Fantasy football advice

So I'm in a keeper league and I can keep two players... and I've narrowed it down to three. So which two of the following three would you keep and why?

Eli Manning, NYG, QB
Jonathan Stewart, CAR, RB
DeSean Jackson, PHI, WR

 

How many teams are in your league?


Unless its 16, don't keep DeSean Jackson. The receiver you could get in round one of the draft will be better.

Assume each team keeps one WR...., that's 12 guys taken in a 12-team league. You will end up with someone better than Jackson. I doubt twelve will even be kept. Some guys will keep two backs. Including yourself. So you might be able to get a top 10 receiver.

 

Moreover, ESPN has DeSean Jackson no where near the list of players that should be available in your first round.

Your looking at players like Welker, maybe TO, Dwayne Bowe instead of Jackson?

Do you have the option of just getting extra draft choices? If so I would just keep Eli, and only because Eli is a top-12 quarterback. Stewart is solid but there has to be someone better out there. What about rookies?

You may be better off keeping just Eli and dumping Stewart and trying to pick up Knowshown Moreno, if you have that option

Who are your fellow owners keeping?

I'm envisioning a 12-team league draft. Since each team is keeping two players you are trying to compare your players to the ones that will be drafted around the 24-36th picks which would be the equivalent of your first round.

In the mocks I have been doing the third round has been the home to players like Welker, Owens, Rhoddy White (occasionally),
Ronnie Brown, Kevin Smith, Ryan Grant. I think those guys are a little ahead of Stewart, but it's close. Stewart is sharing carries. Kevin Smith isn't.

 

I'd keep Stewart and Jackson. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter has a breakout year.

Manning is a decent quarterback, but not for fantasy football purposes.

 

You can still draft him in the second or third round. You won't be able to draft a top-12 quarterback in the second or third round of a keeper league.

Which person is going to draft Jackson in round one or two, which is like (three to four) in a redraft league? If there is someone out there that will do that it's their loss. If they reach for players its only going to leave better players available for your team.

Head over to FantasyFootballCalculator.com. Look at the mock drafts and see which receivers are going in rounds 3-4.


I just pulled a random draft up and these are the guys that were drafted in those rounds.

Round 3 pick 1 - Boldin
Round 3 pick 6 - TO
Round 3 pick 7 - Wes Welker
Round 3 pick 8 - T.J. Houshmanzadeh
Round 4 pick 3 - Dwayne Bowe
Round 4 pick 5 - Ocho Cinco
Round 4 pick 6 - Brandon Marshall
Round 4 pick 7 - Roy Williams.

I feel like all of these players are well above DeSean Jackson.

Now you may be saying, wait Mustang, what if those players aren't available?

Well if those players aren't available it means some owners are keeping players that are A.) not worth it or B.) A ton of top-notch RB's and QB's haven't been protected and are now available. Both could play into your favor depending on who you keep and what your league rules are.

Again, if you have the option of not keeping anyone and loading up on extra first round picks as some leagues do, you could clean up.

 

Keep Stewart and Jackson. It's not even close.

 

I am leaning toward keeping Stewart and Jackson and making a QB selection with my first or second pick.

By the way, in our league you can keep two players but they have to come from seventh round draft picks or later in last year's draft or be a free agent pickup.

 

Oh shit that's interesting.

Those are some good players you have to choose from based on what you told me. I was worried about your chances otherwise.

What do you get if you don't want to keep them?

I bet the list of seventh-rounders and later aren't good. Or at least not that deep. I still say stick with Manning then, for sure. Quality backup.

 

If you do not keep a player (or two) you have two free spots on your roster to pick someone up after the draft. So it is much better to keep two players because they will be of higher quality than what you would get after the draft ends.

 

And do I keep a quality backup like Manning or two players who I'm almost certain would start for me every week in Stewart and Jackson?

 

Mustangj, thanks for the tip about that Web site. Very useful.