NFL Fantasy Football Draft Guide: DO NOT DRAFT List

By Scott L. - SL Sports Staff

For fantasy football managers, their DO NOT DRAFT List – also frequently known as the Fade List – often gets very personal.

We get it. We’ve all been there, and our DND List certainly has an element of subjectivity.

Every fantasy manager has lived with players who have consistently underachieved or missed large chunks of seasons whenever we’ve drafted them. We swear that we will never draft those guys again, but when we’re on the clock and the options aren’t great, sometimes we go back to the well.

And we get burned. Again.

At some point, enough is enough and a player moves onto our personal DO NOT DRAFT List. And there’s nothing wrong with that since part of having a successful draft is finding ways to prioritize our target players and to eliminate players who don’t interest us. The fewer decisions we are forced to make as the draft clock is winding down, the better our chances are of making the best choice in that moment.

Personal growth is important in everything we do, however, and eventually when we have enough positive data and a large enough sample size, we must be able to forgive and forget and be willing to move players from the DND List back into our pool of potential draft picks.

Our personal relationship with Saquon Barkley provides a great example of this. Twice we drafted Barkley very early. In one of those years he played two games, while he gained fewer than 600 yards rushing the other time we picked him.

We swore him off “forever,” but forever can prove to be a short time when a guy puts up a 2,000-yard, 13-touchdown season.  So, Barkley now is officially off our DO NOT DRAFT List, but that comes with a caveat.

There’s very little chance he will equal or exceed the season he had in 2024, so would we draft him first or second this year? Probably not. But if for some reason he were to fall a few picks in the opening round, we 100 percent would seize the opportunity to make him our RB1.

Growth and maintaining an open mind are as important for managing fantasy football teams as they are with anything else in life. Every situation we endure provides us with an opportunity to learn and improve.

Growth and learning are all well and good, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some personal grudges that have landed players on our DO NOT DRAFT List this year. Let’s take a look at those players:

The Grudge List

Drake London – WR Falcons

This guy could break out this year, but he will do it for someone else’s team. We’ve ridden the roller-coaster that has included terrible quarterbacks, awful offensive coordinators and incredible highs and lows. One game he is targeted 14 times and nearly has 200 yards receiving, and the next game he doesn’t even appear to be in the game plan. He’s big. He’s fast. He’s athletic. He’s everything you want in a wide receiver in 2025, but he plays for the Falcons and has yet to live up to expectations consistently. For a guy being selected just outside the first round, managers need to know they can plug and play him every week while expecting a solid return instead of trying to figure out which weeks he will be included in the game plan. And we are not ready to put our faith in Michael Penix at this point either.

For those reasons, he’s out.

De’Von Achane – RB Dolphins

When he’s been healthy, the vibes are good and his head coach doesn’t appear to be baked on the sidelines, Achane has been ridiculous – as in ridiculously good. Almost freakish. He’s had games and made plays that leave fans speechless, but that has just been a tease. The inconsistency in his play and usage can drive a fantasy manager crazy, especially when the disappearing act comes during a week when we need him to step up and produce solid RB1 numbers. Oh, by the way, the vibes are not great in Miami at the moment, and he’s already injured. Also, his coach may be perpetually baked.

No thanks.

Brian Robinson – RB Commanders (for now)

Full disclosure: B-Rob was on our DND List before the trade rumors surfaced. Two years ago, this dude won us championships. Last year, he probably cost us championships. At least he doesn’t require a high draft pick like the previous two players, but Robinson’s fall from grace in DC happened almost as quickly has his fantasy fall. He went from a strong, powerful runner who was good for a few receptions, 75 yards on the ground and a touchdown or two in a given week to a player who regularly disappeared from game plans, missed half and full games with mystery injuries and couldn’t get a yard or score from the goal line if his life depended upon it. It got so bad last year that other backs were getting the short-yardage and goal-line carries when Washington’s star rookie QB wasn’t be asked to play Superman. It doesn’t seem ideal for a 228-pound running back who isn’t explosive to be terrible in short-yardage situations, but that’s where Robinson was by the end of the 2024 season. He often seemed to lack the compete level needed by NFL running backs, especially when the playing conditions weren’t ideal.

Anyway, we don’t care if he’s available late in drafts; we’d rather that he be someone else’s problem.

Kenneth Walker – RB Seahawks

This is another player who was on our DO NOT DRAFT List before it was revealed that Seattle might be moving to a shared backfield to include Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Anyone who watched the Seahawks’ first drive last week and didn’t see this coming should probably spend their money on something other than fantasy football. Charbonnet looked like he was shot out of a cannon on every run and eventually waltzed in for a touchdown. Reports from Seattle’s training camp have indicated that Walker has barely touched the ball in practice for the last month as he has nursed various minor injuries. Well, that’s a microcosm of his career. This guy looks incredible when he plays, but you’re just as likely to see Haley’s Comet as you are to see Walker healthy for a full game. Meanwhile, every time Charbonnet plays he looks like he’d be an All-Pro if he could just find a team that would make him a No. 1 back. At least now he will be 1A or 1B in Seattle, further diminishing Walker’s value. The problem with this is that we were extremely happy taking Charbonnet very late in mock drafts, knowing that he would get a bunch of starts and produce like a RB1 when given the opportunity. His ADP is sure to skyrocket now.

