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6 Targets for your Last Draft Pick

DraftSharks

 

Matt Scauf uncovers 6 players with late round upside in fantasy drafts.

 

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We all spend a ton of time thinking about who we’re gonna pick 1st in our fantasy football drafts. But who are you taking last? Probably a kicker, in most cases. And we’re certainly on board with that. But there will be times when it makes sense to grab your kicker a round earlier — especially if you’ll pick near the end of that final frame — before the position gets totally picked over. One reason it’s OK to do so, is because there will always be deep sleeper types available at the end of your draft — guys who might be an injury away from any fantasy relevance but who could break out if given the chance.

 

These 6 players are staying on the board late into the average fantasy draft, often even making it out of draft day unselected. Each can be a solid stash at the end of your bench, though, in case opportunity suddenly arises.
 
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Benny Cunningham, RB, Rams

 

Will Tre Mason threaten Zac Stacy‘s role? That was the question all offseason. But the rookie’s coming along slowly and doesn’t seem like he’ll be ready for significant duty anytime soon. Cunningham, meanwhile, has quietly emerged as a backfield weapon in St. Louis.

 

He got the surprise start in the Rams’ 3rd preseason game, ahead of Stacy. HC Jeff Fisher explained it away with: “We just gave [Cunningham] a chance to run behind the first offensive line. We know what Zac can do.” But Stacy still entered the game after Cunningham. We’ve seen teams sit their lead backs at various points during the preseason — sometimes for all of it — to avoid injury. But how often do you see the coaches switch the order of their top 2 backs just for the heck of it?

 

At the least, this move seemed to suggest that Rams coaches envision a growing role for Cunningham. And why wouldn’t they? Through the 1st 3 exhibitions, he doubled Stacy’s rushing total over a matching 15 carries. Cunningham has averaged 5.3 yards per rush to Stacy’s 2.6. And that follows a debut season in which Cunningham sported a 5.6-yard rushing average.

 

This guy is making coaches put him on the field. And a Stacy injury could turn Cunningham into a feature back.

 

 

Latavius Murray, RB, Raiders

 

We’ve mentioned Murray before and laid out his situation in our AFC backfield breakdown article. Maurice Jones-Drew looks like the 1st guy up after tallying 67 yards on 11 carries in the preseason. A 40-yard dash made up most of that total, leaving a 2.7-yard average over the other 10 carries.

 

But MJD’s preseason performance isn’t the concern with him. It’s his 29 years of age, 11 missed games over the past 2 seasons and 3.4-yard rushing average from 2013. Jones-Drew resides clearly on the other side of the hill, and Darren McFadden has taken up residence not far away.

 

D-Mac’s still just 27, but he has finished 2 straight seasons with 3.3 yards per carry at missed at least 3 games every year of his career — including 19 over the past 3 campaigns. The hopes of him bouncing all the way back to 2011 form appear gone. Plus, the vet has only caught 1 pass for -2 yards through 3 preseason weeks.

 

Murray, meanwhile, hasn’t given us much reason to get excited. He has managed just 3.5 yards per rush and a long run of 8 yards while leading the team in carries through 3 exhibitions. But Murray also led the backfield (tied with Kory Sheets) with 5 receptions, netting another 38 yards.

 

That at least shows some ability in both areas. And with rookie QB Derek Carr seemingly on track to start soon — perhaps by the opener — checkdowns will be abundant.

 

Murray has yet to be the show the kind of standout talent that forces its way onto the field. But OC Greg Olson told the Oakland Tribune in early August that the 2nd-year back was having a “real good camp.” And Murray’s likely still rounding into form after requiring 2 surgeries for a foot injury that cost him all of 2013 and didn’t return him to full health until May. Adding kick-return duties this summer should only help him make the game-day rosters. And we haven’t forgotten that this 6’3, 225-pounder with 4.38 speed averaged 5.4 yards per carry and 10.5 per reception over 4 years at Central Florida.

 

Whether you bite on MJD, McFadden or neither in the middle of your draft, the situation gives Murray upside late.

 

 

Theo Riddick, RB, Lions

 

Riddick made our PPR Hidden Gems list a couple of weeks ago, so we’re just reiterating that case here.

