X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Biggest Busts of 2019: Wide Receivers

Aaron Schillinger looks at the biggest fantasy football busts at the wide receiver position in 2019 and whether these WR can be expected to bounce back in 2020.

After a very interesting season of fantasy football action, many owners were left with a bitter taste in their mouth from a few of the “elite” NFL wide receivers.

While Michael Thomas dominated and Julio Jones was his usual reliable self, not all was good if you played it safe by taking a receiver early. Who would’ve thought that guys like D.J. Chark, Devante Parker, and Chris Godwin would finish ahead of studs like Odell Beckham Jr., Antonio Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster?

Either way, after a very fun and interesting season of fantasy football, here are some of the biggest names who busted this year at the wide receiver position.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Odell Beckham Jr., Cleveland Browns

After heading to Cleveland in one of the biggest transactions of this past offseason, hopes were extremely high for Odell Beckham and the entire Cleveland Browns offense. After being selected as a WR1 in fantasy drafts, Beckham ended the season as the WR25 in PPR scoring leagues and as the WR31 in standard-scoring leagues. Baker Mayfield and that entire Browns offense ended up disappointing fantasy owners, and while Beckham did have a few nice games here and there, he was overall a bust.

After scoring in Week 2 against the Jets, Beckham didn’t find the end zone until Week 12 against the Dolphins and he finished the season with just two games of 100+ receiving yards. It got to the point at the end of the season where fantasy owners were questioning whether Beckham should even be started, or if he should just be left on the bench. The excuse for Beckham can’t even be contributed to an injury to him or his quarterback, but Beckham staying healthy all season long makes him even more of a bust. A new head coach could improve the team's discipline but it remains to be seen whether we should really trust any Cleveland players outside of Nick Chubb.

 

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers

After a breakout season in 2018 where he finished as the WR8 in PPR scoring leagues, expectations were extremely high for JuJu Smith-Schuster this year. Not only were fantasy owners expecting big things out of Smith-Schuster, but some owners legitimately had him as a candidate for the No. 1 wide receiver in all of fantasy football this year. Unfortunately for Smith-Schuster, an elbow injury to Ben Roethlisberger ended the quarterback’s season, and ultimately put a major damper on the entire Steelers offense.

Smith-Schuster ended the season as the WR65 in PPR scoring leagues, after being drafted as a high-end WR1. The disappointing season can be chalked up largely to the injury to Roethlisberger, but overall Smith-Schuster was simply not good and even teammates James Washington and rookie Diontae Johnson showed some signs of promise at times throughout the season. Not only did the injury to Roethlisberger hurt Smith-Schuster, but it brought the entire Pittsburgh offense down.

 

Antonio Brown, Free Agent

After an extremely weird year all around from Antonio Brown (Ed. note: this was written even before AB's latest Instagram outburtst), he ended up with just 56 receiving yards and one touchdown. Between the odd off-field storylines and spending the season watching the NFL from the couch, Brown finished as the WR151 in PPR scoring. If you were one of the unfortunate owners who ended up drafting Brown on your fantasy teams, there’s a chance you stuck with him on your bench, hoping he ended up getting signed.

When it comes to ‘busts’ in fantasy football, it typically means the player was underwhelming or just did not live up to expectations. Brown, however, was really just a waste of a pick in fantasy leagues, appearing in just one game all year with the New England Patriots. It will be fun to watch what happens with Brown during this offseason. Depending on if he plays in the 2020 season, we’ll see if he returns to fantasy relevance.

 

Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles Rams

The Rams offense has recently been one of the more high-powered passing offenses in the league. Between Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods, it’s hard to deny the fantasy upside that this offense brings. Since 2014, Cooks has been the WR13, WR10, WR15, and WR13 in PPR scoring since 2014. This year, Cooks was basically irrelevant in fantasy football, finishing as the WR61 in PPR and finishing the year with just two receiving touchdowns and one game over 100 receiving yards.

Cooks is likely going to be someone that doesn’t get much respect going into 2020, considering the fact that he gets overlooked year-in and year-out. For that reason, look for Cooks to be someone who is a value next year in fantasy football and bounces back. The speed and talent that Cooks brings to an offense cannot be ignored, and despite a poor season this year I’d look for Cooks to be someone that will be sneaky good for fantasy purposes with a bounce-back season. Cooks is signed with the Rams through 2024, but with the money that he is owed and the direction that offense is going, I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he ends up getting traded over this offseason. Even if he does end up back in Los Angeles, I’d definitely expect the Rams to get him going. As someone who is clearly an offensive weapon and has been heavily utilized in the past, I’d expect Cooks to return to fantasy-relevance in 2020.

