NFL Bold Predictions: These 4 Players Will Bust in 2026 Dynasty Fantasy Football

Avoid these fantasy football selections as their risk outweighs their ceiling as potential league-winning assets.

Oct 26, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (44) scores a touchdown during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The key to dynasty fantasy football is identifying upside, identifying it while a player is young, and identifying a team which will thrive in years to come. That is never an easy task, but it attainable. Likewise, we can use similar analysis to find those players which will bust. Those are players above ADP and players which we rather not invest in at this point in time. Here is one bust per skill position to not draft in dynasty fantasy football.

QB, Drake Maye

It is not that Maye will be a complete bust, but he is being drafted well over where he probably should. Maye is the QB2 in dynasty fantasy football. When he played in 2025, he performed to high output much due to the fact that the Patriots were 32nd in strength of schedule.

The Patriots now enter a 2026 season with only one way to go, and that is down towards their floor. Mike Vrabel is under fire entering training camp, and while the team got AJ Brown, they did lose Stefon Diggs. The switcheroo here may not be as seamless as expected. Brown must stay healthy, and he will play a role similar to the one Kayshon Boutte held, perhaps limiting Boutte's output.

RB, Kyren Williams

The Rams kept trying to insert Blake Corum into a larger role last season. He kept being set back, notably with early-season fumble woes. The team does trust Corum, and on the eye test, Corum is nearly as good as, if not better than, Williams. He had 6 touchdowns in a limited role, which suggests he could reach double digits in 2026.

The Rams may very well turn this into a running back by committee. Williams' floor is not too low, but his ceiling is certainly going to be limited.

WR, Zay Flowers

Baltimore has a new coaching staff and added receiving weapons. Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Saratt will likely begin the season as backups, but are also players with great potential. Often, coaches prefer to insert their own players rather than those inherited.

How will Todd Monken's offense translate to Declan Doyle's offense now? Only time will tell, but Flowers is very one-dimensional as a yards-after-catch weapon, and that scares us. His touchdowns are limited, and if Lamar Jackson runs a more run-heavy, outside-the-hashes offense, Flowers can suffer drastically and quickly. The risk is evident.

TE, Harold Fannin Jr.

The brakes must be hit on Fannin Jr. entering year No. 2. Kevin Stefanski loved his tight ends, and Fannin Jr. benefited. The Browns now have a new staff with Todd Monken calling plays. Be wary of what that could bring.

Luckily for Fannin Jr., Monken does utilize the tight ends. However, Fannin Jr. often performed much worse than his fantasy football statistics indicated. He is not a top-5 tight end on talent alone. Especially if the Browns go with Deshaun Watson come Week 1, the risk is way too high for Fannin Jr. as a top-5 fantasy football tight end.