By Cody Smith
In the second installment of my sleeper series I’m looking at a somewhat forgotten receiver in Arizona. That receiver is Christian Kirk.
Last season Kirk was second on the team behind just Larry Fitzgerald in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Kirk’s line of 68-709-3 was a little underwhelming, considering many fantasy analysts thought that Kirk was going to supplant Larry Fitzgerald as the team’s top receiving option. Kirk trailed Fitzgerald marginally in the categories noted above. He had just one less target, one less touchdown and seven less receptions than Fitzgerald.
This all came in Kirk’s sophomore season with a rookie quarterback in Kyler Murray at the helm. Kirk will be entering the 2020 season with Murray still under center with a year of experience now under his belt. The chemistry created by this duo last season should do nothing but help Kirk succeed this season.
Flash forward to 2020 and the Christian Kirk hype train is still sitting at the station, and there are very few passengers boarding. The Cardinals brought in a shiny new toy in the off-season, trading David Johnson and some other scraps away to the Houston Texans for DeAndre Hopkins – one of the best wide-outs in the league.
In my opinion, this has many folks overlooking the still young and promising Kirk. Sure, Hopkins will get his share of the targets, but what about the WR2 position? With Larry Fitzgerald approaching 37-years-of-age, there is yet again a chance for Kirk to finally end up passing the veteran and earning valuable WR2 targets.
Considering that Kirk was essentially the WR2 on the team last year, his targets and receptions have the potential to remain in the same ballpark; a ballpark that produced 168.2 fantasy points and a WR38 finish from Kirk in 2019.
So, what is the price tag for someone that finished as the WR38 last season and retains weekly flex value? Well I’m glad you asked!
At his current ADP (in PPR leagues) you can currently get Kirk for just a late-10th round pick. Think about the kind of guys you’re drafting in thee 10th round. You surely are not planning to start these guys Week 1 (at least I would hope not.) In the 10th round you’re probably taking a WR4, 5 or even 6 depending on your draft strategy.
So, why wouldn’t you want the potential WR2 on an up and coming offense with an offensive-minded head coach on your fantasy team at that point?
Kirk is currently being drafted as the 46th wide receiver off the board and the 122nd player overall (pick 10.10 in 12 team leagues.) As stated above, Kirk was the WR38 and 102nd overall fantasy player last season.
Don’t let this draft day value pass you by, and maybe even feel free to reach a little.
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