Fantasy Football Busts: Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, Tua Tagovailoa (2024)

Here’s a look at the quarterbacks fantasy football expert Derek Brown wants to avoid. Check out his fantasy football busts at the quarterback position.

3 Fantasy Football Draft Busts: Quarterbacks

Everyone knows it’s important to hone in on sleepers in your 2024 fantasy football drafts. However, avoiding busts can be just as important so that you’re not wasting draft capital on players who are likely to underperform. FantasyPros analyst Derek Brown identified players he believes are likely to let you down in his Draft Day Cheat Sheet.

Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)

After a disappointing, injury-marred season in 2022, Dak Prescott rebounded with perhaps the finest season of his career in 2023. Prescott led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdown passes (36) and completions (410) last season and finished QB3 in fantasy scoring. Although he doesn’t offer a great deal of value as a runner, Prescott is one of the better pure passers in the game. In 2023, he ranked second in completion percentage (69.5%) among QBs with at least six starts, second in passer rating (105.9) and sixth in yards per attempt (7.7). Prescott benefits from playing with CeeDee Lamb, one of the best young receivers in the game.

Deshaun Watson (QB – CLE)

Will we ever again see the early-career version of Deshaun Watson — the one who was a top-five fantasy quarterback in each of his first three full seasons as an NFL starter? Watson has struggled to recapture the magic of his run with the Texans from 2018 to 2020. He was understandably rusty when he made his Browns debut late in the 2022 season after serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. Watson wasn’t significantly better in six 2023 starts for the Browns before a shoulder injury ended his season. In each of his two abbreviated seasons with Cleveland, Watson has averaged 15.1 fantasy points per game. He’s completed 59.8% of his passes over the last two years and has averaged 6.5 yards per attempt. Watson turns 29 at the beginning of the 2024 season, and it’s seeming less and less likely that he’ll ever recapture the electrifying form he showed when he first burst onto the NFL scene. Approach with caution.

Tua Tagovailoa (QB – MIA)

Let’s start with a bit of good news: After sustaining multiple concussions in 2022 that left doubts about his NFL future, Tua Tagovailoa made it through the 2023 season concussion-free. But after a hot start last season, Tua cooled off considerably over the second half. Over the first eight weeks of the 2023 season, Tua was QB5 in fantasy scoring, averaging 302.0 passing yards and 2.3 TD passes per game, and producing more than 20 fantasy points four times. From Week 9 on, Tua was QB20 in fantasy scoring, averaging 245.3 passing yards and 1.2 TD passes per game. The drop-off is concerning, but there’s still a lot to like here. Tua has a terrific WR duo in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, along with an innovative playcaller in head coach Mike McDaniel. Tua adds zero rushing value, but he’s shown us a lofty ceiling as a passer. It’s just a matter of whether he can perform at a high level for a full season.