Unfamiliar with the SAP Player Comparison Tool? Well it's about time you get acquainted! The tool can be a great asset for those tough roster decisions, whether you're dealing with start/sit conundrums, trade comparisons, or decisions on which players to pick up on the waiver wire, you can benefit by learning the ins and outs of the customizable tool. This week in Fantasy Football Audibles, we take a look at three player comparisons to help you take some of the guesswork out of those mind-boggling roster determinations.
Here's a quick primer in the factors that the SAP Player Comparison Tool takes into consideration when analyzing players:
»Performance:player performance (NFL statistics and Fantasy points) from the current season
»Matchup:opponent-specific fantasy points against (FPA) data and matchup analysis
»Consistency:stability of historical player fantasy point production
»Upside:potential for significant fantasy point performance
»Intangibles:additional factors including injury status, weather, game location, team support and player rest
Who should I start: Greg Olsen or Tyler Eifert?
Every week, it seems like a lot of fantasy owners on Twitter are faced with this same question. Greg Olsen was one of the first few tight ends drafted back in August, and Eifert was a late-round pick or even a waiver wire add after his explosion in Week 1. But now you're stuck with deciding which player to start on a weekly basis.
Just nine fantasy points separate Olsen and Eifert for the season and they have each had dud weeks and blow-up weeks. Eifert has had three games with multiple touchdowns while Olsen has had just one such contest so far.
Olsen's opponent, the Tennessee Titans have surrendered 11.18 fantasy points per game to the tight end position over the last four weeks and let two different Saints tight ends score on them last week. But when Carolina gets down close, they like to run the ball too, whether it's with Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert or Cam Newton. The Panthers' are the only team that has run more rushing plays than pass plays this season, running the ball on an NFL-leading 50.9 percent of the time.
But when Cam Newton does drop back to pass, Olsen is his top target. The veteran tight end owns the highest percentage of his team's pass targets, receptions and receiving yards among all players at his position this season. But even though Eifert has 15 fewer targets than Olsen this season, the two have hauled in the same number of receptions (37).
Eifert will be tough to bench coming off of a three-touchdown game in Week 9, especially with his matchup against Houston. He now leads the entire NFL with nine touchdown receptions, all of which have come in the red zone. And if not for the touchdown that was erased by review in Week 3, his total would be even higher, as my colleague Alex Gelhar recently pointed out on Twitter:
That right there should be enough to make you lock him into your starting lineup and never look back. But the one concern with Eifert is that there are many mouths to feed in Cincinnati's offense. A.J. Green, Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill, Marvin Jones and others are always a threat to steal targets from Eifert. But let's put that notion to rest; those red zone numbers don't lie. Andy Dalton goes to his 6-foot-6 tight end in value situations. Period.
After last week's game, Eifert's teammates gushed over his uncanny ability to make big plays in all types of situations and pointed out that if he's in one-on-one coverage, there's virtually no stopping him. He's a top three tight end the rest of the way and should be started each and every week including over Olsen in Week 10.
Who should I start: Chris Johnson or Charcandrick West?
Chris Johnson has 141 rush attempts for 676 yards and three touchdowns this season and ranks third in the NFL in rushing behind only Adrian Peterson and Devonta Freeman. And among all players with five starts this season, only prolific rookie Todd Gurley is averaging more rushing yards per game as a starter than Johnson. He's also coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing games and should be fresh after a bye week. Now that's a running back that's hard to leave on your bench in fantasy.
Unfortunately though, Johnson faces a Seattle Seahawks defense this week that has allowed an average of just 11.76 fantasy points per game to opposing runners; that includes a mere two rushing TDs. So there's a very good chance that Johnson doesn't see the end zone in this one. In fact, as I mentioned above, he has just three scores on the season, two of which came in the same game against a wretched 49ers defense. So while he's getting great volume (17.62 rush attempts per game), he's a risky start this weekend, especially in Seattle.
Charcandrick West on the other hand faces a Denver defense that is tops in the NFL against the pass, but is more middle-of-the-pack when it comes to run stopping. When Kansas City faced Denver back in Week 2 Jamaal Charles scored three touchdowns. West is obviously not Charles, and this game will be played in enemy territory at Mile High, but he has two straight games with over 100 total yards and a touchdown. He's averaged 22 rush attempts in Kansas City's last two games so he's clearly the feature back and he'll be rested since the Chiefs, like the Cardinals, are coming off a bye week.
If this were one of my lineup decisions, I'd have no qualms with starting West over Johnson this week and I have him ranked a few slots higher, too.
Who should I start: Carson Palmer or Derek Carr?
This is a difficult decision to make. If you own Palmer, you've likely been riding him all season, and for the most part have been successful because of it. Maybe you picked up Carr a few weeks ago when he was still on the waiver wire during his Week 6 bye which he entered having put up just 11.84 and 9.86 fantasy points in the two games prior.
This week, both signal callers face unfavorable matchups, with Palmer's being the toughest against the Seahawks in Seattle. But Carr's is no cakewalk either against a Vikings defense that has allowed just nine passing touchdowns all season and has given up an average of 188.9 passing yards per game. At least the Raiders will be at home, which helps Carr's outlook a bit. The second-year quarterback is coming off of back-to-back four touchdown games and has thrown one or fewer interceptions in 12 straight games. His chemistry with Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree has been fun to watch and is only growing stronger as the season wears on.
Palmer, who is on pace for 40 touchdown passes and over 4,700 pass yards this season is tied for the second most touchdown passes (20) in the NFL right now with Tom Brady. He also has thrown for 300 or more passing yards in five of eight games this season. Historically though, Palmer has struggled in his three career games against the Seahawks, tossing more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (three) in those contests. So on paper, it doesn't look good for Palmer this week. But it's hard to argue against his arsenal of pass-catchers which includes Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd. You'd have to think one of them will be able to find some space to produce amongst the Seahawks secondary, although Seattle has allowed just one receiving score to a wide receiver all season.
When you add it all up, it surely sounds like Carr is the better option this week, as Palmer's matchup is just too tough. And, for what it's worth, all five of our expert rankers have Carr slotted a few spots ahead of Palmer in our Week 10 rankings. Despite what the Player Comparison Tool concludes, I say roll with Carr while he's hot.
Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy editor at NFL.com. If you haven't seen this performance by Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake on the CMAs from last week, do yourself a favor and check it out. It might change your life. Hit Matt up on Twitter **@MattFranchise** for music recommendations and fantasy advice.
