Countless hours of preparation go into the game and in order to help your efforts, I’m going to be publishing several articles discussing matters such as player rankings and projections, busts and steals of the draft, as well as general fantasy football strategy.
If you tune in to Mind of Mihir for your fantasy advice, I assure you’ll be well prepared come draft day and might even win your league.
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Just like the real NFL Draft, fantasy football has its own share of busts. There are always players who enter the season with high expectations but fail to meet them. With that said, here are some players I strongly urge you to avoid.
I also encourage you to check out my column on why you should steer clear of rookies.
Quarterback
Kyle Orton AND Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos
The quarterback competition over in the Mile High City has become one of the most heated cotroversies in sports. Should they go with the more polished choice in Kyle Orton or the fan favorite in Tim Tebow? I’d personally choose the former, but it’s all up for speculation as of now as nobody knows who the Day One starter will be. However, I will say one thing. I highly doubt either of these quarterbacks are consistent enough to start all 16 games.
Kevin Kolb, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals no longer possess that stellar aerial attack they displayed during their magical Super Bowl run two years ago. Part of that is the lack of quarterback play, but another reason is that they’ve lost Anquan Boldin and now Steve Breaston both of whom had 1,000 yards receiving that season. Sure, they still have one of the best receivers in the game with Larry Fitzgerald but he’s going to be attracting a ton of attention and they don’t have a proven second option on the roster. Plus, you can read why Kevin Kolb is overrated and the Cardinals overpaid for him.
Other quarterbacks that concern me: Chicago Bears Jay Cutler, Philadelphia Eagles Michael Vick
Running Backs
Peyton Hillis
There’s no doubt that Hillis was a great acquisition for the Browns considering the price they paid, but I felt like hc caught people by surprise more than he relied on pure talent. In his final five games, he rushed for only 272 yards and failed to get into the endzone. Even throughout, he was inconsistent as he had a sub 4.0 YPC average in seven games. And call me crazy, but I do put some weight on the Madden Curse.
Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
Even though he has chronic health issues, has only had one season with double-digit touchdowns, and is coming off the worst year of his career since his freshmen campaign, Gore is still considered one of the top running backs in the league from a fantasy perspective. Even though he’s motivated by his current contract situation, I don’t see Gore living up to the hype.
Wide Receivers
Santana Moss, Washington Redskins
I don’t even think Moss believes he can replicate his numbers from last year (93 receptions for 1,156 yards and 6 touchdowns) which is why he agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract which is half of what Santonio Holmes is earning per season. To make matters even worse, he’s no longer going to have Donovan McNabb throwing him the football. If you were critical about his ability, just wait until you see John Beck and Rex Grossman.
Sidney Rice, Seattle Seahawks
Sidney Rice has potential to be a dominant receiver with his athletic ability, but he’s only amassed over 1,000 yards receiving once in his four-year career and that was with Brett Favre throwing him the ball. In the others, he couldn’t play a full 16-game season and didn’t even get past 396 yards. Now he’s going to be catching passes from the incumbent Travaris Jackson in an offense that’s been unable to develop any of their free agent wide receiver signings. Just look at Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, and T.J. Houszmanzadeh. This has bust written all over it.
Tight End
Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
Don’t get me wrong. Daniels is a solid tight end, and I’ve been a fan of his for some time. However, he’s not a red zone threat and is coming off an ACL injury. That’s two red flags which I’d prefer to avoid.
