Every pick matters in fantasy football, and finding the right values in your draft is one of the best ways to ensure a successful season. While nailing your early picks is obviously important, it’s just as crucial to find those late-round guys that significantly outplay their ADP. The following five players all have a clear path to fantasy relevance this year and are essentially free in just about every league.
Note that the following ADP data has been provided by FantasyPros. As always, these are aggregate rankings, and every league has its own individual evaluations for every player.
READ MORE: Wide Receiver Targets – Running Back Targets
Fantasy Football Values: Five Players Set to Outperform Expectations
Michael Gallup (ADP 150, WR62)
If it were not for his ACL injury, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup would be gone long before the 150th pick in the draft. However, the former third-round pick is still recovering from his injury and is currently on the Active/PUP list.
The good news is that Gallup is ahead of schedule with his recovery and might start the year on the active roster. We already know that Gallup is good at the game of football and is more than capable of being a fantasy-relevant wide receiver when healthy, and 2022 gives him a perfect situation. With Amari Cooper out of town, Gallup has a clear path to being WR2 on the Cowboys and being a strong flex play throughout the season. Even if he needs to spend the first few weeks on your bench, he’ll be well worth the investment as the season progresses.
[pickup_prop id=”26248″]
Evan Engram (ADP 169, TE20)
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram has burned many a fantasy owner over the past two years. Because of the recent subpar performances, it’s easy to forget that he was the TE4, TE7, and TE7 in points per game during his first three years in the league and is only entering his age-27 season.
Engram is not going to challenge Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews for TE1 overall, but there is a very real chance he puts up a top-10 finish in a much better situation. The 2020-2021 New York Giants tried to use Evan Engram like Jason Witten, and the two skillsets couldn’t be further apart. Now paired with Doug Pederson and a promising young quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, Engram should be able to match his early-career production.
Ameer Abdullah (ADP 294, RB84)
Ameer Abdullah’s ADP could skyrocket following the Kenyan Drake release, but for right now, the former second-round pick is essentially free in just about every redraft or dynasty league. With Drake out of the way, Abdullah now has a clear path to the pass-catching role in the Raiders high-powered offense. As an added touch, first-year head coach Josh McDaniels loved targeting running backs during his time in New England, and if this carries over to Vegas, Abdullah should have standalone value in PPR leagues.
Of course, if something happens to Josh Jacobs, then Abdullah would be a weekly start. While the Raiders have some young talent, all reports indicate that Abdullah should see most of the playing time in an emergency situation.
Confirming @Raiders are releasing RB Kenyan Drake. Ameer Abdullah, young RB's having great camps
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 22, 2022
Marcus Mariota (ADP 228, QB30)
In one-quarterback leagues, you need to reach for ceiling at the quarterback position. Sure, someone like Kirk Cousins can give you reliable weekly performances as a high-end QB2, but he won’t do that much more than someone like Ryan Tannehill, a quarterback that is widely available on waivers. Rushing quarterbacks, however, can break fantasy scoring and deliver week-winning performances throughout the season.
Marcus Mariota is one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the league, and his impressive preseason performances combined with his brief flashes with the Raiders show that he still has the talent that made him the second-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He should be able to run with ease, and he actually has perhaps his best set of pass-catching weapons in his career. Kyle Pitts is already a top-three tight end in the league, and Drake London was a top-10 pick for a reason. While he is something of an injury risk, he should put up good numbers for however long he stays on the field. If and when he gets injured, you can just pivot to one of the many starting-caliber quarterbacks on the waiver wire. For however long he plays, he’ll be one of the best fantasy football values in the league.
Eno Benjamin (ADP 238, RB71)
James Conner is going to enter the season as Arizona’s starting running back, but he isn’t going to play 100% of the snaps. Eno Benjamin appears to have a marginal edge over Darrel Williams in the battle for the backup job, which means that the former seventh-round pick could stumble into some fantasy-relevant weeks. Conner is entering his age-27 season and has had more than his fair share of injuries over the years, so it’s entirely possible that Benjamin earns a larger share of the pie than anyone expects. In a high-powered offense like this, a high-end handcuff with standalone value is definitely worth rostering.
READ MORE: Wide Receiver Targets – Running Back Targets
