6 Second-Half Fantasy Football Busts - Fallers and Trade Candidates

November 4, 2026

John's fantasy football busts, fallers, trade candidates to sell for the second half of 2026. These players are set to regress over the next few weeks and should be traded away in fantasy football leagues.

It's not easy to let go of a player who's served you well this season in fantasy football. You may think players who have done well to this point will surely continue to score highly and should be started for the rest of the season.

But we've seen numerous examples of players getting off to hot starts to the season and regressing significantly in the second half. Sometimes, they become nearly completely irrelevant in fantasy football.

Trading them for what you can get for them now, even if it's a little bit less than you were expecting, can pay off in the long run if they don't live up to expectations. So who are the players that are at risk of reduced production for the rest of the season? Let's dive in!

Isaiah Likely, TE, New York Giants

We already got a peek at what the rest of the season may be like for Likely in Week 8. Likely was simply one of the best tight ends in the NFL for most of the first half of the season. He was heavily utilized in this year's iteration of the Giants offense.

With quarterbacks Jaxson Dart (knee) and Jameis Winston starting, Likely enjoyed a role as what looked like the team's top pass-catcher. He saw eight or more targets in five of his first six contests, with four of those featuring double-digit passes slung his way.

Giants TE Isaiah Likely v. Saints
6 Catches 99 yards 1 TD

Rankings among TE's:
Receptions: 39 (2nd)
Yards: 383 (1st)
TD: 5 (1st) https://t.co/Hh7lkrpGl8

— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 19, 2026

Winston was benched after a poor performance in Week 6 for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who's a much lower-volume passer and a much worse quarterback for supporting fantasy scoring among his pass-catchers.

In Week 7, Likely quickly regressed, seeing just four targets and two catches for 12 yards. While it's unlikely that the rest of his season looks that bad, it is a sign of things to come, as McCarthy has just two games in his career with 250 or more passing yards and only 12 total pass TDs.

https://t.co/Xag0S46kaI

— Performances (@NotPerformances) October 25, 2026

He has played well so far in New York, but Winston had a two-game stretch with 576 passing yards and six passing touchdowns. Nothing from McCarthy that we've seen so far has suggested that he could reach that kind of volume.

Nabers is likely to be fine. Likely, on the other hand, not so much, as he relied heavily on passing touchdowns.

Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers

Hubbard has had an awesome season. Ever since the injury to his teammate, running back Jonathon Brooks (core), Hubbard has been one of the best RBs in all of fantasy football. This comes despite him being selected in the late middle rounds of fantasy football drafts this season.

His volume has been simply insane in most games, though. It's a usage rate that's hard to sustain for a full season. Since Week 3, the first game that Brooks didn't suit up for this season, Hubbard's touch totals have been 23, 21, 29, 11, and 29.

Chuba Hubbard runs it in for 6️⃣

CARvsGB on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/ZWJfACla4x

— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2026

He's genuinely been solid, but his workload in the first two weeks was more indicative of how the team wanted to use him this season. He saw 27 total touches in those contests, while Brooks saw five and six.

Brooks hasn't had much of a chance to make a name for himself in the NFL. He suffered torn ACL injuries two seasons in a row and is now on injured reserve with a core injury. But it's possible his practice window could be opened soon, setting the stage for his return.

Jonathon Brooks vs. Tampa Bay (Week 13) https://t.co/XKqpEQZiwS

— Justin Dolloff (@JustinDolloff) March 16, 2025

Brooks was a second-round pick by the Panthers who was eventually expected to take over the backfield. It doesn't seem like that will happen, but he should split work with Hubbard once healthy enough to nerf the starting back's upside.

Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens

The sell-high window just got a bit narrower in Week 8, due to Flowers being blanked after the thumb injury to quarterback Lamar Jackson (thumb). Of course, Flowers will have opportunities to bounce back later in the season.

But he's been significantly worse as a fantasy scorer in games Jackson has missed time in or missed entirely. His latest injury is expected to hold him out for the rest of the season, according to recent reports.

