Category: Featured

Undervalued- Mario Manningham

With the injured Steve Smith signing with the Eagles, Mario Manningham’s 2011 season looks that much better.

Analysis: Manningham caught sixty balls last year for 944 yards and nine scores. Manningham only officially started in eight games, which makes it that much more impressive. As much as everyone calls the Giants a running team they passed the ball 539 times last year and Manningham was targeted ninety-two times despite sharing time with Steve Smith through week nine. 110 targets is a likely projection for Mannngham in 2011 even though Hakeem Nicks is the stud on the roster. Manningham’s ADP is in the 64-70 range and he’s being selected as the twenty-fifth wide out off the board. Considering Austin Collie is one big hit away from retirement and Anquan Boldin just isn’t the same wide out he was in Arizona, taking Manningham as a low tier WR2/stud WR3 is a smart play at this point in fantasy drafts. Can Steve Johnson be trusted? Will Julio Jones get enough red zone targets? There are a ton of questions with other wide outs around Manningham’s ADP but Manningham is one of only a few that can be trusted this deep into a draft.

Projection: 1,000 yards and eight scores is what to expect from Manningham in 2011.

98 ADP- Matthew Stafford Is A Bargain

After a solid 6 for 7, two touchdown performance in his first preseason game, Matthew Stafford has hit the ground running in 2011. With an ADP of 98 he sure seems like a bargain.

Analysis: We cannot forget that Matthew Stafford in 2010 threw six touchdowns to just one interception in three games. Stafford’s completion percentage was around the sixty percent mark as the young talent continues to develop on the Lions offense. Stafford is being taken as the thirteenth quarterback off the board and that is a bargain. Streaming Stafford with an Eli Manning or a Josh Freeman instead of taking an elite quarterback can be effective this year. Stafford has QB1 potential but due to injuries he hasn’t quite been able to prove himself. We all love Calvin Johnson but we cannot ignore how good Brandon Pettigrew is. Pettigrew is just twenty-six years old and last year was a solid campaign that included 71 receptions for 722 yards. Jahvid Best recorded 58 receptions as a rookie back and has the potential for much more.

The only concern when drafting Stafford will be his health. If he plays every game he will put up QB1 numbers, period. Whatever happens- a Shaun Hill insurance pick seems like the smart thing to do late in a draft.

Jimmy Graham Is Undervalued

Jimmy Graham is being taken as the twelfth tight end off the board in standard ESPN leagues right now.

Analysis: New Orleans’ tight end Jimmy Graham turned it on late last year with five touchdowns in his final eight games. Now, fast forward to this season with Jeremy Shockey in Carolina and you have a tight end with some serious upside. Considering Saint tight ends were targeted 151 times last year and Shockey accounted for fifty-nine of those targets, Graham will be one of the more heavily targeted tight ends in the leagues this year. Greg Olsen is the tenth tight end being taken off the board in ESPN drafts right now and when considering he’s coming off of a 404 yard season with four scores it’s just ridiculous. Olsen may also be in Carolina but with the lack of a relaiable quarterback you have to wonder if he’ll even have a remotely productive season. I’m not saying Graham is a top eight tight end who will reach pay dirt double digit times this year but the amount of targets that will be coming his way with all the weapons on that Saint offense- it sure seems to point to Graham being a legit low tier TE1 heading into the 2011 season.

Ricky Williams Has Value

Ricky Williams has signed with the Ravens and in doing so may have more value than Willis McGahee did for Baltimore from 2009-2010.

Analysis: Considering Ray Rice was on the end of 370 touches last year and 332 touches in 2009, owning Ricky Williams as insurance is an intelligent play this year. Williams may be thirty-four years old but the veteran has only had one 200 carry season since 2003. Williams has also averaged over four yards per carry in each of his last three seasons, not bad for back in his thirties. Ray Rice may or may not be due for an injury with all the touches he has been on the end of, but when considering Willis McGahee scored twenty touchdowns as the Ravens’ backup in the last two years to a healthy Rice, Ricky Williams looks like steal at his ADP. Williams’ ADP is 152 and he’s the fifty-seventh back being taken off the board right now. He may not be a RB3 but he will score plenty of touchdowns and would serve as a solid recplacement should Rice get banged up. Either way, at pick 152 Ricky Williams is a steal.

Value Up- Jahvid Best

Detroit rookie running back Mikel Leshoure tore his left Achilles tendon Monday at practice. With Leshoure set to be Detroit’s 1-B option in the backfield it now appears Jahvid Best may be getting a few more touches this season.

Analysis: The 230 pound Mikel Leshoure was going to receive the bulk of the goal line carries this year but with the injury we may see second year back Jahvid Best a bit more involved in short yardage situations. Yes, backs like Mike Bell and Laurence Maroney may still be available but they do not possess the kind of explosiveness the Lions were counting on this year in goal line situations. Despite a relatively disappointing rookie campaign plagued by turf toe, Best still managed 58 receptions and over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and is now primed to set the league on fire. With the Leshoure injury we’ll see a bit more of Best in the Detroit ground game and on goal line carries. Best’s ADP in PPR leagues right now is in the 36-40 range but do not expect for him to be around by then on draft day in intelligent leagues.

Projection: Sixty receptions is a possibility for Best this year and so is 1,500 yards from scrimmage. If he stays healthy he doesn’t disappoint as a RB2 in PPR leagues.