One potential high-upside steal recently made the news for all the wrong reasons. According to KTAR Arizona, Cardinals tight end Ricky Seals-Jones was arrested and charged with assault, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct on Saturday. As terrible as that sounds, the details in the story fortunately describe a relatively benign incident. While we wait on how the NFL decides to handle this situation, our featured experts below know of many other high-upside, draft day steals you should also be on the lookout for.

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Q1. Which running back do you believe is currently a steal that has the most upside?

Rex Burkhead (NE)
“Burkhead performed very well last season when he was healthy. How well, you ask? During the time after he returned from his injury (Weeks 7-14), he was the RB10 in half-PPR leagues. Yes, Michel is here, but Lewis is gone now, which is why you can draft Burkhead as the 41st RB off the board. If he takes over the red zone duties, he has top-15 potential. ”
– Jason Moore (The Fantasy Footballers)

“I know that fantasy owners will be excited about Michel, but I am more than happy to take Burkhead at his current ADP. In the five weeks prior to his injury in Week 15 against the Steelers, Burkhead averaged more than 12 touches (including three and a half receptions) and a touchdown in each game. During that same span, he was essentially splitting work with Lewis. In other words, even if you give Michel 10-15 touches per game, that still leaves plenty of room for Burkhead to put up a ton of fantasy points, particularly if he continues to see the goal-line work. Considering that the Patriots signed him to an extension in the offseason and that the team will be down their best receiver for the first four games, Burkhead is one of my favorite late-round targets for both floor and upside.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)

Royce Freeman (DEN)
“Freeman was a beast of burden at Oregon, with 6,435 yards from scrimmage and 64 touchdowns over four college seasons. Now he goes to an NFL team with a blinking red ‘vacancy’ sign at running back. The Broncos grabbed Freeman early in the third round of this year’s draft, and though it’s possible he’ll share work with Devontae Booker and/or De’Angelo Henderson, it’s also possible Freeman will become a three-down workhorse and make his July ADP of RB30 look ludicrous in hindsight.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)

“As is normally the case with rookie running backs this early into drafting, they are coming at a discount. That’s especially true for Freeman. He’s a beast, and even if Booker holds down the passing game opportunities, Freeman will be the lead option. Freeman isn’t an awful pass catcher either, but even if he didn’t have a receiving role was merely the lead back (early downs, short yardage, and goal line), that’s enough work in this offense to carry RB2 value.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)

Sony Michel (NE)
“It’s often hard to find steals at the running back position, simply because the depth charts are so shallow when compared to wide receiver since there’s just one on the field at a time in most offenses. However, in a recent study I did, it showed that 75 percent of top-six running backs come from top-12 offenses. Knowing that the Patriots have been a top-three scoring offense since 2009, it gives you an idea as to the upside their backs present, and we saw it over the final eight weeks of 2017 as Dion Lewis posted the fifth-most fantasy points among running backs, behind only Todd Gurley, Alvin Kamara, Le’Veon Bell, and Mark Ingram. While he’s gone, the Patriots selected three-down back Michel out of Georgia with their first-round pick. He’s currently being drafted outside the top-24 which makes him a steal compared to what his upside is. ”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

“This rookie from the University of Georgia will make an immediate impact in Bill Belichick’s offense, as long as he cuts down on his fumbles. He is the perfect fit for the departed Dion Lewis. He’s a great pass blocker and should see many targets out of the backfield from Tom Brady. He is being drafted as an RB3 with RB1 to RB2 upside. He has an overall ADP of 70, placing him as a sixth-round pick. I am OK with drafting him as early as Round 5, especially if you don’t have your RB2 by this round. ”
– Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire)

Q2. Which wide receiver do you believe is currently a steal that has the most upside?

Dez Bryant (FA)
“Maybe Bryant IS washed up at age 29. Or maybe he’s not aging at hyper-speed and stands a decent chance of improving upon last year’s WR25 finish. His ADP of WR50 can largely be attributed to the fact that he isn’t under contract. But Bryant, who finished as a top-six receiver every year from 2012 to 2014 and has scored 14 TDs over the past two years, will eventually sign with some team that needs him. I might not have felt as if I robbed a bank when I grabbed him as the WR52 in the 13th round of my Scott Fish Bowl draft the other day, but it felt like robbing a small savings and loan association patrolled by an elderly security guard at the very least.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (The Football Girl)

Mike Williams (LAC)
“When looking for a “steal” at wide receiver, you want to find cheap targets. While I’ve mentioned DeVante Parker and Geronimo Allison all offseason, I’ll go with someone different here. Chargers second-year wide receiver Mike Williams is currently being drafted around the WR50 mark, around players like Cameron Meredith, Martavis Bryant, and Calvin Ridley. While those players need an injury to become an every-week starter, Williams has already had that injury happen in front of him. Once Hunter Henry went down with an ACL tear during mini camp, there were roughly 100 targets up for grabs in the offense.

While Keenan Allen was already locked into his role, Williams is going to get a massive bump in production, especially inside the red zone, as he’s the only go-up-and-get-it receiver on the team. It’s hard to find this upside in the 12th round, which is where he’s currently being drafted in 12-team leagues. And if Allen were to miss any time, Williams would be an automatic top-20 play every single week. ”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)

Geronimo Allison (GB)
“Allison is currently slotted in as the #2 WR on the outside, opposite Davante Adams. In Aaron Rodgers‘ healthy seasons, his #2 WR has an average finish of being the 15th -est receiver in fantasy. That’s upside you have to love when drafting a guy as the 66th WR off the board. Randall Cobb could certainly end up as that guy for fantasy, but when Rodgers is slinging the ball, you want to get part of that action (see: James Jones). ”
– Jason Moore (The Fantasy Footballers)

Robby Anderson (NYJ)
“It feels like perhaps Anderson’s positive developments with his legal trouble haven’t yet filtered down into his ADP, as he’s still being drafted outside of the top-40 wide receivers and the top-100 players overall. That’s a mistake. Last year with Josh McCown, Anderson averaged a 4-65-0.5 line and was the 16th-ranked wide receiver in fantasy. McCown should start the season as the Jets’ quarterback, but if Sam Darnold is somehow impressive enough to win the job, then that should work out just fine for Anderson. Yes, there’s still a threat of suspension, but considering that most of the charges against Anderson were dropped, it’s unlikely to be lengthy, and Anderson easily has top-15 upside.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)

Calvin Ridley (ATL)
“Although Ridley is a rookie, he has the polish and route running abilities of a veteran player. With Julio Jones seeing double coverage, Ridley will find himself as a strong target for Matt Ryan. Ridley’s strengths are his great hands, his ability to obtain separation at the snap, his work ethic, dependability, and his penchant for making critical receptions in clutch situations. His current ADP is 144 and he is the 57th wide receiver being drafted in early fantasy football drafts. He’s being drafted as a WR5 with WR2 to WR3 upside. ”
– Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire)

Jamison Crowder (WAS) & Pierre Garcon (SF)
“Both Crowder and Garcon are currently wildly undervalued. If you believe in Jimmy Garoppolo, how are you not also buying Garcon and his potential volume? Forget Pac-Man, it’s Garcon gobbling up the pellets…or targets and receptions. The same goes for Crowder, especially with how well Alex Smith connects with his slot-based receivers.”
– Jake Ciely (RotoExperts)

Thank you to the experts for naming their high upside steals. Please give them a follow on Twitter for more great advice and subscribe/listen to our latest podcast below for more fantasy info.

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