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As we gear up to the start of the NFL season, Football Absurdity is going to bring you a comprehensive breakdown of every notable player that will be available in fantasy football drafts. When you don’t see us talking about Christine Michael or Mike Davis, don’t get mad at us for neglecting your favorite sleeper. Get mad at yourself for having bad taste in football players. We are only focusing on the top-rated players in standard scoring and points per game leagues.
With my player profiles, I’ve only decided to go back to look at their fantasy scoring for three years. I could show you lists from earlier, but most of the guys at the top are no longer in the league anymore. I’ve also added a chart for their usage over that time span. We will try to determine, based on those two factors, where the best wide receiver value lies.
Julian Edelman ADP and AAV
Standard: 15th among RBs, 39th overall
PPR: 15th among RBs, 39th overall
Julian Edelman Average Auction Value (AAV) $200 Budget: $29
Stats:
FANTASY SCORING — STANDARD
| Rank | Total Points | PPG Rank | PPG | |
| 2018 | 23rd | 133.4 | 15th | 11.1 |
| 2017 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2016 | 22nd | 132.2 | 28th | 8.3 |
FANTASY SCORING — PPR
| Rank | Total Points | PPG Rank | PPG | |
| 2018 | 20th | 207.4 | 13th | 17.3 |
| 2017 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2016 | 15th | 230.3 | 17th | 14.4 |
FANTASY USAGE
| Receptions | Receptions Per Game | Targets | Targets Per Game | |
| 2018 | 74 | 6.2 | 92 | 9.0 |
| 2017 | 98 | 6.1 | 159 | 9.9 |
| 2016 | 61 | 6.8 | 88 | 9.8 |
Overview: Edelman bounced back from missing the entire 2017 season with a back end top-24 performance in standard, and front end WR2 performance in PPR. With Gronk probably not around, there should be extra targets coming Edelman’s way in 2019.
Strategy: Our Julian Edelman Auction Value ($200 Budget): $22
Edelman’s a good pick at WR2, he’s safe. We don’t mind him in the middle of the fourth round, right where the WR2 with the highest floor should go. In auction, however, there’s no reed to neach… excuse me, there’s no need to reach. There are a slew of WR2s that are of relatively equal quality, one of them will drop at least $5 below AAV, probably more like $10. It’s not like owners are foaming at the mouth to outbid each other for a mid-WR2.
Best Case Scenario: Edelman plays 16 games and almost cracks WR1 status.
Worst Case Scenario: If we don’t assume injury to Edelman, the only thing stopping him would be Tom Brady falling off the QB cliff that all great QBs seem to dive off of (but, it should be said, we’ve all been assuming Brady would fall off that cliff for 3 years now, so IDK).
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