This is the time of year when hype grows. Coaches speak highly of all players. Everyone is in the best shape of their life. However, it’s important to be able to dig deep and determine which players are entering the season overrated and overvalued in fantasy football leagues. Let’s take a look at six of the most overrated players of the preseason.
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Joe Burrow (CIN)
ECR QB7
Joe Burrow is legit in real-life football but is vastly overrated in fantasy football. He’s the QB6 in early best ball ADP despite finishing as a top-5 fantasy quarterback just thrice in 2021. No quarterback scored more fantasy points over expectation, which suggest some regression will hit Burrow in 2022. The Bengals quarterback also rushed for just 118 yards and two TDs. He rushed for fewer yards than Mac Jones, who is notorious for being ranked low across consensus due to his lack of upside as a rusher.
– Andrew Erickson
Antonio Gibson (WAS)
ECR RB22
The Commanders re-signed receiving RB J.D. McKissic and drafted early-down RB Brian Robinson with a top-100 pick. Antonio Gibson is unlikely to have opportunity commensurate with his talent.
– Matthew Freedman
James Robinson (JAC)
ECR RB43
James Robinson had a wonderfully unexpected 2020 season and last year eventually found his way back into regular carries. Coming off an Achilles tear and theoretically, behind Travis Etienne, an overdraft of Robinson feels like reaching for the past. I would rather take a shot on the future with Etienne.
– Joe Pisapia
Chris Godwin (TB)
ECR WR28
Chris Godwin is a top-12 receiver in terms of talent, but he suffered a torn ACL in December. It’s aggressively optimistic to assume he’ll be able to return in time to play the majority of the 2022 season.
– Matthew Freedman
Michael Thomas (NO)
ECR WR30
Maybe Michael Thomas is still the same guy who had 149 catches for 1,725 yards in 2019. Who knows? He’s played seven games in the last two years and was out for all of 2021 with ankle problems. He’s 29 now and Drew Brees is no longer his quarterback. No one expects another 149-catch season, but it feels like we still might be overshooting the mark in expecting a WR2 season from a player who’s been out for so long and is returning to a totally different environment.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
Darren Waller (LV)
ECR TE5
I would contend that Josh Jacobs isn’t overrated, and that he was merely limited by his role as an early-down grinder under Jon Gruden. Darren Waller, on the other hand, was a colossal disappointment to his investors last year. Waller was being drafted as early as the middle of the second round. Yes, he missed six games due to injury, but his per-game numbers dropped across the board. Waller finished seventh in fantasy points per game among TEs. Now, his target share is going to be jeopardized by the arrival of high-volume WR Davante Adams.
– Pat Fitzmaurice
FantasyPros Staff Consensus 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