 

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

Heading into the 2019 season, the entire Colts offense saw a major drop in value thanks to Andrew Luck's sudden retirement. T.Y. Hilton has been a fairly underrated wide receiver for fantasy purposes in recent years and once again was drafted as a low-end WR1 or high-end WR2 even with Jacoby Brissett taking over. After dealing with some injuries throughout the season and not seeing the field for his normal workload since Week 8 against the Broncos, Hilton ended up missing six total games this year and finished as the WR57 in PPR scoring.

After his first three games of the season, it looked like Hilton was going to be productive once again, scoring four times over that span. It was later revealed that Hilton had been apparently playing through a calf injury all season, which ended up being a nasty injury where he actually had a two-centimeter tear in his calf. After starting off the season with five touchdowns in the first five weeks, it’s clear that Hilton just wasn’t himself after his injury. Heading into 2020, Hilton will likely be undervalued. Regardless of who is at quarterback, I’d expect Hilton to be the top receiving option for the Colts, and despite being 30 years old, he’ll look to bounce back strong.

 

Honorable Mention

A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings

Will Fuller, Houston Texans

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Kyle Stowers26 mins ago

Sitting Against Southpaw
Jake Rogers33 mins ago

Plays Catch On Monday
Triston McKenzie45 mins ago

Designated For Assignment
Rob Brantly55 mins ago

Placed On 10-Day Injured List
Noelvi Marte1 hour ago

Starting Again On Monday
Kerry Carpenter1 hour ago

Testing Hamstring On Monday
Cody Bellinger2 hours ago

Productive In Win Over Rays
Juan Soto2 hours ago

Doubles, Knocks In Three
Andrew Vaughn2 hours ago

Notches Third Homer
Jake Bloss3 hours ago

Posts Best Outing Of The Season
Francisco Lindor3 hours ago

Collects Three Hits, Homers
Steven Kwan3 hours ago

Blasts Fourth Homer
Blade Tidwell3 hours ago

Strikes Out Nine On Sunday
Jordan Lawlar3 hours ago

Tallies Three Hits, Adds Home Run On Sunday
Shalin Polanco3 hours ago

Showing Power At High-A
Yanquiel Fernandez3 hours ago

Goes Deep Twice On Sunday
Chase Burns4 hours ago

Promoted To Double-A
Kyle Manzardo5 hours ago

Goes Yard On Sunday
Sam Huff5 hours ago

Goes Deep On Sunday
Zach Neto6 hours ago

Hits His First Long Ball Of The 2025 MLB Season
Fernando Tatis Jr.6 hours ago

Belts His Eighth Home Run Of The Season
Auston Matthews6 hours ago

Finishes Game 1 With Two Assists
Mitchell Marner6 hours ago

Totals Three Points In Postseason Opener
Matt Boldy6 hours ago

Bags Two Goals In Losing Effort
Brett Howden6 hours ago

Scores Twice In Sunday's Win
Logan Stankoven7 hours ago

Nets Two Goals In Game 1 Victory
Brenden Dillon7 hours ago

Makes Early Exit Sunday
Cody Glass7 hours ago

Injured In Game 1 Loss
Jayden Daniels20 hours ago

Focused On Improving In 2025
Isaiah Stewart20 hours ago

Iffy For Monday Night
Aaron Gordon20 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Game 2
Gabriel Vilardi21 hours ago

