Top 7 Biggest Busts from the 2023 Fantasy Football Season

The 2023 fantasy football season is officially in the books. It was a long grind, and I think we are all ready for some downtime. However, if you’re into dynasty fantasy football, you know there is no off-season. Either way, it’s important to take a moment and reflect on the season that was. Hopefully, the fantasy gods were kind and you enjoyed a successful year.

However, if your fantasy football season was not as successful, it may have been because you invested in the wrong players. Busts are a part of the game and can leave you looking foolish while carrying out your league’s last-place punishment. Let’s take a look back and examine the seven biggest fantasy football busts of 2023.

All ADP Data is per FantasyPro’s 2023 ADP.

7 Biggest Busts for 2023 Fantasy Football

Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

OVERALL ADP: 4.3, RB ADP: 2

Austin Ekeler came out of the gates strong with a 27-point performance in Week 1. Sadly, that would wind up being his best finish. Averaging a putrid 3.51 YPC, Ekeler had his worst fantasy season since he missed eight games in 2020.

Perhaps most concerning, his role in the offense changed under new play-caller Kellen Moore. Ekeler only averaged 5.3 targets per game compared to the 7.4 he saw in 2022. Given how important receiving work is to Ekeler’s fantasy production, it’s easy to see why he had a down year. Additionally, he ranked just 22nd in running back fantasy points per game (PPG) in 2023. In 2022, Ekeler ranked first in this category. Needless to say, this is a pretty steep drop-off.

In addition, Ekeler suffered an unfortunate ankle injury during his big Week 1 performance. Most likely, it also contributed to his poor play. That aside, we have to call things straight. That being, he was a massive disappointment for fantasy owners who invested a top-three pick in him. Fantasy managers drafted him to be an anchor running back on par with Christian McCaffrey. It would appear, at least on paper, that Ekeler has begun to hit the age cliff.

Moving forward, perhaps he re-signs with Los Angeles and new coach Jim Harbaugh can help forge a bounce-back campaign. However, there are enough concerns here for me to shy away in 2024.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Overall ADP: 11, QB ADP: 1.2

This might seem blasphemous, but the reality is that Patrick Mahomes was a bust in 2023. Mahomes was the first quarterback taken in the large majority of drafts. Unfortunately, he did not deliver on these expectations.

Furthermore, Mahomes finished as the overall QB8 which marked the worst fantasy finish of his career. Looking closer, he finished tied for 12th in quarterback PPG with an average of 18.4. Notably, he finished behind Dak Prescott ( 20.7 PPG), Jordan Love (19.4 PPG), and Brock Purdy (19.2 PPG).  All of these players were drafted far later than Mahomes. Clearly, there were undeniably better values.

If you were one of the players who took Mahomes early, it more than likely hurt you. Passing on players like CeeDee Lamb or Amon-Ra St. Brown for a quarterback proved to be an enormous mistake. Overall, the late-round quarterback draft strategy made a comeback in 2023. This strategy gave managers a huge advantage over those who reached early for Mahomes. Overall, it’s something you should keep in mind for 2024.

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Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Overall ADP: 13.5 RB ADP: 6

Few players were more frustrating than Tony Pollard. Pegged a popular breakout candidate by many pundits, he struggled mightily averaging a career-low 4.0 YPC. Additionally, he finished 20th in our Consistency Score for running backs. Basically, this means he was not reliable for fantasy purposes, week in and week out.

Once one of the most efficient backs in the league, Pollard’s efficiency metrics completely cratered. Pollard ranked just 34th in rush yards over expectation (RYOE). Additionally, Pro Football Focus graded him 44th in Elusive Rating and 35th in Breakaway Run Percentage. Perhaps, it would seem that the career-high 307 touches were too much to handle.

Pollard still finished as the overall RB14, but he failed to improve upon his RB8 finish from 2022. While he didn’t necessarily hurt your team, he produced more like an RB2. Not someone who was drafted at the backend of the first/early second round. Players picked in this range need to be fantasy difference-makers. The fact is, Pollard did not deliver relative to expectations and was arguably the biggest disappointment of the fantasy season.

Miles Sanders, RB, Carolina Panthers

Overall ADP: 64.3 RB ADP: 22

Our first dead zone running back candidate makes the list. As a reminder, the running back dead zone is loosely defined as rounds three through seven.

Fresh off a career year in Philadelphia, Miles Sanders “got the bag” inking a four-year, $25 million deal with the Carolina Panthers. In today’s running back market, this is a significant investment in the position. With this type of money behind him, Sanders seemed secure atop the depth chart. Unfortunately, this goes to show what we think we know sometimes.

