Your training camp fantasy football mailbag

Hey there, Falcoholics! As many of you know, I’m huge into fantasy football, so I figured I’d get you all prepared for your league drafts with a mailbag. Below is some questions I received from readers this week.

The biggest reach, in my opinion, isn’t a specific player but instead specific position. The quarterback position in the NFL is definitely the most important, but in the fantasy world, it’s very overvalued. Last summer I selected Patrick Mahomes in the ninth round of my league draft. I obviously didn’t know he would become the best fantasy quarterback in the league, but still. Fast forward to 2019, and he’s the number one ranked fantasy quarterback and will be off the board in first few rounds. It’s not a reach to take Mahomes early in 2019, that depends on your strategy, but my overall point is that you can wait and take a capable quarterback who can pan out. Guys who seem to always slide in drafts are Matt Ryan and Phillip Rivers, and can help win your team a championship.

There are a ton of sleepers this year, but my favorite is New England Patriots’ wide receiver N’Keal Harry. He could fall-flat, but the possibility of him blowing up (in a good way) is too good to pass up. The Patriots selected Harry with their first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, which is something the Patriots haven’t done since 1996, when they took Terry Glenn. With the team losing Rob Gronkowski, Chris Hogan, Josh Gordon, and Cordarrelle Patterson, expect Harry to be utilized right away. He’ll likely be available in later rounds and provides some low-risk, high-reward potential for fantasy owners. Thanks for your question Isaac.

Some honorable mentions for best sleepers is WR Mecole Hardman (KC), WR James Washington (PIT), and TE Austin Hooper (ATL).

Excellent question! Austin Hooper is often overlooked at such a thin fantasy position. Even after finishing as the 6^th best tight end in fantasy football in 2018, CBS Sports currently has Hooper ranked as the 10^th best in their 2019 projection. That’s not horrible, but Hooper has definitely proved he can be a top-5 tight end if he receives enough red zone targets. With the addition of offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who is used to utilizing his tight ends, there’s no reason Hooper can’t finish 2019 as a top-five fantasy tight end.

This question comes via email by Taylor Spears

He says, “Talk to me about Derrius Guice!”

Many of you know that Guice, a 2018 first round pick by Washington, tore his ACL last summer. He’ll be back in the rotation, but the backfield is a little more crowded when you consider his competition is Adrian Peterson, Chris Thompson, Samaje Perine, Bryce Love, etc. He’s no lock to carry the load for Washington in 2018, and currently I wouldn’t touch him until the much later rounds of your draft. He has potential, but when you consider he has already injured his hamstring this offseason, injuries could linger into the season. Peterson, even at his age, finished as a top-20 fantasy running back in 2018. Even at 34, I think he’s worth selecting in rounds later than nine. Thanks for your question, Taylor.

Finally, we have a question sent in via email by Brandon Parisi

He asks, “What’s DeAndre Hopkins injury status?”

Last month, Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins revealed that the shoulder injury he suffered during last years playoffs was more serious than we all suspected. It’s definitely something owners want to keep their eye on, as Hopkins is projected by many fantasy football websites to be the first or second wide receiver off the board this year. He’s now on the PUP list, and can be taken off anytime before the end of preseason, so I wouldn’t be too alarmed.

Well that’s it for my inaugural fantasy football mailbag here at The Falcoholic. If you have any questions that you’d like to be answered on the next one, you can reach out to me three different ways. Ask me on Twitter (@EvanBirchfield), email me (TheFalcoholicEvan@yahoo.com) or leave a question in the comments below. I’m ready for football season in general, so hopefully some fantasy talk will help speed things along. Thanks for reading, Falcoholics!