Fantasy Football Draft: Late Round Targets in 2017

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 14: Jimmy Graham
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 14: Jimmy Graham /
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Fantasy Football Draft
Fantasy Football Draft /

Fantasy Football Draft: Late Round Targets

If you’re like me, your Fantasy Football Draft is always last-minute. I understand waiting because injuries do happen as we’ve seen with Julian Edelman, Spencer Ware, and Cameron Meredith. However, waiting on the draft makes “sleepers” borderline impossible to keep quiet.

Kareem Hunt, an awesome steal coming into the draft season and someone everyone’s high on, has become a third round pick after the loss of Ware.

Another rookie back, Joe Mixon, someone who hasn’t even been declared the starter yet, is getting picked an average 10 rounds before Jeremy Hill (even with the ankle injury).

You need to trust your fantasy football draft board, especially when you’re drafting late into the off-season. You have to be patient with the way your draft flows in the first couple of rounds and then look for some slept on sturdy players you can rely on to get you consistent fantasy points every single week.

These are late round draft targets that can add serious depth to your line-up!

SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 25: Quarterback Russell Wilson
SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 25: Quarterback Russell Wilson /

Fantasy Football Draft: Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks are an interesting part of the fantasy football draft. It’s important to have a great QB on your side but the studs you might have to pass on at the wide receiver and running back position may not be worth the early reach.

Here’s a list of Quarterbacks that will greatly influence your teams dominance while not hurting your early round picks.

Russell Wilson (ESPN Rank 82 overall)

A top 10 quarterback in the league is available in round 6-8. That’s an absolute steal and for me, this is the time I might consider to take a quarterback.

Wilson is a stud, and as long as the offensive line hold up this season, he should light up the field with wide receiver Doug Baldwin and tight end Jimmy Graham (someone we’ll talk about later in this piece).

Kirk Cousins (ESPN Rank 93 overall)

Kirk finished the fantasy season last year as a top-five quarterback and that’s something he could repeat in 2017. The addition of Terrelle Pryor and familiarity with Jamison Crowder and Jordan Reed make Cousins an easy lock for a top-ten quarterback.

Jameis Winston (ESPN Rank 114 overall)

Winston is an easy break-out candidate for the 2017 season. Mike Evans, Cameron Brate, and with the additions of DJAX and O.J. Howard the Bucks are putting together some serious weapons for the arm of Winston.

4000+ yards and 28 touchdowns last season? I’m going to go out on a limb and say 4500+ yards and 35 touchdowns this season.

Derek Carr (ESPN Rank 116 overall)

A serious monster last year Carr was looking to make a legitimate playoff push before his broken leg came last December. His weapons are unreal, Amari Cooper, Micheal Crabtree, and Marshawn Lynch out of the backfield. This is a serious playoff team in 2017.

Matthew Stafford (ESPN Rank 118 overall)

The highest paid quarterback in the league is a possible 11th rounder in your fantasy football draft. I shouldn’t even have to say anything else. He was the 7th ranked fantasy quarterback last season and ESPN is still disrespecting his fantasy attributes.

Carson Wentz (ESPN Rank 165 overall)

The Eagles are doing what they can to bring stars to Wentz and I think they’ve found some. Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz are serious pass catchers so give me Wentz this season. With him coming this late in the draft he’s basically free.

Eli Manning (ESPN Rank 186 overall)

This is a pass first offense that now includes OBJ and Brandon Marshall on the same team. We’ll take the interceptions as long as he can get some completions to those two.

Fantasy Football Draft
Fantasy Football Draft /

Fantasy Football Draft: Late Round Running Backs

Half backs as well as wide receivers can make or break your fantasy team, and the addition of depth in the late rounds could work wonders.

Surprisingly, this is one of the first years in a while where deep picks could make a huge impact on your roster.

C.J. Anderson (ESPN Rank 72 overall)

The Denver Broncos couldn’t run the ball after Anderson went down last season, and even with the addition of Jamaal Charles, Anderson should still be the main workhorse in that backfield.

Robert Kelley (ESPN Rank 74 overall)

Kelley is a reliable running back, and even though the Redskins are a pass first offense, they will not hesitate to run the ball when the opportunity presents itself. Rob Kelley is their main back and the fact that he never fumbles makes me think he won’t lose his position either.

James White (ESPN Rank 87 overall)

James White is one of the best pass catching backs in the NFL and you can add him in the 7-9th round. No brainer!

Doug Martin (ESPN Rank 95 overall)

We’ve already mentioned some people in this offense and even with the suspension Martin is facing, I like his value. He’s facing three games and will return to face a pretty dominant New York Giants front, but he’s worth the stash if you’re in a good place at running back late in the draft.

