Everyone has a price.
This list is made up of players that underwhelmed in some fashion for fantasy football purposes, and that scar tissue is impacting how they are being drafted this summer. Successful managers are the ones most willing to adjust and reevaluate: these players may have failed to live up to expectations in the past, but with their current cost, they profile as worthy of another chance.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
ADP: RB41
My Rank: RB29
I don’t think there is a better fit for this piece than the artist known as Bill.
During the 2025 preseason, he saw his expectations spike. Injuries around him opened up a role, and this offense looked like one of the best in the league during Jayden Daniels’ rookie season, thus making that RB1 title a valuable one.
We got over our skis.
We lost the plot on a seventh-round rookie who hardly played during his final season in college. The Daniels injuries tanked the potential of this offense and made our August exuberance an October nightmare.
We are a grudge-holding bunch, and I think we’ve overcorrected.
There were 29 RBs with 160+ carries last season, and Croskey-Merritt ranked sixth among them in percentage of totes that gained 10+ yards (just ahead of Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, and Jahmyr Gibbs). The consistency wasn’t elite, but the setting wasn’t what we thought it would be.
Now it is.
The Commanders brought in Rachaad White this offseason, and that’s going to impact this offense in a way that doesn’t matter for those of us getting into the JCM business.
These are two running backs with diametric strengths: both will be asked to do what they are good at and not where they struggle. Croskey-Merritt, in a season where the offense wasn’t moving the ball in nearly the fashion that they expected, scored six times in his eight games with double-digit carries.
If you’re picking around #100 overall and have the potential for 1,000 yards and double-digit TDs, what’s not to like?
In this range is a hobbled Alec Pierce, an RB likely on the back end of a committee in Kenny Gainwell, and an RB I’m actively voiding in Aaron Jones. This isn’t a hard or expensive click to make, and this is an offense I want exposure to.
Easy game.
Jordan Mason, RB, Minnesota Vikings
ADP: RB39
My Rank: RB26
This might be bending the rules a touch, but it’s my article, and I get to treat it how I want.
Mason was hyped as the Christian McCaffrey handcuff during his three years with the 49ers and turned in a fine season with the Vikes last year (4.8 YPC and six touchdowns). This is less “post-hype” and more “not enough current hype.”
If we were willing to label him as a difference-maker in the event that CMC went down, and now he has a chance to own a backfield, why are we struggling to get him out of the 90s overall and into the top 30 at the position?
Post-hype. We liked him at essentially no cost, but we have cooled because of an uptick in cost, and that is why I want to highlight him here.
We told ourselves that he’d be a weekly starter in the event of a McCaffrey injury: why can’t he just return weekly value now that he has a reasonably clear path to regular work?
I think we can agree that Aaron Jones is running out of rope on his NFL career. The 31-year-old back has found paydirt on just seven of his 387 carries since joining the Vikings and was a bottom-10 post-contact runner last season.
Mason happened to be top-10 in that metric, and that skill, if sustained, could result in a MONSTER season at this very reasonable cost. During Kyler Murray’s last three qualified seasons (8+ games played), Arizona RBs saw their ranking in yards per carry before contact improve from 22nd to 18th to 13th.
I don’t think that’s an accident. We’ve seen mobile QBs improve the efficiency of their running backs over time, and with Mason having one of the more efficient profiles in the sport (5.1 YPC on his 395 career attempts), I’m ultra-comfortable with getting Mason in every draft this season.
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DK Metcalf, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
ADP: WR35
My Rank: WR33
This is a thin needle to thread, because I don’t really disagree with the go-to analysis surrounding Metcalf within the industry this season.
“Rodgers doesn’t throw deep.”
Accurate. Or, at least it was last year. It was clear that 2025 was a year of preservation. Old Man Rodgers seemed more interested in not getting touched than he was in making plays, and that put Metcalf in a position to play away from his strengths.
Not ideal.
The general belief is that this is an age thing with Rodgers, and thus not likely to change. That’s perfectly logical, but what if last year’s plan was more a result of the talent at his disposal than a desire?
I don’t think Rodgers is going to cut it loose like his MVP days, but I do think we see some changes take place. Michael Pittman was added this offseason, and before you jump down my throat about him not being a field stretcher, you’re right. He’s not. Not close to it. He is, however, what Pittsburgh made Metcalf last season, so this move puts Metcalf in position to settle back into a role that we saw him thrive in as a Seahawk.
Will Rodgers leverage that?
Who knows. But he at least has the supporting cast to do it if he wants, and, among qualified QBs in 2025, he did rank second in deep pass TD rate (trailing only Lamar Jackson). It would appear that Pittsburgh is willing to bet on Metcalf having a versatile route tree, and at this price, that’s an investment I’m very much willing to make while the rest of the industry fades it.
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Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
ADP: WR45
My Rank: WR35
Johnston scored four times last September, cleared 70 receiving yards in each of those contests, and looked poised for a Year 3 breakout.
It didn’t happen.
Those were half of his touchdowns for the entire season and two-thirds of his games with even 55 receiving yards. Our expectations were much higher for a former first-round pick, and we are not the most patient audience as a collective.
The addition of Mike McDaniel to this offense is universally accepted as a major step forward. Consume enough content, and you’ll notice that most of us in the content game are in on a Charger.
- Justin Herbert
- Omarion Hampton
- Ladd McConkey
I’ve even seen Keaton Mitchell and Oronde Gadsden come up on lists more often than Johnston. For the record, I don’t have a problem with those takes, but ignoring a 6’2” receiver with 16 touchdown receptions over the past two seasons feels wrong.
McDaniel got Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill in the same WR room for the first time in 2022: the production followed immediately. He put one in the vertical route (Waddle) and put the other in position to constantly make plays with the ball in his hands (Hill).
I’m not saying that the Chargers have that level of talent, but I do think similar roles are filled. McConkey has plenty to his game, but with Johnston’s skill set being more pigeon-holed, I find him most likely to fill the Waddle role to McConkey’s Hill.
Tre’ Harris could emerge (over 13% of his receptions at Ole Miss resulted in a score) and sink this ship, but if that’s the bet I’m making at this price, I’m happy with where I stand.
The best part? I could be wrong for much of the season, but if you trust the process, I might be right at the perfect time.
