Week 1 Matchups Analysis - Fantasy Football Advice

It's here, it's finally here! The 2018 NFL season is upon us and that means so is fantasy football. We all know how important start/sit decisions are in fantasy, and I'm here to help. Unlike other articles that cover just a few players at each position, I am analyzing every player, for every game either […]

Week 1 Rankings Analysis - Nick Mariano vs. ECR

Welcome, one and all, to the weekly piece that puts my rankings under the microscope and gives me a chance to explain myself against the Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) found on FantasyPros. If this is your first time reading me, then hi! Why should you care about me? Well, my finish as the ninth-most accurate […]

Week 1 Defense (DEF) Streamers and Starts - 2018 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

We're back and it feels so good! Below are RotoBaller's Week 1 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream, start and target at the end of your 2018 drafts for Week 1 of the NFL and fantasy football season. Our tiered defense rankings are your guide to drafting defenses, making waiver wire pickups/adds to […]

Week 1 Busts - Overvalued Players to Avoid In Fantasy Football

Football is finally, finally back. Since the NFL is the professional sports league with the longest off-season, the wait for the new season to come around feels like a lifetime. Sure, there are other sports to fill the void, but some of us just can't get into baseball, which is a completely valid thing to […]

Fantasy Football Pop Quiz - Week 1 Lineup Questions

It's officially in the air. For the beginners, you've logged your first draft, you've probably looked at your lineup a few dozen times, and you're just waiting to see what happens next. For the veterans, it's just the beginning. There are enough good or great drafts in everyone's books, but the truth is well known; […]

Under-the-Radar Booms/Busts - Week 1

Cue that Hank Williams Jr. music, because fantasy owners are ready for some football! The fantasy football season is ready to kick off, and there is no time like the present to figure out the under-the-radar booms and busts for the first week of the NFL season. Whether you are in a traditional year-long league […]

Inside the Tent - Week 1 NFL Injury Insight

Making weekly lineup decisions is one of the most excruciating aspects of fantasy football. As if it weren't enough to consider positional matchups, weather, offensive trends and such, the one thing that leaves fantasy owners in the biggest bind is injuries. Health issues can make or break a player's value in a given week and […]

NFL Survivor Pool Picks (Week 1): Targets and Avoids

Get those Sunday excuses for your significant other ready because football is back baby! No need to stress about what your Sunday plans entail as football is the only thing to do from 1:00 PM to days end. I've been writing this column for years and I'm very excited to tackle another season of helping […]

Week 1 Running Backs - Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds

After months of painstaking preparations toward determining how to draft your collection of running backs, you may have initially believed that you had successfully navigated the unpredictable flow of the live draft process. But when you reviewed your roster, that optimism faded, as you realized that this critical position had not been completely addressed. Maybe […]

Get Off My Lawn - Choosing Veteran RBs Over Rookies

After an unprecedented year for rookie running backs, lightning will not strike twice. The rooks will have a big regression and veterans will retain their position at the top of the heap in fantasy football. Typically, when one analyzes the fantasy football field, rookies are viewed like the shrimp at an all you can eat […]

Stop That Hype Train! Jimmy Garoppolo

Is there a quarterback not named Deshaun Watson that fantasy football players are in love with more leading into the 2018 NFL season than Jimmy Garoppolo? What’s not to love?  The guy learned from Tom Brady for several seasons in New England, then was traded to San Francisco during the middle of last year and […]

Fantasy Football Pop Quiz - NFC West

Call me a little biased. Ok, call me a lot biased. But as a San Francisco 49ers fan who is totally not upset about the Jerick McKinnon thing, I'm most optimistic about the NFC West and all the potential that it holds for fantasy football. Even if there's a visible gap in top talent and […]

George Kittle Ready For Week 1

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (shoulder) is all systems go for Week 1 against the Vikings and was seen running routes and catching passes in practice on Wednesday. Kittle caught 43 passes for 515 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie season and has a great chance to best those numbers in a […]

Marquise Goodwin Faces Difficult Matchup

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Marquise Goodwin is expected to open the season as the team’s top receiving option for Jimmy Garoppolo. The 27-year-old came on strong last season, ranking eighth in fantasy points at his position during the final five weeks of the season with Garoppolo as the starter. However, fantasy owners should be […]

Pierre Garcon a Decent Flex Option in PPR Formats

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Pierre Garcon will still be looking for his first touchdown as a member of the 49ers when the team travels to Minnesota on Sunday. Even though touchdowns were hard to come by in 2017, the 11-year veteran still came through for his fantasy owners in PPR formats, as he averaged […]

