Bargains for your Fantasy Football Team

We all look for an edge, in one way or the other. Everyone does something to get ahead of the pack or beat the system. From speeding through stop lights to leaving work a few minutes early. Everyone loves a shortcut.

Finding an edge in fantasy football is essential to success. Whether it’s taking a shot on a rookie breakout season or doing your research months in advance, there are many ways to get a leg up on your competition. 

One of the most tried-and-true tactics is finding an overlooked gem in your draft. Players may be overlooked for several reasons. Maybe they lost a key teammate, or maybe they are coming off a down season the year before, but being aware of a player’s history and upside might be your best friend going into your draft.

I wanted to focus on a few players at every position that might give you higher or similar production to players being drafted higher than them in drafts or ranked higher on pre-season lists. I will also provide a few high-risk, high-reward honorable mentions for each position.

Let me help you get an advantage, or completely ruin your season!

Quarterback: Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders

Derek Carr might not lead your franchise to a Super Bowl title. But he may have the tools and weapons to lead you to a fantasy football title.

Carr is coming off a season where he set career-highs in completions (428), pass attempts (626), and passing yards (4,804). While his completion percentage has been a strength for him over the last four seasons, it’s his continually growing yards per pass attempt that make him an intriguing selection for your quarterback. 

Another key for Carr is the addition of Davante Adams to an offense that already features some high-end talents such as Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow. This will undoubtedly help his passing touchdown total (23), which was below the league average last season. Carr has the tools and the weapons to clear the 5,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.

Carr should fall later in your draft with many quarterbacks being ranked higher than him by experts around the league. Pro Football Focus has him ranked behind Trey Lance, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts, and Dak Prescott, who all have question marks heading into the new year. 

High-Risk Honorable Mention: Baker Mayfield (Carolina Panthers), Zach Wilson (New York Jets)

Running Back: David Montgomery, Chicago Bears

David Montgomery enters the 2022 season with both opportunity and pressure, as it is the final year of his rookie contract. Montgomery has proven to be a steady lead-back for a Chicago Bears franchise that has been anything but steady. 

The 2022 season will mark Montgomery’s third coach in four years, so his level of production has been more than commendable. He has accounted for almost 25% of all the Bear’s yards from scrimmage since 2019, and eight in rushing yards since 2018 (2,808). 

He has also been a reliable weapon in the passing game, finishing ahead of higher-ranked running backs Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliot, and Nick Chubb. “We’re going to stress those [running backs] and stretch their role, meaning can he run the whole gamut of the passing tree? Which, you know, it looks like he can,” coach Matt Eberflus said of Montgomery.

I believe with Chicago handing the reigns to Justin Fields, Montgomery will finally be able to work full-time with the quarterback that he should be playing with all year.

He should be available behind running backs such as Alvin Kamara (who may be suspended for 6 games), and Miles Sanders. 

High-Risk Honorable Mention: Isaiah Spiller (Los Angeles Chargers)

Wide Receiver: Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Admittedly, Bateman is a deeper cut than Carr or Montgomery. But at his draft price, he has the potential to be a true lottery ticket for the team that drafts him. The key to his potential breakout season can best be described in one word: opportunity.

The departures of Sammy Watkins and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown have planted Bateman on top of the Baltimore Raven’s wide receiver depth chart. There will be plenty of question marks surrounding the Baltimore offense which has a notoriously run-heavy approach. But Bateman should provide quarterback Lamar Jackson with a bigger target downfield. 

Mark Andrews is without question the top target for Jackson, but now with “Hollywood” Brown’s departure, there are 146 vacated targets that Bateman should receive plenty of. 

Though the questions are there, the upside is clear. You may need all the pieces to fall into place. But if they do, he might be a bargain pick that leads you to the promised land.

High-Risk Honorable Mention: Allen Robinson II (Los Angeles Rams), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Kansas City Chiefs)

Tight End: Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills

If you have ever played fantasy football before, you would know that the tight-end position is usually unpredictable outside of a few players. The usual suspects of Travis Kelce, Mark Andrew, and George Kittle will be selected early drafts. So if you are unable or unwilling to pay up for a tight-end, Knox might be your best bargain option. 

Last season, Knox found himself in that elite company tying the big-name TEs for the touchdown lead with nine touchdowns. Hesitation about drafting Knox this season is surrounded by the low number of targets he received last season (71).

But that could also be the reason to take a shot on him. He had a top-tier production on minimal attempts, if the attempts see an increase, so may the production. 

The Bills saw the departures of Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders while adding Jamison Crowder, Khalil Shakir, and O.J. Howard to their receiving core. Yes, Howard could end up cutting into Knox’s targets. But he has not exactly lived up to his potential since the Buccaneers drafted him in the first round.

I don’t see him being much of an issue for Knox. He should enter the season as a top target for MVP hopeful Josh Allen. 

High-Risk Honorable Mentions: Cameron Brate (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Mo Alie-Cox (Indianapolis Colts)