DeAndre Hopkins’ ADP makes him a “must-have” in the eyes of Seth Klein and Scott Pratt Photo: USA Today
Have you found yourself in the fourth, fifth or sixth round struggling to figure out who you should draft? The first few rounds usually fly by as everyone knows it’d be silly to pass up certain players as they’ll likely be gone before you pick again. The mid-rounds bring a different strategy as you try to get good value for your picks.
Since the mid-rounds aren’t as cut and dry, we’ve asked our experts who their #1 “must-have” player is outside the top rounds. We’ll also get their take on what top 50 player is least likely to be on any of their teams.
Q1. After the first few rounds (ADP #36), who is one ‘must-have’ player you’ll be targeting in all drafts?
Consensus ADP: #133
“With an ADP of 133, I love the value DeAndre Hopkins has around the 11th round. He finished 2nd in yards and 4th in catches among all rookie pass catchers, and only dropped 1 pass out of 53 catchable balls, which was the second-best rate in the entire NFL. A year of development and an upgrade at QB should benefit him even more. There are 4 kickers and 10 defenses being selected ahead of him right now.”
“I’ve ended up with DeAndre Hopkins in nearly all of my mock drafts. 50 catches and 800 yards receiving is a successful rookie season. I doubt he’d be outside the top 40 receivers and top 125 overall if he had scored more than two touchdowns last season, but there is a lot of potential there.”
– Scott Spratt (Pro Football Focus)
Consensus ADP: #72
“I flip-flopped choosing between several players, including Jordan Cameron (ADP 60.3) and Michael Floyd (ADP 66.8), but Joique Bell at his Standard ADP of 72 is the ‘must-have’ player I’ll be targeting in all drafts. While Bell clearly offers more in PPR formats, I think he’ll be more valuable in Standard than people realize after scoring 8 rushing touchdowns for the Lions last season. I’m also among the camp who believes Bell will take on more of an increased role this season while Reggie Bush scales back in his age-29 season.”
– Ryan Rufe (RotoBaller)
Robert Griffin III (QB) Redskins
Consensus ADP: #56
“If you miss out on RG3 in 2014, you are putting yourself at a serious risk on missing out on a historic season. The Redskins offense is 100% geared towards making sure RG3 will be a Fantasy Beast. They added a weapon bringing in DeSean Jackson along with hiring a new head coach, the aggressive passing Hall-of-Fame Arena QB Jay Gruden.”
Consensus ADP: #42
“My must-have is Matthew Stafford. I think he will compete with Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees as one of the top three quarterbacks. This season he will have a healthier Calvin Johnson and major upgrades for his secondary options with Golden Tate and rookie tight end Eric Ebron. You can’t forget pass catching running backs Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, as if he needed even more passing options. Round four is a bit early for me to take a quarterback, but I think he may be worth it if you had a good first three rounds.”
Consensus ADP: #53
“I’ll be targeting Bishop Sankey in all leagues. Chris Johnson has been tailing off, but has still been a top-12 running back in five of the last six seasons, thanks to a top-five offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson went untouched in the backfield on 70 percent of his carries every season since 2009. Sankey, meanwhile, is the clear cut best back on this team, and should have plenty of opportunity. I’ve gotten him as a flex in some mocks, which I believe is stealing.”
Q2. What player with a top 50 ADP is least likely to be on any of your teams?
Consensus ADP: #48
“He just sneaks into the top 50, but at No. 48, Percy Harvin is probably a guy who won’t be on many of my teams. He plays on a run-first team and is far too injury prone for my liking. The gadget plays and kickoff returns are nice, and he obviously has big time potential, but I’ll let someone else deal with the headaches (no pun intended).”
“I won’t be touching Percy Harvin at his current ADP. Not a chance. Seattle throws the ball less than anyone, Harvin can’t stay on the field, and there are more proven guys like Roddy White and Torrey Smith going after him.”
– Adam Pfeifer (http://www.rantsports.com/)
Consensus ADP: #23
“I can appreciate what Zac Stacy did in his rookie season for the Rams last year, but I doubt I’ll be drafting him on any of my teams at his current ADP. His 3.9 average yards per attempt wasn’t particularly inspiring and the Rams recently added Tre Mason in the 3rd Round of the NFL draft. I guess I’d just like to see St. Louis make more of a commitment to Stacy before I consider spending a 2nd or 3rd round pick on him. I’m probably lower on Stacy than most — I currently have him ranked #38 overall and #19 among Running Backs — so he’ll likely be long-gone at the point of the draft where I’d consider taking him.”
– Ryan Rufe (RotoBaller)
Consensus ADP: #38
“It was bad enough watching Fred Jackson take carries away from Spiller in 2013. Now the offensively challenged Bills brought in Bryce Brown who is arguably one of the most explosive RB’s who deserves a chance to start. Just when you thought it could not get any worse, the Bills also brought in the powerful Anthony Dixon from SF. The Bills have too many weapons at RB, and their offense will have a lot of trouble in the passing game. C.J. Spiller has a lot of BUST potential this season as all it takes is one of these other 3 RB’s to look good before we start heading into a RBBC.”
Consensus ADP: #21
“I’ll start by saying none of the tight ends taken in the top 50 will be on my teams. I refuse to take one that early. However, I will ultimately avoid Doug Martin. He was struggling last season before getting injured in week 7. Some, me included, just thought the Bucs offense and offensive line were to blame, but all the running backs that stepped in his place had success to squash that idea. The Bucs must have some concern as well, shown by them drafting Charles Sims in the third round of this years draft. Mix in new OC, Jeff Tedford, who is planning on using a multiple back set and I would hold off on taking him until a few rounds later, or at least until after the first 20 running backs are off the board.”
Consensus ADP: #45
“With the added talent of Carlos Hyde, a potentially healthy Marcus Lattimore, a healthy Michael Crabtree, and Stevie Johnson, there are a far too many options for everyone to succeed in fantasy in San Francisco this season. For me, Crabtree is the worst value at WR18 and 45 overall. While Vernon Davis can stretch the field and create matchup problems with his size, Crabtree will only live up to his draft position if Kaepernick is still the quarterback from 2012 who continuously forces him the ball.”
– Scott Spratt (Pro Football Focus)
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Thank you to our experts for contributing their thoughts, you can follow them on Twitter here.
| Adam Pfeifer (Rant Sports) | Follow @aPfeiferRS |
| Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack) | Follow @fantasysixpack |
| Muntradamus (Beast Dome) | Follow @Muntradamus |
| Ryan Rufe (RotoBaller) | Follow @RyanRufe |
| Scott Spratt (Pro Football Focus) | Follow @PFF_ScottSpratt |
| Seth Klein (Fake Pigskin) | Follow @SethDaSportsMan |
