2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Busts

2013 Fantasy Football – 20 Busts (Aug. 28):

This is a list of my top 2013 fantasy football busts – players you should avoid unless they fall far in your draft. The Average Draft Position (ADP) is found on FantasyFootballCalculator.com.

DeMarco Murray, RB, Cowboys. Bye: 11. ADP: 3.04.
I kind of assumed everyone saw DeMarco Murray as a stay-away bust, but then I noticed his ADP. How the hell is it 3.04? Are people insane? Murray cannot stay healthy. Using a third-round pick on him is such an incredible waste.
Le’Veon Bell, RB, Steelers. Bye: 5. ADP: 8.02.
Speaking of injury-prone running backs, Le’Veon Bell always seems to be hurt. He’s out until Week 6 at the very earliest, so there’s no reason he should still be getting drafted in the first 12 rounds.
Chris Ivory, RB, Jets. Bye: 10. ADP: 6.04.
Everyone just assumed Chris Ivory would be the starting running back on the Jets when he was acquired from New Orleans for a fourth-round pick, but Ivory has never handled the workload himself. Bilal Powell, who has looked better in preseason action, was running some Wildcat formations, which is an indication that the coaching staff has some plans for Powell. This is looking like a timeshare.
DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers. Bye: 4. ADP: 6.12.
Try to stay away from either Carolina running back. Both Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams will continue to disappoint as long as Cam Newton is picking up tons of yardage and touchdowns on the ground. Stewart is out, which has raised Williams’ ADP. But why? Williams is incredibly mediocre, while his offensive line can’t block.
Bryce Brown, RB, Eagles. Bye: 12. ADP: 9.09.
Chip Kelly is not going to put Bryce Brown on the field until he can trust him. That’s just reality. Brown lost a fumble in the third preseason game, as he carried the ball very loosely. He’s just never going to learn. Even if LeSean McCoy goes down, I expect the Eagles to look elsewhere.
Ronnie Hillman, RB, Broncos. Bye: 9. ADP: 9.03.
How is Ronnie Hillman still being drafted three rounds earlier than Knowshon Moreno? The Broncos don’t trust Hillman at all, so he won’t have much of a role on offense.
Seahawks & 49ers Defenses. Bye: 12, 9. ADP: 8.09, 9.06.
Someone took the Seahawks at 6.01 in a real 12-man league of mine. 6.01!!! Don’t be the idiot who takes a defense prior to the 12th round. There’s no reason to. Unless your league charges fees for waiver-wire transactions, just play matchups all year. Besides, when will you start the Seahawks or 49ers? San Francisco has to deal with Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck the first three weeks of the season, while Seattle has Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, Matt Schaub and Luck in four of its first five matchups. Seattle and San Francisco won’t give their owners as much production as they’re hoping for.
Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders. Bye: 7. ADP: 4.04.
Darren McFadden has plenty of motivation because he’s in his contract year. However, he’s way too injury-prone, and the offensive line he has in front of him might be the worst blocking unit I’ve ever seen. Even if McFadden stays on the field, he’s going to have trouble finding any sort of running lanes, especially with stop units stacking the box. No defensive coordinator is going to respect Matt Flynn’s arm.
Montee Ball, RB, Broncos. Bye: 9. ADP: 5.06.
Don’t be the one to be duped into drafting John Fox’s rookie running back this year. Fox absolutely hates rookies and will play less-talented veterans over them. It’s very likely that there will be some platoon in Denver – the team’s Web site even said this – so Ball will be overdrafted.
Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Cardinals. Bye: 9. ADP: 6.09.
Rashard Mendenhall could emerge as Arizona’s starting running back this year, but don’t bother drafting him because he sucks. It’s very likely that he’ll be benched at some point during the season. Also, Mendenhall reportedly has “looseness” in his knee, whatever that means. Stay away.
QB Eagles No. 7, QB, Eagles. Bye: 12. ADP: 9.03.
Oh boy, this guy sure looks great in the preseason! You know who else looked great in the preseason? Steve Spurrier’s quarterbacks when the Ol’ Ball Coach first transitioned into the NFL. Philadelphia’s quarterback will still struggle immensely versus the blitz, and he’s sure to sustain some sort of injury by Halloween.
Greg Jennings, WR, Vikings. Bye: 5. ADP: 8.07.
Greg Jennings goes from Aaron Rodgers to Christian Ponder. Blegh. Jennings proved that he didn’t care about his football career by making the move to Minnesota, so given that he’s content with the money, it’s fair to expect him to bust. Ponder doesn’t have the arm to get Jennings the ball downfield, so Jennings has a ton of 5-58-0 outputs in his future.
Mike Wallace, WR, Dolphins. Bye: 6. ADP: 6.06.
Mike Wallace just went from Ben Roethlisberger to Ryan Tannehill. The latter has shown promise, but he’s not even close to Big Ben territory yet. Wallace’s numbers will take a dive in his new home.
Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers. Bye: 8. ADP: 4.12.
I know running backs are scarce, but Ryan Mathews is terrible. Don’t waste a valuable fifth-round pick on him. He’s just bound to get injured anyway.
Dwayne Bowe, WR, Chiefs. Bye: 10. ADP: 4.07.
Dwayne Bowe just signed a big extension this offseason, so he has the potential to be lazier than ever. Bowe has not shown much chemistry with Alex Smith, as the limited quarterback seldom looks downfield.
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Colts. Bye: 12. ADP: 5.08.
T.Y. Hilton is being drafted a little bit too high considering that he only plays in three-receiver sets. I still like Hilton as a fantasy player, but there are better options in Round 5.
Vincent Jackson, WR, Buccaneers. Bye: 5. ADP: 4.01.
Trust me when I say that you want to avoid all Buccaneers this year, with the possible exception of Doug Martin. Josh Freeman has been dealing with multiple personal issues this offseason. He has predictably looked awful this preseason, so Vincent Jackson’s numbers will decline.
Rob Gronkowski, TE, Patriots. Bye: 10. ADP: 4.12.
I’ve seen Rob Gronkowski go in way too many third rounds of fantasy mock drafts I’ve done this summer. He won’t be 100 percent for a while, and even when he returns, he could easily suffer another injury because he hasn’t been practicing as hard as everyone else. I wouldn’t touch Gronkowski until at least the sixth round of a 12-man league. I managed to snag him at 8.01 in a real 12-man league of mine, but I didn’t give him any consideration at 4.12.
Hakeem Nicks, WR, Giants. Bye: 9. ADP: 5.05.
Hakeem Nicks has played in the previous two preseason games, but it was clear that he and Eli Manning lacked chemistry. Nicks is just going to get hurt anyway, so I feel like there are better receiver options in Round 5.
Darren Sproles, RB, Saints (non-PPR). Bye: 7. ADP: 3.08.
I like Darren Sproles just fine as an RB3, but according to FantasyFootballCalculator.com, he’s the 20th running back being selected in standard leagues. I have him No. 31 in my Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings, so I have no idea why he’s being taken so early. Do people just not understand the difference between standard and PPR leagues?

