Many owners struggle when they get to the later portions of their fantasy football drafts. The average fantasy player does not always have the time to study up on who is the third running back in Philadelphia or the full WR depth in Miami. So often drafters will turn to old reliable names they know from years past or someone who was mentioned in passing on social media or elsewhere. Other alluring possible picks just aren’t worth the headaches they provide. They often end up wasting a pick on these type of guys. Here is an early primer on some AFC players that may appear on depth charts or in your draft queue, but will simply end up on your waiver wire quickly as you realize rapidly you just should have not picked them in the first place. These players should not be selected by you in this year’s fantasy football drafts.
2019 Wastes of Time in Fantasy Football Drafts
Baltimore: Kenneth Dixon fell out of favor last year when he finally got his opportunities last season. The Ravens seem to like Gus Edwards better, and also drafted Justice Hill. Dixon does not even seem to have much of a chance to become the handcuff to the newly acquired Mark Ingram. He is no longer a sleeper type, he lost out and will now only be rostered by the Ravens for depth. Heck, I say he is no lock to make the team.
Buffalo: Frank Gore somehow continues to play, but even if LeSean McCoy gets hurt again, he will be part of a committee at best. T.J. Yeldon is also in the mix, and rookie Devin Singletary is a wild card type who could also demand some touches. Gore will be a worthless late rounder.- in fantasy football drafts.
Cincinnati: The Bengals cannot rely on Giovani Bernard to stay healthy and be a dependable backup to Joe Mixon. That is why they drafted Trayveon Williams. If you have to start Bernard in any week, you will likely get a knot in your stomach because there won’t be any upside anymore.
Cleveland: There is too much roster churning going on during the first eight weeks of the season to have Kareem Hunt occupy an important spot on your roster, especially when you need to deal with injuries and bye weeks. By the time he returns, he could be an injury risk after not being in proper pro football game condition for the first half of the season. Maybe you want him for your fantasy playoffs, but he won’t help you get there.
Indianapolis: Just a friendly reminder that Chester Rogers won’t be worth a selection at all, even if you served you well once or twice in a pinch last season. The Colts added Devin Funchess and Parris Campbell and Rogers will now be buried on the depth chart for 2019.
Jacksonville: The receiving crew is very uncertain and still has to be worked out in terms of who can really step forward and become reliable. This team cannot depend on it’s featured running back to stay healthy. There is much adversity for a new QB to walk into. Plus, if you have a durable and reliable starting fantasy QB, you do not have to necessarily draft a backup. So avoid spending any sort of late pick on Nick Foles.
Kansas City: You should only draft Carlos Hyde if you need the handcuff to Damien Williams. Unless Williams gets hurt, you won’t be able to keep Hyde on your bench, as he is destined to be the understudy all year. Hyde has quickly went from highly regarded fantasy starter to a journeyman. I have to seriously wonder why he has fallen out of favor so quickly and started to bounce around. But it suddenly seems like no one wants him and Williams wrapped up the K.C. starting job late last year. Hyde could perform pretty well, but you cannot afford to roster him in hopes of an injury if you don’t own Williams. Forget the appeal his name used to carry.
New England: Rex Burkhead is just never going to get enough quality touches to the point where you can even feel comfortable using him as a bye week replacement. Phillip Dorsett shows up maybe two or three times a year. And please, please let’s not do this Josh Gordon thing again.
New York Jets: Ty Montgomery is not going to have anything more than an occasional specialist role in the offense. This is exactly the kind of non-fantasy entity some owners grab when they are struggling to make picks in the final rounds of their fantasy football drafts. You know that guy. The one in the 15th round who stares way too long at his cheat sheet before coming up with this one because he either used to follow the Packers, is a Jets fan who knows that team way better than any other, or simply had Montgomery on his roster a few years ago.
Oakland: Jalen Richard is admired far and wide in Oakland, but with the arrival of Josh Jacobs, his field time is going to be reduced. Even if Jacobs gets injured at some point, we have already seen Richard cannot be anything more than a part-time, situational RB who provides PPR totals that are just good enough to lose with. Richard is a glue guy you want when building a real pro football team, not a fantasy one.
Pittsburgh: Vance McDonald was overrated last year, and too often mediocre. One big stiff arm on national TV suddenly made him a sensation, but he never made enough fantasy contributions overall to be considered a viable starter even at his weak position of TE.
Scott Engel is an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame and a four-time award winner. He was one of the driving content forces in the rise of RotoExperts.com and was the lead host on the RotoExperts in the Morning for six years on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. He was also instrumental in the launch of the FNTSY Sports Network. Scott was the first-ever Senior Writer and Managing Editor at CBS SportsLine and won a company Hall of Fame Award. He was also an Associate Editor and Fantasy analyst for ESPN.com. He has been the featured Fantasy Writer on Seahawks.com since 2012 and his work has been syndicated to the Associated Press, NFL.com, New York Daily News, New York Post, Yahoo Sports, Bloomberg Sports, Sports Illustrated and many others. He is a credentialed media member who won an FSWA award in 2016 for his Insider Fantasy Reporting. Known as “The King”, Scott is on Twitter @scottTheKing
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