Biggest Fantasy Football Busts From The First Half - Brian Thomas Jr., Jameson Williams, TreVeyon Henderson, More (2025)

October 30, 2025

Andrew Ball's biggest first-half fantasy football busts. His list of players that managers wish they hadn't drafted for the 2025 season and rest of season outlooks for Brian Thomas Jr., TreVeyon Henderson, Jameson Williams, more.

If you're struggling through the fantasy football season, chances are at least one of these guys is on your roster. Good on you for not giving up, reading this article, and fighting to improve your team. Drafts can be won in the middle rounds, but lost in the early rounds. It's challenging to have a winning season after whiffing on a first- or second-round pick.

Below, we look at the biggest busts of the first half of the 2025 season and anticipate what the second half could look like for these disappointing players.

Note: We are generally avoiding players whose injuries have significantly impacted their season. Joe Burrow, Malik Nabers, Tyreek Hill, etc., won't appear here.

Biggest Fantasy Football Quarterback Bust

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray missed Weeks 6 and 7 with a foot sprain. That may have been a blessing in disguise for fantasy managers, who were forced to pivot to another starting quarterback.

Murray hasn't been a QB1 yet this season, topping out at QB16 on three separate occasions. 18.3 fantasy points in Week 1 is his season high. He's averaging 16.2 fantasy points, and his per-game average ranks 22nd.

In the offseason, Murray announced that he would rely more on his legs in 2025. That's marginally true. He's rushing one more time per game than in 2024 for one more yard. His 34.6 rushing yards per game rank sixth among quarterbacks, which is a nice bonus, but he's only scored once on the ground, and the passing isn't complementing his legs.

Murray is averaging 192.4 passing yards per game -- more than 20 yards fewer than his previous career low. He's getting sacked at the highest rate of his career (9%), and his on-target rate is at 75%, only a couple of percentage points better than his rookie season.

The chemistry with his top wide receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., is still inconsistent at best. Whether you want to blame Murray's regression or the offensive system under Drew Petzing, the Cardinals' offense has only produced one success story this year, and Trey McBride isn't what he was in 2024. Plus, he's had more success with Jacoby Brissett under center.

Biggest Fantasy Football Running Back Busts

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

For six weeks, fantasy managers hated their second-round selection of Chase Brown. The Joe Burrow-less Bengals were struggling on both offense and defense. It didn't help that Cincinnati faced five top-10 rush defenses in the first six weeks of the season.

Brown was the RB30 after those six weeks and never finished a week inside the top 20. He scored one touchdown through seven weeks as Samaje Perine began to siphon more touches.

But Joe Flacco may have put a Band-Aid over those problems. Brown scored 12 and 25.5 PPR fantasy points over the last two games and is passing the eye test, clearly running better than he did at the start of the season. Granted, it's come against two poor defenses (Steelers and Jets), but maybe, just maybe, Flacco's presence is enough to salvage Brown's season.

His recent production doesn't change the early-season suffering, and there's no guarantee that Brown's recent resurgence continues. Perine logged a season-high 10 touches to Brown's 15 in a close contest with New York. We've also seen Flacco come out hot for a new team and revert to playing like a 40-year-old. He's also currently managing a shoulder injury.

Be optimistic about Brown's outlook, but cautiously optimistic. A savvy fantasy manager would sell high on his recent stretch.

Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

The Klint Kubiak outside zone-blocking scheme seemed perfect for Kenneth Walker III, and head coach Mike Macdonald made the change at offensive coordinator so the team would run the ball more. Seattle has dramatically reduced its pass rate from last season (62% to 50%), but Walker's rush attempts per game haven't changed (13.9 to 13.6).

Despite being far more efficient than Zach Charbonnet, Seattle's coaching staff is sticking with the two-back system. Charbonnet is averaging 12 attempts per game, preventing either running back from being an RB2, let alone an RB1. Charbonnet is picking up his fantasy points by poaching goal-line work; he's scored five touchdowns compared to three for Walker.

But therein lies the problem: Charbonnet was drafted in the eighth round or later. Walker was selected at the back end of the third or early fourth round.

Walker may still have been able to salvage his value, or at least be a player fantasy managers wanted to start, if he caught the football. The 25-year-old has eight catches in seven games. Last season, he averaged 4.2 receptions per game. Running backs aren't involved in this iteration of the Seattle passing offense. Then again, why do they need to be when Jaxon Smith-Njigba is dominating secondaries?

Unfortunately, unless there's an injury, the backfield platoon doesn't appear to be going anywhere. And with Charbonnet trotting on the field when Seattle is mere yards away from the end zone, Walker's rest-of-season outlook isn't trending up.

TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots

First came the astronomical preseason hype, then came the third- or fourth-round fantasy football selection, then came the disappointment.

New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson hasn't only failed to deliver on that draft capital, but he's barely been worth a roster spot in standard-sized redraft leagues.

The eye test says he's the best runner in the New England backfield. Rhamondre Stevenson is averaging a career-low 3.4 yards per carry, and his fumbling issue carried over from last season. But there have to be some small details that coaches want to see from their rookies that Henderson hasn't delivered.

Henderson opened the year as the second-string back, but Antonio Gibson quickly increased his touches. Once the latter suffered a torn ACL, ending his season, Henderson's usage didn't change. In fact, he saw a season-low nine snaps and two carries two weeks later.

