Justin Boone's Fantasy Football Fades: Patrick Mahomes, George Pickens and more players to avoid at ADP for 2026

​  Fantasy football managers tend to focus on the exciting breakout candidates or the deep sleepers who could take their game to another level and lead teams to a championship. However, it’s just as important to avoid the players who could implode during the season and cause you headaches every week when setting your lineup.Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL seasonAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo help you steer clear of any disappointing fantasy picks, here are the players I’m passing on at their current ADPs, per FantasyPros.ADP: QB11, 90th overallConsider this another reminder that real-life football and fantasy football don’t always equate.Mahomes remains one of the best quarterbacks in the league and finished as the fourth-highest scoring fantasy QB on a per game basis in 2025. The bounce-back campaign came after a couple of down seasons where the Chiefs’ franchise passer fell to the low-end QB1 range as the QB11 in 2024 and QB12 in 2023.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, the rushing ceiling that boosted his fantasy production last season — including career highs with 422 rushing yards and five touchdowns —  is likely to be much lower coming off a torn ACL suffered in Week 15. We’ve seen quarterbacks coming off ACL tears be far more hesitant to use their legs the next year, leading to decreased stats on the ground.The two-time MVP, who will turn 31 in September, appears on track to be available for the opener and there’s no doubt the two-time MVP will find a way to keep the Chiefs offense moving until he’s fully regained his pre-injury form.Unfortunately, Mahomes’ fantasy projection for 2026 doesn’t do justice to the future Hall of Famer.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe arrival of RB Kenneth Walker III will bring balance to the offense and reduce the need for Mahomes to use his legs as frequently. With less rushing attempts and so many good quarterbacks to choose from in fantasy, Mahomes is a tough sell inside the top 100 picks.ADP: RB23, 59th overallIrving is a tough click in fantasy drafts, so it’s not surprising his ADP has steadily fallen throughout the offseason.This comes after an injury-riddled campaign where he suited up for just seven games while sharing the Bucs’ backfield with Rachaad White and, to a lesser extent, Sean Tucker.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAny hope that Irving would get a bigger workload in 2026 was dashed when the team signed Kenneth Gainwell in free agency and re-signed Tucker. The result is a backfield that’s just as crowded as it was last year, with Gainwell representing an even bigger threat to Irving’s touches.Gainwell was identified as a standout in OTAs, with head coach Todd Bowles describing him as the 1B to Irving’s 1A in an expected committee.We already saw Gainwell suppress the value of someone ahead of him on the depth chart last year in Pittsburgh. Serving as an overqualified No. 2 option, he limited Jaylen Warren’s numbers while       ​Read More Feedzy