5.06 DAL - WR Devin Street
The all-time leading receiver at Pitt, Street fell behind record-breaking
freshman standout Tyler Boyd as a senior. However, as a 6-4 chain
mover, Street makes sense as a nice complement to the field-stretching
Terrance Williams and the game-breaking Dez Bryant. Street is highly
unlikely to ever become a fantasy standout, but doesn't face a lot
of resistance for the third or fourth receiver job in Dallas and
could be worth a fourth-round flyer in rookie drafts.
5.23 KC - QB Aaron Murray
Very, very interesting selection here. Alex Smith is in the final
year of his contract and doesn't offer a ton of huge upside while
Tyler Bray and Chase Daniel may struggle to ever be anything more
than backups. Murray has drawn loose comparisons to Drew Brees in
part because of his size (6-0) and anticipation, but he is a potential
upgrade to Bray and Daniel in the long run. Murray offers no redraft
value because he should begin 2014 as the clear QB3 in Kansas City,
but he is polished enough to overtake Daniel by 2015 and be a starter
- albeit a low-end one - in the NFL by then.
5.24 CIN - QB A.J. McCarron
This pick will generate a lot of talk as a potential starter in
2015, but McCarron brings about the same things to the table as
Andy Dalton did a few years ago out of TCU - a heady, proven "winner"
at the college level who possibly benefited from the wealth of talent
he had around him. More than anything, McCarron's selection gives
the Bengals a capable player to fall back on in the short term in
case Cincinnati and Dalton cannot agree to a long-term contract.
Dalton will almost undoubtedly have a long leash as a starter in
2014 and McCarron offers no redraft value as a result, but the forward-thinking
owner might see the two-time national champion signal-caller as
a player capable of putting up serviceable fantasy QB2 numbers if
Dalton moves on in 2015.
5.36 GB - WR Jared Abbredris
On a run-heavy Wisconsin team, Abbredris somehow managed to post
78 catches in his final season and looked good doing so. Abbredris
is an former walk-on and average athlete, but he carved up Ohio
State first-round CB Bradley Roby in their 2013 meeting and generally
made the big play just about every time the Badgers needed one over
the last three seasons. Abbredris has a history of concussions,
but lands in a wonderful situation for his long-term fantasy potential
and will likely battle fellow rookie Davante Adams for WR4 duties,
which has typically been a place for surprising fantasy value in
recent seasons with the Packers. Jarrett Boykin is locked into WR3
duties for now and Adams is the best talent of the three, but Abbredris
has the chance to be a dependable, chain-moving receiver for a few
years in the NFL and become a low-end fantasy option if a plethora
of injuries strike the Green Bay receiving corps.
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Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and appeared in
USA Today’s Fantasy Football Preview magazine in 2010 and
2011. He is also the host of USA Today’s hour-long, pre-kickoff
fantasy football internet chat every Sunday. Doug regularly appears
as a fantasy football analyst on Sirius XM’s “Fantasy
Drive” and for 106.7 The Fan (WJFK – Washington, D.C).
He is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. |
