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Fantasy Watch: AFC South

Nick Mensio breaks down the top targets, players to avoid and late-round fliers in the AFC South

All-Fantasy First Team

QB: Andrew Luck, Colts
RB1: Arian Foster, Texans
RB2: Frank Gore, Colts
WR1: T.Y. Hilton, Colts
WR2: DeAndre Hopkins, Texans
WR3: Andre Johnson, Colts
TE: Delanie Walker, Titans
D/ST: Texans
K: Adam Vinatieri, Colts

Editor's Note: For updated rankings, projections, exclusive columns, mock drafts and tons more, check out our Draft Guide!

Overrated

1. Julius Thomas, Jaguars: This “overrated” section is going to be pretty short because, quite frankly, there are a number of players from the AFC South who have no business even being on fantasy rosters. Thomas was never a target hog in Denver; he got by heavily on touchdowns. Moving to Jacksonville should get him more looks in the passing game, but the downgrade from Peyton Manning to Blake Bortles is as steep as it gets and Allen Robinson should comfortably lead the team in targets. I’d prefer Delanie Walker, Martellus Bennett and Jordan Cameron to Thomas.

2. Dorial Green-Beckham, Titans: Justin Hunter’s Fourth of July weekend arrest gives Green-Beckham a bump, but I don’t think it’s significant enough to where DGB will be making waves as a rookie who sat out all of the 2014 season. Expect the Titans to be a balanced offense, while Kendall Wright and Delanie Walker gobble up the majority of Marcus Mariota’s targets. I wouldn’t be a buyer on Green-Beckham until pick 150 or later in standard 12-team leagues.

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Underrated

1. Frank Gore, Colts: Combine their numbers, and the trio of Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw and Dan Herron would have been the RB3 last season behind DeMarco Murray and Le’Veon Bell. Gone are Richardson and Bradshaw and their 304 touches, and the Colts appeared to sour on Herron a bit due to some fumbling issues. Gore’s going to see the softest defensive fronts of his career in Indianapolis and is lightyears more talented than the Richardson-Herron combo, even at age 32. He could flirt with his previous career-high of 10 touchdowns. He’s a steal at his current RB19 ADP.

2. Allen Robinson, Jaguars: The value in Robinson is slowly going out the window by the day with every hype-piece that comes out on him. But there’s still something there in Robinson’s current sixth-round, WR29 ADP. In Robinson’s eight rookie starts, he was targeted 70 times. That’s a 140-target pace, and all the Jaguars did was add Julius Thomas, who should mainly take looks away from Marcedes Lewis, Clay Harbor and Toby Gerhart. Robinson is the starting X receiver on a team that will likely be trailing often. A potential red-zone dominator, Robinson has WR2 upside.

3. Kendall Wright, Titans: I’ve found myself rostering Wright in a number of mock drafts. Erratic, big-armed quarterbacks Jake Locker and Zach Mettenberger weren’t ideal passers for Wright’s game. He’s a winner with his quickness in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field and needs an accurate ball delivered to him. Marcus Mariota is the perfect fit for Wright. There’s value in his 13th-round ADP. Give Wright a boost up PPR draft boards. He’s a candidate for 90-plus grabs.

4. Delanie Walker, Titans: Walker was TE9 last season and should remain one of the focal points of the offense. Coach Ken Whisenhunt is a former tight end and absolutely loves Walker. He’s compared him to Antonio Gates in the past. Walker’s 63 percent catch rate from a year ago should go up with a more accurate quarterback under center. He’s going to flirt with 100 targets.

5. Coby Fleener, Colts: Fleener cranked out a top-seven fantasy finish at tight end last season and was targeted 86 times. Some of that had to do with Dwayne Allen missing time with an injury as well as Reggie Wayne and Hakeem Nicks’ ineffectiveness, but there are still plenty balls to go around in the Colts’ high-octane passing offense. Being drafted as TE18 at the tail end of drafts, there’s a good chance Fleener finishes the season as a borderline TE1/2.

Late-Round Fliers

1. Jaelen Strong, Texans: Cecil Shorts has been unable to stay off the trainer’s table for long periods of time the past two years. Strong is a big, strong, sure-handed receiver who dominated the Pac 12 at Arizona State. He wins contested catches and has gotten himself in shape after reporting to OTAs well above his playing weight. Only Shorts and Nate Washington are in his way.

2. David Cobb, Titans: The Titans mercifully dumped Shonn Greene this offseason and took Cobb in the fifth round of May’s draft. Bishop Sankey was about as unimpressive as it gets as a rookie and averaged 3.7 YPC. Sankey is the favorite for lead-back duties, but has a very loose grip on the gig. This will be settled in the summer. Sankey hasn’t shown much on tape dating back to his college days. Cobb is a between-the-tackles chain mover who should win over coaches with his style.

3. Donte Moncrief, Colts: Andre Johnson is 34 and gone are Reggie Wayne and Hakeem Nicks. Moncrief will be competing with first-round rookie Phillip Dorsett for snaps as the No. 3 receiver, and indications are the Colts want to run more three- and four-wide sets in 2015. Moncrief is a vertical threat with big-play ability. There’s a good chance he has his share of WR1 and WR5 weeks.

4. Dan Herron, Colts: While the Colts made it a point to address the running back position by adding Frank Gore and Josh Robinson while subtracting Trent Richardson and Ahmad Bradshaw, Herron was the lone mainstay. He did an okay job late last season filling in for an ineffective Richardson and injured Bradshaw, but wasn’t up to the task of handling a full workload. Should 32-year-old Gore get hurt, Herron is next man up and should have the edge over rookie Robinson.