[WR RANKINGS 1-16
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............9
While he enters the NFL as an unheralded seventh-round draft pick, Keith Marshall was a highly regarded high school prospect before heading to Georgia. Now, Marshall will get a chance to prove his doubters wrong again as he competes for touches with Matt Jones and Chris Thompson. Marshall has blazing speed and ran the fastest 40-yard dash among running backs (4.31 seconds) at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, but he's more than a one-note player. Marshall has good lateral agility and is a capable pass-catcher out of the backfield. If he can improve his decisiveness, he could be in line for a healthy amount of work in the Washington offense. When Alfred Morris went to Dallas in free agency, he freed up 212 touches in the Washington offense. Marshall should be able to earn a sizeable portion of that pie and represents a nice high-upside late-round flier.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............8
With Tre Mason looking far less effective last season and battling numerous off-field issues this offseason, Benny Cunningham has the early lead as Todd Gurley's preferred handcuff. He actually out-produced Mason last year in games where Gurley didn't play, despite receiving fewer touches. That's because Cunningham has more value in the passing game than Mason, allowing for a safer fantasy floor. Still, anyone drafting Cunningham to handcuff to Gurley shouldn't do so until the very last rounds.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............9
Early in his career, Alfred Blue was backing up Arian Foster. Now, he gets to backup Lamar Miller (and probably Tyler Ervin). Blue is a fine player, but needs to be showered with opportunities to turn in a reasonable fantasy outing. Case in point, he's scored 10 or more fantasy points five times in his career, and four of those occurences came when he saw 20-plus touches. Blue could be a late-round hancuff option, but his limited ability in the passing game and position on the depth chart make him a much more likely waiver-wire candidate.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............5
When Jamaal Charles went down with a torn ACL last season, it was Charcandrick West who rose to the occasion and dominated the Kansas City backfield ... for awhile. West scored 18-plus fantasy points in three straight weeks filling in for Charles, but landed in a committee situation after suffering an injury of his own in Week 11. During West's torrid three-game stretch, the main reason for his success was that he received 94 percent of the backfield touches. West is a good player, and just re-signed with the Chiefs on a new two-year deal this offseason, but once Charles returns to full health (so far signs point to Week 1), this will once again be his backfield. West, along with Spencer Ware, is nothing more than a handcuff to Charles, though one his owners will likely want to grab given Charles' recent injury history.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............10
An undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State, Zach Zenner saw all of 17 carries his rookie year before cracked ribs and a partially collapsed lung sent him to injured reserve. So why is he in our 2016 rankings? Well, with Joique Bell out of the picture in Detroit, Zenner slots in as the No. 2 running back behind Ameer Abdullah, with Theo Riddick already having his role carved out in the passing game. Zenner's size (5-foot-11, 222 pounds) should put him in line for short-yardage and goal-line work out of the gate, while his speed and natural ability could give him a shot to steal more touches from Abdullah in general. Right now, Zenner's not quite draftable in standard leagues, but is a fine stashing candidate in dynasty formats. If Abdullah does falter or is slowed in his recovery from offseason shoulder injury (he's supposed to be 100 percent by training camp), Zenner should be a priority add off of the waiver wire.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............5
The fantasy hype train for C.J. Spiller was gaining a lot of steam after he signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Saints last offseason, until a slew of injuries derailed that train before it even left the station. Now, Spiller needs to prove he's once again healthy and can be the change-of-pace difference maker the Saints envisioned he'd be when they signed him. Mark Ingram improved as a pass-catcher in 2015 (career-high 50 receptions), which could cut into Spiller's role. Until we see otherwise in training camp or the preseason, Spiller represents nothing more than a late-round Hail Mary-type flier.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............11
Hillman is the perfect example for why season-long stats can be misleading. While he finished as the RB19, it was clear to those paying attention that he wasn't the best back on his own team. The Broncos proved that this offseason by re-signing C.J. Anderson to a four-year, $18 million contract while giving Hillman just $2 million for one year. Adding to Hillman's tumble in the rankings for 2016 is the arrival of fourth-round rookie Devontae Booker, who will likely battle Hillman for (and win) the leftover touches that don't go to Anderson. After all, Hillman finished the 2015 season with a disastrous playoff performance, gaining just 54 yards on 32 carries, which the team certainly hasn't forgotten. Unless reports surface that Booker is still recovering from his knee injury last season, Hillman really shouldn't be drafted this fall except in the deepest of leagues.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............11
