Should fantasy gamers avoid drafting Doug Baldwin? Can anything stop Tyler Lockett from becoming a thing?
James Conner are intriguing deep sleeper running backs for the final rounds fantasy drafts.
It’s been 10 years since he last coached an NFL game, but Jon Gruden has returned to the black hole for the 2018 season. The Raiders lured Gruden out of the broadcast booth with a whopping 10-year, $100 million contract. When Gruden told reporters he was “trying to throw the game back to 1998,” it was assumed to be a joke, but the head-scratching moves indicate that he may be serious.
If we consider the historical averages and assume Cooper returns to his 2016 efficiency, his 2018 stat line projects out to around 88 receptions on 140 targets for 1,250 yards and nine touchdowns. Those numbers would have placed him as PPR WR4 between Keenan Allen and Larry Fitzgerald in 2017. I’m absolutely buying the top-five upside at his current cost of a late third-round pick.
Many fantasy analysts were frustratingly a year early on the Jamison Crowder breakout call, rapport has been evident with new quarterback Alex Smith early on this offseason. Crowder clicking with Smith is the least surprising event of the summer.
Tyreek Hill is arguably the league’s most explosive weapon and is now ideally paired with bazooka-arm’d Patrick Mahomes.
Jon Gruden has always fed his WR1’s, and Cooper is in line for the lion’s share. Could easily be over 130 targets this year.
The late-round QB strategy is our preferred draft ideology, but it’s still worth ranking the league’s top quarterbacks to ensure value when the time comes to pull the trigger on a signal caller. Solid quarterbacks may be in abundance, but they still make up the majority of fantasy football’s top scorers. Picking the right one(s) can win you a championship, despite a minimal investment of draft capital.
Always “just a streamer,” Alex Smith might’ve hit his peak last year in Kansas City. Now, counting on some regression, perhaps even more so with the loss of stud rookie runner Derrius Guice.
Last season’s hot-streak was rare, though Deshaun Watson is undoubtedly a special player at the position. He is returning from injury, it’s fair to temper expectations, but when healthy, his all-terrain skill set sets him apart.
Jordan Howard has serious questions in the pass game, although we’re told the Bears’ insist in increasing his third-down work. Either way, Chicago’s offense projects as one of the more explosive units under first-year head coach Matt Nagy.
Contract year for one of the league’s best pass-catching backs. He should go on to secure the bag McKinnon-style next offseason while filing up the box score in Atlanta this season. Good way to address the RB spot for “Zero RB” believers.
Ronald Jones is stinking things up in Tampa Bay and being outplayed by Barber. Hands were a question in college too, but we can’t fold this early even the draft capital.
When the 2018 regular season comes to an end, Rob Gronkowski will have delivered the greatest tight end season of all time. Gronkowski owns the single-season record in receiving yards (1,327 back in 2011). Oh, and receiving touchdowns too (17, also in 2011.) So how can he possibly hope to top all of this?
Can Rob Gronkowski reel in these targets at his career average (15.1 yards per reception)? If so, he would smash his own yardage record. As we already know, if Gronkowski plays in more than ten games, he usually scores at least ten touchdowns. Could he seriously threaten his TD record as well?
What is the Rob Gronkowski fix? How good was LeSean McCoy last year?
Marshawn Lynch has become the most underrated running back in the NFL.
If you are feeling like a bold fantasy drafter, don’t draft a defense or a kicker. It allows you to optimize your upside, while driving your league-mates insane at the draft. If none of your extra picks become fantasy relevant, your cost was minimal. There are always quality streamers and waiver options at positions other than running back and wide receiver.
Football is plagued by randomness. Injuries, coaching decisions, suspensions, etc. The Naked Bootleg fantasy draft strategy gives fantasy gamers success, because it allows them to roster possible lottery ticket running backs and wide receivers before the season starts.
Russell Wilson has not been fully unlocked yet. Has Jerick McKinnon’s ADP finally jumped the shark?
John Ross has maximum upside in the later rounds. Jaron Brown is the deepest sleeper with a real role.
Consider Adam Thielen, Devin Funchess, Robby Anderson, Cooper Kupp, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jermaine Kearse, Kenny Stills, and Mohamed Sanu all finished 2017 as top 30 PPR wide receivers despite a pre-season ADP outside the top 100. This begs the question — how do we identify the most likely candidates to breakout in 2018?
How is Taywan Taylor still flying under the radar? I don’t get it. Sure, he had a quiet rookie season with just 16 receptions (28 targets), 231 yards and one touchdown, but when we consider his opportunity, combined with his athletic profile, Taylor screams breakout star.
