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As training camps open, it is time to think about redraft leagues.  Ideally your draft will commence about a week or so before the NFL season starts.  However (due to scheduling issues among owners) many leagues have to start their annual draft sometime in August.

With that in mind I will return to a series of articles I did last year, looking at six players that I find currently undervalued at their ADP (Average Draft Position).  Last year Miles Austin was on my Six-Pack list, so hopefully lightning will strike again and enable you to find that diamond in the rough.

The ADP was taken from mock drafts found at Fantasy Football Calculator (http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/) with the draft position being listed after each player’s name. This is for a 12 team league with standard scoring.  All players are currently being taken after the eighth round, with most being available in round twelve or thereafter.

Without further ado, here are my six bargain selections for the WR position:

Johnny Knox, Bears - ADP 9.12 WR # 42

If any player on this list is this year’s Miles Austin, it is probably Johnny Knox. 

Mike Martz was brought in as the new OC in Chicago and his pass-happy offense has produced its’ share of Fantasy Football stars over the years.  Someone will emerge as the top WR among the Bears and I now think the most likely candidate is Knox

Although he was outperformed by Devin Aromashodu in mini-camp, Martz has publicly stated that Johnny Knox is penciled in (along with Devin Hester) as one of the starting WRs.  Martz has always coveted players with speed.  Knox is lightning fast and has the potential to be an updated version of what Torry Holt was with the Rams.

My only hesitation with Knox is that he is a slightly built at 6-0 and 180 lbs.  In the few Bears’ games I saw last year, he was pushed around by defenders and then seemed to be always looking to officials for a flag.  If he can become more aggressive and not let opposing defensive players bully him, then his upside is potentially in the Top 10 at this position.

Jerricho Cotchery, Jets - ADP 12.04 WR # 52

Cotchery is at # 52?  Am I missing something here?  He was the favorite target of Mark Sanchez last season and finished in the Top 30 in receiving yards, after posting 57 catches for 821 yards and 3 TDs.

It is true Santonio Holmes was added in the offseason, but he will be suspended the first four games and then it should take another 2-3 games to assimilate himself to the new offense.  Holmes will also be competing with Braylon Edwards as the deep threat, leaving Cotchery as the possession receiver.  The Jets should also be passing more, as the training wheels should be taken off of Sanchez in his sophomore year. 

Jabar Gaffney, Broncos - ADP 13.05 WR # 60

Yeah, well go ahead and laugh, but Gaffney knows Josh McDaniel’s offense from his days with the Patriots and he did a great Brandon Marshall impersonation the last week of the 2009 season with 14 catches for 213 yards.

It is true that this is a player who couldn’t establish himself as a legitimate weekly starter in prior stops at Houston and New England.  However, the current competition in Denver is pretty meager – Eddie Royal may have peaked his rookie year, Stokely and Lloyd have seen better days and the two rookies are unproven.  Among this group he should be able to distinguish himself and have a very productive Fantasy season.

Chaz Schilens, Raiders - ADP 13.09 WR # 61

Chaz Schilens is the only returnee from my sleeper list of last year, but I am still of the opinion that he will make some noise in Fantasy leagues.  We haven’t really had much of an opportunity to see what Chaz can actually do – but he did show a great deal of promise in limited action towards the end of his 2008 rookie season.

Schilens did nothing in 2009.  He was slow in recovering from a leg injury and when he was on the field he was either being thrown to by Bruce Gradkowski (a decent QB, but with whom he had little experience working with) or the completely inept Jamarcus Russell.  The Raiders have hopefully adequately addressed the QB situation with the off-season acquisition of Jason Campbell from the Redskins.

Schilens has the size (6-4 225 lbs) speed (4.38 40 time at his Pro Day) and inherent ability to make it at the pro level, providing he can stay healthy and develop some chemistry with Jason Campbell.  Look for him to help move the chains between the 20s, with the threat of occasionally taking it the distance.

Nate Burleson, Lions - ADP 13.09 WR # 62

Although advertised as a # 1 WR, Nate Burleson has always done his best when he was teamed with another starter who opposing defenses could focus their attention on.  The best example was in 2004 on the Vikings with Randy Moss, where he had 68 catches for 1006 yards and 9 TDs.  He finds himself in a similar situation this year with the Lions, playing second fiddle to the elite talent of Calvin Johnson

I expect the best Fantasy production from Burleson to occur early in the season.  The opposing defenses will key on Johnson, allowing Matt Stafford and Burleson to connect up on the underneath routes.  Once defensive coordinators start taking Burleson seriously his numbers will drop, but he should still way outperform his current ADP. 

On a closing note, it should be mentioned that he was the # 25 Fantasy WR before he was injured last season.  While playing in only 13 games for the Seahawks, he still accounted for 63 catches for 812 yards and 3 TDs.

Mike Thomas, Jaguars - ADP N/A

Talk about flying under the radar – Thomas is not being taken at all in most mock drafts and I couldn’t even find him among those listed.  Fantasy owners who ignore Thomas could live to regret it, as he looks to have the Jaguars # 2 WR position locked up.  His only competition is Jarrett Dillard (who he outplayed last year) and the underachieving, oft-injured Troy Williamson.

I will mention once again a statistic that keeps jumping out at me for Thomas.  In 2009 he caught a phenomenal 77.4% of the passes thrown to him and led the league in efficiency among WRS (for those who averaged at least 2 targets per week).

Yes, he did only have 48 catches for 453 yards, and that is not a large sample size to work with.  However, this statistic (approaching an 80% catch rate) is what first keyed me to the fact that Wes Welker was something special.  I am not saying Thomas is the next Welker, but anyone who is that sure handed and can be had for virtually nothing is worth grabbing near the end of your draft (particularly in PPR leagues).

Next: RB Sleeper Six-Pack

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