Pick Your Poison
CeeDee Lamb/Travis Etienne or D’Andre Swift/Deebo Samuel
By Tim Lazenby
Every once in a while a question really grabs you. In the fantasy football realm there are many common questions like, “Should I draft this guy?” or “Who’s your top sleeper?” but none are more compelling than asking do you go with Player A or Player B. To further weigh down the simplicity of the question, asking for Package A or Package B can be quite interesting. There are a plethora of considerations to mull over when making these decisions and this becomes even more difficult to ascertain when dynasty comes into play.
Daydreaming about the 2022-23 NFL fantasy season is the norm for me and perusing Twitter appeases this longing to some degree. In my swiping I came across a dandy question from fellow fantasy football enthusiast, @LosingSucks and he posed a question to chew on:
Pick your combo: 0.5 PPR
CD Lamb + Etienne
Swift + Deebo
Feel free to go to his Twitter page and answer for yourself, but if you do, I’m hoping the results will be just as split for you as they were for me when I answered. With 74 votes in, I chose the leading side which was only ahead at a ratio of 53% to 47%. I, like many of you, find myself staring at lopsided results when I entertain these questions, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the results so divided. After all, it was a hard one for me to decide.
So, just for fun, here are some of the criteria going through my schmuck brain when choosing the proverbial A or B:
Age
This poll features four young guns, but unlike the other three, who happen to all be 23 years old, Deebo Samuel is past the midway point of his twenties. At 26 years old, Deebo certainly isn’t old or even close to it, but it’s a factor that has to be considered. So although it’s not a deal breaker, first points go to CeeDee Lamb and Travis Etienne.
Current Dynasty Rank Value
Now this one is not an exact science, but in this circumstance, it becomes easier as the positions on either side of the packages are the same. Personally, here are my ranks at their given positions:
CeeDee Lamb - WR3 Deebo Samuel - WR5
Travis Etienne - RB17 D’Andre Swift - RB3
I’m just one guy, but from where I sit Etienne is the odd man out here. And even though all four are studs on their respective teams, Etienne just doesn’t carry the same weight as the other three involved, leaving the edge going to Deebo Samuel and D’Andre Swift.
Injury Concern
With these four guys, injuries have been a big problem thus far. Of the foursome, CeeDee Lamb is the only one who hasn’t struggled to stay on the field. And although you have to give some props to the Deebo/Swift side because Etienne hasn’t even been on the field due to the lisfranc injury in his rookie season, I give Etienne the benefit of the doubt that this could be a one time problem until proven otherwise. The constant lagging issues on the side of Deebo and Swift are too concerning to not side with CeeDee and Etienne.
Team Importance
We all know that these four players are essential to their respective teams’ success. All four players are top featured options in each offense, but it is important to note that the recent additions to Detroit’s offense will make it harder for Swift to shine like before. Not to say Swift is plunging down my ranks, but I don’t see him as bright and shiny as I did before. Although it’s a close one, I give the edge to CeeDee and Etienne.
Gut Feeling
When it comes to fantasy football, your gut feeling has to be considered. For some, this is the only reaction to go by, but oftentimes, this becomes the tie breaker for me. For this particular scenario, if you asked me for my gut reaction, I would have chosen Deebo and Swift as my winners, but after going through my criteria, the gut feeling isn’t enough. This is one of the closest ones I’ve seen yet, at least for me, but I’m going with the CeeDee Lamb and Travis Etienne side. It’s ok to not trust your gut sometimes.
If any of you want to be featured in an article like this, feel free to hit me up on twitter. DM me @NFLazenby and I’d love to weigh in on it!
Tim Lazenby joined Dynasty Pros, after writing for a few years elsewhere, and is passionate about all things fantasy football. Tim has been playing fantasy sports for over twenty years now and takes his love of the game to every article he writes. Although he’s played a variety of fantasy football, he is especially in love with dynasty football. If you ask him for advice, whether you’re just joining or you’ve been playing for years, he wants nothing more than to help you succeed, than to keep that fantasy gold to himself. A lover of the game and ultimate competitor, Tim is just trying to spread the good news of fantasy football to all.