There are always players that the fantasy football “experts” pump up. It’s kind of an individual version of the Dallas Cowboys – always a perennial Super Bowl favorite despite not making it past the divisional round in the last 28 seasons. These players are consistently touted prior to drafts and rarely live up to the hype.
This year’s fantasy ADP rankings have some players who are a consensus pick at where they’re ranked but have no legitimate rationale to be where they’re slotted. Here are the three players you should avoid until the point someone else takes them too early.
3
Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts
It’s clear Pitts has freakish physical ability, but his offense isn’t doing him any favors. As a rookie with Matt Ryan, he caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards but scored just one touchdown. Last year, with Marcus Mariota as the starter, Pitts played in only 10 games due to injury. That said, given the numbers he put up, he would have caught 48 passes for 605 yards and three touchdowns over 17 games. You can find those guys on the waiver wire.
The Falcons will be on their third starting quarterback in three years with Desmond Ridder. He shows up in most QB rankings in the low-30s, which is saying something since there are only 32 teams. It is not Pitts’ fault he’s in a no-win situation – the Falcons refused to make an early draft investment in quarterback when they knew Ryan was at the end of the line.
Yet, somehow, almost every major draft ranking has Pitts as the No. 6 tight end (look around – you never find him before No. 5 or after No. 7). The Falcons found a way to keep games close by designing an offense based on running the ball. They doubled down in April by drafting running back Bijan Robinson with the eighth pick. The one thing Pitts struggles with is blocking, and the offensive identity will need blocking tight ends on the field. Take Pitts at your own peril – and learn from the testimonials from those who invested in him the last two years.
We have more than a quarter-century track record of creating fantasy football champs. Sign up for The Huddle today to gain an award-winning edge on the competition!
2
Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner
Conner has had two big seasons in the league – and both came because of his supporting cast. In 2018 with the Steelers, Le’Veon Bell thought it was in his best interests to sit out, and Conner stepped in. He rushed for 973 yards, caught 55 passes for 497 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in 13 games. The next two years, he stunk out the joint and was allowed to leave in free agency.
In 2021 with the Cardinals, he rushed for 752 yards, caught 37 passes for 375 yards and scored 18 touchdowns in 15 games. He followed that up last year with eight touchdowns and 1,082 total yards in 13 games.
When he emerged with the Steelers in 2018, Ben Roethlisberger was running the show, and Conner was sopping up the gravy with a biscuit. The same was true in 2021, when Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins were getting the offense in scoring position and let Conner belly-flop in touchdowns from the 1-yard line.
Roethlisberger is retired. Murray is out with an injury. D-Hop is gone. Yet, somehow Conner remains as a solid RB2 – being drafted around the 17th-18th spot among running backs. The Cardinals offense is going to struggle badly to score touchdowns – they started their fire sale already. Avoid Conner like poison.
1
New York Giants QB Daniel Jones
For the last couple of seasons, Jones has been ranked higher than a lot of quarterbacks who have consistently outperformed him, and this year appears to be no different. For some reason, the Giants committed to Jones for $40 million a year over four years despite the fact that he set a career high last year with just 3,205 passing yards and has thrown 36 touchdowns in 41 games over the last three years.
The Giants decided to make Jones a runner last year. He rushed 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns, which helped negate his minuscule passing numbers. Jones proved himself to be gutty and gritty, but he needs to better learn how to protect himself. If Jones comes anywhere close to this many rushing attempts again, he won’t finish the season. If he isn’t running, where is the fantasy value for a guy who averaged 200.3 passing yards a game last year?
In the majority of rankings, Jones is ahead of Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa and Aaron Rodgers. Take any of those guys before you go with Danny Boy (and a shop teacher’s handful of others ranked even lower). However, if you’re cool with 200 passing yards, 40 rushing yards and 1.5 touchdowns a game, have at it!
