2026 Dynasty Fantasy Football Busts: RJ Harvey, Brian Thomas Jr, And More

The top dynasty fantasy football draft busts heading into the new season.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) holds his head after a pass interference call during the second quarter in an NFL football matchup | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 NFL Draft is now just weeks away, starting on April 23 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As we get closer to the draft, the dynasty fantasy football will continue to ramp up.

We'll see plenty of trades and roster moves. While we all want to find the league-winning stars, we also have to be careful to avoid paying up for a dud. These are the top dynasty busts heading into the new season. We will be avoiding rookies because we already discussed them.

QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

The idea of Herbert playing for coaches like Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel has a lot of fantasy owners excited. Fantasy owners are hoping he can get back to where he was in 2021 when his fantasy value peaked, but that's not going to happen.

In his best years, Herbert was a volume machine, throwing the ball up around 700 times per game. Over the past three seasons, the most passes he has thrown are 512. Under Harbaugh, he's never going to see that volume. While fantasy owners block out Herbert's shortcomings because they are enamored by his physical gifts, he has shown you who he is, and it is who he will continue to be.

RB RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) runs with the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Harvey was a fantasy darling as a rookie. While he certainly had his moments, he never came close to living up to the hype heaped on him by many experts, analysts, and fantasy owners.

If you want him to do what he did last season with a slight uptick in production and volume, then you'll be fine. However, if you are hoping that he develops into a fantasy stud, you're going to be disappointed. He's never going to be a stud who sees a ton of volume. His ceiling is week-winning upside, not league-winning upside. Sell high on him if you can.

WR Brian Thomas Jr, Jacksonville Jaguars

Fantasy owners are hoping for a bounce back from Thomas, but we aren't so sure that it's coming. The more we look into it, the more we believe it's not the offense or the connection with Trevor Lawrence that's the issue, but simply the fact that they aren't Mac Jones. Jones tends to hyper-target one player, as we saw with Kendrick Bourne in 2025.

Perhaps more importantly, most of Thomas's shortcomings have been self-inflicted. Poor routes, drops, and a lack of effort on targets when he is vulnerable to defenders have hindered him.

The games with Jones at quarterback were the fluke, not all the others. It's unlikely a trade revives the fantasy magic he found for that stretch with Jones as a rookie.

TE AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks

In just his second NFL season, Barner had a breakout season in 2025. The hope is that he will build off that and become a fantasy stud. While this could happen, we have our concerns that it won't.

The Seahawks didn't have many options in the passing game last season. Beyond Jaxon Smith-Njigba, their second option was a washed-up Cooper Kupp. Next season, we expect players like Rashid Shaheed, Tory Horton, and Elijah Arroyo to have a much larger role in the passing attack. That could drastically cut into Barner's fantasy production.

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