Top fantasy football bargain picks – Scranton Times-Tribune
Sure, nailing your early round picks in fantasy football drafts is important but snagging gems in the middle and late rounds who can deliver much higher value is crucial to fielding a winning squad.
Let’s take a look at some running backs and wide receivers who should outperform their average draft positions, or ADPs.
Of course these players must stay healthy to accomplish this and some are coming off injuries — a major reason they’re being drafted so late. There is risk with most of these guys, but if they reach their potential they could help propel you to fantasy glory.
All ADPs listed below come from Yahoo. Although they can fluctuate like stock prices, the ADPs give us a good idea about how the average drafter feels about certain players. Here are the players who owners don’t seem to be too high on despite their potential:
Wide Receivers
•Jeremy Maclin is going around Round 8 in fantasy drafts. How is that happening? I know his production as a Chief won’t top his numbers as an Eagle. I also know Alex Smith has a deep arm like Kanye West has humility. But Andy Reid is finding ways to get Maclin the ball and Maclin has already scored two touchdowns this preseason. This coming after a regular season in which Smith couldn’t muster one lousy touchdown pass to a wide receiver. I’m sure Maclin’s ADP is rising , but he’d be a bargain even in the fifth round.
•Jarvis Landry’s ADP is 92.1, according to Yahoo, an incredible value, especially in point-per-reception leagues and leagues that award return yards for individual players. Landry had 84 receptions last season as a rookie. He should top that as well as the 758 yards and five touchdowns he garnered. Landry is also slated to return picks and punts.
•Brian Quick is going in the 13th round. That’s a great price considering he should be the Rams’ top receiver and has the size and speed to be a top-20 receiver. He showed great promise last year before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, finishing with 375 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.
Running backs
•T.J. Yeldon should be a three-down, goal-line running back for Jacksonville. His rushing numbers from last Friday’s preseason game against Detroit don’t look great, but he looked quick and athletic. He did score a touchdown on a leaping red zone carry, apparently crossing the goal line before getting crushed and dropping the football. (It actually looked like a lost fumble to me. Luckily he doesn’t play for Bill Belichick or he might be benched for life). What we learned is the former Alabama star is going to get opportunities. The Jags aren’t going to set the world on fire offensively, but they’ll put up some points and Yeldon will get plenty of red-zone opportunities. His ADP of 83.3 is a great price. He could make for a great flex option or maybe even an RB2.
•Chris Ivory is going even later, in the 9th and 10th rounds. He seems to have the Jets’ early down and goal-line duties locked up. He should improve on his 944 total yards and seven TDs from last season.
•Doug Martin has the same ADP as Ivory, 96.8. That would be a steal if he stays healthy. Missing 15 of 32 games the past two seasons. He’s had a great preseason, showing the burst he displayed when he accumulated just under 2,000 total yards and 12 TDs as a rookie in 2012. So the risk is fairly high, but the reward could be, too.
•Joique Bell is going in Round 11, astonishing considering he’s scored eight TDs and has topped 1,100 yards in each of the past two seasons. This guy isn’t Trent Richardson, folks. I get it, people are scared off by the Ameer Abdullah hype train. Bell might not get 20 carries per game, but he should at least get 10 to 15, including goal-line carries and that’s enough to make him a value so late in the draft.
KEVIN AMERMAN writes a weekly column about fantasy football for Times-Shamrock Newspapers. Contact him at [email protected]
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