Fantasy Football 2012: Underrated Players by Position

I am getting very pumped for the start of Football season with the NFL Hall of Fame game kicking off tonight!

The focus of this blog will continue to be weekly betting on College and Pro Football, but I also want to add some Fantasy Football insights. I have been playing Fantasy Football for 15 years and have consistently won titles and a lot of money along the way.

 Anyone interested in higher stakes Fantasy Football can check out , a good site with online and location drafts. In the post below I will breakdown a few of the key players worth targeting this year, aside from the obvious top tier guys by position.

Quarterbacks:

 Matt Ryan - Ranked outside Top 10 on most sites, but expect top 5 numbers. Michael Turner is on the down-slide and the passing game will take more of a focus, now with Roddy White and Julio Jones, two of the NFL's Top 15 Elite WR's. Ryan is always a great option for those choosing to wait on a QB.

 Josh Freeman - After a sophomore slump expect a turnaround and now with Vincent Jackson in the fold and a dynamic rookie RB in Doug Martin, Freeman should find more time to make plays. I expect the Bucs will be behind in a lot of games in that division and will need to air it out, and in Fantasy Football, garbage-time points count just as much. Expect him to be there late in the draft as a suitable backup that can emerge as a starter.

Jake Locker - Deep sleeper here and can probably wait until Free Agency but he deserves the job in Tennessee and was very impressive in the time he played last season as a rookie, and can rack up points running as well, an added bonus. If Kenny Britt stays out of trouble, a big if, he is a top WR and Kendall Wright is a major play-maker. Throw in a reborn Chris Johnson and Jared Cook at TE, and Locker has plenty of weapons.

Running Backs:
 Darren McFadden - I could care less about his injury-risk, he will win you 4 weeks on his own and the Raiders have made a few improvements on the offensive line and the zone blocking scheme will open up big plays. Also, Oakland finally has a QB that can push the ball down-field to a group of speedy WR's and McFadden should have room to run. You can handcuff him with Mike Goodson in the last round.

CJ Spiller - Spiller was impressive in limited time and has big-time play-making ability, and showed flashes of his college days last year. Expect Spiller to push Fred Jackson for touches and become a great flex player this season.

Kendall Hunter - File him under deep sleeper but I liked the way he ran the ball in limited time last year and Frank Gore is not getting any younger. Hunter is a guy to stash and can pay dividends later in the season.

Isaac Redman - Mendenhall starting the year on PUP and Redman has all the skills to become the top RB in Pitt., a team that likes to run the ball.  I prefer him to a lot of these top RB's that will split carries.

I personally feel Trent Richardson is being over-valued in early rankings, and the more interesting rookie RB picks are later round guys like Martin, Hillman, and Turbin to name a few.

Wide Receivers:
 Julio Jones - Impressive rookie season even with injuries and although Roddy White has long been my favorite player in the NFL and consistent fantasy performer, expect Julio to outscore Roddy in points this season. His size/speed combo is impressive and can become a major weapon for what should be a high scoring Falcons offense.

Jeremy Maclin - I like WR's that are consistent and although Desean Jackson makes a lot of the big plays, Maclin is Vick's top target, and is a great second WR to target on draft day. Expect 10 TD's this year and 1,200 yards.

Darrius Heyward-Bey - DHB was labeled a draft-bust by most after a tough rookie season but came on strong last year and has looked great in camp. He combines big play ability with the possession WR that Palmer looks for on 3rd down and should have a career season in a new system.

Randy Moss - All indications are that Moss is impressing in camp, so here is your low-risk with potential high reward pick that should be available later in drafts and may become WR1 in SF where Crabtree is inconsistent and the rookie Jenkins is not NFL-ready despite what Harbaugh may say.

Jordy Nelson - I will take him above Greg Jennings all day long, best WR in Green Bay.

Eric Decker - Peyton Manning has always seemed to have a thing for white-possession WR's and D. Thomas is over-rated, prefer Decker late rounds.

Definitely a few interesting rookie WR's this year available late with Brian Quick a potential WR1 in St Louis, big target Alshon Jeffery in Chicago, and Stephen Hill with the Jets was the most impressive WR at the combine.

Tight Ends:

Jimmy Graham - Not exactly a secret, but just noting he is worth a 2nd round pick and will likely outscore most WR's, so treat him as one on draft day!

Fred Davis - Tight-ends are rookie QB's best friend (RG3), and Davis has all the skills to be a top tier TE. 

Kyle Rudolph - Late round sleeper as a back-up TE, but camp indications are he is looking real good and is a pass-catching tight-end that Ponder may depend on with limited weapons on the outside.

 I will not bother with Kicker's and Defenses and can hopefully get a post up later this week of guys to avoid.