Turn on any radio or television sports show and Ezekiel Elliott is sure to be the topic. Elliott is facing a six-game suspension after alleged domestic violence. No doubt, the NFL has had enough of their name being dragged through the mud with child abuse, domestic abuse and other crimes. What once would get a slap on the hand or a one-game suspension is now drawing a much harsher penalty. No beating on women seems to be the message the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is trying to get across to the athletes.
Part of the debate with the Zeke situation is that he was never formally charged by the police. However, the NFL completed a thorough investigation and concluded that his conduct was not up to snuff with their policies. Elliott maintains his innocence and says that he will appeal the NFL’s decision.
This highlights one of the reasons it is good to hold your Fantasy Football draft as close to the beginning of the season as possible. Elliott would have used up a number one pick, with no chance of getting any points from him until after the seventh game of the season (Dallas has a bye in week six, so he will not return until week eight). In most drafts he was probably the third pick in the first round, so there are probably a lot of upset fantasy football owners out there!
Reading through Twitter, people doing drafts since the suspension was announced have taken Zeke anywhere from the first round to the fourth round. Taking him in the first round is a huge risk to your fantasy team, knowing that you likely will not get to use him until week eight.
We would not take him in the first round because of the risk. Ezekiel Elliott could potentially still be a good pick though! Last year, Don’s first year pick for his Trophy League was Adrian Peterson, who only played the first few games of the season, but Don still made it to the playoffs. The owners who did draft Zeke will need to make some good waiver wire choices to make up for the lost points. If you haven’t drafted yet and still want to take Elliott, make sure to draft some good running backs in the later rounds.
The talk seems to be going more toward the effect on the Dallas Cowboys and fantasy football teams. We are not taking any of this lightly and agree with Goodell that there has to be a no-tolerance policy toward domestic violence and child abuse.
Fast Fact: Cleveland is 59-0 with Corey Kluber on the mound, when the Tribe gets 4 or more runs in the game. Go Tribe!