Finding starting quality players late in the draft can be the key to winning your fantasy league. In this article we are going to look at players currently going undrafted according the Fantasy Pros ADP. In this case we’re looking at players with an ADP greater than 180 (undrafted in standard 12 team, 15 round draft). All ADPs are accurate as of the 19th July.
Desmond Ridder, QB Atlanta Falcons
ADP: 194
The best of the undrafted QBs for week 1 looks to be Desmond Ridder. Ridder started the final 4 games of the 2022 season and whilst there wasn’t fireworks he did protect the ball well. He throw zero interceptions over his four starts and put up 50 points over the final two.
Going into year two his supporting cast has been bolstered by do-it-all back Bijan Robinson, the 8th overall pick in the draft. Ridder should also benefit from a fully fit Cordarelle Patterson, who missed 4 weeks with a knee injury last season. With Robinson leading the backfield we may see a return to his highly-effective 2021 usage for Patterson.
With two dynamic players out of the backfield alongside Kyle Pitts and Drake London, Ridder has a solid receiving corp to work with. He also has the potential to add some production on the ground, especially if defensives key on Robinson too aggressively.
First up for the Falcons is a home game against the division rival Carolina Panthers. The Panthers weren’t a bad draw for quarterbacks in 2022, giving up the 11th most points to the position in standard scoring leagues. The Panthers did add Von Bell in free agency to bolster their secondary, but there should be a huge jump in performance on defence. Ridder is worth considering as a streaming option for week one, especially for managers gambling on Kyler Murray returning at 100% this season.
Michael Gallup, WR Dallas Cowboys
ADP: 184
2022 was a season to forget for Michael Gallup. In a wide receiver room with no competition behind CeeDee Lamb, Gallup managed just 39 catches, at a career low 10.9 YPC, and 4 touchdowns. The mitigate circumstances include the Cowboys’ increased focus on the run game in 2022 and a torn ACL that suffered in Week 17 of 2021 that also cost him the first three weeks of the 2022 season. Gallup was clearly still affected by the injury and it remains to be seen whether he can improve physically over this offseason.
The Cowboys have also added Brandin Cooks to the wide receiver room who should be the WR2 opposite Lamb going into the season. However, there are plenty of questions at tight-end with Dalton Schultz moving to the Texans. Projected starter, Jake Ferguson, didn’t get many opportunities in 2022, but flashed receiving talent en-route to 19 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown. Rounding out the receiving threats is rookie tight-end Luke Schoonmaker who came out of the draft with question marks about his ability to step up to the pro-level.
Historically, the Dak Prescott led Cowboys offence has been able to support three fantasy relevant wide receivers. The Cowboys offence should return to a more pass heavy approach in 2023, increasing the available targets. In the backfield, lead back Tony Pollard is returning from a broken leg whilst Zeke is currently a free agent. The current back-ups to Pollard don’t inspire much confidence, but adding a free agent over the summer wouldn’t be a huge surprise.
The expected move to a more pass heavy offence should see more 3WR formations and more passing volume in general. There appears to be a role available for a big bodied receiver in the red zone and the short to intermediate passing game. Dalton Schultz accounted for 89 targets overall and five touchdowns, in the red-zone he drew 20% of the teams targets (15). If Gallup can improve physically another year removed from his ACL injury and, succeed in contested catch situations, he has the potential for 800+ yards and 7-10 touchdowns.
Parris Campbell, WR New York Giants
ADP: 198
Next, we look at another NFC East wide receiver in Parris Campbell. Coming out of college in 2019 Campbell was a well thought off receiver, going in the 2nd round of the draft running 4.32 in the 40yd dash at the Combine. However, he has been repeatedly struck by injuries during his time with Colts, playing his first full season in 2022.
In his 5th season, Campbell joins a Giants offence headline by Saquon Barkley in the backfield and Darren Waller at tight end. Beyond those two it’s all up for grabs. Darius Slayton and Isiah Hodgkins look the most likely to start on the outside to start the season and rookie Jalin Hyatt will certainly be involved. However, Sterling Shepherd and Wandale Robinson are both returning from ACL surgery.
As it stands it looks like Campbell should get first crack at the slot receiver role whilst Shepherd gets up to speed and Robinson potentially lands on injured reserve. However competition over the middle from Waller and Hyatt possibly seeing time in the slot may limit the number targets Campbell can expect.
