Focus: Wide Receiver
Overall Draft Pick Order: #2
Quarterback Strategy: Late Round, Streaming
1. David Johnson, Running Back, Arizona Cardinals
There's little doubt in our mind that Johnson is the consensus No. 1 fantasy running back heading into the 2017 season. With Ezekiel Elliott potentially set to be suspended and Le'Veon Bell holding out of camp, there's really no competition here. Whether it's in standard or PPR-heavy leagues, Johnson is the man to look at. Here's a young dude that put up 1,239 rushing yards to go with 80 receptions for 879 yards through the air. He also tallied a league-best 2,118 total yards to go with 20 touchdowns. This led him to finish as the No. 1 overall fantasy player as just a sophomore in the NFL.
2. Rob Gronkowski, Tight End, New England Patriots
Injury issues aside, Gronkowski has proven himself to be the most-dominant pass catcher in the NFL. We're not solely talking tight end, we're looking at wide receiver as well. In just six full games last season, Gronkowski tallied 540 yards. Heck, he averaged a ridiculous 21.6 yards per catch. That came on the heels of two consecutive 1,100-plus yard seasons that saw Gronkowski finish as the top fantasy tight end. We can expect the veteran to miss a game or two this upcoming season, but he's so far ahead of the rest of the pack that it's hard to ignore him early on.
3. Doug Baldwin, Wide Receiver, Seattle Seahawks
Baldwin is coming off the most-productive two-year span for a wide receiver in Seahawks history. It's an amazing realization to come to, especially considering he was a lowly undrafted rookie free agent back in 2011. During this span, he caught an absurd 75 percent of the passes thrown in his direction. Baldwin also put up an absurd 12.2 percent touchdown rate while finishing in the top five among receivers in fantasy consistency. It looks like Baldwin and Russell Wilson has built a strong relationship with one another. Look for that to continue in 2017.
4. Emmanuel Sanders, Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos
Despite less-than-stellar quarterback play last season, Sanders was still able to put up his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. In fact, he proved to be a much more consistent receiving threat that Demaryius Thomas. Think about that for a second before discounting him at the end of the fourth round. In all, Sanders caught 58 percent of the 138 passes thrown in his direction for 1,032 yards and five touchdowns. That was good enough for him to rank as a bottom end WR2 option. Assuming Denver gets better quarterback play in 2017, look for Sanders to build on that.
5. Larry Fitzgerald, Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals
Fitz's fantasy production took a major hit last season. He averaged just 9.6 yards per catch and tallied a lowly 5.6 percent touchdown rate. With that said, he was still able to tally 107 receptions and an absurd 71 percent catch rate. While Fitzgerald has turned into nothing more than a possession receiver at this point in his career, he still provides a ton from a PPR standpoint. With Carson Palmer looking to improve off last year's medicore performance, we're expecting Fitzgerald to potentially end his career on an extremely high note.
6. Dalvin Cook, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings
With Latavius Murray starting training camp on the PUP List, Cook surely has an inside shot at the Vikings' starting job. That's an absolutely huge deal on a Vikings offense which will rely a great deal on the running game with Sam Bradford under center. Sans Adrian Peterson (now in New Orleans), we're pretty darn sure the Vikings will look for a bell-cow back. Coming off a final season at Florida State that saw him tally 2,253 total yards and 20 touchdowns, look for Cook to make an immediate impact in Minnesota.
7. Eddie Lacy, Running Back, Seattle Seahawks
Lacy is just two years removed from two consecutive top-six fantasy finishes. He's now joining a Seahawks team that will look to get back to the basics on the ground after abandoning it last year. Head coach Pete Carroll has said as much this offseason. To add even more intrigue here, the previously out of shape Lacy seems to be in good standing physically after struggling in this aspect of the game. With an injury-plagued Thomas Rawls as his primary competition, we're expecting a huge season out of Lacy in the Pacific Northwest. Heck, a top-10 finish among running backs could be in the cards.
8. Pierre Garcon, Wide Receiver, San Francisco 49ers
Not since Michael Crabtree many moons ago has a 49ers receiver been fantasy relevant. Now that Garcon has joined his former offensive coordinator in San Francisco, we're looking for one heck of a season from the veteran, especially when it comes to a PPR standpoint. Here's a guy that's averaged 83 receptions over the past four seasons and led the league in catches with 113 back in 2013. Garcon is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver in San Francisco with an extremely underrated Brian Hoyer under center. Given what Shanahan did for the Falcons' offense last season, we're expecting a big season from Garcon in Northern California.
9. Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans
Mariota is one of our top fantasy quarterbacks to look at this season. Getting him in the ninth round is an absolute steal. Heck, the former Heisman winner finished as the No. 12 fantasy quarterback last season despite attempting the 22nd-most passes in the NFL. All said, he put up over 3,800 total yards with 28 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. He also finished as a QB1 option in 10 of his 15 starts.
The Rest
10. Terrance West, Running Back, Baltimore Ravens
11. Eric Ebron, Tight End, Detroit Lions
12. Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Detroit Lions
13. Joe Williams, Running Back, San Francisco 49ers
14. Los Angeles Rams, Defense/Special Teams
15. Justin Tucker, Kicker, Baltimore Ravens