Fantasy Football Value Picks for 2012
Added on Jul 06, 2012 by Scott in
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NFL training camps open in less than a month which means ’tis the season to start studying for your fantasy football drafts. If you haven’t started mocking, you will soon, if for no other reason than to kill and hour on a slow day at the job (provided your place of business doesn’t restrict internet browsing). Nevertheless, there’s plenty of prep work to do before finalizing your rankings. Like for instance, identifying undervalued stars who fell on hard times in 2011.
Michael Vick (Eagles) – Vick was a consensus first-rounder last summer and was even selected number one overall by some notable “experts” (ahem, Matthew Berry). Of course he and the Eagles flopped horribly a season ago, thus making those owners who drafted him look like fools. In reality, Vick’s passing stats were on par, and in some respects better than his amazing 2010 campaign. However, his rushing touchdowns dipped from 9 to one, which severely hampered his production. This is his first full offseason as the Birds starter and he has a presumably happy DeSean Jackson at his disposal, along with LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant and Brent Celek. Even if he misses his standard three or four games to injury, he’s still a potent threat who will be absolute steal in round three or four. Get him if you can.
Andre Johnson (Texans) – A pair of troublesome hamstrings ruined Johnson’s 2011 season, limiting him to only seven starts, 33 catches and two scores. A surefire first-rounder from 2009-2011, he is suddenly sliding down draft boards. Hopefully this trend will continue as owners overreact to his recent swoon. He’s only 31-years-old and is more than capable of rebounding. Is he an injury risk? Sure, but who isn’t. If he’s sitting there in the late second or early third round, don’t hesitate to grab him. When healthy he is on the same level as Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.
Fred Jackson (Bills) – Prior to breaking his leg last November, Jackson was on pace for a 2000-plus total yards season. In short, he was an absolute fantasy beast. Don’t let C.J. Spiller’s kinda sorta decent fill-in duty make you nervous about Fred. The Bills handed their top back a two-year extension in May and have every intention of riding him again in 2012. If anything, Spiller’s presence could be a benefit as he helps keep Jackson fresh. Don’t bank on him as a number one back, but he would make an excellent number two in round four.
Miles Austin (Cowboys) – Like Johnson, Austin was beset by a nasty hamstring injury that plagued him most of last season. He still managed to score seven touchdowns, but his 43 catches was nearly half the number caught in his breakout 2009 season. Dez Bryant is getting the hype, but Tony Romo and Austin have solid chemistry when both are in the lineup. Let someone else reach on Dez while you take the safer of the two options later.
Eli Manning (Giants) – Forget about the two Super Bowl rings. Eli has become a fantasy stud, having tossed for over 4000 yards and 27-plus touchdowns in each of his last three seasons. He’s also durable as hell — started every game since 2005. Plus, Big Blue likes to throw the rock. Providing Hakeem Nicks is healthy for the opener, there’s no reason to believe the littlest Manning can’t post excellent stats again.
