Draft Strategy: 5 Final-Round Targets

This article will look at five players who go for trivially-cheap prices in most drafts, sometimes even undrafted all together, yet still offer clear fantasy upside that makes them worth acquiring in the last couple rounds of your draft. The players are listed in general order of descending ADP.

Ben Sinnott, TE, WAS

Earlier in the offseason Sinnott was actually fairly popular, regularly going around the 12th/13th round range of best ball drafts, but for some reason the hype has almost entirely evaporated over the course of training camp and now he trends towards the last couple rounds of fantasy drafts. That's puzzling, because the apparent reason for Sinnot's decline in popularity – the fact that he was listed behind Zach Ertz on the Washington depth chart – was an outcome easily foreseeable, and one already baked into the expectations of Sinnott optimists.

Even most of Sinnott's fans expected the Commanders to waste a month or more on Ertz, and particularly after what happened last year with Ertz and Trey McBride it's a little odd to act like Ertz is some immovable force. There might not be a worse starting tight end in the NFL right now than Ertz. Let the Commanders spin their wheels with Ertz – the conclusion that Sinnott is better than Ertz will be inescapable by October.

Expect the Washington offense to struggle early on, with defenses selling out to stop Terry McLaurin with impunity due to the incredible lack of route-running talent on the Washington offense otherwise. The offensive line will struggle as defenses tee off against Kliff Kingsbury's predictable offense, and the clear need will emerge early for a pass-catching target who can win underneath and provide a desperately-needed safety escape for Jayden Daniels when McLaurin gets locked up.

Washington needs production from their tight end routes, but Ertz can't provide it and won't. Sinnott can and eventually the Commanders will likely need him to. You'll probably need to keep Sinnott on your bench for upwards of two months if you take him, but go ahead and ask any Trey McBride investors if they regret doing the same thing last year.

Isaac Guerendo, RB, SF

Jordan Mason is the real deal as a potential starting running back prospect, and his role as the RB2 in San Francisco is beyond any doubt in light of Elijah Mitchell landing on season-ending injured reserve. Mason not only is in his third year with the 49ers, with both of his prior seasons being big successes, but his rugged durability has made him a reliable reserve presence who Kyle Shanahan trusts.

With that said, Mason might be the RB3 right now instead of the RB2 if Guerendo hadn't been hurt most of training camp. Durability – muscle pulls in particular – were already known as the primary issue with Guerendo as a prospect, and therefore were the reason he fell to the fourth round of the 2024 draft. Guerendo missed almost two full seasons at Wisconsin due to hamstring injuries, and in training camp with the 49ers Guerendo quickly suffered a multi-week hamstring injury and then tweaked a groin muscle swiftly upon his return. It's possible that Guerendo's entire NFL career will remain theoretical as he struggles indefinitely through nagging leg injuries.

The possibility of Guerendo finally staying healthy needs to be given some consideration, however, and if such a thing occurs it could quickly change things with the 49ers depth chart. Good as Mason is, Guerendo is about as powerful at 221 pounds (Mason is listed at 223 pounds), and Guerendo is much, much faster. Indeed, Guerendo might be the NFL's most athletic running back overall, boasting a 4.33-second 40 and outrageous jumps (41.5-inch vertical, 129-inch broad). Guerendo has the loudest tools, and he actually has plenty of skill as a running back, including standout pass-catching ability.

Guerendo is unlikely to see considerable usage in 2024, but any usage he does claim is likely to provide explosive returns, especially in the Shanahan offense. He was always productive when healthy in college, and power/speed on this scale will always play well from scrimmage.

Emanuel Wilson, RB, GB

Shrewd drafters might not let you get Wilson for 'Free,' because Wilson has an encouraging prospect profile and heads into Week 1 with the chance to serve as the top backup to starter Josh Jacobs. Jacobs is likely the workhorse for Green Bay, especially in light of AJ Dillon's season-ending injury, but someone will have to play after Jacobs and Wilson has a real shot to run ahead of rookie third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd.

Wilson (5-foot-11, 224 pounds) is built like a tank and runs with all the anchor you would expect at that build, and he's a good athlete for someone who runs with so much power (4.57-second pro day 40, 120-inch broad jump). Wilson was a highly productive player at Fort Valley State in college, and now he goes into his third year working with coach Matt LaFleur.

LaFleur has always been clear: the only question with Wilson was his pass blocking – the from-scrimmage ability (yards, touchdowns) was never a doubt. Wilson even at his worst is still likely a threat with the football, and whatever lingering questions there might be about Wilson's pass-blocking ability could be moot because Lloyd is a bad pass blocker with bad hands.

Josh Reynolds, WR, DEN

It doesn't get much less exciting than Reynolds, but no one can accuse the guy of inconsistency. Reynolds is your classic 45-grade player – someone who will never be good enough to be a featured presence in an offense, but also someone who is too reliable to ever completely fade from the picture. The Broncos targeted Reynolds in free agency specifically for that reliability he offers, and they're content with whatever limitations he might have.

Particularly with Tim Patrick gone, Reynolds is set up to play in most of Denver's two-wide sets, rotating out occasionally for Marvin Mims but generally lining up opposite Courtland Sutton. There's a point in the ADP or/and the free agency list where snaps themselves become valuable currency, and Reynolds will get more snaps this year than a good number of the receivers selected ahead of him.

Jordan Whittington, WR, LAR

Whereas Reynolds is a high-floor, low-ceiling type of player with a steady workload, Whittington is better thought of as a lottery ticket. Indeed, Whittington can be counted on for exactly nothing to start the season, because he'll begin his NFL career behind Demarcus Robinson with the Rams. With that said, Robinson was nearly out of the league before the Rams signed him last year, and Robinson's limitations are significant enough that even a rookie sixth-round pick like Whittington should be able to apply pressure for more playing time early on.

Whittington (6-foot-1, 202 pounds) is an extremely rugged wideout who made a name for himself at Texas by playing with motor and fearlessness, so he'll no doubt block to Sean McVay's liking, and Whittington is a much better threat after the catch than Robinson. Whittington is far from a top athlete, but his 4.47-second pro day 40 indicates 4.55 speed at the worst, and his jumps/agility drills were good otherwise. It's possible that Whittington's modest production at Texas was simply due to the improbable amount of talent in the Longhorns pass-catcher rotation, with all of Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Ja'Tavion Sanders stealing major usage in an offense that ran two-TE formations often.

Whittington might not have been able to beat out Worthy, Mitchell or Sanders for usage at Texas, but Whittington was consistently efficient with the usage he did claim, and in any case Robinson is weaker competition than Worthy or Mitchell were. Particularly after the first month or so of the season, Whittington could start forcing his way into the Rams' wideout rotation at Robinson's expense.