This is what kills your team; that top-ranked consensus player that has a fantasy football faceplant. A fantasy faceplant is a player who finishes at least 15 spots lower than expected on a given week. Everyone knows Fantasy football has so much variance week-to-week, so the faceplants might be just a blip. But as we go through the season we can see if the players show a trend.
I will use FantasyPros each week to get the initial rankings. The players highlighted are from the TNF game and the Sunday day games. These do not include the SNF or MNF games. You can view last week’s faceplants here.
Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Started – QB1
Sunday Finish – QB27
The trend of Tom Brady as a Buccaneer struggling for the Saints continued on Sunday night. Even before Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette and Chris Godwin went out, the offense was not producing. Once the three biggest playmakers were gone, there was little production as Brady had an interception, fumble, and only 214 pass yards.
Moving Forward: The Saints have the Bucs number and Brady seems to struggle against them. While I think the offense bounces back, losing Godwin for the year and not knowing Mike Evans’ status limits the potential of the offense moving forward.
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Started – RB4
Sunday Finish – RB45
You would have thought that Alvin Kamara would need a big game for the Saints to win. The defense played great and there was a ball-control offense. Kamara only had 13 touches for 21 yards, most of the offensive work was done through the air to Marquez Callaway.
Moving Forward: The Bucs rush defense is very good, so it is not surprising that Kamara could not get much running room. The surprise is the lack of receiving success. He had 6 targets but only 2 receptions, it definitely seems with Hill as QB there is not as smooth a connection with Kamara. You still have to start him but it could be a bumpy ride if they cannot start connecting on those outlet passes.
Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Started – WR4
Sunday Finish – WR29
Big Ben struggled yet again and only had 148 passing yards with no TDs, so the receivers did not have the opportunity to get much fantasy football production. Johnson did tie Najee Harris with the lead-in targets at 5, but the Steelers are winning with defense and just enough offense.
Moving Forward: This is the first time in 6 games that Johnson was targeted in the single digits. He is the go-to receiver in this offense but the struggles of Ben cause some concern as the fantasy playoffs continue.
Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
Started – WR11
Sunday Finish – WR96
This was a defensive game. Joe Burrow only had 157 passing yards so there was not a lot of fantasy football production for the receivers. Tyler Boyd had the long 56 yard TD but other than that there was not much to write home about offensively.
Moving Forward: Chase has only scored double digit fantasy points in two out of the last five games. His targets are lower also with the emergence of Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd is always going to be there. Chase was so efficient early in the season but if he does not catch a TD he is not getting the volume to put up WR1 numbers.
You can find me on Twitter @hayeb3 and all my fantasy football work
Brandon Haye
Brandon grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and works as a health insurance data analyst. He has no children, but two fur babies - Squirt and Brownie. He and his wife, Katie, spend their time playing poker and enjoying time with their pups. Brandon is a huge Michigan Wolverine and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He at one time was in 77 fantasy leagues and loves the game of football. Brandon started writing for The Leauge Winners in 2021.