The preseason is finally over and the regular season right around the corner — so, it’s time to get your fantasy football team together.
Sometimes you can find steals in the later rounds and come up with some excellent sleeper picks, and sometimes your go-to guys turn out to be busts. It’s difficult to read whether a player is going to have a bad year or not, but there are some tellings signs. Some players are simply getting older, some players start to get drowned out by talent around them and some guys are overhyped to begin with.
Here are five wide receivers who could likely be busts this season.
A.J. Green, Bengals
A.J. Green was a very difficult player to put on this list. He’s everything that a franchise could want in a wide receiver, and he’s proven to be one of the most reliable fantasy football guys every year. But, injuries have unfortunately gotten to him.
Green will likely miss the first few games of the 2019 season after having ankle surgery in July. He also had a season-ending surgery in 2018 on torn toe ligaments, so the injuries are piling up. The Cincinnati Bengals replaced Green’s production with Tyler Boyd — who had 1,028 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season.
The 31-year-old receiver might make a comeback after this season, but he isn’t the safest bet to draft for 2019.
Desean Jackson, Eagles
Desean Jackson has some adversity to fight through in order to become a top-tier fantasy receiver this season. The 32-year-old receiver will struggle to begin his season strong, after suffering a broken finger that could keep him sidelined for close to a month.
Not only is Jackson getting older and dealing with an injury, but he’s surrounded by some overbearing talent. The Philadelphia Eagles will feature Alshon Jeffrey, Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz on the offensive side of the ball. All three of those guys will provide better fantasy value, and they’ll take targets away from Jackson.
Jackson is an ultra-talented receiver — but he’s only put up one season with more than 800 yards since 2014.
Mike Williams, Chargers
Mike Williams will be an intriguing player to watch this season. The second-year receiver had great fantasy value last year after hauling in 43 catches, 664 yards and ten touchdowns.
He made this list because of the fact that he was primarily a red zone threat for the Los Angeles Chargers. He had the lowest total in catches and receiving yards for players that had double-digit touchdowns. Also, he was getting these looks because tight end Hunter Henry missed the season with a ACL injury.
The Chargers will likely look to Henry for at least half the red zone targets and they have Keenan Allen as their primary receiver. This means that Williams will receive less red zone targets, and could very likely have an inconsistent season in 2019.
Chris Godwin, Buccaneers
Chris Godwin probably has the most potential to have a great season, but that doesn’t mean that he will. The third-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver has shown consistent improvement until this point. But, he is still in an offense that features Mike Evans, Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard.
Godwin was able to reel in 59 receptions, 842 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns last season. Last season has built up hype around Godwin that will be very difficult to live up to. As long as Evans is around, a majority of the targets will continue to go to him.
He will definitely have a productive season, but the talent around him makes it difficult to rely on him as a week-to-week starter. Not only do the Buccaneers have talented pass-catchers, but they’ll also be running the ball frequently with Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber.
Andy Isabella, Cardinals
Andy Isabella is the only rookie wide receiver to make this list. There’s no doubt that Isabella will be a solid player for the Arizona Cardinals, but there will be growing pains.
Isabella is a 5-foot-9, 189 pound slot receiver that ran a 4.31 40-yard dash in the NFL Combine. He has the capability to be the next Wes Welker or Julian Edelman, but it will take time. Isabella will be paired up with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, who still has to find himself in the NFL.
He’ll also be competing for targets with Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk and running back David Johnson. Isabella did record 102 receptions, 1,698 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior year at UMass.
His time will come in the NFL, but he’s not worth picking up as a reliable starter in the 2019 season.
