Andrew Bell
Every summer leading into and throughout the NFL season, Sports Illustrated and SI.com Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano joins Sports360AZ.com to share his insight on building and developing your fantasy team for success.
Here are some highlights from our most recent conversation (November 17th) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
Taysom Hill was made eligible as a quarterback after being a tight end. Are there any similar situations you’ve seen like this in the past? “Most platforms actually aren’t capable of having a player go on two different positions. I’ve run into this in the past. Like Danny Woodhead was a wide receiver when he was with the Jets but then he played running back. Cordarrelle Patterson from the Bears, he’s played running back but he’s only listed as a wide receiver on a lot of platforms so it kind of depends. Hill to me, he’s a lot of fun in fantasy because of his running skills.”
Who is a waiver wire running back that fantasy owners should consider taking a chance on? “Kalen Ballage, like really? This happened twice in the last week. Teams grab guys off their practice squad or off the street and those players ended up being better than the guys on the 53-man roster, just like Kalen Ballage and Alex Collins in Seattle. Really? This is where we’re at. Kalen Ballage has had two big games and he has another revenge game against the Jets. He’s just not the best player out there but a lot of people, including myself are like take a chance on him late. Why not? For Miami, he didn’t do anything. Then he ends up going to the Jets and fails a physical. Then he’s on the practice squad and out of sight, out of mind. Now he’s on our sights and in our minds after the last two weeks.”
Are there any kickers that have stood out to you recently? “If Younghoe Koo got dropped in your league, pick him up. Kickers matter. Jason Sanders has been one of the top kickers in fantasy football and he’s still out there in like half of leagues. Then Tyler Bass hit from 54, 55, 58 this week. This kid has been bananas good. He’s got 14-plus points in three of his last four games and he’s like more reliable than Lamar Jackson for crying out loud. The Bills have a bye but this kid should be picked up the following week. This is going to sound crazy, but it’s happening this year. If you want to @ me, @Michael_Fabiano, let’s have the argument. Kickers are more valuable than tight ends this year.”
Speaking of those tight ends, is there anyone worth grabbing given how poorly the position group has fared this year? “It’s gross. Dalton Schultz is probably the best guy on the wire if you are in a competitive league. He could have gotten dropped because the Cowboys were on a bye last week. 15 targets in his last two games. He’s got the Vikings this week and the Vikings defense is actually really good against tight ends but you are looking for volume. Jordan Reed is worth a look, but they have a bye coming up in San Francisco. Logan Thomas has 12 targets in his last two games and Alex Smith likes to throw short, intermediate routes. They got the Bengals coming up so Logan Thomas is worth a look.”
Any thoughts on waiver wire quarterbacks this week? “I said to pick up Tua Tagovailoa last week. He had another game, not huge fantasy numbers but a couple of touchdown passes. He’s got the Broncos, Jets, and Bengals in the next three games and they stink. Alex Smith, if you’re in a two QB league and he’s got the Bengals, you could do worse. He had almost 400 yards passing. And if you’re really desperate, Andy Dalton’s got the Vikings. That’s desperate, but desperate times, man. It’s 2020.”
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