Denver Broncos wide receiver KJ Hamler is looking to revive his career after a torn ACL cost him most of the 2021 season. Following Tim Patrick’s unfortunate ACL tear, Hamler just might have carved out enough of a role to keep him relevant in fantasy football leagues. What is Hamler’s current ADP, and should managers select him at that price in fantasy drafts?
KJ Hamler ADP | Is he worth his current price in fantasy drafts?
Hamler’s ADP is well outside the top 72 wide receivers, which is about how many get drafted in a standard-sized 12-team league. He is our consensus WR74, which is slightly above ADP but still not quite high enough to where he’s a must-draft by someone.
I’m a bit surprised Hamler’s ADP hasn’t risen more. He’s still going behind a number of receivers that have no real hope of being fantasy-relevant. Hamler, on the other hand, should immediately start in three-receiver sets and has upside in the event of an injury in front of him.
Hamler is far from someone fantasy managers should target in fantasy drafts, but he’s also far from useless. This is an athletic former second-round pick in a good offense with a great quarterback. There’s fantasy upside here, and Hamler appears a bit undervalued.
KJ Hamler’s projected fantasy value in 2022
Hamler caught just 30 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie in 2020. He fell well short of the 500-yard threshold for rookie receivers. While that typically spells doom for a player’s ceiling, I’m willing to look past it when that player comes at the price of free.
Hamler is a talented player. He’s shown proof of what his ceiling looks like on any given week. As a rookie, he had weeks of 15 PPR fantasy points and 22.6 fantasy points. Bad players simply aren’t capable of that type of performance. Hamler is definitively not bad. In fact, I would go so far as to say he’s good!
Impact of the Broncos’ depth chart on Hamler’s fantasy value
There were two big obstacles in Hamler’s path entering the 2022 season. First was his devastating torn ACL/dislocated hip combo injury. It was a truly gruesome injury, and Hamler deserves all the credit in the world for simply making it back onto the field.
Second was the Broncos’ depth chart. The team drafted Jerry Jeudy in the first round of the same draft in which they took Hamler and saw Tim Patrick emerge in the wake of injuries to Courtland Sutton, Hamler, and Jeudy. As a result, they extended both Sutton and Patrick last season, solidifying those two with Jeudy as the top three receivers. There was no room for Hamler.
Unfortunately, Patrick tore his ACL in training camp. This opened the door for Hamler to take over as the primary WR3. That’s exactly what I’m expecting him to do.
Hamler returned to in-game action in the team’s third preseason game and, physically, looked fine. That’s all I needed to see to feel confident in Hamler as a late-round dart throw. Hamler could have standalone WR4 value with WR3 upside should something happen to Sutton or Jeudy.