Top Fantasy Football Busts from Last Year to Target in Early 2025 Best Ball Drafts

Sometimes it's not an NFL player's fault if they have a bad season. It's hard to blame them for getting injuries, and though some are more injury-prone than others, even stalwarts like Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry sometimes get hurt and have to miss serious time.

There are other situations players can get in that demolish their production. For example, being in one of the league's worst offenses, enduring coaching changes due to poor team performance, and other offensive position groups lacking severely can cause a decline in statistical output.

Yet, this presents a good opportunity to pounce in best ball drafts. Many fantasy football managers get cold feet on players who had rough seasons the year before. So, let's break down last year's busts to target early for best ball in 2025.

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Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey's horrible, injury-plagued, and ultimately lost 2024 season is naturally causing his ADP to fall across all formats. And there's at least some good reason for this. He only played in four games and wasn't very productive when he did see the field.

And his injury occurred in the preseason (Achilles tendonitis), persisted for nine weeks before he was able to return, and he immediately injured his knee and was knocked out for the rest of the year. It was an odd situation overall, and it's hard to blame CMC or to think that he's completely fallen off.

Christian McCaffrey reflects on how frustrating, but also encouraging, the Buffalo game and injury was + how it was the first time he felt like himself again.

"It was good that it happened because I got to taste it again and understand what I can do. I'm feeling great now." pic.twitter.com/hPp33I9NFp

— KNBR (@KNBR) January 6, 2025

There is one concern I do have that's probably not about to be placated. McCaffrey is an extremely hard worker, and his work ethic is renowned. But tendonitis is an overuse injury. It can be a blessing and a curse, and for CMC, it was a curse last season.

I'm sure he has a plan in place to manage it, but when you're a professional athlete and in that kind of shape, it's easy to get caught up in going as hard as possible in workouts every day. Physical burnout is a real thing, even for some of the world's most gifted athletes.

He had an unforgettable season as the RB1 (by a mile) in fantasy football and the NFL in 2023. And he's in a good offensive system with a coach who is intent on grinding his bones to dust by giving him 11 billion touches. He's also an elite player when healthy.

There is plenty of risk, but the upside is tremendous, and that's what matters in best ball.

Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Perhaps the biggest bust that wasn't due to a long-term injury absence in best ball among the running backs was Travis Etienne Jr. of the Jacksonville Jaguars. There are two major reasons to think that Etienne will have a rebound year in 2025, though.

The first is that he was battling through injuries in 2024, as underreported as they were. He dealt with hamstring problems and missed a few games. Hammy issues are vexing, and it's likely that though he recovered and returned to play, it was still causing him problems. Even though the offensive line blocking for him didn't play well, he just didn't look like himself.

Travis Etienne totaled 119 yards and secured his first career TD with the @Jaguars on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/xuCqIEgApl

— NFL (@NFL) October 24, 2022

An RB looking significantly less explosive despite being in his mid-20s is a telltale sign of either being out of game shape or dealing with a nagging ailment. And hamstring problems are perhaps the most nagging of them all.

There's more to be excited about. New Jaguars head coach Liam Coen is bringing his wildly successful offensive scheme from Tampa Bay to Jacksonville. And the Buccaneers had the best running back-centric run game in the league -- they led the NFL in rushing yards by RBs.

Y'all. What Liam Coen is doing in the run game rn is NEXT LEVEL. Split flow to seal the EMOL into trap with the center wrapping backside.

Shades of Ben Johnson with some new wrinkles. pic.twitter.com/hYeUHIMVoq

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 2, 2024

Coen's schemes will open up plenty of space for the backs. Both are worth investing in for fantasy football, but as most best ball leagues are PPR and Etienne is the primary pass-catching back, he's worth nabbing whenever you can. The Jaguars OL needs some work to fix, but Tampa Bay's OL outperformed its talent level statistically with Coen's aid.

Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Yes, another running back because they tend to surge and plummet through the rankings and offensive coordinator changes can cause wild swings in their production. The Seattle Seahawks just hired a great one -- Klint Kubiak, former OC of the New Orleans Saints, will be in Seattle for the 2025 season. And RB Kenneth Walker III's production stands to benefit massively from it.

#Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak on his outside zone scheme, throwing the ball to running backs, and Kenneth Walker:

“Looking forward to him in this scheme, and we’re gonna ask a lot out of him.”

Wheels all the way up for K9, pants all the way off for K9 fantasy managers pic.twitter.com/JGgRqfkHJW

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) February 11, 2025

Walker's injury issues, lack of consistency, and lack of good offensive line play have hurt his production and made him a spotty scorer in fantasy football after his rookie season. The OL does still need to be addressed, but just like Coen, Kubiak was able to scheme his running backs to be highly productive. RB Alvin Kamara had one of his best fantasy seasons as a pro in 2024.

Here is a play from #Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak playbook:

Who will run in this concept? Kenneth Walker or Zach Charbonnet?

h/t: @alexcastrofilho pic.twitter.com/qZU7Q5coSh

— HawkMania (@hawkmania4) January 29, 2025

Despite the questioning nature of the above X post, Walker has been the primary pass-catching back for the team because he's more explosive, faster, and has better short-area quickness than his backup, Zach Charbonnet.

Kubiak was a wizard at opening up vast swaths of the field for his players to run through, and the offense probably would have been much more productive year-long if the offensive line hadn't collapsed due to injuries.

Seattle has indicated in the past that Walker has workhorse potential, but last year's offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, called far too many pass plays and abandoned the run too readily for that to happen.

The Seahawks coaches have reaffirmed their commitment to a run-heavy scheme that utilizes Walker in the passing game plenty. It's a great time to buy into that in best ball in 2025.

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