X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Top Fantasy Football Busts from Last Year to Target in Early 2025 Best Ball Drafts

Christian McCaffrey - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Top fantasy football busts from last season to target in your early 2025 best ball drafts: Christian McCaffrey, Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker III, and more.

Sometimes it's not an NFL player's fault if they have a bad season. It's hard to blame them for getting injuries, and though some are more injury-prone than others, even stalwarts like Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry sometimes get hurt and have to miss serious time.

There are other situations players can get in that demolish their production. For example, being in one of the league's worst offenses, enduring coaching changes due to poor team performance, and other offensive position groups lacking severely can cause a decline in statistical output.

Yet, this presents a good opportunity to pounce in best ball drafts. Many fantasy football managers get cold feet on players who had rough seasons the year before. So, let's break down last year's busts to target early for best ball in 2025.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey's horrible, injury-plagued, and ultimately lost 2024 season is naturally causing his ADP to fall across all formats. And there's at least some good reason for this. He only played in four games and wasn't very productive when he did see the field.

And his injury occurred in the preseason (Achilles tendonitis), persisted for nine weeks before he was able to return, and he immediately injured his knee and was knocked out for the rest of the year. It was an odd situation overall, and it's hard to blame CMC or to think that he's completely fallen off.

There is one concern I do have that's probably not about to be placated. McCaffrey is an extremely hard worker, and his work ethic is renowned. But tendonitis is an overuse injury. It can be a blessing and a curse, and for CMC, it was a curse last season.

I'm sure he has a plan in place to manage it, but when you're a professional athlete and in that kind of shape, it's easy to get caught up in going as hard as possible in workouts every day. Physical burnout is a real thing, even for some of the world's most gifted athletes.

He had an unforgettable season as the RB1 (by a mile) in fantasy football and the NFL in 2023. And he's in a good offensive system with a coach who is intent on grinding his bones to dust by giving him 11 billion touches. He's also an elite player when healthy.

There is plenty of risk, but the upside is tremendous, and that's what matters in best ball.

 

Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Perhaps the biggest bust that wasn't due to a long-term injury absence in best ball among the running backs was Travis Etienne Jr. of the Jacksonville Jaguars. There are two major reasons to think that Etienne will have a rebound year in 2025, though.

The first is that he was battling through injuries in 2024, as underreported as they were. He dealt with hamstring problems and missed a few games. Hammy issues are vexing, and it's likely that though he recovered and returned to play, it was still causing him problems. Even though the offensive line blocking for him didn't play well, he just didn't look like himself.

An RB looking significantly less explosive despite being in his mid-20s is a telltale sign of either being out of game shape or dealing with a nagging ailment. And hamstring problems are perhaps the most nagging of them all.

There's more to be excited about. New Jaguars head coach Liam Coen is bringing his wildly successful offensive scheme from Tampa Bay to Jacksonville. And the Buccaneers had the best running back-centric run game in the league -- they led the NFL in rushing yards by RBs.

Coen's schemes will open up plenty of space for the backs. Both are worth investing in for fantasy football, but as most best ball leagues are PPR and Etienne is the primary pass-catching back, he's worth nabbing whenever you can. The Jaguars OL needs some work to fix, but Tampa Bay's OL outperformed its talent level statistically with Coen's aid.

 

Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Yes, another running back because they tend to surge and plummet through the rankings and offensive coordinator changes can cause wild swings in their production. The Seattle Seahawks just hired a great one -- Klint Kubiak, former OC of the New Orleans Saints, will be in Seattle for the 2025 season. And RB Kenneth Walker III's production stands to benefit massively from it.

Walker's injury issues, lack of consistency, and lack of good offensive line play have hurt his production and made him a spotty scorer in fantasy football after his rookie season. The OL does still need to be addressed, but just like Coen, Kubiak was able to scheme his running backs to be highly productive. RB Alvin Kamara had one of his best fantasy seasons as a pro in 2024.

Despite the questioning nature of the above X post, Walker has been the primary pass-catching back for the team because he's more explosive, faster, and has better short-area quickness than his backup, Zach Charbonnet.

