Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Review 81-100

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Review: 81-100

Well, we made it. This is the last installment of our dynasty fantasy football rankings review.

In the fifth and final piece, we’ll go over the players ranked 81st through 100th in our consensus top 200 dynasty fantasy football rankings.

This series started with a player-by-player look through the top 20 and continued with those ranked 21st through 40th and then 41st through 60th. In the last piece, we hit up the players who sit 61st through 80th.

Sure, the final 20 playerausts of the top 100 aren’t going to be as exciting as the previous installments, but someone on this list will likely end up being valued as a top-50 or possibly even top-25 dynasty asset 12 months from now. Looking at our average draft position (ADP) data from August of 2016, Jay Ajayi, Willie Snead, Martavis Bryant and DeMarco Murray were all coming off the board after the first 80 picks, and those four have each seen their values rise significantly over the last calendar year.

Let’s dig into the players ranked 81st through 100th.

81) Evan Engram, TE, NYG

In most draft classes, Engram would likely be the clear-cut top tight end, but he’s ranked behind fellow rookies O.J. Howard and David Njoku, although they’re all fairly close. Engram is in the mold of Jordan Reed as a super athletic 6-foot-3, 240-pound “move” tight end. He landed in a pretty nice situation with Eli Manning and the Giants, filling a huge need for the team. As usual, don’t expect much from rookie tight ends in their debut season, but Engram has a chance to emerge as a long-term sidekick to Odell Beckham.

82) John Ross, WR, CIN

The fact a rookie wideout who was taken ninth overall in the NFL draft is being valued way down here tells you the dynasty fantasy football community has some concerns with Ross. There’s no perfect formula to predict NFL success, but it’s a little troubling Ross only had one quality season at Washington. It was a monster year, though, as he made 81 catches for 1,150 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2016. That touchdown total is mighty impressive, especially for an undersized wideout. Cincinnati is a solid landing spot. The Bengals have a good offense when everyone is healthy, but they also have an opening out wide for a speedster. Ross could wind up being like a DeSean Jackson-type in the sense he could be a more valuable real-life player than fantasy asset as a deep-ball threat who creates space for others.

83) Tyler Lockett, WR, SEA

Lockett’s gruesome leg injury in 2016 masked the fact that he was quietly starting to emerge as the Seahawks’ number-two wideout. Across his final six full games (not counting his injury-shortened game in Week 16), Lockett saw at least six looks in five contests, something that had only happened once in the eight games prior. His rehab progressed quickly, and he’s already been activated off the PUP list. The only thing keeping Lockett from truly breaking out is a low-volume role in a run-first offense, but his standing with Seattle was trending upwards last season. Lockett could be in store for a jump in production and value in 2017.

84) Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG

Well, it didn’t take long for the dynasty community to cool on Shepard. He had an ADP of 47th overall 12 months ago, and I think his drop in value makes him a great buy right now. Shepard had a decent rookie campaign, posting a 65-683-8 line, but his 2017 outlook takes a hit with the arrival of Brandon Marshall. However, Marshall is 33, and there are no guarantees in his contract after this season. Shepard still profiles as the long-term number-two receiver with the Giants, and he should be a solid PPR producer in future years.

85) Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN

Earlier this off-season, Bernard was one of my favorite buy-low targets. Well, Cincy went out and drafted Joe Mixon is the second round. That’s obviously not a great thing for Bernard’s outlook, but it’s made him cheaper, and I think he can still have a meaningful role with the Bengals. As a pass-catching maven, Bernard’s skillset is very valuable in today’s NFL. He appears to have already recovered from last season’s torn ACL, and I think the arrival of Mixon hurts Jeremy Hill’s value a lot more than it does Bernard’s. We’ll have to see how things shake out in the Queen City, but a running back with Bernard’s pass-catching ability will emerge somewhere if he ends up getting pushed out of Cincy in future years.

86) Kenneth Dixon, RB, BAL

It’s been pretty much a nightmare off-season for Dixon. He didn’t play too badly as a rookie, but he was popped for PEDs this spring and suspended four games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He’s probably being valued a lot cheaper than this in some leagues, and it makes sense to price check. Neither Danny Woodhead nor Terrance West figure to be the long-term solution in Baltimore, and Dixon did show fairly well in 2016, picking up 4.2 yards per run on 88 carries and hauling in 30 of 41 targets.

