Mid-Round Fantasy LOVE List

 It's been a bit since we've released some fantasy football content on the site and with the pre-season in session and league drafts really happening from now to the September 9th regular season debut, what better time than now? Today we are going to give you some players in the mid-rounds of your drafts to target because the mid-rounds are really where leagues are won. Don't forget that Stefon Diggs was being drafted around pick 80 in most drafts last year and he finished as a top 5 WR in fantasy and won many people their leagues. Heck, he was even on the team that won my league's championship. After your first pick or two, there may not be obvious selections, this list should help you find targets for those tough spots.

Keenan Allen, Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Chargers 
Currently WR13 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round: 2-4)

The first guy on this list might not seem like a mid round value pick to some, but rounds 3-4 are really the beginning of the mid-rounds, and Allen is being drafted right in that range. It's crazy to me how continuously, year after year, Allen is still underrated. One of the best and most consistent WRs in the NFL over the last 7+ years, Keenan Allen is still never really mentioned with the elites in our game. Let me give you some numbers. 147 is the first. That's how many targets Allen had in 2020. That was good for 8th in the league. 100 is the second. That's how many catches Allen had in 2020. Allen was one of only 8 guys to hit triple digit catches. Keenan Allen was elite in fantasy in 2020, and somehow with 100 catches he only managed 992 yards. He didn't even hit 1000 yards. That is pretty rare for someone with 100 catches. If Allen gets those targets and amounts of catches again in 2021, there is almost no way but up. He's bound to get over 1000 yards this time. Allen is one of the most targeted WRs in the sport which is amazing for PPR value. He also happens to be the favorite target of ascending superstar young QB Justin Herbert. Herbert was statistically the best rookie QB ever in 2020 and so the sky is the limit for him in this offense year 2. Keenan Allen deserves to be an early second round pick, but is somehow falling sometimes into the 3rd or 4th rounds of fantasy drafts. Do not be shy to take him as your WR1, he will reward you handsomely. 

Javonte Williams, Running Back, Denver Broncos
Currently RB28 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round: 5-7)

Here is a guy that is going to make drafting a lot easier for you. After the last RB of that third tier goes off the board, the drop off is menacing. Guys like Josh Jacobs, Darrell Henderson, and Miles Sanders are some of the last RBs off the board before this next tier. The last tier are guys that are highly talented and we know will still be their team's starters. After that, pretty much every RB left in the entire draft has some massive question marks next to their names. Javonte Williams is included in that. The rookie from North Carolina has walked into a gritty competition for the starting RB job with savvy veteran Melvin Gordon who is fresh off a very productive season with Denver. Williams still has the upper hand in our opinions. Williams was incredible in his final season at UNC, he showed he is a bruising, downhill runner with talent similar to Nick Chubb of the Browns. The hype was real for Williams entering this year's draft and he went in the early second round to the Broncos after the team actually traded up to get him. That is a big tell of their plans with Williams. You don't just trade up in the early second round for an RB that you will have learn behind a vet for years, Williams is in the Broncos immediate plans. Even if it starts out as a committee in Denver, week by week it's going to favor Williams more and more. That's just how these things work with rookie RBs of this caliber. Javonte Williams is a super exciting young back who if named the starter, would be a second round pick in fantasy drafts. If you can get him in rounds 6-7, it is a snipe. Williams might take a couple of weeks, but eventually he WILL be the full time starter. It's a guarantee. Drafted around RB28, Williams could finish the season as a top 10 RB. 

Diontae Johnson, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
Currently WR23 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round: 4-6)

Earlier in this off-season, I was super out on Diontae Johnson. I didn't like the direction of the Steelers offense. Their O-line is bad and not improving, their QB is washed up and old, and they don't run a very innovative offense. While a lot of what I just said is true, I actually realized that some of this benefits the Steelers' WR1, Diontae Johnson. The Steelers, with their old QB Big Ben and a suspect O-line, are forced to get the ball out quickly. This is what Johnson specializes in. Short routes where he catches it and makes men miss to get a ton of extra yards. In fact, the Steelers run that kind of play so often with Johnson as the primary target that not only did Johnson lead the Steelers in targets, but he was top 5 in the entire LEAGUE in targets with 160. Opportunity is the biggest factor in fantasy. For RBs, if they get a ton of carries, they are going to be valuable. For WRs, targets are that same thing. The other pass catchers in the top 5 of targets last season were Stefon Diggs, Travis Kelce, Davante Adams, and Tyreek Hill. All of whom finished top 5 at their positions. Johnson struggled with drops at times last season and only wound up with 88 catches on the year which is still really good. If Johnson can get a similar amount of targets in 2021, he is going to be in for a breakout. As the year went on, the drops weren't as often. Throughout the last 7 games of the season, Johnson was a top 10 fantasy WR. He is only getting better and the offense is only getting more short pass reliant. For a 4th or 5th round pick, Johnson is going to be a major steal. He should be drafted as your WR2 but has immediate upside to vault into WR1 territory. He is getting the same opportunities as elite first round talents like Diggs and Adams but is going sometimes as late as early round 6! This is crazy value I absolutely LOVE Diontae Johnson in rounds 4 and above in drafts. Make sure to wind up with this guy. If I don't, I know for sure I will be looking to trade for him.

