Happy New Year! The 2017 fantasy season is officially in the books and so is the Ravens’ season after Tyler Boyd sent them packing (sorry Ravens fans). As fantasy players, we can stop worrying about waiver wire pickups and start/sit decisions, but it’s never too early to start thinking about next season.
That’s right, we’re already looking ahead to 2018 and we figured there’s no better way to do so than to source early advice from the most accurate experts. We asked a few of the highest rated experts to share their top 10 players for next season’s drafts. Their rankings were then combined into a consensus and the pundits gave us thoughts on their picks.
Featured Pros:
Pat Fitzmaurice – The Football Girl
John Paulsen – 4for4
Jeff Ratcliffe – Pro Football Focus
Dan Harris – FantasyPros
2018 Top 10 Players (Standard Scoring)
| Consensus Rank |
Player | Position | Team | Best Rank | Worst Rank |
| 1. | Todd Gurley | RB | LAR | 1 | 2 |
| 2. | Le’Veon Bell | RB | PIT | 1 | 2 |
| 3. | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | DAL | 3 | 5 |
| 4. | Antonio Brown | WR | PIT | 3 | 5 |
| 5. | David Johnson | RB | ARI | 4 | NR |
| 6. | Kareem Hunt | RB | KC | 6 | 7 |
| 7. | Alvin Kamara | RB | NO | 5 | 10 |
| 8. | DeAndre Hopkins | WR | HOU | 6 | NR |
| 9. | Odell Beckham | WR | NYG | 8 | NR |
| 10. | Melvin Gordon | RB | LAC | 8 | NR |
Also receiving top 10 votes: L. McCoy (#11), L. Fournette (#12), Devontae Freeman (#13), Saquon Barkley (#14)
2018 Fantasy Football Draft Advice
Each expert also answered 2 questions about the players they like next season. Here are their suggestions for who you should target.
Q1. Tell us why the player you ranked at #1 is the best fantasy option in 2018.
Todd Gurley (RB – LAR)
“The arrival of Sean McVay resulted in a sea change in the Rams’ offense. After finishing last in scoring (224) and total yards (4,203) in 2016, McVay’s offense finished first (478) and 10th (5,784) in those categories (respectively) this year. He averaged 21.3 standard fantasy points per game, which led the No. 2 non-quarterback, Le’Veon Bell, by a fairly wide margin of 4.2 PPG. Looking ahead, there’s nothing to indicate that Gurley is going to turn into a pumpkin while playing in this offense, as long as McVay is calling the shots. He is a very good player who just needed to play for a competent offensive mind to be productive, and McVay has proven that he’s much better than simply competent.”
– John Paulsen (4for4.com)
“You could make solid cases for Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell or Zeke Elliott in standard-scoring leagues. For now, I’m going with Gurley. He finally got a legitimate supporting cast this year, which helped tap his vast potential, and Rams’ head coach Sean McVay fully opened the spigot by unleashing Gurley in the passing game. Gurley has less mileage on the odometer than Bell and is less of a knucklehead than Elliott.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
Le’Veon Bell (RB – PIT)
“It’s really splitting hairs when it comes to the top pick at this point in time. The fantasy masses are on Todd Gurley right now for obvious reasons, but Bell still stands out as the safer option given his heavy volume. This year he averaged just over 27 touches per game, which is absolutely massive in this era of the NFL. That volume is going to continue in 2018, so Bell gets the slight edge over Gurley. For now.”
– Jeff Ratcliffe (Pro Football Focus)
“Truly, there’s very little difference for me among the top three picks, as I’d expect Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley, and Ezekiel Elliott to all have fantastic seasons. But if I’m drafting right now in a re-draft league, Bell would be my top choice. All indications are that he’ll be playing for the Steelers next year, at least under the franchise tag, and unless Ben Roethlisberger retires, there’s little reason to expect a downturn in production. He’ll be just 26 years old next season, and basically set career-highs across the board in every major category. He’s the perfect combination of safety and upside, and makes the perfect No. 1 pick.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Q2. Tell us who your top sleeper candidate is for drafts next for season.
Pierre Garcon (WR – SF)
“Assuming he can come back from a neck injury that ended his season, I’ll once again be targeting Pierre Garcon heavily in fantasy drafts, especially in PPR formats. He averaged 8.4 targets per game in eight games played, and will enjoy a big upgrade at quarterback in the form of Jimmy Garoppolo. The other situation I’ll be monitoring closely is the Jacksonville receiving corps – both Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee are free agents, so Dede Westbrook could find himself in a large role heading into the 2018 season.”
– John Paulsen (4for4.com)
Corey Davis (WR – TEN)
“I’m not sure if he’ll be a sleeper come draft day, but Corey Davis is certainly a guy I expect to end up with on plenty of my teams. Be it injury or the stagnant state of the Titans’ passing game, Davis just never got going this year. Although he wasn’t blameless, if you watched enough Titans games, you understood why his strength and explosiveness made him a top pick in the NFL draft last year. Eric Decker probably won’t return to Tennessee, and I’d expect that with a full offseason of work, Davis will settle in to becoming an incredibly reliable fantasy option, with the possibility to become a superstar in 2018. If his poor numbers depress his draft stock in any way, he’ll be one of the great bargains of 2018 drafts.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Aaron Jones (RB – GB)
“He’s not a “sleeper,” but Aaron Jones is going to be undervalued. The presence of Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery will scare away a lot of drafters, and it will be easy to forget how good he was when he replaced the injured Montgomery as the Packers’ lead RB a month into the season. Of the three Green Bay RBs, Jones is probably the best fit for an Aaron Rodgers-led offense. Even if the Packers take the committee approach, Jones should generate enough value to justify his ADP cost.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)
Kenyan Drake (RB – MIA)
“It’s tough to call anyone a sleeper in today’s fantasy football, but a player poised to break out in a big way is Kenyan Drake. After taking over as the Dolphins’ feature back in Week 13, Drake lead all running backs in rushing yards (444) and posted a jaw dropping 4.1 yards after contact per attempt. Better yet, Drake’s ability as a receiver bodes positively for fantasy success in 2018.”
– Jeff Ratcliffe (Pro Football Focus)
Thanks to 2016’s most accurate experts for sharing their advice! For more of the experts’ insight, be sure to follow each pundit on Twitter (click their names above) and visit their respective sites. Happy New Year to everyone!