2026 Fantasy Football bust rankings: Top 10 players to avoid early in drafts features one top-five pick
We rank our top bust candidates for 2026 Fantasy Football drafts, all from the first five rounds of 12-team leagues
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Last year, Ashton Jeanty was being drafted as a top-five running back when I put together my annual Fantasy football bust rankings, and that was enough for him to top my list. I was somewhat worried about Jeanty's volume, with the Raiders likely to be playing catch-up a bunch, and I also wasn't sure how many TDs he could manage, but both ended up being fine. But the biggest concern was his offensive line, and that was part of the reason Jeanty averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, worse than any running back who finished in the top 15 in Fantasy points per game, where the rookie ended the year 16th.
That gap between preseason stock (RB5) and final PPG finish (RB16) made Jeanty a successful bust pick, where we're looking for players who finish twice as low as their preseason positional ranking, which this year will be based on FantasyPros consensus. For players ranked in the top five of their position, we are instead adding five spots to their ranking, so that the No. 1 player at a position must finish sixth or lower, No. 2 seventh or lower, and so on. My other successful bust picks using that grading system last year included Jayden Daniels (preseason QB3, finished 20th in PPG) and Alvin Kamara (RB15, finished 35th) while coming close on Travis Kelce.
Below, you'll find the top 10 players being ranked within the top 60 picks who I feel have the best chance of falling well short of expectations, even when adjusting for injury, since we grade by fantasy points per game.
So who is the top bust RB to avoid this year? And which quarterback is a definite pass? ... Join SportsLine here to see SportsLine expert R.J. White's Fantasy football bust rankings!
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