Ray Rice was listed as a starter on Baltimore’s first unofficial depth chart, a recognition of his outstanding offseason.
The designation helped confirm what Rotoworld has thought since May, when we first put Rice at the top of our “undervalued players” list. Willis McGahee may be improving his attitude, but Rice is the Ravens back to target in the middle rounds of fantasy drafts.
Drafts are all about value. Almost every player is worth a roster spot at the right price; the key is knowing that price and sticking to your evaluations.
Based on early draft data and our rankings, here are a few more players the Rotoworld fantasy football draft guide sees as undervalued this season:
Chad Ochocinco: For five gloriously insane seasons, Johnson averaged 1,374 receiving yards, leading the AFC four times. Now fantasy owners are ignoring the man who also goes by “Esteban” at age 31 because he tanked in a year with Ryan Fitzpatrick. (He also wasn’t particularly motivated because of contract concerns.)
You can get number one receiver production for the price of a number two in the fourth or fifth round with Ocho. (Braylon Edwards is another diva wideout that has seen a market correction that has gone too far.
Davone Bess: The Dolphins wideout is a victim of his NFL Draft slot. Or lack of one.
If Bess was drafted early last year, like Donnie Avery,
he would be all over top 40 fantasy receiver lists. Instead, he’s getting ignored
despite catching 40 passes for 470 yards in his last eight games.
Greg Camarillo is coming off a torn ACL and is below Bess on Miami’s early depth chart. That makes Bess an outstanding late-round target, especially in leagues that award points for receptions.
Marion Barber: The perception of Barber has changed, but his value hasn’t. He’s still outstanding in receiving and short-yardage situations. He’s the rare back who is better off in fantasy leagues with fewer carries; he was a top-eight runner in 2007 with fewer than 250 touches.
Josh Morgan: While Michael Crabtree continues his holdout, Morgan will emerge as San Francisco’s best receiver for a cheaper draft day price.
These are just a few of the many value picks to target this season. For the rest, check out our free videos and the Rotoworld draft guide, which also has all the ever-changing tiers, rankings, projections, and cheat sheets that you’ll need for draft day.
We’ll be back to pay the bills again with a fantasy post next week.
