24 Players Experts Avoid in Drafts (2026 Fantasy Football)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and which to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few players our fantasy expert consensus are lower on compared to where they are being selected in early fantasy football drafts.

2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Players Experts Avoid

Here are players experts avoid in fantasy football drafts when you compare expert consensus rankings to early average draft position (ADP).

RK	TIERS	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	POS	BEST	WORST	AVG.	STD.DEV	ECR VS. ADP
18	3	Saquon Barkley	PHI	RB9	12	40	19.5	6.3	-5
21	3	Omarion Hampton	LAC	RB10	12	50	22	8.2	-6
22	3	Trey McBride	ARI	TE2	15	56	22.3	6.9	-4
25	3	Kenneth Walker III	KC	RB12	12	62	26.3	10.6	-5
31	4	Jeremiyah Love	ARI	RB13	20	55	34.8	9.2	-5
37	4	Breece Hall	NYJ	RB15	24	52	38.5	7	-6
40	4	Javonte Williams	DAL	RB17	14	57	39.9	9.2	-8
42	4	Colston Loveland	CHI	TE3	22	94	41	15.7	-8
43	4	Emeka Egbuka	TB	WR20	19	68	44.1	9.8	-6
44	4	Travis Etienne Jr.	NO	RB18	24	67	44.6	8.9	-11
51	5	Cam Skattebo	NYG	RB19	34	75	53.5	9	-11
53	5	Quinshon Judkins	CLE	RB20	26	65	54.6	7	-6
57	5	TreVeyon Henderson	NE	RB23	24	82	56.3	11.4	-5
60	5	Tyler Warren	IND	TE4	34	90	58.2	11.3	-10
62	5	DJ Moore	BUF	WR29	31	108	62.1	12.9	-16
63	5	David Montgomery	HOU	RB24	39	117	62.3	13.2	-14
79	6	Chuba Hubbard	CAR	RB30	57	117	79.7	14.3	-8
81	6	Dak Prescott	DAL	QB10	58	104	82.5	11.8	-11
82	6	Brian Thomas Jr.	JAC	WR35	59	115	82.8	12.8	-15
84	6	Kyle Pitts Sr.	ATL	TE7	66	104	84.3	8.7	-7
86	6	RJ Harvey	DEN	RB32	52	133	87	16.8	-5
88	6	Jordyn Tyson	NO	WR37	61	203	87.4	23.3	-9
93	6	Parker Washington	JAC	WR40	60	135	92.9	17.1	-15
98	7	Patrick Mahomes II	KC	QB13	69	125	99.7	10.7	-5

It will be hard for Trey McBride to top the year he had in 2025. He finished the season with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 targets. Among all pass catchers, McBride trailed only Puka Nacua in receptions. McBride also ranked third in targets among all pass catchers and tied for second in TD catches. It was an impressive follow-up to a 2024 season in which McBride had 111 catches for 1,146 yards and two touchdowns. There are reasons to think that McBride might have a hard time matching his 2025 numbers this season. The Cardinals threw at the highest rate in the NFL last season. That’s not likely to happen again after the team drafted a running back, Jeremiyah Love, No. 3 overall. The Cardinals are also looking to get Marvin Harrison Jr. more involved after two disappointing seasons. McBride is clearly one of the elite tight ends and is worthy of a top-25 draft pick. Just don’t expect a full repeat of last year.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

TreVeyon Henderson finished his rookie season as the RB24 in fantasy points per game, but it wasn’t nearly that productive for fantasy managers when you look at the full breakdown of how it unfolded. In Weeks 10-11, Rhamondre Stevenson wasn’t active, and Henderson feasted with 60.3 combined PPR points, which accounted for 29.2% of his overall fantasy production for the season. If you take those two monster games out of the equation, Henderson would have averaged 9.8 PPR points per game, which would have made him the RB33 in fantasy points per game. Without Stevenson in the lineup in Weeks 9-11, Henderson averaged 19 touches and 110 total yards. With Stevenson active, Henderson had 11.2 touches and 57.2 total yards per game. This isn’t to shade Henderson, but I’m trying to give context to his rookie season that will be overlooked at first glance. I don’t know how Henderson overtakes Stevenson in 2026 if both of these players continue to post per-touch efficiency metrics like they did last season. Last year, Henderson was bested by Stevenson in every metric that I care about, namely explosive run rate, missed tackle rate, yards after contact per attempt, yards per route run, and pass protection stats. Among 49 qualifying backs, Henderson ranked 12th in explosive run rate, but he was also 32nd in missed tackle rate and 42nd in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). Henderson could eat into Stevenson’s workload more in 2026 if he can take another step and payoff as an RB2, but he ‘s best viewed as an upside RB3.
– Derek Brown

Brian Thomas Jr.’s sophomore season was a major disappointment after the lofty expectations created by his explosive rookie campaign. Injuries constantly interrupted his momentum, while Jacksonville’s offense increasingly funneled targets toward players like Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington, and Brenton Strange. The talent that made BTJ a breakout star still exists, but his connection with Trevor Lawrence never consistently clicked in Liam Coen’s system. Until Jacksonville proves willing to feature him more prominently again, Thomas profiles as more of a volatile upside WR3/4 than the ascending alpha many expected entering 2025.
– Andrew Erickson

Patrick Mahomes’ fantasy appeal has diminished in recent years, and now the nine-year veteran is trying to recover from a major knee injury. Mahomes tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee late in the Chiefs’ Week 15 loss to the Chargers in mid-December. Reports say he has been rehabbing aggressively in hopes of starting the Chiefs’ Monday-night season opener against the Broncos on Sept. 14, which comes three days before his 31st birthday. Even if Mahomes is able to return for Week 1, his mobility could be compromised. Mahomes’ rushing production helped him get off to a fast fantasy start in 2025. Through eight weeks, he was QB1 in fantasy scoring at 25 points per game, fueled in part by 280 rushing yards and four TD runs. Mahomes finished the year tied for QB2 in fantasy points per game behind Josh Allen, after finishing QB11 in FPPG (six games minimum) in both 2023 and 2024. Kansas City didn’t make any significant additions to Mahomes’ pass-catching arsenal in the offseason, but the Chiefs added RB Kenneth Walker III, who could make Mahomes’ life easier by providing the Chiefs with a credible running threat.
– Pat Fitzmaurice

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