Palsgrove’s points
Welcome all, to the first issue of Palsgrove’s Points. This will be a weekly sports column, written by yours truly, covering the world of professional sports and Flames athletics, where I will hold back nothing. My commitment to you is that I will put my unbridled opinions on display, whether they be right or wrong — but they’ll mostly be right. This week, I’ll start with my favorite tips and tricks for this year of fantasy football.
Do: Age is just a number; ignore it
Every year, sports science gets better and better. Players like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers have been able to extend their careers far beyond the lengths of their predecessors, and that trend has extended into fantasy football. The public’s attitude towards players like Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins this season hasn’t been the best, mainly because of their age, but those that believe that their careers are done are incredibly mistaken.
“King” Derrick Henry, who is still undisputedly one of the best running backs in the league, has fallen in Yahoo’s draft rankings to 15th overall and is ranked as their 7th best running back, even though Henry is still getting the most volume in the league (he led the league in carries with 349 last season). Fantasy football is a volume game. Whoever has the most opportunities to do something tends to score the most points in fantasy, and Henry certainly makes the most of his opportunities.
Henry is the best example of why you should ignore age, but he is far from the only example. Others include guys like Travis Kelce (34), Hopkins (31), Keenan Allen (31), and Tyler Lockett (31), all of whom I would draft if they fell to me.
Don’t: Avoid expecting too much from your rookies, except for some of them
Rookies are such an interesting piece of fantasy, and this year’s class is especially weird. Let’s break it down positionally. At wide receiver, don’t expect too much. There are two in this draft class that I would draft and feel good about, Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers, but that’s it. Other players, like Quentin Johnston and Jonathan Mingo, I would recommend keeping eyes on as they sit on waivers for a bit.
When it comes to running backs, the situation is pretty similar to receivers. Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are the two backs you can hang your hat on if you take them, but other than that I’d recommend waiting until the later rounds to take a dart throw on a rookie running back. Like I mentioned earlier with Henry, the element that matters most for running backs in fantasy is volume and, of course, touchdowns. So, don’t take a running back that has to fight their way into the starting lineup, like Tyjae Spears or Zach Charbonnet.
Tight end is the last position I’m going to cover for rookies, but it’s somehow the most interesting this year. This rookie tight end class is one of my favorites since I began to cover the draft, and I’m very curious to see how that translates into fantasy football production. There are four or five rookie tight ends that have a good shot at cementing themselves as a starter for your fantasy team, which is a luxury considering how finicky the position has been in recent years. Luke Musgrave and Dalton Kincaid are both labeled as tight ends, but don’t be surprised if you see them getting a wide receiver’s workload. Michael Mayer and Sam LaPorta are both going to play a more traditional tight end role, both blocking and catching, but with how much raw talent they both possess, I predict they’ll get their fair share of targets.
Do: Be a trendsetter, take your quarterback early
The best way to rank fantasy players has been and still is a tier system. By breaking position groups into tiers, you have a solid grouping of who is around the same level, which helps decide who to draft and with what pick.
The first tier of quarterbacks this year, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, are leagues better than the tier below them. Because of that, it would be wise to take one of those three fairly early, as early as the third round (in a typical snake draft).
Simply put, be a trendsetter. Take your guy early, preferably one of those three, and then never worry about your quarterback again.
Don’t: Be boring, don’t always try for the shiny new toy
Everyone, myself included, wants to be the first to jump on the bandwagon. They want to draft a young player with high upside so they can brag about being one of the first people to jump on the train. I’m telling you, that is a horrible way to draft.
Don’t try to make a splash by reaching two rounds for a preseason standout or a training camp superstar. Instead, be boring, and draft the good players that everyone knows are good. Take Tyler Lockett, Dallas Goedert, Aaron Jones — and never have to worry about their production. You’re going to get your superstars, that’s what the first two rounds are for. But in every other round, be safe, be boring and win your league.
Palsgrove is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on X
