Tyler Shough, Tre Harris And 4 More Early-Round NFL Busts In Fantasy Football

We all want to find the next breakout rookie candidate in fantasy football. It's fun, exciting, and they usually bring great value to your fantasy roster. However, for every early-round rookie that explodes to the scene, there is a dud that fizzles out. These are the early-round rookies who will be busts in 2025.

QB Jaxon Dart, New York Giants

Russell Wilson is going to be the Week 1 starter for the New York Giants. So, if Dart gets into the starting lineup, something has gone wrong. The first-round pick isn't necessarily a bad player, but outside of wide receiver Malik Nabers, he has a bad supporting cast. In this scenario, the Giants' offensive line either got Wilson injured or failed to give him time to be a productive passer. It's unlikely things will go better if they throw a rookie back there.

QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

By all accounts, the New Orleans Saints quarterbacks have not been good in training camp. Shough has been no exception. The rookie, who turns 26 in September, has looked terrible and was drafted higher than most projected him to be in the 2025 NFL Draft. If he even gets on the field, which isn't a lock at this point, he'll be behind a porous offensive line and throwing to subpar weapons.

RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

We are now entering the back half of August, and Judkins still hasn't signed his rookie contract. A domestic violence arrest has derailed his rookie his offseason. While he did just get some good news that charges against him will not be pursued, that doesn't give him back the time he has already missed in camp. At this point, the earliest he'll be back at practice is August 18. That's a very late start for a player who hasn't just missed training camp physically, but mentally as well. He will have an uphill battle as a rookie to find success in an offense that could be one of the worst in the NFL.

WR Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars

Hunter was the first wide receiver drafted this year because he is such a unique talent. He is expected to play on both sides of the ball at receiver and cornerback. While that is exciting in real life, it brings skepticism in fantasy football. It brings into question how many snaps he can actually play in an NFL game, whether or not he can stay healthy doing this, and how productive he will be. Unless you play in a league where he will be getting offensive and defensive fantasy points, we are taking a wait-and-see approach with Hunter who is already competing with Brian Thomas Jr for targets.

WR Tre Harris, Los Angeles Chargers

We liked Harris a lot more before the Chargers signed Keenan Allen. Now, he is a rookie wide receiver in what is projected to be a low-volume passing attack who will be at best the WR3 on his own team. Ladd McConkey is expected to be the clear top target, and we know Allen didn't go there to be a backup to a rookie. This likely leaves Harris as player who isn't going to breakout until at least year two.

Chargers signing WR Keenan Allen to 1-year, $8.52M deal. (via @RapSheet, @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/fv0RWgWnNE
— NFL (@NFL) August 6, 2025

TE Mason Taylor, New York Jets

People are high on Taylor because the Jets weapons on offense are so bad that he could be the No. 2 target on the team. While that is great in theory, that also ignores that the Jets also have a terrible offensive line and quarterback that can't pass. That's a bad combination. Justin Fields is an inaccurate, low-volume passer who's ceiling is about 2,500 passing yards and 20 TDs. If wide receiver Garrett Wilson is being projected as the fantasy WR15, what does that leave left for the second-round tight end who is currently missing time in training camp due to an injury?