When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). Beyond our rankings and ADP tools, our analysts will let you know which players we draft and avoid in fantasy football. Here are fantasy football busts I’m avoiding in drafts.
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Fantasy Football Busts to Avoid: Quarterbacks
Let’s dive into my fantasy football busts to avoid at the quarterback position.
Fantasy Football Quarterbacks to Avoid
Remaining healthy all year and completing his first full season since 2020, Kyler Murray finished QB10 overall and QB12 in fantasy points per game (18.1) among quarterback who made multiple starts. It was a bumpy ride to get there, as Murray topped 25 fantasy points four times (three times if you exclude his big game in Week 18) and finished with 12 or fewer fantasy points five times. That’s Murray in a nutshell. He can be wildly inconsistent from game to game – or even from half to half – but his rushing ability makes for a high ceiling. Murray ran for 572 yards and five touchdowns last season. Murray profiles as a boom/bust low-end QB1.
Jared Goff hit career highs in passing yardage (4,629) and TD passes (37) despite a three-year low in pass attempts (539). Goff was ruthlessly efficient, completing 72.4% of his throws and averaging 8.6 yards per attempt – second-best in the league among qualifying QBs in both categories. That helped Goff finish QB6 in overall fantasy scoring and QB7 in fantasy points per game (19.7). But regression could be coming for Goff. He dramatically outkicked his expected fantasy points per game (16.8), and the departure of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson could put a dent in Detroit’s offensive production. It’s best to think of Goff as a midrange QB2 rather than the midrange QB1 he was in 2024.
Justin Herbert is widely regarded as an above-average or very good starting QB, but his offensive environment isn’t conducive to big fantasy numbers. Under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the Chargers had the 10th run-heaviest offense in the league last season. They also operated at the second slowest pace in the league last season. Herbert averaged only 29.6 pass attempts per game and finished the season with 3,870 passing yards, 23 TD passes and only three interceptions. He added 306 rushing yards and two TD passes. WR Ladd McConkey was a revelation as a rookie, and the Chargers added promising WR Tre Harris in this year’s draft. Weaponry shouldn’t be an issue for the talented Herbert, but a run-heavy approach and a sluggish offensive pace will likely keep Herbert from being anything more than an average fantasy quarterback.
After throwing for a league-high 4,624 yards in 2023, Tua Tagovailoa played only 11 games in 2024, missing four games with a concussion early in the season and then sitting out the final two games of the season with a hip injury. Concussions are an ongoing concern for Tua, who sustained a pair of them in 2022 and played only 13 games that year. When healthy, Tua is a capable pocket passer who offers no rushing upside. He completed a league-best 72.9% of his throws last season, though he averaged only 5.7 intended air yards per pass attempt. He’s averaged a very respectable 7.6 yards per pass attempt over his career. The Miami offensive line could be problematic in 2025, but Tua has a fine pair of receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, along with TE Jonnu Smith and RB De’Von Achane. Regard Tua as a risky QB2.
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