The fantasy football offseason is upon us and that means it's time for some much-needed soul-searching and honest reflection. In today's piece, I highlight who I believe are the four biggest busts in fantasy football, where it all went wrong, and offer suggestions for how to improve in the future.

*Note, these players all played the vast majority of the season. You will not see players with season-ending injuries, such as Christian McCaffrey, Chris Godwin, or Brandon Aiyuk on this list.

Biggest Fantasy Football Busts of the 2024 Season

Quarterback

C.J. Stroud failed to deliver for fantasy football managers.

As a rookie, No.2 overall pick C.J. Stroud put up the following numbers in 15 games:

  • 4,108 passing yards
  • 23 passing TDs
  • 3 rushing TDs
  • 5 INTs
  • 18.7 PPG
  • QB11

Heading into Year 2, he was drafted as the QB5 and has absolutely busted for fantasy managers who selected him that high. Through 16 games, he has just 3,600 yards, 19 TDs, and a whopping 12 INTs. He's also averaging 14.1 points per game.

No matter how you look at it, that's pretty brutal.

To be fair, there was ample evidence to suggest that Stroud would pick up right where he left off. A pass-catching room of Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs, and Dalton Schultz (with Joe Mixon coming out of the backfield) was about as good as you could ask for.

However, it just hasn't panned out. Various injuries to Collins, Dell, and Diggs have limited this offense, which ranks 18th in the league, at just under 22 points per game.

Stroud's lackluster season provides more ammo for the "Late-Round QB" camp. While players like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have performed at a high level all season, you could have very easily drafted someone like Jared Goff over Stroud many rounds later.

Honorable Mentions

  • Patrick Mahomes (ADP QB2 / Currently QB10) – It's been an interesting season in Kansas City; they sit at 15-1 and look ready to make another Super Bowl run. However, Mahomes has been borderline unstartable in fantasy. In his first seven games, his highest finish was QB13. He is on the heels of consecutive top-7 finishes so at least he turned it on during the fantasy playoffs.
     
  • Anthony Richardson (ADP QB6 / Currently QB23) – Last season, we only got a handful of games from Richardson and he was a polarizing point of discussion throughout the offseason. However, the masses settled on him being a strong QB1 but it just hasn't happened for the dual-threat sophomore. He's played in just 11 games and has just eight passing TDs to go along with 12 INTs. Richardson does have nearly 500 rushing yards and six additional scores so that certainly helps boost his value.

Running Back

Travis Etienne falls flat.

Third-year RB Travis Etienne had a preseason ADP of RB10 and it was easy for fantasy managers to talk themselves into the talented, pass-catching tailback.

As a sophomore, he finished as the RB3 in PPR formats thanks to hitting the following thresholds:

  • 265+ rushing attempts
  • 1,000+ rushing yards
  • 11 rushing TDs
  • 70+ targets
  • 55+ receptions
  • 475+ receiving yards

That's an ideal profile for a high-scoring, workhorse RB1. Little did we know just how disappointing Etienne would be this season.

In related news, maybe we were all just a year early on Tank Bigsby.

Etienne (14 games) and Bigsby (15 games) have played essentially the whole season together but it's been Bigsby who has garnered a larger share of the rushing attack.

 

Even though Etienne has played more snaps and has been more involved in every element of the passing game and high-leverage situations like LDD & 2Min Snaps, Bigsby holds an edge in rushing attempts by a mark of 154-137. Bigsby also has six rushing TDs to Etienne's two.

Even Trevor Lawrence (3) has more rushing TDs than Etienne.

Speaking of Lawrence, he continues to do everything he can to not take that next step forward and join the elite company of QBs in the league. Scoring opportunities have been hard to come by as the offense ranks 25th in scoring at just 18 points per game.

I'm not entirely sure how we could have projected Bigsby to take on that significant of a role, considering the masses kept Etienne's ADP at low-end RB1 range instead of pushing it even higher. Even so, getting burned never feels good and fantasy managers will certainly be wary of the Jaguars backfield in 2025.

