[social_warfare]
This continues our 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS series where we’ll be discussing with you the top fantasy football players per division in the NFL for the upcoming fantasy football season. We’ll be talking offense and IDP, specifically at the QB, RB, WR, TE, LB, DB, & DL positions.
*As a reminder to those who listen to or don’t listen (you really should) to our podcast, all of our projections and insight for IDP players is based on the FANTASY IN FRAMES IDP scoring rubric which we will be using for the 2018 season and in our IDP followers leagues this fall.*
Now that we have that out of the way below we have broken down our fantasy football topics, position-by-position for you. Without further adieu let’s discuss who we feel are the top fantasy football players to target in your drafts from the NFC North:
QUARTERBACKS:
Aaron Rodgers: Coming off of a broken collarbone last season, the rehabilitation process outlined in one of our earlier IN FRAME articles which can be found by clicking here, Rodgers is returning to Green Bay for his 14th season to offense that is missing one of his favorite pass-catching options in Jordy Nelson, who was released by the team earlier into the free agency period this past March. Going into 2018 he’ll have a new receiving option to play with in new tight end, Jimmy Graham and time to build a rapport with the new #1 wide receiver on this team in Davante Adams, who has the led the NFL the past two seasons with total touchdowns scored. With the defensive upgrades in free agency and through the draft, Rodgers might not have to chuck it all over the field to keep the Packers in games. Rodgers and Tom Brady are essentially 1 and 1A in our fantasy football rankings and assuming a lack health doesn’t affect Rodgers look for him to stay near the top of our rankings all season long. (@JorgeBEdwards)
Matthew Stafford: With the upgrades on the offensive line and at running back during free agency and during the draft, Stafford is poised to have a breakout year this season. While having a balanced offense might decrease Stafford’s yardage on the season, it should increase his TD production on the season since the quality of throws will increase with teams having to respect the threat of a running game more than in previous seasons. Adapting to a balanced offense will require adjustment time for Stafford and the offense, but if they can get on the same page quickly there is no reason to think Stafford shouldn’t be a top 7 or possibly top 5 fantasy quarterback by seasons end. (@JorgeBEdwards)
Kirk Cousins: *If you haven’t already checked out our earlier article on Cousins’ potential with the Vikings offense in 2018, click here to read!*
Making the move to Minnesota in the offseason Cousins will have to keep up with the likes of Aaron Rodgers & Matthew Stafford in both yardage and touchdowns if he hopes to keep pace with them offensively. Fortunately, his supporting cast will provide him with plenty of offensive weaponry to do just that. While he’s currently ranked outside our top 10 QB’s I would not be shocked if he made top 5 by seasons end. (@JorgeBEdwards)
RUNNING BACKS:
Dalvin Cook: Coming off a season where he was averaging 100 total yards per game as the primary workhorse running back & before he tore his ACL during his rookie season, Cook was averaging 15.2 fantasy points per game in 1/2 PPR leagues. Already a full participant in this past week’s Viking’s mini-camp, Cook looks to be well on his way to start Week 1 versus the 49ers and as such should be an early second-round pick in your upcoming fantasy football drafts this summer! (@JorgeBEdwards)
Jordan Howard: Over the past two seasons Howard has averaged 4.65 yards per carry, 1,217.5 yards per season, 78.8 yards per game, & 7.5 TD’s per season. All of which occurred under a horrific offense during the John Fox era in Chicago. Now with offensive guru’s Matt Nagy and Mark Helfrich at the helm of the Bears’ running game look for Howard to take his statistics to another level and end the season as an RB1. (@JorgeBEdwards)
WIDE RECEIVERS:
Davante Adams: No other wide receiver has scored more touchdowns over the past two seasons than Davante Adams! Signing a 4-year $58 million dollar contract extension this offseason and with the departure of Jordy Nelson, Adams will look to take the league by storm in 2018. What makes Adams so great, from my perspective, is that he reminds of DeAndre Hopkins in that he can put up numbers no matter who’s the quarterback. Now with a healthy Aaron Rodgers returning to the line up, I have no doubt Adams will live up to the FANTASY IN FRAMES projected fantasy points per game average, and probably even surpass it. (@JorgeBEdwards)
Adam Thielen & Stefon Diggs: Assuming the injury bug doesn’t affect either of these two, you can definitively expect Thielen and Diggs to become the premiere pass-catchers in the NFC North this season. A reputation once held by Jordy Nelson and Co. in Green Bay, these Vikings receivers won’t have a game manager throwing them the ball as they did last season. They will have a quarterback who isn’t afraid to go for the big play, for better or worse, in Kirk Cousins.
