Fantasy Football: 10 Potential busts getting way too much hype

4. Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots

The Patriots recently signed Cam Newton. That doesn’t change my projections for Julian Edelman entering the 2020 season. While he finished 13th in standard leagues last year and seventh in PPR leagues, Edelman won’t match that production in 2020.

Edelman posted the most standard league fantasy points of his career this past season. That already makes it highly likely that he’ll regress this coming year. However, several other factors could contribute to Edelman’s fall from grace.

At 34 years old, Edelman is by far the oldest wide receiver who ranked in the top 20 for points this past year. Edelman began showing his age toward the end of the 2019 season when he started dropping passes and missing some easy plays. He’s also matching up with a new quarterback permanently for the first time of his career.

Newton hasn’t thrown for over 3,500 yards since 2016 and hasn’t thrown for over 4,000 yards since 2011. In comparison, Brady threw for at least 4,000 yards during nine of Edelman’s 11 seasons with the Patriots. He never threw for under 3,500 yards during that time. Newton also only has one season with 25 or more passing touchdowns during his career. Brady has ten such seasons in the past 11 years.

3. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots

Sony Michel performed consistently during his first two seasons in terms of raw production, averaging 921 rushing yards and 6.5 rushing touchdowns per year. However, that’s hardly high-end production from a running back who doesn’t play a significant role in the receiving game. The Newton signing could also hurt Michel near the goal line if the mobile quarterback starts taking some red zone carries for himself.

New England also possesses a loaded backfield. With James White taking almost all of the receptions out of the backfield, there’s no room for Michel in the passing game. Rex Burkhead ran in eight touchdowns over the past three seasons. Damien Harris could see his role on the team increase this year, and Brandon Bolden is also still on the roster.

Michel is a safe RB3, but even that might be a stretch depending on your league’s size. Michel finished 24th among running backs in standard leagues last year with 140.6 points and 31st in PPR leagues with 152.6 points.