DO NOT Draft These 6 Fantasy Football Busts in 2026 | The Official Do-Not-Draft List (Ep. 2114)
August 6, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readThe Fantasy Football Do-Not-Draft List: Six Players to Avoid at Their Current Price
"Don't draft running backs in rounds three through six." That's Pat Fitzmorris's first rule for avoiding fantasy football busts, and it's not a blanket dismissal of every back in that range—it's about the historical hit rates. "The hit rates have been not what you would like," he says, while the same rounds are a "pass catcher power alley" full of excellent receivers and tight ends. The key insight across the entire episode is that busts aren't necessarily bad players. They're players whose draft cost exceeds their likely return, and the hosts spend the episode identifying six of them while explaining the reasoning behind each call.
The Psychology of Bust Avoidance
Andrew Erickson offers two principles that underpin the entire discussion. First: "Are you drafting for projection or for production?" He recalls a formative mistake from his early drafting days when he was obsessed with Zach Stacy, only to talk himself into DeMarco Murray instead—who led the NFL in rushing that year. "I need to take the guy that's going to be the proven producer here and not the hyped up machine," he says. The trap is getting "so hyped up and you're overpaying—this is the year they're finally going to break out"—while ignoring players who produce year in and year out.
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 Fantasy Football Do-Not-Draft List – Timestamped Outline
- 2 (00:37) **Show Open & Bust-Avoidance Mindset** - Host Alfredo Brown sets up the episode: these are players to avoid at their current ADP, not bad players overall
- 3 (06:27) **Travis Etienne (RB, Saints)** - A timeshare back in an average offense being drafted in the early fourth round
- 4 (09:48) **Luther Burden (WR, Bears)** - Erickson's controversial pick: a second-year receiver being drafted as WR21 without proven NFL production
- 5 (16:56) **Brian Thomas Jr. (WR, Jaguars)** - Pat's concern: a deep-threat receiver in a crowded offense facing brutal early-season cornerback matchups
- 6 (20:36) **Quinshon Judkins (RB, Browns)** - A volume-based RB2 on a potentially bottom-five offense coming off a season-ending injury
- 7 (25:02) **Rashee Rice (WR, Chiefs)** - Pat's ultimate bust pick: character risk, injury risk, and a Chiefs offense that hasn't been elite in the Rice era
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Avoid sinking your season like the Titanic! Join Alfredo Brown, Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson for their top six fantasy football busts to avoid in 2026!
Is New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara's presence not being baked into RB Travis Etienne Jr.'s cost? Are managers drafting Chicago Bears WR Luther Burden putting the cart before the horse? Plus, why does an early-season slate of tough matchups have Fitz shying away from Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr.?
The Pros make their official do-not-draft list!
Timestamps: (May be off due to ads)
Intro - 0:00:00
How To Bust Proof Your Draft - 0:00:34
The Busts - 0:05:35
Travis Etienne Jr. (RB - NO) - 0:05:44
Luther Burden III (WR - CHI) - 0:08:51
Brian Thomas Jr. (WR - JAC) - 0:13:59
Quinshon Judkins (RB - CLE) - 0:17:34
BettingPros College Football Channel - 0:21:40
Ultimates Busts - 0:22:09
Rashee Rice (WR - KC) - 0:22:17
Christian McCaffrey (RB - SF) - 0:24:31
Outro - 0:28:01
Helpful Links:
Hard Rock Bet - Sign up for Hard Rock Bet and make a $5 bet and you'll get $150 in bonus bets if you win. Head over to Hard Rock Bet, sign up and make your first deposit today. Payable in bonus bet(s). Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in FL. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital, LLC, in all other states. Must be 21+ and physically present in AZ, CO, FL, IL, IN, NJ, OH, TN or VA to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling? In FL, call 1-888-ADMIT-IT. In IN, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9-WITH-IT. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER (AZ, CO, IL, NJ, OH, TN, VA)
Draft Wizard - Dominate your fantasy football draft with Draft Wizard. Run fast mock drafts, test different strategies, build custom cheat sheets, get pick-by-pick draft advice, and learn your leaguemates' tendencies before draft day. Just download the FantasyPros App or head to fantasypros.com/draftwizard
Follow us on Twitch - The team here at FantasyPros is taking questions all week, every week on Twitch. Follow us on Twitch at twitch.tv/fantasypros and never miss a stream!
Discord – Join our FantasyPros Discord Community! Chat with other fans and get access to exclusive AMAs that wind up on our podcast feed. Come get your questions answered and BE ON THE SHOW at fantasypros.com/chat
More from this podcast