Fantasy Football 2017: Ezekiel Elliott is not worth risk

Fantasy football players looking to draft Ezekiel Elliott in the first round are in for a rude awakening.

Too often, we’re blindsided by news and allow the game to overshadow what’s really important: the people involved and effected by circumstances and incidents such as domestic violence. With that being said, and without delving into the continuing arguments from all sides after the courts dismissed the case with no charges against Ezekiel Elliott, we ask you to remember that.

As we wait to see the outcome of his appeal of the six-game suspension issued to him for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, we discuss fantasy football implications.

In his rookie season, Elliott helped propel the Dallas Cowboys to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, leading many fans to chant, “We dem Boyz”. His 1,631 yards on 322 carries, 15 rushing touchdowns, 363 yards on 32 carches and one receiving touchdown last season also drove many fantasy football teams to victory.

However, while Elliott is certainly capable of making noise on the field, his actions off the field speak louder, warranting us to ring the alarm: Ezekiel Elliott is not worth the risk of drafting in fantasy football.

There’s no denying that Elliott is talented and can put up points as he posted double-digit points nearly every week in fantasy football last season. And he is certainly capable of picking up right where he left off when he returns. Keyword: when.

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When analyzing Elliott’s fantasy football value, though, it’s important to recognize what the timing of his return really means. It’s easy to hear about Elliott’s suspension and justify drafting him because he’s only missing six out of the 16 games. However, factoring this in with the Dallas Cowboys’ bye week in Week 6, the earliest that Elliott would return is Week 8 of the NFL season.

That’s nearly halfway through the NFL season, but remember time is relative. Week 8 in the NFL is past the halfway mark in fantasy football considering that a majority of leagues with 10-12 teams play 14 regular-season weeks and two playoffs game.

So while your fantasy team can certainly earn points off of Elliott’s performance in indivial games, especially when it matters most in the playoffs, that argument is moot because you can’t win the playoffs if you don’t make it to the playoffs. And in order to do that, you need to win your matchups and have a solid team throughout the year — not just from Week 8 on.

A lot goes into winning a fantasy football championship and a large part of that is coming up with a strategy that gives you a team that is greater than the sum of it’s parts and the right timing. You can’t control everything during the draft and as much as you’d like to, but you can make the most of it while you are on the clock.

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Elliott is an impact player, but he’s not the only one and his potential impact in games late in the fantasy football season don’t justify drafting him early on. Target backs with a relatively decent schedule early on later in your draft if you insist on drafting Elliott, like Darren McFadden (behind Dallas’ O-line, any back can rack up points), Jacquizz Rodgers, or Jonathan Stewart. And if you really insist on drafting Elliott, do so in the second round or third round. Earlier than that, he’s not worth the risk.

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