More 2013 Fantasy Football Articles:
2013 Fantasy Football: Home

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 9/1 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: RUNNING BACKS - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 9/2 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 6/3 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 6/3 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Auction Values - 4/24 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings - 5/5 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 8/28 (Walt)

2013 Fantasy Football Season Features:
Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings - 12/26 (Walt)
Week 17 Fantasy Football Rankings: PPR - 12/26 (Walt)
Week 17 Fantasy Football Injury Reports - 12/26 (Walt)
Week 17 Fantasy Football Start Em, Sit Em - 12/26 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Add/Drop: Week 15 - 12/9 (Walt)
Week 14 Fantasy Football Start Em, Sit Em - 12/8 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Fan Duel Picks - 11/22 (Walt)
FanDuel FanDuel $15,000 Contest - 11/22
FanDuel Exclusive Offer to WalterFootball.com Readers - 8/24
FanDuel Week 1 $500 Freeroll - 8/24

2013 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets (Printable Option):
2013 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Traditional Scoring - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: PPR Scoring - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Touchdown Scoring - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: 2-QB Format - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Downloadable Spreadsheets - 9/2 (Walt)

2013 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-team, 3-WR, Flex - 9/2 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-team, PPR - 8/29 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-team, Standard - 8/22 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-team, Dynasty - 8/15 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 14-team, PPR - 8/8 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 3-WR - 8/1 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 2-QB - 7/26 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 14-teamer - 7/19 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: PPR - 7/11 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Standard - 6/29 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Four-Man Mock - 6/13 (Walt)

2013 Fantasy Football Articles:
2013 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Training Camp - 9/4 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Preseason Stock - 8/30 (Walt)
2013 NFL Preseason Recap, Fantasy Football Notes - 8/30 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Quarterback Targets - 8/30 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 8/28 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Busts - 8/28 (Walt)
2013 ESPN Fantasy Football Magazine: 10 Reasons Not to Buy It - 8/21 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football IDP Tips - 8/17 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Strategy - 8/16 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Draft Boards for Sale - 6/13
2013 Fantasy Football All-Value Team - 6/9 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Hot Finishers - 4/24 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Quarterbacks - 4/24 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Running Backs - 4/24 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Wide Receivers - 4/24 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football: Overdrafted Players - 2/17 (Walt)
2013 Fantasy Football: First-Round Bust History - 2/17 (Walt)
Running Backs with Most Carries - 2/17 (Walt)

NFL Picks - Dec. 9

NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9

2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 4

2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29

Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4

Injured/injury risk	Potential bust	Potential sleeper
Rank higher in touchdown leagues	Rank lower in touchdown leagues
Rank higher in PPR (points per reception) leagues	Rank lower in PPR leagues