The sexy breakout pick is often what fantasy football owners hope to land in drafts, a player who will emerge from obscurity to become a fantasy stud and carry a team to the title and bragging rights for a year. Owners covet these players and load up their bench in hopes of one flier paying off and becoming the difference maker who can put their team over the top.
The quest for finding the proverbial fantasy diamond in the rough often blinds owners from the value of selecting established, unsexy players with high floors and low ceilings that help round out a successful roster.
Sure, the hope of landing this year’s Tyreek Hill is much more exciting than drafting a boring player like Cole Beasley. But when injuries hit, or a bye-nado strikes, players like Beasley can be the difference between winning and losing a matchup.
The following wide receivers are relatively boring fantasy options ranked outside of the top 45 wide receivers heading into 2017. Although none of these players have high ceilings that attract boom or bust owners, their high floors and high target volume make them viable fantasy options in deeper leagues.
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Robert Woods (LAR): ADP WR78
Woods appears to be the Emilio Esteves to Sammy Watkins‘ Charlie Sheen, always second fiddle and never able to get out from behind the shadow of their more famous teammate/brother. At least in Woods’ case, he has a five-year, $34 million contract to make him feel better for having to once again share the limelight with Watkins now that the Rams traded for the former first-round pick.
The combination of Woods and Watkins gives second-year quarterback Jered Goff a potent wide receiving tandem, with the latter likely working as the No. 1 option and the deep threat and the former acting more as the possession receiver and volume play. Woods has never been a big TD threat, as evidenced by the fact that he has 12 career receiving touchdowns since joining the league in 2013. But he is a solid route runner with good hands and a perfect player to assume the Pierre Garcon role in the Sean McVay offense that produced two 1,000 receivers last season.
The addition of Watkins all but removes the chance of Woods becoming a breakout touchdown play in 2017, but savvy owners looking for late volume value should take advantage of the likely ADP drop and add Woods late in drafts. He won’t be a high ceiling difference maker, but he could be an 80-catch option and viable bye week fill-in play.
Cole Beasley (DAL): ADP WR66
A player who in street clothes might be mistaken for a Starbucks barista or a clerk at a trendy local bookstore, Beasley does not have the body size of a viable fantasy football asset. At just 5’8″ and 175 pounds, Beasley makes up for his lack of size by working as a quick underneath option for Dak Prescott while giving opposing linebackers and nickel corners a matchup nightmare.
The six-game suspension of Ezekiel Elliott could give Beasley a boost early in the season, as the offense may struggle to run the ball without Zeke, and Dak may be forced to throw more. In addition, according to ProFootballFocus’ Scott Barrett, the Cowboys have the 12th-easiest schedule for slot receivers this season.
Touchdowns are not his game and owners should not expect more than the career-high five scores he posted last year. But in a game where targets are gold, finding a near 100-target player like Beasley late in drafts is a smart move.
Marqise Lee (JAC): ADP WR68
An injury to Allen Hurns opened the door for third-year wide receiver Marqise Lee to finish second on the Jaguars in targets in 2016. The former USC Trojan converted those looks into 851 yards and three scores, making him a spot play based on matchups. Although Hurns is healthy and will once again take over the starting right wide receiver job opposite Allen Robinson, Lee will see the field in three wide receiver sets and the rapport he built with Blake Bortles last season should continue.
*Note: Lee was carted off with a leg injury, with the extent of the damage to be determined.
Robby Anderson (NYJ): ADP WR62
Let other owners make the mistake of avoiding all Jets wide receivers this season and use a late-round selection on Anderson, a second-year player from Temple who played well down the stretch for New York as a rookie in 2016.
A season-ending neck injury to Quincy Enunwa depleted an already suspect Jet receiving corps, leaving Anderson to line up opposite fellow second-year player Jalin Marshall, who failed to produce much in his rookie season.
Anderson is the opposite of a sexy pick considering the Jets are abysmal and are likely going to finish the year with the worst record in the NFL. But if he can stay healthy, Anderson should get enough volume to give him a viable floor, making him a nice late-round addition in all formats.
Rishard Matthews (TEN): ADP WR49
In his first season with the Titans, Matthews set career marks in targets, receptions, yards, touchdowns, and average yards per receptions on a run-first offense with a second-year quarterback. How did the Titans reward Matthews for his stellar play? They used a first-round pick to select WR Corey Davis and added veteran Eric Decker via free agency. Not exactly what Matthews dynasty owners, or Matthews for that matter, expected this offseason.
Although Matthews’ ADP has fallen dramatically for a player that finished last season with nine touchdowns and 945 yards, he is still listed as the No. 1 WR on the Titans depth chart and is a favorite target of Marcus Mariota. Also, rookie wide receivers often struggle, and Eric Decker is more of a red zone threat than a volume play at this stage of his career, leading me to believe Matthews will continue to have a fairly high floor based on volume.
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Andrew Swanson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @FantasyProsAndy.