Furthermore, the Panthers’ season never got going and Sanders was downright awful. Sanders checked in at a laughable 52nd in our running backs Consistency Score. Additionally, he was outplayed by Chuba Hubbard and was later benched altogether. All in all, Sanders finished as the overall RB52.

Typically, running backs given this kind of money are secure in terms of their role. However, given their struggles, Carolina tried everything they could to turn things around for their struggling offense and rookie quarterback. Sanders was ultimately a casualty.

In fairness to drafters, this one was pretty hard to see coming. Yet, we’re going to have to chalk it up as another reason to avoid drafting running backs in the middle rounds.

Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston Texans

Overall ADP: 67.3 RB ADP: 22.3

What a complete disaster it was for Dameon Pierce this year. This was much more than just Devin Singletary stepping up this year. Notably, he struggled mightily in 2023 averaging an embarrassing 2.9 YPC. Part of the blame can be placed on the Texans’ new coaching staff changing their run-blocking scheme.

Under the previous regime in 2022, Pierce operated under a power-gap scheme and enjoyed a successful rookie season. New Coach Demeco Ryans brought an outside zone-based scheme, and Pierce couldn’t adjust. He was eventually benched for Singletary and relegated to backup and kick-return duties. All things considered, he was certainly a disastrous selection for those who picked him as an RB2 as he barely cracked 400 rushing yards. Ultimately, he finished as the overall RB55.

As we can see from his ADP, Pierce was going smack in the middle of the aforementioned running back dead zone. While he showed promise as a rookie, Pierce wound up being another tombstone in the dead zone graveyard.

Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Overall ADP: 73.8 RB ADP: 25

Another dead-zone running back makes the list. Are you noticing a theme here? Tread lightly drafting backs in the middle rounds.

Full disclosure, I listed Alexander Mattison as one of my bust picks for 2023. I highlighted some concerns I had, specifically, his inefficiencies as a rusher during his first four years in the league. 2023 proved to be no different.

Mattison finished 35th in both RYOE and Rush Yards Over Expectation Per Attempt. He also finished 40th in our running back consistency score. Finally, he averaged a paltry 3.9 yards per carry and did not score a single rushing touchdown all year. Ouch.

In my 2023 Running Back Busts article, regarding Mattison, I wrote “While the Vikings did make a point to resign Mattison, it was only a two-year seven million dollar deal. There is really no financial motivation to keep handing him the football if his inefficiency becomes a problem. Minnesota could begin to experiment with other options or even look to sign a veteran during the season.”

And that’s exactly what the Vikings did. They traded for Cam Akers midseason when Mattison was struggling. Sadly, Akers would be lost for the year due to an unfortunate Achilles injury. This left Mattison as the defacto lead back once again. However, they began working second-year back Ty Chandler more into the offense. When Mattison went down with an ankle sprain, they turned the keys over to Chandler and did not look back.

So, what did we learn from Mattison’s case? Be wary of running backs we are expecting to be good solely based on volume. While it’s true that volume is important in fantasy football, we have to consider a player’s talent as well. If a mediocre player continues to struggle, then it’s not reasonable to expect said player will continue receiving elite usage. In the end, that ultimately came back to bite Mattison’s backers.

An aside on dead zone running backs- I’ve intentionally hit this point hard as I feel it is important to note. Now, there were hits in the dead zone. Rachaad White is probably the best example. Despite White’s success, there were still numerous whiffs in this range. It’s important to exercise extreme caution when selecting running backs in this range of the draft. More often than not, it will end up being a pick you regret.

Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

Overall ADP: 75, TE ADP: 7.8

For as right as I was about Alexander Mattison, I was equally wrong about Kyle Pitts. Listed as one of my breakout picks, Pitts floundered in 2023. A TE13 finish is certainly not what drafters were hoping to get from the third-year tight end. Agonizingly so, there are once again reasons to explain Pitts’ 2023 struggles.

Former Falcons’ coach Arthur Smith’s inexplicable usage of his best weapons is certainly to blame. Pitts only played more than 80% of offensive snaps in one game. He broke 90 receiving yards a total of zero times as well. This ultimately wound up getting Smith canned.

There’s also the revelation that Pitts was not playing at 100% health. It makes sense now, but put this down in the “well that would have been nice to know before the season!” category.

Look, even though there are reasons to explain what happened, the fact of the matter is Pitts stunk again last year. If you picked him as your tight end, he was a black hole in your lineups most weeks. Worst of all, he carried just enough name cache that may have prevented owners from dropping him in-season for waiver-wire pickups like Trey McBride.

Overall, while the talent and potential remain, Pitts is eventually going to have to prove that he deserves the high expectations placed on him year after year. Something tells me that he will once again be a polarising player in 2024.

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