Fantasy Football Mailbag: Thursday 11/10/16
Fantasy football research never stops, and roles change drastically from one week to the next. That's where our fantasy football mailbag comes into play.
Have a question about a certain player, team, strategy, or anything football? Shoot us a question on Twitter or send an email to Jim.Sannes@FanDuel.com, and we can talk anything fantasy football related -- even daily fantasy football.
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Now, let's answer some questions.
Email submission from Courtney Griffin:
My team at the moment is QB's- Ryan, Brees. RB's - Ware, Booker, Riddick, McCoy. WR - Jeffery, J.J Nelson, T. Williams, Beasley, M. Thomas, R Matthews. T.E - Rudolph, but like D/ST and K I am likely to stream them weekly if I think the match up is no good. Based on the above, do you have any thoughts on who to look at trading away for a better player at the position? Or to target on the Waivers. Assuming my QB's and RB's don't go down I can probably ride them home, WR's I am a little questionable on.
That is an absolute embarrassment of riches at quarterback in Drew Brees and Matt Ryan. Given how great they've both been, you can definitely afford to move one of them in order to snag an additional wide receiver. Looking at their respective schedules going forward, Ryan may be the better one to dangle in trade discussions.
Not only does Ryan still have to get through his bye week, but each of his next three matchups are difficult. The Atlanta Falcons will face three teams ranked seventh or better against the pass, according to numberFire's metrics, over that span, and they face the 10th-ranked pass defense the following week. He does get positive matchups in Weeks 15 and 16, but the road there is tough.
Brees doesn't face the same restrictions. They will face the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice in the fantasy playoffs, and he also has a matchup against the 32nd-ranked Detroit Lions defense on the horizon. Brees has already had his bye, meaning you can plug and play him the rest of the way, making him the guy we'd want to keep if we're moving a quarterback to build depth.
Email submission from Travon Thaw:
Who to start at WRs this week (4)spots. No. Thomas, NE. Edelman, NJ. Marshal, Chi. Meredith, Cle. Pryor, Cle. Coleman. And would starting Coleman and Pryor be a good choice?
This is a solid crop from which to choose. The four to start this week would likely be Brandon Marshall, Terrelle Pryor, Julian Edelman, and Michael Thomas. But Corey Coleman is close to Thomas, and that's not a situation where I'd avoid using two players on the same team.
The Cleveland Browns are actually helpful for fantasy because you know exactly where the ball is going. In the three games that both Coleman and Pryor have played, the two have combined for 51.2% of the team's total targets (23.3% to Coleman and 27.9% for Pryor). That's a healthy percentage, and it means you can play both when need be. Their matchup isn't great against the Baltimore Ravens, but it's still absolutely in play.
These two also benefit from having Cody Kessler at quarterback. Kessler has been the 11th-most efficient passer on a per-dropback basis this year, according to numberFire's Net Expected Points metric. He's performing well, and the two have firm roles in the offense. Travon specifically may not want to use the two together due to solid alternatives, but this is a play we can roll out when need be.
Email submission from Rocky:
Do I start Brandin Cooks this week, given that WRs have done virtually nothing against them since week 1? He's actually in my flex spot as I also own OBJ and Evans. My other options aren't great either. John Brown, Corey Coleman, Crowell, Duke, Perkins. Just roll with Cooks and hope for the best? I'm also starting Ingram if that matters. Thanks!
Brandin Cooks' production has obviously been frustrating with 66 receiving yards or fewer in three consecutive games. But as he heads home, we can feel free to plug him back in again.
Using the RotoViz game splits app, we can see that since the start of last year, Cooks has averaged 60.25 yards and 0.33 touchdowns per game on the road. When he's at home, those numbers spike to 84.25 and 0.83, respectively. We know about Drew Brees' home-road splits, but Cooks may actually be the guy more dependent on playing at the Superdome.
The matchup certainly isn't easy for Cooks against the Denver Broncos. But star cornerback Aqib Talib will miss yet another game, opening up some viability for Brees and company. That's the window we need to plug in Cooks despite his tough stretch.
Want to have your questions answered in our mailbag? Submit your questions by tweeting @numberFire or sending an email to Jim.Sannes@FanDuel.com.
