Another week of crazy fantasy football performances (both good and bad) means another edition of my weekly advice column. As always, I am answering some of the questions that fantasy football managers are asking in the FantasyPros Discord server.
We have a diverse array of inquiries this week, covering a range of topics. This sample represents just a few of the dilemmas that fantasy managers (and even a commissioner) are dealing with as Week 12 approaches. Here are some 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
Trade Advice
Should I trade Nico Collins and TreVeyon Henderson to get Rashee Rice? Full PPR.
This trade proposal is an excellent example of what makes fantasy football so interesting. And when I say, interesting, I mean mostly frustrating. Because, as in life, timing is everything. If you had offered me this trade proposal three weeks ago, I would have jumped at it. Now, however, I cannot see doing it.
I would still rather have Rashee Rice than Nico Collins. But the gap between the two has shrunk in recent weeks. Collins is back to being in the weekly WR1 conversation in 10- and 12-team leagues. He has earned double-digit targets in four straight games. That is a great sign considering Houston has only allowed 20+ points in one of those games. With upcoming matchups against Buffalo, Indianapolis and Kansas City, Houston is likely to continue feeding Collins as long as he remains healthy.
Of course, the player in this deal whose value has changed the most in the past few weeks is TreVeyon Henderson. The rookie running back has scored five touchdowns in his last two outings and averaged over 100 scrimmage yards over his past four contests. He will cede some work to Rhamondre Stevenson when the latter returns.
Still, I cannot imagine New England giving Stevenson the majority of reps, given how Henderson has performed when given the opportunity. Sandwiched around a Week 14 bye, the Patriots play Cincinnati, the New York Giants and Buffalo in their next three games. These are the three worst teams in the NFL at defending the run, according to DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). As much as I like Rice in PPR, I am not making this trade.
Need Commish advice — 10-team PPR. We currently have a seven-veto trade vote. Team receiving Jonathan Taylor/Patrick Mahomes is 7-4 and in third place. Team trading them (to receive Alvin Kamara/Troy Franklin) is in last place.
For the record, I am strongly opposed to leagues with veto power, so I no longer participate in them. Those leagues are breeding grounds for player haters. I have seen too many instances where fantasy managers veto perfectly reasonable trade offers simply out of spite. However, this trade proposal is truly nasty work. There is no justification for this deal under any circumstances.
I wouldn’t even trade Jonathan Taylor by himself for the two players on the other side. And they are throwing in Patrick Mahomes on top of it? My advice in this scenario is to veto the trade and look for a new league. You do not want to be in a league with people who are facilitating this foolishness.
Waiver Wire & Lineup Advice
Would you drop my worst bench player, Elic Ayomanor, for Jalen Coker, Xavier Legette or Tyrell Shavers, as we look towards the playoffs?
At the risk of giving you a non-answer, I would like to say this: None of those players is likely to enter your starting lineup anytime soon. So from that standpoint, I do not mind it. I personally would rather have Elic Ayomanor than any of the others. But if you have a strong lean towards one of them, I am not vehemently opposed.
I would rank them in the order you have them listed, with Tyrell Shavers a distant third behind both Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette. One thing worth noting is that Carolina has a Week 14 bye. That could be a determining factor depending on your league standings and when your playoffs begin.
49ers or Bills D/ST?
I know injuries have been a factor, but it’s crazy to see how far off San Francisco has fallen defensively from a fantasy perspective. The 49ers’ D/ST ranks 30th in the NFL in fantasy points per game. The only teams worse are the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals.
Buffalo hasn’t exactly racked up the fantasy points defensively either. They are 19th in fantasy points per game. Buffalo has scored 10+ fantasy points twice this season. One of those games was against the hapless New York Jets. The other was against Carolina. Carolina is playing San Francisco this weekend. I may be in the minority here, but I am leaning towards the 49ers. I like their matchup, especially since they’ll be playing at home with an extra day of rest. Buffalo is playing on the road on a short week.
Every single player in my starting lineup (we start 10) fell short of his projection. Am I a terrible fantasy football manager? Can we do something about this?
Believe it or not, I have the perfect solution to this dilemma. The problem is that I am too busy/lazy to enact this myself. So if one of you fine people can make this happen, give me credit and/or an invite. Anyway, here goes. We need to create a fantasy football league that incorporates both weekly roster management and best ball principles.
Best Ball has gained popularity in recent years due to its set-it-and-forget-it concept. Best ball players don’t want to expend the constant energy it takes to manage a fantasy football roster throughout the season. Others enjoy scouring the waiver wire and studying matchups to make improvements to rosters and lineups. I fall into the latter group. Let’s look at this past week as a perfect example of how you can be wrong even when you are right.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker is rostered in 56% of Fantrax leagues. Michael Wilson is rostered in 54%. Each player scored over 30 PPR points last week. That’s great, right? Congrats to them. Except that only 20% of managers started Tucker and 25% started Wilson. And those numbers might be even lower in reality.
I pulled those numbers on Monday evening. It is very possible that some fantasy managers who benched either or both set a preliminary Week 12 lineup and inserted them into starting spots. Either way, almost nobody reaped the benefits of these fantastic performances. Shouldn’t the managers who added them get some credit for these pickups? They will in my hypothetical league, because I would utilize best ball scoring alongside weekly roster management.
That’s right. You can add whoever you want throughout the week (my preferred method is FAAB twice a week, but feel free to adjust as needed). Best ball scoring then takes effect once the games are played. This adjustment would not only reward savvy pickups but also prevent fantasy managers from being penalized due to late scratches or other unforeseen circumstances. I don’t see what the drawbacks would be.
This type of league format would likely have more in-season engagement and activity than most normal leagues. I’m not sure why this isn’t already a thing, but it needs to be. You’re welcome.
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