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About Nick Mariano - RotoBaller
Senior MLB/NFL Fantasy Analyst & Editor here at RotoBaller, I've been lucky enough to work here since 2015. Spent two seasons writing for MLB.com as well.
FantasyPros ranked me as 2018's most accurate fantasy baseball draft dude, and I'm a three-time top-12 ranker in their fantasy football weekly accuracy competition as well. I rank the things good, or something.
NY born and raised, but now you can find me in Boston with my awesome Star Baker of a wife. Addicted to apples, peanut butter, learning about cognitive biases, and baseball cards. Lots of baseball cards...
Feel free to reach out on Twitter or ride with me on Peloton: @NMariano53
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Nick Mariano - RotoBaller has written 1887 articles so far, you can find them below.
2015 Fantasy Football Week 7: Risers and Fallers From Week 6
Week 6 is in the books and we have further confirmation that Devonta Freeman is good, DeAndre Hopkins is really good, and Andy Dalton deserves to be taken seriously. We're getting awfully close to the midway point in the season, and it's time to really look at some recent trends and determine how legitimate they are.... Read More
FAAB Auction Bidding - Week 7 NFL Waiver Wire Targets
Week 6 saw quite a few notable players go down and miss some action, causing other guys to rack up some numbers that might be a genuine indicator of future output, or misleading. We saw Jeremy Maclin (concussion), Keenan Allen (hip), Sammy Watkins (ankle), Allen Robinson (knee), and others leave their games early. This meant... Read More
Alshon Jeffery Shines in Return to Action, but Bears Still Lose in Overtime
Alshon Jeffery returned to action on Sunday for the Chicago Bears, posting a stat line of eight receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown. He garnered 11 targets from Jay Cutler in a shootout with the Detroit Lions, and while his stellar effort was squandered in an overtime loss, the Bears have to feel good... Read More
Martavis Bryant Explodes in 2015 Debut
Martavis Bryant was suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season, and then missed an additional game last week due to a knee injury. Bryant finally saw the field on Sunday, and while he was mostly quiet (along with the rest of the Steelers' offense) with Mike Vick under center, things changed in... Read More
Odell Beckham Jr. Travels with the Giants to Philadelphia for Monday Night Football
The New York Giants are traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in a Monday night tilt that has big NFC East implications. The Giants are coming off of a last minute victory against the 49ers where they had to persevere as Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle both missed time during the game... Read More
Chris Ivory Destroys Washington as the Jets Fly to Victory
The Washington Redskins have a reputation for having a good run defense, but it appears that Chris Ivory didn't get the memo. He was electric on Sunday for the New York Jets as they rolled to a 34-20 victory over Washington. Ivory finished the game with 20 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown, while... Read More
Chicago Bears (DEF, CHI) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
I'd suggest looking at the Bears against the woeful Detroit Lions. You want to guess who is ranked right behind the Vikings in overall defense according to PFF? It's the Bears, sitting there at eighth. That being said, FootballOutsiders DVOA metric still has the Bears as the 28th overall defense, but that is still relying... Read More
Zach Ertz (TE, PHI) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
The Giants don't have the names and notoriety that the Jets have, but their defense has been profiling pretty similarly. They have a very strong run defense unit, and their cornerbacks on the outside are typically strong - though now they are without Prince Amukamura, and their slot corner Trumaine McBride missed practice as well.... Read More
Derek Carrier (TE, WAS) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
While one would like to have seen Carrier get more than three targets last week, he still turned them into two receptions and a touchdown. Fantasy owners who took the gamble on him saw a nice return. This week's matchup against the Jets should also see Carrier get more usage, as the Jets have a... Read More
Cecil Shorts (WR, HOU) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
Speaking of revenge games and "narrative street", Shorts also goes against his old team here. Now for those of you who don't buy into that, Shorts also just has a genuinely "plus" matchup against one of the league's worst pass coverage teams according to ProFootballFocus (28th overall). This game very well might end up going to... Read More
Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
If you're taking Colin Kaepernick and want to stack him with someone, Anquan Boldin was clearly Colin's hot read last week when things started rolling for San Francisco's passing offense. Boldin saw 12 targets, which he turned into eight receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Compare this with Torrey Smith only getting two targets last... Read More
Javorius Allen (RB, BAL) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
The rationale here is pretty simple. The Baltimore Ravens are pretty banged up and the San Francisco 49ers defense is playing poorly. Steve Smith Sr. will miss another week of action with his back injury. The backfield is a different story though, as Lorenzo Taliaferro was placed on the injured reserve as he must have... Read More
Lamar Miller (RB, MIA) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
Many people may still be extremely lukewarm or ice cold on rostering any Miami Dolphins until the Dolphins show that they can be a competent offense. If you're looking to take a risk, here's the latest from Lamar Miller when asked about what new head coach Dan Campbell told his squad: “He pretty much told... Read More
Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB, NYJ) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
There was a ton of talk last week surrounding the Falcons' passing attack against the Redskins defense, which naturally did not pan out well. While the Redskins defense did do a good job of containing the Falcons, it would be a mistake to just totally flip flop on the perception of the Redskins. There is... Read More
Colin Kaepernick (QB, SF) - Week 6 Lineup Sleepers?
