Brett Ludwiczak
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You’re Nuts: Aside from C.J. Stroud, which Buckeye are you targeting in fantasy football?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Not only do we have college football kicking off over the next few weeks, just a couple days after Labor Day the NFL season will kick off. Around this time of year is usually when the majority of fantasy football drafts are held. Last year anyone that drafted Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud looked like a genius. Even though Stroud was drafted with the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, not many were expecting to put up the numbers that he did in his rookie year, especially considering the previous history of Ohio State quarterbacks in the NFL.
Today we want to know what Ohio State player you are targeting in your fantasy football draft. The only caveat to this question is C.J. Stroud is off the table since he is the obvious top pick, especially after the Texans added Stefon Diggs to their loaded receiving corps. Even without Stroud, there are a ton of talented Buckeyes in the NFL who will be key parts on fantasy football championship teams across the country this year. Or maybe you have a sleeper in mind that will likely be available later in the draft who will end up shocking people and putting up some big numbers.
There certainly are a plethora of great Ohio State wide receivers in the NFL right now, so naturally I’m most interested in a running back that has had some injury issues in his first few years in the NFL. So far in his professional career, J.K. Dobbins has carried the football just 234 times since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After a strong rookie season, Dobbins suffered a torn ACL in the 2021 preseason, followed by a torn Achilles tendon in the season opener in 2023.
Baltimore decided not to bring back Dobbins for another year, leaving the former Buckeye to sign with the Los Angeles Chargers and Jim Harbaugh. Despite Harbaugh being a Michigan Man and a massive cheater, I think he will use Dobbins a lot this year if the running back can stay healthy. Just look at how much the Wolverines ran the football last year, despite having quarterback J.J. McCarthy and some talent at wide receiver.
Another reason we could see a bounce-back season from Dobbins is that he will be reunited with offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who held the same position with the Ravens during Dobbins’ first three seasons in the NFL. Also joining Dobbins with the Chargers is running back Gus Edwards, who was also in Baltimore while Dobbins was. Having some familiar faces with him in a new place will likely help the transition to a new team easier for Dobbins.
Is Dobbins going to run for 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns? Not likely. He isn’t going to be the first running back taken, or even one of the first five running backs taken. What he will be is a solid pickup in the mid-to-late rounds, which will allow you to target other areas of need first. As long as he can stay healthy, Dobbins has a lot to prove this year, especially since is on a one-year contract. With his back against the wall, I trust Dobbins to be hungry this year and remind the rest of the league how talented he is.
I know that Mike Tomlin said that he would name a starting quarterback by the “end of the work week,” but I’m taking Justin Fields now anyway. There are obviously myriad Buckeye wide receivers that you could grab, but when it comes to fantasy football, WRs are fairly replaceable. What isn’t replaceable is a quarterback who can score points with both his arms and his legs.
So, I am taking Fields and hoping that Tomlin does the right thing and makes him the Pittsburgh Steelers starter. The alternative is Russell Wilson who is coming off of two suboptimal seasons with the Denver Broncos (although he was pretty ok in terms of fantasy points last year). But this will be Year 13 for the former Wisconsin Badger, no NFL player — especially QBs — gets better that long into his career.
Fields, on the other hand, is coming into Year 4 and is finally in a competent organization with a head coach who knows how not to absolutely suck. Despite his struggles in Chicago over the last three seasons, the Buckeye legend was still a consistent fantasy performer. In 2023, depending on your scoring system, Fields was two or three spots behind Wilson in terms of the fantasy ratings for quarterbacks, and that was dealing with all of the BS that horrific Bears staff put him through.
So, given the chance to show his talent and work ethic for a coaching staff that was not completely incompetent, there’s no reason to think that Justin won’t be even better. Now, I don’t know that I would go taking him in the first round or anything, but I think that Justin Fields is a really smart selection in late rounds. If he ends up being the Steelers’ starter, chances are that he will put up fantasy numbers that are even more impressive than his real football numbers. With the constant possibility of rushing yards and touchdowns, it’s probably a pretty good risk the deeper you get in your draft.
Also, I haven’t played fantasy football in nearly a decade, so don’t come for me when this turns out to be a terrible take!
