X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

Deeper PPR Draft Values & Early Waiver Wire Pickups

By Keith Allison (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What's up RotoBallers. The NFL and fantasy football seasons are right around the corner, and will be kicking off in just a few short days.  At this point, you're either getting ready for your final fantasy football drafts, or have already drafted your teams and are now ready to analyze the waiver wire for any overlooked players and make minor roster tweaks.

This is definitely not the time to be making wholesale roster changes, but the last few picks in drafts are usually fliers, and adding or dropping those players normally won't make a break your team. That is unless you can identify a high-upside, low-cost player who is being overlooked and can provide sneaky PPR value for your teams. For those who haven't drafted yet, and play in PPR leagues, consider this a list of undervalued running backs, wide receivers and tight ends that can outperform their current ADPs and draft day prices.

Editor’s Note: RotoBaller's NFL Premium Subscriptions are your secret weapon. Sign up now and get access to our in-house developed tools including the DFS matchups tool, lineup sleepers/streamers tool, live expert Q&A chats, DFS lineups picks newsletter, ADP draft sleepers tool & much more. 

 

Undervalued PPR Draft Targets, Waiver Wire Adds & ADP Sleepers

Today I will focus on some PPR draft sleepers and waiver wire targets, or players that may be getting a sneaky amount of pass targets/receptions and fantasy football production. These pass catchers are either being drafted really late in drafts, or not at all, and can be easily plucked off the waiver wire for some PPR upside. Not all of these players may be available on your league's waiver wire, but if they are you should consider adding them.

 

PPR Running Back Draft Sleepers & Waiver Wire Adds

Matt Jones - RB, Washington Redskins

Okay, so here at RotoBaller we've written about Matt Jones ad nauseam, with an especially strong man-crush by lead NFL editor Edward Gorelik. Well, here we are again discussing Jones, and there's a good reason for that. Currently he has a PPR league ADP of 158 (or the 54th running back being drafted), and is only owned in 18% of leagues that have drafted. Simply put, that's just way too low. It looks like the Redskins are going to be a bad football team this year, and playing from behind a lot. When that happens, Alfred Morris will come off the field and Matt Jones will enter as the pass-catching running back, getting lots of targets and check-downs along the way from Kirk Cousins or Robert Griffin. That's what we call sneaky PPR upside, with a chance to become PPR gold. Even without this playing-from-behind scenario, the Redskins are in love with Matt Jones as a runner, and he should be spelling Morris with some carries along the way. Bundle that all together, and Matt Jones is a must own in PPR leagues. If you haven't drafted yet, be sure to grab him at the end of your drafts. If you're already drafted and he's just sitting out there on your league's waiver wire, add him immediately. Do it now.

Reggie Bush - RB, San Francisco 49ers

We have a similar situation here with Reggie Bush, although this may not be as young and sexy as the Matt Jones scenario. Everyone expects the 49ers to be pretty bad this year, and with that the 49ers may find themselves down a lot and playing catch-up throughout their games. Bush has always excelled as a pass-catching back, and may find himself on the field more than some expect this season getting check-downs from Colin Kaepernick. Bush has always been a great talent, and has produced for fantasy football owners in the past, whereas Carlos Hyde has never "done it" yet. Hyde may be a solid running back this year, but he may not. In my book, it's certainly not a slam dunk. To quickly compare, Hyde has a PPR ADP of 38 (or the 19th running back drafted), while Bush is being overlooked with a PPR ADP of 127 (or the 47th running back being drafted) and only 46% owned. If you're in a PPR league, get Bush on your roster and see how this all plays out over the first few weeks of the fantasy football season.

