The 25 Biggest Fantasy Football Busts of All Time

Fantasy football drafts are a game of values. You're trying to decide what player fits best with your draft slot, what positional needs you have, and if it's worth it to go quarterback over running back in the first round. For the vast majority of us, we'll look back at the end of the 2013 fantasy NFL season and think, "What went wrong?" Last year, it all went wrong when you drafted Ryan Mathews over Adrian Peterson. Bust. Or, in 2011, because you took Chris Johnson and held off on taking another RB for another three rounds. Bust. Or maybe in 2008, you drafted Tom Brady in the first round. Bust. Reasons for fantasy football failures vary—injuries, bad teams, unreasonable expectations, poor luck, Father Time—these are all valid.

It may not be fair to call 2008 Brady or 2012 Larry Fitzgerald "busts," because their shortcomings were largely out of their control, but what does that matter to fantasy owners? They're still getting screwed out of the fantasy points they were counting on. Anytime an owner doesn't get the expected production return on the pick based on previous seasons, the player is a bust. Hence, once elite quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs dominate this list, because higher picks are usually invested in these positions, making the risk-reward greater than that of a tight-end, defense, or kicker. Take a regret-filled trip down fantasy memory lane and remember the busts of years past through The 25 Biggest Fantasy Football Busts of All Time.

*Although fantasy football has been around for over 30 years, CBS launched the first online fantasy football beta in 1997. We'll only be judging players in this modern fantasy era.

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Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,411 YDS, 80 REC, 8 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 798 YDS, 71 REC, 4 TD
Reason(s) for bust: QB nightmare, bad team

The Kevin Kolb/John Skelton/Ryan Lindley/Brian Hoyer four-headed quarterback monster in Arizona combined for 3,383 passing yards, 11 TDs, and 21 INTs last season. No QB started more than six games, making it impossible for Fitzgerald to develop any kind of connection with an already dreadful roster of passers. Considering the great 2011 he had in spite of that Skelton and Kolb combo, it was hard to forsee such a dramatic drop-off in production. It's harsh to label Fitzgerald a "bust," but try gaining sympathies from the owners who made him their top wide receiver going into the season.

Stats before bust year: 15 G, 1,309 YDS, 17 TDS
Bust year stats: 12 G, 840 YDS, 2 TDS
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, bad team

The No. 1 player on many draft boards going into the 2012 season, LeSean McCoy had owners buzzing about his big-play ability between the tackles and on check-downs. He suffered on a disappointing Eagles "Dream Team," featuring in just 12 games before going down with an injury in November. Following up a 17 rushing TD campaign with just two rushing TDs in 12 games is a surefire way to earn bust status.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,789 YDS, 17 TD
Bust year stats: 8 G, 559 YDS, 3 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Loss of interest, overworked, injuries

Smart fantasy owners steered clear of Larry Johnson after he carried the ball an NFL single-season record 416 times in 2006. Time and time again, we see running backs on the wrong end of their 20s totally fall apart after enduring years of punishing carries. Every rushing attempt is another nail in the coffin, and in 2007, Johnson was basically buried. It didn't help that he began that offseason threatening to hold out instead of training to recover from the highest workload in NFL history.

While he did get the contract he wanted—a $45 million, five-year deal with $19 million in guaranteed money, the highest in Chiefs history and the highest annual salary ever for a running back—his mental and physical states shut down by time the season rolled around. With dead legs and $19 million in the bank, Johnson rolled over instead of running hard, and got himself injured in Week 9.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 3,787 YDS, 29 TD, 19 INT
Bust year stats: 10 G, 1,615 YDS, 9 TD, 8 INT
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, too much hype

After being named the starter, Derek Anderson helped the Browns end the 2007 season with a 10-6 record. Although they missed the playoffs, the future looked bright. Anderson beat out Charlie Frye and Brady Quinn for the starting job and performed. In 2008, he was rewarded with a three-year deal but didn't live up to it. He was benched after starting in nine games because of poor play and injuries. His 2008 paled in comparison to 2007's and the Browns finished 4-12.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,289 YDS, 80 REC, 16 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 873 YDS, 55 REC, 3 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Drops, inconsistent play, bad team, QB nightmare

After having a career year for a 10-6 Browns team in 2007, everything came crashing down for Braylon Edwards the following year. He led the league with 16 drops and saw Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson regress to the guy who was Charlie Frye's backup for a reason. Edwards recorded about one-fifth of his touchdown total from the year before, and hasn't been the same elite wide-out since.

