2016 Fantasy Football Preview: Undervalued Players

By Patrick Del Gaone, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

It’s Week 4 of the preseason, most NFL starters have been shelved behind lock and key, and your brightest competitors are scouring through every fantasy football draft preview known to man.

While working the waiver wire and acquiring players via trade can be crucial in building a championship contender, the team manager who finds the most value in the draft is usually the winner of traditional fantasy football leagues.

Whether it be "buying low" on a suspended player like Tom Brady or Le’Veon Bell, or reaching for that rookie who is primed for an explosive start to his career, you’ll give yourself a great chance to "win" your draft, and subsequently your league, if you’ve got an idea of a few players you’ll be targeting in each round before your judgment is too clouded by Corona and carbs.

In this article, you’ll find a few players who are ranked too low in the projections which many of your rivals will be referring to during the draft, therefore giving you the opportunity to swoop in and snag an unheralded star anywhere from five-to-twenty picks ahead of his projected draft slot.

Quarterback

Tom Brady – ESPN projection: 79th overall – When Brady returns in week 5, he’ll be on a mission to dismantle, and possibly humiliate, every opponent on the Patriots schedule. Much like New England, all your fantasy team needs to do is tread water in the meantime. The key here is not only the relentless competitive nature of Brady coming off a suspension, but also the willingness of head coach Bill Belichick to run up the score on opponents following the Spygate saga in 2007, the last time the team was sanctioned for skirting around the NFL rules.

During 2007, the Pats scored at least 34 points in the first eight games of the season and defeated all of their opponents by 17 or more points during the stretch. The team shattered the record for most points in a season with 589, and Brady wasn’t shy about the Patriots intentions.

"We’re not trying to win 42-28, we’re trying to kill people," Brady said. "We’re trying to blow them out if we can. You want to build momentum for each week."

The four-time Super Bowl champion threw for 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions following Spygate. While these stats occurred almost a full decade ago, they represent the willingness of the Patriots to continue throwing the ball downfield coming off an offseason battle with the league in which they feel their reputations are under unwarranted scrutiny.

Brady showed no signs of regression in 2015, passing for 4,770 yards and 36 scores compared to just seven interceptions. With a ranking that projects Brady to be drafted around the sixth or seventh round depending on how many teams are in your league, take him in the fifth or sixth round and look around the room as fear and disappointment materializes in the eyes of your adversaries. Moreover, be sure to draft a second quarterback late in the draft who can carry the torch during Brady’s absence.

Target range – 59th-70th overall

Other undervalued QBs: Andrew Luck (proj. 61st, target 50-56) Marcus Mariota (proj. 193rd, target 170-185)

Running Back

Ameer Abdullah – ESPN projection: 75th overall (63rd PPR) – The former Nebraska Cornhusker Swiss-Army knife was adequate as Detroit’s backup during his rookie campaign, gaining 597 yards on 143 carries. Now the starting Lions tailback, Abdullah will be one of the focal points of the Lions offense looking for playmakers to replace former fantasy phenom Calvin Johnson. Abdullah also caught 25 passes for 183 receiving yards in 2015, although he only found the end zone on three occasions.

Abdullah resembles former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook on the football field. He’s similar in stature, is incredibly tough for a smaller back and is almost impossible to tackle one-on-one in the open field. Abdullah uses his low center of gravity to maintain his balance, sometimes propelling himself forward with his free hand when defenders fail to wrap up following a big hit. It would behoove the young halfback to use both hands to secure the football on occasion after fumbling five times as a rookie. Expect the Lions to commit to Abdullah and the running game this year after failing to succeed time and time again with a pass-heavy offense.

Target Range – 62nd-68th (PPR 52nd-59th)

Other undervalued RBs: Duke Johnson Jr. (proj. 67th, target 57-63), Jordan Howard (proj. 203rd, target 175-190)

Wide Receiver

Tyler Lockett – ESPN ranking: 81st – Much like Abdullah, Lockett is likely to benefit from the retirement of his team’s offensive superstar Marshawn Lynch. As a rookie in 2015, Lockett hauled in 51 catches for 664 yards and six touchdowns, ranking 39th among receivers. Head coach Pete Carroll has been waiting to hand over the keys to the offense to quarterback Russell Wilson, and 2016 seems like the perfect opportunity to unleash his dual-threat signal caller. While Doug Baldwin is the clear No. 1 wideout on Seattle, Lockett looked exceptional when he caught fire in the latter half of 2015 after a sluggish start. The former Kansas State Wildcat scored all six of his touchdowns and piled up 526 receiving yards in the last ten games of the regular season. Lockett pulled in 73.9 percent of his targets and averaged 13 yards per catch last year. Odell Beckham was the only other rookie ever to meet those marks with over 50 catches.

Target range: 67th-75th overall

Other undervalued WRs: John Brown (proj. 53rd, target 47-51) Torrey Smith (proj. 82nd, target 70-75), Sterling Shepard (proj. 72nd, target 63-69)

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