Fantasy Football: Which Players Are Being Drafted at a Discount in 2018?
Receiving Running Backs
2017 ADP: 118th to 182nd Overall
2018 ADP: Undrafted
Difference: -68 to -132
This is one of those groups of players that continually gets maligned in the offseason, then you pick them up midseason and wish you’d drafted and started them much earlier.
Running backs like Theo Riddick, James White, and Darren Sproles go undervalued due to their "receiving specialists” label, as opposed to the bell cow lead-back types who dominate early-down touches. In PPR formats especially, though, we don’t care how the points arrive -- we just want our runners getting the ball and gaining yardage.
Consider last year’s top 30 running backs by PPR points. Of them, 11 were in committees and utilized mainly in the receiving role. Of those 11, 4 were still top-15, good enough for RB1 status in deeper leagues.
Among the three mentioned backs, none are being drafted in 12-team PPR redraft leagues, meaning they are a screaming value in the last round of your draft. At each of their average fantasy points per opportunity and average opportunities over the last few years, each could earn at least 145.0 fantasy points this year, which would have put them squarely in the top 30 running backs last year.
Pick your favorite and reap the rewards.
