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USATSI

There was a time when Dameon Pierce was a fantastic late-round target for your Fantasy drafts, but that time ended long before Pierce punctuated a productive first drive of the team's preseason game against the 49ers on Thursday with a touchdown. 

Pierce went 77th in a mock draft we did last week, and I reckon that's going to look like a huge bargain relative to the prices in drafts moving forward. Because, I'm expecting to see Pierce drafted in the first five rounds moving forward, and while I hate to be the stick in the mud … that's just too expensive for my blood.

I wrote about my expectations for Pierce and why I just can't get too excited about him even as the lead back for the Texans … mostly because he's the lead back for the Texans. Lovie Smith does tend to give his RB1 a ton of work, but Pierce enters the NFL as a fourth-round pick who peaked at 106 carries in four college seasons, so … it's hard to project a massive role there. And this was the worst offense in football for running backs last year, too, so it's just a lot working against him.

I didn't mind that bet when the cost was low, but if he's going to cost a fifth-round pick, I'm out. 

But there are still plenty of late-round targets out there to consider. Heath Cummings wrote about a bunch of them in his Deep Sleepers for Every Team column and Dave Richard had his Deep Sleepers this week too, and I have several more for you in today's newsletter. These aren't players who are necessarily going to make an impact in Week 1, but they have upside to make it worth the wait. 

And, of course, we have more help from the FFT squad. Our Fantasy Football Today Draft Guide is here and ready to be downloaded, so head here to check that out

Favorite late-round targets

We're focusing on players with an ADP outside of the top 120, primarily with an eye on some long-range upside, but I'll start with a player I think could be surprisingly useful if you need some Week 1 help. For more late-round targets, make sure you check out Heath's Deep Sleepers for Every Team column from Thursday

  1. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Raiders – ADP: 230.55: Abdullah sat out the last two preseason games and the Raiders are getting rid of Kenyan Drake, so it sure seems like Abdullah is locked in as the pass-catching back here. That's been a very valuable role in a Josh McDaniels offense in the past, so if you need an early-season fill-in for a PPR league, Abdullah could be sneaky useful. 
  2. Nico Collins, WR, Texans – ADP: 138.07: Collins didn't do much as a rookie, but he had one fewer red zone target than Brandin Cooks and it wouldn't be a shock to see the big-bodied receiver emerge as Davis Mills' go-to option down there. By all accounts, he's had a good training camp, and there is very little competition here beyond Cooks. 
  3. Jarvis Landry, WR, Saints – ADP: 141.22: Landry might just be the No. 4 target in New Orleans, but it's also possible he leads the team in targets early in the season if Michael Thomas' hamstring injury lingers and Chris Olave takes a few weeks to get his feet under him. Landry played hurt over the past two seasons for a Browns team that needed him, but we know he can be a useful PPR option when featured. 
  4. Julio Jones, WR, Buccaneers – ADP: 148.13: I'm surprised Jones hasn't seen more of a bump in cost. Granted, we haven't heard much about him in camp, but with Chris Godwin still a question mark for the start of the season, he could be in line for a solid role early on. The smart bet is Jones is more of a Rob Gronkowski replacement than anything, but the idea of him actually having room to operate in the red zone with an elite quarterback is pretty enticing. Jones has still been pretty productive when healthy, posting an above average yards per route run in 2021 after having an elite mark in 2020. 
  5. Raheem Mostert, RB, Dolphins – ADP: 157.54: What buzz there has been about the Dolphins backfield in camp has mostly revolved around Chase Edmonds cementing his place as the primary back, but if Mostert is healthy, it wouldn't be a shock to see him get plenty of work on early downs in an offense he has experience (and success!) in. 
  6. Zamir White, RB, Raiders – ADP: 158.32: You'll probably have to be more patient with White, but if anything happens to Josh Jacobs – or if the team just sours on him after turning down his fifth-year option – White could be in line for a very healthy role. For all we know, White might already have standalone value given how McDaniels has historically divvied up RB work. 
  7. Jameis Winston, QB, Saints – ADP: 180.32: Winston was off to a better start to his Saints career than you remember, because they just didn't throw very often. He had a solid 7.3 yards per attempt and 14 touchdowns in seven games and should be in line for a nice boost in volume with a healthier receiving corps. He could be in that Derek Carr/Kirk Cousins range by the end of the season and I wouldn't be surprised. 
  8. Gerald Everett, TE, Chargers – ADP: 186.78: Donald Parham was getting some buzz early in camp, but he has had trouble getting on the field. Everett's role as the lead tight end seems locked in to me, and that role saw Jared Cook earn 83 targets last season. I'm willing to bet Everett can best Cook's 48-564-4 line, and there's TE1 upside here. 
  9. Eno Benjamin, RB, Cardinals – ADP: 195.91: I'm surprised Benjamin is going as late as he is, because I think there's a pretty good chance he's the Cardinals RB2. That may not mean quite as many touches as Chase Edmonds had a year ago, but it could put him one James Conner injury away from being the lead back in an offense that produces a lot of Fantasy points for running backs. And injuries have not been a rare occurrence for Conner in his career. 
  10. Dontrell Hilliard, RB, Titans – ADP: 245.94: Neither Titans running back has much standalone appeal when Derrick Henry is healthy, but I'm surprised Hilliard is being drafted later than Hassan Haskins when they've been drafted at all. Hilliard has apparently had an excellent training camp, per The Athletic's Joe Rexrode, who named him the clear option to have behind Henry. Given that Henry's an older back coming off a significant injury, Hilliard's chances of making an impact are probably better than you think. 
  11. Curtis Samuel, WR, Commanders: I can't give up on Samuel. The last time we saw him healthy he had 1,051 total yards in 15 games with the Panthers, and he was top 10 in the NFL in air yards while adding 19 carries the last time he played with Ron Rivera. There's competition in the form of rookie Jahan Dotson, but I like Samuel's post-hype breakout status after a lost first season reuniting with Rivera. 

