Deflate Gate: NFL Suspends Tom Brady for 4 Games

Deflate Gate: NFL Suspends Tom Brady for 4 Games

Tom Brady is going to be suspended for the first 4 games of the season. How is this going to affect his fantasy value and what strategy should you use when it comes to whether or not you draft Brady to your fantasy team?

Brady is going to miss the first 4 games of the season:

Week 1 Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 2 Buffalo Bills

Week 3 Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 4 Bye Week

Week 5 Dallas Cowboys

Brady will make his return during week 6 when the Patriots play the Colts in Indianapolis. Imagine the headlines before that game! If you were a glass half full kind of person, then you could say at least Brady got his bye week out of the way so you don’t have to make another roster move to cover his bye week. The downside of this suspension other than the obvious of missing 4 games is that Brady is going to miss shootouts against Dallas and Pittsburgh, which are weeks where he has the potential of being a top 5 quarterback in fantasy.

Is Tom Brady Worth Drafting?

He is definitely worth drafting, and more than likely he is going to come at a discount in fantasy drafts this year. If you remember, Brady was atrocious during the first 4 weeks last season scoring a total of 35 fantasy points in his first 4 games. Brady finished the season as the 8^th best QB in fantasy, finishing with a total of 267 fantasy points.

Technically last year, Brady was worth just as much during his first 4 games as he will be this year because he didn’t produce enough to gain owners any wins in fantasy. I’m not a fan of drafting quarterbacks early in fantasy, and I’m usually one of the last guys to draft a quarterback in my leagues. I’m going to have Brady on my radar late in drafts this year. I can see Brady falling into rounds 11-13 this year in fantasy, and depending on how my team is constructed and what talent is left on the board, I’m drafting Brady all day at that price point.

What QBs Can Fill the Void While Brady is Suspended?

If I waited on a QB and I drafted Tom Brady, my strategy would be to stream QBs (play the match ups) for the first 4 weeks then drop the extra quarterback once Brady comes back. Carson Palmer of the Arizona Cardinals would be a good quarterback to stream the first 2 weeks of the season, and more than likely you can get him very late in your fantasy draft. Palmer plays the Saints at home during week 1 and then he travels to Chicago to play the Bears during week 2. Palmer is highly likely to have good games against both of those teams. Week 3 Palmer is going to face the 49ers, and you may have to drop him that week depending on how the 49ers defense is playing this season. My guess it’s not going to be at the same level as we are used to.

Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals opens the season up against the Oakland Raiders and then plays the San Diego Chargers the following week. Both of those match ups will be favorable to Dalton, and like Carson Palmer, Dalton will be very cheap in fantasy drafts this year. Another QB that is going to be in the later rounds, but will have promising match ups during the beginning of the season is Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill opens the season against the Washington Redskins, who have a horrible pass defense, and then the following week he is playing the Jacksonville Jaguars who have a good defense, but it isn’t a horrible match up for Tannehill.

There’s a very good possibility that Brady is going to be the steal of your fantasy draft because he’s going to fall a few rounds and he’s going to produce top-10 QB numbers for the rest of the season like he did last year after he started the season cold during the first 4 games. I recommend drafting Brady at a discount this year.

Please follow me on Twitter @bmatz08 for advice on who to draft, trade, or pick up off waivers for your fantasy team.

Next: 2015 Rookie QB Rankings?

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