Fantasy Football Saturday Mailbag for Week 9
Good Morning, FootClan, and a very warm welcome to Week 9 of The Fantasy Footballers’ Saturday Morning Mailbag! It’s Saturday, it’s early, and as always, I am here to select a handful of your questions from The Fantasy Footballers’ Discord server, answer some of the hot topics that didn’t quite make it to that week’s edition of The Footcast. The Ballers’ Discord is home to the biggest and best online fantasy football community in the world, and is your go-to if you’re looking to talk about all things fantasy football. Head over today and get involved with thousands of members across dozens of dedicated channels for start/sit questions, trade advice, and waiver wire insights, as well as exclusive areas which are only available to members of the Footclan.
Before we launch into the mailbag, can we all bow our heads, pause for solemn reflection, and take a moment of silence to honor our fallen champion, Cam Skattebo…we will miss you, Cam. Losing the Giants’ explosive rookie RB wasn’t just a sad moment for his managers, but for the entire fantasy football community, who have come to love and appreciate the madness that was the Skat Man’s approach to playing professional football the old-fashioned way. Week 8 wasn’t all doom and gloom however – it saw James Cook return from the Bills’ bye-week to absolutely obliterate Carolina’s rushing defense to the tune of 216-yards, Jonathan Taylor record the 2nd longest rushing TD of the season with an 80-yard house call against the Titans, and Oronde Gadsden II (more on him later) prove his TE1 performance the week prior was no fluke!
In this week’s mailbag, we are looking at the potential trade values of some boom-bust RB2s, discussing where high-scoring TEs rank when considering starting them in the FLEX, and asking the question “just how good is Chargers’ rookie TE Oronde Gadsden II ” (spoiler – it’s very good)…so without further ado, let’s dive in!
Question #1 – Season-long Strategy (Breakout TE Edition)
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Yo, Ballers! Do you think Oronde Gadsden is here to stay – or more of a flash-in-the-pan? I am contemplating elevating him from my Taxi Squad to start over Zach Ertz and Dalton Kincaid going forward – Chalupacabra
Answer: It may only be a two-game sample, but here at Baller’s HQ, we are stringent subscribers to NBA JAM rules, and oh boy is Oronde heating up! Back-to-back finishes inside the top-5 at the TE position have seen the Chargers’ rookie vault his way to the TE9 spot on the year, despite seeing only 11 targets prior to LA’s Week 6 victory in Miami.
A day three selection by the Colts, Gadsden may not have garnered the same preseason hype as 1st round picks Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren…but the dynasty community was all over the 236lb, 6’5” pass-catcher out of Syracuse throughout the summer months. After being a healthy scratch in the first two games of the year, Gadsden has slowly ramped up his snap share in this offense to a very commendable 75% over the last three weeks – seeing over 20% of the team’s targets in two of those contests…he has officially arrived!
Although Oronde may be putting up Madden numbers in recent weeks, he is still some way behind Jason Moore favorite Ladd McConkey as Justin Herbert’s number one guy…but could we possibly consider him the second option in what is the best passing offense in the National Football League – there’s certainly a case to be made. Keenan Allen’s productivity continues to dwindle (I’m throwing out that spike game against the Colts in Week 7), and Quentin Johnston has disappeared off the face of the planet after a triple-gooser in Week 8 – there are targets to be had from Herbs, and Gadsden appears to be the man who wants to take them.
I’m ignoring the rest-of-season strength of schedule in Gadsen’s case – the Chargers face five top-12 defenses against the position in the final five weeks of the season, but I don’t care. He should be a lock to finish top-10 from here on in, and may even have top-5 upside if his connection with Herbert proves to be legit. I have him well ahead of Ertz and far enough in front of Kincaid that elevating him from your taxi squad feels like the right call…enjoy the ride.
Question #2 – Start/Sit (FLEX Appeal TEs)
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Ballers, shot-callers! I have Tucker Kraft and Trey McBride in a 10-Team Half PPR league. What caliber of FLEX player would you need to consider starting over either of them?- T 2Toxicc
Answer: The thought of playing two TEs makes my blood run cold – especially if I’m using up a FLEX spot – but when the two guys in question just so happen to be the number one and number two at the position so far on the season…I’ll admit, it does get me a little hot under the collar.
