The fantasy football season has officially reached its halfway point. This provides an opportunity to look back at drafts from July and August to see if the right decisions were made. Some players are exceeding expectations while others are significantly underperforming.
Now just because a player underperforms, that doesn’t automatically make them a bust. Preseason ADP comes into play along with the expectations for them in the fantasy realm. Injury busts are a case-by-case basis, and there are some in the team below.
Multiple First-Round Picks Highlight Mid-Season All-Bust Team
QB: Patrick Mahomes
ADP: 31
Patrick Mahomes has been disappointing this year to say the least. Through nine weeks, the Chiefs quarterback has finished among the Top 5 quarterbacks just once… and that was Week 9.
Prior to his 24.5-point performance against the Buccaneers, Mahomes’ highest weekly finish was 14th. Fantasy owners don’t take a quarterback in Rounds 3 or 4 hoping for QB14 production. And one good week doesn’t make up for eight mediocre weeks either.
RB1: Christian McCaffrey
ADP: 1
He’s been injured for most of the season, but Christian McCaffrey doesn’t get any sympathy here. The first overall pick needs to be someone who can win you your league, not an IR stash for 10-11 weeks. It’s too late in the year for him to justify the draft pick even if he returns and produces 20+ points per game.
The duo of Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo have both emerged in McCaffrey’s absence. Nothing is stopping Kyle Shanahan from having a committee in the backfield which would limit touches for McCaffrey. This makes it even less likely he will have a chance to redeem himself.
RB2: Travis Etienne
ADP: 17
The broken record plays every year in July that this will finally be the year Travis Etienne breaks out. And every year, fantasy owners are disappointed by his lack of production. Etienne’s best week saw him finish as the RB19 in standard leagues and RB20 in PPR leagues.
While nobody predicted the Jaguars would be this bad, Etienne isn’t doing himself any favors. He’s now seen his usage decline as a result of poor performances. 40 yards on 12 carries in the last three weeks isn’t going to get it done under any circumstances.
WR1: Tyreek Hill
ADP: 3
Adding Tyreek Hill to this list was debatable but as a Top 3 pick, he hasn’t lived up to expectations. It’s been hard for him to produce with Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley throwing to him for most of the season. However, him and Tua Tagovailoa haven’t connected the way many thought they would this year.
There are opportunities for Hill to step up in the second half of the season for the Dolphins. He has some favorable matchups against teams like the Raiders, Patriots and Texans. However, another injury to his quarterback could quickly cause his relevance to be next-to-nothing once again.
WR2: Marvin Harrison Jr.
ADP: 15
Marvin Harrison Jr. was the biggest name in the class of rookie wide receivers, but he’s certainly not playing like it. His play has varied this year from Top 5 weekly finishes to being one of the worst players in fantasy for a particular week. The lack of consistency is making it hard to justify using a second round pick on the Cardinals rookie.
Like Hill, some of his struggles have been from poor quarterback play from Kyler Murray. However, Murray has been healthy this entire season. There’s no excuse for Harrison to be as inconsistent as he’s been so far in 2024.
TE: Sam LaPorta
ADP: 29
Sam LaPorta came into this season with high expectations after finishing as the TE1 as a rookie. Dan Campbell’s offense hasn’t changed, but LaPorta’s involvement has taken a hard turn south. He benefitted a lot last year from scoring touchdowns, and he’s only found the endzone twice in his sophomore year.
If LaPorta was drafted in Round 6-8, his production would be on par with the majority of the league’s tight ends. When you’re the first tight end coming off the board in most drafts, that’s where it becomes an issue. His lack of production is noticeable in both standard and PPR leagues.
FLEX: Brandon Aiyuk
ADP: 40
Even prior to his injury, Brandon Aiyuk was a clear bust for fantasy owners this season. Through seven weeks, he produced one game that saw him finish in the Top 12 for both standard and PPR leagues. That same week was the only game of his season where he produced more than 50 receiving yards.
There was concern about how well Aiyuk would perform with how much time he missed in training camp. In hindsight, that concern was justified for Weeks 1-7. For someone being taken in Rounds 3-4, he was another player to add to the list of disapppointments.
Main Photo Courtesy of Sam Navarro – Imagn Images
