There’s still plenty of time before the 2019 fantasy football season commences, but I’m already seeing some holes in the third round of the fantasy football draft.
I’ve already combed over the first and second rounds, based on early 2019 fantasy football draft rankings by FantasyPros, so here’s my look at the potential 3rd round booms, busts in the early 2019 fantasy football rankings.
Rankings
25. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco
26. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
27. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts
28. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
29. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
30. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
31. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots
32. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
33. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
34. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
35. Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts
36. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Fournette offers the most intrigue
At his best, Fournette is a top-four running back in fantasy football. He’s a three down running back who can contribute in a major way on a weekly basis.
At his worst, he’s not even available, battling with injuries or a bad attitude.
There’s still a lot of time before the season begins, and even in September, I’m not sure if we’ll know which Fournette we’ll see in 2019. 2018 was a disaster, with Tom Coughlin calling Fournette out in the final game.
The Jaguars were all-around bad in 2019, so there’s reason to believe their focus will be back. The talent is still there, so if the Jaguars can return to their form from 2017, then Fournette is a steal.
However, I’m not sure that will be the case. There will have to be a lot of investigative work and the desire to take on some major risk if you believe in Fournette in 2019. There’s hope, but plenty of risk with this pick.
The other running backs were major 2018 contributors
It took awhile for Mack and Carson to show promise in 2018, but in the end, they were highly productive.
Carson tallied double-digit fantasy points in the season’s final seven weeks. Mack went for at least nine fantasy points in six of the final seven weeks.
What will happen in 2019? I’m bullish on Carson’s trajectory. Carson was the most utilized running back in the NFL down the stretch of the season. I anticipate that will continue in 2019, with the Seahawks shifting back to a more physical offensive identity.
That should mean plenty of opportunities for Carson, which should be a boon to any fantasy roster.
Mack, on the other hand, has a little less value. He was good, especially behind a revamped offensive line, but this offense runs directly through Andrew Luck. Seattle and Indianapolis have two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but the Seahawks achieve more consistency by running the ball. Carson should be much higher on your board than Mack.
Is tight end the new quarterback?
I get it, we suddenly love tight ends. With three tight ends totaling more than 1,000 yards in 2018, it’s naturally to start valuing them more than other players in this position.
However, I’m not so sure we should be valuing three tights to be taken in pretty much the first two rounds.
That goes a little far, especially with Kittle playing with a new quarterback in 2019. Kittle was one of the best fantasy options down the stretch, but I’m not trusting him in 2019 to be far and away better than the rest of the tight ends. Maybe, he’ll be a top-three option again, but his production won’t be far enough removed the other tight ends to use this much draft capital.
Some receivers are too highly rated
I love Allen in this spot, especially if I can get him just a little lower, too.
However, there are some other options I’m just not that in love with. Thielen showed last year that he can’t be a top-flight wide receiver when defenses start to focus on him. Even worse, Diggs didn’t turn into the fantasy stud he should have when defenses shifted toward Thielen.
Cooper also shouldn’t be considered this high of a pick either. His quarterback is not a trusted passing commodity, so there are some major bust possibilities in this round in terms of wide receivers.
Hilton offers some value, but if you’re looking for a dynamic WR1, who can be a top-three scorer, Allen is your top choice.
