Fantasy Football: 8 Late-Round Lottery Tickets for 2017

Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Average Draft Position: 12.01 (QB17)

If we're going to call a quarterback a "lottery pick," we'd better be sure he's a guy who can have some sweet upside. Andy Dalton has shown that before, and he could easily show it again in 2017.

Dalton finished fifth among quarterbacks in scoring in 2013 (sixth in points per game). He was on his way to duplicating that in 2015, averaging 20.3 points per game before a thumb injury cut his season short after 12 games. We know Dalton is a guy who can excel in the right scenario, and he seems to have a good number of those pieces in place this year.

The big key for Dalton is the health of his pass catchers. Both A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert missed time due to injury last year, and -- not shockingly -- it had a big effect on Dalton's efficiency. Check out his splits the last two years based on the availability of these two guys, with a hat tip to the RotoViz game splits app. AY/A stands for adjusted yards per attempt, which factors in touchdowns and interceptions into a yards-per-attempt-esque metric.

Dalton's touchdowns per game were significantly higher when he had his two weapons, and Green allowed him to snag more bang for his buck on each attempt. This was especially apparent this past season with Dalton averaging 8.30 yards per attempt through the first nine games (when Green was healthy) compared to 6.90 after.

Both Green and Eifert are healthy heading into this year, and the Cincinnati Bengals added speedster John Ross in the draft. Even with a depleted offensive line, Dalton could return us to the fantasy promised land once again.