The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast

The regular season is over, but the fantasy football season isn't. The NFL postseason provides the fantasy community with another opportunity to play fantasy football before closing the book on this season.

On this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast, Michael Beller, Jake Ciely and Brandon Funston walk through the different ways to play playoff fantasy football with a focus on the most popular way, draft-and-hold. The guys give their playoff predictions, the foundation for any playoff fantasy draft strategy, and then conduct a six-team, six-round draft to illustrate how a draft-and-hold league could play out.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Jake on Twitter: @allinkid

Follow Brandon on Twitter: @BrandonFunston

Draft Board

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When is the right time to start thinking about the next fantasy football season? Right after the current one ends! That's what we're doing here at The Athletic, having already conducted one early mock fantasy football draft for the 2021 season.

On this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast, the last in 2020, Nando Di Fino, Chris Vaccaro and Eric Moody break down that early mock draft. They consider whether running backs will once again dominate the top of the first round, who could be next year's big risers, price changes at the quarterback position, and a whole lot more.

Follow Nando on Twitter: @nandodifino

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisVaccaroGST

Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricNMoody

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Still playing fantasy football in Week 17? Good news! We're still here to help guide you through your overlooked championship week.

On this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast, Michael Beller, Jake Ciely and Brandon Funston dive into the unique problems related to playing fantasy football in Week 17. Namely, what do you do if you've been riding Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce all season? What other teams should you be concerned about resting? What teams could pull the plug on their starters at some point during the game? The guys answer all those questions, plus take a look at Rams without Jared Goff, the resurgent Cowboys, and, once again, Mitch Trubisky.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Jake on Twitter: @allinkid

Follow Brandon on Twitter: @BrandonFunston

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On this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast, Michael Beller and Vic Tafur run through the Week 16 slate from a gambling standpoint, highlighting their favorite picks against the spread. 

Can the Cardinals move one step closer to a playoff berth and, more importantly, cover against the 49ers? Can the Browns get another double-digit win against a team from New York? Will the Steelers bounce back in a tough spot against the Colts? Who covers in the crucial NFC West battle between the Seahawks and Rams? The guys answer those questions, and a whole lot more.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Vic on Twitter: @VicTafur

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It's Wednesday of Week 16, and that can only mean one thing for this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast. It's time for championship week rankings.

Michael Beller, Brandon Funston and Jake Ciely get you ready for your championship by discussing the most confounding players in Week 16. Can Baker Mayfield keep it rolling? Is Le'Veon Bell worth starting with Clyde Edwards-Helaire out? Can you count on a boom week from Tyler Lockett? The guys get into those questions, and a whole lot more.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Brandon on Twitter: @BrandonFunston

Follow Jake on Twitter: @allinkid

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Fantasy football championship week is here, and so are Nando Di Fino and Chris Vaccaro to take a look at Week 16. At the same time, 2021 is on the minds of many fantasy managers, including those who are playing for titles this week.

Nando and Chris mix Week 16 with 2021 on this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast. The guys discuss the players who have great matchups in Week 16, the offenses that could carry managers to fantasy titles, 2021 outlooks for the tight end position and a handful of intriguing teams, and much more.

Follow Nando on Twitter: @nandodifino

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisVaccaroGST

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Aaron Jones, Calvin Ridley, Dalvin Cook, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray and plenty of others helped send their fantasy football managers to championship games with their performances in Week 15. You already knew you could lean on those guys going into their matchups, however. On this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast, we're more interested in the surprise stars of Week 15 who could repeat in Week 16.

Michael Beller, Jake Ciely and Brandon Funston probe that class of players, discussing, among others, Jalen Hurts, Le'Veon Bell, J.D. McKissic, Tony Pollard, Matt Ryan, Marvin Jones, Baker Mayfield, and many, many more.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Jake on Twitter: @allinkid

Follow Brandon on Twitter: @BrandonFunston

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On this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast, Michael Beller and Derek VanRiper break down the Week 15 DFS slate. They discuss the high-priced players who should be at the center of your lineups, the abundance of $6,000ish receivers who look good this week, love for rookie running backs, and more.

Later, Beller runs through the slate from a gambling standpoint, highlighting his favorite picks against the spread. Can the Bills and Packers get off to good starts on Saturday? Can the Patriots bring the Dolphins back down to earth? Who wins and, more importantly, covers in the showdown between the Chiefs and Saints? We get into those games, and a whole lot more.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Derek on Twitter: @DerekVanRiper

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A few weeks ago, it would've sounded crazy to say that fantasy managers would be trusting Jeff Wilson, T.Y. Hilton and Mitch Trubisky in their semifinal matchups. Even though those three, and many others deemed newly worthy of our trust, will be in lineups, should we be thinking harder about how much we're willing to lean on them?

Nando Di Fino, Jake Ciely and Eric Moody dive into the question of newfound trustworthiness on this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast. They also play a fun game of either/or to help you with your toughest lineup decisions this week.

Follow Nando on Twitter: @nandodifino

Follow Jake on Twitter: @allinkid

Follow Eric on Twitter: @EricNMoody

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It's semifinal week in the fantasy football playoffs, and while we know almost everything we need to know about almost every player with fantasy relevance, there are still questions to be answered. Michael Beller, Jake Ciely and Brandon Funston dive into the most vexing ones on this episode of The Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast.

Among them: Can Baker Mayfield and Philip Rivers keep things rolling this week? What other quarterbacks would you have to have to sit Taysom Hill? Is there any universe in which James Conner or Ezekiel Elliott should be benched this week? Is Gus Edwards playable alongside J.K. Dobbins? Is D.J. Chark back in our good graces with Gardner Minshew starting once again? Should Cole Beasley and Tim Patrick be locked into starting lineups? The guys answer all of those questions, and a whole lot more.

Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBeller

Follow Jake on Twitter: @allinkid

Follow Brandon on Twitter: @BrandonFunston

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