Ah, Independence Day weekend. Independence, barbecues, fireworks, and the true “beginning” of the fantasy football season.
We’re just weeks away from the madness of fantasy draft season, which means it’s definitely time to begin your prep work. As you make your pre-draft lists, you’ll jot down the names of superstars, rookies, and sleepers you want to target.
You probably won’t give much thought to the boring players. But you should.
I admit, I’m a fantasy boring-ist. I don’t like boring players in fantasy football. I still draft them, of course, but only begrudgingly, and only because I like winning more than I dislike boring players. But if I had to guess, many of you are boring-ists, too.
So to celebrate the Fourth, here are four boring-but-good fantasy players you shouldn’t overlook in 2017 drafts just because of how mundane they are.
Isaiah Crowell, RB, Cleveland Browns
The downside: Crowell plays on the Cleveland Browns.
The bright side: Pretty much everything else.
Crowell was an advanced metrics monster last season. He gained an average 3.18 yards after contact last season, good for second-most among running backs. He was the 11th-most-elusive running backs (barely behind David Johnson) last season, and he was arguably the best long-run rusher in the league. Crowell gained 47.5 percent of his yards on long runs (15-plus yards) last season, tops among all qualifying running backs.
Crowell’s 0.41 fantasy points per opportunity tied with David Johnson for 15th among running backs, and his 4.8 YPC average ranked 10th among running backs with at least 100 attempts.
And despite the fact he shares a backfield with pass-catching specialist Duke Johnson, Crowell still saw a healthy 47 targets, good for 19th-most among running backs. That’s not a ton, but it was 10 more than Ezekiel Elliott.
Crowell’s ADP (14th) is about right, so there’s no real discount here, but don’t overlook this boring player. The upside is legitimate.
DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32
Unlimited Fantasy League Sync
Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire
WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools
Nathan Jahnkes Rankings - #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks
PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools
NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades
Already have a subscription? Log In
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.