Who's Hot and Who is Not: Fantasy Football Draft Edition





The NFL season is just under 6 weeks from now and that means that fantasy football draft season is about to kick into high gear. If you're like me then you are probably 1) scared to death that one of your stellar keepers is going to do something stupid during training camp and be out for the season or 2) hoping that an RG3 or Chris Johnson situation doesn't rear its head this year and bite you in the butt. Well luckily for you I have done some thinking and research and maybe I can help you get into draft day with a better idea of the scope of the league this year and some do's and dont's for your draft day.



Offseason Recap



Luckily the NFL's offseason isn't nearly as crazy as other sports. While the NFL draft always brings in fresh high-quality talent every year, lots of your top tier players in the league don't shift teams very often. Even with that in mind, what happened between February and now?
  • BIG DEAL: RB Marshawn Lynch is on the Oakland Raiders now. In case you forgot, Skittles retired from football after losing interest in the non-football activities related to the job. Seems like he's planning on coming to Oakland not just because he doesn't want to get fined, but because he wants to win a championship with the newly signed QB Derek Carr at the helm of the team and breakout wide receiver Amari Cooper giving some separation on the line.
  • Speaking about separation at the line, the Lions have acquired OT Greg Robinson from LA. The former first round pick from the Rams might help Matthew Stafford and the struggling Lions find some ground this year and maybe pick up some extra wins. With Megatron leaving the team (and bashing that team hard core) Matthew Stafford has been called upon to carry this team to victory. Let's see if Greg can help.
  • The Jets have KILLED THEIR WHOLE TEAM. And I almost mean that literally. Here is a list of all the players that are no longer playing in green this year: K Nick Folk,  WR Brandon Marshall, C Nick Mangold, WR Eric Decker, QB Geno Smith, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Phew! While it doesn't look too hot for the Jets right now, they do have Josh McCown to head QB and Matt Forte at RB. They are probably hoping on the newly signed Ardarius Stewart out of Alabama to breakout at WR. 
  • Jeremy Maclin made the move to Baltimore and will now be catching passes from the slumping Joe Flacco. If Flacco has a good year, Maclin with probably have a good year as well so long as he doesn't have to share too many catches with Mike Wallace and Breshad Perriman.
  • Victor Cruz is now on the Bears along with Marcus Wheaton. Too bad that Mike Glennon is now that QB of that team. Or maybe not too bad. Jay Cutler who?
  • Legarrette Blount is now on the Eagles. All in all, that probably drops his stock. After getting a ton of touchdowns as the red-zone man in New England, the Eagles will probably use him more as a third down back. I don't see Blount taking snaps away from Ryan Matthews or Darren Sproles. A three-man rotation looks like the kind of backfield that Philly is going to have this season.
  • OT Jake Long of the Vikings retired this offseason, putting a big whole in the Vikings offensive line. Lots of people may be thinking of drafting Sam Bradford this year after his incredible completion percentage and the next to 0% chance of Teddy Bridgewater coming back, but Sam has always been known to like his short and quick passes. Without Jake Long on the front lines, I don't see the Viking's pass game coming back to its 2016 success.
  • Adrian Peterson is on the Saints now. Well that might have been big news couple years ago, it means next to nothing now. Peterson is past the prime of his career and will just be taking snaps away from Mark Ingram. Plus, who ever thinks about the Saint's running game? No one. Drew Brees will always own the show there as long as he is healthy.
  • To finish off this list I'd like to add that Nick Foles is back in Philly (lol), Tony Romo was released and then retired (Welcome to the age of Dak), and Eddie Lacy is now on the Seahawks. Don't expect to see anything from Lacy in Seattle. They are a passing team through and through and most of the running will also be done by Russell Wilson.
 Who's Hot and Who's Not


 Let's start with who's hot. I'm not going to include everyone's favorite first rounders on this list. If you want a pat on the back for wanting to draft Antonio Brown or Drew Brees then I'd suggest you go to another blog (please don't).

Who's Hot? 
  • Carson Wentz. A year ago Carson Wentz wouldn't have been on nearly anyone's radar at QB, but this year the Eagles have put the players in place to help this young gun be a starter in anyone's league. With Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, Jordan Matthews, and the always good Zach Ertz lining up alongside him and a RB core that can give him a little space, don't be surprised if Carson scores a lot of points this year. I put him as a 5-7 round sleeper.
  • Jameis Winston. After having a slightly above average season last year Jameis is propped up for a massive season this year. The Buccaneers picked up DeSean Jackson this offseason and him on top of Mike Evans will give Jameis plenty of weapons to kill it this season. In addition, if Doug Martin can stay healthy that can't hurt him at all. 
  • Golden Tate. As the only major reliever on the Lions and with Matthew Stafford getting some extra protection, Golden Tate is going to have a major season. Similar to Michael Thomas of the Saints, this will be an explosive year.
  • So Eric Decker got released by the suicide Jets, but this year he is going to go off with Marcus Mariota under center. After having a killer year with Peyton Manning we all know that Eric has potential. After having decent year with the miserable Jets it is time for him to come out of his shell and explode in Tennessee. Don't leave him on the board too late, he'll be worth the early pick.
Who's Not? 
  •  Mark Ingram. The Saints picked up Adrian Peterson and so now a former superstar for the Saints is going to be sharing the spotlight. Less snaps means less touches and less yards. Unless Ingram turns into a red zone back (unlikely with Brees' arm) it looks like Ingram won't be nearly as good of a RB2 as he used to be. The running back apocalypse continues.
  • The Patriots Defense. No Super Bowl defending champs are bound to have a perfect next season. Patriots only just lost Rob Ninkovich and that'll hurt. Averaging almost 7 sacks per season over the past 5 years, Ninkovich was killer and without that pressure up front, along with general decline from other players on the defense, the Patriots D isn't going to be nearly as formidable.
  • Kirk Cousins. A player fighting for the superstar spotlight, I don't think Kirk has what is takes to be a top tier quarterback. It also doesn't help that Washington is missing running backs and will be 100% relying on tight ends Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis. 

While this is only a short list, I hope it helps in that middle round confusion. Everyone knows the top dogs and the worst of the league, but that middle ground get get a little tough. If you have any suggestions for me or want some of my thoughts on players you are considering, let me know down in the comments.





----For more insights into NFL football keep checking back at "Off the Bench". Hope you enjoyed! Please comment your opinions and I'll see you in the next blurb.-----

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