Navigating your fantasy football draft can be tricky, especially when certain players come with more risk than reward. To help you dodge potential pitfalls, we’ve gathered insights from our collection of Featured Pros to highlight the biggest 2025 draft landmines to avoid. These are the players our fantasy football experts believe are overvalued, injury risks or simply unlikely to live up to their average draft position (ADP) this season. Before you make a costly mistake on draft day, check out who the pros are steering clear of-and why.
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Fantasy Football Draft Landmines to Avoid
What one RB inside the top 50 in our consensus ADP do you plan on avoiding in all or most of your drafts relative to their price and why?
De’Von Achane (RB – MIA)
“I’ve tried for months now, but I just can’t get into De’Von Achane at his RB7 ADP (14th overall). Not only does that feel like his absolute ceiling, but I think his floor is very scary in terms of production. The Dolphins seem to be a team in disarray, and rarely does that translate to positive results. I’m much happier taking almost any other back as my RB1 and even as my RB2. Will Tua Tagovailoa play the whole season? Does Tyreek Hill still have it? Is Jaylen Waddle the real deal? There’s no way to know any of those answers, so I am out on Achane until we do.”
– Andrew Hall (FantasyPros)
“I love De’Von Achane as a talent. My concern is that the Miami Dolphins have done little to nothing to improve their offensive line. At his best, Achane has the highlight-reel talent to produce an RB1 season. The Dolphins just haven’t done enough to build around his talent. Achane is a best-ball only player, given his all-or-nothing production that featured nine RB1 games and six finishes at RB24 or worse in PPR.”
– Matt De Lima (Athlon Sports)
Kyren Williams (RB – LAR)
“I can’t get excited about ever clicking Kyren Williams’ name in drafts. Last year, Williams pulled off his best yesteryear Rachaad White or Leonard Fournette impression. A volume gobbling inefficient back who turned in an RB1 season (RB10). Williams ranked first in snap share, second in opportunity share and first in red-zone touches. Williams had 350 touches and 1,481 total yards. With all that said, Williams was one of the most inefficient-per-touch backs in the NFL. Among 46 qualifying backs, he ranked 44th in explosive run rate, 37th in missed tackle rate and 40th in yards after contact per attempt, per Fantasy Points Data. Williams could retain his stranglehold on the volume again in a contract year, but it’s also possible that Blake Corum or Jarquez Hunter could eat into his workload. Williams is a top 15-20 running back who could easily be an RB1 again or see his stock come crashing down.”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)
James Cook (RB – BUF)
“James Cook is the man you need to avoid. Just look through recent history (Josh Jacobs with Oakland, Le’Veon Bell with the Jets ) to see what happens with running backs who hold out. The injury risk increases due to a lack of conditioning, as well as a regression that is baked into Cook’s cost due to his high touchdown total from last year.”
– Joe Pepe (Beyond The Gridiron)
“James Cook is currently going as the RB14 but is due for a major regression on his touchdown totals due to the offense and his size. He ranked just 19th in rush attempts, and his receiving stats were below average, with the 32nd-most targets for running backs. The touchdowns were the only total, putting him up anywhere near that mark. In his previous two years, he had just two rushing touchdowns in each. When you add in contract disputes similar to Melvin Gordon and Le’Veon Bell, there is a major downside if he misses extended time.”
– Justin Weigal (FantasySharks)
“Fantasy players should avoid drafting James Cook anywhere near his RB14 ADP. Last year, the former Georgia star finished as the RB8, averaging 15.7 half-PPR fantasy points per game, totaling 16 rushing touchdowns and 18 offensive scores. However, he had only four rushing touchdowns and nine offensive scores over his first two seasons in the NFL. Furthermore, Cook saw a decline in rushing attempts (13.9 vs. 12.9) and yards (66 vs. 63.1) per game from 2023 to 2024, as the Bills gave Ray Davis a meaningful workload. More importantly, he and the team are in the middle of rocky contract talks, leading to the veteran holding in at training camp. Kenneth Walker III and Alvin Kamara have later ADPs than Cook. Yet, I will draft both well before the former Georgia star.”
– Mike Fanelli (FantasyPros)
“James Cook. The contract impasse is a turnoff. And Cook is due for a haircut in touchdowns after scoring 18 of them last season, when he had totaled nine over the previous two years. The Bills’ offense has an “everybody eats” ethos, which means that backs Ray Davis and Ty Johnson are going to get snaps and touches, too. With a third-round ADP, Cook seems overpriced.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
“I would have probably picked James Cook here before his holdout/hold-in, but even more so now. Cook’s production last year and value this year are based heavily on his 16 rushing touchdowns last year. In 2023, he had 237 carries and scored two rushing touchdowns. This is likely to regress to the mean, with his rushing yards and medium pass-catching role not able to save his production relative to his ADP. With the holdout, his chances of missing games and an early-season injury are increased as well.”
– Jay Wood (Daily Dynasties)
“James Cook is a great running back in the Buffalo Bills’ system. He is shifty and quick, which complements Josh Allen‘s power very well. Last year, he had a stellar season, which was highlighted by 18 total touchdowns. His receiving numbers were down, and he is currently “holding in” for a new contract, which raises red flags for the start of 2025. While James Cook is a decent running back, he isn’t a player I would want to hinge my fantasy backfield on, as touchdowns aren’t a static stat and more than likely are going to regress significantly this year. I would take him a few rounds later, but the third round is too high a cost to invest in a player whose owners will need him to be one of the top three players on your fantasy team.”
– Adam Dove (The Fantasy Couriers)
“Nothing surrounding James Cook is remotely promising heading into 2025. For one, massive statistical regression was already in store after 18 total touchdowns in 2024. Before that, Cook only amassed nine touchdowns total from 2022 to 2023. Now, Cook is in the midst of an ongoing contract dispute with the Buffalo Bills, with no signs that a deal is remotely close. The Bills also have Ray Davis, who is ready to go at a moment’s notice, and that offense may not miss a beat with him as their top back. Unless Cook signs a contract, and soon, this feels like a massive fade for fantasy managers.”
– Ed Birdsall (Talking Points Sports)
“According to Fantasy Points, no back outproduced their expected touchdowns per game more than James Cook last year. The sudden influx of scoring, a previous weak spot of Cook, covered up shortcomings in his performance, such as barely surpassing 1,000 rushing yards in 16 games, and only catching 33 passes. Cook, likely due to his build, is thought of much more as a pass-catcher than he truly is. For reference, Kyren Williams caught 34 passes last year, which is considered a weakness in his profile. Additionally, the Bills’ usage of multiple backs holds Cook back from receiving anything near workhorse usage. This leaves touchdowns as his only true path to fantasy stardom; he likely needs to be efficient with the work he gets to pay off his ADP, with little room for upside barring injuries.”
– Charlie Sisian (The Fantasy DC)
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