Darren Sproles - RB, Philadelphia Eagles

I think we all know what Darren Sproles brings to the table for fantasy football purposes. The boom-or-bust running back can be a PPR monster one week, and get very few snaps another week bringing disappointment. But let's not forget that he plays for arguable the best offense in football (led by Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Jordan Matthews and company), with the best offensive minds calling the shots. The Eagles have already stated that they want Sproles more involved in the offense, and that's exactly what we like to hear when searching for PPR sleepers. In addition to getting targets out of the backfield, the Eagles have been working on getting Sproles involved as a wide receiver as well. It remains to be seen how he will be utilized, and how consistent he will be week-to-week - but this looks like a situation where a "cheap" player can outperform their draft day cost. Currently Sproles has a PPR ADP of 119 (or the 44th running back being drafted), and is only 38% owned in fantasy leagues. Stash the human swiss army knife on your PPR roster, and keep your fingers crossed for a sneaky PPR stud.

PPR Running Back Stashes: David Johnson (RB, ARI) - ADP: 124 / 22% owned, James White (RB, NE) - ADP: 191 / 2% owned, Josh Robinson (RB, IND), Christine Michael (RB, DAL), Terrance West (RB, TEN)

 

PPR Wide Receiver Draft Sleepers & Waiver Wire Adds

Markus Wheaton - WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Even with an injury to their center Maurkice Pouncey, and early season suspensions to Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant, the Steelers are expected to be a high-powered and pass-heavy offense this year led by Ben Roethlisberger. With the news that Bryant will be suspended for the first four games of the NFL season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, Wheaton will fill-in as the second wide receiver on the team behind Antonio Brown. This immediately vaults him into fantasy football relevance, and a sneaky PPR value pick / sleeper for your teams. The Steelers, and the media, have been hyping up Wheaton as a legit breakout candidate this preseason, and now he will have four weeks to show the world what he can do. He is certainly no slam dunk, but in PPR leagues he is a must-draft target and stash (at least for the start of the season). Currently he has a PPR ADP of 130 (or the 51st wide receiver being drafted), and is only 56% owned. Stash him at the end of your drafts, or off the waiver wire, and see how this all plays out.

Brandon Coleman - WR, New Orleans Saints

Whenever the words "wide receiver" and "Drew Brees" are in the same sentence, you have to like your chances in fantasy football. With the offseason departure of non-inspiring Kenny Stills, and target monster Jimmy Graham, the young and talented rookie Coleman should immediately be catapulted into the Saints high-powered offense. Weighing in at 6' 6" and 225 pounds, Coleman should provide Brees with a big body to target in the passing game. Interestingly enough, although Coleman hasn't had a big preseason, Brees has already declared a "great comfort level" with the rookie. It should be noted that Coleman also "started" their third preseason game over Marques Colston. While Brandin Cooks will be featured in this offense, along with Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller, there will still be plenty of targets to go around. Currently he has a PPR ADP of 161 (or the 60th wide receiver being drafted), and is only 21% owned. Target him towards the end of your drafts, or pick him up off the waiver wire, as Coleman may be a legit WR sleeper and breakout candidate this NFL season.

Rueben Randle - WR, New York Giants

Eli Manning will have a plethora of weapons at his disposal this season, with the likes of Odell Beckham, Victor Cruz, Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen and Larry Donnell. But let's not forget about Rueben Randle, who is currently the second wide receiver on their depth chart, and had a solid season last year in PPR leagues. While his production decreased over the second half of the season, he racked up between seven and 15 targets for a stretch of nine games last season. He also finished the year strong with six and 13 targets over his last two games. Clearly Manning has heavily targeted and trusted Randle in the past, so we may be seeing more of the same this year especially with all the injury uncertainty around Cruz right now. Currently Randle's PPR ADP is 167 (or the 63rd wide receiver being drafted), and he is only 37% owned. This makes for a great draft sleeper target in PPR leagues, and a great waiver wire add if your league has already drafted. Get on it.

