By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Updated March 13, 2017.
Follow @walterfootball for updates.
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Colts
Hilton was the fifth ranked fantasy wide receiver last season despite only scoring six touchdowns. As long as he has Andrew Luck, he’s going to be given good opportunities in a strong offense. I like his consistency with Luck.
Devonta Freeman, RB, Falcons
Freeman had another strong season and this time it was with Tevin Coleman also getting a lot of work. That’s good to see and as long as the Falcons offense keeps up their amazing play, he’ll be set up to find the end zone despite seeing fewer overall touches as the other top backs. Those fewer touches will remain a question mark for me though and I rather wait a little longer on him if possible.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Texans
This Hopkins pick is likely in the hopes that the Texans will have a working quarterback this season. If it’s Tony Romo, I love this pick and even if it’s not, a scrub off the street could do better for Nuk than Brock Osweiler did last season.
**Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots**
My second pick goes to Rob Gronkowski, who then picks Rob Gronkowski. So far I’m living dangerously with Jordan Howard and now oft-injured Gronk, but I’ll take the hits. Gronkowski is a fantasy championship maker when he’s healthy. He’s also returned from back injuries to put up huge numbers and is still young enough that I feel he should easily be back to 100 percent. It’s a risk, but one I think can win me leagues.
Michael Thomas, WR, Saints
The Saints don’t really have a No. 1 receiver, but it will be tough to keep Thomas from dominating targets this season, especially now that Brandin Cooks has moved on to the Patriots. That trade hadn’t happened when this pick was made, but the rumors were there. Expect Thomas to dominate this year and watch his ADP rise after this Cooks trade.
Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers
Allen is a tough call this year. Of course his injuries the past two seasons are scary, but if you take that out of the equation and guess that he’ll play a whole year, we still have Tyrell Williams and Hunter Henry to take away targets. Allen was a target hog when he played the last two seasons, but they likely will try to spread those targets out a bit more for balance this year. He’s still a top receiver, but his upside isn’t quite what it was the past two seasons.
Jordy Nelson, WR, Packers
Nelson and Mike Evans tied for the No. 1 fantasy wide receiver spot last season, but many seem to be down on Nelson as he does appear to have lost some speed, but of course that didn’t matter much in the red zone with Aaron Rodgers throwing to him. The touchdowns will be there as long as Nelson is healthy, so I like this spot for him.
LeSean McCoy, RB, Bills
I have McCoy higher than this in my rankings, but I can understand people having some injury apprehension. He continues to get dinged up, but still played in 15 games last year. I think the perception of him being injured is overblown and maybe I’m making it up, but he’s been an elite back while on the field the last two seasons and with Tyrod Taylor back in Buffalo, I’d be more than happy getting McCoy here.
Jay Ajayi, RB, Dolphins
Ajayi is also a top back for me and one I considered with Howard in the first round and Gronkowski in the second round. The only thing that scared me off was his lack of receptions, but the talk is that he is going to work on that and they want to get him more involved in the passing game. We’ll see, but he was a beast last year and led the league in missed tackles. His running style could land him on the sidelines more than you want, but I think Adam Gase is going to put this offense in a good position to succeed this year.
Todd Gurley, RB, Rams
I’m stumped. Gurley looked amazing his rookie year with big run after big run, but when he wasn’t breaking those big runs, he was getting stuffed. Then last year hit and no more big runs and only the stuffing parts. If the Rams could somehow get that offence oiled up and moving without needing Gurley to do all the work, I’d be more optimistic, but so far this off season, I don’t see that happening. I’m going to pass on Gurley unless he falls further in drafts.
Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks
I’m a huge Baldwin fan and even though he didn’t live up to my expectations last season, I do blame some of that on Russell Wilson playing through injuries. And he still finished 10th overall in fantasy wide receiver scoring, albeit in an overall down season. With a healthy Wilson, I expect another Top-10 finish for him this year.
Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers
I’m a Hyde fan, but not a 49ers fan. Hyde is a very good back, who has dealt with injuries and if he’s the best offensive weapon on his team, I expect injuries will once again plague him. He needs help and the 49ers have probably the worst overall personnel in the league right now. I need to see that offense get better and fast before I get too excited about Hyde this year.
For a refresher, check out Chet’s MFL10 Primer.
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