Fantasy Football Playoffs Landmines to Avoid? Jacoby Brissett, Breece Hall, DK Metcalf, Jayden Higgins, more

John looks at fantasy football playoffs landmines, busts, and avoids for Weeks 15, 16, 17 of 2025. Given these fantasy situations, consider benching these players.

We're just one week away from the fantasy football playoffs in most fantasy leagues. Public ESPN leagues actually start the playoffs in Week 14, but most leagues don't, as there are still a lot of teams on bye that week. It doesn't make much sense to have playoff games that week.

Instead, it's the last week of the fantasy regular season for most leagues, meaning it's still about time to start thinking about strategies to win your playoff games down the stretch. It's very difficult to secure a bye week, so Week 15 is still very important for most fantasy managers in the playoffs.

The worst thing that can happen is starting a player that ends up playing terribly. Your team might get by, but the risk each week starts increasing. It's of vital importance to know which players will be busts in the final weeks. There's no way to figure that out for sure ahead of time, but we'll try anyway. Let's dive in!

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

This one is not a prediction I make with full confidence. It looks like the Jaguars are a better passing offense with WR Jakobi Meyers now on the team. That being said, the upcoming schedule is very tough, and we've seen Lawrence look serviceable in some games (like against the Kansas City Chiefs) only to regress to looking terrible.

Lawrence has been the subject of a lot of criticism for not developing as a passer and for incessantly targeting his first read on passing plays. It's a problem that's plagued him since he's come into the league, and while he's put up respectable passing numbers, he's often a factor in holding back his offense.

Jakobi Meyers picks up 50 yards!

JAXvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/DYWkJmWQIl

— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2025

Beating up on the hapless Tennessee Titans in Week 13 doesn't give me a ton of confidence in him. The Jaguars have been very run-heavy in recent weeks, likely because Lawrence struggled so much earlier in the season. He tends to not play well when he's forced to throw the ball a lot.

It makes sense that they drafted RB Bhayshul Tuten and have been feeding RB Travis Etienne Jr. quite a bit. In games where the running backs thrive, Lawrence is prone to low passing outputs, too. It just seems like there are better options in 1QB leagues. In 2QB or superflex leagues, this doesn't really apply, of course.

With QBs like Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels (elbow) returning from injury, there are better options.

Jayden Higgins, WR, Houston Texans

It might look like the rookie Higgins is on the verge of a true breakout the season. The Texans starting quarterback, C.J. Stroud, is healthy after missing time due to a concussion. But he played terribly against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, even though their top cornerback, Sauce Gardner II, got hurt.

Stroud threw for 276 yards, one interception, and no touchdowns in that game. Higgins has taken on a bigger role in recent weeks, but he has a tough schedule ahead of him, with the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15 and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17 coming up.

Straight heat 🔥

📺 : @nflonprime pic.twitter.com/NkGFAwCh41

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 21, 2025

He's a legitimate weapon with good size and enough twitch to get open on in-breaking routes effectively. He should probably be used in the slot more, but Houston's usage of their pass-catchers has been poor, with WR Christian Kirk still taking quite a few slot reps.

Against the outside cornerbacks of the Cardinals and Chargers, it might be difficult for Higgins to find much room to work. And Houston's offense hasn't played very well against good defenses this season. They're don't have well-designed play calls.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona Cardinals

It's a bit harder to find players that have three negative matchups in each of Week 15, Week 16, and Week 17. Brissett will face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, and that's not a tough matchup, though they did well against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13.

Of bigger concern is the matchup with the Houston Texans in Week 15. To this point, Brissett has been lucky enough to not have to face tough pass defenses other than the Seattle Seahawks, against whom he racked up garbage time points. Houston is not a team that gives up a lot of those.

Straight bulldozer 😤

📺 : @nfloncbs / @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/JBvOm0S8tT

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 30, 2025

Even if the Falcons defense has been softening up rapidly throughout the past few weeks, the Texans have not. They'll likely cause Brissett to have a bad game and not allow him to make up for it with a bunch of passing yards and touchdowns when the game is out of reach.