PPR Wide Receiver Stashes: Marvin Jones (WR, CIN) - ADP: 164 / 24% owned, Dorial Green-Beckham (WR, TEN) - ADP: 160 / 20% owned, Jeff Janis / Ty Montgomery (WR, GB), Chris Conley (WR, KC)

 

PPR Tight End Draft Sleepers & Waiver Wire Adds

Jordan Reed - TE, Washington Redskins

Given the extensive injury history of Reed, I can understand why some fantasy football owners may be shying away from rostering him. But there's a lot to like here with Reed's situation entering the start of the NFL season. Let's take a quick look - he's healthy, Niles Paul is out for the season, Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback, and Reed has normally produced in PPR leagues when healthy. In games where Cousins and Reed both played last year, he racked up stat lines like this: 8-92 (11 targets) and 5-54 (6 targets). In general, he had other games with 7 targets, 11 targets, 10 targets and 7 targets. As mentioned above, the Redskins will be throwing from behind a lot, and Reed should be a primary beneficiary of that as long as he stays healthy. The term "PPR monster" may be in the conversation at some point. With a PPR ADP of 193 (or the 22nd tight being drafted), and only 53% owned, Reed has the upside to be a valuable tight end draft sleeper and waiver wire pickup for fantasy football owners. He needs to be owned in all PPR leagues.

Owen Daniels - TE, Denver Broncos

Even though Daniels hasn't been a very relevant fantasy football tight end recently, he finds himself in a nice situation heading into the season. He is now reunited with Gary Kubiak, which should bring familiarity back to his role, and he has this guy named Peyton Manning running the offense and throwing the ball. We've already seen Manning make fantasy studs out of tight ends Julius Thomas, Jacob Tamme and Dallas Clark (among others), so it would be silly to write off Daniels as a potential tight end sleeper. There are a lot of offensive mouths to feed in Denver, with Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, C.J. Anderson and others, but Daniels is in a situation that creates fantasy upside at the very least. He may not become a PPR stud in the "new-look" offense that's anticipated, and Virgil Green is also in the tight end mix, but Daniels is still a sneaky draft target. While his PPR ADP of 133 (or the 13th tight end being drafted) isn't a draft day "steal", it can still return owners with significant value based on his draft day cost. If Daniels emerges as a reliable offensive option, he will outperform many tight ends being drafted ahead of him.

PPR Tight End Stashes: Richard Rodgers (TE, GB) - ADP: 203 / 11% owned, Larry Donnell (TE, NYG) - ADP: 178 / 51% owned

 

NFL & Fantasy Football Chat Room

 




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Christian Watson16 mins ago

Not Medically Cleared
Aaron Jones32 mins ago

Limited Again Tuesday
Saquon Barkley37 mins ago

Making Progress From Ankle Sprain
Luis Robert Jr.47 mins ago

Season Over Due To MCL Sprain
Ketel Marte1 hour ago

Feeling Better, Returns Against White Sox
Yandy Díaz1 hour ago

No Yandy Diaz For Rays
Randy Arozarena2 hours ago

Out For Rays On Tuesday
Torey Krug2 hours ago

Expects To Be Ready For Season Opener
Matt McLain2 hours ago

Out For Rest Of The Season
Filip Chytil2 hours ago

Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
Artemi Panarin2 hours ago

Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
Logan Couture2 hours ago

Unlikely To Play Opening Night
Easton Cowan2 hours ago

Impresses In Preseason Debut
NJ2 hours ago

Cory Schneider Announces Retirement From Hockey
Ilya Mikheyev2 hours ago

Leaves Practice Early Tuesday
Christian Watson4 hours ago

Plans To Play Against Lions
David Montgomery4 hours ago

Lions Optimistic About David Montgomery's Week 4 Status
Luis Robert Jr.6 hours ago

