Who is the one player you just have to have in fantasy football this season?
If you’re a fantasy manager who has taken part in enough mock drafts this summer, you likely have a quick answer to this question. It might even be hard for you to pick just one player. But that’s what we are asking our ESPN Fantasy analysts to do.
Because draft position can often preclude you from landing a player you covet in the first couple of rounds, we’ve asked our analysts to list one player they are targeting outside of those early rounds.
Players are listed in order of average draft position (ADP) as of Aug. 18.
Stephania Bell
Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings: Recency bias is alive and well when it comes to Jones … sort of. People remember that he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1 last season, which cost him several weeks. Or they recall an MCL injury that forced him to miss three additional weeks. But no one seems to talk about the fact he finished the season with five consecutive 100-yard games. And that was just on the ground! Yes, the Vikings love the passing game, but Jones has also proven his abilities there. The value for this talented player is in where you can draft him (ADP of 63.3, which is RB18) … and I’ll gladly add him to my roster.
Matt Bowen
Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Flowers has breakout potential heading into his second pro season after averaging 12.9 fantasy points per game as a rookie in 2023, while scoring 19 or more points in four of his final five games played. Remember, Flowers has the dynamic traits to be deployed as a three-level target in Baltimore. Plus, his ball-carrier vision and sudden acceleration create opportunities to win in space, as 45.1% of Flowers’ total receiving yards came after the catch. And with a current ADP of WR25, I’m getting…
