Fantasy championships aren’t always won at the top of the draft. Finding deep value at any position gives you a massive edge in your league. It gives us starting-caliber players for prices next to nothing. We aren’t looking at safe floors in this, it’s all about upside. This article is dedicated to targeting those potential players.
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All Undrafted Team
In this study, we are looking at players at each position that are going after 150 ADP overall. While some likely will still be drafted, they make for great targets at the end of your draft or on the waiver wire leading up to the season.
Quarterbacks
Teddy Bridgewater (CAR)
ADP: 159 overall, QB25
The Panthers lost an abhorrent amount of defensive players this past year, and the result was them being the only team to spend every pick of the 2020 NFL draft on defense. Unsurprisingly, their Vegas win total is 5.5. One thing is clear, they will give up a lot of points and be playing from behind very often. Now sprinkle in the new coaching regime of Matt Rhule and Joe Brady – who led the high-powered passing attack of LSU last year – and we have the perfect recipe for massive passing volume. If that isn’t enough to convince you, Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, and Robby Anderson make one of the better receiving corps in the league. If Teddy goes undrafted in your league, he won’t stay a free agent for long.
Gardner Minshew (JAC)
ADP: 178 overall, QB26
Minshew mania is here to stay after the Jaguars sent Nick Foles to the Bears. Minshew was the QB12 from week 13 on according to FantasyPros leader tool. The Konami code at quarterback is real, and Minshew had the fifth-most rushing yards per game in 2019 (min. 8 games). The stability of rushing fantasy points combined with his already impressive fantasy output means there is little reason his ADP should be QB26. Expect his fantasy usefulness to continue in 2020.
Running Backs
Antonio Gibson (WAS)
ADP: 149 overall, RB51
This one is cheating the ADP requirements by one, but he’s worth the discussion. An athletic phenomenon with a hybrid rushing/receiving background makes him a great pick at ADP. Only three players have had a speed score (weight-adjusted 40-time) over 120 in the last five years. They are Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, and Gibson. JJ Zachariason also noted the importance of backfield ambiguity in his research of finding breakout running backs here. This is evident by the variety of Derrius Guice, Peyton Barber, Adrian Peterson, and others. The upside with Gibson is in his receiving work, and Washington is due to increase pass attempts dramatically from last season as will be noted in Steven Sims blurb. Being drafted by the new regime bodes well for his potential use, and Ron Rivera compared him to “CMC-lite”.
DeAndre Washington (KC)
ADP: 212 overall, RB64
Washington’s points per game in PPR when starting in three games without Josh Jacobs were as follows: 27.6, 24.6, and 21.2. The raised eyes emoji doesn’t do it justice. Clearly capable of handling a full workload, Washington finds himself with the Chiefs behind only rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the backfield as Damien Williams has opted out of the season due to COVID reasons. Should Edwards-Helaire be slow in his learning curve or miss any time to injury, and we have ourselves an RB1 considering the Chief’s potent offense. Rostering Washington at his ADP is similar to finding a $100 bill on the ground on your walk home, it doesn’t get much easier.
Jerick McKinnon (SF)
ADP: 201 overall, RB61
This is the third year since the 49ers’ have signed McKinnon to his lucrative contract, and zero in-season games to show for it. They continue to remain hopeful with the once-promising back and despite his missed time, they kept him on a restructured contract. The Kyle Shanahan offense is built on an effective run-scheme with speedy backs. It is what has made Mostert, Coleman, and Breida flourish in the system. Breida’s departure opens up an opportunity, but the job is seemingly Mostert’s to lose. The good news is that a fast back can thrive in this system, regardless of name recognition or recent history. He’ll go with the hot hand and McKinnon will make his case.
Wide Receivers
James Washington (PIT)
ADP: 222 overall, WR71
It wasn’t JuJu Smith-Schuster. It wasn’t Diontae Johnson. It was James Washington who led the Steelers in receiving yards per game last year despite some of the most horrendous quarterback play these eyes have seen. He boasted team-leading stats with 49 yards per game and 9.2 yards per target. Now Ben Roethlisberger returns to drastically elevate the passing game? With the lowest ADP of the three, Washington has the late-round upside you want to chase.
Antonio Brown (FA)
ADP: 183 overall, WR66
Brown has been suspended for the first eight weeks of the season and has lingering character and legal concerns. But no one you can draft this late provides you with not just WR1 potential, but legitimate top-3 potential when healthy and starting. Brown has been one of the best fantasy receivers of the past decade, and now having a clear decision from the NFL, teams are free to sign him. Stash him on your bench until more news breaks, and reap the rewards when/if he finally is back to playing.
Steven Sims (WAS)
ADP: 268 overall, WR84
I have done seven drafts so far this year as of writing between redraft, dynasty, best ball, and Steven Sims is the only player I own in 100% of leagues. The upside is enormous as he finished the season in PPR as the WR15 from weeks 13-17 per FantasyPros leader tool yet no one seems to have noticed. Ron Rivera takes over for Washington where he just finished in Carolina with the second-most pass attempts in the league. Washington themselves are also due to increase passing volume based on my team study here. Expect a massive volume jump with little to no wide receiver competition to get in his way apart from Terry McLaurin.
Allen Lazard (GB)
ADP: 170 overall, WR64
The Packers are building for the future, which means at least one more year of Aaron Rodgers needing to work with scraps for wide receiver talent behind Davante Adams. The odds on favorite is late season bloomer Lazard. With Devin Funchess opting out, Lazard can continue his role as the Packers WR2 in 2020.
Tight Ends
Chris Herndon (NYJ)
ADP: 180 overall, TE21
Since 2010, only 13 tight ends have eclipsed 500 yards their rookie season. Among them are Rob Gronkowski, George Kittle, Evan Engram, Mark Andrews, and Chris Herndon. What was a tremendous start to a career that has been often derailed by injury. Now presumably healthy with an entirely new offensive line to hopefully keep Sam Darnold upright and safe for more than two seconds, Herndon will have a shot to pick up his career where it left off with the rest of that elite company.
Irv Smith Jr. (MIN)
ADP: 194 overall, TE22
Last year, the Vikings ran two tight end formations among the most in the league. In that time, 30-year-old Kyle Rudolph averaged three targets per game, and 21-year-old rookie Smith averaged three targets per game. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand one is trending up and the other down based on the age gap alone. Smith is looking to build on a solid rookie campaign despite shared snaps at the position.
Thanks for reading and stay golden! If you like what you learned, follow me @DavidZach16 for more interesting stats and tidbits throughout the year.
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David Zach is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidZach16.