Season Could Be Over
Max Scherzer7 hours ago

Takes Another Step Forward
Rasmus Dahlin10 hours ago

Pleased To Link Up With Connor Clifton
Kailer Yamamoto11 hours ago

Posts Pair Of Power-Play Goals
Jakob Chychrun11 hours ago

Nets Two Goals In Win Over Toronto
Sean Couturier11 hours ago

Plays His First Game Since 2021
Jordan Eberle11 hours ago

Hopes To Remain In Seattle
Jakob Pelletier11 hours ago

Sustains An Upper-Body Injury
Kyren Williams15 hours ago

' Production Capped By Poor Play-Calling
Tutu Atwell15 hours ago

Makes The Most Of Week 3 Defeat
Brandon Crawford18 hours ago

Expects To Play In Season Finale Sunday
Ja'Marr Chase18 hours ago

Wrecks Rams, Closes Buy-Low Window
Patrick Sandoval18 hours ago

Exits Early Monday With Right Oblique Tightness
Jon Gray18 hours ago

Exits Early Monday With Right-Wrist Tightness
Joe Burrow19 hours ago

Guts Out Calf Issue In Close Victory
A.J. Brown20 hours ago

Explodes For 131 Yards Against Tampa Bay
D'Andre Swift20 hours ago

Gashes Buccaneers For 138 Total Yards
Mike Evans20 hours ago

Snags Touchdown In Loss
Minnesota Timberwolves20 hours ago

Trevor Keels Signs With Timberwolves
Golden State Warriors21 hours ago

Rodney McGruder Joins Warriors
Atlanta Hawks21 hours ago

Chris Silva Joins Hawks On Exhibit-10 Deal
Julius Randle21 hours ago

Should Be Ready For Training Camp
Joe Burrow23 hours ago

Officially Active On Monday Night
Puka Nacua24 hours ago

Active Against Bengals
Alvin Kamara24 hours ago

Reinstated From Suspension
Brandon Aiyuk1 day ago

Seen At Monday's Practice
Deebo Samuel1 day ago

Held Out Of Monday's Practice
David Montgomery1 day ago

Listed As Limited
Christian Watson1 day ago

Listed As DNP Monday
Jaylen Waddle1 day ago

Still In Concussion Protocol
Joe Burrow1 day ago

Optimism Surrounding Joe Burrow's Monday Night Status
Garrett Mitchell1 day ago

Could Return Tuesday
Rafael Fiziev1 day ago

Suffers Knee Injury To Cut Main Event Short
Rafael Fiziev1 day ago

Mateusz Gamrot Victorious After Rafael Fiziev Suffers Knee Injury
Michelle Waterson-Gomez1 day ago

Dominated In TKO Loss
AJ Fletcher1 day ago

Drops To 1-3 In The UFC
AJ Fletcher1 day ago

Bryan Battle Submits AJ Fletcher For Second Straight Finishing Win
Ryan Blaney1 day ago