Stats before bust year: 15 G, 2,199 YDS, 12 TD, 13 INT, 552 YDS RUSHING, 7 TD
Bust year stats: 15 G, 2,546 YDS, 9 TD, 17 INT, 395 YDS RUSHING, 3 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Overrated

Oh, what might have been. A Kerry Collins-led Titans team began 2006 0-3, but ripped off six straight wins and finished 8-8 after Vince Young took over. With 2006 being Michael Vick's last year in the league due to his dogfighting charges, Young was supposed to be the next great dual-threat quarterback. Instead, his funky throwing motion never improved, he struggled to adapt to professional defenses, his fitness declined, and his head never seemed in it. Fantasy owners with dreams of a 30 total TD season from Young were left cursing his name by the end of the year.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,399 YDS, 94 REC, 11 TD
Bust year stats: 13 G, 654 YDS, 49 REC, 1 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Age

Joe Horn was a late-bloomer who fell off as quickly as he exploded onto the scene. After posting five stellar seasons from age 28 to 32, he lost a step in 2005, only hauling in one TD. He'll be remembered well in New Orleans for having Pro Bowl quality statistics during a time when "Aints" fans were wearing brown bags over their heads in shame, but for fantasy owners in 2005, Father Time came too swiftly and suddenly for Horn.

Stats before bust year: 14 G, 1,178 YDS, 6 TD
Bust year stats: 14, 798 YDS, 1 YD
Reason(s) for bust: Inexplicable ineffectiveness, bad team

The fifth overall pick of the 2005 IRL draft, Cadillac Williams had a franchise running back type of season his rookie year, leading the Bucs to an 11-5 record. The next season, he, along with the rest of his team, unexpectedly regressed. The Bucs finished 4-12, and Williams saw his rushing yards per game plummet from 84.1 to 57. He ended his career with that rookie season as his best, becoming a model for NFL complacency.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,309 YDS, 12 TD
Bust year stats: 11 G, 497 YDS, 3 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Overworked, injuries

For three straight years, Rudi Johnson was fantasy gold. He rushed for at least 1,300 yards and 12+ TDs from 2004-2006, but each came with heavy 340+ carry seasons. In 2007, at age 28, all of the wear and tear finally caught up with him. He missed five games with a hamstring injury, and had one 100-yard rushing game. Eleven starts and less than 500 yards rushing is a scary dropoff. By 2009, Johnson was out of the league.

Stats before bust year: 15 G, 1,072 YDS, 12 TD
Bust year stats: 12 G, 544 YDS, 5 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries

Being Peyton Manning's running back has its perks: guaranteed 1,000 yard seasons, tons of catches out of the backfield, and enough goal line opportunities to make fantasy owners do back-flips. Addai took full advantage his first two years lining up next to Manning, posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and 23 total TDs. In 2008, however, he battled the injury-bug and failed to replicate his 2007 form when he was on the field, turning in less than half of his touchdown total from the year before.

Stats before bust year: 15 G, 3,154 YDS, 32 TD, 11 INT
Bust year stats: 16 G, 3,301, 17 TD, 15 INT
Reason(s) for bust: Inexplicable ineffectiveness

Ben Roethlisberger is known as a better real-life quarterback than a fantasy stud, but in 2007, that briefly changed. He threw 32 TDs, putting him on the short-list of top fantasy QBs going into the 2008 season. Despite increasing his passing attempts by 65 that year, he threw for 15 less TDs, going from "must-start" to "passable starter" to "decent bye-week option" to "waiver wire fodder." All in one season! He hasn't been trusted with a leading fantasy role since.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,387 YDS, 11 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 1,216 YDS, 2 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Bad luck, bad team, fumblitis