In Ballers’ Preferred format (that’s Half-PPR if you’re wondering), Kraft has scored 98.2 total fantasy points and is averaging a very impressive 14.9 FPPG. Trey McBride isn’t too far behind Green Bay’s top receiver with 89.6 fantasy points on the season, averaging out at 12.8 FPPG. If we were to translate that into the other skill positions, Kraft would be sitting as the overall RB15 – ahead of the likes of Rico Dowdle, J.K. Dobbins, and Quinshon Judkins. Scoring only one single fantasy point less on the year, T-McB would slot in right behind the Browns’ rookie as the overall RB18 – one spot in front of consensus first-round pick Ashton Jeanty.
Things get even wilder when we compare these two TE studs to their pass-catching brethren at the WR position, with McBride tying D.K. Metcalf for the WR15 spot and Kraft sliding into the top 10 as the overall WR9.
I am very cautious when it comes to playing TEs due to the sheer volatility of the position – but the numbers don’t lie, and all signs point to starting both of these guys on a weekly basis at every opportunity. Neither player has what could be described as a particularly challenging strength-of-schedule from here on in, and both are through their byes – so it’s a green light situation for me to start this duo each and every week. It’s hard for me to start a TE in my FLEX over any RB, but if that roster spot is currently being filled by a mid-range RB2 like David Montgomery, Jordan Mason, or Chase Brown…I’m plugging in the big-bodied receiver.
Question #3 – Trade Advice (Upside RB Special)
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Yo Ballers! I was offered Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Omarion Hampton, and in return, I’d be giving up TreVeyon Henderson and Jaylen Warren – would you do it? I’m currently 6-2 and have Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, and Bam Knight at RB – Hasselbuff
At first glance, this seemed easy, but after weighing both sides and the current opportunity against future potential, things became a little more difficult.
If everyone involved in this trade were fully healthy, it’s a no-brainer – Omarion Hampton is arguably the best rookie RB for fantasy purposes this season, and this would be an easy ACCEPT. But with the Chargers’ 1st round selection being on the IR for at least another week (and most likely through LA‘s Week 12 bye), it casts some serious doubt over his rest-of-season value in any trade situation.
As it stands, Jaylen Warren is the best asset in this potential trade, and in any scenario, I always want to be the manager walking away with the strongest player – even if Hampton somehow makes it back on the field earlier than anticipated. Looking at the other pieces here – Bill has been underwhelming to say the least – and with Jayden Daniels returning this week after missing two games due to a hamstring injury, he may start to see even less opportunity moving forward. Fellow rookie TreVeyon Henderson has arguably been even more disappointing than JCM given his draft capital…but with Rhamondre Stevenson looking set for a spell on the sidelines with the dreaded turf-toe injury, it may finally be the King of Preseason’s time to shine in this sneakily good Patriots offense.
All four RBs have a top-10 rest-of-season strength-of-schedule, with New England (No.1 in SOS) having an outrageous run of games from here on in. I am backing Henderson to grasp the opportunity that is about to be presented to him and make the starter’s role in this Pats’ backfield his own for the remainder of the year. Stay the course with Hendo and Warren – you could already have two legitimate top-15 RBs on your roster to go alongside CMC…that’s a league-winning three-pack right there.
Question #4 – Trade Advice (Sell High RB Edition)
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Yo Ballers! Should I try to offer RJ Harvey to get Trey Benson in a 14-Team, Half-PPR league? I’m hurting bad at RB – ItsJFish
Answer: The short answer here is no – if you are hurting badly at RB right now, why would you want to trade away a startable asset in Harvey, for a guy on the IR like Benson? But let’s give this more consideration.
Entering Week 9, the Cardinals lead back (well, lead back after James Conner who is out for the year) is still set to miss at least one more week following a meniscus tear in Week 4 in Arizona’s 20-23 defeat at home to Seattle – with the whispers in the bushes suggesting it may not until at least Week 12 that we see the sophomore rusher return to action. Add into the mix the solid performances from Bam Knight and the re-signing of former starter Michael Carter…who knows what share of the work Benson will actually inherit when he eventually does get back on the field.
