Am I overpaying?! My league is Half-PPR  – jdillydilly

Answer: Let’s just start by making something abundantly clear – when it comes to fantasy football trades, if you are willing to give something up in order to acquire an asset you really want – then you are never overpaying. Too often do fantasy managers bemoan lopsided trades involving other teams in their leagues… but more often than not, those trades have a tendency to end up working out in the complete opposite way we all thought they would.

DeVonta Smith has been on somewhat of a tear this season – the de facto WR2 in Philadelphia is the overall WR22 on the year, despite missing a game and a half due to a concussion. Smith is the archetypal WR2 for your fantasy team – in the six full games he’s played in 2024, he’s finished between WR14 and WR22 in five of them – the other being an outlier where he was hardly used due to the Eagles blowing out the Giants early. His 35 receptions rank… you guessed it, in the WR2 range, tied at 21st. 

George Pickens has been somewhat more erratic, primarily due to the men throwing him the ball. Pickens sits just five spots behind Smith as the WR27 on the season – but his journey to get there has been so very, very different. While Smith is the model of consistency, Pickens has had weeks as the WR3 and WR17 dovetail with finishes of WR63 and WR66 – it’s been a bumpy ride… but here’s the rub – it should start to get a lot more predictable for Pickens from here on in.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the second easiest strength of schedule for fantasy wideouts, and with Russell Wilson having cemented himself in as the Black and Yellow’s starting quarterback – Pickens’ role as the WR1 in this offense should start to bear more consistent fruit for his fantasy managers. Sure, Philly also has a pretty tasty-looking run of games for pass-catchers, but unless A.J. Brown misses time, Smith will always be playing second fiddle to his teammate.

In my opinion, you’ll be taking a slight hit at the WR position in order to grab one of the best insurance policy running backs in the league, and if you’re playoff-bound with Breece as your RB1, this move makes a lot of sense. Pickens’ ceiling is notably higher than Smith’s, so if you have a top-tier WR1 already on your roster and can afford to take that little bit of risk each week with Pickens – you could be about to make a potential #FootclanTitle winning move.

Question #5 – Start/Sit 

Do I have your permission to bench CeeDee Lamb in a Half-PPR league in favor of Cooper Kupp, Brian Thomas Jr., or Darnell Mooney? With Dak Prescott out, it honestly seems smart. – Stack me Like One of your French

Answer: A couple of weeks ago we had a serious question asking if a Footclan member could bench Patrick Mahomes for Sam Darnold, and now this… what a crazy season this has been! And just like the Mahomes/Darnold issue – this question is also perfectly legitimate!

Let’s just make one thing crystal clear – CeeDee Lamb is an absolute superstar, and one of, if not the best wide receiver in the National Football League – and under normal circumstances, he’s an auto-start every.single.week… but these are not normal circumstances we find ourselves in. With Dak Prescott out, we are looking at a combination of Cooper Rush and Trey Lance under center for the foreseeable future in Dallas… woof. Rush targeted Lamb six times in his first two drives after replacing Prescott in Atlanta late last Sunday, with CeeDee hauling in just two of those for 11 yards before leaving the game himself with a shoulder injury. There is zero doubt in my mind that even playing at less than 100%, Lamb will be the go-to guy for Cooper Rush and see a vast majority of his targets… but that said, just how much is a target from the Cowboy’s number-two QB really worth?

For me, Cooper Kupp is an automatic yes ahead of Lamb for Week 10 – Kupp has seen 22 targets from Matthew Stafford since returning in Week 8, with only Calvin Ridley, Malik Nabers, and *ahem* CeeDee Lamb thrown to more in the two-game spell… Kupp is a lock. Darnell Mooney is a far more interesting name for this weekend’s matchups however – the WR2 for Captain Kirk Cousins has been red hot of late, finishing as the WR16 and WR13 in his last two contests. Mooney could be in for a bumper workload against the Saints on Sunday with Drake London and Kyle Pitts tending to injuries heading into the weekend – Andy, Mike, and Jason have Atlanta’s numero two as the WR19 in their consensus rankings… five spots ahead of Lamb – and I am inclined to agree with them and would also start him ahead of CeeDee.

