Now that some football has been played, we’re getting closer to fantasy drafts happening and the fun beginning. As you prepare for your draft, remember, finding value and upside at a position can go a long way. Instead of reaching for a quarterback in the top four rounds, you can grab a player like Andy Dalton (who is discussed below) who will probably be available in the double-digit rounds.

By doing that, you can now spend that third or fourth round pick on a player like Joe Mixon, Ty Montgomery, or whoever your heart desires. To help identify who offers value, we reached out to our featured experts below asking them one simple question. Which player offers the most value based on our expert consensus rankings (ECR). They gave an answer for the QB, RB, and WR positions.

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Q1. Which QB do you believe is the most undervalued according to our latest QB Consensus Rankings?

Andy Dalton (CIN)
Consensus Rank: QB17
“It has to be Dalton for me, as he’s never finished lower than the QB18 in fantasy leagues, yet he’s being drafted as the QB17 with the best weapons of his life? In fact, even while A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert have traded injuries and missed time, Dalton has finished as a top-12 quarterback in three of the last five seasons. And one of the seasons he didn’t was when he got hurt in 2015, where he averaged 18.8 fantasy points per game, which would have been the QB9 that year. So in essence, Dalton has been a top-12 quarterback in four of the last five seasons. He has a healthy Green and Eifert, two pass-catching backs in Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon, a field stretcher in John Ross, and depth with Brandon LaFell and Tyler Boyd. The offensive line isn’t great, sure, but that’s more than baked into his cost. ”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“Andy Dalton looks like a great value right now. I’m not a huge fan of his in fantasy, as he has trouble putting up good numbers consistently, but we’ve seen what he can do when he has healthy offensive players. In 2015 with a healthy Tyler Eifert and A.J. Green, Dalton put up Top 5 fantasy numbers before getting injured in Week 13. This season, with the addition of Joe Mixon, I see this offense being able to do more, and in turn, help Dalton put up strong fantasy numbers.”
– Chet Gresham (WalterFootball)

“Andy Dalton not being included in Tier 3 in the QB Consensus Rankings is silly. He finished as QB12 last year and did so with A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert missing significant time. Dalton saw a bump of more than six attempts per game last year with Hue Jackson moving on to take the head job in Cleveland. Dalton will be able to do more damage with that extra volume if his receivers are healthier this year. Oh, and he finished as a top five fantasy QB the season before Jackson got to Cincy.”
– Brett Talley (Fantasy Alarm)

Philip Rivers (LAC)
Consensus Rank: QB14
Consistent and with the talent around him this season, he should be a stud. He was able to throw for 33 touchdowns in 2016 with Dontrelle Inman being the wide receiver with the most snaps on the Chargers and in the entire NFL. Rivers led a beautiful drive against an elite Seahawks defense in their first preseason game and I think it’s foreshadowing what we can expect from this offense in 2017.”
– Mitchell Renz (Gridiron Experts)

Q2. Which RB do you believe is the most undervalued according to our latest RB Consensus Rankings?

Mike Gillislee (NE)
Consensus Rank: RB23
“I understand people are afraid of drafting a Patriots running back, but Gillislee is a perfect fit for that offense. He led the entire NFL in YPC with 5.7 and had the highest first down percentage per carry in the NFL. How often do we see the Patriots take an in division player and turn him into a stud? In the two games against the Patriots last season, Gillislee averaged 6.4 YPC on 18 carries.”
– Mitchell Renz (Gridiron Experts)

Terrance West (BAL)
Consensus Rank: RB34
“West’s ADP and consensus rank have started to creep up since the news of Kenneth Dixon being out for the year broke, but West is still undervalued. Only about 20 backs are going to reach 200 carries each season, and with Dixon out of the picture, West has a very good chance of being one of those 20 backs. Forget his talent or anything else, volume is king at running back, and he is going to get a lot more volume than his ADP/rank would imply.”
– Brett Talley (Fantasy Alarm)

Carlos Hyde (SF)
Consensus Rank: RB15
“If you’ve listened to any of the podcasts we’ve done throughout the offseason, you’ve probably heard me mention Carlos Hyde at some point. He’s a great running back playing for the coach whose running backs just scored 28 touchdowns last season. I’m not saying that’ll happen again with the 49ers, but the additions of Brian Hoyer and Pierre Garcon provide some stability to the offense that he didn’t have last year. Despite what you’ve heard, there is no competition for his job. Since Frank Gore left the 49ers, Carlos Hyde has averaged 4.4 yards per carry while the rest of the running backs have combined for 3.0 yards per carry. Not the only stat to back up Hyde, but that’s a rather significant gap.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

Rex Burkhead (NE)
Consensus Rank: RB59
“Burkhead feels like the best value going right now, as the Patriots lead back job is still up for grabs and his main competition, Mike Gillislee, has been out due to a hamstring injury. Coach Belichick has also mentioned wanting a more diverse range of skills than he had from LeGarrette Blount last season, which is right where Burkhead excels, as he is adept as a blocker, receiver, and runner. Gillislee could still win the job, but Burkhead is way too cheap right now for his possible upside.”
– Chet Gresham (WalterFootball)

Q3. Which WR do you believe is the most undervalued according to our latest WR Consensus Rankings?

Donte Moncrief (IND)
Consensus Rank: WR33
“The slow healing of Andrew Luck may keep people away from Donte Moncrief, but I love his touchdown potential this season. The Colts don’t seem too worried about bringing another backup in for Luck, so I expect him to be fine once he gets on the field. Luck and Moncrief have been a strong duo in the red zone when they are both healthy. A full season from them will likely give your team double-digit touchdown receptions.”
– Chet Gresham (WalterFootball)

John Brown (ARI)
Consensus Rank: WR43
“Brown is coming off a disappointing season where he battled injuries. In his second season, he had over 1,000 yards and was showing how he was on a path to becoming a great wide receiver in the NFL. Brown is extremely talented and in fact, has been compared to Antonio Brown in regards to their size and skill set. Antonio Brown broke out in his fourth year and you have been warned that don’t be surprised if John Brown breaks out this season as well.”
– Mitchell Renz (Gridiron Experts)

Jeremy Maclin (BAL)
Consensus Rank: WR40
“I’m not going to do what everyone thinks I’m going to do and say John Brown, instead I’m going to go with Jeremy Maclin. There are a lot of people who’ve forgotten the player Maclin was prior to going to the Chiefs, but not me. Did you know: The last three seasons that Maclin played prior to 2016 where he was hurt, he ranked 8th in touchdowns among wide receivers. So when you look at the Ravens roster, he’s the only red zone threat. They have no tight end, Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman playing wide receiver opposite him, and Danny Woodhead catching passes out of the backfield. They’ve said Maclin will play the Steve Smith role, and that’s a good thing considering Smith saw 8.3 targets per game while with them. That would extrapolate to 133 targets over a full season. If Maclin stays healthy, he’s going to outperform his ADP pretty easily.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

Willie Snead (NO)
Consensus Rank: WR32
“Snead has topped 100 targets in each of his first two seasons, he has at least 69 catches in each season, and he has essentially reached 900 yards twice. With Brandin Cooks gone, it’s hard to imagine those numbers won’t go up. Something like 125 targets with 85+ catches with his first 1,000 yard season is well within reach. The criticism might be that the Saints don’t look to Snead much in the red zone, but even a mediocre 5-6 touchdowns would be enough to get Snead into low-end WR2 range with the increase in volume.”
– Brett Talley (Fantasy Alarm)

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Thank you to the experts for naming who they feel are the most undervalued. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter for more great advice and check out our latest podcast below.

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