After fumbling the ball nine, eight, and nine times from 2000-2002, Tiki Barber's fumblitis finally started costing him big fantasy points. Playing on a 4-12 Giants team, Barber's rushing statistics remained pretty on-point (he even fumbled the ball nine times again—consistency!), but his rushing TD total dropped from 11 to two. He averged 7.4 TDs a season as a starter during his career, so his busted 2003 season is an outlier that cost fantasy owners big-time. But given his fumbling problems, you could say that his steep drop-off was a long time coming.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 3,624 YDS, 24 TD, 14 INT
Bust year stats: 11 G, 2,125 YDS, 8 TD, 7 INT
Reason(s) for bust: Inexplicable ineffectiveness

1997 was supposed to be Jeff Blake's shot at superstardom. He had steadily improved for three straight seasons, and at age 27, should've been in his quarterbacking prime. Instead, he went 3-8 and threw a pathetic eight TDs, allowing a washed up Boomer Esiason to come back to Cincy to throw 13 TDs in the season's remaining five games, winning four of them. Boomer Esiason (who was 36 years old at the time) had a better fantasy season in five games than Blake did all together. Word has it that Blake is still trying to scrub off the egg on his face from that year.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,709 YDS, 13 TD
Bust year stats: 6 G, 662 YDS, 3 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries

Again: Being Peyton Manning's running back is a great gig. "The Edge" posted back-to-back seasons of 2,000-plus yards from scrimmage and averaged 17.5 total TDs before tearing his ACL in 2001. He was on his way to bettering those already amazing career averages, too. James couldn't do anything about his injury, but it was still costly to fantasy owners.

Stats before bust year: 12 G, 838 YDS, 5 TD
Bust year stats: 15 G, 430 YDS, 2 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Mid-season trade, bad team, QB nightmare, inexplicable ineffectiveness

Jerry Jones is still trying to figure out what's wrong with Roy Williams. After posting a career year in 2006 with a still effective Jon Kitna as his quarterback, Williams had the pleasure of catching passes from a suddenly over-the-hill Kitna and the immortal Dan "Self-Safety" Orlovsky a.k.a. "Mr. 0-16" for the next one-and-a-half seasons. Five games into the 2008 season, figuring that they could get an elite talent at a bargain price, the Cowboys shrewedly traded their useless first, third, and sixth round picks in the 2009 Draft for Williams, and signed him for a cut-rate price of $26 million guaranteed over six years. He would finish his 99-game Cowboys career with 13 touchdowns. Good deal for everyone involved, including fantasy owners, right?

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 4,717 YDS, 39 TD, 11 INT
Bust year stats: 7 G, 1,564 YDS, 6 TD, 12 INT
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, inexplicable ineffectiveness

A torn ACL, MCL, and PCL would end Culpepper's 2005 season after seven games, but it had already gone to shit before the injury. A 1:2 TD to INT ratio is not a good look for a Pro Bowl QB, especially one coming off of his best statistical year ever. His -33 TD difference from 2004 to 2005 was a massive loss that fantasy owners are probably still reeling from to this day.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 2,066 YDS, 14 TD
Bust year stats: 12 G, 1,006 YDS, 7 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Overworked

Seasons of 309, 308, and 387 carries weren't the best way for the Ravens to ease Jamal Lewis into the NFL, but he was too good not to have on the field. In 2003, he became the fifth back ever to rush for 2,000 yards, but those 387 carries that season took a career-altering toll. His production was essentially halved in 2004, making him the bust of the season.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 4,830 YDS, 36 TD, 22 INT
Bust year stats: 7 G, 1,431 YDS, 3 TD, 11 INT
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, inexplicable ineffectiveness

In 2001, Kurt Warner was an NFL MVP and Super Bowl runner-up. By 2003, he was on the scrap-heap. What the hell happened? He started the 2002 season with one TD to seven INTs in three games, broke his pinky, came back too soon, continued to play like shit, and then broke his hand. Trying to make sense of this period of decline in his career is pointless, because Warner's career as a whole has so many perplexing ebbs and flows—they're maddeningly unexplainable.

He came from Arena Football, became an MVP, fell off suddenly, was in QB purgatory for five years, and then had a miraculous resurgence with the Cardinals in his late-30s. Needless to say, Warner ruined many fantasy teams in 2002.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,880 YDS, 27 TD
Bust year stats: 10 G, 896 YDS, 7 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, overworked, loss of LG Steve Hutchinson

If Shaun Alexander's 370 carry 2007 season didn't scream "DO NOT DRAFT," it was probably because his 27 rushing TDs from that year said, "PICK ME FIRST OVERALL." SMH to the owners that did. A -20 rushing TD difference and waiver wire-quality production out of a Top 3 fantasy pick adds up to major bust status.

