Fantasy Football Bust Candidates: D’Andre Swift, Nick Chubb, Javonte Williams (2024)

With the NFL Draft on the horizon, there will be a lot of change in the fantasy football landscape in the coming weeks. Some players will be worth bypassing because of the potential changes that could happen in the draft and others do not stack up as good picks. Below are a few best ball players to avoid.

Best Ball Players to Avoid

D’Andre Swift (RB – CHI)

This article isn’t solely aiming to bash the ADP of Chicago Bears players, particularly when they look set to be more interesting than they have been in years. But for now, some of them have higher costs than we’d like. D’Andre Swift is the RB20, being drafted at pick 86.8, ahead of Raheem Mostert and just behind Tony Pollard. Swift had the second-highest rushing success rate of his career in 2023, but the Eagles’ offensive line was a big part of that. Swift also set career-highs in rushing yards per game (65), attempts per game (14.3) and games played (16). He now finds himself in a three-way committee with Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert, who both go in the 170-pick range of drafts. The Bears saw adding Swift as a priority but until they reduce this committee to a smaller number, it’s easier to wait and see how things shake out as the offseason goes on.

rushing TDs of D’Andre Swift’s teammates:

2022: Jamaal Williams (17)
2023: Jalen Hurts (15)
2024: Roschon Johnson👀

— Andrew Erickson™ (@AndrewErickson_) March 15, 2024

Javonte Williams (RB – DEN)

When Sean Payton arrived in Denver he saw adding another running back as a priority as Javonte Williams came off a serious multi-ligament knee injury. It was largely expected that Samaje Perine would be the one to eat into Williams’ work, after an impressive 2022 campaign with the Bengals. Ultimately, though, it was rookie Jaleel McLaughlin who took on the Perine role, averaging 7.3 touches per game from Week 4 onwards. This wasn’t necessarily enough to make McLaughlin consistently relevant, with him finishing as the RB37 on average in that spell, but it was enough to ding Williams’ upside. Williams ranked 17th in average touches per game but in an inefficient offense that wasn’t enough to return value. With McLaughlin more established now and the offense still looking like it’ll be hard work, it might be another season of mediocrity ahead for Williams, who is being drafted at pick 94.

Nick Chubb (RB – CLE)

The Browns brought in the more than capable D’Onta Foreman to share the expected workload with Jerome Ford, who was steady last year, but far from an every-down type of player. Nick Chubb underwent multiple surgeries to deal with ACL injury that also included other ligament damage. Breece Hall showed us last year that younger running backs coming off a clean ACL tear can be productive straight away. When other ligaments are involved, like with JK Dobbins, Javonte Williams and Kyler Murray, then typically it’s a trickier recovery ahead. Not to mention that Nick Chubb is turning 29 this year and never had the pass-catching upside to bulk his stats. If Chubb can’t break away nor command large volume, it’s tough to imagine him regaining his every-down role.

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Best Ball Busts Fantasy Draft Advice NFL D’Andre Swift Tony Pollard Roschon Johnson Khalil Herbert Javonte Williams Samaje Perine Jaleel McLaughlin Nick Chubb D’Onta Foreman Jerome Ford Breece Hall JK Dobbins Kyler Murray