Fantasy Football AMA Recap: Chase vs. Bijan at No. 1 — Plus, dynasty, keeper and guillotine-style league advice

https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/fantasy-football-ama-recap-chase-vs-bijan-at-no-1--plus-dynasty-keeper-and-guillotine-style-league-advice-152450143.html

Scott Pianowski joined Yahoo Fantasy Plus subscribers on Tuesday, August 26, for a fantasy football AMA on our invite-only Discord server. This is the latest exclusive benefit for Yahoo Fantasy Plus subscribers.

Wondering what you missed? Don’t worry, we have highlights from the session below. Make sure you don’t miss out on the next expert AMA, unlock the invite-only Discord, optimized lineups, smarter waiver and trade advice with Yahoo Fantasy Plus.

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Happy fantasy football draft week! Chances are you’re drafting your team this week, over the weekend or early next week. If that’s the case, you can’t get enough analysis and the beauty of an AMA is that you may get a nugget of advice that you may not see in a piece of content.

Question: Drafting at pick No. 1 in a 12-team half-PPR league. At the end of Round 2, is it better to go with a combo of Josh Allen and Brock Bowers or just any combo of RB/WR assuming Allen and Bowers are both available? And would you wait on a QB in general? Best players to target from Rounds 5-9?

Answer: I’m generally not going to take vanity quarterback or vanity tight end in that spot because I don’t like what my running backs and receivers wind up looking like. It’s not that it can’t work though, it ultimately comes down to how well you pick running backs and receivers in those middle rounds. I’m getting a lot of Jaylen Waddle, Tucker Kraft in that 5-9 pocket. Maybe a SF receiver.

Question: I have Titans backup RB Tyjae Spears on my bench but he just got put on injured reserve. I only have three bench spots, so I need to drop him, but my best options are Ollie Gordon II or Tyler Allgeier. Do you have a preference?

Answer: Both of them are speculation plays who would need an injury in front of them, so it comes down to who is the highest ceiling. For me that’s definitely Allgeier.

Question: Has Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill dropped too far in ADP? What are the chances of him having a bounce-back season and everyone looking back at him as being a steal of a pick where he’s currently going?

Answer: What’s funny is that I’ve faded Hill all summer and I stand behind that, but I was in a salary cap draft the other day, $200 budget, where the bidding had stalled at $14 and I said the heck with it, I can live with $15. He’s my WR4, which just seems silly. Still, at some point, gravity always wins.

Question: In a Dynasty League, who should be the 1.3 pick? I have TreVeyon Henderson, Tetairoa McMillan is also a great pick and Emeka Egbuka has been just killing it and has jumped up my draft board a lot.

Answer: Henderson would be my preference. He was one of the biggest winners of the summer, a walking splash play. Slight preference of McMillan over Egbuka but both are excellent short- and long-term plays.

Question: I’m debating whether or not to take Ja’Marr Chase or Bijan Robinson with the first pick in my 10-team, half-PPR league (or even CMC tbh). I like Chase better than Bijan but my league is EXTREMELY heavy on taking RBs early (which I think is smart because WR is a lot deeper than RB).

Answer: You’re wise to consider the historical preferences of your room. Given what you outlined, I have no problem taking whoever you think the best running back on the board is (Bijan for me). You can talk down anyone, but I still think Robinson is extremely safe and I love getting him in his third year. Wheels up. We haven’t seen his ceiling yet, which should excite everyone. His lateral movement is ridiculous.

Question: Would you go Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley with the second pick?

Answer: I want the younger player there, Bijan. Obviously Barkley just had 482 touches if you include the playoffs, a ridiculous workload. Robinson enters his third season. I want somebody on the escalator.

Question: What’s your opinion on James Cook this year? It feels like a lot of people aren’t loving him but do you think he’s a quality pick in, say, Round 3?

Answer: Cook makes me a little bit nervous. Last year’s touchdown count is never repeating and we know Josh Allen is also going to gobble up a lot of the goal-line work. Plus, the Bills really seem to like the players behind him (Ray Davis), and I think the entire offense could lose some octane because I don’t love the receiver room. Bottom line, Cook will give back some of last year’s haul and there are players in similar ADP pockets that I prefer.

Question: Who do you think is going to be the better fantasy option among Commanders RBs: Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Austin Ekeler?

Answer: That’s a great question. Chris Rodriguez Jr. is also going to be a factor. They’re all good at different things. I’ll probably sit out the helium on JCM and take Ekeler or Rodriguez at modest prices. But Washington will probably let this play out on the field, I don’t think they’re dug in on a featured guy yet.

Question: I’m deciding on keepers in a 10-team, SuperFlex league. Which three would you suggest keeping between George Kittle, Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Calvin Ridley and James Cook?

Answer: Strong options. I hate to throw any of them back in a SuperFlex format, but rules are rules. I suppose you probably have to take one quarterback, I have them ranked next to each other so I’m fine with either. I think I slightly prefer Mahomes for his floor. Kittle is a must, and then Cook over Ridley due to position scarcity.

Question: I’m in a 12-team league where we have the opportunity to pick which draft spots we’d like. What are the best/worst slots to pick from this season?

Answer: Any strategy or any slot can work if you pick the right players. It comes down to your personality and wiring I think. I don’t like being on the end because I hate the long gap between picks, the possibility of a run starting and ending before I have a say. But I know a lot of successful fantasy players who like picking in tandem. I generally prefer something in the middle. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer though. By the third round, every player has an obvious downside.

Question: Do you think Packers rookie Matthew Golden ends up as the WR1 this season?

Answer: I do, but given that this offense is usually about rotating receivers, I want to be careful about what type of upside I project for anyone. Remember nobody has gone past 100 targets on this team since Davante Adams left. The player I keep coming back to in this passing game is Tucker Kraft, the big-play tight end.

Question: I really appreciate all of your help here. Just one more from me: I have a guillotine-style league draft coming up, what is your best pointer for strategy going into drafting a team for maximum survival?

Answer: It’s mostly about floor, especially with your starting decisions. Also don’t go spend-crazy with early FAAB, the wire will be great every week — better and better really — and you only need to beat one out of many teams in September each week. Also, don’t forget to make your lighter secondary bids, you’ll be surprised how some very, very useful players get ignored because everybody’s focused on the big names. Even in the free-for-all segment of waivers, you might find more than you expect. Diligence pays off.

One other thing, I generally try to avoid injured players in my August drafting but that’s really a key strategy for a guillotine-style league. You don’t want slow-developing Polaroids. I’m glad you’re playing the format, it’s a fun one.

Question: Hi Scott — What’s on your playlist this week? Thanks for all of your advice!!

Answer: You know I always love talking music. The Killers, Bloc Party, The Rolling Stones, Belly. Those are staples. The Petty tracks off Wildflowers. Pretenders. Alvvays. U2. It’s a beautiful day.

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https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/fantasy-football-ama-recap-chase-vs-bijan-at-no-1--plus-dynasty-keeper-and-guillotine-style-league-advice-152450143.html