Don’t Draft These Five Fantasy Football Players in Your 2020 Draft

We’re all trying to unlock sleepers during our fantasy football drafts. Equally important is avoiding the dreaded busts.

Talk to someone who picked Antonio Brown or Todd Gurley early in 2019 and ask them how their season panned out. Chances are it wasn’t pretty.

Looking ahead to 2020, there are a handful of players who I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.

Call them the five fantasy football busts to avoid in your draft.

Don’t reach for Aaron Rodgers in your fantasy football draft. If you’re in an auction league, he’s worth nothing more than one or two bucks. With so many teams playing in a pass-happy system, there are simply better options out there to go to battle with as your starting QB.

Remember, fantasy football doesn’t award efficiency like it does big numbers.

The Packers drafted 250-pound bruising back AJ Dillon in the second round and didn’t go after any receivers. That tells you all you need to know in terms of the direction this offense is heading in. A-Rod is unlikely to finish the season as a top-10 QB, meaning he’s probably a fringe-starter at best in standard 12-team leagues.

Draft Rodgers accordingly.

I’m just going to put it out there. I think Michael Gallup will outscore Amari Cooper in 2020. CeeDee Lamb is destined to get some looks, and the Cowboys plan is to lean on Zeke in the running game.

In other words, I’ve removed Amari Cooper from WR1 consideration and think he’s a much safer bet to produce as a low-end WR2. The problem is he’s a household name with a lot of talent who happens to play for America’s Team. People are drafting Amari ahead of Allen Robinson in some leagues, and that’s a grave mistake.

Cooper went for $28 in my auction league while D.J. Chark slipped off the board for just $16.

Given what you have to sacrifice to roster Amari in 2020, I’m taking a hard pass.  

With Ben Roethlisberger back in the saddle, look for Pittsburgh to get back to slinging the pigskin around early and often. In Ben’s last year as a full-time starter (2018), the Steelers led the NFL in passing attempts and completions.

At 230 pounds and lacking swiftness in his cuts, James Conner doesn’t exactly fit the bill of what Mike Tomlin needs. Pitt’s backfield was already crowded with Benny Snell Jr. and Jaylen Samuels, and rookie Anthony McFarland Jr. looks destined to thrust himself into the game plan.

The fact that so-called “experts” at Yahoo Sports are even talking about “should I pick Aaron Jones or James Conner in my fantasy football draft” is actually making me cringe.

Did you know that Nick Boyle is listed as the starting tight end on the Ravens official depth chart?

I understand that Mark Andrews is a sincere red-zone threat who reeled in 10 TDs in 2019. However, that’s quite an anomaly for a guy who was only on the field for 41.36% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps.

Andrews is being selected ahead of Zach Ertz and Darren Waller as the third tight end off the board, but I say, “no way Jose.”

Noah Davis highlighted five tight ends among his most essential picks for your fantasy football draft; and I can assure you that Mark Andrews was nowhere to be found.

If Dalvin Cook can stay healthy for 16 games, perhaps he winds up as a top-5 RB. Then again, that’s a big if being that Cook has only appeared in 29 of the 48 Vikings regular-season games since they drafted him in 2017.

Reminder that the 49ers completely shut down Dalvin Cook in the playoffs

9 carries 18 yards

6 receptions 8 yards pic.twitter.com/gfeBypZIAQ

— MrUnlimited (@MrRoscoes) September 4, 2020

Minnesota has no qualms about handing the ball off to Alexander Mattison. Mike Boone went off for 148 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in the final game of 2019. Both are back in Minny and locked and loaded for 2020. Dalvin is hoping to secure a big contract, but it’s looking less and less likely that’ll be the case.

Spending a top-10 pick on a disgruntled player who has been injured every year as a professional – that’s just not my cup of tea.