We've covered breakouts, busts, and sleepers - so now it's time to focus on five players we'd absolutely love to take at their current draft positions. We will be over the moon if we leave a draft with all of them on our roster.
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Love rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Brock Purdy is being selected as the 12th quarterback off the board and 95th overall, according to FantasyPros' average draft position (ADP). Purdy is going 25 picks after Caleb Williams, who I believe has similar fantasy upside.
The 49ers signal-caller only played nine games last year but finished the season with a flurry of top-tier performances. In his final six outings of the fantasy football season, Purdy had four weeks at QB6 or better, including two as the position's top scorer. He finished the year with the fifth-most fantasy points per game among quarterbacks.
There's reason to believe Purdy can keep up that level of production. The 49ers added Mike Evans, still have Christian McCaffrey and head coach Kyle Shanahan, and should get a full season out of Ricky Pearsall. George Kittle may miss the start of the season as he works his way back from a torn Achilles, but his recovery seems to be going well, and he could even play in Week 1.
Purdy was third last year in expected points added per play (EPA/play), according to SumerSports, ahead of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford. He rarely gets sacked, consistently records a high completion percentage, and can be effective with his legs to help add a few fantasy points per week.
The safeguards are in place for Purdy to outperform his draft position: He plays for a Super Bowl contender with a fantastic head coach and a great supporting cast. If he appears in all 17 games, he'll lead thousands of fantasy teams to the playoffs.
Love rating: ❤️❤️❤️
After he dominated in the playoffs and was named Super Bowl MVP, the Chiefs made Kenneth Walker III one of the highest-paid running backs in the league with a $43.5-million contract. You don't pay a running back that much money unless you're planning for him to be a huge part of your offense, especially after Patrick Mahomes set a career high in rushing yards last year before tearing his ACL in Week 15.
Kansas City hasn't had a running back with as much juice as Walker since Kareem Hunt's first stint with the team in 2017. Hunt ran for 1,327 yards that season on 272 carries. Walker was fifth in explosive rate (percent of rushing plays that were in the top 10 percentile of yards gained) last year. He should add a new dimension to a Chiefs offense that typically relies on Mahomes' arm.
That offense isn't perfect - it lacks pass-catching options to help Mahomes - but it has a safe floor as long as Andy Reid is in charge. Last season was the first time that Kansas City finished outside the top 15 in points per game since Reid took over in 2013. Walker enters an environment with very little competition and a chance to lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns.
Walker isn't cheap in drafts - at his current ADP, he's the ninth running back off the board and 15th overall. However, he's got a path to finish the year as a top-five back and the potential to be fantasy's top scorer. I'll happily take him at the end of Round 1 - ahead of Saquon Barkley and Ashton Jeanty - and feel great about my RB1.
Love rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The Commanders were a disaster last season, and that seemed even worse after they made the NFC Championship Game in 2024. But people are quick to forget how good Terry McLaurin was two years ago when he scored 13 touchdowns and finished as WR6. Now you're getting a nice discount on Jayden Daniels' top target.
McLaurin sat out training camp last year amid a contract negotiation. After he got paid, he hurt his hamstring and missed seven games. McLaurin and Daniels only played three games together last season.
New offensive coordinator David Blough said he plans to get McLaurin 10 targets per game in a more traditional offense that will have Daniels under center with greater regularity. With Daniels completely healthy heading into the year, McLaurin set to log a full training camp, and a new game plan that will feature McLaurin in the passing game, it makes no sense that he's the 23rd receiver off the board.
Every player carries injury risk, but managers are weighting last season's stats far too heavily in their valuation of McLaurin. He should easily outperform his draft slot if he and Daniels play a full season together, even if the Commanders sign another receiver.
Love rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ladd McConkey took a step back last year after a sensational rookie campaign. He caught 16 fewer passes (66), posted 360 fewer yards (789), and his catch rate fell by nearly 11% despite running 81 more routes. He was WR12 as a rookie and WR29 last season.
But I'm buying the hype about new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. The former Dolphins head coach is bringing his dynamic system to the West Coast with Justin Herbert as his quarterback. Los Angeles will also have Pro Bowl tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater back in the lineup. It's reasonable to predict the Chargers will make a huge offensive turnaround in McConkey's third season.
He also doesn't have much competition on his own team. Quentin Johnston operates exclusively on the outside, and the remaining wideouts on the roster leave much to be desired. Tre' Harris and the two rookies, Brenen Thompson and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, shouldn't take targets away from McConkey. He had a 24.24% target share as a rookie, and that should rise.
The Chargers' offense may go through some growing pains early in the season, so perhaps you can trade for McConkey if you miss out in the draft. But I feel very comfortable reaching for him over Tee Higgins, Zay Flower, and Chris Olave ahead of his current ADP as WR17.
Love rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The biggest reason to love Dalton Kincaid is the fact that he's being drafted as the 12th tight end with top-five upside. After Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, the position is difficult to predict, and there's often little difference in fantasy production between TE5 and TE15. For example, 22 points separated TE3 and T11 last season.
Kincaid struggled to stay on the field last year, but when he played, he was effective. He ranked first in yards per route run at 2.77; he tied for first for targets per route run with McBride, Kittle, and Harold Fannin Jr.; and he was fourth in average depth of target. This suggests that with a full season and a slight uptick from his 14.63% target share, Kincaid is due to break out.
Although the Bills added DJ Moore in the offseason, he's on the decline. The hope is that new head coach Joe Brady sees what he has in Kincaid, reduces Dawson Knox's usage, and allows his third-year tight end to emerge as Josh Allen's favorite weapon.
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