Miller: Draft Targets and Fades

We’re in the heart of the best time of the year: fantasy football draft season. I make an effort not to become too beholden to specific player takes given the predictive power of the market, but it’s impossible to go through an entire summer grinding the projections and not come away with some guys you like and dislike. Today, I walk through some players I’m targeting in my fantasy football season-long drafts, as well as some players I’m fading.

TARGETS

Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and Jalen Hurts

One caveat to start: In some leagues, Allen and Jackson may go in the first round. You should not pick them there. But in home leagues, as soon as it gets to Round 3, I think it’s sometimes reasonable to go QB. This is because in most home leagues, there will be running back and wide receiver value slipping through the cracks. If you pick four WRs in the first five rounds, you might be kicking yourself and uncertain what to do when Emeka Egbuka is still available in Round 7. If your league skews casual and you know you can grab good value at RB/WR later, I really like the idea of paying up for a high-end QB. Gone are the days where a late-round QB could realistically threaten for a top-three finish; there are just too many quarterbacks now who provide significant value on the ground for someone like Jared Goff to be a league winner. These four QBs all provide a ton of rushing work to go along with very strong passing numbers. If they stay healthy, it’s hard for them not to be top-five quarterbacks.