4 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks To Avoid in 2025 Drafts

May 19, 2025

Quincy's fantasy football quarterback avoids for 2025 fantasy football. His four QB avoids on the fantasy football don't draft list for the 2025 season.

The quarterback position is one of the least consistent positions in fantasy football from year to year. The top-tier fantasy quarterbacks, such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts, tend to stay near the top, but many pocket passers fluctuate based on various factors. Additionally, players will have unusual spike years, such as the year we saw from Geno Smith in 2022 or Sam Darnold's breakout in 2024.

Running quarterbacks tend to be safe bets because of their baseline rushing statistics. For pocket passers to produce for fantasy, they generally need to throw for over 4,000 yards and 30 or more touchdowns. That type of production is not sustainable each season. Even the best quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes, cannot replicate that success each year.

Of course, the composition of a team each season plays a huge role in a quarterback's success. The strength of the offensive line and presence of quality weapons will heavily dictate the ability for quarterbacks to succeed in a given season. Let's dive in and see who may be a possible avoid candidate in 2025.

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes has made a fantasy living on name value over the last couple of seasons, but has not produced since 2022. Mahomes has not thrown more than 27 touchdowns over the previous two seasons. In 2024, he threw for less than 4,000 yards for the first time in his career as a starter.

Mahomes offers a solid rushing baseline as he tends to rush for around 300 yards a season and a couple of touchdowns, but that is not enough production to carry him to fantasy stardom. Given the state of the Chiefs' receiving room and the presence of an aging Travis Kelce, Mahomes' weapons are not the most prolific, which limits his passing upside.

Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the league, but he will need to prove that the Chiefs are returning to their high-flying offensive days before he is back in my fantasy lineup. His name value will inflate his draft stock into fantasy's top five or six quarterbacks. Why draft Mahomes when you could draft a value such as Bo Nix or Justin Herbert several rounds later?

Patrick Mahomes is still a great quarterback. But is he a must start in fantasy football? pic.twitter.com/IFqpZDeju6

— Adam Rank (@adamrank) October 9, 2024

If wide receiver Xavier Worthy takes a huge step forward and Rashee Rice returns healthy, then this will be a different story. However, it is more prudent to wait and see rather than be caught in another disappointing Mahomes season.

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield is coming off an incredible season in which he threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns, shattering his career highs. Mayfield also nearly tripled his rushing career high with 378 rushing yards and three touchdowns. His season was so magical that it is practically impossible to repeat.

Baker Mayfield was one of my favorite players to watch and root for last year
He has the whole team coming back, but lost his OC
Can he have a repeat top-ten fantasy finish in 2025?https://t.co/ktmYcO8Ee6

— AA Analytics (@austin_ambler) April 10, 2025

Career years like Mayfield's are not unheard of and are, in fact, common. However, when you consider Mayfield's efficiency, the story becomes much clearer.

Mayfield threw a touchdown on 7.2 percent of his passes in 2024. Before the 2024 season, Mayfield's career touchdown rate was 4.6 percent. In the running game, Mayfield shattered his career average of 3.3 yards per carry on his way to averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Those are Jackson numbers.

Mayfield finished 2024 as the QB4 and will be drafted as a top six to eight option in 2025. Despite the Buccaneers adding to their weaponry in the NFL Draft with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, it feels like a bad bet to expect Mayfield to repeat his 2024 success when you could count on more consistently mobile options being drafted behind him.

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Brock Purdy is entering his third season as the full-time starter in San Francisco with major questions surrounding the offense. Purdy is another example of a pocket passer who will be an inconsistent fantasy producer. We already saw this come to fruition in 2024 when he finished as the QB14, down from his QB6 finish in 2023.

In 2024, Purdy only threw 20 touchdowns instead of the 31 he tossed in 2023. He was playing with a severely depleted receiving corps. The 49ers did not do much to upgrade their wide receiver room in the 2025 offseason, and No. 1 wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is still nursing a knee injury suffered in 2024. Not to mention, the 49ers traded away Deebo Samuel Sr.

The one negative takeaway I have:

The #49ers main problem on offense was not lack of skill position players (which is predominantly what they focused on today), it was the offensive line and lack of quality players/depth.

They are absolutely delusional about their OL.

— Zain49ers (@zain49ers) April 26, 2025

Purdy is currently being drafted as a top 10 quarterback. It is early in the fantasy football draft process but Purdy could be hit or miss in 2025. Fantasy football players will rely on aging players' health, such as running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle.

Also, fantasy managers must hope for a step forward from wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. With many unknowns, it is best to choose a more mobile option this coming season.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud was on my do-not-draft list in 2024 and lands again in 2025. This is nothing against Stroud's talent, but he has a lot of factors working against him.

Stroud will enter the season with Nico Collins as the only established excellent weapon in the offense. Stefon Diggs left for New England, and Tank Dell is unlikely to play this season. Although the Texans drafted wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, both players are unproven rookies.

Additionally, the Texans jettisoned most of their starting offensive line this offseason. The unit was horrible in 2024, but the team has not made significant moves to improve the position this offseason outside of drafting tackle Aireontae Ersery.

CJ Stroud every time he drops back to throw in 2025 pic.twitter.com/M2AyvX7D1D

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) March 10, 2025

Stroud ran for his life in 2024. With no running game to support him, Stroud was sacked 52 times. He only managed to throw for 20 touchdowns, and he more than doubled his interception total from five as a rookie in 2023 to 12 in 2024. Compound that with the fact that despite an electric rookie year, Stroud was not particularly useful for fantasy in 2023, save for a few huge games.

Stroud's ADP has been severely depressed, and he is currently being drafted as a QB2. His draft position may entice fantasy managers to wait at quarterback and take a swing at him, but that feels like a futile move. Unless the Texans make drastic changes over the next few months, they could have another difficult season offensively.

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