Jalen Hurts, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles
Currently QB11 on ESPN fantasy projections (Average Round: 8+)

Another winning strategy in fantasy football (that seems to be an unpopular one) is waiting to draft a QB. A lot of players say they will but end up giving in when they see an elite signal caller available in the earlier rounds after they have their top 3-4 guys picked out. One guy that is going in rounds 8 and later and has potential to finish as QB1 is Jalen Hurts. You might think that sounds crazy but think again. The last three seasons have had the QB1 be originally drafted on average in rounds 8+. In 2018, Pat Mahomes was going in rounds 10 and up before he took the league by storm and won MVP as he took the fantasy QB1 spot. In 2019, Lamar Jackson was going in rounds 8 and higher and he took the league by storm and won MVP as well, en route to QB1. Finally, last year in 2020, Josh Allen was given the same treatment and he took the league by storm, finishing second in MVP votes and as the QB1. And just to prove a point, Aaron Rodgers who won MVP last season was being criminally underrated and he was an 8+ round pick last year as well on average. The guy that fits this trend heading into 2021 is the elusive Jalen Hurts. Hurts started the last few games of 2020 for the Eagles and showed some real promise. He was elite from a fantasy standpoint against the Cardinals and had some other quality games. While Hurts might not have the talent of a Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen or a Mahomes, he definitely has the rushing ability that some of those options possess. In fantasy, rushing ability for a QB is massively important and Hurts has a chance to be the top rushing QB in the league in 2021. Especially with the suspect RB core the Eagles have. Hurts also has an underrated arm and actually has a few decent options to throw to in rookie Heisman winner Devonta Smith and stud young TE Dallas Goedert. If you can wait for a QB, you will be able to stack your team with nice skill position players and still be able to land Hurts who has sky high potential. We love Hurts as an 8th round or higher pick and think he has top 5 QB upside.

Myles Gaskin, Running Back, Miami Dolphins
Currently RB27 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round 6-8)

In the span of 3 days, Myles Gaskin went from an average 3rd-4th round projected pick on ESPN to an average 6th round + projected pick. Why? All overreaction based. The Dolphins played their first pre-season game in which Myles Gaskin played mostly with the second team offense while free agent signee Malcolm Brown got the first team reps. What an overreaction. Brown is not a starting caliber RB in this league. This preseason game even proved it. Brown was pretty bad. He struggled to score on an easy goal-line opportunity and barely moved the chains on a 4th and 1 run. Every time he handled the ball it seemed like the Dolphins would go backwards. This is how it was last year. Going into the year, it looked as if the Dolphins would go with a committee based approach at RB, led by power back Jordan Howard, but right from the jump during week 1, it was the Gaskin show. I expect the same thing to happen again. Why would the Dolphins pass up on all the top tier RB options they had this off-season just to go with backup RB Malcolm Brown as the starter? Especially when Myles Gaskin had such a promising 2020 campaign. It doesn't make sense. The Dolphins are just trying everyone out during the pre-season. It doesn't mean much. Gaskin is probably the cheapest bellcow RB option in drafts at this point. He is going to start. Even if in some crazy event, Brown starts week 1, it will be short lived. We all know his talent and value, and he is not going to succeed behind Miami's suspect O-line if he couldn't while running behind the Rams' elite one for years. Getting Myles Gaskin where he is being projected right now is highway robbery. If ESPN wasn't overreacting and could see the future in which Gaskin has the role he had last year, he would be back in the third round projections. You will be able to get Gaskin as potentially your first bench pick. That is crazy value. He is going to start again and not only get the bulk of the carries but a ton of receptions out of the backfield! This is exactly what happened last year and it is happening again, don't be fooled twice. 

