The Top 12 Players You NEED to Target in Your Fantasy Football Draft

Published Jul 21, 2023, 1:00 PM

Maximize your team's potential and dominate your competition with our top 12 hand-picked players to target this season. Tune in to discover who you absolutely must have on your roster!

Helpful Links:

Win a Free Ultimate Custom Championship Belt - For your chance to win a free Ultimate Custom Championship Belt, courtesy of our friends over at Trophy Smack, all you have to do is subscribe to the FantasyPros YouTube Channel and comment on this video. That's it! While you're at it, drop a like and click that bell to get notified each time a new video drops.

Welcome back to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel. My name is Jarrick Brown. In today's video, we're going to talk about twelve players that the experts are drafting heavily this year in fantasy football. Before we get to that, if.

You want a chance to win one of one an ultimate custom Fantasy Championship Belt for your league courtesy of Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy tournament trophies, all you have to do is subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now, comment below on this video and that's it. We will be announcing a winner this week. So this is your last chance, last chance, people to turn on those notifications so you could be alerted when new episodes are up and to claim your prize.

All right, Number twelve Nico Collins.

Look, I give this as a small sample, but over the last two years, without Brandon Cooks on the field, Nico Collins has garnered a twenty two percent target chare, thirty point six percent target perue run rate, and we've seen the talent in spurts from Nico Collins. The problem is quarterback play has been lacking. That's where c J. Stroud comes in this year, the Houston Texans offense is going to do nothing but climb the ranks because c J's Droud. I'm here to tell you people, is the truth. Nico Collins can assert himself as the wide receiver one in Houston. And if ce Js Droud is that guy that I think he is, he is going to be a value in fantasy leagues this year and the experts love him all right. Number eleven my favorite Chicago Bear running back rose Shawn Johnson. So in the last three years of college, Roshawn Johnson has been and I get it small samples as we have to work here because look, he's behind one of the best ever and be Jean Robinson. But what he's shown when he's played has been amazing over the last three seasons. His final three in college, he was eleventh, twenty first, and fourteenth in yards of the contact per attempt. He is a plus pass protector, only allowing two sacks during his entire collegiate career at Texas. If there's one guy that you need to push your chips to the middle on to take over this Bears backfield by the middle of the season, it's Roshan Johnson. All right, but stay on the underrated running back discussion. Damien Harris coming in at number ten. Over the last three years, Damien Harris has been one of the most efficient running backs in the NFL. In his rank in Juke Great has been eighth, twenty second, and ninth. So we're not asking Damien Harris to be anything then he hasn't already been for the Patriots, except he moves over to a great offense. We know the Bills are going to be in the red zone constantly. There were six in the red zone scoring attempts per game last year, and with the pace of play that this offense runs up that the eighth highest red zone rushing attempts per game. What does this all mean? Damien Harris could be this year's Jamal Williams or yes to yours, James Connor. Doubledg touchdowns is firmly in his range of outcomes and we've already seen him do it once in his career. Experts love him and you should too, all right, Number nine. Staying with the running backs. A lot of good running back values that the experts are targeting right now. Rashod Penny and hey theme here, good offenses. Rashod Penny has been one of the most explosive runners when he's been healthy, and I know that's a big if, but all of that injury risk and if is priced into his ADP right now. He's been air dropped into an Eagles offense that was first in REDS one rushing attempts per game, and we've just seen what an early down grinder.

Can do in this offense.

Because Miles Sanders was not getting targets last year with only a forty percent route participation five percent target share, that was not there not gonna be there for Rashod Penny either, but he doesn't need that.

People.

He is one of the best running backs in the NFL when he's on the field. So all we're doing is making a really cheap bet, and the experts are doing it as well, that he could stay healthy again. The risk is baked in. Rashotpenny over the last two seasons has been first and fifth in EPA per carry and rushing yards over expectation, he's been second and third. Rashotpenny could be a league winner, and you need to follow the experts in drafts and get him on your teams all right, Number eight. What do we chase in fantasy every single year? It is volume, volume, volume, volume, baby. So this leads me to James Connor, and I get it. I understand it. The Cardinals are not going to be a good team. That's not going to stop James Connor from racking up a ton of volume when he has not been hurt. He's been amazing over the last two seasons RB nine RB seven Fantasy points per game. He's also been top twenty in both of those seasons. An opportunity share and wait at opportunity. There is no running back on this depth chart that is going to take volume away from James Connor. I know we're all wondering what happens with Kyler Murray, but Colt McCoy one is a checkdown artist and two can move this offense up and down the field, and James Connor will be in scoring position. Now, I'm not telling you that's gonna be a lot, but enough to pay off. And the experts are diving in and drafting him as much as they possibly can. All right, Number seven, the guy that I love, Anthony Richardson. Anthony Richardson, we all know the risk that he presents, but the rushing upside and the fit in this offensive scheme is fantastic. You look at what Richardson does as a passer, and really the name of the game with Shane Stykeen is throwing deep and using play action. In his final season at Florida, he was fifth in play action passing grade, nineteenth in play action yards per tempt, and twentieth in PFF's deep passing grade. You marry this with that amazing upside that he carries with his legs. Yeah, you need to be going with the experts and targeting Anthony Richardson a ton in your drafts this year. I think we got a thing people number six coming in. We're talking about a lot of these undervalued running backs, and that leads me to David Montgomery. We just saw with Jamal Williams and his hip thrusts and his swag did last year and spiking all of those touchdowns.