In 2017 these two put up the following stats:
| Player | Rec | Yds | Yds/Rec | Long | TD |
| Adam Thielen | 91 | 1276 | 14.0 | 65 | 4 |
| Stefon Diggs | 64 | 849 | 13.3 | 59 | 8 |
Cousins has shown he can support two 1,000 yard wide receivers and I predict he will do so again making this receiving duo fantasy football gold in 2018! (@JorgeBEdwards)
Golden Tate: During the course of Tate’s career in Detroit he has been a jewel in PPR and 1/2 PPR leagues by recording close 100 receptions and 1,000 yards receiving each season. While the touchdown numbers leave a little to be desired, his rapport with Matthew Stafford and his ability to get open makes him a valuable WR2 year in and year out for your fantasy football leagues! *IN PPR and 1/2 PPR Leagues ONLY* (@JorgeBEdwards)
| Year | Team | G | Rec | Yds | Yds/G | TD |
| 2017 | Detroit Lions | 16 | 92 | 1,003 | 62.7 | 5 |
| 2016 | Detroit Lions | 16 | 91 | 1,077 | 67.3 | 4 |
| 2015 | Detroit Lions | 16 | 90 | 813 | 50.8 | 6 |
| 2014 | Detroit Lions | 16 | 99 | 1,331 | 83.2 | 4 |
Tight Ends: *Check Out Our Podcast To Find Out*
LINEBACKERS:
Blake Martinez: In 2017, Blake Martinez had a breakout season for the Green Bay Packers as he would finish second in the NFL in total tackles with 142. This was a massive increase over his rookie season when he finished with just 65. Having been on the field for most of the defensive snaps for the Packers, Martinez will look to continue being a tackling machine in the upcoming 2018 season. Playing in a division where he is going to see running backs like Dalvin Cook, Jordan Howard and LeGarrette Blount 6 times this year, Martinez is going to give Fantasy owners, all the tackles that they will need. For him to be one of the elite defensive players from a fantasy perspective, he is going to have to increase his sack and/or his interception output, but if someone is going to give me a guy that is going to get 140 tackles a season, while being on the field for the majority of the defensive snaps for the Packers, then I will take that and be pretty happy. (@KenSonnenberg)
Danny Trevathan: The Bears have been a bad team for a little while now, but if there is a ray of hope in the Windy City, it is going to be in a defense that last year moved into the top 10 in the NFL. One of the ways in which they are hoping that they move from a very good defense to an elite defense is by seeing a return to form from Outside Linebacker Danny Trevathan. It has not been the smoothest first two seasons in Chicago for Trevathan. Since coming over to the Bears in 2016, having signed a 4-year, $24.5 million contract, Trevathan has only been able to play in 21 of the Bears 32 games in the last two years due to a recurring calf injury. However, fantasy owners are going to be pleasantly surprised if they decide to take a chance on Trevathan this year, as he is healthy and is now being flanked by a Linebacking Corp that features 2016 first round pick Leonard Floyd this years first rounder Roquan Smith. The last time he was surrounded by this much talent it was in Denver where he was flanked by All-Pros DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller. In that year, Trevathan racked up 109 tackles and 2 interceptions. With a potential return to those stats, he could be a very valuable late round IDP pick in most 12 team drafts. (@KenSonnenberg)
Eric Kendricks: The Minnesota Vikings were the best defense in the NFL last season; they finish second in both total rushing yards allowed per game, as well as total passing yards allowed. In the center of this was Middle Linebacker Eric Kendricks who finished the season with 113 tackles and 1 interception for a touchdown. Over his first three seasons, this former second round pick out of UCLA has seen his stats increase year by year. Fantasy owners who enjoy looking for guys whose careers are trending in the right direction no further than Kendricks. Going into this season as the starting MLB, Kendricks will be looking at a lot of stud running backs coming his way, including Dalvin Cook, LeGarrette Blount, Todd Gurley, LeSean McCoy, Jordan Howard, David Johnson, Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. He is also going to be dropped into the passing game as well as he will most likely be the one shadowing most other team’s tight ends, which this year will include Rob Gronkowski, Zach Ertz and Jimmy Graham. So, if you are looking for what could be a very active IDP for your fantasy roster, Kendricks will fit the bill nicely. (@KenSonnenberg)
DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Harrison Smith: Coming off one of the best years of his career, Harrison Smith looks to build off a season that saw him record 78 tackles, 2 sacks and 5 interceptions. Having finished tied for 3rd in the NFL in interceptions, many experts are looking at Smith to have an even bigger season coming up in 2018. As a free safety that is gaining quite a positive reputation for his fearless attitude and overall proficiency when it comes to stopping the rush, Smith will be seen on many fantasy draft boards as a solid DB1 choice. As illustrated in the FANTASY IN FRAMES point projections, Smith looks to be at the top of the class in the NFC North for projected average points/game, primarily because of his run stopping ability and his skills as a ball hawk. (@KenSonnenberg)
Kyle Fuller: Following a knee injury that cost him the entire 2016 season, Bears corner back Kyle Fuller stepped up his game in 2017 and produced probably his best season in his 4-year career. He had just 68 tackles, but also had 22 passes defended to go along with 2 interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks posted a mere 69.0 passer rating against him and an even worse 25.0 rating in balls thrown over 20 yards all of which makes him valuable IDP pick during your drafts! (@KenSonnenberg)
Darius Slay: In his 5th NFL season, Darrius Slay had the best season of his still young NFL career. He would amass 8 interceptions which was good enough to lead the NFL, and as a reward, Slay was selected to his first Pro Bowl. He enters the 2018 season as the Lions #1 CB, which earns him the honor of being the guy tasked with covering the opposing team’s top wide receiver. While he has obviously proven to everyone that he is a Pro Bowl-level cornerback, he has never been seen as the prototypical “shutdown cornerback.” A title that could indeed work in his favor from a fantasy perspective. Shutdown corners are avoided like the plague for obvious reasons, but that is what makes Slay so attractive, in that QBs will throw to his side and that leads to more chances for interceptions, as well as increasing his tackle count as well. Slay will be a very good choice for DB2 in many drafts. (@KenSonnenberg)
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN:
Danielle Hunter & Everson Griffen: One might look at these defensive reviews for the NFC North and wonder why we looked so heavily at players on the Minnesota Vikings, and there is a very good reason for that. In short, THEY ARE VERY GOOD!! The Vikings had the best defense in the NFL last year and within the NFC North, they are by far the class of the division. The Bears are the closest, finishing 10th in total defense, followed by Green Bay who was 22nd and Detroit 27th. So that alone should tell you where the bulk of the defensive talent resides in the NFC North. One place, where it is quite evident and that is on the defensive line. The Vikings currently feature 2 of the best defensive ends in the game. Everson Griffin has gone to 3 straight Pro Bowls, averaging almost 11 sacks over the last four seasons, including a career high 13 last season. On the other side is Danielle Hunter, who has averaged 8.5 sacks over his first 3 seasons. These stats are important from a fantasy perspective because a strategy that one often can look to when they are in fantasy leagues that provide the opportunity to draft defensive players is that when picking a defensive player such as a lineman, look at a team’s offense to potentially judge the success of the defense. The Minnesota Vikings offense is also very good, and with the signing of QB Kirk Cousins this offseason, it looks like the offense is going to get even better. How does that help Hunter and Griffen? The Vikings offense is going to score points which means they are going to either be ahead or in an offensive battle for most games. For the most part, either of those 2 scenarios will mean that the opposing team is going to be throwing it more than they probably would like to. That will give Hunter and Griffen that many more opportunities to get to the QB and produce sack levels that may go above and beyond what we and most people are projecting. In our projected point breakdown, we have Hunter and Griffen averaging 5.9 and 5.7 points/game respectively. If they are given more opportunities to get to the QB, then that will only serve to increase their point totals and their overall fantasy draft values. (@KenSonnenberg)
Check out our podcast this week where we’ll be talking more about the NFC North and potential sleepers you could rely on this season!
We’ll see you next week when we’ll be discussing the Top Fantasy Football Players In The NFC South!
As always thanks for checking out FANTASY IN FRAMES!
