12 Biggest Fantasy Football Busts Of 2024

January 26, 2025

Several NFL players underwhelmed during the 2024 fantasy football season. Mike Fanelli identifies busts at each position. Which stars ended up underperforming?

Unfortunately, the 2024 fantasy football season is over. Hopefully, fantasy players came away with the championship trophy.

While the fantasy season just wrapped up, it’s never too early to prepare for next year. The first thing fantasy players should do is look back at the 2024 season and see where they went wrong.

Therefore, let’s look at the three biggest fantasy football busts at every position this year.

Fantasy Football Quarterback Busts

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Many called Stroud a breakout candidate after the Texans traded for Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon in the offseason, giving the second-year pro an excellent set of weapons. However, he finished the season as the QB18, averaging 13 fantasy points per game, a lower average than Derek Carr (15.1) and Bryce Young (13.9).

Unfortunately, his wide receiver core couldn’t stay healthy. Diggs suffered a torn ACL in Week 8. Nico Collins missed five games with a hamstring injury. Tank Dell suffered a massive knee injury in Week 16, which could force him to miss next season. Stroud had no chance of living up to his top-five fantasy draft capital with a lack of rushing and all the injuries.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Injuries derailed Tagovailoa’s 2024 season. The star quarterback missed four games early in the year with a concussion. He also missed the final two games because of a hip injury. Tagovailoa ended the season as the QB21, averaging 16.5 fantasy points per game. He had 19 passing touchdowns in 11 games.

Tua Tagovailoa tosses his 100th career pass TD 🙌

And of course it was @cheetah 👏 @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/MiSeXVPKg9

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 22, 2024

While Tagovailoa averaged 1.7 passing touchdowns per game, the veteran struggled to score more than 18 fantasy points. He had 19 or more fantasy points in only 27.3% of the games. By comparison, the veteran scored 14.7 or fewer fantasy points in 45.5% of the contests. With Tyreek Hill potentially wanting out of Miami, Tagovailoa’s 2025 outlook is far from ideal.

Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

After showing massive fantasy football upside as a rookie, many called Richardson a league-winner this year. Unfortunately, the former Florida star struggled with injuries for the second consecutive season. He missed four games because of injuries. More importantly, Richardson spent two games on the bench in the middle of the year.

The second-year pro finished the season as the QB25, averaging 14.8 fantasy points per game. He had more games without a passing touchdown (five) than contests with two or more scores (two). Furthermore, Richardson averaged 164.9 passing yards per game, totaling more than 175 in only three contests.

Fantasy Football Running Back Busts

Breece Hall, New York Jets

Some fantasy players drafted Hall as the first running back off the board. He started the season playing well, averaging one touchdown and 17.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game over the first three weeks. By comparison, Hall averaged 12.3 fantasy points per game for the rest of the year, totaling 12.2 or more in only 23.1% of the outings.

Unfortunately, the star running back’s role in the passing game dried up after the Jets traded for Davante Adams. Hall averaged 4.3 receptions per game before the team traded for the superstar wide receiver. By comparison, he averaged 3.1 receptions per game after the trade. Hall’s outlook for 2025 will heavily depend on what New York does in the offseason.

Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

Etienne was never considered a top-five fantasy football running back entering the season. However, many drafted him as a low-end RB1. Unfortunately, he was arguably the biggest bust at the running back position. Etienne finished the year as the RB36, averaging 7.4 half-point PPR fantasy points per game.

More importantly, he lost much of his workload to Tank Bigsby. The second-year pro was the RB32, averaging 7.8 fantasy points per game in 2024. Furthermore, Etienne had only two rushing touchdowns, with both coming over the first two weeks after totaling 11 the year before.

Touchdown Travis Etienne!

📺: #JAXvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/AhMIKOkwNh

— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

While he wasn’t 100% healthy heading into the season, many fantasy players used the 1.01 pick on McCaffrey. The superstar was supposed to play in Week 1. However, he missed the first eight weeks with Achilles tendinitis. More importantly, McCaffrey missed the final five weeks of the year with a PCL sprain.

