This is what kills your team; that top-ranked consensus player that has a fantasy 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.
D’Andre Swift, Detroit Lions
Started – RB6
Sunday Finish – RB34
After last week’s big game against the Ravens with only 56% of the snap share, it looked as though Swift may be matchup proof. Week 4 proved otherwise; he had 6 targets and 8 carries, but averaged his lowest yards per carry of the season at 2.0. The Lions moved the ball on the Bears but had costly turnovers that limited their scoring opportunities.
Moving Forward: I am not overly worried about Swift as he has two huge games and two lackluster games so far. It looks as if he will be 2nd in carries behind Jamaal Williams, and that will limit his ceiling. He looks to be very involved in the passing game and hopefully, once he is fully healthy he can get more touches.
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Started – RB8
Sunday Finish – RB44
Dalvin Cook was coming off an injured ankle that caused him to miss Week 3, so there was always going to be some risk. He started this game but seemed to reinjure his ankle. The whole Vikings offense was held in check after the first TD drive in the 1st quarter. With only 11 touches for 44 yards, Cook was clearly not himself.
Moving Forward: There will be better days for Cook and the Vikings this season. This is the risk when you roster Dalvin Cook, as he can get banged up and leave games early or even miss a couple of games.
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Started – WR2
Sunday Finish – WR36
After three straight games with over 23 fantasy points, Kupp finally came down to earth with a more average 11.40 points. The problem wasn’t lack of opportunity, as he received 13 targets. He and Matthew Stafford just weren’t able to connect as they normally have so far this season.
Moving Forward: Kupp had an average game today and the Rams, in general, did not perform as they have this season so far. Kupp had the most targets even though he did not have a big day and still finished 2nd on the team in receptions and yards. This is just a blip on the radar and if his lowest output is going to be 11 points, you have to feel good about Kupp in fantasy football for the rest of the season.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Started – TE1
Sunday Finish – TE21
It is always a surprise when Travis Kelce has a subpar game as he seems matchup proof. In the first three games, he has had 25, 23, and 17 fantasy points, so today’s 6 was a big shocker. When you draft Kelce in fantasy football, you are expecting top numbers. That said, he still was 2nd in targets. Tyreek Hill had a crazy three touchdown day that took up most of the passing game for the Chiefs.
Moving Forward: No worries about Kelce, as he still had 6 targets. There will be times when Hill perform better than Kelce. Also, the normal shovel pass to Kelce around the goal line went to Jody Fortson and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Make sure to check in on the Fantasy Faceplant each week on Monday. You can find me on Twitter @hayeb3 and all my fantasy football work done on TheLeagueWinners here.
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.