Last but not least, we have rookie sensation Brian Thomas Jr., and this is where it gets tricky. Thomas himself looks set to play through injury, with the first-round pick out of LSU still tending to the chest issue that limited him in practice all last week. Adding to that, BTJ also looks set to be catching passes from a backup QB in the form of ex-New England Patriot, Mac Jones. Trevor Lawrence looks like a certainty to miss this weekend’s game against the Vikings with a shoulder injury – significantly limiting the upside of all pass-catchers in Jacksonville, including Brian Thomas Jr. This one is a toss-up for me. If both guys are seeing looks from backup signal callers and are both nursing injuries – I am probably going with the pedigree of Lamb… but it’s close. Be sure to join Mike Wright for Sunday Morning Live over on The Fantasy Footballers YouTube Channel to get the latest injury updates for both of these players ahead of kickoffs.

Question #6 – Season-Long Strategy (RB Purgatory Edition)

Jaylen Warren or Jonathon Brooks rest of season in a Full-PPR league? – Baskin Dobbins

Answer: Ah, a fellow Jonathon Brooks manager, come join me in the never-ending abyss of pain and sadness. Ok, maybe a bit over the top… but what an absolute sickener of a week for everyone who drafted Brooks and stashed him in their IR slot, waiting for the day he would be activated and show the world just why Carolina traded up and spent second-round draft capital on him. Less than 24 hours after activating the 46th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, the Panthers gave Brooks’ teammate Chuba Hubbard a big, fat $33.2m extension – and with it, part of me died inside.

This is not an anti-Chuba take, I can’t think of a running back more deserving of getting the bag than the criminally underrated fourth-year rusher who has finished as an RB2 or better in 14 of his last 21 games (seven of those as an RB1)… it’s just so frustrating! Hubbard sits as the overall RB9 on the season so far – the kind of performance level that was going to make it difficult enough for Brooks to waltz in and take the starter’s job outright… and that was before he got the extension. 

The brass tacks of the matter come down to this – both Brooks and Jaylen Warren are likely going to need an injury to their running mate to see any true relevance for fantasy moving forward. We already know Warren’s role in Pittsburgh, and unless Najee Harris misses time – he’s going to be limited to around a dozen opportunities per week, a handful of which will be in the passing game. Brooks is now an anomaly – we simply have no idea what his role is going to be… if any. Both of these guys have horrible schedules from here on out – Carolina with the fifth hardest for RBs and Pittsburgh the hardest… so there’s very little to tie-break them there.

Honestly, if I was shooting for upside, I’m taking Brooks – he has the draft capital and is just one injury away from being the guy for the Panthers… Warren’s path to relevance is a little more difficult with Arthur Smith’s BFF Cordarrelle Patterson also in the mix for the Steelers. As someone who manages both of these players in my main League of Record, I am praying that either sneaks into RB2 territory sometime soon.

Question #7 – Fantasy Football Terminology

What are these “insurance” backs you talk about? Is that the same as a handcuff? – Avatarless

Answer: You are 100% spot on Avatarless – when Andy, Mike, and Jason refer to insurance backs, they are simply talking about running backs and their potential role to offer an insurance policy to fantasy managers who own the “bigger” name ahead of them on the depth chart.

We have reached that point of the season where the insurance back conversations start to become more and more prevalent. As the fantasy playoffs slowly edge closer, the fear of losing our prized starting RBs starts to set in. If you are already playoff-bound, you may want to consider picking up the backup running back to some – or all – of your starting rushers if you haven’t done so already. You may also want to take a speculative shot on insurance policies for high-value backs you don’t own… potentially giving you another starter for the latter parts of the season.

Just remember, not every running back is worth backing up – and in some situations, there may not be a clear number two at all (remember Carson Steele?). If you are lucky enough to be the manager of Breece Hall, Kyren Williams, Bijan Robinson, or James Cook – now may be the time to pick up Braelon Allen, Blake Corum, Tyler Allgeier, or Ray Davis. Sure, rostering a guy you hope you never have to play can feel like a wasted bench spot – but as we approach the business end of the season, the last thing you want to happen is your RB1 to go down and for your potential opponent to have their replacement. If you have a WR you’re unlikely to start, or even a second DST – drop them and give yourself peace of mind with an insurance back.