• IDP Cornerback Candidates With Upside!

    Embed from Getty Images

    Here we take a look at some of the CBs primed to provide great value to your fantasy football team in 2018.


    CBs are virtually ignored in the IDP world.... wait, jeez I messed up. You don't even know who I am yet. Okay, Okay, let us get to who I am and why in the world am I writing about fantasy football.

    My name is Xavier Warner (@xavierjwarner on twitter) and I am from the state of New Jersey (terrible taxers/great beach scene). My journey began by writing articles for the fantasy football world at the beginning of this year. I always enjoyed writing and expressing my thoughts to at the very least, my friends (even if they rarely listen to anything I say).

    My next thought was that it would be awesome to express my thoughts to others and see how they responded. I skipped that stuff and started my own website (topshelfdff.com) right away and immediately began churning out articles and recruiting individuals to join me on this adventure. One of my early articles on examining Deshaun Watson's touchdowns in 2017 saw a positive response. I decided to keep going. After taking most of the summer months off to coach my travel baseball team, I am ready to get back on the horse and provide some quality content for anyone who is interested to hear my babble.

    Cornerbacks Have Feelings Too

    Okay, enough about me, back to cornerbacks being virtually ignored in the IDP world. Well, that is not completely true but cornerbacks generally produce less than safeties, from a fantasy perspective. They get more tackles, which in most cases is a decent part of your scoring output each week. Hence why I am a big believer of Tackles > Everything Else.

    That is not to say that other points do not matter, but if we relate it to the offensive side of the ball, the reasoning is there. If you are looking at a WR to target in your draft, you are either looking at a guy that scores in the double-digit touchdown range (Devante Adams) or a guy that is going to get a ridiculous amount of their teams target share (Jarvis Landry). The correlation is there, but let's take a look at some guys that can help provide incremental value for your team from the cornerback position.

    Denzel Ward

    Embed from Getty Images

    Stat Projection (2018): 52 Solo Tackles, 12 Assisted Tackles, 4 TFL, 1 Sack, 3 Interceptions

    Denzel Ward is the first name to jump out to me that screams value. Ward has all the skills to be a lockdown corner in today's NFL, but identifying how he is going to make a mark on your fantasy team is a whole other task. The Defensive Coordinator of the Browns, Gregg Williams, is ultra aggressive and will put Ward in situations that put him in man coverage against the opposing wide receiver.

    This is going to provide Ward with the opportunity to make some of those highly important solo tackles that could bump him up versus others within his same tier. He'll be somewhere in the mid to high CB2 area with CB1 upside. Find him in the back end of your draft and give yourself the ability to have that safe floor, high-end cornerbacks that are generally tough to come by.

    Adoree Jackson

    Embed from Getty Images

    Stat Projection (2018): 66 Tackles, 15 Assisted Tackles, 0 TFL, 0 Sacks, 6 Interceptions

    Go Go Gadget Adoree! We knew what Adoree was coming out of college; a quick twitch, ultra-versatile player that you can use in various different ways...a toolbox if you will. This bodes well for fantasy, especially if you are playing in a return yardage league. A couple of the leagues I am a part of takes part in this as it provides another stream of points players can accumulate.

    Return yard points make players like Adoree, who are already going to impact your team, that much more valuable on draft day.and as the season progresses. This is because of the opportunities their unique skill set provides them. I think Adoree gets off to a hot start, especially if the Titans play him out of the slot like their depth chart currently says (CB2/CB3).

    The Titans start out with the Dolphins, Texans, Jaguars, Eagles and Bills over the first five games. No one on any of those rosters scares me out of the slot beside maybe Agholor. Adoree will showcase what type of player he is, and how he can make an immediate and lasting impact in that atrocious Titans pass defense from the previous year. Again, If your league does return yardage, highlight this guy MULTIPLE times on your draft board and draft him early! If not, he is still a value pick as a top 10 CB in all formats.

    Gareon Conley

    Embed from Getty Images

    Stat Projection (2018): 42 Tackles,  7 Assisted Tackles, 0 TFL, 0 Sacks, 3 Interceptions

    This one is a deep dive as Conley did not really provide much at all in his rookie season due to a nagging shin injury. I have been following his story a lot (especially through the legal issues) to monitor if he would get healthy and distraction free for his second year. He finished last season with 7 tackles in limited time and his true potential was not shown at any point in his young career.

    However, we have a semblance of hope with Conley going into year two. He was kept out of two minicamp practices with a groin injury but since then has gotten healthier. He "has [come] back faster than any of [them] have expected," said Gruden via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Arena.

    That is an encouraging sign for me well going through projections and evaluations for the 2018 season. Conley is going to be the starter opposite of Rashaan Melvin, but he is going to need to pick up the pace a little. If he can show he is healthy and ready to go, I would target him earlier than expected and really attempt to get a high upside guy that can provide depth on the backend of your roster.

    Thank you for joining me and reading this article. If you have any questions or concerns, find me on Twitter: @xavierjwarner or via email: xavier.j.warner@gmail.com. Stay tuned for more CB articles in the future!


    [podbean resource="episode=tzpqj-973b4a" type="audio-rectangle" height="100" skin="1" btn-skin="107" share="1" fonts="Helvetica" auto="0" download="0" rtl="0"]

    Xavier Warner

    My name is Xavier Warner. I am from New Jersey and a die hard Philadelphia Eagles fan! I spend a lot of my time doing various things in the fantasy football community from podcasts, rankings and mock drafts. I love staying active and talk football to everyone and anyone.
    Back to top