Fantasy Football Draft Busts (2025)

Thankfully, the 2025 fantasy football season is just around the corner. Each year, fantasy players want to construct their team with a proper mix of good-value players and upside sleepers while avoiding players with high bust potential. In the seventh part of an eight-part series, I identify notable fantasy football players from the NFC South.

Fantasy Football Draft Busts: NFC South

Fantasy Football Bust Candidates

Chris Olave (WR – NO) | ADP: 79.8 (WR34)

Unfortunately, Chris Olave is on my do-not-draft list this season. However, he is one of my favorite buy-low targets in dynasty leagues. While the Saints spent a second-round pick on Tyler Shough, the rookie isn’t guaranteed the long-term starting role, especially with Spencer Rattler being the favorite to start in Week 1. New Orleans will likely have a top-three pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, allowing them to draft a far better quarterback than Shough.

While better days are ahead for Olave, fantasy players should avoid drafting him and any Saint besides Alvin Kamara in 2025 at their ADP. Last year, he missed nine games with multiple concussions, including a season-ending one in Week 9. Olave finished the year as the WR56 in PPG among wide receivers with at least eight contests played, averaging 9.6 PPR fantasy points per outing, posting a lower average than Allen Lazard (10.5) and Alec Pierce (10.1).

Furthermore, the former Ohio State had only 0.9 more total fantasy points than Rashid Shaheed (76.7 vs. 75.8) despite playing in two more games. Moreover, Shaheed was the better wide receiver, posting a higher fantasy points per route run average (0.46 vs. 0.44), first-read target share (29.8% vs. 22.3%) and air yards share (48.2% vs. 24.4%) than Olave (per Fantasy Points Data). Fantasy players shouldn’t draft him as anything more than a boom-or-bust low-end WR4, given the quarterback situation.

Chris Godwin (WR – TB): | ADP: 87.3 (WR40)

Chris Godwin was outstanding last year before suffering a season-ending lower leg injury in Week 7. The former Penn State star was the WR1 over the first six weeks, averaging 20.7 PPR fantasy points per game, totaling 22.3+in half the contests. Furthermore, he finished as a top-24 wide receiver in 71.4% of the games. Godwin’s 0.63 fantasy points per route run ranked fifth among wide receivers with at least 100 routes, per Fantasy Points Data.

Unfortunately, the veteran’s fantasy outlook for 2025 is far from appealing. The Buccaneers lost offensive coordinator Liam Coen to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Godwin averaged a career-high 2.36 yards per route run last year with Coen calling the plays. Furthermore, the former Penn State star is trending towards starting the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list due to the lower leg injury sustained last year. More importantly, Tampa Bay has no reason to rush him back on the field.

When Godwin went down with the injury last season, Jalen McMillan had a strong finish to his rookie year. He was the WR8 over the final five weeks, averaging 6.2 targets, 1.4 receiving touchdowns and 19.8 fantasy points per game. Furthermore, the Buccaneers used their first-round NFL Draft pick on Emeka Egbuka, who has been the star of training camp. Therefore, expect the team to have Godwin on a snap count for most of the season.