Oh well, we’re still in on Charbonnet and out on Walker.

The Bad Apple List

We have zero interest in rostering players who have been, might be or will be suspended for any amount of time. This includes the following players:

Jordan Addison – WR Vikings

Demarcus Robinson – WR 49ers

Rashee Rice – WR Chiefs

Quinshon Judkins – RB Browns

The M*A*S*H Unit

Players who will miss several weeks or more because of injuries suffered during preseason or the offseason as well as players who will be out for extended periods after suffering major injuries last season are always on our DO NOT DRAFT List. This year those players include:

Brandon Aiyuk – WR 49ers

Najee Harris – RB Chargers

Chris Godwin – WR Buccaneers

Joe Mixon – RB Texans

Rachaad White – RB Buccaneers

Jalen McMillan – WR Buccaneers

Christian Watson – WR Packers

Isaiah Likely – TE Ravens

We are monitoring other players who are returning from serious injuries or who suffered training camp injuries. As of right now we would be willing to draft these players below their normal ADP, but usually are hesitant to draft anyone who isn’t likely to be ready for opening day and may miss several weeks early in the season:

Stefon Diggs – WR Patriots

Matthew Stafford – QB Rams

Tyjae Spears – RB Titans

Jauan Jennings – WR 49ers

Darnell Mooney – WR Falcons

Jayden Reed – WR Packers

Khalil Shakir – WR Bills

Eagles WR AJ Brown also is worth watching closely since no one wants to use an early second-round draft pick on a guy who may not be ready for the first few weeks of the season. Brown has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of practices for the better part of a week now.

More Money, More Problems

Another player who we would consider drafting today at below market value but whose draft status may soon change because of his ongoing contract situation is Commanders WR Terry McLaurin. Not only was he cleared for activity just this week after suffering an ankle injury, but he also has shown no indication that he will be practicing with the team until he gets the contract extension he has been demanding. Obviously, if McLaurin is ready for Week 1 and can be drafted below his ADP, he would be a great piece to add to anyone’s puzzle. Soon, however, the team and player may reach the point of no return as far as his fantasy viability, meaning that he would only be considered as a late-round throwaway pick.

CLICK HERE for more updated injury information from around the NFL training camps.

Common Sense is Best for the DND List

The McLaurin and AJ Brown situations bring us to an extremely important point when it comes to any DO NOT DRAFT List. While there are some players on our list who we have no interest in selecting no matter the circumstances, many of the players could be value picks later in drafts if they fall well below their current ADP or market value. If the draft reaches a point where none of the available players are attractive and a team’s starting positions are filled, it may be a good time to draft a higher-end player whose status is questionable for the start of the season.

The reasoning behind this is that in theory, the team should be set as far as the starting lineup is concerned for at least the first few weeks of the season. Thus, if the player in question returns to the field and contributes at the level expected, drafting him could help win a championship. And if the player doesn’t return early in the year, it gives the manager a few weeks to sort out which players on the waiver wire might be worth adding.

It's important for managers to be aware of whether their league allows players to be placed on injured or reserved lists until healthy. Parking injured players who drop well below their market value on one of these lists immediately after the draft allows the manager to replace them with the top available undrafted players. This approach shouldn’t be used with multiple players, however, as doing so may have a negative impact on a team’s early season depth and ability to compete if other players suffer injuries.

The Official StatLogic Sports 2025 DO NOT DRAFT List

These are the players we have no interest in drafting this year barring some sort of miraculous drop more than a full round below their ADP (in addition to those previously highlighted):

Tyreek Hill – WR Dolphins

Davante Adams – WR Rams

Xavier Worthy – WR Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes – QB Chiefs

George Pickens – WR Cowboys

Tee Higgins – WR Bengals

Keon Coleman – WR Bills

David Njoku – TE Browns

Javonte Williams – RB Cowboys

Miles Sanders – RB Cowboys

Dallas Goedert – TE Eagles

DeVonta Smith – WR Eagles

Jake Ferguson – TE Cowboys

Breece Hall – RB Jets

MarShawn Lloyd – RB Packers

Jaylen Warren – RB Steelers

Xavier Legette – WR Panthers

Tyler Allgeier – RB Falcons

Any Giants TE

PLEASE NOTE that this list does not include rookies. Our thoughts on this year’ s rookie class can be found by CLICKING HERE.