And now, here's everything you need to knock out your draft this weekend, with my updated top-200 rankings available at the bottom of the newsletter. I try to keep this newsletter from being a big dump of links, but in this case, utility wins out. Here's a big dump of links to everything you need to know about: 

Sleepers, Breakouts & Busts

Here's where we're planting our flags this season.

QB Preview

RB Preview

WR Preview

TE Preview

Team Previews

Pick-by-Pick Strategies

Mock Drafts

Dynasty Corner

Rankings

Dynasty Quarterback Rankings 8/17
Dynasty Running Back Rankings 8/2
Dynasty Wide Receiver Rankings 8/10
Dynasty Tight End Rankings 8/19
Dynasty Top 150 and Trade Chart 8/24
Dynasty Rookie-Only Rankings 8/24

Tiers

Dynasty Quarterback Tiers 8/18
Dynasty Running Back Tiers 8/3
Dynasty Wide Receiver Tiers 8/11
Dynasty Tight End Tiers 8/22

Mock Drafts

Superflex start-up mock 7/13
One-QB Start-up mock 7/1
One-QB start-up mock 5/19
Superflex start-up mock 5/12 
One-QB rookie-only mock 5/3
Superflex rookie-only mock 4/19
Rookie-only mock 4/12
Superflex start-up mock 4/1
One-QB start-up mock 3/30
Superflex start-up mock 2/17
One-QB start-up mock 2/10

Updated top-200 rankings

No kickers and defenses. Sorry. I go on a week-by-week basis with those positions 99% of the time. 

  1. Christian McCaffrey
  2. Cooper Kupp
  3. Jonathan Taylor
  4. Austin Ekeler
  5. Justin Jefferson
  6. Alvin Kamara
  7. Dalvin Cook
  8. Travis Kelce
  9. Davante Adams
  10. Ja'Marr Chase
  11. Najee Harris
  12. Stefon Diggs
  13. D'Andre Swift
  14. Derrick Henry
  15. Saquon Barkley
  16. Joe Mixon
  17. Tyreek Hill
  18. Leonard Fournette
  19. Mark Andrews
  20. Aaron Jones
  21. CeeDee Lamb
  22. A.J. Brown
  23. Josh Allen
  24. James Conner
  25. Javonte Williams
  26. Deebo Samuel
  27. D.J. Moore
  28. Mike Evans
  29. Tee Higgins
  30. Nick Chubb
  31. Keenan Allen
  32. Brandin Cooks
  33. Kyle Pitts
  34. Ezekiel Elliott
  35. Diontae Johnson
  36. Patrick Mahomes
  37. Lamar Jackson
  38. Michael Pittman
  39. Travis Etienne
  40. Justin Herbert
  41. Mike Williams
  42. Jaylen Waddle
  43. Marquise Brown
  44. Breece Hall
  45. Chris Godwin
  46. Terry McLaurin
  47. Allen Robinson
  48. DK Metcalf
  49. David Montgomery
  50. Cam Akers
  51. A.J. Dillon
  52. Michael Thomas
  53. JuJu Smith-Schuster
  54. Darnell Mooney
  55. Devin Singletary
  56. Gabriel Davis
  57. Jerry Jeudy
  58. Josh Jacobs
  59. Elijah Mitchell
  60. Kyler Murray
  61. George Kittle
  62. Robert Woods
  63. Rashod Bateman
  64. Darren Waller
  65. Adam Thielen
  66. Amon-Ra St. Brown
  67. J.K. Dobbins
  68. Miles Sanders
  69. DeAndre Hopkins
  70. Jalen Hurts
  71. Kareem Hunt
  72. Courtland Sutton
  73. Elijah Moore
  74. Kadarius Toney
  75. Amari Cooper
  76. Chase Edmonds
  77. Dak Prescott
  78. Drake London
  79. T.J. Hockenson
  80. Tyler Lockett
  81. DeVonta Smith
  82. Russell Wilson
  83. Brandon Aiyuk
  84. Dalton Schultz
  85. Joe Burrow
  86. Tom Brady
  87. Tony Pollard
  88. Hunter Renfrow
  89. Rashaad Penny
  90. Damien Harris
  91. Antonio Gibson
  92. George Pickens
  93. Jahan Dotson
  94. Chris Olave
  95. Matthew Stafford
  96. James Robinson
  97. Trey Lance
  98. Aaron Rodgers
  99. Julio Jones
  100. Allen Lazard
  101. Clyde Edwards-Helaire
  102. Rhamondre Stevenson
  103. Dameon Pierce
  104. Kirk Cousins
  105. Chase Claypool
  106. Michael Carter
  107. Dallas Goedert
  108. Christian Kirk
  109. Kenneth Gainwell
  110. Garrett Wilson
  111. Isaiah McKenzie
  112. Nico Collins
  113. Melvin Gordon
  114. Skyy Moore
  115. Albert Okwuegbunam
  116. Rondale Moore
  117. Derek Carr
  118. Treylon Burks
  119. Cordarrelle Patterson
  120. Zach Ertz
  121. Trey Sermon
  122. Romeo Doubs
  123. DeVante Parker
  124. Jamaal Williams
  125. Tyler Boyd
  126. Jarvis Landry
  127. Alexander Mattison
  128. K.J. Osborn
  129. Pat Freiermuth
  130. Russell Gage
  131. Justin Fields
  132. Brian Robinson Jr.
  133. Nyheim Hines
  134. Marquez Valdes-Scantling
  135. J.D. McKissic
  136. James Cook
  137. Jameis Winston
  138. Mike Gesicki
  139. Irv Smith
  140. DJ Chark
  141. Kenneth Walker III
  142. David Njoku
  143. Donovan Peoples-Jones
  144. Sammy Watkins
  145. Cole Kmet
  146. Raheem Mostert
  147. Kenyan Drake
  148. Jakobi Meyers
  149. Jameson Williams
  150. Sterling Shepard
  151. Noah Fant
  152. Michael Gallup
  153. Gerald Everett
  154. Darrell Henderson
  155. Tua Tagovailoa
  156. Christian Watson
  157. Isaiah Spiller
  158. Tyler Allgeier
  159. Van Jefferson
  160. Braxton Berrios
  161. Daniel Jones
  162. Alec Pierce
  163. Kenny Golladay
  164. Marcus Mariota
  165. Josh Palmer
  166. Tyler Higbee
  167. Trevor Lawrence
  168. Zamir White
  169. Jalen Tolbert
  170. Curtis Samuel
  171. Eno Benjamin
  172. Velus Jones Jr.
  173. Mitch Trubisky
  174. Wan'Dale Robinson
  175. Austin Hooper
  176. Dawson Knox
  177. Joshua Kelley
  178. Ryan Tannehill
  179. Hunter Henry
  180. Matt Ryan
  181. Isiah Pacheco
  182. Carson Wentz
  183. Mac Jones
  184. Evan Engram
  185. Ameer Abdullah
  186. D'Onta Foreman
  187. Devin Duvernay
  188. Baker Mayfield
  189. Cedrick Wilson Jr.
  190. Nelson Agholor
  191. Logan Thomas
  192. Corey Davis
  193. Parris Campbell
  194. Hayden Hurst
  195. James Washington
  196. Quez Watkins
  197. Robert Tonyan
  198. Zay Jones
  199. Mike Davis
  200. Kyren Williams