Alvin Kamara (ESPN Rank 146 overall)

Kamara has been a stud in the preseason (yes, pre-season hype), but the thought of the Saints committing to two running backs (Ingram and Peterson) is unlikely.

The Saints love to switch things up and Peterson/Ingram are both power runners. Kamara adds a dynamic punch to that backfield and his speed is unreal.

Someone to sit stash on your roster for sure.

Jeremy Hill (ESPN Rank 156 overall)

Hill is a TD Machine (29 TDs in his first three seasons), and being able to draft him this late is almost unreal. He’s not someone who is going to destroy your opponent but I love his value this late. Not a stud but worth a stash.

Fantasy Football Draft
HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 05: Taylor Gabriel /

Fantasy Football Draft: Late Round Wide Receivers

With the NFL continuing to become a pass first league, wide outs are becoming easier and easier to draft because of the ongoing trend.

There are a lot of wide receivers that I was shocked to see this far down on the ESPN fantasy football draft rankings.

Randall Cobb (ESPN Rank 97 overall)

Cobb missed 3 games last season and still finished as the 52 ranked fantasy wide out. His QB is Aaron Rodgers, he’s basically free this late in the draft!

He’s not the Cobb we’ve seen in the past but he’s still a great option this late and will almost guarantee you four or five touchdowns.

Chris Hogan (ESPN Rank 103 overall)

Edelman is out for the year so someone has to pick up the targets! Great draft value here!

Zay Jones (ESPN Rank 110 overall)

An unproven rookie but someone who could make a big splash next season. Jordan Matthews and Zay Jones are the only two wide receivers I could see making waves in Buffalo and they’re both around the same draft slot.

Ted Ginn Jr. (ESPN Rank 121 overall)

Brandin Cooks accounted for 117 targets last season. Ginn was basically brought in the be a speedster running the post and that’s exactly what I expect to see. Drew Brees has a cannon, we know this so the connection is inevitable.

He may not be the best PPR Wide out but one big TD is all you need.

Marvin Jones (ESPN Rank 130 overall)

Marvin Jones had 103 targets last season. It just seemed that the chemistry wasn’t there between Jones and Stafford but this years pre-season has been telling.

Cooper Kupp (ESPN Rank 175 overall)

Give me Kupp! This is someone I reach for in all of my drafts. Kupp seems to be the number one target for sophomore quarterback Jared Goff and the potential is unreal to be honest.

Fantasy Football Draft: Honorable Mentions

Mohamed Sanu (ESPN Rank 181 overall)

Taylor Gabriel (ESPN Rank 198 overall)

Fantasy Football Draft: Late Round Wide ReceiversFantasy Football Draft
ATLANTA, GA – JANUARY 14: Jimmy Graham /

Fantasy Football Draft: Late Round Tight Ends

Tight Ends are an underrated part to a fantasy football draft. The drop off is severe and playing the waiver wires for tight ends every week can only work once every couple of years in fantasy football.

Finding that steady TE is important but using a third or fourth round pick is something almost everyone wants to avoid. Here are some steals you may be able to wait on.

Jimmy Graham (ESPN Rank 80 overall)

Pete Carrol was quoted saying,

"“(Jimmy) is so much more of a complete player than maybe we thought he would even become, really. So, he surprised us. He and Russell are really tuned in”"

Need I say more? Jimmy was the number fantasy 4 tight end last season and he wasn’t even 100%.

Now he’s healthy!

More from Fantasy Football

Kyle Rudolph (ESPN Rank 89 overall)

Rudolph is a steady producer and seems to shock everyone every year. He was the number two fantasy tight end last season with Sam Bradford at the helm… I learned something today.

Jack Doyle (ESPN Rank 132 overall)

Everyone in Indianapolis is hype on Jack Doyle but the absence of Andrew Luck makes me a little nervous. I still think his volume with be high this season no matter who the QB is so I like his value here.

Julius Thomas (ESPN Rank 195 overall)

With Adam Gase and Julius Thomas reuniting, I’m excited to see if they can pick up where they left off. I think Thomas is a great TE2 to fill in on unfavorable matchups this season.

Fantasy Football Draft: Honorable Mentions

Austin Hooper (ESPN Rank 171 overall)

Easy sleeper this year. All this offense does is score.

Evan Engram (ESPN Rank 208 overall)

My favorite rookie tight end in this years fantasy draft. Depending on what Manning we get, this could be one of the best stashes of the draft. I’d rather throw it out there and look smart so I can brag to my friends.

Next: Fantasy Football Preseason Injuries - Fantasy Implications

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