Packers fantasy football primer, 2019

The third week of the preseason is finally over. Your fantasy football drafts can now resume without any fear of injuries — or, apparently, retirements — that would ruin the fun on Sundays.

So, where can you draft your favorite Green Bay Packers players this week? We’ve got a good strategy for you.

If the top-tier running backs like Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey are off the board, take a long look at Davante Adams in the first round.

The Packers’ leading receiver has been the definition of consistency. Adams has missed just six games over the past five seasons and has scored 10+ touchdowns in each of the past three. Adams also led the NFL with 31 targets inside the red zone and saw 30.8% of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ targets within the 10-yard line. Tight end Jimmy Graham was the Packers’ second-most targeted receiver inside the 10 at a meager 19.2% clip.

The short version: Adams will suit up to play every week and will get in the end zone, and is catching passes from one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

That’s exactly what you want from a first-round pick.

We looked at five leaders in the fantasy industry — ESPN, CBS, Yahoo Sports, Fantasy Football Calculator and Fantasy Pros — to search each site’s average draft position (ADP) assigned to Packers players, based on the opinions of experts and results of online drafts.

There are two numbers to keep in mind here: the overall ADP (average of all five sites) and which round that pick corresponds with, based on a standard snake draft in a 12-team league.

In your standard re-draft leagues with normal scoring and rules, Adams is being drafted 10th overall in fantasy drafts across the world. Most sites list Adams as the third-best option at receiver behind DeAndre Hopkins and Michael Thomas, but we like our case for our guy in green and gold.

According to these sites, there are five other Packers players that you can comfortably target: Rodgers, Graham, running back Aaron Jones, fellow wide receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison.

If you go big on receiver early, don’t panic. There are still solid options at running back later in the draft — and Jones is up there.

Jones is expected to finally be the featured back after his 5.9 yards per touch last year easily topped Jamaal Williams (4.6 yards per touch), his competition in the Packers’ backfield. Jones is typically listed somewhere between the RB15 and RB20 spot and a solid pick in the third or fourth round.

Williams, however, wasn’t listed among the top 50 fantasy running backs and is strictly a handcuff at this point of the season. Rookie Dexter Williams could also cut into Jamaal Williams’ looks even further, so avoiding both seems like a safe call.

Speaking of the league’s top quarterbacks, Rodgers should be a high-end option once again if you plan on grabbing a QB early in your draft.

Graham disappointed in his first season with the Packers last year with just 636 receiving yards and a career-worst two touchdowns, but fantasy experts still consider him draftable, mostly due to the weak tight-end class and his quarterback. Graham is being selected in the 13th round on average and is listed anywhere from the TE15 to TE21.

As a late-round dart throw at a weak position, there are worse options.

Don’t think about drafting a Packers kicker or their defense – at this point, at least. Green Bay hasn’t decided on a kicker between veteran Mason Crosby and Sam Ficken, who was signed on waivers in the spring.

The Packers have a lot of new faces on defense, including pass rusher Za’Darius Smith and safety Adrian Amos, but we won’t know how it looks until the season starts, so don’t waste a pick on Mike Pettine’s unit. You can add them via waivers if they show up.

Alright, now that you’re all studied up, there are no excuses if you don’t take home the hardware in December.

Now to think of a clever team name …