2025 Fantasy Football: Malik Nabers Headlines Early-Round Wide Receiver Busts

Avoid fantasy football busts in 2025 with this expert breakdown of three wide receivers—Nico Collins, Malik Nabers, and Tee Higgins—who may be mispriced or come with major risk.

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) runs with the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

A part of success in fantasy sports is knowing when to fade players or even avoid buying someone coming off a career season. An offensive system matters, along with the direction of a team on the winning side of the equation. The goal is to find players within their ADP range that offer growth in catches, yards, and scoring. Here are three wide receivers I’m avoiding this year due to being mispriced, in my opinion, or lacking the foundation skill set to post another top-tier season.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans

Fading players with impact upside can be a losing decision if that player stays healthy and performs up to expectations for a full season. Collins moved to elite wide receiver status in 2023 after securing 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns on 109 targets, leaving more room for growth with more balls thrown his way. He was on a similar path last season (68/1,006/7), but he missed five games.

His recent growth and his expected role in the Texans’ passing game scream difference-maker. Unfortunately, he ranks eighth at wide receiver in August, while never playing a full year over his four years in the NFL. In his two best seasons, Collins finished 12th and 23rd in fantasy scoring in PPR formats despite missing over 20% of his possible games with injuries. 

The highest graded WR over the past two seasons:

🔴 Nico Collins - 93.3 pic.twitter.com/nUVR0lc4nQ

— PFF (@PFF) July 22, 2025

I expect him to play well when on the field, but Collins has a long list of injuries (Achilles, groin, foot, calf, hip, and hamstring). He’s missed 14 games over the past three seasons, putting him in the risk category. 

If I have one league to draft, I’m fading Collins. With a portfolio of multiple teams, I’ll get some shares just in case. Any player who has a risk of missing a third of the year draws the boom or bust card.

Malik Nabers, New York Giants

I can’t get my head around drafting Nabers as a top-five wide receiver. I understand his talent and ceiling, but the Giants have a below-par offense that should focus on controlling the clock with the run game. His success last year was driven by targets (170), highlighted by 10 games (18, 12, 15, 13, 11, 10, 13, 10, 14, and 14). In essence, Nabers has the pass-catching opportunity at wide receiver when adding in his two missed games. 

This summer, he picked up a shoulder injury, which is expected to clear up by Week 1. In his rookie season, Nabers saw his season end with a toe issue, which was also present in his college career. He also has multiple minor injuries – knee, groin, and hip while missing time with a concussion. 

Last season, New York’s wide receiver surprisingly ranked second in wide receiver catches (251) and targets (402) while gaining a league-low 10.2 yards per catch. In comparison, the Steelers (with Russell Wilson behind center for 11 games) completed a league-low 139 passes to their wideout while gaining the second-most yards per catch (14.4). 

Malik Nabers really went for 109-1204-7 in 15 games at 21 years young

pic.twitter.com/iUbimrk65q

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) June 12, 2025

I’m not sold on the Giants’ passing game, and Nabers has enough dents in his injury profile to rank him lower than WR4 this draft season. I expect a regression in chances, putting him more in range of a Ladd McConkey and Drake London. I don’t expect to have Nabers on any teams this year at his current price points, and I could see his toe injury returning at some point in 2025.

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals

The mystique of Higgins returned this draft season after posting multiple impact games (9/83/2, 9/148/1, and 11/131/3). On the downside, he missed another five matchups, bringing his total to 10 games on the sidelines over the past two years. His resume paints a winning profile, and Joe Burrow will throw the ball a ton again in 2025. Even with success, Higgins still delivered many empty days (2/21, 2/19, 2/20, 3/38, 1/19, 3/39, and 2/23) over his last 24 starts. 

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) catches a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

He brings big game and scoring potential, which is challenging to find in the fantasy market. At the same time, Higgins comes up with a clunker or an empty outcome just when his trust is starting to rise. I view him as a boom player, but his missed time lowers his difference-maker ceiling.