RADIO
The 16th week of the 2022 NFL season has come and gone. Hopefully, you woke up on Monday morning feeling very good about how your matchup went. However, this week's slate of games was certainly stress-inducing for many fantasy football managers.
Part of that stress was caused by a group of players who drastically underachieved in Week 16. These players simply did not meet fantasy expectations, and it cost their managers in a big way. Let's take a look at the biggest busts from Week 16, as well as whether or not we can still have some trust in these players moving forward. All point totals are based on the PPR scoring system.
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Fantasy Football Quarterback Busts
Justin Fields, 13.05 FPTS
Fields had his worst rushing performance of the season, carrying the ball seven times for just 11 yards on the ground. He also completed 15 of 23 passes for just 119 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. The second-year quarterback has been unimpressive passing the ball this season, but he had salvaged most of his performances with his rushing upside. No such luck this week. Perhaps he can bounce back in a more favorable matchup against the Lions next Sunday.
Derek Carr, 10.1 FPTS
Just one week removed from a 231-yard, three-touchdown showing, Carr delivered a dud on Christmas Eve. The veteran held his team back with a 53.3 percent completion rate, 174 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. At this point, it seems like Carr's strong Week 15 was a fluke and he should continue to be ignored in all single-quarterback formats.
Fantasy Football Running Back Busts
Josh Jacobs, 6.0 FPTS
For the first two-thirds of the season, it looked like Jacobs was immune to the Raiders' struggles, producing elite fantasy results left and right. However, his points have declined over the last four weeks, reaching a season-low of 6.0 in Week 16. The 24-year-old faces an impressive 49ers defense next week, dropping him to the low-end RB1 tier with an even lower floor.
Rhamondre Stevenson, 3.3 FPTS
Stevenson entered this week with an ankle injury, and although the Patriots gave him the green light to play, he didn't look like his normal self. The second-year back totaled just 30 rushing yards and three receiving yards. He also coughed up two fumbles, including one in the red zone that was recovered by the Bengals with less than two minutes to play. Stevenson will drop to the RB2 tier against Miami in Week 17, though his receiving upside still makes him a must-start in most formats.
J.K. Dobbins, 5.9 FPTS
Dobbins, who had 245 rushing yards through two games since returning from IR, saw his production decline in Week 16. The 24-year-old rushed 12 times for 59 yards against the Falcons. While his 4.92 YPC was a solid mark, Dobbins didn't see nearly enough volume to have a positive impact in fantasy football. He has a relatively tough matchup against the Steelers in Week 17, but he'll remain a mid-range RB3 who could slide into the RB2 tier if Lamar Jackson returns from injury.
Latavius Murray, 7.0 FPTS
Nothing went right for the Broncos on Sunday. They fell behind early and had to throw the football an awful lot, leading to just eight rushing attempts for Murray. He did what he could, producing 34 yards on the ground and an additional six through the air, but still wasn't able to salvage his fantasy showing. The 32-year-old will rank as a mid-to-low RB3 against the Chiefs in a similarly unfavorable position next week.
Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts
Davante Adams, 3.5 FPTS
Adams joins Carr and Jacobs to complete the Vegas trifecta on this list. The Raiders' star receiver hauled in just two of nine targets for 15 yards against the Steelers on Saturday. His 3.5 fantasy points represented his second-lowest mark of the season. He'll get an even tougher matchup against the 49ers in Week 17, though it's hard to imagine his production will get any worse. Continue to deploy Adams as a WR1.
Stefon Diggs, 4.6 FPTS
Diggs delivered an uncharacteristic dud on Saturday, commanding just two targets. He caught both passes and finished with 26 receiving yards. The 29-year-old had double-digit fantasy points in each of his first 12 games, but he now has two single-digit finishes over his last three contests. Despite averaging just 7.3 fantasy points during that span, his pure talent keeps him in the WR1 tier versus Cincinnati next week.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, 5.7 FPTS
Smith-Schuster simply wasn't a central part of the Chiefs' passing game on Saturday, catching three passes for 27 yards. After totaling 39.2 fantasy points over his previous two games, the wideout's Week 16 performance was certainly a letdown. He figures to be a high-end WR3 against the Broncos next week.
Garrett Wilson, 5.0 FPTS
Between poor quarterback play and messy weather, the Jets' passing game was destined to fail from kickoff. Indeed, Wilson was held to just four catches for 30 yards despite commanding nine targets. He also lost his first career fumble. If Mike White returns for the Jets, Wilson will be a WR2 in Week 17. Otherwise, he's nothing more than a risky WR3 or FLEX play.
Christian Kirk, 5.6 FPTS
Kirk was also held in check by the bad weather on Thursday night. The Jaguars have so many mouths to feed, so while Kirk may be their No. 1 receiver, his fantasy production is far from guaranteed. Consider him a high-end WR3 versus Houston in Week 17.
Zay Jones, 2.1 FPTS
Jones is another player who was hindered by Thursday's weather. The 27-year-old entered Week 16 with 20-plus fantasy points in three of his last four games, but he couldn't get much done against New York's strong secondary. He should bounce back against the Texans, but as was the case with Kirk, fantasy managers should note the fact that Jacksonville has many mouths to feed.
Fantasy Football Tight End Busts
Mark Andrews, 7.5 FPTS
Andrews has become a weekly staple in this section of the article. He has single-digit fantasy points in each of his last four games, and he hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 6. Still, his talent makes him a must-start tight end, especially with Jackson's imminent return.
David Njoku, 3.4 FPTS
Much like Andrews, Njoku graced this list last week, too. This time around, the tight end was held to two catches for 14 yards despite playing a season-high 97 percent of snaps. The 26-year-old will fall to the TE2 tier as long as Cleveland's offense continues to struggle.
Juwan Johnson, 1.9 FPTS
Johnson was averaging 14.6 fantasy points over his last six full games, so Week 16 seemed like a great chance for him to thrive, especially with Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry out. Instead, New Orleans went run-heavy and gave Johnson just two targets on a 50 percent snap share. He finished with one catch for nine yards and will rank as a fringe top-12 option in Week 17.
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