Welcome back! You’ve (hopefully) read my two previous value draft opinion pieces – Blake Jarwin and Phillip Lindsay, so what’s one more. As a single mother, I’m always looking for a bargain and what is the Green Bay Packers WR2 at an average draft position of WR65, if not a bargain. I know we’ve had only a small sample size of Allen Lazard, but I like to think we’ve seen enough to throw a dart at a guy who started to blossom at the end of last season.
Allen Lazard started this off season, prior to the NFL draft, as an unsavory fantasy pick. Generally speaking, we were all pretty certain Green Bay would take a wide receiver. In turn, the Packers took a back up quarterback first round and continued to fade wide receiver the remainder of the draft. This move, or lack thereof, by the Packers brass left the WR2 behind Davante Adams wide open.
Geronimo Allison signed with the Detroit Lions this off season leaving behind 56 targets. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was targeted 57 times last year compared to Allen Lazard’s 52 targets with 26 receptions and 35 receptions, respectively. To add to fantasy value, Lazard scored one more touchdown to Allison’s two touchdowns in 2019. If you add in the receptions vacated by Allison, Lazard is looking at an uptick in targets behind the WR1 work horse, affectionately known as DavantBAE.
Quarterback Trust. It can be absolutely imperative to a wide receivers rise up the ranks. Lazard was targeted on 3rd down 23 times, catching 16 of them – 15 of those receptions went for a 1st down. Aaron Rogers quarterback rating when targeting Lazard is a piping hot 116.7. Any quarterback security blanket has some kind of fantasy relevance.
The Lizard King may only be pertinent as a WR3 or in a Flex role on your fantasy rosters, but when you can get him as late as the 13th and 14th round there’s no reason not to throw that dart. If Lazard does hit, you’ve secured an every week player, if he doesn’t, you find yourself on the waiver wire picking up one of the multiple plug-and-play flex options out there. When it comes to fantasy drafts, value and bargain become everything. We saw the basement of Lazard’s outlook in 2019, and while his ceiling is undetermined, it’s certainly worth a shot.
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