Everything You Need to Dominate Your Fantasy Football League
Your one-stop shop for who to target and avoid in drafts, late round sleepers, rookies, and more…
Football season is here! We made it, everyone! College football is off and running, and many fantasy football drafts are ready to rock over Labor Day weekend and in the final week leading up the the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots kicking off the NFL season on Thursday night.
Anyway, you’re busy and you haven’t done any real fantasy football prep this year, or maybe you’ve done a ton but need one last refresher before diving into your draft or scouring your waiver wire for the first time. I’ve written a ton of fantasy football stuff leading up to the season. Here’s everything I’ve done in one convenient place with a ton of links for your viewing pleasure.
Good luck!!
ADP Master
The single most important part of your fantasy football draft is getting good relative value. It’s not just who you pick and how many points they score but when you take them.
Fantasy Football Calculator has a great tool that measures Average Draft Position to give you an idea of where guys tend to fall in drafts. Any player can be a good value bet eventually if they fall far enough, but I did a big series for Fantasy Football Calculator considering the best players to target and avoid at each position based on their usual ADP.
Use the link next to each section to read more about each player group. Here are my biggest targets and avoids on draft day that will help you become the ADP Draft Master.
- 4 QBs to Avoid — Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Derek Carr, and Kirk Cousins
- 4 QBs to Target — Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Marcus Mariota
- 6 RBs to Avoid — LeSean McCoy, Melvin Gordon, Ezekiel Elliott, Marshawn Lynch, Joe Mixon, Ty Montgomery
- 6 RBs to Target — Todd Gurley, Isaiah Crowell, Lamar Miller, Kareem Hunt, Matt Forte, C.J. Anderson
- 6 WRs to Avoid — A.J. Green, Amari Cooper, Brandin Cooks, Terrelle Pryor, Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams
- 6 WRs to Target — Dez Bryant, DeVante Parker, Kelvin Benjamin, Larry Fitzgerald, Eric Decker, Keenan Allen
- 4 TEs to Avoid — Travis Kelce, O.J. Howard, Tyler Eifert, Martellus Bennett
- 4 TEs to Target — Rob Gronkowski, Jack Doyle, Jimmy Graham, Zach Ertz
High Upside 2017 Sleepers
I wrote about my 20 favorite sleepers for the 2017 season. All of them are available in the 8th round or later and all have a path to huge usage and a high output season.
- QBs Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, and Ben Roethlisberger all available in the 8th round or later make a great case for waiting on QB again
- RBs Jeremy Hill and Matt Forte are boring but useful RB plug-ins
- A quartet of New England Patriots are high-upside picks deep in the draft, and two of them could end up top 25 at their positions
- WR Pierre Garcon SF could be among the NFL target leaders in Kyle Shanahan’s offense
- WRs Kenny Britt CLE and Mike Wallace BAL are late veterans that could sneak their way into the top ten if everything clicks
- TE Jack Doyle is my favorite tight end target if I wait (more on him below)
High Impact 2017 Rookies
I took a dive into every team’s draft to see how it would impact teams’ fantasy outlooks for the new season. There are a number of big name rookies that could be fantasy difference makers this season. Here’s how I rank the top eight rookies for the 2017 season only, with Kareem Hunt a big breakout pick while Leonard Fournette may disappoint 2nd round drafters.
- RB Christian McCaffrey CAR
- RB Kareem Hunt KC
- RB Dalvin Cook MIN
- RB Leonard Fournette JAX
- RB Joe Mixon CIN
- WR Corey Davis TEN
- RB Jamaal Williams GB
- WR Zay Jones BUF
Deep Dives on a Few Key Players
- Why Matt Ryan’s career numbers and offensive coordinator change point toward a major regression this season from an outstanding MVP season to one that could leave him as an average fantasy starter at best
- Why the Sammy Watkins trade may not actually mean much for his value but why it might mean Todd Gurley is this year’s LeSean McCoy while LeSean McCoy is this year’s Todd Gurley
- Why Derek Carr’s rise up the draft boards makes no real sense since he’s never had a real history of fantasy success and doesn’t have the high upside you need from a middle round quarterback
- Why Allen Robinson’s ADP slide means excellent potential value for a receiver that’s still getting a massive target and redzone share for a team that will be playing from behind all season
- Why Jack Doyle could be the Prince that was Promised at tight end and end up among the top five at his position while drafted as a backup
- Why C.J. Fiedorowicz and Tyler Higbee are two deep tight ends to stash if you want a high upside pick to close your draft
Major Preseason and Training Camp Battles
I wrote about eight major NFL preseason battles to keep your eye on as new players and/or coaching staffs began to show their cards a bit. Here are five big preseason highlights and updates that will shape fantasy football:
- Philadelphia RBs and WRs — LeGarrette Blount hasn’t been on the field as much as hoped and is seeing his ADP slide, while Philadelphia is playing many 3 WR sets and Alshon Jeffery is showing good chemistry with Carson Wentz
- New England RBs — Mike Gillislee has struggled to create much momentum nursing an injured hamstring and has seen his ADP plummet while Rex Burkhead and James White have been gaining steam and look like good late gambles
- Cincinnati RBs — Jeremy Hill picked up an ankle injury late in the preseason and is a question for week one, so rookie Joe Mixon could get a chance to shine early
- Minnesota RBs — Dalvin Cook has been one of the big preseason buzz names and is shooting up draft boards as one of the big early sleeper RBs, causing all sorts of missed tackles and looking great out of the shotgun
- Tampa Bay RBs — Doug Martin has looked healthy and showed a ton of burst and could be a great early target as he sits three weeks on suspension and could fall out of sight, out of mind for many owners
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