Campbell’s profile as receiver projects well to a role in the slot. Alongside speed, he brings excellent burst (1.52s 10yard split) which was used to good effect in Indianapolis. He ran a lot of crossing and quick breaking routes underneath to get the ball in his hands. He did well after the catch as well generating 4.4 yards after the catch on average.
Adding further interest to Campbell’s potential role, he has been used as out of the backfield during OTAs. He’s taken some carries and ran routes from the backfield, and that addition could boost his touches enough to be a fantasy value. With Saquon in the backfield, he isn’t going to be 2021 Cordarelle Patterson, but in a best case scenario he could see 100+ touches in a hybrid slot/backfield role.
Gus Edwards, RB Baltimore Ravens
ADP: 203
Gus Edwards was a solid rotational back early in his career in Baltimore before injuries derailed the last two seasons. A torn ACL in pre-season ended his 2021 season before it started. He wasn’t recovered enough to play for the first 6 weeks of the season and also missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. Despite that his efficiency has remained very good over his career, averaging 5.0+ yards per carry in every season of his career.
Coming into the year he projects to the be second on the depth chart behind JK Dobbins. Dobbins hasn’t been the healthiest back himself, playing just 23 games in his first three years in the NFL. As a bigger bruising back, Edwards can carve out a role in the offence. He should get some carries alongside Dobbins and may see some high value usage in short yardage goal-to-go situations.
Lamar Jackson caps some of the run potential for the running backs, particularly high value redzone carries. But Baltimore has supported fantasy relevant backs with Lamar. The move to Todd Monken at OC should see the Ravens pass more than under Greg Roman. Potentially, we could see a bit less read option as well to protect Lamar after he failed to finish the last two seasons.
Monken’s offence typically hasn’t thrown to running backs in the past. But Edwards has been non-existant in the passing game to date, so that shouldn’t affect him much. He’s also 50/50 in whether he has a clear lead back in his 4 seasons as an NFL co-ordinator. In two seasons he had two different backs earn 100+ carries. In the other two only one earned more than 50 carries, although Kareem Hunt did miss half the season in 2019.
The Ravens did sign Melvin Gordon this week on a contract worth up to $3.1 million, they also moved Dobbins to the PUP list. When the full details come out, I expect this deal will be very light on guaranteed money and heavy on incentives. Ultimately, I think Gordon is a depth option in the case Dobbins isn’t ready for September and potentially won’t make the final roster.
Overall Gus Edwards worth a flier in the last round of draft, he particularly fits very well with a 0RB strategy. He is less interesting in PPR leagues, but he still has a path to a solid scoring role. If Dobbins’ health doesn’t hold up, Edwards would become an instant RB2.
Trey McBride, TE Arizona Cardinals
ADP: 215
Trey McBride didn’t see much action early in his rookie season. But he came on well down the stretch after Zach Ertz suffered a knee injury. It culminated in a great week 17 performance in which he caught 7 for 78 yards and a touchdown. He was the overall TE11 from week 14 onwards and is currently going as the TE28 in drafts.
There is no AJ Green this season and more importantly no Deandre Hopkins, leaving 144 targets up for grabs this year. There are also questions about Zach Ertz’s health, at 33 he was already on the decline physically and is now recovering form a torn ACL and MCL. If Ertz’s is able to play early in the year, it’s hard to imagine he will be at 100%.
On the negative side, there are questions at quarterback in Arizona, especially early in the season. Kyler Murray is recovering from his own ACL tear and meniscus tear. Head coach Jonathan Gannon was pretty vague about the timeline for Murrays return telling the media he will play when he’s ‘physically and mentally ready’. In the interim Colt McCoy is set to step-in. He’s a serviceable quarterback who’s capable of getting the ball out on time, but is an obvious downgrade on Kyler.
In a best case scenario, McBride has the potential to be the second target in the Cardinals offence behind Hollywood Brown. He’s worth a gamble as much as the low end TE1s such as Dalton Schultz and Chigoziem Okonkwo. In fact, I think he offers better upside than those and is a smart risk to take if you miss on the early tight ends. I love his dynasty outlook as well, I’d look to trade for him whether you can get a fair price!
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