August 19th 2017
Saturday Evening Edition
Fantasy Draft Watch
My Fantasy Favorites
It’s a Saturday night and all I can do
think about fantasy football; doing a mock draft and sharing more thoughts on
fantasy favorites.
I’ve managed to participate in a few dozen
mock drafts myself and have joined several leagues and the following players
have been on my list of targets.
Depending on what my strategy has been in
some of these leagues I have joined, if the tendency has been the running backs
early, a favorite I have been targeting (usually) in the 4th or 5th round
(depending on league size) is Lions wide receiver Golden Tate. Since his
arrival to Detroit in 2014, Tate has been a machine averaging 93.3 receptions,
1,073 yards receiving, and more than 135 targets in each of the past three
seasons. With the departure of Anquan Boldin and his 95 targets from last
season Tate should slide into the slot position more and see his volume greatly
this season. More targets this season can only elevate him above his 17th
fantasy receiver position from a year ago.
Whether I am targeting running backs or
wide receivers early, one player I have been eyeing in the early rounds has
been the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. There’s no question the big target is
the Patriots Rob Gronkowski, but I typically don’t like taking a tight ends in
the first two rounds where Gronk is going. Kelce is the 2nd tight end coming
off the board which is warranted, since he finished last season as the number one
TE with 85 receptions and 1,125 yards receiving on 117 targets. With wide
receiver Jeremy Maclin (76 targets last season) now in Baltimore, Kelce is
solidified as the Chiefs number one primary target in the passing game. At 6’5”
and 255 lbs, Kelce is another Gronk and an ideal candidate in the red zone.
Last season he was only targeted 15 times inside the 20, scoring three times;
fantasy owners can expect head coach Andy Reid to change those numbers this
season.
The Steelers have a not-so-secret weapon in
wide receiver Martavis Bryant and even though he’s set to return to action this
preseason, he still lingering around the 4th round, coming off the board as the
23rd fantasy receiver in PPR. That may be too rich to take as your number one
or two receiver, if you go running backs early, but if you can get him as your
third receiver I love his upside. Playing opposite Antonio Brown, he is going
to see plenty of favorable coverage and his electrifying speed is just a big
play in the making. In 2015 Bryant played in 11 games totaling 50 receptions
for 765 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns on 92 targets with most of his damage
coming in week 6 through week 15; good enough for the number 10 fantasy
receiver (in PPR) during that stretch. He’s a fantasy monster in wait and worth
the grab.
That’s My Take
~David Ortega
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