Welcome to the 2026 midseason All-Bust team. That is all.
QB – JUSTIN HERBERT (BOB) – Round 6, Pick 2
Bob took Herbert as the sixth QB off the board and expected a steady starter. He got 1,141 yards, 5 TDs, 8 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles in six games. At 147 points a game, Herbert ranks 28th among QBs. Bob started him for the first three weeks (196, 102 and 194), then went through four QBs in six weeks before trading for Bryce Young. When a team’s QB situation needs a trade to fix it, then you’re officially a bust.
RB – SAQUON BARKLEY (MATT) – Round 1, Pick 2
The second overall pick has been a 37th-ranked running back. In five games Barkley has 43 carries for 244 yards and one touchdown, with 6 catches for 17 yards, for just 116 points a game. Bijan, the pick right before him, has outscored Barkley by more than 1,500 points. Somehow Matt is 5-2 anyway.
RB – DE’VON ACHANE (RICH C) – Round 1, Pick 5
At least Barkley is still on a roster. Calderon used the fifth overall pick on Achane, got 352 points in three games (34 carries, 127 yards, no touchdowns), before he tore his ACL. He’s sitting on waivers. Rich is 5-2 anyway, thanks to Cook and Goff.
WR – A.J. BROWN (RICH B) – Round 2, Pick 9
The worst return on a top-24 pick this season. Brown has 9 catches for 101 yards and no touchdowns in three games, 202 points in all, which ranks him 106th among wide receivers. That’s 67 a game, less than the waiver-wire receivers Burrier is cycling through. He’s still on the roster, but the Justin Jefferson trade tells you Rich B had to move on.
WR – RASHEE RICE (MATT) – Round 2, Pick 11
Matt’s second appearance. Rice has 13 catches for 190 yards and a touchdown in four games, 110 points a game, and ranks 71st among WRs. His low point was Week 4, when Matt started him and he scored zero. Matt spent first- and second-round picks on Barkley and Rice. Together they’ve scored 1,022 points, fewer than Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored in his first four games.
TE – COLSTON LOVELAND (ROBIO) – Round 3, Pick 12
I took Loveland as the third tight end off the board, ahead of Kittle, Likely, Kelce and LaPorta. Seven games later he has 26 catches, 244 yards and 2 TDs, 87 points a game and 19th among tight ends. Likely (Round 7) and Kittle (Round 9) have both nearly doubled his total.
K – EDDY PINEIRO (DON) – Round 14, Pick 4
Kickers have one job. Pineiro is 6 of 9 on field goals, 2 of 5 from 50+, and has missed four extra points (21 of 25). At 53 points a game, he’s the 30th-ranked kicker in the league. Don picked him over Tyler Loop, Evan McPherson and Will Reichard, who’s now first-team All-Robio. Don’s had enough close games (he lost to Jeff by one point in Week 6) that missed kicks hurt.
DST – EAGLES (MATT) – Round 11, Pick 2
Matt completes his hat trick. The Eagles are the 31st-ranked defense in the league at 45 points a game. They’re allowing 25 points and 371 yards a game, they’ve recovered zero fumbles, and they’ve never scored more than 100 in a week. Then came Monday night: Dallas scored 38 on 416 yards, and the Eagles finished at −33. Matt has started them every week and won anyway. Three busts in the starting lineup and a 5-2 record has to be a league first.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Ja’Marr Chase (Rich B, Round 1, Pick 4 – keeper): a first-round keeper averaging 167 a game, 20th among WRs.
- Omarion Hampton (Eric, Round 1, Pick 7): 3.6 yards a carry and 135 a game, 29th among RBs.
- Justin Jefferson (Bob, Round 2, Pick 2): 156 a game in five games, then traded to Rich B in the Young–Tuten deal.
- Ladd McConkey (Griff, Round 3, Pick 8): 66th among WRs, including a 0 Griff started in Week 4.
- Breece Hall (Jeff, Round 3, Pick 10): 590 points in three games, 3.2 yards a carry and out injured.
- Jalen Hurts (Rob M, Round 5, Pick 3): 231 a game, then out for the year.
- Brandon Aubrey (Griff, Round 12, Pick 5): the first kicker taken, two rounds before anyone else, and he ranks 18th. He’s 3 of 6 from 50+.
- Rams D/ST (Robio, Round 6, Pick 1): the first defense off the board, five rounds before the Vikings or the Steelers. They’re 16th, at 98 a game.