Players with Upside You Can Target Late In Startups
Ahhhhh! The dust has finally settled on the NFL draft and most of us have turned our attention to rookie drafts, and the 2024 draft eligible players. Another very popular thing to do in the dynasty community this time of year…. Startups. People are excited and want to start new leagues with new rules and different players and those startup drafts are coming in hot as we speak. Something I wanted to touch on were some guys nobody is mentioning at the moment, that you can snag in Round 18 or later in most drafts. Purely stash and see what happens. We have a lot of time between now and real football games, but anything can happen. So, here are a few guys that stand out to me as great dart throws late in your startup drafts.
Jerome Ford, RB, Browns
With the departure of both Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson there are plenty of vacated touches in the Cleveland backfield. Originally a 4-star recruit out of Tampa, FL, Ford committed to Alabama and like most Alabama running back commits he was seldomly used his first and only two years in Tuscaloosa. While he could’ve taken the Brian Robinson or Bo Scarbrough route and patiently waited his turn, after only getting 31 carries in those two seasons at ‘Bama, Ford transferred to Cincinnati where he and Desmond Ridder led the AAC Champions to the CFP. Ford accounted for over 1500 total yards and 22 total TDs in that 2021 season.
Despite ideal size and a blazing 40-time, Ford slipped to the 5th round where the Cleveland Browns scooped him up 156th overall. Cleveland has not added a single back in free agency, nor did they draft one in April. While I do expect Chubb to have a monster season and hopefully get more passing looks, watch for Ford to slide in as the RB2 where he could easily establish weekly flex value this season. He is my favorite target on this list.
Malik Davis, RB, Cowboys
To put in plainly, the Cowboys did nothing to address the lack of depth in their backfield. They signed Ronald Jones and that’s it. Malik Davis looked better than “RoJo” this past year. A forgotten guy from the 2022 draft class, Davis split time with Dameon Pierce at Florida throughout their college time together. Davis averaged 5.2 YPC over the course of his time in the Swamp, and with only 284 college carries to his name, and another 38 last year in his rookie season with the Cowboys, fresh legs shouldn’t be a question.
At 5’10” 207 pounds, Davis has ideal size and can do a little bit of everything from the running back position. While the Cowboys could still add someone via free agency, including possibly bringing back Zeke, there’s a chance you’re getting the Cowboys RB2 for pennies on the dollar. You could do worse at the back end of your startups.
Van Jefferson, WR, Rams
While there is at least a chance the Rams are in the running for a Top 3 pick next season, most of what they have done this off-season points to them trying to compete in 2023. Matthew Stafford is still there, Cooper Kupp should be healthy, and as long as Aaron Donald is playing he will remain one of the best football players on the planet. The Rams wide receiver room outside of Kupp is completely up for grabs. Someone has to be the WR2 there and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jefferson step into that role and make a leap this year.
While Jefferson does most of his damage out of the slot, he is 6’1” 200lbs so he has the size to work everywhere in the formation. He did take a step back last season but it’s safe to say the entire Rams offense did as a whole and once Stafford went down nobody outside of Akers was fantasy relevant. With a healthy Stafford back in the picture and a looming free agency next off-season, there is plenty of motivation for Jefferson to get back to where he was in 2021 and even exceed that. With a clear path to the WR2 role on a team that is probably going to have to pass more than they want to, Jefferson could be the beneficiary of that added volume. He’s basically free in startups.
Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills
I know I know, Dalton Kincaid is the shiny new toy everybody wants in the Bills offense. I agree, Kincaid should be great as a big slot for Josh Allen right out of the gate. But don’t let that be a reason not to take a stab at Shakir late in your startup drafts. All this guy has ever done is produce. After a quiet freshman season at Boise St., he never had under 50 catches any of his other three seasons, capping off his time on the blue turf with 77 catches 1117 yards and 7 TDs as a senior.
