If Tom Brady is forced to serve a four-game suspension, where would you feel comfortable drafting him?
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- Michael Fabiano NFL Media Senior Fantasy Analyst
Brady late has upside
I almost always wait to draft a quarterback, so I wouldn't be tempted to grab Brady until the ninth or 10th round. In a standard 10-team league, there's a really good chance I can pair him with someone like Tony Romo, Matt Ryan or Ben Roethlisberger so I'm covered during the first five weeks. Also consider that from Weeks 5-16 in 2014, Brady scored an average of over 21 fantasy points per game. That would be a nice statistical jolt to any fantasy roster. With the quarterback position being as deep as it is, you could use Brady's short-term absence to your long-term advantage.
Since the Patriots' bye is in Week 4 of the regular season, that means Brady will actually miss the first five weeks of the fantasy season. For me, I wouldn't draft Brady anywhere before Rounds 10-12, as there's also no guarantee he hits the ground running in Week 6. I think he could offer tremendous value the later he's drafted, but he'll still carry some risk as after missing four games he likely won't be as in sync with his supporting cast as he usually is.
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- Marcas Grant NFL Media Fantasy Editor
Waiting on Brady
The idea that Brady is going to miss more than one-third of the fantasy regular season is enough to drop him outside of my top 10 fantasy quarterbacks. That said, if he's still hanging around the draft board in Round 10 or later, I'll definitely select him. In fact, how much would the rest of your league mates hate you if you snagged someone like Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck early in your draft and doubled up with Brady later on? In a worst case scenario, you have some excellent trade bait for the middle part of the season.
A quick gander at the average draft position for Tom Brady has him going in the sixth round, which is way too early for my taste. I would like to imagine he's going to tumble a little bit in drafts. In fact, I would actually draft Brady before the curtain-jerker I will pick to replace him during his suspension (if he even serves one).
And if you haven't noticed, I've already banked on drafting Brady this year. How can you pass on him? Remember the last time the Patriots were reprimanded by the league? Brady went out and threw 50 touchdown passes. And now with this latest egregiousness, I would expect Brady to be out to prove a similar point. I might not expect 50 touchdown passes. Wait, why shouldn't I expect 50 touchdown passes? I mean, that is the precedent. So I will draft Brady. I will look for him around the eighth or ninth round, as I take into account where quarterbacks have come off the board. I currently have him as my No. 8 quarterback headed into the season.
