NFL

Fantasy Football Mailbag: Wednesday 8/31/16

Jim Sannes  —  @JimSannes Aug 31st, 2016
Tajae Sharpe has been generating a ton of hype prior to his rookie season with the Tennessee Titans. How high should our expectations be for fantasy football?

Fantasy football research never stops, and offseason news can really complicate things, especially when coaches talk up second- and third-string players. That's where our fantasy football mailbag comes into play.

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Now, let's answer some questions.


When you're in a smaller-field tournament, it's okay to go with a bit of a chalkier approach. There are fewer people you need to top, thus allowing you to use players you deem to be the best, even if they may be a bit more popular. Even with that in mind, you almost have to fade Dak Prescott in this scenario.

The incentive to roster Prescott obviously stems from his $5,000 price tag on FanDuel, the lowest price they'll assign to a quarterback. Using him would give you abundant flexibility elsewhere, and that's obviously something to consider. But does he really contain the upside we want out of a quarterback? There are a lot of factors that would say he does not.

First, the Dallas Cowboys didn't draft Ezekiel Elliott in the first round to suddenly attack heavily through the air. They're going to run the football whenever they can, and that puts a serious cap on Prescott's volume. We shouldn't chase volume, but it is something we need to consider, and it's not a positive mark in the Prescott DFS evaluation.

Second, the Cowboys are a slow-paced offense, and you know that's not going to change with Tony Romo out again. This is another restriction on Prescott's upside, making you wonder a bit more whether he can truly hit tournament-level value. When you combine it with the likely rush-heavy approach, Prescott's ceiling truly isn't as high as it may seem.

It's entirely possible Prescott could go out there, rack up a few touchdowns, and win tournaments in Week 1. But high-ownership plays should bring a combination of both floor and upside, and until we see the Cowboys' offense in regular-season action, we can't be certain Prescott has either.


Even more so than with quarterbacks, volume is critical with wide receivers. In Torrey Smith, you have a player in a high-paced offense that will likely be throwing the ball a ton. In Tajae Sharpe, you've got an exciting, young player, but the Tennessee Titans have said all offseason they want to run the football. That's going to give Smith the edge here.

With Bruce Ellington now done for the season, Smith will get as many targets as he can handle in the San Francisco 49ers' offense. Blaine Gabbert isn't a good quarterback by any means, but receivers can overcome those inefficiencies if they get enough volume. Until we have a reason to believe otherwise, we should assume that Smith's market share in the high-paced offense will be grotesque.

Of the Titans' receivers, Sharpe is clearly the most attractive. That doesn't mean he's the lone ranger. Delanie Walker had a 26.59% market share from Week 3 on, and Rishard Matthews had an impressive final season with the Miami Dolphins. There's competition for targets here, and that's not really something Smith sees.

Of the two, Sharpe has the clearly superior quarterback in Marcus Mariota. Outside of that, everything favors Smith, and for that reason, he still holds the edge despite Sharpe's understandable surge.

Want to have your questions answered in our mailbag? Submit your questions by tweeting @numberFire or sending an email to Jim.Sannes@FanDuel.com.