To this point in his career, Khiry Robinson has been an intriguing prospect buried behind capable running backs on various depth charts, and that appears to be the case again in 2016. Robinson signed with the Jets this offseason to serve as the backup to Matt Forte and Bilal Powell, as well as a potential goal-line specialist. Robinson should probably be left to the waiver wire, though he will become a hot name to pickup in the event that Forte suffers any sort of injury, as he and Powell would form a thunder-lightning one-two punch.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............9
Ka'Deem Carey's moment in the fantasy sun may have already come and passed. He started to see more opportunities while Matt Forte was on the sideline last year, but he'll likely be third fiddle to Jeremy Langford and Jordan Howard in 2016. Carey could have deep bench value in larger leagues, as this backfield is far from settled, but he'll most likely be a reserve on the waiver wire if one of the backs ahead of him falters or suffers an injury.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............6
Some might remember Branden Oliver's name from his brief run of fantasy relevance in the 2014 season, where, filling in for an injured Danny Woodhead/Ryan Mathews/Donald Brown he posted back-to-back 18-plus fantasy point outings. However, Oliver fell off the fantasy cliff in 2015 after the team drafted Melvin Gordon and Woodhead returned to full health. Yet, Oliver could have some late-round appeal early this season, as with Brown out of the picture and Gordon recovering from January microfracture surgery, the team might need Oliver to carry more of the load come September. He's a total flier, as no one knows how Gordon's recovery will go, but in an offense set to rebound with a healthy core once again, Oliver could have some sneaky early-season value or be a DFS contributor.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............6
Few players have engendered such a strong cast of truthers -- people who believe in a player's talent and potential despite strong proof otherwise -- quite like Christine Michael. However, after he bounced around the league for awhile, the truth was starting to look like Michael didn't belong in the NFL. Yet, a late-season resurgence filling in for the injured Thomas Rawls in Seattle has Michael back on the fantasy radar, albeit as a distant blip. Michael averaged over five yards per carry twice in the season's final two games (Week 15, Week 17), impressing the coaches with his renewed work ethic and strong performance. Michael will have to battle new arrivals C.J. Prosise and Alex Collins for the backup or committee role with incumbent Rawls, but as a veteran with recent success, Michael has an early pre-training camp edge.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............8
Tre Mason came out of 2014 with a lot of hype around him for the 2015 fantasy season ... until the Rams drafted Todd Gurley. Unfortunately for Mason, this is Gurley's backfield now, which relegates him to strictly backup duties. Mason is still working his way through some offseason troubles though (arrested for traffic and marijuana charges in March), and could be facing a league-imposed suspension at some point. He'll be best left as a waiver-wire option for now, but should be on the radar for Gurley owners just in case.
Auction...............$5
Bye Week.............7
Poor Alfred Morris. After bursting onto the fantasy scene in 2012, he's seen his rushing yards, carries and yards per carry fall in each subsequent season, culminating in an abysmal 751-yard (3.7 ypc), one-touchdown season in 2015. Morris is partly to blame, though, as he doesn't offer anything in the passing game and is a relatively limited between-the-tackles runner who hasn't shaken many tackles since he was taking handoffs from RGIII. Now in Dallas, Morris will be mired in a committee with Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar to be Ezekiel Elliott's backup, further denting his already depressed value. Morris will need an injury or depth chart shakeup to make any sort of fantasy impact.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............9
For a brief period, Chris Thompson was the most effective running back on the Washington roster, even though he played a primarily pass-catching role. Thompson is working his way back from serious shoulder surgery though, so rookie Keith Marshall could push him for snaps. If he returns to full health and keeps his third-down duties, he'll be worth keeping an eye on in PPR formats but really isn't draftable at this point.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............10
Were it not for a foot injury that cost him all of his 2015 collegiate season, Jonathan Williams would likely be a more highly-regarded real-life and fantasy prospect. As it stands, he was drafted by the Bills and will compete with Mike Gillislee and potentially Karlos Williams to be LeSean McCoy's backup. That sinks any immediate redraft value for Williams, but he is a name to watch in training camp and the preseason as many consider him the most talented back to come out of Arkansas this year. Dynasty owners could take a stab at Williams with a late-round flier, however.
Auction...............$1
Bye Week.............4
The Eagles lacked depth behind Ryan Mathews at running back, so they drafted Wendell Smallwood in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Smallwood will likely serve in a rotational fashion to help keep Mathews fresh, potentially on passing downs. He caught 57 passes over his final two years at West Virginia, and could be the heir apparent to Darren Sproles sooner rather than later. He'll be a name to watch on waivers and a solid late-round pick in dynasty rookie drafts.
[WR RANKINGS 1-16
