2026 Fantasy Football Busts

We’re sticking with Christian McCaffrey as a top bust again. Not only is he a 30-year-old with an extensive injury history; he led the NFL in carries last year, so this large workload could adversely affect him this upcoming season. McCaffrey has a dubious history of one season on and one season off, and this would be his season off.

I hate trusting receivers coming off torn ACLs. Sometimes, they’re fine, but why seek out injuries if they’re going to happen to you anyway? It’s just added risk, and it’s not like Nabers is being obtained for some amazing value at the beginning of the fourth round. It’s sounding like he won’t be able to play until Week 6 or so, meaning he’s a player you should definitely avoid.

I don’t understand the logic behind drafting Jeremiyah Love in the third round of fantasy drafts. Coaches typically don’t trust rookie running backs to handle a full workload, particularly one in a very deep committee like Arizona’s. Love will get more carries in between the 20s than the other running backs on the team, but he will likely lose out on the goal-line work to Tyler Allgeier, and the third-down duties to James Conner. Do you really want a part-time back on one of the worst teams in the league? Love should be going in the fifth round; not the third!

Rashee Rice is a player with many issues. He tends to get trouble off the field, and he’s had problems staying healthy. Now, he may play some games without Patrick Mahomes. None of this is ideal, and yet Rice is being taken early in the third round for some reason. I don’t even know if I’d touch him in the fourth round!

A year ago, Travis Etienne was considered a candidate to be traded because he had been such a big disappointment. Etienne had a much better 2025, but only because of Liam Coen’s brilliant coaching. Every running back who has separated from Coen in recent years has regressed, and I have to believe that Etienne will follow the same trajectory.

Everyone suddenly loves Kenneth Walker because of what transpired in the Super Bowl, quickly forgetting that he had to split the workload with Zach Charbonnet last year. The Chiefs don’t have good blocking, so it doesn’t seem like they’ll be able to support a second-round fantasy running back, especially one who can’t handle a full workload.

Reports indicate that Kyren Williams and Blake Corum will engage in more of a 50-50 split this year. It’s difficult to trust most beat reporters, but we know that Corum eats into Williams’ workload, so drafting Williams in the third round is a tough ask. If he falls on this news, and we can get him in the fourth, that would be decent value.

I love Chris Olave as a player, but there are a couple of concerns. First, Olave is dealing with blood clots right now. He’s taking blood thinners to resolve the problem, but it’s unclear how this will impact his 2026 season. Second, Olave has a long history of concussions. This wasn’t an issue last year, but it could resurface.

Trey McBride logged an absurd number of touchdowns last year. It’s completely unreasonable to expect him to match that total again. You can argue that Kyler Murray’s absence helped McBride, which is true. However, Jacoby Brissett is a much better quarterback right now than Carson Beck is, and Beck is expected to start some games this year. Once Beck starts, you can kiss McBride’s touchdowns goodbye. Also, keep in mind that there are countless great tight end values who can be obtained in the double-digit rounds.

This applies to all of the top quarterbacks, but particularly Josh Allen, who’s being drafted early in Round 3. I have Allen slotted in the middle of Round 4, and that’s not a knock against him, but rather an indication of how strong the depth is at the position. Do not draft quarterbacks early this year (or most years).