Overvalued Dynasty Fantasy Football Assets: 5 Expensive Players to Avoid (2025)

August 14, 2025

Craig's list of overvalued players for 2025 fantasy football dynasty leagues. His top draft avoids and fantasy football busts for the 2025 season, including George Kittle.

NFL training camps are open for business. Your fantasy football team’s scouting department better be open, too.

Fantasy football leagues are difficult enough to navigate and win. Then on top of it, if you are in a dynasty league, then not only are you worried about winning your league this year, you are worried about setting up your roster so you can win for the next several seasons. This is why age and upside are important factors when figuring out your cheat sheets and draft lists before the season starts.

So, which players are overvalued heading into dynasty league drafts and auctions this upcoming season? Here is my take.

Overvalued Players for 2025 Fantasy Football Dynasty Leagues

Drake Maye, New England Patriots (QB)

Drake Maye was solid but not spectacular during his rookie campaign. After watching from the sidelines for a month, he took over as starting signal-caller and never gave the job back, throwing for 2,276 yards and 15 touchdowns in 13 contests. Maye also added 421 rushing yards and two more scores thanks to his fleet feet.

Dynasty league general managers might be salivating over the thought of having Maye as their cornerstone quarterback for the next few years, but something that will give them dry mouth is the receiving corps he will be throwing to.

Should we be excited about 31-year-old Stefon Diggs coming off a torn ACL? How about block-first Mack Hollins? Should we be pumped over third-round pick Kyle Williams when the Pats have made mistakes drafting receivers in higher rounds in recent years?

Maye has an average-at-best receiving corps to work with, and new head honcho Mike Vrabel was never known for having high-flying offenses when he ran the Tennessee Titans. I think Maye will be a decent QB2 and could transform into a QB1 as the Patriots add more pieces around him. I just would not hang my dynasty league hopes on his helmet in 2025. 

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals (RB)

Chase Brown became one of the most unlikely top tailbacks in fantasy football last season. The former fifth-round pick only had 44 carries to his credit entering his sophomore season in the NFL, yet he was called upon to carry the ball 229 times for 990 yards and seven touchdowns. Better yet, Brown added 54 receptions for 360 yards and four more scores in the passing game.

Brown does not have much competition heading into the new season. Primary backup Zack Moss was released last week. Samaje Perine and sixth-round rookie Tahj Brooks are the only ones vying for touches with Brown unless Cincinnati signs a veteran during training camp. This lines up as the making of a super fantasy season for Brown -- so why do I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach? The same one I get thinking about Rex Ryan’s foot fetishes?

Brown does not have breakaway speed or break tackles like upper-echelon running backs do. He is a serviceable player who can post great fantasy numbers because he is the lead back in a high-powered offense that forces defenses to focus on stopping Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and company from shredding the secondary.

But Brown does not have top-10 RB talent compared to the best backs in fantasy football. I have seen Brown as an RB10-to-RB15 on most draft lists, but do not be shocked if someone else shows up in Cincy this season to take touches away from Brown and reduce his fantasy worth. Brown could be the Travis Etienne Jr. of 2025.

Drake London, Atlanta Falcons (WR)

Drake London has transformed himself from possession receiver to fantasy stalwart during his three years in the NFL. Despite dealing with an unsettled, complicated quarterback situation last year, London set new career-highs across the board with 100 catches for 1,271 yards and 10 touchdowns. Now, he is a top-15 fantasy receiver, and ranked as high as 10^th on the bevy of dynasty draft lists I have seen so far.

Funny thing about London, though. He has caught 241 passes in the NFL, and not one has gone for over 45 yards. London just does not have the wheels of an upper-tier receiver. He has the hands. He has a special sense. He has the route running. And London is only 24 years old and is paired with an up-and-coming QB in Michael Penix Jr. Without the big-play ability of others like the aforementioned Chase or Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, London is a notch below the elite at the position.

Here is the other funny thing about London. His 2024 stats are a little skewed. In his last two games of the campaign, he racked up 17 receptions for 293 yards and two touchdowns in back-to-back overtime games. In his other 15 outings, he only had one 100-yard game.

You have to wonder how Penix will do in his first full season. Will he elevate London's fantasy value, or will it take a hit while Penix learns the ropes? Let's just say I would wait on taking London in a dynasty league until he falls farther than projected. 

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (WR)

Cincinnati finally opened up the purse strings and paid some of its top players this offseason after always lowballing its superstars like they were Dollar Store merchandise. Tee Higgins got $115 million after scoring a career-high 10 touchdowns last season. He also would have blown away his personal bests in receptions and receiving yards if he had not missed five games due to injury.

Tee Higgins showing off one of the qualities that makes him a top receiver in the NFL high pointing a ball on a hurry up corner of the end zone near the sideline over DJ Ivey. pic.twitter.com/5v8v3lge7x

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 3, 2025

Higgins is now locked up, as is running mate Ja'Marr Chase and franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. I worry about Higgins in the long term, though. Chase signed a four-year extension, too, worth an additional $50 million. Do fantasy managers want to rely heavily on a guy who is the WR2 on his team?

The other problem with Higgins is that he has missed 10 games over the past two seasons. He has taken some hits in his five years in the NFL and never shies away from contact. That might prove detrimental down the road.  The bottom line, though, is I do not love protecting a receiver in a dynasty league who is not the WR1 on his NFL squad. That’s just me; it may not deter you.

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers (TE)

George Kittle is coming off another productive season (78-1,106-8), the fourth time he has topped the 1,000-yard mark in his illustrious eight-year career. He enters the 2025 season as a top-5 tight end in dynasty leagues, as he has shown no signs of slowing down and will have QB Brock Purdy as his battery mate again now that the signal-caller has signed a new long-term contract.

Kittle has a future beyond football, though. He is an outstanding talker who could easily get a job on ESPN, FS1, Amazon Prime, or one of the big four networks as an analyst or as part of a pregame crew. Kittle has also dabbled in pro wrestling in the WWE. Triple H would certainly listen if Kittle came calling, looking to become the next John Cena.

George Kittle in der WWE 👊 pic.twitter.com/2ATceQSd8Z

— Footballerei (@Footballerei) April 2, 2023

Because of his age (he turns 32 in October), his injury-prone history (no full seasons since 2018), and the possibility he might hang up his helmet a couple years early because of the off-the-field opportunities he could be afforded, Kittle is a risk if you are banking on him to pull a Jason Witten and never stop playing.

If you are thinking short term, Kittle should be great for another year or two. But in dynasty leagues where the long term has to be considered, Kittle’s value drops a peg or two.

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