We saw Kaepernick do pretty well against the Giants in last week's game to the tune of 23 completions on 35 attempts for 262 yards and two touchdowns. He showed that he is still capable of playing quarterback as long as he isn't rolling out to his left. Baltimore has been beaten like a drum... Read More
Week 6 DraftKings Deeper Sleeper Tournament Plays
Usually I open this with some snarky comment regarding Devonta Freeman, but this is just beyond me now. He's good, and if you've been riding him lately, you are probably doing well. Week 6 doesn't actually have a lot of super expensive guys that are in plus spots. Jamaal Charles is gone. Julio Jones went on Thursday.... Read More
Matt Jones (RB, WAS) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Fallers?
Matt Jones did get a touchdown in Week 5, but he averaged less than two yards per carry (11 carries for 20 yards) and did not come out of the game unscathed. Jones is reportedly dealing with a sprained big toe, with the severity of the injury yet to be determined. It seems we may... Read More
Jordan Matthews (WR, PHI) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Fallers
He also responds to "Drops McGee". Reports yesterday say that Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor are working tirelessly on improving their hands, attacking the issue with the JUGS machine at 7 AM. Well, until the issue irons itself out, those JUGS machine catches aren't going to do any fantasy owners any good. Matthews should absolutely... Read More
Travis Kelce (TE, KC) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Fallers
Owners who were expecting a true "mini-Gronk" from having Travis Kelce had their hype train going full speed ahead after a two touchdown effort in his first game, but ever since it's been nothing but disappointment. There is merit to the thought that now he is Kansas City's best red zone option given the Jamaal... Read More
C.J. Anderson (RB, DEN) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Fallers
Last week I said his stock had to be at an all-time low, and I was wrong. He continues to plummet. Week 5 had him facing the Raiders, and in a game where Ronnie Hillman tweaked his hamstring and Juwan Thompson was dealing with a hammy issue of his own, Anderson failed to do anything. He... Read More
DeMarco Murray (RB, PHI) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Risers
Murray owners have to be ecstatic to see 20 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown, let alone seven receptions for 37 yards. Not only was he involved, but he performed. This bodes well for Murray, but it's also important for Chip Kelly and the Eagles' offensive line to show that they can put together... Read More
Andy Dalton (QB, CIN) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Risers
There's no denying it anymore: Andy Dalton is here. Just because he took a little longer than most young quarterbacks to develop doesn't mean that we should always hold his past performance against him. His weapons are present and healthy, and he is flourishing. He attacked Seattle through the air and won, with 30 completions on... Read More
Gary Barnidge (TE, CLE) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Risers
The guy literally laid a touchdown, and it was awesome. He continues to shine for the Browns and fantasy football owners, and he is absolutely in TE1 territory. At some point you just can't question things too much based on his past and accept that this guy is performing well. It's impossible to write this... Read More
Peyton Manning (QB, DEN) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Fallers
Peyton Manning failed to break the ten point barrier in Fleaflicker scoring, ending with 22 completions on 35 attempts for 266 yards, but no touchdowns and two interceptions killed him. He has now put together back to back weeks of being very underwhelming. It isn't as though his receivers are missing, and it's actually the... Read More
Mike Evans (WR, TB) - Week 6 Fantasy Football Fallers
So in Week 4 he struggled against the Panthers, but people (myself included) were hoping for a bounceback game against the Jaguars secondary. As it turned out, both Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson did pretty badly. Evans has yet to really have a good game this year. He dropped what should have been a touchdown... Read More
Golden Tate (WR, DET) - Fantasy Football Fallers
Tate was here last week as well, and quite frankly the whole Detroit Lions offense can be put here. Ameer Abdullah is officially out of the circle of trust, and he'll have to put a good game in before I feel comfortable inserting him into any of my lineups. Matthew Stafford was benched for Dan... Read More
Eddie Lacy (RB, GB) - Fantasy Football Fallers?
The Green Bay Packers are 5-0, and yet it feels like Lacy has barely done anything. He hasn't scored since Week 1, and has yet to have a 100 yard rushing game. At least Week 4 had him get close with a 90 yard effort though, as this past Sunday he put up a putrid... Read More
Todd Gurley (RB, STL) - Fantasy Football Risers
Last week we talked about how the Rams offensive line has been learning a zone blocking scheme, and while one might have to question whether the recent success of the rushing attack is more because of Gurley or their own chemistry as a unit coming together, you can't question the results. Gurley has looked great,... Read More
Andre Johnson (WR, IND) - Fantasy Football Risers
If they played on Sunday I could have made a Walking Dead premiere joke work, but I think it's a stretch now. You get the point though, zombie coming back to life, blah blah. Maybe this was entirely "narrative street", with Johnson coming back to face his old team and going off. Maybe Matt Hasselbeck... Read More
Eli Manning (QB, NYG) - Fantasy Football Risers
There's nothing quite like a primetime two minute drill with Eli Manning sometimes. Seriously though, Eli put up the second highest quarterback score of the week (behind Josh McCown, naturally) with 41 completions on 54 attempts for 441 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. What makes this rather special though, aside from nearing 450 yards, is... Read More
