Eric Sorenson
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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 24th) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
What is Brian Hoyer’s fantasy value with the Texans now that he’s the guy? “I really think it’s much to do about nothing because whether it was [Ryan] Mallett or whether it was Hoyer. Arian Foster has been lost for maybe half the season and DeAndre Hopkins was going to be a number two fantasy wide receiver, regardless. It doesn’t increase [Hoyer’s] value, it doesn’t decrease it either…neither one of these quarterbacks have proven to be elite by any stretch of the imagination. Hoyer’s probably more of a game manager, more experienced. Maybe less prone to turnovers, so that’s a good thing for the Texans’ offense, but I don’t know if it makes a huge difference in fantasy land…Mallett, Hoyer…whoever it was wasn’t going to be drafted in most leagues, anyway.”
Do you expect even bigger fantasy production from Randall Cobb with Jordy Nelson out for the year? “Cobb was a top 10 fantasy wide receiver last year. Unless he gets hurt he’ll be right back there. I don’t know if he’s going to see a massive increase in targets but he is certainly now the number one guy in that offense and so barring injuries he’s a virtual lock to be over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. I’m looking at him as a second-round pick now where as before he was maybe more of a third-round pick. He has certainly seen his stock rise, not tremendously because he was pretty awesome last year…but it certainly has risen a little bit with the loss of Nelson.”
How would you assess Jimmy Garoppolo value right now? “He is going to be a daily fantasy option because I’m guessing that is where he is going to be a value. The issue with Garoppolo is that you’re only going to get four games out of him…I don’t care if he throws for 400 yards a game, Tom Brady is the quarterback once he comes back. One of his match-ups is really tough in Buffalo. That defense is no joke. [Garoppolo] is maybe a match-up-based starter but…the quarterback position is so deep I don’t think you need to be reaching for a guy who’s only going to give you four games. There are other quarterbacks out there that I would much rather have.”
With Kelvin Benjamin’s injury is Cam Newton still a QB1 option? “Cam is now a guy that you can draft as a QB1 but he’s certainly not somebody you’re going to be able to lean on as a QB1 unless he runs the ball a whole heck of a lot. Still a QB1 but not in the top six anymore. More of a guy that fits into that strategy of, ‘hey, I want to wait on a quarterback so I will sit back and maybe target Newton in round 10.’…somewhere in that area but I would not reach for him.”
Matt Jones or Chris Ivory? “Chris Ivory because he is going to be the guy in New York right now. Stevan Ridley is still coming off of the ACL repair and Ivory could end up being a decent draft bargain. I’ve seen him go in the eighth or ninth-round. He was a top 25 fantasy running back last year. He was inconsistent but he still had some decent weeks.”
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