Welcome to the Week 8 fantasy football therapy and complaint desk. Can you believe we are officially in the second half of the fantasy football regular season? As always, this article is all about the people. Specifically, the people who have posted their comments, questions and concerns in the AMA channel in our Discord server.
Here are a few of this week’s submissions, along with my responses.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Advice & Help
Waiver Wire & Lineup Advice
Planning for a bye week fill-in at quarterback for Week 9. Options are Matthew Stafford, Jaxson Dart, Brock Purdy, Joe Flacco and Sam Darnold. Who are you grabbing?
I love that you’re thinking ahead. Just make sure you can spare the roster spot with six teams on a bye this week. The sexy pick here is Jaxson Dart because of his rushing upside. He doesn’t have the most fantastic Week 9 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. But on the flip side, they are one of two teams that have yet to intercept a pass this season.
Dart is probably my favorite on that list, especially if your league features straight waiver wire claims. Just note that if yours is a FAAB league, Dart will cost far and away the most this week among players on that list. In that case, I would probably let someone else spend and grab any of the others on the cheap. Joe Flacco would be my least favorite option among those players.
What do I do now with Mike Evans out? My team is in the gutter.
Well, sadly, you drop him. It sucks all around, but such is life as a fantasy football manager. In a 14-team PPR league, there probably aren’t a whole lot of available options that are aesthetically pleasing.
Jayden Daniels is a bust this year. Jacory Croskey-Merritt is a fraud, too.
Ah, a good old-fashioned complaint. Don’t get me wrong, I like to debate trade proposals and start/sit questions as well. But it’s nice to get a flippant remark or two about players who hurt us this week. As someone who has Jayden Daniels in a league and also had a bet on him, it was incredibly frustrating to see him go down to injury.
I honestly think Daniels would have scored 25-30 fantasy points if he had played the whole game. From that perspective, I cannot call him a bust. The injuries are definitely annoying. However, he certainly is not the only quarterback who is dealing with injuries this year. Hopefully, Daniels can get back soon and lead you to the playoffs.
As far as Jacory Croskey-Merritt, I would not go so far as to label him a fraud. But I have faded him at just about every turn over the past two months. I think he is fine if you need some volume to give you a somewhat steady floor. However, his next three matchups are gross.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions have combined to allow 10 touchdowns to opposing running backs this season. For reference, the Tennessee Titans have allowed 11, and the Cincinnati Bengals have allowed 10. He does get a reprieve after that, facing Miami. But after that, he has a bye week, followed by matchups against Denver and Minnesota. Croskey-Merritt feels like a sell for me in redraft leagues.
Trade Advice
Who wins this? I’m 6-1. (Offer is getting Christian McCaffrey, Garrett Wilson and Bucky Irving for Bijan Robinson and Amon-Ra St. Brown)
That is a doozy of a deal. As I always say, when it comes to unbalanced trades, it depends on who you view the extra player as. If you have questionable running backs and great wide receivers and view this through the lens of trading Bijan Robinson for Christian McCaffrey and Bucky Irving for a downgrade at wide receiver, then I am OK with it.
In a vacuum, I would pass on this deal. However, it is a lot more palatable for me considering that you are 6-1. By the way, why is it never the 1-6 teams asking for trade advice? I mean, I’ll help anyone, but still. Anyway, you know you are not getting anything from Garrett Wilson or Irving for at least two weeks, but are willing to take the short-term hit for the long-term gain. I can get behind that school of thought.
My biggest hesitation is with Wilson. He has been solid, but his numbers have been aided a lot by garbage time production. As fantasy managers, we don’t care how we get the points as long as we get them. Having said that, three of Wilson’s four touchdowns this year have come in the fourth quarter with the Jets trailing by at least 14 points. Two of those three have come in the final two minutes of games. If he hadn’t scored those touchdowns, you’d probably be more likely to consider benching him than trading for him.
Should I trade Breece Hall to receive Jared Goff, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Trey Benson?
Unless you have two dead spots you are using to acquire the extra two players, probably not. Breece Hall is still the best player in the deal, and by the time you get anything out of Trey Benson, it will almost be the end of the fantasy football regular season.
Also, it depends on what you need out of Goff. He is not someone I’m overly excited about starting in most situations. He’s 17th among quarterbacks in fantasy points per game. So he’s basically a matchup play. If you have an obvious starter at quarterback, there shouldn’t be an overwhelming need to get Goff. If your starter gets hurt, you can always find someone. I’m in a Superflex league where I can still get Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco and a few other starters.
Trade DeAndre Hopkins for Jacory Croskey-Merritt?
DeAndre Hopkins? Umm… yes. I don’t even like Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and I would still do that deal in a heartbeat.
Ashton Jeanty, Brian Thomas Jr. and Breece Hall have been killing me, and now Rome Odunze has joined the club. What players should I target to upgrade? Trade Finder keeps telling me to go for Josh Allen, but I am OK with the Drake Maye/Bo Nix combo. This is a PPR league.
Here’s the thing. I am all for avoiding complacency and trying to upgrade your roster. With that said, most good fantasy football players are going to have bad weeks. Ashton Jeanty has scored at least 10 half-PPR fantasy points in four out of seven games. That is the same number as Saquon Barkley and Kyren Williams.
Rome Odunze has hit double digits in four out of six. Drake London has scored 10+ points twice in six games. What I am saying is that I don’t think those players have a fundamental issue that is going to cause them to bust going forward. I’m a bit more worried about Brian Thomas Jr. and Breece Hall, but even there, I am not moving them to move them.
In a perfect world, you can trade those four players for Christian McCaffrey, Puka Nacua and another stud. But that is probably not feasible. You could do a deal such as trading Brian Thomas Jr. for Tetairoa McMillan or Hall for Derrick Henry. Personally, if I have McMillan and Henry, I am not doing those deals, but there’s no harm in throwing some offers out there and seeing what sticks.
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