In last week’s article, we went over some Fantrax ADP battles at the running back position. For this week, we’ll breakdown some Fantrax ADP battles at wide receiver and tight end. What’s fascinating about this is that we’ve had numerous things happen over the last week to alter tight end and wide receiver ADP and we’ll do our best to keep this as current as possible.
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Tight End & Wide Receiver ADP Battles
Kenny Golladay vs. Julian Edelman
This one is more about what type of format you’re playing in than anything else. While I do believe that Golladay is the better option in both formats, Edelman is right there in a PPR league. That’s evident by the fact that Edelman has finished as a Top-15 receiver in PPR in all but two seasons while ranking outside the Top-15 in standard in all but one year. That really emphasizes what a reception hog this guy is and he may get even more targets with Rob Gronkowski out of the picture.
This is more about Golladay though, as I truly believe that he’s ready for a monster season. The advanced numbers from Golladay last season are simply incredible, with KG generating a 92.8 air yards per game average while attaining 21 percent of the teams target share. That means they want to feed this guy like a Hungry Hippo and it’s really no surprise when you look at the rest of the roster. Both Golden Tate and Theo Riddick are out of the picture and that should garner Golladay much more work. The talented WR finished last season with 70 catches on 119 targets en route to 1,063 yards. Those great numbers appear to be the floor and they’ll surely give him more than the five red-zone receptions that he received last season with his fantastic 56 percent contested catch rate.
Now that we have the stats out of the way, let’s talk about the Fantrax ADP. Edelman is currently going off at pick 43.4 while Golladay is at 43.7. While Golladay is the riskier choice, it’s hard to overlook just how much more upside he has than Edelman. The hand injury to the New England WR only adds to this questionable ADP and we’re going to ride Golladay after a breakout sophomore campaign.
Jarvis Landry vs. Calvin Ridley
This is yet another battle where you have to ask yourself, what sort of player do I trust? While I went with the high-upside guy in the last write-up, I’m going to change gears here. Landry is actually one of my best values of the year and I have a hard time understanding why his price is so low. We’re talking about a player who has at least 81 catches in all five seasons he’s played and that floor is truly incredible. Landry is actually the only player in the NFL to achieve that feat and much of that can be attributed to great health. I mean, any guy who averages 138 targets per season while ranking Top-5 in total targets since 2014 shouldn’t be going off this low.
While we definitely have some concerns about Odell Beckham taking targets, I actually look at this as a positive. When has Landry ever had another weapon like this on his team and a quarterback this good throwing him the ball? He’s dealt with crap like DeVante Parker and Ryan Tannehill for most of his career and this move to a talented team could help boost his already impressive numbers. Having Beckham will open things up underneath and that’s monstrous for a reception-hound like Landry.
While I am picking Landry over Ridley in this circumstance, it’s not like Ridley is some scrub. This dude truly broke out last season with 64 catches, 821 receiving yards, and 10 TDs. That outlandish touchdown number is what really scares me, as it’s hard to maintain that sort of average. We’re talking about a guy who saw just 92 targets last season and it’s almost impossible to score a TD on 11 percent of your targets and 17 percent of your receptions. I really don’t see those target and reception numbers rising either, as this offense continues to spread the ball.
So, let’s take a look at this Fantrax ADP. Landry is currently the 27th WR off the board at 57.4 while Ridley is the 28th WR off the board at pick 58.3. Landry going off as the 27th wide receiver is simply laughable in my opinion and I actually have him as my 19th receiver. I do have Ridley at 25 though and I feel that both of these guys can be good values at these price tags.
Delanie Walker vs. Trey Burton
What the heck is this? Why would anyone take Burton over Walker? According to Fantrax ADP, Walker is the 13th tight end off the board at pick 147.33 while Burton is the 12th TE off the board at 139.9. This makes absolutely no sense to me, as I would happily bet anyone that Walker will finish above Burton in total fantasy points. People are forgetting just how good Walker was before missing 15 games last season.
We’re talking about a guy who has finished Top-8 at tight end in four-straight seasons before last year while finishing Top-5 in three of those. That’s really no surprise when you see that he averaged 74 receptions on 113 targets per year in that four-year span. He also provided about 900 receiving yards per season and it’s amazing that people are overlooking these elite statistics. It’s not like this offense got any better either, as Walker will still be Marcus Mariota’s number-one target. Since 2014, Walker actually ranks second among all TEs in total receptions, as he’s an absolute stud in PPR formats.
All of that makes Walker the best value of any tight end in Fantrax ADP and it’s downright shocking that people are taking Burton over him. This dude was probably the biggest tight end bust of any player last season and it’s hard to understand why people are going back to the well. Burton has to battle targets with players like Allen Robinson, Tarik Cohen, Anthony Miller and Taylor Gabriel for an offense that doesn’t even throw a whole lot. This team notoriously spreads the ball around to everybody and that’s the complete opposite with the Titans feeding Walker at will.
Here’s a stat that will suede you: In five seasons in the NFL, Burton has 117 receptions for 1,198 yards combined. That’s pretty close to Walker’s season-long averages in that same span and it’s mind-boggling that people are even considering these two in the same range. Not to mention, Walker is reportedly fully healthy while Burton is dealing with a hernia injury.
Any other tight end or wide receiver ADP battles you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments below! For more great analysis check out the 2019 Fantrax Fantasy Football Draft Kit.
Joel Bartilotta is a fantasy addict who gets paid to write about his addiction. He writes for FantasyPros, RotoWire, Razzball and now Fantrax. Joel is a basketball lifer but he also covers MLB and NFL.
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