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Dave looks at the 10 biggest fantasy football busts of all time. Which players let down fantasy managers in a big way throughout the years?
One of the most satisfying aspects of playing fantasy football is when you correctly pick a breakout player. It will have you thumping your chest in triumph as you look down upon your league mates. As fun as that sounds, it’s quite a different feeling when you select a player that busts. Sadly, busts are part of the game. We all experience them and know the pain, embarrassment, and shame that come with selecting one in our drafts.
Selecting an all-time bust probably led to you performing some ridiculous act of punishment for finishing in last place. But have you ever wondered where your most famous bust pick would rank in the pantheon of greatest fantasy football busts? If so, you’re in luck because that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
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*ADP Data is courtesy of FantasyPros, CBS Sports, FFToday, and NFL.com*
10. Daunte Culpepper, 2001
We’re firing up the time machine for our first entrant. Scoring 40 total touchdowns, Daunte Culpepper enjoyed a breakout season in 2000. It looked like he was on track to become the next stud fantasy football quarterback.
Daunte Culpepper appreciation post pic.twitter.com/4jAX4nYah7
— Random Vikings (@VikingsRandom) March 7, 2023
Back in the day, it was common practice for gamers to take a quarterback in the first round of drafts. Unfortunately for those who selected him, Culpepper took a step back in 2001. He would throw for only 14 passing touchdowns and suffered a season-ending injury in Week 12. Culpepper would eventually bounce back to deliver a few more fantasy-friendly seasons.
In this instance, however, passing on a bell-cow running back in the early 2000s for a quarterback proved to be a massive mistake. It’s a moment many OG fantasy players still remember.
9. Zac Stacy, 2014
Stacy enjoyed a successful rookie campaign in 2013. Rushing for 973 yards and seven scores, he was a quality option at the running back position. While his 3.9 yards per carry left some meat on the bone, drafters were counting on improvement. Being drafted in the Round 2-3 range, gamers were expecting Stacy to be a key contributor.
Well, things didn’t exactly go according to plan. He proved to be a landmine that exploded right in owners' faces. He failed to reach even 300 yards rushing and only scored one touchdown. Injuries limited him to 12 games, and he was eventually replaced as the team’s starter.
Stacy serves as a good reminder that while you don’t win your league on draft day, you absolutely can lose it.
8. Steve Slaton, 2009
Finishing with 1,282 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns as a rookie, Steve Slaton started his career with a bang in 2008. Sadly, his rookie year would far and away be his most successful season. He only ran for 437 yards in 2009 to go along with just three rushing scores. By the 2012 season, Slaton was completely out of the league.
During fantasy drafts, Slaton was selected near the Round 1-2 turn. That kind of pick hurt owners badly. You’re counting on your top-two picks to be significant contributors. Having one bust puts you behind the eight-ball right out of the gate. What was once a promising start to a career turned into a nightmare for Slaton and his drafters.
7. Kurt Warner, 2002
With a career 98 passing touchdowns entering 2002, Kurt Warner had been fantasy football gold from 1999-2001.
With just over two minutes remaining, on the first play after the #Titans tie it up after having trailed 16-0, NFL and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner raises and arcs a 73-yard touchdown aerial to Isaac Bruce
The winning score of Super Bowl XXXIV#Rams 23, Titans 16
January 30, 2000 pic.twitter.com/vYycSNqqXv— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) January 30, 2024
In 2002, fresh off a Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, Warner just wasn’t the same player he had been. He struggled mightily and couldn’t muster anywhere near the same success he had early in his career. Warner's 2002 ended early as he suffered a broken finger on his throwing hand. He posted a minuscule three passing touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions.
Like Culpepper, this was at a time when quarterbacks were still taken very early in drafts. Instead of gaining an elite quarterback, players were met with a pie to the face.
6. Calvin Ridley, 2021
Ridley enjoyed a career year in 2020. He posted a stat line of 90-1374-9 on a 23% target share.
Some Calvin Ridley highlights for #Jaguars fans. Legitimate dominating receiver. Fantastic route runner. Great hands. Fast.pic.twitter.com/ZRFjKqPr4A
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) November 1, 2022
In 2021, Ridley was poised for a repeat. However, things never really got on track. Ridley’s play declined as he only caught 31 passes for 281 yards in five games. After his Week 7 game, he would take an indefinite leave of absence to address his mental health. Ridley would then be suspended for violating the league's gambling policy.
