Preseason Pro: The top ranked players in the world each reveal their No. 1 sleeper, bust, breakout, comeback and stash & cash player of the year!
Dr. Roto | Shawn Childs | Brad Kruse | Bill Enright | Kimra Schleicher | Mark Deming | Adam Ronis | Scott Atkins | Jim Day | Darren Summer
Jim Day’s Preseason Pro Picks
Sleeper: WR Donte Moncrief, Pittsburgh Steelers
(ADP: 124.5 – FFWC ADP: 96.8)
There are many people still buying into James Washington as the receiver on the Steelers who will take that No. 2 WR spot, even though the Steelers have shown every indication that the true WR2 so far is Donte Moncrief.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is locked in as the number one, but Moncrief is easily the most experienced receiver of the rest and finally lands in a good spot to give him that bump.
Ben Roethlisberger threw a tremendous 675 passes last year, easily the top number in the league. While I do expect that number to come down this year, I don’t expect it to fall off the cliff, so there will be plenty of work for other receivers since Antonio Brown left behind 169 targets.
The current Advanced ADP at Fulltime Fantasy shows that Moncrief is coming off the board as the 47th WR taken, while Washington is 49th.
For me, the former Jaguars’ receiver should outplay that draft position and return outstanding value in your draft. Don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on him.
Bust: WR Corey Davis, Tennessee Titans
(ADP: 71.68 – FFWC ADP: 72.5)
I swear I was going to write Andrew Luck in this section because those multiple injuries were concerning me, but after the bomb dropped about Luck retiring, I had to shift gears. So I am going to go with Corey Davis of Tennessee.
Davis was okay in 2018, but not as dominant as some thought he would be. Some of that can be put on QB Marcus Mariota battling different injuries all year and the fact that they lost stud TE Delanie Walker to injury and no other WRs had 500 yards receiving. So most of the defensive pressure was focused on him all year.
In 2019 Walker looks to be healthy and ready to start, and the team brought in slot receiver Adam Humphries from Tampa Bay and drafted AJ Brown. So now there will be a lot of mouths to feed, and that won’t help Davis either.
Plus, if you look from Week 10 on when they finally got Derrick Henry going, Davis only averaged 3.8 receptions a game and only 50 yards a game. If you believe that the Titans will use that same formula for Henry this year, then you have to think that Davis continues to take a hit in 2019. Let someone else take the risk.
Breakout: WR Curtis Samuel, Carolina Panthers
(ADP: 115.3 – FFWC ADP: 69)
Curtis Samuel is the swiss army knife of wide receivers; he can do just about anything asked of him. He only caught 39 passes in 2018, but he still came away with five receiving touchdowns, while fellow Panthers’ receiver DJ Moore only grabbed two. Samuel also added two touchdowns in the running game.
Early in the preseason, Moore was a fourth-rounder, and Samuel was a ninth-rounder. Unfortunately for those of you drafting this late, the masses are finally starting to catch on. Moore is still coming off at the end of the fourth, but now the swiss army knife has moved up into the sixth round. You know what? I still love him there.
All reports out of camp have been how good Samuel as looked. David Newton, an ESPN reporter, reported back on August 7th that Samuel is “light years ahead and gaining speed.” In that same article fellow receiver, Chris Hogan had this to say about the youngster “He’s special, man. He’s explosive. He’s quick off the line, has really good hands, runs really good routes. … He really has primed himself to have a good season.”
I don’t know about you, but I am on the bandwagon, you better get on too because Samuel is going to be the top-scoring Carolina WR this season.
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Comeback: RB Duke Johnson, Houston Texans
(ADP: 112.8 – FFWC ADP: 70.3)
One night in August turned this article on its ear. I wanted Luck as my bust; now I can’t do it. Was going with Duke Johnson as my comeback as soon as he was traded to the Texans, but after that same night, none of you will believe me, but it’s true, I tell you, it’s true.
So I am going with it: Duke Johnson is my comeback player for 2019.
One year after catching 74 passes, going over 1,000 total yards and scoring seven touchdowns, DJ lost all momentum in 2018. He finished last season with only 47 receptions, 630 total yards, and three touchdowns. Cleveland didn’t use him the same way, and his value fell.
Now he moves to Houston and even if Lamar Miller had not been lost for the season on Saturday night, I still expected Johnson to be highly involved in this offense. They need someone who can take those short passes and turn them into something, especially when you consider how badly that offensive line played last year and so far looks the same this preseason. Johnson will allow DeShaun Watson to dump off passes with confidence and hopefully not take as many hits.
In 2017 Johnson finished as the 11th-best running back in PPR leagues, and while he may not reach that high in 2019, I don’t expect him to be far off that pace. He had already started to move up draft boards. His ADP put him close to the sixth round, but now with the news of Miller being lost for the season, Johnson will move up even further. Take him anytime in the fifth, and he will still return value.
Stash & Cash: RB Devin Singletary, Buffalo Bills
(ADP: 129.4 – FFWC ADP: 111.6)
I know exactly what you’re thinking: Buffalo’s running back room is quite full. With LeSean McCoy, new offseason additions Frank Gore and TJ Yeldon, how can you expect rookie Devin Singletary to make much of an impact?
Well, let’s break it down. There is a lot of talk among beat writers that TJ Yeldon is firmly on the roster bubble and may not make the final 53-man roster. Frank Gore is a reliable backup at this point in his career, heck the guy is almost ready to receive Social Security checks. The same could also be said for the starter at this point, LeSean McCoy. McCoy is coming off a very down year, and there is talk about the Bills possibly trading him. Of course, both McCoy and Gore have solid games in their matchup with Detroit on Friday.
Singletary is explosive back and has the freshest legs, but it may take him a little while to make some noise, especially if they don’t trade McCoy before the season starts, but at some point this year the rookie will get his chance and should prove to be a good value.
