Fantasy Football All-Bust Team: 6 Overvalued Players to Avoid in 2025 Drafts

August 24, 2025

Joey Pollizze's all-bust team for fantasy football for 2025. Read his top busts and draft avoids for the 2025 fantasy football season, including Baker Mayfield, and more.

Selecting a bust in the early rounds of fantasy drafts is one of the worst feelings. These players are supposed to be the backbone of your team, yet they fail to exceed expectations for your fantasy roster. Those who drafted Christian McCaffrey, Tyreek Hill, C.J. Stroud, and Travis Etienne last year know that exact feeling. 

Unfortunately, there will be plenty more busts throughout fantasy drafts this season. In this article, we will go through my all-bust team and highlight two quarterbacks, two running backs, one wide receiver, and one tight end you should avoid in all drafts. 

Which fantasy superstars made the list? Let's dive in and find out. 

Fantasy Football Busts - Quarterback

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is coming off a career year in 2024. He threw for a career-high 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions and finished as the overall QB4 in all fantasy formats. His 22.5 fantasy points per game also ranked tied for third among all quarterbacks, only behind Lamar Jackson (25.6) and Josh Allen (22.6). 

Nonetheless, it would be shocking to see Mayfield put up these types of numbers again because some regression is certainly coming his way. The Pro Bowl quarterback finished with a whopping 7.2% passing touchdown rate in 2024 (second among all signal-callers). With the league average around 4.9%, Mayfield's touchdown rate should come down significantly. 

We saw that last year with Brock Purdy after the 49ers quarterback had a 7.0% passing touchdown rate two seasons ago. Last year, that number fell to 4.2%. Therefore, Mayfield will almost certainly not throw for over 40 touchdowns like he did this past season. 

Baker Mayfield had a touchdown rate of 7.2% last year.

There've been 15 quarterbacks since 2011 with next-season data who were +/- 0.5% in TD rate to Mayfield's 2024 number. Every single one scored fewer fantasy points the following year. The group averaged a drop of 4.2 PPG.

— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) July 10, 2025

Additionally, his lack of rushing makes him a risky target at his QB7 ADP. Mayfield has rushed for under 200 yards in six of his seven NFL seasons and ranked as the QB19 in rush yards per game last year. With all this in mind, the veteran could bust in 2025. For him to be a top-7 fantasy option again, he'll need to throw for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns again. That's hard to bank on with some regression on the horizon. 

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs 

Although Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' ADP is down compared to recent years, his QB6 ADP is still too high heading into drafts. The two-time MVP has finished as the QB8 (2023) and QB11 (2024) over the past two seasons. That QB11 finish marked the lowest fantasy finish of his career. 

Mahomes wasn't a reliable QB1 option last year, averaging just 18.4 fantasy points per game. He finished outside the top-12 at the position in 11 of 16 contests and scored above 20 fantasy points just four different times. As a result, it's fair to assume that the only reason the 29-year-old is going in the fifth round of drafts is because of name value. 

He has thrown for under 4,200 yards and 28 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, and his lack of rushing severely limits his fantasy ceiling. Mahomes averaged just 19.2 rush yards per game in 2024. So, it's tough to envision him finishing as a top-5 fantasy QB in 2025, especially given the rushing upside of Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Allen, and Jackson. 

Similar to Mayfield, for Mahomes to be an elite fantasy option and finish toward the top of the position, he'll need to have insane passing numbers. The four times that he has finished as a top-5 fantasy quarterback, he has thrown for over 4,700 yards and at least 37 touchdowns in each of those seasons. Do with that information as you will.

Fantasy Football Busts - Running Back

Joe Mixon, Houston Texans 

There's no doubt that Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon was a fantastic value pick in drafts last year. He averaged an impressive 17.2 PPR fantasy points per game and finished as a top-10 fantasy running back in seven of his 14 games. However, it would be a bit surprising to see Mixon have that same success this year. 

For starters, Mixon is already dealing with an injury. He is expected to miss extended time due to a foot injury and is currently on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. While we don't know how much time the veteran will miss, we do know that he won't be re-evaluated until closer to the beginning of the regular season. 

#Texans RB Joe Mixon, who is on the non-football injury list, is expected to be out an extended period of time with a frustrating foot injury, sources say.

