6. Cam Newton, Panthers (Stay-Away)
Given the shoulder problems that plagued him in 2018 and ultimately ended his season two games early, Newton’s 2019 campaign has bust written all over it. Surprisingly, he was still a top-10 quarterback in terms of fantasy points per game. But you’ll be playing with fire if you think he’ll be able to pull that off again.
Now that he’s on the wrong side of 30, Newton’s value as a runner is sure to decline, which takes away one of the biggest reasons why he’s been such a great fantasy quarterback in the past. In 2018, he had just four rushing touchdowns, the fewest in his career. With his shoulder, he’ll be less of a threat to throw the ball downfield and pick up yards in large chunks. Meanwhile, the Panthers will be far more content to hand the fall to Christian McCaffrey, marking an end to Newton’s days as a top-flight fantasy quarterback.
5. N’Keal Harry, Patriots (Stay-Away)
If you’re new to fantasy football, the first thing you should know is to always beware of rookie wide receivers (I’m still regretting that Kevin White pick a few years ago). Even if they were a 1st-round pick and even if they have Tom Brady throwing the ball to them, they’re not worth the risk unless you can get them late in your draft.
To be fair, the Patriots have never drafted a wide receiver in the 1st round during the Brady-Belichick era, so this is uncharted territory. However, Brady doesn’t care about throwing to the most talented receiver; he prefers throwing to the guys with whom he’s the most comfortable. You can’t expect Brady to trust a rookie right away when he can throw to Julian Edelman or dump it down to James White or Rex Burkhead. In other words, don’t expect Harry to break out as a rookie.