With all the information you have available to you in the fantasy football industry today, it’s hard to have any idea which players you should truly love. Seriously, I had a conversation with a listener recently who told me he listens to over 15 different fantasy podcasts, but that they’re all touting different players. He said it’s gotten to a point where there’s been a case made for everyone and he wishes he knew the players that everyone would put their reputation on.

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It’s a fair wish on his part, as it’s pretty easy for analysts to say that they like a bunch of different players without suffering any consequences. It’s time to plant your flags on the players, ladies and gentlemen. If you’ve been following along all offseason, you know that I’ve given arguments to everything imaginable, but it’s time to let you know who “my guys” are in 2018.

These are the players who I’ll be aiming to land on every one of my fantasy teams, though it’s never going to happen since some of my leaguemates show up with my cheat sheets to our draft. That’s fine, though, because I’m an advice-giver first, player-second. If there’s a promise I can make to you, it’s that I’ll always follow the same advice I give you. With that, let’s talk about the players I’m willing to put my reputation on in 2018.

Saquon Barkley (RB – NYG)

I didn’t want to put anyone in the first-round here, because it usually comes down to what draft slot you have, but I want everyone to know that I’m all aboard the Barkley hype-train. He’s a three-down back who the Giants passed up multiple franchise quarterbacks for and will be playing in Pat Shurmur’s newly-installed offense. The Giants added multiple pieces to their offensive line this offseason and when Odell Beckham, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram are out there on the field, a defensive coordinator cannot make Barkley his first priority. If you wanted to take him at No. 3 overall, I wouldn’t talk you out of it.

Joe Mixon (RB – CIN)

Depending on who you’re drafting with, I’ve seen Mixon going anywhere from the middle of the second-round to the middle of the third-round. Bottom line, if you have a pick after the top 15 players are off the board, you should be considering Mixon. Once Jeremy Hill went to I.R. last season, Mixon totaled 74 touches before injuring his ankle to Giovani Bernard‘s 34 touches, which is essentially a 70/30 timeshare. Here’s the only running backs who saw 70 percent of their team’s touches in 2017: Le’Veon Bell, Kareem Hunt, Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, and LeSean McCoy. Mixon is just as talented as Bell, just in a lesser offense. Don’t be surprised if Mixon is touted as a top-five running back next year.

Doug Baldwin (WR – SEA)

The preseason injury that Baldwin has been dealing with has lowered his ADP until the fourth-round, which means you can get him on your fantasy teams if you really want him, and I do. Jimmy Graham, Luke Willson, and Paul Richardson left with 197 targets, 116 receptions, 1,376 yards, and 20 touchdowns. Their replacements? Ed Dickson, Nick Vannett, and Jaron Brown. Keep in mind that even with more talent on the roster, Baldwin has finished as a top-13 wide receiver in three straight seasons. With the Seahawks defense falling apart, they’re likely to throw the ball even more in 2018 and Baldwin is the only one who’s shown excellent rapport with Russell Wilson. His knee injury seems to be a sprain that they felt unnecessary to push in the preseason, especially when you consider their lack of wide receiver talent behind him on the roster.

Chris Hogan (WR – NE)

He’s someone who’s shot up my draft board as of late when you consider everything that’s happened to the Patriots pass-catchers this offseason. First, it was Brandin Cooks being shipped off to the Rams. Then it was Julian Edelman getting suspended for four games. Then it was Jordan Matthews getting cut. Now Rex Burkhead is dealing with an ongoing knee issue. It’s clear that Hogan is Tom Brady‘s No. 1 target after Rob Gronkowski, who’s had trouble staying on the field as well. Did you know that Hogan was the No. 7 wide receiver through eight games last year before getting hurt? Keep in mind that was with Cooks on the roster. You’re getting him at WR3 cost, but he legitimately has top-eight upside.

Sony Michel (RB – NE)

This is one I feel slightly worried about, but barring injury, Michel should be a big-time contributor in fantasy football leagues. If you believe the saying, “you can’t trust a Patriots running back,” you likely didn’t win very much money in DFS last year. Michel is currently being drafted as an RB3, and to give you insight on what I mean, here are the performance percentages of the Patriots running backs last year:

Player Games Touch/gm RB1 % RB2 % RB3 % BOOM % BUST % Dion Lewis 16 13.3 18.8% 37.5% 75.0% 12.5% 18.8% Rex Burkhead 10 9.4 20.0% 60.0% 70.0% 10.0% 20.0% James White 14 7.1 7.1% 35.7% 71.4% 0.0% 28.6%

You mean to tell me that Michel can’t match some of those numbers from last year? They drafted him in the first-round for a reason, and they haven’t had a true three-down back like him for quite some time.