The Pro Bowler coming off a 1,000-yard season will be reevaluated closer to the season to determine his availability. pic.twitter.com/Rz4FVhrkBu

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 26, 2025

The Texans also added some competition to their running back room with the additions of Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks. Chubb should eat into Mixon's workload a bit throughout the season, and that could result in three to four fewer carries per game for the two-time Pro Bowler. 

Mixon was a solid RB1 for managers in 2024, but this is a whole new season. He is already dealing with an injury before the season, entering his age-29 season, has some competition for carries, and is running behind arguably a bottom-5 offensive line in the league. So, selecting an injured 29-year-old running back doesn't feel like the best choice for fantasy managers in 2025. 

James Cook, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has had back-to-back strong fantasy years. He finished as the RB12 in PPR formats in 2023 and then finished as the RB8 in PPR formats last year. The highlight of Cook's dominant 2024 campaign was his 16 rushing touchdowns, which tied the team's franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a season. 

However, fantasy managers should be wary of selecting Cook in the third round of drafts this season. He will almost certainly not rush for 16 touchdowns again, as some negative touchdown regression is likely coming his way. The 25-year-old had a 7.6% touchdown rate last year and had never rushed for more than two touchdowns in a season before 2024.

There is also some concern about how his workload will look in 2025. Cook played under 50% of the team's offensive snaps in each of the final seven weeks of the season. With Ray Davis likely to stay involved in his second year, there's a chance the two-time Pro Bowler stays around that 45-50% snap share each week. 

As a result, fantasy managers should be out on Cook at his draft price. He's due for some regression, has a smaller workload than most other backs going around him, and isn't a factor in the passing game. The Buffalo playmaker only caught 32 passes for 258 yards last season. 

Fantasy Football Busts - Wide Receiver

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

When you are on the clock in the second round, you want a game-changer at either the running back or wide receiver position. After all, your second-round pick will be the player whom you will need to lean on throughout the year. That player, though, is not Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. 

Brown is coming off a very inconsistent fantasy season in which he wasn't a reliable option each week. Even though he finished as the WR12 in PPR fantasy points per game (16.7), there were a ton of subpar fantasy weeks from the 28-year-old. He finished outside the top-34 at the wide receiver position in six of his 13 games, including in six of the final nine weeks of the season.

Being on a run-first Eagles offense means that Brown will continue to see limited targets. Philadelphia ranked 32nd in pass plays per game in 2024, and the 28-year-old saw six targets or fewer in eight different contests last year. That low target volume means the Eagles wideout is a low-floor/low-ceiling fantasy option in 2025.

Is AJ Brown a top-3 fantasy receiver if Saquon misses time? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/pebARudX3L

— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) June 19, 2025

So, it's best to avoid Brown in the second round of most fantasy leagues. He doesn't have the upside of some of the other players going around him in drafts, and this Eagles offense will likely continue to feed Saquon Barkley out of the backfield. An early second-round ADP feels too early for him.

Fantasy Football Busts - Tight End

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews got off to a rough start in 2024. He averaged just 4.4 PPR fantasy points through the first five weeks and was probably dropped in a few leagues. However, Andrews returned to his usual TE1 status from Week 6 onward, averaging 13.9 PPR fantasy points per game over the final 13 weeks. 

It is important to note, though, that Andrews was a very touchdown-dependent fantasy option during that end-of-season stretch. He caught 11 touchdown passes across those 12 games and crossed the end zone in 10 of those 12 contests. In the two games he didn't score a touchdown, he scored 4.6 PPR fantasy points (Week 9) and 4.2 PPR fantasy points (Week 12).  

Therefore, Andrews will be one of the biggest fantasy busts at the tight end position this year. He had a whopping 19.6% touchdown rate (TE1), and 11 of his 55 catches went for touchdowns last season. That screams regression. With Isaiah Likely also still on the team, he should remain involved on offense even if he were to miss the start of the season as he recovers from his foot injury.

That makes Andrews a major avoid at his seventh/eighth round ADP. He hasn't been as involved in this Baltimore offense over the past two years, and it's doubtful we'll see another double-digit touchdown campaign. Both Evan Engram and David Njoku are better late-round tight ends than Andrews in 2025.

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