5 Players You Should Reach for in Fantasy Football Drafts

Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

While there isn't much room to reach to secure the services of a player going in the middle of the third round in drafts, if you can get Demaryius Thomas near the back-end of the second round, I'd be all over it.

DT has given many people pause after his down 2015 season. Yes, after being drafted as a top-five receiver in 2015 and finishing as the WR11 in PPR leagues, it's understandable that fantasy owners feel a little chagrined. But, folks, the hate has gone too far.

It's important to consider the context within which Thomas' season occurred last year. For half of the season, he was getting the rock tossed to him by a completely ineffective Peyton Manning, who finished 30th out of 32 quarterbacks in Passing NEP per drop back among passers with at least 275 drop backs. For the other half of the season, Brock Osweiler was throwing to him, and he wasn't much better, finishing 22nd out of that same group of 32 signal-callers. So it's fair to assume that the quarterback who wins the job in Denver won't be much worse, if at all.

It's also important to remember Thomas' "down" season still amounted to 105 catches for 1,304 yards. His six touchdowns were a steep decline from his three straight double-digit touchdown seasons between 2012 and 2014, but that could mean positive touchdown regression is headed his way. In fact, our own JJ Zachariason's analysis on touchdown regression indicates that a normal season of DT's 107.73 Reception NEP would've average out to 2 additional touchdowns.

And even in his down year, he finished fourth in the league among receivers with 11 top-24 weeks in fantasy football at the position. That kind of consistency doesn't grow on trees. In fact, Thomas is the only player in NFL history aside from Marvin Harrison to have four straight seasons of 90 catches, 1,300 yards, and 6 touchdowns. And he's still only 28 years old.

Players currently being drafted ahead of Thomas include T.Y. Hilton, Brandin Cooks, and Amari Cooper, all of whom are very good players, and all of whom I'd rank behind the consistent greatness of DT on my draft board. If you can jump a bit over ADP to grab Thomas, his production history suggests you'll be doing yourself a big favor.