Every team will have a player that fails to meet their fantasy potential. Whether it’s sky-high expectations or an unforeseen decline, here is a complete list of players that have bust potential on every team along with their current FantasyPros Draft Rankings. Below we’ll take a look at a few of these 2023 fantasy football bust candidates.
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Fantasy Football Busts
FP Rank: WR33
Coming off his first 1,000-yard season in 2021, Brown was reunited with quarterback Kyler Murray in 2022 to recreate the rapport they developed at Oklahoma where both lit it up and ended up as first-round picks. But that plan, along with the rest of the Cardinals’ season, was a disaster. The team finished 4-13, Murray tore his ACL towards the end of the season and Brown had his worst statistical season since his rookie season.
With Murray out, which he will be for a good chunk of this season, never topped 61 yards receiving and failed to score. Granted, not many Cardinals are worth drafting this year but Brown may be the biggest question mark of all.
FP Rank: WR12
Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are elite options for the Bengals and your fantasy team. But there’s another Bengal that is being drafted right up there. Despite being valued as a low-end WR1, Higgins isn’t even a WR1 on his team nor has he finished as a WR1 in his brief career. He’s been good – not great – averaging a little over 1,000 yards and six touchdowns in each of his three seasons in the league. Higgins certainly profiles as a very good WR2 on your fantasy team but top-12 is asking a lot. For this reason, Higgins, at his price point, profiles as a potential bust.
FP Rank: WR6
Coming off a career year, you would not expect Lamb to be on this list. But if there’s anyone that stands to be affected by the Cowboys’ off-season changes, it’s him. We’ll start with the change in offensive coordinator. Kellen Moore had been calling the plays in Dallas since 2019 which covered Lamb’s entire career. Moore oversaw Lamb’s steady climb to elite status when it comes to fantasy scoring capped by the 2022 season.
Lamb topped 1,300 yards and scored nine times last season. But, for some reason, Head Coach Mike McCarthy made a change to run-happy Brian Schottenheimer while calling the plays himself. McCarthy’s been on record for wanting the run the ball more which isn’t great for Lamb’s fantasy outlook. On a smaller scale, the Cowboys also added receiver Brandin Cooks who topped 1,000 yards as recently as two seasons ago. In short, Lamb has a lot going against him this year.
FP Rank: WR19
It took until midway through the 2022 season for Packers rookie receiver Christian Watson to show why he was taken in the second round but it didn’t disappoint. From Week 10 on, he had three 100-yard receiving games and scored all seven of his touchdowns. He was, literally, a top-10 fantasy receiver in the second half of the season. Of course, it’s a new day in Green Bay with quarterback Aaron Rodgers now in New York and Jordan Love taking the reigns. Early reports suggest fellow second-year receiver Romeo Doubs is Love’s preferred target which would be a big blow to Watson and his current WR2 status.
FP Rank: WR40
If you’ve done any research on the 2023 fantasy season yet, you’ve heard the glowing reports on Kadarius Toney. The former first-round pick who wound up in Kansas City has a very clear path to a significant role on the most high-powered offense in the NFL.
There’s a very good chance that Toney drafters will be disappointed. Yes, he’s shown isolated flashes of being explosive on the field but those seem to be few and far between. For a career that’s covered two seasons and 19 games, Toney has amassed 55 targets and 591 yards, and two touchdowns (plus a rushing touchdown). There’s been a lot of hype for a player that seemingly hasn’t proved it yet.
FP Rank: WR47
Any doubt that Davante Adams wouldn’t be able to produce without Aaron Rodgers was washed away last year after he totaled over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns. We can’t say that yet about Meyers after he was signed away from New England in free agency. To do that, not only will Meyers be relying on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo but he’ll have to stave off Adams in the process. It’s a tall order for a player who’s never finished inside the top 30 in fantasy scoring.
FP Rank: WR26
The writing was on the wall for Chargers receivers after LA drafted receiver Quentin Johnston in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. As for which one would draw the short straw, give me the oft-injured Williams who has exactly one top-20 fantasy finish in his career. There’s no doubt Williams can be great but to rely on him as your WR2 is a huge gamble. Sadly, Williams has been more bust to this point than boom.
