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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 22nd) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.
Is there reason to be concerned over Andrew Luck? “Oh, there’s certainly reason to be concerned with Andrew Luck because we don’t know if he’s going to be under center in Week 1. We don’t know if he’s going on the PUP list. We don’t know if he’s going to miss one game, two games, three games? No one knows. At this point, Andrew Luck is dropping in drafts. I was in a PPR/IDP draft with a bunch of my fantasy industry pals and Luck was an 11th-round pick. Now that was a little inflated because you’re also drafting individual defensive players but it goes to show you, in the fantasy community, Andrew Luck is being seen as a massive risk.”
What about Cam Newton? Another elite-level quarterback who is hurt? “I don’t think he’s in danger of missing Week 1 so it’s a little bit easier to draft Cam. With that being said, he’s coming off a sub-par season for Cam Newton standards. But, he’s a player, if you follow the philosophy of waiting on a quarterback that you can target somewhere in the 8th-10th round.”
14-team PPR league: with so many mouths to feed in Pittsburgh, would you take Julio Jones over Antonio Brown? “No. Antonio Brown has been in the same offense and been putting up the same numbers for several seasons. I mean, over the last three years he’s been the best wide receiver in fantasy football. Unless you believe in your heart Julio Jones will have a better season than AB, I would not take him. Antonio Brown’s the pick there.”
12-team PPR league, which running back do you take: Riddick or Abdullah? “Abdullah. Riddick certainly has more value in a PPR league but, in terms of volume, I believe Abdullah. As long as he avoids injuries…which has been an issue with him in his short NFL career. Unless he gets hurt, this guy is going to lead that backfield in touches.”
We are entering all-important Week 3 of the pre-season. Who are some players around the league you’ll be watching closely this weekend? “Gosh, there are a ton. Marcus Mariota who I love, who looked good in the last pre-season game. I want to see if he continues to put up good numbers. I want to see what Jameis Winston does for the Buccaneers. He is a massive breakout candidate. I want to see a lot of the rookie running backs. Leonard Fournette doesn’t look like he’s going to play again, that’s a little bit of cause for concern because of the foot. I want to see what Dalvin Cook does because he’s been very strong. Joe Mixon. Christian McCaffrey. I want to see if C.J. Anderson is going to be the guy in Denver which I do believe he will be. I want to see if Todd Gurley shows any flashes because he’s a major risk/reward player.”
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Eric Sorenson
A Valley native, Eric has had a passion for the Arizona sports scene since an early age. He has covered some of the biggest events including Super Bowls, national championships and the NBA and MLB playoffs in his near 20 years in local media.