Nobody can win their draft in the early rounds; you win the draft in the late rounds by hitting your sleepers and breakouts. Just ask anyone who took Kyren Williams or Raheem Mostert last season. In the late rounds, I'm not interested in players with low ceilings and safe floors that I will never start. I'm looking for high upside guys that if they hit, they are invaluable assets. Let's dive into five high upside players you can get with ADPs in the 12th round and later.
Jakobi Meyers - ADP Pick 135
Jakobi has been tearing it up in offseason workouts and his ADP is suppressed due to being behind Adams, the addition of Bowers, and the worrisome QB situation. Minshew being named the starter is good news for Meyers, as Minshew was able to lead Pittman to a top 25 WR season last year and D.J. Chark to a WR 16 overall season back in 2019. We're hearing lots of rumbling about Adams being traded this season which if so would open up more targets for Meyers. If Adams isn't traded, then Meyers gets the attention pulled away from him increasing the quality of his targets. There is no depth in the RB room so if White goes down, they will be throwing the ball all around the field. No matter what happens with the Raiders in 2024, Meyers is poised to wildly outperform his WR 55 ranking.
2. Xavier Legette - ADP Pick 152
The Panthers traded up to get their receiver in the 1st round. Thielen will be a safety valve for Young but not a fantasy asset and the Panthers signed Johnson to be a single year stop gap. Legette is the Panthers plan for the future at WR and will look to get him involved early and often. He likely starts slow but will build up more snaps and targets as the season progresses. The Panthers RB room is terrible, even with the addition of Brooks, and that defense is going to allow tons of points. They're going to have to pass the ball, and Legette likely ends the season with more targets than his fellow rookie receivers Xavier Worthy and Rome Odunze.
3. Kimani Vidal - ADP Pick 154
The reports are beginning to swirl about Vidal being relegated to a special team's player. His upside and situation are just too juicy for me to pass up on. Vidal was a beast at Troy and averaged 5.1 YPC. He is a short, powerful back who was a late round draft pick for the Chargers rightfully drawing Austin Ekeler comparisons. The Chargers have shown with every move this offseason that they are going to run the ball at an incredible rate this season. The Chargers decided against getting Herbert an elite receiving option in the draft and instead got the best offensive lineman to help protect Herbert and aid the run. With the 49ers, Harbaugh had the 31st, 31st, 32nd, and 29th lowest passing rate in the league and Greg Roman was either 1st or 2nd in first down run rate each year he was the OC in Baltimore while never dipping beneath 9th in rush attempts. Gus is 29 years old, and we've seen that RBs break down at an incredible rate after they reach that 28-year-old cliff. J.K. Dobbins is coming off a serious injury and has never been able to stay healthy. History shows that Vidal likely sees the field at some point this season and if he does, he might just stay there the next 4 years.
4. Will Levis - ADP Pick 177
The Titans no longer have Henry to feed and Vrabel is no longer there to run the ball until you want to puke. The Titans added the OC from the Bengals to be their new Head Coach along with Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd. Hopkins is still there, and former first round pick Treylon Burks round out the main names in the receiving room. Levis has great receiving options that should help him pay off his ADP as he is the 25th QB off the board. Levis is the QB steal of the draft that is being overlooked and you can capitalize on the value.
5. Troy Franklin - ADP Pick 197
People don't remember all the drop concerns and how Ja'Marr Chase was falling down draft boards before his rookie season, but I was SCREAMING that it was all smoke and that the college connection he had with Burrow would make up for all the concerns once the game starts. He went on to finish as the WR 26 and seriously outperformed his 7th Round ADP. Bo Nix has already won the starting job and instantly gets to bring his favorite college target with him in Troy Franklin. Sutton is great, but chemistry is a huge factor that Franklin will have over all the others. Franklin is very talented and with Sutton pulling the attention away, he is a guy that has the potential to be a weekly flex start for you that you can get at the end of your drafts.
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