Brandin Cooks’ ADP makes him a must-have player based on his upside
After getting past the first couple of rounds, the choices become less obvious and the decisions become more critical. Do you take a wide receiver, running back, quarterback, or a tight end? Regardless of position, some players should still hold more weight than others based on their upside or better yet, lack of recognition.
Looking at consensus ADP, there are multiple players that represent excellent value picks. To address these players, we asked our featured experts to name their ‘must-have’ draft pick for this season. This is someone the expert will likely end up with in all their leagues based on current ADP value and upside.
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Q. Once you get past the first few rounds (ADP #36), who is one ‘must-have’ player you’ll be targeting in all drafts?
Brandin Cooks (WR – NO)
Overall ADP: #41
“At this stage of the draft, all of the first tier sophomore receivers are off the board after the hype of their rookie campaigns (and their production) has carried them into the early rounds. You can still find second year receivers of interest, though, including Brandin Cooks and Jordan Matthews who are going back to back as WR16 and 17. Each player finds himself in a high volume offense that has undergone significant change in the offseason, leaving them as a likely candidate to lead their team in targets. My one true ‘must-own’, Cooks caught an impressive 81.5% of his targets to lead all rookies last year, while averaging 6.3 looks per game. If he can keep that catch rate up, and the Saints continue to deploy him in a number of formations and patterns, his receptions should go through the roof in a Saints offense that lost Kenny Stills and Jimmy Graham, and has an aging Marques Colston. Again, Matthews is a nice consolation prize given his projection to lead the Eagles in targets and production after a solid first season.”
– Jon Collins (Fantasy Sports LR)
Keenan Allen (WR – SD)
Overall ADP: #56
“The player I’m most frequently targeting after the first three rounds in Keenan Allen. He’s currently going in the mid- to late-fifth, which is excellent value for a player with WR1 upside. While Allen’s fantasy numbers dipped last season, he actually saw 16 more targets and caught six more balls than in his rookie season, albeit at a decreased average depth of target (just 8.8 in 2014). Still, as Philip Rivers’ primary target, Allen offers the potential for a very strong return on investment at his current ADP.”
– Jeff Ratcliffe (Pro Football Focus)
Anquan Boldin (WR – SF)
Overall ADP: #122
“I never say ‘must have’ but I love Anquan Boldin as a boring, cheap value pick. He’s still in excellent shape and no one wants to be great more than he does.”
– Scott Pianowski (Yahoo)
Terrance Williams (WR – DAL)
Overall ADP: #129
“I’ve actually been targeting Williams in a lot of drafts recently. Between him entering his third year, coming off an ugly second year, the Cowboys needing to throw more with DeMarco Murray gone and Dez Bryant’s possible holdout — all signs point to great upside for the Baylor product.”
– David Gonos (DavidGonos)
Lamar Miller (RB – MIA)
Overall ADP: #39
“Few people realize that Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller finished last season as the ninth-best fantasy running back. He recorded 1,099 rushing yards with an outstanding average of 5.1 yards per rush. Miller also added 38 receptions on 52 targets for a ridiculous 73 percent catch rate. When all was said and done Miller put up nearly 1,400 total yards and nine touchdowns. His fantasy output was better than that of Jeremy Hill and LeSean McCoy, among others. As an early fourth-round pick in re-draft leagues, Miller would be an absolute steal. He’d likely provide you with top-end RB2 numbers from a spot in the draft that value equates to FLEX or RB3 production. Considering he’s directly behind Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde and Mark Ingram, the value speaks for itself.”
– Vincent Frank (eDraft)
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