Honorable Mentions

  • Breece Hall (ADP RB2 / Currently RB16) – I thought long and hard about putting Hall up above but at least he hasn't been irrelevant for fantasy like Etienne has been. Honestly, compared to his numbers last season, when he finished as the RB2 in PPR formats, Hall's season hasn't been as bad as his current ranking suggests. He needs just 3 rushing attempts and 81 rushing yards to crest 200 attempts / 900 yards, both of which he hit last season. Even so, Hall managers have to be disappointed with their investment this season.

Wide Receiver

Marvin Harrison, NOT the generational rookie we'd hoped for?

Despite the first-round draft capital and endless offseason hype, Marvin Harrison hasn't been able to live up to his immense expectations. His preseason ADP closed at WR9 but he now sits as a low-end WR3 (WR34).

 

It's not that he's been playing poorly; his underlying metrics are still solid.

  • 88% route participation
  • 21% TPRR
  • 23% target share
  • 44% air yards

However, only 59% of his targets have been deemed as catchable. That's … not good. Kyler Murray has been a disappointment as well and it's impacting the rest of the fantasy-relevant options in Arizona.

Remember when Trey McBride went almost an entire season without catching a TD? Me too.

Anyway, the talent is obviously still there and there isn't another fantasy-viable wideout currently on the team. I would have no issues buying low on Harrison in dynasty leagues (if you can). He's well over 100 targets already (along with 7 TDs) and we can always hope that his QB play improves.

Looking back, it's hard to blame the community for pushing Harrison into the WR1 range heading into the regular season. Everything you wanted was there—draft capital, college production, talent, favorable offensive environment with a capable QB. It just didn't work and that happens sometimes.

Honorable Mentions

  • Tyreek Hill (ADP WR2 / Currently WR18) – At first glance, 120 targets, 939 receiving yards, and 6 TDs seem fine, but then you remember that it's Hill and it's absolutely not fine for someone you drafted early in the first round. Over his last four seasons, he's finished as the WR2, WR6, WR2, and WR2. The Dolphins offense never seemed to find its footing this season and neither did Hill.
     
  • Deebo Samuel (ADP WR14 / Currently WR41) – This one is hard to understand. In a season where Brandon Aiyuk played in seven games and Christian McCaffrey played in just four, I can't fathom why Samuel is a WR4 despite playing in 15 games thus far. Not only has Samuel disappointed in redraft leagues, I highlighted just how far his dynasty stock has fallen and even tabbed him as someone to trade away in dynasty formats if at all possible.

Tight End

Dalton Kincaid got lost in a crowded room of pass-catchers.

Every time we think we have something figured out at the TE position, someone comes along and makes us all look incredibly foolish.

Thanks a lot, Dalton Kincaid.

With a preseason ADP of TE6, one spot ahead of Kyle Pitts, Kincaid is currently the TE26 on the season with 13 games played. He has just ONE top-10 finish at the position and that was back in Week 3.

What … happened? Both the aforementioned Diggs and Gabe Davis were gone (241 total targets) so how could Kincaid NOT take that next step and join the elite tier of TEs? Well, it's been addition by subtraction Josh Allen.

13 different Bills players have caught a TD pass this season and the top TD-scorer is none other than Mack Hollins (5). On the ground, Allen and James Cook have accounted for 27 of the team's 31 rushing TDs. There are just so many options that only one player has more than 525 receiving yards (Khalil Shakir).

All of that is just to say that Kincaid managers have wildly disappointed this season. Just when we think we've identified the next breakout TE, we have to remind ourselves that we don't know sh*t about f*ck.

Let's try again next year.

Honorable Mentions

Dive into how each and every player finished during the 17-week 2024 fantasy football season with our Fantasy Finishes table!

2024 Fantasy Finishes