faba Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Fantasy Extra preview: Undervalued NFL.com Fantasy Extra staff Sign up now for Free Fantasy Football! Much more fantasy news and notes to come with the mid-July launch of Fantasy Extra. (July 11, 2005) -- Every year in fantasy drafts, there are players that drop for various reasons that really should have been selected earlier. These types of players can turn out to be a real help to your fantasy team(s). Let's take a look at those players that fit this profile and the reasons why. We'll continue to update this report through the end of training camps. Listen LIVE to NFL games, plus watch video news and features of your favorite team. Quarterback 1) Tom Brady/New England: In what seems to be an annual rite of passage in this space, Brady continues to be passed on by many fantasy owners in the first half of their drafts. While he's being selected a little earlier than in previous years (rounds 7-9), Brady still looks to be an excellent value this year as your starting fantasy QB. 2) Byron Leftwich/Jacksonville: The strong-armed signal caller will finally get a chance to show his talent this season under new offensive coordinator Carl Smith, who will install a downfield passing game. This plays perfectly into what Leftwich does best and he has the receivers to handle that facet of the offense. Leftwich should prove to be a solid backup QB for fantasy owners this season and is a bargain where he's being selected (rounds 12-16). 3) Michael Vick/Atlanta: He has gone from being a first- or second-round pick last year to a fifth- or sixth-round pick this season. We can understand fantasy owners' disappointment with Vick last season but no QB offers as much upside besides him and Peyton Manning. He'll be in the West Coast system for his second year and should show more improvement -- plus, they got him more help at receiver. Getting Vick as late as the sixth round is a steal and it's not out of the question that this trend continues this summer. 4) Aaron Brooks/New Orleans: It wouldn't be an undervalued list from us without Brooks on it (he has been on it every year). While he had a disappointing season last year, he still has enough upside for you to select him as your backup QB. He's being drafted in rounds 9-11 generally, which makes him a solid value there. Running Back 1) Rudi Johnson/Cincinnati: For a back that had a tough schedule last season, Johnson put up pretty good and maybe even surprising numbers. He has a much better schedule against the run in 2005. The nice thing is offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski loves to spread the field with multiple receiver sets which makes it hard for defenses to concentrate on stopping the run. Johnson's going later than he should (probably middle of the second round) and if you can get him as your second back, don't hesitate to do so. 2) Chris Brown/Tennessee: There is no question that he's an injury risk. However, Brown has been slipping in many drafts until the early part of round three. For a starting back that offers a pretty solid upside, Brown's a nice value where he's being selected. 3) Moe Williams/Minnesota: The forgotten man in their offense becomes the power back now that third-year RB Onterrio Smith is out of the picture. What we might see again is the return of Williams taking over some or most goal-line carries. You have nothing to lose taking him in the second half of your draft for depth. Most backs that late don't have much of a chance to contribute but Williams certainly does. 4) Fred Taylor/Jacksonville: Because he's still rehabbing off-season knee surgery, Taylor has been dropping like flies in drafts so far (basically a late third-round pick). The team continues to say that he will be ready for the start of the regular season. With that being the case, if you can get him as your third back, as we have in some drafts, you're getting potentially a steal. That's the correct role we see him in at this point which reduces the risk. 5) Jamal Lewis/Baltimore: Because his surgically repaired ankle isn't quite 100 percent yet, Lewis has been falling in drafts. In fact, we've seen him go in the middle of the second round in almost every draft or at least go out of the first round. The team is quite confident he'll not only be ready to play this season but he'll be ready for the start of training camp. With that being the case, Lewis is looking like one of the better values this offseason (as a second back). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 Fantasy Extra preview: Undervalued NFL.com Fantasy Extra staff Sign up now for Free Fantasy Football! Much more fantasy news and notes to come with the mid-July launch of Fantasy Extra. (July 11, 2005) -- Every year in fantasy drafts, there are players that drop for various reasons that really should have been selected earlier. These types of players can turn out to be a real help to your fantasy team(s). Let's take a look at those players that fit this profile and the reasons why. We'll continue to update this report through the end of training camps. Listen LIVE to NFL games, plus watch video news and features of your favorite team. Quarterback 1) Tom Brady/New England: In what seems to be an annual rite of passage in this space, Brady continues to be passed on by many fantasy owners in the first half of their drafts. While he's being selected a little earlier than in previous years (rounds 7-9), Brady still looks to be an excellent value this year as your starting fantasy QB. 2) Byron Leftwich/Jacksonville: The strong-armed signal caller will finally get a chance to show his talent this season under new offensive coordinator Carl Smith, who will install a downfield passing game. This plays perfectly into what Leftwich does best and he has the receivers to handle that facet of the offense. Leftwich should prove to be a solid backup QB for fantasy owners this season and is a bargain where he's being selected (rounds 12-16). 3) Michael Vick/Atlanta: He has gone from being a first- or second-round pick last year to a fifth- or sixth-round pick this season. We can understand fantasy owners' disappointment with Vick last season but no QB offers as much upside besides him and Peyton Manning. He'll be in the West Coast system for his second year and should show more improvement -- plus, they got him more help at receiver. Getting Vick as late as the sixth round is a steal and it's not out of the question that this trend continues this summer. 4) Aaron Brooks/New Orleans: It wouldn't be an undervalued list from us without Brooks on it (he has been on it every year). While he had a disappointing season last year, he still has enough upside for you to select him as your backup QB. He's being drafted in rounds 9-11 generally, which makes him a solid value there. Running Back 1) Rudi Johnson/Cincinnati: For a back that had a tough schedule last season, Johnson put up pretty good and maybe even surprising numbers. He has a much better schedule against the run in 2005. The nice thing is offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski loves to spread the field with multiple receiver sets which makes it hard for defenses to concentrate on stopping the run. Johnson's going later than he should (probably middle of the second round) and if you can get him as your second back, don't hesitate to do so. 2) Chris Brown/Tennessee: There is no question that he's an injury risk. However, Brown has been slipping in many drafts until the early part of round three. For a starting back that offers a pretty solid upside, Brown's a nice value where he's being selected. 3) Moe Williams/Minnesota: The forgotten man in their offense becomes the power back now that third-year RB Onterrio Smith is out of the picture. What we might see again is the return of Williams taking over some or most goal-line carries. You have nothing to lose taking him in the second half of your draft for depth. Most backs that late don't have much of a chance to contribute but Williams certainly does. 4) Fred Taylor/Jacksonville: Because he's still rehabbing off-season knee surgery, Taylor has been dropping like flies in drafts so far (basically a late third-round pick). The team continues to say that he will be ready for the start of the regular season. With that being the case, if you can get him as your third back, as we have in some drafts, you're getting potentially a steal. That's the correct role we see him in at this point which reduces the risk. 5) Jamal Lewis/Baltimore: Because his surgically repaired ankle isn't quite 100 percent yet, Lewis has been falling in drafts. In fact, we've seen him go in the middle of the second round in almost every draft or at least go out of the first round. The team is quite confident he'll not only be ready to play this season but he'll be ready for the start of training camp. With that being the case, Lewis is looking like one of the better values this offseason (as a second back). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted July 12, 2005 Author Share Posted July 12, 2005 I know this may not be pleasant for many Jet fans that do not agree with me but Brady has shown with his achievements- anyone that would undervalue him is making a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSJ Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 It depends on your scoring system but if you get points for yards rushing then Brady is a safe pick after the big top 5 of Manning, McNabb, Vick, Culpepper and Favre. After this list there is the second tier which I feel Brady falls in the middle to the end of. I would consider Brady in the company of T Green, K Collins, A Brooks and M Bulger. So the bottom line is if you are in a 8 team league it is very likely that Brady is a back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 i took tom brady on my team if he does good, i can be happy for my fantasy team' if he does bad, i can be happy as a Jets fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.