Fabiano’s Fantasy Focus: Week 7, Volume II

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Every week during the season NFL Network and NFL.com Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano joins Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat to share his insight on building and developing your fantasy team for success.

Here are some hi-lights from our most recent conversation (October 18th) with the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association Hall of Famer.

What should I do about Aaron Rodgers? I can’t just sit him, right? “I mean, you can. The quarterback position is deep enough. The problem is the matchup is good this week against Chicago. Chicago’s defense is not all that and Green Bay is playing at home. Now, as a Cowboys’ fan I was thrilled with what happened at Lambeau Field last week but as a fantasy analyst it’s discouraging because Aaron Rodgers isn’t the same quarterback and he hasn’t been. Last year he had the same issue and people blamed it on the absence of Jordy Nelson. Well, guess what…he hasn’t been that great this year, either. He had that one huge first half against Detroit where he had four touchdowns. This is a guy who hasn’t had over 300 passing yards in a while and this is Aaron Rodgers we’re talking about. The good thing is the schedule is positive for him over the next few weeks so hopefully he’ll turn things around. But when I see Aaron Rodgers overthrow Randall Cobb who’s wide open in the end zone as badly as he did, that has me a little bit worried. I say you sort of have to stand firm with Rodgers right now unless you have a very good alternative option.”

Who are some quarterbacks you like heading into Week 7? “At quarterback I like Matt Ryan. and Philip Rivers in that matchup in Atlanta. That should be a high-scoring game. Matt Stafford and Andy Dalton also very good plays this week.”

How about at running back? “Well, let’s put it this way Melvin Gordon is coming off his worst game of the season and he still almost scored 10 points. Start him against Atlanta. I said to sit Isaiah Crowell the last two weeks, get him back in your lineup this week. He’s got a good matchup against Cincinnati which has been dominated by running backs over the last few weeks.”

Are there any out-of-nowhere wide receivers who you have been tracking in recent weeks? “Cameron Meredith. The new big name in fantasy football at the wide receiver position. He’s not a must-start but he’s a damn good start against Green Bay. He has 100+ yards in two straight games and he’s seeing more targets than Alshon Jeffery. This kid absolutely came out of nowhere.”

Does Knile Davis add any value going to Green Bay? “Man, I’d be avoiding the Packers’ running game this week. It’s a good matchup against Chicago but here’s the thing, Eddie Lacy is not healthy…I don’t know that Knile Davis is going to come in and dominate the carries for the Packers outside of a worst-case-scenerio but he’s not startable. Eddie Lacy is still the guy that you’re going to start but you’re starting him with tempered expectations.”

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