2009 Fantasy Football Busts

Bust: A player, usually drafted in the first three rounds of a fantasy draft, who is predicted to have a poor season. The player might be injury-prone, have a future star behind them in the depth chart, or just won't be able to live up to their hype. From our Fantasy Football Dictionary

Our writers have classified the following players as busts for 2009. We will be updating this list throughout the pre-season.

Name	Pos	Team	Age	Yrs Exp.	Pos. Rank
Joseph Addai	RB	IND	26	3	RB - #10
Joseph Addai should enter the 2009 season as the Colts' starting running back; however, his value took a major hit when the Colts used a first round pick on running back Donald Brown. Addai struggled with injuries last season and the addition of Brown will mean a significant decrease in touches for Addai this season. The Colts will want to keep Addai fresh and healthy... Read More
Cedric Benson	RB	CIN	27	4	RB - #7
Cedric Benson will enter the 2009 season as the Cincinnati Bengals' starting running back. Benson was inconsistent after taking over as the Bengals' starter in 2008, and should have similar fortunes this season. Benson supporters will point to his final two games of the season in which he ran for 282 yards and one touchdown, however, in those two games he received 63 ... Read More
Deion Branch	WR	SEA	30	7	WR - #61
Another year, another disappointing, injury-shortened season for Deion Branch. The old regime had a lot at stake in seeing Branch succeed, but new Head Coach Jim Mora may not be so patient with this expensive underachiever. Newly signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh is penciled in as a presumptive starter, and should become Hasselbeck's primary target. Branch will need to disti... Read More
Justin Gage	WR	TEN	29	6	WR - #79
Gage posted 34 catches for 651 yards (19.1 avg.) and a career-high six touchdowns in 2008. A nice player but should not be a fantasy starter except for the deepest of leagues. Don't be fooled by the 10 catch performance in the playoffs, Gage simply is not that good and this offense is not going to make him any better. If you are drafting him as a WR 5, which is pro... Read More
Devery Henderson	WR	NO	27	4	WR - #59
Devery Henderson is one of the most inconsistent wide receivers in the NFL. Henderson caught only 32 passes in 2008, but averaged almost 25 yards per catch for a total of 793 yards and three touchdowns. Every pass that Devery Henderson catches has the potential to go for a long touchdown, but he is too inconsistent to rely on for fantasy football owners. Henderson has... Read More
Tim Hightower	RB	ARI	23	1	RB - #26
Fantasy owners that followed the Player Upgrades weekly articles last season know that I was driving the Tim Hightower bandwagon as early as the pre-season in 2008. Hightower was a wavier wire wonder for fantasy owners who picked up the rookie last year. Hightower, the Cardinals' 5th round selection from Richmond took over the starting role from Edgerrin James in W... Read More
Willis McGahee	RB	BAL	28	5	RB - #61
There were good moments in Willis McGahee's 2008 season, but the negatives outweighed the positives and all the data is trending towards this being his final season in Charm City. In fact, if the Ravens would not take a substantial cap hit this season, the McGahee era would likely already be over, but for now he remains in the mix and de facto starter heading into the... Read More
Ben Roethlisberger	QB	PIT	28	5	QB - #8
Most fantasy experts predicted there was no way Roethlisberger would match his 32 touchdown passes from 2007 -- guess what, he didn't come close. The Steelers gave up the second least points in the NFL in 2008 and this offense is ball control all the way. Big Ben should be expected to throw 15-20 TDs per season, which ranks him between 12th-15th among fantasy QBs h... Read More
Bo Scaife	TE	TEN	29	4	TE - #31
The leading receiver for the Titans last year was slow to sign the franchise tender until the uber-athletic Jared Cook was drafted and then he couldn't wait to sign. Scaife has never been productive in the red zone (his career YAC is hovering around 5 yards) and not to beat a dead horse, but this isn't exactly the "Air McNair" offense. Last season he hauled ... Read More
Alex Smith	QB	SF	25	4	QB - #16
Alex Smith should thank his stars that someone in San Francisco thought he deserved one last chance. Certainly, few fans or members of the media felt that way. By all accounts, Mike Singletary didn't feel that way either. Coach would have been happy with overachieving Shaun Hill at the helm, but Smith is GM Scott McCloughan's pet project. The former Utah pivot, who re... Read More
Nate Washington	WR	TEN	26	4	WR - #62
Acquired from Pittsburgh at a rate of $27 million over 6 years, Limas Sweed made this undrafted overachiever expendable. He's a fine number three and might fit nicely in the slot (being the smallest of the three Titan receivers listed here) but if they expect him to be a #1, he is in way over his head. Washington's 40 catches last year makes him the most productive WR... Read More
Ben Watson	TE	CLE	29	4	TE - #12
Watson had a very down year in 2008, with only 22 receptions for 2009 yards and only 2 touchdowns (all his lowest totals since his rookie season). The Patriots brought in 2 new tight ends Chris Baker and Alex Smith to compete with Watson -- add to that the fact that he can't seem to stay healthy and you can see why he is a risky pick. The one thing that might help ... Read More