Laviska Shenault

The Myth of Vacated Targets

Every season teams lose valuable receiving options from the prior year, and every season fantasy managers daydream about the possibility of a random bench piece inheriting all that volume. While this narrative has played about favorably for a handful of players, in the grand scheme of the NFL, it is actually very rare. “Vacated Targets” is the snake oil of fantasy football. Don’t let yourself get duped.

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new coaching hires

New NFL Coaching Hires: Where The Dust Settled (Part 1)

All seven of the vacant head coaching positions that were available in the NFL this offseason have been filled. In this piece, your author is giving a rapid reaction to each hire, along with some brief fantasy football implications. Understand that these are the analyses and opinions of your author, based on the knowledge and information he possesses. The NFL is a dynamic league, and turnover at the head coach and GM positions not only occur each year but also keeps interest in NFL franchises fresh and relevant. The complete slate of additions will be covered in two articles, the first three breakdowns are here. Overall, the decisions made were underwhelming but interesting. Some teams made strong hires, some underwhelming hires, and some were true boom or bust hires. Now it’s time to dive in, in no particular order, and unpack the new coaching hires… 

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Risers and Fallers: Dynasty Offseason Edition

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 14

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 14

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. 

I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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Looking Ahead to Week 10

In this weekly article, I’m going to look ahead to the following week. I’ll point out a few players below 40% owned on ESPN who have strong matchups next week that you can pick up ahead of time to beat the waiver run. I’ll also try and get ahead of breakouts that could happen in the current week, as predicting breakouts is the best way to save your FAAB budget. With added IR spots in most leagues, you can also shift injured players there, opening up a roster spot for these options. Since most of these additions will occur on the weekend, I’ll exclude any players from the Thursday night game, as you won’t be able to add them to your rosters. This season more than any other, it’s essential to remain active and stay ahead of your league mates. I hope you find value in this column and that it helps you succeed on a week-to-week basis.

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Looking Ahead to Week 9

In this weekly article, JKarp looks ahead to the following week. He’ll point out a few players below 40% owned on ESPN who have strong matchups next week that you can pick up ahead of time to beat the waiver run. He also helps you get ahead of breakouts that could happen in the current week, as predicting breakouts is the best way to save your FAAB budget.

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Week 7 Buy/Sell

I should have trusted my gut. I needed to stream a tight end on Sunday and I had a sneaky good feeling about one of them. My starter, Tyler Higbee, was in danger of missing out on Monday Night Football due to injury. Anytime you have a starter with an injury designation playing on Monday, you know you need a backup plan. I checked every ranking I could, and they all told me that my best available options were Dalton Schultz and Darren Fells. I had a feeling about a different guy, but it’s tough to make that call when the best people in the industry have him ranked seven or eight spots below. I picked Darren Fells, who had scored in two straight games and saw seven targets last week.

The guy I had a gut feeling about? He went out and scored two touchdowns. Trust your gut, people. I could’ve had Harrison Bryant. If only I had a friend who writes this column with me and has been talking up Bryant since the draft. If only…

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Looking Ahead to Week 8

In this weekly article, JKarp looks ahead to the following week. He’ll point out a few players below 40% owned on ESPN who have strong matchups next week that you can pick up ahead of time to beat the waiver run. He also helps you get ahead of breakouts that could happen in the current week, as predicting breakouts is the best way to save your FAAB budget.

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Looking Ahead to Week 7

In this weekly article, I’m going to look ahead to the following week. I’ll point out a few players below 40% owned on ESPN who have strong matchups next week that you can pick up ahead of time to beat the waiver run. I’ll also try and get ahead of breakouts that could happen in the current week, as predicting breakouts is the best way to save your FAAB budget.

Mecole Hardman is 40.2% owned and just misses the 40% cut. But, with Sammy Watkins out, he’s an absolute must-add ahead of a potential Week 6 breakout.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week Six

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 6

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. 

I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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NFL Player Props: Week 5

As much as I have preached my disdain for the Eagles this year, I have to give them credit in one area. They do not let up many passing yards to their opponents. The Eagles currently rank 18th in the league allowing, on average, 243.5 passing yards per game. Now, before you grab your pitchforks, this could be a by-product of many things including poor quarterback play, game script, etc. But consider for one moment that Joe Burrow, who is breaking NFL records left and right, only threw for 312 yards in an overtime tie to Philadelphia.

