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Fantasy Football Players to Avoid in 2026 Drafts

ESPN NFL •
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Liz Loza identifies six big-name players she's avoiding in fantasy drafts. Joe Burrow (QB, Bengals) offers scant rushing upside (3% of fantasy points) behind a porous offensive line (57.6% pass block win rate, 28th) and carries an ADP of 56.9; he's played 10 or fewer games in three of five seasons.

Christian McCaffrey (RB, 49ers) logged 413 touches last season, triggering the "370 rule" workload concern; his 1.05 ADP ignores age-30 decline, 3.9 YPC, and bottom-10 schedule. De'Von Achane (RB, Dolphins) loses Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, plus QB Tua Tagovailoa (5.3 targets/game to Achane) replaced by Malik Willis; his 11.9 ADP overlooks a capped ceiling with increased loaded boxes.

Malik Nabers (WR, Giants) broke rookie records (109-1,204-7) but faces quarterback uncertainty. Loza argues these stars' current draft costs exceed their likely 2026 returns given injury risk, workload regression, or degraded supporting casts.