Each year at fantasy football drafts, fantasy football managers worry about finding value. No one wants to overspend for players who will underperform and not meet expectations. The following is a list of players who have the potential of being overvalued this coming season.
WR Davante Adams, Los Angeles Rams–Adams comes over to the Rams after playing last season with Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. Rodgers fed him the football constantly due to their connection, but now Adams goes to an offense that is very run-heavy and has an outstanding alpha wide receiver already in Puka Nacua. What’s especially worrisome about Adams is that quarterback Matthew Stafford is dealing with a serious back injury, and they haven’t had much time to work on their connection, which could cost him some targets early in the season.
WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets--On the one hand, Wilson should be very excited about playing with his former college quarterback, Justin Fields, but at the same time, Fields is incredibly inaccurate as a passer. Wilson is going in the late second round of most drafts, but the Jets offense really wants to focus on running the football. Wilson might be better served as a late third, early fourth-round pick this season.
TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears–Many fantasy football managers love drafting rookies, which can be a mistake. Loveland was a fantastic tight end at the University of Michigan, but it often takes tight ends sometimes two to three seasons to learn how to play at the NFL level because not only do they have to worry about catching the ball, they have to worry about blocking. Moreover, there are a lot of mouths to feed in the Bears offense, so Loveland might only have 40 to 50 receptions, making him a solid tight end but not spectacular. Wait on this rookie until he is a sophomore.
WR Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers–One thing that fantasy football managers tend to overlook is that different teams play different coverage schemes on defense, and it’s up to the opposing wide receivers to adapt to those schemes. Reed is one of the top wide receivers in the NFL against zone coverage; however, he struggles significantly against man coverage. He’s being drafted in the seventh round, which feels a bit early considering there are some weeks where he just doesn’t show up and underperforms based on defensive coverage.
RB Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers–There’s an adage in professional football that if you can’t pass protect, you can’t be on the field. Kaleb Johnson is a rookie from the University of Iowa, where he was a stud running back who had all the opportunities in the world. Now he is with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he may suffer from losing snaps because he is very poor in pass protection. The Steelers want to make the playoffs, and Aaron Rodgers is the key to that happening. If Johnson misses some of his blocking assignments, it could get Rodgers hurt. Mike Tomlin won’t let that happen, so it might be worth playing it safe and letting someone else draft Johnson.
