# Mike Fanelli: Fanelli names five running backs he expects to bust relative to their 2026 draft cost: Christian McCaffrey (age/injury risk), De'Von Achane (passing-game dependence with Malik Willis at QB), Cam Skattebo (crowded Giants backfield), Bucky Irving (regression, injury, Gainwell competition), and TreVeyon Henderson (limited role with Stevenson healthy).

**Claimed:** Sep 2, 2026
**Pundit:** Mike Fanelli — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/mike-fanelli
**Outlet:** FantasyPros — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fantasypros
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.fantasypros.com/2026/09/5-fantasy-football-busts-to-avoid-running-backs-2026/

5 checkable claims — 5 fantasy bust calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

> Let's look at five potential running back bust candidates that I would rather avoid drafting in 2026.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Bucky Irving to fall short of his draft cost (ADP 45.8 | RB20)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Cam Skattebo to fall short of his draft cost (ADP 39.4 | RB19)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Cam Skattebo, New York Giants
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **De'Von Achane to fall short of his draft cost (ADP 10.8 | RB6)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Christian McCaffrey to fall short of his draft cost (ADP 5.8 | RB3)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **TreVeyon Henderson to fall short of his draft cost (ADP 59.8 | RB25)**
  - Kind: Fantasy Bust Calls · About: TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Bucky Irving — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/bucky-irving
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers
- Cam Skattebo — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/cam-skattebo
- New York Giants — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/giants
- De'Von Achane — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/de-von-achane
- Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/dolphins
- Christian McCaffrey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/christian-mccaffrey
- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- TreVeyon Henderson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/treveyon-henderson
- New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on San Francisco 49ers: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 88.1)
- Connor Rogers on New York Giants: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100)
- Nate Tice on New England Patriots: Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100)
- Marcus Ray on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Marcus predicted a 30-13 Buccaneers win over Cleveland with three touchdowns and three field goals, and picked the Raiders to beat a Jim Harbaugh team to start 2-0. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/aa09b337-f1fa-49b0-bc4b-5e2bbaddb5df (scored 19.05)
- Ryan LaVoy on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LaVoy predicted a 28-10 Buccaneers win over the Browns, said even the Falcons would beat Cleveland, and named Detroit, Baltimore and the Rams as teams he expects in the playoffs. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/227e256e-a31d-413d-a568-7f7250dcd161 (scored 16.67)
- Jaron Spor on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The host predicted a comfortable Buccaneers win over Cleveland, 27-10, picked Jacksonville as an upset winner at Denver, said the Giants could win seven or eight games as a sneaky team, and expected Deshaun Watson and the Browns to part ways soon. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7a7160b2-ca51-4fce-a478-bd9f75323548 (scored 19.05)

## More fantasy bust calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Ryan Wormeli on Zay Flowers: Host Ryan Warmley endorsed Ricky Pearsall as a bet worth making and put his rookie-receiver capital in Tetairoa McMillan, while fading Zay Flowers at his cost and opting out of Marvin Harrison Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/192d6e67-2e0e-49b3-bc82-4c8a77bd5950 (scored 0)
- Derek Brown on Zay Flowers: Derek Brown ("Debro") laid out a slate of wide receiver breakouts — Ricky Pearsall, Jalen Coker, Egbuka, Jalen Waddle, Joshua Palmer, George Pickens, DeVonta Smith and Travis Hunter — while fading Xavier Worthy, Tyreek Hill and the cheap Cleveland/late-round types, and gave his own rankings well ahead of ADP for several of them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/effe2fda-3dcb-489f-a1e1-f8fa5b11ada7 (scored 0)
- Chris Welsh on Austin Ekeler: Welsh drafted Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan, Travis Hunter, the Rams and Saints receivers, Justin Fields (a top-10 QB), Drake Maye (QB10-14), Travis Kelce and Tyler Warren, while passing on Joe Mixon, the Commanders backfield, Tyreek Hill, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9f0f2132-f3b8-4813-b2b1-374b827d86a8 (scored 100)
- Joe Pisapia on Rashee Rice: Joey P (Joe Pisapia) played draft-or-pass on 2025 fantasy values: he passed on Christian McCaffrey at pick 7, Breece Hall, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter and Chris Olave, while drafting RJ Harvey, Tyreek Hill, Tetairoa McMillan, Puka Nacua, Tyler Warren and a late-round Joe Mixon. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c3c95c1c-64a4-42b6-9389-58d5fb5b27d1 (scored 0)
- Pat Fitzmaurice on Breece Hall: Pat Fitzmaurice gave draft-or-pass calls: reluctant drafts on Christian McCaffrey, RJ Harvey, Tetairoa McMillan (his WR16), Rashee Rice at a ninth-round price, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, Chris Olave, Drake Maye (his QB8) and Tyler Warren, with passes on Breece Hall, Joe Mixon, Croskey-Merritt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Hunter, the Rams receivers and Justin Fields. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e36f1287-466c-4889-a7ea-c9d86f4b5182 (scored 0)
- Derek Brown on Chuba Hubbard: Derek Brown ("Deebro") names three busts to avoid in 2025 fantasy drafts: Kyren Williams at an RB1 price, Chuba Hubbard as a top-20 RB, and Xavier Worthy as his ultimate bust, arguing Rashee Rice is the clear No. 1 receiver in Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9cc5c06e-e0c5-45bd-8b93-fa089f8673a8 (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

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