Fantasy Football Saturday Mailbag for Week 8
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.
Week 8 is here and there are no byes to worry about this week but you should be looking ahead because Week 9 and 10 look rough. We’re also getting into the time of year when weather starts to become a factor highlighted by temperatures expected to be around 30 degrees at kickoff in Denver tomorrow. Keep grinding out each week and remember to plan ahead to navigate those bye weeks.
Question #1 – Start/Sit
Start 2 (.5PPR): Devonta Smith, Jordan Addison, Tank Dell – sammyaces
Answer: This is really a choice between Devonta Smith and Tank Dell since Jordan Addison is a plug-and-play start. There was a bit of debate between these two, but the smarter start is clear and it should be Smith. I think the debate may come from a perception issue. Dell is having a great start to his career with fellow rookie CJ Stroud. Meanwhile, Smith is having something of a disappointing year given where he was selected in drafts highlighted by a 6-yard stinker in Week 5. Despite this, Smith has had five or more targets in every game this year. Dell has only topped five targets twice and he’s coming off an injury. Dell can go off at any time with only a few targets, but the smart play is still Smith.
Question #2 – Start/Sit
Ridley bounce back this week? – Durrel
Answer: I’m not sure the Calvin Ridley we have is the Calvin Ridley we expected based on ADP. The Jacksonville air attack seems pretty well balanced with Christian Kirk and Evan Engram being the most reliable receiving options. Zay Jones and Ridley seem like they play more bit roles. If this is true, then we can’t rely on Ridley in any given week but that doesn’t mean he can’t have a huge role in any given week. With Zay Jones out this week Ridley should see five or more targets and the matchup against Pittsburgh is juicy but there’s rain forecast for the game. I think Ridley is flex-worthy this week, but I don’t see it if by bounce back we’re looking 100+ yards.
Question #3 – Trades
Should I trade Waddle and Hollywood for Amon Ra? – Literally
Answer: Marquise Brown has been the subject of a lot of trade scenarios. I like this type of trade scenario for most leagues. I like simple decisions. Starting Amon-Ra St. Brown is always an easy start decision. Picking through Jaylen Waddle and Marquise Brown‘s good games is more difficult. I’d probably still go for it, but numbers and deeper benches tend to play better in leagues with larger starting rosters like the Scott Fish Bowl where you can start up to 6 WRs.
Question #4 – Bye Week
So this is off topic…maybe it helps some. But I thought week 7 was bad for bye weeks. Week 10 is absolutely disgusting. Why would NFL do this to us!! I have 5 on bye week 10. – Larry Hoover
Answer: I don’t know what the NFL’s thinking is on bye weeks. You would think they would tie bye weeks to scheduling oddities like overseas games, games played close to each other, or other factors. It blows my mind how some teams end up getting huge advantages from the schedule while others get brutal stretches of games or why you have so many teams on bye one week and none the following week. That’s just me though.
The reason I selected this quip wasn’t really the NFL’s policy on byes though. It was the “I have 5 on bye in Week 10” comment that reminded me of one of my favorite sneaky trades and this is the perfect time for it. Most leagues will have a lot of 4-3 and 3-4 type teams. Each win is critical. If I have a team that’s in the hunt for a playoff shot but I’m not feeling too confident, I’ll try to make a move to ensure a win for a certain week. In Larry’s case here, I would look to see who I’m playing Week 10 and do some package deal that sends two or three of those Week 10 players to his team. I’m especially looking to get back a player or two that already had their bye. This way you can manufacture an extra week or two of production from the players you get back and hopefully guarantee at least one win going forward.
A theoretical trade may be something like Tua Tagovailoa (10) and Puka Nacua (10) for Joe Burrow (7) and Keenan Allen (5) to the team I play in Week 10. I might even throw a little extra sweetener to get the deal done.
Question #5 – Start/Sit
Rashee Rice or Amari Cooper? – StChristopher
Answer: This is interesting because Rashee Rice has a clear matchup advantage but it will be around 30 degrees in Denver at kickoff. Players, especially rookies, who don’t have much experience in cold weather games tend to have a tough time in temperatures this low especially when they haven’t had a chance to acclimate to winter temperatures.
On the other hand, Amari Cooper has been having a rough go with the chaotic QB situation in Cleveland. Frankly, I’m undecided and even the Footballers have these two nearly back-to-back. I’d honestly rather take a shot on someone else like Tank Dell.