Daniel Dopp and Liz Loza talk life, fantasy football, pop culture and everything in between in a new weekly "fantasy improv" column, which runs every Friday throughout the NFL season. Joe Kaiser serves as the moderator and attempts to keep things on track.
Daniel: One of the cool things about being a Lions fan for 30+ years is being conditioned to seeing mediocrity for what it is. That comes in really handy in keeper and dynasty leagues where it's really important to be self-aware about your chances of competing for a playoff spot. (Thanks to Papa Dopp for making sure I grew up a Lions fan in order to become a better fantasy football analyst... dude was playing the long game).
If you're an over-achieving 4-5 or soft and injured 3-6 team, you're probably wondering if it's time to look ahead to next year. I'm here to tell you it probably is. Your team likely isn't very good. And other managers in the league talk about you, both to your face and behind your back. The positive in all of this is knowing you're allowed to focus on your future! You're still trying to make your team better by losing for an early pick next year and trading away older players to teams who are competing for younger upside players or draft picks. It's not too early to start thinking like that, you just need to be realistic about why your team isn't performing.
Is your team underperforming but guys have started to rebound with positive signs for the rest of the season? Did you have a run of injuries but you're finally fully healthy? Okay, then maybe keep playing for this year. But don't be afraid to throw in the towel on 2022 and look ahead to 2023. It actually feels very liberating.
I feel like I need to add: You also need to make sure you're adhering to whatever your leagues tanking rules are. Just make sure if you're tanking for draft picks, you're doing it within the guidelines of your leagues rules.
Liz: Don't break rules. That's gross. Instead, find a way for the rules to benefit you. That's more smart than gross. After all, it was Pop Warner who famously pointed out the fine line between cheating and innovation. There's nothing wrong with looking to the future. There's also nothing wrong with staying optimistic.
Personally, I like setting a line up every week. And I really like throwing darts at free agents. So in redraft, if I know it's statistically impossible for me to make the playoffs, I will still set a line up every week, but I won't touch waivers. Those, I think, should be left for competing squads. I'll never fully surrender, though. Not just because I want to avoid coming in last, but because I don't want to stop paying attention. So many future stars emerge over the last month of the season. Knowing the who, how and whys of those situations help inform rookie ranks in the spring and, of course, ADP heading into the next year.
Daniel: Pop Warner said all that stuff about redraft leagues and ADP?
Liz: He was ahead of his time.
Joe: I'm trying to make this decision right now in one of my favorite leagues where players are on 1-3 year contracts. I'm 4-5, likely not very good as Daniel described so well, and have an expensive Tyreek Hill on the last year of his deal. To me, this is what makes keeper/dynasty type leagues so fun. I've spent the whole week pondering Hill for an equally pricey Joe Mixon who has one year left on his deal.
Much more fun to be contending than rebuilding, isn't it?!
Daniel: Contending is such a different headspace! The emotion of hope has turned into confidence, and now you're entering your weekly matchups with a little bit of swagger. In a keeper league where I'm contending, I just traded George Pickens for Cordarrelle Patterson because my RB room is gross: D'Andre Swift, James Conner, J.K. Dobbins, Brian Robinson Jr.. I sacrificed some future because I think I have a shot with how good the rest of my team is. We'll see if I put the puzzle together correctly at the end of the year, but I love the rush of trading in keeper leagues. It's exhilarating!
Joe: Parts of fantasy football can feel a lot different than real football, but this element always feels like what real NFL teams and sports teams in general are doing each season. You're right, Daniel, it's a lot of fun.
Right now, if you have a bad team in a keeper league and Justin Fields on your roster, you have an opportunity to go big on the trade market.
Daniel: Build up those young players and draft picks! Another reminder that being a Lions' fan helps you get used to looking ahead to next year when it's only Week 10. We're just built for dynasty and keeper leagues.
Liz: I won so hard in my Dyno league last year... and now I have deep empathy for the 2022 Los Angeles Rams.
Joe: Rough season, huh?
Liz: My 2021 was so dominant that, in the moment, I didn't care about 2022. I just wanted the ring. And I got it. (This is a 14-team super old school non-PPR league full of podcasters from when I first started out about a decade ago.)
With a limited number of picks (in addition to a multi-player trade for Kyler Murray that I made while Dak was laid up) I couldn't really stack upside. I drafted Drake London in the first round... but we all know how that's been. Leaning on Najee Harris and Ja'Marr Chase in their sophomore efforts hasn't been nearly as fruitful as it was in their rookie seasons.
Joe: Fickle, this game.
Seeing those names you mentioned reminds me of something I wanted to ask you both. Now that we're past the midway point in the season and things are fairly established, who have been the players who have surprised you most with how well they are playing?
Liz: This feels like a Seahawks fan fishing...
Joe: Maaaybe
Liz: Can't blame you. Geno Smith -- and his willingness to wear a wristband -- has been one of the most feel-good stories of the season.
How about Mack Hollins, though? He was on my deep sleeper radar ahead of his Week 3 blow-up at Tennessee. I personally picked him up and used him that week (spoiler: professional fantasy analysts take our own advice, which means we ride the wave along with everyone else) but admittedly haven't started him since. There were certainly a few instances (vs HOU and @NO) he would have made a better flex than the "brand name" player I stuck with.
Regardless, I've been hanging on to him because of the question marks surrounding Darren Waller's hamstring issues. Now, with Waller and Hunter Renfrow on IR, Hollins has undeniable flex appeal. He's been running 35 routers per game and has 12 deep looks (WR15) on the season. He's currently fantasy's WR42 overall (10 FPTs/gm)... and that all before the news regarding Waller and Renfrow was officially announced.
Daniel: I feel like I need to talk about Rhamondre Stevenson here. For those that forgot, like I did, Stevenson was drafted in the 10th round with an ADP of 93. He's currently RB8 on the season averaging 14.7 points and he's clearly the more talented of the two RBs in NE. Stevenson has double-digit fantasy points in every game since Week 2, he's had at least two targets in every game this year and over the last three weeks he's seen at least 7 targets in every game.
Add in all of the volume he's getting in the ground game and it's easy to see why the hype around Stevenson. As the lead back, the dude has crushed every expectation this year.
Follow Liz Loza (@LizLoza_FF), Daniel Dopp (@DanielDopp) and Joe Kaiser (@joekaisersports) on Twitter. Liz Loza and Daniel Dopp's fantasy football rankings appear every week during the season.