Fantasy football is about clarity. While we can never be clear about what will happen across a 16-game NFL season, there are some things we can be clear about. We want the guys we draft to have clear roles on their teams. We want them to have clear paths to success. In 2019, there’s a tier of top running backs that are obvious picks. Saquon…...

There are currently head to toe problems with Jon Gruden’s flashy new wide receiver acquisition in Oakland. While it will be an abject disaster for the Raiders if Antonio Brown misses games, who are the fantasy players that stand to benefit? Fortunately, we have a pretty good model for that outcome, since the Raiders ditched their star receiver on purpose last year after Week 6,…...

Sources: #Browns WR Antonio Callaway is being suspended 4 games for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He had been appealing this ruling. This may party explain why he’s been running with the reserves. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2019 This one tweet from Ian Rapoport pretty much consigns Antonio Callaway to the Cleveland Browns dog house. No, not the Dawg Pound…....

Last year I found that while it may be difficult to project touchdowns year-over-year, touchdowns usually regress to the mean based on a wide receiver’s targets and receiving yards. Every year there are outliers who catch touchdowns at a higher or lower rate than one would expect based on their targets and yards in that season. Perception about a player’s ability to score touchdowns — and thus score…...

Denny Carter doesn’t draft quarterbacks in the Apex Experts League, and it doesn’t slow him down. Last year, he won the title. Only 15 QBs were taken during this year’s festivities. Since the experts are playing this out for cash, we can assume they believe it’s the best way to win. Ben Roethlisberger, Kirk Cousins, Mitchell Trubisky, Josh Allen, and Tom Brady weren’t selected. Tom…...

Welcome to Part 3 of the NFL Division Preview Series. Each installment will include my prediction of each team’s record and divisional finish. Along the way I’ll point out fantasy studs, mid-round values, late-round gems, and a breakout player from each division. Be sure to check out the other division previews on the NFC East and NFC North. NFC South Atlanta (10-6) New Orleans (10-6)…...

Over the last 100 days, Marquez Valdes-Scantling is the No. 1 riser at the wide receiver position. He’s screamed up 127 picks during that time, continuing to rise since Cort Smith profiled his ascent a month ago. As an older, former small-school receiver with big-time athleticism, Valdes-Scantling shares a lot of attributes with 2018 breakout star Kenny Golladay. But the differences may be crucial. Can…...

Last season James White ranked No. 6 and Tarik Cohen slotted in at No. 5 on our target list of the best Zero RB Candidates. They finished at RB7  and RB11 overall. Both players are going off the board at palatable ADPs again in 2019. But what if we had a quick hack for finding the next breakout receiving backs at an even greater discount? …...

“You want the cheapest Patriots running back” has been a refrain for quite a while now. It’s a thought that went from tongue-in-cheek to spot on. There has typically been value in getting that position right for your fantasy team. That got me thinking, are there other crowded position groups to which we could apply this same logic? Enter the WR corps for the Sean…...

“You pay for this, but they give you that.” That classic Neil Young lyric came to mind as I was researching this year’s “Why Buy?” series. So often, we’re confident of what we’re going to get when we spend that sixth-round pick on the next big thing, but in reality, we rarely know exactly what we’re buying. The solution? Pay less for the same upside…....

Brian Hill crested 1,600 yards rushing in both his sophomore and junior seasons at Wyoming. He declared for the 2017 NFL draft and was selected in the fifth round by the Atlanta Falcons. Then he disappeared. You Can’t Spell America Without Erica Hill was released by the Falcons that October and spent time on their practice squad until the Bengals signed him that November. He…...

The Flex position is arguably the most important position in fantasy because it’s one of the easiest positions to generate more value over average than your opponents. Whatever strategy fits your particular league format, that strategy should be based on putting an elite player in the Flex position. That’s a quote from Shawn Siegele’s original article explaining why the Flex position wins championships. “Win the…...

Most fantasy analysis is devoted to sorting the order of players likely to have an immediate impact, but every year there are a handful of overlooked deep sleepers who emerge to fill a starting role in redraft. Last year, it was guys like Phillip Lindsay and James Conner at running back. Deep sleepers at WR are a little harder to find, but we did tell you to watch out for Curtis Samuel,…...

Ezekiel Elliott officially began his contract holdout on July 26. Since that point, fantasy enthusiasts have held their breath hoping for a swift resolution for the consensus top-four fantasy running back. Instead, drafters have had to endure a volley of public posturing that has cultivated some unease in the fantasy-verse. How Long is Elliott Willing to Sit Out? Jerry Jones was the first party to…...

Player Fatigue – Real and Dangerous Player fatigue is a very real phenomenon in fantasy football. It can become ingrained in the manager that a player who has “hurt them” before should never be allowed to do so again. It is sensible in life to protect ourselves from harmful situations, of course. But adopting this mindset can, in fantasy football at least, blind us to…...

Tom Brady’s contract situation appears to have been resolved, in one manner or another, as we edge closer to the 2019 NFL season. There exists now only the question of who exactly he’ll be throwing the ball to. The Patriots have waved goodbye to a healthy chunk of targets from 2018. Many of the players earmarked to fill this target void have question marks of…...