Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
The best part about playing Fantasy Football is finding the players that carry your team to a championship. It’s even sweeter if it was a player that was drafted later than the “stars” who were expected to lead your team. There are always a couple players who are mid to late round options who produce like (or better than) top picks, The hard part is to identify those players. The players I have listed below are guys I tab as “breakouts” who are drafted in round 5 or later who can be every week starters at their respective positions or bye week and injury fill ins for your bench. Most of the players won't cost more than a late round pick or a $1 in an Auction draft. Late in your draft you should be looking for a clear path to targets or carries due to injury or lack of talent in front of them. Hopefully these players will lead you to a Fantasy Championship.
Quarterbacks
Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville Jaguars
My Strategy during the draft is to usually wait on taking a QB and take a high upside option who can be a consistent top 15 QB week in and week out. This season I will look to draft Gardner Minshew in all of my leagues. Minshew will be asked to throw the ball more this season for a bad Jaguars team with Jay Gruden coming in as the team's offensive coordinator. DJ Chark enjoyed a breakout 2019 because of his chemistry with Minshew and I expect that to grow even more.
Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers
The Former Saint and Viking’s Quarterback signed a 3 year deal with Carolina this offseason making him the new starting quarterback of the Panthers. He comes into a rebuilding Panthers squad with nice weapons around him. If you believe in DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey there’s no reason to not believe that the man throwing them the ball will have a nice fantasy season. Teddy B had a 68% completion percentage in his 5 starts for the Saints last year and with the speed and athleticism the Panthers have, Bridgewater could be in for a career high in TDs. Currently going as the QB26 in the back of the 14th round screams massive value as a streaming option for all who draft QBs late.
Running Back
David Montgomery, Chicago Bears
David Montgomery had a decent season last year and comes into year 2 as the starting Running Back in Chicago. Montgomery won’t be used in the passing game as much as we like in fantasy but he should easily average 15 or more carries a game which should keep him in the RB2 conversation all season. If he can improve on the 3.7 yards per carry he had last year he can easily break the 1,000 yard mark and match or improve on the 6 touchdowns. There’s no competition for carries and he’s currently being undervalued as the 23rd RB off the board. You will be very pleased with Montgomery if you can get him as your 2nd or 3rd Running Back.
Matt Brieda, Miami Dolphins
He has the breakaway speed we’ve seen over the last 2 years and could finally be on his way to over 150 carries. Miami didn’t add a RB in the draft but traded for Breida who, Only 2 years ago, had 153 carries for 814 yards and 3 TDs. If Breida gets close to 200 carries he could easily be in the RB2 range. He's at the RB36 which means he is the ultimate upside pick. Brieda is the best pass catching back in Miami and could be on the field more than Jordan Howard and has shown he doesn't have to have a full workload to be relevant in Fantasy Football. I think Brieda has Top 24 potential and could be had at a very cheap price on draft day.
Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams
When drafting a rookie running back in fantasy football you need to look for a clear path for carries. The Rams drafted Akers in the 2nd round of the NFL draft after cutting Todd Gurley earlier in the offseason. With Gurley gone that leaves 223 carries and 49 targets. Akers might not start off as the clear number one but it shouldn't take long for him to overtake Malcolm Brown and Darrel Henderson for the bulk of the carries. Akers was a top RB prospect pre draft with some experts having him as their #1 back. As the Running Back 20 in early ADP he costs more than a lot of people are willing to pay which might push him down a round or 2. Pay attention to where he's going because you could have a RB1 after drafting him late.
Wide Receiver
Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens
Marquise Brown only saw 71 targets last season in 14 games and turned that into 46 catches and 7 Touchdowns. Baltimore had every chance to add a bigger threat for targets in the draft and Free agency but all they did was add Devin Duvernay and James Proche. With the high powered Ravens offense scoring points at an amazing pace, Brown could be an absolute steal at his current WR30 price tag. Brown has the skill and opportunity to be in the Range of 70 catches for 1,000 yards and 8 Tds.
Henry Ruggs III, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders spent a top pick on Ruggs and will plan to feature him in a huge way. Last season the Raiders ran bubble screens and slants with Hunter Renfrow and Zay Jones and didn’t have much success with that. Ruggs ran a 4.27 40 at the Combine and Gruden will use him all over the field. Gruden’s expected to use Ruggs, how The Chiefs use Tyreek Hill and how the 49ers use Deebo Samuel. It would not surprise a lot of people around the organization if they force feed Ruggs with targets right out of the gate and with his speed and playmaking ability he could easily be a top 30 WR and with his WR41 price tag it won’t cost you a lot to get top flight production for your team. Ruggs has the ability to hit 1,000 yards in his rookie season.
Tight End
Hayden Hurst, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta had the most vacated Targets in the NFL with 258. The team Lost Austin Hooper (75/97, 787, 6 TD in 10 games) in free agency and traded a 2nd round pick to Baltimore for Hurst. People forget that the Ravens drafted Hayden Hurst before Mark Andrews. Hurst is an athletic Tight end with great hands and could easily slide right into The Austin Hooper role from last season. Hurst’s early ADP is TE 11 and pick 111. And could easily be a top 6 TE especially with scarcity at the TE position.
Mike Gesicki, Miami Dolphins
Gesicki had a good amount of Targets and could see him improving from 55 catches for 570 yards. Dolphins had a ton of picks and did not use them on a WR or pass catching RB. only 67 Vacated Targets to go around in Miami but they should be more competitive this season which could mean more opportunities for Gesicki. At the current ADP of TE 14 and pick 139 he’s the perfect player to take toward the end of the draft as your top TE and stack up on the more important positions first or take him as your second TE and play matchups to make sure you get the most out of the position as you can. I believe Gesicki’s ADP will rise up so if you are doing early drafts or best ball leagues he should be your guy.
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