Aug 26, 2012
- Written By Brian Dezelske
- Edited By Marc Caviglia
It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, DeSean Jackson, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.
Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Wide Receivers for the 2012 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.
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Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
2010 was a breakout season for the speedy third-rounder from Mississippi, as he eclipsed 1,200 yards and tallied 10 end-zone trips on 102 total targets.
What was next on the docket for Wallace should have been a jump into that elite top-5 category. Instead, we saw opposing teams plan around his ability to take the top off a defense. This adjustment, combined with the emergence of Antonio Brown as a legitimate No. 2 receiver, resulted in a bit of a drop in those numbers as he registered just eight scores and fell just short of the 1,200 yard mark (1,193). And although he saw 114 targets in 2011, he was overshadowed by Brown’s 124 targets.
More so than defenses simply scheming around the speedster, is the ever-declining offensive line in the Steel City. Their big left tackle, Max Starks, struggled last season and then tore his ACL during the playoffs. The left guard spot has also been an issue over the past couple of seasons. Also, hot shot Round 1 selection, David De Castro tore his ACL and MCL and will miss his entire rookie season.
Those line issues don’t make Ben Roethlisberger’s job easy whatsoever. Which means he will spend a large part of his afternoon scrambling for his life and hoping he doesn’t get injured.
All these variables—and let’s not forget that Wallace hasn’t reported to camp yet—are just what the BUST doctor ordered for a guy who’s Average Draft Position still hovers in the WR1 ballpark.
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