Fantasy Football: Best Mid Rounders, Sleepers and Underdogs

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In fantasy football, the team that has the most depth tends to win the Super Bowl. It’s not always about how you start, it’s about how you finish your draft. Anyone can start hot out of the gates in the draft and then make horrible selections after that in the middle to late rounds. After the first five rounds, things start to shape up for building your team. Here are a few really good players to consider in those tricky rounds.

Mike Williams- Receiver- Los Angeles Chargers. Mike Williams is one of the most reliable receivers in football. You can usually count on him gaining over 1,000 receiving yards and more than seven touchdowns. He’s the ultimate steal for your third receiver (or fourth depending on your league’s format). Even as a backup receiver, he’s an obvious go-to option on your fantasy football team.

Cordarelle Patterson- Running Back – Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons’ offense tends to pass more often than run because they’re still searching for the running back that can give them an edge. Patterson is that running back. While no one talks about him being one of the top running backs in the entire league, he has big play excitement every year. It seems like a breakout year is on the horizon. Depth at running back is crucial especially since your starting running back can either underperform or face a devastating, season-ending injury right away. Those of you who draft Christian McCaffrey or Saquon Barkley know this is true as these two running backs have had their share of such injuries, unfortunately.

Kareem Hunt- Running Back- Browns- Speaking of good running backs who get the job done and will be a reliable backup for your team, Hunt is the epitome is such greatness. Most fantasy football players would take Hunt over Patterson because although he’s the number two running back to Nick Chubb, he still gets over 1,000 yards. Also, if Nick Chubb suffers a moderate injury and misses several games, you’ll look back and smile if you drafted Hunt.

Mecole Hardman- Receiver- Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs roster went through a lot of change so it’s hard to tell which receivers will be the favorite pass-catching targets for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Hardman is capable of big-time stats so he should be in your queue for the later rounds.

Alec Pierce- Receiver- Indianapolis Colts: Why on Earth would you take a rookie receiver who’s near the bottom of the rankings for all the rookie receivers this year? This sounds like a bad selection at first perhaps, but think about why you should select Pierce. Pierce was one of the most exciting playmakers in college football this year and only a novice would pass on him in the late rounds. Without T.Y. Hilton in the picture, Pierce is likely the Colts’ number two receiver behind the talented pass catcher Michael Pittman. Matt Ryan is the Colts quarterback and he’s one of the most reliable passers in the league.

Matt Ryan- Quarterback- Indianapolis Colts – This take will shock a lot of fantasy football owners but throw your popcorn and tomatoes just yet. Ryan is one of the most consistent quarterbacks out there and if you’d rather wait until near the last round to take your #2 quarterback, Ryan will be one of the top options remaining. He’s throwing the Pittman and Pierce which will likely be one of the top dynamic duos in the league. Also, running back Jonathan Taylor will keto the pressure off.

Other sleepers and Underdogs to consider: David Njoku- Tight End- Cleveland Browns, Marquez Valdez-Scantling- Wide Kansas City Chiefs, Khalil Herbert- Running Back- Chicago Bears, Trey McBride- Tight End- Arizona Cardinals (rookie).

There are plenty of others but this is supposed to be a challenge! With this knowledge, you can “win” your draft and become the envy of your league. Good luck.