An up-close look at what happened to Lamar Jackson on the injury to the thumb on his throwing hand. https://t.co/mSxJeNsNFG

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) November 1, 2026

The video of the play in which the injury happened makes it look like he suffered either a severe dislocation or a fracture, or possibly both. We don't have the exact details of the injury yet, but it being in his throwing hand is devastating news.

Flowers was one of the best wideouts in fantasy football when he and Jackson were both healthy and playing. We didn't get to see enough of that, sadly. In other bad news, Jackson's backup, Tyler Huntley (toe), also got injured.

Ravens backup QB Tyler Huntley dealing with a toe injury.

On the replay, you can see his right foot plant before continuing into extension, placing increased stress through the toe region.

Turf toe is a concern here, involving injury to the plantar structures of the 1st MTP joint (big toe), which can impact push-off, acceleration, and mobility.

Awaiting further evaluation.

— Maddox McCloud, PT, DPT (@MaddoxMcCloudPT) November 1, 2026

The official diagnosis is apparently turf toe, which involves torn ligaments in the toe. So now the Ravens will have to call on their third-string quarterback, Skylar Thompson (undisclosed)... wait, no, he's on injured reserve and will miss the entire 2026 season.

So it's time for Joe Fagnano to play signal-caller for the Ravens. As you can imagine, the passing offense will probably not be productive, and their season is essentially over. Flowers has very little fantasy value now. Get whatever you can for him.

Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

So long as quarterback Kyler Murray (hamstring) is the starter for the Vikings, you can expect wide receiver Justin Jefferson, one of the best to ever play the game, to be minimally productive, as insane as that sounds.

The Vikings are relying heavily on their best-in-the-NFL defense to carry them to victory, opting for a conservative game plan on offense. They're trying to control the ball and time of possession heavily.

Look at Justin Jefferson's reaction at the end of this play.

Kyler Murray has a defender in his face - but also has JJ WIDE OPEN. The Vikings QB turfs it. https://t.co/EP7ds1G1fs

— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) November 2, 2026

Is Murray a good passing quarterback? No. In fact, he's much worse of a passer than his backup, Carson Wentz. Murray's rushing ability gives the offense an extra dimension on the ground, but that doesn't help Jefferson.

Murray's 42 rushing yards per game over the last three games have been crucial in helping the Vikings pick up first downs and keep drives going. This keeps their defense off the field and allows them to rest, preparing them well for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores' blitz-heavy schemes.

DJ Reed diving INT!

MINvsDET on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/wBC8wCugnN

— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2026

There has been only one instance of a top-8 fantasy football wideout having Murray as his starting quarterback for the entire season. Jefferson might be in an inconsistent second half.

Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

McConkey has already been a big bust this season. Things are going from bad to worse for the Chargers. While he had four catches for 86 yards in Week 8, most of that came on a ricochet Hail Mary pass that WR Quentin Johnston failed to catch, as usual for him.

Justin Herbert AND LADD MCCONKEY ALMOST HAD IT https://t.co/ccsfA91vrI

— wok (@wokdior) November 1, 2026

The Chargers offense has just been so putrid, and starting quarterback Justin Herbert has been playing so terribly, that nobody has fantasy upside in this offense. Herbert looks like one of the worst QBs in the NFL.

There is very little upside to be had here, and so far, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has stood by his offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, and refused to make any changes. We're hoping the organization cleans house and better days are ahead in 2027.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers' passing offense has taken a big step back this season, even if you exclude the monsoon of a Week 8 game they played with and only consider contests in which starting quarterback Baker Mayfield played and finished.

They're a shadow of their former self on offense. Mayfield started the season "healthy", as we can say, but in three games, totaled just 615 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two interceptions. He also lost three fumbles.

Another absolutely brutal Baker Mayfield interception: https://t.co/z9v1hEcYAP

— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) December 28, 2025

Last season, Mayfield injured his throwing shoulder, and his play has taken a gargantuan hit ever since. Egbuka has also been dealing with a lingering foot injury all season. It's a recipe for fantasy disaster.

Note that in Week 8, it looked like Mayfield's right thumb was still in bad health. He's a player who rushes himself back from injury too often, and it appears his shoulder never recovered from last season. Egbuka is a prime sell candidate ahead of his return.

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