Fantasy Football 2024: Wide Receiver Busts to Avoid

The passing game dominates the modern NFL, and it's no different in the fantasy football realm.

That's what makes receivers such strong commodities on fantasy rosters.

It's hard to win without some really good pass-catchers, which is why you need to nail the early selections you spend on them. We're here to help you avoid a few disasters by highlighting three receivers who are unlikely to deliver the kind of numbers needed to justify their cost using average draft position (ADP) data from FantasyPros.

Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings (ADP: 92)

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EAGAN, MN - AUGUST 03: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) runs a drill during Minnesota Vikings Training Camp at TCO Performance Center on August 3, 2024 in Eagan, Minnesota. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Jordan Addison is sort of the walking reminder that fantasy football values are fluid.

Those who invested in his rookie season were pleasantly rewarded. He wound up hauling in 70 receptions for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns, numbers good enough to make him WR19 in standard scoring leagues.

Shouldn't Addison be a fantasy bargain, then, as the 37th wide receiver off the board in standard leagues? Nope. His situation changed in such dramatic fashion that we're out even at this price.

Kirk Cousins is gone, and either Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy has taken his spot. That's a massive downgrade regardless which direction the Vikings take. Justin Jefferson is healthy now, too, which he wasn't for much of last season. And once T.J. Hockenson makes it back from the ACL and MCL tears he suffered in December, that will further reduce the number of potential targets for Addison in this downgraded passing game.

Nico Collins, Houston Texans (ADP: 28)

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HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 13: Nico Collins #12 of the Houston Texans runs with the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the first half of the AFC Wild Card playoff game at NRG Stadium on January 13, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

This is tough, because we're buying Nico Collins' talent and we're buying his quarterback, C.J. Stroud.

We just aren't buying Collins as a value at this price.

He is coming off of a breakout season in which he caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns. He had some quiet weeks within that season, though, and the worry is that more could be on the horizon.

Even if Collins is the preferred option in this passing game, he'll still be fighting for targets with Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs and Dalton Schultz. New running back Joe Mixon caught 112 passes over the past two seasons, so he'll be a factor in the passing game, too. It's hard to see Collins finding enough volume to justify this cost.

Malik Nabers, New York Giants (ADP: 48)

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - MAY 10: Wide receiver Malik Nabers speaks to the media during New York Giants Rookie Minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center on May 10, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

You could argue—as some analysts did—that Malik Nabers, not Marvin Harrison Jr., was the best receiver prospect in this year's class.

So, why is Nabers in our crosshairs and not the rookie going 31 spots ahead of him? Because situations matter, and Nabers' situation is dicey at best.

The good news is he should sit atop the pass-catching pecking order in New York. The bad news is that may not actually matter much. Daniel Jones has never been the most prolific passer, and he looked especially abysmal before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in November. His six games yielded just 909 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and six interceptions.

Expecting any receiver to make major fantasy noise with this kind of quarterback play is asking a lot. Asking that of an NFL rookie feels either outlandish or simply impossible. Either way, we're out at this price.