Fantasy Football Do Not Draft List! You Are Way Too High On Justin Herbert And One Other Bust At Each Position

Every year, there are some fantasy football options that you just shouldn't be drafting. Granted, if someone falls far enough, they can always have value, but there are players that we have so low that we would never realistically get them. This is our 2026 fantasy football Do Not Draft List! We picked one player at each position.

QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Once again, the fantasy community is in love with Herbert, and I just don't get it. It's like every year fantasy owners forget last year. The guy hasn't reached 4,000 yards or thrown for more than 26 touchdowns since 2021, but people treat him like he's a superstar because he has the physical traits of a prototypical quarterback.

Where the fantasy community really loses me is with the idea that all of a sudden he's going to start throwing the ball more. If anything, he's going to throw the ball less this season. Jim Harbaugh has clearly built this team to run the ball and play defense.

Entering 2026, their star running back is healthy, the interior line is stronger, and the defense should be much better. Also, his weapons are still mediocre, and he hasn't proven that he's a quarterback that elevates the players around him. This is going to be a run-heavy, physical offense, and we don't see the argument against that.

RB Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

CMC was on this list before his "tightness" injury, but that just further strengthens our case. This is a 30-year-old running back coming off the largest workload of his career in a season when he also saw a steep decline in efficiency. Combine that with an already lengthy injury history, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Nevertheless, if you've read anything I've written this offseason, this feels like beating a dead horse. Shockingly, he has actually moved up my rankings this season, and is now my RB12 despite being drafted as the RB3 based on his ADP.

WR Brian Thomas Jr, Jacksonville Jaguars

This was the toughest position to decide who we wanted on the Do Not Draft List, but we took a look at our rankings and saw the discrepancy in ADP when it came to BTJ. His ADP has him being ranked as the WR32, and we have him ranked as the WR47.

I simply don't understand why anyone would draft him as the WR32. Granted, he had that great stretch with Mac Jones, but Jones is long gone. We weren't overly impressed by him as a college prospect, and he's never been any good with Trevor Lawrence under center. Plus, Parker Washington has been the standout at camp, and Jakobi Meyers is the most established fantasy wideout. Thomas just has nothing going for him.

TE Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

We don't hate LaPorta and have him ranked as the TE15 overall. We'd be fine drafting him as a low-end TE1 or fringe TE1, but his current ADP has him being drafted as the TE5 overall. That's just way too high for us for a tight end coming off of season-ending back surgery.

There are also some concerns about this offense as a whole. Not necessarily major concerns, but they did not look nearly as good in 2025 with Ben Johnson no longer the offensive coordinator. You can make a case that he's a top-10 tight end, but top-five is far too rich for our blood.

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