2023 Fantasy Football: Players to Avoid at Their ADP

2 min read • August 16, 2023

Posted in

NFL

Breece Hall - SIC score 65

The second-year back who will now be receiving handoffs from Aaron Rodgers is recovering from a Week 7 torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee. Hall undoubtedly has the talent to be a top back in the league if healthy, however he’s unlikely to be fully healthy at any point this season. 

If Hall were fully healthy, would the team have invested in signing Dalvin Cook? The signing of Cook is a smart insurance policy by the team and allows Hall to not rush his recovery. As evident by his 65 SIC score, the Pro Football Docs do not project he will look fully healthy until late in the season at the earliest.

In the clip below, Dr. David Chao compares his recovery trajectory to Saquon Barkley’s in 2021 – when he was returning from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 2 the previous season.

Barkley’s on-field production was also limited by an ankle sprain, holding him to 593 yards and 2 touchdowns in 13 games. He finished as the RB30 in PPR scoring that season.

FantasyPros has Breece Hall ranked as the RB11 this season, with his ADP projected in the mid-second round.

Javonte Williams - SIC score 47

Williams is another running back to avoid at his current ADP, primarily because he is recovering from a multi-ligament knee injury. His Week 4 injury last season was similar to the one suffered by J.K. Dobbins in 2021.

Dobbins was surprisingly effective for the Ravens last season, but had to undergo a knee scope mid-way through the season.

While Williams was spotted running at mini-camp, he clearly had trouble cutting and did not look close to 100%, according to our panel of former head team physicians.

The 23-year-old out of North Carolina is ranked as the RB28 in PPR scoring, according to FantasyPros, with a projected ADP in the 7th round.

Denver signaled it is not planning to rely solely on Williams this season but signing Samaje Perine in the offseason. 

Cooper Kupp - SIC score 88

Although Kupp is currently nursing a hamstring strain he picked up early in camp, that injury is not the main concern of the Pro Football Docs. He will more than likely be active Week 1 without limitations.

Kupp’s inclusion on this list is not a knock to him, as evident by his high-80s SIC health score. However, it would be a surprise to see Matthew Stafford throwing passes to him all season given his troubling neck injury risk. If Stafford takes a wrong hit and suffers another spinal contusion, his career may be at risk. That would take a big hit to Kupp’s value and makes him too risky to draft at WR3 overall. 

Stafford’s SIC score is 73 heading into the season, indicating the seriousness of his neck injury risk.

After finishing as the overall WR1 in 2021, Kupp was the WR25 in 9 games last season.

Kyle Pitts - SIC score 57

The 22-year-old out of Florida has gotten off to a rough start from a fantasy standpoint and that is unlikely to be remedied this season, according to the Pro Football Docs.

Pitts suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 11 last season on a gruesome hit. His injury was labeled a severe MCL sprain, but MCL sprains rarely require surgery to fix. 

The fact he underwent surgery indicates there was likely other ligament damage involved, which gives our panel of doctors worry about a recovery in time for Week 1.

Atlanta has been optimistic about his recovery, but it will be tough for him to have his pre-injury agility until the second half of the season.

He’s projected as the TE6 this season, according to FantasyPros.

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