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The 2023 regular season season is almost here. That means fantasy players have less than three days to complete all of their fantasy football drafts.
One of the toughest decisions fantasy players have to make every year is deciding between two similar options. Since fantasy players can’t possibly draft both guys, they must make the hard decision on which player to pick.
Today, we look at whether fantasy players should draft Diontae Johnson or Mike Evans.
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Should I Draft Diontae Johnson?
According to the RotoBaller ADP, Johnson is a sixth-round pick in 12-team leagues and the 27th wide receiver off the board. Last year, the veteran wide receiver was the WR39, averaging 8.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He had 86 receptions on 147 targets for 882 receiving yards and zero touchdowns.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had the worst passing attack in the NFL last season. Thankfully, the team has looked significantly better during the preseason, as Kenny Pickett is a prime sophomore-year breakout candidate.
Despite struggling in the touchdown department last season, Johnson had the seventh-most targets in 2022 with 147. That was only 1.3 fewer targets per game than in 2021 when the veteran wide receiver finished second in the NFL with 169.
Should I Draft Mike Evans?
According to the RotoBaller ADP, Evans is a seventh-round pick in 12-team leagues and the 33rd wide receiver off the board. Last year, the veteran wide receiver was the WR16, averaging 12.5 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He had 77 receptions on 127 targets for 1,124 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
However, Evans would have had a much worse season if not for his Week 17 performance against the Carolina Panthers. The veteran wide receiver had 10 receptions on 12 targets for 207 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the win.
By comparison, he averaged only 4.8 receptions on 8.2 targets for 65.5 receiving yards in the other 14 contests last season. More importantly, Evans would have been the WR27 in 2022 without the massive Week 17 performance.
Who Should I Draft?
Johnson struggled last year because of poor luck finding the end zone. He averaged 6.7 touchdowns per year in his career before last season. Had the veteran scored 6.7 receiving touchdowns in 2022, he would have been the WR19, averaging 10.5 fantasy points per game.
Meanwhile, Evans won’t have Tom Brady under center this season. He is also entering the final year of his contract and has become a popular trade rumor name over the past few days. Fantasy players should target Johnson at least one round before Evans, especially in PPR leagues.
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