Fantasy Football Draft: 2019 studs, sleepers and busts

Welcome into the first look of Fantasy Football Draft Targets! The NFL season is closer than you think and it’s time to start getting a lay of the land for Draft Day!

It’s almost one of the best times of the year for Fantasy Football and we’re closing in on Fantasy Football Draft season in a hurry. While things are sure to change when training camp and the preseason start up, it’s a good idea to at least take a glance at how drafts are going right now.

We’re going to be using the ADP(average draft position) of NFFC leagues, which house some of the best and sharpest minds in the industry. When you want to get better at fantasy, you seek out those better than you to learn and pay attention.

We’ll be going position by position to highlight three categories – Studs, Busts, and Sleepers. The Studs are self-explanatory, but you still have to make the right calls at the high picks to let your team have the best chance for success.

Buts are going to be players that I think could be mistakes by the end of the season, Sleepers are the players who are coming at a bargain and Personal Favorites is who I’ll be looking to draft in the majority of leagues. Let’s get to work!

Quarterback – Studs

Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns – ADP of 65th overall, QB5

When a player only starts 13 games in the previous season and still throws for 27 touchdowns, over 3,700 yards and then gets a shiny new weapon in Odell Beckham Jr….sign me up. That’s not even counting the bumbling incompetence of the Hue Jackson/Todd Haley regime that Mayfield suffered through to start his career.

Mayfield completed 63.7% of his throws last season and that was with Jarvis Landry being the number one option through much of the year. I like Landry, but Beckham is light years ahead of him talent wise and brings a resume of four 1,000+ yard seasons and double-digit touchdowns in three of four years when he played at least 12 games.

The red zone could be an even better territory for Mayfield as well this year. Last season saw him check in 21st in the league in red zone passing attempts and he finished 11th with 20 red zone passing TD’s.

Beckham converted 21 targets for 5 touchdowns last year with Eli Manning, who’s best days are behind him. Mayfield has a year of experience, one of the best individual receivers in the game and a great supporting cast with a coach that wants to make big plays happen.

Perhaps one of the most exciting thing about this offense is the attitude of offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who had this quote from the Cleveland Browns Website - 

"“I like having fun. I don’t know why it has to feel like such drudgery all the time. Who needs more 5-yard plays? How can we be explosive? That’s what the game is about, man. People like big plays. I like big plays.”"

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons – ADP of 70th overall, QB6

There was thoughts of putting Deshaun Watson here and he’s a worthy choice for an early quarterback, but that’s not always my style. If I don’t pull the trigger on Watson or Mayfield, I’m likely to just wait a few more picks and take Matt Ryan.

I also have a feeling in a lot of drafts, Ryan will go later than this and there’s not much of a reason he should. The 2018 campaign was the definition of “To the victor goes the spoils” because Ryan performed at an almost identical level of the 2016 MVP season.

In 2018, he passed for 20 fewer yards and three fewer touchdowns while throwing just seven interceptions and even though the Falcons were fifth in passing attempts per game, Ryan gets back a valuable weapon in running back Devonta Freeman.

In the three seasons that Freeman played at least 13 games, he added at least 36 receptions and 317 yards. Ryan also boasts a dangerous trio of receivers in Julio Jones(a top five receiver), Mohamed Sanu(not a fantasy asset, but a real life one) and second year player Calvin Ridley. He’ll be looking to build off a strong rookie year that saw him rack up 821 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Even Austin Hooper is a sneaky good tight end and this offense is totally loaded. The Falcons Brough back Dirk Koetter for the offensive coordinator job and he’s familiar with Atlanta and Ryan.

In three seasons from 2012-14, the Falcons finished inside the top 11 in passing attempts, yards and scoring. With a veteran like Ryan at the helm with a track record of fantasy success, it seems like a top-5 season is imminent once again.

Other Fantasy Football Draft Targets – Watson, Carson Wentz, Andrew Luck