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Looking Ahead to Week 5

In Week 3, Valdes-Scantling did little with Davante Adams out. He only had one reception for five yards on four targets. However, we recently learned that teammate Allen Lazard will miss significant time with a core muscle injury. Therefore, Valdes-Scantling will be the Packers’ WR2 for the foreseeable future. Adams is also continuing to recover from a hamstring injury. While I expect Adams to return in Week 4 and play, hamstring injuries can reoccur at any time. In that event, Valdes-Scantling would inherit a massive target share, as the Packers have an extremely thin WR depth chart. As Lazard’s injury news came across recently, most waiver wires have already run for the week. Therefore, you might be able to sneak Valdes-Scantling onto your roster in free agency before he’s a popular claim next week.

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Rookie Stock Market: Week 1

What really sets apart dynasty fantasy football from redraft football is the constant and never-ending ebb and flow of player values, specifically young players and rookies. Increasing the overall value of your team happens when you sell high and buy low, living by the classic stock market analogy. One way to having a truly stacked roster is getting out in front of young players and rookies before they blow up and become a real force in the league and an asset to your dynasty team. The point of this weekly article is to monitor the values of rookies each week identifying risers, fallers, buys, and sells, helping you come out ahead in the “Rookie Stock Market”, setting your team up for long term success.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 2

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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Joe’s 2020 DFF Redraft Championship Draft

Recently, the DFF crew gathered for our annual redraft championship league. We took part in a 17-round PPR draft, with 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 2 Flex, 1 TE, 1 D/ST as starters, and a 7-player bench. A bunch of us hopped on Zoom because there’s nothing better than seeing the face of the person you just sniped a pick from. I drafted from the 10 spot and was faced with the brutal task of picking next to our lead Redraft Ranker, @DFF_Karp. Let’s take a look at how my team came out!

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Christian McCaffrey

Let’s Fix the Snake Draft: Third-Round Reversal

The Dynasty Football Factory gathered once more to partake in a 12-team redraft league mock draft! But this time, we shook things up. We went with tight end premium scoring, as well as 0.25 points per carry. The tight end premium doesn’t raise the value of all tight ends, but it does create an even larger gap between the top and the rest. The point per carry adds a little bit more value to your bell-cow running backs. The biggest change? Third-Round Reversal.

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Post-Guice Washington Backfield

The Post-Guice Washington Dynasty Backfield

Recently, I wrote a quick, free dynasty profile on Derrius Guice. In that article, I covered Guice’s dynasty value after his recent release and how to handle Guice moving forward. Honestly, I’m tired of talking about Guice, since there’s a good chance he never plays another NFL down. However, Guice leaves behind a massive hole in the Washington backfield, which somebody will fill. Let’s go through their depth chart, player-by-player, and discuss each option in dynasty terms.

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#TomBomb: Jacksonville Jaguars

#TomBomb: Jacksonville Jaguars

Well, here we go. Right out of the gate Old Tom is dropping a pretty controversial bomb, in many circles. All I’d like to say is, prepare yourself, my friends. Although there was a bit of a rough patch back in 2018, I’ve fully forgiven Lenny and I’m ready to look to the future. If there’s a more hated-on player than Fournette, Old Tom would sure like to meet him. I’m not talking about your under-appreciated or forgotten assets. I’m talking about straight dislike, which Fournette appears to be the recipient of regularly.

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Leonard Fournette: 2020 Dynasty Profile

Now is the time to run away from Fournette. The Jaguars tried to trade him multiple times during the 2020 NFL Draft, and they declined the fifth-year option on his contract. Therefore, Fournette will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 season, and he will play for a different team in 2021. The 2021 free agent running back class is a stacked group, with multiple superior options to Fournette that potentially include Cook, Mixon, Kamara, Aaron Jones, Kareem Hunt, and others.  I wouldn’t wait until the season begins because Fournette will lose value if he isn’t the same workhorse as before. Trust me and get out now while you still can. If you can get any 2021 first-round pick for Fournette, I would make that trade in a heartbeat.

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