Fantasy football mania continues to crescendo as we draw nearer to the start of the NFL season. As such, what better time is there than now for us to bring in the most accurate experts so they can share their insight on their favorite draft targets? Everyone can benefit from knowing who the best pundits in the industry are consistently choosing when the opportunity arises. Without further ado, here are the players the top experts are aiming for relative to our half-PPR expert consensus rankings (ECR).
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Q. Based on our latest consensus rankings what one player are you much higher on and why?
Josh Jacobs (RB – LV): ECR – 15th Overall | RB11
“I can see Jacobs finishing inside the top five at the position in 2020. He had fewer than half the snaps as Christian McCaffrey in an injury-plagued rookie year, yet still managed to finish inside the top 20. He was rarely used in the passing game due to shoulder issues and has tremendous upside if utilized even a little more on third down. I love Jacobs for 2020.”
– Andy Holloway (The Fantasy Footballers)
A.J. Green (WR – CIN): ECR – 74th Overall | WR31
“For me, it’s Green. You might be rolling your eyes, thinking, ‘How can he stick with Green? He’s old and always hurt.’ Well, for one, he came into the league at the same time as Julio Jones. You aren’t fading him, are you? As for the injury question marks, I won’t argue with you, but that’s built into his price. Are we really going to pretend that guys like DeVante Parker weren’t labeled as ‘injury-prone’ before 2019? Since 2000, here’s the list of wide receivers who’ve posted WR2 or better type numbers at a higher percentage than Green: Michael Thomas, Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, and Odell Beckham. That’s the end of the list. He’s played his entire career with Andy Dalton. I’ll take him with his discounted cost because even if he doesn’t stay on the field, it doesn’t ruin my chances of a fantasy championship.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND): ECR – 50th Overall | RB23
“I also wanted to share my thoughts on Taylor. It’s looking like a very good possibility for him to see 250-plus carries in his rookie season. Some may think that’s absurd, but Marlon Mack totaled 247 carries in just 14 games last year. Even if we give Mack the 100 carries that Jordan Wilkins and Jonathan Williams combined for last year, it’d leave room for Taylor to hit the 250 mark. He’s also running behind the best offensive line in football, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see him rush for 1,200 yards in year one with his vision and speed in the open field. Taylor is right in the same territory as someone like Nick Chubb.”
– Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros)
Boston Scott (RB – PHI): ECR – 133rd Overall | RB48
“Scott is about 10 spots too low in running back rankings and about 40 spots too low in overall rankings, in my humble opinion. Miles Sanders got a huge boost when the Eagles opted not to sign a notable free-agent running back, but Scott’s stock has somehow still remained too low. Yes, there were plenty of injuries, but Scott averaged 87.5 yards from scrimmage over the last four games in 2019 and would be in line for significant touches should anything happen to Sanders, who is already battling an injury (Scott had 23 touches in Week 17 after Sanders was injured). Scott should be in line for upwards of 10 touches per game anyway and also offers the upside of being a locked-in fantasy starter should Sanders get hurt. He’s simply way too low.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
A.J. Brown (WR – TEN): ECR – 38th Overall | WR16
“Another player I wanted to mention was A.J. Brown. He was the first wide receiver ever to put up at least 1,000 receiving yards on fewer than 90 targets, but the achievements don’t stop there. He was third in yards per route run among wide receivers with at least 50 targets, second in passer rating when targeted, and first in yards per target. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that Brown did all of this as a rookie who didn’t even play at least 69.4% of the snaps until Week 9. The Titans aren’t going to be a pass-heavy offense but Brown should still see an increase in targets, which should offset any decrease in his efficiency. Expect another big year from the wideout.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)
Anthony Miller (WR – CHI): ECR – 123rd Overall | WR46
“One player I seem to be much higher on than most is Miller. His 2019 season was already one to forget after he started the first nine games with 16 receptions for 218 yards. The next five weeks were drastically different. He had 33 receptions for 431 and two touchdowns. That was good enough for him to be the WR16 during that time. He won’t be that good all season, but he won’t have to deal with Taylor Gabriel all year either, and hopefully, he will have Nick Foles throwing him the ball. He’s a solid WR3 that you only have to pay a WR4/5 price tag for.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)
JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR – PIT): ECR – 29th Overall | WR11
“Smith-Schuster is primed for a bounce-back in a major way in 2020. Not only did he battle his own injury problems in 2019, which led to a career-low in all stats across the board (receptions, yards, touchdowns) but he also had to overcome the problem of catching passes from Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges instead of Ben Roethlisberger. With Big Ben back for 2020 and seemingly fully healthy, Smith-Schuster will put up top-eight wide receiver stats. The fourth-year playmaker should see around 165 targets as he did in 2018 when he caught 111 passes for 1,426 yards and seven scores. That type of upside in the third round pays monster dividends if it comes to fruition.”
– Bill Enright (Sports Illustrated)
Sterling Shepard (WR – NYG): ECR – 108th Overall | WR42
“Shepard is primed for a big year with Daniel Jones. In the six games where the Giants’ top three wide receivers were healthy, Shepard had 52 targets while no one else had over 40. He had a minimum of six targets in every game he played, and once Jones took over at quarterback, Evan Engram saw his targets per game decline. Combine that with his improved play each year and now all he has to do is stay healthy.”
– Nathan Jahnke (Pro Football Focus)
Bryce Love (RB – WAS): ECR – 242nd Overall | RB70
“I’m going to Washington, and my first assumption was Steven Sims, who I have much higher as he’s the No. 2, but let’s go to the backfield. I expect this to change with recent news, but many have forgotten how good Bryce Love can be. Before his injury, Love was considered a first-round NFL talent. I’m a fan of Antonio Gibson, but he’s set to be used as a change-of-pace dynamic weapon. It’s doubtful that Gibson would see bell-cow work. Love, if he’s anything like he was pre-injury at Stanford, has bell-cow talent and is in the mix to lead this backfield. Even if he’s just part of the rotation, he’s an RB4 and worth half his draft cost … around 120 … not 242!”
– Jake Ciely (The Athletic)
Tom Brady (QB – TB): ECR – 89th Overall | QB11
“I believe Brady is still an elite player entering his age-43 season and we should see him put up big numbers leading a high-powered passing attack that includes Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski, and O.J. Howard. Currently being drafted as a low-end QB1 (which is where he finished last year), Brady has a strong case to be a top-five option at the position; I don’t think betting against the GOAT is a sound strategy.”
– Dylan Chappine (Wolf Sports)
Thank you to the experts for identifying their top draft targets. Please give them a follow on Twitter for more great advice. Also, please check out our latest podcast episode below.
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