Questions
Kyle
Who are your picks for currently most underrated (based on ADP)?
General discussion post.--RB
Currently, I have Stevan Ridley as the most underrated. His offseason reports are that he has been taking it to the next level. Patriots are a top tier run team, and a team I like across the board to on offensive improvement. With an ADP of 69 and potential to finish in top 12 RB, I am taking him closer to early 50s or even late 40s with no remorse.
Ray Rice has a similar story as Ridley, distractions aside, he dropped serious weight in the offseason and looked good so far in preseason and has the starting role to lose. Some risk but at 53, you have potential.
Speaking of risk, CJ Spiller is at the top of the depth chart on the team with the most attempts last year. If he stays healthy he will end in the top 12, but that is a big 'if'.
--WR
Dez Bryant is already going at 11, but I like him more than Lynch, Manning, and Thomas ahead of him. Both him and Megatron were stopped inside the 10 quite a bit, which could easily bump the TD totals for both this year. With a new O coordinator, I see him finally living up to his potential this year.
Kelvin Benjamin is the lowest drafted WR who sits at the top of his respective teams depth chart. At 103 that is worth consideration.
Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin... Foles and Chip Kelly are going to put together lots of yards and TDs, at 106 and 63 either one may be worth the investment. Maclin's injury history worries me, but with a whole year off he may be able to keep it together this time.
Josh Gordon, for people drafting now, I like his odds of playing all 16. His legal eagles are trying to take the case to Ohio courts, which means the NFL cannot make a ruling (or something along those lines). The two other players that have used this tactic never missed a minute.
--Looking for some facts and input from others on who they are reaching down the chart for, and why.
Note: ADPs are from http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.php
I agree with you on Rice and Spiller...and I'm going full bore on grabbing Spiller in the 3rd/4th of most drafts I'm in. You can say that it's a big "if" if he's stays healthy...but realistically, it's just as big of an "if" if he gets hurt. You just never know. I'm capitalizing on other people being scared of him though.
In terms of other RBs being underrated...I don't understand how Joique Bell is going so low. I think he gets a lot of work this year, and will be more of a feature back than Bush at times. Great between-the-tackles runner who will get good goal line work. Love that I'm getting him usually around the 8th/9th round in mocks - hoping it continues in to live drafts. Also, for as long we don't really know what's going on in NO, Khiry Robinson and Mark Ingram are total bargains...but if Pierre Thomas really does assume the Darren Sproles role in that offense, someone is going to have to pound the ball on the ground...and it's looking like they're both great values at the current moment.
As for WRs...I think Dez is at the top, but I don't know how he eclipses Calvin or Demaryius if Romo's back ain't right. TDs are flukey, and that's generally how a player rises to #1 at their position, so I don't know if it's worth expecting him to be anything other than a solid Top 5 option...not enough to see there that pushes him higher. And he's going after Lynch because most people freak out about grabbing a RB in the 1st. He's going after Peyton because people are stupid and think it's automatic that Peyton is going to repeat having the best season in NFL history by a QB. He's going after Graham probably because he deserves to - Graham is probably one of the Top 3 pass catchers in the league.
Kelvin Benjamin is not worth paying attention to because he can't really run routes, his QB is a bad passer, and he's going to take some time adjusting to the speed of the NFL. I won't say he's going to post a 0/0/0 slash line obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was something like ~45/~500/3.
I do like Maclin this year, but don't expect him to just be DeSean Jackson 2.0. I don' t think that's really his game, if I recall correctly? (been so long since I've payed attention to him haha) Either way, I think he'll emerge as a capable WR3 for a fantasy team...but unfortunately that's right around where I'm seeing him drafted in a lot of mocks, so not much of a bargain in my opinion.
Some guys who surprise me that can be had in mid-later rounds are Patterson, Floyd, Crabtree, and Wright. I see these guys go anywhere between the 7th and 10th in standard 10 team mocks, and I just think that's crazy. I'm trying to grab at least two of them...pretty sure all four of them will be guys we're talking about as 3rd-5th rounders next year.
I also really really love Justin Hunter...but I might be just overreacting to that one preseason game
You have nailed the WR's and I feel pretty much the same way that you do and Cooper could be a beast in the red zone.
Running backs I like and undervalued are CJ1K and reason is that the qb is horrible and they will have to run and dump off to him to have any chance at all plus Ivory is gonna stay healthy? I think not.
I think a sneaky good WR#3 is D.Baldwin in Seattle-is a clear #2 in a pretty good offense and with all the attention on Percy and Lynch will see alot of underneath coverage and has always been a nice slot guy and I could easily see him catching 75balls with 6/7 Td's.