Print
Email Story
I'm stepping outside the norm here for a day because I'm looking for help before my world is surrounded by hydroplanes.
The keeper deadline for my dynasty fantasy football league looms, and I've got a problem. I can only retain one player.
Who would you keep if you were competing in a standard yardage/no PPR league? I've whittled my choices down to these five:
Drew Brees, Calvin Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Turner or DeAngelo Williams.
Those of you who play might suspect that the 2008 season was quite memorable for the Degerdawgs. Well, the success allowed me to give a goat to a less fortunate person overseas via Heifer International.
I believe it was friend/league rival Matt Whitehead who once told me, "The money comes and goes, but you will always have that title."
Indeed, to quote Jeff Erickson of Rotowire.com and BlogTalkRadio.com, "Flags fly forever." And I hope the Degerdawgs can again "Win one for the Goat" this Christmas.
Editor's note: Dan from Richland, whose franchise boasts one of the most colorful team names that I've seen, checked in this morning with the following advice. If I disclosed his name, then the rivals in his league would gain a view into his keen insight...
Eric, Okay, heres who I would recommend you keep: Maurice Jones-Drew
Why? The Jaguars offense will run through him. He finished in the top-10 at his position last season with less than 200 carries while splitting time with Fred Taylor, who is now out of the picture. Gerrard is a decent enough QB, so the defense will have to respect their passing game somewhat. MJD is also an integral part of the passing game, which allows him to rack up even more yardage. He is not only the main RB who will get almost all of the carries, but also will be used around the goal-line, unlike a lot of other franchise RBs. On first glance, the Jaguars schedule is also favorable. Everything is in place for the Pocket Hercules to have a big season and is a safe pick.
Drew Brees will be elite, but there are a lot of QBs who will put up great stats that can be taken in the middle rounds of a draft. Calvin Johnsons QB situation is unsettled and his numbers could be depressed if/when Stafford takes over. Michael Turner will not get 370 carries this season. The Falcons relied heavily on Turner last season to allow Matt Ryan time to acclimate himself, which he did very well. Ryan will be let loose more often this season, which will cut into Turners opportunities to run wild. Also, have you seen Atlantas schedule? Yikes. DeAngelo Williams is in a true committee and will share the work-load with Jonathan Stewart. I think DeAngelo will have a decent season, but nowhere near the epic year he put together last time around.
Anyway, thats just my opinion. Hope this helps and best of luck!
OK, here's another vote for MJD via A.S. from somewhere in the Tri...
I would lean towards MJD, but you could also make a strong argument for Turner in a non ppr type league.
MJD will be running behind a much improved o-line that will continue to get better as the rookies come together. Turner is up against the curse of 3 70 carries and (Jonathan) Stewart might be more talented than DWill who worked his way into a 50/50% split by seasons end last year.
I love Calvin Johnson and think he is probably the most talented wr in the league, but it just doesn't make sense to keep a wr. QBs lose their value because the drop-off isn't drastic from #1 to #10, and you can use a late-round pick on the 10th QB instead of using a first-round pick on Brees and falling that much further behind at the more important RB/WR positions.
Fantasy Football Index is probably my favorite magazine......Your buddies do a great job.
