Right now, you don’t need some fancy opening where I take an obscure legend from Greek mythology and play mental gymnastics until I can somehow connect it to fantasy football. You don’t need some creative pop culture reference that somehow relates to the perils of drafting. No, what you need is late-round targets that can far out-perform their current ADPs in PPR leagues.
Here are 15 of them.
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Running Backs
Rashaad Penny (SEA): RB32
The 2018 first-round pick is in line for more work in his second year, especially with Mike Davis (112 carries) gone. Penny averaged 4.9 yards per tote and 8.3 yards per reception while Seattle boasts a top-10 scoring offense. He has the potential to overtake Chris Carson as the No. 1 RB in Seattle and maintains value even in a timeshare.
Royce Freeman (DEN): RB37
A former third-round pick with an impressive college pedigree, Freeman passes the eye test. Despite facing the third-most eight-plus man boxes in the NFL, Freeman managed to finish top five in average yards after contact. With Phillip Lindsay still recuperating from a wrist injury and due for regression in YPC and touchdowns, Freeman should see additional early-down work behind an improved offensive line in his second season.
Austin Ekeler (LAC): RB41
Ekeler finished 27th in PPR fantasy points per game among RBs last season and was a borderline RB1 while filling in for Melvin Gordon. Speaking of Gordon, he’s missed at least two games in three of his four NFL seasons.
Nyheim Hines (IND): RB42
Hines finished eighth at the position in catches (63) as a rookie. He plays on a top-five offense behind the injury-prone Marlon Mack. Why not take a flier in PPR?
Jaylen Samuels (PIT): RB44
James Conner soaked up 62 percent of Pittsburgh’s carries last season and 64 percent of the RB targets in just 13 games. However, he said the workload will be more evenly distributed among ball-carriers this season. That bodes well for Samuels, who filled in nicely for Conner last season.
Carlos Hyde (KC): RB47
Damien Williams has just five games with more than 11 carries in his career while Hyde has carried the rock at least 170 times in three straight seasons. He’s dependable when given lead duties.
Darrell Henderson (LAR): RB50
Handerson is a necessary handcuff for all Todd Gurley owners and a potentially valuable trade chip for others. Sean McVay oversees last year’s second-best offense that oozes fantasy points.
Wide Receivers
Christian Kirk (ARI): WR36
Under Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals are preparing to nearly double the amount of offensive plays run per game. The athletic Kirk, a sophomore second-round pick, will benefit from Kyler Murray‘s ability to extend plays. He’s a WR3 with upside.
James Washington (PIT): WR43
Washington is competing with Donte Moncrief and Ryan Switzer for the No. 2 WR job behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, but the Steelers need to redistribute over 200 targets after Antonio Brown and Jesse James left town.
Curtis Samuel (CAR): WR51
Samuel should step in as Carolina’s No. 2 WR behind D.J. Moore. He ranked as the PPR WR25 over the final seven games of 2018.
Devin Funchess (IND): WR55
Funchess possesses double-digit touchdown upside as a big-bodied red-zone threat on a top-five offense. The Colts have a favorable schedule in terms of pass defenses and love to throw it in the red zone. Funchess was on pace for nearly 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns through the first six games of 2018 before Carolina torpedoed his playing time.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (GB): WR61
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Valdes-Scantling “probably is the No. 2 receiver” in Green Bay. The second-year fifth-round pick averaged an impressive 15.3 yards per catch on 38 receptions last year. He added two 100-yard games and emerged as a solid deep threat.
David Moore (SEA): WR92
Still just 24, Moore has played well in a limited role in Seattle with 445 yards and five touchdowns last year on 53 targets. With Doug Baldwin and his 73 targets now retired, Moore could see more action as Seattle’s crop of rookie pass-catchers adjust to life in the NFL.
Tight Ends
Vance McDonald (PIT): TE11
Recall all of those targets up for grabs in Pittsburgh. McDonald managed to finish as fantasy’s TE10 last year on just 72 targets. Even if the Steelers scale back on passing attempts this season, McDonald should see more work.
Greg Olsen (CAR): TE20
Olsen has missed 16 combined games over the last two seasons, so this isn’t without risk. But from 2014 to 2016, he also averaged nearly eight targets per game while posting three straight 1,000-yard seasons. Fully healthy, he should post respectable low-end TE1 numbers.
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Brandon Katz is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Brandon, check out his archive and follow him @great_katzby.