Trey Burton (TE – CHI)

I’ve said for a long time to simply follow the targets at tight end and you’ll end up with a top-10 guy more often than not. After signing to be the head coach of the Bears, one of the first moves Matt Nagy made was signing Burton to a long-term contract. He’s already said that Burton will play the Travis Kelce “move” tight end role in the offense, being lined up as a wide receiver quite a bit. There have been seven games that Burton has played at least 30 snaps, and in those games, he totaled 31 receptions for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Over a 16-game season, that would have amounted to the same number of points that Zach Ertz scored in 2017.

Sterling Shepard (WR – NYG)

There will be a lot of people questioning this one and I completely understand that, but why do you think Adam Thielen is currently being drafted as a top-15 wide receiver? If Pat Shurmur had never taken over for Norv Turner, Thielen may not have ever been able to showcase his abilities. There’s plenty of analysts wondering who is going to man the slot for the Vikings in 2018. The truth is that it doesn’t matter because it’s a new offense. Shurmur has taken his offense out to New York, where Shepard will shine in the slot role. Yes, he’s going to move him around at times, but he’s playing the role that made Thielen a household name. Even better, Shepard has already proven his ability to produce, as he’s been the No. 32 wide receiver in points per game over the last two seasons, yet is being taken as the No. 45 wide receiver in drafts.

James White (RB – NE)

While I would like Sony Michel on every roster, White isn’t too far behind. He comes a bit cheaper, though his price is rising as of late. With the knee injuries to Michel and Rex Burkhead, they could rely on White a bit more this year like they did in the Super Bowl the last two years. Despite being involved in big timeshares over the last three seasons, White has finished with RB2 or better numbers in 34.1 percent of his games, and RB3 or better in 63.4 percent of his games. Even if he performed the exact same as he did in those years, he’s being under-drafted, but there’s reason to think he’s used more in 2018 given the injuries and lack of options in the passing game. Fun fact: White has eight touchdowns in the Patriots last six postseason games.

Devante Parker (WR – MIA)

It’s been one heck of a roller-coaster offseason for Parker, who was getting a ton of praise from coaches for his work ethic and dedication to the game, but was apparently having a bad camp before breaking a finger that will cause him to miss the remainder of the preseason. The negative reports out of camp were that Xavien Howard was getting the best of their battles, which tells me one thing – the defense viewed Parker as the No. 1 option, as Howard is by far their best cornerback, and one who stood out over the final month of 2017. The bottom line is that Parker is being taken outside the top 110 players at the moment, and it’s impossible to find someone who’s as talented as him who should see 110-plus targets this late in drafts. Even if he doesn’t pan out, it’s worth the risk you “paid” to have him on your team.

Mike Williams (WR – LAC)

Whenever you have the opportunity to get Philip Rivers‘ favorite red zone target in the double-digit rounds, you have to do it. Some may be jumping out of their seat screaming Keenan Allen is that guy, but he’s now scored 14 touchdowns on his last 376 targets, or one every 26.9 targets. The average among NFL wide receivers last year was one every 22.8 targets. With Antonio Gates sipping pina coladas, and Hunter Henry out for the year with a torn ACL, the Chargers desperately need someone to step-up in the red zone, which just happens to be the reason they drafted Williams with the No. 7 overall pick in last year’s draft. He’s 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, making him a difficult guy to defend, as you likely saw in the second week of the preseason where he straight-up Randy Moss‘d Seahawks cornerback Akeem King. If you’d like to see the video, here you go. There’s real breakout potential here and you take almost no risk to get him.

Anthony Miller (WR – CHI)

Not only has every beat reporter who’s visited the Bears come away raving about Miller, but I have as well. Seriously, after attending Bears camp, all I could talk about was how much Miller impressed me. He’s being moved all over the formation and has taken both Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara to school multiple times. The way he moves around the field reeks of confidence, something that’s hard to find with rookie wide receivers. It’s also important to note that Miller will primarily play in the slot, which is where Mitch Trubisky has had much of his success over the last few years, hitting Ryan Switzer at North Carolina in 2016 and Kendall Wright in 2017. If Allen Robinson starts out slow, Miller is going to have his breakout in 2018.

Geronimo Allison (WR – GB)

I’ve touted him all offseason, so why stop now? When you’re a starting wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers, you offer an extremely high ceiling, so why is Allison going undrafted? What’s that, they drafted three wide receivers? Oh, the ones that Rodgers has continually called-out for not practicing correctly. In an interview the other day, he told the young receivers to pay attention to the way 17, 18, and 81 practice. He was referring to Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, and Allison, who are the three starting wide receivers. With Randall Cobb still dealing with some pain in his surgically-repaired ankle, it’s possible that Allison is asked to do more than usual. Remember when James Jones scored 14 touchdowns a few years back with Rodgers? Yeah, good times.



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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.