 

Reggie Bush and Joique Bell will gobble up backfield opportunities at the outset, but the Lions seem determined to find Riddick a regular role anyway. Detroit’s 3rd preseason contest found him getting on the field as a wideout in 4-WR sets early and even stealing a red-zone carry from Bell in the 2nd quarter.

 

It’s easy to draw lines from this backfield to the 3-RB systems of New Orleans. OC Joe Lombardi has reportedly installed the same scheme in his 1st turn as a coordinator after coaching QBs with the Saints. But Bush played the Darren Sproles role in New Orleans before Sproles did, and Bell seems destined for some combo of Mark Ingram‘s and Pierre Thomas‘ workloads. Riddick doesn’t need to fit neatly into some Saints-based role, though.

 

Ryan Broyles‘ repeated injuries have helped continue Detroit’s difficulties in finding a reliable slot WR. That could be a primary role for Riddick, with injuries to either of the team’s top 2 backs a potential boon for his weekly value. Bush, in particular, is 29 and has missed 2+ games in 5 different seasons.

 

 

Jonathan Grimes, RB, Texans

 

Through the 1st 3 preseason contests, Grimes has racked up 103 yards and a TD on 24 carries, plus 49 more yards on 4 receptions. That puts him 0.3 yards per rush and 9 yards per catch ahead of rookie Alfred Blue in the competition to become Arian Foster‘s handcuff.

 

Whoever wins will present immediate and obvious fantasy value. Foster’s 2013 ended with back surgery, and hamstring trouble has sidelined him for much of this summer. At 28, Foster carries lots of injury risk at a 2nd-round price tag.

 

If the Foster owner in your league doesn’t secure Grimes (or Blue, if he happens to claim the job before you draft), then you could both help your team and hinder the other by snagging this guy with your last pick. Grimes’ final 3 seasons at William & Mary each saw him surpass 200 carries. So the 24-year-old brings not only a 2-year edge over Blue in NFL experience, but also time as a feature back. Blue worked sporadically at LSU while playing with Stevan Ridley and Jeremy Hill, among others.

 

 

Cody Latimer, WR, Broncos

 

Latimer saw no time with the 1st-teamers in Denver’s dress rehearsal Saturday night, playing behind WR Andre Caldwell (among others, obviously). But could the Broncos keep this 6’2, 215-pound talent out of the lineup if a starter went down?

 

Latimer showed some of his considerable talent by skying for a 33-yard TD catch in Denver’s 2nd exhibition game. He “had an excellent first week of practice” in training camp, which opened with Demaryius Thomas gone because of a personal matter.

 

He has shown no ill effects from a left-foot injury that ended his final college season. And that injury didn’t keep him from ripping off a 40-yard dash time in the 4.3s at his pro day.

 

Denver’s WR depth might bury Latimer early, but Wes Welker just suffered his 3rd concussion in less than a year and looks like a big risk at this point. Emmanuel Sanders performed wonderfully in the team’s 3rd preseason game but has foot injuries in his past. He could also move to the slot more and open up the outside if slot man Welker were to go down.

 

Of course, the main factor that adds fantasy value to any member of the Denver offense is Peyton Manning. It’s always easier to take a late shot on a guy who catches balls from him.

 

 

Davante Adams, WR, Packers

 

Adams hasn’t flashed the way that Latimer has this preseason. But like his fellow rookie, Adams gets a big fantasy boost from his QB.

 

The 2nd-round pick has caught just 4 balls for 50 yards through 3 weeks of the preseason. He failed to secure any of his 3 targets in Week 3 while playing with the 2nd- and 3rd-teamers. So it seems pretty clear that Adams won’t challenge Jarrett Boykin‘s status as the #3 wideout.

 

But what happens if Boykin or Randall Cobb or Jordy Nelson goes down? Boykin showed us last year that you don’t need to be an eye-popping athlete — or even necessarily have Aaron Rodgers around — to produce fantasy value in Green Bay.

 

With Rodgers back healthy, of course, any pass-catcher in the lineup adds value. And Adams arrives in Green Bay off a college career that saw him catch 102 and 131 passes with Derek Carr at Fresno State the past 2 years. The system asked Adams to specialize in running after the catch to match up with shorter targets. And Adams helped turn those opportunities into 38 total TDs.

 

He doesn’t need to be a Kelvin Benjamin-style camp darling to make sense as a lottery-ticket selection at the end of your draft.

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