FP Rank: WR4
No one will mistake the 2023 Rams for the Super Bowl-winning edition from a few years ago. And while the rest of the Rams’ offense reflects that dip in perception, Kupp’s fantasy value still looks like it did during that championship run. Granted, he totaled 75 receptions for 812 yards through just nine games and looked like a WR1 before losing the rest of the season to an injury. But he’s still a year older and coming off a major injury and will be hard-pressed to repeat a WR1 performance.
FP Rank: WR39
Missing off-season programs due to an injury during your rookie season is not the way to start your professional career. Especially when you’re expected to take over for a franchise favorite in Adam Thielen. Yet, Addison is being ranked and drafted as a WR3/4 right out of the gate. We know Justin Jefferson will produce and that Kirk Cousins is a fantasy favorite but Addison has proven nothing and has the most bust potential.
FP Rank: WR82
There’s not a lot to get excited about in New England from a fantasy perspective. The best option, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, is decently valued as a low-end RB1. No Patriot receivers are ranked in the top 40 and no tight ends are in the top 15. The point is no Patriot is a glaring overpay.
Thornton has been getting a lot of attention this off-season and for no particular reason other than the classic ‘looks good in practice.’ Despite the return of Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator, don’t expect New England to start airing it out. Even if they did, they signed free agent JuJu Smith-Schuster to take on the lead role.
FP Rank: WR9
No player has trended higher this off-season than Wilson. After the Jets landed quarterback Aaron Rodgers, most assumed that Wilson would be Rodgers’ new go-to receiver a la Davante Adams. But it’s as if people forgot that Rodgers single-handedly forced the Jets to bring along other Packers with him including receivers Allan Lazard and Randall Cobb. Wilson is very good and should have a good year but as for the expectations that he’ll be a top-10 fantasy receiver? It has bust potential.
FP Rank: WR37
Long gone are the days of Ben Roethlisberger being the Steeler quarterback and facilitating fantasy studs all around him. We now have former first-round pick Kenny Pickett at quarterback and a bunch of meh around him. Najee Harris is a volume-based running back while George Pickens has shown flashes of being a big play specialist but not much else.
This leaves Johnson, also a volume-based player, who has never averaged more than 11.5 yards-per-reception in his career and, oh by the way, didn’t score a touchdown last year. He’ll struggle to finish as a top-50 receiver again let alone a top-40.
FP Rank: WR14
We’re more than a year removed from Samuel’s breakout season – when he totaled over 1,700 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns – yet he’s still being viewed as a WR1 on fantasy teams. It’s as if people didn’t see his 2022 season – which he missed a portion of due to injury – and also lost a good chunk of the looks after San Francisco acquired running back Christian McCaffrey.
Samuel and McCaffrey are not the same players but are sometimes used in similar ways which means fewer balls for Samuel. He’s a great player, but this ranking screams bust potential.
FP Rank: WR29
To be clear, there aren’t a lot of Buccaneers ranked highly enough to be considered bust-material. Such is the post-Tom Brady era in Tampa Bay. So, we’ll pick the most consistently good Buc, as he’s going to have a hard time staying that way.
Evans has totaled 1,000 yards in each of his nine professional seasons. He’s made Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl, and is destined for the Hall of Fame. But if any year is the year for him to decline, it’s 2023. He’s entering his age-30 season and has the ‘luxury’ of catching passes from either Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask. Evans should be the first Buc taken in fantasy drafts which means he could be the biggest bust.
FP Rank: WR35
Dotson being on this list isn’t his fault. The Commanders have entrusted the quarterback position to 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell in the hopes that he will somehow improve the offense. And while they did add former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy to the staff, all the talk out of Washington has centered around the running backs and tight ends and very little about the receivers’ room.
Terry McLaurin has the Alpha Dog role on lockdown which leaves very little left over for Dotson. The latter finished outside the top 40 in fantasy scoring last year and should do so again.
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@DLF_Moore Michael Moore is a featured writer at FantasyPros, providing unique insights and in-depth analysis.
