The reality of fantasy football drafts is that most managers don’t get a roster they’re completely satisfied with because decisions made early set the tone for the draft. If a fantasy owner takes a running back in the first round, a wide receiver is likely necessary in the second round while the elite receivers are still available.
For this list, there are players who will still be on their board when their positions have already started being pillaged – a quarterback and running back available for those who bided their time when the initial flurry began, a TE2, a WR5, and an unlikely first-strike player at a position that is ignored until late in drafts.
5
Baltimore Ravens PK Justin Tucker
Kickers are the most fickle fantasy position because so few are consistent from year to year. A kicker can score 150 points one year and 100 the next – except when it comes to Tucker.
The standard rule of thumb is a kicker provides value if he scores 120 points in a season – an average of more than seven points a game. Tucker has blown past that number in all 12 NFL seasons, posting single-season point totals of 132-140-129-128-141-141-141-141-130-137-142-147.
Not only does Tucker have the best field goal make percentage in NFL history, his consistency in unmatched. In 195 career games, Tucker has scored six or more points in 152 games (78%) and 10 or more points 75 times (38%).
In a weekly game that often has close point totals, landing Tucker could be the difference between winning and losing a game or two. He’s the GOAT of kickers – it’s not even close – and will be available late in the draft before you pull the trigger.
4
Chicago Bears TE Cole Kmet
The Bears offense has struggled for years, but Kmet has been the peak of consistency. Despite having six different starting quarterbacks in four seasons, Kmet has been a critical component of the Bears offense.
Over the last three seasons, Kmet has averaged more than 60 receptions. Over the last two years, he has caught 123 passes for 1,263 yards and 13 touchdowns. Kmet is on the field most plays because he is a strong in-line blocker and a precise route-runner in the passing game.
With the new additions that were brought in to help rookie Caleb Williams, including wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze and speedy running back D’Andre Swift, the offense is built to spread out defenses, which will leave Kmet single covered in mismatch situations (or potentially uncovered) more times than not.
Kmet currently has an ADP ranking of TE16, well into the TE2 for a fantasy roster. Whoever ends up with Kmet in tight end-mandatory leagues will already have a tight end – someone like Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid or Brock Bowers. Kmet won’t be asked to be the primary tight end, but he can be more than a viable backup. Who wouldn’t want a red-zone threat expected to catch roughly 60 passes for 600 yards and six touchdowns as a TE2?
3
Buffalo Bills WR Keon Coleman
Fantasy managers often target a player deep in the draft with minimal risk and the luxury to stash him the first few weeks for the opportunity to see if the pick pans out as hoped.
Coleman finds himself in an intriguing situation. Josh Allen has been one of the league’s most prolific passers. Over the last four seasons, he has thrown for 17,540 yards and 137 touchdowns, an average of 4,385 yards and 34 TD passes a year.
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However, that was accomplished with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis leading the way among wide receivers. Both of them are gone. The Bills traded Diggs to get rid of the nagging and allowed Davis to leave in free agency.
If you look for the first Bills wide receiver in draft rankings, you need to go through a lot of names before you find Coleman. His current ADP would make him a WR5 in 12-team leagues. Not many No. 1 wide receivers with an elite quarterback fall that far, even rookies.
Coleman will certainly have significant ups and downs in terms of fantasy consistency, but he is a value fantasy pick who doesn’t need to be counted on and could have one of the highest ceilings of any player taken this late in fantasy drafts.
2
Kansas City Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco
Running backs have become the pariahs of the NFL – rode hard until they break down and replaced quickly by a younger, cheaper talent. Pacheco was a seventh-round draft pick in 2022, and he made it difficult on the Chiefs from OTAs to keep him out of the lineup.
He won the full-time starting job in 2023 and backed up that decision. In 14 games, Pacheco rushed 205 times for 935 yards, caught 44 passes for 244 yards and scored nine touchdowns. Those were solid numbers, but a deeper dive on the timing of them is what should have you looking at Pacheco.
With the Chiefs fighting for playoff seeding after Thanksgiving in hopes of repeating as champs, Pacheco was critical. In his final eight games – four regular season, four postseason – Pacheco rushed 143 times for 634 yards, caught 31 passes for 142 yards and scored eight touchdowns. When the Chiefs needed to win, they turned to Pacheco.
Pacheco’s ADP has him ranked at the very end of the RB1 list. For those who opt to take one of the elite wide receivers in the first round, they can do so with the confidence that they can get Pacheco in the second round with the ability to post top-five RB numbers.
1
San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy
Few quarterbacks have come into a season with as many high-ranked fantasy weapons as Purdy. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk both have WR1-rated ADPs. George Kittle is a top-five tight end. Christian McCaffrey is the top-rated player on the board, because he is a dual threat heavily utilized in the passing game.
They’ll all be expected to be every-week starters. So why not Purdy? To get their numbers, they need him.
In 16 games last season, Purdy threw for 4,280 yards with 33 total touchdowns (31 passing, two rushing). The 49ers are built to win now, and Purdy is motivated to have a monster season so talks about getting him paid can start – there’s no fifth-year option for Mr. Irrelevant.
Purdy is currently landing on draft boards at QB11, which is too low when tied into the expectations of the other Niners’ star fantasy players. Additionally, it allows the fantasy manager who lands Purdy to wait until most other fantasy rosters have already committed to a quarterback. It opens a scenario for the fantasy team holding off on quarterback early to draft Purdy and immediately double down on a player like Jayden Daniels, Tua Tagovailoa or Caleb Williams to have strong matchup options almost every week at minimal initial investment.
