In fantasy football, there are always players who frustrate us because they have consistently disappointed relative to their draft costs. Just think about Kyle Pitts with the Atlanta Falcons. The former first-round tight end has continued to underachieve despite only moderate discounts in fantasy football each year.
With that in mind, we’re going to build the 2025 Never Again Team. These are players I’m avoiding unless they fall significantly past their current average draft position (ADP).
Without further ado, let’s dive into one quarterback, one running back, one wide receiver and one tight end I’m avoiding in 2025 fantasy football.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Players to Never Draft Again
Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC)
Fading the best quarterback in the NFL? Yes, because fantasy football is much different than real life. Just take a look at Patrick Mahomes’ fantasy points per game (PPG) ranks in the last couple of years:
- 2024: 18.3 PPG (QB13)
- 2023: 18.4 PPG (QB12)
Despite this underwhelming performance, you’re not getting much of a discount on Mahomes at QB6.
Now, to be clear, I understand the appeal. He is an all-time great who has a terrific wide receiver room, led by Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy.
But this Chiefs team has consistently sleepwalked through the regular season in the last two years. They’ve been content with dinking-and-dunking their way to close victories.
Until I see this team get back to their explosive ways, I’m going to pass on it happening again, especially when the price is still high.
I’ll make an exception in best ball leagues where I’m building a Chiefs stack, but I will be avoiding Mahomes in redraft.
Running Back: Travis Etienne (RB – JAX)
Travis Etienne has been a major disappointment for the last year and a half. Just take a look at his fantasy points per game results:
- 2024: 7.4 PPG (RB43)
- 2023 (Weeks 10-18): 11.4 PPG (RB23)
The Jaguars now have a brand new coaching staff, led by former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. We’ve seen Etienne mentioned in trade talks, plus the team selected a touted prospect in Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round.
On top of that, Etienne was outplayed by teammate Tank Bigsby last season.
Even though Etienne does come at a cheap price (RB33), I prefer going with Bigsby or Tuten when making a bet on this backfield.
It feels like Etienne is on his way out in Jacksonville, so there’s a risk he’s just completely phased out of the offense this year.
Wide Receiver: Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – ARI)
Marvin Harrison Jr. was one of the most highly touted receiver prospects in recent memory, but he’s coming off a disappointing season where he put up 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns, finishing as the WR42 in fantasy points per game.
Despite this underwhelming year, Harrison is still being drafted as the WR15 in fantasy football leagues. Simply put, you’re not getting enough of a discount here.
I’m still bullish on Harrison having an excellent career, but it’s hard for me to trust the team context with Kyler Murray at quarterback and Drew Petzing as the offensive coordinator.
We saw Harrison parked on the perimeter, effectively used as a deep threat that gets tougher targets. This is poor usage, as Harrison can make more of an impact underneath as a target hog.
I don’t trust the coaching staff here, so I’m steering clear of Harrison until there’s a change.
Tight End: Evan Engram (TE – DEN)
Evan Engram is coming off an injury-plagued season where he put up 47 catches for 365 yards in nine games.
The former Jaguar is one year removed from a 114-catch season, but that was in a broken offense that force-fed targets to the tight end.
While it’s intriguing to see Engram playing in a Sean Payton offense with a promising young quarterback in Bo Nix, I prefer to look at the younger options like Tyler Warren this year.
Engram is entering his age-30 season, and there are questions about how he’ll be deployed in a new scheme.
It’s also worth noting that before last year’s injury, Engram was only the TE16 in fantasy points per game. I’m going to pass on him due to advanced age and an unclear role.
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