When it comes to winning fantasy football leagues, avoiding potential busts is just as important as finding breakout players. If you miss on your early round picks, it could absolutely sink your season.
On this page, I’ll include several players that I’m avoiding in drafts unless they fall past ADP this year.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at my picks for fantasy football draft busts for the 2025 NFL season.
If you’re interested in seeing the entire picture, check out our 2025 fantasy football rankings.
Fantasy QB Busts 2025
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield is coming off a career year with the Bucs, but there are several reasons to fade him in 2025.
For one, he put up career-highs in touchdown rate and rushing yards per game. These two rates were way above career norms, so some regression is coming here.
Now, Mayfield has to play a chunk of the season without All-Pro offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs. Additionally, Chris Godwin won’t be back for a few weeks at least.
While rookie Emeka Egbuka looks like a stud, you now have to pay a premium price for Mayfield, as he goes in the top-8 quarterbacks.
With quarterback being such a deep position, it’s the perfect time to fade Mayfield. Just wait a couple of rounds and take Dak Prescott.
Fantasy RB Busts 2025
Breece Hall, New York Jets
Breece Hall is a favorite within the fantasy community because he’s the total package at running back: a bellcow who can make an impact in the receiving game.
But the Jets have been clear with their intentions this offseason: they want to form a committee with Hall, Braelon Allen, and even Isaiah Davis at times.
Expect Allen — who is a big back that excels in short yardage — to take away red-zone touches from Hall.
Then you have to consider that it will be a low-volume passing offense with Justin Fields under center, which caps Hall’s receiving upside.
On top of that, the Jets project to be among the lowest-scoring teams in the NFL.
Given these factors, it’s best to avoid Hall in drafts this year.
Fantasy WR Busts 2025
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill showed clear signs of decline last year, putting him his worst numbers since his rookie season.
While he played through a broken wrist, this is a player on the wrong side of 30 years old and we all know how Father Time is undefeated.
It’s starting to look like Hill is falling out of favor in Miami, which could result in a trade at some point of the season, especially if they get off to a poor start.
If Hill were to be traded, that means learning a new offense, so Hill would take some time to get back on track.
With that in mind, I’d much rather take a younger player like Jaxon Smith-Njigba at Hill’s current cost.
Fantasy TE Busts 2025
Evan Engram, Denver Broncos
Many are excited about Evan Engram with the Broncos because of the huge reception totals he put up when last healthy with the Jaguars in 2023.
But we have to remember that this was a broken offense that forced checkdowns to the tight end at an abnormally high rate.
Don’t expect the same to happen in Denver, where Engram could potentially lose some snaps to a better blocker like Adam Trautman.
While Engram still has a high floor, I’d rather swing for the fences on a promising rookie like Tyler Warren at his cost.
What is a Fantasy Football Bust Player?
A Fantasy Football bust is typically a player who does not live up to expectations for that Fantasy Football season. It could be a player who was drafted highly and failed to produce relative to that draft slot, or it could also mean a player who was expected to have a strong role in their offense/defense, yet had a smaller role.
It’s important not to live in absolutes in Fantasy Football. Just because a player might be a bust, does not mean they are a bad player, but maybe they just did not measure up to the expectations we as Fantasy Football players put on them to have that season.
What Are the Signs That a Fantasy Football Player Will Bust?
There aren’t any concrete signs usually that a player will have a down year, but you can look for context clues around.
Such examples could include a new offensive/defensive scheme that doesn’t quite suit that player, a new coach or coordinator that calls plays differently, or even some bad news from training camp or preseason about the player that makes you wonder whether they can sustain that projected role.
You have to be fluid with your draft strategy if a player you like has negative vibes around him.
