Ask the Fantasy Doctor
By MICHAEL LEV, Senior editor
Editor’s note: Because of time restrictions,
the Fantasy Doctor, a very busy man, is unable to answer ALL of your questions. He
appreciates your interest and will try to get to as many of them as he can. Again, thank
you for e-mailing the Fantasy Doctor.
Mark.Rees: I am protecting Curtis Enis, Herman Moore and Jimmy Smith in a 12-team
keeper league, drafting 10th. Looking at what should be available to me (Adrian
Murrell, Duce Staley, Priest Holmes, Leroy Hoard, a Dolphins running back, Kevin Faulk,
Lawrence Phillips or Peyton Manning), who should I take?
Fantasy Doctor: Even though I am a longtime RB guy, I believe Manning is easily
the best player out of that group. Assuming he stays healthy, Manning is a virtual lock to
hit the low 20s in TD passes, which is the fantasy equivalent of at least 10 TD runs by
one of those backs. Among the runners, I like Murrell and Staley the best, followed by
Faulk, Phillips, Holmes and Hoard. It’s too hard to say at this point which Miami
running back will be the main man. The best thing to do when it comes to those Dolphins
backs is to take two of them (one of the rookies plus Karim Abdul-Jabbar) if possible.
Pscriven: My dilemma is which running back to keep — Duce Staley or Corey
Dillon?
Fantasy Doctor: That’s kind of like asking which is better, influenza or
pneumonia? Neither Staley nor Dillon is a top-10 running back on Pro Football Weekly’s
basic-scoring draft board. Which isn’t to say they don’t have potential. Staley
showed much promise last season, especially in yardage leagues, and he should be the focal
point of an Eagles offense that can’t throw the ball very well. I would expect Staley
to improve his TD total from last season’s six to about eight, with 1,000-plus yards
rushing and about 500 yards receiving. That’s all well and good, but Dillon could be
better. Yeah, the Bengals’ offensive line isn’t great, but Dillon is the type of
back, if healthy and motivated, who can get yards on his own. Dillon was banged up for
much of last season, yet he still rushed for 1,130 yards in 15 games and averaged 4.3
yards per carry. He’s closer to a 10-TD back (1997) than a five-TD back (’98).
Dbraasch: Does Oakland have any running back that is a clear-cut starter?
Fantasy Doctor: Napoleon Kaufman is going to be the starter. (He is not to be
confused with Napoleon McCallum, whose career was cut short by a horrific leg injury. In
20-plus years of practicing medicine, I have never seen a more grotesque injury.) Kaufman
isn’t a goal-line runner, but he is very fast and easily capable of eclipsing the
1,000-yard plateau. In most yardage leagues, Kaufman should be viewed as a starter. The
Raiders’ short-yardage specialist will come from a group that includes Rashaan
Salaam, Randy Jordan and Zack Crockett.
Dwalk10: I am in an eight-team dynasty league with Brett Favre, Jake Plummer and
Brian Griese as my quarterbacks. I am considering drafting Matt Hasselbeck at the end of
our draft in case Favre and Plummer both get hurt. Do you think he has the chance to be
the real deal?
Fantasy Doctor: In my profession, it’s very dangerous to make a premature
prognosis. The returns are very positive on Hasselbeck thus far, but a few preseason
performances do not a quality quarterback make. Remember: Ryan Leaf looked good in the
preseason last year. If you are considering Hasselbeck at the expense of Griese, I
wouldn’t do it. Griese has a chance to become Denver’s starter within the next
couple of years, and any quarterback playing under Mike Shanahan is worth keeping.
Archeryrox: I just joined a fantasy league, and I know I will have one of the
top eight picks. Can you please help me or send me a sheet with the top players on it so I
have somewhere to start? I really don’t want to mess up again this year.
Fantasy Doctor: PFW’s final draft board can be found in our special
"Kickoff Issue," which should be on newsstands by Sept. 1 or 2. In addition to
our usual position-by-position and regardless-of-position rankings, we will include each
player’s bye week next to his name to make things easier for everyone on Draft Day.
Redewalt: I have a yardage league, and we have approximately 15 rounds. What
positions do you suggest I pick in the earlier rounds, and what should I pick in the later
rounds?
Fantasy Doctor: The biggest difference between yardage leagues and scoring
leagues is that in the former there is a lot more depth at the WR position. Think about
it: Every team starts two wide receivers, some even three. So my advice is to go for
running backs and maybe one quarterback early, then stock up on wide receivers after that.
Holzj: I am wondering who to pick with my first selection at No. 8 overall. I
was thinking about Marshall Faulk, then coming back with Emmitt or Antowain Smith, but I
read that Faulk could be a disappointment. Would Dorsey Levens be a better pick there?
Fantasy Doctor: Yes. In a league that factors in both scoring and yardage, I
would take Levens over Faulk. Levens is a bigger threat inside the red zone. Two seasons
ago, Levens scored 11 of his 12 TDs from inside the 20-yard line. Even as he was having
his breakout season a year ago, Faulk had only six red-zone scores. Faulk has a chance to
gain more than 2,000 total yards again, but he’s not a short-yardage banger like
Levens.
Sean: Good day, Dr. Fantasy! I need to keep three of the following four players:
Steve Young, Skip Hicks, Eric Moulds and Herman Moore. Young and Moulds appear to be
no-brainers, but whom would you select among the other two?
Fantasy Doctor: I’d go with Moore, simply because he is guaranteed of
starting, while Hicks is not. Hicks is battling Stephen Davis for the Redskins’ RB
job. It’s possible that Davis could beat him out or that the Skins will end up using
the dreaded RB-by-committee system. Moore becomes Detroit’s best offensive player now
that Barry Sanders has retired. And by the way, it’s the Fantasy Doctor, not Dr.
Fantasy.
Pxentl: I have the second pick in my draft. In most of the other drafts
I’ve seen, Brett Favre was the second choice. But I feel I need a running back
because, on the way back, there will be nothing left in the way of running backs but there
definitely will be guys like Peyton Manning and Jake Plummer. Would you pick Fred Taylor
over Jamal Anderson? What about Randy Moss?
Fantasy Doctor: I like Taylor over Anderson. Taylor runs behind a better
offensive line, doesn’t have nearly as much mileage on him (Anderson rushed more than
400 times in the ’98 regular season, then played three playoff games) and finished
second to only Terrell Davis in terms of rushing TDs last season, despite starting the
season behind James Stewart. Moss is PFW’s No. 1 wide receiver, but along the same
lines as your RB-over-QB argument, there is better depth at the WR position than there is
at running back.
Akotofsky: I’m in a yardage league, drafting snake-style. I have the No. 1
pick in our draft this week: a no-brainer, Terrell Davis. My problem lies with my next two
picks, Nos. 20 and 21. Should I go WR-RB or QB-WR?
Fantasy Doctor: I might skip wide receiver altogether and take a second running
back and a quarterback. Looking back at PFW’s yardage-league mock draft (PFW Print
Edition, Aug. 15), the team that drafted first overall went RB-RB-QB. In Rounds 4-7, there
were still several good wideouts to choose from. Team One ended up with Isaac Bruce, Frank
Sanders, Derrick Alexander and Wayne Chrebet — four guys with 1,000-yard potential.
Editor’s note: If you have a question for the Fantasy Doctor, you can send your
e-mail to fantasydoctor@pfwa.com. He will
choose several questions from our on-line readers to answer in this space each Wednesday.
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