When it comes to drafting your fantasy football team, sometimes it can feel more confusing than it needs to be. While deep dives into data and analytics are great, there are often a few ways to get a leg up on your competition that don’t feel like rocket science. Andrew Erickson has shared one of those strategies to follow as you’re making decisions between players on draft day: prioritize players on good offenses. Erickson lays out his case in that article. Below we’ll take a look at a few fantasy football draft picks to consider on one of these offenses, the Bengals.
- More Fantasy Football Advice
- Snake Draft Pick Strategy: Early | Middle | Late
- Best Ball Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Players to Target
More faith in the Bengals this season compared to last season. They have jumped up to 3rd overall, 5 spots from last season. You have the usual suspects at the top, and Joe Mixon‘s ADP continues to rise since he restructured his contract to avoid being cut from the team entirely. All in all, there are two ways to get cheap exposure to Bengals offense that ranked 1st in pass rate on early downs under neutral game script conditions: WR Tyler Boyd and TE Irv Smith Jr.
Boyd ranks 5th in total routes run over the past two seasons. Last year, he was a top-48 WR in 56% of his games played. Currently, he is being drafted outside the top 50 WRs.
Smith Jr. has still yet to turn 25, but injuries have plagued him over the last two seasons. His impressive sophomore campaign seems like a distant memory, more than an actual way to project him moving forward. At least Smith was able to return from the high-ankle sprain that placed him on IR in 2022, and he will get the chance to be fully healthy during off-season activities. Before his injury in Week 8, ISJ was the TE23 in points per game (5.7) and caught at least two passes in all but one game. The former second-round pick still has talent and could easily rebound on a high-powered Bengals offense that features tight ends plenty in the passing game. His 20% target rate per route run ranked 12th among all tight ends with at least 30 targets in 2022.
As for the backfield behind Mixon…it’s slim picking. I am not a fan of rookie Chase Brown, and Trayveon Williams has never had a role on offense despite a number of preseason puff pieces the last few years. Chris Evans would be my favorite sleeper of the bunch.
But in all honesty, if Mixon were to go down I am pretty sure the Bengals would add a free agent instead of addressing the backfield internally. Specifically, I think Ezekiel Elliott would be their guy.
Frank Pollack is the Bengals’ current offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Before then, he spent two seasons in Dallas with Ezekiel Elliott. Right tackle La’el Collins and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie are former Cowboys.
Elliot’s remaining strengths are at the goal line and in pass protection. Only Jamaal Williams totaled more carries inside the 5 than Zeke did last year. And his TD conversion rate (47.4%) was better than Mixon’s 35.3%. Seems logical that Elliott could find his way back to Ohio, should Mixon falter or get into further off-the-field issues. Either way, I’d be proactive in adding Elliott to Bengals best ball stacks.
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Leverage ADP
As you prepare for your fantasy football draft, it’s important to have a sense of rankings and where players are being drafted. Of course, this will change league-to-league, but you can usually get a sense of where a player is likely to go in your draft with a little fantasy football research. To really zero in on a player’s average draft position (ADP), you can use our consensus ADP. This, combined with our Expert Consensus Ranking, will allow you to get a sense of players that are drafted earlier or later in general drafts versus where the experts would recommend you targeting them.
For example, if you have a player with an ADP of No. 12 overall, but our consensus of experts view them as a top-five player, that’s probably someone you want to consider targeting in the back-end of the first round. On the flip side, if a player has an average draft position of No. 5 overall but our experts view the player as outside of the top-10 overall in their rankings, you’re likely better off allowing one of your league mates to make that draft pick.