5 Players to Avoid in 2025 Fantasy Football Drafts

We always have an idea of which players we want to target in fantasy football drafts, but knowing which players to avoid can be equally as important.

Drafting certain players could be akin to stepping on a land mine -- be it thanks to injury risk, poor environment, decline in production, or a higher-than-should-be average draft position (ADP).

Let's identify players we can consider avoiding this season, even if they may be tempting to draft.

Note: All ADPs (average draft position) come from FantasyPros' Consensus ADP for half-PPR leagues.

Players to Avoid in Fantasy Football

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

ADP: 3.0 (RB2)

Saquon Barkley isn't the only consensus first-round pick who carries injury risk -- Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry each have red flags in their own right. And while it's impossible to predict injuries, it's also hard to fathom Saquon repeating his historic 2024 campaign, making him someone we may want to avoid in fantasy.

Last season, Saquon erupted for 2,283 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns to collect 388.8 half-PPR points -- the second-most among non-QBs behind only Ja'Marr Chase (339.5). It took an incredibly taxing workload for him to put up those numbers.

Across the regular season and postseason, Barkley handled a monstrous 482 touches. That's good for the most touches across the past decade, 2nd-most since 2000, and 10th-most in NFL history. He's in rare territory. Even if he avoids major injury, he likely won't be able to navigate the same workload with the same efficiency (5.9 YPC) as he did last year, but we're more or less drafting him as if he will.

James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills

ADP: 29.7 (RB13)

I love James Cook, but I can't get behind drafting him in the top-30 picks.

Cook bursted for 18 total touchdowns in 2024. His 16 rushing scores were tied with Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs for the most in the NFL, yet he finished as just the RB11 on a points-per-game basis.

Frankly, it's astonishing that Cook managed to pace his position in touchdowns without finishing in the top 10 in points per game, and it goes to show what a less-than-ideal snap rate can do. Entering 2025, the Buffalo Bills don't seem too bullish on upping Cook's snaps, either.

That's tough news as Cook is a candidate to face negative scoring regression this season. According to our Brandon Gdula, Cook led all running backs with 6.7 touchdowns over expectation in 2024. It checks out considering he was just 19th at the position in carries (207) and 30th in targets (38).

Back in 2023, Cook played 17 games and handled 237 carries. He finished as the overall RB11 and the RB19 in points per game.

So, Cook scored 6 total touchdowns through 17 games in 2023 before scoring 18 total touchdowns through 16 games in 2024. This season, he figures to fall somewhere between the high-highs and low-lows as scores go, which leaves him with a meh outlook compared to his current ADP -- and that's assuming he stays healthy.

Joe Mixon, RB, Houston Texans

ADP: 79.3 (RB29)

Joe Mixon's stock continues to plummet as his injury news gets bleaker -- his real-time ADP is at pick 102 as of this writing.

On Monday, the Houston Texans placed Mixon (foot) on the reserve/NFI list, ensuring he will miss at least the first four games of the season. Then this morning, Texans GM Nick Caserio was noncommittal regarding Mixon's status for 2025. That alone should give us pause, and it seems Mixon could be headed toward firm "do not draft" territory.

Behind Mixon, Houston has Nick Chubb, Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, and rookie Woody Marks in their running back room. Our Austin Swaim has you covered on which Texans running back you should draft in 2025.

Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

ADP: 77.3 (WR33)

Chris Olave's unfortunate injury history, among other things, should scare us.

Last season, Olave sustained a concussion in Week 6, and that forced him to miss one game. He suffered another concussion in Week 9 -- the fourth of his professional career and fifth since college -- and that resulted in him missing the rest of the season.

The talented 25-year-old is up to four concussions through just three years in the NFL, so it's safe to say there's real concern.

To add, Olave arguably has the worst quarterback situation in the league with the New Orleans Saints set to start Spencer Rattler in front of Tyler Shough.

Emeka Egbuka, Rome Odunze, Ricky Pearsall, and Matthew Golden are all being drafted right around Olave, so in my eyes, there are more preferable options to be had in this range.

Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

ADP: 75.7 (TE7)

Mark Andrews' fantasy football value relies on him scoring touchdowns.

Unfortunately, he's due to score fewer of them this season.

In 2024, Andrews scored 11 times on 69 targets -- good for an insane 15.9% touchdown rate. Per Gdula's numbers, he scored 6.4 more touchdowns than expected while no other tight end earned more than 2.7 touchdowns over expectation. Simply put: few players are due for a bigger comeuppance this year than Andrews is in the TD department. Among tight ends, he was just 20th in total targets (69) and ninth in receiving yards (673) despite playing all 17 games.

While it moves mountains to be a member of the Baltimore Ravens -- and that alone offers Andrews some value -- 25-year-old Isaiah Likely just avoided the PUP list and could be ready for Week 1. Andrews, who has an injury history, turns 30 in two weeks.

We have some intriguing tight end options who are being drafted 25-plus picks later than Andrews, among them Tyler Warren and Tucker Kraft. In a year where the TE position doesn't look so bad, Andrews is one I'm avoiding.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.