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We got together with the Footballguys staff members and asked a simple question: Which player -- generally taken in the first round -- do you least-like having on your team?
Here are their answers.
Chad Parsons
Looking for players to avoid here, I am just not an early quarterback drafter in start-1QB formats. Patrick Mahomes II is an outstanding player, but the position is stocked with quality options and plenty of discounted ones with mid-QB1 potential or better in 2020. For Lamar Jackson, there are so many regression-worthy aspects to his profile after his mammoth 2019 breakout, I am skeptical he repeats his lap-the-field dominance. And paying this draft capital price at quarterback, the lone outcome worth it would be the QB1 overall with a decent chunk of WORP (Wins Over Replacement Player) advantage over the league. That is a small keyhole to shoot the proverbial needle through.
Jason Wood
I'm with Chad that quarterback is so deep it's hard to justify selecting one -- even an elite one -- in the second round. But I don't think either Mahomes or Lamar Jackson is my least favorite option on this list. That honor would go to Austin Ekeler. I'm generally not a fan of drafting running backs from bad offenses and fear the Chargers are going to be one of the NFL's worst in 2020. Ekeler already got his payday, but putting worries about his effort aside, I don't see how Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert -- without time to build rapport because of Covid-19 -- are going to keep the Chargers offense moving as effectively as Philip Rivers did.
Jeff Pasquino
While I can agree that paying for an elite quarterback in Round 2 is hard to justify given that the position is deep and that running back and elite tight end is shallow, I will not say that Mahomes or Jackson is my least favorite pick. That has to be Aaron Jones (wow, I am so against Green Bay this year). Yes, I get that he was extremely productive last year, but the Packers do not want to sign Jones to a long term deal. That screams to me that they will be evaluating rookie A.J. Dillon a ton this year to see if they can afford to go with their younger (and cheaper) option for the next 2-3 years and spend money elsewhere (such as at wide receiver). Jones may still be productive, but 2019 could easily have been the peak of his performance and more of an anomaly. Jones had never played more than 12 games prior to last season, and he does have a bit of an injury history. Drafting Jones in Round 2 and expecting him to provide a high fantasy floor may be asking too much.
Bob Henry
I'm probably with the vast majority in professing my love for Lamar Jackson the player, the MVP and one of the most insanely talented, athletic quarterbacks we've ever seen, but I'm not going to take him in the second round if only because I'm not sure if he'll be the QB1 this year with Patrick Mahomes II likely rebounding from injury last year.
The player I least like having on my team is probably the same as having the 21st or 22nd pick. It's often the spot where both Kelce and Kittle are taken, the top group of RBs and WRs are also gone, and you are left to take Mahomes/Jackson earlier than desired or grab Evans, Godwin, or another player you'd rather get in the third round. In those scenarios, I've taken Aaron Jones reluctantly.
Jeff Haseley
As much as I'd love to have Patrick Mahomes II this year, I can't justify taking a quarterback in the second round. I am generally not a fan of zero-running back. I like to make sure I have adequate starters at running back, not hopeful ones. If I drafted Mahomes in round two, my other positions, especially running back, will drop off in production. The drop-off point for backs comes fast. I don't want to use a fourth or fifth-round pick on a lesser back when I could be using it on a sure-fire starting wide receiver.
Andy Hicks
At the bottom end of the scale, we have Aaron Jones. Jones finished 2019 as the third-ranked running back yet no one seems in any hurry to draft him anywhere near that slot in 2020. Why? Highly productive running backs in the NFL are becoming an endangered species and you would think he would be valuable to a franchise. Well, the Packers seem to be running to avoid paying him franchise back money and drafted A.J. Dillon in the second round. Apart from Dillon, the 2019 season from Jones screams fluke. 19 touchdowns are not going to happen again and Aaron Rodgers will get his share of touchdowns inside the five again.
Maybe Matt LaFleur can continue to get the best out of Aaron Jones and a lot of us will look foolish in the process. This will be a case of almost everyone being wrong or almost everyone being right.
