SI Fantasy Podcast - How Should Fantasy Managers Handle the Dak Prescott Injury in Dallas?

Every Monday and Thursday, "The Fantasy Exec," Dr. Roto and Michael Fabiano bring you the "SI Fantasy Podcast." After a brutal injury to Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, the guys break down his replacement in Andy Dalton and how fantasy managers should adjust with the rest of the skill position players in Dallas.

This Monday's S.I. Fantasy Podcast focused on two primary topics: the Dak Prescott injury and the surrounding ramifications with the rest of the Dallas Cowboys, and the major takeaways from the rest of Week 5 in the NFL.

We opened the program with Dak Prescott's gruesome injury from the weekend. The guys agree that the Cowboys skill position players will take a hit to their fantasy value, but Fabiano and Doc disagree on his replacement in Andy Dalton. 

Doc thinks Dalton is a weekly starter in 12-team leagues while Fabs believes he is matchup based play.

"This is a downgrade for the rest of the offense," says Fabiano. It's not a significant downgrade compared to most teams, but you aren't going to be able to start Andy Dalton each single week with confidence. He's going to be a matchup-based quarterback... There are too many good quarterbacks for Dalton to be a weekly starter." 

Meanwhile, the guys continued to discuss quarterbacks and their fantasy impact on the season. So far Lamar Jackson has not lived up to his early-round draft pick status as the No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback taken in fantasy this year. Doc says he thinks better days are ahead for Jackson while Mike says fantasy managers should try to see what they can get for Jackson in a trade. The QB conversation continued as we discussed who we would rather have going forward between DeShaun Watson or Lamar Jackson. Both quarterbacks have had rough starts to the season, Doc even went as far as to say, "If Lamar Jackson did not have Mark Andrews he would be big trouble."

We also discuss the final two games for Week 5 taking place on Monday and Tuesday night. Saints WR Michael Thomas must have done something pretty bad to get suspended for Monday night's game. We broke down what I should do in one of my leagues where I have Josh Allen and Justin Herbert as my quarterbacks. Should I risk waiting to play Allen until tomorrow? Or, should I play it safe and start Herbert tonight. Every situation is different but I am going to wait it out and play Allen tomorrow.

Steelers WR Chase Claypool was the fantasy football star of Week 5, and the three of us all agree that JuJu Smith-Schuster may have overachieved when Antonio Brown was a Steeler. He doesn't look like a true top wide receiver without Brown on the opposite side of him. 

In Atlanta, the Falcons let Dan Quinn go, and they could look for their quarterback of the future in the 2021 NFL Draft. Todd Gurley ran the ball well yesterday but Fabiano would look to sell high in the coming weeks. Staying in the NFC South, Teddy Bridgewater, Robby Anderson, and Mike Davis are having great fantasy seasons. 

Lastly, A.J. Green is injured again for the Bengals, but Tee Higgins is the future in Cincinnati. We also discussed Alex Smith playing yesterday in Washington, it was good to see him out there especially recovering from such a brutal injury several years ago. Lastly, it was a tough game for Terry McLaurin but we all think he will be just fine in the long-term. 

Check out the full episode below, and make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcasts!