RADIO
Mrs. Clinton (my wife, not the politician) is a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, so when she tells you that the players she wants on her team for her second fantasy season are among the many Lambeau Leapers, you might just smile politely and roll your eyes. But she'll also happily tell you about how she's hoping to get... David Njoku.
It's come up quite a bit this month. She brought it up at a football game we attended where David Njoku was not in the same state. She brings it up periodically on the couch. She's thinking of naming her fantasy team after him but can't quite figure out the wordplay. And this new fascination with the talented second-year tight end came from... Hard Knocks. Specifically, the scene where David Njoku is meditating and thinking about catching passes. I still don't know if she fondly remembers the month and a half where we also did yoga and then started to get attacked by a dog anytime we were in a downward position and relates to him that way, maybe she thinks he's cute, maybe she just likes the last name Njoku. The bigger issue is that... I can't really talk her out of drafting David Njoku. I haven't even given it a shot, nor will I, because the more I look at it.... the more I kind of like the pick. And the more I mostly wonder if I'm hedging my bets so I don't get annoyed when he's good and she's gloating about it, or if I like the guy too and just haven't thought about it that much.
That, my friends, is a decent summation of the AFC North. While I made sure to let you know I believe the AFC East is largely a dumpster fire, hallmarked by a 41-year old quarterback and his can't-go-over-the-middle #1 pass catcher, I believe that the AFC North has more (albeit begrudging) potential for pockets of fantasy value here and there. Consistently? No, apart from the obvious names. But potentially? There's something on each of these teams.
Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.
Cleveland Browns
My flyer-who-isn't-quite-a-flyer for 2018 is _____________
- Duke Johnson Jr.
- David Njoku
- Carlos Hyde
- Nick Chubb
It's a great change of pace in Cleveland that I get to write the sentence "Assume Jarvis Landry and Josh Gordon will be steady, productive fantasy assets" because I believe it's true. Despite my questioning Hue Jackson's ability to coach the best out of his players, Landry and Gordon have proven fantasy consistency in very tumultuous offenses, and this Browns team could be the best either of them have played on in years. Meanwhile, Duke Johnson Jr. is an eighth-round running back who has "PPR zero-RB running back" written all over him. Shoutout to Phil Clark and his analysis of Johnson here, but the basics are this; Johnson is catching more passes than any other back and still will be a candidate for work on the receiving end. If you expect the Browns to still be in shootouts, and odds are there will be plenty, a Johnson that stumbles into the end zone even two or three more times is a great deeper league FLEX play.
Save your one dollar bid for ________________
Did you guess Tyrod Taylor? Yes, this is only for re-draft leagues and it's not even guaranteed to last the whole season, but if you are in a league big enough where a backup QB is necessary, Taylor is currently going #27 in ADP though he finished as the sixteenth best QB last year. You know this about Taylor; while the Mayfield question looms, expect Taylor to be a productive quarterback with much better weapons then he had in Buffalo, and at the very least know that he won't be sat in regards to a petty squabble about Nathan Peterman. Taylor could quietly be a top-ten quarterback this year if he keeps the job, and while there is nothing sexy about the pick, getting the guy who finished within four points of Matt Ryan in 2017 for the same price as... pretty much everyone else is nothing to sneeze at.
Baltimore Ravens
Damnit, are you going to make me talk about how good __________ is and how you should own him?
I feel like pitching Willie Snead to you is the same thing as trying to sell you a gently used television off of a truck, but hear me out. What would you say if I told you that two things were assured; the Baltimore Ravens were going to have a hard time moving the ball, and they are going to have to rely on an asset that other teams basically ignored. Whether you think my analysis is sound or not, the second piece of this is irrefutable. I selected the four players I did because of general grouping, but pulling up all the fantasy players listed under "BAL" will give you a list of names you probably forgot, a graveyard of guys who were totally going to be good once.
I point you to Snead because, simply, you can't catch what isn't thrown at you. Following Snead's four-game suspension, he became persona non grata in New Orleans, and anyone who wasted an eighth-round pick on him in 2017 couldn't justify holding onto a player who only saw a game with multiple targets once in the whole season. Baltimore won't have that luxury, and considering Snead is likely to live in the slot full time, Baltimore will have to lean on him more than New Orleans did, meaning at least a partial return to the once flourishing player, and at the very least won't cost you as much to play wait-and-see with as he once did.
Pittsburgh Steelers
You'll be hurt by _____________ this year, I guarantee it
A: Vance McDonald
B: Juju Smith-Schuster
C: James Washington
D: Steven Ridley
Given that you can't be hurt by sleepers and flyers and I have all the confidence in the world in USC wide receivers, this leaves us with Vance McDonald. The tight end is going as the 13th overall at his position, overshadowing Njoku and OJ Howard and as a 49ers fan, I really couldn't tell you why. Martin has a nice breakdown of it, but trusting an oft-injured big man who is currently injured, even technically as a late TE, is a way to guarantee disappointment. I'm sure you'll wince when McDonald inevitably has his two-touchdown game, but you won't have much of an internal struggle when the big man has a hard time seeing the field (or the ball) with the consistency needed.
Cincinnati Bengals
I have nothing to give you here, so please accept my offering of ____________
This whole column has a "very deep draft" feel to it already, so let's keep it going and add Tyler Boyd to the list. He's not even a candidate for the deepest of drafts, but some interesting things have been happening that has made Boyd one to monitor. First off, Boyd was listed ahead of second-year WR John Ross on the preseason depth chart, and while it could be a nice sign of respect for the slightly more tenured receiver, Boyd also seems to be a bit more proficient in his limited work in preseason match-ups than Ross as well. Boyd has never had the full confidence of the Bengals staff and isn't even a reasonable add until we're sure he makes the team and sees at least five targets in his first few matchups. Nevertheless, keep an eye on him.
