RADIO
The fantasy story of the New England Patriots gets more confusing and intriguing each week. After losing fantasy studs Dion Lewis and Julian Edelman for the season, Tom Brady has to work his magic with significantly less talent. Sunday night put a major scare into Brady and Patriots fans when superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski went down with a scary injury against the Denver Broncos. As he shouted in pain and was carted off the field, the cold hearts of fantasy football fans were already pondering the effects it would have in their leagues.
Fortunately, the Patriots will have Gronkowski back but it’s undetermined when exactly that will be. Adam Schefter reported that the league’s best tight end will sit out “multiple weeks” with his knee injury. That can be anywhere between one-to-two weeks or the remainder of the regular season. The Patriots will likely have a bye and home field advantage in the playoffs locked up in the last week or two of the season, lessening the need of Gronkowski playing in the final games before the postseason.
You can’t drop Gronkowski in case he returns, but you absolutely need to make a backup plan. New England’s backup tight end Scott Chandler will be a near must-add on the waiver wire for anyone who owns Gronkowski. Chandler secured five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. Most importantly, he was targeted eleven times by Brady. The Patriots offense will make any tight end fantasy-relevant and Chandler could be one of the best at the position during the fantasy playoffs.
Wide receiver Brandon LaFell has been extremely disappointing for fantasy purposes after coming back from a foot injury. LaFell has yet to score a touchdown and has only delivered more than seventy receiving yards in one of his six games this year. The loss of Edelman and Danny Amendola gave reason to believe LaFell could have a big game on Sunday, but the Broncos defense was too good. Denver has been the best at defending opposing wide receivers all season so you have to give LaFell a pass for his lackluster four catches and 36 yards.
With Brady playing at an elite level, LaFell is still worthy of starting due to the number of targets and his big play ability. The schedule gets easier and without Gronkowski, LaFell has better chances at big numbers and more touchdowns. Amendola will be a good fantasy addition when he returns as well but LaFell may benefit more from the absence of Gronkowski.
