Antonio Brown has been the best wide receiver in terms of fantasy for four straight years. Brown is as consistent as it gets but beyond him, there’s a whole lot of questions. Last year, Dez Bryant almost ruined my fantasy season by himself but luckily I was able to win anyway. I should have known not to eat the Dez cheese but there’s a reason why he doesn’t even have a team right now. In a lot of fantasy drafts, because the NFL is a passing league, you are forced to start 3 receivers so picking the wrong one can destroy your fantasy season. Avoiding the busts of the fantasy season is just as important as picking the right ones. To continue the series, which wide receivers should you cross off your list for fantasy football in 2018?
5. Josh Gordon
Here’s another example of a guy you shouldn’t waste your time on. Josh Gordon isn’t even with the team right now. Since 2015, Gordon has played in 5 games. I repeat, Gordon has played in 5 games since 2015. He’s not even in the building right now. Do not even waste a pick.
4. Demaryius Thomas
Demaryius Thomas hasn’t been a good player in a long time and yet he continues to get drafted like one. Since 2015, Thomas has caught 16 touchdowns. Antonio Brown, by comparison, has 21 the past two years. Just by watching him, it doesn’t look like he can still run the same. Maybe that’s being restricted by bad quarterback play in recent years. Let’s stop pretending that Case Keenum is going to fix this situation either. His head coach is Vance Joseph. Avoid… Avoid… Avoid.
3. Allen Robinson
I don’t take wide receivers in fantasy who have bad quarterbacks. Enter Allen Robinson who signed with the Bears this offseason. The thing that no one is talking about is that Robinson actually gets a worse quarterback than Blake Bortles which is really hard to do. Mitch Trubisky is not good. In fact, he’s bad. Mitch Trubisky in 13 games never threw more than one touchdown in a game as a rookie. That’s because he’s nothing more than a gimmick quarterback. If you think Robinson is in for a big season with the Bears, you are highly mistaken because no one outside of Jordan Howard (and maybe Trey Burton) has a chance to be fantasy relevant. Mitch Trubisky threw 7 picks and 7 interceptions in 13 games and you think Robinson could be a good fantasy play! Not going to happen! Bears are going to be a disaster.
2. Odell Beckham Jr.
I will never draft Odell Beckham Jr. Ever. Not even if there’s a fire. A: He’s injury prone. That’s not debatable anymore. In his first four years in the league, he’s only played a full 16 game slat just once. B: He’s a loose cannon. That will not fly under Pat Shurmur. This team is going to spread the football around similar to the Vikings did with Case Keenum. If you think Beckham is just going to get 20 targets a game that’s not happening. C: His quarterback is Eli Manning. If you haven’t been paying attention, Eli Manning is washed up and can’t play anymore. D: This team is going to run the football…a lot. You don’t take a running back with the second pick in the draft if you don’t plan on being committed to running the football. Beckham may be good this year but taking him in the first round of a draft is an unwise move.
1. Julio Jones
Julio Jones has the reputation for being the best receiver in football. I’m not necessarily denying that but he sure as hell isn’t the best receiver in fantasy. Part of the value to Julio Jones is that defenses double team him every chance they get. That helps pretty much every other receiver on the roster. Jones caught just 3 touchdowns last year and the team hasn’t figured out a way to make him a big-time fantasy threat since Kyle Shanahan left town. The other thing to keep an eye on is Julio is slowly falling apart. In 2015, Jones was on the field for 85 percent of Atlanta’s offensive snaps. In 2016 that was down to 68 percent and 2017 back up slightly to 74 percent. Maybe I’m overreacting here but it doesn’t feel like Jones is healthy and fresh like he was 5 years ago. I’m going to get out in front of the curve before I get left in the dust.
