We are getting into crunch time in the 2022 Footballguys Players Championship. In fact, if you have not taken any shots at this life-changing money, you only have 18 days (or less if you aren't reading this the day it was released) left!
Remember that fantasy managers are chasing a $500,000 grand prize in drafts going off daily, and I have a front-row seat for all the action as one of the online facilitators of these drafts. If any of the drafters have a connection issue, cannot get into the draft room, or experiences any other obstacles in making their picks, I am there in the draft room to assist. In this piece, I want to share a few of the things I have noticed while monitoring these drafts over the last week:
Why have Footballguys drafters been raising Josh Palmer up draft boards?
Oftentimes, we see high-stakes drafters betting on talent instead of opportunity in the middle-to-latter rounds. It is a good strategy to take in such a violent game like the NFL that forces many elite athletes off the field due to injury. Normally we see this strategy performed most often with the running back position, but Josh Palmer is an exception.
He may be stuck behind both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams on the depth chart, but Palmer’s in one of the most elite offenses in the NFL led by a highly drafted quarterback Justin Herbert. Remember that Palmer was a third-round pick last year and was probably the backup plan to the Chargers’ number two receiver spot had Mike Williams signed elsewhere in free agency. Nearly every single report has been positive about Palmer coming out of Los Angeles, including ones stating his role will be larger this year, and he has been one of the best players so far in camp.
As a result, Palmer has gone from an 18th-round pick back when the 2022 FPC launched all the way up to the 12th round. In fact, he went in the mid-10th round in a draft I was facilitating online earlier this week. Certainly, the upside is a bit limited on Palmer at least to start the season, but he could be one of those rare double-digit-round picks at wideout that may pay off big if anything were to happen to Allen or Williams.
How have FPC GMs been handling the Raiders backfield after the release of Kenyan Drake?
A school of thought exists that when Josh McDaniels took over as head coach, the Raiders would be employing a similar approach to the backfield to McDaniel’s previous employer, the New England Patriots. Frankly, there was a lot of ammo for that thought process. Las Vegas already had Josh Jacobs, they went out and paid Kenyan Drake last year, and then they traded up in the NFL Draft to acquire Zamir White.
A few things have happened since then. Not only have the Raiders cut Drake, but Ameer Abdullah is getting significant buzz about being “Las Vegas James White.” If there is one thing about high-stakes drafters, they love themselves some low-draft capital pass-catching running backs. Abdullah fits that bill.
Abdullah has gotten some love since not even being drafted two weeks ago. I saw him go as high as the 14th round this week, but his ADP has settled into the 16/17 turn on average. White has climbed a little bit based on the Drake news, but not as much as you would think. He went from going in the early-to-mid-14th to the early 13th. I even saw him go in the tenth this week. The Drake news has had no effect on Jacobs. He continues to slip down draft boards—it may not be long before you can regularly get him in the seventh round in the 2022 FPC. Brandon Bolden is still going undrafted.
Based on recent news, who is a player to watch in the next week?
I do not know if anyone in the NFL has had a more stat-stuffing preseason than Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely. His eight catches on eight targets for 100 yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals this past Sunday gives him a 12-144-1 line for the preseason, with Mark Andrews sitting out both games.
Yes, he is a rookie. Yes, he was a Day 3 pick. However, the Ravens have historically utilized the tight end quite a bit, and with seemingly Rashod Batemen the only serious threat on the perimeter and J.K. Dobbins still not playing in 11-on-11 drills in training camp, perhaps the Ravens will need to lean on Andrews and Likely more than we think.
In a tight end-premium format like the FPC, high-stakes drafters will look to get any edge they can at the position. Likely has gone from being undrafted a few days ago to spiking all the way up to the 13th round in some cases since Sunday. Likely is now being drafted ahead of previous high-stakes darling Brevin Jordan as well as Cameron Brate. I do not believe his ascent is finished, so I will be watching where he is going closely over the next week-plus.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I will see you in the Footballguys Players Championship draft rooms!
Eric Balkman is an online commissioner for live Footballguys Players Championship drafts at MyFFPC.com. He is also the host and producer of The High Stakes Fantasy Football Hour, the RotoViz High-Stakes Lowdown, and the FFPC Live Best Ball Coverage shows broadcast on all FFPC media outlets.
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