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Not only do we have college football kicking off over the next few weeks, just a couple days after Labor Day the NFL season will kick off. Around this time of year is usually when the majority of fantasy football drafts are held. Last year anyone that drafted Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud looked like a genius. Even though Stroud was drafted with the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, not many were expecting to put up the numbers that he did in his rookie year, especially considering the previous history of Ohio State quarterbacks in the NFL.
Today we want to know what Ohio State player you are targeting in your fantasy football draft. The only caveat to this question is C.J. Stroud is off the table since he is the obvious top pick, especially after the Texans added Stefon Diggs to their loaded receiving corps. Even without Stroud, there are a ton of talented Buckeyes in the NFL who will be key parts on fantasy football championship teams across the country this year. Or maybe you have a sleeper in mind that will likely be available later in the draft who will end up shocking people and putting up some big numbers.
Today’s question: Aside from C.J. Stroud, which Buckeye are you targeting in fantasy football?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: J.K. Dobbins
There certainly are a plethora of great Ohio State wide receivers in the NFL right now, so naturally I’m most interested in a running back that has had some injury issues in his first few years in the NFL. So far in his professional career, J.K. Dobbins has carried the football just 234 times since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. After a strong rookie season, Dobbins suffered a torn ACL in the 2021 preseason, followed by a torn Achilles tendon in the season opener in 2023.
Baltimore decided not to bring back Dobbins for another year, leaving the former Buckeye to sign with the Los Angeles Chargers and Jim Harbaugh. Despite Harbaugh being a Michigan Man and a massive cheater, I think he will use Dobbins a lot this year if the running back can stay healthy. Just look at how much the Wolverines ran the football last year, despite having quarterback J.J. McCarthy and some talent at wide receiver.
Another reason we could see a bounce-back season from Dobbins is that he will be reunited with offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who held the same position with the Ravens during Dobbins’ first three seasons in the NFL. Also joining Dobbins with the Chargers is running back Gus Edwards, who was also in Baltimore while Dobbins was. Having some familiar faces with him in a new place will likely help the transition to a new team easier for Dobbins.
Is Dobbins going to run for 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns? Not likely. He isn’t going to be the first running back taken, or even one of the first five running backs taken. What he will be is a solid pickup in the mid-to-late rounds, which will allow you to target other areas of need first. As long as he can stay healthy, Dobbins has a lot to prove this year, especially since is on a one-year contract. With his back against the wall, I trust Dobbins to be hungry this year and remind the rest of the league how talented he is.
Matt’s answer: Justin Fields
I know that Mike Tomlin said that he would name a starting quarterback by the “end of the work week,” but I’m taking Justin Fields now anyway. There are obviously myriad Buckeye wide receivers that you could grab, but when it comes to fantasy football, WRs are fairly replaceable. What isn’t replaceable is a quarterback who can score points with both his arms and his legs.
So, I am taking Fields and hoping that Tomlin does the right thing and makes him the Pittsburgh Steelers starter. The alternative is Russell Wilson who is coming off of two suboptimal seasons with the Denver Broncos (although he was pretty ok in terms of fantasy points last year). But this will be Year 13 for the former Wisconsin Badger, no NFL player — especially QBs — gets better that long into his career.
Fields, on the other hand, is coming into Year 4 and is finally in a competent organization with a head coach who knows how not to absolutely suck. Despite his struggles in Chicago over the last three seasons, the Buckeye legend was still a consistent fantasy performer. In 2023, depending on your scoring system, Fields was two or three spots behind Wilson in terms of the fantasy ratings for quarterbacks, and that was dealing with all of the BS that horrific Bears staff put him through.
So, given the chance to show his talent and work ethic for a coaching staff that was not completely incompetent, there’s no reason to think that Justin won’t be even better. Now, I don’t know that I would go taking him in the first round or anything, but I think that Justin Fields is a really smart selection in late rounds. If he ends up being the Steelers’ starter, chances are that he will put up fantasy numbers that are even more impressive than his real football numbers. With the constant possibility of rushing yards and touchdowns, it’s probably a pretty good risk the deeper you get in your draft.
Also, I haven’t played fantasy football in nearly a decade, so don’t come for me when this turns out to be a terrible take!
Continue reading...