Fantasy Football: Who Not to Take

It’s that time of year again: Fantasy Football season.

I’m going to be nice to all of you and give you four players you shouldn’t draft this year. If you’re in a league with me, you’re welcome. Or you could choose not to listen, use a cheat sheet, and finish in last place. Enjoy spending 24 hours at Waffle House.

1: Brandon Aiyuk

OK, so technically this is really five players, because there is no way anyone is going to draft a man who isn’t even on a team. In theory he’s still part of the 49ers organization, but there’s no way he actually plays this year.

Unless something changes dramatically, Brandon Aiyuk is an easy name to cross off your fantasy draft board.

Anyway, onto the real players you shouldn’t take!

2: Chris Olave

Olave is a great receiver, don’t get me wrong. But his concussion history, which is almost as concerning as Tua Tagovailoa’s, is a huge risk that doesn’t seem to be factored into most cheat sheets. All it takes is one more serious hit for his season to potentially be over. I know he’s coming off a great year, but that injury risk is just too much. I don’t want to see you lose your best receiver halfway through the season.

3:Jeremiyah Love

Besides the fact that he is battling a high ankle sprain right now, the main reason I am not touching Love is that he’s on the Arizona Cardinals. I’m sorry, but I just don’t trust the Cardinals to produce a fantasy star right now. Love is obviously talented, and being the third overall pick shows how much Arizona believes in him, but at the same time they took a long time to actually name him the starting running back. Being considered around 50-50 to play in Week 1 also isn’t a great sign. Nobody likes to start the fantasy football season already worried about seeing a red injury flag next to your third-round pick’s name.

4: Kyle Pitts

Here we go again. Kyle Pitts finally had his first really good season, and now everyone is going to overhype him again. I’ve heard the “this is finally the year” argument way too many times with Pitts, and I’m not falling for it. He is talented, but I think people are going to draft him based on what they think he can become instead of what he has actually done. Hard pass.

5: CJ Stroud

It was a toss-up between him and Jaxson Dart. My cousin is a big Giants fan, so I decided to go with C.J. Stroud. 

OK, I’m lying. That’s not the real reason I chose to write about Stroud instead of Dart. Despite his tendency to spend some time in the blue medical tent, I actually think Dart has some potential this season. He is a young quarterback who has shown enough to make me believe he could surprise some people. I can’t say the same for Stroud. He has gotten worse year after year since his rookie season, and I don’t see enough improvement to believe he is suddenly going to turn things around. Even worse, he is wasting an amazing defense in Houston that should be giving him plenty of opportunities to win games. It also doesn’t help that he has no offensive line and will be running for his life.

Bonus: All 49ers 

I’m not saying the power plant has anything to do with the rash of injuries, but I’m not NOT saying it