To Remain Out For Game 2
Logan Thompson21 hours ago

Could Be An Option Monday
Martin Fehérváry21 hours ago

Martin Fehervary Iffy For Game 1
Tanner Jeannot22 hours ago

Remains Week-To-Week, Out For Game 1
Zeev Buium22 hours ago

Makes NHL Debut In Playoff Opener
Anthony Stolarz22 hours ago

Makes First Career Postseason Start
Oliver Ekman-Larsson22 hours ago

Good To Go Sunday
1 day ago

Washington Hosts Tre Harris
NFL1 day ago

Will Johnson Visits With Seattle
NFL1 day ago

Devon Key Sticking With Denver
Yegor Sharangovich1 day ago

Recovering From Broken Foot
Rasmus Andersson1 day ago

Played With Broken Fibula
Semyon Varlamov1 day ago

Expects To Be Ready For Next Season
Owen Power1 day ago

Avoids Surgery
Rasmus Ristolainen1 day ago

May Miss Start Of Next Season
Evander Kane1 day ago

Close To Being Cleared For Action
Kyle Connor1 day ago

Caps Off Three-Point Effort With Game-Winner
Jaylen Brown2 days ago

Not Expected To Be Limited On Sunday
Irv Smith2 days ago

Houston Re-Signs Irv Smith Jr.
Ja Morant3 days ago

Cleared To Play Friday
Brandon Williams3 days ago

Available Against Grizzlies
Anthony Davis3 days ago

Will Play Friday Night
Gary Trent Jr.3 days ago

Available For Game 1 Against Pacers
Taurean Prince3 days ago

Returns To Bucks Lineup Saturday
NFL3 days ago

Justin Hardee Sr. Waived With Non-Football Injury
Isaiah Stewart3 days ago

To Return For Game 1
Ausar Thompson3 days ago

Available For Game 1
Rui Hachimura3 days ago

On Track To Play Saturday
Austin Reaves3 days ago

Ready To Go For Game 1
NFL3 days ago

Bills Release Armani Rogers, Branson Deen
Luka Dončić3 days ago

Luka Doncic Removed From Injury Report
LeBron James3 days ago

Listed As Probable For Game 1
Ben Sheppard3 days ago

Probable For Saturday's Game 1
NFL3 days ago

Kolton Miller Absent From Raiders' Voluntary Offseason Program
Kevin Durant3 days ago

To Houston Already Losing Steam
Lauri Markkanen3 days ago

Wants To Stay With The Jazz
NFL3 days ago

Ross Blacklock Let Go By New York
Bennedict Mathurin3 days ago

Expected To Play In Game 1 Saturday
Pascal Siakam3 days ago

Available For Playoff Opener
Tyrese Haliburton3 days ago

Returning From Two-Game Absence Saturday
Cade Cunningham3 days ago

Available For Game 1 Against Knicks
NFL3 days ago

Raiders Considering Drafting A Quarterback
Irv Smith3 days ago

Sticking With Texans
NFL3 days ago

Texans Expected To Draft Wide Receivers
Greg Dortch3 days ago

Returning To Cardinals
Mark Andrews3 days ago

Could Be Traded Soon
NFL3 days ago

Raiders, Falcons Could Have Interest In Jalen Ramsey
3 days ago

Raiders Are High On Ashton Jeanty
Rome Odunze3 days ago

To Hopefully Get More Involved
NFL3 days ago

Dolphins Could Draft A Quarterback
James Cook3 days ago

Could Stay Away From Voluntary Workouts
Jake Tonges4 days ago

Signs Exclusive-Rights Tender
Denver Broncos4 days ago

Broncos To Focus On RB Position In Next Week's Draft
Ryan Blaney4 days ago

Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
Lucas Glover5 days ago

Looks To Rebound After Poor Performance
Daniel Berger5 days ago

Looking To Continue Solid Play At RBC
Sepp Straka5 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At RBC
Justin Thomas5 days ago

Looking To Shake Off Poor Masters At RBC Heritage
Xander Schauffele5 days ago

Still Looking For Year's First Win At RBC Heritage
Austin Dillon5 days ago

Nabs His First Top-10 Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Maverick McNealy5 days ago

Is An Intriguing Play At RBC Heritage
Shane Lowry5 days ago

Looks To Shake Off Poor Masters Sunday At RBC Heritage
Will Zalatoris5 days ago

Eyes A Bounce-Back At RBC Heritage
Gary Woodland5 days ago

Could Add Some Surprise At Hilton Head
Sam Burns5 days ago

Hoping For Better Times At RBC Heritage
Sahith Theegala5 days ago

Still Trying To Put It All Together
Aaron Rai5 days ago

Might Be That Guy For Hilton Head
Robert MacIntyre5 days ago

All Or Nothing At RBC Heritage
Tom Hoge5 days ago

Still Playing Solid Heading To Hilton Head
Nick Dunlap5 days ago

Continues To Have Rough Stretch
Keegan Bradley5 days ago

Looks To Move On From Masters Performance
Matt Fitzpatrick6 days ago

A Boom-Or-Bust Option At RBC Heritage
Patrick Cantlay6 days ago

A Strong Play At RBC Heritage
Jordan Spieth6 days ago

Targets Another Strong RBC Heritage Showing
Collin Morikawa6 days ago

Eyeing Victory At RBC Heritage
Max Homa6 days ago

Breaks Through At The Masters
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF