Our Fantasy EPL 22/23 Draft Kit promises to be the most comprehensive set of pre-season Draft Premier League articles ever produced! A key component of our Draft Kit will be the Team Preview articles which analyze key assets to sit alongside our all-important Draft Rankings. This article delves into the Best Fantrax Fantasy EPL Players from Wolves, as we take a deep dive into the prospects of their three best assets! Click here for details on how you can access our 22/23 Draft Kit.
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Wolves Best Fantasy Players
As noted above, these are the Best Wolves Players for the Fantrax Fantasy EPL platform. We analyze Wolves' top three prospects ahead of the new season, with a recommended draft pick for each player.
Raul Jimenez
Position: Forward
21/22 Points: 242 (24th best forward)
21/22 Points Per Start: 8.1 (30 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 8.4 (29 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 70-75 (12 Team League: Late Round 6/Early Round 7) - UPDATE: Round 10+ given the injury
Overview: Since his horrific head injury in 2020/2021, Jimenez has not been his usual self. Another year of decline or rebirth? Your faith in his rejuvenation will dictate where to take him. He becomes value around 6/7.
UPDATE: Raul Jimenez has sustained an injury in preseason and is due to miss around 8 weeks. Take this into account before drafting him!
It's really hard not to feel for Raul Jimenez. Coming off his best season in the EPL, the Mexican forward fractured his skull against Arsenal in November 2020. Thankfully he's recovered and started regularly for Wolves last season. However, his form has really suffered. While he had 20 Goals/Assists in 2018/2019 and 23 in 2019/2020, he only mustered 10 in 2021/2022. Yes, the entire Wolves sputtered but Jimenez still should be bagging more attacking returns.
Will the Raul of old make a glorious return this season? Whether you believe this or not will fully dictate where he goes in the upcoming draft. He has hovered around the late first/early second round ranges in previous drafts, but he'll slide this time after those poor performances. Jimenez is fairly goal dependent (36% GACS & 6 ghost points per game last season) so he needs to be nicking attacking returns to provide value to your roster. If he and Wolves can threaten the opposition goal again, he could be a steal. If not, he'll be a disappointment yet again. If he falls past the 6th round and you need a forward, the juice should be worth the squeeze.
Daniel Podence
Position: Forward (position change from last season)
21/22 Points: 195 (58th best midfielder; would have been 33rd best forward)
21/22 Points Per Start: 10.7 (15 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 9.9 (20 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 90-95 (12 Team League: Mid to Late Round 8)
Overview: The little Portuguese (redundant given we're discussing Wolves) energizer bunny had great spells this past season but was hit or miss otherwise. Little knocks also kept him from maintaining solid form. Now a FWD, Podence provides later round upside at the position.
Speaking of injuries, Daniel Podence is no stranger to picking up a knock. He has yet to start more than 22 games in the past 3 seasons with Wolves, which is a shame because he is a very dynamic player when fit. He usually passes the eye test with flying colors, dribbling past defenders and providing a lot of attacking threat. Podence could work on his finishing - his goal tally of 3 in 2020/2021 was his best in the EPL - but he is one of Wolves' most dangerous .
This past campaign, Podence delivered 2 goals, 3 assists, and a mouthwatering 10.7 pps. And he posted a tasty average of 8.4 ghost points per start. Again, he just couldn't stay on the pitch. If he can keep fit this season, he should have a starting role in this team (likely with Jimenez & Neto) and put up similar numbers or even better. He also will be a FWD this season - a position that many believe is lacking depth this season. Podence is a great FWD 2/3 option around the 7th or 8th round.
Pedro Neto
Position: Forward
21/22 Points: 64.5 (68th best forward)
21/22 Points Per Start: 9.1 (5 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 10.6 (25 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 42-48 (12 Team League: Mid to Late Round 4)
Overview: Came back late in the season from a terrible injury; only started 5 games but showed flickers of his prior brilliance. He should crack on this season. Many will have forgotten his exploits and he should slip to fantastic value around the 4th.
Pedro Neto was arguably the biggest revelation of the 2020/2021 season, transforming from a rotational piece to the beating heart of the team. And the fantasy points flowed. He dropped 375 points, with a ppg of over 12 (on the back of 5 goals and 6 assists). His double digit ghost point per game average aided the cause. The only thing that could stop him was a gruesome knee injury in April 2020 v Fulham. This long-term injury prevented Neto from making his first cameo last season until March of 2021 and he only ended up starting 5 games. And when Neto did play, he looked mostly off the pace, which is to be expected after such a devastating injury.
However, he did show some glimpses of his erstwhile brilliance, nicking a goal and an assist in those 5 starts and dropping over 8 ghosties per start. He also was on most set pieces - very important for fantasy purposes. Given his dearth of appearances and points, a lot of folks will sleep on Neto and momentarily forget how good he used to be. Or they'll be weary about his recent injury history. Either way, he should be great value for money after Round 3. He hopefully worked the kinks out in these 13 appearances this season and will be raring to go after a full preseason with Bruno Lage, who will be under pressure to improve a largely toothless attack. Neto will surely be instrumental in that process. The only potential drawback, of course, is his susceptibility to injury. He went off with a knock in the last game of the season v Liverpool. If he shakes it off and has a good preseason, he should be off to the races come August.
Honorable Mention(s):
If ghost point god, Adama Traore, somehow returns to the Wolves lineup, he can affect Podence's playing time and would be an early round pick. On the defensive side, Rayan Ait Nouri has great upside after round 7 - with over 9 pps last season and less competition at the LWB spot now that Marcal has gone back to Brazil.
More Best Fantasy Players: Arsenal | Aston Villa | Bournemouth | Brentford | Brighton | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Leeds | Leicester | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Nottm Forest | Southampton | Tottenham | West Ham
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