Five Players Guaranteed to F’up Your NFL Fantasy Season

The NFL is a fickle sport. Injuries, better defensive game plans, and time make the life expectancy of fantasy studs extremely short. Apart from quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees, picking fantasy players guaranteed to produce is a crap shoot. For example, Adrian Peterson and Andrew Luck were no-brain top fantasy draft picks just two years ago. This season, if you’re selecting either one, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. First and Ten Sports (FTS) feels your pain. Our draft is taking place this Saturday night. We’ve been researching players all week and in service to our readers, we’ve highlighted five players that will blow up your fantasy roster is you choose them. Use these fantasy football tips to avoid a disastrous draft night.

Saquon Barkley (New York Giants)

We’ve heard it before, he’s a can’t miss prospect, he dominated his competition and comes from a great program. Former Penn State and New York Giants rookie Saquon Barkley will be the next great fantasy football player. That’s why he’s the #4 RB in Matthew Berry’s player rankings on ESPN. Call me a cynic, but I don’t trust Penn State’s history of running backs. Do you remember the original Curt Warner? How about Blair Thomas, Gary Brown, Ki-Jana Carter, or Curtis Enis? Not exactly Hall of Fame bound.

Yes, rookie running backs are once again having huge offensive impacts on NFL teams. But the Giants have huge offensive line deficiencies. The right side of the Big Blue line is very weak and could limit Barkley’s effectiveness. If Barkley is forced to chip on pass rushers, it will limit his production. Lastly, Barkley garnered a lot of social media love after images of his huge quads and legs went viral. Barkley’s lower body is ripped, but all that definition has led to injuries. He’s currently battling a strained hamstring and is already questionable for Week 1.

Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)

The Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes to be their latest franchise quarterback with 10th overall in 2017. He attended Texas Tech for three years and impressed scouts and talent evaluators with his arm strength and size. Mahomes is listed at 6’2″ and his passes was clocked at 60 mph at the rookie combine. The son of former MLB pitcher Pat Mahomes was handed the reins of the offense by Andy Reid this season. He’s talented, but some challenges will negatively impact his fantasy fortunes.

One is the adjustment from 100% shotgun formations in college to getting under center in the pros. Mahomes will make the adjustment eventually, but there will be growing pains. Second, Mahomes likes to run for extra yardage. He’s already suffered an injury to his shoulder, so one big hit could be disastrous. Lastly, the Chiefs defense needs improvement. The pressure will be on Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Kareem Hunt to carry the team. Too much could be expected of Mahomes too soon. This has disaster written all over it.

Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints)

NFL teams love it when talented runners slip through the first round, get drafted, and make immediate impacts on an offense. General managers and scouts look like geniuses. One of the most common fantasy football tips is stocking up on running backs.

Last year, the Saints drafted Alvin Kamara in the third round and got one of the steals of the draft. Kamara amassed more than 1,500 all-purpose yards and scored 13 touchdowns as a part-time player. So when news broke that Saints primary RB Mark Ingram would be suspended for the first four games of the season, draft boards exploded. Kamara is currently ranked seventh RB by ESPN.

Let’s come back to reality. Running back is one of the easiest positions in the NFL to transition from college to the pros. Kamara is talented but there will be a regression from his Pro Bowl performance in year two. Also, one of Kamara’s strengths is his versatility. That will be taken away as Kamara becomes the Saints’ primary ball carrier.

Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)

Let’s get his straight, no more stout offensive line, Beast Mode gone, no more Jimmy Graham, and even Doug Baldwin, your Pro Bowl wide receiver, is recovering from a knee injury. Who the hell will Russell Wilson be able to count on? There’s a reason why the Seahawks were ranked 32nd in the league based on their skill players.

The team’s offensive depth chart includes RBs Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, C.J. Prosise; WR Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, and Jaron Brown, and TE Ed Dickson. Wilson will be running for his life. There’s no way Wilson is a top-five fantasy player. Sorry ESPN, but draft him at your own peril.

Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers)

Jimmy G took the league by storm last season. He led the 49ers to five straight wins when he became the starting quarterback. I may be ol’skool, but I never evaluate players by their performance during the first quarter or last quarter of the regular season. The 49ers were 1-10 when Garoppolo took over the offense. Their season was over, his performance can’t be accurately projected.

San Francisco impressively defeated the Jaguars in a shootout, but they also beat rookie QB Mitchell Trubinsky and the Bears, the Texans who were led by a backup quarterback, and the Rams, who had nothing to play for. Garoppolo could be a solid starting quarterback, but the win streak has raised expectations too high. We will only know the ‘Jimmy’ truth after this season. Do not reach for him in your draft, even though he has great taste in women.

Let’s hope our fantasy football tips help you avoid the shame of defeat. In our league, the loser is humiliated daily for a year. We wouldn’t wish that on anyone.