5 players to avoid in your upcoming fantasy draft

We always are trying to look for the potential sleepers of each draft that sometimes we forget to also make sure we identify the busts of each football season. It can be just as valuable to recognize and understand the players most likely to underperform as well to help narrow down your draft options and maximize your value in each round.

How do we spot a fantasy bust?

A potential fantasy bust comes down to a player's surroundings as much as it actually comes down to the player themselves. For instance, if a player plays for a bad offense that doesn't get into the red zone often, then their opportunity to score touchdowns and put up points will simply always be lower than others. It's because of this we need to make sure a player's environment won't only limit their output, but be a straight up detriment. These factors could include the overall offense, coaching staff, quarterback play, and any injuries affecting the offensive side of the ball.

1. De'vone achane, miami dolphins

After an incredibly impressive 2025 season that saw Achane go fo 1,838 scrimmage yards and 12 combined touchdowns, earning him a finish in the top 5 of running backs, Achane seems slated for a regression season at no fault of his own. The Dolphins officially hit the switch on rebuilding this offseason, releasing both Tyreek Hill and Tua Tagovailoa and trading Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos. After all of this, Achane is the only piece left from the former Dolphins era, and with the many holes found on both sides of the ball, it's likely going to be a long season for Dolphins fans. This regression will likely hit Achane too, due to a worse offense and defense limiting his chances to score and put up yardage, so I'm predicting him to fall short of his preseason ADP at RB6.

2. Saquon Barkley, philadelphia eagles

After putting up a historical 2,000 yard season in his first year with the Eagles, Barkley faced some more adversity in his second year in Philly, but still turning in 1,413 scrimmage yards and 9 touchdowns to finish as the RB14. Unfortunately, I'll be betting on him to not bounce back and probably stay around the same area. This is due to factors of his age at 29 being fairly old for a running back and the higher likelihood of injuries that come with it as well, along with the Eagles' offensive line becoming more and more questionable with each passing year. Overall, I'm not a fan, and not a believer in his preseason ADP at RB7.

3. Derrick henry, baltimore ravens

Henry has been an incredibly productive back for the past decade, and he's punched his ticket as a surefire hall of famer when it's all said and done. Now, he's still in Baltimore and a key part of their high powered offense run through 2 time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and freshly paid WR1 Zay Flowers. However, King Henry is 32, which is impressive enough in itself that he's performed so well so far since age 30 is usually considered the "wall" for most running backs. However, I have to stand on my take from last year that age will catch up with the king and push him below his ADP of RB10.

4. Drake london, atlanta falcons

Despite only playing 12 games last season, London still nearly eclipsed 1,000 yards, putting up 919 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. While London was still productive, much of that came while playing with Kirk Cousins after Michael Penix Jr. was injured. However, Cousins left for the Raiders in the offseason, leaving London with either Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa as his potential ball throwers this season. Penix Jr. is still a very uncertain prospect who has questions about his accuracy and durability over a full season, while Tagovailoa simply has questions about if he's a starting caliber quarterbacks anymore after an abysmal 2025 season. Unfortunately, I don't have much faith in London's ceiling with either quarterback, so I'm going to bet on him finishing under his projected ADP of WR7 this year.

5. George Pickens, dallas cowboys

In his first year in Dallas, Pickens exploded for career highs across the board, posting 1,429 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns for a finish just outside the top 5 at WR6. While the talent and tools has always been there for Pickens and he's finally been placed in an environment where he can be fully utilized, I'm still not quite sold that this type of production will stick. For starters, his costar in the receiving room Ceedee Lamb was banged up for a decent amount of the season and was drawing most of the defense's attention when he was on the field. Teams are alert now and will be drawing up coverages focused on stifling Pickens this year. I think that this fact along with a Lamb bounce back this year will directly contribute to some regression for Pickens and lead him to fall short of his preseason ADP at WR8.

Conclusion

Overall, while we love to spend our time picturing the potential upside of many players going into the year, sometimes we have to be negative and predict the downfalls of many others as well. As many know, almost nothing is worse than watching one of your top picks underperform week in and week out, tanking their trade value and dragging you down with them. It's not fun to be negative, but it is necessary for us managers to protect ourselves from a long fantasy season.