Michael Thomas, Wide Receiver, New Orleans Saints
Currently WR36 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round: 5-8)

One of the most controversial players in fantasy this season has to be Michael Thomas. We all know what he did in 2019. He had one of the best single seasons for an NFL wideout ever en route to winning Offensive Player of the Year. 2020 was a complete different story. He was cursed with injury and barely played at all. When he did play, he was also not very good. He didn't score a single TD. Heading into 2021, the projections are all over the place for Thomas. He is currently banged up and apparently also is in the midst of settling some displeasure he has with the Saints organization. His draft projection has taken a major hit. He is currently being drafted around WR36 and is in the 70s in overall rankings on ESPN currently. Despite all of what was just said, Thomas is a player we love in the mid rounds. The potential is just so high. In the range that Thomas is being drafted in currently, he is likely to be one of the first players off of your BENCH. What value. At worst when on the field, MT is a WR2. But we all know just how good he can be. Getting a potential HIGH END WR1 in the 6th or 7th round is crazy value. At worst, your first bench pick is a bust as Thomas doesn't play for most of the season with injury. That's really worst case. He is probably going to miss a little time with injury but once he's on the field he is going to be good. Especially with Jameis Winston likely as the new starter in NOLA, they are going to air it out. Michael Thomas SHOUTS this year's Stefon Diggs. We've seen him do it before. 

Mike Davis, Running Back, Atlanta Falcons
Currently RB25 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round: 5-8)

Mike Davis has bounced around the league a ton over the past few years, and everywhere he has landed, success has followed. He really made a name for himself a couple years back in Seattle before securing a payday with Chicago but only then to be cut and picked up by Carolina. After his first year in Carolina where he didn't see the field a ton, he reminded everyone who he was in 2020 as the Panther's starting RB with Christian McCaffrey injured. Davis combined for 1000+ scrimmage yards and 8 TDs. He showed he is a starting quality back in this league. This off-season, he took a pretty well paying deal to head to Atlanta where for the first time in his career, he would be the projected starter to begin the season. Mike Davis is going in the 6th round or higher in fantasy drafts right now yet he is one of the few RBs in football that really doesn't have much competition for touches right out of the gate. Pretty much all of the other guys who are similar to him from that standpoint are locked in as top 2-3 round picks. Davis is not getting that same treatment right now. There is a new regime in Atlanta, led by former Titans OC Arthur Smith. We all know what Smith's offense has been based off of the last couple of seasons in Nashville. The power run game. While Davis is no Derrick Henry, he is a power back of sorts. He is going to be an elite flex option out of the gate this season with high end RB2 upside. Guys in committee approaches like Travis Etienne and Chase Edmonds are somehow going higher than Davis. Davis is going to be a three down back for the Falcons and has upside in the receiving game as well. The amount of touches we anticipate for Davis is why he is a player we love. He is going to get a ton of opportunities in the high scoring Falcons offense. 

T.J. Hockenson, Tight End, Detroit Lions
Currently TE5 on ESPN PPR fantasy projections (Average Round: 5-7)

Tight end is possibly the weirdest position in fantasy this year. After the first 5-6 guys, the drop off is crazy and honestly game changing. After the elite tier of TEs go off the board, it's barely even worth having one. Obviously you have to have one for your lineup but you understand what I'm saying. There is a tier of consistent TEs and after that, you are better off betting on little league baseball than on who is going to put up points each week at the position. One of the best values at tight end this season has to be TJ Hockenson. The third year tight end had a mini breakout last season in which we saw him become one of the few consistent TEs in the game. We have reason to believe he is going to take even another leap going into this year. Jared Goff. It might sound weird, but downgrading at QB might actually benefit Hockenson. The Lions have a pretty bad receiving core and we know Jared Goff likes to air out the football. He also loves his tight ends (that's why he had two quality ones in LA). TJ Hockenson is about to see more targets than he ever has before. The Lions offense is literally just Hock and D'Andre Swift. That's it. Hockenson had 101 targets last season but we expect that number to jump even higher. The other tight ends in the elite tier are not worth their price. To get a Travis Kelce or a Darren Waller or George Kittle you need to jeopardize getting quality WRs 1 and 2 and RBs 1 and 2. With Hockenson, you are still getting elite tight end play AND you can still draft 2 RBs and 2 WRs before snatching him. We love the outlook of Hockenson heading into 2021 and he is a must have player for your lineup. We like him even better than Mark Andrews who is often ranked higher in rankings.

Other players we LOVE in the mid rounds:
-Irv Smith Jr., TE, Vikings
-Mike Williams, WR, Chargers
-Chris Carson, RB, Seahawks
-Darrell Henderson, RB, Rams
-Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons
-Marquez Callaway, WR, Saints
-DJ Moore, WR, Panthers