PHOTO USA Today Sports Image If your goal is to win a Week 1 game in fantasy football this season, I’ve got the guy for you: Anthony Richardson.
The Colts open at home against the Texans in what could be a showdown of the week.
Richardson passed for 223 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 40 yards and another score in his Opening Day NFL debut last September in a 31-21 home loss to the Jaguars.
That made the rookie one of the top quarterbacks in fantasy leagues that week and gave few who could have predicted success in the competition.
But as those who boo Richardson can attest, fantasy football titles aren’t won in Week 1. And they certainly aren’t won with a quarterback who played just two full games before suffering a season-ending injury.
There’s a reason NFL teams don’t run wishbones, picks, or, for the most part, even push tush.
Quarterbacks are too valuable to put at risk.
Alas, the Colts had no choice.
He’s committed to the receivers-on-linebackers who rushed 103 times in his final college season at Florida, with a pair of 17 TDs and nine more on the ground.
Apparently they didn’t watch when the 49ers tried something similar two years earlier, only to see Trey Lance suffer a knee injury in the very first start. He has not heard from it.
Richardson will likely be asked to make adjustments this season. In other words, walk less recklessly.
But he’s not an NFL-level passer, so he only has one way to succeed at this stage: by running. We’ve seen where that can take him—and your fantasy team—if you draft him as a starter.
Here are four other popular picks on the DO NOT DRAFT list for 2024:
Saquon Barkley, Eagles
Saquon Barkley is ready for his first season with the Eagles. Photo credit: Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK The Eagles finished last season in disarray and are now missing their most valuable offensive player: center Jason Kelce.
Barkley has been imported to a better situation, but what? How will he feel if every short yardage – where most rushes are scored – is thrown by the quarterback?
The Bengals’ Zack Moss, who is projected to be selected about 100 spots later, will beat Barkley this season. You heard it here first.
Puka Nacua, Rams
October 15, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) warms up before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium. credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports The 2023 fantasy wonder was taken as the top guy — even in the first round — and he wasn’t very good.
OK, he was last year. But this is, in essence, the absence of a healthy Cooper Kupp, who just two years earlier became that person.
Kupp, at his best, has proven to be better than Nacua last season. The old Kupp is back, not that most Fantasy drafters have noticed.
Here’s what it says: You’re better off grabbing Kupp in the fourth round than Nacua in the second.
Davante Adams, Raiders
December 31, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams (17) celebrates a touchdown in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports The depth of the quality of the wide receiver has never been greater than last season. And since then, another half dozen or so potential fantasy starters have been drafted.
I count at least 20 wideouts I’d rather have than Adams, yet he’s ranked among the top 10. I’m not sure why.
Entering his 11th season, Adams is not the same receiver in Green Bay. his total receptions went from 123 in the last year with the Packers to 100 in the first with the Raiders, and the total TD dropped from 14 to eight the last two years.
It’s not a WR1 number, and the fact that the Raiders can’t decide between mediocre options at quarterback is not encouraging, either.
Say it here: There is no way he should be ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr.
Kyle Pitts, Falcons
December 10, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts (8) runs for a touchdown after a catch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Travis Kelce’s stock has dropped significantly this year, which is understandable. It has nothing to do with a lack of renewed commitment to his work.
However, it’s all about developing depth at the tight end position. There are so many fantasy-caliber tight ends today that no longer have to make Kelce a priority, or consider a tease like Pitts.
The Falcons should be better offensively than they have been in recent years. They have a real quarterback (or two), a superstar running back and a Fantasy-caliber wideout.
They are also one of the biggest disappointments of Fantasy in the last two years: A tight end who thinks he is a wide receiver (in other words, who does not like blocking) but who uses a disciplined pattern like an offensive tackle.
Ah, but he looks good. Don’t be fooled. Take the Raiders’ Brock Bowers instead.
Don’t believe me? Ask any Georgian.
