For my final article of the preseason, I’m going to talk about players that I keep drafting. Some of them are because they keep falling to me and some of them are because I truly love that player and his potential. What I’ll do here is discuss just why and how these guys ended up on so many of my teams and why you should target these players in any last-minute drafts.
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The Players I keep Drafting
Ezekiel Elliott, RB (DAL)
I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t horrified by this but I just keep drafting Elliott. In most of my leagues, he just continues to fall and I simply can’t pass him up anytime he falls out of the Top-3. This is a guy who many people considered the No. 1 pick before all of this contract crap and I’m not going to let that scare me off of him. The reason for that is because this stud leads the league in fantasy points and rushing yards since 2016. That’s really no surprise when you see that he plays behind the best offensive line in football and there may be no better bet for an RB to finish Top-5.
You might be saying, “but, he can’t finish Top-5 if he sits out!” You’re right, but drafting Tony Pollard in the middle-rounds is a good way to make sure you still have one of the top backs in fantasy. He’ll surely carry the load in the absence of Elliott and that will make up for any games he misses. My favorite part about Zeke is the fact that he became a major part of the passing game last season, collecting 77 catches and 567 yards through the air on 95 targets. That’s absurd from a guy who’s projected for close to 2,000 total yards and double-digit touchdowns and I’m willing to bank on people’s insecurities by taking him wherever he falls. That’s why Elliott is my number one Players I Keep Drafting pick.
Chris Carson, RB (SEA)
While most of my Carson stock came from early drafts, it’s still crazy just how many of my teams he’s ended up on. In fact, he’s on half of my 14 teams thus far and it’s about time the industry starts taking notice with his sky-rocketing ADP. A few weeks ago, I was able to land Carson in the fifth or even sixth round. Now, he’s unlikely to get past the third or fourth. What made that early ADP truly surprising to me is that everyone forgot just how special this dude was last season.
Over his final eight games last season, Carson accrued 674 rushing yards and seven TDs. That made him one of the best RB’s in fantasy and it’s really no surprise when you consider the fact that Seattle led the league in rushing attempts last season. The reports out of camp are glowing too, with many reporters indicating that Carson is running away with the job from Rashaad Penny. You’re telling me that I can get a top back for the top-running team in the NFL in Round 5? That’s just stupid and it’s hard to understand why people are letting this dude fall.
I actually landed Carson at pick 7.07 (79th Overall) in the SFB draft a couple of months ago and that alone shows just how much his stock has improved.
Cam Newton, QB (CAR)
I’ve always lived by the philosophy of waiting on QBs and this seems to be one of the guys who always falls to me late. Are people forgetting what a stud Cam can be at times? Yes, he does have major injury risks but who cares with all of the other good QBs out there. Not many guys have Top-5 upside like Newton and I’m willing to take that risk near the end of my draft.
We’re talking about a guy who led all players with 389 fantasy points in 2015 and ranked second in 2017 with 300 fantasy points. Any player who has the capability to finish Top-3 in the league is worth a shot, particularly a guy who’s being taken around pick 100. What I like to do is pair him up with someone like Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray, as these two guys also have huge potential. Having two of these guys will almost guarantee you a Top-10 QB and that’s all you can ask for with all of the talented skill players you’ll draft earlier by waiting on QB.
Jarvis Landry, WR (CLE)
This ADP blows my mind and Landry was the first person I thought of when constructing this Players I Keep Drafting article. Why are we letting such a consistent producer fall so deep into our drafts? Since being drafted in 2014, Landry is the only WR in the game to record at least 80 catches in all five of those seasons. That’s consistency at its finest, as he’s also averaging 5.4 TDs and just over 1,000 yards per season. That makes him a stud in PPR formats and he’s being priced like a role player.
While he likely will lose some targets to Odell Beckham Jr, I look at this move as a positive. Not only will Landry be playing with the best quarterback he’s ever had, I expect Beckham to open things underneath for Landry. That’s huge for a guy who’s finished Top-8 in targets in three of the last four seasons, averaging close to 140 targets per year. This role paired with that consistency would make me believe that he’s a third or fourth-round pick in PPR but I typically see him go in round six or seven. That’s criminal pricing and it’s why he’s ended up on so many of my teams.
Delanie Walker, TE (TEN)
Walker is the most underrated TE in fantasy right now and he’s ended up on 10 of my teams thus far. That’s easily the highest total of any of these players and I simply don’t understand his value assessment. Whether he’s my starter or my backup, Walker is simply going to end up on almost all of my teams. We’re talking about one of the most reliable tight ends of the past decade and he’s being drafted around guys like Trey Burton and David Njoku. That’s downright silly when you look at the numbers.
Before missing last season, Walker actually ranked second among all TE’s in fantasy points per game dating back to 2014 and he actually finished in the top-5 at the position every year between 2015-17. In addition, Walker averaged 74 catches on 113 targets in that four-year span, adding about 900 receiving yards and five TDs per year. That makes him one of the biggest steals of the draft in the 12th-round and it truly blows my mind that people are letting him fall this far at such a weak position.
More Players I Keep Drafting
Kenny Golladay (DET): The clear-cut option for Matthew Stafford keeping falling to round 5 or 6 and that’s amazing value with his sky-high talent profile.
Latavius Murray (NO): Murray keeps falling to the 80s in drafts and I expect him to take over the Mark Ingram role, which was a fourth-round player last season.
Mike Williams (LAC): This is a sophomore breakout who showed signs of brilliance last season. I expect his role to increase with Melvin Gordon out of the picture.
Curtis Samuel (CAR): This dude keeps falling around pick 100 in drafts and it makes no sense with all of the glowing reports out of training camp.
Josh Gordon (NE): I may be an idiot for falling for this again but Gordon has shown Top-10 potential and is going in the middle rounds.
Joel Bartilotta is a fantasy addict who gets paid to write about his addiction. He writes for FantasyPros, RotoWire, Razzball and now Fantrax. Joel is a basketball lifer but he also covers MLB and NFL.
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