My analysis strongly suggests that you bench him for that game and find someone else with an easier matchup to put in your starting lineup.

DK Metcalf, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

One of my least favorite players to draft in fantasy football leagues this season was Metcalf. He had a decent stretch to start the year, but his production has collapsed over the last few weeks. And there's little reason to expect it to jump -- Pittsburgh starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers (wrist) is dealing with fractures in his left wrist.

The Steelers haven't been especially productive in the passing game this season, either. They rank 24th in the league in passing yards per game, largely thanks to offensive coordinator Arthur Smith doing everything in his power to make sure the team doesn't throw for a lot of yards. He prefers to run it as much as possible.

It will never fail to amaze me how soft DK Metcalf plays for being 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. Sub-200 pound WRs fight for the ball harder than he does. pic.twitter.com/HByfXV40ZR

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 25, 2025

Metcalf, despite being a very big receiver at 6-foot-4 and nearly 230 pounds, simply doesn't fight for the ball on contested catches like you'd think he was. And he doesn't have very good separation ability this season. He's one of the NFL's worst receivers at creating space from opposing defensive backs.

It might be an effort issue, but it's unlikely to improve, as the Steelers aren't providing him enough passing volume to make him very productive. And he's had just one game with double-digit PPR fantasy points in his last five contests. It's hard to trust him moving forward, or anyone in this offense, really.

Sam Darnold, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Games against the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams are looming for Darnold in the fantasy football playoffs. Darnold had single-digit PPR fantasy points in three of his last four games, one of which was against the Rams. And the Panthers just intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice in Week 13.

Darnold doesn't have much rushing upside at all, and there are game scripts in which he's hardly asked to do anything, like when Seattle builds up a big lead early. That makes it incredibly risky to start him at any point in the fantasy playoffs, despite Seattle adding WR Rashid Shaheed to their ranks through a trade a few weeks ago.

Four Rams INTs ‼️

SEAvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/mtCIU9Aeck

— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025

Darnold has had a great season so far in total. He also had a great regular season last year. But the data actually shows he's one of the least accurate quarterbacks in the NFL under pressure. He does a great job when he's kept clean. Otherwise, he gives us dud performances like we saw against the Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

Even in superflex leagues, it's very risky to start him. There have been waiver and free agent pickups that have outperformed him in recent weeks, like New York Jets QB Tyrod Taylor. Darnold should be benched starting in Week 15 for one of the plethora of better options that's out there.

Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

The starting running back of every team, especially those with a high degree of talent, need to be rostered in all leagues. And if you have Hall, you likely traded a good player for him or spent a draft pick inside the first four rounds. And by all means, he hasn't been awful this season.

But he has a brutal schedule coming up. He has to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, and New England Patriots in the final three weeks of the fantasy season. No other RB has a harder schedule in terms of points allowed to the RB position.

spin cycle ➡️ 40 yards

📺: #NYJvsBAL on CBS | @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/Lz0zxDZkEa

— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 23, 2025

It's not like he doesn't have excellent potential. But for some inexplicable reason, the Jets refuse to get him more involved in the passing game. He's excellent in open space and should certainly have the ball thrown his way more. There's no reason to not do so.

He deserves to be fed more, but the team's current offensive coaching staff doesn't seem to want to do so. And with wide receiver Garrett Wilson (knee) likely to return soon, it doesn't seem like it will become a priority. Hall has had just nine targets in his last four contests, since his team's Week 9 bye.

Breece Hall converts the 2-yard score!

ATLvsNYJ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/P0QUskWqgR

— NFL (@NFL) November 30, 2025

Hall is a good football player. Unfortunately, the matchups coming up are tough and he's on a bad and highly dysfunctional football team. And this only applies if you have another good player to start instead of him, like if you're in a 10-team league and have quite a bit of talent at the RB position or two starting RBs and want to put a good WR in the flex spot.

More Fantasy Football Analysis