1 of 1
There are talented superstars ALL across the NFL, unfortunately for fantasy owners, they don't always reach their potential statistically. Anyone who drafted Todd Gurley, Allen Robinson, or DeAndre Hopkins last year inside of the top 20 knows exactly what I'm talking about.
The making of a successful fantasy option falls on 3 criteria: 1) Talent 2) Opportunity & 3) Situation. And yet, so often when previewing drafts, or studying for the upcoming season, we focus so much of our energy on talent + opportunity, we forget about the all-important situation.
Perfect example: Matt Forte still had optimism swirling around him in the fantasy world last year. We know he had the talent, he was given the opportunity to start, but he was on the Jets...bad situation. New England however presents an entirely different situation, with less talent, and even less of an opportunity. Yet 2 of their running backs scored more fantasy points last year than Matt Forte. (James White and LeGarrette Blount).
Here are my top players that I love talent wise, but shy away from drafting due to a poor situation:
- Allen Robinson- Have you seen Blake Bortles?
- Spencer Ware- Kareem Hunt is the highest drafted RB in the Andy Reid era.
- Jay Ajayi- It feels like the Phins won't be able to avoid the injury bug.
- Stefon Diggs- Can't trust Bradford to complete passes more than 10 yds down the field.
- Kelvin Benjamin- The Panthers want to limit how much Newton has to throw.
- Sammy Watkins- Jared Goff will stunt his growth as a star WR.
- Demaryius Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders- I refuse to pay the price tag for wide receivers who will have Trevor Simien or Paxton Lynch throwing them the ball.
- TY Hilton- Too expensive (early 2nd round ADP) for not knowing when Andrew Luck will return, and how he'll look.
- Jeremy Maclin- Not convinced Joe Flacco makes it through the season.
- Martellus Bennett- Outside of one statistically dominant year from JerMichael Finley, Aaron Rodgers has never consistently thrown to his tight end enough to be fantasy relevant.
- Hunter Henry- Love me some HH, but Gates has one good year left in him.
- @BrandonKravitz