Fantasy Football Biggest Draft Busts of 2025: Justin Jefferson, Saquon Barkley, Lamar Jackson, and More

What was your worst fantasy football pick this season? Did you take a guy early who missed most of the season, like Malik Nabers? Or was yours just an underwhelming mid-round pick, like D.J. Moore?

Whatever the case, fantasy busts come in all different shapes and sizes. Every owner deals with it, but those who are able to learn from their mistakes and overcome are best positioned for success in the future.

Let's look at some of the biggest fantasy busts at each position based on preseason ADP. We will mostly focus on guys who stayed healthy and underperformed rather than those who got injured. Fantasy rankings and ADPs are from our FantasySP draft bust information and are correct through Week 17, when most fantasy leagues finish their season. Most stats are from NFL.com.

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Quarterback

• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

We generally don't include guys who dealt with injuries, but there's more to Jackson's 2025 story than just injury. (There also aren't many other guys who really qualify as fantasy busts at quarterback, so I'm stretching a bit to fit Jackson. Do you count Baker Mayfield being drafted seventh and finishing 12th?)

Jackson missed four full games and time in two others, leaving him with 11 games in which he played more than 70% of the snaps. In those games, Jackson averaged 209.2 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. That's very workable given his rushing production, but Jackson's running is where he fell off most.

In those same 11 contests, the Baltimore QB averaged 26.7 rushing yards per game with just two touchdowns. Over the previous two seasons, Jackson averaged 52.6 rushing yards per game with nine scores (one TD every 3.7 games rather than one every 5.5, his 2025 rate). That's a major worry.

Jackson is efficient throwing the ball but often lacks volume in that area. His running made up the difference and made him a top fantasy player. If he continues to run more like Jordan Love and less like Lamar Jackson, then he isn't going to command a high draft pick.

Injuries were part of the problem, and Jackson might be back to doing his thing next year, especially after his team missed the playoffs. He is going to cost a high-round fantasy pick, though, and given what we saw this year with quarterbacks having big fantasy seasons being drafted late/undrafted, many will stay away from the risk around the former MVP.

Running Back

• Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
• Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
• Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
• Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

Barkley and Jeanty aren't busts in the way that we think of your normal draft bust, guys like Ryan Leaf. They both still finished among the top 20 running backs in fantasy, but they were also outside the top 10 after being drafted in the top five at the position and within the first two rounds.

Your team still could have been fine if you drafted either of these guys early. Without savvy moves elsewhere to make up the difference, though, you were regularly getting RB2/flex production from your top pick while other owners were getting Bijan Robinson-like performances.

Barkley has played 16 games in a season four times, including 2025; this year was his worst of those four by rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and receiving yards. His 4.1 yards per rush attempt were the third-worst of his career in any season with at least 20 carries.

Jeanty finished with over 1,300 total yards and 10 touchdowns. If he wasn't drafted like an instant superstar, he would be looked at as a burgeoning young rookie. That is still an apt description, but it's also fair to call this season a failure in the fantasy world based on where he was drafted.

Hubbard and Pacheco both missed a little time with injury, but like Jackson, there were bigger issues than a few missed games. Hubbard only missed two contests, but during those two games, Rico Dowdle had over 450 total yards and three touchdowns. Hubbard never regained the starting job, instead mostly working in the backup role behind Dowdle.

Kansas City's running game has been bleak for a few seasons now, and Pacheco must shoulder a large portion of that blame. He only played seven games in 2024 due to a broken leg, and Pacheco hasn't looked the same since returning, averaging 3.8 yards per carry in the past two seasons after 4.7 in his first two years.

Barkley and Jeanty will be drafted in the first two rounds again next season if healthy. Guys taken that high have a better chance of disappointing than those taken in the middle, so things like this happen. They were both good enough to imagine a better outcome in 2026.

A pending free agent, Pacheco will likely be on a new team next year, and we won't know his fantasy status until the offseason plays out. Dowdle is also a free agent, and his departure would open things for Hubbard again. Jonathon Brooks, a second-round pick in 2024, should also return, though, so Hubbard might be squeezed for carries a bit, hurting his fantasy value. That's another case where offseason moves will tell us much more.

Wide Receiver

• Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
• Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
• Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
• Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs

Jefferson is probably the biggest fantasy bust of the season. He was drafted second among WRs but finished outside the top 20 at the position despite playing in every game. He ended up reaching 1,000 yards in Week 18, but Jefferson caught just two touchdowns and had career-lows in receptions, yards, and touchdowns (not counting a 10-game 2023).

It had much more to do with his team than the wide receiver himself. The quarterback play was awful for much of the year in Minnesota; J.J. McCarthy will likely have real competition for the starting spot next year. Better play under center will push Jefferson back into the top 10, but if the Vikings don't improve, either with McCarthy or someone else, then Jefferson will again be a risky first-round pick.

McConkey, Keenan Allen, and Quentin Johnston all took away from each other in LA. Allen led the team in targets and receptions, McConkey was first in yards, and Johnston had the most touchdowns. With a distributor like Justin Herbert, that could be a consistent problem if the receiving corps stays loaded for the Chargers.

Thomas and Worthy both missed a couple games with injury, but like players we've talked about above, there were bigger issues. Last year as a rookie, Thomas averaged 5.1 receptions and 75.4 yards per game with a touchdown every 1.7 games. In 2025, those numbers were 3.4 and 50.5 with a TD every seven games.

Jacksonville's offense was much better, so maybe it's just a case of Thomas dominating on a bad team without other receiving options in 2024. After being drafted among the top 10 wide receivers last season, he will be much further down in 2026.

Worthy was supposed to be the top guy for six weeks while Rashee Rice was suspended, something that inflated Worthy's draft stock. He was hurt on the first drive in Week 1 and missed the next two games. The biggest issue is that Worthy's per-game numbers were in line with last year rather than seeing improvement, making him a WR3/4/flex-type guy. He will be drafted much later next year.

We have three lessons here: bad quarterback play can hinder even the best receivers, crowded pass-catching groups lead to deflated stats, and don't expect young players to make a jump (or keep elite numbers) until we've seen it for an extended period. Good luck navigating a loaded position again next year.

Tight End

• Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
• Evan Engram, Denver Broncos

Andrews has been trending the wrong way for a few years, but 11 touchdowns in 2024 puffed up his fantasy score, making it look like another fantasy star at tight end might be available. All his numbers decreased in 2025, including falling to five touchdowns, much more in line with his career rate.

Engram had intrigue because he was joining a Sean Payton offense in Denver and would possibly be filling the “joker” role, a player who moves around the formation and is used in different ways. Instead, Engram was lightly involved, averaging around three catches and 30 yards per game with just one touchdown. He won't be drafted in fantasy next year.

These guys were both drafted inside the top 10 tight ends, but Andrews finished outside the top 15 and Engram outside the top 25. Touchdown regression is a real thing, and it could hit hard for Dallas Goedert and Jake Ferguson next season the way it did for Andrews here. In Engram's case, it's best not to expect big things out of players who have proven themselves as middling, even when racking up volume catches.