks. Should I start Brissett over him this week? Playoffs are at stake. Plus now he has a toe issue? Along with a knee and ankle?

Edward Shin (Tustin, CA)

I would be thinking about it. Jackson is banged up, so I think it’s safe to assume he won’t be running around with the kind of speed and athleticism we’ve seen for the last half dozen years. He’s finished with fewer than 15 rushing yards in three of his last four games. So I think we’re done to comparing these guys more as passers. And if that’s the case, I think it’s Brissett. He’s averaged 315 passing yards in his six starts, with 2 TDs in all but one of those games. Jackson faces the worst defense in the league, making it a difficult decision, but I think I’m going to outthink myself and start Brissett.

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Question 5

My brother and I have a fierce rivalry every year. Lose and it's weeks of humiliation, win and it's non-stop smack. I have an idea that you may have heard before. Is it possible to run a league with ONLY TWO OWNERS? Expand the bench roster a bit, draft only the best players between 2 teams. Each week we play each other. The Free Agent market is always loaded. This way, the two owners play the matchups, because you roster all good players (even your bench). Injuries won't slow a team down. Cut out the other players, and have a week to week grudge match. Can this be done – and if so, how do you avoid "two-team only" problems? Or is this crazy-talk?

JEFF POWERS (Coral Springs, FL)

Thinking out loud, what if each brother assumed ownership of four franchises? Each of the eight teams must be made up of franchises from only two divisions. That is, each brother would have a team made up of players from the AFC and NFC West divisions, and the same with the North, South and East divisions. Each of the eight franchises operates independently during the season, bidding or signing free agents however you like to do it. Schedule would be drawn up differently. The Jeff Powers franchises would play games only against the Max Powers franchises. Perhaps each of your franchises would play each of his franchises four times. Brother with the most wins after those 16 weeks is the champ. Week 17 reserved for years that a tiebreaker game is required.

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Question 6

I was excited to get Aubrey back into the fold with his leg and accuracy. It seems there is some underlying refusal or the Cowboys to kick FGs whereas Jerry Jones says they should take more of them. In that context, do you have any insights in the data which shows which teams are more likely to "take the points" and which are more likely to trust the AWS models and go for fourth-and-3 and eschew the points? I feel like it is time to move on from Aubrey. The question is ... to whom? Tons of kickers available in my league. Borregales, Gonzalez (the guy I am leaning towards), Little, McPherson, Mevis, McManus, Santos. I expect weather plays into this too. Easier to not kick at a home game in Green Bay with flurries in December than in the dome in Atlanta. The redrafter tells me to trust in Aubrey as 3 overall but my eye test tells me PATs are good and all but I want FG attempts! Do you have Gonzalez so far down simply because of the team not being very good at this point? What do you weigh in your kicker evaluations?

Scott Fitch (San Mateo, CA)

I’m not a big Gonzalez fan. I worry that there will be weeks Atlanta’s offense simply won’t be able to move the ball. I don’t think they’ll have Drake London this week. I have not taken the time to count up the number of occasions teams have passed on field goal attempts, but it’s a good idea. I did it last year, though not to grade kickers but to instead try to figure out how many times those decisions paid of. On the kicker front, there’s one other factor to consider (particularly in leagues giving big bonuses for longer field goals). Guys can hit field goals from 55 and 60 yards much more easily than in the past. But as we get more iffy weather games late in the year – think Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh. Chicago, etc. – I think the likelihood of those field goas in those games will go way down.

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Question 7

Looking at only weeks 16 and 17, who is the best QB to pair with Goff (who plays Pit wk 16 and Min wk 17) in a league where all TDs (inc passing) are worth 6 pts, passing yards are 1 pt per 25 yards, and rushing yards are 1 pt per 10 yards: Burrow (plays Mia and Arz), Purdy (plays Ind and Chi), or J Daniels (plays Phi and Dal)? Lots of complicated rules that take up too much explaining, but Goff is locked in on my roster – picking up two of the available guys is not an option. I’m leaning Burrow, but with the risk that he gets shut down, I’m thinking Goff vs. Pit in week 16 and Purdy against Chi in week 17 might be a pretty strong combo.

Todd Stewart ()

I would grab Burrow. While there’s some chance he’ll be in bubble-wrap at that time, isn’t that possibility similar for Daniels? Regardless, if either guy is shut down, would be fine with Goff in your lineup.

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Question 8

What's going on with Ricky Pearsall? Completely useless and nonexistent ... I held onto this guy all year awaiting his return. Nothing, absolutely pathetic.

Cal Hoskison (Houston, TX)

They’re at Cleveland this week, where no quarterback has thrown for 200 yards in a game this year. So I don’t think this is the week Pearsall will be breaking out.

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Question 9

Dynasty PPR drop / keep: Going for back-to-back and Waller seems enticing with his schedule (have Juwan, Fannin and Likely). Worth the pickup? And would you rather drop C. Tillman or A. Mitchell? Both have some compelling upside if they get a QB, Tillman had nice three-week stretch last year, and AD has shown flashes / maybe just getting comfortable with increased snap count though Metchie (also available so maybe drop both and pick up Waller/Metchie) outperforming. Maybe inconsequential as neither could become anything of value, can’t call if either gets a QB in offseason though hardly could get worse, and stacked ahead of them at WR anyways.

Mitchell Ross (Westport, CT)

I like the idea of snagging Waller. They were using him around the goal line earlier in the year. And Mitchell would be the guy who gets chopped, I think. With Tillman, there’s a lot more evidence that he might be a decent player. He had that nice three-game last year, and he caught touchdowns in both of the first two games this season.

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Question 10

I will make the play-offs in a league (thanks JT, Jacobs and Stafford) but am weak at WR. I see that Mike Evans is available and eligible to come off waivers. I heard somewhere that he is expected back week 15. Is either he or Garret Wilson, who is also available worth stashing for the playoff run?

Jeff Zwiers (Bellingham, WA)

I’m more interested in Wilson, who also might be back on the field in Week 15. If he’s healthy and if the Jets still have Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, I think that could be a winning combo. In their one game together this year, Wilson caught 10 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.

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