Drafting the right players is key to winning your fantasy football league, but avoiding the wrong ones is just as important. Every year, certain players get overhyped, over-drafted or simply don’t live up to expectations.
To help you steer clear of potential landmines in your 2025 fantasy football draft, we asked our collection of Featured Pros to weigh in on which wide receivers they’re avoiding at their current average draft position (ADP). Whether it’s due to workload concerns, injury risk or inflated cost, these are the wideouts our experts believe carry more risk than reward. Before you make your next pick, make sure these names aren’t on your draft board.
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Players Fantasy Football Experts Avoid
What one WR inside the top 100 in our consensus ADP do you plan on avoiding in all your drafts relative to their price and why?
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)
“I have too many concerns about Jaxon Smith-Njigba‘s situation to draft him at cost. The Seahawks project to throw it significantly less this season under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. And quarterback Sam Darnold could turn back into a pumpkin behind a leaky Seattle offensive line. I see Jaxon-Smith Njigba as more of a low-end WR2 than the high-end WR2 he’s being drafted as.”
– Jared Smola (Draft Sharks)
Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE)
“Jerry Jeudy is a streaky player that I will be avoiding in 2025 fantasy football drafts due to his inconsistent production and an uncertain quarterback situation. Despite a career-high 90 receptions for 1,229 yards in 2024, Jeudy’s efficiency metrics were mediocre, ranking 45th in yards per route run (1.76) among 85 qualifying wide receivers, and his four touchdowns on 145 targets suggest limited scoring upside. His breakout stretch in 2024 (Weeks 8-18 — 69 catches and 963 yards) relied heavily on Jameis Winston‘s pass-heavy approach, which may not persist with potential 2025 quarterbacks like Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders, none of whom are proven elite passers. The Browns’ expected shift to a run-heavy scheme under Kevin Stefanski, emphasizing rookie Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, could reduce Jeudy’s target share, especially with David Njoku and Cedric Tillman competing for passes. Additionally, Jeudy’s 18% targets per route run in games with a healthy Deshaun Watson or Cedric Tillman (Weeks 1-12) highlights his dependency on specific game scripts, making him a risky WR3 pick with a projected 60 receptions, 809 yards and three touchdowns. Let other fantasy managers in your league deal with the potential headaches that come with Jeudy and his much too high ADP (63rd Overall).”
– Brandon Murchison (RotoBaller)
Brian Thomas Jr. (WR – JAC)
“I thought I’d fill the roll on this wide receiver, with one Little caution. No one likes being Debbie, but Brian Thomas Jr. averaged 12.5 points per game (PPG) with Trevor Lawrence. He averaged 16 PPG with his hero, Big Mac Jones, at quarterback from Week 10 on. Yes, that coincides with when most rookie receivers become a star (crunch), but I will (Swiss) roll that worry in with a coordinator change (how often do we get those, right? Just assume we don’t know.), Trevor Lawrence being mid his entire career and the chances of touchdown regression (it’s a (pecan) spinwheel for even the best). Nearly going in the first round, I’d like to fudge that round a bit to be more comfortable taking Thomas. Despite all the junk food, I’ll be underweight on Thomas.”
– Seth Miller (Crossroads Fantasy Football)
“Brian Thomas Jr. blew up in the final stretch of the season, providing fantasy managers multiple games with at least seven receptions and 86 yards. He scored five touchdowns in Jacksonville’s final six games. While it’s notable that a rookie came on so strong, and that is a positive, his ADP of 14 is just too rich. The upside is there, the arrival of Liam Coen is intriguing and a great season is likely, but I require a slightly safer bet that early in the draft.”
– Matt De Lima (Athlon Sports)
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