Ryan Hester
The Round 2 player I won't touch is Jacobs. He's on a poor-to-middling offense, and he doesn't catch passes. Jacobs had 28 targets in 13 games played last season with a high watermark of 30 receiving yards in a game. The depth chart behind him doesn't suggest that Las Vegas plans to change his role either. They kept Jalen Richard, who had 43 targets last year to Jacobs' 28. And they drafted Lynn Bowden Jr who played wide receiver at Kentucky before transitioning to running back last year. Bowden had 67 receptions as a receiver in 2018 and then 1,468 rushing yards last season, showcasing his versatility. Jacobs won't see his receiving numbers increase, making him a one-dimensional back on a team likely to see plenty of negative game scripts.
Dan Hindery
My least favorite pick in the second round is Mike Evans. It is not that I do not like Evans this season. He is my WR7 and I think he can come close to replicating last season’s numbers (17.7 PPG) when he finished in the top five at the position in PPG. The issue with Evans in the second round is that wide receiver is as deep as it has ever been. Marvin Jones’ production (14.9 PPG) was not far behind Evans last season in the same number of games. It may feel like you are at a huge advantage with Evans in your starting lineup compared to Jones but the numbers don’t bear that out. There are so many strong wide receiver options that can give you at least 80% of Evans’ production (with the upside to match him) available many rounds later. Replacement level production is high at wide receiver and rising. I believe the gap is going to be larger between the top quarterbacks, running backs, and tight ends and the replacement level production at their position than the gap between a mid-WR1 like Evans and replacement level at wide receiver.
Phil Alexander
The only players in this round I wouldn't consider at ADP are both Tampa Bay wide receivers for the reasons I mentioned here, and Dan stated above.
Chris Allen
My least favorite (and I might be cheating here) is either Bucs' receiver. We've already talked about Godwin having the better fit with Brady, but neither appear to be certain bets to meet their second-round ADP. Evans going at the 2/3 turn mitigates some of the risks, but I could likely talk myself into another receiver in their tier or look at a running back depending on who I drafted in the first round.
Andrew Davenport
My least favorite player from the second round is Aaron Jones. I think it's entirely possible that Jones continues to score at a high rate because of the offense in Green Bay that Matt LaFleur is calling, so I could be eating crow come November, but I can't look past Jones' splits last year. When Davante Adams was hurt last season Jones scored 37% of his fantasy points for the entire year in those four weeks. Not only that, but in those four games, he recorded 59% of his receiving yardage, 45% of his receptions, and 39% of his targets. Further, when Adams did play, Jones recorded EIGHT games of 2 or fewer receptions in those 12 contests. It is entirely possible that Jones still continues to produce on the ground, especially in the red zone, and this 12 games is an admittedly small sample, but nothing is trending in his direction. The Packers brought in a running back to possibly split time, and touchdown regression is still a real worry - offensive scheme or not. Jones is a special player so all of this analysis could mean nothing, but I'm not comfortable with all of his red flags in the second round.
Jordan McNamara
My least favorite player in the second round is Lamar Jackson. His QB1 finish in 2019 was largely fueled by a 9% touchdown rate. That is almost double the average rate and is a stat that is close to random year over year. Simply put, betting on that rate to repeat plus a repeat of a 1,000 yard rushing season is begging for a disaster.
Matt Waldman
Aaron Jones is my least favorite. He wants to stay in Green Bay and he's a heck of a runner with slippery footwork and power who can catch the ball better than most backs. He has also missed a lot of playing time and as mentioned, the addition of Dillon in the second round indicates that Green Bay will not be awarding Jones a second deal.
Dillon is a better back than many realize and as good as Jones was in the red and green zones last year, Dillon will cut into Jones' opportunities. If Jones' ADP was equivalent to a flex-play, I'd be all over him. You'll have to get double-digit touchdowns from Jones again to warrant selecting him in the second round. It ain't happening.
Devin Knotts
The least favorite player in this group is Miles Sanders. He seems to be the highest risk candidate out of all of these players given that he has a track record of a partial rookie season and just one season in college. The big concern here is whether Sanders can take on a work-load that is needed for him to pay off in this range. Last year was a bit of an exceptional year as there were weeks in which Greg Ward was the Eagles top receiver, so by necessity the offense needed to run through Sanders, but with the Eagles focusing in on adding wide receivers as well as continuing to have the two tight ends in Ertz/Goedert, there is too much risk for Sanders in the second-round as you are essentially paying for his upside.