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6 players to avoid at your Fantasy Football draft

By Hunter Haas

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) high-fives teammates during an organized team activity Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) high-fives teammates during an organized team activity Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. /
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Dec 17, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

Fantasy Football Name To Avoid No. 6: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts

ADP: 10 (RB5)

Full disclosure: I love Jonathan Taylor. As a Colts fan myself, he has quickly become one of my favorite players in the league. That being said, there are a few red flags that pop up when assessing Taylor’s fantasy football value in 2023.

First and foremost, the Wisconsin Badger suffered his first major injury since high school when Taylor’s ankle forced him out of six games. The hope is that this was merely a one-off injury, but there is always a chance that lower-body ailments linger as a player gets older.

Next, the Colts drafted a 6-foot-4, 244-pound athletic freak to be the franchise’s next starting quarterback. In doing so, Indy cut into Taylor’s goal-line usage. New head coach Shane Steichen engineered an offense that saw Jalen Hurts find the end zone 13 times as a runner. Anthony Richardson is even bigger, so expect several QB runs in the red zone.

The talent with Taylor is never in question; he is a dawg. However, the injury concern and the addition of Richardson make me pause when I see how early he is coming off the board. As tempting as it is, I would not go out of my way to take the 24-year-old ball carrier in round one at fantasy football drafts.

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