September 1st, 2017
Friday Night Edition
Fantasy Draft Watch
Undervalued Players
Looking at the current ADPs and rankings,
it may seem easy to see players fantasy value, but then again maybe not. I am
no professor and don’t have any scientific degrees hanging on the wall, but I
am believer in numbers never lie (maybe stretch the truth now and then).
So let’s start with the Patriots running
back James White. If you ask me head coach Bill Belichick has put the writing
on the wall with the statement running back Mike Gillislee “has a ways to go.”
I don’t believe this is any indictment necessarily, but it supports my belief
that White is still the primary back in New England. In the off season White
signed a three-year extension after finishing the 2016 season third in both
targets (86) and receptions (60). White is going to have a
big role in the Patriots short passing game while mixing in a few carries; he’s
going to be fantasy relevant once again after finishing as the No. 26 fantasy
running back in 2016 (in PPR formats). Currently White is being drafted at the
tail end of the 9th round as the 43rd running back off the board (according to
FFC).
The quarterback position is looking very
deep this season, once you get past the elite (Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and
Drew Brees) and the Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is one of the
undervalued. Last season was a down year for Palmer, he had an injured John
Brown for most of the season and an inconsistent Michael Floyd that the team
eventually released following an arrest incident. But it was only a season
removed from when Palmer finished as the league’s No. 5 fantasy quarterback
when he passed for 4,671 yards passing and 35 touchdowns (in 2015). This season
the crew passing game looks ready to fly and I can see Palmer easily finishing
near the top 10, maybe 11 or 12. Currently Palmer is being drafted as the No.
19 fantasy quarterback, around the 13th round. You can get Palmer much earlier
in drafts and according to this fantasy footballer I believe in the value.
A pair of wide receivers that I find
interesting and undervalued include; the Los Angeles Chargers wide receivers
Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin. Currently Williams is going off the board
as the No. 40 fantasy receiver with an ADP of 8.10 (according to FFC), while
Benjamin is going outside the top 60 (likely undrafted). Both receivers are
poised to enter the season as part of a top tier offense with quarterback
Philip Rivers and running game led by Melvin Gordon. From weeks 5 to 13 last
year Williams was the No. 14 fantasy receiver in PPR finishing the season at
No. 18; so he certainly has WR2 upside. Benjamin has looked strong this
preseason and last year he was strong out of the gate, ranking as the 24th
fantasy receiver through the first 8 weeks. Like Williams, in this offense with
Rivers at the helm Benjamin has some upside that fantasy owners should look at
in the later rounds of their draft. Williams can certainly make an argument to
be taken much earlier and closer to the top 30 (have to remember wide receiver
Keenan Allen is back) and Benjamin should be considered as a streaming option
for bye weeks and a flex option (play the matchups).
These are just some of the undervalued
players I am seeing in current drafts.
That’s My Take
~David Ortega
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