Going through each site's fantasy rankings is always an interesting experience. You get to scope out the range where the players you covet are going, peg potential sleepers and of course, occasionally get taken aback by where certain players you don't trust are being selected. This list is dedicated to the latter. Hope you enjoy!
Quarterback: Deshaun Watson (Texans) (ADP: Yahoo!: 37.8 ESPN: 52.5 NFL.com: 44.3)
The Deshaun Watson fantasy hype train is easily the strongest of any non-RB going into the draft. He's near-universally projected to be the #1 fantasy QB and his ADP is currently only behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady on all 3 major fantasy sites. As impressive as he was as a rookie, expecting a (nearly) 23-year old coming off a torn ACL with limited starting experience (7 games) to put up 4,500+ total yards and 30+ TD is a pretty bonkers leap of faith. If you want to spend a high pick on a dual-threat QB, wait a little bit and take Russell Wilson or Cam Newton instead.
Dishonorable Mentions: Carson Wentz (Eagles), Drew Brees (Saints), Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers)
Running Back: Jerick McKinnon (49ers) (ADP: Yahoo!: 30.6 ESPN: 30.9 NFL.com: 31.2)
Kyle Shanahan's lauded scheme allowed Carlos Hyde to enjoy a quietly productive season as a dual-threat back (1,290 YDS from scrimmage and 8 TD's) in 2017. The 49ers new starting back Jerick McKinnon is far from a lock to enjoy a similar level of success. McKinnon has failed to reach 1,000 YDS from scrimmage in all of his 4 NFL season to-date, has no experience as an uncontested starter and despite having a frame that seems ideal for breaking through piles on the goal line (5'9, 216 lbs), he seems to be immune to crossing the plain (only 12 TD's on 611 career touches). Even with the position's questionable depth, there are higher upside RB2 options (Devonta Freeman, Jordan Howard, Alex Collins) going around the same time as McKinnon, if not a bit later.
Dishonorable Mentions: Dalvin Cook (Vikings), LeSean McCoy (Bills), Joe Mixon (Bengals)
Wide Receiver: Amari Cooper (Raiders) (ADP: Yahoo!: 38.2 ESPN: 41.2 NFL.com: 52.1)
Despite hauling in a career-high 7 TD's, 2017 was a nightmare for Amari Cooper as he finished the year with a paltry 680 YDS on 48 receptions and dropped 5+ passes for a 3rd straight season. Coming off an absolute bust of season like that, there's absolutely no reason to even consider paying a WR2 price for him this year. Shaky hands aren't something that go away plus I have absolutely no faith in the new Raiders coaching regime's (Jon Gruden, offensive coordinator Greg Olsen) ability to put an efficient, reliable product on the field.
Dishonorable Mentions: Josh Gordon (Browns), Corey Davis (Titans), Allen Robinson (Bears)
Tight End: Jimmy Graham (Packers) (ADP: Yahoo!: 48.9 ESPN: 54.8 NFL.com: 51.4)
Even though he's lost a step in his early 30's, Graham is still a legit redzone threat (16 over the past 2 season) and his TD total could get even higher now that he has Aaron Rodgers throwing to him. However, his low yardage total (520 on 57 REC) and pretty high volume of duds (5 games with 10 yards or less and only 3 with 50+ yards) during the 2015 season makes him a poor value at his current early-to-mid 5th round ADP.
Dishonorable Mentions: Greg Olsen (Panthers), Evan Engram (Giants), Jordan Reed (Redskins)
Defense/Special Teams: Houston Texans (ADP: Yahoo!: 94.4 ESPN: 120.8 NFL.com: 80.0)
Fantasy sites seems to be very confident that J.J. Watt can come back in and make a monstrous impact right away after missing the bulk of the last 2 seasons with major back and leg injuries. Even if he does, the talent around him outside of fellow pass-rushers Whitney Mercilus and Jadevon Clowney isn't exactly abundant. Their secondary is incredibly suspect, they don't have a lot of takeaway threats on the roster and most importantly, they are coming off a 2017 season where they ranked dead last in scoring defense. They might turn out to be a decent group when the dust settles on the season, but projecting them as a top-5 fantasy defense heading into the season is an incredibly optimistic take that you should probably ignore if your someone who likes to take defenses somewhere between the 7th and 10th round.
Dishonorable Mentions: Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks
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