Fabiano’s Fantasy Focus: 2018 Pre-Season, Volume I

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Every week during the season NFL Network and NFL.com Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano joins Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat to share his insight on building and developing your fantasy team for success.

Here are some hi-lights from our most recent conversation (August 2nd) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.

What’s your draft strategy with David Johnson here in Arizona? “If he’s there after the top three running backs are off the board I’m taking him. I have all the faith in the world in David. He showed two years ago that he was one of the elite players in that position. Last year was unfortunate with that injury…the Cardinals have Larry Fitzgerald, they have D.J. Those are their two centerpieces. The quarterback position is a little bit of a question mark at this point with Sam Bradford and Josh Rosen. We’ll see what happens. I still believe D.J. is a guy who has a lot of tread on the tires and he is versatile.”

What’s your fantasy outlook on LeSean McCoy in Buffalo? “30 years old. Was great last year. Offensive line has question marks in Buffalo, the whole offense has question marks in Buffalo and you’ve got all the off-the-field stuff. Where McCoy was a second-rounder before all this, maybe I’d take him in the third round, maybe not. It all depends on where he falls to me.”

What do you make of the new-look Browns’ offense as a whole? “They have a lot of talent. The problem is it’s all going to get spread out. Carlos Hyde is a guy who I would avoid unless it’s a late-round flier because I don’t foresee who is going to get most of the touches between him, Duke Johnson and Nick Chubb. Maybe this is a three-headed committee. Jordan Reed–all the talent in the world. This guy can’t stay healthy but if he’s there in the ninth or 10th-round I may take a chance on him because at that point he’s going to be worth the risk.”     

Does James Connor have any fantasy value right now in Pittsburgh? “I get that Le’Veon Bell is projected to hold out and basically do the same thing that he did last year. I also see that there have been instances where running backs have held out in the past and maybe they’ve been injured and haven’t performed up to par… so there is concern…but I still believe Le’Veon Bell is still the number one overall pick in fantasy football. Bell has a long history of putting up big-time numbers. James Connor is a late-round flier. In several drafts I’ve seen he’s not even being picked. When he is picked, he’s a late-rounder.”

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