Fantasy Football Saturday Morning Mailbag – Week 1

Welcome to this weekly mailbag series! This article will take selected questions from The Footballers’ Discord server that you can join here. In it, you can find a dedicated channel for start/sit questions, public fantasy advice, and a general channel for all things fantasy football. There are also exclusive channels only available to Footclan members. Discord members are great at answering questions and you never know when your questions will appear here.

So many questions heading into this week! Each season we sort of settle into comfortable narratives leading up to the regular season, but we know that it will play out very differently. Just a few days ago, we were talking about how Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney could be highly valuable, especially with Travis Kelce injured. We all know how that turned out. The same could be said about Jahmyr Gibbs after the Detroit coaches signaled that he would be used all over the field. While he looked great on Thursday, he was targeted just twice and only totaled nine touches. With so much chaos in the league, this weekly article will address an assortment of topical questions brought up in The Fantasy Footballers’ Discord.

Question #1 – Superflex Strategy

Does anyone remember which episode the footballers discuss how to approach a superflex league that doesn’t draft QB’s as high as most? – Dylan

Answer: I believe this is the episode you’re referring to: Superflex Strategies. In this episode, Jason talks about aiming for one of the top-tier QBs and then picking up a value QB like Jared Goff or Geno Smith later. Mike also mentioned waiting a little longer on QB, but nabbing three or four late(r)-round QBs where you can choose two QBs each week based on matchups. This Superflex 101 article also introduces a few different Superflex strategies.

Question #2 – Trades

Would you trade Engram for Friermuth straight up? PPR? – PoleSentWorth

Answer: In season-long leagues, the Fantasy Footballers rank these two back-to-back. I personally slightly prefer Evan Engram but it’s almost a coin flip. Pat Freiermuth is ranked higher in dynasty, which makes sense given his younger age.

Question #3 – Trades

Am I crazy for trading mike Evans for Dotson? – IT Tribunal

Answer: Both of these WRs are ranked in the WR2 range for season-long leagues. I don’t think it’s crazy, but there are situations where I may or may not make this trade. If I’m going to be using them as a regular flex play, I prefer Evans who is simultaneously safe and offers a decent weekly ceiling. If these guys are the fourth or fifth WRs on my team, I’d prefer shooting for the upside of Jahan Dotson. If we’re talking dynasty, it’s a no-brainer for Dotson.

Question #4 – Start/Sit

Do I start dotson, james cooks, or his brother dalvin in the flex, ppr? – Cents

Answer: Another Jahan Dotson question. The problem with Dotson this week is he’s playing the trainwreck that is Arizona. At some point, Washington may pretty much shut down the passing game and simply run the ball down Arizona’s throat. I like Dotson, and while he could easily find the end zone, I believe this may not be the best week for him. I don’t think Dalvin Cook is an option because he’s new to the team and competing with Breece Hall for touches. It’s true that Damien Harris and Josh Allen could steal goal line touches from James Cook, but his involvement in the passing game and explosive play rate in a game that could become a high-scoring affair makes up for it. I go James Cook.

Question #5 – Season-long Strategy

Should I stash Anthony Richardson? – Various

Answer: This is a great question and we have to assume this question was asking about Richardson for season-long leagues and not dynasty-type leagues. I probably wouldn’t roster him if I had a quarterback like Justin Fields or better unless I knew someone in the league would trade for Richardson if he does blow up. I actually have stashed him in a couple of leagues where my starting QB is someone like Geno Smith or Daniel Jones. There are a few scenarios where this makes sense.

For one thing, QBs like Jones and Smith are no guarantee. If they falter, Richardson’s rushing ability gives me a safe weekly floor. QBs like Jones, Smith, and Richardson may also become matchup-dependent, in which case I can simply pick whichever QB has the best matchup and sort of Frankenstein an elite QB season. There’s also the chance Richardson becomes something like Cam Newton in his rookie year and produces at a rate that puts him among the elite QBs in the league where I can make him a weekly starter and drop Jones or whomever the other QB is.

The worst-case scenario is he struggles mightily as a passer in his rookie season and his rushing game isn’t enough to make up for it. I’m prepared to give him three or four weeks on my roster and assess again from there. Even in the worst-case scenario, all he would cost is a little draft capital and a roster spot for a few weeks, which isn’t much to chase his upside.

This is also worth a larger discussion. You should use your bench roster spots for upside players. Players like Jahan Dotson, Jason’s favorite Sam Howell (Howell was actually ‘My Guy’ for a lot of the same reasons we’re chasing Richardson), Gabe Davis, Jaylen Warren, Tyler Allgeier, Roschon Johnson, etc. These guys were cheap in drafts so they’re easy to drop if/when they prove they can’t be trusted, but they offer a lot of upside. Keep guys like that on the roster, not the Jakobi Meyers or Ryan Tannehill types who are just roster cloggers.

Question #6 – Dynasty

What should I do with Jonathan Taylor in dynasty? – Various

Answer: I do have JT on a couple of my dynasty teams. The offers I’m getting for him are simply low-ball offers. The thing about situations like this is what each manager is assessing. JT’s dynasty managers are thinking about his past and future value while potential managers are thinking in terms of his risk. I don’t think anyone should close the door on trading him, but it seems to me his value is significantly reduced right now. As a JT manager, I’m fine waiting it out with him in the IR spot. Barring another injury, I don’t see a scenario where he doesn’t bounce back to elite-level value, but we might have to be patient. He may not return to full value while still playing for Indianapolis in an Irsay-induced purgatory, but I’d rather stick it out than give him up for a value I’m likely going to regret for the next few years.

Question #7 – Discord

I joined the Footclan, but can’t access certain channels on the discord. How can I get access? – Various

Answer: You simply need to sync Discord to your Patreon account. There are directions on the Footballers website here and you can find the instructions on Discord in the #unlock-all-channels channel.

Question #8 – Strength of Schedule

How do you read the “strength of schedule” section of the UDK? – XxSTEELER

Answer: To figure out strength of schedule, we need data on defenses. Unfortunately, because it’s Week 1, we don’t have the data yet. After this week, the strength of schedule should be available and get more accurate with each passing week.