87) Brandon Marshall, WR, NYG

Marshall is only valued a few spots behind Shepard, his new teammate, despite their massive age difference. That’s a little puzzling to me, even as someone who typically appreciates veteran production more than most. It’s hard to know how much of Marshall’s poor 2016 campaign was his fault or if he got sucked into the dumpster fire that was the Jets. Marshall is 33, but as a receiver who wins with physicality as opposed to speed and quickness, he may age better than most. His value has really bounced around in recent seasons, but the end of the road has to be coming soon, even if he puts up solid numbers this fall.

88) Doug Martin, RB, TB

Speaking of players whose value has been all over the place, Martin is the poster child for that. He’s been as high as you can get, once in the conversation to be the top overall pick, and he’s been a buy-low option more than once. He may be a buy-low option again, or his best days might be behind him — I’m not sure, to be honest. Martin was really bad last season, gaining a meager 2.9 yards per carry on 144 attempts, but he’s shown the ability to bounce back from bad seasons. Tampa Bay has no shortage of backfield options, however, and Martin may be on a short leash. Simply put: he’s a very difficult player to rank, but I’d be hesitant to invest right now.

89) Laquon Treadwell, WR, MIN

As a youngster at Ole Miss, Treadwell appeared to have the combo of size and physicality we love to see in top receivers. But he got picked apart in the predraft process, and so far, it appears his detractors were right. In fairness, though, 2016 was Treadwell’s rookie year, and he barely played, although that in and of itself is a little worrisome. There’s still plenty of time for him to turn things around, but there have been very few positives for him in the past 12 months.

90) Jeremy Maclin, WR, BAL

Maclin was a surprise cut by the Chiefs, and he landed on his feet in Baltimore. Overall, it looks like a sweet landing spot as the team had some opportunity up for grabs with Steve Smith retiring. Maclin blew up with 1,318 yards and 10 scores in 2014, but he’s regressed each year since, including an underwhelming 44-536-2 line in 12 games last season. Maclin is still just 29, and he figures to see solid volume this year.

91) Breshad Perriman, WR, BAL

Maclin’s new teammate, Perriman was a popular breakout candidate before the Ravens signed Maclin, because it appeared the third-year wideout was in line for a big workload. Now, he’s likely stuck behind Maclin and Mike Wallace, although the price to acquire him is probably a little easier to stomach now than it was this past spring, before Maclin was signed. Perriman still offers an enticing blend of size and speed, and Baltimore has led the league in pass attempts in each of the past two years. Perriman flashed last season with 15.1 yards per catch, and even though 2017 will be his third campaign, he missed all of 2015 with injury and he’ll turn just 24 in September. It’s too early to write off Perriman, but we need to see some kind of jump in 2017. A recent hamstring strain doesn’t help matters.

92) Will Fuller, WR, HOU

As a rookie, Fuller was pretty much as advertised — a superb deep-ball threat with shaky hands. He started his career with a bang, posting back-to-back 100-yard games in Weeks 1 and 2 last year. That’s where the good feels end as Fuller failed to go over 81 yards in any game the rest of the way. Now, he’s out for a while with a broken collarbone. Houston should get better quarterback play moving forward, but like we said with Ross, Fuller may always be a better real-life (and best-ball) player than fantasy producer due to running a lot of low-probability routes, although he could be a week-winner when he hits on those big plays.

93) Cameron Meredith, WR, CHI

I’m not sure people understand how good Meredith was last year. He started playing regularly in Week 5, and from then on, he finished as a weekly WR1 (top-12 receiver) five times. For reference, DeAndre Hopkins had one top-12 week all of last year. Davante Adams had three, and Jamison Crowder had two. Am I cherry-picking numbers? A little bit. But Meredith was legitimately good in 2016, and he’s not being valued like a young, promising wideout who has already delivered the goods on the field. I have him as a top 25 receiver, and I’d take him over every receiver we’ve touched on today. It’s not hard to envision a scenario in which Meredith leads the Bears in targets in 2017, and I’m trying to gobble up shares wherever possible.

