Draft season is upon us, people! The madness of training camp and preseason football is about to begin. Soon we will have so much fantasy football news blowing up our phones, we won’t even be able to process it all. The next month will be filled with so many opinions, articles, podcast, and stats about each and every player. As you do mock drafts or prepare for your real drafts, you will be on the lookout for sleepers and breakout players. This is a list of three to four players from each two rounds that I will have my eye on during each of my drafts:
For this article, I will be using https://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.php to determine the rounds in which these players are being taken. The format for the ADP I use will be ten team standard scoring league, because this is the scoring I currently use. Keep in mind that each fantasy league is different, and a player being taken on nfl.com could have a different ADP on ESPN.com. Also, I don’t need to tell you to draft guys like Antonio Brown, Cam Newton, or Gronk, so these guys will not be on this list. The players that you will find on this list are guys that are being drafted at a great value or someone who I am higher on than another analyst.
Rounds 1&2:
For this article, I will be using https://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.php to determine the rounds in which these players are being taken. The format for the ADP I use will be ten team standard scoring league, because this is the scoring I currently use. Keep in mind that each fantasy league is different, and a player being taken on nfl.com could have a different ADP on ESPN.com. Also, I don’t need to tell you to draft guys like Antonio Brown, Cam Newton, or Gronk, so these guys will not be on this list. The players that you will find on this list are guys that are being drafted at a great value or someone who I am higher on than another analyst.
Rounds 1&2:
A.J Green, Bengals, 1.09:
There’s no denying that A.J Green is an absolute beast. In the five years that Green has played, he has never had fewer than 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns. Not only does he consistently put up monster stats, but in five years he has only missed 4 games. He has finished as top 10 receiver three times, and a top five receiver twice. Although you are going to have to pay up for Green this year, I like his situation coming into the 2016 season. Mohamed Sanu signed with the Falcons, and Marvin Jones signed with the Lions in the offseason. Between the two, they combined for 152 targets, which accounts for 39% of Andy Dalton's pass attempts last season. Even though the Bengals acquired Brandon Lafell, and drafted Tyler Boyd in the second round I don’t expect them to challenge A.J Green for targets. To me, they are there to fill a void and that’s all. Expect Green to see a massive increase in targets, so much so that I legitimately believe he could lead the league in targets. For what it’s worth, the Bengals also have the sixth easiest schedule coming into the season. Right now, Green is going behind Deandre Hopkins, and for this season I would rather have A.J Green.
There’s no denying that A.J Green is an absolute beast. In the five years that Green has played, he has never had fewer than 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns. Not only does he consistently put up monster stats, but in five years he has only missed 4 games. He has finished as top 10 receiver three times, and a top five receiver twice. Although you are going to have to pay up for Green this year, I like his situation coming into the 2016 season. Mohamed Sanu signed with the Falcons, and Marvin Jones signed with the Lions in the offseason. Between the two, they combined for 152 targets, which accounts for 39% of Andy Dalton's pass attempts last season. Even though the Bengals acquired Brandon Lafell, and drafted Tyler Boyd in the second round I don’t expect them to challenge A.J Green for targets. To me, they are there to fill a void and that’s all. Expect Green to see a massive increase in targets, so much so that I legitimately believe he could lead the league in targets. For what it’s worth, the Bengals also have the sixth easiest schedule coming into the season. Right now, Green is going behind Deandre Hopkins, and for this season I would rather have A.J Green.
Lamar Miller, Texans, 2.01:
I have a full-fledged man crush on Lamar Miller this season. Last year being a Miller owner, all you wanted was to see the Dolphins unleash him, which they did for a few weeks. Miller has been in the league for four years, but has really made a name for himself the past two years by finishing in the top ten twice. This year Miller signed with the Houston Texans, making everyone fully aware he wanted to play somewhere he could get a ton of carries and be “the guy.” He clearly wants to be in the elite RB conversation, and this season I would put him in that category. His new coach, Bill O'Brien, has finished inside the top 5 in rushing attempts each season. Miller is bound to be the workhorse back with little threat to his job from Alfred Blue and Tyler Ervin. He has everything you could possibly want in a fantasy player: youth, opportunity, ability, and a run first offense. All of these qualities combined make Miller one of the safest picks this year, and he belongs in the tier with guys like Gurley, Peterson, and Elliot.
I have a full-fledged man crush on Lamar Miller this season. Last year being a Miller owner, all you wanted was to see the Dolphins unleash him, which they did for a few weeks. Miller has been in the league for four years, but has really made a name for himself the past two years by finishing in the top ten twice. This year Miller signed with the Houston Texans, making everyone fully aware he wanted to play somewhere he could get a ton of carries and be “the guy.” He clearly wants to be in the elite RB conversation, and this season I would put him in that category. His new coach, Bill O'Brien, has finished inside the top 5 in rushing attempts each season. Miller is bound to be the workhorse back with little threat to his job from Alfred Blue and Tyler Ervin. He has everything you could possibly want in a fantasy player: youth, opportunity, ability, and a run first offense. All of these qualities combined make Miller one of the safest picks this year, and he belongs in the tier with guys like Gurley, Peterson, and Elliot.
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs, 2.04:
There’s not much I can tell you about Jamaal Charles that you wouldn’t already know. He is a once in a lifetime talent, and sure to be hall of famer. What I can tell you is, I don’t remember the last time Charles was being drafted outside of the first round. I know that he is getting older (29), and he is coming off an ACL tear, but he will still be the premiere running back in an Andy Reid offense. If you combined the production from Charles, Charcandrick West, and Spencer Ware from last year, it would equate to 275.7 fantasy points, which would be the number 1 running back by 32 points. Of course Charles himself won’t sustain that much production on his own, but it shows how much the Chiefs rely on the running back position in their offensive scheme. Charles presents a great value in the second round because you’re not giving up your very first pick to draft him. Also, his handcuff Spencer Ware, is being taken in the back end of the 13th round, so you won’t be have to reach to lock up the Chiefs backfield. I would take Charles ahead of guys like Devonta Freeman and Eddie lacy.
These are a few players that stand out to me in the first and second round. Stay tuned to see who makes the list of players to target in the third and fourth round.
There’s not much I can tell you about Jamaal Charles that you wouldn’t already know. He is a once in a lifetime talent, and sure to be hall of famer. What I can tell you is, I don’t remember the last time Charles was being drafted outside of the first round. I know that he is getting older (29), and he is coming off an ACL tear, but he will still be the premiere running back in an Andy Reid offense. If you combined the production from Charles, Charcandrick West, and Spencer Ware from last year, it would equate to 275.7 fantasy points, which would be the number 1 running back by 32 points. Of course Charles himself won’t sustain that much production on his own, but it shows how much the Chiefs rely on the running back position in their offensive scheme. Charles presents a great value in the second round because you’re not giving up your very first pick to draft him. Also, his handcuff Spencer Ware, is being taken in the back end of the 13th round, so you won’t be have to reach to lock up the Chiefs backfield. I would take Charles ahead of guys like Devonta Freeman and Eddie lacy.
These are a few players that stand out to me in the first and second round. Stay tuned to see who makes the list of players to target in the third and fourth round.