The combination of a very thin running back pool and a ton of quality depth at the quarterback, wide receiver and tight end positions is impacting the relative draft-day values of those positions. And it's leaving a lot of bargains on the board.
This first part of a four-part series aims to help fantasy owners in this arena by identifying 10 quarterbacks who fall into this undervalued category. These players are falling lower in drafts (as determined by ESPN.com's average draft position) than they should based on my own value analysis. If you see these players below slipping in drafts, you'll know it's time to pounce.
Here are the top 10 undervalued fantasy quarterbacks.
1. Robert Griffin III
Current ESPN Live Draft ADP: 49.3
Current ESPN Live Draft positional rank: No. 8
The Football Scientist (TFS) positional rank: No. 4
Griffin may have been the best downfield passer in the NFL last year. His 15.1 vertical yards per attempt (VYPA, a measure of productivity on passes thrown 11 or more yards downfield) ranked first in the league and his 16.4 stretch vertical YPA (SVYPA, a productivity gauge for aerials thrown 20 or more yards) ranked second. His 826 rushing yards were tops among quarterbacks and placed 20th among all ball carriers. Griffin also posted an amazingly low 1.2 percent bad decision rate (BDR, which measures how often a quarterback makes a mental error that leads to a turnover opportunity for the defense), which would be impressive for any passer but is doubly so for a rookie quarterback. All of this adds up to top-five caliber fantasy quarterback potential.