Fantasy Football 2022: Javonte Williams and Bust Candidates to Avoid

Every August, fantasy football managers preparing for drafts are always looking for sleeper players. These are the guys who may be flying a bit under the radar and could be in store for a breakout season, greatly outperforming their average draft position.

But on the flip side, it's just as important to identify potential busts. These are the players you want to avoid as they may not live up to the hype coming with them in the preseason. They're going to underperform their ADP, and if you end up with too many busts on your roster, you may be in store for a long, unsuccessful season.

With preseason games in full swing ahead of the 2022 NFL campaign, there are some players getting taken earlier in drafts than they should. And when you look back at the end of the season, it will be hard to believe they got selected as early as they did.

So, let's try to identify a few potential busts now, then keep them in mind as players you may not want to draft unless they fall way past their ADP.

A lot of people are excited about Javonte Williams after his solid 2021 rookie season. Although he split carries with Melvin Gordon III out of the Broncos' backfield, Williams rushed for 903 yards, recorded 43 catches for 316 yards and scored seven total touchdowns.

It's reasonable to think Williams could build off that production and perform even better in 2022. But his average draft position in 12-team, half-PPR leagues is the seventh pick of the second round (per Fantasy Football Calculator), and that's much too early to be taking the 22-year-old.

Gordon returned to Denver and is still likely to be an integral part of the Broncos' rushing attack. So even if Williams is listed as the No. 1 RB on the depth chart, he's still not a bell-cow back. In fact, new Broncos offensive coordinator Justin Outten recently said the team's running backs will be on a "pitch count" during the season, per Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports. So the workload for both Williams and Gordon will be monitored.

Plus, Denver's passing game should be much improved with Russell Wilson now at quarterback. He's going to be throwing to a receiving corps that features Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy quite a bit, so the Broncos may move the ball through the air more than before.

In the first two rounds of drafts, managers need to be acquiring running backs who will clearly be touching the ball a lot. And with Williams, there's too great of a chance that he won't be doing so enough.

Amari Cooper will be the No. 1 wide receiver on the Browns' depth chart entering 2022, there's no question about that. But there should be legitimate concerns pertaining to the 28-year-old's expected production during his first season in Cleveland.

For one, there's the quarterback situation. Deshaun Watson has already received a six-game suspension amid accusations of sexual assault and misconduct, and the NFL appealed it, meaning he could be out for even longer. If Jacoby Brissett ends up as the Browns' starting QB for most of the season, it will likely negatively impact their passing game.

Also, there aren't many other standout receivers on Cleveland's roster to take some of the defensive attention away from Cooper. The Browns are relying on a bunch of unproven players such as Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz and rookie David Bell, while free-agent acquisition Jakeem Grant Sr. will be out for the season after tearing an Achilles tendon in training camp.

So, Cooper could be facing plenty of double teams while trying to get open. And without a top-tier quarterback to get him the ball in those situations, he could face a drop in production from his past 3 1/2 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.

Even though Cooper's ADP isn't until the seventh round in 12-team, half-PPR leagues (per Fantasy Football Calculator), there will be better options on the board at that point. Try to avoid having to rely too much on Cooper, because the bust potential is definitely there.

Waller has been one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL in recent years. Because of that, he has the fifth-highest ADP at the position in 12-team, half-PPR leagues, getting drafted late in the fourth round most of the time (per Fantasy Football Calculator).

That's too early to be taking Waller, though, especially because there are better value TE options later in the draft that won't cost you such a high pick (when you could be adding top RBs and WRs). Plus, Waller may not even be in store for a big showing in 2022.

Last season, Waller was limited to 11 games due to injury. And this year in training camp, he's already dealing with a hamstring ailment. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the injury is "not considered serious." But it should still be a concern for fantasy managers, especially because Waller has been having trouble staying healthy.

There also could be fewer balls coming Waller's way, even if he's on the field and fine. The Raiders added Davante Adams to a receiving corps that already featured Hunter Renfrow and has some breakout options, so Waller may not get as many targets as in recent years.

If you're taking a tight end as early as the fourth round, you have to be sure he's going to produce at a high level. And that's just not the case with Waller heading into this season.