Week 9 was a step in the right direction -- until it wasn't. Henderson averaged 7.5 yards per attempt on his 10 carries (just the second time he's carried the ball double-digit times) against a stingy Cleveland run defense. However, he fumbled in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. One step forward, two steps back.

The hope of nearly everyone who doesn't roster Stevenson is that Henderson surges late in the season, as some rookies tend to do. For that to happen, he'll need to get the football in space. Like the Seahawks, the Patriots rarely use their running backs as receivers. Henderson hasn't caught a pass in two weeks.

Biggest Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

Here are some wide receivers outscoring Brian Thomas Jr. in PPR points per game: Tre Tucker, Troy Franklin, and Kayshon Boutte. Those are three names who likely weren't drafted in your redraft league.

The vibes were instantly off for BTJ as he started his second season. Coaches said a wrist injury could have been to blame for his early-season struggles. There were also rumors about a hesitancy to commit to a route over the middle of the field. That can explain some of the issues, but it doesn't account for the lack of chemistry with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Despite having an 84% route participation and the Jaguars having the third-most pass attempts per game, he's 42nd in PPR points per game due to a 76% catchable target rate and a league-leading nine drops. That's also led to 410 unrealized air yards, good for second among wide receivers. There's a gulf between his expected fantasy points and actual fantasy points.

There were murmurs of Thomas potentially being traded, although head coach Liam Coen put the kibosh on that.

“I am very optimistic. We have no plans on moving Brian Thomas Jr., at all.”

Coach Coen on BTJ and improving in the pass game. pic.twitter.com/7qBtIDJaYE

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 27, 2025

BTJ is just a hair under eight targets per game, which is in line with his average last season. So, it's not like the addition of Travis Hunter has been a big deterrent to Thomas' game. He's just not playing up to his rookie-year standards.

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

From a one-target game to public frustration to a two-touchdown, 121-yard explosion, we've seen it all from A.J. Brown through eight weeks of football.

The underlying theme of Brown's 2025 campaign, however, has been disappointment. A second-round fantasy football draft pick, Brown enters his bye week as the WR35 in points per game and missed Week 8 with a hamstring injury. He's been an active detriment to starting lineups, scoring fewer than 10 PPR points in three of the other four games (including two under three points), despite seeing about the same number of targets per game as last season.

Brown was seeing some signs of progress before his injury as Jalen Hurts found his rhythm as a passer, and Philadelphia found a healthy, winning balance between the run and pass game. Brown is still one of the most physically dominating receivers the league has to offer. As long as his hamstring doesn't linger following the off week, Brown should be fine for the rest of the season.

DJ Moore, Chicago Bears

Year 2 of Caleb Williams and the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson were supposed to improve the offense and stock of Chicago's playmakers. The offense has taken strides, averaging about 65 yards and six points more than the unit did in 2024. DJ Moore's numbers, however, are down across the board.

The answer to Moore's struggles is quite simple, really: Rome Odunze took a giant leap this offseason and is in control of the WR1 position. Odunze is seeing 5.2 first-read targets per game. Moore is all the way down at 2.5. The plays aren't being designed for the veteran.

First-round pick Colston Loveland and second-round selection Luther Burden III aren't heavily involved in this offense yet, either. If either of the rookies takes a second-half leap, Moore's opportunities could slip even further. Unfortunately, this looks like a bad mid-round selection.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

How many times did a Detroit coach say Jameson Williams was going to be a breakout star? It was definitely more than once.

#Lions OC John Morton on Jameson Williams:

“He has been unbelievable. Unbelievable… I’m so excited to see him this year. It’s gonna be a breakout year for him. So, I can’t wait. I just can’t wait, man.” pic.twitter.com/jpfi4dOD2G

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 13, 2025

Those fantasy managers who bought in are regretting reading offseason hype pieces. Not only has Williams not improved on his 2024 campaign, but he's taken a giant step back.

Williams has logged two start-worthy fantasy football games this season. In Week 2, he only caught two passes and benefited from 64- and 44-yard completions. Week 6 can be viewed as his only "good" game, securing six of seven targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. That was sandwiched between one-catch and zero-catch performances. In the game that he saw the most targets (eight), Week 4 against Cleveland, he secured only two of them.

Jamo is currently the WR57 in PPR points per game. He's the clear fifth option on the offense, behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, and David Montgomery. St. Brown has doubled his target count. There's no breakout happening this year. Williams has been droppable in most formats.

Biggest Fantasy Football Tight End Bust

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Mark Andrews had plenty of red flags entering the 2025 season, and so far, most have come true.

The 30-year-old's production slipped in 2024, as he averaged three catches and 39 yards per game and lost some snaps to second-string tight end Isaiah Likely. What saved him and led to a TE5 finish was a career-best 11 touchdowns. That was unsustainable.

He's on pace for 4.8 touchdowns this season, while maintaining a three-catch average (3.4 to be exact) and a career-low 29.7 receiving yards. Some of that can be attributed to the injury to Lamar Jackson. He did score both of his touchdowns with Jackson under center (both in Week 3), but also caught one pass in Weeks 1 and 2 with the former MVP running the offense.

There are some trade rumors surrounding Andrews. Depending on his location, of course, it may not change his value much. At this point in his career, he's a touchdown-or-bust tight end. He can give you 20+ points, but just as easily deliver fewer than five.

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