The DLF Mailbag

Matt Price

Welcome back to the DLF Mailbag! We love to answer questions from our community as we work together to achieve dynasty dominance. Let’s get to your questions!

1.) Travis Kelce has been offered to me for LeSean McCoy and 1.10.

My RB’s: Dalvin Cook, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch, Tarik Cohen and Marlon Mack
My TE’s: Vernon Davis, Adam Shaheen, and Ricky Seals-Jones 
My WR’s: Davante Adams, Golden Tate, Jamison Crowder, Devante Parker, Chris Hogan and Robbie Anderson

Is the value there for that trade? I’m not big on investing in TE’s but my situation is pretty dire. With 2 OL gone and a pretty bad offense, I feel like McCoy may get bottled up this year. The 1.10 is most concerning me because I could get someone like Royce Freeman or Christian Kirk. Last year I was trying to rebuild but ended up making playoffs. I’m leaning more towards rebuilding this year but Kelce is elite and could push me back into playoff status.

Alex in Saskatoon 
10 team, ppr, start 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex

Alex,

I approach the tight end position in two ways. I either go for one of the surefire studs or I punt on the position, assembling a large committee to play matchups with. Your scenario falls into the first option. Travis Kelce has been the fantasy TE1 for the last two seasons. He’s a “set it and forget it” option. I do have some concerns about a volume dip in 2018, but not enough to push him lower than TE2 overall. With that kind of security comes the warm happy feeling of knowing you are done with that position and can focus on building up the other parts of your team.

Value-wise I think this is about as close to even as you can get and might be a little slanted to the Kelce side. From a value perspective, I’d say this is a trade you can make. In terms of roster construction, this solves tight end but creates another problem at running back. If you have any designs on competing this season then you are going to want a better RB2 than Marshawn Lynch.

If it was my team, I would pass on this trade and shoot lower at the position. Instead, see if you can send an early third for someone like Delanie Walker. Be willing to spend your late second if you have to and keep your first round pick. If you value the security of knowing tight end is set for the foreseeable future more than just solving it in 2018 for a cheaper price then make the move. If you’re fine riding an older player for 2018 and seeing what happens for 2019, then I’d pass.

2.) In a vacuum, how would you grade each side of this trade?

Alvin Kamara, 1.07, 1.11, 2.01

FOR

DeAndre Hopkins, 2.07, 2019 first round pick

Josh in New Jersey
12 teams, non-ppr, 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE,  1 FLEX, 1 D/ST, 1 K

Josh,

I’d say Hopkins and Kamara are a wash. Yes, Hopkins is slightly more valuable considering he is the 1.01 in startups for many, but I don’t think the gap is as large considering you start two running backs and two wide receivers. The 2.07 is obviously much less valuable than the 1.07. I generally downgrade the value of future picks by one round so if we consider the 2019 first to roughly be worth a 2018 second, then that’s pretty close to both the 1.11 and the 2.01 0- that means the Kamara side is getting an extra equivalent pick and the 1.07 over the 2.07. The one round upgrade and the extra pick are enough to push this trade to the Kamara side for me.

3.) What is your take on Josh Rosen’s injury history?  I’d really like to snag him in our rookie draft, but the two concussions he had endured have me concerned.  He is DLF’s consensus #1 rookie QB, so are the injury issues overblown?

Jacob in Los Angeles
12 team, half-ppr, IDP, start QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, K, 1 DE, 1 DL, 1 LB, 2 DB

Jacob,

Great question. This is something nobody is really talking about when evaluating the Arizona Cardinals quarterback of the future. Not only did he have two concussions in college, but they both came in 2017. I generally try to remain injury agnostic, but along with spinal injuries, concussions are one I usually don’t mess around with. Rosen is my QB3 behind Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. His concussion risk is baked into that ranking for me.

If Rosen sees the field in 2018 (as many seem to think he will), it will be behind PFF’s 31st ranked offensive line in 2017. Arizona did add a versatile interior lineman Mason Cole in the third round of the NFL draft and picked up the project offensive tackle Korey Cunningham in the seventh, but they are unlikely to make an immediate impact. The bad offensive line combined with Rosen being a pure pocket passer lacking any real scrambling ability could mean big hits on the rookie early and often. If one of those hits causes a third concussion who knows what could happen to Rosen’s career.

All that said, I’m still willing to take a shot on Rosen in the late second or early third if I need a quarterback in a 1 QB league.

That will do it for this week! If you have questions you’d like answered in the next mailbag article please submit them here.

matt price