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 (September 1st) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
What should I do with Julius Thomas now that he’s hurt? “He was on my bust list because of two reasons. One, he can’t stay healthy. Two, Peyton Manning to Blake Bortles. You do the math. This is a situation now where he’s draftable. I wouldn’t drop him if I had drafted him but now you’re looking at having to find a replacement. The tight end position…it’s thin. It is ridiculously thin now that Thomas is hurt so you’re going to have to look for potential sleepers. Breakouts like Zach Ertz. Maybe a Tyler Eifert, Kyle Rudolph to put a band-aid on the wound until Thomas comes back. Even when he comes back I don’t think he’s going to be that great. He certainly wasn’t what he was in Denver.”
Buying or selling Kirk Cousins? “I have him ranked in the top 20. I would certainly look at him as a low QB2. He’s draft able as a QB2 in 12-team leagues and also if you’re in a two-QB league he’s going to be picked in every league. What I’ve seen in the stats that intrigues me is that when Cousins started last year, I believe it was five games, DeSean Jackson had really good numbers. I believe he was averaging about 77 yards a game. He scored three touchdowns in those five games. Pierre Garcon’s numbers were better too, but they weren’t so good he’s going to be utilized as a prominent member of your fantasy team. But remember, Cousins is a guy who likes to go long and Jackson is a guy who loves to stretch the field vertically so this is a good thing for Jackson’s value…I like this. No indecision. RGIII is not going to get that job back.”
Tyrod Taylor or Ryan Tannehill? “Not even close. Ryan Tannehill has looked amazing in the pre-season. He was a top 10 quarterback last year. He’s not elite but he’s pretty good. If he could be more consistent he could end up being one of the best draft bargains in fantasy. I’m not buying into Tyrod Taylor just yet. I love the fact that he can run with the football. I’m not drafting him, again outside of deeper leagues, two-QB leagues.”
What are some things you’re looking to see in the final week of pre-season and before next week? “The fourth week of the pre-season really doesn’t give you much insight because the starters don’t play, if at all. There’s still a lot of questions which need to be answered. What about Cleveland’s backfield? What about Atlanta’s backfield? What about the Giants’ backfield? I know we sort of know it’s going to be Rashad Jennings and then Shane Vereen and then maybe Andre Williams as the goal-line back potentially but we’re not sure how the roles are going to pan out there. There are a lot of question marks…is DeVonte Parker going to be the starter in Miami once he comes back from injury and when will he come back from injury? When is Arian Foster coming back? First we heard he was going to miss half the season now we’re hearing in a best case scenario he could be back in the beginning of October.”
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