2022 Top-5 Rookie Busts in Fantasy Football

One of the most fun parts of your redraft fantasy leagues is predicting which rookies will make an immediate impact. While some rookies like Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave played up to expectations, many did not. These are the top five rookie busts in redraft fantasy football leagues, along with a brief future dynasty outlook for the year-long fantasy football fans out there.

1) Skyy Moore, Kansas City Chiefs

Skyy Moore was one of the biggest letdowns this year. It was expected that Moore would make an immediate impact by stepping into one of the best offenses with a depleted wide receiver core in the Chiefs and getting Patrick Mahomes to throw him the ball. Moore was dubbed by many to be a potential league-winner. However, despite all the hype, there were many underlying red flags surrounding Moore, an undersized wide receiver who faced below-average college competition.

Despite all these bold claims, Moore has been a complete bust barely seeing the field, with his biggest game of the year being 11.6 points. Averaging 2.6 points a game makes Moore a total dud this year, even with the fantastic situation and preseason hype. 

Contrary to everything said, I wouldn’t give up on Moore or any rookie in your dynasty leagues. Moore is a solid prospect but is extremely raw and is not ready to make a significant impact on an NFL roster right now. He had a good season at Western Michigan, showing off his elite speed and good deep-route running. It’s not out of the question for Moore to develop in the future and be a valuable fantasy asset. However, there are many red flags surrounding him that allow you to predict a horrendous lack of production in year one. 

2) James Cook, Buffalo Bills

James Cook, who was also stepping into an elite offense, had the highest ADP of any rookie this year at 94. In addition to having a fantastic situation, Cook was a great prospect coming out of Georgia despite being slightly undersized. Many expected Cook to take over the role of Devin Singletary or at least be in a committee as a third-down back. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and Cook had a very lackluster year producing 5 PPG. 

It should be noted that even in an elite offense, it is tough to become an NFL-ready talent in year one, as many prospects have holes in their game. One reason Cook struggled to get onto the field as often was his blocking and ball security. Despite stepping into this great position, it’s clear that Cook was not ready to be highly involved in this offense immediately. 

On the other hand, Cook could be a fantastic value in dynasty leagues even if he isn’t producing on day one. Cook was still a very good prospect and will still be in the future for this tremendous Bills offense. As a runner in college Cook looked great on top of being a good pass catcher. If Cook cleans up his overall game and improves at run blocking, Cook could be a three-down back in one of the league’s best offenses. 

3) Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons

Tyler Allgeier was coming into this year with an ADP of 109, which was somewhat confusing even when he was expected to take over Cordarrelle Patterson this year. Allgeier was a 5th Round pick out of BYU who was a power back with average speed, pass-catching skills, and blocking. While no one expected the Falcon’s offense to be this bad, their offense was never going to be a top-tier situation. 

This rookie year was not a failure by real-life standards but from a fantasy lens. Allgeier was only playable in weeks 8 and 9, where he scored 17 and 13 points. 

Contrary to many people’s beliefs, Allgeier is not guaranteed the starting running back job even if Cordarrelle Patterson finally retires or is phased out of the Atlanta offense. He has very low draft capital and has yet to show many special skills besides being a good between-the-trenches runner due to his frame. I have Allgeier as a future committee back even when the Falcons offense improves in the near future. Ultimately, my concern is his low draft capital and how his skill set won’t translate to fantasy success. The Falcons are a team that could potentially be in the mix for Bijan Robinson in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

4) Jalen Tolbert, Dallas Cowboys

Jalen Tolbert had the lowest ADP at 189 of anyone on this list, but after the Cowboy’s wide receiver core was depleted with injuries, Tolbert was supposed to be the wide receiver two to start the year. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing, “Draft Tolbert in the last round; he could be the steal of your draft.” Differing from the public opinion, even though he had late 3rd Round NFL Draft capital, Tolbert wasn’t particularly impressive in college, even at a small school like South Alabama. 

Along with Moore, Tolbert’s lack of college competition was a big red flag going into this year. This is another example of people basing a player’s success on the situation without looking at the talent profile. Tolbert was a complete flop as he was a healthy scratch for multiple games, even with the depleted wide receiver core. For what some people claimed could be a potential steal of the draft, Tolbert has averaged 0.2 PPG and scored 1.2 points the whole season.

While I was optimistic about many of these other rookies in dynasty leagues, Tolbert wasn’t one of them. He’s in potentially the best situation he’ll have for years to come with Dak Prescott, but he hardly even saw the field this year. Tolbert’s strength in college was playing as a deep threat, but he didn’t look great at anything else, even playing against below-average competition. I would never say to cute a player you took in your rookie draft after year one, but I’m not very optimistic for Tolbert’s future as a dynasty asset. 

5) Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders

Zamir White, with an ADP of 130, was expected to get a role along with Josh Jacobs this year. Of course, we all know how that has gone, with Jacobs scoring 21.75 PPG and having been one of the best running backs in fantasy football all year. 

Although White possesses some tremendous skills, such as elite speed and solid pass-catching, he still needs to improve his overall game. Jacobs looking as good as he did, was used as a three-down running back, not giving White many opportunities. White finished the year averaging 0.5 PPG a very disappointing season nonetheless.

Alternatively, White is a great buy-low candidate in dynasty leagues. His value is relatively low after Jacobs fantastic season and the future is still up in the air with Las Vegas as he hasn’t been signed to a long-term deal. Despite all of this, White is a running back with elite speed and the potential to be a very good pass catcher. While he needs to improve his vision and strength to become a three-down running back, I like the potential for White to be an excellent dynasty asset in the future. 

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