A lot of things can happen in the next few months to change these early 2019 fantasy football rankings. Even with the regular season barely over, it’s still worth it to start investigating who will offer some serious value heading into the 2019 fantasy football season.
I’ve already looked at the first round hopefuls, so here’s the potential 2nd round booms, busts in the early 2019 fantasy football rankings.
The Rankings
13. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
14. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
16. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
17. Odell Beckham Jr. WR, New York Giants
18. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
19. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
20. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
21. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
22. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
23. Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
24. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Holy Steelers
Three players from the current Steelers roster are listed among these potential second round fantasy football picks. But will that number be reduced to one by the beginning of the season?
Unless the Steelers orchestrate some major shenanigans, Bell will not be in Pittsburgh next season, meaning he be one of the most interesting picks in the 2019 draft. Do you believe Bell’s volume was increased by his placement in the Steelers offense? Or is he a fantasy football freak?
I tend to lean toward the Steelers offense making him more than him being the major fantasy stud in recent years. Now, if he goes to the right team, his value will shoot up, but he’s lurking in the second round because of the uncertainty. His ADP will likely be higher than his overall ranking by the start of the fantasy football drafts.
That leaves us with Smith-Schuster and Brown as the other Steelers in this lineup. Brown also may be out of Pittsburgh, which would make Smith-Schuster an even more viable threat as a WR1. I like the value I would be getting with Smith-Schuster, with the possibility of nabbing Saquon Barkley, Smith-Schuster, and then possibly Sony Michel in the early third round.
Brown seems to be fading, while Smith-Schuster’s value seems to be getting better with each passing year.
Don’t forget about Johnson
I took the bait in 2018. Johnson was my top draft pick, and that obviously didn’t turn out so well. He wasn’t utilized in the way he was pre-injury and the offensive line was atrocious.
I’m not sure Kliff Kingsbury is going to be a good head coach. However, his offense will probably be much better than what we saw in 2018. That should mean Johnson will be used in the running and passing games. And when he had a talented offensive coach, he was the No. 1 fantasy option.
We do this a lot in fantasy football. One bad year turns into a referendum on a player’s future career. We did this with Todd Gurley a few years ago. Don’t let that happen again with Johnson.
Wide receivers offer some value
As recently as last year, Beckham Jr. was a first-round pick. So while the running backs have seen their draft capital increase, the wide receivers are seeing their value drop.
But when I see their draft number drop, I like to be bullish on their production. Beckham Jr. is a trusted option who will be a WR1. His targets are still monstrous and he offers a consistent option. The same can be said with Hill, too.
Forget about the tight ends
I know that Kelce and Ertz are top-tier tight ends.
But I’m not wasting the draft capital on them. Tight ends are volatile. We saw Ertz’s value diminish greatly with an injured Carson Wentz. And if the league adjusts to the Chiefs offense and the ball continues to be spread around, Kelce may see his targets drop.
There are so many other positions that need your attention that wasting this early of a pick on a tight end doesn’t make sense.
