By Mr. Fantasy
One of the best new toys we have at our disposal in preparing for fantasy football drafts this summer is draft tabulations now found on many Web sites.
Take the one on NFL.com, for example. At a glance, it tells you the consensus order in which players have been selected in its fantasy drafts this season.
This shouldn't necessarily affect your player analysis. But it does give you a clue what your competition might be thinking.
Based on the current NFL.com tabulations, I've compiled this list of the Most Underrated (Wisest Investments) and Most Underrated (Poorest Choices) players in fantasy football this season:
WISEST INVESTMENTS
Michael Turner, Falcons. Turner has gone at the end of Round 1 in most drafts and has spilled into Round 2 in a bunch, and that's a steal. Remember, this was a guy who was much more highly regarded last season and succumbed to a tough schedule and an injury. He has neither this season.
Cedric Benson, Bengals. The Bengals have upgraded their offense, which means their workhorse back should score more touchdowns. He's an ideal second back who's slipping into Round 3 in many drafts. If you get a crack at him in Round 2, I highly recommend taking him.
DeAngelo Williams, Panthers. The Panthers make no secret about it: They will run the ball as much as anyone this season. Even if Williams loses carries to Jonathan Stewart, he'll still rank among the league leaders in attempts. Given his skill set, that makes him a solid fantasy starter, even possibly a fantasy star (again).
Pierre Thomas, Saints. The Saints rushed for 21 touchdowns last season and Thomas had only six of them. I expect at least five more this year, which should get him into your lineup more times than not over the course of the season.
Michael Bush, Raiders. Adding Jason Campbell gives the Raiders at least a bit of a passing threat, which should help their running game. Tom Cable is a conservative coach who would love to pound the ball on people, and that's exactly what Bush does.
Sammy Morris, Patriots. Trying to predict what will happen with the Patriot backfield is impossible. But Morris has the potential to be as good as anyone in the Pat pack, so that warrants at least the last spot on your roster.
POOREST CHOICES
Ryan Mathews, Chargers. On average, he's been the eighth back taken in NFL.com drafts, and that's asking a lot from a rookie who has an established sidekick (Darren Sproles). If you walk away from the draft with Mathews as your franchise player, you're in big trouble.
Jamaal Charles, Chiefs. I like the direction the Chief offense is headed in, and I think Charles could be very good. Next year. Maybe the year after. Not yet.
Joseph Addai, Colts. When both backs are healthy, Donald Brown clearly is the Colts' best. The team stubbornly sticks with Addai, but maybe that's because they figure he's going to get hurt anyway. Drafting Addai as a starting back means you better have a quality backup ready.
Jonathan Stewart, Panthers. The better Williams runs, the less Stewart will play. Since it's clear I'm high on Williams, you should be able to guess where I rate Stewart.
Ben Tate, Texans. The Texans went to camp totally undecided who their best back was: Tate, Steve Slaton or Arian Foster. If it turns out that Tate wins the job, then scratch him from this list. But at this point, he rates as no better than a "committee" guy, and that's not good enough for me.
Montario Hardesty, Browns. The Browns have a terrible offense and a decent returning back in Jerome Harrison. I'm not sure why anyone would roll the dice on Hardesty.
