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The Biggest Fantasy Football TE Busts of 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By HC Green | Last updated Jan 14, 2026 8:01 PM ET

With the 2025 regular season concluded, it’s a good time to go back and look at the players who underperformed the most based on expectations and draft position. Before diving in, I have one item of clarification. I’ve tried to stay away from guys who were injured and missed the majority of the season — that doesn’t mean you won’t see players who missed time, but there needs to be more to it than that.

But before we get into it, here are a couple of dishonorable mentions:

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens (ADP: TE7): While we’ve never seen Andrews approach the heights he reached in 2021 (107-1,361-9) in subsequent years, he was coming off an 11-score effort in 2024. With the exception of a 6-91-2 showing in Week 3, the veteran never reached 50 yards in a game this past season, and he didn’t score after Nov. 9.

Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers (ADP: TE14): Smith was a fantasy darling in 2024, catching 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. Acquired from Miami, Smith looked like a possible high-usage option for Aaron Rodgers. Instead, he finished with just 222 receiving yards, well below fellow TEs Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.

The Top Fantasy TE Busts of 2025

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3) David Njoku, Cleveland Browns (ADP: TE10)

It’s valid to say that Njoku has long been more potential than performance, topping out in 2023 when he put up 81 catches, 882 yards, and a half-dozen touchdowns. Even with that, he was a top-10 pick at a position short on established talent. After flitting around on the outskirts of playable value, Njoku fell off a cliff in November, managing a paltry six receptions over his last five games before injuries mercifully brought his season to a close.

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2) Evan Engram, Denver Broncos (ADP: TE8)

Although injuries ruined Engram’s 2024 campaign, he was just one year removed from a 114-reception season for the Jaguars. So, when he signed with Denver to play for Sean Payton, some saw visions of Jimmy Graham 2.0 in their heads. They didn’t even get Chicago’s version of Graham. Engram would top the 40-yard mark in a game just four times, and his lone touchdown came in Week 5. Selected as the eighth tight end, Engram would end up as TE29.

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1) T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings (ADP: TE6)

Chalk up another one for J.J. McCarthy. While clearly this isn’t on the same level of Justin Jefferson, who was a top-five overall selection in most drafts, Hockenson was a sixth-round pick on average, and he didn’t even have the nice run of success Jefferson enjoyed when Carson Wentz was under center. Hockenson managed just one double-digit fantasy performance in McCarthy’s 10 starts, making him unplayable for the vast majority of 2025.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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