The Bills snagged Shakir in the 5th round of the 2022 draft and he didn’t play much last season with Isaiah McKenzie taking most of the slot work. When McKenzie went down for a couple games mid-season last year, Shakir got a shot and showed how easy it is for him to create separation. While he didn’t get a ton of looks in those couple games, he did have three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh in Week 5.
A very crafty route runner, Shakir just knows how to close space quickly and get on top of you. By the time the corner reacts Shakir is cutting the other way and wide open. He does this with regularity and given the Bills penchant for passing the ball for what feels like 100 times a game, there are plenty of targets to go around. The arrival of Kincaid has only made Shakir that much cheaper and with the Bills needing all the help they can get opposite Stefon Diggs, Shakir is one of my favorite late round dart throws.
Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, Panthers
One third of the LSU wide receiver trio that dominated all of college football in 2019, Marshall circled back in 2020 and put up almost the same numbers he did in 2019… but in only 7 games!! After dominating the COVID shortened season with 10 touchdowns in those aforementioned 7 games, he was taken in the 2nd round by the Carolina Panthers 59th overall. While to this point he has had the bad luck of poor quarterback play combined with subpar coaching, he hasn’t exactly looked like the guy that was uncoverable in 2020 at LSU.
Now with Frank Reich and Bryce Young in town, Marshall has a chance to show everyone exactly why he was a 2nd round pick. Even with the additions of Jonathan Mingo in the draft (who was taken 20 spots higher than “TMJ” was), and Adam Thielen and DJ Chark in free agency, this wide receiver room is wide open for targets. There haven’t been many guys ever who throw with anticipation as well as Joe Burrow but Bryce Young is as close as they come in that department. If “TMJ” can build some chemistry with Young throughout camp, he could have the Year 3 jump so many wide receivers tend to have.
Ty Chandler, RB, Vikings
There’s a ton of speculation surrounding Dalvin Cook and whether or not he remains a Viking through the summer. While Alexander Mattison would be the newly minted RB1 in Minnesota were that the case, he hasn’t exactly been able to stay healthy himself throughout his career. Besides that, most teams use two running backs nowadays so you can probably count on a second back being useful in Minnesota. Most people have DeWayne McBride as a big sleeper to be just that for Minnesota and rightfully so but Ty Chandler seems to be a better fit with Mattison and/or McBride for that matter.
What Chandler brings more than the other two is blazing speed. After a great grad senior year at North Carolina, Chandler was selected by Minnesota in the 5th round of the 2022 draft. At 6’0″ 210lbs, he has the size to handle much more than a satellite back role and is actually a great pass blocker, so he won’t have that stopping him from seeing the field. I would not be surprised at all if Chandler ends up the clear RB2 in Minnesota and has a weekly role in a really good offense.
Pierre Strong Jr., RB, Patriots
Ugh, the Patriots backfield. The logic I’ve always used when the idea of investing in this backfield comes to mind is “whoever is cheapest is who I’ll take”. This system has always been known to use multiple backs weekly based solely on matchups and while I do see Rhamondre Stevenson having a good year, I am perfectly fine letting someone else deal with the headache. Pierre Strong Jr. was a 4th round pick in 2022 out of South Dakota St. The only season this guy didn’t go over a thousand rushing yards in college was the COVID shortened 2020 year.
Strong is also a solid pass blocker and receiver out of the backfield. There are plenty of bodies competing for touches behind Stevenson in New England. James Robinson, Ty Montgomery and Kevin Harris are all in the running for that spot. But Strong Jr. is who this front office and/or coaching staff have invested the most draft capital into, and he is also by far the fastest guy out of everyone mentioned. In a good competition, I’m expecting Strong Jr. to be the weekly RB2 and Robinson to be the RB3, while the others will probably be game day inactives or roster casualties in August.
Well, there you have it. Double check those queues in your long drafts, add them off the waiver to stash at the end of your bench but go get a couple of these names. If even one pays off it’s a major profit for you however you decide to use it. I feel like we touched on some guys no one is really mentioning right now but can be absolute steals for you in those last five rounds of your upcoming or ongoing startup drafts. Gotta love football in May!