3 biggest fantasy football busts for Kansas City Chiefs

If Kansas City Chiefs fans wanted to find peace in fantasy football performances this season, this was not the year. As fantasy title games quickly approach around the country, the fantasy football season is coming to its end.

The NFL schedule extending to 17 games kept the championship week in most leagues in Week 17, with respectable leagues wanting to avoid Week 18. Playoff teams around the NFL will be resting starters ahead of the playoff push, so letting that factor decide months of fantasy football is unwise, to say the least. Sadly, not many Chiefs players out there should be deciding factors fantasy-wise.

The poor offensive attack has only four Kansas City players with a rostered percentage above 30%, while the defense remains a week-to-week option. Long gone are the days of Kansas City having a top-five option at quarterback, tight end, and wide receiver. Now, no one can trust most Kansas City offensive weapons week in and week out.

Let's take a look at some Chiefs fantasy options that did not live up to their preseason billing.

1. QB Patrick Mahomes

Preseason ranking: QB1
Current ranking: QB7

A two-time MVP. Patrick Mahomes had no signs of regression following the 2022 season. Sadly, the weapons around him have hindered his fantasy production immensely. The feeling of having to do it all himself, coupled with competitive frustration, means Mahomes still does magical things.

Mahomes was the consensus QB1 for several sites, including ESPN, Sleeper, and Yahoo. Sadly, he only finished as the top-scoring quarterback in one week, according to FantasyPros. His Week 7 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers netted him 34.9 points in standard scoring. He has 10 weekly finishes outside of the top 10, with only two in the top five among quarterbacks.

Ranking seventh in total fantasy points among quarterbacks does not sound bad, but his per-game ranking is fairly depressing. He ranks 10th with 18.8 standard points per game, trailing quarterbacks like Joe Flacco and Jordan Love.

2. WR Kadarius Toney

Preseason ranking: WR44
Current ranking: WR112

There are plenty of disappointments to choose from in the receiver room. Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling have shouldered plenty of blame this season, but theirs is nothing compared to Kadarius Toney.

Toney had national WR1 hype heading into the 2023 season, with high expectations due to his talent and having more time in Andy Reid's system. That potential was never realized this season, with Toney doing more harm than good at points. He started in the fanbase's doghouse with his drop-turned-pick-six in Week 1, then never gave a reason to trust him again.

Toney only has 26 fantasy points this year, with his highest single-game performance being 6.4 points in Week 6 against the Denver Broncos. He reached a new low against the Raiders this week, as he was inactive on Christmas Day with a hip injury.

3. K Harrison Butker

Preseason ranking: K4
Current ranking: K16

This bust status is not a testament to Butker's stellar season, going 25-27 on field goals and 36/36 on extra-point chances so far. It has been a bounce-back season of sorts for the kicker, following a tumultuous 2022 season. But, the volume has not been there for Butker, leading to his fantasy bust status.

Butker was perfect entering Week 15, but two misses in the past two weeks have dropped his field-goal percentage to 92.6% this season. That still ranks ninth in the league, so that is not the problem. He ranks 18th in field goal attempts, with only two better fantasy kickers having fewer than 27 this season. Those kickers have the benefit of more extra-point attempts as well, ranking ahead of Butker who sits eighth with 36 attempts.

Eighteen of Butker's field goals have come from within 39 yards with only seven from 40 yards or more. The degree of difficulty matters when it comes to fantasy scoring, and we saw that in Butker's Week 6 scoring outburst. He scored 17 points when he kicked four field goals with two from 50 yards or more.

Sadly, the Chiefs' offensive woes affect the veteran's chances of getting in field goal range. Butker has been reliable this season, but that doesn't reflect in his fantasy production and ranking.