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Fantasy football: Draft Mike Gillislee, avoid Julian Edelman – Metro US

Fantasy football: Draft Mike Gillislee, avoid Julian Edelman

Fantasy football, Draft, Mike Gillislee, Julian Edelman
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Mike Gillislee is the heir-apparent to the LeGarrette Blount role in New England — a role that produced 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016. Tom Brady may not be able to sling it around like the days of yore, but there is nobody in the NFL who manages a game better. That will benefit Gillislee all season, as we can expect the Patriots to have a lead in many, if not most games. Gillislee produced nine total touchdowns as the backup to LeSean McCoy in Buffalo last year, and as the lead back in one of the NFL’s top offenses his value should blow away his current ADP (RB29, 72 overall).

 

Moncrief Could Be Lucky PIck

Donte Moncrief was one of the biggest busts of 2016, producing nowhere near his fourth-round ADP. He averaged a pathetic 2.5 yards after the catch, a far departure from the explosiveness he flashed in 2015. However, Moncrief was injured or at less than 100 percent for a majority of the season last year, and now that he is fully healthy he is making a huge impact at training camp. T.Y. Hilton is still the WR1 in Indianapolis, and is almost guaranteed to have more total yards than Moncrief, but Moncrief has the red zone upside that Hilton simply doesn’t. The 6-foot-2 inch, 220-lb wideout is also only 23, meaning he has added upside in dynasty and keeper formats.

 

Edelman No Longer The Man in New England

The days of Julian Edelman as a surefire lock for targets are over. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have revamped their offense, and it appears that Edelman may be the one whose production suffers with all of the new weapons. While Edelman did set a career high in targets last year, it was to be expected with a full 16 games under his belt for once. He converted just 11.1 percent of his targets inside the 10-yard line last year, and with a healthy Rob Gronkowski, New Orleans import Brandin Cooks, former Colt Dwayne Allen, and the pass-catching duo of Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead in the backfield, Edelman simply won’t provide the return you seek for his price (fifth-round ADP).

 

 

NFL Draft Sleepers of the Week

 

Kelvin Benjamin

By all accounts, Benjamin is back in football shape, both in weight and conditioning. If he can stay healthy, we could see the 2014 Benjamin once again (1,008 yards and nine touchdowns).

 

DeVante Parker

The 2015 first-round pick has yet to fully break out, but as the only big touchdown threat in the Dolphins passing game, he has enough upside to merit a speculative pick in Round 8 or later.

 

Tyrod Taylor

On a per-game basis, Taylor has been a top-10 quarterback by nearly every metric in the last two years. He can easily provide that value and more, a steal given his current 13th-round ADP.