College Fantasy Football: Proceed with caution on these overvalued names for 2026 — Here's Eric Froton's All-Fade Team

When reading this “Busts” column, it is important to point out that I perceive these players to be overvalued at their current draft position, not that they are outright “off-my-board” unless otherwise specified.

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As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, pro-style quarterbacks have major difficulty reaching the all-important 20-fantasy-point-per-game mark in Yahoo Standard scoring without a defined rushing component. Running backs in committees are always dicey propositions, and it’s vital to target receivers and tight ends who are targeted downfield in pass-friendly offenses.

With that, here are the most overvalued players currently being selected in Yahoo Standard Leagues. 

Please understand this “Bust” label pertains to Yahoo Standard scoring where pro-style signal-callers are depreciated by way of 4-point passing touchdowns. Philosophically, we’ve seen Ohio State morph from the up-tempo attack of Ryan Day’s formative head coaching years, to the glacial offense we witnessed last year that slowed OSU down to the 135th slowest pace in the country.

The Buckeyes now bring in the infamous run-heavy NFL castoff Arthur Smith to run the offense. With Sayin having run the ball just 31 times for 27 yards and zero rushing touchdowns last year, and new OC Smith nerf-ing the entire offense, I don’t think Sayin gets enough work in the run game to clear the 20-FPPG benchmark that is imperative in 1QB leagues. Pass on Sayin, and vulture a pair of high-upside QBs who are capable of cracking the 400 rushing yards barrier in the later rounds.

This is not to disparage the exceptional job Dickey did for the Red Raiders last season after USC transfer Quinten Joyner sustained an injury that knocked him out for the year. However, this year Joyner is healthy and expected to be an established rotation member who will eat away at Dickey’s 200-touch workload from a year ago. Compounding matters is the continued presence of passing down maven J’Koby Williams, who cranked out 1,254 total yards over 14 games last year, and dual-threat QB Will Hammond who will siphon gold zone touches. Dickey is an abnormally risky investment for a player who produced 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns in the 2025 regular season thanks to the increased competition for touches. 

The truly most disappointing CFF news of the offseason has been the unfortunate gunshot wound in his leg that Hardy suffered back in May. While there was initial optimism that Hardy would return in short order, he did not dress for the team’s most recent scrimmage. With Missouri starting the season with four very favorable matchups against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kansas, Troy and Mississippi State, it’s entirely possible we don’t see Hardy in any meaningful capacity until at least October, and even that is speculative. I’ve drastically dropped him in my rankings and am outright avoiding Hardy unless we get some form of tangible positive camp news heading into Week 1. 

We’ve seen Marsh being selected in the top-25 of Power Conference receivers this offseason, in the hopes that the new Utah-imported coaching staff will ply him with a swarm of targets, despite rave reviews about Utah transfer WR, JJ Buchanan. However, QB Bryce Underwood struggled in spring and is expected to have a more Devon Dampier-like effect from a fantasy perspective, utilizing his legs as much, or more, as his arm. With Michigan playing one of the top-five toughest schedules nationally and deploying a run-first ethos in the defense-oriented Big Ten, Marsh is a risky proposition inside the top-25 of P4 drafts. 

Staley is a solid, but relatively uninspiring, wideout who was used as departed UT QB Jesse Aguilar’s safety valve underneath last year. Just 9.6% of Staley’s targets traveled 20+ yards downfield for a very conservative 8.1 average target depth. With Tennessee’s field stretcher on the outside, Chris Brazzell, now in the NFL, I expect Mike Matthews to expand upon his 25.3% deep target rate and inherit Brazzell’s vacated downfield targets after receiving just 74 looks last year compared to Brazzell’s 99. I recommend passing on Staley and taking Matthews 2-3 rounds later according to current draft trends. 

It was a storybook season for the Blue Devils in 2025, as Duke somehow managed to finagle their way into a thrilling overtime ACC Championship game victory against Virginia last year. The bad news is superstar QB Darian Mensah and WR Cooper Barkate are at Miami, while former starting WR Que’Sean Brown is at Virginia Tech. The only key offensive cogs who return are their workhorse running back and Hasley, and all the news coming from camp points to a return to their run-first ways behind Sheppard now that the best QB they’ve had since Daniel Jones is gone. The scheme shift and QB downgrade craters Hasley’s CFF appeal, as he spent 60% of his reps inline last year and Duke will experience a significant downgrade from their 35 PPG scoring average last year. Leave him on the waiver wire and take high-upside shots elsewhere later in drafts. 

Rutgers fielded the dirt-worst fantasy defense in the country last year, as the Scarlet Knights got throttled by superior Big Ten competition. While Raymond was a certifiable workhorse who logged a massive 244-carry workload in 2025, he was sparsely used in the receiving game. While he caught seven passes for 88 yards in a fluke explosion against Washington, he only registered 11 catches for 137 yards in his other 11 contests.

Also muddying Raymond’s profile is the fact he scored nine touchdowns in his first five games, feasting on the likes of Miami (Ohio), Ohio and FCS Norfolk State before punching in just four scores over his last seven games. It’s not hard to find starting running backs in the early season when P4 teams are feasting on their G6/FCS underlings, but Raymond presents startability issues against the better defenses on Rutgers’ B10 schedule such as USC, Indiana, Michigan, at Wisconsin and at Penn State.

Raymond has been selected in the top-six of several of P4 drafts i’ve witnessed and participated in, and is a first rounder in the vast majority of leagues. I think Raymond should be viewed as a late-second rounder due to his startability issues, lack of a consistent receiving workload, and his sizable production splits when facing quality Big Ten programs.