Julian Edelman (WR, NE) - 2018 Fantasy Football Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target ~60

CURRENT ADP: ~70

ANALYSIS: In terms of raw targets, only one team managed to throw towards the slot more times than Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. While Julian Edelman lost his season before it began to a torn ACL, both Chris Hogan and the since-departed Danny Amendola filled the role with grace. Amendola ran over 80 percent of his routes from the slot last season, while Hogan ran closer to 45 percent of his routes from there. Also contributing to account for Edelman's loss was Rob Gronkowski, who was an absolute matchup nightmare. Gronkowski finished second on the team in slot receiving yards and caught three of his touchdowns from there.

His lost 2017 season and four-game suspension have both contributed to Edelman's disrespectful ADP. Edelman is being drafted outside the top 30 at his position despite finishing as the WR14 in 2016. Edelman caught 98 passes and accounted for over 1,100 receiving yards that year.

Edelman is being drafted late enough that he can be stashed for the first month of the season without necessarily hurting your team. He's about as high-end as WR2s come, and he no longer has to worry about Amendola vulturing potential slot volume. From 2014 through 2016, Edelman averaged over 11 targets and 80 receiving yards per game with Amendola off the field.