The DLF Mailbag (Bonus Edition)

Eric Hardter

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Welcome to a special BONUS edition of the weekly mailbag. We had so many great questions this week so it was hard to stop at one!

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 have a trade in place that I’m not sure about. The trade is Keenan Allen for Tevin Coleman. I’m also curious what is realistic trade compensation for Adrian Peterson especially after him skipping OTA’s?Sean in NJ

For the first part of your question, for me it’s Keenan Allen and it isn’t close. Yes, he had a down year last season, but he remains a great talent who is still only 23 years old despite the fact he’s entering his third season. Coleman is far too unproven, despite his plum landing spot.

As for Adrian Peterson, I set it on our most recent Podcast and I’ll say it again – there’s precious little difference I how I perceive him now and how I perceived him a few months ago. The Vikings hold all the cards, and if AP wants to play next year and cement his legacy, it will be in Minnesota. He still possesses top flight talent and I wouldn’t sell him for anything less than a late first round pick.

2.) I am competing this year my roster is Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, CJ Spiller, Torrey Smith, Michael Floyd, Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham. Would you trade the #11 overall pick and Tre Mason for Josh Gordon, the #14, #17 and #26 picks, or would you ride it out with Mason and just draft the best player at #11?Yitzi in NY

I like Rams running back Tre Mason, but I honestly believe he’s now the third most valuable fantasy running back in St. Louis, behind rookie Todd Gurley and passing-down back Benjamin Cunningham. So if you can turn him into the supremely talented (and supremely troubled) Josh Gordon, as well as two more second round picks and a third, I’d do it in a heartbeat. The difference between picks 1.11 and 2.02 is negligible, and you’d be receiving one of the best receivers in the game (when he’s actually playing) – it’s the type of low-cost gamble that could pay enormous dividends down the line, and costs you little to nothing.

3.) I’m in rebuilding mode and I was thinking of selling Jimmy Graham. Knowing that I already have the first pick of every round this year, what should I demand from a fair perspective? A first round pick? A high second round pick and a player? Should I not sell him yet? Sergio in Barcelona

[inlinead]I’ll refer you to question seven above for the details behind my line of reasoning, but I wouldn’t be trading Graham just yet – I think he’s going to be surprisingly good in Seattle. However, if you really want to make a trade due to your status as a rebuilder, I wouldn’t settle for anything less than pick 1.01-1.03. If nothing else, Graham is still a huge name, and is still popularly viewed as the second best dynasty tight end – if you’re not getting a guy like Gurley, Amari Cooper, Kevin White or Melvin Gordon, there’s no point of trading him.

4.) In this 32-team behemoth of a dynasty league, we are just auctioning for players (rookies included) for our first year now. Obviously quarterbacks take a major spike in value given the size of the league, so who would your top/mid/lower (sleeper) tiers be (maybe three in each tier), and how much of my total salary cap should I budget toward them? Our scoring system is six points for a touchdown, -2 for interceptions and standard yardage scoring, with a heavier weighting for offense over defense overall in the league.CurlsForTheGurls in Toronto

As a reminder, we have a robust set of rankings here at DLF, one in which I’m proud to participate – you can find them here, along with my comments for every player I rank. As to your question, here are my thoughts:

Top Tier: Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers – Simply put they’re the best quarterbacks in the game, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use 15-20% of my offensive budget here.

Middle Tier: Tony Romo, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger – Three guys who consistently put up good numbers but come at the “Rodney Dangerfield Discount.” If you can nab them for 8-10% of your offensive budget, that would be ideal.

Sleepers: Geno Smith, Ryan Mallett and Robert Griffin III – The quintessential “upside” guys who have potential to outperform their draft positions – and get benched by week five. I wouldn’t use more than 5% of your budget here, and probably wouldn’t want to get stuck in this situation, but if you want to wait it out at the position I suppose you could always do marginally worse.

5.) I’m in a salary cap league, and I have the first overall pick in our rookie draft. My only running back is LeSean McCoy, and my top three receivers are Dez Bryant, Emmanuel Sanders, and Allen Robinson. I obviously need one more solid running back or receiver, but our free agent receivers aren’t stellar. Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas are available, but then it drops to Vincent Jackson, Percy Harvin and Larry Fitzgerald. I think I’d like to take Kevin White first overall, due to his high ceiling and the fact he should be a day one starter. Then I can just rent a running back for a year. I’m scared of Todd Gurley’s injuries, and I’m tempted by Melvin Gordon as I need a solid running back starter now, but White seems the most exciting to me. Who do you think I should draft?Sean in NY

I’m still all aboard the Gurley train, and believe he should be the consensus choice for the number-one pick – I’m not worried about his recent ACL injury, as to me that represents a random occurrence that could happen to virtually any player. With that said, I’ve seen others who believe both Amari Cooper and Kevin White have claim to being selected as the first pick overall, even if they appear to be in the minority. So long story short, if you really want White why not just attempt to trade down to pick 1.03 and nab him there, while picking up a sweetener in the process? This way you can still get the guy you covet, while also not ignoring market value. If you can snag a second round pick or player to drop back it would be the best of both worlds.

6.) I am debating whether to give up Drew Brees this year or wait him out until the end. In my 12-team, 1QB league I was offered Blake Bortles, plus picks 1.01 and the 2.01. I am really thinking of taking the deal and hope Tony Romo is solid enough to last me a couple of years while Bortles marinates or something else comes along. What are your thoughts?Lara in NY

In a 1QB league, I would make this trade 11 times out of 10. Quarterbacks simply aren’t as valuable in these settings, and it’s becoming more and more apparent that the Saints brass wants to keep the ball out of Brees’ hands more so than what we’re accustomed to. There’s a very strong chance Blake Bortles isn’t the answer in Jacksonville, but with the first pick in both the first and second rounds, you’ll more than make up the value even if Bortles doesn’t become a fantasy stalwart.

7.) Our rookie draft is approaching and I need to drop three players, as I have picks 2.06, 2.10 and 3.08. Who would you drop out of Matt Ryan, Ryan Tannehill, Eddie Lacy, Lamar Miller, Jarvis Landry, Brandon Marshall, Michael Floyd, Charles Johnson, Travis Kelce, Blake Bortles, Ahmad Bradshaw, Chris Ivory, Trent Richardson, Khiry Robinson, Dan Herron, Ka’Deem Carey, Marques Colston, Brian Quick, Josh Gordon, Justin Blackmon, Delanie Walker and Jordan Reed? Any thoughts on who to drop?Garry in Ontario

To me, two of these names stand out above the rest – Ahmad Bradshaw and Justin Blackmon. Bradshaw was a big-time playmaker with the Colts last season, but suffered a broken leg and hasn’t played a full season since 2010. Piling on a recent misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana, and it’s fair to wonder it he’ll open up the season as a free agent – you can do better here.

In the case of Blackmon, I firmly believe he’s done with the NFL. He recently failed another drug test (or didn’t show up for it, which is the same thing in the eyes of the NFL), and recent pictures of him painted a less than flattering physical metamorphosis. The truth of the matter is while he might be a talented player, it’s simply not everyone’s dream to play in the NFL – Blackmon clearly values his vices above the league.

As I don’t see an obvious last choice, I think it would behoove you to take one of your end-of-bench stashes (Trent Richardson, Ka’Deem Carey or Dan Herron) and attempt to couple them with pick 3.08 in order to nominally move up. It might be tough finding a taker as none of those players possesses much value at the current moment in time, but at the very least I think you should be able to achieve a slight bump in the draft pick order. This would ensure you can keep all your picks, while also transferring your unneeded depth onto someone else.

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eric hardter