George Kittle Could Struggle in Week 1

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is expected to play Sunday, after suffering a separated shoulder in Week 1 of the preseason. The second-year tight end is a popular breakout candidate, but fantasy owners would be wise to proceed with caution for his Week 1 matchup against a stellar Minnesota defense. The Vikings shut […]

Prep for Playoffs Now! Drafting Defense Based on Playoff Opponents

While it is never smart to think you will have the same defense at the end of the season that you draft at the beginning, there may be some leagues in which it is a must. Whether it be a best ball league (acceptable) or a league which limits roster moves (unacceptable!), if you need […]

PPR Targets - Undervalued Tight Ends

Drafting tight ends in fantasy is like eating your vegetables at dinner. You know you should, but you really don't want to. Only three tight ends in PPR leagues, Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, and Zach Ertz averaged over 12 points per game in 2017. On a points-per-game basis, the TE4 (Evan Engram) and TE20 (Vernon Davis) […]

Prep For The Playoffs Now! Drafting QB Based on Playoff Opponents

While playing the same quarterback at the end of the season that you draft at the beginning is not guaranteed, there may be some leagues in which it is a must. Whether it be a best ball league (acceptable) or a league which limits roster moves (unacceptable!), if you need to find a quarterback in […]

Fantasy Bomb - QB Start/Sit Advice (Week 1)

RotoBaller fantasy football lead editor Pierre Camus (@pfunk00) and writer Chris Mangano (@ChrisMangano) give their start/sit recommendations at the quarterback position for Week 1 of the fantasy football season. This radio show is sponsored by our good friends over at FanPicks. Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday morning between […]

To Draft or Not to Draft - Running Backs

Similar to the previous article on wide receivers, we will be focusing on running backs that have extremely low ADPs in most drafts. I’m looking to discuss players that are on the “Island of Misfit Toys” or players that are “Dumpster Dives.” Players that will be drafted to sit on your bench or end up […]

Alfred Morris, Matt Breida To Share Workload

San Francisco 49ers running backs Alfred Morris and Matt Breida are expected to share the workload with Jerick McKinnon (knee) out for the season. The 29-year-old Morris is a tough inside runner and gained nearly 2,900 yards and 20 touchdowns under head coach Kyle Shanahan in two seasons. Breida is 23 and averaged 4.4 yards […]

The Running Back Handcuff Hedge - Who To Handcuff

This article was updated on 9/4 to account for the Jerick McKinnon and D'Onta Foreman injury updates. We have learned over time that the running back position is without question the most volatile in fantasy football. This understanding is based upon the percentage of injuries versus the other skilled positions, NFL teams increasingly using split back committees creating […]

Alfred Morris a Risky Week 1 Play

San Francisco 49ers running back Alfred Morris took second-team repetitions during Monday's practice and appears to be a risky Week 1 play. Morris is still learning the playbook after signing with the team just three weeks ago, so temper expectations for his matchup against the Vikings on Sunday. His workload should increase in the coming […]

Jimmy Garoppolo Has Difficult Week 1 Matchup

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo could struggle on Sunday against a Vikings defense that allowed just 11.7 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position last season. The San Francisco signal-caller went undefeated as a starter in 2017, but only scored 20-plus fantasy points in one of five matchups. Even though Garoppolo's 2018 outlook […]

Matt Breida Handles First-Team Reps

San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida took the first-team reps at practice on Monday, according to 49ers columnist Grant Cohn. At this point in time, the second-year back is expected to start on Sunday against the Vikings, while Alfred Morris continues to familiarize himself with the playbook. However, Morris will likely handle plenty of […]

Kirk Cousins - Still Underrated and Undervalued?

Why? Why is it so hard for analysts and fantasy players to give Kirk Cousins any respect? By this point in time he must be feeling like Rodney Dangerfield. Yes, he is going to a new team with a new offense. But this is where the hardship stops. Despite obvious upgrades across the field and […]

Fantasy Spin - Jerick McKinnon's Injury and the Niners Backfield

Fantasy players who have already participated in their drafts received an unexpected spot of bad news over the Labor Day weekend when San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee while making a cut during a practice session. It was especially untimely for the club, […]

#TrendingNow - Preseason Week 4 Risers and Fallers

The final week of the preseason is in the books and I think we can agree it’s time to just get the season going. Weekly waiver adds, tinkering with your lineup at the last minute and either celebrating a victory or yelling at your phone because you started the wrong guy - it's all glorious […]

To Handcuff or Not to Handcuff at RB?

Handcuffing running backs has been a long-standing practice when it comes to assembling a fantasy team. When you draft a stud running back in a great situation, you're hoping you can keep a hold on that situation all season. We've seen backup running backs carry teams to championships in the past, such as the famous […]