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.
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Started – QB3
Sunday Finish – QB23
With the Packers missing two of their best WRs, many thought the Cardinals would dominate this game. Murray and the offense struggled and it was apparent with DeAndre Hopkins in and out of the lineup, that they were not the same.
Moving Forward: Hopefully this is just a blip for Kyler Murray, but it is his 3rd game under 20 fantasy points. You have to continue to start Murray. This game could have been different with three rushing TDs in the RedZone by Chase Edmonds and James Conner.
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
Started – RB2
Sunday Finish – RB37
Cook has had an up and down season so far that has been littered with injuries. He has played five games, but two of those have been under 10 fantasy points.
Moving Forward: Dalvin Cook’s final stats for the season will probably look fine, but Cook always has a few games with injuries. When drafting Cook, you always should be ready for some inconsistency. Where he has played at least 70% of snaps he has at least 18 carries, so the workload for him is not an issue when he finishes the game.
Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team
Started – WR14
Sunday Finish – WR55
This is the 3rd time in four games where McLaurin was held to under 50 receiving yards. Also, he only has scored a TD in three of eight games.
Moving Forward: Before the season, I was big on Terry McLaurin and thought he had the ability to be a top-5 receiver. The QB situation has kept him from being that but, he is getting 7 or more targets in seven of eight games this season. The hope is that the QB play gets better, as McLaurin has produced even with poor QB play in the past.
Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Started – TE2
Sunday Finish – TE32
Pitts finally was getting in a groove with two straight games over 100 receiving yard games. Week 8 was a disappointing game, with only 2 catches for 13 yards. The whole team really struggled against a good Carolina Panthers defense.
Moving Forward: This game was disappointing but Pitts did receive 6 targets. I think you still have to start him with confidence and just take this as one of those off games for TEs. It happens to the best of even the elite ones.
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.