Fantasy Football Love/Hate at Every Position: Feelings on Patrick Mahomes, De'Von Achane, George Kittle and More

This started over a discussion on Kyler Murray. Our head man here at FantasySP, Brant Tedeschi, made a statement that ended like this, “…I also dislike Kyler Murray and his ADP so, so much.” Murray is one of the guys I’m highly recommending at quarterback this season, so of course I took note.

More than anything, it got me thinking about why we value players the way we do, both in real life and fantasy football. The biggest thing is that we generally have either a positive or negative view of most players, and we use the information at hand to back up our stances.

When Matthew Berry was with ESPN, he often wrote about how you can use numbers to make any argument you want about any player. He liked doing the A/B blind comparison:

• Player A was just 15th in passing yards and 11th in passing touchdowns last season. Only four quarterbacks lost more fumbles than he did.
• Player B had 164 more rushing yards than any other quarterback and tied for the fourth-most rushing touchdowns among quarterbacks. He was fourth in total fantasy points and third in points per game among QBs.

Who would you rather have? Both players finished with 331.22 fantasy points because both guys are Lamar Jackson. You could either look at him as a player who doesn’t match up to the passing prowess of other quarterbacks, or you can view him as maybe the most dynamic athlete in football and a fantasy star.

I prefer the latter perspective, and that’s also why I like Murray. He suffered a major knee injury in 2022 and returned to play just eight games last season. He ran for at least 20 yards in all but one of those games and topped 30 yards in five while scoring three times on the ground.

Another year removed from surgery and with a full offseason to work into game shape, I see Murray as a player likely to approach his old heights, when he ran for over 400 yards every season and combined for 23 rushing touchdowns between 2019-2022.

Some may see him as an athlete who has suffered a major injury and could lose a step and who has never thrown for 4,000 yards in a season. Both views are correct right now, and only time will tell which way things fall, but that’s how easily opposing views are created.

I’m went through every offensive fantasy position to give you the player I love most and the player I hate most given their draft status/auction price heading into the season. It’s all relative: Every player I list as a “hate” is a guy I would welcome on my fantasy team at the right price. Price is the issue, though, and the reason I’m ignoring these guys on draft day.

The ranking listed with the each player is from our FantasySP PPR Rankings.

Quarterback

Love: QB15 Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

Daniels follows my thinking with Murray, but the former is ranked five QB spots lower than the veteran, giving him much better value. Daniels doesn’t have past NFL success the way Murray does, but this is more about the way he plays: Daniels is going to run the football.

Daniels ran for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in his two seasons starting for LSU. He combined for 57 passing touchdowns and just seven interceptions during that time. He’s not going to put up those video game numbers in the NFL, but this is a player who is going to be the focus of the offense both with his arm and feet.

Rushing yards gain more fantasy points than passing yards: 10 yards on the ground is the same as 25 through the air, 40 rushing equals 100 passing, etc. Quarterbacks who regularly run the ball keep a better scoring floor. Throwing for 175 yards and a touchdown is 11 fantasy points for a quarterback; add in Jackson’s rushing average (about 50 yards per game and a touchdown every three games) and that bumps to 18 fantasy points. That adds up over time.

Hate: QB2 Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Mahomes was drafted as a top three quarterback last season; he finished as QB8. It’s not that he was less impressive as a passer, but Mahomes was working his magic with the worst group of receivers he's had in any season, pulling down his fantasy value even as the team won big.

Among passers, Mahomes might be the best fantasy quarterback. He doesn’t run the way other top backs do, though, lowering his ceiling. Mahomes usually isn’t going to have many of those 175-yard, one-touchdown games; he will keep his passing stats up. Reaching an elite level any week, though, is tougher because he must either hit a big number of passing yards or touchdowns.

Where Jackson, for instance, can run for two touchdowns any given week, Mahomes didn’t score once on the ground last season and has averaged about two rushing touchdowns per season. He can get out and scramble and add value with his legs, but Mahomes isn’t going to stress teams as a runner every week.

This doesn’t mean he’s a bad quarterback or even a bad fantasy quarterback, but it means he’s more susceptible to seasons and games where he’s mortal on the fantasy sheets rather than a top-line quarterback.

Jackson, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts are better options if you’re looking for an early QB. I like the idea of waiting and grabbing a guy like Murray or Daniels more, but the three runners at the top feel like safer fantasy options than Mahomes.

