While some players are ones you want to draft in fantasy football, others… not so much. It can be tempting to grab some of these guys, but here are the players not to draft this year.
Fantasy Football Do Not Draft List 2024
Quarterbacks: Tua Tagovailoa, Kyler Murray
Both of these quarterbacks may seem like a surprise to be in here, but neither of them are worthwhile to draft. Tua Tagovailoa was a different player at the end of last year than he was at the beginning. It doesn’t matter that he’s throwing to Tyreek Hill if he’s struggling the way he did at the end of 2023.
ESPN asked 103 NFL players who is the most overrated quarterback in the league:
1) #Bills Josh Allen
2) #Eagles Jalen Hurts
T2) #Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa
3) #Chargers Justin Herbert
4) #Jaguars Trevor Lawrence
5) #Browns Deshaun Watson
6) #Cardinals Kyler Murray
T6) #49ers… pic.twitter.com/6XvktobZT1— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 28, 2024
Kyler Murray may be even more of a shock, but he shouldn’t be. He’s missed 18 games in the last three seasons, and the only season he made it through injury-free was his rookie year. Drafting someone who is as injury prone as he is sets you up for your failure. It’s only a matter of time before you would stash him on IR.
Running Backs: Kyren Williams, De’Von Achane
Kyren Williams emerged as a clear RB1 candidate last season, but he’s someone you should stay away from in your draft. If the news about him taking punt returns wasn’t enough of a red flag, maybe the fact that Blake Corum sat out the entire preseason will be one. A rookie running back doesn’t sit out all three preseason games unless he’s going to be a big part of the offense which makes a first round pick on Kyren Williams worthless.
De’Von Achane is a player who seems enticing because of his big games last year, but don’t fall into the trap. At the end of the day, Raheem Mostert is the lead back. He will get the majority of the carries in Miami. Rookie Jaylen Wright is going to be involved too, so it’s a three-horse backfield with the Dolphins. That’s enough of a reason to stay away from Achane.
Wide Receivers: Chris Olave, Jaylen Waddle
It doesn’t matter how good of a case you try to make for Chris Olave, he’s not being touched with a 10-foot pole. It’s no fault of his own, but Derek Carr is too sketchy to trust. As a result, it ruins Olave’s fantasy outlook. Carr needs to prove himself this year to make Olave a player to draft in 2025.
As for Jaylen Waddle, there’s two things that make him someone not to draft. Firstly, he had his worst year as a pro in 2023. While some of that was a result of Tua’s struggles at the end of the year, it’s also Hill’s offense. Also, his ADP is just way too high at 38 given those production numbers.
Tight Ends: Kyle Pitts, Dallas Goedert
Like it or not, Kyle Pitts is slowly approaching bust territory. Yes, he had terrible quarterbacks in 2022 and 2023. However, he’s not shown much improvement in training camp this year with Kirk Cousins. There’s better tight ends you can get for his price, so going anywhere near Pitts is a hard pass.
When someone in your fantasy football league drafts Kyle Pitts this year, send them this post and laugh at them.pic.twitter.com/hTmUAgi9vQ
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) August 19, 2024
It may be harsh to include Dallas Goedert in here, but oh well. His production expectations were already low, and the trade for Jahan Dotson brought them down even more. Goedert is now the fourth option in the Eagles passing game, and that’s assuming they don’t run the ball more with Saquon Barkley. If you want to take a flyer on Goedert as a backup…. to each their own. As a starter though? Absolutely not.
Main Photo Courtesy of Troy Taormina – USA Today Sports