If you’re anything like me, you’re hoping to not make a crucial start/sit mistake here in Week 15 of the playoffs.
I can stomach a loss if I made all the right decisions but the other team was just better than mine. I can deal with that.
It’s losing because I sat the wrong player that will cause me to become sick and question every fantasy football decision I make from here on out…
Maybe that’s a little extreme, but you get the point.
Before you solidify your lineups before the Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday games this week, let’s take a look at a few players that you should avoid.
1. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With DeSean Jackson out this past week, it seemed like Chris Godwin was as solid of a play as you could find due to the matchup.
However, he finished with 1 catch for 13 yards on 10 targets.
This week, I expect the targets/reception numbers to equal out more, but he’s got an extremely tough matchup. The Baltimore Ravens are currently allowing the 5th fewest points to fantasy wide receivers this season and there may be too many mouths to feed in the Bucs offense in this matchup to equal fantasy production.
You’re praying for a touchdown from Godwin to give you a decent fantasy day…or his floor is what he gave you last week. I’m starting other options ahead of him if possible.
2. Kenyan Drake, Miami Dolphins
Kenyan Drake has been in the news a lot over the past week for his late-game heroics against the New England Patriots.
However, there’s a few reasons that I’m unwilling to look Drake’s way this week against the Vikings.
- The Vikings just released John Defilippo as their Offensive Coordinator. Partly because of his clashing with head coach Mike Zimmer on wanting to run the ball more. I expect the Vikings to unleash Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray this week and control the clock. This allows their defense to stay fresh and shut down the run game of the Dolphins.
- Drake has not seen more than 8 carries in a game since Week 8. It’s a roll of the dice every single time that you play Kenyan and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take in the game that could get me into the championship.
- If Drake didn’t have the Miami Miracle play, he would’ve finished last week’s game with 2 fantasy points. You’re betting on a big play from him and, while he can certainly deliver that, I’m not willing to mess around with that.
3. Adrian Peterson, Washington Redskins
If you have Adrian Peterson on your roster, and you were relying on him week in and week out, there may be a good chance that you’re not in the next round of the playoffs.
AP has fallen off a cliff recently when it comes to fantasy production due to injuries around him. Now, the Redskins are on their 4th-string quarterback that was just signed off the street last week.
This offense is not going to be able to move the ball well, which limits AP’s ability to score. Also, if the Jaguars get out to a big lead, he becomes obsolete due to Chris Thompson being the pass-catching back.
This isn’t a player that I want to roll out there if I did make it to the next round of the playoffs and there are a lot of players I would start over AP this week.
4. Jimmy Graham, Green Bay Packers
A few weeks ago, it came out that Graham was fighting through a broken thumb injury. The expectation would normally be that he would sit out a few games and allow the injury to heal.
However, he opted to play with the broken thumb and he’s continued to be a disappointment for fantasy purposes.
Graham had a decent week two weeks ago against the Cardinals, but has come crashing back down to earth and I expect more of the same this week against Chicago. Graham is a player I’m looking to avoid this week in the playoffs and I would start someone like Ian Thomas over him.
5. Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Since regaining the starting quarterback role in Week 12, Winston has put together a few decent games for fantasy.
However, at some point, Winston has to regress to who we know he truly is…a quarterback who’s prone to turning the ball over.
Baltimore’s defense can create pressure on opposing quarterbacks and force some throws that Winston may have had a couple extra seconds to think about in previous games. This is not a game that I’m excited about starting Winston in because his ceiling is capped. He’s not going to throw for 400 yards and 3+ touchdowns on this defense…
In the fantasy playoffs, you need all the help you can get. Because of that, I would look at starting Derek Carr against the Bengals over Jameis Winston this week.
There are your 5 players to avoid this week! You don’t necessarily have to bench all of these players, but if you have better options available, I would strongly recommend going a different direction.
If you have specific questions about these players, or any other fantasy football related questions, feel free to reach out on Twitter @KyleYNFL!