Running Back

Love: RB26 Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins

Hate: RB10 De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins

I recently wrote about these guys, so I was going to choose other players here, but there’s just no one close to how I feel about where these two are ranked. Mostert was a top-five fantasy back last season in both standard and PPR scoring. He was first in rushing touchdowns and 10th in rushing yards among backs.

I’m not expecting him to put up numbers like that again, but he will be in a similar role on a really good offense and will probably handle most of the goal line work. Mostert tied for the second-most carries inside of the five-yard line of any back in the league (20 versus Achane’s five).

Part of Mostert’s advantage is because Achane played just 11 games, but that may be a lingering concern. He is listed at 5’9 and 188 pounds, a frame many thought would limit his workload and/or leave him susceptible to injury. That was the case in his rookie season, and I’m skeptical of his ability to stay healthy until we see it.

Achane might be the most explosive player in the league. He produced at record levels last season, and he’s likely to break a few big plays again. Expecting him to keep that efficiency on a full workload is infeasible, though, and those drafting him as Barry Sanders 2.0 will be disappointed.

Achane will be more involved in the pass game and is appealing in PPR leagues. He had more receptions, yards and touchdowns through the air than Mostert despite playing four fewer games.

Both guys being ranked between 15-20th sounds better to me than their current standing. I have been scooping up Mostert near the end of mock drafts while never pursuing Achane. The way the board breaks, there are guys I’d much rather have than the second-year back.

Drafting a guy in the 13th round who was a top five scorer last year? That’s big upside at the toughest position to fill. Speaking of upside, Nick Chubb was one of the best running backs in football before sustaining a devastating knee injury last year. If you can put him in an IR spot early, Chubb has a chance to deliver starting production from the late rounds.

Wide Receiver

Love: WR32 Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders

McLaurin has topped 1,000 yards in every season except his rookie year, when he was held to 919 with seven touchdowns (his career high). His rookie quarterback Daniels may take time to develop into a great passer, but I mentioned his college stats above: the kid can ball, and McLaurin is his unquestioned top target.

And it’s not like McLaurin had stud quarterbacks the past few years: Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz, Sam Howell. Daniels doesn’t have big shoes to fill to be an upgrade on recent Washington passers.

The 32nd ranked wide receiver is seen as a WR4 in fantasy. There are a lot of good players ranked in front of him, but Tank Dell, Christian Kirk, Malik Nabers and more have just as many or more questions than McLaurin. The Washington wide out is a guy I’m targeting late in almost every mock draft.

Hate: WR11 Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

Over his first two seasons, London has averaged around 70 catches, 880 yards and three touchdowns. He did that with Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Heinicke throwing him the ball. Incoming starter Kirk Cousins might be the biggest upgrade any team made at QB this offseason.

It makes sense to expect London to take a big jump in his third season. He was the eighth overall pick in 2022, entering the league with high expectations. Racking up 1,000-yard seasons could very well be his immediate future.

It’s the players being drafted after him, though, that make me “hate” this raking for London. The guys we have ranked immediately after London: Chris Olave, Nico Collins, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel Sr., Mike Evans, Cooper Kupp, Michael Pittman Jr, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Waddle, DK Metcalf, D.J. Moore. I might prefer all those guys to London.

I want to see London play to that standard before expecting it. I feel the same way about Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts, though Pitts is more attractive because of his lower ranking. London is a fine wide receiver; he’s being drafted way ahead of where I value him, though.

Tight End

Love: TE6 George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

Kittle was second among tight ends in standard scoring last season and third in PPR. He had the same rankings in 2022. He was fourth in both formats in 2021. How much more do we need? (All of those rankings are from Fantasy Pros).

San Francisco is a machine, meaning plenty of chances for yards and touchdowns. If Brandon Aiyuk heads out in a trade, it would create even more available targets (though I expect Aiyuk to stay unless someone really overpays).

Mark Andrews, Trey McBride and Evan Engram are all ranked above Kittle by some outlets, and I’d rather have Kittle than any of those guys. Getting him a few rounds later is only a bonus.

Hate: TE3 Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

We see Andrews as a top tight end every season, but he hasn’t been elite very often due to injuries and other factors. He broke out with 107 catches for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021. We thought of him as a potential star, but his numbers have dropped each of the past two seasons (again, injuries played a big part in that).

I don’t really hate Andrews, as he has big upside at a position that doesn’t offer much of it. I’d much rather have Dalton Kincaid and Kittle, and maybe even Engram in a PPR league (though that’s questionable). Andrews is ranked about three rounds earlier than the others by ESPN’s Field Yates.

I don’t usually support taking early tight ends, so Andrews is someone I will avoid in all drafts and auctions.