2025 Must Avoid Fantasy QBs

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  • By Robert Szolosi

    Last Updated on June 24, 2025 10:08 am by Jon Mosales | Published: June 24, 2025

    Must Avoid Fantasy QBs

      • 1. Patrick Mahomes II

     

    2024 Fantasy Finish: QB12

    Last Season Preseason Rank: QB1

    This Season Preseason Rank: QB11

    Schedule Outlook: 

    Easiest Opponents: Week 3 New York Giants, Week 7/18 Las Vegas Raiders, Week 16 Tennessee Titans 

    Hardest Opponents: Week 2 Philadelphia Eagles, Week 4 Baltimore  Ravens, Week 6 Detroit Lions 

    Patrick Mahomes was one of the most polarizing fantasy players throughout the middle of last season, but the reality is he was just droppable by midseason. He only hit our 20-point fantasy threshold four times last season and was incredibly inconsistent throughout the early part of 2024.  Some of that can be attributed to what is a really bizarre receiving core.  Tight end Travis Kelce is simply not the same player he once was. Even with a top 10 fantasy finish, rookie Brock Bowers was just so much better, and Noah Gray, the backup tight end to Kelce, also had some impressive fantasy games. The top three receivers also couldn’t really find much connection while also dealing with some injuries, namely in Rashee Rice, who tore his LCL last year.  Rookie Xavier Worthy is definitely a positive point, but not enough to make Mahomes himself a fantasy important this season.  While we know someone in fantasy leagues will likely draft him high, last season was such a massive concern that it wouldn’t be a surprise if Mahomes finds his way on the waiver wire this campaign as well. 

    • 2. Justin Herbert

    2024 Fantasy Finish: QB11

    Last Season Preseason Rank: QB12

    This Season Preseason Rank: QB12

    Schedule Outlook: 

    Easiest Opponents: Week 2/13 Las Vegas Raiders, Week 4 New York Giants, Week 9 Tennessee Titans 

    Hardest Opponents: Week 1/15  Kansas City Chiefs, Week 10 Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 14 Philadelphia Eagles 

    Justin Herbert makes this list for the second year in a row, and it’s for the exact same reason as last year: this receiving core isn’t up to par.  Ladd  McConkey was absolutely spectacular in his first NFL season, finishing WR12. The rest of the course simply didn’t come close, with Quentin Johnston finishing WR39.  It looks like Johnson may be the fourth wide receiver on this roster with Mike Williams returning and rookie Tre Harris out of Ole Miss. While we are excited for Harris, we can’t expect the same production as McConkey provided last year. This was a problem the Chargers just haven’t been able to address after losing Keenan Allen last offseason, and while he’s still in free agency at the time of writing, it’s not like he’ll make a complete difference if he returns to Los Angeles.  Overall, Herbert is an excellent quarterback, but he is a victim of a group that simply doesn’t help him enough to be worth considering in fantasy drafts, especially considering the hardest opponents we’ve highlighted here, including the division rival Kansas City Chiefs, the spectacular Steelers defense, and the Super Bowl champion in Philadelphia Eagles. 

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    • 3. C.J. Stroud 

    2024 Fantasy Finish: QB18

    Last Season Preseason Rank: QB6

    This Season Preseason Rank: QB13

    Schedule Outlook: 

    Easiest Opponents: Week 4/11 Tennessee Titans, Week 15 Arizona Cardinals,  Week 16 Las Vegas Raiders 

    Hardest Opponents: Week 2  Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 5 Baltimore Ravens , Week 14 Kansas City Chiefs 

    We overhyped out way too much in Fantasy last year, as he made our must-draft list last year.  Now he unfortunately goes into the most avoidable. Well, it is reasonable to expect someone to have a down year during their sophomore season. It’s simply a lot worse than that for C.J. This receiving core feels very questionable, other than Nico Collins, who should be in for another big year even after a disappointing WR23 season in 2024. Christian Kirk was the only major acquisition, and he ultimately proved to be a massive overpay for Jacksonville. It may take a long time to build a rapport with Stroud. Unfortunately, Tank Dell will most likely be out all of 2025 after suffering a dislocated kneecap, torn ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus damage. It might take until about Thanksgiving for Stroud to find a consistency that he had in his rookie year that just isn’t enough to trust in fantasy drafts. 

    • 4. Sam Darnold

    2024 Fantasy Finish: QB9

    Last Season Preseason Rank: N/A

    This Season Preseason Rank: QB15

    Schedule Outlook: 

    Easiest Opponents:  Week 3 New Orleans Saints, Week 4/10 Arizona Cardinals  Week 14 Atlanta Falcons

    Hardest Opponents: Week 2 Pittsburgh Steelers,  Week 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 9 Washington Commanders 

    Sam Darnold was unranked last year due to the expectation that J.J. McCarthy would be the starter. That is now the case this year in Minnesota, as Darnold finds himself in Seattle. But Dad could possibly be the worst situation, as the best case would have been for Darnold to be a Viking this season for fantasy purposes. This is primarily due to the absolutely fun and remarkably enjoyable connection Sam Darnold had with  Justin Jefferson, as he finished as WR2 overall in fantasy with 103 receptions for 1,533 yards. It’s hard to find a better dynamic duo than that; unfortunately, a lot of that expectation will go on the connection between Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who finished as WR9 with 100 receptions for 1,130 yards. There’s definitely potential with Cooper Kupp, who also signed with Seattle in the offseason. It’s hard to imagine though that there will be the same level of success for Donald’s fantasy production at the end of the day head coach Mike McDonald is more of an defensive guy and this offense is still very predicated on running the football with Kenneth Walker III  So it’s like the reception numbers will be there conversely not everything will be put on Darnold shoulders like Minnesota. While Sam Darnold Most likely starts for Seattle in the next couple of years, he’s also not far removed from being a backup and struggling in playoff games, so it’s more of a wait-and-see approach, which is not advisable in a fantasy draft. 

    • 5. Justin Fields 

    2024 Fantasy Finish: QB31

    Last Season Preseason Rank: N/A

    This Season Preseason Rank: QB20

    Schedule Outlook: 

    Easiest Opponents: Week 7 Carolina Panthers, Week 11 New England Patriots, Week 13 Atlanta Falcons 

    Hardest Opponents: Week 1  Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 10  Cleveland Browns, Week 12 Baltimore Ravens 

     For Justin Fields, just like the rest of this Jets roster, they’re simply not worth investing in for fantasy.  This is the ultimate bet on potential, just like when the Jets sign Justin Fields, there just isn’t enough of a track record to trust in any starter capacity for fantasy.  The reality is that Fields is a streamer at best.  The thing is, just like with NFL teams, being obsessed with someone’s running ability is just not enough, and consistency simply isn’t there.  It’s not like the field as much help either, minus Garrett Wilson, who had an inconsistent year under Aaron Rodgers.  Well, the connection with Wilson should be great. It will take a little while for it to develop, maybe too long for Fantasy managers. Other than that, though, Allen Lazard and Josh Reynolds don’t provide much confidence, and this running back room feels like it’s in shambles with Bruce Hall and Braelon Allen. While both of these running backs are excellent talents, there’s no telling how efficient they’ll be in the passing game, as last year just wasn’t a great parameter for that. Overall, while most will feel that this is a Field’s best opportunity under Center to be successful in the NFL, it is not something fantasy managers should Bank on right away in fantasy drafts.

    June 24, 2025, 10:08 am