The DLF Mailbag

Tim Stafford

mcfadden4

Welcome to the latest edition of the weekly mailbag.

Send me your questions using the DLF Mailbag Form and I’ll include the best in future articles.  Remember the guidelines to have the best chance at seeing your question get posted:

1.) Dynasty questions only, no start/sit questions

2.) Help me help you by providing sufficient information about your league (e.g. line-up requirements/PPR or non-PPR/etc.), and include your first name and where you’re from.

3.) Your chance of getting your question answered is inversely proportional to the length of the question.

Let’s get to it!

1.) I’ve owned Darren McFadden since our league’s start up draft in 2009.  After this latest injury, I’m officially done with him.  What is my best course of action with him?  Trade him now?  Wait until the offseason?  What should I aim for to get in return? – Matthew in MN

I feel your pain on this one.  I, too, own DMC in a dynasty league and it is certainly a frustrating experience.

I think that it’s probably okay to trade him whenever you want.  People are going to bake in the injury risk and devalue him regardless so I’d take a good deal when I found one.  I don’t think his price tag is going to move around much based on whether he’s hurt or not.  The expectation will be that he’ll be hurt again at some point anyway.

As to what you could hope to get, that’s a tough one.  I’d like to think I could get a WR1 with question marks for him – say Hakeem Nicks, Larry Fitzgerald or an aging WR1 like Roddy White.  Trading him for a running back will be tougher, but there I’d look for CJ Spiller, DeMarco Murray or Jonathan Stewart depending on your taste.

At the end of the day, you’re likely to take a haircut on trading DMC.  While I understand the desire to dump him, chances are you will get 80 cents on the dollar.  But if you are done with him, then you’re done with him.

2.) Been offered Ahmad Bradshaw for Justin Blackmon.  Should I take it?  – Martin in NY

I would.

Generally speaking, it’s quite hard to acquire a legit RB2/3 and I think that’s what you’d be getting in Ahmad Bradshaw.  Of all the players in that range he’s one of my least favorites, but he puts up the numbers and can be a valuable fantasy asset.

The issues with Bradshaw are the injuries and the risk of David Wilson emerging.  It’s the typical Giants move to bottle up Wilson for his rookie year.  They tend to do this, so I wouldn’t assume that means they don’t think he’s a capable player.  I could easily see the Giants situation turning in to something similar to the Fred Jackson and  CJ Spiller RBBC.  If that’s the case, both Bradshaw and Wilson will continue to have fantasy flex appeal.

Justin Blackmon is a player I felt was overvalued from draft time.  Dynasty owners desperately wanted another Julio Jones or AJ Green and Blackmon was the obvious target of their affection.  He’s done little since coming in to the league to change my opinion, but receivers do tend to develop slowly.  I’d be happy to own him, but I wouldn’t pass on the chance to acquire a player I might legitimately start on a week-to-week basis such as Bradshaw.

3.) Is Ryan Lindley worth rostering? – Bob in Mexico

Unless you’re in a 30 plus roster spot league, I don’t think you should own him.

Ryan Lindley has a fairly clear path to playing time given the mess that is the Arizona quarterback situation, but he’s just not that good.  Realistically, in normal fantasy leagues there are usually starting quarterbacks on the waiver wire and even if Lindley became a starter, he should be one of the ones on the wire.

There simply have to be other prospects on the wire that have more fantasy potential than Lindley.  For me, when I’m filing that last roster slot in a deep league I go for a home run – and Lindley just doesn’t have home run potential in my opinion.

4.) I’ve been offered Tony Romo and Kenny Britt for RG3.  Yes?  – Vic in parts unknown

Wow, that’s a tough one.

I think I’d pass because I’m just not confident in Tony Romo at all.  He’s a match-up QBBC guy.  I’d be indifferent to owning Romo vs. guys like Matt Schaub or Andy Dalton.  And that’s not really saying much.  The problem with Romo is that people likely value him quite a bit above that level purely on reputation and the perception that he is on a high powered offense with weapons around him.

Kenny Britt is the gambler’s player if there ever was one.  I’ve watched just about every Titans snap this year and I can’t tell you exactly what to expect from Britt.  On the one hand, he may be on the mend from a serious injury and will bounce back to form.  Or on the other, he’s sort of the new Sidney Rice and will never reclaim his spot in the fantasy elite.  He flashes greatness now and again, but we need to see the consistency return.  It would be extremely difficult to be starting Britt right now other than as an injury/bye-week guy.

The only reason to do this deal is if you believe RGIII’s quick start was a fluke.  I don’t.  I liked RGIII coming in to the draft and I like him more now.  If I was going to deal him, I’d want at least one player that had concrete value and I don’t think Romo and Britt count.

5.) Other than DLF, what sites do you visit and why? – Sean in Kansas

Obviously as a staffer at DLF my heart is here, but there are many great sites out there.  DLF is certainly the preeminent place for dynasty knowledge and discussion, but there’s more to fantasy than just that.

A few of my personal favorites:

www.4for4.com – The folks at 4for4 have rankings nailed.  These guys win award after award for giving the best advice on start/sit in the business.  This is my first year using their ranks and my efficiency percentages are off the charts.  I can’t recommend them enough.

Editor’s note: Josh Moore from 4for4 is one the genuinely best people in the business. If you like supporting good people with good sites, you can’t go wrong with Josh and 4for4.

www.profootballfocus.com – These guys really know stats.  The Premium Stats package is amazing but is only for the geeks out there.  It’s complicated but rewarding to use.  I love it and rely heavily on it for my analysis and articles.  I couldn’t be without it.  It’s hand and glove for me with NFL Rewind, which I use to analyze games I can’t catch on Sunday.

www.footballguys.com – This is the best all-purpose site in my opinion.  The writers at FBG are some of the best in the industry – Bloom, Waldman and Bramel jump to mind immediately.  They also have a tremendous schedule of Podcasts, which makes my twice daily dog walk more enjoyable!

There are many, many more.  This business just keeps growing and attracting intelligent, committed folks.  It never ceases to amaze me how much people love fantasy.

Editor’s Note:  Tim Stafford can be found @dynastytim on twitter and in the forums as dlf_tims.