New England Patriots: Offseason fantasy outlook
Quarterback – Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer
For those who don’t recognize what type of animal is in that picture, it’s a goat. Make no mistake about it, Brady is the greatest of all time in real football. He’s put up monster numbers a lot of years but he’s currently going in the top 60 in both standard and PPR formats. That’s too high because quarterback is so ridiculously loaded this season.
Is it nice to roll out Brady every week? Sure, but it’s not worth spending such a high pick on a position that is easy to fill. The equation changes a little if you play in a 2QB league, but you want to wait on quarterback this season. The last time Brady finished outside being a top 10 quarterback while playing a full schedule was 2013.
Running Back – Rex Burkhead, Sony Michel, Jeremy Hill, James White, Mike Gillislee
If you’re new to fantasy, get used to the term “Beli-Tricks”. It’s used when fantasy analysts think they might have a handle on the New England backfield, coach Belichick rips the rug out from under us. Headed into the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gillislee doesn’t make this roster.
Burkhead is going to enter as the favorite for the majority of the work and he should be. He and Michel are going very close to each other in drafts right now. Michel may have a little trouble getting a lot of work in 2018. Not only is he a rookie, but he had a slight fumbling issue in college with a fumble about every 55 touches.
That’s not going to fly with Belichick and Michel is being overdrafted at the moment. Burkhead is the favorite until we see evidence to point us elsewhere. Hill and White are nothing more than late round fliers in deep leagues.