Speeding Penalty Costs Him Big At Texas
Francisco Alvarez1 day ago

Dealing With Finger Contusion
Ketel Marte1 day ago

Absent From Lineup On Monday
Mike Trout1 day ago

Season Is Over
William Byron1 day ago

Earns Sixth Win Of Season At Texas
Denny Hamlin1 day ago

Secures Third Straight Top-Five Finish At Texas
Tyler Reddick1 day ago

Late Wreck Ruins Tyler Reddick's Race At Texas
Chase Briscoe1 day ago

Delivers Big Value At Texas
Kyle Busch1 day ago

Championship Hopes Take Big Hit After Texas Wreck
Ross Chastain1 day ago

Overcomes Throttle Issue To Finish Second At Texas
NASCAR1 day ago

Bubba Wallace "Gave it Away" At Texas, Finishes Third
Chris Buescher1 day ago

Has Another Strong Points Day At Texas
Kyle Larson1 day ago

On Playoff Hot Seat After Wrecking At Texas
Adam Fantilli1 day ago

Registers Two Assists In Preseason Debut
Trevor Van Riemsdyk1 day ago

Trevor van Riemsdyk Sustains Apparent Hand Injury
Travis Konecny1 day ago

"Banged Up"
Andrei Vasilevskiy1 day ago

Battling Minor Injuries
Mika Zibanejad1 day ago

Suffers An Upper-Body Injury
Kyle Palmieri1 day ago

Set For Re-Evaluation This Week
Deandre Ayton2 days ago

To Portland A Possibility?
Damian Lillard2 days ago

Bulls, Raptors Expressing Interest In Damian Lillard
Tim Hardaway2 days ago

Pacers Reportedly Not Interested In Tim Hardaway Jr.
Buddy Hield2 days ago

To Dallas?
Francisco Alvarez2 days ago

Removed Early On Sunday
Luis Robert Jr.2 days ago

Replaced During Sunday's Game
Yandy Díaz2 days ago

Yandy Diaz Leaves Early Sunday
Ricardo Ramos2 days ago

Submitted Early At UFC Vegas 79
Charles Jourdain2 days ago

Extends Win Streak To Two
Marina Rodriguez2 days ago

Scores One-Sided TKO Win At UFC Vegas 79
Dan Ige2 days ago

Falls Short Against Another Top-10 Opponent
Bryce Mitchell2 days ago

Returns To Win Column At UFC Vegas 79
Brad Keselowski2 days ago

Feels Good About His Car at Texas
Tyler Reddick2 days ago

a Very Strong Option at Texas
Denny Hamlin2 days ago

Pegged as Favorite to Win at Texas
Carson Hocevar3 days ago

Looks Impressive Again at Texas
Zane Smith3 days ago

Slow In Practice and Qualifying at Texas
Todd Gilliland3 days ago

in Downgraded Equipment for Texas
Luis Arraez3 days ago

Suffers Injury On Saturday
Ryan Preece3 days ago

Will Start 25th At Texas
Chase Briscoe3 days ago

The Top Value Play On Sunday At Texas
Ricky Stenhouse Jr3 days ago

.'s Struggles At Texas To Continue This Weekend
Joey Logano3 days ago

Makes For A Nice Bounce Back Play At Texas
NASCAR3 days ago

Bubba Wallace Wins Pole At Texas Motor Speedway
Kenley Jansen3 days ago

Returns From COVID List
Mike Trout3 days ago

Hits Off Tee
Yordan Alvarez3 days ago

Doubles In A Run, Managing Elbow Issue
Clayton Keller3 days ago

Ready To Become 100-Point Player
Nicklas Backstrom3 days ago

Feeling At 100 Percent
3 days ago

Chauncey Billups Backs Scoot Henderson To Become A "Star"
Josh Green3 days ago

Aims To Become A Bigger Defensive Presence
Josh Hart3 days ago

Set To See Minutes As Power Forward
Cade Cunningham3 days ago

Jaden Ivey Believes Cade Cunningham Will "Shock" People
DeMar DeRozan3 days ago

Ready To Shoot More Threes
Marcus Morris3 days ago

Sr. Set To Remain A Starter In New Season
Jaden McDaniels4 days ago

Timberwolves Desire To Extend Jaden McDaniels
Boston Celtics4 days ago

Celtics Signing Lamar Stevens As Bench Piece
Frank Ntilikina4 days ago

Could Be Limited At Training Camp
Jayson Tatum4 days ago

To Play More Point Guard In 2023-24?
Damian Lillard4 days ago

Suns Considered Dark Horse To Facilitate Damian Lillard Deal
Donovan Mitchell4 days ago

Not Expected To Sign An Extension Next Summer
4 days ago

Amen Thompson Is Ready To Go For Training Camp
Mateusz Gamrot4 days ago

Seeking Victory In Seventh UFC Appearance
Rafael Fiziev4 days ago

Looks To Get Back In Win Column
Michelle Waterson-Gomez4 days ago

In Dire Need Of Victory
AJ Fletcher4 days ago

Set To Showcase On Main Card
Bryan Battle4 days ago

A Favorite At UFC Vegas 79
Ricardo Ramos5 days ago

Set For First Fight In Over A Year
Charles Jourdain5 days ago

Hoping To Bring UFC Record Above .500
Marina Rodriguez5 days ago

Gets A Rematch At UFC Vegas 79
Dan Ige5 days ago

Enters UFC Vegas 79 On Two-Fight Win Streak
Bryce Mitchell5 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back After First Career Loss

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP