Fantasy Football Busts: Avoid Patrick Mahomes, Garrett Wilson, And Two Running Backs

Free agency has started, the 2026 NFL Draft is less than a month away, and then we'll be full steam ahead towards the new fantasy football season. Surely, we will all be excited when we draft our new teams this summer, but not all the stars will pan out. These are the stars whom you should avoid because they will be fantasy busts in 2026.

QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Mahomes was having a bounce-back season in 2025, returning to fantasy prominence after a few disappointing fantasy seasons. A big reason for his fantasy success was how good he was on the ground. Despite playing in just 14 games, he set career highs with 422 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, and 6.6 yards per carry.

That won't be the case in 2026 with Mahomes coming off a torn ACL. The team is going to do everything they can to protect him. You're going to see him getting the ball out quickly to Rashee Rice and turning around and handing the ball to Kenneth Walker III a ton. Don't expect more than low-end QB1 numbers out of Mahomes this season.

RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

If Kamara stays in New Orleans, it's a complete wrap for him, although he could see a boost in fantasy value if he gets traded somewhere else. Still, entering his age-31 season, he is not the player he once was.

He put up career lows in almost every stat across the board last season, with the most alarming being his 3.6 yards per carry and just one touchdown in 11 games. The addition of Travis Etienne Jr sealed Kamara's fate in New Orleans.

RB James Conner, Arizona Cardinals

We have another running back entering his age-31 season here. He is old, coming off an injury, and has serious competition for touches. Conner will have to beat out Trey Benson and Tyler Allgeier for touches.

We are projecting Allgeier to be their top back and, at the very least, be their top goal-line option. Last season, it already looked like Benson was going to be significantly cutting into his workload before his Week 3 foot/ankle injury. Avoid Conner; neither the volume nor the efficiency will be there.

WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

It's the same old story with Wilson. He's a pass-catcher for the Jets, so he's already playing at a disadvantage. Fantasy owners hoped that a miracle would happen and the Jets would bring in a capable quarterback this season, but instead, they traded for a 35-year-old Geno Smith coming off a bad season. This is one of the worst cases of a terrible franchise wasting a great talent we can recall in recent memory.

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