Stats before bust year: 14 G, 1,091 YDS, 6 TD
Bust year stats: 12 G, 707 YDS, 1 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, inexplicable ineffectiveness, bad luck, Norv Turner

Expected to quickly fill the shoes of LaDainian Tomlinson, Ryan Mathews' 2012 season was unfortunate to say the least. On his first carry of the 2012 preseason, he broke his collarbone, sidelining him for the remainder of training camp and the first two weeks of the regular season. Without a full camp under his belt, Mathews came back and struggled to regain his form. Early fumbling problems that carried over from his rookie season put him in Norv Turner's doghouse—Jackie Battle was more trusted with red zone carries, which drove everyone fucking nuts.

In December, Mathews' horrid season came to an end after he broke his other collarbone. One touchdown and 707 yards rushing were not numbers that sat well with many fantasy owners, especially the many who drafted Mathews in the first round.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,509 YDS, 14 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 939 YDS, 5 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Overworked

Eddie George had the sixth-most carries in the NFL in 2001, and still couldn't crack 1,000 yards. He had posted five straight 1,290-plus yard seasons on the ground, but led the league in carries (403) at age 27 in 2000. If you're not noticing a high carries+high age = running back bust trend by now, then you should probably go back to playing Madden's franchise mode.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 4,806 YDS, 50 TD, 8 INT
Bust year stats: 1 G, 76 YDS
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries

We still have our "I Drafted Tom Brady in the First Round and All I Got Was 76 Yards and This T-shirt" shirt. No other player in fantasy football history was so highly valued going into drafts and ultimately produced so little for owners. Brady couldn't do anything about his torn ACL, so there's no ill-will towards him personally, just a lot of solemn faces and wasted league fees. Where entire fantasy seasons were lost after one game, an entire generation of fantasy owners and Patriots fans became united in their hatred of everything Bernard Pollard.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,238 YDS, 8 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 929 YDS, 4 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Inexplicable ineffectiveness

After putting together a solid rookie season, Matt Forte was near the top of everyone's draft board in 2009. With Jay Cutler at the helm to give Forte even more chances out of the backfield, 2,000 yards from scrimmage and double-digit TDs didn't seem unreasonable. Whether it was due to lackluster sophomore conditioning or the lingering mental effects of a bout of fumbilitis—Forte uncharacteristically coughed it up five times that season (his career total to this day is nine). We'll never know what was really up with Forte. What we do know, though, is that he only ran for 100 yards twice, and both of those times were against the Lions.

Stats before bust year: 15 G, 1,204 YDS, 12 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 1,074 YDS, 4 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Injuries, overworked

Emmitt Smith is one tough SOB. This is the same guy who rushed for 168 yards against the Giants with a separated shoulder. He's not one to be slowed down by an injury. But at some point, every great pain-tolerating athlete gets slowed down by something. In 1997, rib, knee, neck, shoulder, thumb, and groin injuries all combined to bring Smith to the lowpoint of his career to that date. He had averaged 19 TDs the previous three seasons, yet could only muster four in 1997.

Stats before bust year: 16 G, 1,364 YDS, 11 TD
Bust year stats: 16 G, 1,047 YDS, 4 TD
Reason(s) for bust: Overworked, loss of interest

Chris Johnson's 2011 was #been #doomed. After becoming CJ2K and carrying the ball 674 times over two seasons, Johnson spent that offseason demanding to get paid. He was well-aware of the shelf-life of star running backs, and wanted to get his guaranteed money while he was still hot. *cues to Larry Johnson nodding condescendingly* The Titans eventually gave him $30 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid running back, but they expected CJ2K, not CJ1K to show up that season.

Johnson took heat for "avoiding contact" and running to protect his newly minted $30 million body, while his offensive line was also blamed. Whatever was the case, fantasy owners and the Titans didn't get their expected return on their massive investments—whether it was a No. 1 overall pick or $30 million—making Johnson a certified bust in 2011. Also, never forget...