Three wide receivers to avoid in fantasy football drafts

The NFL preseason has officially begun, which means fantasy football drafts are ramping up.

With each passing season, the wide receiver position becomes more valuable in fantasy football. While taking one or two wide receivers early is becoming a popular strategy among fantasy managers, Garrett Wilson's 2023 season proved that no matter how talented you are, external factors could easily turn you into a draft bust.

With that in mind, here are three wideouts typically selected in the early rounds of fantasy drafts that you should steer clear of.

Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

With four-time Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins taking over as Atlanta's starting quarterback, London is well-positioned to enjoy a breakout season in 2024. However, despite how big of a leap London makes this season, it will still be extremely difficult for him to live up to the late second-round price tag he's commanding in drafts.

Last season, London caught 69 passes for 905 yards and two touchdowns, finishing as the WR44 on a points-per-game basis in PPR scoring formats. Of course, Atlanta's disastrous quarterback situation and former HC Arthur Smith's ineptitude played a significant role in London's disappointing fantasy output. Even so, while London should improve, it's difficult to imagine a player who hasn't finished as a top-40 wide receiver in terms of points per game over the past two seasons suddenly emerging as a top-12 wideout.

Although Cousins is a major upgrade over Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke, it's unclear how effective the 35-year-old will be coming off last season's Achilles tear. Additionally, although London is the best wide receiver on the Falcons roster, there's no telling what his target share will look like.

Now that he has a quarterback and coaching staff who can properly utilize his skill set, tight end Kyle Pitts should be a key contributor to Atlanta's passing attack. Second-year running back Bijan Robinson should also see a considerable amount of targets.

There's no doubt that London has the upside to put together some massive outings, but since he's yet to prove that he can consistently dominate, he's too risky of a pick at cost in fantasy drafts.

Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders

While he remains one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL, Adams' fantasy value is beginning to dwindle. 2023 marked the third consecutive season the six-time Pro Bowler saw his receiving yards decline. In 17 games, Adams caught 103 passes for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns.

Even though he finished as the WR10 overall in PPR scoring formats, Adams was inconsistent, as he was the WR15 on a points-per-game basis. The 31-year-old posted fewer than 15.6 PPR points in 11 games last season, five of which he scored less than 10 points.

Like London, Adams' struggles were primarily due to terrible quarterbacking and poor coaching under ex-HC Josh McDaniels. Nonetheless, Adams will likely have one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL this season. Aidan O'Connell, a 10-game starter for Las Vegas last season, and free-agent signing Gardner Minshew II are amid a heated quarterback competition, and neither instill much optimism for Adams' fantasy outlook.

Whoever wins the Raiders quarterback battle will surely pepper Adams with plenty of targets, leading to some vintage performances that could win you a week. Still, Adams could end up costing you multiple fantasy matchups since neither O'Connell nor Minshew can consistently make him a weekly top-12 wide receiver.

Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans

Texans players will be highly sought after in drafts thanks to C.J. Stroud's emergence as one of the top signal-callers in the league as a rookie, which helped elevate wideouts Nico Collins and Tank Dell to fantasy stardom. Although Houston's offense should perform even better this season after acquiring Diggs earlier this offseason, having so many talented receivers on one team complicates fantasy drafts.

Diggs, who has an ADP of 36 on ESPN , is undoubtedly the most accomplished wideout on the Texans, but that doesn't mean he'll be Stroud's top target this season. Diggs' abysmal second half of the 2023 season suggests he could be on the decline. From Week 10 to the end of last season, Diggs ranked as the WR45 in points per game despite being Buffalo's No. 1 wideout, averaging just 43.6 receiving yards during that span.

Considering he couldn't consistently produce with a higher target share and a better quarterback than the one he'll have this season, it's fair to say that Diggs is overpriced in fantasy drafts. If you want a piece of the high-powered Texans offense this season, consider selecting Collins in round two or Dell later in the draft.