Fantasy football is as much about learning from past mistakes as it is about celebrating victories. To help you prepare for the 2025 season, we asked the 2024 most accurate ranking experts to share which players they will never draft again. Whether it’s due to underperformance, injuries, or other concerns, these players left a sour taste for even the sharpest analysts. Read on to see who they’ve vowed to avoid and why, so you can sidestep similar pitfalls in your drafts.
Fantasy Football Advice from the Most Accurate Experts: Never Draft Again
Which player burned you so badly in 2024 that you can’t fathom drafting them in 2025 unless their ADP plummets?
Javonte Williams (RB – DEN)
“Javonte Williams. I thought 2024 was going to be his year. Javonte was more than a full year removed from the major knee injury he sustained in 2022 and was poised to be the lead back in a Sean Payton offense. Payton’s running backs have historically provided immense value as pass-catchers. Well, Javonte did have a career-high 52 receptions in 2024, but for only 346 receiving yards and no touchdowns. He didn’t have a 100-yard rushing game all season. His best game was an 88-yard two-TD outing against a bad Saints run defense. In all other games, Javonte averaged 6.7 half-point PPR fantasy points. Even though he’s likely to be cheap in 2025 drafts, I don’t know if I can bring myself to draft Javonte again.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
“Javonte Williams finished as the RB31, which is right around where he was drafted but was a massive disappointment to those of us who thought he was going to have a breakout season. Sean Payton, head coach of the Denver Broncos, has said that Javonte Williams could be a “completely different player” in 2024. Noting that the RB was a year removed from injury, lost some unneeded weight, and camp to camp ready to handle a lead RB role. Williams was heavily targeted (70), accumulating 346 receiving yards on 52 receptions, with five touchdowns, but his rushing opportunity and performance were sub-par. Williams rushed for 513 yards on 139 carries for an average of 3.7 yards per carry while conceding touches to a committee of Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime, and others. Denver is likely to draft another RB or look to free agency and let Williams go during the offseason.”
– Kev Wheeler (Wheel Route FF)
San Francisco Wide Receivers
“I’m avoiding all 49ers receivers. There are too many cooks in that kitchen, with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, 2024 breakout Jauan Jennings, and first-rounder Ricky Pearsall all fighting for touches. Add in elite talents Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle and a mediocre quarterback in Brock Purdy, and you have a recipe for disaster. Never again.”
– Ben Wasley (The Fantasy First Down)
Tyreek Hill (WR – MIA)
“Tyreek Hill was a first-round pick in fantasy drafts last season. He finished the season with 10.9 half-PPR points per game and played healthy all season long. His most productive games were those in which Tua Tagovailoa played. It appears he wants out of Miami this offseason. Based on his name value, Hill will still be drafted high this summer, maybe in round 2. I’m not interested.”
– Kyle Krajewski (First Seed Sports)
Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL)
“I think Kyle Pitts is just bad. There are only so many excuses we can make before all hope is lost. We’ve blamed coaching, we’ve blamed QB play, we’ve blamed play volume, and we’ve blamed injuries. At this point, we need to blame ourselves for this obsession with Kyle Pitts. I’ll take him as a late-round dart throw, but nothing more than that.”
– Nick Zylak (Fantasy Football Advice)
Diontae Johnson (WR – FA)
“While I’m always willing to take another chance on a player at the right price, Diontae Johnson is the closest player that fits this description. The Panthers, Ravens, and Texans all choose to move on from Johnson over the course of the season. While some team will likely take a chance on Johnson, it would take a deep league for me to be willing to roster him.”
– Nathan Jahnke (Pro Football Focus)
Nick Chubb (RB – CLE)
“I hate saying this, but for me, it’s Nick Chubb. Chubb has overcome multiple serious injuries in his career and will have to do so again after breaking his foot towards the end of last season. He struggled to generate many explosive runs in limited work before the injury. Even if he returns to full strength for the 2025 season, there is no guarantee he will be a lead back, whether in Cleveland or elsewhere. Chubb offers very little in the passing game, which is a problem for fantasy managers in PPR and Half-PPR formats. I do not envision myself drafting Nick Chubb inside the first 10 rounds of a 12-team draft. ”
– Mick Ciallela (Fantrax)
Garrett Wilson (WR – NYJ)
“Garrett Wilson: As long as Wilson is on the Jets, I’m not going to draft him. This has nothing to do with his talent but everything to do with the Jets’ current offensive situation, which gives me reason for concern. It’s hard to trust that offense right now, and I, like several other players, I’d rather have where Wilson is being drafted.”
– Marc Shannep (Fantasy Knockout)
Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF)
“Christian McCaffrey: Could McCaffrey finish as the RB1 in fantasy in 2025? Sure, but there is plenty of risk for a back who turns 29 this summer and has a prolific injury history that has wrecked three of his past five seasons. In those three seasons, he’s had a total of six different stints of five-plus missed games and played only 14 total games over his three injury-shortened campaigns. I’ll let other managers gamble on his durability.”
– Kevin Hanson (EDSFootball)
Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn