Fantasy Football Bust of the Year: Which 2019 Stud Should You Fade in 2020?

After an expectation-exceeding 2019 performance, SI Fantasy football expert Shawn Childs projects this player as his 2020 Bust of the Year.

This is an article from our Fantasy Football Bust Player series. If you're a subscriber, you can read this premium article here.

Correctly identifying a bust player in fantasy sports is a game-changer. Last year, the first round in fantasy football was a minefield of disappointment. Here’s a list of the top 24 draft picks in 2019 in PPR leagues with their final fantasy points and how many points they scored in 2019:

My first observation is that 11 running backs get drafted over the first 14 picks. Contests in the Fantasy Football World Championship (FFWC) favor wide receivers by having two flex positions in their starting lineup.

Based on the final 2019 stats, only four players improved on their 2018 scoring. Le’Veon Bell sat out 2018, but he failed to live up to expectations last year. The only four impact players (275 or more points) over the first 24 picks were Christian McCaffrey, Michael Thomas, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dalvin Cook.

When on the draft clock for the first pick, no one ever thought Barkley would be outscored by 227.1 points in PPR leagues by McCaffrey. At the same time, Thomas scored 105.9 fantasy points more than Davante Adams and 106.9 fantasy points over DeAndre Hopkins.

Overall, 2019 had the most busts I’ve seen in my fantasy football career. Almost all of the weakness came via injuries.

The most significant bust in 2019 was Adam Thielen, who scored 194 fewer fantasy points.

My take from 2019 came from two players. Both James Conner and Kerryon Johnson have a jump in fantasy draft value while lacking a lengthy resume and a high draft pick pedigree. Injuries led to disappointing years. 

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