Training camp has arrived, and the action is heating up in the Footballguys Players Championship. Remember that fantasy managers are chasing a $500,000 grand prize in drafts going off daily, and I have a front-row seat for all the action as one of the online facilitators of these drafts. If any of the drafters have a connection issue, cannot get into the draft room or experiences any other obstacles in making their picks, I am there in the draft room to assist. In this piece, I want to share a few of the things I have noticed while monitoring these drafts over the last week:
How has Leonard Fournette’s weight affected his draft stock in Footballguys drafts?
We will not know whether Fournette will be a smart selection until after the season ends. However, plenty of drafters were very public in the draft chats I saw about removing him completely off their boards after the report that stated the Bucs running back had his weight rise to nearly 260 pounds. As I always say, “it only takes one drafter” to take him off the board in each draft. That seems to be exactly what happened to Fournette.
While he did dip into the late fourth round in a few Footballguys Players Championship drafts last week, his ADP didn’t change all that much overall. He was selected in the third round a ton and has now settled into a late-second-round/early-third-round pick. With him now reporting to Buccaneers training camp at 245 pounds, most of those weight concerns seem to be a non-issue for drafters going forward.
Which Packers receiver have high-stakes drafters been valuing the most so far?
With Davante Adams taking his talents to Sin City and Green Bay opting not to make a splashy free agent signing or a blockbuster trade, FPC drafters spent the last few months throwing darts at the different players in the Packers’ wide receiver room without zeroing in on one player. That has changed within the last week or so, however.
While Allen Lazard began as a pick solidly in the 11th or 12th round back in May, he has seen a steady rise in his ADP since. I’m not sure if Footballguys Players Championship players assumed that at SOME point, Green Bay HAD to add a receiver and—as a result—decided not to go all-in on any Cheesehead wideout, but it took a couple of months for Lazard to become the de facto number one on the perimeter at Lambeau. He has spent the last week rising to the eighth round, with a couple of players starting to take him in the late seventh.
In regards to the other pass-catchers in Green Bay, Christian Watson is now about four rounds behind Lazard, with Watson’s fellow rookie Romeo Doubs remaining a 20th-round flyer. Randall Cobb is rarely being drafted at all.
Based on recent news, who is a player to watch next week?
We saw a big change on Tuesday as Julio Jones inked a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joining Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Kyle Rudolph, and Cameron Brate in catching passes from Tom Brady. While it is clear that gamers know Jones’ best years are behind him, his new team, offense, and quarterback are tantalizing for fantasy purposes.
Jones is settling into the mid-rounds in his new digs in Florida. In the three drafts I looked at Tuesday night, he went in the 11th, 12th, and 13th rounds. That is not a big sample size, and I expect him to go a bit higher over the next seven days. Either way, he is a person you should be monitoring as the calendar turns to August shortly.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I will see you in the Footballguys Players Championship draft rooms!
Eric Balkman is an online commissioner for live Footballguys Players Championship drafts at MyFFPC.com. He is also the host and producer of The High Stakes Fantasy Football Hour, the RotoViz High-Stakes Lowdown, and the FFPC Live Best Ball Coverage shows broadcast on all FFPC media outlets.
