Every summer before and during the NFL season, Sports Illustrated and SI.com senior fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano join Sports360AZ.com to share their vision for creation and development of your fantasy team for success.
Here are some highlights from our most recent conversation (December 22) with the Fantasy Sports Writer Association’s Hall of Fame.
Is Jalen Hurts a mandatory start in fantasy championships? “In traditional drafts, no. In the superflex and 2QB leagues, absolutely. Now you have two teams left in the playoffs and I guess they have pretty good quarterbacks or they wouldn’t have gotten this far. If Drew Brees is your quarterback, you might start Jalen Hurts this week, but I don’t know if he’s bound to. However, in the multi-field leagues, it is a very good play. This week he has the Cowboys and his defense is not good. His ability to hurry makes him so valuable in fantasy.
Ezekiel Elliott or Tony Pollard. We also talked about it last week, who should start this week? “A month and a half ago I talked about Pollard and I said that at some point it will have an impact. It was last week. I’m not saying he’s a better runner than Zeke overall, but right now he’s a better runner than Zeke. Zeke has crashed and Pollard has had a better game than Zeke has had in a while against San Francisco, and the Niners defense is pretty good against the runners. If Zeke is out, Pollard is a must. If it’s active, that’s a little coal in your reserve. “
How should fantasy owners feel about Russell Wilson and any Seahawks player on their roster? “Russell has been up and down and had a bad week last week and has another bad game this week. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t start it, but if you have Jalen Hurts, you might be thinking about keeping him at “Margin and put the rookie in it this week. Other Seahawks guys, I’m playing DK Metcalf. I’m not playing Tyler Lockett and Chris Carson is taking a risk against the Rams.”
At the Steelers, which receiver on your team would you like to start this week? “It’s Diontae Johnson because Big Ben really likes to talk to him. Chase Claypool, I can’t even begin because his numbers haven’t been there the last three or four games. Juju, he also had a stink in the last game. The Steelers are backing down right now. “
What are some options for relinquishing the waiver cable? “It simply came to our notice then. Le’Veon Bell fell in many leagues and now that Clyde Edwards-Helaire has come out, Bell will be the bell cow (no pun intended) against Atlanta. Tony Pollard is another must-have if Zeke isn’t playing this week. Salvon Ahmed did very well against the Patriots last week and also has another good showdown with the Raiders, but Myles Gaskin could be off the COVID-19 roster, so keep that in mind. In Los Angeles, Cam Akers won’t be playing this week, so Darrell Henderson is worth a look. Then, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Sony Michel are also options “.
Any final thoughts on this weekend’s games? “Looking at the clashes, Carolina got Washington and Mike Davis didn’t have a good game last week. All in all, it’s a very valuable asset, and if Christian McCaffrey can’t come back, Mike Davis has a tough confrontation against Washington and so do all of his receivers. This is a bad confrontation. Washington’s defense is playing very well. So, of course, look at the Giants and they don’t have a lot of well-known players, but it’s not a good showdown this week against Baltimore. James Robinson has been dynamite all season and has gotten the Bears this week and it’s not a good match either. But for the most part, if you’ve reached the championship with these players, you probably start them independently. “
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