If, however, RJ Harvey is your RB3 or lower, there could definitely be justifiable cause for trading him away…but not for Benson. The former UCF product is fresh off the best performance of his young career – scoring his first and second rushing TDs as an NFL pro in the 44-24 blowout win over Dallas, as well as hauling in another through the air to bring his total scoring tally to five on the season. Now is the time to sell high on Harvey if you can! Through 8 games, the 2nd round pick has only seen above 30% of the team’s rushing attempts once, and even then, that was only 45% and still behind J.K. Dobbins in the Broncos’ Week 4 victory over the Jake Browning-led Bengals. Dobbins is the guy in this backfield, and only an injury will change that – so try to capitalize on Harvey’s big game and secure a more reliable piece you can plug and play every week. Set your sights on trading for Tyrone Tracy Jr., who looks set to inherit a huge workload after Cam Skattebo’s season-ending injury, or even Kenneth Walker, who has been underperforming in recent weeks. You could (it’s a long shot) potentially even package Harvey with another piece and chase Quinshon Judkins if the manager is short on depth and is perhaps sweating the Judkins’ shoulder injury on his bye week.
The short answer was no, and so is the long answer…but do try to move Harvey on and get some consistency at the RB position for the remainder of the season.
Question #5 – Waiver Wire (League Winning RB Edition)
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Is Brashard Smith a buy-low league winner with Isiah Pacheco out? – 6RingsMakaveli
Answer: As is tradition with our final question, let’s keep this short and to the point. In my humble opinion, Brashard Smith could be this season’s Bucky Irving, and coming out of the Chiefs’ Week 10 bye, he has a chance to take over this backfield and never look back.
It may not feel like it with their 5-3 record, but Kansas City is balling out right now, and with Patrick Mahomes back to what appears to be the top of his game, there is room for the lead RB on this team to be a fantasy diamond coming out of the bye…whoever it may be. The Chiefs are likely to be in a positive game script for most, if not all, of their remaining games from here on in – and with a top-5 strength-of-schedule at the RB position – the opportunity for one of Isiah Pacheco (MCL sprain), Kareem Hunt (washed), or rookie Smith (stud) to be a potential league winner is real.
Despite his significantly lower snap-share heading into Week 9, Smith (16%) sits just one target behind supposed pass-catching back Pacheco (56%) on the year…and that rookie stock is rising. Hunt may be coming off a great performance against the Washington Commanders that saw him end the week as the overall RB11…but he is generally unstartable for fantasy unless he finds the endzone, and that is almost impossible to predict under the watch of Head Coach Andy Reid.
So, we’re in a scenario where we have a high-powered offense whose underperforming lead back is set to miss some time due to injury, and the backup options are a near-washed veteran and a much-hyped 7th-round rookie…we’ve seen this story before. Stash Smith asap and watch him explode out of the Chiefs’ week off.
It’s time for Rapid Round…
Half-PPR – Troy Franklin or Jameson Williams rest of season? – Guard Duck
Answer: Talk about two guys with contrasting recent form! Franklin is fresh off a Week 8 finish, which saw him finish as the WR1 for fantasy, whilst Jamo…well, Jamo laid a big ol’ goose egg for your line-up in the Lions’ 24-9 victory over the Bucs on Monday Night Football. Despite stinking the place up recently, Williams is by far the better player on what is one of the most powerful passing offenses in the league. He’s been humble this week after his Cardio King performance on MNF…his time is coming, I’d rather him than the sophomore Franklin ROS.
Full-PPR – bench 1: Jaylen Waddle, Michael Pittman, Chase Brown, or Kimani Vidal – Sharknado
Answer: Waddle performed admirably on Thursday Night Football in the Dolphins’ home defeat against a Lamar Jackson-led Ravens, so I hope you started him. If you did and need to sit one of the others, it’s Chase Brown for me. Joe Flacco looks a long shot to play against the Bears and I want no part of this run game with Joe Browning back under center.
Penix or Mariota this week? 4pt passing TD scoring – Puka Kupp-a-Coffee
Answer: Jayden Daniels looks set to return to action for the Commanders this week, and if he does, this is a no-brainer. However, if Washington’s second-year superstar misses another week and Marcus Mariota does draw the start…my answer doesn’t change. Give me an 80% healthy Penix over Roger Goodell favorite Mariota any day.
Scott Fish Bowl update? How did your strategy work out? I have 9 TEs on my team and I’m currently 11-5, with 2,202 points scored – Racoonaholik
Answer: It’s going well Racoonaholik…very well. Eight weeks in and I’ve punched my ticket to the playoffs with a 14-2 record in the UCF Knights Division (shoutout to my league mates). My High-T strategy of CMC and Saquon, coupled with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, sees me sitting 21st in the overall standings with 2,566 points…keep your fingers crossed for me as I attempt to bring home one of the ULTIMATE #FootClanTitles to Ballers’ HQ.
That will do it for this week, FootClan – good luck in Week 9!