In fantasy football, it always seems like the main topic of conversation is which players will go in the first round. We can talk until we get blue in the face about guys like Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson and Peyton Manning. But what about those guys who are still out there in the later rounds? Predicting who will be available in the first four to five rounds is pretty easy after you have drafted several times during the summer. But let’s look at two of those guys who could give you great value at a discount price.
Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Detroit Lions: As expected, Stafford’s 2009 rookie season wasn’t anything spectacular (2,267 yards/13 TDs/20 Ints), but it wasn’t entirely his fault. He went into a bad situation being drafted No. 1 overall by the Lions, played behind an offensive line full of holes and had a running game that went from bad to worse as the season wore on. His season ended after he was placed on injured reserve on Christmas Eve with a separated shoulder and an injured knee, but he did show a glimmer of good things to come. In Week 11, he threw five touchdown passes against the Browns in a thrilling 38-37 win, including the game-winner just moments after initially separating his shoulder. So you know the kid is tough. The team made a lot of offensive noise through the draft, free agency and trades. The Lions upgraded their receiving corps by signing Nate Burleson. Burleson has had an up-and-down career, but he should provide enough attention that defenses won’t be gunning for Calvin Johnson every week. They upgraded their running back situation by trading back into the first round and taking University of California’s Jahvid Best, who will provide much-needed backfield help that the team had lacked after a very disappointing second year from Kevin Smith in 2009. And in a surprising move, the team traded for Broncos pass-catching tight end Tony Scheffler. Scheffler not only provides Stafford with yet another weapon, but he will also allow the team to bring second-year Brandon Pettigrew back slowly into the offense after a knee injury ended his rookie year prematurely. Whew, that’s a lot of weapons for Stafford to use this year. While I don’t recommend taking Stafford in smaller leagues, he could provide nice upside in leagues of 14 and up. If anything, we expect improvement from his 2009 numbers.
Devin Aromashodu, Wide Receiver, Chicago Bears: Let’s stay in the NFC North and talk about a guy, who I believe can out-produce his Average Draft Position (currently the 39th receiver overall). Aromashodu was a huge sleeper in the months after the Super Bowl, but his stock seems to have slipped a bit over the past few weeks with the prospects of Johnny Knox and Devin Hester being named the starters going into 2010. But as we have seen in the past, a Mike Martz-led offense can give any unknown receiver plenty of fantasy upside. For example: Back in 2006, there was a little-known Lions receiver by the name of Mike Furrey. In most drafts, Furrey was taking a backseat to the more popular Roy Williams. Williams did have a solid year that year in Martz’s offense, but Furrey was the surprise of the year after leading the NFC in catches with 98, which was second in the league behind the Texans’ Andre Johnson (103). What Furrey showed us was that anyone can become a star in Martz’s offense, which brings us back to Aromashodu. Wide receivers coach Darryl Drake considers Aromashodu as much of a “starter” as Knox and Hester. Plus, quarterback Jay Cutler pleaded for the coaching staff to get Aromashodu on the field more last year, which resulted in seven catches, 150 yards and a touchdown in Week 16 against the Vikings. If you haven’t drafted yet and can keep more than four receivers, I strongly suggest taking a late-round flyer on Aromashodu. Or if Aromashodu is still on your waiver wire, grab him quick. I can almost guarantee that he will match or out-produce either Knox or Hester in catches.
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