49ers fantasy football: Are any Niners one of these 10 potential draft busts?
By Peter Panacy
No. 4 Fantasy Football Bust to Avoid: QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
Experienced fantasy football owners know it’s way too risky to invest any early or even mid-round pick on a first-year player, especially if that rookie is a quarterback.
And even worse if that rookie signal-caller is going to a bad team.
Current fantasy trends suggest leagues aren’t targeting all but the elite of elite quarterbacks (think Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen) until much later in drafts anyway. But there was one relatively shocking revelation when looking at the deeper ends of the quarterbacking fantasy pool.
The No. 1 overall pick from this year’s NFL Draft, now-Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, has a higher ADP (10.04) than some much safer fantasy QB2s like the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins (11.11), Cleveland Browns’ Baker Mayfield (11.11) or even the Raiders’ Derek Carr (14.08).
While none of those veterans should be viewed as QB1 options, they’re certainly much safer bets as bye-week cover options and backups than Lawrence, who’ll be challenged to emerge as a fantasy stud in year one thanks to the dearth of proven offensive talent in Jacksonville.
Owners could be tempted by someone like Lawrence in keeper or dynasty leagues, of course, so there’s that.
But for the rest of fantasy owners, don’t waste the pick on the rookie.