By: Jeremy Miller on Jul 17th, 2010
Seems like every year I see fantasy owners spend most of their attention concentrating on the top of their draft boards. The guys who they believe will anchor their team each week and lead them to fantasy glory. Once they are done dissecting the first couple rounds they seem to then shift their focus to sleepers. The end of the draft guys they are just positive will come from no where and shock everyone and in the process make them look like a genius.
Well those two ends of the spectrum are sure fun to talk about and are important parts of your fantasy team. However,what about the other 12-14 players on your team? What about the mid round bargains that end up playing like first round gems? It is these types of players that make the difference between an average team and a championship team. Getting players that outperform their draft positions are each pick is obviously the goal. We all know your not going to hit on every pick, but finding the guys who end outperforming their draft spot is how you win fantasy leagues.
It is those players that we are going to focus on in this article. If you can fill your team with value players who can perform at a higher level than expected you will be well on your way to a title. You will not find any first round players here, in fact, only 1 player who has an ADP in the 2nd round is included. The players you draft in these areas are expected to be very good and for the health of your team they better be. The old saying is dead on, you can not win your fantasy league in the first two rounds……but you sure can lose it in them. So your goal in these rounds is to find the reliable producers who can set the foundation to build your championship on. Once you have your foundation set you need to start building the upside that is needed to win the title. You do this by finding value pick through out the draft.
So who are the players that you should have on your radar as value picks this year? Here is a full 18 player roster that I consider to be the best value plays of 2010. Their Average Draft Position (ADP) from fantasy football calculator will be listed in ( ) behind each player’s name.
2010 Sports Outlaw All Value Team
__________________________________________________
Quarterbacks
- Joe Flacco, Baltimore (8.1) – Do you prefer to wait on grabbing your QB until the middle rounds? If you are, one to have on your radar is Joe Flacco. Flacco showed us a flash of what may be to come early last season when he opened the year with 3 – 300 yard passing games in his first 6 games. He performed like a top 10 QB over the first 6 weeks. As the season wore on Flacco slowed and had a brutal middle of the season before showing signs of life again towards the end of the season. So why am I optimistic about Flacco outperforming his draft position and performing as a solid starting fantasy QB this season? Simple, more experience and more weapons. Flacco has lacked a true number one WR during his first two season in the NFL. The Ravens have added veteran Pro Bowl WR Anquan Boldin in the offseason to give him that true number 1 he has been lacking. They also added WR Donte’ Stallworth who is trying to comeback after missing all of 2009 due to suspension. These additions coupled with having one of the better receiving backs in the league in Ray Rice and Flacco will be working with the most talent this offense has had since his arrival. As Flacco continues to mature as an NFL QB I expect him to take advantage of his new weapons and take the next step in his career. Grab Flacco in the mid rounds and you will have yourself a solid starting QB at a bargain price.
Tags: Cedric Benson, Fantasy Football, Fantasy football sleepers, Fantasy Football Value Picks, Joe Flacco, Jonathan Stewart, Laurence Maroney, Marion Barber, matthew stafford, Michael Bush
Posted in Fantasy Football, Featured, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
By: Scott Henkel on May 20th, 2010
Scott Henkel
This is the time of the year that fantasy football pundits like yours truly love; we can never be wrong. Everyone has an opinion and in training camp there is no way someone can come back and tell you that you’re flat out wrong and back it with anything but their own opinion. As a guy who puts his opinions out there every season let me tell you;this is great. I love it. Maybe in a few months I’ll get called on an outlandish prediction but for now I’m the king…along with everyone else who can type and has an Internet connection. So I’m taking a look at guys who I feel aren’t getting any or enough love from the fantasy football buzz community. Some could be stars and some could be sweet value picks later in drafts. I’m looking at these guys in standard scoring redraft leagues. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Fantasy Football, Preseason Predictions
Posted in Fantasy Football, Featured, General NFL, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
By: Johnny Whisenant on Dec 19th, 2009
As the season winds down, some of us find ourselves in championship games, semifinal matchups, opening round matchups, or taking stock of a tough year, trying to make the right moves to get a title in 2010. Today we sit down with Chris Slabaugh, whom many of you know as “The Lineup Doctor”, to get his expert take on this week and the things to come in the fantasy football world. I know I am ready to gain some knowledge, so let’s get started.
Johnny Whisenant: Chris, many of us are sitting at home this week thanks to a poor performance by Randy Moss and Tom Brady. For those of us who happened survive, we look with a bit of concern at this week and the future with the Patriots from a fantasy perspective. What do you anticipate, both short term and long term from the Patriots, and should we be in a “sell high” mode?
