Hitting on late-round value is important to fantasy football success, but it’s arguably more important to avoid drafting underperforming players in the early rounds.
Sure, injuries happen frequently enough in fantasy to derail a season, but there are plenty of players who are pushed up draft boards due to poor process or faulty logic that do far more damage.
Here are my early-round fantasy football WR bust candidates to avoid heading into the 2025 season.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
Tyreek Hill was a fantasy goldmine during his first two seasons in Miami, averaging 170.5 targets, 119 receptions, 1,755 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns per season. Hill finished 2022 and 2023 as a top-three wide receiver in PPR scoring (20.4 and 23.5 points per game, respectively).
Unfortunately, the wheels fell off in 2024. Hill finished the year with 81 receptions on 123 targets for 959 yards and six touchdowns. It was his worst statistical season since 2019, a season in which he was limited to just 12 games played.
We could blame the wrist injury Hill was battling through in 2024. Unfortunately, that has continued to limit him ahead of the 2025 season.
Tyreek Hill on vertically breaking routes
2023:
– 46.9% of route tree (4th-most)
– .233 Average Separation (3rd-best)
– 5.30 YPRR (best by a mile)
– 34% TPRR (best)2024:
– 51.8% of route tree (2nd-most)
– .069 Average Separation (33rd)
– 1.64 YPRR (50th)
– 17% TPRR (33rd) pic.twitter.com/1peSLD7xF5— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) May 29, 2025
We could also blame Tua Tagovailoa for being limited to just 11 games thanks to persistent concussion issues. That certainly limited his big-play potential, but it doesn’t explain the severe drop-off in targets.
Miami made it a point to integrate De’Von Achane into the passing attack, especially in the screen game. Historically, those targets were funneled to Hill thanks to his speed. Last season, Hill was targeted 17 times behind the line of scrimmage after having 32 such targets in 2023.
Speed receivers typically fall off quickly at the NFL level, and Hill will be 31 years old in 2025. While he still has plenty of speed, the Miami Dolphins have seemingly started to funnel his targets to younger weapons with less explosiveness.
Fantasy managers are still drafting Hill, hoping that he can replicate his excellent 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, those days might just have passed him by.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
Terry McLaurin is one of the most dependable NFL wide receivers. From 2020 to 2023, he averaged 129 targets, 80 receptions, 1,091 receiving yards, and 4.5 touchdowns per season. McLaurin never finished below the WR36 in PPR scoring and never had fewer than 12.0 fantasy points per season.
In 2024, McLaurin had his most productive fantasy season, finishing as the WR16 with 15.8 points per game. His production statistics were eerily similar (82 receptions on 117 targets for 1,096 yards), but the big change was in his TD efficiency (13).
Betting on players to repeat a significant jump in touchdown production is a dangerous game, especially when they are entering their age-30 season. Yet, that is what early fantasy drafters are doing.
It will be difficult for McLaurin to maintain the 15.8% TD rate he enjoyed in 2025, especially since the Washington Commanders added Deebo Samuel Sr. as a secondary weapon in the passing attack. Samuel is a significant upgrade over McLaurin’s competition in 2024 (Olamide Zaccheaus and Noah Brown) and will take designed touches, especially in the red zone.
There’s a real chance that 2024 was the best season we’ll see out of McLaurin. However, the excitement about Jayden Daniels and Washington’s offense has seen his ADP settle in at WR18.
There just isn’t enough upside to justify that pick.
Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Chris Godwin was looking like an early 2024 league-winner before a dislocated ankle on a meaningless fourth-quarter reception ended his year early.
Through seven games, Godwin had 62 targets, 50 receptions, 576 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. He was the WR5 in PPR points per game (19.7) and even had a week as the WR1 (35.5 points in Week 6). We’ll never know if he could maintain that pace.
On the surface, Godwin’s ADP (WR32) is reasonable given his success in 2024. However, despite the discount, there’s a chance that he’s still being drafted too high.
For one, Godwin’s injury could have a more significant impact on his 2025 production than we are expecting. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him to a lucrative extension this offseason, but that shows more belief in his long-term health.
Godwin is expected to be ready by Week 1 but will likely miss most of the offseason program. In recent memory, significant ankle injuries have hampered players well into the following season (Tony Pollard being the most relevant example).
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Also, the Buccaneers lost offensive coordinator Liam Coen to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason to become their head coach. Coen was committed to maximizing Godwin’s ability to thrive in the slot, but that may not be the case going forward.
Finally, Tampa Bay continued to add to its receiving room in 2025. This, despite having Mike Evans, who is a Hall of Fame talent, and Jalen McMillan (37 receptions for 461 yards and eight touchdowns), also looking good as a rookie.
Nevertheless, the Buccaneers decided to continue to add to their WR room in the draft, selecting Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka in the first round. Egbuka is the leading receiver in Ohio State history who also thrived as a slot-specific player.
Tampa Bay has more than enough weapons to give Godwin the time he needs to fully recover from his injury. Even if he’s ready for Week 1, there’s a realistic chance that Godwin will be in a rotational role to start the year to allow him to return to full strength.
