Joe Burrow vs Davante Adams

“For example, fantasy players would need to use four of their first five or six picks to build a Cincinnati Bengals stack of Ja’Marr Chase , Chase Brown , Tee Higgins , and Joe Burrow”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“Round 1: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) To kick things off at No. 4 overall, I went with Joe Burrow .”

“Even with a modest target share, Higgins maximizes his opportunities in one of the NFL’s premier passing offenses led by Joe Burrow .”

“The pivot to more under-center passing won’t be as natural and certainly might not be anywhere near as successful for the Bengals, because Burrow clearly isn’t as comfortable and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, if we go back the last three years, Burrow’s under-center dropbacks average just 3.6 air yards, which ranked dead last: #69 out of 69 qualifying QBs. His time to throw of 2.81 seconds was the #5 fastest out of 69 QBs, and he threw just 17% of passes 10+ yards downfield, also ranking dead last.”

“Zac Taylor wants the Bengals to play more from under center in 2026. Unfortunately, Joe Burrow under center is precisely where this offense struggles most, which is why the Bengals haven't used it often of late. How much the Bengals choose to pivot to under-center passing and how much Burrow can improve on these dropbacks might have a large impact on their fortunes in 2026.”

“Overvalued: Joe Burrow, Quarterback (QB4, Pick 59 OVR) Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t like Joe Burrow, or that I don’t think that Joe Burrow is a talented player; I just think that Joe Burrow is capped insofar as he doesn’t rush at all, and the Bengals’ offensive line isn’t strong enough for him to be a consistent top-four player without the rushing.”

“Of the top-10 quarterbacks based on LTV, Burrow is the one quarterback with little to no rushing upside, making him the quarterback I would want to trade away.”

“Burrow was once again impactful when on the field, completing 66.8% of his passes for a 6.6% touchdown rate. Burrow is the only quarterback with a touchdown rate of 6% or higher in each of the past two seasons.”

“Despite finishing the season as the QB29 last season due to missed games, Burrow finished the season red hot. Through the final six weeks of 2025, Burrow was on pace for 4500+ passing yards and 43 passing TDs. Since 2023, Burrow in Week 1 has been atrocious.”

“Over the last four seasons, Burrow has established himself as one of the NFL's premier fantasy quarterbacks even without the rushing upside of the Allen/Lamar types. He finished as the overall QB3 or better for 14 weeks in that span. What's wild is he missed 17 games in that span!”

“Joe Burrow's health has been the biggest hurdle for this team in recent seasons. If he remains healthy, Burrow will put up MVP numbers, and the Bengals will be in the thick of the playoff hunt in a loaded AFC field of contenders.”

“For the first time in a long time, Davante Adams is priced outside the top-24 WRs:”

“Having Davante Adams and Puka Nacua has elevated his fantasy value, and the Rams are built to make one more run with Stafford under center.”

“When Davante Adams is currently discussed, the conversation revolves around his age, the QB’s age, his coach, the other receivers on the team, pretty much anything and everything BUT his concussion history.”

“There’s a chance Stafford’s goal-line connection with Davante Adams (another overvalued player on ESPN ) helps inoculate him from this regression.”

“Los Angeles WR Davante Adams ranked 10th on this same list: “His instincts and route running are still there even as his athletic traits have declined,” an NFC exec said.”

“While Davante Adams doesn't receive a ton of volume, he is a touchdown machine.”

“Some players are TD monsters every year (Davante Adams) while others have shown that six or seven TDs is their ceiling such as Keenan Allen.”

“Davante Adams finished as the fantasy WR8 last season, yet 14 of his 60 receptions last year went for touchdowns. Adams is coming off a career-low catch rate (53%) and YAC per reception total, and at 33 years old, will need to compete with Puka Nacua and the Rams' bevy of tight ends for targets.”

“Davante Adams led the league in touchdowns for the third time in his career, developing an elite red-zone connection with Matthew Stafford.”

“A lot of Adams' fantasy scoring came from touchdowns, finishing with a league-high 14. Adams has been consistently at the top in end-zone targets, but his fantasy scoring is becoming increasingly dependent on them.”

“According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), he posted a 1.92 yards per route run rate last season, his lowest mark since 2017. He also put up a career low in yards after the catch per reception (2.0). Despite seeing 111 targets, Adams ranked just 29th in receptions (60) and 31st in receiving yards per game (56.4).”

“Davante Adams (8th in total WR points last year) is going for an average auction value less than their projection.”