This week we will focus on some sleepers that are currently being drafted outside of the top-150 in Mock Draft Army drafts. When selecting players this late in the draft, your focus should be on guys that have high upside over players with a low ceiling. The purpose of this will be to point some interesting late-round fliers that could make a fantasy impact. For D/ST, they all have a current ADP of 150-plus, so for that section, we bumped it up to 200-plus.

Quarterbacks

Andy Dalton (165.32) had a solid 2016 campaign, finishing with 4,206 yards, 18 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. He was on pace for an ever stronger season prior to A.J. Green going down with injury on his first target of the Bengals tenth game. During the first nine games (when Dalton had Green available), Dalton was averaging 283 passing yards per game, 1.1 touchdowns, and 15 rushing yards. Over the course of the final 7 games (without Green), Dalton averaged just 236 passing yards per game, 1.1 touchdowns, and 8 rushing yards. That drop-off equates to about three less points per week. If you take his first nine games and use that for the full season, Dalton would have scored about 20 more fantasy points which would have moved him from 12th to 7th in fantasy points at the position. Green is back and healthy, making Dalton a nice pick at the back end of drafts.

Tyrod Taylor (177.19) may lack the big passing numbers, and his ceiling may not be exceptionally high, but he does provide consistent fantasy scoring. He is currently being drafted as the 18th QB off the board after finishing last season 9th in fantasy points at the position. Taylor is a great selection for fantasy owners that like to wait until late in the draft for selecting their QB. In two QB leagues, he makes for a very nice QB2. Last season, Taylor had just two games in which he failed to rush for 25+ yards, and he also added six touchdowns on the ground. In the passing attack, he doesn’t turn the ball over, as he threw just six interceptions all season in 2016. For people that are worried about a big fall in production with Sammy Watkins gone, my question is this, how much did Watkins factor into Tyrod’s production? Watkins played just eight games last season and had a line of 28, 430, and two. The Bills also brought in Jordan Matthews to replace Watkins. The biggest factor when looking at drafting Taylor is to know your league settings, as his value can change drastically depending on the settings.

Carson Wentz (186.94) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: Love

Running Backs

Thomas Rawls (149.45). Okay so I cheated a bit here, but his ADP was 152 yesterday, before last night’s mock drafts. I have briefly mentioned Rawls a few times and he is really a nice pick at this ADP. In 2015, Rawls was a rookie sensation, as he averaged 5.6 yards per carry, finishing with 830 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Naturally, he had a lot of hype surrounding him heading into the 2016 season. He was a huge bust, and finished with just 349 yards rushing. So who is he? 2015 or 2016 Rawls? The answer is probably somewhere in between. He is currently battling with Eddie Lacy (79.87 ADP) for lead back duties and has worked with the first team offense on multiple occasions. The fact that there is a chance he could open as the starting running back, makes picking him at these ADP’s, a low-risk / high-upside selection. It is hard to envision a one-dimensional back like Lacy finding success behind the worst offensive line in the NFL.

Jonathan Williams (199.89) is the handcuff to LeSean McCoy but with Mike Gillislee now a member of the Patriots, Williams could have some value this season. Gillislee was the handcuff to McCoy last season in Buffalo and managed to have stand alone value in deeper leagues as he finished with 577 yards and eight touchdowns. While it may be unlikely for Williams to produce those kinds of numbers, it is a good indication that he will have a role with the team as long as he remains the number two option. The other side of the equation is that if something were to happen to McCoy, Williams would vault into the fantasy spotlight. The Bills lean on the ground game and are among the most successful in the league at rushing the football. Last season the Bills finished tops in the NFL at yards before first contact at 2.88.

T.J. Yeldon (230.05) is strictly a handcuff as he won’t see enough touches behind Leonard Fournette to have stand alone value. However, given the nagging injuries that continue to bother Fournette it wouldn’t be surprising to see Yeldon draw a few starts this season, making him a pretty strong handcuff case. Yeldon should be avoided in most drafts, but for deep leagues he is a nice find late in drafts. Fournette is currently dealing with a foot injury, and he also suffered from a nagging ankle injury during his final season at LSU that ended up costing him six games.

Joe Williams (157.66) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: Rookies

Wayne Gallman (228.15) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: Rookies

Wide Receivers

Taylor Gabriel (153.05) really came on last season as the year progressed. After averaging just 21 yards per game in his first five games with zero touchdowns, he averaged 59 yards per game with six touchdowns over his final eight games. Gabriel should be able to make an impact for the Falcons once again this season, as he will be a big part of the passing attack. Despite being behind Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu on the Falcons depth chart, he should still see plenty of action and be able to produce in deep leagues. If an injury were to occur to either Jones or Sanu, Gabriel’s value would sky rocket.

Ted Ginn (158.40) has never been a great talent at the position, but his speed can allow for him to be a fantasy producer despite poor route running and bad hands. He is more of a deep league flier, but with the move over to the pass heavy attacking Saints there could be some sneaky value here. He is currently listed as a starter for the Saints, and should have some big plays this season. Last season Ginn finished with a line of 54, 752, and four playing in a Panther offense that finished with nearly 1,400 less passing yards than the Saints did. He should be able to at the very least produce at the same level he did last season, with some upside for more.

John Ross (161.74) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: Rookies

Tight Ends

Austin Hooper (151.40) is someone that has been the talk of our site, you can probably find about 10+ articles that speak highly of him including one by Steve Pimental completely about him “2017 Fantasy Football Tight Ends: Austin Hooper.” While I may not love him as much as some of my colleagues, I do think he is a nice pick at his ADP. Last season Hooper was completely irrelevant to the fantasy game, with only four games where he produced more than five fantasy points. However, he now heads into his sophomore season, and will be the lead pass catching tight end for the Falcons. The Falcons use Hooper in multiple ways, including the slot, which should help him produce at a much higher level this season than he did last.

Julius Thomas (189.31) was a disappointment in Jacksonville after being a top-tier TE in his time with the Broncos. He now joins the Dolphins looking for a fresh start and attempting to bounce back to when he was one of the more dominant TE’s in the NFL. The Dolphins have failed to have a TE go over the 400-yard receiving mark in each of the past two seasons, but that should change with Thomas joining the team, and Jay Cutler operating as the starting QB. In 2014 and 2015, while starting for the Bears, Cutler used his TE’s at a pretty high rate. In those two seasons the Bears tight ends combined for over 1800 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. At his current ADP Thomas has some nice upside for this upcoming season.

Evan Engram (206.60) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: Rookies

David Njoku (220.92) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: Rookies

D/ST

Los Angeles Rams (210.03) did not perform at a high level in 2016, but should be able to bounce back in 2017 to being a middle-tier defense in fantasy. This season they have six games against offenses that finished in the bottom-ten of points per game in 2016. They also only have two games against offenses that finished in the top-five of PPG last season with one of those teams being the Cowboys. They play the Cowboys in week four when Dallas is expected to be without star RB Ezekiel Elliott who was suspended for the first six games of the season. The Rams should also be better on offense this season which would help the defense stay off the field and give up fewer points. Last season the offense ranked dead last in PPG and was a complete mess. However, Goff is no longer a rookie and the team added Sammy Watkins through trade and drafted Cooper Kupp to help out their young QB. While the Rams may not be a top-end defense this season, they do have some streaming and deep league appeal.

Oakland Raiders (226.76) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: K & D/ST

Atlanta Falcons (237.95) covered in “NFL ADP Analysis & Draft Strategy: K & D/ST