Players to Never Draft Again: Jaylen Waddle, Austin Ekeler, Kyren Williams

Are you tired of making the same fantasy football mistakes year after year? In our latest article, a panel of Featured Pros analysts shares their insights on the players they will never draft again in 2024. Whether it’s due to injury history, inconsistent performance, or team changes, these experts break down why these players are no longer worth the risk. Don’t let these pitfalls derail your fantasy season—read on to discover which players to avoid and why.

Want to see more players to avoid according to the experts we asked? Check out our complete 21 Players to Never Draft Again article.

Players to Never Draft Again

Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)

“2023 Jaylen Waddle. Need I say more? Yes, he had over 1,000 yards last season that is all well and dandy. But 4 touchdowns? On top of that, you got to see Tua heave balls to Tyreek Hill on what seemed like a quarterly basis while Jaylen Waddle was out there just getting his reps in. The wound is too fresh for me to consider Waddle in 2024, and while he is a great regress to the mean candidate, I can’t stomach it.”
– Ed Birdsall (Talking Points Sports)

Austin Ekeler (RB – WAS)

“Everyone who took Austin Ekeler last year was hoping he could continue his streak of top 2 finishes, but the age cliff comes fast in your age 28 season. Ekeler averaged just 3.5 ypc last year, his yards after contact have dropped below 3.0 for two seasons in a row, and his fantasy points per game tanked to just 11.4 points per game and a meager 7.9 points per game over his last eight games. Ekeler now shares the backfield with Brian Robinson in a Kliff Kingsbury offense that has always favored a bellcow approach, but the fantasy death knell for Ekeler is that over five college seasons, quarterback Jayden Daniels threw only 14% of his targets to running backs, and only once was it over 14.8%! Ekeler has lived off of pass volume in the league, seeing 5.4 targets per game, and he isn’t likely to see the goal-line work in DC. It’ll be hard for Ekeler to pay off his RB33 price tag, and I’ll gladly stay away at that price.”
– James Emrick-Wilson (Armchair Scouting)

“I’ll draft any RB if the ADP is good enough… except for Austin Ekeler. He may have been hampered by a high-ankle sprain last season, but it’s possible that the 29-year-old is running out of gas. While I don’t necessarily believe the latter, it is important to note that Ekeler himself wants to be used less as a runner. With the 230-pound Brian Robinson leading the charge in Washington, I’ll pass on Ekeler every time at cost and take Robinson or Tyjae Spears instead.”
– Jeremy Shulman (Fantasy Football Universe)

“For the last three years, no matter what I did with Austin Ekeler, I got burned. In 2021 and 2022, I faded Ekeler, and he did awesome. So last year, I said screw it, I’m in on him, and he burns me again. Now I know how Dr. Evil feels. Austin Ekeler is the snake to my mongoose. Or the mongoose to my snake? Either way, it’s bad. This time, it’s personal! Muah! Dr. Evil Ringo”
– Mark Ringo (Sleepers and Busts)

Kyren Williams (RB – LAR)

“Kyren Williams is going as RB7, and while he has never burned me himself, this archetype of running back has been a poor investment in fantasy football. While Williams was certainly a league-winner in 2023, the chances are that last year was the top of the mountain for him. Most running backs with low draft capital are never able to replicate their breakout season numbers again, with a good percentage of them falling off a value cliff the next season. This is never more concerning than in a situation like this one, where the Rams invested heavily in Michigan Wolverines running back Blake Corum. I’m not guaranteeing that Williams is going to be a bust, but at his current ADP, I simply don’t want to invest such a high pick on such a risky profile.”
– Aaron St Denis (Fantasy Football Universe)