FIVE Thrift Store Fantasy Football Catalog Items To Consider For Your Draft
Kevin Sabitus. Getty Images.It's the middle of your fantasy draft. All the major starting spots are filled and that one friend already hit auto pick and locked up the top kicker and defense by Round 9. This is the time where you can get creative and pluck random players nowhere near the top of the "best available" list. It's also the time where if you hit on the right one, you get bragging rights for finding the "steal" of the draft.
That's right baby! We thrift shopping today.
I recently blogged a few guys I see as values based on ADP and last year's WAR. Like Shopping at Nordstrom Rack. Top-brands that are still great but might be just out of season. Well today is different. We're going slumming. We're hearing the sound of plastic hangers sliding across partially rusted metal bars as we peruse fantasy accessories who have been used, abused, and discarded. That means no rookie flyers. What we aim to find today are…
THRIFT SHOP HEROES!
Here's the plan. I'm going to throw some names out that quite frankly, you're not going to like. At one point you did. And that one point is long passed. But… maybe they still have something left their last owner didn't see. Let's find out.
Justin Fields
There could be no more perfect an example of what we're talking about here than Justin Fields. This guy was supposed to be a versatile Tom Ford suit but turned out to just be another cheap fake manufactured overseas in Ohio State.
Let's look him over though and see if the damage is beyond repair even for the "final sale" tag clearly stuck over three other clearance tags no one cared to bite on. Here's what scares me. I think Justin Fields might be the QB Gabe Davis. He had that incredible game as a Bear vs the Lions that sticks to mind without considering the overall picture. Just like Gabe in the infamous :13 real football playoff game. Let's pretty much forget about his time in Pittsburgh and plot out his rounded game scores in histogram form:
That's a lot of games under 20. But those two near 40 are what I think we still can't quite get over. We are hoping he can hit on some big games again for us as a Jet. Problem here might be that the Jets are one of just six teams with one single 30+ point fantasy game out of their QB. Shoutout Broncos, Colts, and Rams who are the only three teams with fewer. That's right - not even Anthony Richardson got one over 30.
Now this might not be fair. The Jets went through it with Darnold, Wilson, and even hyped themselves into Mike White once they hit rock bottom before going with another item we will certainly find in this thrift store soon enough. But now they have a fresh new coaching staff and Fields has the keys to show the world he was really worth that #9 overall pick.
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At ADP #100, you can get this #9 overall pick in Round #9. That's basically the random basket with the neon green paper with "$.50" written on it. Why not give this a try? So what if it was made overseas in Ohio? If it fits in this new New York scheme no one will notice you didn't get it at a much more upscale department store such as Ross.
Aaron Rodgers
In the deepest, darkest corner of every thrift shop there's that section of men's suits you can only guess was from the wardrobe of All The President's Men. Dated. Torn. Clearly attempted to be patched up years ago already. And the daddy long leg that was hanging out on it for weeks is pretty peeved you decided to pick it up and have a look.
QB28. What are you even doing here? Who's playing in 3 QB leagues these days? Is that Gen Z thing?
Let's see what we got here. Just three games with 20+ fantasy points since carrying the flag. And his very last fantasy game (Week 17 last year) he put up whopping .48 points. Who knows? Maybe that final week monster dud left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. He's going as a 15th rounder if at all which is why he's the crumpled up blouse on the floor of the back of the thrift store. But here's the only sell I can make here. If you're a hardo wait on quarterback guy, Rodgers could be your ticket to gloat in the group chat. Maybe it's that ole one-year after the major injury rule situation. The Steelers have have some weapons on offense including DK Metcalf…
OK hand up. I'm throwing this shirt back in the spider pile. I'm just saying there's a world where we see 75% Rodgers which could be a quarterback that doesn't kill you while you stock up on picks at other positions. So there that shirt will be if you're interested.
DeAndre Hopkins
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14th round for what once was the best receiver in the league. Clearly past his prime - what on earth can we expect in Baltimore that we wouldn't have seen in Kansas City?
Well. That's why he's here.
Still. Hopkins was getting targets in Kansas City. 7/10 games with the Chiefs with at least four. And for PPR leagues, his gigantic frame isn't affected by age so he's still crafty enough to get those short to middle range safety throws. And when Lamar is on the move, he's going to look for a big body. Usually that's Mark Andrews. But maybe Hop fills some of those targets now.
Trevor Lawrence
The Prince that was promised. Bludgeoned to death by Urban Meyer and just the overall everything of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Is 2025 finally going to be the year?
Here's the path. Liam Cohen is an actually good play caller and for the first time in Lawrence's career he has two top-notch wide receivers in Brian Thomas and now Travis Hunter. Let's be clear. This is absolutely a "Final Call" for Trevor Lawrence as a player. If he fails, he'll be relegated as a career backup somewhere desolate and uninspiring. Probably Jacksonville.
Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson is the upscale beard trimmer that's clearly been purchased, lazily repackaged and returned multiple times within a short timeframe undoubtedly with many missing pieces. Here's the deal. You don't know where this thing has been. But it's still pretty new all things considered and costs 10 times more brand new anywhere else. You KNOW something's wrong with it. But it's from a great brand. Just don't think about it. Clean the hell out of it, and enjoy the savings. Just know that the batteries probably freeze up in the cold.
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Now you could say he has no chance of being good on the Browns. But who are you kidding? He's going to last three weeks on this team. So who knows where he ends up! Probably the Chiefs, that's just how this all works. He'll certainly flame out there, but you'll get the thrill of being excited Mahomes magically fixes him even though he's literally never done that before (Sammy Watkins, Josh Gordan, Kadarius Toney, Juju Smith-Schuster, MVS, DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown).
Alright - we should probably get out of here before we get intake tooo much thrift store dust. If you're asking me which of these fine gently used and abused prospects I'd take the check-out counter, I'd be somewhat open to Trevor Lawrence. Maybe he's 2024 Sam Darnold with Liam Cohen. No one thinks about the Jaguars which is fair, but the addition of Hunter and the ascent of Brian Thomas paired with a lacking run game gives some reason to take a chance.