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We got together with our Footballguys staff members and asked a simple question: Which player -- generally taken in the third round -- do you most-like having on your team?
Here are their answers.
Jason Wood
I generally am looking at quarterback or tight end in this round, but based on the choices available, it's a receiver round. I'm fine with Cooper, Thielen, Moore, or Golladay as my No. 1 receiver, and would grab whichever player is available. I have Cooper the highest-ranked among this quartet, but they're all top-12 receivers for me.
Jeff Tefertiller
Allen Robinson has been a consistent high-performer with Blake Bortles and Mitchell Trubisky under center. Not that Nick Foles is a high-end passer but he looks like one compared to these other two quarterbacks. Robinson has a chance to be the top fantasy receiver this season. He will get a high volume of targets.
Ryan Hester
The running backs in this round are covered in "yuck." Is Gurley ready to go with his injury situation? Will Fournette and Bell be offensive centerpieces this season when they're unlikely to be on their current teams in 2021? Further, can they overcome their likely bottom-tier offenses to generate solid fantasy production?
That leads me to look toward wide receivers. And Thielen is the favorite here. Not only is he a sneaky contender for a target market share north of 25% (only 11 players saw 25% or more last season). And ideally, he doesn't play through a nagging hamstring injury for half of 2020 as he did in 2019.
Jeff Haseley
The Vikings had only one player with 10+ targets in a game last year (Stefon Diggs) and he is no longer on the team. Had Adam Thielen not suffered a lingering hamstring injury, those results may have been different. Offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski who favored the run game is now the head coach of the Browns. Replacing him is a longtime veteran of the game, Gary Kubiak who will utilize the run and pass more evenly. The Vikings need to replace 101 targets in the offense due to the departure of Diggs to Buffalo. The recent news of rookie Justin Jefferson landing on the COVID-IR will mean he will likely come along slowly this year, especially during the beginning of the year. Thielen, who is one year removed from 113 receptions and 9 touchdowns on 155 targets, could once again return to the 150-target club being the primary receiving threat for Kirk Cousins on the Vikings passing game.
Andrew Davenport
I know I just went to bat for Todd Gurley in a recent pick-a-player, but he is really my favorite guy early in the third because I won't be able to get a running back that I like a whole lot by the end of the fourth. But if I'm picking my favorite guy from this list it is D.J. Moore. When you're looking for a career arc that says "elite breakout coming" look no further than Moore. He tallied an above average rookie line, and then made another leap last year despite playing with Kyle Allen all season. His touchdown totals are on the weak side, but nobody knows what he can do in this new offense. Certainly, that gives him some risk, but I think we are looking at one of the next elite fantasy wide receivers in the league and he can be had in the third round. The Panthers offense does present a lot of moving parts, and that's admittedly a red flag, but all the changes have been positive, so even if they start slow Moore has the potential to bust out and be a top-six wide receiver by year's end.
Jordan McNamara
Someone should do a 30 for 30 with the promo "What if I told you there was a perpetually underrated 25-year-old running back drafted in the top 10 of the NFL Draft with two top 10 seasonal finishes in his three-year career and 26 more catches in his career than Joe Mixon?" Leonard Fournette's production has virtually no relationship to his cost at this point in his career and he is due for positive touchdown regression after only three touchdowns last year on 341 touches. He's arguably the best value in all of fantasy football.
Matt Waldman
James Conner. The No.6 fantasy runner with only 13 games played in 2018, he slipped to 33rd overall last year when he missed 6 games and had to work with a young receiving corps and a pair of reserve quarterbacks. Conner has an excellent offensive line, the Steelers declared him the featured starter after the NFL Draft, and Conner finally got to condition in the offseason the way he's wanted to do since he got sick in college.
This is a revitalized young player with power, contact balance, vision, and receiving ability. He has Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster at full health. He's a third-round bargain--and that's hard to be.