94) Matt Ryan, QB, ATL

Ryan piloted a historically great Falcons offense a season ago on his way to winning the MVP award. He was outstanding last year — no question — but it’s fair to wonder if he can maintain that level of play considering he set career-best marks basically across the board, by a huge margin in a lot of departments. We have eight years of performance before last season that tells us Ryan isn’t quite as good as his 2016 display, and he’s almost certainly due for regression in the touchdown department as his 7.1 percent touchdown rate was miles ahead of his 4.7 percent career average. We have him ranked as QB7, which is probably fair, but in a one-quarterback league startup, I’m not sure I’d spend a top-100 pick on a quarterback, especially with all the solid options available much later.

95) C.J. Prosise, RB, SEA

Prosise teased us with mouth-watering play-making ability in the brief glimpses we got from him in 2016. He gained 172 yards on 30 carries, good for a sparkling 5.7 yards per attempt, and he added 17 catches for 208 yards. There’s certainly a lot of competition in Seattle’s backfield with Thomas Rawls and now Eddie Lacy in the mix, but Prosise — if he can stay healthy — may have the most secure role of any of them as the team’s preferred passing-game weapon.

96) JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, PIT

A little bit like Treadwell, Smith-Schuster was a devy darling in his early college years, but he didn’t progress the way everyone anticipated. Still, he was a second-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, and he’s just 20 years old. Pittsburgh has one of the game’s best offenses, but Smith-Schuster will likely have a tough time seeing enough volume to be a relevant fantasy producer in the near future if Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant are all rolling. Bryant, of course, is far from a sure thing, but it looks like Smith-Schuster will get some time to hone his craft, which isn’t a bad thing. He’s a long-term investment for dynasty owners, and he’s one who could pay off in a big way if he gets significant playing time before Ben Roethlisberger retires.

97) Pierre Garcon, WR, SF

Garcon’s ceiling is likely capped a bit by what could be a pretty putrid 49ers offense, but he offers a pretty nice floor as a wideout who should be targeted heavily. Over the past four seasons, Garcon has averaged 83 catches and 979 receiving yards per year, including a monster 113-1,346-5 campaign in 2013 with Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator. That doesn’t mean he’ll put up those numbers again in San Francisco, but Shanahan knows what he has in Garcon, and the Niners aren’t exactly overflowing with pass-catching options.

98) Eric Ebron, TE, DET

Ebron has breakout written all over him. Amazingly, he finished as the PPR TE14 last season despite scoring just one touchdown, so with some better red-zone luck, 2016 would’ve been his breakout. The departure of Anquan Boldin may not seem like a huge deal, but Boldin accounted for an eye-popping 26.19% of the Lions’ red-zone targets last season, opening up tons of golden opportunity for Detroit’s pass catchers. Entering his age-24 season, Ebron is due for some better touchdown luck, and there are a whole mess of red-zone targets up for grabs. He could be viewed as a top-five dynasty tight end 12 months from now.

99) Kenny Britt, WR, CLE

Similar to Garcon, Britt is a boring, older receiver who doesn’t have a ton of upside but possesses a decent floor. I like those types of players quite a bit, and even though Britt isn’t the smashing value he was when I wrote him up as a buy-low option earlier this off-season, I do think he’s still a tad underappreciated. Cleveland isn’t an offensive powerhouse by any means, but the Browns’ offense can’t be much worse than the Rams’ attack was in 2016. Britt was able to overcome his crappy situation last season and post a 1,000-yard campaign, going for career-best clips in catches (68) and yards (1,002). Corey Coleman is the better long-term prospect for obvious reasons, but Britt could very easily be Cleveland’s top wideout in 2017.

100) DeSean Jackson, WR, TB

Jackson’s playing style and ensuing week-to-week volatility make him a frustrating wideout to own, but if you’re in a league with deep starting lineups, D-Jax can be a solid producer for your fake squad if you just let him own a flex spot and exercise patience with his boom-or-bust ways. Jackson has totaled at least 1,005 receiving yards in each of the past three years in which he’s played at least 15 games. He’s really good at what he does, and he left a nice situation in Washington for another nice situation in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are an up-and-coming offense, and Jackson should operate as their clean number-two option in 2017. Things get murkier for 2018 and beyond as O.J. Howard — or Chris Godwin — could emerge, but Jackson should return solid numbers again this year if he stays healthy.