Kubiak was a wizard at opening up vast swaths of the field for his players to run through, and the offense probably would have been much more productive year-long if the offensive line hadn't collapsed due to injuries.

Seattle has indicated in the past that Walker has workhorse potential, but last year's offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, called far too many pass plays and abandoned the run too readily for that to happen.

The Seahawks coaches have reaffirmed their commitment to a run-heavy scheme that utilizes Walker in the passing game plenty. It's a great time to buy into that in best ball in 2025.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Moises Ballesteros

Now The Triple-A Batting Average Leader
Yordan Alvarez

Exits Monday's Win Early
Raisel Iglesias

Notches Fifth Save Monday
JP Sears

Fans Seven In Monday's Win
Josh Hader

Earns Eighth Save Of Season Monday
Jose Altuve

Hits Two-Run Homer Monday
Los Angeles Chargers

Tre Harris Expected To Fill X Role For Chargers
Charlie Condon

Visiting A Hand Specialist On Monday
Bailey Ober

Extends Quality-Start Stretch To Four In Monday's Win
Los Angeles Chargers

Quentin Johnston Needs To Earn His Spot In Training Camp
Noelvi Marte

Stays Hot With RBI Triple Monday
Los Angeles Chargers

Hassan Haskins The Leader For No. 3 RB Job
Los Angeles Chargers

Chargers Plan For 1-2 Punch At RB With Omarion Hampton, Najee Harris
Zebby Matthews

Strikes Out Five In Latest Start At Triple-A
New England Patriots

Patriots View TreVeyon Henderson As A Three-Down Back
Cleveland Browns

Browns View Quinshon Judkins As A Potential Bell-Cow Back
Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks Plan To Develop Jalen Milroe As A QB
Bubba Chandler

Tosses Five Shutout Innings In Latest Start
Jordan Lawlar

Surging At Triple-A
Tennessee Titans

Titans Unlikely To Pick Up Treylon Burks' Fifth-Year Option
Cleveland Browns

Browns Apply Unrestricted Free-Agent Tender To Elijah Moore
Cleveland Browns

Browns Agree To One-Year Deal With Diontae Johnson
Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys Could Reunite With Amari Cooper
Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers Sign Robert Woods To One-Year Deal
Nick Maton

Outrighted To Triple-A
Josh Rojas

To Begin Rehab Assignment On Tuesday
Tyler Gilbert

To Serve As Opener On Tuesday
Ryan Weathers

Tosses Three Shutout Innings In First Rehab Start
Keider Montero

Sent Back To Minors
Steven Matz

To Start On Wednesday Against Reds
Kris Bryant

To Have "Follow-Up Scans"
Gary Sánchez

Orioles Place Gary Sanchez On Injured List
Tomoyuki Sugano

Records Career-High Eight Strikeouts
Jimmy Butler III

Officially Active For Game 4
Isaiah Stewart

Uncertain For Game 5
Michael Porter Jr.

Expected To Play In Game 5
Russell Westbrook

Questionable For Tuesday Night
Jaylen Brown

Back On The Injury Report
Jrue Holiday

Out Again On Tuesday Night
Bennedict Mathurin

Questionable For Game 5
Damian Lillard

May Not Play Next Season
Johnathan Kovacevic

To Remain Out Tuesday
Brenden Dillon

Unavailable Tuesday
Luke Hughes

Not Ready To Return For Game 5
Darius Garland

Remains Out On Monday
Ross Colton

Remains Out On Monday
Oskar Bäck

Oskar Back Returns To Stars Lineup Monday
Miro Heiskanen

To Miss Game 5
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go For Game 4
Cleveland Browns

Browns Decline Kenny Pickett's Fifth-Year Option
New York Giants

Giants Won't Pick Up Evan Neal's Fifth-Year Option
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Pick Up Fifth-Year Option On Ikem Ekwonu
Philadelphia Eagles

Dallas Goedert Could Remain An Eagle
Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Could Still Add Wide Receiver Help Prior To 2025 Season
Cleveland Browns

