Following ADP can help you get started in the early rounds, but sometimes it’s the late-round dart throws that you take that can help differentiate your roster from the competition. These are generally players that have a couple question marks surrounding them — playing time, role, depth chart, target volume, etc. — but can often be the difference between winning or losing your bestball league. Here are a few of our late round targets that are worth targeting.
Justice Hill, RB (Canevari)
Once we get past the 10th round in bestballs, we are officially in handcuff territory. What you want in a handcuff is a clear path to volume, or to be sitting behind an injury prone/older player. Hill had a great career at Oklahoma State, totaling 31 touchdowns in his 36 games played, and averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Baltimore wants him to have a role and it’s going to be more than just change of pace duties. Mark Ingram is another year older, and just isn’t the pass catcher the Ravens will need while their offense continues to find it’s identity under Lamar Jackson. Hill has found himself in in a great spot, and could even see a time split with Ingram. Of course, one wrong move for Ingram — who turns 30 this season — and you’ve got yourself a home run in Hill with his current 16th round ADP.
Andy Isabella, WR (Buecher)
With draftniks offering a Brandin Cooks comparison, Isabella was a player that caught my eye right off the bat as someone to target in bestball leagues even before the NFL Draft occurred. The UMass product cemented his case joining Kyler Murray in what should be a pass-heavy offense with an abundance of fantasy potential. Sporting a 36.5 percent target share his final year at UMass, Isabella primarily operated out of the slot (47.4% of his snaps) and dominated his competition thanks to his 4.31 speed. Isabella will have to fight his way for targets on a suddenly crowded wide receiver depth chart, but his versatility and speed should get him on the field often enough to put up some big fantasy outings.
Michael Gallup, WR (Canevari)
Gallup is currently going in the 15th round of bestball drafts, which seems odd for a second year player poised to take that offensive leap. Most projections around the industry have Gallup seeing an average of 90 targets in the upcoming season, which would be a great improvement on the 68 he saw just a year ago. It wasn’t a fantastic rookie season for Gallup, but he did manage to gather 507 yards on 33 catches. In the event he can improve upon his catch rate (48.5%), he should be much more productive in Year 2. He’s playing on an improved offense who doesn’t have much competition in the way of targets besides Amari Cooper and the second coming of 37-year-old Jason Witten. Gallup now has an entire offseason to work with the first-team offense and should find himself with increased volume heading into 2019.
Trey Quinn, WR (Buecher)
After taking a backseat to Jamison Crowder and Maurice Harris last season (mostly due to injury), the Washington front office is excited to see what they have in last year’s Mr. Irrelevant, Trey Quinn. Quinn’s role in the Washington offense — primarily operating as a slot receiver — makes him much more of a target for me in full PPR sites. Washington ranked bottom-10 in passes to slot receivers last year, but without a ton of competition at the other receiver spots, it wouldn’t be difficult to project Quinn to ascend and turn this into a valuable fantasy role. Remember, this was the guy that out-gained Courtland Sutton at SMU, topping him in receptions (114), receiving yards (1,236), and touchdowns (13). Playing in an offense bereft of playmakers, there’s a huge opportunity for Quinn to establish himself as a fantasy factor this season.
Dion Lewis, RB (Canevari)
You may remember the second half of last year where Derrick Henry took the fantasy world by storm. He was being used and he was being used often. There’s no question he a had a great end to the year, and is now going in the third round of drafts. Laughably, his pass catching counterpart is going 10 rounds later. In 2018, Lewis saw 214 touches to Henry’s 230. Lewis saw 67 targets to Henry’s mere 18. There is lots of talk about Tennessee establishing the run and featuring Henry, but unless you think Tennessee massively improves their offense and puts themselves in a position to play from ahead, Lewis and his pass catching ability are a zero RB dream in the late rounds.
Ted Ginn Jr., WR (Buecher)
Like a bad habit you can’t kick, I can’t stop taking Ted Ginn Jr. at the end of bestball drafts. Other than DeSean Jackson, Ginn is likely the posterboy for those that talk about “boom/bust” weeks, with him either breaking a big play for a score in a given week or putting up low-key pedestrian numbers. While the Saints have turned to a more run-heavy nature in recent years, we’ve seen they’re still able to go toe-for-toe in shootouts when pressed upon them. That’s when Ginn typically shines. Over the past two seasons, Ginn has averaged over 12.8 fantasy points in games that Vegas projects with a 50-plus total playing inside the Superdome. After neglecting to address the position during this year’s draft, Ginn remains the No. 2 wideout in New Orleans.
Terrelle Pryor, WR (Canevari)
If you want to get real crazy, this one’s for you. Terrelle Pryor’s career has been a roller coaster, from switching to teams, to switching positions, the man has seemingly done it all. The Oakland Raiders drafted him in the third round of the 2011 draft, but the production just wasn’t there. Pryor transitioned to wide receiver, and in his first full season with Cleveland, reached the 1,000-yard threshold on a whopping 140 targets. The story ends in Washington, where no one is really sure what happened, other than he only caught 20 passes before suffering a season ending ankle injury in Week 9. Now that he’s signed with Jacksonville, he could be in for another volume year. Pryor is obviously not a home run, but with Marqise Lee doing “light” work at OTAs, and the injury history for both him and Dede Westbrook, the Jaguars don’t have much depth at the position. The talent is there with Pryor, and if the chips fall his way, the ceiling is massive.
Qadree Ollison, RB (Buecher)
Selected by the Falcons in the fifth round of this year’s draft, Qadree Ollison landed on a roster with the potential for him to log heavy snaps as quickly as Year 1. While there is depth ahead of him on the roster, there’s also plenty of questions surrounding those individuals. Devonta Freeeman’s concussion history and Ito Smith’s lackadaisical rookie debut (just 3.5 yards per carry) could open things up early for Ollison — especially if Freeman were to miss significant time. It wouldn’t be that shocking for the Falcons to form a committee with Ollison as the 1A and Smith as 1B. Ollison is a big (6’-1”, 225-pound) back that best projects as a two-down runner. Last season Atlanta ranked top-ten in points per game and red zone scoring. Ollison is an injury away from operating as Atlanta’s battering ram in the red zone behind one of the league’s top offensive lines. Free in drafts, he’s an ideal RB6 to plug in with your final pick.
