WR Emmanuel Sanders (Denver Broncos)
2018 Stats: 71 receptions for 868 yards, 4 TD; four carries for 53 yards, 1 TD
From Week 1-Week 13 last season, Emmanuel Sanders was WR16 in standard scoring leagues and WR15 in full-point PPR. A torn Achilles’ cost him the rest of the season though, and automatically dampened his outlook for 2019 and beyond.
Sanders made steady progress through the offseason, and by early June he was running routes and incorporating lateral movement into his workouts. The Broncos did not put him on the PUP list entering training camp, and he played in their preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers last Monday night. A 45-yard catch was negated by a penalty, but Sanders looked good on a 19-yard run, he had a five-yard catch that counted and said he felt great after the game.
Sanders topped 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons with Denver, but his production has dropped over the last two in line with the quality of who the Broncos have had under center. Joe Flacco is an upgrade over Case Keenum, if only in theory to some degree, but the Broncos are counting on Courtland Sutton emerging and DaeSean Hamilton carrying over his performance during Sanders’ absence into a new season. As a reliable veteran target in all areas of the field, Flacco should be looking Sanders’ way often.
Projected over a full 16 games, Sanders would have had 95 receptions for 1,157 yards on 131 targets last year. Of course he’s coming off a major injury and is 32 years old, and he also missed time with an ankle injury in 2017. But Sanders has put himself on the fantasy radar with a healthy showing in his preseason debut.
Sanders has had more than six touchdowns in a season just once in his career (thanks 2014 Peyton Manning). So his fantasy value is better in PPR leagues, where volume is a driver.
Just since Tuesday (via Fantasy Football Calculator), Sanders’ ADP has gone up nearly a full round (pick 10.07 to pick 9.12-WR44) in standard leagues. The rise has not been as dramatic in PPR, but he is coming in as pick 9.05 and WR42. Fantasy Pros consensus ADP has Sanders in the same range, at pick 107 and WR43 in standard scoring and pick 103 and WR43 in PPR.
Sanders is going off the board as a mid-range WR4, and as draft season winds down he may push into low-end WR3 territory in PPR formats. In any case, even with some health risk having to be mixed in, there’s substantial value and upside to be had here.
2019 Projection: 79 receptions for 944 yards, 5 TD
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