He was the fifth wide receiver off draft boards in 2021. Gamers were depending on the receiver to repeat his 2020 numbers. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ridley drafters went off the cliff faster than Wil E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner.
5. LaMont Jordan, 2006
The former Oakland Raider checks in at No. 5 on our list. Jordan enjoyed an out-of-nowhere breakout season in 2005. Totaling over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and 11 total scores, Jordan finished as the PPR RB6.
It looked like we might have a new fantasy star on our hands, but then the rug was pulled out from us faster than Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.
Jordan only managed 508 yards from scrimmage and two rushing scores over nine games in 2006. A knee injury ended his season for good after a Week 11 loss to the Chiefs. Ranked as high as sixth overall by some pundits, Jordan obliterated managers' championship dreams with this train wreck of a performance.
4. Peyton Hillis, 2011
Hillis enjoyed a career year in 2010, totaling over 1,600 yards from scrimmage and scoring a career-high 13 touchdowns. The hype for Hillis was real entering 2011. Most expected a repeat of 2010 as he was consistently picked at the Round 2-3 turn. He even made his way onto the cover of Madden NFL 12.
Sadly, 2011 was anything but successful for Hillis. It was massively disappointing relative to the lofty expectations pundits and fantasy gamers placed on him. He wouldn’t even crack 600 rushing yards and failed to score more than three rushing touchdowns. Hillis’ fluke 2010 season is arguably the biggest “one-hit wonder” in fantasy football history.
3. Montee Ball, 2014
Pain. That would best summarize the 2014 Montee Ball experience. The Denver Broncos had just released starter Knowshon Moreno in the offseason, and Ball was poised to lead the backfield in a Peyton Manning-led offense. What a tempting prospect.
This led to Ball being selected in the first round of many fantasy football drafts. As my two Goldendoodles would say -- woof. Ball was a disastrous selection. He scuffled his way to a meager 3.4 yards per carry, sustained a groin injury in Week 5, and was replaced as the team’s starter by Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson.
2014 proved to be the last time Ball would ever see an NFL field. He finished his final NFL season rushing for just 172 yards and scoring one touchdown. Certainly less than ideal production from a former first-round pick. Instead of gaining fantasy glory, drafters were met with a prompt Three Stooges-esque slap to the face.
Man, 2014 was cruel to fantasy players. Our No. 9 entrant, Zac Stacy, was selected around the Round 2-3 turn of drafts. That means some poor souls drafted Ball and Stacy as their top two running backs. That probably convinced some players it was time to hang up the fantasy football cleats for good.
2. Antonio Brown, 2019
Where do we even begin here?
In March 2019, the Oakland Raiders made a splash move by trading for Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown. The trade was supposed to help elevate then-head coach Jon Gruden’s offense. It’s easy to see why: Brown averaged a 28% target share from 2013-2018 and was the top receiver in the league.
Things got off on the wrong foot (pun intended) when Brown burned his feet in August during a cryotherapy accident. Turns out his feet weren’t the only things Brown would burn that season. He took a blow torch to fantasy gamers' championship dreams by playing exactly one game in 2019. The Raiders cut him before the season even started. He was signed by the Patriots and played that aforementioned one game before being released due to legal issues.
Brown’s 2019 season is one that fantasy players won’t forget anytime soon. They can lay the blame for their disastrous season right at Brown’s feet.
1. Le'Veon Bell, 2018
Oh boy. This one still stings.
Coming into 2018, Le'Veon Bell was determined to get a contract that he felt matched his play. Bell’s infamous holdout with the Pittsburgh Steelers ultimately saw him sit out the entire 2018 season.
What made this bust pick so brutal for fantasy managers was that Bell was consistently a top-five pick. He had an average draft position (ADP) of No. 2 overall, according to FantasyPros. Certainly an appropriate number considering how things went.
Bell crippled managers' teams before the season even started. My home-league draft saw Bell taken second overall despite all the drama. We still give our league mate a hard time over this pick and thank him for his donation that year. The unprecedented holdout, coupled with the hope he might return any given week, makes this an easy pick for the top spot.
Let’s hope we never see anything like this again.
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