Jeff Pasquino
While I do really like Golladay, the value pick appears to be Thielen. Yes, Justin Jefferson is likely to be a strong second receiver, but Thielen was a fantasy WR1 (especially in PPR) even with Stefon Diggs there - and now there's no question who the lead target will be this year. Minnesota may be in favor of a run-first offense, but Thielen is very likely to average 10 targets a week, which makes for a high floor, strong and safe choice in Round 3.
Phil Alexander
It's between Moore, Thielen, Conner, and Beckham for me.
Moore and Thielen are both darkhorse candidates to lead the NFL in targets this season. In Moore's case, the Panthers defense looks so bad on paper it seems a foregone conclusion they'll be involved in a high number of shootouts in the NFC South. As it is, Moore's 135 targets ranked tenth-highest in the league last year. Thielen is one year removed from eclipsing 150 targets and now stands to inherit a portion of Stefon Diggs' vacated 21% target market share. Each of these guys represents a reason why you should be drafting running backs in Rounds 1 and 2.
Taking Beckham ahead of Moore and Thielen requires a bit of a leap of faith coming off a down year. But Beckham has been historically productive whenever healthy during his previous five seasons we should grant him a mulligan. Despite playing through a sports hernia, Beckham finished top-3 in air yards last season and should turn more of them into fantasy points in year two with Baker Mayfield. New head coach Kevin Stefansky's tendency to call more play-action will help increase the efficiency of both players.
If you would rather a running back at this point, my case for Conner in Round 3 can be found here.
Andy Hicks
I’m really not enamored with any of the running backs here and would definitely be looking at the receivers. I would be happy with any of them, with the exception of Amari Cooper. In rankings order, I will pick Kenny Golladay though. With fewer targets than his second season, he was able to succeed despite the quarterbacks he was left with for half the year. I would monitor his COVID-19 situation, but unless bad news hits, he should be a great selection to lead your wide receiving group.
Justin Howe
This is where the early-running back value starts to dive and wide receiver value really starts to take off. Either Golladay or Moore - or both, of course - could easily put up 80-1,300-10 and no one would bat an eye. As much as I love Golladay and his DeAndre Hopkins-like potential, I love the high-volume Moore here in Round 3. He projects to a ton of targets, working all over the field for the cautious Teddy Bridgewater; I wouldn't be surprised to see 140-150 looks. He's hyper-efficient (8.7 yards per target last year from Kyle Allen), gets the ball on manufactured usage (19 rushes over his 2 years), and is due for some positive touchdown regression (just 6 on his first 142 catches).
Bob Henry
I've covered some of this in previous discussions, but the player I'm drafting the most (and typically like the most) of this group is James Conner. I'm not buying any of these others running backs in the third round with the exception being Clyde Edwards-Helaire for obvious reasons now. He's long gone now that Damien Williams opted out. Conner is poised to be the primary back for a resurgent Steeler offense with a good offensive line, a stout, playmaking defense that should create even more opportunities than his peers in this range, and a true three-down skillset that could vault him back into the RB1 range if he (and Ben Roethlisberger) stay healthy.
I would also gladly take Amari Cooper or Allen Robinson in the third round from the right draft slot. These two are solid options with high floors and proven capabilities that extend from solid WR2 up into WR1 upside both weekly and for the season. I've discussed Kenny Golliday previously, I would gladly take him in the third round and I do have him ahead of both Cooper and Robinson. If he's lingering into the mid-third, I feel like a stumbled onto a cheat code.
Devin Knotts
Leonard Fournette is my favorite guy of the group, and as someone who has avoided Fournette for most of his career, I can't believe I'm writing this. Fournette finished as the number seven running back last season ahead of Nick Chubb while playing one less game. While the expectations for the Jaguars as a team are low, Fournette can contribute without scoring touchdowns as evidenced by his three touchdowns last season. While the team is not committed to him beyond this season, a motivated Leonard Fournette has always been a much better player as he sometimes gets complacent as we saw in his second season in the NFL. This is still a running back who is just 25 and should continue to be a focal point for the Jaguars as they take a hard look at Gardner Minshew this season.
