Been seeing these guys pop up on Twitter and various podcasts.
Shaheed - efficiency metrics off the charts last year and now has a real QB
James - under the radar production and now goes to the Chiefs
Hodgins - listed as the WR1 for the Giants and was one of the top fantasy WRs down the stretch last season
Thoughts on these 3 and would you add anybody to the list that has an ADP after WR50?
All 3 are worthy dart throws.
• Shaheed - I like the player, but it’s a bit of a crowded receiving room, and Carr isn’t quite good enough to support big production from multiple WRs. There’s a chance he & Shaheed develop a connection, but if (and it’s a big if) Michael Thomas plays, Olave, Thomas, & JuJohnson should hoover up most of the targets in what I expect to be a not particularly prolific passing game.
• James - like you said, sneaky production. With the Chiefs it’s all about opportunity though. They seem bullish on Skyy Moore, and MVS is still there. They also have Toney (for as long as he can stay healthy) and Justin Watson. And all the WRs are arguably 2nd ~> after Kelce in the receiving pecking order. So ok, let’s say James secures the WR3 role ahead of Moore, after MVS & Toney. He’s still the 4th option in that passing offense. Maybe the 5th after McKinnon. Could see a boom game or two - maybe a good best ball target. But for standard scoring I wouldn’t waste a roster spot, barring injury to multiple WRs ahead of him.
• Hodgins - I like him the best if the listed options, but the Giants aren’t a particularly prolific passing offense. Still, of the 3 he has the best opportunity, will likely have the largest target share, and I could see him having a fine FF WR3 season. That’s if Danny 2-nickels doesn’t regress, and I’m not convinced he won’t. The Barkley issue is also concerning as IMO he’s the engine that makes that offense work.
Others past WR50 (using draft sharks WR ADP)
• Doubs (60) could well emerge as GB’s WR1, possibly “1B” and at the least WR2 for what could be a surprisingly competent offense.
• DJ Chark (63) should be taken higher, IMO. Adam Thielen is ancient, and Chark is a bit underrated. He’s got a pretty complete skill set & not a lot of competition for targets in what should be an interesting CAR offense.
• Hunter Renfrow (67) - injuries completely derailed his 2022 season, and everyone seems to have collective amnesia about how good he was in 2021. He’s still fairly young, and assuming JimmyG is ok ,Renfrow should be Jimmy’s favorite target. IMO Adams isn’t a great fit for Jimmy’s noodle arm. And there remains the potential of Renfrow getting traded to a better team.
• KJO (62) - nobody wants KJO. Nobody cares about KJO. You can’t give away KJO in a trade. But KJO had a low key decent season last year, and that MIN pecking order hasn’t yet been established. He could well be the WR2 in MIN this year. Rookie WRs don’t always hit the ground running in the NFL On that potential alone he’s worth a speculative pick as a WR4-5-6 depending where he falls in your drafts.
that said, WR50 isn’t really all that deep. But these are definitely players I like more than some in the top 50.