CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 05: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes the ball during the game against the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals on November 5, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire)
There are no bad picks in the first round, but it's hard to get behind Nacua as the 10th overall pick. Matthew Stafford will be a year older and Cooper Kupp has to be assumed healthy for 2024. I would take each of the five picks following him over him, including wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who is going two picks later.
As much as I wanted to go with Davante Adams here, the worst pick has to be Allen. With his offense leaning more on the run late last season and his top two weapons leaving town, it's hard to lock in Allen as the sure-fire QB1. That is exactly what you're doing if you're drafting him in the second round. With guys like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson sitting around until the fourth round, it's hard to justify reaching for Allen here.
Round 3
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Kupp is on the downside of his career and is looking like WR2 in his own offense - an offense with an aging quarterback that could lean more on the run game this season. He simply isn't deserving of being drafted as the WR18 and his value is being inflated due to what he did years ago and not on what he'll do this season.
In each of the past two seasons, we've seen Diggs' production fall off a cliff late in the season with last year's decline being disastrous for fantasy owners. Now on the wrong side of 30 and stuck in a run-heavy offense with a ton of mouths to feed in the passing game, his days as a top wideout look to be far behind him. There is a real chance he ends up as the third option in Houston with wildly inconsistent week-to-week production in 2024. This isn't a guy I want as my WR2.
We understand the excitement for Stroud, however, we are also doing a lot of projecting. For a guy with limited rushing upside and mediocre numbers last season, we are really propping him up because of a great playoff win and the addition of Diggs. He will be great in real life and could make me look silly for this take. Nevertheless, he's being overdrafted this year and likely won't live up to his fantasy expectations.
There isn't a standout terrible pick in this round, but we decided to go with Godwin. It's not that he's a bad player, but there is no doubt that he's at best the second option in Tampa. He's being drafted ahead of guys like Jayden Reed, Calvin Ridley and Diontae Johnson, who all have the upside to be the alpha in their own offense.
There is no pick I hate in this round, especially with all the question marks surrounding Rashee Rice. It's hard to judge Rice and Marquise Brown so they were essentially disqualified here. We went with Hopkins who is in an offense with a questionable quarterback and will now be the WR2 in that offense behind Calvin Ridley who can be had in this same round. Now 32 years old and on the downside of his career, there are better options on the board at this point in the draft.
A WR2 in a Sam Darnold-led offense who could potentially be facing a suspension for his off-the-field antics? No thank you on Addison this season. How he's being drafted ahead of Christian Watson in the same round is a mystery to us.
This is a guy that I'm just done with. He's going to be stuck in a committee on a bad offense and has shown much to prove that he deserves better. There all multiple backs spanning multiple rounds still on the board that I'd rather have over Williams.
Samuel isn't a terrible pick here. We're getting to a point where there really aren't any terrible picks. However, he does come with the least upside. We'd be willing to bet he outplays his ADP but he's surrounded by guys in this round like Brian Thomas and Chase Brown who could be league winners.
