No one’s roster stays the same as it looks on draft day in Fantasy Football. Even throughout the season, as news and reports of potential depth chart changes come out, we churn the lower rungs of our rosters. Some players you overlooked on draft day suddenly look like appealing fliers to take a chance on. Once play begins for real, the adding and dropping increases, as guys who went undrafted are eagerly scooped up. Here’s an advance look at some of the NFC players who may not be picked in your draft, but could become free agent adds soon thereafter. These are the players who will be forgotten initially but soon remembered.
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Don’t Forget these NFC Men
Arizona Cardinals: Ricky Seals-Jones was a sleeper type last season, but never developed much of a rapport with Josh Rosen. Kyler Murray will spread the ball around effectively and look for RSJ frequently as his big target in situations near the goal line.
Atlanta Falcons: If anyone is trusting Devonta Freeman to stay healthy, they have not been paying attention the last few years. I have already been preaching that Ito Smith was drafted by Atlanta last year with an eye on Tevin Coleman leaving. I picked Smith in the final round of our FanTrax Superflex draft this week. He will be forgotten, along with very physical rookie Qadree Ollison, who has some deep sleeper promise.
Chicago Bears: If you have been reading my offseason columns, you are already tired of hearing me mention Mike Davis, who has even been overlooked in mentions of the Chicago RBs on other websites. Even after David Montgomery was drafted, Bears beat writers still predicted Davis would lead the team in carries this year. Montgomery isn’t going to be handed any starting job by default.
Green Bay Packers: Geronimo Allison also went undrafted in this week’s FanTrax super flex mock. I would have definitely taken him if I needed another backup WR instead of another RB. Allison will definitely be a forgotten man after he only played in four games last season. But we should recall that he caught at least five balls in three of those four games with at least 64 yards in every outing and two TDs overall. Allison was a noted sleeper among many fantasy analysts last season and now has that tag again, at least from me. He should resume a role he was starting to nail down as Green Bay’s No. 2 WR and a Fantasy WR3.
Los Angeles Rams: Many owners will automatically draft rookie Darrell Henderson as the handcuff to Todd Gurley as speculation continues to run rampant about his health. But as I said with Montgomery, too many will assume that a rookie will automatically waltz into an open role. But the Rams did re-sign Malcolm Brown and still like second-year RB John Kelly. The top backup for Gurley is somewhat unclear prior to training camp. Don’t forget about Brown and Kelly as potential hurdles for Henderson to overcome on the Los Angeles depth chart.
New Orleans Saints: Tre’Quan Smith flashed briefly as he had a 111-yard, two TD outing in Week 5 against Washington. After that performance, he was one of the hottest pickups in Fantasy Football entering Week 6. After a catch-less game in Week 10, he was off rosters again for the most part and responded with 10 catches for 157 yards and a TD in Week 11 against the Eagles. But he followed that outing with two more games without a reception and Fantasy players were done for sure with Smith by then. He only had six catches in his final four games. But the Saints made no significant moves at WR in the offseason and appear ready to expect more from Smith in Year Two. He will make a nifty final round pick if you still need WR depth.
New York Giants: Golden Tate may not go undrafted, but he is going to fall much further than he should. Tate’s 2018 campaign was interrupted by an in-season move to Philadelphia, and those type of changes after the year starts are never easy on a WR. He may be drafted as a WR5 in some leagues this year. While the model for this article is guys who will be undrafted, we have to insert Tate as someone who will go undervalued. He will resurface as a Fantasy starter in PPR formats as a frequent safety WR for Daniel Jones. Tate was signed for the purpose of being a reliable target, especially for a rookie. He still has fine possession skills and can gain good amounts of yardage after the catch.
Philadelphia Eagles: Nelson Agholor was a disappointment after showing signs of breaking out in 2017. The Eagles signed DeSean Jackson and drafted J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to bolster the WR corps. Agholor could take the new additions as a challenge and may re-emerge as a playmaker for Carson Wentz this season.
Seattle Seahawks: The drafting of DK Metcalf has led to assumptions that he will get every chance to be the new starting WR opposite Tyler Lockett. But Metcalf may be eased in as a rookie, even though his TD potential is high. Pete Carroll really likes David Moore, who flashed some big-play ability last season and could emerge as a starter for the Seahawks this season, surprising many Fantasy followers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Like Tate, Ronald Jones will not be fully forgotten, but no one will want to pick him in any single digit Fantasy draft round. He will likely be tabbed as a RB5 type in many leagues. But there is a new regime in Tampa Bay and they did not move to replace Jones in the offseason. He may get a fresh start this year, and still has the potential to score from anywhere on the field if used consistently.
Washington Redskins: In deeper leagues than 12 teams, you should definitely take a flier on Redskins rookie Bryce Love. The former Heisman contender is coming off a major knee injury but it’s possible he could be ready for training camp. With uncertain ball carrier types such as Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice ahead of him on the depth chart, Love could outperform the competition at some point. Keep a close watch on his health reports as the summer progresses.
Enjoyed Scott’s deep dive into the NFC? Come back soon as he tackles the end-game fliers of the AFC.
Scott Engel is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame and a four-time award winner. He was one of the driving content forces in the rise of RotoExperts.com and was the lead host on the RotoExperts in the Morning for six years on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. He was also instrumental in the launch of the FNTSY Sports Network. Scott was the first-ever Senior Writer and Managing Editor at CBS SportsLine and won a company Hall of Fame Award. He was also an Associate Editor and Fantasy analyst for ESPN.com. He has been the featured Fantasy Writer on Seahawks.com since 2012 and his work has been syndicated to the Associated Press, NFL.com, New York Daily News, New York Post, Yahoo Sports, Bloomberg Sports, Sports Illustrated and many others. He is a credentialed media member who won an FSWA award in 2016 for his Insider Fantasy Reporting. Known as “The King”, Scott is on Twitter @scottTheKing
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