Shedeur Sanders Struggled During Pre-Draft Process
Buffalo Bills

Elijah Moore Visiting With Bills
Jacksonville Jaguars

Emmanuel Ogbah Signs With Jaguars
New Orleans Saints

Derek Carr Undergoes MRI Exam
William Byron

Ends With A Strong Top-Five Finish At Talladega
Ryan Blaney

Bad Luck Continues With Talladega Crash
Kyle Larson

Has A Career-Best Performance At Talladega
Ian Machado Garry

Gets Back On Track With UFC Kansas City Win
Brad Keselowski

Talladega Run Ends Early After Crashing
Carlos Prates

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Zhang Mingyang

Still Undefeated In The UFC
Anthony Smith

Retires After UFC Kansas City Loss
Giga Chikadze

Takes Unanimous Decision Loss
Giga Chikadze

Takes Unanimous-Decision Loss
David Onama

Extends Win Streak At UFC Kansas City
Michel Pereira

Drops Decision At UFC Kansas City
Abus Magomedov

Extends His Win Streak
Nicolas Dalby

Gets Finished For The First Time
Randy Brown

Gets Back In The Win Column
Ikram Aliskerov

Gets First-Round TKO Finish At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Gets TKO'd At UFC Kansas City
Ivan Demidov

Has Historic Outing In Game 4
Timo Meier

Records Two Points Sunday
Andrei Svechnikov

Nets Hat Trick In Game 4 Win
Leon Draisaitl

Caps Off Four-Point Effort With First Postseason Overtime Goal
Connor Hellebuyck

Gets Pulled Again
Alexandre Carrier

Fails To Finish Game 4
Tyler Tucker

Makes Early Exit Sunday
Chase Elliott

Recovers from Speeding Penalty to Finish Fifth
Joey Logano

Finishes Last at Talladega After Disqualification for Missing Spoiler Brace
Ryan Preece

Loses Talladega Race First in Photo Finish Then in Post-Race Inspection
NASCAR

Poor Toyota Strategy Arguably Cost Bubba Wallace Winning Chances at Talladega
Christopher Bell

Unhurt After Hard Contact with Inside Retaining Wall
Jaylen Brown

Available For Game 4
Darius Garland

Questionable For Game 4
Jaden Ivey

Making Progress
Frederik Andersen

Exits Game 4 With Injury
Jake Neighbours

Shines On Sunday With Three Points
Jordan Binnington

Makes 30 Saves In Game 4 Victory
Patrik Laine

Not Expected To Play In Game 4
Sam Montembeault

Labeled Day-To-Day
Aliaksei Protas

Considered A Game-Time Decision Sunday
Logan Thompson

A Game-Time Call Sunday
Chase Elliott

Is One OF The Top Overall DFS Picks Of The Week
Joey Logano

Could Joey Logano Finish A Race With A Top Finish At Talladega?
NASCAR

DFS Players Should Like Bubba Wallace For Talladega This Week
Christopher Bell

Should DFS Players Roster Christopher Bell At Talladega?
Austin Cindric

Is Austin Cindric Worth Rostering For Talladega DFS Lineups?
Shane Van Gisbergen

Is A Solid, Safe, DFS Choice For Talladega Lineups
Austin Dillon

Is Austin Dillon A Viable DFS Play At Talladega This Week?
Josh Berry

Qualifies Too High At Talladega To Be Worth Rostering In DFS
Michael McDowell

Should DFS Players Take A Shot On Michael McDowell At Talladega?
Noah Gragson

Could Be A Sneaky DFS Play For Talladega
Denny Hamlin

Probably Qualified Too Well for DFS Consideration
Kyle Larson

Increasingly Undervalued Due to His Crashing, but Still a Great DFS Option
Jimmy Butler III

Ruled Out On Saturday
Isaiah Stewart

Questionable For Sunday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 4
Jrue Holiday

Won't Play On Sunday
Mitchell Robinson

Questionable For Game 4 Versus Detroit
Michael Porter Jr.

Available On Saturday Night
Russell Westbrook

Won't Suit Up For Game 4
Darius Garland

Won't Suit Up For Game 3
Darius Garland

Unavailable For Pregame Warmup
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF