By Donnie Dyce
Editor's Note: This article is a FREE PREVIEW of our NFL Preseason Package, which contains our full list of 2021 season win total bets, as well as season-long player prop best bets and more, for just $34.99.
Our NFL Preseason Package for 2021 also include's the Hitman's NFL Draft Breakdown, Steve Rieder's NFL Free Agency Recap, Strength of Schedule Rankings, Team-By-Team Positional Unit Ratings, Preseason Betting/DFS Strategy and much more. Click here and use code "NFL10" to save $10 off your order and get premium NFL content access through Thursday, September 9th. Have questions about our new Premium NFL 2021 Preseason Package? Send us an email any time at bettingpredators@gmail.com.
Miles Sanders - UNDERVALUED
Last season Miles Sanders rushed for 867 yds on 164 attempts and 6 touchdowns in 12 games. Sanders also had 28 receptions for 197 yards for Philadelphia. Not too impressive numbers, right? So it's no surprise that many fantasy owners are not willing to take the chance drafting Sanders right now, whose ADP is around 34th overall and being on average the 19th running back being taken off the board.
Last year, at this time, the Eagles were going into the season with high hopes for their offense especially with the offensive line, which included two pro bowlers and was rated one of the best o-lines in the NFL.
Unfortunately, injuries began to pile up and by the season's end Philadelphia was decimated, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Sanders was running behind a patchwork line for most of the season that started 14 different player combinations in 16 games, by far the most in the NFL. Not to mention, he was also playing with a pass-happy coach in Doug Pederson and erratic quarterback play from both Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts. This year, however, Philadelphia brings in a new head coach and a new scheme.
Other than possibly an unproven rookie WR in Devonta Smith, Sanders is clearly the most talented playmaker in this Eagles offense. I expect new head coach Nick Sirianni to already know this and to utilize Sanders to his talents, not just in the run game but also in the passing game. The Eagles do have a lot of RB's on the roster at the moment, sure, and there has been some chatter of Sanders splitting work with Boston Scott or the recently acquired Kerryon Johnson, but I'm not buying it. I'm certainly not concerned with rookie 5th round draft pick Kenneth Gainwell or Jordan Howard cutting into his volume either.
Overall, purely looking at this from a talent wise perspective, there is no legitimate competition for Sanders in this backfield and I expect him to get 60-70% of the carries plus catches in the passing game.
Injury is always a concern but let's be honest, you can say that about any RB in the league right now. It's just the nature of the position. At the 19th RB off the board, I believe Sanders possesses serious value for your draft, and I have no problem rating him as a high end RB2 or even low-end RB1 for his ceiling in 2021.
Antonio Brown - UNDERVALUED
It wasn't that long ago the Antonio Brown was the most valuable wide receiver in everyone's fantasy football draft. "AB" was the clear option for the first receiver off the board and in some cases the #1 overall pick. A few years (and a few arrests and lawsuits) later, as well as bizarre news stories concerning his behavior, it was beginning to look like Brown may never play the game again, let alone to the level he once achieved. When Brown joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9 of last season no one really knew what to expect. In fact, many were expecting another Antonio Brown type of circus act to go down. What happened was quite the opposite: we got a productive 8 games where he caught 45 passes for 483 yards.
Brown also finished the season averaging more targets per game (7.6) than Chris Godwin (7) and Mike Evans (6.8), not to mention being part of a successful playoff run and securing his first Super Bowl ring.
We've all heard the old saying that winning can cure anything, and I believe Brown may have just found a real home in Tampa Bay. Being part of a winning culture is all Brown may have needed to keep his path straight as well. There hasn’t been any news this offseason concerning Brown, and let's face it, no Antonio Brown news is good news. All reports are that Tom Brady and Brown have begun to build more chemistry and with a full training camp/offseason to build on I believe he'll become an integral part of this offense.
Although I'm not predicting he will return to the MVP caliber form of a few years ago, I wouldn't rule it out completely, and I'm especially not ruling out his ability to finish ahead of both Godwin and Evans in statistical categories like receptions, receiving yards, targets, and most importantly, fantasy points.
We all know the ceiling for Brown is tremendous, but I also believe the floor is quite solid here too, especially for around the 40th WR being taken off the board right now in most fantasy football drafts.
Who do you think is overvalued/undervalued coming into this season? Tweet us @BetPredators