The superstar struggled in the four contests he played this season. McCaffrey finished the year as the RB72, averaging 10.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, totaling zero touchdowns. Furthermore, he scored 13.7 or fewer fantasy points in every game, including 7.7 or fewer in his final two contests. Unfortunately, injuries ruined McCaffrey’s fantasy value in 2024.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

One of the biggest fantasy football debates during the preseason was which wide receiver should be the first drafted. Many called Hill the safest of the five. However, he had the worst fantasy year of the unit, finishing the season as the WR21, averaging 10.5 half-point PPR fantasy points per outing.

By comparison, CeeDee Lamb (14.2), Justin Jefferson (15.6), Amon-Ra St. Brown (15.2), and Ja'Marr Chase (20) all finished inside the top 10 wide receivers on a points-per-game basis, including three in the top five. Meanwhile, Hill finished as the WR30 on a points-per-game basis, posting a lower average than Jakobi Meyers (11.6).

Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Rarely do rookies get selected early in redraft leagues. However, Harrison was a popular pick on the first/second round turn. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to expectations. The former Ohio State star finished the year as the WR29, averaging 9.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game.

Furthermore, Harrison scored fewer than seven fantasy points in 52.9% of the games despite ranking 13th in the NFL with eight receiving touchdowns. More importantly, he struggled while other rookie wide receivers succeeded. Brian Thomas Jr. (WR4), Malik Nabers (WR7), and Ladd McConkey all finished their rookie seasons as a top-12 wide receiver.

Marvin Harrison Jr. has his 7th TD of the season!

📺: #AZvsMIN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/R9FsTLYkGk

— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024

Deebo Samuel Sr., San Francisco 49ers

Samuel was the WR12 in 2023, averaging 14.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Many expected him to have similar production, especially with Christian McCaffrey (Achilles/knee) and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) out of the lineup. However, the star wide receiver finished the year as the WR44, averaging 8.5 fantasy points per contest.

Meanwhile, Samuel struggled to end the season, totaling fewer than 25 receiving yards and 4.6 fantasy points in five of his final seven games. More importantly, he could be heading out of town this offseason, especially after Jauan Jennings stepped up as the new No. 1 wide receiver once Aiyuk suffered a season-ending injury.

Fantasy Football Tight End Busts

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Many fantasy players drafted Kelce as the first tight end off the board despite his poor 2023 fantasy season. While he bounced back during the playoffs, the future Hall of Famer didn’t keep up the momentum this year despite the Chiefs losing Rashee Rice for the season in Week 4.

The veteran finished the year as the TE6, averaging 9.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Kelce averaged fewer fantasy points per game than Jonnu Smith (10.5) despite having a top-48 picked used on him in most fantasy drafts. The future Hall of Famer scored 5.5 or fewer fantasy points in two of the three fantasy playoff weeks.

Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

Fantasy players had high hopes for Pitts after the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins in the offseason. Unfortunately, the former Florida star had his third consecutive year finishing as a fantasy bust. He was the TE15 for the season despite not missing a game, averaging 6.3 half-point PPR fantasy points per contest despite totaling a career-high four receiving touchdowns.

OMG KYLE PITTS TD!!!

📺: #ATLvsWAS on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8sE8kkub9Y

— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024

Furthermore, Pitts was awful at the end of the year. He averaged 3.6 targets and 3.7 fantasy points per game over the final 10 weeks, totaling more than 7.5 fantasy points once. While Pitts had some positive moments with Michael Penix Jr., it’s time to give up on him being a fantasy star.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills

Kincaid was a popular breakout candidate after the Bills lost Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in the offseason. The second-year tight end was supposed to become Josh Allen’s go-to target in the passing game, leading the team in targets. Unfortunately, he struggled to stay healthy, missing three games because of injury.

More importantly, Kincaid struggled on the field, averaging 6.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, ranking as the TE21 on a points-per-contest basis. While he finished second on the team in targets with 75, the former Utah star scored more than 8.1 fantasy points in only two games this season.

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