Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. Special weekend edition. Are James White and Tarik Cohen legit starters? How much do positional coaches add to an offense? While later-round quarterbacks could pop? Drauction strategy.
Question 1
Every year FFI has a few players that look too high or too low on rankings. To their credit, they have a great winning percentage. Lol. This year is no different. I was shocked at the latest rankings for James White, Tarik Cohen and Chris Thompson. In a PPR league, would you be OK with White or Cohen as a #2 RB on a weekly basis? New England’s backfield is well documented. Chicago drafted an impressive RB this year. As for Thompson, he’s not even getting drafted in many ESPN mock drafts that I’ve done. Washington is getting their RB back this year in Guice. Thoughts?
Bryan Morris (Pine City, NY)
I’m very comfortable with White and Cohen. They combined for 158 catches last year, and I think they’re going to be used in the same kind of way. Those guys are the driving force behind me being comfortable not selecting a running back in the first or second rounds. I will concede that David Montgomery looks really solid; he appears to be for real. But I don’t see why Cohen can’t catch another 70-plus balls. As for Thompson, he’s more of a question mark. The hope is that he’ll be another White-Cohen type guy, maybe catch 65-plus balls. But he’s had a lot of injuries and the team might be pretty putrid. I’m interested in him in the later rounds, but I can’t guarantee he’ll be a solid backup player. But I think there’s a role for him. Guice and Peterson aren’t good pass catchers.
Question 2
Last year, O-Line coach Tony Sparano passed away during training camp unexpectedly and Minnesota played worse than projected. A similar scenario is playing out in Pittsburgh with the untimely passing of Darryl Drake. Not sure if one can gauge the affect this can have on a team or players (JuJu?) but maybe you can. Are you going to shy away from any of the Steelers players? Does this add risk to JuJu being a first-round pick? Thank you for your thoughts.
Mark Amundsen (Fort Collins, CO)
I’m not sure how much difference a wide receivers coach makes. And I’m not sure where Drake fit in the pecking order at his position. He joined Pittsburgh last year. He spent the previous 14 years with the Bears and Cardinals. For Pittsburgh, I am more concerned about Mike Munchak. He’s considered a top-5 offensive line coach, and he took a job with the Broncos. If Munchak is as good as everyone seems to agree, then Denver’s offensive line will be better than people are expecting, while Pittsburgh’s will be worse.
Question 3
I follow the “hold off on a QB” strategy on draft day. I agree with your QB rankings, but place emphasis on QBs with the highest “upside.” Which QB available in round 7 or 8 would you say has the best chance to outplay his ranking?
JEFF POWERS (Coral Springs, FL)
Often when we talk about quarterbacks most likely to outplay their draft position, we’re also talking about the quarterbacks most likely to miss games (either because of injuries or missed games). Outside the top 10, I think that means Kyler Murray, Jameis Winston, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Question 4
We run a drauction – a 4-round auction with $100 available for bidding, followed by a draft. I have imported our league scoring to create customized auction values, but am having a hard time reconciling what your numbers show me versus what I know will happen with our group of guys. Specifically, last year over half of our 14 teams spent $85 or less of their allotted $100 for their four auction players. What usually happens is that a lot of players go for big dollars, then teams have so little money left, that the final 20 players to come off the board go for far less than they should. As an example, last year I got Gurley for $50 (your customized values had him at $70+), then I got Tyreek for $25 (about par value), but then I picked up JuJu and Ben for $11 combined. Very happy with the 4 players I got, and according to the customized auction values I came away with around $135 of value, but I also left $14 on the table – which irritates me (hate leaving money on the table). So my question is, if I anticipate half the league again leaving 10-20 percent of their allocated auction money on the table, how do I best take advantage of this? There’s got to be a way to craft an auction strategy to take advantage of this, right? My initial thought is to go big on two players (even if it means overpaying) knowing that I’ll make up the value vs. cost on my final two players. For example, grabbing Saquon and Kamara for a combined $90 knowing I can still get a decent WR-WR or WR-QB for my remaining two players for $10 or less. Thoughts?
Matt Tinker (Orleans, VT)
Only 48 players are being purchased, so the prices on those big-time players needs to be high. If you were to select two of the very best players, you’ll be in very good shape because you’d probably still get two other top-35 players with your other two choices (given that everyone’s draft board is different). In my eyes, I would expect if somebody paid $98 for two top-5 players (and $1 for each of his other two) he’ll have one of the best starting fours.
Question 5
I have the 6th pick in a 12-team PPR. What are your thoughts on the first three rounds? Clearly, it's most likely a WR at 6 but at 18 is that another WR or where you catch that tier 2 RB?
Bill Petilli (Harrison, NY)
Probably a wide receiver at 1.06, but with August rolling on and Ezekiel Elliott still unsigned, he’s starting to become more of a possibility. I was in a draft last week where Elliott didn’t go until 1.05. At 2.07, I would be hoping that Travis Kelce or a top-5 wide receiver somehow makes it there. Somebody like JuJu Smith-Schuster or Tyreek Hill. But you could do that draft 10 times without that ever happening. More likely, I think, you’ll be picking either Keenan Allen or a top-10 running back (perhaps Dalvin Cook). Best available at 3.06, probably a running back or wide receiver.
Question 6
I’m in a PPR league that keeps two players. I need help. I have Dalvin Cook, Davante Adams, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. I’m planning on keeping Cook (top back); so should I keep Adams, or Smith-Schuster?
Stephen Burch (Liverpool, NY)
In PPR, I like guys who catch lots of passes and play in all 16 games. So I would keep Adams and Smith-Schuster. Cook isn’t bad, but I think those pass catchers will help you more.
Question 7
I have the last pick in a 12-team PPR league that awards an additional 2 points for 100-199 rushing/receiving yards, and 4 extra points for 200+. Based on this scoring, how would you prefer to start out the draft: Kelce + Conner/Juju, T. Hill + Juju (for the safe floor of Juju with the huge weekly yardage upside of Hill), Conner + Cook. Thanks Ian, long-time fan!
Garrett Seymour (Fitchburg, WI)
I wouldn’t pay much attention to the rules for 100-199 yards and 200-plus yards. Those are just bells and whistles. I would be paying more attention to the PPR dynamic. I want guys who are going to catch a lot of passes. Kelce and JuJu definitely fit that profile. If you can get out of the first two rounds with a WR and RB, that would give you the most roster flexibility for the remainder of the draft. At the running back position, I would have James White and Tarik Cohen in the back of my mind – guys who will outperform where they’re selected in that format.