Don’t just blindly start your studs
ONE OF your ultimate goals on draft day is to put together a squad that requires as little maintenance as possible. You are routinely instructed to start your studs, not to overthink your matchups and to build a roster that requires as few changes as possible.
Obviously, that isn’t 100 percent feasible, given the violent and volatile nature of the NFL. For the most part, if you draft well, you can leave the majority of your team in your starting lineup.
But here we are on the verge of championship week for most fantasy leagues, and everything you were told in August seemingly has gone out the window. Antonio Brown is out. LeSean McCoy’s knee is getting cranky. Aaron Rodgers is back on injured reserve. Davante Adams is concussed. Greg Zuerlein, a kicker who has posted weekly fantasy totals better than most receivers, is lost with a back injury. If the NFL can’t start their studs, neither can fantasy owners.
In addition, the matchups this week for many of the top players are fantasy nightmares. How can we trust A.J. Green as he dons the Darius Slay shadow? He was a disappointment in Week 15 against the Bears and followed up with just two catches for 30 yards against Xavier Rhodes and the Vikings. Slay has been one of the premier shutdown corners this season, and it’s going to be a nearly impossible for Green to get separation.
How do you feel about benching Julio Jones for your title game? Probably not too good, but it might come to that given his current slate of bumps and bruises coupled with a matchup against Marshon Lattimore and the Saints.
Jones managed five catches for 98 yards two weeks ago when these teams first clashed, but Lattimore was coming off a two-game absence due to an ankle injury and still not at 100 percent. Now it’s Jones who is at less than 100 percent, and Lattimore has notoriously shut down a number of elite wide receivers.
It was Dan Fouts in “The Waterboy” who said it best: “Last game of the season, can’t hold anything back.”
It is time to dig deep. Mohamed Sanu is your champion. So is Martavis Bryant. Keelan Cole has arrived. You may wince at the notion, but you have to make bold moves when your studs abandon you.