Five Players to Avoid in 2007

Most fantasy players are always looking for the next big time sleeper that will go from a tenth round pick to top ten production. It is equally important to find the players that will do the opposite and be a major bust for your team. A bust will hurt you a lot more than not getting a sleeper. It’s also much easier to predict the next bust instead of trying to find the next Marques Colston. In this article, we will look at five players that are destined to fail your fantasy team in 2007, guys you want to stay away from.

1. Warrick Dunn – Age would show that he should have dropped off a few years ago, but this is the year he will finally start to disappoint owners. He is thirty-two years old, well past a runners prime in this league. In 2006 his average yards per carry dropped over a full yard, a major sign of a running back in decline. Now with Michael Vick likely out of the picture, defenses will focus on the runners out of the backfield and not the one under center. Another problem for Dunn this season is that he is likely to lose a large amount of carries. He is injured now and even though he should be back for the opener, missing camp will affect him. Jerious Norwood is in prime position to take over the starting job. In 2006 he looked great in limited time, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Stay clear of Dunn in ‘07 and turn your attention to Norwood.

2. Jamal Lewis – Lewis is a prime example of a player having one great season and fooling people into believing he can do it again. Anyone expecting him to come close to his 2003 numbers should be sent back to the loony bin. Truth is it’s a long shot for him to even reproduce his 2006 numbers that were surprisingly good. In his last two seasons he has averaged 3.4 and 3.6 yards per carry, and that was running behind a good line in Baltimore. He is not in Cleveland with an awful offensive line and quarterback. I would put his ceiling at 1,000 yards and five touchdowns in 2007, which may seem like good numbers, but for where he is going in drafts and the fact that he could certainly do worse while constantly seeing 8 men in the box this year, you want to let someone else make the mistake of drafting him.

3. Frank Gore – This is going to raise some eyebrows, and it should. I’m not saying he will have a bad year by any standards, in fact I think he will surely put up top ten running back numbers. I’m saying he should not be going third overall in drafts like he has been going. The main reason I don’t see him as a top five pick is because of his fumbles. He had six fumbles in 2006, which caused him to lose goal line carries and that makes it difficult for him to get more then 10-12 touchdowns this season. Add that to the fact that he blew out both knees in college, and I would like to see him have another big year before I commit a top five pick to him.

4. Deion Branch – This guy gets a lot of credit for being a great receiver when he has really never done anything to show it. Seattle moved Darrel Jackson to commit their #1 receiver spot to Branch. I just don’t see what he did to warrant it. He has never caught 80 passes, had 1,000 yards, or more than five touchdowns. He has certainly had the quarterbacks to make the most out of him, and I don’t see him doing much more than 1,200 yards and six touchdowns in 2007.

5. Randy Moss – I still believe he can play, but not enough to put him in the top tier of receivers as I see many people do. He is on a loaded offense in New England and that will take away touches from him. He also has a very talented receiver in Donte’ Stallworth on the other side that is a great deep threat as well. You can also expect to see the ball moving on the ground more for the Patriots with young stud Laurence Maroney primed for a huge season. Moss is going right around the same time as T.J Houshmandzadeh, who I would easily take before him, and I would advise you to do the same.

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