Hopefully, by this point, all of your drafts are done. Your teams are ready and your LINEUPS ARE SET FOR TONIGHT!!! Football is back and so is our degenerate penchant for gambling. Your fantasy draft may have concluded in fist pump or tears but, micromanagement, WAB budgets and late night wire scouring is a season long commitment. With that in mind here are some largely undrafted players you may want to consider for future targets as the season goes on.
This list is composed of players whose ADP is 170 or lower on Fantasy Pros and this is intended solely for the use for re-draft leagues.
Nyheim Hines RB, Indianapolis Colts (ADP 183): Nyheim Hines is not being drafted in most 10-12 team leagues but he’s the receiving back in a backfield that looks to be trailing much of the season. Marlon Mack is being drafted in the middle rounds of most drafts and Hines isn’t even being considered as a handcuff. Meanwhile Mack hasn’t shown that he can handle a full workload, has only caught 38 passes in his two seasons in the NFL (as compared to Hines 63 in a single season). Hines will be a worthy flex before the season is done and may have some RB2 upside if Mack gets injured.
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Miles Boykin WRs, Baltimore Ravens (ADP 184 and 213 respectively): The Ravens invested a lot of draft capital in their wide receivers this off season. Yes, I remember they also drafted Breshad Perriman who has never looked like an NFL receiver. However, Marquise Brown looks at this point like he’ll play more games than his formerly frost-bitten and helmetless and soon to be suspended cousin (Antonio Brown). Marquise Brown is a player who created a ton of speration in college and has a chance to be a number one target on an offense that features no real familiar names other than Willie Snead. Miles Boykin is a speedy receiver with size that may emerge as a redzone threat. Since Seth Roberts and Chris Moore have never shown that they can be the lead horses on an offense, we don’t know who will be producing for this offense. Why can’t it be the new guys? I know when we last saw the Ravens, Lamar Jackson looked remedial at best but has since had an entire off season to develop and coaches have had that time to build an offense around his skill set. Expect the Ravens offense to be more efficient than anticipated.
Darren Waller TE, Oakland Raiders (ADP 194): For those of you who had Jared Cook on your roster last season you remember being pleasantly surprised with the production from the Tight-End who had previously been fairly worthless as a fantasy option prior to last season. Well Darren Waller is, much like Cook, a physical freak of nature. Much like Cook, he hasn’t done much prior to this season. However, coaches have raved about his ability, he’s filling Cook’s role on the offense and with the impending “situation” with Antonio Brown, Waller looks to be a sneaky pickup for those who waited too long on filling the Tight-End position or for those who suffer a TE injury in the early weeks of the season (calling: Jordan Reed owners).
Zay Jones WR, Buffalo Bills (ADP 197): It may be hard to believe but Zay Jones finished last season as a WR3. Once Josh Allen took over Jones was targeted more often, finishing with 42 targets in his last 5 games. In that span he also scored 5 touchdowns and Bills fans finally caught a glimpse of the receiver they drafted in the second round.
Frank Gore RB, Buffalo Bills (ADP 212): Did you remember that Frank Gore ran for 722 yards in 14 games last season? Did you remember that he ran for 4.6 yards per carry in a constipated Adam Gase offense last season? Did you remember the Frank Gore is an un-killable robot created by Cyberdyne intent on outliving the last of humanity? I know it isn’t a flashy pickup. However, in the off chance that Devin Singletary doesn’t understand his blocking assignments or needs more time to be integrated into the offense, Frank Gore is a dependable veteran that will have a workload in Buffalo. With the exodus of Shady McCoy, I can see Frank Gore getting carries early in the season and being involved throughout. He will likely be a steady bye week flex play for many looking to keep their team afloat whenever Byemageddon rolls around. Gore has never had less than 150 carries in a season and I legitimately think if we end up in a dystopian near future, he will be standing above all our graves. Long live The Inconvenient Truth.