Travis Kelce, TE Kansas City Chiefs: I mentioned this guy in my last article. In PPR leagues, I have him ranked higher. Travis Kelce benefits from being in a conservative offense. We all know Andy Reid likes short to mid range passes. The Chiefs may allow Alex Smith to throw deep on occasions, but those throws will be for Jeremy Maclin. Kelce will be a decent option to have. I have him ranked as TE4 and you should be able to find him early round six.
Jeremy Maclin, WR Kansas City Chiefs: The passing game of the Chiefs helps Travis Kelce, but hurts Jeremy Maclin. Rumor has it that Andy Reid may call plays for Alex Smith to throw deep to Maclin, but there’s no concrete proof on that. Alex Smith also didn’t throw a single touchdown pass to a wide receiver last year. On the plus side, Maclin has two touchdown grabs in his last two preseason games. I think Maclin will score touchdowns, and could be a nice FLEX option or a sub for bye weeks. I’m looking for him early sixth.
Ben Roethlisberger, QB Pittsburgh Steelers: If you find yourself picking third in the sixth round, it may be time to start thinking about taking a quarterback (unless you already have one). Ben Roethlisberger has the best target in the NFL in Antonio Brown. The first two games, the Steelers will be without Le’Veon bell, so the pass attempts may go up in those games. Big Ben also has big game potential, last year he had back to back six touchdown games. I like Roethlisberger as QB6, he’s worth an early sixth round pick.
Allen Robinson, WR Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Blackmon is gone, but Julius Thomas is in. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the most looks, but I think it goes to Thomas. I’m not 100% sold on Jaguar receivers, or any of their players for that matter. Robinson has some potential, but that Jaguars line is going to have to give Blake Bortles time to find him. If the line can step up, Robinson has an outside chance of being a top 20 wide receiver.
Rashad Jennings, RB New York Giants: Having Giants running backs in your lineup this year is going to be frustrating. Not because any of them are bad or anything, but there will be weeks when one outperforms the rest. They each have their own roles, Jennings is most likely going to be the first and second down back, then depending on the third down yardage, it’ll be either Shane Vereen or Andre Williams. Jennings has the chance to get big yardage, but it won’t happen consistently. I like Jennings as a role player, he’s more of a middle sixth round pick in my eyes.
Chris Ivory, RB New York Jets: Chris Ivory is an every down back and while that looks good on paper, but we have to take into consideration the offense that he’s in. No Jets running back last year averaged over five yards per carry. The Jets don’t have the luxury of running the ball a whole lot either. Ivory got about 40 percent of the workload last year, with Chris Johnson out, that number may increase. I like Ivory as a middle sixth round choice.
Arian Foster, RB Houston Texans: I know he’s going to be out for a while, but hear me out. If you’re set at running back and you’re feeling good about your team so far, this could be a good pick for making your championship push. You’ll most likely have the running back position locked up and streaming other positions are easy. This guy is worth a sixth round pick, because we all know how dangerous he will be when he returns.
Jarvis Landry, WR Miami Dolphins: Jarvis Landry is growing along with Ryan Tannehill. Landry played second behind Mike Wallace in the passing game last year, but now Wallace is gone. Landry isn’t exactly a touchdown machine either, only scoring five last year. There will be a small uptick in Landry’s number this year, but it won’t be huge. The Dolphins also brought in Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings, and Jordan Cameron to help out Tannehill. If I had to choose right now, I’d say he’s worth a mid-late sixth round pick.
Mike Wallace, WR Minnesota Vikings: I think Mike Wallace could outperform his draft position this year. Teddy Bridgewater has been extremely accurate this year, completing 29 passes on 35 attempts so far this preseason. Mike Wallace appears to be the deep threat in this Vikings offense, and is also the best target in Minnesota. There are some other roleplayers on this team such as Charles Johnson and Cordarrelle Patterson, but nobody to steal a bunch of targets from Wallace. I like him late sixth.
Martellus Bennett, TE Chicago Bears: Martellus Bennett may get some more looks this year. Brandon Marshall is gone, Kevin White is out for now, and Alshon Jeffery is showing some health concerns as well. Bennett saw 129 targets last year with Marshall in and out and Jeffery around. The Bears will pass a lot, and while Bennett may see more looks, I don’t think he’ll outperform the tight ends ranked above him.
Ameer Abdullah, RB Detroit Lions: Ameer Abdullah hasn’t had a good game since his first preseason game. In the few carries he did get against the Jags, he only scampered for eight yards on three attempts. It looks like Joique Bell will get the starting role for now, but Abdullah could take that role. It’s a weird situation there in Detroit, so I’m staying away from either of them. However, I got a job to do and that is to rank players. I got Abdullah going late sixth.
Nelson Agholor, WR Philadelphia Eagles: Agholor is another wide out that could outperform for his ranking. He’s my candidate for rookie of the year, but rookies are hard to gauge. If he was on a worse team, I would rank him lower, but he’s playing for Chip Kelly and Chip Kelly teams score a lot. The Eagles have a main weapon in Jordan Matthews, but Matthews won’t exactly get doubled a lot. Matthews will see most the targets, but Agholor could breakout this year. Watch him carefully, I will be, and I see him fall at the end of the sixth. I’m probably taking him.
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