by Jack Paskoski
The long-awaited NFL season is finally upon us. While exciting, it also brings fantasy football back to the game’s biggest fans.
Yahoo, Sleeper, ESPN, and NFL are some of the biggest fantasy football apps. Each season, you can find player lists based on rankings for the upcoming season and the average draft position (ADP) at which players are being drafted.
The rankings differ depending on the app, so you can often get some players at a valuable draft position, while others are drafted way before they should be.
Based on their ADP, here are three players you should draft and three players you shouldn’t.
SHOULD DRAFT:
RB Jaylen Warren (PIT): Warren is currently being drafted as the 87th overall player and the 32nd RB off the board. His counterpart, Najee Harris, is being drafted as the 69th overall player and the 22nd RB off the board.
Warren finished ahead of Harris in 2023 fantasy points (198-195) despite carrying the ball over one hundred times less than Harris.
If last season’s performances from both running backs correlate to what we will see this season, it should be closer to a 50/50 split, with Warren having the higher ceiling.
WR Rashee Rice (KC): Rice is currently being drafted as the WR30 across all platforms. His fantasy stock dropped early because of ongoing legal rumors.
With seemingly no suspension on the horizon for Rice, he will be ready to go for a full season barring any injuries.
Between his WR27 finish last year as a rookie and being a part of the high-powered Chiefs offense, he has the potential for a Top 10 WR finish.
WR Brian Thomas Jr. (JAX): Thomas Jr. is currently being drafted as the 48th WR off the board.
Thomas has been getting high praise at training camp and has entered a pretty good situation in Jacksonville. Christian Kirk is solidified as the WR1 for the team at the moment, but rumors have Thomas Jr. as a more realistic WR2 over former Buffalo Bills WR Gabe Davis.
Thomas Jr. has the build and athleticism to thrive in the league, and with Trevor Lawrence at the helm, he could outperform Kirk and finish as a top-25 WR.
SHOULDN’T DRAFT:
WR Diontae Johnson (CAR): Johnson is currently being drafted as the WR37 on average. He isn’t a bad wide receiver; he is just in a bad situation.
This seems familiar… A talented wide receiver on the Carolina Panthers who just ends up under-performing his projection. Yes, DJ Moore was in the same spot just two seasons ago.
Carolina has been a poor team for wideouts for a couple of years. Bryce Young had a rough year last year, and I expect him to have a better season, but it is hard to trust this offense enough to draft Johnson as the WR37.
WR Tyler Lockett (SEA): Lockett is being drafted as the WR51 across all platforms. This is a decent draft spot for him, but there is much more value in the wide receivers being picked around him.
While Lockett has been a consistent WR2 to WR3 on most fantasy teams in the last couple of years, his time is running out as a relevant option.
Jaxson Smith-Njigba is due to overtake Lockett as the WR2 on the Seahawks this season, which correlates to his WR42 ADP.
Other players like Ladd McConkey (WR42), Jameson Williams (WR46), Keon Coleman (WR49), and Khalil Shakir (WR55) are much better options for a late-round wideout than the 31-year-old Lockett.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson (NE): Stevenson is being drafted as the RB23 off the board. Simply put, the Patriots will be one of the worst teams in the league this season.
With the unreliable quarterback situation, lack of proven wide receivers, and a projected bottom-three offensive line, it looks like something other than an optimistic scenario for Stevenson.
The RB23 is too high for a running back with the tiny supporting cast. You can find many better options in the fourth and fifth rounds.