Chris Slabaugh: First of all if you managed to survive Brady and Moss’ disappointing game against Carolina last week, then you’re in luck. I can’t think of a better schedule to finish the year with than the Bills, Jaguars, and Texans. I would consider Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker all must starts for the remainder of the year.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Fantasy Football, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
By: Scott Henkel on Dec 10th, 2009
All this started when I had to come to a decision on my #2 WR for my money league today. I needed a guy to pair with Calvin Johnson and was left with Steve Breaston, Devin Thomas, Nate Washington, or Donnie Avery. Matchup wise they all are sweet picks. Breaston gets the 29th ranked pass defense in San Francisco and was a 1,000 yard receiver last season. Washington gets a bad St. Louis Ram’s secondary that just go worse this week on a hot Vince Young led team. Devin Thomas is the soup de jour after blowing up for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns and goes against a Raiders squad that is bottom 5 in the NFL for yards given up per catch. Avery, while banged up, gets a statistically terrible Titans secondary. While none of these guys will carry my squad past a tough round one matchup every point counts so the decision deserves considerable thought. I decided that opportunities and targets were the key indicators to use on this decision.
Opportunity comes in the form of what kind of offense the player is in, what kind of defense they face, what kind of quarterback they have throwing the ball, the number option the receiver is in the offense, and the overall health of the player. Looking at my options I decided that Devin Thomas is my best choice as he’s the #2 guy on the Redskins which in his case is a big plus because he won’t face the #2 shut down corner in the NFL yet is still a main option in the red hot Redskin’s passing attack and is fully healthy. Decision is over, right? Not so fast. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Devin Thomas, fantasy football who should I start, wide receiver, wide receiver rankings
Posted in Fantasy Football, General NFL, Uncategorized | No Comments »
By: Johnny Whisenant on Oct 5th, 2009
Over the past couple seasons I have heard just about every excuse I can think of for giving JaMarcus Russell more time. Its Al’s Fault. Hes a rookie. The offense has no playmakers.
I honestly believe at this point there are no more excuses. Russell is a bust of Tim Couch proportions. Need more proof than the gut wrenching play on Sundays? Here is some food for thought….
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Fantasy Football, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
By: Jeremy Miller on Oct 4th, 2009
Needing an injury replacement for Wes Welker and unsure of Elderman’s status Sag John had to go to the WW in the very deep Death From Above league. Bobby Wade got the nod and while he only scored 9 pts, Sarge needed every one as he moved to 3-0 with a 1 pt victory. This was a bold pick up and one that has been awarded with THE SPORTS OUTLAW “KEEP IT STRONG” MOVE OF THE WEEK!
Past winners
Week 2: Remote Controller
Posted in Fantasy Football, Uncategorized | No Comments »
By: Danny West on Sep 26th, 2009
After this week’s results are in, half of your league will be all but guaranteed to not win the championship this year. Week 3 is a key week, and quite simply, a must win. I analyzed three of my most competitive league’s results from the last three years and have found one particularly fascinating trend, 75% of the time the league champion will escape Week 3 victorious. Now while this is certainly not to say that if you lose this week there really is no point in playing any longer but instead to give you the odds that you’ll be up against if you do not play your most optimal lineup this week and to help put you in that elite 75%. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Fantasy Football, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
By: Scott Henkel on Jun 19th, 2009
Scott Henkel
Cliches are easy to come by in the sports world. Defense wins championships. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. Fantasy Football has a few of their own but one that is very true every year is, “Championships are won in the middle rounds of the draft and through pick-ups on the waiver wire.”
To be able to dominate in the draft and move fast on the waiver wire you need to have some deep knowledge of players. Only fantasy football owners can tell you who the back-up runningback is for the Houston Texans or who the 5th wide receiver is for the Eagles. There, buried in the depth charts, are the players who will carry you quietly to the playoffs.
So who are the names you need to know in 2009? I’ll go over a few guys whose names may or may not jump to mind. Either way they will be names you’ll want to know when setting up your draft sheets and when waiver wires open up. Not every backup is worth having because, well, if they were any good at times they would be starters. So let me help you sift through the refuse and fine the gems. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Fantasy Football, fantasy football advice, fantasy football sleeper wide receiver, wide receiver rankings
Posted in Fantasy Football, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
By: Michael Whitehead on Mar 4th, 2009
Since 2004, The Sports Outlaw has slowly and independently grown into well respected fantasy football resource. 2008 was the biggest update to our site to date. We introduced a custom forum design, with an integration of a portal and fantasy football articles, all integrated into the forum design.
2009 looks to be even better as we are currently developing version 3.0 of The Sports Outlaw. In this version, we are introducing an improved content system which will be much easier to nagivate. Links to all of our regular content will always be available, and new articles will now be automatically submitted by our staff, and automatically made available via the homepage.
All of the content you have come to expect will be right here as always, and we will be looking to bring fresh new articles from a variety of sources to you this season.
While we work on the new design, we are taking down last years homepage and using this blog to provide updates, and very soon, screenshots of the development.
If you would like to visit the old homepage, click here. In the mean time, be sure to check in with the forum and take a look at our latest draft projection threads.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
By: Staff on Mar 3rd, 2009
We are currently setting up a new homepage, which should be functional within the next 24 hours in a very basic form. In the mean time, you can get to our forums by clicking the link below:
The Sports Outlaw Fantasy Football Forums
Links to all of our content, and new articles will soon be avaible.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
