Assessing fantasy football’s top risk-reward targets

Recognizing risk is necessary in making sure the juice is worth squeeze.

Fantasy football gamers are tasked with making decisions at every juncture of their seasons. Whether it be the draft, setting lineups, making trades, or waiver claims … you name it, there is a choice to be made. Some of them are mundane, and others will drastically alter the course of your team’s fortunes.

One way to help mitigate the chance of a disastrous showing is to understand the amount of risk being assumed. Since the foundation of most any good fantasy roster is laid during the draft, we’ll focus our attention on which players offer the most potential in the face of unmistakable risk. You’ll also read about guys with greater risk than reward, despite being highly ranked or having an early average draft placement.

2024 fantasy football busts and overvalued players

Know which player pitfalls to avoid in 2024 fantasy football drafts.

It’s rare that an otherwise consistently selected player should be entirely avoided in fantasy football drafts, because at the right price, risk is mitigated. However, some recognizable names just don’t warrant inclusion on 16-man rosters. Fantasy football gamers also need to be aware of players who are going much earlier than warranted.

“Bust” is a loaded term that isn’t entirely fair, nor is it an accurate reflection of a player’s risk. Furthermore, it’s tough to find a consensus definition. Can an injury create a bust? Is it only a bust situation if the player goes up in flames without an injury? Both? Are busts only early-round selections? You get the point. Regardless of how one defines it, the term is far from perfect.

This piece highlights some of the more commonly drafted players whose selections may cause headaches. Therefore, we’ll focus on “overvalued” and “bust potential” in this space. Just because a player appears in this list, it doesn’t automatically mean he will be a total flop, but the players in question certainly have elevated risk of failure. All players are ordered from least to most concern of failure.

2024 fantasy football busts and overvalued players