David Montgomery.

I'm not telling you that he's gonna get to that level, but he can be an RB two and all the experts agree. They're drafting him right now because all the hype is centered around Jamiir Gibbs. But David Montgomery could be the red zone back for this team. He probably is the favorite for that role considering what he's done. Last year, he was twenty six in yards out of contact per attempt, twelfth and elusive rating. We know he can break tackles as well as playing the passing game. He's gonna steal routes from Jamiir Gibbs if he owns the red zone role. You're gonna wish you follow the experts in drafts, all right, number five, going to the rookie. Well, here, Jordan Addison. We saw Adam Thielen, krusty, dusty, washed up version of himself, earn a seventeen percent target share and one hundred and seven targets in his Vikings pass first offense, which I'm here to tell you is gonna pass even more without Dalvin Cook this year. Do we not think that Jordan Addison can earn just as many, heck maybe more targets than Adam Thielen had last year. Addison has been twenty second or higher and yards per route run and PFF receiving grade in each of the last two collegiate seasons that he played, dropping him into this pass first offense. He is going to pay off as a great value and a wonderful, wonderful draft pick in fantasy this year. Now we talk about talented rookies, let's go to a talented third year player that I get. He burned everybody last year, and I understand if you don't want to go back there, but I'm telling you the experts love this guy and you need to draft him because the upside is still there. Kyle Hits last year was ninth in PFF receiving grade, tight in five in expected Fantasy points per game, top two in both target share and target per route run rate. So you're saying to yourself, Okay, well, all these numbers sound great. Where did it go wrong? One Marcus Marriott was terrible. He was thirty seventh in catchuble target rate. Andy only had five red zone targets. We saw this offense last year lead the NFL and red zone rushing rate. If that number comes back, and I'm not telling you, they're going to be top ten and passing rate inside the ten, inside the twenty. But even if they just regress to the bare minimum, top ten, top twelve in rushing rate, Kyle Pitts is going to get more opportunities for touchdowns and Desmond Ritter might not be fantastic, but we also had the out of Taylor Heineke. If Ritter sucks Taylor Heineke, we know what that show looks like. And at least it's passable quarterback play. And that's all Kyle Pitts needs to pay off this year, all right. Number three, JK Dobbins. JK Dobbins. When we've seen him in the NFL healthy and even last year running on one leg, still one of the most efficient guys in the NFL. And now you have Todd Monkin coming in, who has fed top ten opportunity shares to Nick Chubb and Peyton Barber over his final two years as an offensive coordinator. Dobbins is going to get more work than he ever got under Greg Roman. And for a guy that looked last year on one leg twenty second in yards of the contact per attempt. He was sixth in breakaway run rate in an improved Baltimore Ravens offense, it's going to feed him the rock more and in a contract year. JK Dobbins is a player you need to be betting on in twenty twenty three. Alrighty now getting two our top two players. I get the suspension as a worry, but I got to mention number two, Alvin Kamara. This Saints offense can be better this year. Derek Carr might not be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but he can be an improvement over who was taking snaps last year. Alva Kamara is still going to be the main back in this offense when he comes up from suspension, and the suspension is the only thing holding his ADP down and the experts are gobbling up the value. He was still fourth in opportunity share, seventh and weighted opportunity last year. He had over an eighteen percent target chair and even with more receiving weapons, we know that Alvin Kamara is still one of the best receiving backs in the NFL. He's gonna garner targets. And if we think that this Saints offense can be improved this coming season, they were twenty first in red zone scoring attempts per game last year. That number is going up if they're improved, and Alva Kamara has regression baked in as far as his usage inside.

The red zone.

Had forty three percent of the team's carries inside the red zone last year, Yeah, that's not great. The previous season sixty one point eight percent of those opportunities inside the red zone. Alva Kamara could get more work in twenty twenty three, and when he comes back from a suspension, he is going to be the main guy and he could be carrying you to fantasy titles. Number one guy on the list. I love the talent and we have not seen him on cork a two thousand yard rushing season, but I'm telling you.

It's still in the range of outcomes. Nick Chubb.

Last year with Jacoby Brissett under center, he was the R five and fantasy points per game. When Deshaun Watson got there, it tanked him. He dropped to the RB seventeen in fantasy points per game. And this is not a reflection on Chubb his talent where he's at in his career, because all of his efficiency numbers still looked amazing. Seventh in yards after contact per attempt, he was second and elusive rating. If Deshaun Watson can bounce back, Nick Chubb will be a top five running back in the NFL this season.

Again, if you.

Want a chance to win a one to one ultimate custom Fantasy Championship Belt for your league courtesy of Trophies Back, the number one destination for epic epic Fantasy tournament trophies. All you have to do is subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now, comment on this video below.

And that's it.

Will be announcing a winner this week, So this is your last chance. Get those comments in right now, baby. Turn on notifications so you know when new episodes drop and to claim your prize. All right, everyone, that's my twelve player that the experts are targeting heavily in their drafts.

Let's have fun. Fantasy season is here.

Thank you for listening to the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at Fantasy Pros, and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Fantasy Pros