Drafting players who winds up injured, experience regression or that fall out of favor with the coaching staff are some of the quickest ways to ensure that you wind up in the toilet bowl this Fantasy football season. That’s a big reason why managers are already on the hunt for potential 2025 Fantasy football busts. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was the fifth quarterback off the board on average in 2024 after winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors the previous season. However, Stroud wasn’t well protected and the Houston offense he led so admirably in 2023 took a major step back, leading to Stroud finishing as QB18.
If you managed to avoid Stroud and pick up a quarterback like Baker Mayfield, who was available over 100 picks later on average and finished as QB2, you probably had a huge leg up on the competition last season. Having a reliable set of live-updated 2025 Fantasy football rankings is the best way to avoid those kinds of mistakes this draft season. Before finalizing your 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2025 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last year, the model accurately predicted that Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert would fall well short of his ADP (RB23). The result: A season after rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 21 total touchdowns despite sharing time with De’Von Achane, Mostert fell out of favor in Miami and finished as RB60 after managing only 439 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021 and correctly predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2025, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Fantasy football busts
One of the 2025 Fantasy football busts the model is predicting: Jets receiver Garrett Wilson. Playing with a four-time MVP, Wilson set career highs across the board last season with 101 grabs for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns. However, the Jets downgraded at the quarterback position in going from Aaron Rodgers to Justin Fields, with the latter known more for his legs than his precision passing. In Fields’ four NFL seasons, his teams have ranked 27th in passing twice, 30th and 32nd.
Then there’s the fact that the Jets overhauled their coaching staff, with Tanner Engstrand now the offensive coordinator. His only play-calling experience came in the XFL and at the FCS level, having never done so in the NFL or at the FBS level. With that, plus Fields’ rushing ability, and New York having good depth at running back, the Jets have the look of a conservative, run-first offense, which won’t help Wilson pile up stats. He’s being selected as the 20th receiver and picks No. 41 overall, per 2025 Fantasy football ADP, but the SportsLine model barely has Wilson ranking amongst the top 30 Fantasy wideouts.
Another bust that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. After Sam Darnold put up career numbers in the Minnesota offense, the assumption is that McCarthy has a golden opportunity to hit the ground running in 2025. McCarthy was battling Darnold for the starting job last year as a rookie before a torn meniscus in training camp ended his season. Now the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft will start after Darnold signed with the Seahawks this offseason.
However, the learning curve might be steeper than most imagine in 2024. Jordan Addison is facing a three-game suspension from the NFL, and the Vikings will have three new starters on the interior of their offensive line. McCarthy has been the 14th QB off the board on average in early 2025 Fantasy football drafts, but the model predicts he finishes outside the top 20 at his position. See which other Fantasy football busts 2025 to pick here.
How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football rankings
SportsLine is also fading one of the first five running backs off the board in early 2025 Fantasy football drafts. The model ranks this player falling outside the top 10 entirely and failing to live up to his first-round price tag. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2025 Fantasy Football busts should you be steering clear of? And which first-round RB shockingly falls out of the top 10 of the positional rankings? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that helped managers avoid a disastrous Raheem Mostert season in 2024.
2025 Fantasy football ADP
(PPR, via CBS)
1. Ja’Marr Chase (1.62)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.43)
3. Saquon Barkley (2.84)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (4.57)
5. Justin Jefferson (6.30)
6. CeeDee Lamb (7.27)
7. Derrick Henry (9.54)
7. Christian McCaffrey (9.86)
9. Malik Nabers (12.49)
10. Ashton Jeanty (11.78)